Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hawkins is a small town with small-minded people. Suppose you could blame the small-minded part on how Eddie Munson was pushed up against a wall with a bloody nose. One may ask how he found himself in such a situation, though it was quite a simple answer. Eddie, otherwise known as the town freak, was different. His attire was…on the darker side. He played Dungeons & Dragons after school with a bunch of children. The trailer park he called home didn’t have the best reputation, especially with his small business (which may or may not be legal), coming in and out. And as far as music went…well, let’s just say that it isn’t the most traditional. All of these mixing up into making him an easy target for small-minded idiots like Jason Carver. Of course, it didn’t help that Eddie is a smartass who couldn’t keep his fucking mouth shut.

Another fist hit his face.

“Ready to admit it, freak?” Jason asks.

“Hate to break it to ya, Carver," Eddie smiles, "but you just aren't my type." This causes another fist to connect with his face. If he was being honest, Eddie has completely forgotten what today’s beating was about. “Seriously, man. If you wanted physical affection so badly, all you had to do was say please.”

Another fist.

“Jason? What are you doing?” 

The timid voice rang out into the small alley behind the school gym. Eddie turns his head to see the source of it. Standing at the end of the alley was the queen herself. Chrissy Cunningham. She was dressed in her cheer outfit, a white Hawkins High sweatshirt overtop. Her blonde hair came up in a green scrunchie.

“Chrissy, babe, don’t worry about it. Just getting something back from the freak.” Jason replies nonchalantly. Oh yeah. Now Eddie remembers why he’s here. Jason somehow got it in his head that he stole his money. Like he said, small-minded idiot.

“I thought I told you to stop beating kids up for no reason! The school year just started, and you’ve already beaten up four other kids.” She scolds. 

Now that was something new. Eddie never thought that he would see the day that he’d be defended by Chrissy Cunngingham of all people.

“It’s not for no reason. Munson stole my money. I’m just getting it back.” 

Jason loosens his grip on Eddie.

“And I keep trying to tell you that I didn’t steal shit.” Eddie adds.

“Shut it Munson.” And the grip is back. “Just go to the car Chrissy, I’ll be there in a second.” Jason turns away from the cheerleader and back to Eddie.

“Now then. Where is it Munson?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Carver.” 

Eddie squeezes his eyes shut in preparation as Jason raises his fist again. He waits for the punch, but it never comes. Instead, Jason’s grasp on Eddie comes away and the jock is stumbling away from him. Eddie opens one eye to see Chrissy in front of him, hands pushed out in front of her.

“I told you to stop Jason! I’m so sick and tired of you pushing people around like you’re some kind of tyrant! This is high school for crying out loud! No one out in the real world cares if you’re popular or not.”

“Chrissy-”

“No!” Chrissy yells, “I don’t care about the excuse you have this time! I doubt you even have any real evidence that he stole your money, nor do I think that you even asked him about it before shoving him into a wall! I’m not gonna stand around and do nothing while you torture people for no reason. I’m not dating some… asshole who doesn’t like it when people are different!” Chrissy finishes., Her breath is heavy and tears start collecting in her eyes. 

Eddie makes a mental note to never piss this girl off.

“We’re done Jason.” She says, sounding tired. “I’m done being the perfect girlfriend that quietly watches from the sidelines while you hurt people. We’re over.”

“Chrissy, wait…”

“Come on Eddie.” She grabs his wrist and gently drags him out of the alley.

“No. Let’s talk about this babe. Please.” Jason pleads.

“There’s nothing to talk about Jason. Goodbye.” 

Chrissy walks away from the alley, Eddie stumbling in shock after her.

They keep walking away from the school. The tears start rolling down her cheeks once they get into the woods behind the school.. When it becomes apparent that Chrissy doesn’t know where to go, Eddie takes the lead. A couple minutes pass in silence, the only sounds being the wildlife around them and Chrissy sniffling. They come upon an abandoned picnic table, one that Eddie is quite familiar with for his “business meetings”. He takes a seat and Chrissy follows, quietly sitting across from him.

Eddie squirms, uncomfortable in his own skin as the silence continues.

“Sooo… that was pretty crazy.” 

He quietly breaks the silence only to be met with more sniffling. 

“Pretty uh, pretty metal if you ask me.” 

More silence.

“I… I’m sorry.” Chrissy quietly says through the tears, staring at her lap.

“No uh, no don’t be…” 

Silence fills the air once more.

Eddie starts getting even more uncomfortable. This was sooo not his department. He could act and improv through hours and hours of D&D, bark snarky remarks back at tormentors, and charm his way through deals. But feelings? Trying to comfort someone? No way, no this just wouldn’t do. The tension was eating at him like a gelatinous cube to an unfortunate traveler.

“You know, this isn’t the first time that we’ve um, hung out.” Eddie states. Chrissy looks up at him, mascara slowly running down from her eyes.

“No?”

“You don’t remember?”

“I’m sorry…” She apologizes again.

“It’s ok."

Eddie quickly falls back in his seat, hands on his heart like it’s been stabbed. He hears Chrissy gasp at the sudden movement as he scrambles back up.

“I wouldn’t remember me either, Chrissy. Honestly, um do I have stuff in my hair?” He asks while freeing leaves and twigs from the mop of curls atop his head. He smiles as Chrissy gives a small chuckle. He crosses his arms and does a quick spin in his spot as he asks again. “You don’t remember me?”

“I’m sorry.” She chuckles again.

“Middle school. Talent show. You were doing this cheer thing. You know, the…” Eddie does a small motion of his hands imitating shaking pom poms. “The thing you do. It was pretty cool actually. And I… I was with my band.”

“Corroded Coffin!” Chrissy calls out.

“Corro- you do remember!” Eddie celebrates.

“Oh my God! Yes, no of course. With a name like that how could I forget?”

“I dunno. You’re a freak.”

“No you just. You looked so…”

“Different? Yeah. Well, uh, my hair was buzzed and I didn’t have these sweet old tatties yet.” Eddie pulls down the collar of his shirt to show a round tattoo, rocking in place.

“You played guitar, right?”

“Uh-huh. Still do. Still do. You should come see us. Uh, we play at The Hideout on Tuesdays. It’s pretty cool. We… We actually get a crowd of about five drunks. It's not exactly the Garden, but you gotta start somewhere, right? So…” Eddie trails off pacing a bit, just happy that he got Chrissy smiling again.

“You know, you’re not what I thought you’d be like.” She states, still smiling.

“Mean and scary?” He asks, facing her and pulling a handful of his hair in front of his face. She agrees with him. “Yeah, well, I actually kinda thought you’d be kinda mean and scary too.” He pulls on his pants a bit as he stumbles forward and sits back down.

“Me?”

“Terrifying. And I guess that I was right, at least a little, with that whole, uh, speech earlier.” He chuckles, stopping as soon as Chrissy’s smile falls and she looks back down at her lap. Shit. He really needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut.

“I’m really sorry about him.”

“What?”

“Jason, I mean. I’m sorry for all the times that’s he’s beaten you up for stupid little things. Ever since he got onto the basketball team and became popular, he’s become…”

“An asshole?” Eddie finishes for her. She nods with a small laugh. “Yeah, well, you shouldn’t be the one apologizing. Even if you think it’s your duty as his girlfriend or something. He needs to learn how to apologize on his own. He won’t be getting far in life if he keeps relying on you like that. And, I admit, it was partly my fault. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I have a difficult time shutting up.”

Silence fills the air once more. Fortunately for Eddie, it’s less tense. Unfortunately for Eddie, he has decided to spend his most recent income for the sad girl in front of him.

“Come on. It’s time that we take our mind off things.” 

Eddie stands and walks around the table. He holds his hand out to Chrissy in a dramatic bow. 

“If you will m’lady.”

“Where are we going?” She asks as she takes his hand with a small laugh that warms Eddie’s heart.

“Somewhere free of stress."

Chapter Text

“I’m so stressed these days Robin! And all of it is because of those fucking kids. I mean I love them but I swear to God, they’re giving me gray hairs! I’m only 19! I’m not allowed to get gray hairs, Robin!” Steve complains, laying on the front counter of the Family Video.

“Mhm. Sounds fun.” Robin says mindlessly, sitting on the counter next to him while flipping through a magazine.

“Are you even listening?”

“Uh-huh, course.”

Steve groans and drops his head onto the counter.

The bell of the door jingles, both adults quickly getting off of the counter.

“Welcome to Family Video. How may we help you?” They say in unison. Steve takes in the strange and new faces.

Walking in is Eddie Munson and Chrissy Cunningham. Now Steve is confused. What the hell would Eddie “the Freak” Munson and Chrissy Cunningham, Queen of Hawkins High, be doing together walking into the Family Video? Not only were they together, but they both looked like shit. Eddie had a tissue against his very bloody nose. Chrissy, on the other hand, looked like she’d been crying for hours. Her nose was red and ruined makeup ran around her eyes and down her face. Eddie’s face contorted into a wide grin when he saw Steve at the counter. They walk past the counter and into the comedy section of the store. 

Steve looks back over at Robin who is frozen next to Steve, staring at Chrissy Cunningham. Of course she’s staring at Chrissy. Steve loves Robin to death, but if she isn’t the very definition of a lesbian disaster, he doesn’t know what is and he sure doesn’t want to find out. He has his hands full enough with Robin crushing on Vickie from band. He can help with that, he’s almost 100% sure that Vickie likes boobies! But Chrissy? There’s no way.

“Uh, earth to Robin.” Steve says, waving a hand in front of her face. She blinks a couple times and looks at Steve.

“Wha- what?”

“She’s off limits Rob. I hate to say it, but she and Jason Carver have been dating for like, ever, and now I’m pretty sure she and Munson have something going on. That’s two people who don’t have boobies.” Steve states while holding up two fingers. He’s making sure to keep an eye on the odd couple and make sure they’re out of earshot.

“No, no way is she and Eddie fucking. She’s definitely not his type. And I don’t think he would go for A) a cheerleader and B) one that’s dating his number one tormentor. Plus it looks like she’s been crying, and I may not know much on the subject, Steve, but I’m pretty sure you don’t start off an affair by crying your eyes out.” 

Steve rolls his eyes and leans back onto the counter. Robin walks away, arms crossed.

There’s absolutely no fucking way Eddie “ the Freak” Munson would be casually hanging out with Chrissy Cunningham . There’s just no logical explanation for it.

Steve hears a whistle, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“I know I’m pretty Harrington, but that doesn’t mean you have to stare.” Eddie says, his voice nassily from the tissue stuffed into his nose.

He’s in front of him with a grin on his face that makes Steve want to punch him. He aggravates him with that stupid, toothy grin on his face every single time he comes in. Eddie comes in so much, Steve swears it’s just to annoy him.

Steve rolls his eyes again.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Have you finally decided to bring back Rocky Horror? You owe us like 7 bucks for it.” 

He’s amused when Eddie’s smile falters for a second. Steve glances over to see where Robin went and finds her talking to Chrissy in the romance section.

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely get that back to ya next week.”

That’s a lie.

“I’m just renting out a couple movies for Chrissy and I.”

“Right, and when did you two start getting so friendly?” Steve asks, nodding towards Chrissy.

“Why, you jealous, Harrington?” Eddie asks. He leans forward into Steve’s personal space (as usual), and has that stupid fucking smile on his face.

“In your dreams, Munson.” Steve pushes off the counter. Chrissy and Robin walk over to the counter with a couple of tapes in hand. Robin walks behind the counter and Chrissy puts the tapes on the counter and starts to take her wallet out.

“Oh no no no,” Eddie pushes her wallet away, taking out his own. “This is my treat, darling.”

Steve rings them up. They got a couple of good selections: The Breakfast Club, Clue, Footloose, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and a couple of others. Steve holds up Grease .

“This one’s good, a classic. John Travolta’s great in it.” Steve comments as he finishes.

“Mhm, I’m sure you’d know all about John Travolta, Stevie . ”Eddie grins as he takes the tapes, Chrissy’s hand, and leads them to the door. He opens the door for Chrissy before winking at Steve as he walks out himself, black bandana swaying behind him.

A couple moments pass until Robin breaks the silence.

“ Stevie ?” 

Steve could practically hear her smiling behind him.

“I don’t fucking know. It’s not my job to figure out the mystery that is Eddie Munson.” Steve quickly says while turning around and heading to the restroom. And as he suspected, Robin is smiling almost as big as Eddie’s stupid smile.

Steve quickened his pace to the bathroom. Were his cheeks heating up? What the fuck is wrong with him? All he had on his mind was Eddie Munson. It was all just Eddie. Eddie’s big brown doe eyes. Eddie’s long fingers covered in jewelry, always tapping along to an imaginary beat. Eddie’s clothing, always having chains and a black bandana hanging from his pants; always having that stupid leather jacket and denim vest no matter what the weather was like. His long curly brown hair that looked as soft as clouds and always seemed to perfectly frame his face. And his smile. That stupid smile that never left his face when he was looking at Steve. Jesus, it aggravated Steve so much every single time he saw it. Steve always felt like his body was on fire whenever he saw that wide, toothy grin looking at him.

Seriously man. What the fuck is wrong with him? Why can’t he get Eddie Munson and that stupid fucking smile out of his head?

Chapter Text

The doors to Hawkins High burst open into the night sky.

“Holy Shit!!” Dustin cries out. “That was fucking amazing Eddie!”

“Yeah, yeah. Watch your language Henderson.” Eddie rubs the boy’s head.He walks behind them, watching his party celebrate and recount different parts of the campaign. Eddie’s grinning from ear to ear. He can’t help it. He has always loved watching them celebrate like the little gremlins they are.

After making sure that they get to their respectable rides, Eddie gets to his van parked in the poorly lit parking lot. Deborah Crosswell stood next to it, nervously waiting for him. She was dressed in her cheerleader outfit with a too-big sweater over top of it.

“Hey, you uh, you sure you wanna do this? We don’t have to make a deal.” Eddie asks the fidgeting figure.

“Yeah, um, yeah I’m sure. I-I need this,” She replies, walking around to the passenger seat. “Let’s just go.”

After a long, silent and awkward ride, Eddie pulls into the so-called driveway in front of his trailer.

“Here we are. Welcome to my humble abode,” He says whilst stepping out of the van. Eddie leads the way to the door and opens it with a dramatic bow, letting Deborah go in first.

She looks around the small space. Wayne’s hat and mug collection hung up on display as usual. Eddie starts clearing the counters of trash and rummages around for the Special K.

“Sorry for the mess, the maid took the week off.”

A couple moments of rummaging around pass. Eddie mumbles a couple of curses under his breath.

“Are uh, are you sure that you um… have it?” Deborah asks.

“Yeah, yeah I do. Just… Trying to remember where I put it.” Eddie picks at his lip in concentration on where he might’ve put it. He puts a finger up and spins around to head towards his room, “Hang on for a sec.”

“Sorry I’m late, sweetheart.” Eddie smiles as he walks across his room, lifting up the red and black speckled guitar hanging from his mirror. He kissed his hand and ran it across the strings, dropping the instrument back down before starting to look around his room.

He loves her with all of his heart. She’s his pride and joy. Just look at her, how could one not love her?

After a minute or two of making his messy room even messier, Eddie finds the small box he’d been looking for.

“Found it! Peaceful bliss, just moments away.” Eddie exclaims as he walks out of his room. “Uh, Deborah?” He slows to a stop.

She’s standing in the middle of his “living room”. That’s it, just standing there. Frozen.

“Hey Debby! Hello?” He calls in a sing-song voice, waving his hand in front of her and stepping closer. “Deborah!"

Eddie jumps forward, trying to scare her awake. Now that he’s closer, he can see her eyes rolled back in her head, the eyelids flicking up and down.

“Hey, Deborah. Wake up Debby. Hey, hello?” He snaps and waves in front of her face, stopping short when the lights around him start flickering. He grabs her shoulders, shaking them in an attempt to wake her up.

Eddie keeps shaking her shoulders. He’s begging for her to wake up; becoming more and more panicked as she stands frozen in the middle of the trailer. Then he notices it. His hands are rising. He looks down and steps back as Deborah’s feet leave the floor, rising higher and higher into the air.

“Eddie?”

The door to his trailer opens.

“What’s going on? Why are your lights-” Chrissy Cunningham stops short as she sees the scene playing out before her.

“Chrissy! I- I don’t know. I was just making a deal and she just- Shit!” Eddie screams, falling back; Deborah Crosswell’s stiff body shoots up, laying on the trailer’s ceiling.

Eddie scrambles up from the floor, stumbling towards Chrissy and the door.

“Wha- what do we do?” She cries out, eyes glued to her above them.

That’s when the first crack is heard.

Chrissy screams, hands covering her mouth in horror. Eddie grabs her, and covers her face in his chest. He stares in horror as more and more cracks ring out into the trailer. Each one coming with the horrifying scene of Deborah’s joints jutting out in awkward angles. Blood drips down from her rolled back eyes, her jaw cracking.

Then her eyelids close shut, following a squelching noise. The lights going back to normal.

Then the thump of the body.

It’s over as fast as it started.

Eddie stares at the deformed body in horror. Chrissy’s muffled cries being the only sound filling the air.

“C-come on.” Eddie gently starts moving Chrissy towards the open door, careful to not let her see the gruesome scene. “We-we need to go darling.”

As soon as the trailer door closes, he practically sprints to the beat up van. Chrissy follows suit and gets into the passenger seat.

The engine roars to life.

Eddie backs out and drives away from the trailer park in silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jesus Christ. What the fuck just happened?

Eddie’s knuckles are white from the grip he has on the wheel. He closes his eyes and shakes his head. The images of joints jutting out in awkward angles and the sound of cracks and screams haunting his mind.

God knows how long it’s been since they left. Eddie certainly doesn’t. His foot hasn’t left the gas pedal. He’s just trying to stay on the road at this point. Definitely breaking multiple road laws.

After a while he parks to the side of the road and turns off the car. They sit in silence, the only sounds coming from the woods around them.

“Now what…” Eddie fills the air with a voice that’s barely audible.

Christ , he’s shaking so much.

“I- I can take you home-”

“No,” Chrissy cuts him off. “No. I, I don’t want you… I don’t want to be alone.”

Fuck. He can’t let her come with him. There’s no way in hell it’ll be safe for him alone, nevermind with Chrissy.

“Chrissy, I-I have to take you home. They’re gonna think it was me. It was my trailer, an-and Wayne’s at work. He has an alibi. I don’t. I mean I was literally about to sell drugs to her! I’m going to have to run, skip town, something!” Eddie says, his breath running quick. His brain is feeding him all the possibilities. The articles. The rumors. The slurs.

“It’s not going to be safe and there’s no way I’m letting you get hurt. Besides, skipping town probably won’t even work once word gets out that I’m a fucking murderer! I-I’ll have to leave the country, get a new identity.”

“Eddie-”

“I mean running is what I’ve done all my life anyways! Why change now?”

“Eddie!” Chrissy’s broken voice breaks through his thoughts. “Stop, ok? You’re gonna be ok. We’re gonna figure this all out.”

“No no no. Not us . Me. I’m going to figure this out. And I’m going to do it alone. You are going to go home and just forget that you ever knew me.” Eddie turns the car back on, tears threatening to fall.

“Like hell I am! I’m staying with you, Eddie! I’m not letting you do this on your own.”

“Chrissy, no. I can’t ask you to do that.”

“It’s not a mother fucking question, Edison!”

Eddie quickly shuts up. It’s rare that you hear Chrissy Cunningham swear. Nevermind use his full name.

“I’m. Not. Leaving. You. Understood?” She asks with a shaky but firm voice. It really isn’t a question, so he quietly nods his head.

A few more moments pass..

“I uh, I think I know a place we can stay.” Eddie quietly says into the dark.

“We better get going then.”

Chapter Text

Robin pushes off of the poster they’re leaning up against. They really do totally and utterly suck when it comes to romance. Robin’s right, as usual. It would be easier if they just, combined.

“Ooh, I think I found our morning movie,” Robin gasps. She runs over to a movie shelf and picks up one of the tapes. “ Doctor Zhivago .”

“No, Robin. That’s a double VHS, you know I don’t do those.” Steve pushes off the wall, waving his hands around in a “no way” sort of motion.

“But it’s about doomed love!” Robin is basically hugging the film.

“Oh, well that’s relatable.” Steve mumbles, taking the cart of returns to put away. Ignoring his disapproval, as usual, she takes it around the counter and turns on the TV.

“ Breaking news. We are in the Forest Hill trailer park in east Roane County. We don’t have a lot of details now, but we can confirm that the body of a Hawkins High School student was discovered early this morning. Police have not yet released the name. Although we are told they’re currently in the process of notifying the family.

“Holy shit…” Steve had moved in front of the TV next to Robin.

“H-hold on. Wait,” Robin mutes the TV and turns to Steve, “doesn’t Eddie live in the trailer park? Has he mentioned a trailer? I’m pretty sure he has. Steve it can’t be him right? I mean they said that it was a high schooler, but Eddie’s like 30 and a third year senior. I-I mean that, like, barely counts as a high schooler, right?”

“He’s not 30, Rob. And either way I’m sure he’s fine. It was probably someone else”

Steve might barely know the guy, but he knows enough that Eddie doesn’t deserve half the shit that he gets. He never seemed like a bad guy, just…different. Charismatic in his own way. Robin has certainly taken a liking to him, a sort of mutual understanding that Steve has yet to decipher. They have a type of relationship that Steve longs for. He doesn’t think he could stand to see her heartbroken for him. God, he hopes it’s not Eddie. 

Robin’s consistent rambling already tells him how worried she is. Steve takes a deep breath  and mentally promises himself to keep a level head for her. There’s no way things could get much worse from here, right? 

The ring of the doorbell breaks Steve out of his thoughts.

“Steve!”

And it’s worse.

“How many phones do you have?” The little twerp demands.

“Are you seeing this shit? Someone died.” Steve completely ignores the question, pointing to the news cast.

“No, Steve, we have no idea about the murder that happened right across from Max’s place.”

“Murder?”

“How many phones?” Max asks again.

“Uh two. Why?”

“Three if you count Keith’s” Robin chimes in.

The red head nods at Dustin. He lifts his bag and throws it behind the counter. He follows it by sliding over the counter, knocking off a shit load of tapes and ignoring Steve and Robin’s protests. This kid seriously needs a lesson on manners. At least Max had the decency to walk around.

“What are you doing, man?” Steve asks. Dustin slides into the swivel chair and starts typing on the computer in front of it.

“Setting up base of operations.” Steve questions him again, and the kid sighs. “I need it for Eddie’s friends’ phone numbers.”

“Eddie? Is he ok?” Robin instantly pipes up at the mention of the metalhead. The two teenagers share a look.

“That’s um… to be determined.” Max replies. “He’s not dead. We’re pretty sure of that.”

“We at least know for sure that he isn’t who they found this morning.” Dustin adds. Awesome.

This is much worse than Steve first thought. They’re pretty sure he’s not dead. That’s not comforting whatsoever. And it’s clearly not for Robin, who’s now bouncing on her feet with a worried look in her eyes that are glued to Dustin’s frantic typing.

“Hey Rob, why don’t you clean up a bit?” Steve asks in a gentle voice, lightly touching her shoulder. She agrees and gets to work on picking up the tapes that Dustin knocked over. Steve figured she needed something to focus on besides Eddie’s maybe death.

“Henderson, what’s this all about?” Steve rounds back to the curly haired boy, hands placed on his hips and a firm expression on his face.

“You wanna fill them in?” He glances at Max. She takes a deep breath and looks at the two adults.

~~~~~~~~~~

Worse.

So much worse.

Flickering lights, a panicked Eddie and Chrissy, and a dead body the next morning? None of this is adding up to be good, nevermind normal.

“Guys, I might have a lead.” Max puts down the receiver with a click. Steve steps away from the door and leans on the front counter. The room’s attention is all on her.

She explains that Eddie gets his drugs from someone named Reever Rick and that he’ll sometimes crash there. Steve finally feels some hope blossom in his chest. It’s immediately crushed when they discover that absolutely no one knows where this Reever Rick lives. No last name, no address, no real confirmation that he actually exists.

“So then, no leads.” Steve comments with a sigh.

“Well, Steve, maybe if you spent less time trying to get a girlfriend and more time trying to find Eddie, we’d have a better lead!” The annoying mop of curls replies.

“I’m still at work, dipshit. Someone has to attend to the customers!” Steve brings his arm out and gestures around the store.

“Especially if they’re babes, right?” Robin pipes up.

“Ok, not fair. I attend to all our customers equally, babes and non-babes alike. We have a large selection here. Sometimes it’s super overwhelming for people.” Steve defends. Robin agrees with him, a smile slowly blooming on her face, which is never a good sign. She spins around and sits in the swivel chair in front of the computer and starts typing.

“Maybe we don’t need a last name.” She explains when Max questions her. Steve moves around the counter to look at the computer with everyone else. “Twelve Ricks have accounts here. So, let’s narrow it down.”

They go through each Rick and their movie selections until they get to one that they think could be their drug dealer. After going through a couple Ricks, they find a pretty good possibility. Rick Lipton. 2121 Holland Road. Near Lover’s Lake. The middle of nowhere. A.K.A, the perfect hiding place.

~~~~~~~~~~

After trying to convince Dustin to not go to Rick’s alone and wait until Robin and Steve’s shift was over and staring at the clock until the small hands said 8:30, the group finally piled in Steve’s car and drove to Rick Lipton’s house. 

They walk up to the door of the house and Dustin starts ringing the doorbell repeatedly. When that doesn’t work, he starts banging on the door. The small bit of hope inside Steve starts to die. He’s not here.

He’s not fucking here.

“Hey! Eddie? Rick? Reever Rick!’ Dustin calls out.

“Quiet down. And don’t scream a drug dealer’s name.” Steve scolds the boy, hitting him upside the head. Dustin, being the little lovable shit he is, ignores Steve completely and continues to scream through the door. In the corner of his eye, he sees Max and Robin walk off to the side of the house.

A few more minutes of Dustin’s yelling later, Max calls out to get their attention. They quickly go over to where she’s standing and follow her eyes to a metal shed on the lake. Steve prays that it holds who they need.

They get inside the building and start searching for any sign of Eddie. Steve takes an oar off the wall and starts poking at the tarp covered rowboat that’s suspended above the lake.

“What the hell are you doing?” Dustin questions.

“He might be in here.”

“So take off the tarp.”

“Well, if you’re so brave, you take off the tarp.”

The sound of the tarp moving with each poke and footsteps fill the shed.

“Hey, check this out.” Max calls out to Robin. She steps over to look over the girl’s shoulder. “Someone was here.”

“Maybe he heard us. Got spooked and ran.” Robin replies.

Christ, please say that didn’t happen.

“Don’t worry, Steve will get him with his oar.” The little shithead says.

“Look, I know you think you’re being funny, but considering everyone in this room has nearly died a hundred times,” He stops his poking to look at Dustin’s little smug ass face. “Personally, I don’t found it funny in the slightest-”

Without warning, a slender figure jumps out from under the tarp and pins Steve to the wall. A ringed hand is holding a broken beer bottle to his neck. Brown doe eyes glare into Steve’s, a protective sort of fear edging behind them.

Fuck.

Chapter Text

Chrissy stands up in the small boat after Eddie jumps out, gripping the baseball bat close to her chest. A commotion of shouts coming from the small group telling Eddie to stop. He has Steve Harrington pinned to the wall with the tip of a broken bottle to his neck.

“It’s me.” A boy with dark curly hair and a hat that reads Thinking Cap . Chrissy assumes that this is Dustin.

She has never met the Hellfire Club personally, but Eddie talks about them all the time. She would sit with them at lunch if Eddie didn’t insist that she eats with her own friends.

“But you are my friend Eddie.” She protested.

“Yes, but not the kind of friend that people would expect you to be hanging around. Besides, I think Jason would kick my ass even more if he ever saw us together.” He was smiling when he said that. He always does that. He’ll always say the most self-deprecating things as a joke. Always says them with a smile. Chrissy hated it.

“It’s Dustin.” The small boy continues. “This is Steve. He’s not gonna hurt you, right, Steve?”

“Y-yeah. C'mon man, you know me.” Steve quickly says. Eddie is looking back and forth from Steve to Dustin with frantic eyes.

“Steve, why don’t you drop the oar.” He does so. Eddie pushes into Steve a bit harder. “He’s cool. He’s cool Eddie.”

“Eddie…” Chrissy tries, her voice small.

“What are you doing here?” He ignores her.

“We’re looking for you! We’re here to help you Eddie. These-these are my friends. You know Robin, she's from band.” Dustin turns slightly to point to Robin. She taps her fingers on the flashlight she’s holding and imitates a small trumpet sound. Chrissy’s heart warms at the small noise. “And Max! The one who never wants to play DND. Eddie. We’re on your side. I swear on my mother’s life.” Dustin finishes. The other three agree to swearing on Dustin’s mother’s life.

“Eddie..” He flinches as Chrissy puts her hand on his shoulder. He quickly turns his head to look at her. Her heart sinks. Eddie’s eyes are panicked and sad, like he’s on the verge of tears. He just looks so… broken. 

“It’s ok. We can trust them.” She squeezes his shoulder in a hope to be comforting.

Eddie reluctantly pushes himself away from Steve, setting himself between the group and herself. Steve scrambles away from him as Dustin slowly steps forward. He tries reaching out to him, but stops when Eddie flinches away from him. Chrissy puts her hand in his.

“We wanna know what happened.” Robin says.

“You won’t believe us.” Eddie shakes his head. Voice broken.

“Try us.” The red head, Max, says.

Eddie explains everything that happened. From walking into the trailer, to Chrissy coming inside, to driving away in a rush. Horror behind every word. His big eyes far away, no doubt back at the trailer with flickering lights all around. Chrissy’s hand never left his as they were sitting on the edge of the small rowboat.

“I-I just…” He scoffs, leaving his sentence unfinished. He runs a hand over his face. “You all think I’m crazy, right?”

“No. We don’t think you’re crazy.” Dustin assures him, Max and Robin backing him up. “Listen what we’re about to tell you might be… difficult to take in. You know how people say that Hawkins is… cursed? They aren’t completely wrong.”

Dustin talks about another world, one beneath Hawkins. They explain how there are these… creatures in this world. Deadly creatures. This had apparently happened before. Multiple times, actually.

“Did either of you see dark particles floating around?” Dustin asks after a moment.

“Or like, a dark, swirling dust?” Max chimes in.

Chrissy shakes her head.

“No she was just. Frozen. In the air.” Chrissy says.

“It was like she was in some sort of trance.” Eddie adds.

“Like she was under a spell.” Dustin comments.

“A curse.” Eddies says, his eyes widening, something dawning on him.

“Vecna’s Curse.”

“A spellcaster.”

“A dark wizard.”

~~~~~~~~~

It’s the next morning when Eddie and Chrissy nearly get scared to death by the others  busting into the door with groceries. She tries not to laugh while Eddie glares at them, clearly tempted to strangle them.

They are back to sitting on the edge of the boat. Eddie is shoving Cheerios into his mouth as the others explain what’s going on in Hawkins.

“We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebo, and they’re definitely looking for you. And, they uh, they’re pretty convinced that you killed Deborah.”

“What?” Chrissy shoots up from her seat. Tears threaten to fall when her friend’s name is said. “Eddie wouldn’t murder anyone! He can barely kill a fly!”

“Hey, I-I wouldn’t say that.” He stammers in protest..

“We know he couldn’t, Chrissy.” Robin says, Eddie glares at her. “but like Dustin said, there’s good news. His name hasn’t gone public yet. But if we found out about you, then it’s only a matter of time before others do. And once that gets out, everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning it for you.”

“Hunt the freak, right?” Eddie asks, cursing when Robin agrees.

Well, this is bad. Really bad. It’s all because of this stupid town too. That’s the problem with Hawkins. They see one person that’s different from them and decide that they’d be able to willingly watch the light leave someone’s eyes. Just because they don’t like the same things that they do. Just because his only way of income is selling drugs because no one will hire him. Just because he lives in a trailer park with his uncle instead of his parents. Just because his dad decided to fall off the face of the Earth. They never stop to think that it isn’t his fault. They never wonder if he was just a sweet little kid who wanted a normal life with his parents. A little kid who just wanted to be himself. They never ask because if they are even seen talking to him without beating him up, they get called a freak. Chrissy was the only one who did it, and even then it took her years too.

“So, before that happens, we just need to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence.” Dustin says with a small smile on his face.

“That’s all we have to do? Really? That’s all, Dustin?” Eddie says, annoyance on his face.

“Uh, yeah, pretty much.”

Chrissy sees what he means when Eddie says that Dustin’s “a smug little shithead.”

“Look, guys, I know what Dustin’s saying sounds absolutely delusional and crazy, but we’ve actually all been through this before.” Robin comments.

“You have?” Chrissy asks.

“Yeah. I-I mean they have multiple times, but I have too once.” Robin confirms and waves her arms around as she talks. Chrissy thinks it’s kind of cute. “Mine was more human-flesh-based while theirs was more smoke-related, but bottom line is, collectively, I really feel we got this.”

Chrissy quietly agrees. She has a small smile on her face, matching Robin’s bigger one.

“Well, we usually relied on this girl with superpowers. But those went bye-bye so…” Steve explains.

“So we’re technically more in a… brainstorming phase. There… there’s nothing to worry about” They say, all contributing to the sentence bit by bit. Ending in a scoff from Steve. They all smile at them as Eddie fixes them with a concerned look.

It looks like he’s about to say something, but sirens cut him off. They all curse as Chrissy and Eddie are squished together under the tarp once again.

The others leave to follow the police car and ambulance, leaving Chrissy and Eddie alone for the next few hours. When they did come back, Nancy Wheeler was with them. She apparently was also involved in all this crap in the past. They also told them that Chrissy has been reported missing by her parents. The police were informed that she and Eddie have been seen together before and think that he kidnapped her. It’s all so absurd. If they knew Eddie, even a little bit, they’d know that he wouldn’t do any of this.

“You should’ve left me.” Eddie quietly says. He’s sitting with his back against the wall where he had pinned Steve a few hours earlier. The others have gone for the night.

“And leave you to deal with all of this shit on your own? I don’t think so.” She retaliates. There’s no way in hell she would ever leave Eddie to deal with all of this. Even if she knew from the start that it was because of some kind of weird, supernatural wizard dude.

“We shouldn’t even be friends…"

“What?” 

A knife stabs through Chrissy’s heart.

“We should’ve never been friends. It doesn’t even make any sense in the first place!” Eddie repeats himself, his voice starts to get louder. “You’re a cheerleader. Little miss perfect. The Queen of Hawkins High. Me? I’m a fucking freak! I’m a stupid, parentless, drop-out of a drug dealer who lives in a trailer park! Someone who has to shop at a fucking thrift store, Chrissy! Someone like me shouldn’t be around someone like you. You’re the best person to ever live in this stupid ass town. You live in a two-story house, you have the best grades in the school, you can be literally anyone’s friends, you’re cheer captain. You shouldn’t be hanging around someone who can’t go a single day without getting his ass kicked.”

Tears are falling down Eddie’s face. He looks down at his lap.

“I’m just a loser nerd who’s wanted for murder and has now been accused for kidnapping. Nothing’s good when it comes to me. Eventually it all just falls apart and it’s all my fucking fault.”

“It’s not your fault Eddie” He tries to protest but Chrissy doesn’t allow it. She gets up from where she’s sitting and goes to sit down next to Eddie. “None of this is your fault. You couldn’t have known that there was another entire world that contained dark wizards. It’s not your fault that you can’t get a job because people are too stupid in this town to realize that you are a good person even if you look like you might not be. This is Hawkins' fault and this Vecna person. Not yours.”

Eddie looks up at Chrissy.

“Why me?” He asks, voice quiet once again.

“What?”

“Why are you friends with me?”

Chrissy smiles and takes his hand.

"Well that's easy, dummy. By being friends with you, I get front row seats to all your shows." Eddie chuckles a bit.

"Of course that's why. How could I be so stupid." He throws his head back and puts the back of his hand on his forehead, sighing dramatically. "I am but a lonely bard, and I have been deceived by the queen herself!"

Chrissy starts laughing at his antics and joins in here and there. Honestly, she's just glad that he's back to his usual self. 

They sleep better that night.

~~~~~~~~~~

The two teenagers are sitting by the window when they hear a car pull up onto the gravel driveway. Eddie pokes his head up like a meerkat, just enough to see who it is. He curses as he ducks back down next to Chrissy.

"Who is it?" She asks.

A beat passes.

"Jason."

Shit

Of course. Of course it's Jason Carver. Chrissy should've known better. He still hadn't gotten over the breakup, and he sure as hell hasn't forgiven Eddie. Because of course it's Eddie's fault that she broke up with him. Of course it's Eddie's fault that Jason's a hypocritical asshat who likes to beat up anyone who isn't to his dumbass standards.

"They're going into the house." Eddie informs her, back at looking out the window.

Chrissy grabs the walkie that Dustin gave them and starts talking into it.

"Hey Dustin?"

No answer.

"Dustin? Robin?"

Nothing.

Eddie crawls over to her and grabs the walkie out of her hand.

"Hello? Remember us?" He says in a sing-song voice. "Dammit Henderson. Why don't you get your head out of your ass and answer us for christ sake!" He whisper-yells into the receiver.

"Eddie!" Chrissy scolds, taking the black box back.

He curses again and crawls back to the window, periodically looking through it. He's resembling a meerkat more and more.

A couple of hours pass, the jocks still haven't left the house. Eddie hasn't moved, except for checking out the window. Chrissy has moved to lay in the boat.

"Hey Eddie?" Chrissy asks into the quiet of the shed. The sun slowly disappearing from the windows, turning the room into a soft orange.

"Mhm?" He acknowledges.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Always darling."

She smiles at the pet name. Though, it quickly falls. She shouldn't do this. She shouldn't tell him. She isn’t even sure if it’s the truth. Like, yeah, she’s gotten some inklings of these feelings. Little moments here and there. But she’s not even sure if it’s right. If it’s even allowed. But given their current situation, she’s not even sure if it matters any more. Ever since she broke up with Jason and dragged Eddie away, she’s learned that nothing is as it seems. It’s not nearly as simple as everyone makes it out to be, all black and white.  Then again, the entire town thinks her best friend murdered a cheerleader and kidnapped their captain. So, what the hell, right?

"I… I think I like girls." Her voice is so quiet. Tears start rolling from her eyes into her hair.

"That makes one of us." He chuckles.

What?

What?

She quickly sits up, the tears changing direction and going down her cheeks.

“What?” She asks, her voice small and broken.

He looks away from the window and to her. The small grin quickly falls.

"What the fuck? Are you crying? Why the hell are you crying?" He panics and quickly crawls his way to her, knocking over anything in his path. He, ungracefully, climbs into the boat and grabs her face.

"You… you're…" She falters.

"Yes. I'm gay. Now what the fuck is wrong?"

Instead of a response, Eddie gets a giggle. The giggles turn into laughs.

Chrissy's bent over laughing as hard as she's ever laughed, arms across her stomach.

"What the fuck?" Eddie asks again. Chrissy looks up to see Eddie's face. He's smiling, but the amount of confusion on his face is humorous. Chrissy can't handle it. She bursts out laughing again.

"What is it? Is my face leaking too?" Eddie chuckles, touching his own cheeks. He lifts her face up to make her look at him. "Is my face ok? Please tell me it is. It's the only quality I have! It can't be ruined! I’ll have no chance against Harrington! He'll get all the babes, Chrissy. He'll be unstoppable!"

Chrissy falls backwards laughing again. Eddie continues his antics and shakes Chrissy’s knees together.

She doesn't remember the last time she was laughing till she felt like throwing up. And to think it would happen when she thought she could lose her (apparently queer) best friend by being queer herself.

Once her laughs have died down into giggles, Chrissy sits back up. Eddie is smiling a soft smile that she knows is reserved for her.

"Thank you for telling me darling."

"Would've saved me a panic attack if you told me first." She nudges his arm.

"Now that would've taken away all of the fun, Chrissy! Ya can't be queer and not have a panic attack." 

Chrissy rolls her eyes at this. 

"So… who's the lucky girl?" He says with a stupid, smug smile on his face.

"Oh shut up." She pushes his face away, her own turning red.

"Oh come on Chrissy!" He swats at her from arms length. Just like a little kid. "It's not everyday you find out that your best friend has a crush ." He sings the last word.

"I don't have a crush Eddie! I just… don't like boys as much… I don't think." She says the last part quietly, putting her arm back down.

Eddie sits up straighter and takes her hand. He's looking at her with an understanding look in his eye.

"I-I thought I loved Jason. But I've never felt like this before. I don't know, I just…" Chrissy looks down at her hands. "I thought I knew what love felt like but now I have no idea. I thought it was only me who didn't feel butterflies like other girls did. But now I feel them every time I look at her." Chrissy smiles picturing a tall girl with grown out bobbed, brown hair, her hands fidgeting as she rambles on about a movie.

"I'm just so confused." She folds herself in half and puts her head in her hands.

"Well… I might be able to help if you tell me who it is." Chrissy looks up and groans as she sees Eddie smiling at her like the doofus he is.

"Don't make fun of me?"

"Never darling."

"It's Robin." Chrissy sighs and puts her head back in her hands.

Eddie laughs.

"You said you weren't gonna make fun of me!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm not making fun of you, I promise. I just can't believe that it's Buckley. Out of everyone, a fucking band geek who works at Family Video is your gay awakening."

"Oh, like you have room to talk!" Chrissy sits up.

"And exactly what is that supposed to mean?" Eddie asks with a gasp and holding his hands over his heart.

"Don't try to pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about. I have eyes, Munson! I see how you look at Steve!"

Now it's Chrissy's turn to smile as Eddie turns red.

"Uncalled for Cunningham. Not cool." His face turns serious as he points at her. She giggles, making him break into a smile.

He shakes his head and stands up and goes over to look out into the now darkness. He quickly dips down

"Shit."

He looks around frantically. Finally, he gets up and starts lowering the boat into the water. With Chrissy still in it.

"What are you doing?" She questions.

"We're leaving. Jason saw me."

Chrissy's heart drops.

Once the boat has been lowered, Eddie starts throwing some of their stuff into it. Eventually, he jumps in himself and pushes them out.

With the singular oar they have, Eddie is slowly rowing them while Chrissy stays as a look out.

“Uh, Eddie?” Chrissy pats the curly haired boy to get his attention.

“HEY FREAK!”

“Fuck.” Eddie turns around.

They watch as Jason and Patrick start stripping their suits. Eddie scrambles in front of Chrissy, pushing her back onto her hands, to try and start the motor. “Eddie, they're in the water!”

Eddie curses as he smacks the hell out of the motor, failing to turn it on. He pushes back past Chrissy and picks up the oar to start rowing again.

“Eddie hurry up!”

“I don’t know if you noticed, Chrissy, but it’s kind of hard to row a boat with one fucking oar!”

Patrick suddenly stops swimming, and treds water while looking around. Jason stops as well, looking back at Patrick. “Patrick? C’mon, we almost got them.” Jason tries to get his attention.

No response.

“Patrick?” He asks once more.

Chrissy gasps as Patrick gets yanked under the water. It feels as though all the air from the world disappeared at that moment.

Patrick shoots back up from the water. Chrissy screams. Jason stares. And Eddie steps back and accidentally falls out of the boat. She holds on to the edge of the boat to steady herself. She wants to look back, make sure that Eddie’s ok, but her eyes are glued to the body hovering above them.

Crack .

Chrissy stares at the horror playing out in front of her. Bit by bit, Patrick’s limbs break. 

Crack.

His arm bends back.

Crack, Crack.

Both legs break suddenly. His face is facing the sky as his jaw cracks and pops out of its place. After another moment, almost as quickly as it had happened, Patrick drops back into the water. 

Splash.

Chrissy stands up in the boat to find Jason looking at her.

“Please.” He says, voice broken and desperate. “Y-you don’t have to go with him. You don’t need to be manipulated anymore.”

Chrissy takes in a small inhale.

“Just. P-please. Chrissy please. Just come with me. You can be saved babe. I-I can save you. Just…” He goes quiet.

“I can’t.” She says, voice quiet.

“Yes you can! Please.” He begs.

“I can’t leave him. It’s my choice Jason.”

And with that she turns around and jumps into the water. Leaving the jock to go after the freak.

She can’t leave him now. How could she when she’s just like him?

Chrissy Cunningham is a freak.

Chapter Text

Eddie Munson gasps for breath as he stumbles onto the shore of Lover’s Lake.

“Shit! Shit shit shit!” He curses, kicking some rocks around. He rubs his face with a sigh. He looks back to the black lake.

Fuck.

Chrissy.

He left Chrissy behind. He fell out and just swam away, leaving her with Jason and a deformed body.

“Fuckfuckfuckfuck.” Eddie grabs his hair in frustration. “Fucking, shitballs!”

He can’t believe himself. He left his only true friend behind with a dead fucking body and her crazy ass ex in the middle of a fucking lake. After she’d rather be considered missing than leave him alone, and Eddie just fucking up and left.

He truly is a terrible person.

Eddie deserves this. All of this. He deserves to be forced on the run. He deserves to be wanted for murder. What he doesn’t deserve is Chrissy. He doesn’t deserve to be best friends with the cheer captain. Someone who holds a special place in everyone’s heart, whether they’re a freak or not.  Honestly, her status in school didn’t even matter. She was a genuinely good person, her heart is pure fucking golden. She doesn’t deserve this. She shouldn’t have had to be involved with all of this in the first place if it wasn’t for him. She had the perfect life until Eddie came along and fucked it all up. She had the perfect parents, the perfect grades, the perfect friends. Everything was perfect.

A splash of water is heard behind him.

Eddie spins around to see a small figure treading water a couple feet away from the shore line. He steps a bit closer to get a better look.

Chrissy.

He drops to his knees, tears running down his already soaked face.

She’s here.

“Eddie!” She gasps as she scrambles onto shore, much more graceful than himself just a few minutes earlier.

The cheerleader runs and drops to her knees in front of him. She wraps her arms around his torso and pulls him into a hug. He doesn’t hug back, he just sits there sobbing into her shoulder.

“Oh thank goodness you’re ok.” She says, petting his hair.

“Why?” He gasps into her shoulder.

He doesn’t get it.

Why is she here? Why would she ever want to be near him again?

“What?” She asks, moving to look at his face.

He doesn’t look back. Instead his eyes fall onto his lap, unable to look her in the eye.

“Why are you here?” He quietly asks between sobs.

He looks up to see her smiling, his cries subsiding. It’s a small smile. One that anyone would be lucky to witness. So why is it directed towards Eddie? What has he done to deserve to see such a beautiful thing? All that he’s done is cause pain. He causes pain for those around him, and he runs away. That’s it. That’s all he’s good for.

So why? Why is she still here, even after all the pain that he has caused her? Why is she here when it’s his fault that the world thinks she’s missing? And why would she smile? What is there to smile about?

“I’m not leaving you Eddie. I’m never going to leave your side.” She answers. “It’s like you always say. Us freaks need to stick together.”

Eddie breaks back into sobs. He hugs her tighter than he’s ever hugged anyone, and she returns it. They sat there for a long while, simply holding each other tight.

He really doesn’t deserve any of this.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Did I ever tell you how Jason and I started dating?” Chrissy asks.

Once they were ready to leave, the high schoolers had made their way to Skull Rock. It was the closest landmark that the others would know.

“Uh, no, I uh, I don’t think so.” Eddie answers. They were laying under the rock structure in the dark. Chrissy’s head on Eddie’s stomach. They were holding hands, unable to fully let each other go.

“Well, we were in middle school, around the same time as the talent show.” She starts with a smile that quickly fades away. “It was a couple days after it I think. Anyway, all of his friends had hyped him up, saying that there was no way that I didn’t like him and stuff like that. My friends were saying the same. And he eventually asked… I think I felt obligated to say yes. Course, it didn’t help that he did it in front of everyone. But even without that, it felt like I had to do it. I was the cheerleader and he was the jock. We were just meant to be.”

He would be caught dead before he admitted this, but Eddie felt the same. He was gonna be the high school dropout. The forever drug dealer that lives in a trailer park and eventually ends up in prison.

Just like his old man.

He didn’t want it. He never did. But it’s not like he has much of a choice now.

It was his destiny.

And if he’s ever learned anything, it’s that you can’t change destiny.

“I don’t think I ever even loved him. Not like that at least. I was just doing what I was supposed to do. Just like everything else. I was supposed to love the captain of the basketball team. I was supposed to be cheer captain. I was supposed to be top of my class. I was supposed to look perfect…” She trails off.

Her voice was a mixer of sadness and anger. A specific mixer that Eddie couldn’t quite decipher.

They sit in silence for a little while.

“It was like my relationship had to seem perfect like everything else. I’m Chrissy Cunningham, the Queen of Hawkins High. I have to have the perfect life.”

“I messed it all up didn’t I?” Eddie asks, voice quiet. “I messed up your perfect life just like everything else I touch.”

Tears start building up behind his eyes again. He couldn’t take it. He couldn’t take being the reason why Chrissy’s entire life was upended.

She quickly sits up and looks at him.

“No, you didn’t. My life was messed up long before I met you.”

Her eyes drift off.

“What do you mean?” Eddie asks, his voice barely audible.

“I… I’m terrified of my mother. I’m scared to make her mad. Scared to mess even one tiny thing up. I can’t even drop a pompom because she’ll yell and scream at me for it. Because she has yelled at me for it. I can barely eat in front of her. She’s always… lecturing me about my weight.” She crosses her arms across her stomach.

Oh.

So that’s what that means.

“It’s always “Chrissy don’t eat this, don’t eat that.” I don’t even know when the last time I had a singular fry was! She’s always sewing my uniform to be tighter and more “fitting”” She puts up air quotes with the last word. “She never asks what I want. She never cares and it’s not like I can go to my dad. He can never talk back to her. He always takes her side.”

“So what I’m hearing is that I need to take you out to dinner.” Eddie lightly nudges her arm. Her laugh warms his heart once again.“You going soft on me, Munson?”

“Never, darling.”

She lies back down, head on his stomach.

A few minutes of silence pass.

“You’re perfect.” Eddie says into the slow sunrise.

“What?”

“You’re perfect. Even if you don’t have the perfect parents or the perfect boyfriend, you’re perfect yourself. It makes up for all of the little imperfections. You’re like, fucking, Princess Leia! Beautiful, smart, a fucking badass. God knows why you’d hang with someone like me.”

Eddie says that last part to himself. He thought he was quiet, but apparently he wasn’t quiet enough.

Chrissy sits up and looks at him, still holding his hand.

“Eddie, you’re perfect too ya know.”

Eddie snorts at that.

“Like hell I am, the only perfect thing about me is my hair and even that’s a mess.” With his free hand, he lifts up a lock of curly hair filled with leaves, shakes it a bit, then drops it back down.

“Now that’s just bullshit.” Chrissy says matter-of-factly. “You have the perfect face, the perfect style, the perfect friends, if I do say so myself. You have the perfect crush .”

“Oh, would you shut up about that?” He covers his face in embarrassment, letting go of her hand.

She lays back down with a giggle. He instantly returns his hand, letting the familiar comfort of the small, warm hand in his take over his body, letting him relax just a little bit.

