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juiceicicles · 1 year

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Mean and Scary | Chapter 1: King of Hawkins High

AO3 Link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/48053206/chapters/121165750

Pts: 1, 2, 3

As he traipses through the woods, Eddie tries to get a bearing on what is about to happen and what his plan is for when it inevitably goes sideways.

Dealing pot to Hawkins Royalty like King Steve isn’t entirely out of the ordinary, but doing it alone at a picnic table in the middle of the isolated woods? Yeah, not Eddie’s smartest decision for a meeting place.

In his defense, he’s only a hop skip and a jump away from the high school, and he couldn’t be assed to drive any further for what’s likely going to be a one time payment of $20. $25, if he overcharges Steve (which, he absolutely plans to do.)

Eddie finally gets to the clearing and Steve jumps when he notices him, finally looking away from a tree he was seemingly having a very intense staring match with.

“Whoa, hey, hey, hey! Sorry,” Eddie chuckles a bit awkwardly, trying his best to subconsciously communicate that he is not a threat, because he really doesn’t wanna get his lights punched out right now “Didn't mean to scare you.”

Eddie sits down and his metal lunchbox clatters onto the table —Steve flinches again. Boy, Harrington is jumpy— and sits across from him. He opens up his Pail-o’-Drugs and watches as Steve drums his fingers on the table.

“There's, uh... There's nothing to worry about. Okay? No one ever comes out here. We're safe. I promise.” Eddie honestly didn’t expect Steve Harrington to be worried about being caught, considering that Steve apparently used to hold daily house parties.

He still can’t believe it. King Steve goddamn Harrington sitting there, in all his douchey glory. Or at least, that’s what Eddie expected. Instead he sort looks exhausted. His eyes keep flitting around, and he looks like he just saw a ghost.

You see, Harrington was never a dick to Eddie, specifically. However, he sure as hell didn’t treat the freaks of Hawkins High with any sort of sympathy. Hence Eddie’s original plan to act like the biggest asshole he possibly could without scaring off a rich customer. But something about Harrington’s eyes, a sort of dull terror etched into the hazel brown, is making Eddie reconsider that decision.

“So, how does this work, exactly?” Steve sort of mutters. This is so utterly different from everything Eddie heard about him. Steve always roamed the halls with a sick sort of ironclad confidence, with his two jackals Tommy and Carol following his every beck and call. The boy across from Eddie though? He seems so haunted. Like a flickering projection of someone. A puppet with its strings cut.

“Uhh just like any other old sale, except cash only, and for obvious reasons, no receipts,” he gives Harrington what he hopes is a reassuring smile, “I'll do you a half ounce for, uh... 20. What do you say? Plenty of bang for your buck. Should last a while.”

A squirrel skitters up a tree in the background, and Harrington gasps quietly and whips around to track it. And then, finally, it clicks for Eddie.

Steve’s worried about being seen with Eddie the Freak Munson. Figures. He shouldn’t have expected anything less from King Steve.

“Hey, we don’t need to do this. Just give me the word, and I’ll walk away.”

“It’s not that, I don’t want you to go.” Steve starts, tentatively. He’s still looking around, like somethings about to pop out of the woods. “It’s just…Do you ever feel like you’re loosing your mind?”

And, of course Eddie feels like he’s lost his marbles. He’s a super senior with the nickname the Freak. Obviously he sometimes feels a little crazy. He’s a little surprised that notorious cool guy Steve Harrington feels that way, though.

He makes the decision right then and there to see this out, because even if Harrington’s afraid of being caught, there’s something here that Eddie’s missing.

“You know on a daily basis. I feel like I’m loosing my mind right now,” screw it, might as well be honest, go big or go home right? “doing a drug deal with Steve Harrington, former king of Hawkins High.”

“Ah, well, I haven’t been king for a while…” Steve trails off.

Eddie remembers Billy Hargrove. Remembers how he made him want to beg every god there was for Steve to steal back the crown. Billy Hargrove was mean to Eddie. He was mean to everyone. And he wasn’t highschool-mean either, he was Larry Munson mean. He was a jackass who wasn’t afraid of anyone and wanted you to know it.

Unprompted, Eddie remembers the first time he met Steve. Before he was Hawkins Royalty, before he was a jock and a bully, before Eddie was the freak and not just a freak. Eddie had just gotten to Hawkins, his old man had been put away and the US government dropped lil’ Eddie on Wayne’s doorstep. He’d met some friends and formed a shitty garage band. They’d played at the middle school talent show, and Eddie had lost his guitar pick. A boy about his age had given it back, told him his name was Steve and he had found it underneath his chair in the seats.

“You know, this isn't the first time that we've, um... Hung out.”

“No?”

Eddie lets out a little chuckle. Of course Steve wouldn’t remember. “It’s alright.”

He clutches at his heart like he’s been shot with an arrow and flings himself off the bench and into a pile of leaves behind him. He hears Steve let out a little gasp before he hops back up.

“I wouldn’t remember me either, Harrington!”

Steve looks a little amused, and Eddie catches a light brown blob in his peripheral vision. He combs his fingers through his hair and dislodges a dead leaf.

“Honestly, do I have stuff in my hair?”

Steve lets out a little chuckle as Eddie starts to gets into his story. If there’s one thing Eddie Munson is good at, it’s story telling.

“Middle school, talent show. Carol I think did this cheer thing? You know the thing the,” Eddie mimed some pom poms. Steve was smiling a little bit, so Eddie continued his spiel, “and I- I was with my band.”

Suddenly Steve pipes up “Corroded Coffin! Oh my god!”

Eddie’s bewildered that Steve apparently remembered their weird prepubescent metal show. He claps his hands excitedly and points to Steve. “You do remember!”

“Yes, of course! With a name like that, how could I forget?”

“I dunno. You’re a freak.” Eddie’s pretty pleased with himself when his lack of brain-to-mouth filer apparently doesn’t offend Steve. In fact, Steve breaks out a smile. It’s less Harrington Charm then Eddie expected, more of a dorky toothy grin.

“No you just- you looked so-“

“Different? Yeah. Yeah. Well, uh, my hair was buzzed, and I didn't have these sweet old tatties yet.”

“You played guitar right?”

“Uh-huh. Still do. Still do.” And since Eddie is an impulsive mess and isn’t totally hating this interaction, he does something that totally spits in the face of the tried and true Munson doctrine and invites a preppy jock to a metal concert, “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.”

Steve laughs a bit and clamps a hand over his mouth, like he’s a bit startled by the noise. Eddie doesn’t blame him, he’s a bit caught off guard too.

“It’s not exactly the Garden, but, you gotta start somewhere, right?”

Steve looks at Eddie with a considering gaze for a moment, like he’s trying to figure Eddie out.

“You know, you’re not what I thought you’d be.”

“What, a total freak?”

“No, no. Honestly? I thought you’d be mean. And scary.”

“Me? Steve Harrington thought I’d be scary?”

“Yeah! You’ve got this whole, I dunno, chains and leather vibe. Thought you wouldn’t give me the time of day.”

“Yeah, well, I thought you’d be mean and scary too.”

“Yeah?”

“Terrifying.” Eddie’s hit with the sudden realization that he’s completely forgot about the drug deal he came here for and plops himself back down at the picnic table. “Uh, so, in other good news, flattery works with me, so... Twenty-five percent discount for the half. Fifteen bucks. You're robbing me blind here, you know.”

“…do you have anything maybe stronger?”

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bainutwater85 · 3 months

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prop: you 2 imitate each other no matter what. Denki is always awestruck when you step around him ≧▂≦

notes: you both crush on each other but you think the feelings aren’t reciprocated even tho it’s so obvious to everyone else that you 2 have it out for each other

cw: sweetheart!yn, nervous&awkward denki. y/n has braces!

“y/nn!!” you turn to look behind you, all you seen was you friend in a crowd of people as he excitedly pushed them out the way to get to you. With a warm and cheesy smile you open your arms to hug him! you hadn’t seen him outside of school due to exams and trainings and being busy of course with your job. Engulfing each other in tight hug— he squeezed you hard like you were gonna melt in his arms like puddy; tapping his back to let him know it’s time to let go.

with a smile he hooked his arm around yours and walked you to class. All you could do was smile and feel warm inside, finally seeing the person you know and love the most!.

in class there’s a project, you didn’t need to worry about finding a partner because denki automatically volunteered to be yours ≧ω≦. Talking him through the work and helping with the hard and difficult questions— you could see him staring out your peripheral vision; your cheeks got hot and you started to sweat a bit, palms getting sweaty. “denki, i can see you staring!” you exclaimed softly. he chuckles a bit before responding “that pimples looks ready to be popped..let me pop it!” your jaw dropped and eyes furrowed as you smacked his hand away from your face. “no way!” you pouted while he laughed in your face. Mr. Aizawa standing right behind you two as you go at it.

the you and denki stopped laughing, stopped playing around when you felt and cold presence breathing down your neck. Simultaneously, you and denki both turned just to see the sight of your teacher- glaring you both down. Detention. yeah that SUCKS. it was no better when sero, mina and kirishima were laughing at you both!

the room was still and quiet besides the occasional sound of paper flipping and the squeek of the dry erase marker in the board. You looked quite pissed as denki struggled and groaned at his missing work assignments, which you’ve already completed. You had a choice to read a book or clean and you picked neither. As you were about to lay your head down, a paper ball hit you in the head! you turned around and glared at denki before picking up the paper.

“cOd whEn wE gEt hoMe?” in the most sloppiest handwriting ever. It took you a minute to decipher if his E’s were actually 3’s.

“sure, but that’s only if i don’t get in trouble when i get home! if i do i’m totally blaming this on you >:(“

“ur daD is cool tho >B) he shOulndt grouNd u!”

“yeah maybe.., i’m hungry. you got any snacks pookie?”

Denki reaches in his backpack and gives you a chocolate bar and the rest of his soda pop. You almost foamed at the mouth and thanked him so much before turning around and finishing your 30mins of detention.

30mins later your waiting for denki at the door because he can’t seem to find his airpods. “oh denki! i have them i forgot they were in my pocket” you say while walking out the door, him trailing behind you with a sigh of relief “thank god, i was about to flip out !” chuckling you say “you gave them to me in 2nd period”. As you were about to cross the road off campus, denki grabs your hand and pulls you back “hold on! we have to make sure no cars are coming” he pulls you close to his side putting and arm on your shoulder as cars pass by. “Maybe we should just take the bus?” you suggest “Um, does it look like have bus money y/n” he says sarcastically, laughing. A smile purses across your face; a feeling in your stomach that makes you happier than usual.

He held your hand all the the way to your house until he was about leave to go home himself but got freaked out by the neighbors dog and ran into your arms practically jumping on you “agh! denki!” you yell as he almost knocks you down. “That dog is on a leash! it won’t do nothing to you-“ “AHH i don’t care just open the door ! i’ll have my mom pick me up”

with that you brought him into your house, choking and waiting his mom. When she pulled up into the drive way you walked him out saying your byes and se you layers before he turned around and pressed his lips agaisnt your forhead. never have you smiled so wide, your rubber bands on your braces could little pop off the brackets rn by how hard you were smiling.

#mha #mha x reader #mha headcanons #mha fluff #mha denki #denki kaminari #bnha denki #denki x reader #denki x y/n #denki headcanons #denki fluff #bnha #bnha x reader #bainutwater85

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onyourhyuck · 2 years

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Reflections | L.DH (M)

prologue- “what do you think our children would look like?” + “I’m such a coward. Fuck it.”

tw- friends to lovers trope, they’re kinda oblivious to their feelings especially y/n, haechan is whipped as hell. mentions of smoking, drugs (like weed) and alcohol. university mention. y/n is a smart good girl and haechan is sorta the mischievous boy in her class that causes trouble. Honestly just a cute fluff romantic scenario <3

notes- heavily inspired by the song “Reflections” by the neighbourhood.

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“Fuck off donghyuck!”

your face scrunches in multiple wrinkles, frowning at your friend who has been a pain in your ass repeatedly by constantly pressing on your laptops keyboard which would mess up the article you will have to present in your psychology class tomorrow. you are pulling a fortnight for this piece of work and when you told your friends that you were busy that you can’t attend jaehyun’s party; one of your ‘friends’, not sure if you can call him one anymore considering he’s such an asshole right now.

Donghyuck voluntarily said he will help you out, since he’s already done this project (early) you agreed but little did you start to regret it quickly when he was simply distracting you from finishing it. Right now the time is about 4.00 am and it’s causing you to have a minor breakdown.

just a little university minor breakdown that will leave you pulling at your hair and scream, kick and maybe even few tears if it worsens.

The boy looks up at y/n flashing her a deviously smile as his voice coos singing. “I been trying to do that if you haven’t noticed, babe.”

Lips left out a small Ugh, he hears you push his face away with your flat palm as your attention turns to your laptop, pressing on the keyboards again. He whines blowing out raspberries.

“Someone’s stressed..” he sang again as he brushes forth his fingers in your hair, flicking it in the air one curly strand by another. You close your eyes letting out a harsh exhale, god you pray he just happens to pass out but knowing donghyuck- he’s a freaking nocturnal animal.

He never sleeps you swear.

“Donghyuck I would lovingly appreciate it if you… get out of my dorm.” You spat warningly. He pouts watching you. “But you said I could stay.”

“Yeah because I didn’t think you’d be a pain in my ass.”

“You should thank me I’m entertaining you.” He sassily retorts sitting up on your bed, he crawls behind you where he pushes you away from your laptop and takes it; he begins to slowly type humming. “Look I’ll help you, I can tell you’re struggling.”

you sigh. Was it really that obvious? Out of all people donghyuck really can read you as if you were a tracing paper, you were as transparent as anything; maybe it’s because you guys are closer than you would actually like to admit. People would often mistake you guys as a loving couple, hell some thought you were married considering the amount of bickering you guys do. It’s reached the point where your parents and his parents genuinely wish to see you everytime you’re with another.

