#eddie did but he refused to talk to everyone right after he found out that he'd be staying in hawkins for good | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

strangersteddierthings · 9 months

Text

No Regrets - Part Five

Part One🦇 Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four🦇Part Five🦇Part Six

This beautiful fic cover you see below was made by the fantastic, wonderful and lovely @skepsiss <3 Thanks so much!!! I'm still crying about it.

He jolts backwards, the burning in his chest hurts, it fucking hurts but- but it doesn't? He pulls in a deep, shaking breath and feels no pain.

"Steve?" Nancy asks from off to his right, so he turns to look at her. She looks concerned, and scared in a way he hasn't seen her in years. (Except it's not years, is it? Not anymore, or not right now?) "Are you okay?"

He shakes his head before digging his palms into his eyes. He's dying, dying, dying- he's dead, he has to be. The Storms are so toxic and he-

"Steve," Robin's voice is accompanied by her hands around his wrists. She pulls his hands from his eyes and he lets her. He blinks at her worried face. "Steve, what just happened?"

"I-I was. I think... give me a moment" Steve says. Robin nods once, a confirmation, but she doesn't move away or release his wrists.

He pulls in another deep breath and closes his eyes to think. He's trying to remember. He thinks he promised to explain everything after... after Pennhurst? Yes, he remembers. Promised that after Robin and Nancy got back from their trip to Pennhurst, he'd tell them everything he knows. It's... it is after, now.

It was yesterday that Robin and Nancy went to Pennhurst and spoke to Creel. They learned about Creel, and the music. They still got found out as fakes; Steve didn't remember what caused them to be discovered last time to be able to warn them against it this time.

He still ended up being bullied into driving Max around. This time, though, he already had an hour-long loop of Running Up That Hill in his car. They'd let Max go to speak to Billy alone, like last time. The boys paced around the car and this time, when they realize that Max isn't responding, Steve's already loading the tape into the cassette player. He shoves it into Lukas's hands and tells him to put it on Max, press play, and to not stop begging her to come back until she is.

Steve saw he had questions, but Max was more important. She floated, and fell, and Lucas had caught her. Then...?

Oh, right. Then, he did explain, yesterday evening, after everyone had crowded into the Wheeler's basement. Went over Vecna winning, Hawkins becoming ground zero for the apocalypse. Talks about a future with a lot of loss, but won't say who, as well as the slow decay of the air and earth. That you could breathe the air for small moments of time, but long exposure would make you sick. That even though they'd finally killed Vecna in 1989, too much damage had been done, too many gates opened, kept opening with every new death by demo-creature. El alone would never be able to close off all the gates. They were working on trying to create a reverse of the machine below Starcourt, meant to close gates instead of open, but the world would probably be a complete wasteland before they could complete it.

No one had reacted well to the news, but the yelling was a minimum, which had been a pleasant surprise.

In the end, Steve had told them they needed more people, more help. That he was going to tell Wayne about the Upside Down.

He opens his eyes, now, and looks around. The place is small, familiar almost. Wood paneling and- The Munson's home. They're in Eddie's home. Because last night Steve had come over. He'd come over and told Wayne everything because he couldn't do this again. Not alone, not as the only responsible adult.

The Wayne in the future had been so willing to help, when Hawkins ripped open at its seams, and Wayne in the present was the same. He didn't- he didn't even call Steve crazy. He'd said he believed Steve, that some government lady told him they were going to pay for him to be in a hotel since his home was an active crime scene, but Wayne'd refused. Eddie wouldn't know where to call when he got out, and what if he just showed up and Wayne was gone- well, Wayne found that unacceptable.

Now, Wayne should be his way back from Indy in Eddie's recovered van with the Byers and Mike, and they're here waiting on a call from Eddie.

Steve's not dying, or, he's not anymore? Or maybe he is, and this is just. What the end is like? Getting to put an end to your regrets or something.

Whatever. It doesn't really matter what or why or even how. He knows what is in store for the future if they don't stop Vecna today.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm back," Steve says, opening his eyes to look at Robin.

She scrunches her brow. "Back?"

"Back from the future," Steve gives her a lopsided grin and in return she squints at him, leaning in real close to his face like the closer she is the more of his mind she'll be able to read.

"You're a different Steve. Again."

"What?" Nancy asks.

"Again?" Steve asks.

Robin scrutinizes his face some more before backing off, just a few inches. "Yeah. It was- Saturday, when you just walked out of our shift after Dustin and Max showed up, you were different then. Not. It was- you know how we were just talking about how if only we could combine, our love life problems would be fixed?"

Steve does, but only after having to think about it for a moment. It was so long ago, but it wasn't. Not for the Steve he's replaced, not for Robin in front of him. "Yeah. I remember."

"It's like I didn't realize how much we'd already combined until we weren't anymore. It was like... like you were a completely different person. I thought it was just, maybe, a reaction to learning the Upside Down was back. But you got different. More haunted."

"You noticed a difference?"

Robin scoffs, "of course I did. You're you but it was. This whole week it's been like... each day brings a new you. With different quirks. Except yesterday was still all the same old-new you so I thought- I thought maybe we'd succeeded. Fixed whatever it was that needed changed because you hadn't changed. But we haven't yet. 'Cause you're back."

Steve shakes his head. "No. No, we haven't. But this time- we'll have the manpower."

"No, I mean, I just-" Robin huffs, falling back onto her butt rather than staying in an uncomfortable crouch. "I just noticed, is all."

"Are we making it better," Nancy asks, "or worse?"

Steve looks from Robin to Nancy. "I-I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean I don't know. I don't- I don't know what we've changed. Or if it's been for the better. Because I don't remember."

"Oh," Nancy says with a nod, the look on her face morphing to one Steve knows means she's working out the puzzle of it all. He'll leave her to it.

His attention turns back to Robin, who has her head tipped back, looking at the unopened gate on the roof of the trailer. It definitely cannot be mistaken for water damage anymore. "What are you thinking about?"

Robin tips her head back down to look at Steve. "Exactly that."

"What?"

"Sorry," she says with a frown, "I was just thinking about how we can't- we don't really read each other's minds anymore. I know we should be worrying more about the end of the world but I'm just, just being selfish. Worrying about our friendship."

"You are the only constant in my life, Robin Buckley," Steve confesses, a fierceness to his tone he doesn't even recognize. "You have been, and always will be, the person I need in my life to bother even living it. I swear to God, Robbie, that if anything ever happens to you, I will walk into traffic."