They lay like that until the sun comes up.

~~~~~~~~~

“Bada bing, bada boom. There she is, Henderson! Skull Rock.” Steve exclaims while pushing through the bushes. “In your face man. In your stupid, cocky, little face.”

Steve keeps walking towards the rock structure, everyone else following his path through the bushes.

“Doesn’t make sense.” Dustin says, looking back and forth from the rocks and his compass.

“Yeah, yeah. Even with it staring at you in the face, you can’t admit it. Can’t admit you’re wrong, you little butthead.” Steve puts both of his hands on his hips while staring up at the rocks in triumph.

Eddie smiles as he jumps down behind them.

“I concur. You, Dustin Henderson, are a total butthead.” He says with a sigh. He smiles as the small boy hugs him.

“Jesus. We thought you were a goner.” He says into his hair.

“Me too, man. Me too.” Eddie pats his back.

“Um, Eddie? A little help.” He turns around to see Chrissy carefully sitting atop the rock he just jumped down from.

He had insisted that they sat up there as soon as they heard footsteps. Eddie steps forward and reaches out, grabbing Chrissy’s hand and waist as she hops down.

Eddie lets her go and walks over to their stuff, squatting down and grabbing their water.

“We uh, tried calling you guys when we got to shore but,” He takes a swig. “The walkie was busted, man. Drenched. So we uh, we ran.” He chuckles.

It seems like that’s all Eddie does now. Runs. He guesses that’s all that he’s ever done. Except now, he has Chrissy. He notices Steve jerking his head to the left, a confused look on his face as he looks through the forest.

“Wait, so, do you know what time this was? The attack?” Wheeler asks, Dustin pacing back and forth behind her. Eddie ignores the king and focuses on the princess.

“Oh yeah, I uh, I know exactly what time it was. The walkie wasn’t the only thing that got soaked.” Eddie says while taking off the black watch that Wayne got him and tossing it over to Nancy. 

“9:27.” She reads.

“Same time our flashlights went kablooey.” Robin says.

“Which means what?” Harrington asks. The previous confusion was nowhere to be seen.

“That that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick.” Nancy answers.

“One step closer then.” Robin says. “Now we know how Vecna attacks.”

“And where he attacks from.” Lucas chimes in.

“Now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart.” Red says grimly.

Eddie loses focus in the conversation about… vampires? When did vampires come into all of this? Dustin captures his gaze with his pacing back and forth behind the group, eyes glued to his compass.

“Hey uh, Henderson’s not, uh, cursed, is he?” Eddie asks after a couple minutes, head turning to Steve as he talks.

“Cursed? No, no, he’s fine. Mental? Absolutely.”

As if on cue, the curly haired twerp yells out, startling everyone.

“BOOM!”

He turns around and points at the group, slowly walking forward.

“Bada… Bada… Boom. I was right. Skull Rock was north.”

Steve groans and rolls his eyes.

“Serious? You’re serious? This is Skull Rock.” Steve explains, gesturing towards the large structure above Eddie. Dustin agrees.

“You’re totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now.” Steve points to the ground with the last sentence.

“Yes. And no.”

“Oh my God.” Steve rubs his face. He looks like he’s about to strangle the boy, wincing ever so slightly.

“This worked correctly when we left the Wheelers’.” Dustin holds up the small compass that he’d been carrying. “Correct when we got in the car on Curly. But it started to slip the further east we went. And now, it’s way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn’t wrong. The compass was.”

Dustin finishes his small explanation looking a little proud of himself. No one else knew what he was trying to say.

“So you’re using faulty equipment. You’re still wrong!” Steve exclaims.

“Except, it isn’t faulty.” Dustin has a smug smile on his face. He points to his friend. “Lucas, remember what can affect a compass?”

“An electromagnetic field.” Lucas answers, realization dawning on him. Dustin agrees, looking back at the rest of the group. Clearly no one else understood, Eddie included.

“Sorry I must’ve missed that class.” Robin says.

“In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power. So either there’s a super big magnet around here, or…”

“There’s a gate.” Lucas finishes.

Eddie is still very confused. He glances over to Chrissy who looks equally confused.

“But we’re nowhere near the lab.” Nancy points out.

The lab? Eddie and Chrissy share a look. Neither of them knows what’s going on.

“But what if there was another gate? A gate that we don’t know about. It’d have to be smaller and way less powerful.” Dustin explains.

“A snack-size gate.” Robin adds.

“Why? How?” Steve chimes in.

“I don’t know. All I know is that something is causing this disturbance, and last time we’ve seen something like it, it was a gate. And I hope to God that it is because then we have a way to Vecna. And a shot at freeing Max from his curse.”

As soon as his explanation is finished, he smiles, turns around, and starts to walk away. He only stops when Steve starts yelling at him.

“Hey, hey hey, where are you going? Chrissy is missing and Eddie is still a wanted man, we can’t just go for a hike in the woods.” Steve waves one of his arms around, the other on his hip. Eddie gets why Dustin calls him the mother of the group.

“Steve. This little steel capsule could be the key to saving Max, Eddie, and Chrissy.” Dustin gestures towards the two. “What say you, Eddie the Banished, Chrissy the Kind?”

Everyone is looking at them, awaiting their answer. Neither of them say a word. Eddie looks towards Chrissy, finding her already looking back at him.

She smiles.

It’s a small smile, but not like the one from the night prior. This one is tinged with a sadness. An understanding sadness. This is what has to be done. No matter what.

“I say you’re asking us to follow you into Mordor, which, if I'm totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea.” Eddie looks to the sky. “But uh, the shire… the shire is burning.”

He looks back to Chrissy for confirmation.

She nods.

He stands to his feet as he declares.

“So Mordor it is.”

He starts walking when he hears Steve mumble, “What the fuck is a Mordor?”

Is he fucking serious?

Eddie stops and looks at Steve for a second.

“What?” The other boy asks, as if Eddie’s being the weird one.

The older boy just scoffs and shakes his head in disbelief.

He swears to God that if they ever survive this, the first thing he’s doing is forcing Harrington to read The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings. Then he’s fixing the man’s music taste.

~~~~~~~~~~

The group continued walking long after the sun went down and the moon came up, only stopping when they finally hit something. Unfortunately that ‘something’ was water.

“Whoa whoa whoa. Watch yourself there Henderson.” Eddie warns while putting his arm in front of the boy, stopping him from walking right into the abyss that is Lover’s Lake.

“You’ve gotta be shitting me.” Steve sighs.

“I had a feeling I recognized these woods.” Robin comments behind him.

“There’s a gate in Lover’s Lake?” Max asks.

“Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening. Maybe Vecna’s the same way.” Nancy says, looking away from the lake and at the group.

“One way to find out, right?” Steve says.

This sure will be interesting.

After a little while more of finding Rick’s small rowboat and getting the right supplies to bring along, the two older boys help Nancy, Robin, and Chrissy into the boat. Eddie follows them and sits next to Nancy and across from Chrissy.

“Hey, you trying to sink us? 4 people, max.” Steve says when Dustin tries to follow Eddie into the boat.

“Just stay here with Max.” Nancy instructs.

“That’s bullshit!” Eddie notices Steve’s hand twitching when ‘bullshit’ is said. “It’s my goddamn theory!”

“You heard Nance.” Robin says, nodding towards her friend.

“Who in hell put her in charge?” He demands.

“I did.”

God Eddie loves Robin.

“Compass.” Nancy puts her hand out expectantly. Dustin reluctantly hands it over with a pout.

Steve tosses Eddie’s backpack to Dustin before pushing the boat out and hopping in.

“You said 4!” Dustin accuses. Steve gives him an apologetic shrug in response as they row out farther into the lake.

“Bedtime at 9 kiddos!” Robin calls out. She stands up waving, “Miss you already!”

Chrissy giggles, stopping and looking down at her lap, face red when Eddie gives her A Look.

They get a good distance away from shore when the compass starts going crazy. Chrissy radios in their discovery.

For whatever reason, Steve starts stripping his clothes.

“Steve, what are you doing?” Nancy asks, looking at him questionably.

“Someone’s gotta go and check this thing out.” Steve says in a ‘duh’ tone of voice. “Unless one of you four can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and certified lifeguard for three years, then, it’s gotta be me, alright? No complaints?”

“Hey, I’m not complaining. I do not want to go down there.” Eddie states, looking into the water around them.

“Really?” Chrissy gives him a look.

“What? I don’t.”

As the taller boy continues to strip, Eddie takes a plastic bag out of his jacket and wraps the flashlight around it. Basically just doing anything that’ll keep him from looking at a shirtless Steve. He only looks up to give Steve the flashlight, making a point to only look at his face. Steve tosses Eddie his shirt, who busies himself by bundling it up in his lap. He takes the cigarette that fell out of the bag and goes to light it in his mouth.

“Gross.” Robin says, plucking it out of his mouth and tossing it into the water.

“I keep trying to get him to quit.” Chrissy comments.

Eddie puts his hands up in defense.

“I’m feeling a little attacked here.”

“Good.” Chrissy happily says with a smile.

They turn their attention back to Steve. He gives them one last look before diving into the water, making Eddie’s heart skip a beat.

The last four sit there waiting. Waiting a little too long for Eddie’s taste.

“He’s gonna be fine right?” Chrissy asks, fidgeting with the sleeve of her sweater. Eddie has learned to know that she always does that when she’s anxious.

“It’s fine. He’ll be fine.” Robin says, her voice filled with worry for her friend. She puts her hand over Chrissy’s, making the blonde blush. “Nance, how long has it been?”

“Closing in on a minute.” She answers.

They wait for what feels like an eternity. Eddie prays to whatever the fuck is out there that Steve comes back, preferably alive.

Steve gasps for air and makes everyone jump at the sudden movement.

“I found it.” He says once he caught his breath. He swims forward and grabs onto the edge of the boat.

“You found it?” Robin exclaims.

“Yeah, yeah I found it.”

Chrissy radios the kids again to update them.

“It’s actually pretty wild.” Steve continues. “It’s more like a snack-size gate than the mama gate, but still, it’s pretty damn big-”

He’s pulled under.

Shit.

Steve’s head comes back up, gasping for air and looking down at the water confused. The confusion deepens as he looks up at them.

He goes under again.

Shit.

They all scream, trying to reach for him, but it’s too late. They can’t grab him.

Nancy stands up and gets ready to dive in after him. Eddie stops her.

“Wait, you aren’t about to go in there, are you?”

She looks between him and the water before speaking.

“Just… Just wait here, ok?”

She dives in after Steve while Robin calls after her. She turns around and sits on the edge of the boat with a deep breath.

“No, no no no. Robin you can’t. She said to wait.” Chrissy says.

“Yeah, I heard her.” Robin responds.

“She’s in charge.” Eddie points at her with a nervous smile.

“Are you kidding me?” She says with a smile. “I made that shit up.”

And with that, Robin lifts her hand, holding her nose and tilts back into the water.

“Shit!” Eddie yells. Chrissy is breathing quick, staring where Robin once was.

She stands up and glances at Eddie.

“No, no no no no. Not you too Cunningham!” He points at her with a stern look.

"Into Mordor, right?"

She dives.

“God… dammit! ” He screams. “Son of a bitch!”

Jesus Christ. Why is he friends with these people? Why do his friends have to be such heroes? Or maybe it’s him. Why isn’t he a hero?

Shit.

“This is stupid. This is so stupid. Shit shitshitshitshitshit.”

Sploosh.

Chapter Text

Steve’s body thrashes around as he’s dragged through the pulsing portal and across the rough ground of the Upside Down. He gets thrown aside against a small barricade of vines.

He sits up, staring at the horrifyingly beautiful world before him. A large, empty space, covered in vines surrounds him. It almost looks like Lover’s Lake except… dry. The leafless woods of Hawkins created an outline of the lake. Steve stands up, staring at the dark clouds covering the sky, red lightning periodically streaking across.

A flash of red reveals something.

Something small.

Steve steps back as it gets bigger and bigger. A loud demonic screeching comes from the small creature.

His head jerks to his side as he hears another screech.

Another creature.

He looks to the opposite side.

Another.

Two clock chimes ring out from the dark, foggy landscape.

Fuck.

Steve turns around and falls into a sprint away from the demo.. Bird? Who knows, but whatever they are, they’re part of this world and probably want to kill him.

He runs faster than he’s ever ran before, trying to get as far away as possible.

But it's not enough. It’d never be enough.

Steve gasps for air as he’s knocked down by one of the small creatures. It wraps its long tail around his neck and pulls tight. He grabs and claws at the small body, trying to get any air that he can.

Screams of agony fill the dark world.

Three of the bat-like things had settled at his side, biting into his skin. His struggles start to lessen as they consume his flesh.

It seems useless to even try. Even if it’s not real.

More dig in.

No one can help him anyways. They don’t have anything that can help him.

Maybe it’s good that he’s dying, they don’t need him anymore anyways. No one does.

His parents only see him for his name, Nancy has Jonathan, the kids have each other, and Robin…

Robin has Eddie, right?

Over the past couple months, she and Eddie have gotten close. Steve would always find them whispering to themselves in a corner at the video store. Laughing and smiling. It’s a kind of relationship that Steve longs for. An understanding between them that no one else can decipher. This is for the greater good… right?

Steve is broken from his thoughts as four figures appear above him, one of them hitting a bat off of him.

What?

Nancy uses an oar to hit the other bats eating him off, then moving to the one around his neck.

“Hold it down!” She demands Robin, who steps on part of the creature's tail. She repeatedly stabs at the bat.

He hears Chrissy somewhere near his feet call Eddie’s name. He looks down as much as he can to see the metalhead hit a bat into the sky using the other oar. The rings on his fingers glinting in the dark world and his dark, wet curls move with the motion. His attention is instantly taken by Robin’s cry.

His stomach drops.

One of the bats had landed on Nancy’s back, Robin grabbing its tail trying to yank it off.

With his new motivation, Steve is able to unravel the tail around his neck. He holds onto the leathery skin as he stands up.

He turns and brings his arms down, throwing the bat into the ground. Still holding on, he turns to his other side and does the same. Repeating the process multiple times, he steps on the creature’s body and pulls its tail with all his might.

A fleshy rip is heard as the bat’s body is torn in two.

“Jesus. Jesus H. Christ!” Eddie yells, slamming down the piece of wood. Steve sees Chrissy put a comforting hand on Eddie.

“Steve, are you ok?” He turns towards the voice to be met with Nancy’s hands on his shoulders. She looks over his body. He looks down at his own stomach, grimacing at the damage.

It’s real.

“Well, they took about a pound of flesh. But besides that, yeah, never been better.” He looks up and meets Nancy’s brown doe eyes. They remind him of Eddie’s.

“Um, you guys don’t think these bats have, like, rabies?” Robin asks in a shaking voice. She’s crouched down and poking at one of the fuckers.

“What?” Steve asks. She stands up and fully faces them.

“It’s just that rabies are, like, my number one greatest fear. And I think we need to get you to a doctor soon because once symptoms have set in, it’s too late. You’re already dead.”

Steve is about to retort when an all too familiar screeching fills his ears. They all turn their heads to the sound to see a couple more bats coming towards them.

“There’s only a couple, we can take them, right?” Eddie says. They all move a bit closer together.

Another flash of lightning reveals just a few more than a couple. Instead of about 5 bats, there’s 20.

“Spoke too soon.” Chrissy comments.

“The woods.” Steve commands.

No one moves.

They’re all frozen, staring at the leather creatures hurling towards them.

“RUN! NOW!” Steve yells.

That gets them going.

The group starts running to the tree line as fast as they can.

Steve notices Eddie grab Chrissy’s hand as they run.

His stomach flips.

Why does that happen? Whenever he sees Eddie and Chrissy do something even a little coupley, his stomach feels weird. Last time he felt this, it was when Nancy and Jonathan first started dating. When he was still in love with her…

Shit.

Did he like Chrissy?

No, no way. There’s no way that could be the case. He wouldn’t let it be the case. Robin likes her and he’s pretty damn sure that Chrissy and Eddie are dating, so she’s extra off limits.

Steve puts this problem out of his mind, resolving to figure it out when they all aren’t running for their lives.

After a couple more minutes of running, they make it to the Upside Down version of Skull Rock, the bat-like creatures screeching overhead as they all crouch down under the rock structure. They all stand up as the screeching quiets.

“I-I think they’re gone.” Chrissy says.

“Yeah, that was close,” Robin comments.

Steve sees Eddie’s mouth moving.

What’s he saying?

It’s all a little… fuzzy.

Now that he thinks about it, the whole world seems a bit fuzzy. Maybe that was just an Upside Down thing.

He attempts a step forward.

Nope.

Not an Upside Down.

“Steve! Are you ok?” Nancy asks, rushing to his side as he leans against the rock.

“I’m fine. I’m fine.” He assures.

He is fine. He’s perfectly fine.

Right?

“No, you’re not, You’re losing a lot of blood.” Nancy helps him down to the ground. She starts ripping part of her shirt.

Chrissy and Eddie stay back, Chrissy holding on to Eddie’s arm like he’ll disappear if she doesn’t. Maybe he will. Who the fuck knows.

Robin squats down next to him and starts rambling, because of course she does.

“So the good news is I’m pretty sure that wooziness is not a common symptom of rabies. But, um, If you start having hallucinations or muscle spasms, or you start feeling really aggressive, like, like if you wanna punch me or something, then you should totally let me know, ok?”

“Robin.” Steve stops her. “I kinda wanna punch you.”

She laughs a humorless laugh.

“Sense of humor is still intact. That’s a good sign.”

Robin gets up and slowly walks away as Nancy lifts the piece of cloth. He sits up so that he isn’t leaning against the rock.

“You ready?” She asks.

“Yeah. Just do it.”

She wraps the cloth around his stomach.

And Jesus Christ, does it feel like hell. It feels like his stomach is on fire.

He gently sits back.

Their eyes meet as Nancy ties the remaining cloth together. She gives him a small smile as she finishes. It’s a look that Steve’s familiar with.

It’s not quite the same. Definitely not with everything that has happened since he last saw that smile. It’s not as genuine as it once was.

“Eddie, maybe you shouldn’t…” They break away at the sound of Chrissy’s voice.

Steve turns his head to the sound and, Jesus, fucking, Christ.

Atop one of the rocks is Eddie Munson.

This dude seriously thinks that climbing a big structure after they were just hiding from flying killer bats was a good idea?

“So uh… this place is like Hawkins, but with monsters and nasty shit?” He asks.

“Pretty much.” Nancy quickly replies as she helps Steve to his feet.

Eddie nods his head and takes a couple steps forward to jump off when Nancy stops him.

“Wait, watch out for the vines. It’s all a hive mind.”

“A what?” Eddie asks.

“All the creepy crawlies around here. They’re like, one or something. Step on a vine, you’re stepping on a bat, a dog, Vecna.”

The older boy curses as he carefully tries to get down from the rock.

“A dog?” Chrissy asks. Steve waves her off in a “don’t worry about it” motion.

“But everything from our world is still here, right? Except people, obviously?” Robin asks.

“As far as I understand it, yes.” Nancy confirms. 

“So, theoretically,” Robin waves her arm around as she speaks. “We could go to the police station and steal guns and grenades, and whatever we need to blow up those bat things that are guarding the gate.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but I highly doubt the Hawkins PD has grenades, Robin. But, um, guns, yeah, sure.” Steve agrees, Robin nodding along.

“Well, we don’t have to go all the way downtown for guns. I have guns… in my bedroom.” Nancy chimes in.

Steve should’ve guessed that. Nancy’s the badass, why wouldn’t she have guns? They went through this whole thing, what, three times? She has guns for the same reason Steve keeps Lucille in his car. 

Eddie hops to the grassy floor.

“You, Nancy Wheeler, have guns, plural, in your bedroom?”

“Full of surprises, isn’t she?” Robin motions her arm towards the shorter girl.

“A Russian Makarov and a revolver.” Nancy says.

Steve’s hand twitches.

Fucking Russians.

“You almost shot me with that one.” He says that instead of dwelling on his trauma, stepping up next to Nancy.

“Well, you almost deserved it.” 

They make eye contact and she smiles at him.

Steve realizes just how much he missed her.

How much he missed her smile, her witty comebacks, her brown doe eyes. Just all of it. He missed all of it.

The small moment is ruined when a denim jacket hits Steve in the face. It smells of sweat, dirt, and cigarettes. He realizes that it’s Eddie’s.

“It’s for your modesty, dude.”

His stomach flips, but differently than it had before.

Then, it seems as if the world before them tries to do the same.

An earthquake forces Steve back. He instinctively grabs for Nancy, making sure that she’s stable.

He sees Eddie do the same to Chrissy.

Robin, being as graceful as she is, stumbles and falls right into Chrissy and Eddie, forcing them all to the ground.

Monsters snarl and growl as the shaking subsides.

“So, yeah, guns seem like a pretty good idea to me.” Eddie quickly says, a fear-filled urgency in his voice. Robin and Chrissy agree as they all right themselves.

“So what are we waiting for?” Steve shrugs on the jacket and starts walking. He flicks on the flashlight that Eddie had given him. Miraculously, it still works.

And so they walk.

Chapter Text

“‘ For your modesty?’ Seriously?” Chrissy asks.

She gives him a look of disbelief.

“Yeah yeah, I know. Not my best.” Eddie rolls his eyes.

They’re currently walking to the Wheeler’s household through the leafless woods of the Upside Down. Nancy is leading the party with Robin trying to keep up behind her while dodging vines. Then comes Eddie and Chrissy, staying close together and Steve bringing up the back.

The odd friends have barely left each other’s side. There’s no way Eddie’s gonna leave her side, especially not in this hellscape.

Eddie really messed everything up, huh?

First he dragged her away from her perfect life. Then he dragged her into this entire mess. He dragged her into being with a murderer. He ruined everything. He…

He infected her.

It’s all his fault.

“Hang on, I’ll uh, I’ll be right back.” Chrissy says with a blush as she bounces up to Robin. She looks back and gives Eddie a quick wink before jumping into a conversation with the taller girl.

What the hell was that for?

“Eddie.”

Oh.

Shit.

“Eddie. Hey, man. Uh…” Eddie reluctantly turns towards the voice.

That smug little bastard. He takes it all back. Fuck the town for thinking he was the devil incarnate. Chrissy Cunningham’s been the true devil all along. If this hadn’t involved him, he’d almost say he’s proud. The fucking betrayal. Eddie thought she was his friend.

“Listen, I just, I just wanted to say thanks. For saving my ass back there.” Steve finishes, catching up to the metalhead.

Is he serious?

What the fuck did Eddie do to help?

“Shit. You saved your own ass, man.” Eddie begins. “I mean, that was a real Ozzy move you pulled back there.”

“Ozzy?”

“When you took a bite out of that bat.”

Eddie looks over to see pure confusion on the other boy’s face as it turns away from him. Jesus Christ, he needs to be educated. Like, seriously, educated. Why the hell does Henderson love this guy so much again?

“Ozzy Osbourne? Black Sabbath? He bit a bat’s head off onstage.”

“I don’t-” Steve starts.

“You know?” Eddie gets a negative answer, and continues on. “Doesn’t matter. It’s very metal, what you did. That’s all I’m saying.”

Steve gives him his thanks, looking at the girls up ahead.

“Henderson had told me you were a badass. Insisted on the matter, in fact.” Eddie says, walking a bit ahead of him.

“Wait, Henderson said that?” Steve asks.

“Oh, shit man, yeah. Kid worships you, dude. Like, you have no idea. It’s kinda annoying, to be honest.”

That’s an understatement.

It’s very annoying.

“I don’t even know why I care what that little shrimp thinks, but, uh, guess I got a little jealous, Steve.” Eddie looks over at the boy, but quickly averts his eyes when he looks back. “I guess I couldn’t accept the fact that Steve Harrington was actually… a good dude. Rich parents, popular, chicks love him. Not a douche? No way, man. No way. That, like, flies in the face of all the laws in the universe and my own personal Munson doctrine.”

Eddie’s rambling. He knows he’s rambling. He needs to stop rambling. He definitely needs to stop. Like, right now.

He doesn’t.

Instead he gets closer into Steve’s space. The smell of sweat, blood, and a hint of hair product fills his senses.

“Still super jealous as hell, by the way.” Steve chuckles an okay before nudging him away. Eddie’s heart skips a beat at the small smile. “Which is why I would never have jumped in that lake to save your ass. Not under any, uh… normal circumstances.” He finishes as he looks around.

They quickly stop moving as a snapping branch and growl is heard in the distance. Steve waves his flashlight around, looking for any more signs of the creature.

Once everything seems safe, they slowly continue to walk and Eddie continues to talk.

“Nope. Outside of D&D, I am no hero. I see danger and I just turn heel and run. Or at least that’s what I’ve learned about myself this week. Running is… It’s all I do.”

“Give yourself a break, man.” Steve taps Eddie’s arm.

The older boy stops him and points towards the girls ahead of them.

“See? The only reason I came in here was ‘cause those ladies came in straight after you. Now, I was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind. But Wheeler right there,”

He very much needs to stop talking.

“She didn’t waste a second. Not one second. She just dove right in. Now, I don’t know what happened between you two.” Steve turns his head to look back at Eddie. His chestnut brown eyes go straight to his lips. Eddie tries his best to ignore it and keep his voice steady. “But if I were you, I would get her back. ‘Cause that, was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen.”

Steve looks back at Nancy with sad eyes.

What the fuck was he saying? What the actual fucking, fuckity, fuck, fuck was he saying?

Steve clears his throat and keeps walking, keeping his eyes to the slimy forest floor.

“So uh… So what about you and Chrissy?” He asks after a couple minutes.

“What about us?” Eddie asks, looking around the empty forest.

“How long have you guys been going out?”

Eddie trips.

Steve quickly reaches out and catches the slender figure. He quickly rights himself and clears his throat.

“S-sorry. We, uh, we-we’re not going out. Just, um, just friends.” Eddie sputters, trying to ignore the heat that Steve’s arms left on his torso and trying to not burst out into laughter. Him and Chrissy? No way.

“Oh, shit. That’s, uh, that’s my bad, man. Sorry.” Steve quickly looks away and continues walking.

They walk in silence after that.

“So-” Eddie starts and is quickly interrupted by yet another earthquake.

His eyes instantly go to Chrissy ahead of him. She’s holding on to Robin’s arm while they crouch on the ground.

Eddie’s eyes snap next to him as he feels a hand on his arm. He’s being held on to by Steve “The Hair” Harrington himself. The boy is keeping him slightly upright; using his other hand to hold on to a nearby tree branch, the flashlight is being held in his mouth.

“Nancy!” Robin yells.

Eddie looks ahead to see the girl running to the edge of the forest.

How the actual hell is she staying even remotely upright? Jesus, this girl really is something.

The earthquake stops and the other four are able to catch up to Nancy. She had stopped at the edge of the woods, staring into the distance.

They stare at the two-story house far ahead of them

~~~~~~~.

When they walked through the door, it looked like everything else in this godforsaken world. It was covered in dirt, vines, and grime.

“Might be time to get a maid Wheeler.” Robin comments. Chrissy giggles because of course she does. Eddie gives her a knowing look, chuckling when she pushes him away.

Harrington gives them an odd look. One that he can’t quite decipher the meaning of.

“Come on. I don’t want to stay here longer than we have to.” Nancy says, leading them upstairs.

They get to the girl’s room and she opens up her closet, taking out a white shoebox. Nancy takes it over to her desk and the three- three of them? Did Steve stay downstairs?

“Those don’t look like guns.” Chrissy says. Eddie looks over her shoulder to see two light pink heels in the box.

“These heels are pointy, but I was hoping for something along the lines of a deadly projectile.” Robin comments.

“I-I don’t understand.” Nancy says, eyebrows knit in confusion.

“Maybe you left them somewhere else?” Eddie tries.

“There’s a six-year-old in the house. I know where I keep my guns.” She snaps her head towards the boy before looking back at the shoes. “And also, I threw these away years ago.”

Nancy picks up a stack of worn notecards next to the box and flips through them. They look like flashcards.

“Listen, I get that grades are important to you, but perhaps studying can wait till we get out?” Robin asks.

“These are from sophomore chemistry. And this… this wallpaper, this is old wallpaper.” Nancy points to the wall.

“Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but everything here looks pretty old Nancy.” Chrissy comments.

“And this mirror, this went to a yard sale. And you…” She ignores Chrissy and continues to go around the room. She picks up a beat up stuffed bunny and talks to it. “You aren’t supposed to be here. No, I gave you to Cousin Joanna two years ago.”

She stops moving and looks to her nightstand. Nancy puts down the bunny and quickly goes over to it and picks up a small diary from it. She flips through it for a minute before stopping, staring at the page.

“What is it?” Eddie asks. He and the other two girls slowly walk towards Nancy.

“Nancy? You’re starting to freak me out.” Robin says, worry behind her voice.

“I think the reason that my guns aren’t here… is because they don’t exist yet.” She quietly says.

“They don’t… exist?” Eddie asks.

What the hell is she getting at here?

She turns around and starts explaining.

“This diary should be full of entries. It’s not. The last entry is November 6, 1983. The day Will went missing. The day the gate opened… We’re in the past.”

The three look at each other before their heads snap to the door.

“Dustin! Hey! Dustin!”

They quickly run out of the room and down the stairs to see Steve walking around in the living room, looking like the local crackhead.

“Dustin, can you hear me? Du- Hello? Hel… Hello?” Steve yells.

“Maybe he really does have rabies.”

God Eddie loves Robin.

Steve keeps screaming until Nancy gets his attention.

“Steve, what are you doing?” He turns to them, shining the flashlight right in their faces.

“He’s here. Henderson. That little shit, he’s here.”

No apology for permanently blinding them then.

“He’s like… He’s in the walls or something. Listen, just listen.” Steve stops talking for a second to try and let them hear. Except they couldn’t hear shit because he continued to scream the boy’s name a second later.

“He’s really lost it, huh?” Eddie comments.

“No, no. I hear him.” Chrissy says.

They all stop to listen for his voice. And wouldn’t you know it, the little shithead can be heard.

Now they are all screaming around the house like crackheads, trying to get the kid to hear them.

“All right, either this kid can’t hear us or he’s being a total douchebag.” Steve comments. Honestly, Eddie wouldn’t put it past the little shithead.

“Will found a way.” Nancy stops in the middle of the room.

“Who?” Chrissy asks.

“Will. Byers. He found a way to talk to Joyce through the lights.” She explains to the group.

“The lights?” Steve asks. Great. He’s just as confused as everyone else.

Nancy quickly walks over to a nearby lamp and tries to turn it on. Nothing happens.

“The switch. Try the switch.” Steve points to a lightswitch next to Nancy. She complies and flips it a couple things.

“Hey guys?” Chrissy gets the group’s attention. She motions towards the chandelier.

They notice a faint light coming from the lightbulbs and this weird glitter like dust surrounding it. It almost looks like fairy dust. At least what Eddie believes fairy dust would look like.

Nancy walks over to the light and slowly lifts her arm, sticking her hand into the dust. As her skin touches the substance, it lights up.

“Whoa…” Eddie, Steve, Robin, and Chrissy go and stand around the light. They all stare at the fairy dust above them. Nancy removes her hand.

A beat passes.

One by one, they all put their hands up into the light, making it glow brighter and brighter in the dull world.

Holy shit

A moment passes and they all slowly bring their hands back down.

“Does anyone know morse code?” Nancy asks. Chrissy instantly looks at Eddie.

“Hey, just because I’m a freak, doesn’t mean I know nerdy shit like morse code.” Eddie puts his hands up in mock defense.

Hang on a minute.

Eddie thinks back a decade. It was around when he first started living with his uncle.

He quickly does a mental shake, pushing the memories to the back of his head.

“Does SOS count?” He asks the group. They all turn their heads towards him in disbelief.

“No, SOS doesn’t count at all.” Harrington says, sarcasm filling his voice. Eddie can see where Henderson gets it.

Eddie rolls his eyes and puts one of his hands up to the light fixture above. He flicks his fingers three times, then holds it three times, then another three flicks. He waits a couple seconds before repeating the process.

They hear Dustin stop talking. Slowly he says the letters out loud as Eddie spells it out.

S.

O.

S.

~~~~~~~~

The five adults are now in Nancy’s slimy room, sitting in front of her bed just as Dustin instructed.

“Okay, you guys seeing this?” They hear the boy say as the fairy dust appears in front of them, lightly glowing. Nancy waves her hand through it. They hear the kid’s laughter.

God, Eddie missed that sound.

Dustin instructs them to stay put. A second later and the dust dulls. After Dustin’s permission is granted, Nancy puts her finger to the dust and writes something out.

HI.

“That worked!” They hear him yell and they celebrate their success.

Out of the corner of his eye, Eddie sees Steve looking towards the door, a confused look on his face. He quickly shakes himself off and turns his direction to Nancy. Eddie does the same.

Nancy slowly writes out another word.

STU…

“Stupid?” Dustin asks before Nancy finishes the word.

Seriously?

“Stuck.” He says once she has finished. “Okay, uh. Can’t you get back through watergate?”

“What the hell is watergate?” Steve asks.

“‘Cause it’s in the water and it’s a gate.” Robin explains. They all express their understanding. That’s cute.

Nancy starts to write out another word.

GUARDED.

“Ok, ok, so uh, Watergate is guarded. Well, we think we have a theory that can help with that.” They all sigh in relief. Eddie loves this kid. “We think that Watergate isn’t the only gate. That there’s a gate at every murder site.”

“Does anyone know what he’s talking about?” Steve asks. They all shake their heads no.

Nancy draws a question mark.

“Okay. Seriously? ” Jesus, this kid sounds exasperated. “How many times do I have to be right on the money before you trust me?!”

“Jesus this kid’s gotta get his ego in check.” Harrington comments, looking towards the ceiling.

“It’s his tone, right?” Eddie leans forward to look at Steve. He nods in agreement.

“How far is your trailer?” Nancy asks Eddie.

Chrissy and Eddie both answer.

“Seven miles.”

The girl thinks about this answer for a minute, no doubt coming up with a plan. Eddie could only wish to be as smart as her.

“Look, I know that your house here is, like, frozen in time and shit, but um, haven’t you always had bikes?” Robin comments and they all look at Nancy as she looks back to the fairy dust. She starts writing to the kids.

BIKE.

TRAILER.

They make sure that the kids understand before heading off.

Each one has their own bike, except Steve and Chrissy who share one, and they start riding their way to the trailer park.

~~~~~~~~~

“Surprise you didn’t try to ride with Steve, Munson.” Chrissy comments once they arrive. The two of them are a bit behind the group. 

“Jokes on you, Cunningham, I got to see him from behind.” Eddie says, a proud smirk on his face. He laughs as she mutters “gross” and walks past him into the trailer.

They enter the trailer one by one. They stop to stare at the ceiling.

Right where Deborah had died, there was a large, glowing, red… portal? It didn’t look much like a portal to Eddie. It was wet and pulsing. It almost looked like skin.

“This is where she died…” Chrissy says. Eddie could tell that she was holding back tears.

He couldn’t even imagine how this must be for her. Hearing one of her friends die in front of her? Then seeing exactly what happened to her in the middle of a lake. Jesus Christ.

Eddie takes her hand.

She gives him a small squeeze.

“I think something’s in there.” Robin’s voice is filled with wonder and fear.

As if on cue, something starts to stick through the skin-like texture of the gate.

“What the fuck is that?” Steve asks.

Whatever it is goes back up.

They all scream in surprise as the gate is ripped through. Wet goo everywhere underneath it.

Steve takes the first steps towards it. They all follow and stop just underneath it, staring up through the gate.

“No way.” Steve mutters.

They stare up at the kids plus little Sinclair. And they’re…

They’re staring up too.

What the fuck?

What the actual fucking fuck?

The kids all laugh, Dustin screaming “Bada, bada, boom!”

After a moment of celebration, Nancy makes a plan. She tells the kids to grab Eddie’s mattress and put it underneath the portal while Dustin creates a rope using sheets.

“Those stains are uh…” Eddie trails off and glances at them. “I dunno what those stains are.”

Chrissy hits his shoulder in disgust.

“Not quite sure how these physics are gonna work, but uh… Here goes nothing.” Dustin tosses the homemade rope up through the portal, and it falls in front of them.

He lets go after a moment and low and behold, it stays.

“Guess I’m the guinea pig.” Robin says and starts to climb the rope. She yells as she falls through the portal, landing on her back on the mattress. 

Eddie helps Chrissy up the rope next. She’s through.

The last three look at each other.

“Ladies first.” Eddie says with a smile, motioning to the sheets. Nancy rolls her eyes, but starts climbing anyway.

She’s through.

Steve motions to Eddie. So, Eddie starts climbing.

Jesus. Fucking. Christ .

That truly is a mind fuck.

Robin and Chrissy pull him to his feet. He wobbles in place a bit, but eventually gets his balance. Next is Steve.

They watch as he starts climbing, and gets to the portal.

He falls through.

Eddie offers his hand to him.

He doesn’t move.

“Steve?”

Eddie takes a closer look. The color drains from his face.

Fuck.

FUCK!

Steve’s eyes are rolled to the back of his head. His eyelids are fluttering.

Snap.

Eddie shakes his head, trying to purge the sounds from his mind.

Crack.

Eddie comes back to reality, feeling his shoulders being shaken. He looks up to Chrissy. Tears are running down her face, panic in her eyes.

“Eddie!”

“I’m ok. I’m ok.” His entire being is shaking as he stands up. He looks back down at the stiff body below him.

Yelling is heard from all around him.

“Music.” He mumbles. “We need music.” He quickly leads the group to his bedroom. Dustin and Max stay by Steve’s side trying to wake him up.

God dammit!

They start to search for anything that Steve would even remotely listen to.

Shit.

Why the hell does metal have to be the only thing that Eddie fucking listens to?

Fuck.

Chapter Text

Steve watches Eddie’s body fall onto the mattress above him. He sighs a sigh of relief. Just him now.

He takes the makeshift rope in his hands and hoists himself up, climbing it bit by bit. He grunts as he goes up. It feels like his stomach is on fire.

After a minute, he feels the gravity drag his body down. Steve lets go of the rope and falls, hitting something hard with a groan. His sides are screaming at him. He sits up, ignoring his stomach’s protests.

What the…?

Steve looks around and he’s… in his house?

He’s sitting in the middle of the living room. Steve guesses that it’s about sundown, judging from the dim light coming through the windows. The front door unlocks and opens.

Still confused, Steve stands up and heads toward the sound. His confusion deepens when he sees his father and mother standing in the doorway.

“Mom? Dad?”

They stop their conversation. He stiffens up as his father looks at him, his mother stares at the ground. Her posture is still perfect as always.

“Steven.” His father answers. His voice is the usual authoritative tinged with disappointment.

It's happening.

It’s actually happening this time.

Guess he couldn’t ignore it forever.

He keeps his chin up and tries to steady his shaking hands, as his father walks up to him. He gives him a once over, taking in the bloody battle vest and dirty hair in disgust.

Their eyes meet.

Steve’s face explodes in pain as his body hits the floor. An all too familiar metallic taste fills his mouth. He slowly gets to his knees and spits the blood out onto the pristine wooden floor. His father scoffs

“You really are a disgrace.” He spits out like the words themselves will poison him as he rubs his knuckles. “That boy has cursed you. I tried to warn you about him.”

No.

There is no fucking way that he is letting this ass hole talk about Dustin. No fucking way.

“Now hold on-”

“Truly, why did it have to be that boy? I could deal with you dating a boy if you kept it private, but that one?” His father cuts him off.

What?

Steve wasn’t gay. What the hell is Vecna playing at? Who is he trying to talk about?

“And to think it wasn’t all bullshit.”

Steve spins around to find himself in a small bathroom. Standing in front of him is a young Nancy. Her short, straight brown hair is half up with a clip. She’s dressed in a white dress with a black cloth tied around her neck. The front of her dress is stained pink.The party.

“But that’s all it fucking is! Bullshit! Our entire relationship is just utter bullshit !” She spits the last word. Steve can feel the prickle of tears behind his eyes. Not again. Please not again.

“You are just bullshit, Harrington!”

Steve blinks and instead of a short girl in front of him, there’s a short boy. One with long, curly brown hair, a leather jacket and a denim vest. Hands are covered in rings and big, brown doe eyes stare back at him. And a grin that always makes Steve crawl in his skin. A grin that isn’t showing. Something that Steve never thought he would miss. And yet here he is.

“These past couple of days I’ve just been trying to figure out what your deal is. The popular jock, King Steve , is helping out a bunch of freshman nerds and a wanted murderer? But now I’ve figured you out. I know just what you are. Bullshit.”

Oh.

Oh.

That’s what Vecna is playing at.

Eddie.

Is that why his stomach flips when he sees the smaller boy? Is that why he catches himself staring into his big doe eyes? Why Eddie is able to capture his attention just by tapping his long, slender, ring-covered fingers to an imaginary beat? Why does that fucking grin makes Steve want to crawl outside of his skin?

But, he, he likes girls…

Right?

He loved Nancy. He knows that he loved Nancy. There’s no other word to describe what he felt. What he still feels. And it’s a different love than what he feels towards Robin or Dustin and the other kids. It’s a different kind of love towards Nancy. So there’s no way that’s what he feels towards Eddie.

He loves Nancy.

Not Eddie.

Right?

“It’s just… bullshit.”

Steve runs past the now decaying Eddie, and through the door. He runs through all of the decaying zombie-like figures from that party. They all stare at him, eyes hollow, as he runs past the crowd.

He really is bullshit. He just ignores all his problems. He ignores them but he breaks anyway. It’s bullshit.

He stumbles to a stop as he bursts through the front door. He’s at the top of a broken staircase that doesn’t lead to anything. The sky above him is no longer blue, but red. Red with dark clouds, lightning periodically striking.

The Upside Down.

He looks around him. It looks exactly how Max drew it. Bits and pieces of a house floating around him, a red fog covering the ground. Familiar screeching can be heard echoing in the distance. Steve slowly walks down the stairs. A grandfather clock floats past him, creating the horrible sound that’s been haunting his nightmares.

“We aren’t too different from one another, Steven.” A deep and distorted voice echoes around him, sending shivers down his spine. It sounds so much worse than he could ever imagine. Like the voice itself came straight from hell. The darkest parts of hell.

“You and your little… group have gotten quite close to the truth. How was old, blind, dumb Victor? I have been meaning to visit him. But I haven’t exactly… gotten the chance.”

Steve slowly walks around as the voice talks. He stops, frozen in horror. In front of him is a tall tree-like structure made out of vines. Tangled in the vines is the deformed figure of Patrick McKinney. His limbs are bent and wrapped around the structure at awkward angles. His broken jaw was wide open, hollowed out eyes above it. Steve looks away from the figure and to the stained glass door belonging to the Creel House. He sees a family come through the door and into the new house. The daughter runs up the stairs while her parents hug and watch her.

It seems like the perfect life. The kind of life Steve had wanted with Nancy. Does he still want that?

His attention is taken by their son, silently standing behind them and watching his sister.

“Like you, I didn’t fit in with the other children. I was different. There was something… wrong with me. All the teachers and doctors said I was broken. You can relate to that, can’t you, Steven. My parents thought a change of scenery, a fresh start in Hawkins, might just cure me. It was absurd. Thinking that the world would be any different in Hawkins, Indiana.”

Steve follows the small boy through the house. The young boy rounded a corner, then appeared again in a room next to Steve. He steps through to find the bathroom. The same bathroom that he explored just a few days earlier. He watches the young boy kneel next to the same vent that Steve had. He lifts the vent grate and sticks his hand in. It emerges with a small, black spider on the back of it.

A black widow.

“But then, to my surprise, our new home provided a discovery. And a newfound sense of purpose. I found a nest of black widows living inside a vent. Most people fear spiders. They detest them. And yet, I found them endlessly fascinating. More than that, I found a great comfort in them.”

Now Steve was even more confused. These aren’t his memories. These are Vecna’s- Henry Creel’s memories. How are these supposed to scare him? What is he trying to do?

Steve sees something run past in the corner of his eye. He quickly spins around and follows this Henry into the attic.

“A kinship. Like me, they are solitary creatures. And deeply misunderstood. They are the gods of our world.”  Steve walks in to find young Henry sitting in front of a small crate. The top of it is filled with the same jars that Steve found in the bathroom, all filled with spiders and webs. He puts one of the jars down and starts scribbling in a notebook that’s on his lap. Steve steps a bit closer to peer over his shoulder. The young boy is coloring in a black widow. “The most important of all predators. They immobilize and feed on the weak, bringing balance and order to an unstable ecosystem. But the human world was disrupting this harmony. You see, humans are a unique type of pest. A deeply unnatural structure.”

This dude really needs to replace his father in the loony bin. Steve doesn’t think anyone is as obsessed with spiders than this dude. Not even fucking Spiderman.

The scenery changes once again as Steve walks down the stairs and into the foyer. He watches a younger Henry step up to a grandfather clock. The clock that’s been haunting him.

“Where others saw order, I saw a straightjacket. A cruel, oppressing world dictated by made-up rules. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades. Each life a faded, lesser copy of the one before. Wake up, eat, work, sleep, reproduce, and die. Everyone is just waiting for it all to be over. All while performing  in a silly, terrible play, day after day.”

Steve barely hears the voice. His head is filled with someone else.

Why is Eddie the only thing on Steve’s mind?

Why is his head filled with Eddie “the Freak” Munson?

“I could not do that. I could not shut off my brain and join in the madness. I could not pretend. And I realized… I didn’t have to.”

Steve’s attention came back to the young brunette in front of him. He watches him as he closes his eyes, still facing the grandfather clock. Steve watches in horrified amazement as the hands on the clock start turning counter clockwise. It spins faster and faster.

I could create my own rules. I could restore balance to a broken world. A predator… but for good.”

A shriek is heard from behind Steve. He spins around and finds himself in the front garden. He witnesses a rabbit get caught in a trap, squealing to get free.

“As I practiced, I realized that I could do more than I possibly imagined. I could reach into others, into their minds, their memories.” Cracks of bones are heard as the young boy kills the rabbit without ever touching it. “I became an explorer. I saw my parents as they truly were. To the world, they presented themselves as good, normal people. But like everything else in this world, it was all a lie. A terrible lie.”

Steve runs back inside the house. Is that what they had seen? What Eddie and Chrissy saw? He couldn’t even imagine seeing that happen to another human being.

A baby’s cries are heard from the living room next to him. He walks to the entryway and sees a young Victor Creel sitting in a chair, staring at the fireplace next to him.

The source of the crying.

“I showed them who they really were. My naive father believed that it was a demon cursing them for their sins. But my mother somehow knew. Knew that it was I who was holding up the mirror, and she despised me for it.”

Steve once again turns around and walks towards the sound of music. He recognizes it as the song Dream A Little Dream Of Me by Ella Fitzgerald. His mother would often play it when guests were over for dinner. When she was actually home that is. The music starts to static and skip as Steve walks into the dining room.

Victor Creel was in front of the radio, everyone was looking at him. Everyone except Henry.

“She had called a doctor, an expert. She wanted him to lock me away, to fix me, even though it wasn’t I who was broken. They were the broken ones. And so she left me with no choice. No choice but to act. To break free.”

His eyes close and the lights start flickering.

Suddenly, his mother shoots up into the air, knocking her chair down to the floor. The small girl across from Henry screams as snaps echo throughout the house.

Crack.

Her arms and legs jut out at different angles. Ones that a human could never survive. Exactly how it was described by the two high schoolers.

Crack.

A final break in the jaw is heard before a thump as she falls onto the table.

The only difference is that it’s worse.

It is so, so much worse than Steve could even fathom.

Did Eddie and Chrissy see this? Twice?

Better yet, do the police truly believe that Eddie fucking Munson could ever be capable of doing something as horrifying as this to another human being?

The very same Eddie Munson who always greeted Steve with a grin. Who holds the door open for the female customers, always keeping his eyes to her face. The same Eddie Munson who checked out fucking Grease just to make Chrissy Cunningham, his #1 tormentor’s now ex-girlfriend, feel better.

When the hell did this town get so fucking stupid?

“With each life I took, I grew stronger. More powerful.”

Victor grabbed both of his children as Henry wiped blood from his nose. Exactly like…

Eleven.

Was she able to do something like this?

By the time that Victor had gotten to the door, his daughter had suffered the same fate as her mother, and now he was frozen in front of the rose stained door. He was under what looked like a trance.

A curse.

“But alas, I was still a child. And I did not yet know my limits. And it nearly killed me.”

Steve watches Henry collapse to the floor. His father, broken from his trance, turns to see the horror that is his children. Instantly, he picks up Henry and cradles him in his arms. Steve could only long for a father that caring.

“My father was arrested for the death of my sister and mother, just as I had planned. But I was far from free. When I awoke from my coma, I was placed in the care of a doctor. The doctor that I had hoped to escape. Dr. Martin Brenner. He had wanted more than to study me. He wanted to control me.”

He was found in a white titled room. Henry Creel was strapped to a chair, an older man next to him with a tattoo gun. Steve steps closer and sees three little numbers on the child’s wrist.

001

The man wipes over the numbers with a rag.

“Not so bad, was it? See? There’s nothing to be afraid of. Is there Steve?”

His head turns to look at Steve, his eyes glossed over in a blue haze.

“Why don’t you take a seat?” 

The man’s voice distorted and mixed with Vecna’s. Steve runs out the door behind him and into a white-tiled hallway. All of the doors are blown open, like some form of explosion happened in front of each one. The fluorescent lights are flickering above the bodies of other doctors and security guards littering the halls. Screaming is heard in the distance.

Steve starts running through the bloodied halls. He runs into a double door, boarded up with planks of wood, immediately getting to work on ripping them off.

“God… dammit.” He mutters. He doesn’t get far before the voice is back. Except it’s no longer in his head.

It’s behind him.

“Steven.”

He reluctantly turns around to face him. By God, he wishes he didn’t.

Slowly walking down the destroyed hallway is a tall figure. It almost looks as if the vines of the Upside Down have taken over him. Like they fused with his body. His flesh is dark and wet, like the rest of the Upside Down. He has long and pointed fingers. Then there’s the eyes.

Steve had seen some fucked up shit. Fought some of it, was tortured by some of it. Steve could say he’s stared hell in the face. But staring into Vecna’s eyes, their dark, cold look that stares straight into his soul. If the devil did exist, he’d look like this. Cold, calculating. Any happiness that was once there had been lost to the void of anger that flooded his eyes.

“What are you doing? It’s not time for you to leave.”

Steve quickly turns around and continues to rip the boards off. He needs to go faster. He needs to be stronger.

"Now that you’ve seen where I’ve been… I would like very much to show you where I am going.”

Steve gets the last board off and bursts through the doors. He’s… back there. Back in the tattoo room. And the man is there. Eyes cold and glossed over. Voice still distorted and mixed with the creature behind him.

“Take a seat, Steven.”

The lights flicker out and Steve is covered in darkness. When the lights flicker back on, he finds himself in the tattoo chair. Vines are wrapped and surging around his struggling limbs. Slowly the humanoid creature walks through the door and towards him.

He puts his long hands on the chair arms and leans over Steve’s trembling body.

This is it. This is how he dies.

“I… want you to tell Eleven. I want you to tell her everything you see.” He lifts his hand over Steve’s face.

A sudden pain surges through his body as images are flashed before his eyes. Images of Hawkins being destroyed. A giant X being created through the town by giant red and orange streaks. Destroying anything in its path. Images of the kids…

And I can hear a bell ring.

Steve prays for death. Prays for Vecna to just finish him off.

And I forget everything.

Steve gasps for breath. He can’t breathe. He can’t breathe. He can’t breathe. He can’t-

“Steve, it’s ok. It’s ok. It’s us. It’s just us.” He finds his arms wrapping around the source of the voice.

Robin.

Oh thank god.

Steve gets his breathing under control and assesses the area. He’s in Eddie’s trailer. Not the one covered in vines. The real one. He’s on Eddie’s dirty mattress with concerning mystery stains. He’s surrounded by his friends. A wet, pulsing gate still above him. And… Are they… Are they playing…

Mamma mia, here I go again.

What the fuck?

Chapter Text

“I still cannot believe that you would bring that… that demon music into my household, Cunningham!” Eddie accuses with his usual theatrics. Chrissy just rolls her eyes and raises her hands in mock defense. “Come on! I mean, ABBA? You dared to bring ABBA into my room? My sacred space? I just can't believe it. I’m gonna have to cleanse it because of you.”

Robin smiles at the small interaction, though it quickly falls.

After last night, they moved to Max’s trailer since her mom isn’t home. Eddie, Chrissy, and Erica are sitting on the couch while Lucas and Max are quietly talking to each other in a corner. Nancy is standing in front of the small coffee table, lost in thought. Dustin is pacing back and forth, just as nervous as Robin who is standing next to the couch and chewing on her nails. It’s a bad habit that she developed young.

Steve’s been in the bathroom for the past 15 minutes. Robin knows it’s been hard for him, with everything that he saw, but did he have to be in there alone for so long?

The room stills as the small creak of a door being opened is heard. Steve quietly walks out, eyes red and swollen from tears. They all stare at him as he stands in the doorway from the living room to the hallway, head down to the ground.

His eyes are distant. He isn’t here. Not truly.

“I know what he’s planning…”

His voice is quiet and hoarse.

It’s broken.

It’s so very broken. But not the way that it’s usually broken. It doesn’t sound how it does when Robin gets a call at 3 in the morning because of the nightmares. This is a broken that anyone can hear. It’s not a broken that he can't hide.

He sits on an armchair across from the couch and tells them what happened.

“He showed me things that haven’t even happened. There was this-this dark cloud spreading through Hawkins. There was fire and dead soldiers. And… This creature. A giant creature. It had a gaping mouth. It’s not like it was alone either.”

Dustin and Lucas share a look.

“There was… an army of monsters. Thousands of them. All of them. A-a range of dog to gorgan. There were even some that were still shedding its skin. All of them coming into town. Into our neighborhoods. Into our houses. He showed me my parents… he showed me the k-” He stops short with a quick breath in. Small tears roll down his face.

Robin gives his knee a comforting squeeze from her seat on the floor.

“W-well he’s just trying to scare us, right?” Chrissy says, eyes hopeful as she looks around at everyone. “That’s his whole thing. Scaring people.”

Robin envies her optimism. She knows that it’s not that simple. It’s never that fucking simple.

Steve confirms it.

“No, no. This is… This is different than before. This is him telling us what is going to happen. There were these… there were gates. Four gates. Spreading across Hawkins. The gates… They-they looked exactly like the one in Eddie’s trailer, but they kept growing. They kept growing across Hawkins. Our Hawkins. This wasn’t the Upside Down. This was our world.”

Robin’s stomach sinks.

That can’t be it, can it? It can’t just be death and destruction. There has to be more to it. It can’t just be fire and boom it’s over. That cannot be the end of this. They have to win this. They have to be able to beat him.

“Four chimes.” Everyone except Steve looks at Max. “Vecna’s clock. It always chimes four times. Four exactly.”

Robin sees Steve’s eyes widen. He’s still looking at the floor.

“He’s been telling us his plan this entire time.” Max shakes her head in disbelief.

“Four kills. Four gates.” Lucas turns his head to the redhead next to him. “End of the world.”

“If that’s true… Then he’s only one kill away.” Dustin says. His hands are on his hips, much like his mother, aka, Steve.

Eddie curses as Nancy instructs Max to try the Byers again.

Still no answer.

She tries again just to get the same busy signal.

They argue about the reason behind the constant busy signal. Robin’s attention is solely on Steve.

This is different. There’s something that he isn’t telling them and it’s hitting him, hard. Robin just can’t figure out what it is. It’s weird. She’s not used to not being able to read him like this. One look at him and she knows almost exactly what he’s thinking. But now she can’t. She can’t and it’s just making her even more nervous than usual.

“It’s not a coincidence.” Steve butts into the conversation. The room goes quiet. “Whatever is happening in California… It’s connected to here. It has to be.”

The room goes quiet.

At least they have Mrs. Byers, right? They have a legitimate adult. She might even be the adultiest adult.

Robin’s eyes land on Nancy. She’s looking at the floor, her eyebrows furrowed.

“We need to kill him.” She says, eyes still on the floor. “We need to end this. Once and for all.”

She looks up at all of them, eyes full of determination and anger.

And so, they make a plan.

Eddie mentions an army supplies store, so they decide that they’ll somehow go there to get weapons, then they have their groups:

Steve, Nancy, and Robin go to the Upside Down Creel house to burn Vecna to a crisp. Eddie and Dustin go to Eddie’s Upside Down trailer to distract the bats. Then Erica, Max, and Lucas stay in the Right Side Creel house. Using Max as bait for Vecna.

“No. No way.” Steve stands up when Max offers herself up as bait. He’s standing with his arms crossed. “There is no way you are baiting this guy. I’m not letting him get that close to you. No way.”

“Well who else is gonna do it? Huh? He hasn’t marked anyone else. It has to be me.” Max retorts.

“Me. I’ll do it.” Steve shrugs.

“Hate to burst your bubble, Steve, but I don’t think Vecna trauma dumping on you counts as getting marked.”

“Yeah, well nosebleeds and headaches do. Nightmares and hallucinations too, right?”

The room goes quiet, the only noise coming from the morning birds outside.

“I’ve heard the clock. I’ll be the bait.”

“Steve…” Robin says, voice quiet.

How long has he been hiding this? How many of the late night calls have been because of Vecna? More importantly, why did he hide this? From the kids, sure, but Robin? They tell each other everything. She trusted him to tell him that she’s a lesbian after he told her that he liked her for fucks sake. Why did he hide something like this from her? Does he not trust her anymore?

“No, no. There’s no buts here. There’s no way in hell am I letting Max get hurt when it could be me. I’m baiting him. End of discussion. Understand?” He uncrosses his hands and puts them on his hips.

No one moves. Everyone is just staring at him, different combinations of confusion and hurt on their faces. Eddie is the first to move. He quickly stands up and walks directly down the hallway and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

Chrissy starts to get up to go towards him.

Robin stops her and goes instead.

She has a feeling she knows what this is about. What she doesn’t know is if Chrissy knows. And what Chrissy would think if she did know. Robin wishes that she did know. That she’s ok with it, but there’s no confirmation with someone from the Cunningham family. It’s quite the contrary.

Knock, knock.

“Not now, darling.” Eddie’s voice is quiet and wet.

“Got the wrong girl, Munson.” Robin slowly opens the door. Her voice is just as quiet, but gentle.

Eddie sits up a bit but stays on the floor. Robin closes the door and slides down to join him..

“Jeez, can a man not pee in peace?” His voice stays quiet and humorless.

“I may not be one, but I’m pretty sure dudes don’t pee from the floor.” Robin nudges his arm with hers, a small smile on her face that quickly fades.

She has to be careful with this. It’s a delicate situation. She doesn’t know for sure that he’s gay, and he doesn’t know that she’s a raging lesbian. One wrong move and it’ll blow.

A couple minutes of silence pass.

“So… You wanna talk about it? ‘Bout what’s going on?”

Eddie laughs a wet laugh and leans his head back to lean on the wall.

“You mean besides being wanted for murder and kidnapping, ruining my best friend’s life, and learning that there’s another demonic dimension that’s threatening to destroy the world just below me?”

“Eddie.” She lightly puts her hand on his hand. It’s on top of his bouncing knee, picking at the frayed pieces of his ripped jeans. Robin keeps her eyes in front of her. “We both know that’s not what I’m talking about.”

A couple more minutes of silence.

“Ya know, I lied a lot as a child.” Robin starts.

“Good to know.”

“Oh, shut up.” She lightly punches Eddie’s arm, causing him to chuckle a little bit. She looks back in front of her and continues. “I lied to my friends all the time. Especially at slumber parties. That’s… That’s when I had to lie the most. I stopped going to slumber parties because of it. Because I felt like there was something wrong with me. I didn’t… I didn’t feel how the other girls felt. They would always stay up late talking about the cutest boy in our class, but I… I never saw what they saw. They’d always ask me who my crush was and I’d say that I didn’t have one. They’d push so I’d say a random popular boy. But I was lying. I never felt the butterflies, my heart never skipped a beat. But then I got into 5th grade and I met my best friend. She was funny and energetic. She was talkative and made friends with everyone, but she wanted to be my best friend. I felt so special. Every time she smiled at me, I felt the butterflies. Everytime she stood up to a bully for me, my heart skipped a beat.”

Robin stops for a second. She keeps looking ahead, but out of the corner of her eye she can see Eddie’s head in his knees.

“By the end of that year, I told her how I felt. And I was so excited to have finally felt what these other girls were feeling. But she… Well she didn’t outwardly say anything but… There was always the silence. We didn’t hang out that summer. Whenever we saw each other in town, she’d always make up an excuse and run off. I never really saw her the next year. Only in the hallways. I mean, I got over it eventually. And I realized that I couldn’t tell just anyone that.”

Robin looks over at Eddie. He lifts his head to look up at the ceiling, tears in his eyes.

“Buckley…” He takes a shaky breath. “It’s the end of the fucking world and I am very gay for your very straight best friend who is trying to sacrifice himself.”

“I could say the same.” Robin chuckles. “Besides the whole sacrificing thing,”

“I wouldn’t say that.” He scoffs.

Sorry?

Does… Does he mean… Does Robin have a chance? No, there’s no way. Even Vickie seems less straight than Chrissy and Vickie seems pretty damn straight. Does he just mean that she’s trying to sacrifice herself? Oh god, please say it’s not that.

Robin sighs.

“Jesus Christ. I need to stop coming out to my friends in bathrooms during traumatic experiences.” She mumbles.

“I’m sorry. What-”

“Like hell it doesn’t matter, Steve!” They hear Dustin’s muffled voice through the door. “You should have told us!”

“Well, it didn’t fucking matter, Henderson! We had to focus on keeping Eddie, Chrissy, and Max safe!” Steve yells back. Robin feels Eddie tense up next to her. “They are what’s important! Not me!”

“Yeah, of course, how could I have missed that? I mean, your life isn’t important to anyone, right? How could it be important to anyone?” Dustin’s voice sounds strangled. They hear the running of feet and a slammed door. He ran out.

“It’s my fault… This is all my fault.” Eddie says quietly before collapsing into Robin’s open arms and sobbing.

“No, no it's not. He… He’s going to be ok Eddie. We’ll make sure of it. We can change up the plan and I’ll stay with him in the Creel house.” She hopes that her voice doesn’t display the doubt she has in them. Tears start falling from her eyes as she tries to comfort Eddie.

So they sit there in each other's arms, quietly crying.