As you would watch the serious expression on your friend next to you, you felt slightly like a burden. You grunt in protest reaching to snatch the laptop. “Let me do it I’m almost finished anyways—“ he would pull the laptop from your reach. “No, take a rest.”

you frown. “No I’ll finish it, hyuck.” you said back as you crawl to reach the laptop but in the end you were faced with the most stubborn boy you known to existence so you ultimately gave up with a gentle sigh. instead you place your head on his lap as he types away the last bits of words in your article.

haechan looks down at you with a soft smile, he softly pats your bangs away from your face before saving the article. he couldn’t help but tilt his head, humming.

“you know…what do you think our children would look like?”

you open your eyes, raising eyebrows at his sudden question. you croak a short smile, scoffing. “suddenly?”

he gives a soft nod. “genuine question.”

“I think they would be troublesome. Especially your children.”

he gasp slightly offended. “Uhm excuse you y/n my children are perfect just the way they are.” you snicker as you reach forward cupping his face, squishing it a little. “as if, more like devil’s offsprings.”

“What if we had children together.” he trails quietly and you softly pause, letting go off his face. “You mean…if me and you had a child together?”

he nods. “Mhm what do you think they would be like?”

“Non existent… I dunno.” you slowly shrug it away but he pouts with some sadness lingering. “Come on answer seriously.” He tells y/n as he saw you sit up on the bed. You look around your room warily.

“what do you think then?” Y/n asks the boy.

He would push the laptop on the side as he lays on the right side of your bed and you would follow his body on the left side, leaning a gap in the middle between your bodies. There was a share breathe took in. Haechan would look at y/n as if she was the missing piece all along. Though this was obvious to all of the uni campus, to y/n it was like a non existent fantasy that would never happen. You met donghyuck at your first year as freshmen, you transferred from another uni few months after and since you were the new girl, everyone wanted to be your friend. Haechan laid eyes on you when you were chosen to sit next to him in psychology and he swore he never fell in love so quickly.

It was love at first sight for him. You started as sweet friends who grew to slowly pick up a bickering relationship where you constantly play fight like small children. You think of him as someone always up to no good, a boy who is stuck in his sixteen years rather than twenty one. Not only was he the type of boy to get into trouble, he did hang around the wrong people who were bad influence.

he would get into lots of police trouble and at some point he skipped school so many times to comprehend. Yet every time something fucked him over, he calls you. Whenever he was drunk to his bones, he calls his top pinned saved number under the contact name ‘my saviour’, which is you. When he hit the darkest time of his life where his mother happened to be severally ill, he isolated himself away from the world.

who was the one who never stayed away no matter how many times he pushed people out of his life and cut them out numerous times? It was always you. No matter how much you argue with him, no matter what he does to annoy you and become a massive headache; you really can’t help but think you’re fated to him. It was a blessing and a curse.

He was your reflection. You were his reflection.

The reflection of all those bad things he has done, the hard moments in life he overcame (all thanks to you)— you were exactly that, the proven moment of how far he’s come and changed thanks to you.

“I think our children would be adorable!” He exclaims with a short smile. “I’d like a little girl that looks like you.”

“Too bad I really want a boy.” You reply back and he immediately disagrees. “No way, having a daughter is way better.”

You shrug flicking your fingers on his loose wavy hair, not lying but you always found his natural hair so attractive, the way it was wavy and curly in some areas, it covered his eyes most of the time and whenever he came to class half asleep he would barely have time to brush it; yet you loved that. His imperfections were his perfect traits.

“You’re rather serious about this topic. Did you fall for me or something?” You joke out.

He falters at your words with slow hums as he never broke eye contact with your lips. Haechan was quick to catch himself staring a little too long, so he turns away to his phone to look at the time.

“Oh shoot it’s already 4.50.” He loudly barks sitting up. “We have class in about four hours, you’ll be a total zombie if you don’t sleep now.”

You raise your eyebrows. “What about you? The boys dorms are locked already and so are the girl’s dorms. Will you just sleep at mine?” He smirks making himself comfortable on your bed as if it was his own. “You bet I am. Lay down and go to sleep already.”

“Okay dad relax, gosh.” You grumble. The moment your body was sleeping next to his you seem to have fell into a comfortable slumber. something about being in hyuck’s presence makes you feel safe…

Your body relaxes underneath the bedcovers as your lamp was turned off leaving the room cover by the midnight darkness. He was wide awake staring right at you as he lays on the side to watch your unconscious face. Smiling to himself ear to ear, the little moles on his beautiful melancholy skin stand out in the blackness of the dorm. he’d slowly run his fingers down the sides of your face, brushing the little hairs from your fringe away,

The softness of your cut bangs prickle the fingers a tiny bit, though he never minded it. your gentle breathes leaning your flaring nostrils were cute to watch, and somehow he found himself admiring your raw beauty. Messy hair, no makeup leaving only your bare face, loose tomboyish clothes that suit your figure well.

he felt like he was too close to stars, just by being with you. you were the planet that was resolving round the sun.

Haechan didn’t realise it until he was far too in the situation, his lips were subconsciously closing in the small gap between you and him; he marks the open cheek leaving a wet smooch. the kiss was short lived when he slowly backs away, with a proud smile on his face. those strong feelings only grew stronger and he felt some sort of clarity from it.

he didn’t have the courage to do anything he wished to do and say when you were wide awake. But when you were asleep, he can’t surpass on the opportunity revealing itself. Yes, he was a coward.

A coward that couldn’t express his hidden feelings that he developed exactly four years ago.

But the moment he saw a glimpse your eyelashes fluttering, your eyes adjusting to the darkness where you saw haechan’s face hovering over yours. He stands frozen like a statue, dead silence. Y/n must’ve felt her stomach twist and turn, overburden by massive butterflies flying around to escape the lower abdomen. Heart skipped a beat in unison. Breathing was on holt, making you forget how to breath.

He didn’t want to be caught. He didn’t want his relationship with you change, as much as he craved a change, he was scared of it happening in reality. Haechan would rather keep fantasising about it in his head treating it like a delusional crush that will pass. Because he never knew somebody like you.

He would rather know and keep you around instead of using you because of his personal romantic feelings he holds deeply for you. He knows you don’t feel the same way, so what was the point of confessing exactly to you? The only answer was rejection from you. He wouldn’t want to lose you just because of his selfish feelings he has.

Caught by surprise when two cold hands crawl on his sharp v-jawline, with a strong force pulling him softly in on warm lips. The boy lets out a small gaping gasp that your ears picked up. You pull away from the small kiss you gave him, watching him lovingly under the bright moonlight creeping in through the windows behind your back.

Haechan eyes you hungrily, like it was a dream of his, honestly speaking he gaslights himself to believe this was just a dream of his happening; the boy lightly pulls you by your waist underneath the bed duvet covering you both. Captivating your lips in another kiss, but this time it was much more passionate. He was taking little control over time, he explores your tongue inside and out as well as your soft lips that smell of vanilla chapsticks you always put on your lips durning class.

Who knew he could get so addicted on the fantasy he could only dream about? The real deal was so much better than haechan could ever imagine. You were his bane of existence knowing that you’re going to be the death of him. He wonders what did he do in his past life to deserve such torture for over four years, pretending to not have any feelings for you. Having to deny them to his best mates.

Having to watch you speak about guys you were finding attractive. Hell he even watched you go through a breakup once and that is what pained him the most. He fought your ex and you ended up getting pissed at him, because you weren’t aware of his feelings he held for you. Haechan swears he’d never dare make you cry. It’s the last thing he wants to do to you.

Y/n’s lips quiver against the aggressive synchronised movements as you wrap your fingers round his beautiful long curly locks. He breaks out the kiss, murmuring words you couldn’t ever imagine.

“I’m such a coward. Fuck it.” He tells to no one specific but only himself, as if it was a pep talk.

“I love you, y/n.”

Brave words coming to the surface just like the colour rushing to his cheeks, thankfully the darkness covers it enough that you wouldn’t be able to see how nervous he was to the point he would be blushing like a twelve year old boy confessing to his first love; the giddy little feelings you’d thing was left behind in his puberty years, weren’t really gone.

“Hyuck..” you mutter as you watch him, seeing the girl’s eyes tremble a little as your fingers slowly unlock from the hair. You trace your hands around his face bringing him in a warm embrace close to your necktie where he rests just above the chin.

He was preparing himself for a rejection. Closed eyes shut as he enjoys the last embrace that he managed to make himself believe that it was the last time he will ever see you, ever speak to you and the humiliation will traumatise him truly. He was scared.

But when your soft voice haunts his mind with a twist of words that he never believed at first before his pupils open wide, face rushing to the surface to watch you as the only light source was from the bright full moon.

“I love you too. Always have.”

Maybe…maybe this wasn’t a dream. Haechan prays it wasn’t.

He never knew he found someone that fell just as hard as he did, because the moment his eyes laid on round bambi eyes he swore he saw his own reflection in your eyes.

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@onyourhyuck please refer from translating, copyrighting and plagiarising my work thank youu <3 reblog this fic and follow me for more it helps a girl out.

#nct fanfiction #nct smut #nct x reader #nct u scenarios #nct hard hours #nct dream #nct drabbles #nct scenarios #haechan nct dream #haechan hard hours #haechan fanfic #haechan fluff #haechan smut #haechan scenarios #nct fic #nct recs #nct haechan #nct fanfic

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ladykailitha · 2 years

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Can Anybody See Me? Part 8

Now we’re getting to the reason behind the title.

On the tagging, I HAVE REACHED MY HARD AND FAST LIMIT OF 50. I love the response this story has gotten. I do. I love you all. I love every reply, like, and reblog. It brings me so much joy, you don’t even know. But tagging is hard for my ADHD brain. I have gone up from 20 to 30 and finally 50 as my system improved but I think if I do any more than that I’ll go insane. So any future tagging requests will be ignored. Sorry.

The best way to keep update on these stories is follow me and set me on notifications. I rarely do a lot of reblogging these days (too busy churning out stories like whoa), so more often then not a post will be a story. I try to post at least once a day (some times twice if I’m trying to rush through the posting a bit like I did to make sure the Valentine fic got out in time without making people wait on Vamp!Eddie), just never at set time.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

When Eddie heard how Gethin had done it, he was starting wonder who the smart twin was, because it was brilliant.

The chemicals for developing film were kept in Miss Chen’s room and he took some quick pictures of Steve’s piece before promptly spilling some of the chemicals that the teacher had in her class room all over it.

It ATE the paper. Gethin had tried to mop it up before it got too bad. But alas, it was too late.

“Mr Hughes!” Miss Chen protested. “Please be more careful next time!”

Gethin apologize profusely. He begged her to give the poor student whose piece he had just destroyed an extra week to finish the project, because he had been soooo careless.

She agreed.

He ran out of her class with the chemicals he needed to develop the film in his camera.

Pictures he slipped into Eddie’s locker during lunch.

After school Eddie waited until the halls were empty before he opened his locker. He knelt down to pick them up and blinked. Steve was really good. The composition was sound and colors were great.

The page wasn’t even that scary. It was just of this boy walking up to a house in the dead of night. In one of the panels you could almost make out something watching the boy, but it was the vague sense of unease made it so you could tell it was going be a horror comic. It was good. And suddenly Eddie was pissed at Miss Chen for calling Steve out for this.

Especially since Eddie’s own comic was about slaying a dragon.

He shoved the pictures back into his backpack and slammed the locker shut.

“Well what have we got here?” a voice said from behind him.

Shit.

Eddie turned around slowly. There was Tommy H, Billy, and Kyle, standing there with their arms crossed.

“Hey, boys,” he said with a grin. “You looking to buy? I’ve got about four kilos.”

Tommy and Kyle looked at each other, nervously. They didn’t want to antagonize their drug dealer.

Billy ran his tongue over his teeth thoughtfully. “I just wanted to talk. I’ve been seeing Harrington hanging around you freaks lately and wanted to know why?”

Eddie folded his arms. “I get you’re new here, Hargrove, but your friends should have told you: I’m the king of picking up lost sheep. I like bringing people into my fold that the rest of this school has deemed outcasts. Steve Harrington has become one of those. And how could I resist such a tempting treat as the former king of Hawkins High?”

“You leave him the fuck alone, you hear me?” Billy growled.

“Or what?” Eddie asked. “You’ll do me like you did him? And then where will you get your weed? Because if you do I will make sure that I don’t sell to you or any of your little friends.” He wagged his finger as he indicated to Tommy and Kyle. “I’ll fucking cut off the entire basketball team. Don’t think I won’t. How long do you think you’ll be king then, Hargrove? When suddenly everyone’s supply dries up because you fucked with me?”

Kyle tugged on Billy’s arm. “Come on, man. Whatever your beef with Harrington is, it’s not worth this.”

Tommy just stood there looking Eddie in the eye.

“So what’s it going to be, Hagen?” Eddie asked. “You going to side with King Jackass here and alienate the whole fucking basketball team because you’ve got a hard on for Harrington? Or are you going to the smart thing and walk away?”

Tommy grabbed Billy’s other arm. “Let’s go.”

Billy wrenched his arms from both of them and stalked off.

“Run along, Tommy,” Eddie said making a shooing motion with his hands. “Go suck Hargrove’s dick.”

Tommy made to swing at Eddie, but Kyle stopped him. “Don’t do it, dude. He’s trying to get a rise out of you.”

Eddie grinned. He blew a kiss at Tommy and then walked off, a nervous energy humming in his veins.

He walked out to his van and found Steve waiting for him. Eddie smirked.

“You waiting for me, big boy?” he asked walking up to the other boy.