Robin lets out a laugh. "That's a bit extreme."

Steve shoots Nancy a look; he can see she's in her own world. He stands then, offering a hand to Robin to pull her up. "Come on. I have something to tell you. A soulmate secret."

Robin's eyes light up with delight and he pulls her from the ground before leading her to the only place they can get privacy. Eddie's room.

It's two steps into the room that Steve realizes he's never seen Eddie's room before. Or, if he had, the memory of it is lost with the time line it happened in. In Steve's memory, the front half of Eddie's home gets obliterated, and when Eddie and Wayne went back to gather the things that survived the gate opening, Dustin, Mike, and Lucas had gone with the help pack it up. Steve had been helping fortify the high school.

It seems ridiculous, to be hit with the thought of never having seen Eddie's room, with the threat of the apocalypse still looming.

"Alright, secret time," Robin sounds delighted, and her voice pulls him from his thoughts. She shuts the door and turns, eyeing the bed skeptically. "Hmm, standing room only I think."

Steve huffs out a laugh as he takes in the mess of a room, a room that looks lived in and shows Eddie's personality and the things he cares about. Nothing at all like his own room at the Harrington house; perfectly clean and matching and devoid of anything distinctly Steve. "Like you ever make your bed."

The noise Robin makes is clearly offended, and she smacks his arm lightly with the back of her hand, "uncalled for! Unprovoked, even!"

"Yeah, well, you're judging a guy who's been in jail this past 48-ish hours. Not like he had time to tidy up," Steve says.

"I think the state of his bed -whole room, really- is not because he didn't come home to clean up. In fact, I think he just lives like this."

"At least his room looks lived in. I mean, look at all of this on the walls. You think he drew these?" Steve says, hand reach out to brush against a drawing tacked to the wall nearest him.

"Your room could look lived in, too, if you weren't afraid of a few tack holes," Robin replies, crossing the room. Steve watches her go, approaching the mirror and the guitar mounted in front of it. She examines the guitar before picking up the red yoyo atop the amp.

"And here you were worried about not being able to read my mind anymore."

She turns to him and gives him a quick, genuine smile before turning her attention back to the yoyo. "So, what's the soulmate secret? You really good with a yoyo?"

"What? No. I didn't even know that was in here," Steve says.

"I thought you knew the future," Robin teases as she gets the yoyo to successfully fling from her palm and back into her grasp. She makes a little pleased noise before she creeps around the room, gawking at all of Eddie's things.

"I know one, specific future that we are trying to change, if you'll remember. I didn't know you could yoyo."

"Neither did I- oh my God, there's an Alf costume in his closet!"

"A what- no, nevermind. You can snoop and-"

"I'm not a snoop."

"-and listen as the same time, so I just. I'm gonna say something and please know that I have had five years to figure this all out, and also know that the apocalypse has a way of putting things into perspective."

"Mhmm," Robin hums an acknowledgement as she moves back to where she picked up the yoyo. "Why does he have a pepper shaker in his room?"

Steve ignores her, choosing to believe that was just her thinking out loud and not actually asking him. "Actually, the apocalypse was full of surprises. And I mean, beyond the surprises one might expect. Like, so many of our old teachers are survival experts. Did you ever have Mr. Clark, that guy- wait, no. I had something I wanted to tell you."

The phone starts ringing in the living room. Nancy's out there, though, so neither of them move to the door.

"Anyway, this feels so... why am I so nervous about this? I mean, I've already told you once, but, uh, I. I'm a little worried, scared?"

"Hey, whoa," Robin has dropped her investigation and turned fully back to Steve. "What is it?"

"I like Eddie," Steve blurts, needing to get the words out. "I like Eddie, and I died so now I think this is my only shot, like last last shot but I don't even know if he'll still like me back and I'm, like, ridiculously nervous to see him because, and this is the soulmate secret part because-"

"Whoa, what, what!!? Did you just say died?"

"- you cannot tell anyone, but I'm the reason he's been in jail. I called Hawkins PD and told them where they could find Eddie, 'cause if he was in jail then he couldn't be blamed for Fred's murder, but I've never had to fess up to that because, like, Hawkins exploding and life becoming an actual nightmare for years made it not important. Like, what's a criminal record in the face of no surviving government?"

Robin is staring at him, eyes wide and face slightly pale and it's now that Steve thinks that, maybe, he's not doing as well with everything as he thought he might be.

"Am I... okay?" Steve asks himself out loud, and that has Robin throwing herself across the room to clutch at Steve, drag him into a crushing hug. He hugs back, trembling and finding it hard to breath.

"No, no I don't think you are," Robin whispers, squeezing tight.

"Hey, that was- oh!" Nancy says as she flings the bedroom door open. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt-"

"It's just a hug," Robin says.

"Right. Umm, the phone was Officer Callahan. We can go pick up Eddie."

"Right," Steve says, pulling away from the hug and pulling himself together. He can have his mental break down tomorrow. "Let's go get Eddie."

Provided if that, this time when he closes his eyes to rest, he'll wake up here and not. Well, either in the future or not at all.

@i-less-than-three-you @nburkhardt @afewproblems @a-little-unsteddie @sevenmerrymagpies @steviesummer @queenie-ofthe-void @mycatsstolemybiscuit @lololol-1234 @synonym-for-strange @tchackdaw

#steddie #my fic #time travel au #apocalypse au #butterfly effect au #i adore the scene of robin steve and nancy up in nancys room as they discuss going to pennhurst #because robins just in the background going through all of nancys things like thats a completely socially acceptable thing to do #so of course shes gonna do that to eddies room.#also *I* know Alf wasn't out yet but they put the costume in there anyway so in this universe Alf came out in '85 instead of '86 #*grumbling to self* thisll be short i said. only like 4 parts i said. well im a goddamn liar arent i???

121 notes · View notes

helpimstuckposting · 1 year

Text

Part one | part two | part three

Artwork

—

Robin and Steve went up to sing a few more times, though Steve was still emotionally rattled a bit. Give me your phone, Eddie had said, come to the show any day this weekend, he said, just text me and I’ll come out to give you a pass. What the fuck was Steve’s life right now? Once he told Dustin about this, Steve was going to have bragging rights for the rest of their lives, the kid would never have the high ground again. No matter what his ego said.