~~~~~~~~~~

By the time they leave the bathroom, everyone is back in the living room. They’re all quiet but the silence is loud. Very loud.

Eddie takes his seat back on the couch next to Chrissy who places her hand on his knee. She’s always so sweet.

Robin quietly gets to her spot on the floor.

Everyone is where they were before, except for Dustin who has decided that the floor was comfier.

“So,” Steve starts, his voice grim. “Robin, Nancy, Chrissy. You guys get Upside Down Creel house. Eddie, Max, Lucas. You get the bats. Dustin, Erica and I are bait. Any objections?”

No one speaks. There are many objections and Steve knows it. But they know that he won’t budge when it comes to this. He’s not asking. Not really.

“Well,” Eddie slaps his hands on his knees and stands up, startling Robin. She doesn’t really do loud, unexpected noises, but she’s gotten quite used to it from Eddie. He takes the black bandana from his back pocket, and tosses it to Chrissy. “We better get going. You use that to cover up. Red you got anything for uh…” He takes a hand and motions over his face.

Right. We can’t exactly go out normally. He is technically a fugitive and she’s technically kidnapped.

The girl thinks for a moment before saying that she has something. She goes to her room and comes back with a mask.

A Michael Myers mask.

Chapter Text

"Yeah, of course, how could I have missed that. I mean, your life isn’t important to anyone, right? How could it be important to anyone?”

Tears are running down the young boy’s face.

“Dustin…” Steve’s voice is quiet.

He can’t know why Steve didn’t tell them. It’d just make him feel more guilty. It’d just make it worse.

Dustin’s figure tenses up before running out the front door.

Steve sighs, staring at the slammed door. His eyes are stinging.

He turns and goes out the back door.

They can’t see him cry. It’s like a big wall. The only one that’s allowed on the other side of that wall is Robin, and even then it’s rare. Other times it's just sobs echoing in an empty house in the dead of night. Definitely not the most ideal.

He sits down on the steps, staring into the woods ahead of him.

He groans and puts his head in his knees. Tears start dropping down onto the ground, creating small wet spots.

The creak of the door is heard, then a quiet slam.

“I messed up, didn’t I?” He asks, not bothering to look at the newcomer.

“Maybe a little.”

Steve’s head shoots up.

“Not who you expected, huh.” Chrissy sits next to him with a small smile. Her voice is quiet and her hands are busying themselves with the ends of her sleeves.

“No, uh, not really.”

“Well, Robin is still in the bathroom with Eddie and Nancy is still uh… processing and the kids are with Dustin, so that just left me. I… I didn’t want to leave you alone.”

They sit in silence.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Chrissy slowly asks. It’s almost like she’s approaching a scared animal. Maybe she is.

“I said why. You guys are more important than me.” And he means it. He really does. Before all this shit- before he met Dustin, he would’ve told them in a heartbeat. He would’ve told them as soon as he figured it out so that he could save himself. Not anymore. How could he do that now? After everything ? How could he have done that back then? What kind of monster was he?

What kind of monster is he now?

“Hmm…” Chrissy looks up at the sky, chin in her hand resting on her knee. A minute passes before she talks again. “Steve, we might not know each other very well, but I think it might be more than that. Why do you think we’re more important than you?”

She looks at him with soft, kind, green eyes.

And that’s it.

The wall breaks.

Steve starts crying, sobbing. Chrissy instantly invites him into her arms, which he gladly takes. They’re warm and comforting. Like a sister that he didn’t know he needed. He stifles the cries in her dirty Hawkins High sweater, trying to not let the others hear him. They can’t see him like this. Chrissy shouldn’t even have to deal with him like this. He shouldn’t be like this. He should be strong. The one who’s always a shoulder to cry on. He shouldn’t be the one crying.

“I would always put myself first.” He quietly says once the sobs have died down. “Every single time, I would be first. And the one… The one time it mattered, I did it again. I did it again and I-I screwed everything up. I screwed everything up and got hurt. So I decided to start doing the opposite. I started putting everyone else first and it was working. It was working so well. But I still messed everything up. People are still hurt. All I do is try to help, but I can’t even do that right. I just… I just can’t do anything right, can I?”

He sits up and looks at Chrissy. He shouldn’t be asking her for help. He should be able to do this by himself. He has to be able to do this by himself. If he can’t help himself, how is he supposed to help anyone?

“Steve, being selfish isn’t always bad. I’ll admit, you were an asshole back in highschool, but now, now you are one of the best people I know. One of the kindest, especially in this godforsaken town.” She smiles as Steve lets out a small, wet laugh. “But, there are still times where being selfish is ok. Times where it’s needed. This… This was one of those times. It’s one of those times because it’s something that’s threatening your life and you are surrounded by people who love and care about you. And I mean love . Whenever Eddie is talking about Dustin, or just his life in general, you are almost always in the conversation.”

“Eddie… He talks about me?” Why does Steve feel weird? His stomach is just… weird. He doesn’t know the word for it. It shouldn’t feel like this just because someone talks about him. Girls talk about him all the time! So why does learning that Eddie talks about him make him feel weird?

“Oh yeah, all the time. The only time he isn’t talking about you is if it involves D&D or music. Actually, now that I think about it, even then you somehow get into the conversation. If it’s either fixing your music, or saying that you’d make a good paladin or a fighter.”

What the hell is a paladin?

“Just seems like I can’t escape Steve “The Hair” Harrington.” She laughs. It’s a nice laugh. A laugh that always made Steve want to follow it in the halls. It warmed anyone’s heart, no matter who heard it. One would think that it’d make butterflies flutter inside of Steve, like it did when Eddie grabbed her hand, but it didn’t. It’s the one thing that Steve can’t figure out.

“Yeah, uh, we should, we should probably head inside.” He clears his throat.

“You sure? We can stay out here a bit longer if you want"

Jesus Christ, she’s too sweet.

“Yeah, I’m uh, I’m ok now. Thank you.”

She smiles at him before standing up and holding her hand out to help him up. He accepts it and opens the door for her.

When they get back inside, the kids are back. Lucas and Max next to each other in the doorway to the kitchen, Dustin is where he was before, but on the floor. A block of guilt sets in his stomach as he takes his seat back on the armchair and Chrissy on the couch.

~~~~~~~~~

They made a plan once Robin and Eddie came out of the bathroom. Well, more like Steve made a plan, but it’s a plan nonetheless. The group sneaks across the trailer park and around to the back of a RV. Eddie climbs and falls through the window as ungraceful as ever. One by one, everyone gets through.

Once Steve is through, Eddie is already in the driver’s seat. Steve stumbles his way to the front and stands behind Eddie, watching his long, nimble fingers work through the different wires with pliers in his mouth.

“Where’d you learn how to do this?” Steve asks. Eddie removes the pliers from his mouth to talk.

“Well, when the other dads were teaching their kids how to fish or play ball, my old man was teaching me how to hotwire. Now, I swore to myself I wouldn’t wind up like he did, but now I’m wanted for murder, kidnapping, and soon grand theft auto. So, uh, I’m really living up to that Munson name.”

Right. Steve didn’t know much about Eddie, but everyone knows who his dad is. Or was. Who knows if he’s still alive.

Steve feels a sudden weight behind, hands on his back.

“Eddie, I’m not sure I love the idea of you driving.” Robin says.

“Oh, I’m just starting this sucker. Harrington’s got her.” Eddie leans back into Steve’s space with that grin on his face. The one that used to make Steve want to punch him. The one that Steve missed. “Don’t ya big boy?”

What?

Sorry?

What the actual fuck?

Steve stares at the metalhead as sparks fly and the RV roars to life. Eddie jumps out of the seat and pushes Steve to get into it. He gets back to reality and jumps over the back of the cloth seat and starts driving as the owners yell and bang on the metal door beside him.

Steve drives off while only knocking over a couple trash cans and a mailbox.

Dustin and Eddie whoop in success as they get onto the main road, making Robin and Chrissy giggle and laugh. He sees Robin sit down next to Chrissy, closer than she normally would in the mirror.

Shit, he’s gotta do something about that, doesn’t he?

He can’t let Robin get hurt. He can’t let her think she’ll have a chance with someone that she definitely doesn’t have a chance with. And she definitely doesn’t have a chance with Chrissy. She’s like the female Steve! Popular and straight. Looked at like they’re royalty. Just, thought to be above everyone else and straight. Very, very straight.

“Hey,” He’s broken out of his thoughts as Nancy slides into the passenger sit next to him. “How are you uh, how are you holding up?”

“Not uh, not half bad considering the murders, visions, and stealing a house and a car.” Steve fails horrendously to lighten the mood. He needs to fix this. "It’s uh, it’s silly but, I always had this dream that I’d have this really… really big family. I’m talking, uh, a full brood of Harringtons. Like, five, six kids.”

What is he doing? This isn’t how you fix this. He needs to stop. Right now.

“Six?” Nancy asks.

Steve needs to sew his mouth shut.

“Yeah. Six little nuggets. Three boys and three girls. And” he laughs a small laugh. “And every summer, I figured all of us Harringtons, we would pack into something like this and… see the country. Ya know, the Rockies, Grand Canyon, maybe Yellowstone. End up in some beachside town in California. Spend a week parked in the sand. Learn how to surf or something.”

He needs to stop

“That sounds nice.”

Steve looks over to see Nancy smiling at him. A small piece of her sparkle in her eye. The sparkle that was bright and shining. The sparkle that dulled the night at his pool.

“Yeah?” He asks.

“Yeah.”

She looks into his eyes tenderly. Almost lovingly. She looks away. Steve does the same.

“Except for the six kids part. That sounds like a total nightmare.”

“If only I had some practice.” Steve motions to the back.

Erica and Lucas are sitting at the small table. Dustin is behind Lucas with Eddie on the floor next to him. Robin and Chrissy were across from the two boys, also on the floor.

“All right. Fair. That’s fair.” He looks back at the road, glancing at Nancy.

Steve can see her look at him from the corner of his eye. It looks like she almost has a fond look on her face. His attention is pulled back to the road.

Is this right?

~~~~~~~~

Steve pulls up into the parking lot of WAR ZONE. The lot is fucking packed. It almost looks like the entire town is here, which wouldn’t surprise him too much. This town is fucking insane.

They make Eddie, Chrissy, Lucas, and Dustin stay behind in the RV. The rest of the group go into the big store and oh. My. God.

The place was so packed that it looked like everyone brought their mother and father. They agree to be fast and start looking for anything that’d be useful in a demonic dimension.

Steve grabs himself a new shirt and jacket and rejoins Robin in getting the kerosene. She’s putting one in when she suddenly stops, staring ahead. Steve follows her gaze and… Vickie.

Vickie’s here.

Robin has a small smile on her face. Steve leans on the shelfs and looks at her.

“What are you gonna do? Stand and gawk?”

“Shut up.” is her response. She sounds serious. More serious than the usual Robin. She takes a couple steps towards the ginger, stopping when a dude scares Vickie from behind. This dude looks like the classic surfer-fuck-boy. It’s too much, even for Steve.

Small banter occurs between the two before the surfer-fuck-boy leans in and kisses Vickie.

Shit.

The guy continues to kiss VIckie when she looks over at Robin. Robin looks lost.

“Rob…” Steve whispers.

“It’s fine Steve.” Her voice is small and broken, like she’s on the verge of tears. “I’m okay.”

She grabs the cart and quickly walks away. Steve slowly follows her. She needs space. It can… It can be a lot to see someone you love with someone else.

Not that Robin loves Vickie. Love is a big word. Not everyone should feel love with their first crush. Or marry and have kids with their highschool sweetheart. Probably shouldn’t even tell your ex-highschool sweetheart that you want a shit load of kids and a Winnebago. Not that Vickie is Robin’s first crush. Or her highschool sweetheart. Or that they can actually, physically have kids but… Steve just doesn’t want Robin to get hurt. He doesn’t want her to go through the same pain he did.

Steve’s rambling.

He’s rambling inside his own damn head.

He’s turning into Robin.

“Steve, Robin!” A hushed voice calls their names. Steve stops and looks behind him towards the source of the voice. It’s Erica, practically running to them with a cart full of random shit. “We got trouble. It’s Jason.”

Dammit.

Steve was so focused on the supernatural monsters that he forgot about the monsters surrounding him in a fucking army supplies store.

Erica points towards the counter. The counter that Nancy was at.

She’s still there. Only difference is that she’s holding a shotgun, which isn’t weird for Nancy, the only weird thing is Jason Carver thinking that he can put his hands on said shotgun.

“Get Max and get out. I’ll deal with Carver.” Steve demands. The girls scramble to find Max and Steve tries to rattle his head for some form of plan.

There’s one thing he can think of, and it’s something that he really doesn’t want to do. But Jason had looked up to him. It might be the only thing that’ll work.

He takes a deep breath and joins the two.

“-Are they here with you?” Jason asks Nancy. He’s way too close to her for Steve’s comfort.

“Carver.” Steve butts in. His voice is light, but firm.

The jock turns around, letting go of the barrel.

“Harrington.”

“It’s been quite a while.”

“Yeah.” There’s something off about him. Very off. Like, besides the whole “Eddie’s possessed by the devil and kidnapped and brain-washed my ex-girlfriend who I think still likes me” deal, he doesn’t look like the same kid from Steve’s sophomore year.

One may be surprised, but Jason used to be a good kid. He’s actually pretty decent at basketball, but he’s also nice. At least he used to be.

Steve steps around him and puts his arms around Nancy’s shoulders. He digs deep down to find that King Steve persona. The one that Jason looked up to.

His body is relaxed against Nancy, but he keeps his gaze towards Jason locked. The younger boy keeps the same look at Steve. The only difference is his being broken and angry. Steve could almost feel bad for the kid.

Almost

“Well, Nance and I should get going. We have a movie to catch, right babe?” He looks towards her and prays that she plays along.

“Right! I almost forgot. He’s taking me to see Pretty in Pink .” She smiles her best “get the hell away from us” smile and leans more against him. One of her hands coming up and interlocking with his. Her other hand is still holding the shotgun.

Luckily, they don’t have to hold the position too much longer. Carver reluctantly walks away and joins the other asshole jocks.

They both sigh as they untangle themselves.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, uh, no-no problem.”

Smooth Steve.

He clears his throat.

“We should, uh, we should get going. Back to the others.”

“Yeah, right.” Nancy had been staring at him but then turns and pays for the shotgun and rounds. There was a look in her eye. One that Steve had always been bad at deciphering.

They pay for the rest of the stuff and leave without saying another word about the interaction.

Steve admits, it had been… weird. Not a bad weird by any means. Just a… weird weird. But it also felt natural. Like it was supposed to happen. Steve just doesn’t know if he wants it to happen.

He used to. He most definitely used to want it to happen. But now? With everything that they had been through. Was a romance really necessary? Did they have to fan old flames? Steve liked being friends. Sure, something more would be nice, but was it necessary? Isn’t something more what Steve always wanted? To have that connection with someone? Didn’t he want to be able to cuddle and laugh with someone. Didn’t he want to be able to have someone’s shoulder to cry on? Someone who wasn’t his gay best friend who he used to have a crush on? Wasn’t he supposed to? He was supposed to marry and have kids with his highschool sweetheart. He was supposed to be rich and have a nice job and wear suits all the time. He… he was supposed to be his father. He was supposed to have his parents’ life.

That’s not what he wanted.

He didn’t want to go to boring business meetings. He didn’t want to have the biggest house on the street only for it to be filled with empty memories. He didn’t want a wife who only cares about her looks. He didn’t want only one child. He didn’t want to stay in one god forsaken town. He didn’t want to leave his child all alone in a big empty house while he went on meaningless trips.

He wanted to be happy.

The two adults get bombarded by everyone, except for Max who is in the back, about where they had been.

“We were worried sick!”

“Where the fuck were you?!”

“We thought the jocks got your asses!”

“That took way too long, you sure you don’t have rabies?”

“You can’t scare us like that man,”

“I’m taking your stuff if you die on us.”

What the fuck was wrong with these kids?

“Did you just say that you’ll take my stuff?” Steve directs the question to Erica.

“Just the facts.” She shrugs and walks away.

What the actual fuck?

“We’re fine, but we need to go, now.” Nancy states, looking at Steve. Now everyone is looking at Steve.

Why are they looking at him?

“Wouldst thou majesty doth the hon’rs of driving?” Eddie asks in a very annoyed voice like this should be obvious.

Steve’s eyebrows furrow further. Why is he talking all Romeo and Juliet like?

Did he say driving?

“Oh, right!” He scrambles into the driver’s seat, heat slowly climbing up his neck. He quickly starts the car and backs out of the WAR ZONE parking lot.

~~~~~~~~~

The group finds themselves in a large, secluded field. The RV is parked at the top of the hill and the others spread out, making different types of weapons. Steve and Robin are in front of the vehicle making molotov cocktails.

Eddie and Dustin are hammering nails into trash can lids. Nancy, Max, and Chrissy are sawing off the barrel of a shotgun. Lucas and Erica are making spears out of sticks and knives.

“It doesn’t make sense.” Steve breaks the silence.

“What doesn’t make sense?” Robin asks, keeping her focus on pouring kerosene down the funnel that Steve’s holding.

Should he continue?

It really doesn’t make sense.

“That was Dan Shelter. He graduated, like, two years ago.”

“So?”

“So he’s in college. Which means he was visiting on spring break. Fast Times was returned, like, I don’t know, a week ago?” Robin stops pouring and Steve takes off the funnel and shakes out a rag to stuff in the bottle. “Right? Unless she’s got some horndog brother we don’t know about. Which is possible. Or she’s just really into Judge Reinhold?”

“Steve.” She interrupts him.

He stops and looks at her.

“What?”

She looks right back at him.

“I don’t care.” She shrugs and lifts her hands up. Robin’s voice is honest. It’s almost like that awful yet amazing night in the bathroom. She’s being her most truthful self right now. “I do not care that Vickie has a boyfriend. I really don’t. Besides, in the whole, grand scheme of things, the stakes of my love life are seemingly low compared to the end of the world. And I…” She trails off and looks out into the field. Steve follows her gaze. “I think it helped me realize that there are other options. Options that are better for me.”

Steve’s gaze travels away from the blonde and to the brunette. It’s not the brunette that he originally thought it would go to. Instead of going to a brown and white striped shirt and cream-colored scarf, it went to a leather jacket and a black bandana.

He watched the older boy tackle the curly-haired menace to the ground. Both laughing as the older man flopped onto his back in the dirty green grass.

“Six nuggets” Steve mumbles.

“Oh yeah, that was fucking ridiculous.” Robin comments as she gets a new bottle ready. Steve groans and puts his head in his hands.

“Jesus, I’m such an idiot.”

“Mhm, we know.” Steve helps Robin make another molotov.

Why did he say that? Even if he had a chance before, he definitely doesn’t now. Seriously? Six nuggets in a Winnebago traveling across the country? Nancy wouldn’t want something like that. Like she said, six kids would be a nightmare for her. Why the hell would he tell her that he wanted that? She’s with Jonathan for christ sake! And a girl like Nancy would never be into having six kids! Who knows if she even wants a kid, nevermind six. Anyone would be out of their mind to want that many.

Once again, Steve’s eyes travel to a long-haired boy, laughing in the grass.

They’d absolutely be out of their fucking mind.

~~~~~~~~~

The plan is for the others to finish the weapons and for Steve and Eddie to get a cassette with his favorite song. The hope is that no one sees them and his parents didn’t plan a surprise trip home. Mostly the former.

Luckily, the walk through the woods to his house from the field was short. They make it there as the dying light of the sun says a final goodbye. The first view they have is the pool, the light of it replacing the sun behind them.

“Holy shit, you have a pool?” Eddie jogs ahead and squats down at the edge of the pool and dips his hand in. A redhead flashes in Steve’s mind before he’s hauling Eddie up by his arm.

“Let’s make this quick.”

“What’s wrong mister “co-captain of the swim team”? Scared of a little water?” Eddie leans into Steve’s space, as usual, his head dipping low to look at Steve.

“Of this water? Absolutely.” Steve brushes past him and goes around to the front of the house.

A sigh of relief leaves his body as he looks at the empty driveway. They aren’t home. Thank God.

Steve grabs the spare key under a pot and unlocks the door.

“Jesus Christ.” He hears Eddie whisper from behind him. The shadow of his breath hits the back of his neck.“I knew you were rich but this is something else.”

He pats Steve’s chest and invites himself inside, marveling at the large space.

The large and empty space.

Steve heads to the kitchen and searches his pantry and fridge for anything he could make. He decides pasta is simple but filling enough. He grabs some garlic and starts on a sauce.

“It’s like a fucking maze in here!” He hears Eddie yell from deep in the house, chuckling at the boy’s antics. He starts on sauteing peppers and onions. He makes a mental note to leave them on the side, remembering Robin’s dislike for them. Something about them being too slimy.

“Wow, he cooks too.” Steve jumps about 5 feet into the air. He quickly turns around to find the curly-haired boy a foot away from him, laughing hysterically. “Christ, you’re like bulette!"

“Well it certainly doesn’t help when you sneak around like that! I’m gonna have to put a bell on you.” Steve scoffs, turning back around to the stove.

“Aww Stevie, it’s all in good fun.” Steve’s face heats up as the older boy leans over him, watching the stove over his shoulder. He can feel the boy’s breath on the back of his neck. A chill goes down his spine as Eddie sighs and hums in agreement. “Damn that smells good.”

His chin rests on Steve’s shoulder. One arm is around Steve, leaning on the counter, the other on the handle to the stove. It feels like Steve is on fire.

Anywhere that’s touching Eddie is burning. His lower back, his upper back, his shoulder. Everywhere. Except for his face. Don’t get him wrong, it still feels like it’s on fire, but Eddie just isn’t touching it.

Truly, why did it have to be that boy?

His father’s distorted voice echoes inside his head.

Shit.

Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit-

“Hey, uh, Stevie?”

He’s broken out of his thoughts.

“Oh, shit!” Steve exclaims. Eddie steps back as Steve quickly turns off the heat and takes the pan of peppers off the stove. He shimmies and flips the vegetables around a bit, hoping to not burn them.

“We should be good.” Steve says after a couple more minutes. He sets the pan back on the cool stove and grabs a pot with shaking hands to start filling with water.

Eddie moves next to him and puts his hands overtop of Steve’s, grabbing onto the pot that’s slowly filling. “I got this part princess.”

Steve doesn’t respond. He just quickly nods and steps away to start on a salad. What the fuck is wrong with him? This stuff doesn’t usually affect him. Eddie has flirted with him all the time in Family Video. But he had never gotten close like that . It’s usually just his face or his side intruding Steve’s personal space. It’s never been his entire body like that.

But it shouldn’t be weird, right? It shouldn’t make Steve’s face red. It shouldn’t make his heart skip. It’s just guys being bros, right? It’s not like Tommy H. did anything like that but Eddie isn’t Tommy H. He isn’t a giant asshole who only cares about himself.

Though it still shouldn’t make him feel like this.

“Hey, where’s your room?” Eddie asks, putting his hand on Steve’s shoulder. “I wanna loop your song while you finish dinner.”

“Oh yeah, it’s upstairs.”

Eddie does a dramatic bow, extending his arm and motioning for Steve to lead the way. He takes the invitation and leads the two of them upstairs and into his bland room. They walk in and Steve goes straight to his box of records. He has a fairly good selection of albums. It helps to block out the constant ringing in his head he first started hearing after Billy broke a plate over his head.

“Are you fucking serious? You have striped curtains that match your wallpaper? Who knew that rich people had such terrible taste.” Steve curses under his breath. Where the hell did he put it? “Turns out interior design isn’t the only thing you have terrible taste with. I mean seriously man, do you have any black in your wardrobe? Or anything that isn't a polo shirt?"

Steve just rolls his eyes and continues to search through his records.

"Is that fucking U2 ?"

Steve jumps once again with the voice coming from right behind him. This guy seriously needs a bell.

“Yeah yeah, go ahead make fun of me for not listening to your mess of sounds.” Steve scoffs and turns around to find Eddie flopping onto his bed with a big sigh. How the hell is he so quiet? He must’ve been a nightmare child.

“Jesus, this is so much better than my piece of crap.” The boy stretches out his body while making a weird ass noise before sitting up.

Nightmare child.

“Is that a fucking bat with nails in it ? ” Eddie is up again and across the room, picking up the bat.

“Oh, you mean Lucille?” Steve replies absentmindedly while getting out his tape deck and an empty cassette.

“It has a name? ” Eddie asks in disbelief. Steve glances at him to see the bat being picked up and inspected.

“Yeah, of course she has a name. I got her my first go-around with all this… shit.” Steve waves his hand around in a general motion. “Well, technically I stole it from Jonathan, but it was to save his ass from the demogorgon so I don’t think he really minds.”

“Ok, first of all, Jonathan Byers made this thing? It looks like he could barely hurt a fly, nevermind make this thing. Secondly, did you let Dustin name everything ? A fucking demogorgon? Seriously?” Eddie puts the bat back down and continues his snooping around Steve’s room.

“Uh, yeah pretty much. And trust me, Jonathan can do much more than hurt a fly, even before we knew what we were really dealing with. He beat my ass that year.”

“Oh, really?”

Steve’s face goes red. He shouldn’t have said that last part. Eddie doesn’t need to know that he got his ass kicked by Jonathan. Not that he didn’t deserve it because he 100% did.

“Well I should get back to the kitchen. I’m sure you know how to make a mixtape with the whole… band thing. The song is Head Over Heels . Bye.”

He hears Eddie scoff as he practically runs out the door. Steve needs to chill out. He’s being too irrational. Why is he being irrational? What the hell is wrong with him?

He gets back to the now boiling pot of water and pours in the pasta. From upstairs he can hear the distant notes of Tears For Fears . He stirs it around a little bit here and there while it cooks. He’s tasting one of the noodles before he hears something from outside.

Splash .

His head snaps to the glass door just outside the kitchen. He’s just losing his mind, right? That, that wasn’t water. Right?

He tries to listen for anything else.

Nothing.

Before he knows it, he’s in front of the glass sliding door. The curtains are still drawn.

It’s fine. It’s perfectly fine. It was probably just an animal or a stick or something. He doesn’t move. He just listens. It’s silent.

Silent.

He was able to hear Eddie upstairs before. Now there’s…

Nothing.

Steve draws back the curtains as fast as he can and unlocks the door, sliding it open. The darkness has overcome the woods. The only light is the pool.

The quiet pool.

There are small ripples in the water. They’re circling something.

Steve takes a step outside, one hand on the frame of the doorway.

His stomach drops.

The window in his room. It faces the pool. The empty pool before him. The pool that’s empty of all but one thing.

A ring.

A skull shaped ring.

Eddie.

“All done. You ready to get going, Harrington?”

Steve spins around, almost giving himself whiplash.

Eddie.

He’s a couple feet away with one hand in his jean pocket and the other holding up the cassette. One knee is bent, making him lopsided. Much like his body, his head is also lopsided with a curious look in his eye.

“Watcha doin-”

He’s interrupted by Steve closing their distance and wrapping him into a hug. Eddie takes a step back so as to not fall. Cautiously, he wraps his own arms around Steve.

“Ya miss me that much?”

“Shut up.” Steve’s voice wavers with his unsteady breath. He buries his face into Eddie’s shoulder, his hands grasping tight at the leather jacket.

Steve closes his eyes shut, trying to rid the all too familiar images of Eddie with hollowed out eyes and limbs jutting out in different angles. He feels tears falling through his closed eyes as they seep into the boy in front of him.

“Was… Was it him?” Eddie asks. His voice is soft and gentle. Steve tries to open his mouth to respond, but only a wet sob is heard. He quickly shuts his mouth and just nods against the boy’s shoulder. He hears Eddie breath out a shaky breath before he rubs small circles on Steve’s back. “It’s ok. It’s ok honey. It’s all gonna be ok. Just breathe, sweetheart. It’s ok. You’re safe now.”

Steve shakes with silent sobs as quiet, comforting words are said to him.

Minutes pass before Steve straightens himself and loosens his grasp on Eddie, not fully letting go. The other boy doesn’t let go either. Instead he looks at Steve with kind, big, brown doe eyes.

“You have pretty eyes.” Steve whispers.

“You trying to flirt with me Harrington?”

“Maybe I am.”  Steve lets out a wet chuckle when Eddie’s face goes red and the boy starts sputtering.

“We, uh, we-we should get back to the others.” Eddie clears his throat and takes a step back.

They both head to the kitchen to collect the food and start their walk back to the field.

It’s gonna be a long night.

Chapter Text

Operation Kill Vecna is a go.

That’s not the official name, but Steve kinda forgot it as soon as Dustin said it. It was too long and nerdy anyways.

Steve, Erica, and Dustin got dropped off in front of the Creel House. After a quick goodbye, the others left for Eddie's trailer.

Don’t be a hero.

That’s what Steve had told Eddie.

We are not heroes.

And that’s what Eddie said.

God, they better keep their word.

The three of them step up to the front door, all of them taking a deep breath before taking off their shoes and stepping into the house. Head Over Heels is loudly playing from Steve’s walkman. Once inside, they split up and walk around the house with their blue lanterns.

Steve is near the same bathroom from before when the kids find him. Instead of her lantern, Erica holds up her notepad.

Found Vecna.

This is it. They’re gonna finish it once and for all.

The boys follow Erica to the living room. The same one with the fireplace. The one with the crying baby.

In the middle of the room, on a table, is Erica’s blue lantern, flickering lightly.

He’s here.

The boys stay in the room next door as Erica situates herself in a small playground across the street. They sit down across from each other with a lantern in the middle.

Time for Phase One.

Minutes pass in silence. Well, silence for Dustin. All Steve hears is Curt Smith’s voice. 

I never find out until I’m head over heels.

Sick of the kid’s grim expression, Steve grabs his notepad and starts writing.

Hey kid.

Dustin looks up and takes a second before picking up his own notepad

Hey.

Steve sighs.

How you holding up?

He sees Dustin’s hand tense up before writing

Been better.

A smile that quickly falls appears on Steve’s face.

At least you don’t gotta listen to the same song for hours on end.

The kid’s eyebrows furrow as he anxiously writes his response.

What if it doesn’t work?

He flips to another page.

What if the song loses its magic? What if it doesn’t work anymore?

Shit. Steve didn’t think of that. None of them thought of that.

Max.

She’ll be fine, right?

Steve ignores his worries and focuses on Dustin’s. He needs to lighten the mood.

Are you doubting the power of Curt Smith?

It makes a small smile appear on the boy’s face.

Good. It’s not the same without one. Even if it’s small.

You better let us have parties at your place after this.

Steve smiles and shakes his head. He looks down at his notepad and starts writing. It takes him a little while to finish it, but God is it worth it.

As soon as he holds up the small picture of the group as stick figures at Steve’s pool, the kids in the water and Steve with some cool sunglasses, Dustin’s smile grows into that toothy smile that Steve loves oh so much. It’s the best smile that one could have. Steve could almost hear the kid’s laugh over the loud music. They both smile at each other.

Then the light hits them.

Both of their heads snap to the window where Erica signals them with her flashlight.

It’s time.

They look at each other and both take a deep breath.

It’s fine.

They knew the risks.

Dustin lifts his flashlight and blinks back.

Phase Two, baby.

Steve steps into the foyer and puts his shoes back on. Dustin leaves his outside the door. He takes a breath and steps back into the living room. The blue lantern is still pulsing.

Don’t take my heart, don’t break my heart.

Don’t, don’t, don’t throw-

The music stops as Steve hits the pause button and takes off his headphones.

“Alright asshole! I’m here. No more music. No more running away.” Steve yells, but nothing happens. The lantern keeps pulsing. No apparent movement. “Come on! You're not getting Max, it’s either me or nothing, fucker!”

The light dies down.

Steve’s lantern lights up from the doorway. He takes a deep breath and follows him. He walks up the main stairs, Dustin close behind him. They follow him through the small door and up the narrow staircase to the attic. Steve follows him to the middle of the room, right where their flashlights bursted the other day. He looks back to find Dustin a couple steps behind him. The kid nods towards him, a determined look in his eye.

Steve looks back at the lantern.

He’s got this.

He’s just gotta taunt and insult the hell outta this guy, right? Shouldn’t be too hard.

“Well? What are you waiting for? I’m right here asshole. No tricks. Just me, giving myself up. Come on!” Steve yells.

Nothing happens.

“Come on, I know you can hear me!” Steve exhales.

Shit.

Now he wishes that Dustin wasn’t here. He didn’t want anyone to hear this. But it’s the only thing that he can think of.

“Alright, fucker.” Steve puts down the lantern and walkman. He lets out a long sigh. “You… you read thoughts, I know you do. You know what I’m thinking but… I’m gonna say it anyway. I think that’s what you want. You want me to admit it. So I will.”

Steve takes a deep breath. He really doesn’t want to do this in front of Dustin.

“Truth is, you’re right. With what you showed me before. Everything that E- that Nance said. It’s true. I am bullshit.” Steve can’t say his name. It just, it can’t be true. He loves Nancy. “I am such a big, giant pile of bullshit . I mean, I cared about my dad’s fucking opinion more than my girlfriend’s worry for her best friend. The best friend that ended up dead. I was so fucking selfish, it’s unbelievable. Maybe things would be better if I wasn’t selfish. Maybe we wouldn’t have investigated the Russians and Robin wouldn’t be wrapped up in this mess. Maybe Nance would have her best friend. Maybe the Byers wouldn’t have had to move. Maybe Hopper wouldn’t have died. Maybe if I had gotten my head out of my ass for once and paid more attention to Max instead of trying to get laid, I would’ve seen her hurting. Honestly, everyone would just be better off if it was me instead of Will. I should’ve been the one who went missing, not Will. That sweet, innocent kid didn’t deserve any of this, but I… I do deserve this. I deserve death. No one would have to deal with this shit if I didn’t exist. God knows I’ve thought about it plenty before you showed up.”

A few minutes of silence pass. A cold wind drifts through the attic.

“Dammit, just come and get me asshole!” Steve yells once more. He turns around to look back at Dustin. Except, he isn’t there. Steve is alone in the attic of the Creel House.

He whips back around and finds himself being pushed into a chair. Ropes find themselves around his arms and legs. Steve looks up as a fist collides with his face.

“Let’s try this again. Who do you work for?”

Steve looks back and sees the Russian that tortured him and Robin for God knows how long.

“Robin?” Steve calls out. There’s no response.

Another fist hits him, causing him to stumble out of the chair. He looks down at his free arms. Where the hell did the ropes go? Not that he was complaining that they were gone.

A low chittering breaks through his thoughts. It gets louder and louder as Steve slowly turns around.

So maybe he was complaining a little bit.

He slowly looks up, recognizing the tight, shiny skin of a demogorgon. He stares up at the closed maw, frozen in fear. They stared at each other for what could’ve been centuries or merely seconds. The demogorgon screeches, its head opening up into the twisted shape of a flower. As soon as Steve turns heel and starts running, it screams again. Steve can hear its footsteps pounding behind him like a drum. He runs as fast as he can, his heartbeat and the distorted sounds of the creature behind him being the only things he can hear.

Steve skids to a sudden stop. He finds himself back at Starcourt. When the Mind Flayer attacked. He looks ahead of him and sees Max, her back to him and staring at the scene ahead.

The Mind Flayer screeches. Someone yells in pain. Steve looks further, past Max.

Billy…

He watches as more and more tentacles attach themselves to Billy, his screams echoing within the mall. The Mind Flayer opens its mouth as one last tentacle shoots out and pierces Billy’s torso. Max screams his name.

Steve watches Billy’s limp body fall to the floor.

Slowly, Max turns around to look at Steve. Her eye sockets are hollow with blood. Red tears are streaming down her cheeks. Even without eyes, Steve can see the horror and anger that fills her face.

“Why didn’t you save him?”

The question hits him like a pound of bricks.

“I-I didn’t know, I wasn’t…” He falters

“Why didn't you save him? Why didn’t you save him!?” She asks the question over and over. Her voice pounds inside his head.. Steve closes his eyes and covers his ears in a desperate attempt to drown her out.

“WHY DIDN’T YOU SAVE ME?”

Steve pauses. He notices the tears falling down his face being illuminated by that stupid bright light he hated so much. The one he had to live with every fucking day. And that wasn’t Max’s voice. It was someone he tried to forget. Someone he only saw in the late nights of his bedroom. He finally looks up.

“Barbara?” He chokes.

She’s soaking wet, her mouth and eyes wide open. Her entire body looks colorless. She is still wearing the brown top and blue jacket from that night at Steve's, dirty and torn and covered in that sickening slime of the Upside Down. The only new additions were the vines that wrapped around her body, and the blood that’s dripping down from her torso and legs.

Around them was the one place that Steve tried to avoid the most in his house. They were standing under the night sky, the only light coming from the pool next to them.

“Why didn’t you save me, Steve?”

It flickers back to the Starcourt Mall.

“Why didn’t you save Billy?”

The voices start blending together and becoming more and more distorted while they repeat themselves. As the scenery around them flickers back and forth. From the mall to the pool.

Max to Barbara.

“IT’S YOUR FAULT! IT’S ALL OF YOUR FAULT!”

They’re screaming in unison now. Just screaming over and over and over. So much so that Steve starts to believe it again.

It was his fault. He should’ve let Nancy go home with Barbara. He could have not had the party at all. He should’ve gotten down from the balcony to save Eleven. To save Billy. He should have made sure that none of this had happened to any of them. 

“IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU!”

Steve stares at the two redheads. They’re both in front of him now. They stare back at him.

“No…” Steve quietly says. He isn’t even sure he said it outloud.

Suddenly, he’s plunged into water. The vine wrapped around his leg, dragging him deeper into the water. He screams and thrashes around under the water as more vines wrap around the rest of his limbs. Everything around him is dark and heavy. One vine finds its way around his neck. He feels the fight slowly leaving him. An all too familiar humanoid figure slowly walks up to him. 

“They can’t help you now, Steven.”  

A chill runs down his spine as he reluctantly looks into the cold, colorless eyes of Vecna.

Steve hears fighting as Vecna looks to the left. He turns his head as best he can to follow Vecna’s gaze. Steve watches Dustin struggling against none other than Jason fucking Carver. Then he spots the broken walkman behind his lifeless body. His stomach sinks.

“You don’t deserve it. Right? That’s all you ever tell yourself. That you don’t deserve their help. Their love.”

Steve yells out in pain as two vines jab themselves into his torso.

“Join me. We can stop their suffering.”

Vecna slowly raises his hand over Steve’s face. A painful stiffness surges through his body once again. He sees Jason strangling Dustin now. Dustin’s kicks become more panicked as Steve’s body slowly lifts into the air. The image disintegrates.

“All of the suffering caused because you are too weak and pathetic to save them will be gone.”

“No…” Steve croaks out, the vine tightening around his throat.

Steve thinks back to walking up the Byers’ driveway to apologize to Jonathan, when all of this had started. He thinks about the first time he wielded his nail covered bat. He thinks about Dustin running up to him, asking for help with his cat-eating-pet. The darkness around him flickers for just a moment. He thinks about giving dating and hair advice to Dustin while setting a trail for Dart.

It flickers again. It flickers to somewhere…familiar.

He thinks back to waking up with a headache in the back of Billy’s car and panicking when he saw Max Mayfield at the wheel. Once again it flickers.

He thinks about seeing Eddie Munson and Chrissy Cunningham walk into Family Video one night. He remembers Robin, and when he first met her at that God forsaken ice cream shop. She was as bored as always and even more annoyed to have Steve “The Hair” Harrington as her coworker. The darkness around him warps into the Scoops Ahoy shop at the Starcourt Mall, completely empty and deserted, the only light coming from inside the store. Vecna falters for a second before he’s thrown away from Steve and into the back of the store.

Steve falls to the ground, coughing. He looks in the opposite direction and sees Eleven standing in the entrance to the Scoops Ahoy. She quickly runs over to him and helps him up.

“You look… different.” Steve says as he takes in the buzzcut and flower print pajama top.

“Are you ok?”

“Never been better. How are you here? I thought all of this was supposed to like, be in my head or something.” He questions.

“I piggybacked you from a pizza dough freezer.” She replies, completely calm and like that wasn’t one of the weirdest things that he’s ever heard. If he was discounting the creepy humanoid raisin currently trying to kill him that is.

“What the hell, man.” Steve sighs and puts his hands on his hips. His hands quickly drop as a growl is heard from the back of the shop.

They watch said humanoid raisin step out from behind the counter, and into the seating area. Instinctively, Steve steps in front of Eleven who puts her hand out and steps forward. Steve wants to protest, but seeing how he can’t do shit against Vecna, he lets her go.

“Stay back.” She demands. Both super-powered people… or, things , walk so that they’re in the middle of the store, but still a good distance away from each other. “If you touch him again, I will kill you, again.”

Again? Does El know this guy? Wait, if she killed him, then how is he here?

As per usual, Steve is very confused at the current situation. Though he is touched that El would kill a monster from a different dimension for him. Jesus, his life is weird.

Vecna cocks his head slightly to the side.

“ Is that what you did? Hmm? Did you kill me?” Vecna straightens his head. “ I am so glad that you are here, Eleven. This… is going to be beautiful. So beautiful. ”

Jesus, Steve could gag. Like could this guy get anymore stereotypical?

Vecna slowly lifts his arms and with them, dozens of broken pieces of wood and metal lift. 

“ And it’s all thanks to you.”

The creature jerks his arms forward, sending the debris towards El. The girl screams and throws her arm across her body. All said debris pierce into the wall to their left.

Woah.

This girl is insane.

As soon as Steve thinks this, she’s flown backwards into him. He tries catching her but ends up just breaking her fall. He tries to grab onto her as her body is pulled forward, but he’s unsuccessful. The girl is thrown around like she weighs nothing.

Eventually, she’s thrown into the front counter and Vecna lowers his arm to walk towards her.

Oh fuck no.

There’s no way in hell Steve is going to let him hurt another one of his kids. He’d die before letting that happen

Quickly, he grabs a broken table leg and charges. He gets close to the monster before being thrown to the side and into a wall. His entire torso explodes in pain. It feels like his own skin is trying to rip itself apart.

He watches from the floor as El quickly gets up and throws her hand forward. Unfortunately, she isn’t fast enough. Vecna puts his hand out towards her too, and slowly, her feet leave the white-tiled floor.

No.

Steve pushes himself to his feet. His whole body wants to fall apart, but he ignores it. Except when he takes a step forward that is. As soon as he attempts it, he falls to the floor. Everything turns to black.

The next time Steve opens his eyes, they’re back at the Creel House. Except it’s the one that Vecna showed him. Everything is covered in a red fog and broken. Pieces of the house are still floating around. Steve’s up against a broken wall, his arms and legs once again being held by vines.

He slowly lifts his head. His vision is still blurry, but clear enough to see Eleven’s body. It’s in the same position as Steve’s except for a vine that’s slowly wrapping itself around her head and lifting it up. Surrounding them are the deformed corpses of the other victims. 

In front of him is Vecna, slowly walking towards him. He gets to Steve, putting his hand up and on his cheek. Steve struggles, trying anything he can to break out of the vines.

“ Don’t be afraid. ”

Tears stream down his face.

“ Try and stay very still. It will all be over soon. ”

Slowly, Vecna raises his hand over Steve’s face, much like before. Everything around him goes out of focus, the stiffness returning.

“Steve!”

He can hear El screaming. She sounds so distant. So far away.

A burst of pain shoots through his arm. He opens his mouth to scream, but can’t. It’s like his voice is gone.

It’s almost as if he can see it. He can envision his arm breaking. Dustin screaming.

Another burst goes through his leg.

This is it.

This is how Steve Harrington dies.

~~~~~~~~~~

He gasps for air and falls to the ground.

Vines that were previously around his limbs were now receding back to the floor. He looks up to see Vecna across the hellscape. He’s also suspended, except there’s no vines. He’s just floating in the air with all his limbs extended.

Steve’s head turns to his side.

And there’s El. She’s standing with her arm extended towards the monster.

“ You are the monster.” She says, slowly walking towards him. “Not me. Not Papa. You. This is your fault.”

Then he lights up.

The creature screams in agony as his entire being is engulfed by flames. The sound is deafening. Steve sits there shocked before looking at the young girl in front of him. She looks back at him, a small, tired smile appearing.

Steve blinks and he’s falling.

He hits the ground hard; his left arm and leg are screaming at him. His vision is blurry from a combination of tears and head trauma. The usual ringing in his ear is amplified. He can barely hear anything else.

“Steve!” There’s screaming. “Erica, call an ambulance! Now!”

Who’s screaming? Are they hurt? Why are they screaming?

“Come on man! Wake up! Just wake the hell up! Please!”

He opens his mouth, the only noise coming out of it is a small groan. He hears the voice above exhale. He feels himself get moved just a little bit closer to something warm.

Pain springs throughout his body with the small movement. Steve opens his eyes, just a little bit more. His vision becomes clearer and he can make out the figure above.

Dustin.

Tears are streaming down his beaten face and falling onto Steve’s. Slowly, and very painfully, Steve lifts his right arm. The rest of his body is screaming at him as he puts his palm to Dustin’s wet cheek. He tries his best for a smile, unsure on if he’s successful. Everything is still… blurry.

The sound of static fills the room.

“Dustin! Steve! Erica! Anyone!”

Dustin carefully reaches over and grabs a walkie talkie from his bag. He extends the antenna and speaks into it.

“D-Dustin, over.” His voice is still wet and hoarse from his sobs.

“You need to get here! Now!” Max’s voice fills the air.

No. They did it.

They have to have done it.

“It’s Eddie.”

Chapter Text

They’re outside the Right Side Creel house, saying goodbye to the Mimic group.

“Alright, listen.” Steve says while pulling away from a hug with Max. “I don’t want any of you to try and sacrifice yourself, got it? Don’t be a hero.” He pointedly looks at Eddie with his last statement, a sort of sadness in his eye.

“Look at us, man.” Eddie gestures to himself and the two kids beside him and grins. “We are not heroes.”

They’re now sitting in the middle of the RV. Robin and Nancy are up front, Max and Lucas are in back. Each in their own, quiet conversation. The only ones silent are the freaks in the middle.

They’re sitting on the floor next to each other. Eddie is staring straight forward, eyes distant. He has his hands wrapped around the handle of a baseball bat. A baseball bat with nails in it.

He had come back from Steve’s with it. Why Steve “The Hair” Harrington has a bat with nails in it, Chrissy doesn’t know. Then again, Steve’s been through this 3 more times than she has and she’s already got nightmares from it. She’d want a little protection too.

“You ok?” She whispers. Eddie chuckles.

“Yeah. Just peachy.”

“It’s gonna be ok.”

“False hope isn’t really what I need right now-” Chrissy grabs his face and forces him to look at her.

She’s done with his negativity. He has to at least try to be a little optimistic.

“Hey. We’re gonna be ok.” She says, her voice stern.

“Yeah, fine. Whatever. Just let me go.” He dismisses her, trying to free his face from her grasp. He doesn’t succeed.

“Nope. I need to hear you say it.”

“Seriously, Cunningham?”

“Yup. I need to hear you say it. Loud and clear.” She’s now using both of her arms to try and keep him looking at her, a small smile begins to form on her face.

“Okay, okay. Jesus.” He flings his arms around, making her let go. He sighs before looking into her eyes. “We’re gonna be ok. There. Satisfied?”

“I suppose it’ll do for now.” She says. He huffs and crosses his arms like a pouty toddler, but she can see the soft smile threatening to come out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they finally get to the trailer, Chrissy offers to climb through first. Of course, Eddie protests. But it only made sense for Chrissy to go through first because I’m literally team captain of the cheerleaders Eddie, I have the most dexterity here.

After that there wasn’t much argument. Chrissy has found that he won’t argue as much with her when she includes the bits and pieces of D&D terminology that she remembers.

A light pink blushes across Chrissy’s face as Robin gets down on her knee to give her a boost. Of course, she takes it. Miraculously, she lands on her feet. After a second of readjustment, she grabs an even dirtier mattress and flops it down under the pulsing portal. One by one, everyone gets through, as well as their equipment.

Lucas and Eddie pull Max to her feet and the cautious group head outside. No bats seem to be in sight.

“Well then, I suppose this is goodbye.” Chrissy turns around at Eddie’s voice. He has one hand in his front pocket, the other one is holding onto the bat by his side. Chrissy feels tears prickling behind her eyes, threatening to fall.

Chrissy hugs Eddie tighter than she’s ever hugged him. She feels him hug back, just as tight. She can hear the others saying goodbye to each other.

“Be careful.” She whispers.

“I’ll see you on the other side, darling.”

A minute passes and they let go. Chrissy looks up to see Eddie’s glossy eyes. She guesses her’s look similar.

The other two girls take their turns with Eddie, and Chrissy with the kids. She tells them both to be careful and to listen to Eddie, in which Max groans.

They all say a final goodbye, the three older girls start walking to the forest. They got this, right? They can kill him. Chrissy looks at the other two girls.

They look so serious and focused. It looks like they aren’t even scared, while Chrissy can’t even stop her shaking hands. How can they not be scared? This is fucking terrifying. They are literally on their way to kill a wizard in a different dimension that telepathically killed one of her friends. How are they not freaking out right now?

“Wait.”

The three girls stop and turn around to look at the dark skinned boy. His expression is grim with the light of the Upside Down.

“Let me come with you.” Lucas commands.

“What?” Chrissy questions.

“Let me help you kill Vecna.”

“Kid…” Eddie starts but gets cut off.

“No, before you say anything. Let me, let me plead my case. Please.” No one says anything. He turns fully to the older girls before continuing. “Ok. I… I need to make sure that this thing never comes back. The only way I’d be able to do that is if I’m there. Plus, I’m mediocre at best with my wrist rocket. I’m not great at hitting small moving objects, but I can do big stuff. From what Max and Steve said, Vecna seems pretty big to me so… Let me help you. Please.”

“Lucas, no.” Max is the first to speak. Lucas turns around towards her. “I’m not letting you do that.”

“I have to Max. I’m the one who brought you into all this shit. I’m the reason you’re here right now. The least I could do is make sure it doesn’t hurt you again.”

Chrissy hears Nancy exhale. She looks over to see the taller girl with her eyes closed.

“Fine.” She finally says. Max keeps protesting, but Nancy ignores it. “We should switch someone out. Keep it even.”

“I’ll switch.” Chrissy offers herself up.

It makes sense for her to go. Besides Eddie, she has the least amount of experience with this stuff. Plus, she doesn’t really wanna leave Eddie’s side. Especially not when it includes an evil, supernatural monster who’s actively trying to kill her friends.

Besides, she trusts Lucas. She doesn’t know him too well, but she’s seen him at games. His eyes are always glued to the court, despite being stuck on the bench. He’s always focused and paying attention. That’s what they need. Not someone who can’t even stop herself from shaking.

Nancy and Lucas agree with this and Chrissy and Lucas switch sides. The new Ravens group starts their walk to the house. The blonde starts her way towards the trailer to help Max and Eddie build the defenses.

“Chrissy, wait.”

She turns around to find Robin.

“Robin. Hi. Uh, what’s up?” Chrissy already finds her cheeks heating up. She really needs to calm down, this isn’t the time to panic over a girl.

“I just, um… I-I wanted to say goodbye. Like, just in case, ya know? Since it’s the end of the world as we know it and you’re about to fight off a bunch of demonic bats while I light up a superpowered monster and uh… stuff.” Robin rambles, talking with her hands as usual. Chrissy can find a smile growing on her face at her rambles.

“R-right. Uh, just be careful, please.”

“Yeah, uh, you too.”

They stare at each other. It feels like seconds turn millenia.

“Cool, uh, b-bye then.” Robin turns to walk away and join the other two.

She should let her walk. Just watch her leave for what could be the last time.

The very last time.

Robin’s right. This could be the last that they ever saw each other. They might not make it to the otherside. This could be it.

“So why waste it?” Chrissy can hear Eddie’s voice in the back of her head. “Just go for it, Cunningham.”

So she does.

She grabs Robin’s arm, before she can walk away.

“Chrissy?”

Without another thought, Chrissy closes the distance.

And it’s like they’re the only ones left in the world. Like nothing else matters. Not alternate dimensions, not school, not Vecna, not Jason. Nothing but this moment matters. The lips against hers are soft and salty from sweat. The taste makes Chrissy forget about all the problems in the world. It makes her-

“Hey, darl-”

Chrissy quickly pulls away.

Robin slowly opens her eyes and looks down at the blonde. Her dark eyes are wide in shock.

“Goodbye, Robin.” Chrissy whispers before turning around to run towards the trailer and a new deadman.

“Sorry…” Eddie says, taking a step back from her.

“It’s fine, Edison.” She smiles a sweet smile before walking away to help Max with building the defenses.

She’s gonna kill him.

“Right.” She can hear the fear in his voice.