“I wanted to thank you for what you did about my art project,” Steve explained. “And then I saw Billy and Tommy and I got worried.”

Eddie patted his cheek. “You’re sweet, but I told you, I’m immune.”

Steve rolled his eyes.

“Plus, pretty boy,” Eddie said. “You won’t have to worry about that lot anymore. They came after me and I set them straight. If they want to keep buying weed, either they’ve got find someone new or leave you the hell alone.”

Steve sighed in relief. “So everything’s cool?”

“Cool as can be,” Eddie agreed. He opened the door and hopped into the van. “And I didn’t do anything to your project, Stevie.”

He saluted Steve and drove off, leaving behind a very confused, but very happy Steve Harrington.

Steve kept his eye on Tommy and Billy but by the end of the week there was no doubt that whatever Eddie had said them, made them back off.

“Hey, Steve,” Gareth said, nonchalant. “Did you know that there chemicals used in the art department for all sorts art related shit that can dissolve paper?”

Steve cocked an eyebrow at him. “You don’t say.”

“Didn’t you now,” Brian said with a grin, “Gareth’s brother is a big photography nerd.”

“Oh, he must know Jonathan Byers, then,” Steve said, deliberately not taking their bait.

Gareth cocked his head to the side and hummed. “Maybe not. Different grades. But still could do, I suppose.”

Steve grinned. “Miss Chen did say it was a photography student that ruined my comic, maybe I should go thank Jonathan.” He winked at them and they burst out laughing.

Which was actually what Steve thought had happened when Eddie denied all knowledge of what happened. That Jonathan had recognized the scene of Steve on his way to Jonathan’s house and messed it up, worried Steve might get in trouble with the government.

But Gethin doing it made Steve sigh in relief. He already owe his life to Jonathan, owing him for the art project, too? That was too much for even Steve’s wounded pride.

Steve had already fobbed Nancy off earlier in the week because Jonathan had snitched.

She was practically screaming about being so careless. As if Steve would make the characters look like them. He had asked her if she had seen it herself and when she admitted she hadn’t, Steve told her to back off. Which lo and behold, she actually did.

“It’s bullshit Miss Chen even said anything,” Eddie growled. “It’s of this boy walking up to a house at night. It could’ve been of a boy going to pick up a girl on a date, but because Steve used muted tones and creepy vibes, she decided it was sad or some shit and threatened to call Steve’s parents.”

The other three boys looked at each other. “That is bullshit,” they all agreed.

Steve shrugged. “I changed to be about a lost little girl who connects with a social recluse and they become a family. If she gives me shit about that one, I’ll kindly let Chief Hopper know that Miss Chen thinks him and his adopted daughter’s story is toooo depressing for school.”

“I like the way you think,” Jeff said with a cackle.

Steve grinned. Silence descended as the boys ate their lunch. As they were packing up, he casually dropped a bomb on them.

“Miss Lucy wants me to try out for the school musical...”

“No way, dude!” Eddie said. Miss Lucy was the drama teacher. Her last name was one of those that looked easy on paper but really wasn’t. So she had all her students call her by her first name.

“I thought you were new to the whole drama thing,” Brian said.

“I am but she seems to think I’m good enough to tryout,” Steve said with a shrug.

“Are you going to do it?” Eddie asked in all seriousness.

Steve bit his lip. “I want to but I don’t want people to get mad at me if I do a get a part.”

Gareth’s brow furrowed. “Why would they be mad at you?”

Steve shrugged again. “That a newbie like me is taking away a roll from one of the more seasoned kids?”

“If that’s the case,” Jeff said, “then fuck them. You didn’t know you had a talent for it.”

Steve smiled warmly at them. “Thanks, guys.”

Eddie clapped him on the back. “You go get ‘em, tiger!”

Steve laughed. “Yeah, okay.”

He felt the warmth from where Eddie touched his back all day long. And he carried that feeling all the way through his audition.

“You are such chicken shit,” Eddie told Steve. The results were back for call backs and he was too afraid to look.

“I know, I know,” Steve murmured. “But I would rather walk through an entire pack of demodogs then look at that stupid piece of paper.”

“What the fuck is a demodog?”

Steve blinked. “Something the kids made up for their D&D campaign.” Which was true. Mostly.

“Uh-huh,” Eddie said, licking his lips. “You owe big time for this.”

“I’ll buy you dinner,” Steve promised.

“And it better be somewhere nice!” Eddie called back over his shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve grumbled.

Within seconds Eddie came flouncing back. “Bad news, Stevie...”

“I didn’t get called back?” Steve asked.

Eddie cackled. “You got called back for Charles Thomson. You’re going up against Kyle Carver.”

“Fuck.”

“Language, Mr Harrington,” Mr Hall, one of the swim coaches murmured as he walked by.

“Sorry, coach,” Steve said automatically. He turned back to Eddie. “He’s going to get it, isn’t he?”

“Kyle?” Eddie asked. Steve nodded. “Probably. Though it would be a serious miscarriage of justice if he does.”

Steve grinned. “Good thing you’re a fan of those. Maybe you start a letter campaign against bias casting in school plays.”

Eddie looked around to make sure there weren’t any teachers. “Fuck off, Harrington.”

Steve kissed his nose and ran off giggling. “See you later, Munson.”

Eddie stood in the hall being jostled by other students as he thoughtfully rubbed his nose.

Steve watched Kyle audition from the audience and was so sure Kyle had it in the bag. Until he opened his mouth to sing and what came out of his mouth was horribly off key.

“Mr Carver, are you all right?” Miss Lucy asked.

Kyle nodded and tried again. This time it was better, but no where near it was when he auditioned the first time.

“I must be coming down with a cold,” Kyle excused.

Miss Lucy frowned. “Your turn, Mr Harrington.”

Steve took a deep breath and let it out slow, like Eddie had taught him. He stepped up to the stage and turned around.

“You know, sometimes I think the general is speaking to me,” Steve recited his lines, his voice breaking on the last word. And then he used the scene to launch into the singing part of his audition.

Miss Lucy was humming and nodding as Steve finished up the song.

“Thank you, Mr Harrington,” Miss Lucy said. “Results will be posted on the drama room door tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Miss Lucy,” Steve said.

As he passed Kyle the boy hissed, “Suck up.”

Steve just shrugged. “Or maybe it’s just polite to thank someone for their time.”

Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21

Tag list: @shrimply-a-menace @strangersteddierthings @throwbackthrowaway @novelnovella @cursedfoxteeth @babyblender @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @swimmingbirdrunningrock @steve-the-hairrington @winterbuckwild @spectrum-spectre @matchingbatbites @garden-of-gay @anaibis @thing-a-ling @fandemonium-takes-its-toll @artiststarme @sundead @nelotegreitic @gregre369 @butterflysandpeppermint @thedragonsaunt @kodaik97 @messrs-weasley @scarletzgo @deadlydodos @renaissan-vvitch @evix-syne666 @emly03 @justforthedead89 @ashwinmeird @huniibee @phantypurple @stevesbipanic @shucks-yuckyuck @awkwardgravity1 @bookbinderbitch @reportinglivefromsoda @chasinggeese @be-the-spark-bitch @jinxjinn @kohlraedirectioner @cr0w-culture @xjessicafaithx @whimsicalwitchm @jaywhohasthegay @dangdirtydemons @lovelyscot @howincrediblysapphicofyou @the-redthread

#My writing #stranger things #steddie #canon divergence #the boy with the bat #ladykailtiha writes

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heyclickadee · 10 months

Text

Saw another “why would Tech even be interested in Phee” take out in the wild, so here’s a partial list of Phee’s many attractive qualities, because the double standard of every other character vs Phee is exhausting:

(Quick disclaimer—this isn’t me saying anyone has to like the ship. You don’t. It’s fine. Don’t ship things you don’t want to ship. Dislike the way it’s been written in the show if you want. Ship these two with other people or with no one if you want. I don’t care. This is just me being tired of people being weird about Phee):

1. She’s smart. She can improv her way through dealing with death traps and she’s got an area (areas) of expertise that Tech knows relatively little about. That makes her interesting. Also hot.

2. She’s gorgeous. Look at her. She’s ridiculously pretty.

3. She’s a great storyteller. Yeah, she changes her stories every time, but that’s at least part of why Tech is paying attention, because he notices that.

4. She’s a stone cold badass. And she’s a FUN stone cold badass. Disarmingly charming stone cold badass.

5. She’s a remarkably good person. She steals artifacts so that refugees can hang on to a bit of their culture in diaspora. This seems to be what pushes Tech from, “Oh, she’s interesting,” to, “OH. SHE’S BRILLIANT AND I MIGHT BE IN LOVE.”

6. She’s not nice, but she is kind, and that’s honestly a quality that she and Tech share. Phee isn’t soft, she’s not going to talk in therapy speak, she’ll push a little hard sometimes, but gosh darnit if she isn’t the person who would always stop to help someone with a flat tire (or respond to finding out some friends are broke, jobless, and on the run by immediately taking them back to her secret refuge so they can rest and recoup).

7. She’s incredibly direct and unafraid to speak her mind and…okay. This is going to get long. And I know some people will disagree with this, and that’s fine because everyone is different, and wants different things. But. Speaking personally from my point of view. The fact that Phee gives as good as she gets would be a really reassuring quality to have in a partner. I see a lot of myself reflected in Tech, but one of the many, many ways in which we’re very different is that I’m a consummate people pleaser, and Tech is very much not. At all. I don’t think he has a people-pleasing bone in his body.

But, here’s the thing—about half of my people pleasing comes from being terrified that I’ll say or do something that inadvertently hurts someone, and that person won’t just tell me or give me the chance to explain or make things right. And for how that relates to dating, I had people—friends and family—keep trying to set me up with incredibly shy men through most of my early twenties, no matter how many times I objected, because they had this perception that I was soft, wishy-washy, and needed to be treated with kid gloves. And…no. I’m opinionated as hell. I’m relatively confident about certain things. I just shut down my ability to project any of that because I was terrified of running roughshod over people without meaning to. But when I’m around someone who I know is willing to disagree with me, who I know will explain why, and who I know will push back if I take something too far? About 90% percent of my people pleasing and social anxiety evaporates. I know I don’t have to walk on eggshells around them—and that they aren’t going to walk on eggshells around me, either. They’re going to be direct about their issues and treat me like a freaking adult.

And, honestly, the fact that Phee doesn’t walk on eggshells around Tech (who also gives as good as he gets—Tech isn’t soft, nice, or shy and retiring; he’s confident as hell and he should be, because hot damn)—is. I don’t know. I like that she’s direct, and that she will recognize and pull back if she’s gone too far. This is projecting a bit, but, speaking personally, I would rather be with someone who treats me like an adult and tells me what’s up even if it’s uncomfortable than someone who never, ever tells me when they’re upset because they’re afraid of hurting my feelings and just lets me stew in social confusion all the time.

8. She can more than hold her own in a fight and she carries a sword around. That’s hot, I’m sorry.

9. Phee’s fantastic with Omega. She talks to her like she’s a person, she doesn’t ever shut Omega down, she’ll tell her stories, she’ll joke around with her, and she’s generally very respectful while also not holding her to the same standard she would if Omega were an adult. She’s even a little protective of Omega, even though Omega isn’t at all her responsibility. I think the moment that took Phee from ‘cool’ to ‘fantastic’ for me was towards the end of ‘Entombed’ while the Deadly Giraffe of Death was collapsing; Phee’s right there trying to shield Omega alongside Hunter. And. Like. Omega is Tech’s baby sister, he’s probably going to notice that how Phee treats her. Massive points in her favor for this.

#techphee #I’m tired okay

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tangledinink · 11 months

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Heya! First off I’m around halfway through teenage mutant what now and it is the funniest fic I have ever read - Beautifully written and overall brilliant but the jokes get me every time

And second, is it okay if I reference a pose from one of your gemini artworks for my own work? I’ll credit the inspiration if I post it anywhere ^^

whew we're overdue for an ask dump,,, OKAY ALRIGHT.

THANK YOU ; w ; I'm really glad you like it hehehehe. also yeah sure feel free! I don't mind! ^^

HEHEHE THIS MAKES ME VERY HAPPY THANK YOU

oh he DEFINITELY freaked out at first. there was a lot of panicking and confusion and "how could this even happen?!" ("you think i'd genetically engineer a creature that's not capable of reproducing? all of you should be genetically compatible with practically any yokai," draxum said. "AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO, I DUNNO, TELL US THAT?!" donnie said.) but eventually, he did calm down, and he and his partner talked about it (a bunch, multiple times), and eventually some of the panic gave way to... curiosity, first of all... and then maybe kind of excitement? and some fondness? i mean, he was still pretty scared, and sure, he doesn't really consider himself a 'kid' person, but it's not like he never thought about EVENTUALLY having kids, just maybe... not so soon? but. i mean.

well. if they're already cooking...

THANK YOU ; w ; i'm glad you like them! @kiwi-smug-silvalina

oh gosh, that's a good question. i'm not entirely sure... uhmmm... i would say perhaps... details about how gemini!donnie's witchcraft looks and acts, VS how venus's witchcraft looks and acts...

it is very shiny. i like that people call it "the bean" instead of its actual title coz it pisses anish kapoor off.

ah ; w ; THANK YOU SO MUCH,,, thats so sweet and this made me very happy,,, <3 im glad you liked it!!!! @allegedllama

HEHEHE thank you. yes im aware that i am deranged.

omg same hat!!! i was a lifeguard and it was.... uh.... INTERESTING to say the least... (sometimes lovely, sometimes AWFUL...) @datfearlesschick

if by games you mean 'messed up deals that she can manipulate to her own advantage,' then yes! @frogonamelon

@beannary @spectralsleuth @heckitall @livsinpjs and the sep council as a whole!!! y'all's support has definitely meant so much and there's no way i'd have gotten as far with any of my projects as i have without them... or without literally ANY of the people who take the time to do things like reblog with tags, leave commentary in the tags, send in asks about my stories, etc etc etc! that's definitely one of my main motivators to create more!!! <3 thank y'all!