Eddie was back at the table with his band mates. Jeff and Gareth, Eddie had introduced them. Steve was just a little bit tempted to do a Corroded Coffin song to fuck with Eddie, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to pull off the vocals anyway. The band had refused to go up at all, said they had to rest before their show tomorrow, that causing a commotion wouldn’t be a good idea either. Steve was a little bit sad he wouldn’t get a personal show in such close quarters, that would have really made Dustin jealous. As it was, Steve could probably claim this as the kid’s birthday gift for life. Not that he would.

He was almost more excited just to tell Dustin than he was to go to the show at all. Though, he was very excited, this all still felt like a hallucination. Robin had pinched him multiple times, just to check he wasn’t dreaming. Not that he asked her to, she just did.

He couldn’t tell what Eddie was saying to his band mates, but Steve could still see the wide smile on his face, and for once Steve didn’t choke on his words or skip a breath.

Across the bar, stage lights in his eyes, he could see Eddie throw his head back and laugh - the pull of his skin making Steves mouth water. He was so drawn to Eddie, to the soft edges and eyes that held fireflies, and sure he was nervous around him, who wouldn’t be? But at this point, Steve could either not do anything and he’d never see Eddie again, or he’d shoot his shot and if Eddie rejected him the outcome would be exactly the same; Steve had nothing to lose. If he had to wrap himself just a bit in King Steve in order to finish the song calmly and walk over to Eddie, that was his business. Everyone needed armor now and again, and growing up the center of attention taught Steve exactly how to pull that armor out and engulf him.

After their song, probably the last of the night, Steve marched right up to Eddie’s table with a new-found determination. He had nothing to lose.

“Hey Eddie, can I talk to you?” He asked, lightly brushing his fingers against Eddie’s forearm. He didn’t want to grab and seem too forward or pushy, didn’t want to seem crazed or too much.

“Sure!” Eddie replied, glancing once over to his friends (who shot him mocking looks and little smirks) and leaned heavier into Steve’s touch. He followed Steve over to the dark hallway past the stage, the one leading to the bathrooms. It was a bit dingy, but perfectly quiet and out of the way for what Steve wanted to say.

Steve turned around to face the rockstar, felt closed in with him in this little space. The worst Eddie could do was take back his offer to go to the concert this weekend, that’s it. Steve kept repeating it over and over again in his mind, trying to convince himself he could really do this. Before, in school, Steve had been so cocky and so confident. It didn’t matter that Robin always told him to cool it, to humble himself, he was a Harrington, he was King Steve, all the girls wanted him and all the guys wanted to be him, it was easy.

But then a high school girlfriend, one he was genuinely serious about, had called his love bullshit. She said he wasn’t worth it, that it was all an act and their relationship was another bullshit dance their parents had pushed onto them. He never felt like King Steve after that, not really. He felt the mask and the act and the character he played but he never felt like that person again.

Here, in the back of the bar with the lights dimmed and the music from the stage dampened between the close walls, with Eddie looking at him with so much patience for someone he only met yesterday, he felt like it didn’t matter if he had the kings mask on or not. He could be Steve and that would be okay.

“Steve?” Eddie asked when Steve hadn’t said anything. His fingers trailed lightly against Steve’s forearm, gently gliding into the palm of his hand. Steve clasped onto the soft touch, turning his palm into Eddie’s.

“I was wondering how long you were going to be in town?” Steve said, his inflection pitching up into a question.

“Tuesday we’ve got another show about two hours from here. Going back to our roots, so to speak, and after that we’re back on the road,” he replied. So, four days. They had performances Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and Steve worked the weekends anyway. He could take Dustin to the show on Friday and then maybe… if Eddie was free, maybe Monday…

“Would you go to dinner with me?” Steve asked, tugging on the hand still held in his own. He pulled Eddie toward him just a step, letting the musician get closer if he wanted to. If he chose to.

Edit took a step closer, then another, the tips of their shoes stopping against one another.

“I’d love to,” he whispered between their shared space. “Does Monday night work for you?”

Steve huffed out a laugh, “Monday is perfect,” he said. “I’ll probably stop by your show tomorrow, if that’s okay?” Steve still wasn’t quite sure he was awake and not hallucinating, that he wasn’t drugged and unconscious in a hospital bed somewhere. He just wanted to double, triple and quadruple check that he was fully awake and welcome to just show up at this concert without a ticket.

“I said any day this weekend, of course you’re allowed to come tomorrow.”

“Well, sorry for kind of not believing this is actually happening after a rockstar I met yesterday said I could just show up to his concert completely unannounced without a ticket and waltz right in like some kind of famous lunatic or something!” Steve shouted a bit more than he intended to, quieting quickly and glancing around to make sure he wasn’t causing a scene.

Coast clear, his eyes darted back to Eddie who was pulling a strand of hair over his lips, and very clearly trying to hold back his laughter. Steve rolled his eyes. He couldn’t believe how quickly he was thinking fondly of this rockstar, like he knew him, like was comfortable being around him.

“Sorry, sorry,” Eddie laughed, “I promise it’s allowed. Just text me when you’re outside and you’ll be lead into the venue, okay?”

Steve nodded, tugging on Eddie’s hand just to remember the feeling.

The two groups dispersed shortly after their conversation, Steve and Robin heading back to their apartment while Eddie and his band mates went back to their hotel or bus or wherever musicians on tour stayed while in town. It was late, around 1am, but Steve couldn’t wait to tell Dustin the news. The little twerp would be awake anyway, Steve was certain.

He called the second they got back to the apartment, Dustin picking up on the second ring.

“What’s up, what’s wrong, what happened, are you okay? Is Robin okay?” He answered in a panic.

“What, I can’t call my favorite duckling just to talk?” Steve replied, trying to lighten the mood so Dustin wasn’t worried.

“Duckling? Steve what the fuck, it’s one in the morning!”

He rolled his eyes, though Dustin couldn’t see, “oh what, like you were asleep? Tell Suzie I say hi.”

“Hi, Steve!” a soft voice crackled through the line. Dustin and Suzie always FaceTimed until one of them passed out, talking about nerd things until some ungodly hour. He smirked down the line.

“Yeah, okay, whatever. Why are you calling?”

“You’re gonna want to sit down for this, Buddy, are you sitting? Are you planted firmly on your ass?”

“My ass is firm,” Dustin joked back, a small ‘very firm’ chirped in the background.

“I… did not need to know that, never ever say that to me ever again. I hate you so much.”

Steve could practically hear Dustin rolling his eyes over the speaker. The kid was predictable, Steve could probably guess his every move on the other side of the phone.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m the love of your life, what do you want? Why do I have to be sitting?”