~~~~~~~~~

The girls find themselves following Eddie into his bedroom.

“It’s like… she was destined for an alternate dimension.” Eddie says in awe, staring at the instrument in front of him. And he’s right. She looks beautiful surrounded by the vines and grimes of the Upside Down. “What do you say girls? Are you ready for the most metal concert in the history of the world?” He lifts up the guitar and slowly turns around, his eyes still glued to the red and black spots.

Chrissy smiles back at him. She can see Max next to her roll her eyes, but a smile is sneaking onto her face. Eddie slings the strap of the guitar over his head and pushes it onto his back.

“Let’s do this.” He says before running past them and back outside.

They all climb onto his roof and wait.

It’s fine. It’s all going to be fine. It might feel like they are waiting for way too long, but it’s fine. Everyone’s fine. The plan hasn’t gone wrong. Yet.

Chrissy does a mental shake.

She can’t think like that. Like she told Eddie before, they have to be optimistic. Everyone’s going to be ok.

They’ll all get out of this.

Everyone will be alive.

Chrissy snaps out of her thoughts as their walkie crackles to life.

“He’s in. Move on to phase three.”

Robin’s voice fills the empty air. Max responds and plugs the guitar into the amp. She turns one of the knobs and a white noise fills the air. A white noise soon to be gone.

“Deborah, this is for you.”

Eddie kisses the pick around his neck before ripping it off and putting it to his guitar.

Chrissy recognizes it instantly. It’d be pretty hard not to with the amount of times she’s heard it. She remembers the day he first got it.

“Chrissy…” He called in a sing-song voice. “Get up! C’mon! Chrissy! Chrissychrissychrissychrissy-”

“Ok fine! Jesus. I’m awake.” Chrissy threw a pillow towards his face and reluctantly sat up. “Eddie, it's 7 in the morning, what are you doing up?”

“I got it.” He had a manic smile on his face as he held up a small red box. It had rows of white gravestones filling the brown dirt. METALLICA was written in big white letters over the top of it. “I had to fight a bit, and there was a feral raccoon, but I got it. I actually got it.”

Speaking of feral raccoons, Eddie Munson was currently looking like one while sitting across from Chrissy on his bed. There were leaves and sticks in his curly mess of hair and dirt smeared across his face. He was wearing an old, tattered Iron Maiden shirt that now had a fresh rip at the bottom of it.

“What is it?” Chrissy asked while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“It’s their new album. It dropped today. I uh, I didn’t really sleep last night but it’s fine. It was totally worth it.” He replied. She could see the eyebags forming under his eyes.

“Ok, well, now that you have it, it’s time to sleep.” She carefully plucked the album out of his hands and put it on his messy nightstand. A whimper came out of his mouth.

“But Chrissy!” He whined, dragging out her name. “I have to listen to it! I can’t sleep with this much excitement! Besides I practically went through hell trying to get it, I need to reward myself!”

“I’ll reward you for sleeping by getting breakfast.” She said, getting out of bed. “I need to get home anyways. I’ll pick something up on my way back.”

He reluctantly obeyed and layed down in his bed. Dirty jeans and all. Chrissy rolled her eyes and left. They’re lucky that they were off of school that day.

She came back a couple of hours later, a bag of bagels in hand, and music was blasting from the trailer. The blonde sighed as she walked into the trailer. His uncle’s mugs were vibrating on their shelves.

“Eddie!”

Chrissy heard the music shut off, followed by the sound of scribbling on paper and Eddie’s guitar playing the same tune. It’s not quite as loud, but loud enough.

She plopped the bagels onto the crowded counter and headed into his bedroom. The note cuts short as he looks up at her.

He looked even more like a feral raccoon hunched over his treasure.

“Did you sleep at all?” She asked. The boy’s eyes got wide.

“Uhh…”

Chrissy stares up at Eddie with a smile on her face. She watches his manic hair fly around his manic grin. His long ringed fingers sliding up and down the neck of his guitar. The sound of strings is deafening through the speaker. It almost drowns out the symphony of bats coming their way.

“We gotta get out of here soon!” Chrissy yells over the music. “You’ve got 30 seconds, Eddie!”

Eddie nods in acknowledgement but keeps playing. He can’t afford to stop, not after they’ve come so far. They can do this.

The guitar riff starts.

“10 seconds!” Max calls. Slowly she starts counting down.

5

4

3

2

“1!” She finally yells out.

“Go, go go!” Eddie yells as they all scramble down and inside the reinforced trailer. Eddie closes the door behind him just as bats slam their bodies against it, beating their wings to try and break through.

“Holy shit!!” He yells while excitedly bouncing and flapping his hands next to Chrissy who can’t help but grin. He’s beaming at her. How could she not smile? “That was fucking awesome!”

She’s glad to see him happy, even if it’s because he played one of his favorite songs in an alternate dimension to distract monster bats. He deserves to be happy.

“Let’s move!” Max yells at them, stopping Eddie’s bounces. Her expression is dark and grim. How could it not be? She’s being hunted down by an evil wizard while her boyfriend’s trying to kill him. She has no reason to share Eddie’s happiness right now. Chrissy hopes to see her smile one day.

They move to the center of the trailer, under the gate. They all stand back to back, their makeshift weapons at the ready as countless bats try to get inside. The sound of wings slow to a stop.

“Did they… leave?” Chrissy asks cautiously.

“I doubt it.” Eddie responds. And he was right.

The sound of crawling bats comes from up above them. They’re on the roof.

Slowly, they follow the sound of bats to a vent in the small living room. They hear the sound stop right above it.

“Can they get through there?” The redhead asks just as it breaks open.

Instantly, Eddie drops his bat and grabs an extra spear and starts stabbing the leather creatures before they fully got into the trailer. The girls quickly join him. They stab at them over and over and over again, but more just keep coming. Eddie quickly stops and grabs one of the shields, yelling at the girls to move, before slamming it into the vent, blocking it off. He stumbles back and they all watch it.

It holds.

“Are there any more vents in this place?” Max asks once it’s deemed safe. Chrissy and Eddie share a look.

His bedroom.

They both quickly run towards it and slam the door shut in the face of half a dozen bats. Chrissy holds it as Eddie pushes the small table that he and his uncle share in front of the door.

“It’s not gonna hold. Get out of here, now!” He yells.

Max scrambles for the rope and makes her way up. The two adults watch her fall onto the mattress above.

“Chrissy, go!”

She looks at him and into his brown doe eyes. They’re serious, determined… scared. They’re so scared and Chrissy is sure hers is too. She’s fucking terrified. She wants to do what he says. She wanted to get out of here the second the gravity overtook her. But she won’t do it without Eddie. She is not leaving him behind, not after everything that they’ve been through.

“I’ll be right behind you. I promise.” Eddie whispers. He seems to have read her mind, or maybe he just saw the worry and fear behind her eyes.

Whether it was the look in his eyes or the sound of his voice, Chrissy doesn’t know, but it makes her body move. She trusts him. She trusts that he’ll follow.

She grabs onto the cloth rope and starts her way up. Eddie is under her, making sure that she gets through.

And she does.

She’s through the gate and now Eddie is going to get through. He has to.

Chrissy looks up and watches Eddie grab the rope, but he doesn’t climb. He looks back and forth between Chrissy and his bedroom. A thought seems to have crossed his mind. A thought that he’s going to act on.

Quickly, he grabs the makeshift spear and cuts the rope. Chrissy and Max start yelling at him to stop. He lifts the mattress up and moves it out from under the gate.

“I’m buying more time.” He says before grabbing a shield and the bat from Steve’s and running out the door.

It feels as though everything is fuzzy. Like time has stopped but is going a million hours a second at the same time. Chrissy can’t hear anything. Max’s screams have turned to white noise.

“You promised! You fucking promised, you son of a bitch!”

She can hear herself screaming after him. She feels numb. She can’t feel her body. She can’t do anything. She can’t save him.

Suddenly, her body moves with only one thought.

Save Eddie.

That’s all she has to do. She has to save him.

Chrissy drags a wooden chair underneath the wet, pulsing gate. She commands Max to step back. Once she complies, Chrissy runs towards the chair. She uses it as a sort of springboard and grabs onto the slimy edge of the portal.

“Chrissy! What the hell?” Max yells.

The cheerleader pushes herself up and through the gate, landing hard on her back. Her head hits the floor and, for a second, everything turns to a blinding white. She ignores the pain in her head and gets to her feet.

“Stay up there!” She calls to Max. “Stay there and call Dustin!” And with that, she runs out the door, ignoring Max’s protests.

As soon as she gets out the door, she sees a swarm of bats. Her legs start moving before she can even think. They’re going as fast as they can to the small figure in the middle of it all. Her heart sinks as she watches the figure fall and scream in agony.

She responds with her own screams of his name. One by one, the bats fall to the ground dead. She thinks back to Robin, Lucas, and Nancy. They must’ve done it.

But it’s too late.

The blonde gets to the bloodied body on the dirty floor and kneels over him. He’s absolutely covered in blood. A pool of the crimson liquid is being created underneath him. His eyes look empty and lost. His mouth is opened showing his red-stained teeth. The nailed bat has rolled away from limp hands.

Chrissy quickly takes off her sweater and presses it over his abdomen with shaky hands. She pushes down, causing him to scream in pain.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” She quickly apologizes but continues to apply pressure. She needs to stop the bleeding. She needs to get him out of this hell. She needs to save him. She needs to save him. She needs to-

“Chrissy.”

Her eyes snap to the red face below her. Tears are rolling down her eyes and falling to mix with his blood.

“Why-why are you here?” He croaks, coughing up more blood. He groans as Chrissy pushes down on his abdomen just a little bit harder.

“I told you, dummy. I-I’m not leaving you.” Chrissy tries her best to keep her voice light and steady. “N-now stop talking, y-you’re gonna make it worse.”

Chrissy keeps putting pressure on his stomach. Her eyesight starts to become blurry from tears. The pounding in her head is drowning out the world. But she keeps her focus on Eddie. She has to save him. It can’t end. Not like this.

"I'm sorry, Chrissy." Despite her protests, he continues talking. “This is all my fault. I should have just taken you home that night. I’m why you’re here and I am so sorry. I just…” He coughs up more blood. “I love you so much, darling. You’re the best queen I could ever ask for.”

“Eddie..” Chrissy’s voice breaks. More and more tears fall down her face to mix with the crimson below her.

“It… It’s why you need to be a queen for all my little sheeps, ok? You gotta look after them. No matter how much Henderson argues, you’re in charge.”

“No, no. This is not goodbye! I’m not letting this be goodbye, Eddie!” Chrissy cries. She’s not letting this be the end. This can’t be the end of them.

“Just… please, Chrissy. Look after them for me.” Chrissy just nods, too busy trying not to sob her eyes out. With his next words, Eddie slowly lifts a shaky hand to Chrissy’s. “And, I-I need you to give this to Wayne”

His bloodied hand falls from hers. In it is his red guitar pick. The one that always hung around his neck.

“Eddie no. No, I can't do this. If I do this then-”

Then you’re really gone.

She can’t say it. She can’t say it because it can’t be true. This can’t be happening. It just can’t. It’s all just a crazy nightmare, right? Just a terrible, terrible nightmare that she’s going to wake up from any moment. She’s going to wake up to Eddie holding a cassette tape in his hand while looking like a feral animal, smile stretched wide. It’s going to happen any moment now. It has to happen. This can’t be it.

“Please Chris. Just please do this for me.” Eddie begs. “I don’t want him to know what happened to me.”

“I-I’ll tell him, Eddie. I promise, I’ll tell him what you did for us.”

“I said that this was gonna be my year. Some year, huh?” Eddie’s small chuckles turn into coughs. 

Chrissy’s heart breaks as Eddie’s broken face twists into a grin. A genuine smile. The rest of Chrissy breaks with the next words that are uttered into the dark, grimey world.

”I did it… I didn’t run this time.”

Chrissy sobs and screams over Eddie’s body as it slowly goes slack, His big, brown eyes are empty. His ringed hands are at his sides. Chrissy holds the limp body against her own.

The cheerleader cries over the metalhead. Her entire body is going numb. Her vision is blurry with tears. The pounding in her head is getting louder and louder and louder and louder. Even her own cries are being drowned out. Everything is fuzzy. All she knows is that her best friend is dying and that she is the only one who can save him. She has to save him. She can feel thick liquid slowly cover her hands as she pushes down onto the bat bites.

Suddenly, she feels warm arms wrap around her waist and pull her away from the skinny figure in front of her. She kicks and screams trying to do anything to get back to Eddie,

She has to save him.

“Chrissy! Chrissy, it’s ok! It’s me, It’s me. It’s ok. He’s going to be ok, Chrissy.”

She flips her body around and wraps her arms into the figure. A familiar scent fills her senses as she sobs and sobs and sobs into Robin’s shaking shoulders. The taller girl shushes Chrissy, whispering small promises into her hair.

Chrissy can hear Nancy, but the girl sounds so far away. They all sound like they’re miles and miles away and Chrissy is running to them; the distance keeps getting longer and longer and longer, but she keeps on running anyway. She keeps running even though it doesn’t matter in the end. Nothing in this godforsaken world matters anymore because she couldn’t do it.

She couldn’t save Eddie.

Chapter Text

Eddie!

Steve wakes with a start, bright fluorescent lights blinding him. Darkness is coming through the windows to his left. Where the hell is he? White-hot pain spreads through his body as he tries to sit up. His left arm and leg are in a white cast and his head is throbbing; it feels like he can hear his heartbeat. What the hell happened?

Everything is just fuzzy and in pain. He can’t feel his left side, he can’t hear his own thoughts. He can’t breathe . Everything is so suffocating, he can’t stand it.

Steve forces his eyes open. A blurry image of a brunette dressed in white appears in front of him.

“Shh, it’s ok honey. You’re ok. Don’t move. It’s gonna be alright, sugar.”

His eyes betray him and close again, letting the woman’s sweet voice take him over. He can hear her moving around next to him. There’s a beeping machine. The beeping is going slower as Steve gets his breathing under control.

Images of blood and hollowed eyes fill his head. He starts hyperventilating again as his eyes are forced open. 

He needs to get away.

The beeping speeds up. The woman’s voice fills his ears again, battling the screeching of bats.

Away from the darkness.

“It’s ok. You’re safe now, honey. Everything’s ok.”

Another woman has come into the white room. Everything turns fuzzy as they talk in urgent voices. The newer woman quickly leaves the room and comes back in with a short blonde. Her soft blue eyes are panicked and red as she rushes to Steve’s side.

“Steve! It’s ok. E-everyone’s ok. It’s over, we’re… we’re alive.” Chrissy says. Her usual inviting voice is broken and hoarse. Steve looks into her red, swollen eyes. It looks like she’s been crying. What happened? She said that everyone was ok. Why would she be crying if everyone was alive?

“It’s Eddie.”

Max’s voice rings in his throbbing head once more. Steve slowly opens his mouth.

“E-Eddie…” He croaks. His throat burns from the name that leaves his lips. He watches Chrissy’s eyes widen. She opens and closes her mouth a couple times. Steve’s stomach flips.

He’s not ok. Not everyone’s ok. Not everyone is alive. Eddie’s not… He’s not ok.

“Steve…” Her voice is barely above a whisper. Tears start forming in her eyes. “He… He’s alive.”

Bullshit.

If anything is bullshit, then it’s that. If he’s alive then why the fuck is she crying? Why did Max call them for help?

“M-Max called. She-she said…” His voice is so hoarse, you can barely hear it in the small room.

“I know what she said. I-I know… Eddie he…” A sad smile forms on Chrissy’s face. Tears fall down her round cheeks. “He didn’t run this time.”

What?

What the fuck was that suppose to mean? He didn’t run? How was Steve supposed to know anything from that ? He has a million questions and wants to ask them all. But before he can, the brunette sticks something sharp into his arm. He can see her say something to Chrissy, in which she nods in response, but he can’t hear her.

A heaviness slowly overtakes his eyes. He tries to fight it as much as possible, but to no avail. A deep, numbing sleep lays over his body like a heavy blanket. Everything goes to silent black as he falls asleep.

~~~~~~~~

The next time he wakes up, small rays of the morning light are pouring in through the windows. His head is still throbbing, but is clearer. A numbness has overtaken his body. He looks around the small room. White tiles and wallpaper cover the floors and walls. There’s a small TV at the end of his hospital bed. A heart monitor beeps to his right and a blood bag stands next to it. His entire left arm and leg are in a white cast and are already covered in sharpie doodles. There’s a small basketball, a bat with nails sticking out, and the word “DINGUS” going down his leg in a bright pink. 

His attention is turned to the creak of a door from the corner of the room. A girl with jeans and a loose t-shirt walks into the room holding a vase and bouquet of red carnations. He watches her fill the small vase with water in a nearby sink and lightly places it on the windowsill. Carefully, she plops the red flowers into the clear vase.

“Chrissy…?” Steve mumbles. He can barely raise his voice above a whisper. The small girl jumps a little at the noise before turning around.

Dark bags are colored under her blue, swollen eyes. The small smile on her face is tired and broken. It’s not the same as before. The sparkle in her eyes are now gone. The same thing happened with Nancy after Barb.

“Hey Steve.” Her voice is quiet and soft. She makes her way to his bedside. “How are you feeling?”

“Never been better.” His own voice is hoarse, like he’d been screaming all night. It’s a feeling he’s all too familiar with. “What happened?”

She quickly inhales before sighing. Chrissy grabs a glass of water with a straw and gives it to Steve’s free hand. She takes a seat in one of the plastic chairs next to him,  her mouth opens and closes a few times. Is it that bad?

Steve tries to remember the night before, but everything’s still fuzzy. He notices the design of the shirt she is wearing. It’s a Metallica shirt. He suddenly remembers the tears when he said Eddie’s name.

“Is Eddie…” Steve trails off. He can’t bring himself to say it.

“He’s alive.” She assures him, but the tears start forming in her eyes again. “But… Right now he’s… He’s in a coma.”

The sentence hits him like a bag of bricks. He remembers being in the Creel House, then being at the mall and the pool. He remembers seeing Eleven and Vecna’s cold, lifeless eyes. He remembers waking up and Max’s voice.

“You need to get here! Now! It’s Eddie.”

How the hell did it get so bad? Obviously the plan wasn’t fool proof, but he didn’t think this would happen because of it.

“How… What happened, Chrissy?”

The tears fall from her face as she recounts the events. She tells him about switching with Lucas, (which Steve makes very clear that he doesn’t approve), about Eddie’s performance, about the bats getting through the vents, her and Max getting through the gate, and about Eddie running off.

“Son of a bitch.” Steve sighs. He shoves his free hand in his face, attempting to stop the tears that threaten to fall. “I told him, I fucking told him not to be a hero.”

“We both know he’s not the best listener.” A humorless laugh escapes Steve’s lips.

A few minutes of silence pass between the two.

“You know, he still hasn’t returned Rocky Horror . No matter how many times I remind him.” Steve breaks the silence with a sad smile on his face.

“Oh, I know. He made me watch it as soon as we were deemed friends. I could practically quote the movie by now.” Chrissy laughs in response. “He’s completely obsessed with it!”

“He kept trying to bribe me to let the late fee go. He owes Family Video like 10 bucks!”

Chrissy’s laugh is sweet like before, but it still lacks that sparkle. Steve takes it as a win anyway. Whatever he needs to do to cheer her up, he’ll do.

A couple hours pass as the two royals talk. Steve was out for about 2 days. In those said days, the government had come and cleaned up the mess. The Byers, and this guy named Argyle, came back from California in a pizza van (Steve’s not questioning it, stranger things have happened). Speaking of stranger things, Chief Jim Hopper is alive. Chrissy informs him that Hopper didn’t die, but was kidnapped and tortured by Russians. Steve can’t blame him, it could happen to anyone.

“STEVEN JAMESON HARRINGTON!”

Steve gets interrupted before he can explain the whole Russian thing by the door being thrown open. Robin runs in and is at his side instantly. She throws her arms around him. He takes his free arm and wraps it around her.

“That’s still not my middle name, Rob.”

“Jesus man, you can’t do that to us.” She ignores him, speaking into his shoulder. He can feel a small wet spot forming.

“Sorry Rob.”

They hug each other tightly before Robin is being yanked back.

“My turn!!” The little shithead yells before throwing himself onto Steve. The man groans as the weight of a 15-year-old appears on his chest.

“Would you guys slow down? He just woke up, let him breathe!”

He hears Nancy’s voice coming from over the mountain of curls that blind his vision. He feels Dustin tighten his grip at her words.

“Move your ass, nerd.”

The mountain of curls is pulled away with distressed noises. Max stands there for a second, staring at him with glossy eyes. He smiles at her and opens his arm wider for a hug. It looks like she considers it for a second, but decides that a slight punch to his arm would suffice.

“Idiot.” She mumbles under her breath while her arms cross over her chest.

He next gets trampled by Lucas then Nancy. Once she pulls back, Steve sees Mike, Will and Eleven at the foot of the bed. Mike seemingly hasn’t changed at all with his arms crossed, looking like he doesn’t care whatsoever. Will is awkwardly standing next to him and Jesus Christ, did this kid grow. He’s taller than Jonathan who’s still by the door of the room. Eleven walks to his bedside. She’s still in the stained clothes that he saw her in before.

“Hey kid. You were pretty great, huh?” He says with a smile. Tears blossom in her eyes as she crashes into him with a hug.

“I’m sorry,” She mumbles next to his ear.

No. No, no no no no. We aren’t doing that shit. Especially when she literally saved his life and killed an evil raisin wizard. He pushes her away with his arm, but holds onto her hand and looks her straight in the eye.

“You have no reason to be sorry.” She tries to talk, but he doesn’t let her. He’s not letting anyone feel guilty. They killed him, that’s what matters. The fucker’s dead. “You kicked ass Eleven. You literally saved my life and killed Vecna.”

Robin clears her throat from behind the young girl.

“With the help of Robin, Nance, and Lucas.” He rolls his eyes. “But that’s beside the point. The point is that you were fucking amazing! You did everything you could and he’s dead. You’re a fucking hero, Eleven.”

A small smile forms on her face as she quietly nods. Tears roll down her face as Steve pulls her back in for another hug.

He’s not letting these kids feel guilty about anything. It’s over. They can finally have a somewhat normal childhood and Steve’s going to make sure it’s the best goddamn childhood in the history of childhoods.

Steve listens with a smile to the kids talk over each other as they try to explain what happened in the other groups and in California. Apparently, El’s now in hiding (again) because a military guy in the government is trying to kill her, and she’s hiding with a Russian that Hopper brought back with him in Hopper’s cabin. Argyle, (a guy with long, black hair who looks very out of it as he stares at Steve’s flowers like they cured cancer), is Jonathan’s new best friend who drove them across the country.

A little while later, Joyce and Hopper join them in the small room. With all due respect, Hopper looks like shit. He’s in old, torn clothes that have dried blood on them, and his head is shaved. His face looks busted with cuts all over. He looks tired and ready to kill a man at any given notice. Steve knows the feeling.

Joyce embraces him in a motherly hug and Steve absolutely melts into it. He’s always loved Joyce’s hugs. They’re warm, inviting, and safe. She makes it seem like everything is ok, a much different experience from Steve’s own mother.

“Thank you for keeping them safe, Steve. I’m glad you’re ok.” She whispers low enough for only him to hear.

“I’ll always protect them Mrs. Byers.” He responds as she pulls away. She lightly smacks his good arm.

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Joyce?”

He apologizes with a laugh and the kids go back to talking over each other. Now, they’re explaining the campaign they did before spring break to Will, who is nodding along with ease. Somehow, Robin got roped into their conversation and unlike Will, looks very confused about the whole thing. She catches Steve’s eye and mouths help me .

Max and El are catching up, along with Jonathan and Nancy. They’re talking in hushed voices. He watches Chrissy stand up as Joyce introduces herself with a hug. A surprised look crosses Chrissy’s face, clearly not expecting to be smothered in motherly love. It takes a little while to get used to Joyce’s love, though it fits into your life easily.

They all look so tired. Tired but alive. Everyone’s tired and alive. A loud laugh rings out in Steve’s head. A stupid, crooked grin matched with doe eyes and long curly hair flashes in his mind.

Not everyone.

A bagel spread with cream cheese is thrust in front of his face, breaking him free from the pale boy haunting his thoughts.

“I know the food here sucks, so.” Hopper gestures towards the food. Steve mutters a thanks as he bites into it.

“Hey,” Steve looks at Hopper’s beat up face. “I’m proud of you, kid. You did good.”

The familiar feeling of tears prickling in his eyes is back as he looks at the man before him. He just manages a smile and small nod in response. Everyone’s happy right now, he doesn’t wanna ruin it with his stupid daddy issues.

“Wait, there’s food?” He hears Robin call out before a chorus of chaos erupts from the kids wanting some, all except Will, Max, and El of course. They’re the only ones with some form of manners. Joyce tells them all to calm down (they don’t) and starts being the amazing woman she is and feeds the heathens.

Nancy and Jonathan gravitate towards Chrissy at Steve’s left side to make room for the not-so-tiny demons. Robin joins them once she had fought and won a cream cheese covered bagel.

Chrissy introduces herself to Jonathan who does the same for himself and Argyle. The guy has a bagel and is just nodding along to an invisible tune.

Jonathan explains to Steve more clearly of what happened on the West Coast. El broke a girl’s nose with a roller skate (good for her), She joined this guy named Dr. Owens to try and get her powers back. Then, it turned out that the guy who gave her powers and traumatized her was alive, (he was dead? Also, who?). While that was happening, secret agents were sent to protect the rest of the Byers, plus Mike, but got killed by military government people who want to kill El. They made their escape and called NINA, which they thought was a person, but was actually a machine. And then they drove to Utah to visit Suzie, the supergenius, and got the coordinates to NINA. Found NINA, found El, found a lot of corpses. They went to something called a Surfer Boy, and made a sensory deprivation tank in the dough freezer for El (so that’s what she meant). After the fight, they made their way across the country and back to Indiana.

“Jesus Christ.” Steve rubs his hand over his face. “What the actual hell man?”

“Tell me about it.” Jonathan replies. “I’m glad you’re ok man, besides the whole, ya know.”

Jonathan motions at the casts.

“Thanks man. I’m glad you’re ok besides the entire mind fuck we just went through.”

The young adults talk for a little longer. Robin is standing suspiciously close to Chrissy who giggles at practically everything Robin says. Steve's gonna have to investigate that later. Meanwhile, Nancy and Jonathan are standing farther apart from each other. Something Steve won't be investigating.

His best friend and her crush? Sure. His ex and her boyfriend that beat his ass a couple of years ago? Absolutely not. No way.

The hands on the clock slowly tick by. Nancy has taken the kids, (except for Will and Eleven) home, for they all have new and strict curfews. He's mostly just been listening to Will and El talk about their time in California, before the government decided to kill a traumatized child.

Steve can feel another deep sleep threaten his eyes. He sees Joyce eye him before giving a look towards Hopper. Hopper's eyebrows furrow in confusion, clearly not understanding, until Joyce quickly jerks her head towards Steve. The man nods his head before standing up with a grunt.

"Alright kids, we should get going and let Steve sleep. He's had a long day." Hopper commands the kids and reluctantly, they leave. Not before finger guns from Argyle (which Steve awkwardly does back), a nod from Jonathan, and a wave from Will. El gives him another quick hug, a small smile on her face. Steve feels his heart warm with the gesture.

He never really talked to the girl with her existence being kept secret from them and her in hiding even after they knew she was alive. Course, then there was the move after the chief supposedly died.

Joyce stays behind with Steve, her back turned to him as the others leave. Why is she staying? Is something wrong? Hopper gives her a tight smile before following Eleven out the door.

“Mrs- uh, Joyce?” Steve corrects himself. She turns to face him. Her smile is sad and her eyes are focused on the bed. Her hands busy themselves by straightening out the blankets over Steve.

“Ok, uh, listen honey. Some government people that are, or were, with Owens are gonna be coming in here soon to talk to you. They have some extra papers for you to sign.” She takes his hand in hers and squeezes it. “They uh, they said that they tried to contact your parents, let them know what happened, but…”

Oh.

Steve thought that it was gonna be something really bad, like he was never going to be able to use his left side again. But no. Just the usual absent parents. Nothing he isn’t used to.

“They aren’t coming, right? They were told to talk to my dad’s secretary? Couldn’t get ahold of them?” Steve spouts out the possibilities with accidental venom.

He shouldn’t be taking it out on anyone, especially not Joyce. He doesn’t need to take it out. There’s nothing to be taken out. He’s fine. He’s used to them not coming to games or field trips. It’s all fine.

“Uh, no, no they- they aren’t.” Her voice is sad and empathetic. Steve hates himself for making her worried like this. “But, you don’t have to worry. I’m gonna be right here with you while they go through everything with you, ok?”

“M-Mrs. Byers, you really don’t have to do that. I was fine signing myself to silence the last couple of times alone. I mean, what’s one more time?” Steve protests and tries to keep it at least a little light-hearted, but it seems he’s only made her eyes fill with more hurt. Of course he only made it worse.

“No, I’m staying here. It really is no trouble. Besides, I wanna make sure you don’t sign away your life. You might be an adult, but you’ll always be one of my kids, ok?”

She runs a hand through his dirty hair and looks into his eyes with the most kind and earnest look.

Steve’s gonna die.

This is how he dies. From fucking motherly love given by one Joyce Byers.

The small moment is broken by a knock at the door. Joyce drops her hand and puts it over Steve’s. The door opens and a woman with short brown hair walks into the room with a folder in hand.

“Hi, Steven Harrington, I’m Agent Ellen Stinson.” She walks to his side and puts her hand out towards his good arm.

“Steve is fine.” He says, not moving a muscle. God, he hates this process so much. They always act so professional and like he wasn’t just traumatized for the thousandth time. It’s infuriating.

She waits for a second before putting her arm down. She takes a deep breath before continuing.

“May I take a seat?” Steve gestures toward the plastic chair next to him. She sits down nice and proper. Both feet on the floor, folders in her lap, back straight. It reminds him of his mother. He feels sick.

“Now, I hate to report that you’re parents-”

“Aren’t coming or unable to contact? I know. This isn’t my first rodeo.” He sounds meaner than he means. Joyce squeezes his hand.

He shouldn’t be taking it out on her, she’s just trying to do her job, but they gotta stop pretending that he doesn’t know anything. He’s not an idiot. It’s not the first time they’ve done this.

“Yes…” She takes another breath. “We will let you know when we are able to be in contact with them. But in the meantime.”

She places the yellow folder on his small tray table.

“This is the story that we’ve told the public while you were asleep. We would appreciate it if you were to go along with this story of what happened and not cause any trouble for us.” She says it with a sprinkle of salt. It’s only fair. Steve was a dick to her, she should be a dick to him back. “We also only have a few papers for you to sign.”

She opens the folder and takes out a small stack of papers, each one filled with black text. To be fair, it is less than last time, but it’s still a lot of papers. Steve looks at the small letters. His eyebrows furrow as he tries to concentrate on the letters, but they still dance across the pages.

Joyce leans over to read them as well. Steve only gets through a couple of sentences that he can’t quite remember before she hands him a pen and tells him to sign it. He does as he’s told and she moves the page next to the stack. The woman reads through the next page before putting it to the other side of the papers.

“Not that one.”

“Mrs. Byers, we need him to sign all-” The agent starts.

“Not. That one.” Is all she has to say for the agent to sit in silence.

God Steve loves this woman.

They go through this process until they’ve gotten through all of the papers. The stack of “signed” is a bit bigger than the “unsigned” pile. Joyce hands the signed pile to Agent Ellen. She then takes the other pile and promptly drops it into the recycling. It takes all of Steve’s will to not laugh at the agent’s shocked expression.

“That’s all, yes?” Joyce says like she didn’t just throw out a bunch of government issued papers in their face. It’s the best day of Steve’s entire life.

“Yes, I believe so.” The woman stands up, her back still straight and proper. Her face is carefully structured as calm, but Steve thinks he can see a small smile tugging at her lips. “I’ll make sure Owens knows that he wasn’t able to sign all of them.”

“Have a good night then.” Joyce replies, a satisfied smile on her face. The woman nods, then turns towards Steve and wishes him a goodnight. He repeats it back to her and she leaves.

Joyce sits down with a sigh. A few moments pass in silence. Steve can feel the threat of darkness growing as his eyes get heavier. Joyce seems to notice, and she pats his arm.

“I’m gonna get going, kiddo. You get some sleep, ok?” Her voice is soft and sweet. He sleepily nods and mutters a goodbye as she walks out the door.

He tries to fight the sleepiness a little longer, but he can’t escape it. It seems like he’s never able to escape the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~

The next day is when Steve opens the folder. To be honest, he's hesitant to do so. Not sure why.

It takes until 3 o’clock in the afternoon, (mostly because he slept through the morning), to open it. Steve reads it out loud, but even then it takes him a while.

On March 21st, 1986, Henry Creel, son of Victor Creel, escaped from Pennhurst Mental Hospital. That same night, he broke into Wayne and Eddie Munson’s trailer and murdered Deborah Crosswell. Eddie Munson and Chrissy Cunningham were both witnesses. Becoming Creel’s new targets, Mr. Munson and Miss. Cunningham fled the scene. Due to false accusations against Mr. Munson and being targeted by Creel, both him and Miss. Cunningham were forced into hiding. In Creel’s attempt at finding Mr. Munson and Miss. Cunningham, he murdered one Fred Benson and Patrick McKinney. On March 27th, 1986, Creel found Mr. Munson and Miss. Cunningham and took them to his old family home. Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, and Nancy Wheeler found them there and intervened. Shortly after, Creel was arrested. Mr. Munson and Mr. Harrington both sustained multiple injuries and were quickly admitted to Hawkins Hospital.

It wasn't as terrible as Steve thought it was gonna be. It's… accurate to say the least. Besides the stabs and Henry Creel actually being in their world, obviously.

It's nearing 9:00pm when the door creaks open. The small TV at the end of his bed is on and playing Grease .

"Oh Stevieee…" Robin's quiet sing-song voice overtakes the sound of John Travolta.

"Hey Rob." The door opens wider and Robin walks in with a bag of take-out and her work vest still on.

"Thank God you're awake." She opens the bag and takes out four burgers and a shit load of fries.

"Damn, you're hungry." Steve comments as he picks up a burger.

"One of those is for me!" Chrissy appears in the doorway with three drinks in hand. "Thanks for the help, Robin."

Her voice is sarcastic, but has no real fire behind it. She seems better. The bags under her eyes are lighter and her smile is less forced. She seems happy.

Robin stuffs a handful of fries into her mouth and takes two of the drinks. She whispers something to Chrissy and the two girls start giggling.

They're standing close to each other. Weirdly close to each other. Steve knew he'd have to stop Robin from crushing on Chrissy, but now she's comfortable around her. Her figure is loose, even with being so close to her crush.

“So… What’s the occasion?” Steve slowly asks. Robin spins around to face Steve. Her bottom lip is between her teeth like she was trying to suppress the smile that was already on her face.

“Right, right!” She quickly puts the drinks down on Steve’s tray, one closer to him and one closer to her. Chrissy follows her and stands next to the practically vibrating girl. Robin shares a look with Chrissy who nods. “You might wanna take a sip of your shake first.”

She slides one of the cups closer to him and he obliges. What the hell were they doing? He’s never seen Robin like this. Don’t get him wrong, he loves seeing her so happy, especially with the past week. He’s mid sip when she finally blurts out what’s on her mind.

“Me and Chrissy are dating!” She practically yells. Steve spits out the drink, coughing.

Sorry? What? When the hell did this happen? He thought Chrissy was straight. Like straight straight. Like Steve straight. Yeah… Steve straight…

“Robin! Oh my God!” Chrissy cries out while scrambling to get napkins for Steve. She hands them to him and pats him on the back.

While Steve is dying, Robin is cackling like a maniac. They get Steve cleaned up and Robin happily starts eating one of her burgers.

“When did this happen?” Steve asks. Like, seriously, are they sure he was only out for two days?

“In the Upside Down.” Chrissy smiles while recounting the event. “I kissed her goodbye. I-I would’ve told you when explaining everything but I didn’t know if you knew about her.”

Huh. Guess a lot of unexpected things can happen in an alternate dimension.

~~~~~~~~~~

Days pass in the hospital. The party takes turns visiting Steve and Eddie. Slowly, they fill Steve in on what's happening in Hawkins.

Most people believe the story that the government fed them. It's probably easier to believe it than to fight it and think it was satanism.

But of course, Jason Carver doesn't think so. Dustin has said that he's done speeches in the lunchroom, in town hall, hell he even busted down Hopper's door demanding answers.

Speaking of Hopper, he was given back his position as Chief. To explain his "death" the government told the police station that he was undercover and helped the FBI with a disclosed case. According to Dustin, Powell was more than happy to give up the position.

Eventually, Steve gets a wheelchair for transportation. They say he needs it for a couple more days before he can use crutches. But at least now he won’t be stuck in a white-tiled hospital room. The hospital is keeping him longer than they usually would a patient with broken limbs because of the bites. Owen’s people want to make sure he isn’t contaminated with Upside Down shit.

Honestly, Steve’s fine with it, he wants to stall going home for as long as possible.

He visits Eddie that night.

He situates himself next to Eddie’s bed. The tall boy’s eyes are gently closed and his long curls were pushed out of his face. He looks so peaceful. It looks wrong.

It’s weird seeing him like this. Seeing him so… lifeless. To see Eddie Munson, who's always twirling a ring, bouncing a leg, tapping long fingers to an invisible beat, or waving his hands around as he talks, still. It's just so unnatural. So unlike him.

Steve hates it.

Next to his bed is a small nightstand. There’s a lamp, a phone, and an old book on it. He picks it up and inspects it.

It’s old. Like, really old. The spine is worn and slowly falling apart. The pages inside are a bit crumpled with different creases. But it’s been well loved. It’s been picked up a thousand times and read. On the cover is a simple landscape of mountains with snowy caps and trees lining the base of them. In big, white letters read The Hobbit .

There’s a small tassel made out of silver thread hanging out of the top of the book. Someone had been reading it. Steve guesses that it was probably Dustin or Lucas, they’ve mentioned and argued about Tolkien more times than Steve could count.

Steve quietly puts the book back down. He doesn’t think he could even attempt to read right now, he was already exhausted from physical therapy. His body twists around as best as it can in the wheelchair as the door creaks open.

An older man walks through. He has short, peppered hair and a jean jacket over a flannel. He has a gruff look to him, especially when he spots Steve and forcibly turns his chair around.

“The hell are you-” The man cuts himself off, clearly seeing Steve’s casts. Quickly, he lets go of Steve and takes a couple steps back. Steve watches the man’s eyes scan over Eddie’s still body. “I’m sorry, I thought…”

“I, uh, I’m Steve Harrington, sir.” Steve says while repositioning himself and cautiously putting his hand out.

“I know who you are, boy.” The man ignores his hand and continues talking. “What I do wanna know is what the hell you’re doing in here with my nephew.”

“Oh, I was just visiting him, sir. Just to see how he was doing after…” Steve’s words trail off while he lowers his hand. He needs to pull himself together, hearing his father’s voice echoing in his head.

Speak clearly, Steven! No one will take you seriously if you start mumbling.

Steve cleared his throat and spoke again, his voice more leveled this time. “I wanted to make sure he was doing alright since I was there when this happened, sir.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. It was… kind of there. Ok, he wasn’t really there with Eddie at all, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about the guy. Eddie’s a great guy. Granted Steve barely talked to him before Vecna, but he could still tell that the rumors about him aren’t true. Spend five minutes with the guy and even Ted Wheeler would be less critical. He would probably still be critical of Eddie, but just a little less.

“Right. You found them at that house with those girls.” Steve could tell he didn’t believe the story, but he also doubts he believed that Eddie’s a murderer. “I wanna apologize again. I’m not used to boys of your… status being kind to people like Eddie.”

“You mean assholes, sir?” The man chuckles.

“I was tryin’ to be a bit nicer than that.” He sits down in a plastic chair next to Steve with a grunt. “And drop that whole ‘sir’ shit. The name’s Wayne, kid.”

They idly talked after that. Steve tried his best to drop the “sir”, but it’s difficult to change how you were raised. He’d get smacked if he didn’t use “sir” and “ma’am” to address older people. But Wayne didn’t seem to mind.

Wayne talked about raising Eddie and small situations that the loud boy would get himself into. It seems that Steve was right.

Eddie was a nightmare child.

Eventually, Wayne left to get another hour of sleep before work. For whatever reason, Steve was worried.

He was worried that Wayne didn’t like him. He doesn’t know why he cares what the man thinks of him. Maybe it was because of all the lessons his father taught him about respect. Any man that didn’t show respect and gratitude is a man who’s unworthy of his hospitality.

Steve always found the last bit ironic. As if the man showed even a hint of hospitality.

More days pass. Most of them spent in Steve’s own room, except for the nights. That’s when he visits Eddie the most. The nights when the shape of shadows are too distinct and too dark. So, he’s in there practically every night.

Tonight is one of those nights.

Steve wheels himself into Eddie’s room which is just a few doors down from his own. The halls of the hospital are quiet in the late hours. Too quiet for Steve.

He sets himself next to Eddie by the door. The window is too dark to have his back to it. He stares at the body in the bed before him.

It’s still strange to Steve to see him so lifeless. There’s no other word for it except for “lifeless”. Everything about him looks like a preserved corpse, except for the slow rise and fall of his chest. Like Snow White… or a sleeping beauty.

He attempts to distract himself by grabbing the old book next to Eddie. The party (plus Wayne) have been reading it to him. It's apparently one of his favorites and coincidently one that Dustin keeps pressing Steve to read.

He opens up to where a small bookmark is placed. It's at the start of a new chapter.

Chapter 5

Riddles In The Dark

“When Bilbo opened his eyes, he wondered if he had; for it was just as dark as with them shut.” Steve slowly began to read. His voice was quiet and uncertain. He had to read slowly to not mix the letters up. He didn’t know how everyone was able to read so easily with the words dancing around the pages. They always read with such ease, he just didn’t get it. “No one was anywhere near him. Just imagine his fright! He could hear nothing., see nothing, and he could feel nothing exc-”

Steve pauses. The letters kept floating and switching spots with each other. This is why he barely passed O’Donnell’s class senior year. He could just never keep them still.

“E-except the stone of the floor.”

His voice was unsure with every word. Each sentence comes out like a question.

“Very sl-slowly he got up and g-gro-”

Steve squints his eyes to try and see the word better, but nothing helps. The letters just keep changing and he can’t stop it. He can’t stop any of it. Tears start to form in his eyes.

This is so stupid. All of it is just so… stupid .

He can barely even read a sentence. A fucking sentence. A sentence that fucking fifth graders could read. One that fifth graders have read. And yet here he is, a grown ass man, having trouble saying a word. Someone that has to read out loud so he could understand it. How pathetic is that?

“I don’t know how I’m gonna do it.” Steve’s voice is quiet and broken. Warm tears  roll down his cheek. “I don’t know how to keep everyone safe. If I can’t even read a stupid word in a stupid book, then how the hell am I suppose to keep them safe? I-I just can’t. I can’t . I can’t keep anyone safe.”

Steve rubs his leaking eyes. What the fuck is he doing? Why the hell is he saying his problems to a still body? To Eddie’s body of all things. Despite himself, Steve keeps talking. It’s like a bomb. Once he’s started, he can’t stop.

“I couldn’t keep Nancy safe, I couldn't keep Robin safe. I couldn’t save Billy or Barb. Hell, I didn’t even notice how upset Max was. So, why the hell did I think everyone would be ok this time? All I do is mess everything up. I…”

Quiet sobs replace his words. He just can’t do this shit anymore. He can’t take it. All of the dogs and the bats. The punches and blood. The deaths. He can’t take it anymore.

“I need you, Munson.” His words are loud in the quiet hospital. “I-I need to be selfish and I need you to wake up. Please Eddie. I can’t do this alone. Please just wake up.”

Whether it was minutes or hours after his last words, Steve doesn’t know, but eventually the darkness catches up to him once again.

It’s always the darkness.

Chapter Text

“Slow down! You’re gonna fall!” A woman’s voice yells after a small boy as he runs on the narrow trail through the woods. Despite her worried words, she has a bright smile on her pale face that’s bordered by brown curls.

The boy stops as he finally gets to the icy body of water. He has a blue, puffy jacket and black pants on. A forest green scarf is wrapped around his neck multiple times, too long for the small figure.

“Mom, we made it!” The boy spins around, curly hair flowing in the cold wind. A big smile with a missing tooth quickly falls as he looks around.

“Mom?”

He looks around the woods of Hawkins, Indiana. He can’t find… Who was he looking for? The tall boy turns back around. His hands find their way into his leather jacket. Where’s his vest? He hears his black boots echo in the void that replaced the quarry. The ground ripples with every step.

“Hello? Is anyone here?” His voice echoes in the vast space. Eventually, he finds himself just sitting down in the black liquid.

Eddie tries to think back. What happened? How did he get here? Where is here?

He remembers cheerleaders in his trailer. One in the air and one sobbing on his shoulder. He remembers holding a broken bottle, neck to neck with a past douchebag. He remembers jumping into the water twice. Once was to run away from jocks. Another was to run towards one.

Jesus, his life got real weird, real fast.

He remembers saving Steve from the bats. He remembers going through the Upside Down. He remembers the trip back.

"I did it… I didn't run this time."

His own voice rings in his head.

Right. Well, that makes sense.

He's dead. Eddie Munson is dead.

That's fine. Probably better this way anyway. Eddie stands back up and starts walking again, just needing something to do. He doesn’t really care that he’s dead, he just hopes that Lucas and the girls made it out of that hell.

Speaking of hell, this sure didn't look like it. The black void around him didn't match the red fire that he was promised.

Hell is weird.

There’s nothing here. Just Eddie, a weird (maybe water) liquid, and a darkness that he can see in.

Or maybe this isn’t hell. Maybe it’s a form of purgatory. Or a waiting room. An endless room where he has to sit and wait until whatever divine power out there decides whether he goes to heaven or hell.

“Are you… Eddie?”

Eddie spins around to the source of the small voice. In front of him is… a girl. A young girl with a shaved head.

Is this God? Is God just a small girl in jeans and an oversized flannel?

Clearly confused, Eddie just nods his head. The girl’s unsure face moves into a sad smile.

“I found you.” She whispers to herself. She says her next words slowly and carefully pronounced. “You need to wake up. They miss you and they… They need you, Eddie.”

“T-They as in…” His voice trails off. Who in their right mind would miss him? Eddie “The Freak” Munson isn’t someone who gets missed.

“The Party.” God? smiles at the words. A determined look replaces it with the next ones. “They’re waiting for you. And they’re sad. Especially Chrissy. And Steve. So… So, you need to wake up soon Eddie. Very soon.”

Her words echoes in his mind as she slowly disappears. And that’s it. Eddie’s once again alone in a black void.

Eddie ponders the words “wake up”. He thought he was already dead, so how could he wake up? It’s not like necromancy exists. Then again, he just got killed by monsters, so maybe it does exist.

And Chrissy’s sad, huh?

That somehow surprises him. It shouldn’t. They’re friends, right? She literally stayed by his side, even after he was accused of murder and kidnapping. She stayed till the end. The very end.

What really surprises him is Harrington. There’s no reason that King Steve himself should be sad about the freak. And yet God says he is.

Guess he needs to wake up, then…

Besides, who the hell is gonna argue when God herself tells you to wake up? Eddie certainly isn’t. The only problem now is actually waking up. How, exactly, is he supposed to wake up? It’s not like he’s done this before. Unless, he has and just doesn’t remember. But that’s an existential crisis for another time. Today, it’s all about waking up and getting back to The Party.

That’s strange to think. That he’s part of a party. Don’t get him wrong, he loves Corroded Coffin, they’ve always been there for him. And they’ve always been a sort of party, but it never occurred to him that they’d miss him. He never thought that he was someone who could be missed, nevermind by so many people. Especially by Chrissy Cunningham and Steve Harrington, the royalty of Hawkins High, of all people.

Suppose he really should wake up then. If for anything, then for Chrissy. She deserves to have her best friend back. Really, she deserves the world, but Eddie should be enough for now.

Yeah.

He’s enough for now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His vision is blinded by rays of sunlight. He moves his head away from the window to try and see. Why is everything so damn bright? Eddie blinks a few times before he can really see.

It’s a small hospital room. It has the bed, machines hooked up to him, a nice window with a sill big enough to be a seat, it has a sink, it has a Harrington, and-

Wait.

A Harrington?

Eddie blinks a couple times again, but sure enough, Steve Harrington is asleep next to him. His hair is a frazzled mess, like he hasn’t showered in a few days. Granted, the guy was in a wheelchair, so he probably hasn’t. And his left arm and leg are in casts, so he probably hasn’t had more than a sponge bath. But… but his right hand is covering Eddie’s on the bed.

It’s not a firm grasp of his hand, but it’s still loosely around it. Eddie gets if he didn’t have anywhere to go for the night, or he didn’t want to be alone, but holding his hand? Why the hell would “King Steve” be holding the freak’s hand when he was (presumably) dead?

Much like a lot of recent things in his life:

Weird.

This was very weird.

What was even weirder was the interaction that came once Harrington rose.

Eddie feels Steve’s hand tighten around his. He watches as the boy’s eyes scrunch up and reluctantly open. It takes him a few seconds to notice Eddie. But then he does. And it makes Eddie even more confused.

“Eddie?” He asks, his voice quiet like Eddie would break if it were any louder. “Are you…”

“Hey sweetheart. Miss me?” Eddie barely gets through the words with a sleepy grin on his face before Harrington smothers him in the best hug he can do with a broken arm and leg.

“Jesus Christ, man. You can’t fucking do that.” Harrington’s voice is muffled by Eddie’s hair and, this is what confuses Eddie the most, he could feel wet spots forming right where their cheeks touched.

So, now Eddie has three questions.

1. Why the hell would Steve Harrington hug Eddie Munson?
2. Why the fuck is he crying because of Eddie Munson?
3. What the fuck happened while he was dead?