EEEE this made me smile, hehehehe. thank you :3c @thejavavoid

AAAAAA THANK YOU THIS GENUINELY MADE ME SO HAPPY COZ I WAS SO GODDAMN PROUD OF THOSE HANDS AND HOW THEY CAME OUT ; w ; THANK YOU @onejellyfishplease

thank you!!! u w u @fanrulerjynx

THANK YOU ; w ; I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS,,, it made me very very very happy and HEHEHE IM GLAD YOU LIKE YASSIFIED DRAXUM,,, i just think he DESERVES it, y'know? also thats just my favorite way to draw characters lmao I think it's fun so I decided for this comic I just get to indulge...

not necessarily-- this was mostly just a coincidence! @breezehurricane

oh gosh. i'm not sure, but i know it definitely WILL affect their parenting... i think at first donnie will find himself just... deferring to his partner a LOT in almost any situation because he's afraid that he'll fuck it up, because he DOESN'T feel like he understands proper boundaries or what parenting is supposed to look like, etc etc etc, and he's afraid he'll mess up. he probably reads a TON of parenting books as well because RESEARCH and will often try to pull directly from them in any situation he can, and is confused when things don't go exactly the way they were described in the text... leo i think kind of tends to flounder between being overprotective and feeling the desire to protect his son from everything and anything and wanting to overcorrect this tendency by pulling back and trying to give him as much freedom and space as possible, which sometimes leads to some... inconsistencies. there's definitely a learning curve for both of them, but they both get the hang of it eventually. they both have lovely partners and a very loving and supportive family to help them and they'll figure it out with a bit of practice.

ahhh thank you! :D im so delighted that my silly stories actually inspired something for you!!! hell yeah!!! MAKING THINGS IS GREAT!!! THANK YOU!!! @can-elope

i like to imagine them all staying very close, especially coz i'm loosely planning on them all going through the kraang-apocalypse together (and then coming through to the other side!) so i can't imagine them ever drifting too far from each other, emotionally or geographically. there's a bit of a rocky start for a lot of them, but all of the siblings end up a very tight-knit bunch.

#asks #ask dump #anon

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nexttrickanvils · 23 days

Note

B2J with any boss of your choice with anger 3

Anger 3. How is this my fault?

“HOW IS THIS MY FAULT!?”

“You don’t explain stuff clearly! You trying to give me directions is like:”

May proceeded to wave her arms around which just seemed to further anger Eve.

“I do not explain clearly!? What on Earth was that flailing supposed to represent!?”

Zuke sighed. He had hoped when he and May offered to help Eve with her current project that it would be a good chance to bond.

After all, he and Eve had agreed to try things again as friends and she and May have been taking steps to get along.

But he probably should have seen the “creative differences” coming.

He stood by as May and Eve continued to argue until finally walking away from each other. May collapsed onto a nearby loveseat (earning yet another glare from Eve) and sulked.

Eve practically stomped out of the studio, claiming she had to look over something.

Without a word, Zuke walked over to May and sat down next to her.

“Want to talk?”

“UGGGGGGHHHHH”

“...Is that a "no” or…?”

“How does she expect anyone to understand what she's talking about!? I'm not freaking psychic and being in her head last time resulted in us getting stomped on and flicked at and lasered!”

May looked at Zuke with confusion in her eyes.

“The two of you used to be close, how the heck did you manage to even talk to her?”

Zuke looked thoughtful for a moment before replying.

“Well, Nadia always preferred to let her art and actions do the talking for her and as someone who tended to be quiet, I kind of related to that. That said… we had our fair share of communication issues.”

Moments where he misinterpreted what she meant, moments where he took her too literally, and more that just added to the growing rift between them.

“I know you prefer when people are more direct, especially when they’re trying to tell you to do something and Nadia can do that but she never liked the idea that “art had to explain itself to be understood” as she’d put it.”

“I mean I guess she’s got a point but where am I supposed to even start with “Embrace your fire!?””

With that Zuke stood up from the love seat and shot a reassuring look to May.

“Look, I really want what we’re doing to work out so I’ll talk to Eve, okay?”

May immediately stood up and grabbed Zuke’s arm before he could take a step.

“No, I should talk to her. We all want this to work out and that’s not gonna happen if we just make you be our middleman instead of talking like grown-ups.”

Zuke looked surprised but then smiled, “Okay.”

Before anything else could be said, the door to the studio swung open. Eve came back inside, looking less stressed than earlier but still a little tired.

“Alright. Let us start this again from the top.”

Zuke then glanced at May and gave her a nod. She then took a deep breath and made her way to Eve.

“Actually before that… I’m sorry about getting angry and yelling. I know you want your art to speak for itself but… It’s just kinda hard for me to figure something out just from vibes.”

For a moment, it looked like there was a gleam of understanding in Eve’s uncovered eye.

“I… I must admit that I prefer to express my thoughts in a more abstract way than most would prefer. So I also apologize for losing my temper at you.”

May smiled, “Great! So… if you don’t mind, what was it you meant when you told me to “embrace my fire?” I know you’ve compared me to fire before… in not a nice way but still.”

“Yes when I made the comparison, I was thinking of how wild and destructive fire can be. But I do realize now that that is not all fire can be…”

Zuke watched in relief as Eve and May started to have a more productive conversation.

There were still issues of course, with May’s impatience with Eve’s explanations and Eve’s frustrations when she had to repeat something.

But he could tell that the two were trying to do better.

It wasn’t much but Zuke was proud of the two taking those little steps of progress.

#No Straight Roads #nsr Mayday #nsr Zuke #nsr Eve #Anvil Writings #When two forms of neurodivergence clash #Captmickey

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kitsaystransrights · 16 days

Text

It'sa me, Kit!

Woah, hey, you can make pinned posts! I totally didn't forget about this feature. I should probably do that, huh?

Weeeeell anyway, howdy! I'm Maddie, I go by Kit online sometimes, you can call me whichever you prefer. She/Her pronouns only, please. I'm a 22 year-old trans furry who is chronically online and geeky, so if you have a problem with that, I'm putting you in a box and then launching that box into the sun. I'm a YouTuber, Twitch streamer, filmmaker, and game dev, so I'm basically every stereotypical geeky trans-girl thing except for an artist. Can't draw to save my life.

On my YouTube, I usually make reviews or video essays about games I like, though I occasionally do stuff on other media as well. Currently, my big long-term projects are the "Splatoon 3 vs Splatoon 2" series, which is AAAAALMOST finished at the time of writing this, and my series on Leilani Wilson's Elancia Chronicles novels, (which are REALLY FREAKING GOOD and you should check them out!) I've linked a few of the videos I'm proudest of down below :)

youtube

I also stream pretty frequently on Twitch! I have a PNGtuber of my fursona, Stormy, with art done by EmmalemmaMewmew on Twitter. Stills of her will also start showing up in my YouTube videos eventually, hehe. Currently, the schedule is every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with each day being a different game. These streams always start at 7 PM Mountain Time (that's 9 PM Eastern and 6 PM Pacific) and go for around 4 hours. Sundays are Splatoon Sundays, currently the Anarchy Challenge, where I attempt to win an Anarchy Series with EVERY SINGLE WEAPON in Splatoon 3. It's hell lol. Then there's Triple-A Tuesdays, where I'm currently marathoning the Zelda series, and Indie Thursdays, where I work through my back catalog of indie games! There are also occasional bonus streams, usually around the releases of new games I'm interested in or events in ones I already play (like Splatfests!) Below is a link to my Twitch channel and my current stream schedule. I'll try to update this post as often as I can, but uh, no promises haha.

Last but not least, here's some of the other stuff I'm into/working on! Currently working on a Secret Game Project that I can't tell you about yet >:) But if you know, you know.

I'm a big fan of video games and animation (clearly), with some of my favorite stuff being, in no particular order... Sonic the Hedgehog, The Legend of Zelda, Persona, Fire Emblem, Pokemon, Elancia Chronicles, Super Lesbian Animal RPG, Splatoon, Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss, The Owl House, Gravity Falls, Amphibia, Steven Universe, Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Spider-Verse films, Dreamworks animation, Pixar animation, Insomniac's Spider-Man gams, Ratchet and Clank, aaaaaaaaaand that's all I could think of off the top of my head but I'm sure there's more junk buried in there somewhere lol.

Anyway, thanks for reading all the way to the bottom! You must really have nothing better to do with your life XD. Here's some links to my other socials, if you wanna follow me there. Here I'm mostly just be posting random rambling and updates for my YouTube and Twitch. See ya around!

https://www.instagram.com/kitthegoddess/

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asterkiss · 2 months

Note

3 for the confessions prompt

BASEMENT DWELLERS

Mabel Pines should have been enjoying a college beach party that evening filled with rowdy students, music, and perhaps a little underage drinking.

Instead, she found herself currently handcuffed to a pipe in a felon’s basement. But hey, as least she wasn’t alone, renowned asshole Bill Cipher was also locked down here with us!

Her parents would surely notice she was missing come morning and raise the alarm. But until then… she was stuck here. She had been trying to wiggle her hand out of the handcuff for the past twenty minutes, but all it had succeeded in doing was making her wrist red and achey.

‘This is your fault.’

She paused at that. Mabel raised her head, eyes falling on her classmate chained to the radiator on the other side of the room. She was surprised he was talking, he'd been sulking ever since she awoke ten minutes ago and hadn't said much. 'What?'

Bill stared up at the cieling, arms crossed over his waist as he casually sat on the floor beside his own pipe chained to his hand. ‘Ya heard me.’

Mabel raised an eyebrow. ‘How the heck is this my fault? You’re the one who was getting all chummy with a criminal!’

‘Exactly. I had a plan and it was going just fine,’ Bill said sharply, sounding annoyed. ‘Then you had to stick your nose in and ruin everything.’

Mabel puffed out her cheeks in agitiation as she glared his way. First, he refused to look for a way out, then he refused to talk to her, and now he was being an ass!

‘Well gee, sorry for trying to care about you! I’ll just follow my brothers advice and stop talking to you then!!' She swung her head back down with a huff and returned her attention to the handcuff. In doing so, she missed the way Bill looked in her direction, expression tightening with an unreadable expression and hands clenching as the cavalier attitude slipped.

The metal edges of the cuff bit into the skin of her hand as she attempted to force it. She needed something to keep her mind focused on, otherwise she was going to start panicking.

She hadn't meant to care about Bill Cipher.

In the beginning, they'd been forced to pair up for a group project in school. The guy was definitely an ass and had clashed with her and Dipper several times over the years.

But here she was, four months later, caring about the guys wellbeing so much that she made the impulsive and unwise decision to follow an ex-con to his house in what she thought was a very undetected and sneaky manner.

(Apparently it wasn't either).

One cholorform attack later and here she was.

'Quit it.'

Broken out of her thoughts, Mabel glanced aside to find Bill watching her with a frown. 'What?'

'You're bleeding. Quit messing with it.'

She was? Mabel look back down to find she had indeed cut the skin on her hand. But before she could do anything further, Bill spoke again.

‘Why would you come here?’

She frowned, gaze still fixated on her wrist as she brushed a thumb over the cut, staining her skin red. ‘…I wanted to know if he was bad or not.'

'Well, I think ya got your answer.'

She bristled. Mabel had enough people calling her naïve and she was tired of it. ‘Oh yeah? Well, what about you?’ she retorted, sending him a sharp look. ‘How did you end up down here? I thought you said you had plan and everything.’ She didn't know what had happened between her being knocked out and awaking, only that Bill was down here with her by the time she did rouse from her forced slumber.

Bill’s nostrils flared, eyes drilling into her like ice. ‘I’m down here because of you, you ungrateful brat. Sorry for being a little careless in my rush to make sure you were still alive!’

‘Huh?’

‘Hell, sorry for caring about your annoying ass and trying to keep you away from the freak upstairs who killed my parents. Clearly, you didn’t want me to do that since you offered yourself on a platter.’

‘Wait, your parents? Wha-?'

‘And more than anything, I’m sorry I made the big mistake of falling for you, okay? But it happened and I can’t do anything about it so here we are.’

As Bill finished his rant and slumped back againt the wall, Mabel gaped at him with mouth wide open and eyes bulging comically.

Her poor heart had gone into overdrive. She wasn’t sure which piece of information to chew on first, instead finding herself choking on it all at once and unable to form a coherent response.

Bill had come here to save her? From the guy who killed his parents!? Because he LIKED her!?!?

Oh God, if she wasn’t already on the floor she surely would have fainted.

'Now, do me a favour and stay here.' Bill raised his hand that was chained up.

She closed her mouth, eyes returning to their ordinary size. 'Wait, what do you-HOLY FUCK!!'

The snapping noise as he broke his wrist was sickening. Mabel's mouth flew agape for a differnet reason this time as the blond freed himself, standing to his full height.

'What the hell? Bill!'

He smiled wryly and urgh, why was her heart fllipping in a situation like this? 'Relax, it ain't my dominant hand.'

Mabel grimaced. 'If you could do that, why did you wait until now?'

'Had to wait for the dizziness to go away.'

'Dizziness? What do you... oh jeez, you're bleeding!' As he turned away she saw the dried blood on the back of his head and realised his way of being knocked out hadn't been as nice as hers.

'See ya in a bit, Shooting Star. I'll be back when coast is clear.'

'What? No! Bill!' She yanked forward but could go no further than a few feet. 'You don't just get to drop that bombshell and leave me!!'

'I'll tell you about my parents later. Maybe.'

'I meant you saying you liked me!!'