“Robin is the love of my life and you know it,” Steve said. He took a deep breath, preparing to give the best news of Dustin’s life. “So you know that band you’re obsessed with?”

“Do I know the band I’m obsessed with? Yes, Steve, I know Corroded Coffin.”

“Okay, you keep up this little attitude of yours and I won’t tell you I just got tickets for their show tomorrow,” Steve blurted out. He was half expecting Dustin to continue through more arguments about his attitude, completely bypassing what Steve just said. Of course, Dustin was never one to miss the important information.

It was silent on the other end.

Steve pulled the phone away from his ear, waiting a few seconds before the inevitable scream from the other end. He could hear Dustin yelling back and forth between asking Steve questions and relaying the information to Suzie. He wasn’t loud enough to hear any actual words or questions, but there was no way in hell Steve was going to put the phone back to his ear with Dustin going berserk on the line. He didn’t want to ruin his hearing before even stepping foot inside the concert venue, how ironic would that be?

“Dustin!” Steve shouted into the receiver to no avail, “Dustin… Dustin! I swear to god I will answer your questions but you have to ask them one at a time, bud.”

There was a deep breath, a few muffled reassurances from Suzie, and then it was quiet again. Steve hesitantly placed the phone to his ear, waiting for the first question.

“Steve… how the hell did you get tickets? The show was sold out! All the days are. I know, I checked!”

“Okay, so I… didn’t technically get tickets,” Steve cringed.

“… WHAT? YOU-,”

“Dustin! I swear to god, I’m getting us into the concert tomorrow.”

“How, Steven?? HOW are you getting us into a sold out concert tomorrow for the biggest band to perform in Indy in years, the day before opening night?”

“Okay first of all, never call me Steven again. Ever. You got that? Never ever. And second…,” he paused, mulling over his choice of words, “I uh… I know a guy who’s working the venue.”

Steve could only hear Dustin’s breathing over the speaker. He didn’t know if he broke the kid or if he was trying to decide if Steve could be trusted after nine years of friendship. Maybe Dustin thought he was delusional, he wouldn’t be the first person to think that tonight.

“Is this a rich person thing?” Dustin finally asked.

“A rich- Dude, I make $20 an hour, no this isn’t a rich person thing, Jesus Christ,” Steve muttered. A snort like a lawn mower revved from behind Robin’s bedroom door, and Steve contemplated the pros and cons of shaving her head in her sleep for the third time that night.

“Well sorry! Forgive me for not believing you!” Dustin shouted sarcastically, the earlier hysteria bleeding into his words again (though thankfully not as much as before). Steve told Dustin to take another deep breath before continuing.

“He told me to text him when we got there, they’ll let us through. I already told him we’re going tomorrow, he’s prepared and reassured me like three times that he’ll personally make sure we’re let in. Do you want to go or not? I swear to god, kid, I could still rescind the offer.”

“Steve if you take this back I will shove my hand so far up your ass-”

“Oh like you could take me, Henderson, I don’t think-”

“You lost to Jonathan, I think I could do just fine.”

“Sounds like you don’t want to see a concert tomorrow, I think what you mean to say is ‘Oh my god, Steve, this is the best news of my life, you’re the greatest guy ever, I can’t believe I know someone who can get me into a concert for my favorite little rock band’,” He taunted, raising his voice to a pitch that absolutely wasn’t Dustin’s, but he knew it would rial the kid up anyway.

Henderson’s put-upon sigh crackled through the receiver, and Steve couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips. Dustin could be exasperated all he wanted, Steve knew this was going to be an amazing experience for him, even if they had the shittiest seats possible.

“They’re metal, Steve. Metal.”

“Yeah, yeah, pick you up at 7!”

“This better not be a trick, or-,” Steve hung up before he got caught in another round of banter. Cutting Dustin off always brought Steve a sick kind of pleasure, the kid could go on and on and on, honestly it was self preservation. He headed to his room to finally sleep, kicking Robin’s door as he went. She would be spared from a buzz cut tonight, he was in a good mood.

—

I’ve started tagging these as ‘the upside downers’ because that’s what I’m naming Stobin’s band, if you want to follow that tag specifically! I also always tag helpimstuckwriting for any of my writing

Tag list:

@weirdandabsurd42 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @estrellami-1 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @snapshotmaestro @youraveragemushroom @stxrcrossed186 @remuslupinisthevoiceofgod @notfrogsunderatrenchcoat @irethsune @m-owo-n @phantomcat94

#i hope I got the banter right #i always feel like I’m terrible at dialogue #i like writing it but the ‘he said’ ‘she said’ tags are so awkward #sorry if it sucks lmao #stranger things #the upside downers #stobin #steddie #steve harrington #robin buckley #eddie munson #dustin henderson #stranger things ficlet #stranger things fic #famous eddie munson #fanfiction #helpimstuckwriting

158 notes · View notes

justmeinadaze · 2 years

Note

Still taking requests? Heres an idea i had if youd like to write it. Eddie and chrissy are finally together but chrissy refuses to be seen with eddie at school cuz of her reputation. Reader is the new girl at school and shes gorgeous she takes an interest in eddie while every guy at school is drooling over reader cuz shes the new eye candy. She doesnt know eddie is taken. But they become close and he never tells her hes dating chrissy so when she finally decides to sleep with him she wakes up before him she sees in his night stand chrissys hair scrunchie and a picture of them together she puts 2 and 2 together and leaves. She avoids him like the plauge at school and is super short with him. So when she finally confronts him shes super pissed and telling him that she never wanted to be "the other woman" and she doesnt trust him cuz hes a cheater. You can end it with reader and eddie together or reader getting with someone else like steve or something. Sorry if this was really detailed but its been on my mind for a while. I live for the angst with a happy ending for reader.

A/N: I bare you this story. Idk why this took me a hot minute. You gave a lot of detail to work with :) I hope this matches what you had in mind <3. I to live for the angst with a hopeful ending.

Warnings: A Cheating Eddie 😮 lol many an angst with friends to lovers.

Word count: 4158

Chrissy fiddles with her thumbs nervously before Eddie gently places his huge palm over her tiny hands.

“Sweetheart, you’re going to be fine. You always get nervous before a pep rally and you always do fantastic.”

She flashes Eddie an anxious smile. He leans over to give her a quick peck on the lips but she quickly pulls back. “Oh, Eddie. It’s just we’re near the school…someone could walk by…”

“No. Um, yeah, I understand.”