A couple minutes pass before Steve pulls away. He rubs at his eyes as he does so. They sit in silence while Steve pulls himself together, but as we all know, Eddie hates silence.

“You look like shit by the way.” He says, a sleepy laugh escaping his lips. Everything he says sounds sluggish. Guess it’s just a side-effect of necromancy.

“I’m gonna fucking kill you.” Steve chuckles in response, rubbing a hand over his face.

“Been there, done that.”

Steve pulls his hand away and looks at Eddie dead in the eye.

“What do you think happened?”

Eddie recounts what he could remember, the switch, the concert, the vents. The last thing he says he remembers is just the sound of Chrissy’s cries. A terrible sound. The worst kind of sound out there and Eddie wants to punch himself for being the reason for it.

“Oh, also I think I met God.” He says nonchalantly, like he was recounting an encounter with an old friend at the dinner table.

“What?”

“Yeah, I woke up in, like, a purgatory type thing? It was all black and there was this girl who told me to wake up. She said you guys missed me. That you needed me…” Eddie trails off at the end, remembering the girl’s words. “Purgatory’s fucking weird, man. It feels like you’re consumed in darkness, but you can still see everything, kinda something like a void? Though, there isn’t much to see. Just darkness and this weird water-like liquid on the ground. It didn’t get me wet. Either way, I don’t recommend going there. It’s really fucking boring.”

“It looked like a void…” Steve mumbles to himself, before a realization seems to be bestowed upon him. “It was her.”

Eddie raises an eyebrow. Does Harrington know God? No, that’s ridiculous. There’s no way he knows God, Eddie’s just going insane. Nothing new.

"Shit, I gotta call everyone!" He says before wheeling himself out of the room as fast as he could, which wasn’t very fast.

And then Eddie was alone in a white-tiled room. He didn't exactly have a lot to do, though scaring the shit out of the nurse did kinda amuse him.

A few nurses and a doctor come in and out of Eddie’s room, checking his vitals and asking him questions. They gave him buttered toast and water before giving him the all clear and leaving.

It felt like hours went by and Harrington was still gone. Eddie was exhausted even with only being awake for an hour. Slowly, he felt the heaviness of sleep lay over him like a weighted blanket.

~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie jolts awake, the door being kicked open.

"EDDIE, YOU SHITHEAD!" Is the only warning he has before being bombarded by people. All he sees is mountains of soft blonde and curly brown hair. He smiles as he realizes.

Chrissy and Dustin.

He apologizes as they all hug. He can feel tears stain his hospital gown. Water is forming in his own eyes as he squeezes the two. He’s ignoring his screaming sides for now.

“Don’t smother him! He just woke up for fuck sake!” Harrington’s voice calls out into the room. Eddie could see him standing with his hands on his hips, his signature 'mom pose'. If he wasn’t in a wheelchair that is. The two reluctantly let him go, Chrissy staying for a second longer.

She stands up straight and tense, clearly trying not to ball her eyes out. Dustin has a toothy smile on his face, until he’s pushed to the side by Lucas.

Next is Nancy, Robin, Max who calls him an idiot instead of a hug, Erica, and Mike. Wait, Mike? He thought Mike was in California visiting his girlfriend and Will The Wise. How long was Eddie out for?

At the end of Eddie’s bed is a dude with longer hair than Eddie looking very high, Jonathan Byers for whatever reason, a kid with an unfortunate bowl cut, and…

“God?”

Everyone stares at Eddie.

“Sorry, what the fuck did you just say?” Dustin asks before getting smacked in the back of the head by Steve who mutters “language.” The kid grumpily apologizes while rubbing his head.

“Her.” Eddie lifts his arm as best as he could and points at the small girl. “I-I saw her.”

Now it’s time for everyone to stare at the girl. Her face forms into a small smile.

“I found him.” She says, clearly proud of herself. “I’m Eleven. O-or Jane.”

Eddie stares at her in confusion. What is he supposed to feel except confusion? First he meets (apparently not) God, then finds out that people miss him, that Steve Harrington misses him, then finds out that God isn’t God, but a young girl that knows all of his friends. How could one not be confused?

“Sorry, but um, what?” Eddie asks. How could he really word his confusion? He’s confused about… yeah, he’s confused about everything . Luckily, he has his own personal translator. A.K.A Dustin Henderson.

“Oh! So basically, El/Eleven/Jane is the superpower girl we told you about. We found her in the woods when this shit first started and she actually came from the same lab that Vecna was from, but she was able to beat a shit load of people's asses, kill a demogorgon while making us think she was dead, but she was actually just in hiding, then the dogs and the mind flayer showed up but she closed the gate. At least that’s what we thought. Then the summer of last year the mind flayer came back as a weird flesh monster made out of human goop and, that’s also when the Russians showed up, but she was able to beat the flesh mind flayer, losing her powers in doing so. Then she moved with the Byers’ to California since we thought Hopper was gone, then she got, like, kidnapped by these government people and the same dude who raised her and-”

At this point, Eddie has stopped listening and is definitely more confused than before. Does this kid not need oxygen? Jesus Christ.

“Ok, so, long story short, she’s the superpower girl you told me about?” He gets nods from all the kids. See? He didn’t need a whole ass speech, just a little clarification. But then, this means… “So that makes you Will The Wise, right?”

The boy with the bowl cut seems surprised to be acknowledged. A slight blush kisses his cheeks as he shyly nods. So this was the kid that Little Wheeler constantly talked about? Eddie loves him already.

“H-how did you know my, uh… name?” The timid boy asks. Eddie just smiles and nods his head towards Mike.

“Little Wheeler over here talked about you, constantly. It actually got rather annoying.” His grin grows as he watches Will’s eyes widen and Mike’s cheeks redden. Eleven looks slightly confused in the middle of them.

Eddie might have imagined it, but he could’ve sworn he saw a slight glare coming from the girl going straight to Mike’s head. But, before he could confirm it, she looks away and at Max who raises an eyebrow at her. Clearly some form of communication was happening and Eddie was being left out of the loop.

Actually, now that Eddie was thinking about it, the bowl cut did look familiar. He could’ve sworn that he’s seen Will before. Eddie stared at him as he awkwardly stood closer to Jonathan than before. Eddie snaps his fingers and points at the boy.

“Zombie Boy! That’s where I’ve seen you!” It seems like everyone freezes at the pseudonym. The kids and Jonathan glare at Eddie, warning him to be careful of his next words. Nancy and Steve seem to be looking at Jonathan, wary of his next move. Chrissy clearly looks confused by the sudden tension and Argyle either doesn’t notice it or is very good at ignoring it. Eddie on the other hand doesn’t notice the tension and carries on with the usual theatrics. At least as much theatrics as he can do while stuck in a bed. “I always thought that was a cool name! Like you’re a badass necromancer who raises corpses for his army!”

A second passes and the tension seems to let go as Will smiles and nods his head. The kid excitedly starts talking about how he always thought about creating a D&D monster like that and the different abilities it could have. Eddie goes along with it, adding more and more ideas. This kid was a fucking D&D genius.

A few minutes pass of introductions and idle conversation pass until the door opens once again, allowing two more people to walk into the already crowded room. A small woman with long brown hair and… The chief of Hawkins?

Right, Henderson mentioned something about him not actually being gone. Not like Eddie was paying much attention.

But he was right. Here’s the chief of Hawkins in the flesh, alive and well. Well, not well . His hair isn’t in the… best… condition. As in there isn’t any. As in there’s even less than Eleven.

Eddie’s eyes widen in surprise as he gets smothered in a motherly hug by the woman. He sees Robin and Chrissy giggle next to him.

“Thank you for keeping them safe, sweetie.” She says before pulling back and smiling at him with one of the sweetest and best smiles that Eddie has ever seen. “Oh! I’m Joyce, by the way. Will, Jonathan, and Jane's mother.”

“Oh, uh, I-I’m Eddie. You p-probably already knew that, huh?” Eddie stutters through his words. He needs to get himself together. Harrington- er, new people are here. He needs to keep up his reputation. He’s just not used to this much attention from such an open mother figure. “It’s, uh, it’s nice to meet you Mrs. Byers.”

“Oh, call me Joyce, sweetie.”

Eddie nods with a sweet smile of his own. He can see a smirk on Steve’s face.

After that, they all get immersed in their own conversations. Eddie tried to stay in two conversations at once. One with the teenagers, and one with the kids his own age.

He stopped paying attention to the kids as Dustin and Lucas started arguing about who would win in a fight, Gandalf or Darth Vader. Eddie thinks it’s pretty obvious who would win, but he decides to keep his life and not state his opinion. He looks back to his friends in time to see Steve squeeze Chrissy’s hand before letting go. She’s sitting in the plastic chair next to him.

Hm.

That’s a problem.

Eddie watches Steve pull Robin down from the conversation she was having with Nancy to whisper something in her ear. Robin nods her head before yelling “Hey, I heard they were serving free lunch downstairs! There’s cupcakes!”

Amazement fills Eddie as the kids scatter out the door like a high school party getting busted by the police. Max, Eleven, Erica and Will stay at first, but eventually get dragged out of the room by the other kids and Robin. The older girl looks past Eddie to Chrissy and smiles before leaving the room.

“We should probably help Robin with the kids. They can be a lot to handle.” Nancy says, clearly understanding what’s happening faster than Eddie. She drags Jonathan out with her who drags Argyle out. Joyce makes an excuse for herself and Hopper and they leave too.

“I’ll see you later, Munson.” Steve says before wheeling himself out of the room.

Now, all that’s left is Eddie and Chrissy. The girl’s looking down at her lap. The confusion leaves Eddie as understanding dawns on him.

It’s time for their talk.

“Why’d you do it, Eddie?” Chrissy’s voice is quiet. Eddie can hear the tears threatening to fall. He can feel tears behind his own eyes.

“I had to buy more time Chris. It was the only-”

“No!” Her head snaps up. Quiet tears are falling from her tired eyes. “No, don’t say that! There’s always another way Eddie. You could have been safe if you had just climbed the goddamn rope. You fucking promised that you’d be behind me. You promised.”

Eddie opens and closes his mouth. Tears roll down his cheeks. There’s nothing he can say to fix this. It’s not like he’s able to take back his almost-death. He’s not even sure he would if he could. They don’t know what would’ve happened if he didn’t stay. If he just ran like every other time. Steve might not be here. They might have been too late.

“We don’t know if the others would have been safe. Honestly, I’d rather it be me than anyone else in the Party.” It still feels weird to say that. The Party. “I… I didn’t care if anything happened to me, as long as you were safe.”

Chrissy covers him in a hug, her quiet tears turning into sobs.

“I care if something happens to you Eddie. We all do.” She talks between sobs. Eddie puts his arms around the small girl and comforts her as best he can. “You’re such an idiot, Munson. I hate you.”

“I love you too, darling.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie doesn’t know how much time had passed, but it was enough for him to fall asleep. And that’s how he found himself back in the Upside Down.

It’s not like he doesn’t know that it’s a nightmare, he does. He very much does. But that doesn’t change how real it feels. He can hear every individual screech and growl of a creature. He can feel the ground vibrate with each lightning strike.

What’s worse is how real his heart beating in his chest feels as he sprints away from the horde of bats chasing him.

He runs and runs and runs , but nothing seems like enough. The bats never get tired or bored. They just keep chasing him.

Eddie’s somewhere in the woods when it tackles him. A giant, brown, two-headed creature screams at him like a banshee. He feels one of its tentacle arms wrap around his neck and chokes him.

He thrashes his arms around, trying to do anything to get free. Two more of its arms wrap around his own, pinning him to the ground. It’s now that he realizes what’s on top of him.

A demogorgon.

Eddie knows that this was a dream. He does. And he knows that this thing on him (probably) wasn’t real. It’s just the version of a demogorgon that he knows. He knows that the real ones aren’t brown and two-headed with fur.

The real ones are probably dark-colored and so much worse than he could ever imagine. Much like everything else in this godforsaken place.

Strained screams echo out as demobats tear into his skin once again. He screams and screams, but they don’t stop. And he doesn’t wake up.

He starts doubting himself.

What if this wasn’t a dream? What if this is real life? 

Eddie!

He’s actively dying right now, in the real world. If everything he saw before was just some big, elaborate trick his brain played on himself. Just one last thing for him to never see again.

Eddie! Wake up!

We are always our worst enemy. Our worst nightmare. That’s what his old man always told him. Especially after the funeral.

~~~~~~~~~~~

White tiles and fluorescent lights fill Eddie’s vision. Air fills his lungs in panicked breaths as his arms are held down against the bed.

“Eddie! It’s ok, son. It’s just me.”

A familiar voice above him assures him as he calms down. The grip on his arms loosen as the beeping next to him slows and becomes steady. He feels rough arms wrap around his shoulders, words are being whispered in his ear.

“It’s ok, son. You’re ok.” Wayne’s voice is quiet and sad. One hand is holding the back of Eddie’s head, the other on his back as Wayne holds the boy as close as he can. Eddie can feel tears dripping onto his hospital gown.

Slowly, Eddie lifts his arms and wraps them around his uncle, holding him close.

He’s here. He’s actually here and alive. It wasn’t just a big, elaborate trick. It’s over. It’s all, finally, over.

The two men hold each other close as the morning sun slowly fills the room. Wayne pulls back and sits in the small plastic chair next to Eddie with a grunt. Eddie waits for the older man to wipe away his tears and collect himself.

They both jump as the door is thrown open.

“Eddie, are you ok? I heard screaming!” Steve Harrington’s wheelchair appears in the doorway. He stops for a moment as he spots Wayne next to the bed.

“Uh… Yeah, Harrington. You’re uh… a little late, but I’m all good.” Eddie replies slowly as he eyes his uncle.

The Munsons have never had the best experience with the Harringtons. Whether it was shitty jocks in high-school or comments about their living situations, the Munsons and Harringtons never got along. But, much to Eddie’s surprise, Wayne doesn’t seem worried or angry with Steve in the room.

“Oh.. uh ok. Right. I’ll just um… bye.” Just as quickly as he came, Harrington leaves, awkwardly wheeling himself backwards.

“So, you seemed… fine… with Harrington in here.” Eddie breaks the silence after a couple minutes.

“Yeah. He’s a good kid.”

Sorry, what? Since when was this a thing? His uncle, Wayne Munson, thinks Golden Boy of Hawkins, King Steve Harrington himself, is a good kid? Who is this Wayne Munson and what did he do with Eddie’s uncle?

Don’t get Eddie wrong. He knows that Steve’s a good guy, much on the contrary to Eddie’s own Munson Doctrine. But when did his Uncle figure this out? When did his Uncle let himself talk to a Harrington? This is the apocalypse. Not all that shit before with the Upside Down. This, right here, is the apocalypse.

“Mhm… That’s it? No insults, no warnings about how I shouldn’t associate myself with assholes like the Harringtons?” Eddie questions his uncle further.

“Not everyone is their father Eddie, you know that.” His Uncle replies before adding on. “Besides, do I need to warn you? Didn’t think there was anything going on.”

“What? No! I mean, nothing! Uh, I um… sorry, can you repeat the question?” Eddie sputters through gibberish as he feels his face heat up.

Wayne just laughs. He waves Eddie off and instead starts catching him up on what he’s missed at home. It seems like the gibberish was enough to satisfy Wayne, much to Eddie’s dismay. But it made him happy to hear that the Munson’s got a new government-issued apartment so they aren’t stuck in a trailer with a gate to hell. Turns out Max and her mom also got an apartment in the same complex as Eddie and Wayne. Wayne had apparently been visiting him whenever he wasn’t at work or asleep. It warmed Eddie’s heart while also filling it with guilt.

He hated being the reason his Uncle lost sleep. And no matter what he said to reassure him, Eddie could tell that he’s been losing sleep. Uncle Wayne can’t keep the eyebags that well hidden.

“So what really happened?” His Uncle asks. He was straight to the point, like most things.

There isn’t really a problem with the question either. It’s fair to want to know what put your nephew in a week-long coma. The only problem is what to tell him. The government hasn’t dropped by and told Eddie what he should tell other people when they eventually ask. Eddie would just make up a lie on the spot, he’s good at that kind of stuff, but he didn’t want to contradict whatever Uncle Wayne has already been told.

“I, um, I-I’m still fuzzy on the details.” Was the only thing Eddie could think of. “I got hit on the head I think. I c-can’t remember a lot of what happened.”

It’s safe to say that Eddie rolled a nat 1 on deception. He could tell that his Uncle didn’t believe a word he said.

“Son, look. I know what the police said and what the government said. I don’t believe a word of that bullshit. I…” He takes a deep breath. “I saw what she looked like. No human could do that.”

Eddie knew he meant that. Wayne has seen a lot of shit. A lot of… messed up shit. Eddie doesn’t know the specifics of what, his Uncle never went into detail. But Eddie remembers teaching himself early on how to make his presence known after the first few times of accidentally sneaking up on Wayne. One of said times had caused a TV replacement.

“I… I can’t tell you.” Eddie sighs. “I can’t say anything because I’m gonna have to sign a shitload of papers soon to swear me to secrecy and I can’t tell anyone what happened because it’s just so horrible and no one’s ever gonna believe me except for the ones that were there.”

He doesn’t remember when he started crying, nor does he remember when he started clinging onto Wayne like his life depended on it. But here he was, crying into his Uncle’s shoulder like a little kid.

~~~~~~~~~

The next couple of days go by fast for Eddie. Well, fast and slow. It’s strange.

The government came and went. They forced Eddie to sign a bunch of shit while telling him what story to tell the public. By some miracle, they had cleared Eddie’s name by pining it all on Henry Creel. The days after that found their own routine.

The mornings are fast with nurses coming in to check on him and sometimes a sleepy Harrington next to him. But they start to slow down in the afternoons when Steve goes back to his room, and eventually home when the hospital lets him out. Luckily, Vecna broke his left side so he’s still able to drive himself around.

Then, the day picks up again when school lets out. First, it was just the kids, Corroded Coffin, and the girls taking turns visiting him. But then it turned into forced study sessions.

Without his input, Chrissy, Robin, and Nancy had collectively decided to create a study group with the four of them. He had no part in planning this but was forced to join anyway.

“You said that it’s your year, so it’s gonna be your fucking year, Munson.” Is what Chrissy had said when he attempted to protest. He didn’t have too many more attempts after that.

Almost everyday the three girls would show up in his room with their book bags around 3:00 pm. Nancy would bring out this giant binder that somehow fit (Eddie swears she stole Mary Poppins' bag. This binder would barely fit in a car.) and they would all sit and study.

When Eddie says “study” he really means the girls teach him what he’s missing and make sure that he’s paying attention. The up side is the chocolate that Chrissy will reward him after each subject. It’s damn good chocolate, but Eddie isn’t quite sure it’s worth all of this.

Though, he supposes that if graduating makes them happy, then he should probably do it. Otherwise, he’d have to feel the wrath of Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley, and Chrissy Cunnigham. Three powerful, loving, and terrifying forces that should never be reckoned with.

The afternoons pass into the evenings when Wayne visits for a little before work. But then he eventually leaves and evenings turn into restless nights.

Nights are the worst part of the day. They’re filled with terrors and nightmares. Screams and blood fill the white-tiled room. It’s the worst part. No questions asked.

There’s only a few nights when they’re the best parts of the day. And those are the nights when Steve Harrington visits.

Steve will show up a little after 11:00 pm. It’s multiple hours after visiting hours, but the nurses let him in anyway. Something about that Harrington charm.

Sometimes Steve will come in with a small bag of movies, or he’ll just bring himself and his crutches now that he’s been upgraded from the wheelchair. Some nights, they’ll just talk about the little things that Eddie comes up with for a new D&D campaign he’s slowly putting together for the kids and the things that are happening in Hawkins. Other nights Eddie will read the Hobbit out loud to Steve until they both fall asleep.

It’s nice.

Until the shadows come back of course.

And they always do. They always come back for him.

It feels like the only break Eddie can get is when he’s studying with the girls, or reading to Harrington. Otherwise he’s always on guard.

He’s always looking for any little thing that might indicate Vecna or the bats or whatever other creatures were in that hell. But the Upside Down wasn’t the only hell here. There’s one that Eddie’s actively in. One that he may never escape especially if he becomes like his dad. A drunk that’ll always end up in prison.

Eddie liked to tell himself that maybe him and his band would get big. That maybe someone with connections would hear Corroded Coffin and think that they could be on the radio. That he’d get to sign t-shirts and tapes. Eddie liked to dream that he could open a music shop. He would always have the newest and oldest albums. He would sell shirts and pins. He would help the young find their way through the world of metal. That he’d have a nice life with a nice boy.

But that’s not what he’s destined for.

Eddie knows his place in the world. He’ll always be a freak. He’ll always be the butt of the joke. He’ll never get a big house or a nice family. He’d never tour the country or open a business. He would never have a nice life.

He would just end up like his old man.

Drunk and in prison.

Sad and alone with no one to care for him.

Deep down he knows. And he always has known.

He would never get a nice, caring boy who takes care of him. He would never get someone with a handsome smile and pretty hair. He won’t get someone who’ll listen to Eddie rant on and on about D&D or music. Never. No matter how much good he does.

Eddie Munson will never get Steve Harrington

Chapter Text

Everyone in town quickly got back to their different routines after Vecna. Technically after Henry Creel and “unrelated earthquakes”. Steve and Eddie were finally discharged from the hospital and have continued on with their normal lives. Well, not really normal , but normal for them. For all of them.

Despite everyone's protests, Steve still does his usual motherly worries. Eddie is back at school with the girls, who still do surprise study sessions with him. He won’t willingly join them, but Chrissy will be damned if they don’t graduate together.

Speaking of graduating, Chrissy got a job at Family Video so that she can go to college and get her own place. It’s not that her household is terrible. It’s just… a lot sometimes. Well, more like her mom is a lot. Chrissy loves her whole family, just her brother and dad a bit more.

Today, Chrissy is currently working this warm Saturday with her girlfriend. It’s been weeks, but calling Robin her girlfriend still makes her giddy.

It’s a slow day in Hawkins, Indiana. They had gotten one, maybe two customers in the past four hours, but they were just enjoying each other’s company. It was nice. Just talking and making each other laugh while barely doing any actual work.

Robin broke a comfortable silence that they had found while restocking.

“Hey, so, when did you, uh, come out to Eddie?” She whispered the last part before quickly adding.“I-I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to!”

“No, no it’s fine. I told him while we were at Reefer Rick’s. When the jocks were searching the house. It was funny, I said that I like girls and he…” Chrissy stops herself short. She can’t say what he said, that would be outing him. It’s true that he knows about her and Robin, but Chrissy doesn’t know if he told Robin. Sometimes gay people are homophobic to other gay people. She just hopes that Robin isn’t. She clears her throat before finishing her sentence.

“He uh, he was really supportive and joked around with it. Definitely saved me from the panic attack that I was having.” She nervously laughs, hoping that it didn’t seem too suspicious or awkward. It didn’t exactly help the silence that followed, no longer comfortable.

A few minutes pass of them doing their separate work. Robin had gone to the counter to rewind tapes, her eyebrows furrowed while she did.

Now Chrissy really was nervous. She said too much and accidentally outed her best friend to her girlfriend. Really, she’s sure that Robin wouldn’t care, but you can never be 100% in a small town in Indiana.

But maybe what happened to Chrissy had happened to Robin too. They had talked about telling the others before. Robin said that both Steve and Eddie knew and Chrissy told her that Eddie also knew about her. So, they decided that their best friends would be the first to know, everyone else will come… later. They haven’t gotten all the details out yet.

“When, uh, when did you tell him?” Chrissy asks. Maybe she can figure out if Robin knows about him from when she came out. God, Chrissy hopes that Robin knows. She can’t deal with all of Eddie’s pining over Steve Harrington by herself. It’s just too much.

“Oh, um, I told him when we were planning against Vecna.” Her voice is nervous as the words quickly fall out of her mouth.

Ok, so maybe she does know, maybe she doesn’t. Chrissy still has no idea and the two girls fall back into a silence.

“He really likes Rocky Horror!” Robin suddenly blurts out. Her eyes are blown wide and her whole body is stiff.

“Oh thank God, you know!” They both let out sighs of relief. “You have no idea the torture I’ve been enduring these past couple of months! It’s all “Harrington this , and Harrington that . It’s been agonizing, Rob! Plus, Steve is… Steve! He’s one of the straightest boys I’ve ever seen!”

Robin goes uncharacteristically quiet, which is strange for Robin. She doesn’t usually go quiet in the middle of a conversation. Especially not when it involves her platonic soulmate. Chrissy walks over to her, in front of the counter.

“What if… he’s not straight.” Robin finally says.

“How is he not straight?” Chrissy argues. “Baby, he’s literally known for going out with every single girl in town.”

“J-just hear me out.” Robin starts, her cheeks tinged with pink from the pet name. Chrissy loves calling her cute names just for the reaction. She blushes and stutters her words, it’s just adorable to watch. "What if he isn't straight? What if he likes both guys and girls? He could be bisexual. I mean, you saw how he and Eddie were looking at each other while we were in the Upside Down. There is absolutely no heterosexual explanation for those interactions, Chrissy!”

Chrissy took a second to remember the hell that was the Upside Down. Now that she thinks about it, Robin might actually be onto something.

She can remember looking at the two men and seeing them standing or walking awfully close to each other.

"Holy shit you're right." Chrissy says in disbelief.

How did she not notice sooner? Especially with how he reacted to learning that Eddie talks about him all the time. His eyes were wide open and he listened so intently while she explained it.

"Well, even if he is bi and likes Eddie. What are we gonna do? Does he even know that he's bi?" Chrissy asks. She fears the answer as a mischievous grin grows on her girlfriend's beautiful face.

~~~~~~~~

After some planning, they figured it out. Subtly, they're going to try to hint to Steve about bisexuality. Whether it be Freddie Mercury, complimenting guys, or, God forbid, showing him Rocky Horror's Picture Show .

But for now, Chrissy is putting her own plan into action.

She had talked to her cheer squad and they, very reluctantly, finally agreed to meet Eddie. The metalhead, on the other hand, isn't as easy going about this.

"I am telling you, Chris, they are going to hate me! And I mean, pure, unadulterated hatred." He complained while waving one of his arms around. Chrissy thinks he wouldn't even be there right now if she didn't need a ride to the school for practice.

"And I am, eyes on the road, I am telling you that they won't! I didn't hate you when we first met! We became best friends almost instantly." She argued back. "They have no reason to hate you besides your stupid reputation."

"I don't know if you somehow forgot, but I was accused of killing one of their own like, two weeks ago! If anything, they have even more reason to hate and want me dead than Carver does." He retaliated.

Unfortunately, he made a good point. But Chrissy is convinced that if the girls spent five minutes with him, they would love him! Five minutes is all it would take.

Eddie swings in front of the school and puts the car in park.

"Listen, I want to combine these two sides of my life together and that can only happen if you get yourself together and just come inside! Just for five minutes, that's it. If you absolutely hate it, then you can leave whenever you want. Please Eddie? I met your party, now you should meet mine."

That's when Chrissy knew she had him. She saw his eyes widen ever so slightly while they stared through the windshield. His left hand on the steering wheel gripped just a little tighter.

"Ok, fine." He turned and held up five fingers as Chrissy celebrated. "You get five minutes of my time."

He parked the van, took Chrissy's bag for her, and they both headed into the school. Chrissy could've sworn that she saw him grimace as they crossed the threshold.

The gym goes quiet as the door closes behind them. All except whispers between everyone.

“Oh my God, she really brought him?”

“I thought she was joking.”

“Does he think carrying her bag will make us trust him?”

“He definitely has guts coming in here.”

“I doubt he had a choice of coming here. It was all Chrissy.”

Chrissy ignores all of them and leads Eddie over to the bleachers in front of them. The man is slowly curling into himself. His eyes never leave the floor, his shoulders are down and slouching, and he’s taking his rings on and off, a nervous fidget he has. Chrissy clears her throat, stopping all the whispers. She puts a smile on her face; this is going well, she’s not letting stupid accusations ruin this.

“Eddie, this is Phoebe, Ashley, Melissa, Jenny, Ciara, Diane, Sarah, and Rebecca.” Chrissy points to each of the girls as she says each name. She turns and motions to Eddie, who isn't making eye contact with anyone. “And guys, this is Eddie. He’s gonna be watching our practice today.”

She lightly nudges Eddie’s arm to spur him to life. He raises his head a bit and his shoulders go stiff.

“Oh, um uh, h-hi.”

Jesus, this is gonna be harder than Chrissy thought.

She needs Eddie to be his usual, outgoing self. Not the typical nerd who gets talked to by the popular girl in a high school movie. The girls are going to eat him alive if he’s like this, he won’t stand a chance.

“Ok, um, one second.” Chrissy grabs Eddie and pulls him away from the others and starts whispering. “Come on Eddie, what was that? You have to do more than be the stereotyped nerdy guy!”

“Sorry, darling, but I am the stereotyped nerdy guy! Plus I was accused of murdering one of their friends so it’s worse. Can I just go now?” He whisper-yells back.

“No, it hasn’t been five minutes and no, you aren’t the stereotyped nerdy guy! You are so much cooler than that. You can create entire worlds on the spot, and you can make almost anyone smile with a joke!”

“Notice how you said almost ?”

“I was talking about Carver, asshole. And besides, it’s not like these girls will beat you up… physically, they can and will do it verbally.” Eddie gives her a look at this, but she ignores it. “But the point is, I won’t let them do that, and you need to be John Bender, not Brian Johnson!” She finishes, and Eddie doesn’t say anything. He stares at her as he thinks about her words, Chrissy stares right back at him, but with an intensity behind her stare. An intensity that she knows he can’t beat.

He finally finds that he can’t beat her stare, and sighs while putting his hands in his pockets.

“Fine, fine, I’ll do it. Stupid Breakfast Club .” He mumbles the last part as he walks past her and back to the bleachers. Chrissy cheers a silent victory and joins him. “So, how do you guys do this?”

His usual demeanor is back and Chrissy absolutely relishes it. She hasn’t had this big of a smile in a long time and she thinks the other girls see that.

They go through their usual routine while Eddie watches them by the bleachers, a comment and joke here and there. They did a run through of their routine and Eddie cheered and howled. Chrissy could hear giggles coming from some of the girls. They were warming up to him.

She knew that this was going to be difficult, none of them really trust Eddie after the news had his name in it, but that wasn’t going to stop her. These were two very important pieces of her life that needed to know each other for her to live to her fullest. And she knew that everyone would love everyone anyways, it’s hard not to love Eddie afterall.

He’s just a loveable person who can fit into your life so easily. It’s hard to get rid of him, and it’s not just hard to want him gone, it’s impossible.

They’re taking a break, about half-way through rehearsal, idly talking.

“Hey, the locker rooms have bathrooms, right? I gotta take a leak.” Eddie asks Chrissy.

“Yeah, they do.”

“Cool, where are they?”

“Shouldn’t you know? You go to school here.” Chrissy motions towards the corner where the lockers lie.

“That doesn’t mean I pay attention, Cunningham!” He yells behind his shoulder as he heads towards them.

A few minutes later, Eddie remerges. He’s the same except for… his clothes.

“You have no idea what I just found!” He calls out, getting everyone’s attention.

Instead of the ripped jeans, Iron Maiden shirt, and leather jacket that he was wearing, Eddie had on a green skirt and a white tank top with the school’s symbol on it. All of his tattoos on his arms and legs were on full display. As well as a bit of the scarring around his middle. The top had become a crop top on him. Chrissy laughs in disbelief. The other girls are quietly chuckling or whispering to each other.

Her best friend was wearing a cheer uniform.

“The skirt’s a little short for my taste, but I think I still pull it off.” He sways the skirt around a bit while walking back towards them.

“Where did you even find that?” Melissa asks. She’s the first one to say a full sentence to him.

“I think I accidently walked into the girl’s locker room. It was just lying there, seems like it was there for a while.” He replies nonchalantly, and he was right. The uniform was dirty and tattered. Perfect for him.

“Oh! It must’ve been the old captain’s uniform! She left a couple of years ago, then Chrissy filled her spot.” Sarah explains. A couple of them make various noises of recognition.

“Yeah, she was kind of a bitch.” Rebecca comments and Eddie laughs.

“Not sure I’m gonna be much better, then.”

Chrissy rolls her eyes and shoves a pair of pom poms into arms, a mischievous smirk on her face.

“Well then, captain , let’s see what you got.” Eddie stutters, trying to get himself out of the situation that he has put himself in, but everyone else encourages him to do it.

He reluctantly agrees and stands in the middle of the gym while the girls sit on the bleachers. Chrissy is very excited to see what he’s got in store for them.

Eddie clears his throat after making sure everyone’s ready for his performance. He counts a beat before starting.

First, he shook the pom poms around his body a bit while moving his feet around. He kept shaking them around and dancing through the gymnasium and… he was mumbling words under his breath.

“I never thought it would happen.”

Chrissy then realized what he was singing. He was singing 99 by Toto.

Oh the shithead.

It’s the same song that she did a routine to in middle school. He was copying what she did at the school talent show. It was most definitely butchered, but it still had the same structure that she did.

Eddie drops the pom poms and does two cart wheels in a row.

So that means, if Chrissy remembers correcting, and if Eddie remembers, then the big finale should be fun. Very fun. She’s hoping that he doesn’t break anything though.

The man dances around a bit more, adding some of his own moves into it. He stops, facing the end of the gym.

“Here goes nothing.” He takes a deep breath before bending his knees and swinging his arms.

Chrissy remembers practicing every single day to get this finale right. As a little girl, there was nothing more in the world that she wanted than to impress the judges and get first place. Now that she’s thinking about it, all that she really wanted to impress was her mother. She wanted to bring home something for her mom to be proud of. It’s disgusting how much she practiced.

“FUCK!” Eddie’s voice echoes through the gym as he unsuccessfully does a backflip.

“Eddie!” Chrissy and a couple of the other girls run towards the man. They help him up and lead him over to the bleachers.

“Note to self: Don’t do your first backflip after getting surgery two weeks before.” He says as he sits down with a grunt.

He’s an idiot. Chrissy knew that he was an idiot, but she didn’t realize how much of an idiot he really is. It honestly amazes her that someone could be this idiotic.

“Jesus, Munson, I didn’t think you were actually gonna do it! Are you an idiot?” Chrissy criticizes the metalhead. Did he really think he was gonna pull that off?

“I figured you’d know that I’m a dumbass by now, darling.” He replies nonchalantly. Some of the others give Chrissy a look at the nickname.

Chrissy huffs and puts her hands on her hips. She’s gonna have to lecture him about this later. He can’t be doing dangerous stuff like this, he literally has pieces of flesh missing from his stomach. He can’t break his neck along with it.

“Come on, stop all this hands on hips shit, you look like Harrington.” He tells her, causing some of the girls to murmur to each other. They’re clearly confused on how hands on hips connect to Steve Harrington.

The girl rolls her eyes but drops her arms anyway. He says it like it’s a bad thing to look like Steve.

After that, they go through the rest of the rehearsal without any more “incidents”. It was actually quite fun having Eddie there, and all the girls really loosened up after his performance.

The two freaks are walking out of the school when Melissa runs up to them.

“Hey, Eddie.” They stop and turn towards the girl. “I know none of the others will really admit it, but it was actually really fun having you here. I think we’d all be happy if you came again some time.”

“Oh, well, I guess I’ll have to then. Give you guys another performance of mine.” Eddie responds with a grin.

“Yeah! Well, I’ll see you guys at school, bye!” They both wave and turn to walk away before being stopped by the girl’s voice once more. “Oh, and Eddie?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry that everyone thought you killed Debbie. She- she was a really good friend. It was… brave of you for coming, but we can see that you’re a good friend too, so… Thank you, Eddie.” Her eyes flicker to Chrissy as she finishes.

Eddie doesn’t say anything back, he just smiles and nods. With that Melissa turns and runs over to a blue car. She gives them one last smile before climbing in.

The other two continue their walk to Eddie’s van.

“I told you…” Chrissy quietly says, stretching out the last word.

“Shut up, Cunningham.” Eddie’s voice is also quiet, but not the kind Chrissy’s was. He sounds like he’s on the verge of tears.

They get into the van and Chrissy’s suspicions are confirmed as Eddie wipes both of his eyes before turning on the van and driving her home.

Chrissy is as happy as ever.

~~~~~~~~~~

Today is the day. Somehow they all made it.

She remembers the day that Eddie interrupted her, Robin, and Steve at work to tell them the news.

He passed.

He was going to graduate.

They all took turns hugging him and congratulating him. Chrissy tried not to laugh at how red his face went when Steve wrapped him up in a big hug. He glared at her when she gave him a pointed look.

And so here they are. Surrounded by their classmates in the gymnasium and a crowd of family on the bleachers. The faculty had said their speeches, thanking everyone for coming and Nancy Wheeler had just sat down after giving her valedictorian speech. The principal came back up to the mic and started announcing the students as they came up and accepted their diplomas.

Chrissy practically went feral when Robin’s name was called and she could hear Steve just as loud as her.

After a few kids after Robin was Chrissy, and Eddie and Robin were both screaming their heads off. A few minutes of kids getting up and sitting down passed.

“Eddie Munson.” The principal called out, gritting through his teeth.

Most of the crowd was quiet, but the room was the loudest that it had been all day. Chrissy stood up screaming and she could see Robin and Nancy doing the same. On the bleachers was a small group of six kids and Steve Harrington that were going feral. Chrissy doesn’t know if she’s heard the gym so loud before.

Eddie was grinning ear-to-ear while he walked up and accepted his diploma. Then, he did what he promised to everyone that he would do. While walking backwards to face the principal, he lifted both of his hands and flipped him off. It made the Party yell even louder, it almost drowned out the disapproving parents who covered their children’s eyes.

Many more kids got their diploma before they finally got to Nancy’s name. Everyone cheered for her as well, but the cheering for Eddie was still louder.

Once everyone was through, Chrissy quickly went back up to the stage before the principal dismissed everyone and whispered in his ear.

“O-oh, folks it seems like we have one more thing for you all! I’d like to welcome the cheerleaders to the stage for a final performance!” He says into the mic and starts clapping, causing everyone else to clap and cheer.

The cheerleaders all come to the stage and take off their gowns to reveal their uniforms. Chrissy makes sure that everyone is ready before speaking into the mic herself.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the girls and I would like to dedicate this performance to our friend and classmate, Deborah Crosswell.” Chrissy let a moment of silence pass before continuing. “We would also like to dedicate it to the one and only Eddie “The Freak” Munson!”

She turns around and joins the other girls. Behind her, she can hear whispers and murmurs about her statement.

Chrissy nods towards the marching band, who she was able to convince to join them in these. She’s lucky that the school already had a full drum set for someone to play.

The beginning notes of Master of Puppets ring out into the gym and they start the special routine that they made just for this. Most people were yelling and left the gym, but Chrissy didn’t care. She had gotten a glimpse of Jason, and she could tell that he was absolutely livid. He practically had smoke coming out of his ears. He was one of many who left.

They ended it about three minutes into the actual song. There was no way she was able to get the band to do the full eight minutes. She had already heard from Robin that some of the kids had quit because of it.

There were only a handful of people left in the gym. The principal and vice principal, the Party, Eddie’s uncle Wayne, and the rest of Corroded Coffin.

As soon as they were done, Chrissy felt herself being picked up and spun around.

“That was the best fucking thing that I’ve ever fucking heard!” Eddie cries out, both of them laughing. He put her down but kept hugging her. “Seriously, Chrissy. That was the best.”

“I know, Eddie.” She giggles.

They hugged for a while until the sound of someone clearing their throat came from behind them.

“What about us? We still exist ya know.” Dustin snarked. Eddie didn’t move, he just waved his hand back towards the group.

“Yeah, yeah, love you too.”

Eddie grunts as a curly haired boy attaches himself to them. He’s followed by his friends, Nancy, Chrissy’s girlfriend, and her best friend.

Chrissy doesn’t think either her or Eddie have ever been happier. What could be better than this? Nothing.

Nothing’s better than being surrounded by your friends.

Chapter Text

“Alright, alright, you all love me! I get it! Now get off, you’re suffocating me!” Eddie calls out from somewhere in the middle of all of them.

The Party all detangle themselves one by one. Eddie's newfound freedom didn't last long as his bandmates went in for a tackle. Steve had yet to meet them. They did visit Eddie while he was in the hospital, but Steve always did his best to steer clear when they did. He knows how he was in high school and these are the exact kind of kids that he and his “friends” would pick on. Steve would rather not get his ass kicked on their graduation day.

They let go of their friend and they take one look at Steve.

“We’ll uh, we’ll see you outside.” One of them wearing a flannel with the sleeves ripped off says before they all turn heel and leave the gym. 

Honestly, Steve couldn’t blame them. They probably thought Eddie was insane for hanging out with a Harrington. With King Steve himself. Steve wouldn’t want to hang around one of their tormentors either. He doesn’t get why Eddie still talks to him.

The weight in his pocket gets heavier with the thought.

He probably just shouldn’t give it to him. It’s not like they’re that close and it’s not like Steve saved up to get it. He can just stash it away or something. Or maybe give it to Dustin or Mike. The engraving wouldn’t make much sense with them, but it’d be better than giving it to someone that he barely talks to and used to bully in high school.

“Steve?”

The voice snaps him out of his thoughts.

“You ok man?” Eddie asks, a tinged of worry is in his voice and one of his hands on Steve’s shoulder.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah I was just spacing out, sorry. I-I’m fine.” Steve says, waving him off. They were alone in the gym with the sound of people coming from outside.

“Ok… just, let me know if you see anything or just wanna talk, ok? C’mon, Harrington.” Eddie says and starts walking away towards the exit.

The weight gets heavier.

“Eddie, wait!” Steve calls out, causing the man to stop in his tracks and turn around. “I um.. You know what, nevermind. I-it’s stupid.”

Steve shakes his head. It is stupid. They said that they wouldn’t get gifts and would just go out to lunch. That’s it. Steve will just shove it in a box, mentally and physically. Try and forget about it.

He feels his arm get grabbed by a ring-covered hand as he passes by the other boy.

“Steve, what’s going on?” Eddie’s eyes are staring straight into Steve. They look serious and worried. Steve ignores the skip in his heart at the use of his first name.

“I-it’s nothing important, I just…” Steve sighs and takes the small black box of his pocket. “I know we said no gifts, but I-I saw this and it made me think of you."

Steve watches Eddie's eyes grow, fixed on the little box in his hand. He can feel his cheeks heating up and quickly stuffs it back into his pocket.

"Like I said, it-it's just dumb and-"

"No. I want it!" Eddie quickly cuts Steve off. The curly haired boy puts his hand out, palm up, expectantly. "Hand over the goods, Harrington."

Reluctantly, Steve takes the small box back out of his pocket and holds it out to Eddie. The other man delicately plucks it out of his hand and carefully holds it. His big, doe eyes are still wide as he opens it.

Steve’s breath catches as the small, black lid is opened. It’s too soon to give him something like this. It’s too big of a thing, but it’s also too small for someone like Eddie. He can feel his face heating up more and more as Eddie stares into the box.

“Steve…” Eddie breaths out his name.

A small smile grows on his face as he picks up the small metal object. It’s a smile that Steve’s never seen before. It’s sweet and delicate. It seems so different from Eddie, like it doesn’t belong. But nothing else fits his face better. Carefully, he slips it onto his right index finger.

Steve exhales as it easily fits onto his finger.

It’s a silver ring with a bat on the top. It’s nothing big by any means, but Eddie seems to like it. Eddie carefully takes it off and inspects the inside of it. He hasn’t said anything about the ring and it’s driving Steve insane.

“I-I figured that since Chrissy has the necklace, you should have something about the year too. And I saw the bat and it made me think of you.” Steve rambles as Eddie runs his finger over the small ‘86 that’s engraved on the inside. “It-it didn’t make me think of you just because y-you were half eaten by bats, but I remembered the tattoo of bats on your forearm and I figured we both got eaten by bats so it’d be special to us and-”

“Stevie.” Steve stops short at the nickname. He's face is soft and endearing. It looks so perfect on his face. “It’s ok. I love it”

“Oh, uh g-good.” He clears his throat. “We should probably join the others.”

And with that they both head to the exit. Eddie with a new, shiny ring on his finger and Steve with a weight lifted off of him.

He doesn’t get why he feels like this, why this was such a big deal to him. It’s just like giving a present to Robin or one of the kids. So why does this feel so different? Why did his face go red at the thought of giving it to Eddie? Why does his stomach do somersaults from Eddie just saying his name? And the nickname…

“Stevie” rings through his head. Steve can feel his cheeks heating up again.

It shouldn’t make him feel like this. It’s just a nickname. It’s the same as Robin calling him Dingus or Steve “The Hair” Harrington. But it’s not the same as that, is it?

The nickname makes him feel different than Robin. It makes him feel like a couple of years ago. Before all this. When Nancy would lovingly look at him and call him an idiot with no heat behind it… A pet name.

Steve gives himself a mental shake and comes back to the present. He can’t focus on those thoughts. Those are the kind of thoughts that go into the Eddie Munson box. And that’s the box that goes into the DON’T THINK ABOUT box. It has big red letters that you can’t miss. It’s a box that he can’t open.

That doesn’t stop Eddie from opening it.

“Hey Dingus! Lunch is on you, hurry up!” Robin calls out to him from his car.

Her and Chrissy are standing side by side, their gowns already off. They’re leaning on the car, a bit closer than regular friends but Steve doesn’t say anything.

He feels a hand wrap itself around his and Eddie drags him to the car faster.

“C’mon Harrington. They’ll eat your car if you don’t hurry.” Eddie yells as they carefully run across the crowded parking lot, stares and whispers following them.

Steve puts his quickened heartbeat into the box.

Once he unlocks the car, Chrissy and Robin both get into the backseat. As soon as he gets into the car himself, Steve turns around and gives Robin a look.

“What?” She asks.

“You’re sitting in the backseat?”

“Shut up.” Her face is red as she leans forward and pushes Steve's face away from hers.

Eddie slides himself into the passenger seat with ease. It looks like he’s melted onto the seat more than sat down. The left side of his body seems to be as close to the seat and middle console as humanly possible while his right leg is propped up against the door. His right arm is laid against his leg, his elbow and knee connecting, and he’s tapping to an invisible beat as usual. Steve watches the new ring going along with his bouncing fingers.

He gives himself another mental shake before starting the car.

“Everyone buckled?”

“Yes mom.” Robin and Eddie both answer in exaggerated unison. Chrissy just nods her head, giggling.

With the confirmation, Steve pulls out of the school parking spot and heads towards the agreed diner with Robin and Eddie chanting “Susan’s” over and over again. He tries to show that he’s annoyed, but Steve can’t help but smile. Who can blame him?

They all cheer as they pull into the diner, Steve's cheer soaked with sarcasm.

Steve and Robin slide into their usual booth by the window across from each other. Eddie and Chrissy follow, with Chrissy next to Robin and Eddie beside Steve.

They order milkshakes and get wrapped into their own conversations. Robin and Chrissy are huddled together whispering and giggling.

"How'd you know my size?"

"Huh, what?" Steve asks for clarification.

"The ring. It fits surprisingly well." Eddie explains

"Oh, well your hands kinda look like the same size as mine, so I figured it’d be the same.” As he talks, Steve mindlessly picks up Eddie's hand and compares them, palm to palm.“But your fingers are a lot more slender than mine, so I just went a size down. Honestly, I was just hoping that it would fit at least one of your fingers.”

He looks up from their hands to see Eddie staring at him like a deer caught in headlights. Steve's cheeks heat up at the sight; he clears his throat and quickly removes his hand.

Thankfully, the milkshakes save Steve from his embarrassment and get set in front of them. Chrissy got strawberry, Robin chocolate, Steve vanilla, and Eddie cookies & cream.

They try their own as well as each other's and start arguing about which is the best flavor.

"My chocolate is clearly the best! It's a rich, creamy classic!" Robin argues, waving her hands around as usual, almost knocking over her drink multiple times.

"Robin, babe, you gotta get with the times. Cookies & cream has the perfect creaminess and rough texture ratio! And it's more modern." Eddie lifts his hands to the side and wiggles his fingers with the last word. Steve rolls his eyes and sips his own shake.

"Well, mine has strawberry bits in it." Chrissy says while lifting up her glass and waving a hand across it like she's presenting a new product. "It's a classic with a nice pop of color! The pink works for practically every outfit. Even Eddies."

The three keep arguing. Steve doesn't say anything, he's content with drinking his milkshake and listening.

"Steve, who has the best?"

Oh God.

They had rounded on him like three demodogs on an orange tabby.

Steve doesn't like being a tabby.

"I uh… I don't really know. They all have good qualities and they all taste good. They're all good." He says, trying to get out of the argument.

But of course, Robin and Eddie start booing him, loud enough for a couple next to them to leave the diner

"Jesus, fine I'll answer. Just shut the hell up." The boos turn into quiet snickers. Steve gives it some thought before answering.

He grabs each shake and tries it again, protests once again coming from Eddie and Robin. After another second, he answers.

"Chrissy wins."

This causes the most outrage that Steve thinks he's ever heard. And he accidently helped in the raising of six feral children.

Eddie and Robin are screaming at Steve for an explanation and a rematch. Chrissy, on the other hand, was laughing right in their faces, shoving her victory down their throats. 

“In my defense, she doesn’t annoy me into giving her rides and she’s nicer than all of us combined.” Steve says, lifting his hands in mock defense. Eddie throws his head back and laughs, Robin starts laughing too. “What?”

Eddie tries to speak, but his laughter won’t allow him to. Luckily, Robin’s able to help the confused man. 

“Steve, Chrissy is the most feral one here. She’s more of a menace than fucking Henderson.”

“Seriously?” Steve raises an eyebrow in disbelief, looking at Chrissy who just shrugs with a smug smile on her face. Eddie somehow laughs louder than before.

Steve just rolls his eyes and tells the other man to shut up. He’s able to collect himself by the time the waitress comes over again to get their orders. They order, they eat, they laugh. Just the usual.

It’s nice.

The whole time, no matter if someone is making fun of him or having a competition of embarrassing stories, Steve is smiling. He can’t stop smiling. He’s surrounded by his best friend, her girlfriend, and her girlfriend’s best friend. The only thing that could make this better is having the rest of the Party with them. And if Steve could stop getting distracted by Eddie.

It’d be something as little as their thighs touching briefly under the table or Eddie slinging his arm around Steve’s shoulders, loud with laughter. Whatever it is, it makes Steve’s heart skip a beat and adds another thing to his boxes.

Steve just doesn’t understand.

He doesn’t get why his face heats up when Eddie invades his personal space. Or why he gets so much more embarrassed from Robin telling stories about some of his failed advances at Scoops. He’s heard her tell the exact same stories at get togethers with the Party, before Eddie. But now he’s nervous about Eddie’s reaction.

There’s one thing that he’s figured out in all of this. He definitely doesn’t like Chrissy like that.

But it just raises even more questions.

Like why did his stomach flip when Eddie grabbed her hand to run or when Chrissy told him that Eddie talked about him even before the Upside Down brought them together? He just doesn’t understand any of it.

He would go to Robin, he really would. It’s just that she can get… excited about things like this and Steve really doesn’t need her to give him a sexuality crisis when he knows for a fact that he’s straight.

Steve Harrington likes girls.

He doesn’t like boys.

He likes girls.

Steve Harrington is straight.

There’s nothing more to it.

Steve just knows that if he brings up that he stares at Eddie’s hand when they’re tapping on the counter or that he gets distracted by Eddie’s soft-looking curls perfectly framing his face, Robin is going to try and tell him that there’s a chance that he’s gay. But he already knows he isn’t, so there’s no point in thinking that there’s a chance he is.