The young man paused at the foot of the stairs, going still. Then, after a moment:

'I didn't say that.'

'You- Yes, you did!!' Ooh, she wasn't going to let him get out of this!! 'You said you'd fallen for me!'

She was sure she heard him swear under his breath.

Bill turned around with a dazzling smile, shooting her finger guns. (Hey, that was her signature move!) 'Well, I'm off. Gotta go kill a guy. It's legal if it's in self-defensive!' Wink.

Did he seriously just wink at that statement?

'Bill!'

He was leaving.

'BILL!'

Okay, maybe she could gnaw herself free.

#asks #this thing went in a random direction

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sephirthoughts · 5 months

Text

Vincent Got a Phone

rating: not explicit yet

they will fuck eventually i swear

tags: valenwind, cid/vincent, fluff, humor, background sephiroth/cloud, background aerti

link to prev chapter at bottom

Chapter 3: Because Men

It was just after sunset, and Cid was strolling down the bustling street with his good hand in his pocket, and a cigarette in his mouth. He was feeling inexplicably down, since the other day, when Vinnie knocked him on his ass, and then Tifa and Yuffie told him about Vinnie and Aerith’s secret relationship.

He sighed, ejecting a plume of blue-white smoke with his breath. He guessed he should be happy for his buddy, finding a pretty girl who liked him, but he just couldn’t shake the feeling of intense repulsion, to the idea of Vincent dating Aerith.

Of course, he didn’t stop to question whether he only felt that way because it was that specific girl, or if he’d feel that way about Vincent dating any girl. He just assumed it was probably because the two really didn’t seem like a good fit, like Tifa and Yuffie said.

As for talking to Vinnie about it…he’d agreed to give it a whack, but this type of thing was just about as far out of his wheelhouse as it got. He’d always been focused on his work, and never got past a date or two with any woman, before he got bored, or went heads-down on a project and forgot about them entirely.

The closest thing he’d ever had to a relationship was with his cradle-to-grave, ride-or-die platonic life-partner Shera. Come to think of it, maybe Shera could help. She had more girlfriends than you could shake a stick at, she had to know more about this shit than he did.

“I have no clue how to talk to heteros, those people are freaks,” she said, when he called her. He could hear thumping music in the background and a crowd whooping and cheering. “All joking aside, if you really think your boy is making a bad decision, you gotta be honest with him about your concerns. But you have to be prepared for him to push back. People don’t like to be interfered with, when it comes to romance. Hang on. Baby, there you are! Are you ready to—yeah, I’m coming, just a sec! Cid? I gotta go. Just be honest, ok? Especially with yourself. Love you. Bye.”

Cid stuffed his phone back in his pocket and leaned on a nearby wall, puffing disconsolately on his cigarette. As he did, he happened to glance over and catch a flash of golden-blonde hair, across the street. Sure enough, it was Cloud. He was typing on his phone, and it was too far to call out to him, so Cid kept smoking his cigarette and waited.

When Cloud looked up, Cid tried to wave to him, but the young man was directly accosted by a group of scantily clad women, and didn’t see him. After brushing the ladies off rather brusquely, Cloud turned around and walked in the door of the place he’d been standing in front of. The Ramblin’ Rose Love Hotel, to be exact.

Cid stood there scratching his head. Now, what would their resident clueless virgin be doing going into a shady-ass place like that? Usually folks brought hookers back to those places, but he just couldn’t see Cloud doing something like that.

So…he must be meeting someone. Damn. Was there something in the water? Everyone seemed to have the spring fever, all the sudden.

Cid flicked his cigarette butt away and walked off down the street, about ten seconds before an extremely tall and broad-shouldered man, in a large, black, hooded overcoat, came up the street and entered the Ramblin’ Rose Love Hotel.

Oblivious to any potential pursuers, Vincent and Aerith once again departed the group’s hotel, in one another’s company. Aerith had the ingenious idea of renting a room in a karaoke bar, which was both private enough that they could talk freely, and not so private that it would cause proper old man Vincent to panic, and so that was where they went.

Presently, they were seated on the long, red couch, under the disco lights and the colorful illumination of a neglected video screen, proclaiming ‘Mega Karaoke!’ in big, bright letters, interrupted by an animation of dancing microphones, every few minutes.

“Today’s lesson: talking,” Aerith announced.

Vincent crossed his arms. “I know how to talk.”

“How many words have you said to him—”

“Thirty-three.”

“—today.”

“Oh. I thought you were going to say this week. Today…two.”

“Bearing in mind that grunting does not count as a word.”

“…”

“That’s what I thought. Here’s what the sisters and I think is the core of the issue, Vincent. You are the type of person who doesn’t talk much, due to a whole big ball of social anxiety and self-esteem issues. However, you are also the type of person who is extremely good looking, and because of that, other people don’t see you as the awkward anxiety-ball you are. Your weirdness actually makes you seem aloof and a bit cold. Like you don’t care about anyone or anything. We think that may be hindering your progress with Mr. Highwind.”

“I seem cold?”

“Yeah, kinda. I mean, not to me, because I understand how you are, but to other people.”

Vincent scowled and hid in his cloak. “I don’t know how to not seem cold. I tried your advice, and I couldn’t do any of it right. Maybe I’m better off not trying to connect with another human. I only make a terrible mess of things.”

“No, no, no, don’t give up, now!” Aerith urged. “We’ve made so much progress!”

“I frightened him, injured him, and nearly burned the hotel down, trying to bake cookies. How is that progress?”

“It’s personal growth! Getting out of your comfort zone and trying something new is the hardest thing in the world, and you did it. Whether or not things work out with Mr. Highwind, I’m really proud of you. And I’m grateful to have got the opportunity to know you, and become your friend.”

“I…I am, as well. Even if the advice hasn’t quite panned out, you encouraged me to come out of my shell. More than that, you made the effort to get to know me, when everyone else is either afraid of me, or doesn’t think I’m worth their time. You are a good person, Aerith. I am truly grateful for your friendship.”

“Awwwww, Vincent!” Aerith laughed, then she burst promptly into tears and threw her arms around him.

Just as she did, the door to their karaoke booth banged open. They both leapt to their feet, only to see Cloud stumbling backward into the room, looking very much like he’d been pushed by someone in the hall.

“Cloud?” Aerith said.

“Gah!” Cloud yelped, spreading his arms out in front of the open doorway, as if to hide someone. “I can explain! It’s not what it looks like!”

The other two looked past him, then back at him. The hallway was empty. If there had been another person there, they had already vanished.

Sensing their confusion, Cloud turned and peered out the door, then stepped all the way in, letting it swing shut behind him. “Aerith? Vincent? What are you two doing here?”

“Us? What are you doing breaking into other people’s booths and acting like a lunatic?” Aerith countered. “Who were you with? Why were you trying to hide them?”

“N—no one. I wasn’t with anyone,” Cloud said, laughing nervously. “I was just…I was talking to the waitress, and I tripped. And fell into the door.”

Aerith and Vincent both crossed their arms.

“You tripped,” Vincent said dubiously.

“And fell into the door,” Aerith said, even more dubiously.

Cloud nodded. “Yep. Yes. That’s what I did. You know me. Clumsy Cloud.”

“It was closed all the way,” Vincent pointed out. “How did you turn the knob while tripping into it?”

“I must’ve grabbed it to stop myself. You know, it’s all kind of a blur. Just out of curiosity, are you guys here by yourselves, or are there, like…other people from the group lying in wait, nearby?”

“Lying in wait?” Aerith asked. “What are you, on the lam?”

“You’re behaving strangely,” Vincent observed. “As if you have something to hide.”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that,” Cloud assured them. “I was just, uh. Startled. To run into you guys, out of nowhere. Also, you never answered my question. What are you doing here?”

“Karaoke,” Vincent said grimly.

“Obviously. What else would we be doing at a karaoke bar?”

Cloud squinted doubtfully at Vincent. “You sing?”

Vincent’s crimson and gold Chaos eye glowed ominously in the disco-ball lighted half-dark. “Yes.”

“Vincent happens to have a lovely singing voice, not that it’s any of your business,” Aerith sniffed. “But you’ll have to hear it some other time. We were just leaving.”

Cloud looked back and forth between them, then crossed his arms. “Wait a minute, is there something going on betw—”

“Think carefully before you finish that sentence,” Vincent warned, laying his hand on Cerberus.

Aerith put her hands on her hips. “Vincent, what did we say about violence as a first resort?”

Vincent sighed and took his hand off the gun. “Only when they have it coming.”

It was fortunate that he didn’t have his hand on his weapon anymore, because at that moment, the door banged open again, and two people burst in, one of them shouting, “Ahhh-ha!”

Cloud, Aerith, and Vincent all turned, to see none other than Tifa and Yuffie. Both young ladies stopped short, looking confused, and Yuffie dropped her pointing finger.

“What are you doing here?” Tifa asked, meaning Cloud.

“Karaoke,” all three answered in unison.

Yuffie squinted doubtfully at Vincent. “You sing?”

“We’ve already been through this, Vincent has a lovely voice, et cetera,” Aerith cut in. “What are you two doing here, now?”

“Also Karaoke,” the two newcomers answered.

Vincent looked around at the group, from behind his collar. “This situation is ridiculous. I’m leaving,” he said, and walked past them, out the door.

“Yeah, me too,” Cloud added, following him. “D—does anyone know if the doors on these rooms lock?”

Back at the hotel, Vincent ran into Cid—not literally, this time, he’d learned his lesson about that—coming down the path, in front of their rooms. He winced at seeing Cid’s arm still in the sling and lowered his head, thinking to let the man pass by.

“Hey, Vinnie, there y’are!” Cid said affably. “Feel like a drink?”

Vincent nodded, as an intense feeling of relief welled up in him, to find his friend behaving normally. “Yes. Yes I do.”

“I never seen him with anyone, so I can’t say who he mighta been meetin’ there,” Cid was saying, after they’d been seated at the hotel bar, with tumblers of whiskey in front of them. “It ain’t the kinda place you bring a respectable lady.”

“He can’t have stayed more than a couple of hours,” Vincent said. “I just saw him at the Mega Karaoke, acting very strangely.”

“Uh. Mega Karaoke?”

“Yes.”

Cid squinted doubtfully at him. “You sing?”

“No. Aerith and I went there to…talk about something, privately. Which did not work out, at all. Somehow, nearly everyone we know arrived and barged into the room, during that one hour.”

“Y—you went there to talk privately, with Aerith?”

“Yes.”

Cid swallowed the rest of his whiskey in one go. “So, speakin’ of Aerith. There, uh…there anything you wanna tell me?”

Vincent froze, with his hand on his glass. How the hell did Cid know what he’d been talking about with Aerith? Did someone overhear them, and tattle? He wouldn’t have thought so, a week ago, but the bizarre behavior of their group in the past few days had him feeling like they were all in a slapstick comedy, set in a high school. Well. Fuck it. If Cid already knew, there was no point attempting to deny it.

He nodded slowly. “There is something I want to tell you. But I don’t think this is the right place to talk.”

About ten minutes later, they were strolling through the completely deserted hotel garden, which no one but Vincent ever used at night, chiefly because it was very dark and a little creepy.

“So, here’s the thing about relationships,” Cid said, much to Vincent’s relief, as he had no idea how to open such a topic. “Sometimes, just cause someone’s good lookin’ and fun to talk to, don’t mean the two of you’d be any good together. Ya gotta be sure it ain’t just, like…infatuation. Those kindsa feelings go away pretty quick. If you act on ‘em, before you’re sure it’s more than that, people could wind up gettin’ hurt.”

“But what if you’re sure it’s more than a passing infatuation?” Vincent asked. “What if you know it?”

Cid puffed thoughtfully on his cigarette. “Even then, there’s people who’s good for each other, and people who ain’t. Like, say, people who are different ages and got different kinds of lives. They likely ain’t a good fit, in the long run. No matter how good it feels at the beginning, one day, those cracks’ll start showin’.”

“I disagree,” Vincent said flatly.

Cid blinked. “Ya do?”

“Yes. I don’t think things like being the same age and having the same life experience are all that important, in the grand scheme of things. The important thing is finding a person who…who feels like the missing part of you. Like you could spend every day with them, forever, and never get tired of them. When you find that person, it isn’t something to take lightly, or to give up on, just because of what might happen in the future, or because of what others might think.”

“Shit. The missing part of you…” Cid trailed off, looking dazed. “Ya really feel that way?”

Vincent took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yes. I do. I’ve felt that way for a while, but…I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“I guess if that’s how ya feel, then that’s that.” Cid flicked his cigarette away and pushed his hands back through his hair, then rubbed them together in an agitated manner. “Look, I’ll always support ya, Vinnie, and I just want you to be happy, so…I’ll learn to accept it. But I might need a little time. I—I can’t talk about this, anymore. I gotta go clear my head. Give Aerith my best.”

With that, Cid walked off, leaving Vincent standing in the inky-black shadows of the hotel garden, alone.

He’d felt the rejection coming, since the conversation started, but he had no idea why Cid should become more upset, the more they talked. Now, it seemed as if he’d lost his best friend, and the man he’d fallen for, all at once. Dejected and disoriented, he went back to his room, shut off all the lights, closed the curtains, and slid under the bed, to try and sleep off the pain.

Cid, meanwhile, was walking briskly, without a destination in mind, unable to shake off the intense feelings of loss and disappointment, that had nearly crushed the air out of his lungs, when he heard Vincent say Aerith was the missing part of him.

Why should hearing his best friend say something like that about a woman be so painful? He had no clue. He only knew he’d had to either escape, or implode, so he chose escape. And drinking. Some things could only be properly examined from the bottom of a bottle. He found a different shithole bar than the shithole bar he and Vinnie had been in, earlier, and opened a tab.