He did understand but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Eddie and Chrissy had been going out for a couple of months now even though no one in Hawkins knew. Everyone in Hawkins would definitely have something to say especially to her if they ever found out. She had already been through so much and he knew how vicious people in this town could be so when Chrissy asked if they could keep their relationship a secret he agreed.

She looked around before hoping out of his van to walk the last mile up to the school. Eddie made sure she rounded the corner before starting the ignition and heading for the parking lot. He made his way to the gym and climbed the risers to the top corner away from all the kids. He watched with envious eyes as Chrissy talked casually with Jason Carver.

Eddie’s head turned abruptly when he heard heavy footsteps run up the steps and you laid between the risers below his feet.

“You don’t see me.”, you whispered. One of jocks from the swim team game into view, eyes shifting from left to right as if he was looking for someone. Eddie kept his eyes forward making sure to not give you away.

“Hey Freak!? Have you seen a girl run by here?”

Eddie shrugs his shoulders as he gestures around the room. “There are girls all over the place. Care to be more descriptive?”

“Ugh, never mind.”, the jock rolled his eyes as he left to look somewhere else. After a moment, you sat up, smiling at him.

“Thank you…”

“Eddie.”

“Thank you, Eddie. Fucking people around here struggle with the word no. I’m Y/N.”, you extended your hand to him, which he shook. “I just moved into town last week.”

“Ah. So, that’s why you don’t look familiar.”

His breath catches in his throat when he hears your laugh. “Most likely. May I sit with you?”

##################

You two sat together through the entire pep rally talking about Hawkins and the town you moved from. You had mentioned how a lot of the boys here kept following you around constantly asking questions and Eddie couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. He cared about Chrissy; he really did. But there was something about you that drew him.

At lunch, he headed for his usual table with his friends when he was knocked to the side by a shoulder.

“Watch where you’re going, Freak!”, Jason glared at him. Chrissy was by his side with wide eyes as they glanced up apologetically at Eddie before looking away.

Suddenly, Jason was pushed forward as Chrissy cringed.

“Shit! Oh my god I am so sorry.” The popular kids turned around to see you now holding an empty tray. Eddie smiled slightly when he saw that their backs were covered in your lunch. “You know, I should really watch where I’m going.” You tone was laced with sarcasm.

Jason huffed, taking off his letterman jacket as he stomped towards the door with Chrissy in tow. You turned around, watching them leave as you placed yourself near Eddie’s side.

“People like that are the worst.”, you smile up at him. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m used to all that bullshit by now.”

“Hm. Not sure that’s the kind of thing you should be used to.”

“Y/N!” One of the party boys Eddie vaguely recognizes saunters over to where you are. “Hey! Cool. We have lunch together to. Do you want to come eat with us?”

“Oh. Um…no thank you, Martin. That’s a nice offer but… EDDIE here,” you loop your arm through his, “has actually already invited me to share lunch with him so…”

The boy looks Eddie up and down before rolling his eyes. “Pfft, whatever.”

“Please get me out of here.”, you giggle as Eddie smiles pulling your arm out the back cafeteria doors.

##################

“You’ll be safe here. No one ever comes out here so at least you won’t be seen with me.”

You raise your eyebrow at him. “I just wanted to get away from the wondering eyes of men trying to get in my pants.”

As Eddie opens his lunchbox, he feels you sit next to him on the bench and place your hand over his own. “Is that normal? People not wanting to be seen with you?” He nods before offering you some pretzels from a zip lock bag. “I don’t understand. I mean, you seem like a nice guy.”

Eddie can’t help but chuckle. “You seriously don’t understand why the rich, preppy jock kids wouldn’t want to hang out with the poor, weirdo metalhead? Jesus, I want to move where you used to live.”

“I’m not one to focus on mundane shit like that. Who cares? None of it will matter after we graduate.”

“You see, Princess, the problem is I can’t seem to graduate.” Eddie gives you half of his sandwich that you gladly take.

“I can help you if you want. I’m not great at Math but everything else I’m eh.”, you smile over at him. “Maybe we can hang out tonight or something. I can also buy us some food to pay you back for eating all your lunch.”

“Oh, you don’t have to pay me back.”

“Ok, then maybe you would just want to hang out with me?”

“Um, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”, Eddie pulled out a cigarette, lighting the tip, and exhaling.

“Oh. Um, ok. No that’s fine. Trust me. I get pushy people so I won’t push you.” You softly run your hand down his back. “Shit, I have to go but if you don’t want to hang out outside of school maybe we can meet during lunch and I can help you study.”

Eddie watches as you run off back towards campus.

#################

You and Eddie quickly became fast friends. True to your word you sat with him during lunch and helped him with some of his homework while Chrissy stayed with the jocks at their table. After school, while Chrissy was at practice, you both would go to the bench in the woods and smoke while talking about random things. You had started waiting for him in the parking lot, after he dropped Chrissy off a mile before campus, so you two could walk to class together.

He loved being around you and the way you made him feel. Eddie was so used to people in the town talking down to him that to have someone actually enjoy his company in front of other people… he felt like he was being seen for the first time in a long time.

“Hey, why don’t we go to the arcade together, hm?”

Chrissy looks up at Eddie from her place on his bed. They had been there since school let out; her reading something for one of her classes and him anxiously staring off into the void. She let out a small laugh as his eyes penetrated through her.

“Eddie, you’re joking, right? You know we can’t do that.”

“Why? What would be so wrong about you and I being seen in a public place? I’m tired of hiding Chris…”

“I know, Eds. I know.” She leans up and tenderly kisses his cheek. “But it won’t be for much longer. Soon we’ll be out of here! Speaking of… I should probably head home. I’ll call you tomorrow?”

He nods his head, lazily kissing her lips as she scurries out the door. Eddie couldn’t stay inside any longer. He needed to get out of his trailer.

#################

“Hey Eddie. Want a beer, man?” The bartender behind the counter slides him a glass of the kind he knew this metalhead enjoyed. Sighing, he chugged down half of his beverage before a familiar laugh caught his attention.

His eyes scanned the bar until he found you with none other than Steve Harrington. You two were at one of the pool tables and his chest was leaning over your back as he showed you how to play the game. The jealousy he felt at the pep rally the first time he met you filled his chest. He hated the way Steve’s hands were on you and the fact that you allowed him to touch you.