It all just goes into the boxes for now.

~~~~~~~~~

After lunch, which evidently turned into dinner and dessert, the four adults went to Family Video and the convenience store for their night at Steve’s. Each one of them picked out two movies and a couple of their favorite snacks.

Steve was excited for tonight.

They all deserved this. Especially Eddie, Chrissy, and Robin. They had to go through literal hell and back and then somehow pass senior year without anyone knowing what happened. They deserved a night to get drunk and watch movies with their friends.

Robin goes straight to the living room with the bag of tapes with Chrissy following her, marveling at the house. Steve heads to the kitchen with the snacks.

Steve takes a couple of bags of popcorn out of the cupboard and sticks one in the microwave. He waits, listening to the popping sound in front of him and the girls' laughter from behind him.

"You gonna make us another one of your delicacies, Stevie?"

Steve jumps at the voice from behind him.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Munson! I swear to God, you need to wear a fucking bell!” Steve puts a hand over his beating heart as he turns to face the metalhead.

“My apologies, your liege,” Eddie dramatically bows. “I’ll make sure to make my presence known everytime I walk in.”

Steve doesn’t say anything. He just stares at the man as he stands back up. And there they are, just staring at each other, only a few feet of space between them. Not a word being said. Steve watches as Eddie's eyes narrow, like he's looking for something in Steve

The microwave breaks the tension with a loud beeping. The smell of popcorn consumes them as Steve carefully takes the full bag out.

“Put this in the bowl over there.” He hands the bag off to Eddie and nods his head in the direction of a plastic bowl.

Eddie does as he’s told and Steve sticks another bag in the microwave. The sound of giggles and one of the movies is coming from the other room. From the dramatic music to the animal sounds, Steve can guess that Robin put on Raiders Of The Lost Ark, one of her picks.

Eventually, Steve walks into the living room with two bowls overflowing with popcorn and hands one off to the two girls who have claimed the loveseat. Steve takes one end of the uncomfortable couch that his parents probably spent a fortune on. Eddie had followed him into the room with four beers in hand, handing two to the girls who looked at it with a mixture of disgust and curiosity. He then sits down next to Steve and hands him one. 

They watched the movie, making little comments and jokes and causing a rupture of laughter. It was domestic and nice. And it was a much needed break from life.

The movie ended and Eddie loudly clapped his hands.

“Alright, I need to move around, let’s play a game.” He says while standing up and stretching, the bottom of his Dio shirt lifting and exposing part of his scarred skin.

Steve winces as he remembers the pain. He has no idea how Eddie was able to last as long as he did. Steve had trouble with just a couple bats, nevermind an entire swarm of them. That could’ve been all of the bats that existed in the Upside Down for all they knew; and Eddie fucking Munson was able to hold them all off on his own. Yes, he almost died while doing so, but he’s here now, more alive than ever.

“So what are we playing Mister I-can’t-sit-still-for-five-fucking-seconds?” Steve asks, pushing aside his own thoughts. He can’t dwell on those thoughts right now.

“Ooo! How about truth or dare?” Chrissy says, lifting an empty beer can.

They all agree and get up from their various positions. Steve and Eddie sit on the floor next to each other and Chrissy sits down next to Steve, putting down the beer can with her. Robin throws on a seemingly random record and joins them, wrapping her arm around Chrissy.

Steve recognizes the first couple of notes instantly. His fingers tap against his leg along with the beat, a small smile forming on his face.

“Shout, shout, let it all out.”

Eddie groans as Curt Smith’s voice fills the room.

“Seriously? Why couldn’t you have picked something better?” He complains.

“Hey, this is better.” Steve responds, bumping the other man with his shoulder.

He doesn’t respond. Instead he just rolls his eyes and spins the can in the middle of the circle-ish shape that they’ve created.

“Hey, what about rock, paper, scissors?” Robin complains as the can slows down and lands on the girl.

“Alright Rob, truth or dare?” Eddie completely ignores her complaints and gives her (what Steve assumes) is his best shit-eating grin.

She scoffs and leans forwards, staring straight into his eyes. Eddie stares back unbothered.

“Dare.”

The smile on Eddie’s face grows even more. Steve is very scared for his home at this current moment.

It wasn’t nearly as bad as Steve had thought it was going to be. Eddie ended up just telling Robin to do a couple of laps around the house. To be fair, it’s a big house, but Steve was expecting something worse from the man.

They go around a few times, Robin and Eddie only picking dare, Chrissy picking it only a few times, and Steve only picking truth. It’s not that he doesn’t trust his friends, it’s just that he doesn’t trust his friends.

The beer can gets grabbed by a ringed hand and is spun. All four of them are at least tipsy if the growing mountain of empty cans are to go by anything.

It goes round and round, the four adults waiting in anticipation. Until it finally stops on Steve.

“Alright Harrington, here’s your question.” Eddie starts but Steve cuts him off.

“Woah, who says I pick truth?”

“Literally every single other round.” Robin answers like it’s obvious.

“Fine then. I’ll pick dare this time.” Steve says, looking back at Eddie.

The grin that Steve used to wanna punch grows on Eddie’s face.

“You sure, big boy?”

“Yeah.”

Steve’s stomach flips at the nickname as Eddie’s grin grows even bigger.

Oh no.

“Steven Harrington.” Steve winces at the use of his full name. “I, Eddie Munson-”

“Hurry up.” Chrissy coughs into her hand causing drunken giggles to erupt from her and Robin.

“I dare you,” He grits through his teeth, glaring at the two girls before turning back to Steve with a grin. “To let yours truly rifle through your closet and you have to wear whatever I pick out for the rest of the night.”

“Dare accepted.”

Chapter Text

Steve feels as though he might have made a mistake, taking a dare from Eddie. No. Steve definitely knows that it was a mistake letting the other man dress him.

“I should be scared, shouldn’t I?” Steve asks the room, his head turned to where the metalhead had sprinted up the stairs to his bedroom.

“Yup.”

“Absolutely.”

A couple minutes pass and Eddie is still in his room. They hear some noises here and there from the upstairs room. Meanwhile, the three remaining adults had decided to break into their different snacks and they put on Grease.

The scene had switched to Sandy at lunch when they finally heard Eddie’s sing-song voice call down from the stairs.

“Oh Stevieeee!”

“Pray for me.” Steve says as he gets up and heads for the stairs.

He gets to the top of the stairs only to get his hand grabbed and dragged to his room.

“C’mon, hurry up man!” Eddie opens the door for him with a dramatic wave of his hand towards the bed.

Oh no.

Oh no no no no no.

It’s so, so, much worse than Steve thought it could’ve been.

Nicely laid out on his bed is his old, tattered Scoops Ahoy uniform.

“Where did you even find this?” Steve asks.

He’s so confused. Like he so fucking confused. He thought that he burned this thing along with Robin’s. What the fuck?

“It was at the back of your closet.” Eddie takes a piece of hair and covers his face with it, trying and failing to hide his laughter. “What’s wrong Stevie, too big of a dare for ya?”

Listen, Steve wouldn’t normally take up a challenge like this, he’s learned not to take up any challenge or dare thrown his way. But in his defense, he’s tipsy and Eddie Munson is very convincing.

“No, no, just get out so I can change.” Steve waves his hand somewhere behind him, his eyes still fixed on the clothing. Eddie leaves but not without mumbling something about Steve being bossy.

Steve just sighs and puts it on. There's no way out of this situation anyway, so he might as well not fight it.

It still fits him, only being a bit tighter around his shoulders. He's just glad that the hat burned with the rest of the mall.

He gets back downstairs just as Danny Zuko starts singing about his summer. He walks into the living room.

Eddie was on the floor, leaning against the couch and looking at the TV with horrified disgust.

Chrissy is the first to notice him, her first reaction being a quick laugh as she puts her hands over her mouth. Then Eddie notices him and practically freezes. His eyes widen and his fingers stop tapping. Steve could swear that a light blush came across the boy's cheeks.

"Holy shit! You still have that?" Robin questions. "How the hell did you get so much of the blood out of it?"

"The what out of it?" Both Eddie and Chrissy exclaim.

"The blood, from the Russians." Robin says nonchalantly like that explains anything.

"THE RUSSIANS?" The two basically scream the question.

That's how Steve and Robin got to drunkenly explaining the events that happened in the summer of '85.

The explanation was… messy to say the least. First, for whatever reason, Robin decided to start the story when they first got their jobs, but Steve made sure to fast forward them to Henderson showing up. From there, it was just the two of them interrupting and talking over each other. Eddie and Chrissy seemed to be able to keep up.

"And then he just, like, made fun of me for liking Tammy Thompson just because she sounds like a muppet!" Robin throws her hands up into the air.

"Because one, she does sound like a Muppet! And you agreed with me at the pep rally! And two, she's also a complete dud! It's all just blonde hair and makeup!" Steve defends himself.

"Well, it certainly looks like someone has a type." Eddie comments, wiggling his eyebrows at Robin.

"You can't say jack shit, Munson." Robin accuses him.

"Oh, really? Please, do tell."

"You like 'em athletic, Eddie. Preferably brunette." Chrissy says like it's obvious. Eddie scoffs at her shit-eating grin. She waves a finger at him. "Don't you even try to deny it! I can list multiple examples."

"Fine, fine whatever. No need to go down that road." Eddie waves her off, but Steve's positive that he's blushing this time. “Besides, why are you only picking on me? What about Harrington, what’s his type?”

Huh.

Steve thinks about it for a second. “Ya know, I don’t think I really have a type. Just cute girls around my age I guess.”

Robin bursts out laughing at this answer. Steve stares at her, confused about what made her start laughing so much in the first place.

“You definitely have a type, Dingus.” She answers when he questions her, laughs still escaping her mouth every now and then.

“No I don’t, I’m fair to all babes alike.” He defends, making Chrissy and Eddie chuckle.

“Steve, you have a type. Brunette, curly hair, nerdy, and badass.” She counts off her fingers with each word.

“Ok, now that is furthest from the truth. What about Heidi or Brenda? They aren’t nerdy or brunette.”

“I’m talking about your successful and potentially successful relationships, Steve! And that only includes Nancy, who’s a curly brunette nerd and is very badass, and me.”

Eddie bursts out laughing at the last words. Chrissy looks confused as she asks, “Did you guys use to date?”

Simultaneously, Steve and Robin both gag at the notion, making Eddie laugh even more. Steve loves Robin and Robin loves Steve, but that is a romantic relationship that will never happen. For more reasons than just Robin being gay. Of course the girl takes the gagging to another level and pretends to throw up, fainting onto Chrissy’s lap, and promptly dies.

Steve rolls his eyes, not being able to stop the smile on his face. A shoulder is slapped onto his shoulder as Eddie steadies himself while his laughter dies down. His head is down, all of his brown curls down like a curtain hiding his face. And when he sits straight, removing his hand from Steve’s shoulder, Steve thinks he has one of the best smiles that he’s seen. It’s not as good as Dustin’s, nothing could beat that toothy smile, but it’s just so free and… alive.

“No, we have never been together. I just…” Steve groans and rubs a hand over his face, leaning back against the couch. His thigh bumps against Eddie’s and his stomach flips again. Into the box. “I used to have a crush on her.”

Chrissy and Eddie start laughing again. Robin explains that that’s what caused her to come out to him. With every word, Eddie laughs harder and harder. Eventually, he doubles over, holding his stomach. His hair dangles in front of his face again, this time tickling Steve’s thigh.

The moment passes and they’ve gotten to the end of Grease, bright colors showing the credits with Frankie Valli’s voice filling the room.

Robin springs up from her seat and quickly switches movies. She winks at Chrissy as she walks back to her seat next to the blonde. “This one, we gotta pay attention to.”

They all get settled, the screen turning black while music plays. Chrissy quietly laughs between her and Robin.

“Jesus, Rob.” Eddie sighs, pulling a lock of his hair in front of his face.

Steve looks back at the TV and watches, confused, as a pair of red lips come into view, singing along to the music. The lips fade into the background as red text fills the screen.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

They start the chorus as credits start showing. The lips come back for another verse of the song, then disappear again when the chorus is sung again with more credits on the screen. The lips sing a final verse before fading into a church hosting a wedding.

They continue with the movie. It seems fine so far, Steve doesn’t get why Eddie seemed worried. He pays attention as best as he can; it’s difficult when they talk too quietly and with Eddie’s nervous eyes glancing at him every so often. Steve doesn’t get why. Every time he catches Eddie looking at him, he quickly looks away, cheeks tinted pink. Maybe there’s something on his face? Steve knows that Eddie likes this movie, so maybe he’s just looking for his reactions at certain parts.

Janet and Brad get into the castle. The maid slides down the banister as the  butler? walks over to a coffin shaped clock. It looks really old and it’s… it’s chiming.

Steve freezes.

It-it can’t be, They beat him. He knows they beat him. It has to be over. It has to all be over.

“Y-you guys hear that right?”

Music starts playing, the chiming seemingly stops, but Steve swears he can still hear it. The others look confused for a second before realizing what he was talking about. Chrissy quickly pauses it as Robin runs over to Steve. Her and Eddie are rambling, talking over each other, explaining that it’s all part of the movie.

Their voices sound distant, his eyes staring straight ahead of him at the TV. Right at the skeleton standing inside the grandfather clock. It feels like he can’t move. He just hears the cold, heartless voice ringing in his head.

Join me, Steven. We can stop their suffering,

Steve can feel his breath getting faster and faster as the voices fill his head.

IT’S YOUR FAULT! ALL YOUR FAULT

You’re bullshit.

“Steve!”

Steve snaps back to reality, brown curls and doe eyes fill his vision. His breathing slows as he relishes in the comforting weight of Eddie’s hands on his shoulders. Robin and Chrissy are next to him, worry filling their eyes.

“Steve, you ok man?” Eddie asks, concern filling his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. I-I’m all good.” Steve takes a deep breath. Why do they look so worried? It was Steve who heard the voices, not them. To them it probably just looked like he was staring off into… space. Oh. He rubs a hand over his face. “Shit, guys. I’m sorry.”

“The hell are you apologizing for?” Robin asks, the usual snark filling her voice,

“W-well I was just staring, it must’ve freaked you out.” Steve responds, remembering the horror of seeing Max’s eyes rolled back.

They all looked at him in disbelief.

“Are you fucking serious, Harrington?” The comforting hands leave his shoulders and get stuffed into his leather jacket.

“Dude, you were the one who got cursed with the clock disease, not us!” Chrissy causes Eddie and Robin to burst out into laughter.

It takes a hot minute for Eddie and Robin to compose themselves before Eddie asks, “But, dude, you sure you're ok? If you need, we can stop the movie and go to bed or something.”

“No, no I’m fine.” Steve insists. Truly, he is. “I wanna keep watching, it’s getting interesting.”

At this, Eddie’s face goes red and he looks away. Chrissy and Robin giggle and head back to the loveseat, Robin giving Steve one more worried look. Steve gives her his own look, telling her that he really is ok. She seems to trust him and plays the movie again.

A music number starts, talking about the time warp, whatever that is. Janet and Brad get dragged into this room where a bunch of people are dancing along with the music. It’s actually pretty catchy. So far all the music in this is pretty good.

The number ends and a properly made elevator dings. Out of the elevator walks out a singing Tim Curry (who knew he could sing) with a face full of make-up and a black robe wrapped around him. During his song, Eddie’s glances between the TV and Steve become more and more frequent as they get closer to the chorus. And then they get to the chorus and Tim Curry rips off the robe to reveal him wearing fish-nets and a corset.

Steve’s eyes widen in surprise. It’s not that it’s a bad look. It honestly looks great on him, he just wasn’t… expecting it. He sees Eddie do seemingly everything he can to avoid eye contact with Steve. Robin and Chrissy are taking turns sneaking looks at Steve, Robin more obvious than Chrissy.

They get further into the movie, and this guy named Rocky was, born? Steve’s a bit confused on the details, but he’s still enjoying himself. It’s a weird movie, and definitely Robin’s type of weird. 

A song ends and a motorcycle bursts through the wall. Columbia? Steve’s bad with names, but the pink-haired girl screams the name “Eddie” as the guy on the motorcycle gets off and takes off his helmet.

He’s wearing a motorcyclist jacket covered in pins and patches. It reminds Steve of the denim jacket he has upstairs. He should probably return that… later.

“Hey, it’s you.” Steve chuckles, bumping Eddie’s shoulders and nods to the screen as Movie Eddie starts singing about rock and roll. Eddie turns to him, a giant grin on his face.

“Columbia isn’t really my type, but yeah, I guess he is me.”

Robin starts choking on her drink and Chrissy scolds Eddie while patting on her girlfriend’s back. Steve is very confused. He doesn’t understand why she’s scolding him. I mean, they seem pretty similar, except for Movie Eddie driving a motorcycle. Steve doesn’t think Munson has a motorcycle, nevermind knows how to drive one.

At the end of Movie Eddie’s song, Tim Curry goes just a little crazy and kills Movie Eddie with a pickaxe.

“You were right, Stevie. He really is me.”

“Oh… OH SHIT!” Eddie cackles as realization dawns on Steve, the girls joining him with laughter. “Jesus Christ, Munson! What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“A lot of things, Harrington. A lot of things.”

Time passes as they continue the movie. A cold, ringed, hand covers Steve’s on his thigh and squeezes it as another clock chimes. Steve smiles to himself, turning his hand around and squeezing back. Eddie takes his hand back and Steve's hand feels cold.

Eddie clears his voice and stands up as Janet enters Brad's room.

“I’m um, I’m gonna grab another beer, y'all want anything?”

There’s a small chorus of no’s and Eddie makes a quick escape as Janet is revealed to be Tim Curry. Steve’s eyes burrow in confusion.

Wasn’t he just with Janet? Why is he with Brad now? And he was with the muscle dude earlier. You can only like one, so why is Tim Curry with both?

Steve guesses that he could ask Robin or even Chrissy about this, but he shouldn’t have to rely on them for stupid questions like this. These questions aren’t even relevant, so it doesn’t matter. Besides, if Steve brings this up to Robin, she’ll start questioning him and he has a hard time lying to Robin. She can get anything out of him.

The ending credits appear on the screen as pictures of each character are shown with the beginning song playing once again. They all turn to him. Robin and Chrissy excitedly and expectantly, while Eddie is more hesitant.

“So, Steve , whaddya think?” Robin says, putting emphasis on his name and a stupid smile on her face.

“Hm? Oh, I, uh, I liked it. The music was catchy.” Steve replies. He sees Eddie’s eyes widen in the corner of his eye. Steve leans against the back of the couch nonchalantly. "Yeah it was good."

Robin leans in close to her girlfriend and whispers something, causing Chrissy to roll her eyes and push her face away.

Steve ignores it and gets up to stretch. "I'm gonna get a beer. Go ahead and start the next one." And with that, he walks off towards the kitchen.

He wonders why Eddie had left so quickly in the middle of a movie that he likes and knows just from the first couple chords of it. If he didn't have a choice, Steve wouldn't have left in the middle of Grease, it's one of his favorites.

He had left just before Janet was revealed to be Tim Curry, so maybe that's why? But Steve is fine with gay people. He's best friends with a lesbian! Why would he care about guys liking guys?

Steve closes the fridge, beer in hand, and turns around only to jump a foot in the air.

"So you liked it?" Robin asks, a certain tone in her voice that wouldn’t go well for Steve.

"Yeah, I already told you, it was good. The music's catchy."

"That's it?"

"That's it." Steve replies with a nod.

"No questions about anything?

Yes.

"No."

She gives him one more curious look before snatching the can out of his hand with a shrug and leaves the kitchen. "Ok."

He loudly complains about the stolen drink, but gets himself another one anyway. He takes back his seat next to Eddie. The screen is showing white credits against a dark, cloudy sky. Suspenseful music plays behind it.

It’s not until a couple minutes later before Steve realizes what movie they're watching. Tim Curry’s face is shown (yet again) as he drives up the driveway to a creepy looking castle (again).

He feeds the dogs and heads inside the house after stepping in their shit. He checks on the maid and the cook when the first guest arrives.

They continue watching Clue, making small comments here and there. One by one the guests arrive and they talk.

Steve is mid-sip of his beer as the sudden sound of a gong makes him (and Mr. Green) jump, causing him to spill his beer all over himself and Eddie. Eddie and the girls burst out laughing, so much so that Eddie has doubled-over yet again.

“Oh, shit! Shit, Eddie, I’m sorry. Fuck.” Steve starts apologizing and grabs the few napkins they had on the coffee table to start dabbing Eddie down.

“H-Harrington, dude, I’m fine.” Eddie says in between laughs while waving him off.

“Here, uh, come with me, you can borrow a change of clothes.” Steve stands up. He grabs Eddie’s hand and drags the (still laughing) metalhead upstairs to his room when he protests.

“Seriously dude, I don’t need-” Eddie stops short as Steve digs out two sweaters and two pairs of shorts. He turns around to see Eddie staring at his desk chair, the same, small, sweet and delicate smile from before returning to his face. His voice is quiet as he asks, “You still have it?”

A confused Steve follows his gaze to the dirty vest hanging off of the chair. His cheeks heat up and his mouth goes dry. He walks over and picks up the piece of clothing, handing it over to Eddie. “Oh, um, right, yeah. Sorry, I meant to give it back afterwards. I forgot.”

“No, no.” Eddie shoves it back, into Steve’s chest. “Keep it man. It suits you, better than it ever did me.”

Steve stares at him, eyes wide, but takes the vest back anyway. He quickly turns back around and puts the vest back on the chair.

He needs to pull himself together. What is even wrong with him? Why does he need to pull himself together? Eddie shouldn’t be affecting him like this. Eddie’s just another friend of his. He’s a guy friend… that’s it. Nothing more. He can’t be anything more.

Steve’s straight.

He clears his voice and breaks the silence. “Here, um, you can borrow these.” He shoves the clothes towards Eddie and points to a door a bit away from him. “You can change in there.”

“Back into the closet for me, then?” Eddie asks. Steve blinks.

“It’s… a bathroom?”

Without another word, Eddie quickly walks into the bathroom and shuts the door close. Steve stands there for another second, staring at the closed door, before going to the other bathroom and changing.

They both emerge a few minutes later and Steve practically forces Eddie to give him his clothes to wash because I’m a good host, Munson, I’m not letting you go home with sticky clothes.

They return to the living room to find the girls cuddled together, asleep. The butler is telling the guests the reasons why they’re being blackmailed as they sit back down.

"Did you really have to give me this sweater? It's cramping my style, Harrington." Eddie complains.

“A little color is not gonna kill you, Munson.”

“A little? This is a little bit of color to you?” Eddie shoves his arm in Steve’s face. “This is yellow, Harrington. Yellow! I am wearing fucking yellow right now! How the fuck is this a little color?”

“Shut up man, you look good in it.” Steve pushes Eddie away and shifts his focus back to the movie. Mr. Green stands up and declares where he works and that he’s a homosexual. He shakes his head as Mr. Plum moves away from the other man.

Steve doesn’t notice how quiet Eddie has been since his compliment. They sit in a comfortable silence, only making small comments here and there and causing a chuckle or two.

Surprisingly, Steve doesn’t get distracted away from the movie until there's a weight on his shoulder. He turns his head, only to be met with soft curls. Small snores escape from the man next to him.

Eddie is asleep.

He’s asleep… on Steve.

It feels like Steve’s stomach does a thousand somersaults, it almost makes him nauseous. He shouldn’t even feel this way. This shouldn’t make him feel how he felt everytime Nancy held his hand or when she leaned into his side while watching a movie. It shouldn’t make him feel like this.

But it does.

It does and it’s driving Steve crazy. He knows that he likes girls. He has always liked girls. He loved Nancy and he knows that he loved her. So why the hell is he feeling the same feelings with Eddie? With the boy that reserved a smile, just for him. The only graduate that he got a present for. The boy that made him cry by trying to be a hero. The boy that Vecna showed him… The one that his dad warned him about in the visions. The one that called him bullshit, just like Nancy did.

None of this makes sense. He doesn’t think any of this ever will make sense.

Chapter Text

It had been a couple of days since graduation when Eddie said that they were going to play D&D. The kids said that too. He was going to start a brand new campaign for all the little shitheads since the Hopper-Byers have officially moved back to Hawkins and school is over. They were even able to convince Max and El to join them. But no. Now they have to relish in all of the glorious campaigns that Eddie ran before Will and El were with them. Eddie isn’t exactly complaining that is. But he would like to get started on this adventure that he’s been working on for fucking ever and he wanted to get the boys’ characters done. He was planning to help the girls later when the teenagers who can’t keep their mouths shut don’t talk over him and each other when trying to explain the rules. He also had plans to annoy Steve (and Robin, but mostly Steve) at work after they were done and the boys are currently postponing said plans. So, yes. He was complaining. Slightly.

“Oh yeah, then there was the Vecna Campaign! That one was so fucking cool and sadistic!” Dustin says.

“Yeah. It was actually how we came up with the name for Vecna/One/Henry.” Lucas explains to Will.

“T’was one of my best.” Eddie nods along with a dramatic wave of his hand. So maybe he wasn’t complaining that much. “Too bad we didn’t have everyone there for the end.”

“Did someone’s character die?” Will asks. A flash of hurt crosses Lucas’ face. Eddie probably shouldn’t have brought it up.

“Oh, no, Lucas had a basketball game that night, championships.” Mike says nonchalantly. Will’s eyebrows furrow in slight confusion.

“So you guys just… didn’t go?” He asks.

“Well, no. It was the same night as the end of the campaign, so we… finished the campaign. Erica subbed in.” Mike slowly explains, his voice getting quieter with each word.

Will seems to ponder this for a second. His expression turns into a mixture of sadness and anger. “So you abandoned him.”

“Uh, not exactly-” Mike gets cut off.

“No, it’s exactly that. You guys split the party when all you had to do was postpone.” Will continues, his voice getting louder than Eddie has ever heard it. Didn’t even know the kid was capable of raising his voice.

“That’s what I said…” Lucas mumbles to himself.

“It’s not our fault Eddie made us find a sub!” Dustin defends. Well, Eddie thinks that this little shithead needs to keep his fucking mouth shut as Will turns to him.

Oh no.

“You didn’t let them postpone? Why not? Literally all of you had off the next day. It was spring break!” 

For once in his life, Eddie keeps his mouth shut. And whatever divine power that’s out there takes mercy on him for William Byers turns back to his friends. 

"You know you could've still gone, right? You wouldn't have lost anything if you just went to the game. You do know that, right? Even if he didn’t postpone, you could’ve still gone and supported Lucas. Eddie would’ve just had to find three subs instead of just the one! The only consequence would be Eddie maybe killing off your characters, and that happened anyway except for Erica who wasn’t even there from the beginning!”

Mike intervenes. Christ the kid’s an idiot sometimes.

“It wasn’t that simple, Will!”

Correction.

He’s an idiot all the time.

“Yes, Michael. Yes it was that fucking simple.” 

Eddie stands there, mouth agape. He’s never heard the kid curse. It seems that the same was for the others. Eddie’s heard maybe, maybe , a mumbled “shit” here and there, but never fuck. Eddie would’ve thought that the kid didn’t even know swear words if it wasn’t for his friends. 

“You know how important basketball was to Lucas. Hell, even I knew and I was across the country! Just go to the fucking game, and don’t play D&D. It’s not like not playing D&D is new for you."

Will’s voice drops back down. Eddie can hear the tears that threaten to fall. 

“You just don’t get it. Even after all the shit we've been through, you don't get it. You always split the party, even after we've been through hell and back. Some earlier than others."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mike asks, the usual amount of snark lacking. They need to have a class on when to keep your mouth shut.

Hint: This is one of those fucking times, Wheeler.

"Are you fucking serious?" Will scoffs, his voice rising once again. "I was stuck in the Upside Down for a fucking week! I was 12 years old! I was the one robbed of a childhood! I was the one who always got left out! Or did you forget already? Did you forget how you met the supposed love of your life? How could you have forgotten the day your life started?”

Eddie raises his eyebrows. What the fuck happened to these kids? Eddie knows it was bad, anything related to the Upside Down is, but they never told him the full story of the day Will Byers went missing.

All he knows is that Eddie's respect for the kid just skyrocketed. Eddie barely survived a singular day in the Upside Down, nevermind a week. And even then, he was 20 with 3 other "adults". He couldn't imagine doing that as a 12 year-old alone.

"You don’t understand how much it can hurt when you’re the one left out. You’ve never known how it feels to be the one abandoned. Mike, you always make yourself choose, and everytime you choose the wrong fucking one. You always choose to leave someone out!" Tears are running down Will's face.

"I don't always leave someone out! That's just not true!" 

Michael just doesn't know when he's in the wrong, does he?

"Seriously? Are you just gonna pretend that you didn't ditch me to swap spit with some girl the 3rd time we went through all this shit?"

"Hey, El isn't-" 

Will doesn't let him finish.

"No! No, don't you fucking dare say that she isn't some girl! You don’t get to say that! Not after California!"

Now is when Eddie wishes that the divine powers that showed up earlier, would show again and tape the shithead's mouth shut before he could say anything. But alas, they have abandoned humanity once again.

"What happened in California?" Dustin asks.

"Oh, he didn't tell you? He didn't mention how he could only say "I love you" to El when she was dying? How he made her feel like she had to change herself and become a superhero? He didn't tell you that he practically ignored me all day until El stopped talking to him? Ya know, I thought we were supposed to be friends, Mike! I thought we were best friends!"

“We are! We are best friends!” Mike yells back.

“No! No, we aren’t Michael! A best friend would’ve noticed you sobbing next to him! A best friend wouldn’t have let the only “happy birthdays” come from his mom and siblings! Hell, even Argyle remembered my fucking birthday and he was high the entire day!

Ex-fucking-scuse me?

"T-that's not-" Mike tries, but once again, he fails.

"Wanna know what else he said? He said that his life started the day that he found El. The day that I went missing. Do you even know how much that hurts?"

His voice is small and broken again. His attention is fully on the taller boy. The one whose eyes are on the floor.

"Do you know how much it hurts to hear your best friend say that his life started the day yours was ruined? The day that my entire childhood was stolen from me? The day that I thought that I was going to die without even being able to say goodbye to the ones who could say I love you?"

Will stares at Mike, catching his breath. The boy still hasn't looked up.

"It hurt me, so much, to hear that from someone I considered a friend. It hurts so fucking much to hear that from someone that’s family, from someone who used to sleep next to my bed when I was at my lowest point. From someone who I was told stopped at nothing to find and bring me back from my worst nightmare. It hurts , Mike.”

Mike still doesn’t answer. His focus is on the stained carpet of his basement. Will scoffs.

“You just don’t get it. You’ll never know how it feels to be so… different. You aren’t qu- you aren’t a freak like me.”

Oh?

“I can’t believe I thought you were the heart.” He mumbles the last part, like they weren’t supposed to hear it.

Mike finally looks up at him with wide, teary eyes.

So that’s what’s happening.

Now, Eddie loves Will, he’s the best, but he is way too fucking good for Mike. As Max has said many times, Michael Wheeler is a bitch. Will, on the other hand, is a sweet, caring, loving little (confirmed gay) boy. He deserves a lot better than Mike.

Unfortunately, Eddie will probably encourage the two to get together anyway because they’re in Hawkins, Indiana and Will has a crush for a “straight” boy and it’s rare that it happens. Eddie can relate. The only difference is that Will’s “straight” boy is a not-so-straight boy. Eddie, on the other hand, isn’t so lucky.

“Hey kid.” Eddie puts his hand on the boy’s shoulder. His voice is gentle as he gives Mike his best “I’m gonna kill you if you touch a hair on his head” glare. “Why don’t we go and get some ice cream?”

The timid boy looks at Eddie before turning back to Mike.

“Yeah, ok.” He agrees after a minute of silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So… You wanna talk about it?”

They’re in Eddie’s van driving to the local ice cream parlor, Freddie Mercury quietly singing about breaking free. 

Hm, fitting, isn’t it?

Will had been silent for the past couple minutes, the only words coming from his mouth were goodbyes and thank yous to Mrs. Wheeler.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Will mutters, his voice barely above a whisper. “They were being assholes so I called them out on it.”

“Ya know, I have a feeling there’s something else. Maybe something… Mike related?” Eddie tries while nudging him with his arm. He watches the boy’s eyes grow wide. His whole body grows stiff.

Eddie pulls into the parlor and turns the car off. Neither of them move to get out.

“I'm gonna tell you a secret, ok kid? I have a friend who’s kinda like Mike.” Eddie starts. “They’re a complete and utter dumbass. They’re full of themselves and care way too much about their dumb hair.”

Will snorts, which is a win in Eddie’s book. Really, any sort of joy from the kid is a win at this point.

“But, they’re kind, and caring, and pretty, and I honestly love their stupid hair, and their stupid dirt eyes, and the polo shirts that would look absolutely horrendous on anyone else, and their need to put themselves head first into danger just to keep everyone safe. And-” Eddie stops short, Will giving him a weird look. He clears his throat before finishing. “But alas, that’s, unfortunately, the potion that makes poor Eddie Munson fall for a boy."

He sees the boy’s eyes widen and mouth widen.

Eddie musters up all the theatrics he can and sighs dramatically.

"'Tis a hard life for us queers when you fall for a straight boy, Baby Byers." He throws a hand over his forehead like he's about to faint.

"I, y-you, you're… boys." Will finally manages to get out. His eyes and mouth are still wide open in shock.

"Yup! I am a proper freak, zombie boy." Eddie says. The boy sighs in relief and a small smile appears.

"W-wait, but how did you know… a-about me?"

Eddie longs for the kid's naiveness. He misses when he was young and knew nothing about the world.

"I could sense it. Like detect magic, just… rainbow." Eddie says with a grin and a flair of his hands. "You'll learn soon enough."

They sit in a comfortable silence before the kid speaks up again.

"Hey Eddie?" His voice is quiet and small, but happy.

“Yeah?”

"Thank you."

The older boy copies his soft smile.

"Anytime kid."

Another second passes.

"NOW! I promised ice cream, did I not?" Eddie yells out, startling the timid boy who quickly nods. Eddie ruffles his hair before unbuckling himself "Let's go wreak havoc, kid."

~~~~~~~~~~~

And so they do.

Well, Eddie wreaks havoc. Will mostly just quietly laughs along and apologizes for his messes.

It’s not until they pass a music shop that Eddie decides that today is the day that he’s gonna help Will and his style. He’s gonna finally fix that god awful haircut.

Eddie loves Joyce. She’s the best mother he’s ever met. She just probably shouldn’t pursue a career as a barber.

Eddie takes Will to a music shop a little outside of town that Eddie frequently visits. It has a nice selection of metal and a couple of band shirts. He buys Will, much to the kid’s protest, a few cassettes tapes and an old Black Sabbath shirt, as well as a tape for himself. 

Next, Eddie takes him to a thrift store. Another building that’s been graced with Eddie’s presence more than a few times. Enough times that the cashier glares at Eddie as he walks in the door, holding it open with a dramatic bow for Will.

Will stands a bit inside the store, clearly waiting for Eddie to lead him wherever he wants to take him. But no no no. Not this time, Byers. Eddie has decided that you’re making your own decisions.

“Well? What are you waiting for? Go explore, kid.” Eddie says, motioning his arm around the store. It’s not big by any means, but the kid’s eyes still go big at the notion that he has to do this by himself. Eddie laughs, grabs a cart, and leads him to where Eddie would usually shop.

Will looks back at Eddie, who just gestures to the clothes before them. He watches him slowly look at each of the shirts and pants. Majority of them are black. What else would Eddie wear? But eventually, the kid gets more comfortable with himself and starts picking things out, still staying in the blacks. A smile appears on Eddie’s face as band shirts and a blue denim jacket are thrown into the cart. The kid’s copying his style.

So, to help him out, Eddie walks over to the very small selection of old pocket watch chains that they have and picks out a couple. If he’s stealing Eddie’s style, he might as well do it right.

After a few more minutes of browsing, Eddie steers the cart and Will over to the changing rooms and basically shoves him inside one. A minute later, Baby Byers opens the door and Jesus Christ. Eddie’s going to adopt this child. That’s it. Will Byers is now Will Munson.

Besides the hair, obviously, Will looks almost like a carbon copy of Eddie. He had on a faded Anthrax shirt and black jeans with his pair of red Converse already on.

“So um… h-how do I look?” He asks. A grin slowly forms on Eddie’s face as he looks at the outfit.

“Fucking metal, dude. Do you like it? Is it comfortable?” Eddie doesn’t want to make the kid feel like he has to wear this if he doesn’t like it.

“Yeah. It’s… it’s just not what I’m used to, but I think I like it.”

“Awesome. Try on the other stuff and we’ll go check out. All that’s left is that head of yours. Do you think your mom will let us cut it?” 

The boy's face goes pale.

“I uh… I don’t have a lot of money on me.”

Eddie waves his hand. “Don’t worry about it, kid. It’s a thank you for not being a little shit like the rest of your friends. Now, get changed. I’ll be by the cassettes.” He nods his head in the direction he’s going and walks away before Baby Byers can argue.

He weaves through the aisles to get to the small collection that they have. It’s mostly classical music and shit old people would like. As usual, there’s nothing that’s more Eddie’s speed. But there’s one that catches his eye.

Usually, he would just scan over it, but that was before he found out that an alternate dimension existed and before he fucking fell asleep on Steve Harrington . He plucks the cassette off the shelf and examines it.

It’s a colorful album cover. It has a beach with three green palm trees, a yellow sun, and a pink triangle on the horizon. They’re simple colors that weirdly work together. At the top of the cover, next to the sun, are the words Boys Don’t Cry in small, yellow text.

Like he said, it’s not something that he would usually pick up. He would move past it without another thought. But, unfortunately, he knows someone who likes The Cure. And it definitely doesn’t help that this someone is a boy and that that boy is Steve Harrington. The man quickly puts it in the cart, making sure to bury it under the clothes.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see the freak here.”

Eddie quickly spins around at the voice. In front of him is Jason Carver. His hair is frazzled, and his eyes are accompanied by dark bags. He looks almost dead. Like he hasn't had even a wink of sleep since Vecna.

"Look, Carver. I don't want any trouble." Eddie puts his hands up in surrender. He needs to be really careful about what he says. One wrong move and everything can go to shit. And he'd rather not get his ass beat with Will here.

"You should've thought about that before you started your killings."

Eddie backs up as Jason advances towards him.

He needs to get out of here. He needs to find a way to grab Will and get the fuck out of here.

Carver grabs a fistful of Eddie's shirt. "I'm gonna make you wish you were never born."

"Eddie?"

Both boys look away from each other and towards the young boy. He’s in the first outfit he had tried on. After a moment's hesitation, Carver let go of his shirt and backed off.

Eddie puts himself between the jock and the wizard. There is no fucking way he's letting him lay a finger on Will.

"You're just always adding to your cult, aren't you, freak?" Carver spits out the words like venom. Baby Byers takes a step closer to the older man, looking like he was about to pounce. And as much as Eddie would love to see Carver get his ass beaten by a nerd, that can't happen. Steve would probably congratulate Will before smiting Eddie on the spot.

"C'mon. Let's go." Eddie says, grabbing the boy behind him and their cart while glaring daggers at the broken man in front of him.

Honestly, Eddie kinda feels bad for Jason Carver. Losing his girlfriend to his enemy. Watching one of his friends die a horrific death. No one believing him that it was a supposed satanic cult that killed everyone. Everyone thinking that he's insane.

Eddie feels bad for him. He truly, truly does.

But not now. Not in this moment when one of his kids is in danger of him.

When did they become his kids?

Eddie finishes paying for everything and the two of them head back to the van. He makes a quick, poorly made excuse to Will so that he can circle the van, making sure that none of the tires were slashed. A usual check he makes anytime he has any encounter with jocks. Except for the mother hen that is.

After his check, Eddie climbs into the driver's seat, starts the van, and backs out of the shopping center.

As per usual, the car ride is quiet. Eddie decides that they need some lively energy. He knows the perfect place for said energy.

He pulls into a parking spot and turns off the car.

“I dunno if my mom-” 

“Don’t worry about that. I don’t care if we rent anything. But, if there’s something that catches that eye of yours, you let me know. Got it?” Eddie cuts the younger boy off and points at him. He sheepishly nods and they head inside.

The bell rings as they step through the doorway. Eddie heads straight to the front counter and leans on it like he lives here.

“Heya, Harrington. I got a favor to ask.”

Chapter Text

“Hi, welcome to Family Video. How can I help you?” Steve says as the jingle of the bell above the door rings out into the empty space. For once he’s actually excited for a customer, it’s the second one of the day and it’s already 2 o’ clock.

At least he’s excited until he turns around and sees who caused the jingling. Standing in front of the counter is a panicked and out of breath Mike Wheeler. It looks like he’s on the verge of tears and it sends Steve into a motherly spiral.

“Mike, are you ok? What happened? Are you hurt anywhere?” Steve sends questions his way while jumping the counter and looking the boy over.

He swats away Steve’s invading hands and rubs his eyes.

“Where’s Robin?”

“She, uh, she’s in back. Kid, what happened?”

The dark haired boy doesn’t answer. Instead, he pushes past Steve and goes straight to the back door, forcing himself in. Steve follows him in and sits next to him on the couch across from Robin, looking at him with worried eyes.

What the hell happened? The only other time he’s even seen Mike like this was when he got the idiotic idea to light up the demodogs. And even then, he didn’t have tears in his eyes.

“Uh… hello?” Robin says with a mouthful of her lunch as the boys interrupt her.

“I-I need your help.” Mike says. “But first, I wanna make it clear that I had literally nowhere else to go but here.”

“Ok?” Both adults say. At least they’re both equally confused.

“I couldn’t go to Nancy about this ‘cause she’s my sister and that’d be weird, and I can’t go to Jonathan ‘cause t-this is about Will.”

“What about Eddie? You seem to like him.” Steve asks and the boy’s ears turn red.

“N-no, he doesn’t work either. You guys are my last resort.”

“Thanks, I feel so loved.” Robin comments, her voice sarcastic.

“Look, I just. I don’t know what to do.” Mike explains, ignoring the girl’s comment. “I-I really like El, ok? I love her, a-at least I think I love her, but… I… I think I might like Will. Like, like like him.”

The room goes silent as the quiet words are said.

“Oh, thank god. I thought it was something bad.” Steve sighs and leans back into the old couch, rubbing a hand over his face.

“What are you talking about? This is bad! This is so bad! I-I mean I didn’t think I was… like that. And even if I am, what about Eleven? I know I loved her? O-or, do love her. I-I don’t know anymore!” The kid practically yells his problems out to the world and ends with his face in his hands. “I’m just so confused.”

Steve sits up straighter. Honestly, Steve’s in the same boat, except with a loud, and chaotic boy instead of quiet little Will Byers. He loved Nancy, romantically, and he knows this. He knows this so well that his heart still aches whenever Halloween comes around. But he’s feeling the same feelings with Eddie “The Freak” Munson and he’s so confused and doesn’t know what to do.

Robin’s laugh rings out into the small break room. “Oh my god, I’m sorry, I just- I know this is serious, you’re having a sexuality crisis and all, but my god.” She continues laughing, despite the very confused boys in front of her.

She’s right. How is this a laughing matter? They’re both (even if she doesn’t know it) having a sexuality crisis and have no idea what to do about it! She’s the resident lesbian, she should be helping them out, not laughing at them!

“Ok, ok. Listen,” The brunette says as the laughter dies down. “Mike, you do know that you can like girls and boys, right?”

“What.” They both say in unison.

You… you can? What the fuck? When the hell was that allowed? Steve thought it was one or the other, not both. Why did no one tell him? What the fuck?

“Yeah, it’s called bisexuality.” She snorts. “It just means that you like girls and boys.”

"Wait wait, how do you even know all of this?" Mike asks.

"I'm a lesbian, duh." Robin says, like it's the most obvious thing ever. She waves her hands around as she explains more about the sexuality. “Being bisexual doesn’t mean you have to like them both equally though. Like, you can prefer women over boys or vice versa. Or sometimes you’re only romantically attracted to one gender and only sexually attracted to the other. It’s different for everyone.”

Apparently a lot of people are bisexual. Freddie Mercury, David Bowie…

“TIM CURRY!!”

They both jump as Steve shoots up from his seat, the name escaping from his lips.

“Th-the guy that Tim Curry played, in the one movie we watched! With the fishnets! H-he’s bisexual, right?”

“Oh, Frank n’ Furter?” Robin asks and Steve nods his head enthusiastically. “I wouldn’t exactly say he’s bisexual. I think he just kinda fucks anyone and everyone.”

“Well, wouldn’t anyone and everyone fall under bisexual?” Mike asks, clearly confused about the whole ‘Frank n’ Furter’ conversation.

“Well, there are genderqueers and I'm pretty sure he's an alien, but that’s a whole different conversation. Let’s just focus on sexualities for now.” Robin waves her hand around, dismissing the other topic. “So, Mike, you like Will?”

Before he gets the chance to answer, the bell rings once again. Robin moves to get up, but Steve stops her.

“I got it, you take care of Wheeler.” And I need to figure out my own sexuality crisis. But Steve doesn’t say that out-loud. She doesn’t need to know that just yet.

Steve closes the door behind him and says his usual greeting, missing the usual fake joy. He’s too busy with figuring out his feelings to care about his tone right now.

“Heya, Harrington. I got a favor to ask.”

Oh shit. 

Oh fuck .

Are you fucking kidding? It’s just his luck, isn’t it? To have Eddie fucking Munson come into Family Video on the same day that Steve’s questioning everything he thought he knew about himself. 

The other man is gathering up the majority of his hair in his hands, a black hair tie in his mouth, and pulls it all up into a messy ponytail. Loose pieces of hair fall in front of his face messily, but framing his face nicely. Steve wants to reach over the counter and tuck them behind his ear, out of his face. And of course, it’s hot as fuck outside and Munson is wearing a crop top. A fucking crop top. Just like he doesn’t have a care in the world, all of his scars from the bats on display. Steve notices the bat ring glinting in the sun as the hand it belongs to lands on the counter that instantly starts tapping along to a beat unheard.

Steve swallows the lump in his throat. He's gonna need a bigger box.

“H-hey, Munson.”

“You alright, Big Boy? You’re looking a little pale.” 

Steve’s cheeks heat up at the nickname.

“I-I uh, I’m fine.” He stutters. Why the hell is he acting like a little school boy? He’s King Steve for fuck sake! Hawkin’s infamous ladies man. He’s supposed to be smooth! 

Eddie laughs a big and boastful laugh. “Yeah, ok Harrington. Anyways, I got this favor to ask you. Obviously, it would take some convincing of a certain, amazing mother, not including yourself, but it is an emergency.” His arms wave around with their usual theatrics as he talks. “I need you to help me convince Mrs. Byers to let us fix Zombie Boy’s head.”

Steve blinks at Eddie. He laughs a humorless laugh.

“I’m sorry, you want me to do what now?” Steve loves Joyce, and he knows that she loves him, but there is no way that she’s gonna let him touch a hair on her baby’s head. And, wait a minute did Eddie just call him zombie boy ? Again ?

The first time it happened, sure he didn’t know, but again? Casually? It doesn’t matter if Steve may or may not have a crush on the man in front of him, but there is no way that he is letting him insult one of his kids. Especially not Will.

“Eddie, I don’t even think mom will let us if I ask.” A sudden voice speaks out from behind Eddie. And low and behold, it’s little Byers himself.

Steve is struck with confusion. The not-so-little-boy-anymore doesn’t seem bothered at all by the nickname. And… Jesus did Eddie throw up on him?

The tall boy has on a faded Anthrax shirt, black jeans, a couple of chains, and red Converse. Besides the hair, he looks like a carbon copy of Munson, even more so than Mike.

Mike.

Shit he’s still in back and the boy he was freaking out over is here. In front of Steve. With the boy he’s freaking out over.

Why does the universe hate him so?

“Right, well, I wish you luck with trying to convince Joyce. Meanwhile, I’ve got work to get done.”

“Oh, cut the crap, Harrington. I know we’re the first ones to step foot in this place.”

“Actually, you aren’t the first ones.” 

Eddie rolls his eyes. By now, Will has lost interest in the conversation and is now browsing the films.

“Ok, so we’re the second ones, then. Just help me out with this ok? We both know this kid needs a haircut and you are literally known for your hair.”

“Fine, fine! I’ll do it. Just let me work, ok?” He throws his hands up in defeat and turns around, heading to the break room as Eddie cheers behind him.

Jesus, he needs to get himself together. How is he so easily convinced by him? Steve used to be so good at this. Pretending that he doesn't care, that he doesn't notice the little things. But then Eddie Munson came along, and he can never say no. He barely even put up a fight.

"Guys, problem." He opens the door to the room, stopping Robin mid-sentence. "Eddie and Will are here."

He watches Mike's eyes grow wide like saucers.

“Ok, look. Either Steve and I distract them while you make a run for it. Or , you can face your fears and talk to Will!” Robin smiles, clear what choice she wants him to pick. Her smile falls as the boy goes pale at even the thought of confronting his crush.

And honestly? Steve can relate. He’d rather run away from the man in the other room too.

“Run away it is, got it. Steve, you distract Eddie, I’ll take care of Will.”

Now it’s Steve’s turn to go pale. “W-why do I need to distract Eddie? Why not you? You guys have more in common anyways, a-and I’ve known Will longer. I know what to talk about with him… mostly.” Steve stutters and talks quickly.

“Eddie likes you better, but if it’s that much of a problem…” Robin’s eyebrows pinch together in confusion. Steve shakes his head.

“Ya know, nevermind. I’ll take Eddie, it’s fine. He was asking me for a favor anyways.”

Jesus Christ, why does Steve Harrington like to torture himself?

Robin agrees with one more questioning look before they both leave the room. They both go to their respective persons. Will by the fantasy and Eddie by the horror. Complete opposite sides of the room. Of course.

“Hey, Harrington! You ever seen The Shining? ” Eddie asks, holding up the VHS and wiggling his eyebrows with a mischievous look on his face.

“Nah, I uh, don’t really do many horror movies anymore. Ya know, with the whole.” Steve gestures to his stomach as he leans on the shelf next to them.

“Right, well not this one, then.” Eddie puts it back on the shelf, in the wrong spot, and continues to browse their selection. Steve sighs and moves it back to where it belongs.

He continues to browse the movie-filled shelves. It looks like he has a specific movie in mind.

“Ya know I work here, I can tell you where whatever you’re looking for is.” Steve points out.

“Nah I’m good. Either way, it’s a surprise.”

He squats down to look at the lower shelves. His tongue is sticking out between his teeth as he focuses on the different titles in front of him. Steve forces himself to look away from the man and towards the back of the store where Mike Wheeler is sticking his head out from behind the door. Just a few minutes of this before Steve can excuse himself with work and have a proper crisis.

He can survive this.

Right?

“I got it!” Steve gets startled as Eddie jumps back up, hands empty. “Next Friday a new movie is coming out. Labyrinth? It’s got David Bowie in it.”

Steve’s brain goes blank at the name, remembering the earlier conversation.

You can like girls and boys.

“Oh, I uh, I don’t think I’ve heard of it.” Steve says once he snaps out of the past and back to the present.

Steve watches as Eddie’s eyes get big and sparkling. He looks like a kid who just walked into a candy store. It’s absolutely adorable . Steve’s gonna die.

“Perfect! Whaddya say, Harrington. You, me, probably the kids, next week?” His face twisted into that grin that’s for Steve and Steve only.

“Sure, I’m free.”

Why did he say that?

“Awesome! You pick up the little gremlins, I get the girls and Will?” Steve nods, dumbly,  and Eddie’s grin grows even wider. He pushes himself away from the shelves and towards the door as the bell is heard, followed by the slam of the door and the running of feet. Steve’s eyes stay on Eddie who is unbothered by the sound. “It’s a date.”

Steve’s stomach flips and his mouth goes dry as Eddie gets to the door, opens it for Will, and winks at Steve before following the young boy out.

That’s it.

He has officially fucked himself over.

As soon as the van is out of the parking lot, Steve grabs Robin and forces her to crouch down with him behind the front counter.

“I’m fucked. I am royally fucked.”

“Steve, I’m sure talking to one of your friends wasn’t that bad.”

“Robin, I… I don’t think he’s a friend anymore.” Steve groans and drops his head into his hands.

He doesn’t wanna say it. If he says it, then it’ll be true. And it, it just can’t be true. Besides, it wouldn’t work out anyway. Eddie is straight and Steve knows that he’s straight. Then again Steve thought that he was straight himself and now he’s questioning everything, so who the hell knows anymore.

“Are you replacing me as a best friend?” Robin gasps, her hand over her heart.

“No! No, I’m not. I just mean, he’s, I…” Steve looks back up at her. It’s hopeless. He has to say it, if he doesn’t say it then she can’t do anything to help. Steve musters up any courage he has left, but it still comes out in a whisper. “I think I like him.”

Silent seconds pass, the words hanging in the air. Robin stills at him, her eyes wide and mouth agape.

“Rob? D-did you hear me?” She still doesn’t answer. Instead, the girl just slowly nods her head. Steve needs her to say something, he can’t handle being the only one speaking. 

“And I mean like him. L-like I can’t focus on anything but him when he’s around. I’ll stare at his hands when he’s tapping, I’ll stare at his lips when he's talking, and his eyes. Jesus, Rob his eyes are fucking magical, I get lost everytime I look into them. And, fuck, seeing the ring -”

“Wait, wait, what ring? He’s got a lot of rings.” Robin interrupts, finally saying something. Unfortunately this is very much not what he wanted her to say. They had said no presents and he’s the only one who disobeyed. Steve’s cheeks get kissed with blush just by thinking about it.

“I um… I-I may have gotten him a ring at graduation. It… It has a bat on it.” Steve’s voice is quiet and he does absolutely anything to avoid Robin’s stare. Her mouth and eyes are wide open again.

“Steve.” Her voice is quiet. He jumps as a hand touches his. He looks up at her and with a serious look in her eye she says, “That’s stupid adorable.”

“Gah, Robin! I’m freaking out! I have been so confused about this for so long, and suddenly I find out that you’re allowed to like both from Mike fucking Wheeler of all people. And now I can barely even talk to the guy without acting like a stupid middle schooler with a crush. It’s not like I even have a chance with him anyways and I was a fucking idiot and agreed to see a movie with him and the kids next Friday! Wait a minute, can you come? Please, please, please come!”

Steve grabs Robin’s hands and fucking begs for her to join them. 

“Jesus, ok, Steve, slow down. First of all, I’m working next Friday.”

“I’ll take your shift-”

“AND!” Robin doesn’t let him finish. “You clearly need to work through this. Avoiding him won’t help you through this. No, don’t get all pouty. I’m not helping you hide from a boy when you kept insisting that Vicki likes boobies and look where that ended up.”

“It ended with you in a loving relationship with a nice cheerleader, I’m not seeing the problem here.”

He will do anything and he means anything to get out of this movie. Steve needs to avoid Eddie as much as possible. He can’t handle being around the man knowing that it’s allowed anymore.

“The problem is that you don’t know if Eddie even likes boobies. He might not like boobies, Steve.” She keeps talking as he protests her use of the word “boobies”, getting reminded of a certain car ride. “God, Steve, he likes Rocky Horror’s Picture Show !”

“Ok, and ? That doesn’t mean anything! I liked it. The music was catchy!”

Robin groans, muttering something to herself. Steve thinks he heard something about knocking some sense into him with a chair. Probably not, right? She knows he’s had too many concussions. She wouldn’t actually do it… probably.

“Ya know what, let’s just entertain the idea that he is gay and is gay for you .” She sighs, looking ready to strangle Steve right then and there. Especially after he opens his mouth again.

“Why would we do that when we know it’s not true?”

“Steven Jared Harrington! You need to work with me!” Steve rubs his arm as she smacks it along with his fake name. “Look. Let’s just say he likes you back, ok? How the hell is avoiding him going to help you two get together? And I swear to God if you say that he likes boobies, you’re Lucille’s next victim.”

Steve sighs and thinks for a minute. She does have a point, if Eddie liked him back. But they don’t know if he even likes men, nevermind Steve specifically. What reason does he have to like Steve? He was such an asshole back in highschool. Maybe not to Eddie specifically, but he didn’t exactly stop Tommy H. from insulting the metalhead. Eddie had said it himself. Steve was a douchebag. He has zero reason to even be friends with him. The only reason they even hang out is because their best friends are dating.

They had never hung out when it was just them. Well, besides in the hospital, but there wasn’t anyone else there. It was either be alone or be with each other and neither of them wanted the former.

“Fine. Avoiding him won’t help, but that is if he likes me. I mean, we don’t even know if he likes men. And if he does, he has no reason to like me .”