A few drinks in, he wasn’t feeling any better, and was in fact, feeling much worse. All he could think about was Vincent with that pretty, young girl, holding hands and laughing (her laughing, that is, Cid doubted Vincent was capable of such a thing), being ‘together’ the obnoxious way couples are, when the relationship is new.

Tch. When the shine came off that apple, don’t expect ol’ Cid to be around to pick up the pieces. Cause he damn well wouldn’t. He’d be hangin’ out with someone better, who wouldn’t run off after the first pretty skirt that wandered by, and leave their best friend all alone, to nurse his broken heart over a bottle of cheap ass whis—wait a goddamn minute, broken heart?

“Oh,” Cid said, staring wide-eyed into middle distance, as he quickly reexamined everything he believed about himself. “Fuck.”

THE AUTHOR HAS SOMETHING TO SAY

sephiroth: (waiting in the next karaoke booth) that little brat better get his ass in here soon

sephiroth: ...

sephiroth: i can't believe they don't have "i'm just a girl" what the fuck kind of place are they running

link to prev chapter

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rosenallies · 3 days

Note

bring back drag racer au angst :(

I wrote this in entirety laying on my living room floor listening to phoebe bridgers </3

This is also the most projecty projecting in the world bc lowkey I don’t have a therapist rn which is crazy bc I was fully inpatient for over a month just 2 months ago lmfao <3 but lemme just get the feelings out <3

Tw/ s*icidal ideation and kinda SH

——

Really, Anetra should’ve seen it coming, the thoughts started off small and quiet, a mere whisper in her ear. She shook them off, pushing them away; she had no reason to be depressed, she had two loving partners, a career she loved, enough money to pay the bills and she felt that should be enough.

But it never was. As much as she tried to remind herself that she had no reason to be so fucking sad all the time, it never worked and the sadness still crept its way in, seizing her in its iron fisted grip.

Like every other time before, she tried to hide it, faking smiles and feigning having enough energy to pull herself out of bed in the morning. But soon enough, Sasha and Marcia’s usual easy smiles twitched when they looked at her, a pinch of worry in their faces as they watched Anetra slowly slip.

Then, the meltdowns started. Out of nowhere it seemed, Anetra would wake from a dead sleep, screaming and tugging on her hair, confessions leaving her lips like word vomit that made her partners’ chests ache painfully. Sasha would hold her, hoping the pressure from her arms looped around her would calm her down while Marcia spoke to her in their softest voice, sometimes even singing softly with misty tears in their eyes. Those nights always ended in Anetra passing out in the middle of the bed, salt streaks down her cheeks while Marcia and Sasha stayed up watching over her, whispering quietly how it’s the worst it’s ever been.

“Sweetheart,” Sasha said sadly over dinner one night as she watched Anetra push around food on the plate, avoiding taking a bite. She put her hand over Anetra’s and picked it up, pressing a kiss to the back of it. “You’re having a really hard time.”

Anetra wanted to laugh, shake it off and say she was fine but Sasha didn’t ask, she merely stated the truth. As if she even could hide it with a laugh in the first place with her oily unkempt hair, dark circles, nails bitten down to nothing, and tiny bruises dotting her arms from her pinching her skin just to make sure she could still feel.

“Yeah.” Anetra stated simply, a crack in her voice.

Marcia’s brows furrowed together. “We’re so worried about you. You’re really scaring us.”

A brief flash of anger burned through Anetra’s body, then quickly transformed itself into guilt just for the fact that her initial reaction was anger. Of course her partners were worried for her. She knew she was slipping away from them in every way possible, she felt it yet couldn’t manage to tether herself in place.

Sasha cleared her throat, making nerves bloom in Anetra’s belly. She squeezed her hand gently, silently reassuring her.

“I’m worried you’re not…” she paused, looking for the right word, “safe.”

Heart thumping in her chest, Anetra swallowed. “What do you mean safe? How could I not be safe.”

“Because darling, you-you,” choked up, Sasha stopped, closing her eyes tightly to stop the tears from flowing.

“Netra,” Marcia chimed in with their soft voice, “you’re hurting yourself, you’re not eating, you’re not getting out of bed, and-and last night you said some really scary things about -um, not wanting to be here.”

Anetra’s stomach twisted, she was thinking about it all the time, but had no recollection of letting that out of her brain where it remained safe and protected. It was one of the only things she swore to always keep to herself. The last thing she needed was for her partners to think she’s some kind of freak who just can’t get over her own tumultuous emotions enough to the point where she often wished she was dead. She felt her cheeks flush red, fighting to urge to pinch herself to see if maybe she’d wake up from this horrible nightmare.

“I-I didn’t know I said that,” she stammered.

Sasha nodded. “I didn’t think so, but you feel that way, don’t you?”

Tears welling in her eyes, Anetra nodded. “I do.”

“Oh, honey,” Sasha cooed, moving to kneel on the floor in front of Anetra’s chair. She took both of her hands gently, “why? Why do you want to-?”

“I-I don’t know, I just do. And I’m so tired, I just want to sleep forever.”

“No, no, no, don’t say that,” Marcia replied, now crying themselves.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it, I don’t know why I feel this way.”

Sasha nodded. “That’s one of the reasons I’m scared you’re not safe. Marcia and I have been doing some research and talking to some doctors and they agree, as do we, that you might be safer in the hospital right now.”

Nausea hit Anetra in waves. “The hospital?”

“Yes, baby, we think you need a lot of support right now to be safe and it’s just irresponsible of us to think we can do that because we’re not professionals.”

Crying harder, Anetra shook her head. “No, no please!”

“Netra,” Marcia sniffled, kneeling next to Sasha, taking one of Anetra’s hands, “please.”

It was then that Anetra started to get worked up, breath coming out in shallow puffs and her whole body shaking like a leaf. “I-I can’t- I don’t need-“

“Baby, yes you do. Please l, do it for me and Marc. We need you safe, baby.”

Anetra continued to melt down, the same things from the night before slipping past her lips, proving even more so that she needed more support than either Sasha or Marcia could give. But in that moment, Sasha was too afraid she’d make herself sick.

“Ok, baby, it’s ok, we don’t have to go anywhere. How about we get you to bed?”

A few more outbursts and soothing touches from her partners, Anetra was calm enough and felt herself being lifted out of her chair. She barely registered that Sasha had carried her to bed, laying her down and cuddling around her frail body.

#drag racer au #prompt request

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moonchildreads · 1 year

Text

small town

Chapter 15 - Don't You Want Me

IN THIS CHAPTER: Illicit library naps, a sleepover, and Important Questions get asked [7.3k]

WARNINGS: fear of coming out (lighthearted, everything turns out okay), self doubt, bisexuality? idk if that's a warning but if you haven't noticed yet, eddie and dot are both bi lol

A/N: happy pride friends! i swear to god i didn't plan for this chapter to be out and proud in june, i set the outline in stone months ago but i'm taking it as a happy accident. sorry for posting a day late, yesterday was Not Great but we should get back to friday updates this coming week. enjoy <3

masterlist - prev - next | playlist

You know I can't believe it When I hear that you won't see me

Monday, May 12th - 1986

The rainy spell that haunted Hawkins at all times continued throughout most of the Monday, up until lunch time when it finally relented. The sky was still mostly dark with heavy clouds hiding the sun while the Hellfire seniors stood just outside the cafeteria doors, waiting for Eddie to be done with the conversation he was about to engage in so they could head to their next classes. All four of them - Dottie, Gareth, Donny, and Jeff - were staring pointedly at him as he approached the cheerleaders’ table.

“Got the goods, Cunningham?” Eddie raised his voice to call Chrissy’s attention.

“Yup! Got ‘em right here!” she said, smiling brightly and reaching into her pocket to grab the remaining prom tickets she’d promised to save for him. He gave her the money and she accepted it gracefully, but when he leaned forward to grab the tickets, she snapped her hand back, lifting it over her head. “You better suit up, Munson, or I’ll personally block your way in.”

“We’ll dress up, I promise,” he said, crossing his heart. “Scout’s honor.”

“You’re not a Scout, Eddie.”

“You don’t know what I get up to in my free time,” he snatched the tickets from her hand and began walking backwards quickly towards the doors. “See you around, Chris! Have a good day, ladies!”

Not a beat had passed since he’d walked away before Chrissy’s friends surrounded her, gossiping loudly about the situation they’d just witnessed. The Freak talking to their Captain? Who did he think he was?

“Ugh, he’s so… scruffy! Why do you let him talk to you like that?” Libby, a junior tumbler said, crossing her arms and burrowing further into her cheer cardigan.

“What do you mean? He was perfectly polite,” Chrissy defended him. “He just wanted to buy some prom tickets.”

“He shouldn’t be talking to you anyway, you aren’t in charge of selling them,” Melissa, a senior flyer and Chrissy’s second in command, scoffed. “I bet he’s not even gonna go, he probably just wanted an excuse to be near you. God, he’s such a freak.”

“I’m on the Prom Planning Committee, it’s more than okay if people ask me about tickets. And don’t call Eddie a freak anymore. It’s not right,” Chrissy said, stomping away to her next class.

“What the fuck is wrong with her?” Libby turned to look at her senior.

“I don’t know but she thinks she’s hot shit since that Ohio State cheer clinic she went to during Spring Break. I don’t like it,” the flyer replied, but Chrissy never heard her, already busy getting her books out of her locker.

Eddie was pulling out of his driveway to take Dottie home after their usual after school study session when she asked him to drop her off at Gareth’s instead. She mentioned they were having a sleepover at his house so they could work on a Chemistry project that had to be delivered during first period on Tuesday, and that didn’t do anything to calm the little knot Eddie was beginning to recognize as jealousy that formed at the pit of his stomach. The rational part of his brain, the one that knew there was nothing going on between two of his best friends, was at war with the dumb side that wanted to stop the van in the middle of the road and throw a tantrum. He settled on gripping the steering wheel until his fingers hurt when he saw her hug Gareth hello like she hadn’t seen him in years; the younger boy waved at him like Eddie’s heart wasn’t cracking at the slightest hint of being undesirable.

Oblivious to his friend’s feelings, Gareth guided Dottie inside towards his living room where his phone was so she could call her Dad and let him know she'd arrived safely. Once James had been informed of his daughter’s whereabouts, the teens got to work on the coffee table until Gareth’s dad came home from work. Gareth’s mom, Lydia, was a sweet looking woman with bright blue eyes her son had inherited and a big blonde hairdo. She really enjoyed being a hostess, which is why she had gladly slaved herself away in the kitchen all afternoon making a sweet and sour brisket she claimed was her specialty.

"Okay, so we're thinking regular crackers, marshmallows, cereal, toasted bread, untoasted bread, and dry pasta?" Dottie read from their notes.

"We should add something that we know is unhealthy, just to test it out."

"We have marshmallows."

"Yeah, but those are full of air, they'll probably burn really fast. We need something more dense, like… uh…," Gareth thought hard about what they could find in his pantry and still came up with nothing.

"D'you have peanuts? With the shell?"

"Peanuts are unhealthy?"

"I mean, not really, no, but they are, like, high in fat? And I bet the shells burn well."

"Let's do peanuts then," he nodded, jotting it down onto their notebook.

Their last project of the year was free choice, and after perusing a few science magazines in the library, they had settled on building a calorimeter. Truth be told, they should have done it earlier but between Mother’s Day, Hellfire and Dottie spending so much time with Eddie helping him get ready for his exams, Monday night before the project’s due date had to suffice. Gareth had asked his Dad for help to build two calorimeters, which were ready to go on the desk in his bedroom along with the blow-up mattress Dottie would be sleeping on right next to his bed. His Mom had been a little hesitant to let them bunk in the same bedroom, but her son had brought up a good point: his sister, Gretchen, would positively lose her mind if a stranger slept in her bed, so Gareth’s floor was a good compromise as long as they left the door wide open.

When Gareth’s dad, Gavriel, arrived home from a long day at work, dinner was almost ready to be served. Gareth was in the middle of an animated rant, explaining to Dottie about a very special part of their meal he had begged his Mom for to mark the special occasion. He had never really had a sleepover before, and even though they’d be up late into the night working on their project, he was still very excited at the prospect of hanging out with someone he considered one of his closest friends with no time constraints or adult supervision.

“You said you’ve never really tried Jewish food before, so I asked my Mom to make these for you,” Gareth explained, carrying a big plate to the dining table where they usually sat to do homework on Wednesdays, Dottie trailing behind him carrying cutlery and bread.

“They look like hash browns,” she said, peering at the mystery food.

“They are better than hash browns. These are called latkes. My Mom only makes them during Hanukkah, but honestly, I’d eat them every day if I could.”

“Didn’t know you did Hanukkah,” Dottie frowned. “Didn’t you say you went to your Grandparents’ for Christmas last year?”

“Yeah, we do both! And neither, now that I think about it,” he frowned too, like he was just realizing something about his own traditions. “We’re not really religious, I mean… We celebrate, but it’s more about family and getting together. We mix both sides.”

Gavriel was Jewish and Lydia was not, which in turn made their children half-Jewish. This was something Gareth’s friends were aware of, but didn’t entirely understand since they never really talked about what it meant. This, coupled with the fact that the youngest Coleman hadn’t really had close friends until he reached high school and joined Hellfire, led to his now very apparent enthusiasm while showing Dottie everything that made him… well, him. He didn’t consider himself spiritual in the broad sense of the word, but being Jewish was one of the only things he had always known about himself, the part of his identity that no matter what happened would always be his and he was proud of who he was.