He knew he wasn’t allowed to feel this way. He WAS with Chrissy after all but you were special; special to him. Eddie’s feet took control of his body as he found himself in front you guys.

“Hey Eddie.”, you giggled as he leaned into Steve’s chest.

“Hey Munson. How’s it going?”

“Fine.”, his tone was extremely short which only you caught. “How do you know Harrington here?”

“Oh, I went to Family Video to rent a movie and he was working there.” Eddie made an overdramatic shocked face that had you narrowing your eyes. “He asked me out on date and he seemed nice so I said yes.” Steve beamed down at you as you spoke.

“Ah. So this is a date?”, he gestured between the both of you.

“Yes,” you cocked your head to the side. “Is that a problem?”

“Nope. No problem at all.”

“Steve, would you excuse me for a second?” He nods his head as you grab Eddie’s arm pulling him to the side. “Ok, what’s going on?”

“I said there wasn’t a problem. Go on. Enjoy your date with Steve the Hair Harrington. I’m sure you’ll both have a good time.”

“Eddie Munson, I hate games. If you have something to say, say it.”

“No game here. Trust me. I don’t care who you date, touch, or fuck, Princess. Have the most vanilla time of your life.” He turns on you, walking straight out of bar towards his van.

“Hey!” Eddie doesn’t stop but he hears your sneakers pounding the pavement as you run after him. You reach for his arm forcefully turning him around.

“I asked you if you wanted to hang out. You always said it was a bad idea so I just assumed you wanted to be friends. I’ve practically thrown myself at you and every time you push me away. You never make a move, Eddie. What do you want from me? If you want to just be friends that’s fine but if you want something more don’t be a coward. Just tell me—”

His hand flies out to grab the back of your neck, tugging your mouth to his. To his delight, you deepen it, pressing your body against his own. When you finally pull back, you’re both panting for air.

“Get in.” Eddie gestures towards his van and you run around climbing into the passenger’s side as he hops in, starting the car.

As he peels out of the parking lot, your lips are immediately back on his skin, kissing and sucking on his neck. His belt clinks as you unbuckle it, unbuttoning his pants, and pulling out his cock.

He groans as you immediately envelop him with your mouth. You take as much of him in as you can, smearing the spit that falls with your hand. Eddie’s own palm comes to rest on the back of your head, softly guiding you.

“Fuck, Sweetheart. Just like that. Your mouth feels amazing.”

You feel the van stop before his hips thrust up forcing him down to the back of your throat, making you gag. He suddenly tugs gently on your hair, bringing you to his lips for a sloppy kiss.

When he pulls away you take note of your surroundings.

“Where are we?”, your voice comes out hoarse.

“My house. Well, trailer.”

Eddie gets out and, while holding his pants up, runs around to your side to open your door. You can’t help but giggle at the sight.

“Your uncle isn’t here?”

He opens his door for you, gesturing you in. “No ma’am. He’s at work tonight so it will just be you and me.”

You head for his room as he follows, kicking off his pants and sneakers along the way.

Eddie comes up behind you, lifting you off your feet, and playfully tosses you on the bed. Your eyes meet his as you reach up with you finger to move a piece of stray hair out of his face. His lips softly come down to meet yours. You raise your hips, pulling your skirt down as he helps you by tugging them the rest of the way down your legs and on to the floor.

He rolls to your side, moving out of the way so you can throw off your shirt.

“No bra? Really?”

“Oh, like you really didn’t notice.”, you laugh at him as you kick off your panties.

“You really went all out for Steve, huh?”

You reach for his hand, placing it between your legs. “Maybe but all of this,” you glide his finger between your folds, “is for you.”

Eddie’s eyes never left you as he brought his fingers to his mouth, sucking on them before inserting then into your cunt. You moaned at the feeling of him reaching that spot inside of your that your own fingers couldn’t manage to touch.

“You’re really beautiful, you know that?”, his lips met yours again as his tongue danced with yours. His thumb moved to circle your clit as his fingers pumped into you faster.

“Eddie, oh my god.”

He chuckled as he pulled away to watch your face. “You have done this before right? Because, Jesus, Y/N you are so fucking tight.”

Your hips buck up into his hand as you back starts to arch. Your mouth searches for his but he keeps it just far enough away to where you can’t reach. “Cum for me, Sweetheart. Cum so I can fuck you the way you deserve to be fucked. Way better than any of these other assholes that chase after you.”

Eddie thrusts his fingers into you at a rapid pace as the sound filled his room. You shouted his name repeatedly as you tumbled over the edge. He leaned down to your ear, whispering praises to you as you came down.

He threw off his shirt and crawled over you to reach his bedside table. He hastily pulled out a condom, shoving his boxers down his legs. You watch as he fumbled over the wrapper.

“You have done this before, right?” You giggle as you take condom from him and tear it with your teeth before handing it back to him. Eddie kisses your cheek before taking it from you and sliding it over his length.

He positions himself between your legs as he leans back on his heels. His eyes marvel at your body as he places his cock outside you entrance. You both give each other a tender smile before he slowly pushes himself into you. Your mouth opens in a silent O as your head falls back onto his pillow. His calloused palms grip your thighs as he looks down watching his dick disappear inside of you inch by inch.

“Fucking hell, Y/N.” Eddie groans when he feels himself bottom out.

“Move, Eddie. Please.”

“Are you sure?”, he asks, his voice breathy and needy. “You’re, fuck, you’re really fucking right. I don’t want to hurt you.

You laugh coyly. “You can hurt me a little, Eddie Munson.”

He smiles, lifting one of your legs over his shoulder as he starts to pump into you, gradually picking up a steady pace. You whimper at the feeling as he constantly hits that sweet spot inside of you. Your pussy flutters around him as you listen to him grunt in pleasure. He reaches for both your hands, pulling your arms for leverage as he thrusts into you harder.

The sound of skin slapping is barely audible over your moans.

“That’s it, Y/N. Such a good girl, taking me so fucking well. Let the whole town hear you. I don’t fucking care.”

Your leg drops as he leans forward, encasing you underneath him. You wrap your arms around his shoulders, clinging to him as pounds into your body with purpose. The coil in your belly snaps as you scream his name. His head lifts to watch your face again as you cum. Eddie’s rhythm dramatically slowing as he fucks you through it.

“You’re so gorgeous, Y/N. You’re pretty all the time but your especially beautiful like this.” Your eyes are closed but you smile at his words. He begins thrusting into again chasing his own high.