“I can see that you’re gonna be stubborn about this. So, as your best friend, I am going to be the same. You are going to that movie, Steve. No, no, no! No buts! You are going to that movie and you are going to like it. Besides, do you really trust Eddie alone with all of the kids in public?”

Fuck.

She’s right, they’ll somehow burn the place down. One may ask how they would burn down a drive-in theater. Steve doesn’t know, but he does know that they’ll figure it out one way or another.

“Ok, I’ll go.” Steve sighs. “But only because I don’t want the little fuckers getting arrested or anything.”

“Deal.”

They shake hands and jump up from their spot behind the counter as a customer walks in.

This is a mistake.

~~~~~~~~~

He was right. This is the biggest mistake he’s ever made in his life and he’s not even in the car yet.

It’s a Friday night and he can’t even pick out an outfit for himself. And he's  just ignoring the hair. He gave up half-way, unable to get the usual volume of it.

Steve checks his watch again. It’s already half past five. They were planning to meet at the diner for dinner beforehand at 5:45. It’s already 5:30. He was supposed to pick the boys up five minutes ago but he can’t pick out a stupid outfit.

He’s a lost cause.

Finally, he decides on a white tee with blue and yellow striped sleeves paired with a red and blue vest and a pair of blue jeans. It’s simple but still looks good. It’s trying without looking like it’s trying.

Jesus, Steve is so fucked.

He runs out the door, starting the car and speeding off. He’s not gonna hear the end of it from the kids. His tardiness is gonna be the conversation for the entire drive to the diner.

“Holy shit, can you be any later?” Dustin says as soon as he opens the passenger door. Steve hasn’t even come to a full stop.

“Sorry that I care what I look like, Henderson.”

“We care what we look like, but it doesn’t take us a million years to just do my hair.” Mike’s voice speaking up from the back with the usual amount of snarkiness.

“Like you have any room to talk! You spent like an hour in the bathroom alone! I almost thought you drowned or something.” Lucas chuckles as Mike starts swatting at him to shut up.

Steve sighs and backs out of the Wheeler’s driveway, giving a small wave to the Nancy in the doorway as they drive off.

Right, Nancy.

What’s he gonna do about her? He doesn’t think that he loves her anymore, at least like that. At least not the same amount that he did before. It’s all just so… weird. Why couldn’t these things just be simple?

She and Jonathan broke up, he knows that much. But it’s not like they’re all buddy-buddy. They barely talk unless they’re with everyone else or it’s the end of the world.

Steve cringes at himself, replaying the conversation they had in the RV. Why the fuck did he say that he wanted six kids? Why did he have to say it to his ex of all people?

The kids’ chatter gets muffled as they get out of the car. Steve looks up to see them reunite with the girls and Will, Mike being the only one to not hug the other boy. Standing next to them, laughing, is the other curly-haired problem.

Eddie’s head turns away from the kids and towards Steve. Their eyes lock and a smirk grows on Eddie’s face.

“C’mon Harrington, you gonna make me take care of all the gremlins?”

Time to switch focus from the princess to the freak.

This should be fun.

Dinner was fine. Great even. They got the biggest table there, Steve and Eddie sat across from each other while the kids filled the other seats. It was normal. The kids were normal, Steve was normal, everything was normal. At least Steve thinks he was normal. He hopes he was.

They finally get to the empty lot of grass that’s been reserved as a drive-in movie theater. It’s pretty packed on this Friday night, they’re lucky that they even found spots next to each other. The kids all pack into Eddie’s van and shoo the two adults away to get them snacks.

Typical.

“Alright, Stevie. What shall we get the little gremlins?” Eddie asks as he stares up at the menu, his hands on his hips. 

“I don’t know. Think they’ll kill us if we get ‘em black licorice?” Steve crosses his arms, unsure of what to do with his hands.

Eddie’s laugh is loud as usual. He asks the poor teenager at the concession for two things of the gross stuff, a bucket of popcorn and two drinks. “Whaddya like, Harrington?”

“Oh, I, uh, guess I’ll just have a coca-cola.” Steve replies as he instinctively takes out his wallet.

Eddie swats his hand away and takes out his own money.

“Now, now Harrington. I invited you here, it’s my treat.” Eddie thanks the cashier and takes the bucket and licorice, already picking at the popcorn. “C’mon, we’re gonna miss it.”

Steve buys a bucket of popcorn for the kids and they both head back to the vehicles, Eddie muttering something about how Steve’s “too nice to the little shitheads”.

Steve already regrets getting them anything as the two adults slide into his car, the van being too cramped for them because of course it is. Steve regrets doing anything for the little shits.

Eddie excitedly shushes Steve, who hadn't been saying anything, with a mouthful of popcorn as the beginning credits start. His doe eyes are sparkling as they watch the screen.

Well, as Eddie watches the screen. Steve's a little… preoccupied.

How could you blame him? How could anyone look anywhere else besides Eddie right now?

The moonlight hitting him just right looks like something straight out of D&D… or something. Steve doesn't know, ok? He never claimed to be good with metaphors. There's a reason he almost failed English.

Eddie just looks like a God or something with the sparkle in his eye, the light of the concession stand creating a red and yellow halo over his head. He just looks… beautiful.

Steve shakes his head and looks back to the movie. All of these thoughts are going into boxes. Yes, they are boxes that are bursting at the seams, but he doesn't have time to get new boxes. He has bigger problems. Problems like Eddie Munson.

Steve, somehow, makes it through the entire movie. Now, if you tried asking him what it was about… well that’d be a bit of a challenge. Look, he tried to pay attention, he really did, but he was too busy looking at Eddie- er making sure the kids didn’t cause any trouble… yeah. That’s definitely what he was doing.

And the kids did great! He thinks. Nothing was set on fire and that’s what counts. Steve’s just lucky that they didn’t pay too much attention to him after the movie, they were too busy talking to each other about it.

He watched the kids talking/yelling their different opinions on the film while leaning on his car. They were all out of the two vehicles, stretching their legs. The older man smiled at the kids’ antics as they threw their arms around, disturbing everyone around them.

“So, Harrington. What’d you think?” Steve jumps as Eddie Munson appears, seemingly out of nowhere, next to him.

“Oh, um, it was good. I liked the… music.” There was music right?

“You really do like songs, huh?”

“I mean, I guess so. They help block out the ringing, so that’s always a plus.” Steve relishes in Eddie’s boastful laugh.

“Alrighty Harrington. Since you like music so much, how about I educate you sometime? I’ll come over with some tapes and introduce you to real music. Not shit like The Cure , or whatever the hell you listen to.” Munson asks, a grin spreading across his face.

Is this a bad idea? They’ve never really hung out alone. One of the girls or the Party would always be there. It’s never been just them. It’s definitely a bad idea, but Steve still agrees. Anyway, it’s worth it with the way Eddie’s face lights up.

~~~~~~~~

“Glad to see you alive and well, Dingus” Robin greets him as the bell above the Family Video door chimes.

“Yeah, no thanks to you.”

“Oh, stop being so dramatic.” The girl follows the man to the back as he clocks into work.

Steve scoffs. “Right, cause I’m the dramatic one. I’m not the one who had a whole calamity because of a certain redhead.”

He laughs as Robin sticks her tongue out at him, following him back into the main part of the store. “What matters is that you went on a movie date with a certain boy .” She sings the last word, leaning into Steve’s space.

“Don’t say date!” He lightly pushes her away as she chants “date”. “It wasn’t a date! The kids were there a-and it was just a movie, ok? Nothing more, nothing less!”

She keeps chanting the word, over and over again, despite Steve’s protests. He rolls his eyes and starts sorting the returns.

It wasn’t a date. It wasn’t even in the ballpark of a date. They just sat, alone, in Steve’s car, and watched a movie. A movie that Eddie invited him to.

Steve recounts the invitation. The smile on the curly-haired boy’s face, and the sparkle in his eye. The words “it’s a date” leaving his mouth with a following wink. It wasn’t a date.

Right?

Chapter Text

Robin groans as she covers her face with her hands. “They’re just so dumb, angel! It’s so frustrating!”

Chrissy makes a noise of acknowledgement, too busy running her fingers through Robin’s hair to really be paying attention. It’s one of the few days that they have off and aren’t surrounded by the Party. They’re laying in Robin’s bed, Robin’s head on Chrissy’s lap.

“I know baby, it’s a hard world for us.” Robin’s stomach flutters at the pet name.

It’s the one thing that Robin can’t get used to, and she doesn’t think she ever will. It just sounds so perfect coming from Chrissy. The blonde looks, sounds, and acts like a goddess. That’s exactly what she is. A goddess. 

É cosí bella e premurosa. É come un angelo sceso dal cielo e…

Robin is just hopelessly in love with her.

Not that Robin is going to tell her that. She’ll tell Chrissy that she’s a goddess cause how could you not? Well, she knows how you couldn’t . There’s been one too many times that Robin can’t say a single word when her beautiful girlfriend enters the room. It’s actually quite embarrassing.

But no, what she means is that she isn’t going to tell her about the “love” part. She just can’t do that yet. It’s way too early and what if she doesn’t even feel the same? No. These are words only for Robin… and Steve, but they’re a package deal so he doesn’t count.

Speaking of Steve.

“He isn’t convinced that it was a date, Chrissy! I mean, sure the kids were there, but they were alone in his car and Eddie literally called it a date!”

“Eddie called me after he left Family Video, rambling about how pretty Steve looked.”

“He didn’t look pretty at all! He just stood there like an idiot!”

Both girls erupt in laughter. God, Robin just loves Chrissy’s laugh. It’s just so beautiful and precious.

Robin giura che morirà a causa di quanto è carina.

The brunette’s face goes red with a dumb smile on her face as Chrissy leans down and plants a small kiss to her lips. 

“Yup, sounds familiar.”

Robin rolls her eyes and kisses Chrissy again.

She loves her so much.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, today is the day. Robin is sick and tired of the endless pining from both Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson. So, she has a plan.

The four of them have all made plans to do yet another movie night turned sleepover at Steve’s. It’s been a recurring event recently. She and Chrissy are currently waiting in front of the Cunningham house for Eddie. Robin’s plan is to get them… somewhere… together, preferably somewhere where she can be elevated. Anyways, she’s gonna get them together, somehow get above them, and-

“Hey, Chrissy-”

Robin’s thoughts are broken as the two girls turn around towards the voice. In front of them, mid-step is Jack Cunningham, Chrissy’s little brother. Jack is practically a carbon-copy of his older sister. Silky blond hair, blue eyes, and a baby face. Well, not exactly a baby face, he is only twelve afterall. He had on a basic white tee and jeans, running outside in his socks.

His eyes dash between the two girls.

He had found out about them after accidentally walking in on them kissing. He’s fine with it… mostly. Robin thinks he’s just trying to get used to the idea of lesbians and his sister being one. Of course it’d take some getting used to. He was raised in Hawkins, Indiana in a white christian household. Not to hold anything against anyone who grew up in a white christian household, look at her best friend! It’s just that most of them either run away or start lecturing you about hell after finding out you’re a queer.

“What’s up Jack?” Chrissy asks, her voice soft and kind. How did she ever become the angel she is?

“I, um… a-are you going somewhere?”

“We’re just going over to Steve’s, why? Do you need something?”

“Oh, uh. N-no, nothing. I was just curious. I’ll see you tomorrow then, bye.”

“Ok, bye Jack.”

The boy stops just before stepping back into the house and turns back around. “B-bye Robin, it, uh, it was nice seeing you.” And with that, the two girls are alone once again.

“Holy shit. I- he talked to me. He actually said words to me. I didn’t hallucinate that, right?” Robin turns to her girlfriend in amazement. Chrissy just laughs her amazing laugh.

“No, you didn’t hallucinate it. Ya know, I think he had a crush on you when you first met. I’ve never seen him act the way he did with you.”

“I’m sorry, but there is no way he liked me. He didn’t even say hi the first time! I was just awkwardly standing there, waiting for a handshake. He couldn’t have had a crush on me.” Robin denies, shaking her head and talking with her hands as usual.

“Mhm, and how do you get when I walk into a room?” Chrissy bats her eyes at the taller girl, making her cheeks heat up and her stomach flip. Her eyes are so pretty and blue like the sky above them. “You stand there and gawk. Just like what you’re doing right now.”

The cheerleader makes a satisfied noise with her point proven as Robin shakes herself free of the trance that is Chrissy Cunningham. 

“I-I do not stand and gawk!” She stutters, trying to get herself back under control.

“Do too.”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

“Do not!”

The two girls continue going back and forth, laughing in between phrases.

The spell is broken as a loud honk fills the neighborhood, making them both jump.

Eddie’s body is halfway out the window as he yells at them “Come on, ladies! We’ll be late to the ball!”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Alrighty, party people!” Robin yells out into the empty house as she slips her key back into her pocket.

Steve had given her a key after the “mall fire” just in case. Everyone else knows about the spare under the flowerpot.

The dingus comes down the stairs, his hair wet. The metalhead next to her straightens. Robin has to restrain herself from rolling her eyes, settling for a look towards Chrissy instead. She rolls her eyes and fakes a gag, causing Robin to laugh. The other two boys look back at them with a puzzled expression. The girls instantly straighten themselves to look more casual, clearly failing.

“What’s up your asses?” Eddie asks, looking them up and down.

“Nothing!” Chrissy quickly answers and grabs Robin’s hand, dragging the giggling girl to the living room.

Robin can hear the boys talking in the foyer. Perfect. Time to reveal the plan to Chrissy.

“Ok, listen. I have a plan.” Robin semi-whispers to her girlfriend.

“Oh no.”

“Shut up, it’s a good plan.” The taller girl takes out the small piece of greenery out of her back pocket. It’s not big by any means, the red ribbon covering most of it, but it’ll have to do. “Ok, so we get the two of them together somewhere that I can get above them. Then, I’ll just dangle this above them and they’ll have to kiss! It’s the law, they’ll have no choice. It’s perfect!”

“That’s not gonna work.” Chrissy says, her voice deadpanned.

“What’s not gonna work?” Steve’s voice is heard from the doorway.

Robin jumps and turns around to face the newcomers, quickly hiding her hands behind her back. 

“Nothing.”

Steve raises his eyebrow, but doesn’t say anything else. Robin hopes that he doesn’t suspect anything. She knows that he’d be the one to figure it out, as dumb as he is sometimes, he still knows her best. Well, Chrissy might be a close second, but Steve has mastered the art of knowing exactly what she’s thinking from a single glance. It’s nice sometimes.

But times like these?

It’s terrifying.

Luckily, Robin can do the same thing to him. She has doubted herself since graduation, but it all turned out ok. She was right and Steve is bi and he finally knows that it’s allowed. That’s what’s important. That and getting him a boyfriend.

Speaking of boyfriends. His soon to be boyfriend is crouching down in front of Steve’s movie collection, seemingly ignoring the strange interaction.

“Jesus, does he not have any good movies?” The metalhead asks while searching through the VHSes.

“You mean does he have anything that’s horror? I wonder why he wouldn’t want to watch something that he has lived through multiple times.” Chrissy sasses. Eddie responds with a middle finger towards the girl who sticks her tongue out in response.

Robin smiles at their antics. They’ve always had a special bond that Robin never understood and probably never will. It’s the type of bond that only certain people can understand. Honestly, Robin would probably be jealous if she didn't have her own strange best-friend. Guess every lesbian needs her own weird queer guy-best-friend.

And somehow, that’s not the weirdest sentence that Robin’s ever thought of.

“Aha! Stevie might be saved after all.” Eddie holds The Breakfast Club up to the girls, who have taken the loveseat once again, before putting it into the VHS player. The two girls share a look at the pet name before bursting out into a fit of giggles.

How Steve hasn’t figured out Eddie’s feelings is beyond her. You’re really gonna try to say that the (obvious) gay man who calls you pet names doesn’t have a crush on you?

“Ok Steven Fitzgerald The Third Harrington.” Robin mumbles to herself.

“For the hundredth time, Robin. “The Third” would come after Harrington, not before it!” Eddie complains as he flops down onto the couch. Robin smiles and sticks her tongue out at the boy who returns it.

She knows that it would be “Steven Fitzgerald Harrington The Third” but saying “The Third” before Harrington just annoys Eddie so much. Robin can’t resist annoying him.

“And for the thousandth time, that’s not my full name.” Steve’s voice appears as he walks in with a bowl of chips and four sodas.

He puts the bowl and two of the sodas down in front of the girls before claiming his usual seat next to Eddie. A string of accusing noises came from Eddie’s mouth as he pointed towards the bowl.

“They’ll end up eating it all anyway, Eds.” Steve says before taking a sip of his soda. “Oh, this movie! This is with the one weird girl that makes the sandwich that looks weirdly good, right?”

Eddie goes silent at the nickname and Robin’s jaw drops.

Steve Harrington just called him a nickname.

A nickname .

The closest thing to a nickname that Robin’s heard Steve call anyone was shithead, and that was towards the little shitheads. Of course, there is a chance that Robin’s looking into it too much, but she knows her best friend like the back of her hand. So she probably isn’t. Either way, he’s never called anyone a nickname. Wait, no. “Eds” isn’t just a nickname.

That was a pet name. A mother fucking pet name.

And the man just casually continues watching a movie that he’s definitely only seen once like it’s an old friend at the store. What the actual fuck is wrong with him?

“That’s it!” Robin stands up, throwing her arms up. “Chrissy, we’re doing it.”

“Robin…”

The girl grabs Chrissy’s hand and drags her to the kitchen, leaving the confused boys.

“Come on, mon ange . We have to do it! This is the most obvious we can be without actually outing them!”

“I’m sorry, but I think they’re just dumb enough that they won’t think anything of it.” Chrissy counters. Robin sighs.

She probably is right. That’s the problem with having such a beautiful goddess as your girlfriend. She’s practically always right.

“But there’s no harm in trying, right? I mean, they’ll probably just think that this is another weird Robin thing.”

Chrissy reluctantly agrees and so the plan is in motion.

Robin sneaks past the boys and back into the foyer, climbing up a couple of the stairs. She makes eye contact with Chrissy who addresses the boys.

“Hey guys, I need some help with my, uh… shoes… Yeah I… can’t tie them.”

Robin face palms.

As much as she loves her loving girlfriend, she isn’t… the best at improv. She’s definitely not as good as her best friend.

“I’m sorry?” A strong hint of disbelief is heard from a certain metalhead.

“You heard me. Now be a couple of gentlemen and help me out.”

Robin loves Chrissy. She also loves that she’s terrifying enough that that sentence was enough to get the boys moving.

Footsteps are heard getting closer and closer to where Robin is set. She’s crouching down as if that’d help her not be seen. They get right under where the girl is and Chrissy stops walking, turning around.

“Wait a minute, you liar. You already have your shoes on.” Eddie accuses, pointing at her feet.

“You didn’t notice that before?” Steve asks.

“Sorry that I don’t stare at girls’ feet, Harrington. What were you doing staring at her feet?”

The two continue their bickering as Robin rolls her eyes and calls out from above them. 

“Hey dinguses.”

She leans over the banister and holds the small piece of greenery above them.

“Is that a mistletoe? Where did you even find that?” Eddie asks as they stare up at her.

“Robin, It’s June.” Steve comments with a look of disbelief on his face.

Are you fucking serious? Nothing? Absolutely nothing?

Robin looks over at her girlfriend who just shrugs and gives her an “I told you so” look. What the actual fuck is wrong with their friends?

She literally just held out a mistletoe in which you are supposed to kiss under, and all they do is question her? They have been pining and pining for the longest time and when they finally have an appropriate time to kiss each other, they do nothing!

What the fuck!

Robin groans and comes back down the stairs. She stands up on her toes as she messily wraps the mistletoe on the doorframe of the front door before grabbing Chrissy’s hand and walking the two of them back into the living room to continue the movie.

Chrissy opens her mouth to say something, but Robin grumpily interrupts her, “Not a word.”

The other girl shuts her mouth and raises her free hand in mock defense.

What the actual fuck.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Robin groans as she walks out of the Hopper-Byers new and improved house. Joyce had convinced everyone to come together for the 4th of July. Honestly, it didn’t really take that much convincing. But now a certain gremlin is tailing her around the yard, rambling about a weird fantasy that he is way too involved in.

And that fantasy is Robin’s love life.

“Come on Robin! He’s right there! You and Steve have known each other for a year, marking today! You two are the closest friends that I’ve ever seen, there is absolutely no way that you two are “Platonic with a capital P™”” Dustin motions quotations with the last phrase as Robin refills her cup. “You guys know everything about each other and know what the other is thinking by just glancing at them, and you already basically live at Steve’s house, and you work together and kept working together even after the mall was destroyed.”

The girl storms off as the boy starts counting off his fingers. She makes a beeline for her best friend.

“Harrington!”

He looks up from the conversation he was previously having with Chrissy towards the fuming girl. His eyes glance behind her to see the shithead still on hot on her trail and sighs.

“You need to get your son under control. He won’t stop pestering me about a weird fantasy that will absolutely never happen and it’s driving me insane!”

“Chrissy, don’t you think that Steve and Robin would make a good couple? They’re already with each other all the time and they can finish each other’s sentences and I am 100% sure that I’ve seen Robin wearing one of Steve’s sweaters!”

The blonde snorts before looking Dustin in the eyes with a very serious look, clearly on the verge of laughter.

“Dustin, they would be a fantastic couple. You are a genius.”

The young boy exclaims a thank you as Steve and Robin both groan.

“Please don’t encourage him, Chrissy.” Steve says, running a hand over his face. “It was bad enough when we were stuck in an elevator together.”

“You two are meant to be together, you just don’t wanna admit it! And you know what? I think Chrissy and Eddie would make a great couple too.” The kid says matter-of-factly.

Chrissy pulls a face as Robin and Steve instantly start agreeing with him. They laugh as the boy goes on to what would make the two freaks such a good couple and Chrissy denies practically everything he’s saying.

The three are only freed when Joyce comes out of the house with an array of different foods. Steve leaves the two girls to help the woman handle the horde of hungry children, plus Eddie. Nancy and Jonathan can only do so much to keep them back.

Robin excuses herself and heads towards the bathroom. She hopes that the food was enough of a distraction to make Dustin forget their conversation. At least for today.

She wishes that she could tell them about her sexuality. Then Dustin would stop pestering her and it’d just be easier overall, but you can’t tell just anyone about being a Lesbian™. And it’s not like the Party is anyone, but it’s different.

They’re her family, but family doesn’t always mean love.

She doesn’t know if they’d react the same way she knows her real family would. Robin already knows that she can’t tell her parents about liking girls. They haven’t said anything outwardly, but they didn’t need to.

All they need is the small comments and eyebrow raises towards news segments. She already can’t trust them with telling them she’s hanging out with boys. If she told them about Chrissy, she’d never be able to see her again. They might even send her to a camp.

Either way it’d be hell.

Robin steps out of the bathroom and runs into none other than Dustin fucking Henderson.

“Robin, you can’t deny that you have chemistry with Steve.”

Ya know, maybe Steve would have a boyfriend by now if he was this persistent.

“And then there’s Eddie too. You guys also have a lot of chemistry!” 

Robin sighs and passes him into the living room and passes the threshold to the yard as he continues with his “reasoning”. 

“You both play instruments, you’re both nerds, of different breeds but still nerds, and you both-”

She spins around and throws her hands up in the air.

“Jesus Henderson, I’m gay! Ok? I like-”

She stops short as she takes in what she had just revealed to the curly-haired boy. Her eyes and mouth are wide open. She just… She just outed herself.

Realization dawns on her as she turns around to face the others. The others who also all heard her and are now staring at her.

Robin outed herself to everyone .

“Oh…” Dustin says as he takes in the newfound discovery. His face lights back up and words start spewing out of his mouth once again. “Then what about Chrissy? You guys seem to get along and I’d say she’s pretty, you guys would compliment each other… well?”

His words slow as he realizes that everyone else have gone silent and is staring at them. Robin’s eyes dart to Steve. He’s now standing, waiting for anyone to make a move. Chrissy is sitting behind him, looking at Robin with worried eyes. Eddie is sitting up in the grass, previously play-fighting with Mike and Lucas who have also froze. Mike and Will’s eyes are wide and darting to the rest of the Party, clearly anxious for their answer.

Robin feels her breath and heartbeat speed up as everyone stares in silence.

“What’s wrong?”

It feels as though a lifetime has passed before Eleven breaks the silence. Robin holds her breath for what feels like eternity, waiting for someone to answer the young girl.

There’s nothing wrong with being a lesbian. Robin knows that. The real question is if they know that. She doesn’t know what she’d do if they didn’t know that. If they didn’t want to be friends with her anymore. If they didn’t want her to be family. She doesn’t think she could take losing her family because of this.

“Oh, my god! Who cares if she likes girls? It’s still Robin, so stop just staring and say something already!” Max snaps while marching her way over to the older girl mumbling under her breath.

It seemingly snaps everyone out of the trance as Max hugs her. Robin lets out her held breath, accepting the hug from Max. Joyce is the second one to wrap her hands around her. Everyone else joining the group hug at their own pace. The familiar feel of hot tears running down her face appears as she melts into the embrace.

It almost seems silly to think that they wouldn’t love her. Of course they would still love her. This is her party. Her family . Nothing is gonna take that away from her. Not monsters or Russians. And definitely not who she likes. This is the family that chose her. They don't care about her grades, or who she hangs out with, or how she dresses.

They are her family. Her true family. They aren't the ones who breath down her neck every second of everyday, needing to know where she is and what she's doing. They aren't the ones who make terrible comments while watching the news about the people that she connects with more than she'll ever connect with them.

They will stick with her through anything. Whether it's passing high school or the end of the world. And they have stuck with her. They have always been there for her and they always will. Nothing is ever going to change that.

What was supposed to be slinging ice cream at a boring job with some schmuck, turned into uncovering a secret Russian base and fighting monsters. And it was the best thing that could've ever happened to Robin Buckley.

This was the party that chose her. The Party that meant love. This was the Party.

And party sure as hell sounded a lot like family to her.

~~~~~~~~~

Hours pass by after Robin’s accidental coming out. It’s been even better than before. Nothing changed around them except that Chrissy decided to tell them about her too and now they can cuddle and kiss all they want in front of everyone. Though, every time a kiss is shared between the girls, Eddie makes an overly-obnoxious “aww” sound. He managed to get Steve, Max, and El roped into it too.

“Hey, Robin!” Dustin whisper-shouts from across the yard before waving her over. She sighs and reluctantly gets up from her spot next to Chrissy and walks over to him. As soon as she’s in reach, the little shit grabs her hand and drags her back inside the house.

“Dustin, what do you want you upidstay emlingray?” She whines as the boy drags her back into the kitchen.

“Do you think Eddie’s gay?”

Robin blinks.

“What.”

“Well, he’s never had a girlfriend before and hasn’t shown any interest in girls. I mean yeah he and Chrissy hung out all the time, but you guys are together so that wouldn’t have worked anyway, so what if he’s gay? Do you think he likes someone in Corroded Coffin?” Dustin pauses for a moment to think. It gives Robin time to catch up with his words. “Wait… If you and Chrissy are dating, then how did she and Jason date?”

Has literally no one heard of bisexuality? Robin knows that Chrissy isn’t bi, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t have been. What is wrong with the world? Don’t answer that, Robin knows the many things that’s wrong with it.

“Look, I can’t really talk about this ok? It’s not my business, but let’s say she was just… confused… or something.” God she sounds just like her parents. Except she isn’t talking about “straight” people. “She thought she liked boys because that’s the default for whatever reason, but then found out that she likes girls.”

The young boy nods along like a detective being debriefed on a case.

“But you should know about something called bisexuality. It just means that you like both girls and boys. There’s actually a lot of people who are bi, but society have just chopped them up as straight because they have straight looking relationships and-”

“Is Steve bisexual?”

Damn he clocked that fast. Steve didn’t even realize after watching Rocky Horror, and yet here’s his son figuring it out not two seconds after finding out about it. Robin’s almost impressed. If it wasn’t so fucking obvious that is.

“He, uh, he might be. Or he’s straight, we can never really tell, right?” Robin nervously laughs as she avoids the subject of outing her best friend. “We should get back to the others, come on.”

“What if he and Eddie got together? It’d be kinda strange, but I think they could work. It’d be a really weird opposites attract type of thing.” The boy keeps rambling until they get back outside to the others.

Robin returns to her spot next to Chrissy with a sigh and slings her arm around the girl. Jonathan and the boys start setting off fireworks. The cheerleader lays her head on the trumpeter's shoulder as they watch the colorful explosions.

Robin plants a kiss to her head. Robin sighs against the girl’s head. It’s time, she has to do it. She just has to. It’s impossible to keep it in anymore.

“I love you.” She whispers. Chrissy looks up at Robin with a big smile on her face. She kisses her lips.

“I love you too, baby.”

Loud “aww’s” are heard around the yard, Eddie’s being the loudest. Almost instinctively, the girls both show him the finger. A loud gasp is heard from across the yard.

“Buckley! Cunningham! How could you? There are children here?”

The two ignore him and kiss again, this time a gagging noise is heard before a comment about fireworks.

The couple break their kiss and watch in amusement as the boys set off an unsafe number of fireworks at the same time. Steve is shaking his head and standing in his usual Mom Pose™. Joyce and Hopper have already found that they can’t stop the gremlin’s antics. Dustin and Eddie’s screeching fills the yard as they all run away from the bundle of explosions.

Robin smiles and laughs with the rest of her family. The family that she loves.

The family that loves her just as much.

Chapter Text

Voices are yelling at Steve before the bell above the door even begins to ring.

“Slow down, slow down. Jesus. One at a time!” Steve sighs and runs a hand over his face as the voices overlap, despite his wishes.

“Ok, STOP!” He yells, the voices finally shutting up. “Max. Go.”

The girl sighs, clearly not wanting to be dragged into this.

“No, not her! She doesn’t even-” The curly-haired boy shuts his mouth as Steve lifts a finger.

“They want to have a pool party at your place for the last day of summer.” The redhead finally says, her arms crossed.

Steve freezes.

Memories of teenagers getting drunk and throwing each other into water flood his mind. The scent of beer cans so poignant that it mixes with the sight of water-downed blood. Barb flashes in his mind. 

He does a mental shake. 

“No.”

A chorus of complaints come from the kids.

Nope. No. There is no way in hell that Steve is letting his kids anywhere near that pool. Not after the night Barbara Holland disappeared.

“Hey, hey!” The choir stops. “No is no, ok? No buts, no no… j-just no. We are not having a pool party, ok?”

“What about if Robin comes?” Max chimes in.

“And Jonathan?” Will offers.

“Chrissy?” Lucas says.

“And Nancy?” Eleven adds, hope in her voice.

“And Eddie?”

Dammit.

No. You know what? No.

Steve isn’t about to let Mike fucking Wheeler's smug little face convince him to face one of his fears because of a dumb boy with dumb long hair and dumb tattoos and god fucking dammit.

“Maybe, ok? Maybe, just leave me alone.” Steve snaps. The tiny army before him cheers and makes their way out of the video store.

“Hey, that isn’t a yes!” He calls after the little goblins who clearly didn’t hear him.

Fuck.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Steve groans as the doorbell rings throughout the empty house. He smothers himself in a pillow as the button is repeatedly pressed. Finally, he gets up in frustration and marches his way downstairs.

“It is 7 in the fucking morning, what the fuck do you want.” Steve flings the door open.

“Well good morning to you too, Stevie. I’m here to cash in that favor. C’mon.”

Eddie Munson pats Steve on the chest and pushes past him into the house. With Will Byers in tow, he makes his way to the kitchen.

“You got any snacks?”

Steve closes the door and follows the two boys, rubbing a hand through his hair and starting a pot of coffee.

“Munson, what are you doing here?”

Absent-mindedly, Steve takes out pre-made pancake mix and a bowl, mixing together the necessary ingredients. Eddie slides onto a stool at the counter, Will following suit.

The tired man pours two circles of batter into a pan. He grabs a glass, filling it with orange juice and sliding it in front of Will. Next, he routinely grabs two mugs just as the coffee pot dings, insinuating it's done.

Steve's been doing this long enough, he has it down to a fucking T.

He flips the pancakes, puts two scoops of sugar into a coffee-filled mug, and slides it in front of Eddie. He fixes his own coffee and puts the finished pancakes onto a plate in front of Will who grabs syrup and butter from the fridge.

"Why does he get first serve?" Eddie whines, draping himself over the counter.

"Because he's not the one who woke me up at 7 in the morning."

The metalhead quickly rights himself as a plate of pancakes appears in front of him with a grin on his face. The other two watch in disgust as the pancakes are absolutely drowned in maple syrup and a brick of butter. Steve thinks he can hear their screams underneath the mountain of sweet, sticky, goodness. The Flood of ‘86 will go down in history.

“Alright, what did you want again?” Steve stands across from the two boys with his own plate in front of him.

“I’m here to cash in my favor.” Eddie grins and leans across the counter into Steve’s space.

“And that would be…”

“We wanna cut my hair.” Will chimes in, a small smile on his face.

Steve looks between the two of them like they’ve grown extra heads. There is no way Joyce is letting them do this. She would never let them take Will to a barber, nevermind cut his hair themself.

He scoffs and crosses his arms. “Right, and what does your mother think of this?”

“She said we could do it as long as you were involved. Something about not trusting me with scissors or something.” Eddie carelessly waves his hand around, almost knocking over Will’s empty glass. Luckily the boy was swift enough to swipe it, taking it and his plate to the sink.

Yeah, Steve can see why she’s a little worried.

“Ok, fine, but why did you have to come here so early?”

“We have D&D later.” Eddie stuffs his face with a stolen piece of pancake from Steve. “Thought that we could reveal Little Byers’ new look to the group then.”

Steve sighs. There’s no way he can get out of this, is there? He trades plates with Eddie and takes it to the sink, cleaning the dishes. 

“Alright, alright. Head up to my bathroom, I’ll meet ya there.”

Eddie shoves Steve’s leftovers in his mouth and jumps to his feet, practically dragging Will out of the room, and yells behind his shoulder. “By the way, we’re gaming here, thaaanksss!”

Steve sighs again. How the hell did he go from throwing parties to throwing fucking nerd game things?

By the time Steve has joined the others, he’s already rushing to get the scissors out of Eddie’s hands.

“What’s wrong, Stevie? Don’t trust me?”

“Exactly that actually.” 

Will smiles as Eddie pouts.

“It’s stuff like that that wounds a man’s heart.”

“So what are we going for?” Steve asks, ignoring the other man’s antics.

Will gives an explanation of what he wants and Steve gets to work as Eddie sits on the sidelines with commentary.

He’s… nervous to say the least. Believe it or not, Steve’s never really cut anyone’s hair before, besides a trim or two of his own. He hasn’t known anyone who needed a haircut nor does he think anyone trusted him enough. It seems strange that there are people who trust him. Especially people like Eddie and the Byers.

I mean, Steve had broken Jonathan’s camera and called him and his brother names. Names that his own father would call him, if he was around that is. And that’s ignoring all of the other stupid shit he’s said. That’s just Jonathan too.

Honestly, it’s Eddie that surprises him the most.

Eddie had it worse. He wasn’t just called names, he was tormented. Tortured. His stuff was vandalized and he got his ass kicked on the near daily. Steve hadn’t done anything directly to Eddie, sure, but it’s not like he stopped it. It was the same with Nancy and the movie theater. He hadn’t written it, but he didn’t stop Tommy H. and Carol either. Maybe they would’ve been friends sooner if Steve had done something.

“Alrighty then. All done.” Steve removes his hands from the kids hair, letting him look in the mirror.

The biggest smile Steve’s ever seen on the kid appears. He watches as the boy messes with the semi-spiky hair.

“And here, you can use this, it’ll help make it soft.” Steve goes under the sink and pulls out a bottle of Fabergé Organics Shampoo and a bottle of Fabergé Organics Conditioner. “Just let me know when you need more, alright? I’ll get you some.”

Will reluctantly takes the bottles as Eddie makes an “ooo” sound and shoves the other two out of the way, digging around in the cabinet.

“Wha- Eddie, c’mon man! I got a system, you’re messing it all up!”

“Sorry, Harrington. I must know the secrets of The Hair™.”

Eddie gasps as he pulls out a can.

“Is, is this Farrah Fawcett?” Eddie asks, failing to hold in his laughter. Even Will makes a small snorting sound.

“I-I, yes- yes it is now just put it back ok?” Steve’s cheeks heat up as he grabs the can and shoves it back under the sink, closing the cabinet doors.

“Aww, is little Stevie ashamed of his 2-hour hair routine?”

“Shut up.” Steve shoves Eddie’s pouting face away from his growing smile. “Anyways, Will, how do you like your hair?”

The boy laughs. “I love it, Steve. Thank you!”

The man ruffles the boy’s hair and heads out of the room. Guess he needs to get ready for a D&D session.

“Oh, Steve!” Will calls out for him, causing the man to stop and turn around. “Have you thought about the pool party?”

Nope. No no no no no. No way.

“Sorry kid-”

“A pool party?” Eddie perks up at the words, a grin forming on his face. “That sounds fun as shit. Last time I went, I got banned from the public pool. It’s been forever.”

The metalhead stares into the jock’s eyes, seemingly looking straight into his soul. Eddie’s eyes sparkle with the thought of a party.

Fuck.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll have your dumb party.” Steve mumbles, waving his hand dismissively and leaving his room. He hears the other two (mostly Eddie) cheer from behind him.

What the hell has he gotten himself into?

~~~~~~~~~~~

And so, here is Steve Harrington in a pair of red trunks that he hasn’t worn since who knows when with a white T-shirt overtop, setting up for a fucking pool party. Something that Steve never thought he would do again.

Luckily, the rest of the “adults” agreed to come. Mostly he’s glad about having Robin there, not at all about seeing Eddie in shorts, shirtless, messing around with the kids in the water…

Nope. Not at all. He’s ready to enjoy some quality time with his best friend as they both sit on the sidelines, watching.

Steve needs to get himself under control.

He stares into the water, fidgeting with a hair tie on his wrist. He can’t keep letting Eddie of all people convince him to do stuff like this. But, he did hear about this thing called exposure therapy or something, so maybe this is good for him? He just can’t shake the feeling that it’s all going to go wrong.

That’s how it is, right?

They think everything’s over, that everything is gone for good. But it never is.

They killed the demogorgon and saved Will, but the demodogs and shadow mindflayer came back. They killed those, but the Russians and flesh mindflayer came. They killed those and then Vecna.

It’s just never over when they think it is and it always, always hits when they least expect it. When they’re finally happy.

Steve doesn’t think he can last another round.

“Steve?”

The thoughts are pushed back and into a box as Steve jumps, turning around. He comes face to face with worried doe eyes.

“Oh, h-hey Nance.”

“You ok?”

“Yeah it’s just.” Steve lifts his hand and gestures to the pool before letting it flop back to his side. “It’s… ya know.”

Her eyes turn from worried to gentle, a sad smile appearing on her face. 

“Yeah. But…”

She mules over her next words carefully.

“I think it’s good for us, you know? I think we’ve been beating ourselves up about something that… that isn’t our fault for so long. It’s going to be good to maybe find some closure for it.”

Steve wants to deny it. Say that it was his fault. That if he didn’t care about what everyone else thought, that maybe Tommy H. and Carol wouldn’t have convinced him to that dumb party. They wouldn’t have gotten drunk and he wouldn’t have been so worried about getting into Nancy’s pants. That she would still have her best friend. The demogorgon would have never come for Barb in the first place.

“Yeah. You’re right. As usual.” He agrees with a small smile.

She takes his hand, staring at him with pity in her eyes. Like that’s not the last fucking thing he wants. Pity.

They’re snapped out of the moment as the sound of arguing makes its way to the backyard.

“No, I’m telling you man, goblins are so much creepier than the Skeksis.” Lucas says.

“There is no way they’re creepier than the Skeksis. That shit gave me nightmares!” Dustin counters.

“Well I think Wookiees are the creepiest.” Mike adds with the usual sass in his voice.

This sends the other two into a spiral about how wrong Mike is. Steve rolls his eyes and smiles, having no idea what they’re talking about.

“Alright dickheads, turn it down a bit, will ya?” Steve says ruffling Dustin’s hair, causing a sound of distress to come from the mop of brown curls.

The man watches them with worried eyes as they all throw their bags down and jump into the water. They laugh and smile as they splash and dunk each other.

Maybe Steve doesn’t have anything to worry about, but the thought isn’t enough to push away the anxiety that fills him.

He meets eyes with Nancy. She nods her head, seemingly reading his mind. He knows Nance will keep them safe, so he quickly goes inside to get the rest of the snacks he prepared.

More and more voices are heard coming into the backyard as Steve works in the kitchen. He sees Chrissy, Robin, Max, and El, but no Eddie. He was the one who was supposed to drive them. Did he not come?

Steve’s stomach sinks at the possibility.

Maybe he figured out how dumb it is that he’s hanging out with Steve “The Hair” Harrington. Why would he hang out with him? Steve was friends with his number one tormenter. At least before Carver came along. But that doesn’t change anything. That doesn’t make Steve stand up to his asshole of a “friend” and stop him from doing any of the shit he did.

“God damn, you are going all out for us, huh?”

The jock jumps and turns around to find Eddie Munson staring at all the platters and bowls of food.

“I’d say this is even more than what Joyce and Hop made for the fourth.” Eddie whistles at the sight of it all.

“You came.”

The words leave Steve’s mouth before he’s able to stop them. He stares dumbly as the other boy stares at him with a grin on his face.

“Yeah I came. What, did you not want me too?”

“No, no. Not at all.”

Fuck. He said that too fast.

Eddie grins. 

“Good. Now let's get this all out there before they start eating each other like rabid possums.”

He picks up as many dishes as he can carry, precariously balancing some on his arms and a bowl of chips on his head. Steve notices the tip of his tongue sticking out as he carefully starts his walk to the back door.

“C’mon Harrington, stop gawking and lend me a hand.”

Steve is snapped out of his gaze and starts gathering some dishes. Not nearly as many as Eddie. He opens the back door, holding it for the other man.

He watches in amazement as the metalhead somehow gets to the table set up without dropping anything and starts carefully putting each one down. Steve soon follows suit, going back in to grab the cases of sodas.

The boy comes back out and does a quick head count of everyone.

Six kids.

Five adults.

Everyone’s here.

And they’re ok.

The kids are having fun, splashing in the pool. Nancy and Jonathan are on the side of it, only their legs floating in the water, deep in a conversation. Eddie is already gorging himself with food and Robin and Chrissy are laying under an umbrella on two of the lawn chairs. Everything is fine.

Steve takes a deep breath, the first one in a while.

He watches Eddie carefully take off each ring and puts them on a small end table. Is it just him or was he extra careful with the bat shaped ring? Steve continues to watch as the older boy takes off his shirt and jumps into the pool, spraying water all over the kids who yell in surprise.

The image of a skull-shaped ring floating in still water flashes in his mind.

He shakes his head and shoves the thought into a box. He isn’t about to let Vecna ruin today.

Steve finds himself walking over to his best-friend and her girlfriend. He pulls up a chair and sits next to them with a sigh.

“Hey Dingus.”

“Hi Steve. How are you?” Chrissy asks.

“Ya know, the usual. Getting more and more gray hairs by the day.” He half-jokingly says, rubbing his eyes. He looks over to see Robin eyeing him with a worried look in her eye.

It hadn’t taken long for Steve to tell Robin about what happened. They had confided in each other after Starcourt, it was only a matter of time before she found out the truth about the disappearance of Barbara Holland. The nightmares and his avoidance of the pool didn’t really help either. Of course now Steve has being dragged under water into a demonic dimension and being eaten alive to add to his reasons Why Still Bodies Of Water Are A No-Go.

He tries his best to fake a smile. He doesn’t want Robin to worry about him. She should have fun with her girlfriend.

They idly talk, Robin’s screams filling the air as Dustin and Max try to splash her. Eventually, Chrissy gets her brunette into the pool and now they’re all splashing around and having fun. Even Nancy has gone in further than just her feet.

Now it’s just Steve who hasn’t touched a drop of water.

“Steve! Hey Steve! Steve Steve Steve Steve.”

“The fuck you want, Henderson?”

“Get in here!”

“Nope.” 

Steve pulls down the sunglasses on his head and leans back, making a show of getting comfy.

“Come on Steve!” Lucas’ voice is carried across the backyard.

And soon enough, the army of children (plus Eddie and Chrissy) are all yelling for Steve to get into the water.

He sighs and crosses his arms across his chest. He loudly snores, though they are easily overtaken by the chorus of children. Fortunately, they soon get distracted and start bothering each other rather than their host.

Letting them play in the pool was far enough outside his comfort zone.

He’s fine with being on the bench.

“Hey.”

Robin appears seemingly out of nowhere next to him. She’s standing, letting water drip down her body with a soda in hand.

“Hey.”

“You should get in.”

“Rob-”

“No Steve. I’m serious.” She squats down next to his chair. Her hands come together to fiddle with the tab of the can as she talks. “I really think it’d be good for you to go in. I know what happened and that the kids are lucky that you’re letting them even near the pool, nevermind in it. But I think you need to get just a little bit out of your comfort zone, a little exposure therapy. It doesn’t have to be a lot either, just feet in. Like how Nance started. That’d be enough.”

Robin stands up, gently putting her soda into Steve’s hands and looking him straight in the eye. 

“Just think about it ok?”

Kind, brown eyes stare into his. A message that he can’t quite perceive being passed to him. It’s a look Steve doesn’t think he’s ever seen on Robin’s face.

She smiles at him before running and jumping back into the pool, making everyone in her vicinity scream and laugh.

Maybe she’s right.

Steve has avoided pools ever since he found out what really happened to Barbara. Especially his own pool. It’s been years since he even stepped foot into water, ignoring his recent adventure into the Upside Down. It’s been almost three years since her death. Like Nancy, he should move on.

He sighs before standing up and walking to the opposite end of the pool than everyone else. He takes a deep breath before slowly crouching down and carefully putting his legs into the water. Steve lets out another breath, gently kicking his feet around under the cool water.

It feels nice.

All of this feels nice.

The kids having fun and messing with each other. Chrissy and Robin being able to publicly cuddle and kiss each other without judgment. Nancy and Jonathan are dunking their siblings. Laughter and smiles fill up this empty void. It’s nice and domestic.

Water rains over Steve as someone jumps into the water next to him. He wipes his face, only now noticing the change of music.

Steve had dug out his parents’ old boombox, the one that he used for highschool parties. He had put on what music he had, which he supposes wasn’t good enough.

“Seriously, Munson? No one wants to listen to your loud crap.”

The man rings his hair out. Water drips down his arms with a smile occupying his face. “I think they much prefer my music than your awful taste.”

Steve rolls his eyes, but a smile stays on his face. He leans back on his hands, feet still kicking in the water as he watches the others splash around. The girls have decided that food was more interesting than whatever weird ass game the boys were playing.

A couple minutes pass of idle conversation between the two men, Eddie’s music playing in the background.

I’d like for you and I to go romancing.

“Alright Munson, what is this?”

“But whatever do you mean, sire?” The metalhead turns around in the water. He crosses his arms and leans on the ledge next to Steve, batting his eyes.

“This music. There’s an awful lot of love songs for “satanic cult leader”” He lifts his hands, making air quotes before leaning back on them again. “You don’t exactly strike me as the lovey dovey type. Who’d you make this tape for?”

“I made it… for a friend.”

“A friend, or a friend-friend?”

The other man looks away from Steve and mumbles his answer.

“A friend-friend.”

Steve’s stomach sinks.

A friend-friend. Of course it’s a friend-friend. A crush. Obviously he has a crush on someone. Steve knew that. And he knows that it’s not him.

How could it be him? Eddie doesn’t like guys, nevermind Steve Harrington. The very same King Steve that stood by and watched as his “friends” bullied him. There is no way in hell Eddie likes Steve like that.

Of course it hurts. But Steve knew deep down that it wouldn’t happen. Suppose as long as Eddie’s happy, Steve will be ok.

“Well, if they listen to this and still don’t know how you feel, then I’m sorry, but they’re just too dumb for you.”

Eddie sighs. It almost sounds… frustrated?

“I mean, how are you gonna date someone who can’t even realize you’re into them after shoving a bunch of love songs in their face?” Steve finishes.

“Mhm, right. They’re too dumb for me.”

Steve looks down for his eyes to meet with Eddie’s. His head is laying on his crossed arms, his wet hair gently laying around his face. Drops of water are slowly making their way down his torso and back into the pool, a lazy smile on his face. The yellow-orange gradient of the sky illuminating his brown, sparkling eyes perfectly as they stare into hazel

Think of me always.

Love you, love you.

The moment’s spell is broken as a curly-haired boy jumps out from under the water and tackles Eddie underneath.

Steve quickly scrambles to his feet and away from the two bodies that splash and wrestle in the water.

“Dammit Henderson!” Eddie is back to the surface, shoving the boy’s head underneath the blue liquid. A small blush has taken over the man’s face.

“Mercy! Mercy!” Dustin cries out as Eddie puts him in a gentle head-lock, nuggying the small boy and eventually letting him go.

“Thanks for the help, Harrington.”

“Looked like you had it handled.”

Eddie hops on the ledge of the pool, pulling himself out. He gathers up the majority of his hair and rings the water out of it again. Once he seems satisfied enough, he regathers it and grabs at an invisible hair tie on his wrist.

Absentmindedly, Steve pulls the black hair tie off of his own wrist and offers it. 

“Oh, thanks pretty boy.” Eddie grins as pieces of hair fall in front of his face, the rest of it being held together.

He walks away to join his best friend and her girlfriend by the food table and puts his rings back on, leaving a red-cheeked Steve.

Eddie just has no idea how much his pet names affect Steve. Each one makes his stomach flutter and flip and his face heat up. He loves each and every one.

Steve notices Nancy looking at him, a small and quiet smile on her face, He makes his way over to her.

“You ok?”

“Are you ok?” She raises an eyebrow and Steve rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“It’s nice that you had a hair tie for him.”

Steve’s eyebrows crease in confusion.

“You never carried them for me. I’m glad you have someone to carry one around for.”

“Nancy, can you help me with this?” Eleven’s voice travels over to them. Her hands are tangled in Max’s hair. She’s trying to do… something.

And so, Nancy leaves Steve, answering El’s beckoning. Steve stares after her, still confused but also… content.

Steve feels content.

He finds himself walking to the edge of the now empty pool. The noise of everyone behind him chatting and eating fades into white noise. The constant ringing fills his head as he stares down at the still blue before him.

Robin was right. As usual.

Sitting in the pool truly did help him. He still doesn’t think he’ll be able to swim anytime soon, but it’s a start. The usual anxiety that used to fill him has calmed down. He finds that the glow in his backyard doesn’t activate his flight or fight as much.

The quiet that settles around him is disturbed by Nancy’s loud voice and a yell coming from Steve’s own throat as water fills his vision.

He thrashes around in the water, doing anything and everything to just get to the surface. Panic fills his entire body. After what feels like an eternity of twists and turns, Steve is up and out of the pool just as quickly as he was pushed in.

As soon as he’s out, his eyes connect with Mike who has taken a few steps back from the edge, an amused smile on his face. A smile that quickly falls.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Steve yells. His heartbeat is pounding in his head, drowning out the ringing. “What the actual fuck?”

“I-I just, it was… it was supposed to be-”

“Funny? How is that fucking funny after everything?” 

Steve jumps as a hand is placed on his shoulder.

His eyes meet with Robin’s. Her eyes are worried and soft, but her grip on his shoulder is stern. Steve’s chest slows to a steady pace as he takes a couple deep breaths.

The burning feeling of tears appear behind his eyes, Quickly, he shoulders his way past everyone and into the house, straight into the powder room.

He can’t cry in front of them. He’s already snapped at Mike, he can’t add to the damage and cry too. He screwed up this day just like everything else.

A knock echoes into the quiet bathroom just as the silent sobs start. The door cracks open, a quiet and careful voice filling the air

“Heya Stevie.”

Steve opens his mouth only for a wet noise to come out. Quickly, he shuts his mouth and slides down the wall putting his head in his knees. He can hear the door open more and close. The presence of a curly-haired man appears next to him, also on the floor.

Silence fills the air.

“Alright, c’mon buddy.” Eddie nudges Steve with his shoulder. “What’s going on?”

“There’s not much to say.”

“Bullshit.”

Steve feels his body tense up at the word.

“That’s all it ever is.” He mumbles to himself, unsuccessful to stay quiet enough.

“Ok. Nope.”

The noise of Eddie shifting to be in front of Steve fills the bathroom. He feels his arms being pulled away from his head. Eddie pushes a hand against his forehead, gently lifting it up and making him look straight at him.

“Talk to me Harrington.” Eddie leans into his space, searching his face for something. Steve can’t quite tell what. “I will treat you like a 5-year-old having a meltdown, don’t test me. I have made multiple kids cry a lot.”

Rolling his eyes and pushing Eddie’s face away, Steve sighs, leaning his head against the wall, staring at the ceiling.

“Remember how Will went missing the first time ‘round?” God Steve hates his voice. It just sounds so small and broken. “Well he wasn’t the only one who went missing.”

Eddie’s eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. Steve’s stomach drops. Does he not even know? Did no one but Nancy and the Hollands care about the missing redhead? Did no one else know her?

Steve swallows the guilt.

“Barbara Holland. She um, she was a sophomore. Redhead, glasses. Nancy’s best friend. The-The night after Will’s disappearance, Tommy H. and Carol decided that I should have a party. Parents gone, big empty house, asshole friends. So, I invited Nance, who invited Barb.”

Steve glances at the man crouched in front of him. He’s watching intently, waiting patiently for Steve to finish.

“We, um, we were shotgunning. Barbara had tried, but ended up cutting herself. It wasn’t anything big, but… it was enough. Um, a bit further into the night, and we all ended up in the pool, so I offered for Nance to come upstairs with me so we could change. Barbara tried to convince Nancy to just go home with her, but we didn’t listen and just went upstairs. Fuck, we should’ve listen, Eddie.”

As he’s retelling the stories of that night, Steve can feel tears leaking out of his eyes once again. The weight of Eddie’s hand appears on Steve’s arm. His eyes flicker down to the connection and back up to Eddie.