Dottie sat at the dinner table with Gareth and his parents to share a lovely meal together and wondered for the millionth time in her life what it would be like to have siblings. She knew her friend and Gretchen, his older sister, hardly saw eye to eye: she was outgoing, sporty, had a lot of friends and a loving boyfriend, and Gareth was nerdy, shy, and obsessed with horror movies to a degree people that didn’t know him too well found off putting. Despite these differences though, it was clear from the way Gareth spoke about his sister that he would gladly walk through literal fire for her, even though he was the first one to chew her out every time she came home and left enough hair to make a wig on their shower wall. He put two latkes on Dottie’s plate, one with applesauce on top, the other one with sour cream and waited for her verdict, big blue eyes shining with excitement.

“Which one’s your fave?” Dottie asked him, holding the one with sour cream like Lydia was doing across from her.

“I’m not gonna tell you, you can’t be biased,” Gareth scoffed, fork halfway to his mouth full of decadent meat. “Gotta form your own opinion.”

“I’m gonna try them both, I just wanted to know which one you liked more,” she defended herself before trying a bit without any sauce first, just to get a feel of the texture. “Okay, yeah, I see what you meant now. These are better than hash browns.”

“Told ya,” he grinned. “Now try it with the sour cream.”

“Gareth, don’t be pushy,” Gavriel warned, but there was no need, she was already on her second bite.

Gareth waited with bated breath as she switched to her other latke, this one with applesauce. He watched her chew, her face giving away nothing while she wiped her hand on a napkin. A few moments of silence went by, both Lydia and Gavriel looking at each other with curious eyes, their son’s eyebrows going higher each second that ticked by. He had never been particularly patient, and Dottie was making him sweat for her review.

“So?” he asked, leaning towards her. “Which one’s better?”

“Are you gonna throw me out if I don’t agree with you?”

“Dot.”

“Sour cream’s better,” she said, and he groaned loudly. “It’s not that applesauce is bad, I just liked the other one more! The chives in the cream make it feel special. Thank you for making these for us, Mrs. Coleman, they are great.”

“Oh, you don’t have to thank me, sweetie!” said Lydia, beaming at the praise. “I like them with chives better too.”

“You are both so wrong,” Gareth said, looking at his father for support. “Tell them they’re wrong, Dad.”

“I like them with both sauces,” Gavriel declared before kissing Lydia’s cheek. “Your mother is a great cook, just eat and be grateful.”

“Ugh. Got no allies in this house.”

“Finish your dinner, Gare, it’s getting cold,” Lydia said, knowing better than anyone else how dramatic her son could be.

As the dinner progressed and his parents chatted with Dottie, eager to know more about her, Gareth couldn’t help but notice just how different it was to have a female best friend than to only have multiple sweaty metalheads around all the time. He loved Jeff, Donny, and Eddie, and he was pretty confident that he would go to war for them if they ever needed him to, but there was a soft quality to his friendship with Dot he had never really experienced before, not even with his sister. He felt less pressure to be traditionally boyish, could have longer, deeper talks and not have to worry about anyone making fun of his feelings when they overwhelmed or confused him. And truthfully, it wasn’t that he couldn’t be 100% himself with the boys, but having a girl in their tight-knit group had meant they were now a lot more careful about how they approached certain topics, or how they behaved in general.

No more farting around in each other’s faces when they got into the van or pausing to stare at boobs during Fast Times at Ridgemont High - they were much more in tune with each other now, noticing the little things they would have easily disregarded before, like Jeff’s apprehension towards the big brother he had once looked up to and tried to emulate, or Donny’s budding excitement at the thought of joining his family’s business after graduation. Or perhaps it hadn’t been Dottie at all who had changed the dynamic of their group, and they had simply, well, grown up. Graduation was just a month away, after all.

After dinner, Gareth’s parents retreated to their living room to relax after a long day while the teens gathered their supplies and slipped outside to the garage to do the practical portion of their project. Gavriel had spent a couple of hours on Saturday helping his son build all the necessary parts for two homemade bomb calorimeters; mainly they had just drilled holes into cans and hoped things would fit in once assembled. Once everything was in place, they got to work with the ease of two people who had been lab partners for a while and knew exactly what their tasks were: Dottie was in charge of the charts and Gareth of the equations. They were both equally excited about the burning though.

“God, this smells like a s’more,” he groaned, the barely there fire under their can of water consuming a marshmallow.

“I don’t like s’mores,” she said, jotting something down on their chart.

“You are so weird.”

They were both sitting in the driveway in front of the garage, the pavement under their jeans a little bit chilly from the day’s overcast sky. They had already burned the bread (toasted and untoasted), cereal, and dry pasta, and were now moving onto the remaining foods, the sickly sweet marshmallow scent mixing with the smoke in the night air.

“So…,” Gareth began, measuring the temperature of the water in the can.

“So?”

“Heard Eddie got you a ticket for prom.”

“Yeah,” she said, nonchalantly. “We got into an argument last week and he wanted to make it up to me.”

“Are you two going together now?”

“No, we’re still going as a group. He just did something nice for me.”

“Sure,” he smirked. “Something nice. Absolutely not strange at all.”

“Just spit it out, G, what do you actually want to ask?” Dottie turned to him with a tired expression.

“What’s going on between you two?”

“Nothing!” she said, a little bit too defensively, which made him lift an eyebrow in response. “Nothing is going on, I promise. We’re just friends.”

“Dot, come on,” he shook his head, big curls swaying back and forth. “Are you seriously telling me that you two aren’t swapping spit during your dates? He bought you a prom ticket, he takes you to dinner all the time, he might as well have fucking tattooed your name on his left tit.”

“Okay, first of all, ew. Swapping spit, really? God have mercy on however kisses you,” she ducked to avoid a marshmallow to her head. “Second, we don’t go on dates. We get together to study and sometimes we eat together, that’s it. Nothing inappropriate has ever happened, so knock it off, okay?”

Gareth saw her jaw clench and decided to drop the subject entirely, switching topics to their current assignment and the different smells certain charred food reminded him of. They completed their work quickly and efficiently, packing up for the night before retreating to the safety of his bedroom. He offered her his shower and Dottie accepted it gladly, desperate for a few minutes alone to clear her head. He fished out clean towels from the hallway storage cupboard, and sent her on her merry way to the Jack and Jill he shared with his sister, wondering if maybe he’d mistaken the signals he’d gotten from watching two of his best friends interact with each other.

Dottie was spiraling. There was no other way to describe what she was doing while staring at the big bottle of hair conditioner in Gareth and Gretchen’s shared bathroom. The water was scalding, leaving her skin pink and her fingers pruny but she didn’t attempt to move from under the stream for several seconds. Had she really been that obvious? Could people tell that she liked Eddie? Could he tell? What if he didn’t know, but found out and was disgusted about it? She’d shared so much of her past lately, what if he used it as a weapon to hurt her? Oh, but Eddie wasn’t like that. He could be mean when he wanted to, but never to his friends, or at least not intentionally. He could be harsh sometimes, but he didn’t mean to hurt anyone. And besides, he’d offered up his life story to her too so that meant he trusted her. But what if he started hating her? What if he hated that he’d confided in her while she was secretly harboring this big ass crush that seemed to grow every day and left her breathless every time their hands touched? What if -

“Dot? You okay in there?” Gareth’s voice cut straight through the madness swirling inside her head.

“Y-yeah! I’ll be out in a sec!”

“Okay! You want egg cream?”

“What?” she turned off the water and wrapped herself in a fluffy baby pink towel, padding closer to the door.

“Egg cream, it’s like an ice cream float but with no ice cream. Like foamy chocolate milk. You wanna try it?”

“Uh, okay. Sure!”

She could hear him walking away towards the kitchen, socks cushioning his steps, and quickly changed into her pajamas trying to come back down to the present. Gareth had always been incredibly nice to her, and she considered themselves to be pretty close. She thought of all the boys as her best friends, but Gareth and her had immediately clicked in a way that was different than with the rest of them. Jeff was very much an equal, a calming presence, the friend she turned to when she was nervous and needed advice, and he sought her out for comfort as well, their relationship shaped around a sort of gentle give and take. On the other hand, Donny was the big brother she’d never had, guiding her in D&D when she felt particularly lost, sharing music with her, and helping her become more confident in her own skin. She’d return his affections with endless enthusiasm and curiosity, their friendship based on mutual admiration and genuine fondness. And Gareth… Gareth was the rambunctious twin she’d always dreamed of. They bickered incessantly, she’d steal his sweatshirts and then let him copy off her homework, and he’d threaten to burp in her face only to then steer her away from bullies in the hallways. Out of all their friends, he was the most likely to give her his real opinion on something without filtering it, and that’s why when she hung up the towel to dry, she decided he deserved to know the truth.

“Hey,” he said, looking up from the glass he was pouring chocolate syrup into. “You can have that one, I didn’t make you a big one in case you didn’t like it.”

“Thanks,” Dottie smiled lightly, and he smiled back. “What did you say this was called? Creamed egg?”

“Egg cream,” Gareth snorted. “It’s chocolate milk, but with seltzer. It sounds crazy but it’s really good, I promise.”

Dottie took a small sip and scrunched her face instantly making him laugh. With a confused expression, she went in for a second sip, and then a third one. She wiped the foam from her upper lip and set the cup down.

“It’s not gross, but it’s not good either.”

“Yeah, it’s kinda weird, right? That’s why I like it. It’s better with Fox’s U-Bet, but I only have Hershey’s,” he said, before taking a big gulp and downing half his glass in one go. “Ready for bed?”

“Can we take down your Freddy Krueger poster? It gives me the creeps.”

“You’re such a baby,” he teased her, but he was already on his way to his bedroom to unpin it from his wall.

They settled in for the night after brushing their teeth while sharing the sink, playfully bumping each other with their elbows for more space. Gareth not only took his Freddy Krueger poster down, but also his Night of the Living Dead and The Evil Dead posters while Dottie fluffed her pillow, the air mattress bouncing softly every time she moved. They lay in the dark for a few minutes, moonlight barely giving shape to the bumps in the bedroom before she turned to him.

"G?" Dottie whispered, not wanting to wake him up if he'd already fallen asleep.

"Yeah?"

"If I tell you a secret, you promise not to tell anyone? Not even the guys?"

"Of course," the sheets shifted against his legs as he rolled onto his side and she saw his hand extend until it was right next to her. "Pinky swear."

She lifted her own hand up and linked pinkies with him, shaking on it once. He stayed on his side, squinting in the darkness to see her profile but she never spoke. He thought she'd maybe dozed off, but the blow-up mattress began crackling when she turned on her side to look at him. A car sped down the street illuminating the room and both teens stared at each other until the lights dimmed again. Gareth could tell, if only for a brief moment, that she was terrified of what was stuck in her throat.

"Do you… do you wanna, like, come up here?" he asked, thinking of how he used to climb into his sister's bed when he had nightmares as a kid. Gretchen would always protest against it, but when he woke up in her arms after the sun had gone up, he knew she didn't really mind that much.

"Yeah. Yes, thank you. Just for a bit, though."

"Just for a bit," he repeated, moving back towards the wall and leaving space for her to crawl under his covers.

They lay on their sides sharing a pillow, their heads so close they could have smelled each others’ minty breaths if they just inched forward a bit more. By all means, the situation should have been extremely weird, but it wasn't. There was no rush, no expectations, just two friends waiting until one of them was brave enough to spill some truth into the midnight. Only mild nervousness at the conversation that was about to unfold could be found on Gareth's bed at that moment.

"I think I like Eddie," Dottie said, breaking the silence and bracing for an impact that never came.

"You think you like Eddie?"

"I… no. No, I know I like him. I like Eddie."

"Okay. And he doesn't know?"

"I haven't told him, so I hope not."

"And you don't know if he likes you back?"

"I was kinda hoping you'd help me out on that."

"Well," Gareth began. "Not sure I can. I've known him for years and he just doesn't talk about that stuff with us. Not since Polly Sue at least."

"Polly Sue?"

"This girl he liked back when we first met him. They were in junior year, I think they sat together in class. He asked her to prom and she laughed at him in front of everyone," he explained. "It was really bad. Her friends made fun of him for like a whole week."

"That's horrible."

"He never talked about girls again after that. I know he's kissed some after gigs but it hasn't happened in months."

"Maybe he found someone he likes?" she said, chest seizing at the thought.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. He's literally spending all his free time with you, so you must be doing something right. I bet he likes you too, but he’s too awkward to say it."

"Yeah? You think so?"

"Yeah! Come on, he'd be a dumbass if he didn't like you back. You're great!"

"You have to say that, you're my best friend," she nudged his leg with hers.

"As your best friend I have to also tell you that you're a freak for not liking latkes with applesauce."

"You're the freak, you sleep with socks on."

Both teens giggled at the absurdity of their fight, Gareth swinging a leg over her hip while she gave him a hug with her left arm only, the right one tucked under her head. He hugged her back, also with one arm, his chin barely touching her forehead.

"You know, if you really want to know, you could just ask him," he suggested.

"I can't walk up to him and go "hey Eddie! Do you like me? Oh, why am I asking you say? Don't worry about it, just curious!". Like, I'd literally rather fucking fall into the quarry."

"I'm not saying you should ask him like that, smartass. You could just ask him if he likes anyone, it’s a friendly question."

"And if he says he does and it's not me?"

"Then you know and you can move on. But honestly, I don't think you should worry. He got you a ticket for prom, he's getting all his grades up for you. I think you're good. Just, keep going like that, y'know? Show him what he’s getting with you if he grows some balls."

"You're really smart sometimes, you know that?" she teased, but her voice was full of fondness.

"Eh, I have my moments," he grinned.

They chatted for another hour, gossiping about things they'd heard in the hallways and making plans for the summer after graduation, the places they wanted to see, the food they wanted to try, the people they wanted to meet. Dottie slipped back into her mattress when the yawns became frequent, sheets cold but heart warm with the knowledge that if everything failed, she'd always could count on Gareth to be her best cheerleader.