“I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve to have someone as beautiful as you in my bed.”

You open your eyes then meeting his focused gaze. “Yes, you do. You deserve to be happy, Eddie.” Craning your neck up towards him, you press your lips to his. You hold him to you as his hips sputter and he pulls away, moaning as he hovers above you, eyes squeezed shut as he cums.

He delicately pulls out of you, taking off the condom and throwing it in the trash. When he lays back down, he wraps his arms around you before you both fall into a blissful sleep.

When Eddie woke up the next morning, you were gone. He reached for his phone dialing your number but you didn’t pick up. He quickly got dressed with the intention of running to your house but as soon as he opened the door he was met with Chrissy’s tiny face.

“Hey. You okay? You look frazzled.” She looks up at him with worried eyes.

“No, um, was just going to head somewhere real quick but it’s fine. What are you, um, what are you going here?”

“I figured since I bailed last night maybe we could watch a movie or something.”

“Chrissy, we need to talk.”

#######################

As soon as Eddie drove up to the school Monday morning, he knew something was wrong because you weren’t there waiting for him. He searched for you everywhere but couldn’t find you. When he walked to the cafeteria during his lunch and saw your usual seat was empty, he turned right back around, heading for the woods. He had zero intention of pretending like everything was ok with his friends or even worse sitting at a table alone with all eyes looking in his direction.

When he reached the bench outside, he was surprised to find you.

“Y/N, where the hell have you been? I’ve been worried about you.” You made a little amused face as a small hm left your mouth. “Are you ok?”

“Yup. I am just fine.”

“You don’t sound fine.”

“I’m good, Eddie.” You grabbed your bag, jumping off the tabletop, and heading away from him.

“Okay, ya hypocrite.” You stop walking but you don’t turn around to face him. “Miss I don’t like games. You’re obviously pissed about something. You were gone Sunday morning when I woke up. I called you but you didn’t answer. I’ve been searching for you all morning and when I finally find you, you barely talk to me, let alone even fucking look at me. What the fuck is wrong—”

“I got up in the middle of the night to use your bathroom. When I was washing my hands, I found a green Hawkins scrunchie. You know the ones the cheerleading girls wear? Didn’t really think anything of it until I noticed the picture of you and Chrissy Cunningham on your dresser in your room.”

You threw your bag at his chest which he blocked with his hands. Finally looking at him, you glared with angry, fire filled eyes. “How dare you stand there and call me a hypocrite, you fucking cheater!” You pushed his chest with your hands and he did nothing to stop you. You had every right to be mad.

“Oh, you have nothing to say now, huh? You plenty to say when you pulled me away from my date Saturday night.” You shoved him again. “Three months, Eddie! We’ve been friends for three months and you never once mentioned her. I didn’t even know you two were together.”

“Because that’s how she wanted it. The first time we met, I told you people didn’t want to be seen with me.”

“Why would you stay with her then?”

“On some level I understood where she was coming from. You just moved here. I’ve lived here my whole life. You have no idea how cruel people in this fucking town can be. I-I thought I was fine with our arrangement until…”

“Until what?” He looks down at his sneakers and you push his chest again. “I deserve an answer, Eddie. Until what?!”

“Until I met you!”, he shouts, striding up to you till his chest bumped yours. When he spoke again his tone was much calmer. “Until I met you. And it wasn’t just because you are sweet, beautiful, and the coolest fucking person I have ever met. It was because you didn’t care who saw us talking to each other. You sat with me at lunch and hung out with me around town. You stood up for me when no one else did. Not even her.”

“I…”, you sigh, crossing your arms as you slowly back away from him. “I’m sorry she put you through that but… I just don’t know if I can trust you, Eddie. You should have been honest with me.”

“I broke up with her.” Your eyes met his. “I’m not saying that absolves me of anything. You’re right. I’m a fucking asshole and I should have been honest with you from the beginning. No matter what, it’s over and whenever you’re ready, whether it’s a relationship or a friendship, I’ll be waiting.”

###################

You sat behind the school with your head in your arms as you cried. The feeling of a tiny hand tapping you, startled you as your eyes watch Chrissy Cunningham hold her skirt as she sinks down next to you.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” you wipe your eyes, “I’m fine, Chrissy. Thank you.”

She looks at her hands as she nods. “He’s a good man. Eddie.” She meets your eyes and smiles. “I knew it was coming, the breakup. I was just too much of a coward to let him go. To be honest, when I saw you helping him study at lunch, I was glad he found someone to talk to. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him smile the way he smiles with you.”

“Chrissy, I…”

“He told me what happened. I’m not angry but I can understand why you would be. I’m not here to defend him. I just thought, maybe, you could use my two cents.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at you again as she stood up and brushed the gravel from her skirt. “You’re not a coward by the way.” She grinned again giving you a small wave before disappearing around the corner.

##############

“Eddie!”

Eddie pulled the cigarette from his lips as he removed his headphones. “Jesus, Wayne! What!?”

“Don’t take that tone with me. Now put on a shirt because there’s a girl here to see you.”

“A girl? What gi—”

“Geez. It seems like you and I can never finish a sentence.” You laugh as his uncle moves a side so you can pass him into his nephew’s room. “Thank you and it was nice to finally meet you.”

“Pleasure is all mine. Edward, I’m headed to work. Don’t burn the trailer down.”

Eddie places his guitar to the side as he grabs a random shirt from the floor. He squishes his cigarette before throwing it over his head.

“Hey. Hi.” You smile as he stammers, taking a seat at the edge of his bed.

“What are you listening to?”

He hands you the headphones as he picks up his guitar again. Eddie starts strumming some notes from a Metallica song and you can hear them flow through your ears.

“So I can practice without people complaining.” He grins as he takes the headphones you hand him, placing them on his stereo. “I, um, I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’d like to start over. As friends at first if that’s ok.”

“Okay. Can I… take you out to the movies on Friday night? Strictly as friends, course.”

“Oh, of course.” You both laugh.

“I’m really sorry for hurting you. Thank you for giving me another chance.”

Your hands cup his cheeks, turning him to face you as you place a soft kiss on his lips.

“I forgive you.”