Using his other hand, Steve wipes his eyes and takes a shaky breath before continuing.

“We were tipsy and kids so Nancy and I went upstairs and we… did… stuff.” Steve avoids Eddie’s eyes as his cheeks heat up at the implication. “A-and um, while we were upstairs Barb had apparently gone back to the pool and…”

“And then it got her.”

The words hang in the air.

“You blame yourself, don’t you?” Eddie’s quiet voice breaks the silence.

Steve looks back at the other man. He’s staring at the space in between them. The chocolate eyes are distant, like he’s not quite here in the bathroom. Like he’s reliving the past.

“Look, Harrington, you can’t blame yourself for this. You… you had no idea anything like that even existed, nevermind be in your backyard. Just, you-you can’t do that to yourself man.” Eddie removes his hand and starts fiddling with his rings. Steve’s arm feels cold with the missing weight.

It’s then that Steve realizes. Whether it’s the way he’s fiddling or how it looks like he’s not quite all here, Steve doesn’t know. But he does know something.

“You think it was your fault too. That Deborah…”

Eddie didn’t say anything, he didn’t have to. Instead he moved back to sitting with his back against the wall next to him.

Steve knows how it feels. For someone to die in front of you. Convincing yourself that you could’ve done something to save them.

That it should have been you instead.

“You didn’t know about any of this shit.”

Eddie snorts.

“Hypocrite.”

The two men sit in silence. Steve’s tears dry up and his breathing slows down.

“Ya know, it freaked me out a bit when you first jumped in today.” Eddie turns to look at Steve. “It was something that he showed me. Vecna. It was when you went upstairs to loop my song.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Steve sees brown eyes widen as realization dawns on him. 

“I thought I heard a splash outside, so I went to investigate. I don’t even remember walking to the door, it’s like I just appeared there. But when I looked there wasn’t anything there. It took me a second to notice your ring.” While talking, Steve picks up Eddie’s hand, maneuvering it so that the finger which held a silver skull stood out. “There was nothing in the pool but this. I… I thought that it had gotten you too.”

“At least now I know how to get a big hug from the knight.” Eddie responds, an attempt to lighten the mood.

Steve stares at the piece of metal in his hand. The cold weight of it grounding him to the bathroom.

“Why are you the one in here? Why not Robin or Nance?”

The metalhead leans into Steve’s space. 

“What’s wrong Stevie, I’m not good enough for you?” 

Steve rolls his eyes and the other man sits back. 

“No, um, I would say it’s because I was worried about you and shit, which, don’t get me wrong, I am. But I’ve never really been good at comforting people with this kind of shit.”

“So why…”

“Honestly?” Eddie turns his head and looks Steve in the eye. “I was too scared of Wheeler to stay.”

Laughter suddenly bursts out of Steve.

“Seriously man! That girl is scary as hell! Have you seen her? She sawed off a shotgun like it was just a regular Tuesday and goddamn I’d hate to be Mike right now. I was not about to get in the middle of that.”

Steve continues to laugh as Eddie counts off the different reasons that he’s scared of Nancy Wheeler. Slowly, the laughter subsides and a comfortable silence overtakes them once again.

“I should stop having revelations in the bathroom, huh?”

“That is the second time that has been said to me. Why the fuck are you and Buckley in bathrooms with other people so much?”

A chuckle escapes from Steve. “She really needs to stop coming out in bathrooms. It’s a problem at this point.”

“We need to hold an intervention!”

The two boys laugh, their intertwined hands going unnoticed.

They’re interrupted by a small knock and the door opening. Standing in the doorway is a nervous Mike, fiddling with the strings of his shorts and refusing to look them in the eye. His head turns to the side before turning back to them.

The young boy’s eyes flicker down to their hands and back up to Steve.

“Steve, I um… I’m sorry about pushing you in the pool. I thought it would be funny, but it wasn’t. I-If you want, you can throw me in as payback or something.”

A soft smile forms on Steve’s face. 

“Nah kid, it’s alright.”

He guesses that Mike already had to face the horrors of his sister. That’s punishment enough to Steve.

“I’ll do it!”

Eddie’s hand (the one not occupied by Steve) shoots up immediately. A big grin appears on his face at the thought of tossing Wheeler in.

The kid’s eyes widen as he turns and sprints down the hallway. In turn, Eddie jumps to his feet and runs after him, laughing maniacally and leaving Steve on the cold floor of the bathroom.

“Be gentle, Munson!” Nancy’s voice calls out after him, her figure appearing in the doorway.

A distant ‘yes boss!’ is heard from somewhere deep in the house. The journalist’s attention goes to Steve. A worried look on her face as she peers down at the man.

He stands up, a slight smile on his face.

“I’m ok Nance.”

She looks in his eyes for just a moment, nods and leaves with a refrained smile. Steve takes another deep breath before following her.

He’s ok.

Chapter Text

Eddie just needs to get himself together and ignore his platonic counterpart.

It’s the end of October and Chrissy is just insisting that Eddie asks Steve out. She won’t stop talking about it.

He can’t believe it! The audacity!

“For the last time, Chris. Steve is one of the straightest guys out there! I have absolutely no chance, so I’m not asking him out!”

“Well, maybe he isn’t straight. Bisexuality exists ya know.”

Eddie groans, falling back on his bed and putting his arm over his eyes. She just doesn’t get it.

Chrissy doesn’t understand having this kind of crush. She has always been the popular one, never the outcast. Plus her crush (now girlfriend) was so obviously into her and wasn’t literally known for sleeping with every single girl in town!

“C’mon. Maybe if you just entertained the idea just for a little bit, you’d see how he looks at you!”

At this Eddie quickly sits up.

“What do you mean how he looks at me?”

A grin grows on Chrissy’s face.

“Oh you know… just, how he looks at you when you aren’t looking.” She says slyly. Eddie can feel his hope grow.

He pushes it back down immediately.

“No. No no no no no.” He gets off of his bed and walks away from her, shaking his head and spinning back around. “No. I’m not gonna let you convince me that there’s even a chance. Because there isn’t.”

She starts to protest, but he interrupts her.

“Chrissy, he is Hawkins lady’s man! King Steve! I’m the freak, darling. The story doesn’t end in my favor."

The blonde groans, muttering under her breath. “Dumbass.”

The metalhead just rolls his eyes.

Even if he’s a dumbass, he’s not wrong. He knows that much. It’s not his destiny to get Steve Harrington. He is the prince and only princesses get the prince. No one else. And certainly not the banished.

Not the lonely bard.

~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie finishes his last rounds of dropping the kids off at home.

He had whipped up a quick Halloween-themed one-shot seeing how it’s the night before the glorious holiday.

The man stays parked outside of the Sinclair household, making sure the boy gets safely inside. Once he’s satisfied, he makes his way to his apartment. It isn’t much, but it’s certainly better than a trailer with a gateway to hell in the middle of the living room.

The night replays in his mind.

It was a successful night.

The kids were able to get through his haunted castle of death and defeat the Pumpkin King. Not without falling into a couple of traps that is. It was fun and carefree.

At least Eddie thinks it was.

He parks his van as he walks inside the building, his head full of Harrington.

He had noticed Steve acting weird tonight. There was just something… off with him. Eddie can’t place what. He just didn’t seem like his usual self and asked if Eddie could take Little Wheeler and the Sinclairs home this time. It’s something that he usually does. It was strange.

Or maybe Eddie is looking into it too much. Chrissy has infected his brain with thinking that he has a chance with Steve “The Hair” Harrington. It’s all just in his head.

Couldn’t hurt to check though, right?

It didn’t look like he had a choice, seeing as though his body decided for him. He doesn’t even remember getting back into his van and driving away.

He pulls onto ‘Royalty Lane’ as he liked to call it. The side of town where all of the rich kids reside. Including Castle Harrington.

This is probably a mistake. No. This is definitely a mistake.

Eddie parks in the driveway once again and gets out of the van despite every part of his brain telling him to turn and run. He walks up to the door and knocks.

Nothing.

Anxiety spikes through his body as he knocks again. He can’t hear anything in the lit house and he knocks again.

Luckily, the third time really is the charm as the door is swung open.

Steve Harrington, wearing the usual sweater and jeans, is in front of him holding the door open with a hand on his hip. The usual Mom Pose™. Just how he left him.

Only this time Eddie notices the slightly panicked look in his eye.

“Munson?”

“Uh, heya Stevie.”

“Why- are you ok? Did something happen?”

The hazel eyes go from Eddie to behind him searching for some form of danger.

“No, no. Everything’s fine. I just, um.”

This is stupid this is stupid this is stupid.

“Steve, are you ok?”

The man before him stares at him, eyes wide. He blinks a couple times, almost like he’s shaking himself off. 

“Yeah, yeah. I’m ok.”

Even Eddie could tell that it was a lie.

The metalhead rolls his eyes and pushes his way past Steve and into the house. Almost an hour has passed since they were there and nothing looks clean.

There’s still empty soda cans and bowls all over the dining table. Forgotten papers are strewn about the surface, having not moved at all. It’s very much not Steve.

Eddie walks into the living room. There are pillows and a blanket on the floor. An almost-empty bottle of cheap vodka on the small coffee table and It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown quietly playing on the TV.

“Alright man, what’s going on?”

Steve shrugs behind him, his arms crossed.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Eddie raises an eyebrow.

“Really? C’mon man. Nothing’s been cleaned up from the game, pillows and blankets on the floor. A bottle of vodka that I can afford and Charlie fucking Brown playing on the TV? Something’s going on man. You’re a mother hen who likes everything all sparkly clean and this place is a mess. I’ve been gone for an hour. What happened?”

Hazel eyes avoid chocolate ones as they stare at the floor. Steve’s arms tighten across his body.

“Am I really that transparent?” He asks. His voice is small and quiet; it sounds like he’s on the verge of tears.

“Think I just rolled high on perception.” Eddie’s attempt at lightening the mood is unsuccessful as tears begin to roll down the cheeks of the prince before him.

Panic begins to fill Eddie. He’s never been good at comforting people.

“I… I’m ok, alright. I just- I need-” A hand is pushed into his eyes in an attempt to stop the tears.

“Ok, um, here, w-why don’t you sit down and I’ll get you some water ok?” Eddie leads the other man to the couch and quickly runs off towards the kitchen.

What the fuck does he do?

He returns with the glass of water and hands it to Steve, sitting down next to him. “What, uh, what’s going on, man?”

“Halloween’s tomorrow.” He says quietly, taking small sips of water here and there.

“Didn’t think people disliked it that much.”

“No, no it’s not that. I-I like Halloween, it’s just… It doesn’t come with the best memories. And, well, I promised Joyce that I'd make sure the kids stayed safe, so I can’t exactly do this-” He gestures to himself. “-tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

Eddie really is fucked.

How is he supposed to deal with this? He has no idea what happened on Halloween, nor does he think Harrington wants to talk about it.

“So… wanna get shitfaced?”

Steve’s head looks up from the glass in his hands and to Eddie. His hazel eyes are slightly red from the tears and they’re-

God they’re hopeful.

He’s gonna be the death of Eddie.

“What?”

“Wanna get shitfaced? I got a couple of not-too-scary movies that we can put on. Ooo! And I can finally educate you on music!” Eddie grins as his head fills with ideas. Steve observes his face with puppy-dog eyes, a small and hopeful smile forming on his face. “I mean, c’mon Stevie. Drinking alone is alright I guess, but drinking with someone? Now that’s where the real stories come from.”

And so, Eddie quickly runs out to his car, gathers a couple of tapes and movies.

Time to get this night started.

“Alrighty Stevie! Whaddya wanna start with? Jaws or Black Sabbath?”

Steve raises an eyebrow. “Seriously? So it’s either yet another body of water with something deadly in it, or being initiated into your cult?”

“Yup!” Eddie grins. He didn’t even think about Jaws, it’s just what he had.

“I guess Ozzy it is then.” Steve chuckles and Eddie freezes.

He remembered? 

“Uh, O-ozzy was the one in Black Sabbath… right? Bit a bat’s head off or something?” He becomes quieter and more unsure of himself with every word as Eddie stares at him. 

“Yeah, man. Yeah he was.” Eddie shakes himself off and sticks the tape into the nearby boombox. A grin spreads across his face.

He really remembered.

Eddie bobs his head along with the beat, playing his best air guitar as the opening notes of War Pigs ring out into the living room. He flops himself onto the couch next to Steve who smiles at his antics. The Robin Ramble™ inside him threatens to come out as the lyrics continue with the first verse.

Then the dam breaks.

“Ya know, the first actual metal metal song was a cover by Blue Cheer. They did a cover of Summertime Blues in ‘68. But even then, the real start of metal was in the 50s. That’s when guitarists started experimenting more with the blues and shit, like, I’m pretty sure The Kinks had some hints of metal in a couple of their songs. It wasn’t really real metal. Not like Dio, Black Sabbath, Metallica.” Eddie continues his ramble about one of his favorite things, talking with his hands and usual theatrics.

He talks and talks as the music continues to play, only taking a small break to have a swig of vodka here and there. Eddie doesn’t notice Steve giving him one of those looks as he listens intently.

The tape ends along with Eddie's rambles.

"So? What'd you think?"

"Huh, what?"

"The music? Did ya hear anything I said, or did you just sit there looking pretty?"

The brunette straightens himself and clears his throat. "No, no I was listening. Um, I… guess the music was alright. I think it's cool how much you know about all this, though. It's always nice to listen to someone talk about something they love. Guess that's one of the reasons I put up with Henderson."

The smile and laugh that follows the sentiment is better than anything Eddie has ever seen or heard. It catches him off-guard.

While his cheeks get kissed with a light blush, Eddie quickly gets up and ejects the tape.

Time for a movie. That's something that can distract Eddie from the wonder that is Steve Harrington.

He sticks Jaws in the VHS player and heads to the kitchen.

"Oh so I'm stuck with both then." Steve comments, but leans back on the couch anyway.

Eddie explores the pantry and the Harringtons’ fancy liquor cabinet. He grabs snacks and one of the more expensive bottles.

The Senior Harringtons can suck it.

He melts back into his slot on the couch. The metalhead leans back with a bag of chips, coming into contact with Steve's arm.

Eddie freezes. 

The weight on his shoulder distracts him from the screen in front. He grabs the cheap vodka and takes a big swig of it, emptying the bottle. He manages a glance over to the man next to him.

Steve's eyes are wide, glued to the TV. Red tints his cheeks and his knee bounces, much like Eddie in class.

"Hey uh, I can change the movie if it's too much." Eddie offers. It's not like King Steve is nervous about his arm around The Freak.

Well maybe he isn't straight.

Eddie pushes Chrissy's voice back down into the depths of his mind.

He can't even entertain the idea that Steve is into him. He'll fall deeper than he already is, if that's even possible.

Either way, that kind of thinking isn't tolerated in this household.

Or… brain. Whatever.

"No, it's fine. I should probably try and get over this kind of stuff anyway."

"Ya sure it won't make it worse?"

"Nope." Steve plucks the open bag of chips out of Eddie's lap, stuffing a handful in his mouth.

The arm around leather-covered shoulders remains, and so does the pink on Eddie's cheeks.

The two boys sit and watch the movie, making the occasional comment. They make fun of the characters and go through the expensive bottle. Eddie laughs at Steve as he jumps at Every. Single. Jumpscare. How the man ever survived the Upside Down, he’ll never know.

Eddie feels his stomach rumble at the mention of pretzels on screen. Quickly, he gets up and grabs more snacks, stumbling there and back to his seat on the couch.

The weight around his shoulders is no longer there, making him feel cold in the heated house.

It’s when Hooper is being lowered in the cage that pink returns to Eddie’s cheeks. Steve, seemingly absentmindedly, scooches closer to the curly-haired man with the ominous sound of the ocean.

Correction, it was absentmindedly.

There is absolutely no way that Steve Harrington would consciously move closer to the Freak. Besides, they were both fairly drunk by now. Alcohol works in mysterious ways.

The shark attacks the scientist, making Steve jump, his body the tiniest bit closer to Eddie’s. The pink on his cheeks deepens. 

If Eddie’s being honest, he doesn’t quite remember the rest of the movie. He was just a little bit too focused on the fact that Steve’s thigh and shoulder are flushed against his.

Ending credits scroll across the screen. Steve sits up and stretches his back, the bottom of his shirt lifting and showing just a small bit of his back. It takes all of Eddie’s willpower, (of which he has very little of) to avert his eyes.

He needs a distraction.

Eddie loudly claps his hands together, startling the man next to him. "Alrighty then, let's have some fun." The metalhead pulls out a joint while wiggling his eyebrows at Steve.

The jock snorts.

"You can have all the fun your heart desires-"

Bold words.

"-but Imma have to skip out. After the Russians, drugs kinda just… come back up."

“Your lost.” Eddie shrugs and sticks the joint in his mouth, going through the familiar motion of lighting it and taking a long drag.

He blows out smoke and watches as Steve stands up, instantly putting his hands out for stability.

“Nope.” He says as he slowly lowers himself and lays face down on the floor, arms above his head. The man groans and drags out the nerd’s name. “Eddie, the floor is moving.”

Eddie bursts into laughter, causing Steve to whine even more. The laughter dies down and he takes another drag.

He can feel the drugs slowly overtake his brain, making it cloudy.

"We… should play a game." Eddie announces. A small string of mumbled words come from the floor. "What was that pretty boy?"

Steve lifts his head just enough to be coherent.

“I’m not moving.”

He flops his head back down as Eddie chuckles.

“Alright, at least move over big boy.” He lightly kicks Steve’s side.

The brunette groans and flops over onto his back. Eddie practically melts onto the floor and takes over the newfound space. He takes a final drag, trying to focus on anything other than the many points of contact between them.

They sit in silence, staring up at the ceiling before Steve breaks the silence.

“Truth or dare?”

“Thought you said no moving, Harrington.”

“Truth or truth.”

Eddie’s laugh fills the room.

“Alright, how ‘bout truth, pretty boy?”

Minutes pass in silence as Eddie awaits for a question.

"If you were a color, what color would you be?"

Eddie snorts.

"What kind of question is that?"

"Just shut up and answer."

"Ok, well, obviously I'd be black.”

“Oh, come on man, that’s so basic!” Harrington complains and Eddie rolls his eyes at the words.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. What color doest thy king believeth thou lowly peasant would be?”

Silence covers them once again as Steve thinks about the question. Lord knows how much time passes.

Finally, his answer comes with the confidence and seriousness of a man back from war.

“Pink.”

Laughter rings out into the room. Honestly, Eddie probably shouldn’t be laughing as much as he is, but here he is.

“Dude, how the fuck am I pink?” He gets out the words in between laughs.

“I mean, just look at you!” Steve gestures his hands vaguely towards Eddie. “You try to be, like, all tough and The Shit, when you’re just… soft and gooey inside!”

Eddie quickly sits up (a little too quickly if his swimming head had a say) and points at Steve.

“Hey, I am The Shit. And I am not gooey!” He flops back down with a huff, crossing his arms like a toddler with a tantrum.

Next to him, Steve shifts to be on his side, facing Eddie. He pokes the metalhead with his words.

“Yes you are. You are Mr. Gooey McGooington of Gooeyville. You are literally here instead of at home in bed because I was sad.”

Eddie copies the other man’s position. “I’m not gooey.”

They’re so close to each other, Eddie can feel Harrington’s hot breath on his face.

“Whatever,” Steve rolls his eyes. “Your turn.”

“Truth or truth Stevie-boy?”

“Truth.” He answers with a sluggish nod.

"Hmm…" Eddie makes a show of thinking before the other boy shoves his shoulder, telling him to hurry up. "Alright alright. Ya know one should never rush an artist, Harrington."

"It's a question, Munson, not a painting."

The metalhead rolls his eyes but asks a question anyway. "Grossest thing you’ve ever eaten.”

“Demobat.” Steve responds without hesitation. Eddie rolls his eyes.

“That you willingly ate.”

Steve’s laugh sounds like music to his ears. It’s loud and sweet and perfect.

Eddie is too far gone, isn’t he?

“Alright, um… probably bugs.”

“Bugs?” Eddie’s face fills with disgust as he thinks about the slimy and crunchy texture of the small creature.

Steve nods his head as he defends himself. “Yes, bugs. You can’t tell me you’ve never gotten curious and eaten a beetle or something.

“You seriously ate a beetle?” A scoff mixed with disgust and disbelief bursts out of Eddie.

“Ok, first of all I was nine, second of all…” Steve pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts. “I don’t have a second point, but I think being nine is good enough.”

Once again, Eddie’s laughter rings out in the empty house, bouncing from wall to wall. The house really is empty.

There’s a few pictures of Steve as a kid around. Baseball games, swim meets, one or two family pictures. But only of when he was a little kid. There’s nothing recent, Eddie doesn’t even think there’s one of him in middle school. It doesn’t feel like a home, like it’s been lived in. It’s all just… eerie.

And walking in on Steve looking like a kicked-puppy certainly didn’t help.

The laughter eventually dies down and hazel eyes stare into a chocolate abyss. In the depth of his mind, distant voices talking about looks are heard, climbing their way back up to the surface.

“When’d you get your guitar?”

Steve’s voice is quiet and sweet. A small, secret smile is occupying his face.

“Oh, I saw Cherie in the window of a shop a couple of years ago. I’m telling you Stevie, it was love at first sight. She was freshly polished and sparkling, her figure perfectly shaped.” Eddie grins as he recounts the first encounter. She truly is perfect. “So, I saved up until I could have my sweetheart in my arms and the rest is history.”

“D’you call anyone else by that? Sweetheart?”

Eddie’s ears burn with the gentle and soothing sound of Harrington’s voice. He’s captivated by the way his lips curve around the pet name.

“You flirtin’ with me, Harrington?” Eddie asks, voice quiet with a smirk on his face, attempting to distract himself from the burning heat in his face.

“Maybe I am.”

The metalhead’s eyes widen at the sentence; his tongue pokes out and wets his dry lips. Eddie tries his best to ignore the way Steve’s eyes track the motion.

He clears his throat and attempts to detour the conversation, the red on his cheeks deepening.

“When’s the last time you pissed yourself?”

Steve’s beautiful, beautiful laugh fills his ears. Warmth fills Eddie as he memorizes the way Steve’s nose scrunches up and the corner of his eyes crease.

“Sorry,” He says as his laughter dies down. “That was the question I used to interrogate Robin in the bathroom.”

Eddie’s head is too foggy to even try to dissect that sentence.

“The last time I pissed myself…” He hums thoughtfully. “Might’ve been when I woke up in a car being driven by Max and horribly navigated by Lucas.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

The other man chuckles. “It was the second time with the whole Upside Down shit. Hargrove had just kicked- I, uh, I mean, I just kicked Hargrove’s ass.”

Eddie raises an eyebrow, causing the other man to shrink in on himself. His cheeks are red as he corrects himself.

“Alright, he might’ve gotten the jump on me and smashed a plate over my head, but it was a close call!”

Ouch.

“Anyways, then I woke up in his car with Max at the wheel and Lucas in the passenger’s seat giving her terrible directions. The kids wanted to light up the tunnels but I thought it was too dangerous, so naturally they went ahead and did it anyway. Kid nearly gave me a heart attack.”

He chuckles like he’s recalling a nice day in the park rather than something that should be very concerning. It fills Eddie with warmth.

“Why’d you stick with the kids in the first place? I know that they’re lovable little shits, but to get roped up in all that bullshit again…” Eddie asks, trailing off.

“Well, Dustin kinda hijacked my car a bit. I didn’t really have a choice. Besides, he needed my help with a cat eating monster and Joyce and Hop were busy with Will, Nancy and Jonathan with… other stuff. I was the only adult around who knew about this shit.”

“So what, you were never busy?” Eddie chuckles. “No family dinners to get home to?”

“Nope, not really.” Steve shrugs, no humor behind the words.

Now that Eddie thinks about it, he doesn’t think he’s ever really seen Steve’s parents. Maybe once or twice in passing, but otherwise? They’re radio silent.

“Ya know, I don’t think I’ve even met your parents. Not face to face at least.”

“Yeah, that seems about right.” Steve responds with a smile that looks more like a grimace. His voice is quiet and tinged with resentment. “They aren’t around a lot. Like at all. They have these “business trips” for months on end, only being home for a couple days before leaving again. It’s how I learned to cook. Think the first trip was around when I was, like, 9 or something.”

Sorry, what?

“The time they spent on trips got longer and the house got emptier.” Eddie watches Steve’s throat bob as he swallows. “It’s, uh, it’s fine though. I-I’ve dealt with it, ya know?”

Steve gives him a tight smile with glossy eyes.

How could he be fine with that? They left him alone in a giant ass house when he was only nine fucking years-old? And they kept leaving? Eddie might’ve only seen them once, but he swears to god he’ll commit murder this time if he ever sees them again. Which is pretty unlikely.

Eddie pushes the anger dwelling within him down. Getting angry won’t do him any good right now. He needs to support Steve.

“Yeah, I uh, I get it.” So he supports him the only way he knows how. An eye for an eye, right? “My old man wasn’t really… there after a while. After my, uh, after my mom died, he started going out later and drinking more. Until the law finally caught up to him. He got put away and I got stuck with Wayne. But uh, good riddance.”

A wet chuckle escapes his lips. He clears his throat, trying to clear the tears threatening to roll down his face.

Eddie tries to not think about his life before Wayne too much. If he was gonna be completely honest, his old man was a little more… active when Eddie was home. Words were spat and fists were thrown.

Yeah.

Good fucking riddance.

“What happened to your mom?” Steve’s eyes are filled with worry and sadness, and maybe a hint of something else Eddie couldn’t quite decipher. Pity? Sympathy?

He swallows.

“Cancer.”

Steve sucks in a breath. “Shit.”

“Yeah. It uh, it came fast and took her just as fast. She stayed cheerful though. I have no idea how she did it. Always lookin’ on the brighter side. Actually, she’s where I got my wonderful taste of music from. She sure as hell didn’t look it, with her round eyes and bright clothes, but she listened to harder shit than me.” Eddie chuckles. “Her favorite song was Don’t Stop Me Now. A lot different from her usual stuff. But it-it’s almost like Queen wrote it for her. It’s perfect for her.”

“She sounds like you.” Steve says, a soft smile on his face.

“Yeah, well I guess I inherited the Munson Charm.”

The two stare at each other, something quiet and delicate growing between them.

Eddie breaks the silence, clearing his throat.

“Now enough with all the sappy shit, Harrington. It’s your turn for a question.”

The jock chuckles before responding.

“Alright, um, what… color is your underwear?”

Eddie raises an eyebrow.

“What, you wanna check?”

A beat passes and they both burst into laughter, destroying any remnant of the delicacy that was growing.

They continue passing questions and a bottle back and forth. Eddie melts with every smile and laugh that comes from the other boy. His smile is big and beautiful; his laugh loud and genuine.

If he’s being honest, Eddie has no idea when the last time he felt like this was. He finds that his own grins are genuine, not a mask. It’s real and feels amazing.

It feels like nothing else in the world matters, like no one else exists. Like his entire life has led up to this moment; to laying on the floor of the Harrington Castle and having the time of his life with the prince.

And no one can stop him.

No one can stop him from laughing so much he feels like throwing up. No one can stop the bard from charming the prince before him. No one can ruin this moment.

Until, of course, Eddie ruins it.

“Ok, ok, my turn.” Steve says, coming down from a laughing fit. They’ve returned to their previous positions on their back. “Who is your ideal person?”

“Ozzy Osbourne.” Eddie answers without missing a beat, a smile on his face.

“No,” He drags out the word. “I mean like… romantically. Who can steal Eddie Munson’s heart?”

Eddie swallows the lump in his throat.

He’s way too drunk for this. Hell, he’s too high for this too. His mouth has been moving faster than his head and with a question like this, who knows what’ll happen.

“Ok, um, well h- they’d have to be nice and good with kids. Can’t have the little gremlins fucking it up. They’d be considerate and pretty. Like really pretty.”

Chestnut hair and hazel eyes matched with a charming smile fills Eddie’s head as he describes the exact person laying next to him.

“Who was your last crush?”

Eddie’s face burns with the question.

“That’s two questions Stevie. Rulebook only says one’s allowed.” He glances at the man next to him to see his head turned, sparkling eyes studying pale skin.

“Alright, fine. Your turn, Munson.”

He turns his head to look at him.

A small, lazy smile occupies Steve’s face. His eyes shamelessly scan the metalhead’s face, eventually landing on his eyes.

“Ideal person. Go.”

Steve snorts at the gentle words. “Copycat.”

Eddie rolls his eyes as the other man hums, thinking about the words.

“Brown curls, doe eyes, smart, good with kids.”

“C’mon Stevie, there’s gotta be more than just that.”

“Whatever.” He rolls his eyes but continues anyway. “They gotta be funny, caring, really brave, passionate. And I’m talking real passion, alright? Nothing half-assed. They need to be able to talk for hours about something they like. And they should. I’d be more than happy to listen. And, I… it should be someone I actually enjoy being around.”

Eddie stares with amazement, studying the curve of the other man’s nose and the way his mouth gently moves with the words. He was too distracted by the wonder that is Steve Harrington to stop his mouth from moving.

“You.”

“Huh?”

“You were my last crush. In highschool.”

The jock stares at him, his face twisting with confusion. Eddie’s brain catches up to what he said and panic starts to fill his body.

Steve’s gonna beat his ass. He’s high and drunk and now he’s gonna get his ass beaten. This is it. He’s gonna stop being friends with him and make the kids stop hanging out with him.

“Why the fuck did you like me?”

Now it’s Eddie’s turn to stare in confusion.

“What?”

“Dude, I was an asshole in highschool. You said it yourself, I was a douche.”

“Well, you certainly were pretty.” Eddie really needs to shut up.

“Were pretty? I’m offended Munson.” Steve puts his hand over his heart, hurt on his face but Eddie can see the smile threatening to bless the world with its appearance. “Seriously though, what the hell is wrong with my friends’ taste in people?”

Eddie chuckles. “C’mon man you weren’t that bad, gotta give yourself a little more credit.”

“Um, yes I was.” Steve rolls his eyes. “I mean, I can at least sing, unlike Tammy Thompson, but I was still an asshole.”

The metalhead points an accusatory finger at Harrington.

“Woah, woah, woah. Who said you could sing?”

And that is how the two boys found themselves drunkenly singing along to Van Halen at 3 o’clock in the morning.

They danced, spinning each other ‘round and ‘round. At least they did until Steve had to sprint to the bathroom. It was so nice and domestic, it’s like nothing else ever happened. No monsters or alternate dimensions. Just two kids having fun. It was the best night in Eddie’s entire life. 

Eventually they both flop down onto the couch and promptly pass out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunlight fills Eddie’s vision as his eyes slowly open. He groans in pain, putting a hand to his head.

Except. He can’t.

Eddie Munson’s hand, and entire arm really, is currently occupied by being under Steve Harrington.

Both of his arms are wrapped around the sleeping boy. Eddie lifts himself up, just the tiniest bit so as to not wake Steve up.

Ok, that’s not fair.

The afternoon sun makes Steve look perfect. Like, perfecter than perfect.

Well… not exactly. In all honesty, he looks like absolute shit.

His hair is a frazzled mess, squished against the arm of the couch. There’s drool streaming down his cheek and his body is contorted into the most uncomfortable looking position imaginable while still holding onto Eddie. How he’s asleep like that shouldn’t even be possible.

But somehow, he makes it look flawless.

The golden color of the afternoon sun illuminates his brown hair and the gentle curve of his face. He looks so peaceful, like a sunrise over the quarry. It’s like all the worries in the world are gone. Like he’s never had to trudge through any demonic dimensions, or needed to keep a nail-covered bat next to him while he slept. Like he never had to fight for his life.

A loud ringing from the kitchen snaps Eddie out of his thoughts.

Begrudgingly, Eddie carefully worms his way out of Steve’s arms. He takes a moment to right himself, the ringing of the phone making his head pound. He takes a step towards the kitchen and his hand flies to his mouth.

Nope, nope nope nope nope nope. He is not throwing up. Not today!

A few more moments of non-stop ringing, Eddie makes his way to the kitchen.

“What do you want?” Eddie barely gets the words out before being bombarded.

“Where the hell are you, Steve? It is almost 3:45 and we are both going to be late if you don’t move your ass! Keith will kill us if he has to wait for us again!” Robin yells through the phone, making the pounding even worse.

“Robin, Rob, Rob, sshhhhh. Indoor voices Robbie.” Eddie whispers, bringing a hand up to the bridge of his nose.

“Eddie? What the hell are you doing there? Is Steve home? He needs to get moving now or else-”

“Yes, yes you’ll be late. Just… indoor voices, Rob. This phone call is now a library ok? Gotta be all quiet and shit.” His words slur as he puts his head against the wall.

“Are, are you drunk?”

“Ah, ah, ah. I was drunk. Past tense and all that shit. Ya know, grammer.”

“Jesus Christ.” Eddie can hear the exasperation in her voice.

“Just me babe.”

“Please don’t tell me Steve’s in the same state.”

Uh-oh.

“He, uh… I’ll um… He’ll be there, for sure!” Eddie quickly says, hanging up the phone before Robin can make his headache even worse.

Well fuck.

Now he needs to wake up the beautiful angel.

Eddie grabs a glass of water before making his way back over to the couch, gently nudging the boy’s shoulders.

“Heya Stevie,” His voice is soft and gentle. “It’s time to get up pretty boy.”

A groan comes from him as he covers his eyes with his arms.

“Don’t wanna.”

“I know you don’t, but you got work in like 15 minutes, and you still gotta pick up the little birdie.”

Another groan comes from him as he slowly sits up.

“Here you go, princess.”

Steve takes small sips of water before pushing it away and standing up. “Jesus Christ, what happened last night?”

Foggy images flash in Eddie’s mind.

Sharks and pretzels. Boys sitting a bit too close to be normal. The popcorn ceiling of the Harrington Castle.

You were my last crush. In highschool.

Fuck.

Oh fuck shit damn, fucking christ.

Eddie is suddenly very sober.

Panic fills his body as the conversation comes back to him. He remembers the soft voices and the laughter of Steve making fun of his own past.

He didn’t seem to care then, but he was shit-faced. Once he- if he remembers anything about that conversation, Eddie’s done for. Their friendship is ruined and Eddie won’t be able to show his face anywhere in Hawkins again. He’d have to change his identity and move to fucking Canada or something.

Wherever it’ll be, it’d never live up to the name of Hawkins, Indiana.

Not that Hawkins is necessarily the best place on Earth, but it’s the people that makes it worth staying. Well, it’s about… 15 people. But they are the best 15 people to ever exist.

And Eddie threw it all down the drain, just like that.

“Oh, wow, would you look at the time! I best be going.” Eddie quickly says, finding his discarded jacket on the floor.

“No, hey.” Steve puts a head to his temple, his eyebrows strewn together in pain. “Look, I know I gotta go, but if you wanna stay here, you can. Don’t want you getting into an accident.”

“Uh, no no it’s fine. Besides I, uh, I think I promised Wayne I’d help him out with a… thing.”

Definitely not his best work.

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm!"

“Oh, al-alright man.”

Harrington walks with him to the door and leans against the banister as Eddie lugs on his shoes.

“I’ll see ya later, yeah?” Steve asks.

“Yeah, man. Uh, bye.”

Eddie leaves, quick and abrupt, trying his best to not break into a sprint to his van. Steve is in the open doorway, watching, as the growl of the vehicle gets farther and farther away from Royalty Lane.

The drive back to his place is a blur.

He definitely broke a couple road laws, but none of that matters when you’re on the brink of losing your entire family.

Family.

That’s what they are.

Really, Eddie should know this by now. He should know that he would do absolutely anything for them and they would do the same for him. They’re what a family should be.

They are loving and caring and terrifying to anyone who even dares to try and ruin what they have. It’s a weird family with a loving mother and a gruff father. A scary aunt with guns (plural) in her bedroom. A weird uncle that captures their best moments with his camera. Argyle sometimes. 7 chaotic gremlin children. His bestest of friends and her rambling girlfriend. And Steve.

Steve who’ll give rides no matter what time of day it is or how tired he is. Steve who listens to rambles about something he knows jack shit about. Steve who runs headfirst into danger, just to protect those he loves. Steve who accepted Robin within a millisecond. Steve who gets looks from Eddie.

Steve who now knows.

Eddie sprints into the building and to his apartment, almost running over Max (who yells a few non-family- friendly words) in the process.

He slams the door shut and beelines for the phone.

"Come on… pick up pick up pick up." He mumbles to himself, pulling a lock of hair in front of his face as it rings.

"Hello?"

“Chrissy? I messed up. Like I really fucked up. Like I need to leave the country kind of fucked up.”

“Woah, woah, woah. Eddie slow down, take a breath. Start from the beginning, what happened?” Her voice is calm and grounding.

Eddie follows her instructions and starts pacing as he explains the situation.

“So, last night, after D&D, I went back to Steve’s cause he seemed off and stuff, ya know? And we got shit-faced and it was nice and amazing.”

“Ok, so good so far… where’s the but?”

“But, then we started playing truth or dare, just without the dare ‘cause anytime we sat up the world spun. And he… he asked me what my ideal person was, so I basically just described him and I’m pretty sure he flirted with me, but that’s besides the point. He- he asked me who my last crush was and-”

Eddie can hear the breath that gets sucked through Chrissy’s lips.

“And, fuck, Chris, I told him. I told him that I had a crush on him in highschool. Then he started making fun of me and Robin because our taste fucking sucks. Everything was all fine and dandy last night, but then I woke up this morning and he didn’t seem to remember, so I just ran.”

He can feel his heartbeat grow faster and faster with every word.

“Chrissy, what if he remembers and never wants to talk to me again a-and what if he doesn’t want me seeing the kids either? I’d have to leave Hawkins forever and I-”

“Eddie. Calm down, take a long deep breath ok?” Her voice is gentle but commanding, just the thing that can stop his Robin Rambles™.

A little voice starts climbing its way up from the abyss of his mind. A voice that tells him that he ruined everything. That he lost everything again.

That no one accepts the banished.

Chapter Text

“Yeah man. Uh, bye.”

And he’s out the door before Steve can say anything else.

That was weird, right?

Usually, it’s the opposite. Eddie usually stalls going home for as long as possible, making Steve late for whatever he had going on that day. Not that he was complaining .

Steve checks his watch.

Shit.

2:50

He’s gonna be late. Again.

Ignoring the pounding in his head, Steve rushes upstairs and rifles through his drawers. He throws on a baby blue sweater paired with jeans and sprints out the door.

Robin’s gonna kill him.

Well, she’ll kill him first, then probably bring him back so that Keith can rip him a new one before she kills him for a second time.

He watches the first couple drops of water sprinkle across his windshield as he drives to the Buckley household. Just as he pulls up, he seesRobin sprint, jacket over her head, to the car.

“Drive, drive, drive!” She yells as the door slams shut.

Steve winces in pain but steps on the gas anyway.

“Can we turn the volume down a bit?”

“It’s not my fault that someone decided to get drunk last night and that someone is going to make us late again!”

He groans and puts a hand to his head, rubbing his temple.

He probably deserves this. But to be fair, he planned to fall asleep in his bed next to his alarm clock. A certain metalhead wasn’t supposed to come back. Though, he’s glad that he did.

“I mean, seriously Steve. Drinking on a Thursday ? A weekday? At least do it on a weekend like a normal person, Dingus!” Robin flings her hands up as she speaks. “Especially when you knew you had work the next day! I swear, Eddie’s rubbing off on you. He’s a bad influence!”

Steve chuckles. “Yeah, yeah, sorry mom.”

“No. You’re the mother, Harrington. But you still need to stop hanging around that boy. You’re in big trouble mister.”

Steve rolls his eyes as Robin continues the bit. A smile tugs the corner of his mouth.

They get to work and (expectedly) get chewed out by Keith. The only reason he hasn’t fired Steve is because Robin would leave and the only reason he hasn’t fired Robin is because she’s the only one who actually does her job. And that’s really saying something.

The two of them go about as usual. Memories slowly flood Steve’s mind as his head clears up. Images of brown, doe eyes, jumping and dancing around, secrets being shared.

“Who was your last crush?”

Steve groans.

Did he really ask that? First his ideal person then that ? What the fuck was-

Wait.

His eyes grow as the conversation completes.

“You were my last crush. In highschool.”

Holy shit.

Holy fucking shit,

Eddie said that he liked him and he made fun of him ! What the actual fuck is wrong with him?

“STEVE!”

Robin’s voice startles him out of his thoughts. He spins around to face her and grabs her shoulders.

“Woah, you ok?”

“He came out to me.”

“What?”

“Y-you were right. Eddie’s gay. Or a-at least likes boys. Oh my god, Rob, he likes boys. He said that he liked me in highschool. And I just made fun of him. Jesus christ. He likes boys Robin!”

Steve’s breath quickens with each word, the realization hitting him harder and harder with every passing second.

“Ok, slow down. Who said what now?”

“Eddie said that he used to have a crush on me in highschool.”

“Oh, finally.” She sighs.

“Fuck. What do I do? I was his type in highschool. I was a complete douche in highschool! What do I do? What if he doesn’t like me anymore? Rob, what if he’s into assholes!” Steve shakes her shoulders with the words.

“Steven Elizabeth Harrington.” She copies his position, making him stop shaking her. “He is not into assholes, ok? He’s just into you . Ah ah ah, no buts. He. Is. Into. You. ”

Robin allows the words to sink in.

Wet curly hair and water running down a pale back fills Steve’s head. Freddie Mercury’s voice rings out, bouncing off of the walls of his mind.

They’re just too dumb for you.

For once in his life, Steve was actually right about something. If only he had realized it earlier.

“I’m a fucking idiot.”

“We already know this, Steve. NOW,” She yells, snapping him back to the present. “Here is what you are going to do. You are going to go out there and tell him how you feel right now.”

“But Rob, what if-”

“Go to him now Steve!” She points past him and at the glass doors, emphasizing her point.

“But Keith will-”

“I’ll deal with Keith. You gotta tell him now ."

"Yeah. Yeah I'm gonna tell him." Steve nods with determination.

"Go Steve! Go tell him! Onward!"

He gives her another short nod before jumping the counter and running out into the pouring rain.

~~~~~~~~~

Ok, in retrospect, should Steve have grabbed his keys before running into the freezing downpour? Yes. Should he have sprinted 3 miles straight to Eddie’s apartment building? Probably not.

But to be fair, he isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

Steve runs as fast as his legs will take him to the building. He runs and runs and runs until he’s out of breath, standing underneath the old roof of the small apartment building. He stops in front of Eddie's door and waits.

He can hear Eddie talking on the other side, not quite able to make out what he's saying.

He takes a breath and knocks.

The talking stops. Footsteps are heard. Coming closer and closer to the door.

Another breath.

"Steve?"

The metalhead is holding the door open. He looks… small.

He’s not holding himself with the same confidence as usual. Like Eddie The Freak Munson is on vacation and just left Eddie behind. His brown eyes are wide with… tears?

The boys break the silence that overcomes them together.

“Why are you soaking wet?”

“Are you crying?”

“Uh, sorry. You first.” Steve says at the same time as Eddie says “Sorry, you go.”

They stare at each other in silence. The only thing Steve can hear is the racing heartbeat within his chest.

“Why are you soaked?” Eddie asks slowly.

“I-It’s raining.” Steve responds, wetting his lips. “I uh… I kinda ran here.”

“Oh.”

“Why are you crying?”

“…reasons.”

“Right...”

Another beat passes before Robin’s voice fills Steve’s head, telling him to tell Eddie how he feels. It’s now or never.

“Look, Eddie I-”

“I’m sorry.” Eddie interrupts him. “I-I’m sorry about what I said last night and I’m sorry for flirting with you and for that stupid mixtape and-”

Steve grabs his face and closes the distance.

Their kiss is beautiful and salty and from tears and rain and it’s everything that Steve could’ve ever hoped for and more. The warmth on his lips fills his whole body, making it feel as though he never even set foot in the rain. It’s like the morning sun shining over the horizon for the first time in hours. Or like finally running into the sea after a long road trip. Like a flame being lit in a void of darkness.

He pulls away, putting their foreheads together.

“I like you too, Eddie.”

“Oh. Cool.”

Laughter erupts from Steve’s chest.

“ Cool ? C’mon, where’s all that Munson Charm you talked about?”

“Well excuse me for being caught off guard.”

Eddie laughs before grabbing Steve’s shirt and pulling him into another kiss, this one lasting longer but just as sweet. Steve’s hands slip from Eddie’s cheek into his hair. His fingers get tangled in the messy mop of curls.

“Your hair really is soft.” He says against the other man's lips, causing Eddie to chuckle.

“You say that like you didn’t think it was.”

Steve pulls away with disbelief on his face.

“I’ve seen your shower, Munson. You use 3 in 1.”

“3 in 1 is superior and no one can tell me otherwise. It’s cheap, works amazingly , and it saves time. It is the best thing mankind has created.”

Steve laughs as Eddie starts counting off his fingers. “Ok, sure babe.”

This cuts Eddie off. His cheeks become bright red as well as Steve’s when he realizes what he just said.

“I, uh, s-sorry it just slipped out. I won’t call you anything like that if you don’t want me to and you’re making me more and more nervous the less you talk and-” Steve sees a grin tugging on the corner of the other man’s mouth. “And you’re just messing with me aren’t you?”

The grin wins the tugging war, covering his face.

“Aww sweetheart, didn’t know you cared so much.”

“You’re the worst.”

“I know.”

He can’t help the giant dumb smile he knows covers his face. Why would he?

Steve pulls him into another kiss because he can now.

He can hug and kiss and cuddle him all he wants now because Eddie likes him. He’s finally… happy.

“Soo…” Eddie says, rocking back on his heels. “Does this make us… something?”

“S-something like… boyfriends?” Steve’s voice is quiet and hopeful.

He hates how badly he wants this. How hopeful he is that Eddie will say yes, that he'll want to be a part of the labyrinthine complexity that is his love life. He feels like a child confessing to his first crush on the fucking playground.

“Yeah. Boyfriends.” Eddie breaths out the words.

Boyfriends.

Steve has a fucking boyfriend .

A creak and a yawn cause the boys to spring apart. Eddie spins around to see his uncle standing in the doorway of his bedroom.

“Uncle Wayne!” Eddie exclaims, his voice an octave too high. He clears his throat. “Why, uh, w-why are you up so early?”

The older man eyes the two as he answers. “It’s almost 4, Eddie.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“You gonna let Harrington in? Or is he just s‘posed to drip all over the hallway?”

Eddie spins back around to face Steve. His eyes are wide and filled with panic. He looks between Steve’s eyes, trying to portray a message.

Right.

“Uh, sorry sir, but I’ve got to get back to work.” Steve lifts a hand and points a thumb over his shoulder.

He swallows the lump in his throat as Wayne looks him up and down with a raised eyebrow.

“Alright. And for the last time, stop it with all that ‘sir’ crap.” Eddie spins back around as his uncle begins walking to the kitchen before stopping again, giving his nephew a look. A certain look that Steve can’t quite place the meaning of. “Why don’t you give ‘im a ride, son?”

Eddie nods his head and grabs the keys from a small table next to the door and steps out into the hallway, yelling behind his shoulder as he closes the door. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, old man!”

The door closes behind him.

Then there they are. Alone. In the hallway. Staring in silence.

“So you do think my jokes are funny, huh?” Eddie breaks the silence between them with a grin. Steve groans and starts walking down the hallway as the metalhead counts things off his fingers. “And caring and passionate and brave. ”

“Right, and if I’m remembering correctly, I’m like super pretty, right?” Steve turns around as he says the words. His smile grows as the other man gets close to him.

“Oh I’ve long established that, pretty boy.”

Steve studies the features of his face.

The gentle curve of his jaw, his brown eyes sparkling under the yellow fluorescent lights of the hallway, the way his hair frames the shape of his face perfectly. Really, he’s the one who should be known for his hair, not Steve. It’s always perfect without any 2-hour routines.

Eddie’s just… perfect.

Steve is broken free of his thoughts as Eddie’s ringed hand finds its way around Steve’s wrist, dragging him further down the hallway. A certain pep in his step that Steve’s never seen before.

“Hurry up Harrington.” Eddie complains when Steve lags behind for a second.

“What’s the rush?”

Eddie spins around, walking backwards, with a wide grin on his face.

“We need to get out of this shithole so that I can kiss you senseless.”

They get to the van and he does just that.

If he’s being honest, Steve doesn’t remember the last time he was this happy and relaxed. It’s as if nothing in the world even existed, only the two of them.

Eventually, with protest, Eddie does get behind the wheel and start the drive to Family Video.

The first few minutes between them are in silence. No music, no talking, nothing. Just the outside world becoming distant as the realization hits him.

They’re together. Like actually together .

No longer Platonic with a capital “P”™.

“Holy shit.” Steve breathes out.

“Yeah.” Eddie agrees. His eyes are glued to the road in front of them.

More silence.

"Is-is this real?" Eddie asks, glancing at the man next to him before a grin grows on his face. "Stevie, pinch me! I need to make sure I'm not dreaming!"

He takes his eyes off the road in order to shove his arm in the jock's face.

"Jesus- eyes on the road, Munson!" Steve demands, shoving the limb away. "It's-"

Warmth fills Steve's chest in the biting chill of October.

And to think, just a couple of Halloweens ago, he was still concerned about his dumb reputation and his parents. He was so worried about his dad finding out he had a party and drank beer. He wanted so badly to get Nancy back, to apologize to her for calling him bullshit. Calling his love bullshit.

But now he’s surrounded by love. Real love.

He has a family chock full of nerdy kids who insult each other every chance they get. Full of parents who give away love unconditionally like it’s nothing. He has a weird-ass platonic soulmate who talks and talks, but listens when necessary.

And now?

Now he has a boyfriend . He has someone who cares about him, who got shitfaced with him just so that he wasn’t alone. Someone who wanted him there during all those lonely nights, stuck with the moving shadows. Someone who’ll listen to him, who’ll make a mixtape just for Steve. Someone who’s willing to forget about the crown that affected him so much. A crown destined to fall.

He sighs, leaving behind a quiet smile.

"It's real."

The van pulls in front of the Family Video. Steve can see Robin reorganizing the returns.

"Fuck. Gareth owes Chrissy so much money. He's gonna be pissed." Eddie drags out the last word with a laugh. He tilts his head, looking at Steve with a lazy grin. "Not my problem though."

"Did they really bet on if we were gonna get together? It's not even fair, Chrissy had a guy on the inside."

"Yup." He says, popping the 'p'. "I told you, Cunningham is a menace to society. She can't be trusted, Stevie."

Steve chuckles.

He should probably get back to work. He doesn't want to, but by now Robin has definitely spotted the van idling outside and will probably kill him if he doesn't get his ass inside.

"Sooo…" Eddie drags. "I'll see you later, right?"

He looks at Steve with hope in his sparkling brown eyes. His bottom lip is between his teeth and his leg is bouncing. Is he… nervous? Did Steve make Eddie "Jump On Lunch Tables Just Because He Can” Munson, nervous?

With a sly smile on his face, Steve leans forward and kisses the metalhead on the cheek. His voice is smooth and hazel is staring into chocolate.

"See ya later, Rockstar."

He pushes himself away and out of the van, trying his best to ignore the heat on his face.

The bell rings above his head as he walks into the store. Robin's head snaps up. Her eyes are wide in anticipation.

"Well?" She asks. 

Steve tries his best to keep the smile off his face, coming to the counter and idly moving the candy around just to make her wait. Robin’s hands slam on top of the counter. 

"I swear to god Steven Margot Harrington, if you don't tell me what happened right now, I am going to jump over this counter and send you into last year! You'll have to work at Scoops and deal with Erica and her dumb samples all over again!"

That dumb smile appears on his face again. His voice is quiet when he finally answers.

"I have a boyfriend Rob."

Her eyes grow even wider (if that's possible) and jumps the counter. She wraps her arms around Steve, squealing in his ear. 

He probably would've complained about the high pitch noise right in his ear, but he's too happy. He doesn't think he could even complain about having nothing to do at work or the kids yelling and fighting all the time.

He has a boyfriend.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Dammit, Steve! I said 6:35 , not 6:40 ! We're gonna be late!" Dustin complained as he climbed into the passenger seat. 

He’s wearing all black with a matching cape along with a pair of gloves and boots that he borrowed from Eddie, plastic secured across his chest with fake buttons. On his lap is his trick-or-treating bag and a makeshift Darth Vader helmet.

The whole thing actually looks pretty damn good. Makes sense that it does, seeing how Eddie had helped him with it.

Steve on the other hand, just has on black jeans and a white-T with a leather jacket overtop. His hair is chalked full of gel so it sticks up like John Travolta in the classic movie Grease , all completed with a pair of sunglasses.

Yes, he knows that wearing sunglasses at night is cheesy and impractical, but he wouldn’t be Zuko without ‘em.

“C’ mon Steve! Step on the gas already!”

The man rolls his eyes, but does as he’s told anyway.

He doesn’t have the energy to fight with the tiny demon. Eddie is his boyfriend . He could deal with anything. Monsters, nightmares, a horde of loud children. He could take them all.

Along the way to the Wheeler house, he picks up Robin and Chrissy, also known as the Basketcase and the Princess tonight.

Robin is bouncier than usual. Steve knows exactly why.

He had told her to not tell Chrissy about him and Eddie. They're gonna tell her, he's sure. But he knows Eddie and knows that he’ll want to do it in his own Eddie Munson way.

Steve trusts Robin to not spill. Sure, she'll be bursting at the seams until it happens, but he knows his best friend enough to know she'll keep her lips sealed to the very end.

The car pulls into the Wheeler household driveway, right next to Eddie’s van. Dustin scrambles out of the car, not waiting for Steve to put it in park. He shakes his head, despite the smile on his face and shuts off the engine. He and the girls climb out and head to the open door.

“This kid really needs to learn some manners. Couldn’t even close the door.” Steve mutters to himself.

“Guess he takes after his dad.” Robin chimes in, leaning over Steve’s shoulder.

“Excuse you, but I actually know some etiquette.”

“Pretty sure she means Eddie, Steve. We all know you’re the mom anyway.” Chrissy quickly adds before greeting Karen Wheeler.