Tuesday, May 13th - 1986

If Eddie thought dropping Dottie off at Gareth’s the previous night was bad for his blood pressure, he had no way of preparing himself for the absolute shock it was to see them hanging onto each other near Jeff’s locker where all his friends were congregating before their third period. Gareth was barely awake, clinging to Dottie to keep himself upright despite his head lolling onto hers every few seconds. Dottie looked equally sleepy but seemed to be less in danger of falling to the floor, shoulder tucked under his armpit and locking her body in place. All of that would have been enough to give Eddie a heart attack, but the fact that she was wearing Gareth’s oversized Van Halen sweatshirt tucked into her overalls had his brain firing in wild directions.

"Hey, man," Donny said, standing next to Jeff.

"Hey. You two good?" he asked the tired duo.

"Hi, Ed," Dottie smiled at him sleepily, and Eddie felt his insides turn to mush. "We got an A+."

"First A+ I've gotten since middle school," Gareth muttered, eyes closed but with a satisfied grin on his lips.

"Probably the last one too," Jeff teased, making the curly haired boy blindly lunge at him.

The sudden movement dislodged Dottie’s comfy stand, making her wobble against Eddie's side, left hand coming up to clutch the front of his shirt softly. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders to help stabilize her, but truth be told, he just wanted to hold her and it seemed like a good enough excuse. She didn’t seem to mind, letting herself relax into his soft embrace.

"Sorry," she said, stifling a yawn. "We stayed up really late last night, I'm exhausted."

"I can see that. You wanna skip Calc and take a nap in my van?"

"We can't skip Calc, finals are in a couple of weeks."

"Princess, you're dead on your feet right now."

"We aren't skipping Calc," she said firmly. "I'll nap in the library during fourth."

"Okay," he chuckled. "I'll wake you up for lunch."

Eddie didn't have the heart to wake her up after she fell asleep. Once fourth period started and they were free to study wherever they wanted, he dragged her towards a dark-ish corner at the back of the library and worked on his drawing portfolio quietly while she snoozed on the carpeted floor, her head resting on his lap. She slept straight through fourth period and lunch, and he made no attempts to rouse her from her slumber before the bell rang signaling the start of the last period and the end to their shared classes for the day. He walked her to her Home Economics classroom where Donny was waiting to fully wake her up with a bone-crunching hug, and hurried towards the Biology class he shared with Jeff who asked about their absence at the lunch table with a worried expression.

By the time they all reconvened in the parking lot at the end of the day, she was looking much more alive and he was hungry as hell. They didn’t stop to get snacks as they so often did, choosing instead to share Dottie’s BLT and chips she’d packed for lunch and the brownies she’d made during Home Ec on their drive to the trailer. She didn’t even wipe his tepid bottle of water before taking her own sip, and he hung onto that detail for far longer than he should have. Who could care about her wearing Gareth’s clothes when she lifted a bit of sandwich to his mouth while his hands were busy switching gears and pulling into a turn?

Wayne, as always, was happy to see her and gave her a big hug when they walked into the trailer. Dottie offered the last piece of brownie to him and Eddie could have sworn the old man thought about bringing out adoption papers right there and then. He left them to chat while he rearranged the mess in his bedroom and then the two teens retreated to the dry comfort of his bed, looming clouds threatening to rain again after it had drizzled all morning. Nobody had told Dottie the midwest was this goddamn rainy before she’d made the big move, but she’d much preferred it to how hot she knew summer was going to get as the days went by. She finished her homework for the day quickly and Eddie let her wander around his room while he steadily worked on his, Biology textbook open next to his knee.

When he was on his last question, he noticed she seemed to be bouncing with energy, keeping herself busy by rearranging his tape collection again. He snapped his textbook shut with enough force for her to jolt her head up, and as soon as he’d cleared his bed from any stray papers, she jumped on it, kneeling in front of his crossed legs with shifty eyes and rosy cheeks.

“Okay, spill. You look like Gareth when he overhears something juicy in the hallway,” Eddie said, leaning back onto the wall behind his bed and crossing his arms.

“Speaking of Gareth,” she began, and Eddie waited patiently. “We were talking about prom last night, and, well, it doesn’t really matter, but I was just wondering if you… because we’re all going together as a group, right? But you got me my ticket and I didn’t want things to be awkward if you did so I thought-”

“Princess, I’m so lost right now.”

“Right. Sorry,” she said sheepishly. She took a deep breath while she rearranged her legs to sit criss-cross in front of him. “I was just wondering if there was someone you liked, you know? At school? Because you got me my ticket and I’m really grateful, but I don’t want to ruin things for you if you want to get a date or something.”

“Did Gareth tell you I liked someone?” he narrowed his eyes in confusion.

“No! No, I asked him about- I can pay you back if you want,” she wrung her hands on her lap.

“You don’t have to pay me back,” he said, sitting up. “I don’t… there isn’t anyone I want to take to prom. I want to go with you. And, y’know, the guys. Hellfire Class of ‘86 and all that, right?”

“Yeah, no, I just thought…,” she chewed on her lower lip, not knowing where to take the conversation. “It’s okay if you wanna go with someone else.”

“Do you want to go with someone else?” Eddie asked, wary.

“I wanna go with you,” she said, and looked up at him suddenly. “Hellfire Class of ‘86, l-like you said.”

“Okay,” he said, untangling her wrung fingers and pulling one hand into his. “Good. Nothing’s changing then. You don’t have to pay me back.”

“Okay,” she repeated. “Good.”

Eddie pulled her by her hand until she fell forward into him, legs tangled on top of his blanket and arms around hers. Where were these questions coming from? Had Gareth mentioned something to make her doubt that he wanted nothing more than to take her to prom? He couldn’t wait until the moment he got to sit next to her in his van with her fancy dress on and a love stricken smile on his face. Dottie settled comfortably on his chest, the side of her nose pressed to his sternum, cheek squished against the soft cotton of his shirt. He wondered if she felt it too, that inexplicable pull between them, that overwhelming need to be close, to feel the heat coming off from each other’s skin.

One time very early into their friendship, Mike had mentioned that it was strange how touchy they both were with one another considering they hadn’t known each other for long. Eddie was someone who never hesitated to pull a friend into his arms, always play fighting with the boys, not entirely understanding what the phrase “personal space” meant. He was loud and boisterous, and he was equally showy in his affections regardless who was on the receiving end: Eddie Munson didn’t half ass anything - anything that mattered to him, anyways. Dottie on the other hand was much more reserved, but still didn’t shy away from physical contact. She was always letting her head fall into someone’s shoulder, consistently linking her arm with her friends’ while they walked through hallways, giving everyone strawberry chapstick kisses on their cheeks as a goodbye. But even after Dustin had pointed all of this out to Mike and everyone had agreed with his assessment and dropped the subject, Eddie had never stopped thinking about it.

In more recent times, he’d begun hoping that maybe all the work he was putting in was actually coming to fruition. He still had a long way to go in his eyes, but he couldn’t complain about the fact that he was currently holding the girl he was secretly in love with while laying on his bed, in the room she had helped clean, with his tummy full of the food she’d prepared. Would it really be too much of a sin to push things further a little bit? To start figuring out where he stood compared to everyone else in her life?

“What about you?” Eddie asked, hand coming up to brush her broken curls out of her face.

“Hm?”

“Do you like someone at school?”

“Not really, no,” she muttered, and he could feel her heart rate pick up under his own chest.

“What about Gareth?”

“Ew,” she said instantly, making him snort. “I love him, but I don’t like him like that. He’s like… Like an annoying brother. Did you know he snores?”

“Be glad all he did was snore. I’ve heard him fart in his sleep and it’s not pretty,” she chuckled. “Be honest now though,” he paused dramatically. “Do I snore?”

“You don’t snore,” she lifted her head, chin hovering where her cheek had been. “Do I?”

“Yeah. Thought we were gonna get kicked out of the library today, it was like an earthquake,” he said, making her gasp and slap his side. “No, you don’t snore, darling. You slept like a baby.”

“What about you though?”

“Do I sleep like a baby?”

“No - Do you like someone?”

“Not really,” now it was his turn for his heart rate to pick up. He hoped she couldn’t feel it under her hands that were now between her chin and his chest.

“What about Chrissy?”

“What about her?” he was confused.

“Dunno. The guys said you weren’t friends until recently and I just wondered. She’s pretty.”

“I suppose so, yeah,” Eddie thought about Chrissy for a bit. He did think she was pretty, but in the same way he thought a sunset was pretty. Nice to look at, pleasant to be around, but not particularly breathtaking. Not to him at least. He hoped Jason Carver thought Chrissy was as stunning as the way he thought Dottie with her wild hair lying on top of him right now was. She deserved that kind of adoration. “I don’t really see her that way. She’s a good friend, though. I told her she should talk to you, I think you’d get along.”

“Why?”

“Why I think you’d get along?” he asked for confirmation, Dottie nodded. Because I’m in love with you and she’s gonna be my maid of honor slash best woman slash whatever that shit’s called at our wedding. “You’re in World History together, right? You’re both sweet, and kind, and caring. And you both like Elton John. And Queen!”

“Everyone likes Queen.”

“Yeah, but not everyone has their records. I don’t. You could talk about that with her, she owns all of them. She says her Dad always gets a new one for her when he’s on a work trip.”

“You really are good friends with her, huh?”

“Like you and Gareth,” he said, wanting to make it clear his eyes were not wandering. He didn’t need Dottie thinking he wasn’t interested in her. “Well, maybe without the sleepovers.”

“Isn’t it dumb though?” Dottie said, furrowing her brow in mild irritation. “How people just assume that if you’re friends with someone of the opposite sex you must be into them?”

“I mean, sometimes friends like each other.”

“Sure, yeah, but not all friends do. Like, no one thinks you and Jeff are dating and I’ve seen you two almost kiss sharing a mic. If you did that with Chrissy, people would think there’s something going on.”

“Dot, you know exactly why people think that,” he lifted an eyebrow. “Fuck Reagan, remember?”

Dottie sat up immediately, looking very rigid. He took his time sitting up too, but took it as a win when she grabbed his hand and began playing with his rings. It almost looked like she was preparing herself to drop a bomb on him, and he couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t necessary. He knew what she was gonna say before she even opened her mouth, because whatever she looked like right now, was exactly how Eddie looked like a few years back when Wayne found a very special magazine he’d bought in Indy hidden underneath his bed amongst all the other ones he didn’t care to put away properly most of the time.

“Eddie, there’s… there’s something you should-”

“I know,” he said, thumb ghosting along hers. “Me too.”

“You too?” she said, confusion and hope mixing in her eyes. He nodded.

“Darling, you love Rocky Horror. That’s kind of a dead giveaway.”

“I like musicals,” she tried to pull back her hand but he held on.

“You do. But we both know it’s not Rocky and Brad you’re into when you watch it.”

“And,” Dottie swallowed a big lump in her throat before continuing. “-that’s okay with you?”

“Why would I care? It’s not like I watched it for Janet,” he revealed, a knowing smile on his face.

“So you like… boys?” she asked, wanting to turn all the cards on the table upright.

“And girls,” he said, her eyes snapping back to his. “And you like girls?”

“And boys. Like you.”

“Like me.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds before she let out an airy laugh, like she had been holding it for a while. Eddie wondered if he was the first person she’d ever told this to. Maybe someday he’d tell her that Wayne wouldn’t care either, and when it happened, she’d tell him that her Auntie Rachel didn’t mind as well, but for now, this shared secret would stay between the four walls of Eddie’s bedroom that no longer smelled like mold or vinegar. It smelled like home.

“Have you…,” Dottie began, not knowing how to ask. He picked up on what she meant instantly.

“Yeah. A couple of times at The Hideout. The guys don’t know though.”

“Do you think they’d have a problem with it?”

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think I’m ready to find out yet,” he said honestly. She nodded in agreement. “Have you?”

“Just one time. A kiss at a party. We were playing Truth or Dare.”

“Real steamy,” he joked, and she pushed him lightly.

“I was fifteen, okay? It was enough to send me into cardiac arrest.”

“I bet. I thought I was having a weird trip my first time. Didn’t help that we definitely smoked some strange shit before.”

“I feel silly now,” she admitted. “I thought you’d be upset.”

“Come here.”

He opened his arms and she crawled between his legs, squeezing his middle. He rocked them both side to side for a bit to make her giggle and loosen up. Eddie had a good feeling about where they were headed after this and let himself enjoy it, knowing that the knot in his stomach he’d identified as jealousy had begun unraveling. She didn’t like anyone at school and now she knew that he didn’t either. This was good. Things could grow on fertile ground, and he was doing a damn good job at prepping the soil. It was time, he felt, to turn up the heat.

“Hey,” he said, and she hummed in acknowledgement, not lifting her head from his shoulder. “So, you know my birthday is this week, right? Jeff was telling me today that we could have a movie night in his basement. You game?”

“On Thursday?”

“I was thinking on Friday after Hellfire. And on Thursday you can come over and we can, like, hang out? Wayne said he’s gonna get a cake, and I’d kinda really like to spend the day with you both. Nothing big. We can still do homework and stuff, I mean, I’m only halfway done with my portfolio and-”

“I’d love to come. Count me in, birthday boy.”

“Great. I’ll tell Wayne later.”

Later that night, when Dottie was tucked into her own bed after two long days filled with very interesting conversations, she pondered on Gareth’s words. Show him what he’s getting with you if he grows some balls, he had said. Just before she fell asleep, a sudden thought entered her brain and stuck to the front pushing away everything else. Maybe I am the one that needs to grow some balls.

taglist (comment below or shoot me a dm if you want to be added!): @munsonology @kurdtbean

#bunny writes #small town fic #eddie munson x female character #eddie munson x oc #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fic #eddie munson #eddie munson x ofc #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #stranger things 4 #gareth stranger things #jeff stranger things #chrissy cunningham #joseph quinn #baby's first fic

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