#eddie munson #eddie fanfic #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson smut #eddie stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things #joseph quinn #joseph quinn fluff #joseph quinn fanfiction #joseph quinn smut #joseph quinn stranger things #fan fiction #eddie munson fanfic #eddie x reader #eddie x y/n #eddie x fem!reader #writing requests

618 notes · View notes

eddiessluttywaist · 1 year

Text

as if (part 4 based on angst ending)

AGELESS/BLANK/UNDER 18 BLOGS ARE NOT WELCOME TO INTERACT. PLEASE RESPECT MY RULES AND BOUNDARIES

summary: continuation of the angst ending of as if, moves away from how eddie has been acting just so you know 👀

pairing: ex-bully!mean!perv!soft!eddie munson x fem reader

word count: 10,964 words

content/warnings: swearing, mentions of smutty content MDNI (y/n is 18/19), bully!eddie, mean!eddie, perv!eddie, brief threats and violence, rejection, angsttt, depression, very brief mention of unhealthy eating habits, heartbreak, yearning, anxiety, arguing, crying, near death experience, regret, isolation and loneliness. i think that’s all pls tell me if i miss anything!

a/n: i’m sorry this took me so long skbvdjkk enjoy the suffering. credit to whoever owns/posted that picture ^ it’s not mine :)

part one - part two - start of part three - angst ending to part three

Eddie Munson is an asshole.

He’s a cruel heartbreaker, that’s for sure. He’s selfish. He’s mean. He’s smug. He’s ruined love for you.

As much as that sentiment reeked of teenage melodrama, it’s still true. He’s ruined mean guys for you cause you know what to expect from them, and he’s ruined sweet guys for you cause you know better than to know what to expect. Eddie is someone who finds a way to be so sweet and charming for that subtle kind of control, just to turn out to be an asshole through and through. Every nicety and moment of tenderness was only to keep you on the hook for a good fuck; and if things hadn’t spiraled into an apocalyptic shitshow, he would’ve been the one and only reason for your aching misery.

He’s a lot of things. You could go through a list of adjectives that would make your mother gasp and cross herself.

He’s a life ruiner in so many ways—but he isn’t a killer.

Despite how he treated you, you liked to think you still had a good sense of his heart—even if he refused to give it to you the way you would’ve so readily given him yours. He’s smug and rotten, but murder is not something he’s capable of. Some violence? Probably. Maybe. Given the right circumstances. But he wouldn’t kill someone. So you were one of the few who weren’t surprised when news came out that he wasn’t to blame for everything that happened. Sure, there were still plenty of kooks who remained certain that he used his “ties with Satan” to open up a portal to Hell, but as more and more came out about that lab near the quarry—the rarer those types became.

By now nearly everyone’s forgotten about him, or at least that’s how it felt to you. No one talked about him—they didn’t even seem to think about him—but not you. Despite everything, his memory seemed to live on in your head. On repeat some days.

Just to clarify: he didn’t die. His memory didn’t need to be kept alive because he wasn’t—he was pretty damn close when he was found (at least from what you’ve heard), but he wasn’t dead. However, that didn’t change the fact that the people of Hawkins liked to act like he was. He was nowhere to be found for starters, and everyone left in town seemed to appreciate things that way so they didn’t have to address him.

The turnaround was baffling to you. How his name never even came up, and when it did people grew uncomfortable and tried to turn the conversation elsewhere. Even you—someone who decidedly hated his guts months before the day Chrissy Cunningham was found dead—thought he deserved something better than becoming a banned topic after what this town put him through.

You could remember the day he appeared on the news like it was yesterday.

You had been curled up on one corner of the couch of the living room, your mother on the other end, and your father in his La-Z-Boy. It was pitch black in the room with the only light source being the colorful and fuzzy glow of the television. It was unfortunately your mom’s night to watch her program so of course you and your dad were already half asleep by the time her show was suddenly interrupted.

“What the-!” your mom had gasped. “I wanna know what happens! Oh those darn news… people…”

She had trailed off as the reality of the emergency newscast sunk in, no longer reaching for the remote but settling back into her spot instead.

You didn’t really know Chrissy. She was popular and well-loved, and had hundreds of friends. You definitely weren’t one of them, though. Whether it was secretly too beneath her deep down in her innocent demeanor, or if you simply weren’t interested in gravitating around her enough for her to truly take notice of you. She was a sweet girl though. She was a senior like you and the few times you two interacted, she was nothing but kind. And even if she hadn’t been, she still wouldn’t have deserved what happened to her.

You remember your mother nervously toying that necklace she always wore as she watched the news with big eyes. The way your dad sat up more and gave the screen his full attention. The tension and anxiety that made the air in the living room feel heavy; and when you thought your throat couldn’t get any drier and your heart couldn’t race any faster—Eddie’s picture was plastered on the television.

You remember the way your hearing seemed to turn into a faint buzz as the newscaster spoke of the victim’s body being found in his trailer.

“I always knew that boy was trouble.” your dad grumbled out, and you had to fight the urge to huff out a laugh and tell him he had no idea.

Neither of them knew what happened between you two or that there was even a “you two” to begin with. And you certainly wouldn’t have said anything that night because then they’d know in the worst way possible. Admitting it back then at the start of Spring Break would’ve been admitting how deeply you had fallen for someone who was possibly wanted for murder.

Even if it was never explicitly stated that Eddie Munson had shattered your heart (when you were completely falling apart just a couple months before your hometown did the same) your mom had been quick to notice something was wrong. Motherly instincts or something like that—or, y’know, just the fact that you were visibly a mess.

Even at that start of it all you didn’t want to talk about that one particularly miserable day. You would wait until it was late at night to cry into your pillow. You had briefly lost some weight since the whole situation had left you with a solid knot in your stomach, leaving you horribly nauseous and deadening your appetite. The fact that you were constantly lying about being sick to avoid school was what truly confirmed your mom’s concerns.

Sure, you could’ve had a stomach bug. Maybe that’s why you had been picking at your food at dinner. Maybe that’s why you looked so pale and tired all the time. But then throughout the school week you would keep saying you were sick, and with the state you were in she didn’t have the heart to tell you your temperature was perfectly normal. Besides, you never skipped so she wasn’t all that suspicious at first so she let you stay home. You kept lying, though, and she finally felt she had to ask if something was going on at school.

You remember that time when boy problems still mattered so vividly. When Eddie Munson was still a mentionable name, even if you didn’t act like it. When your mom was checking in on you because of him and because her main concern was still little nuances in your behavior.

“Is something going on at school?” your mom had murmured softly as she sat on the edge of your bed.

It was nighttime and the only light in your room was the faint and warm glow of your bedside table, giving a false sense of comfort to the room that was filled with memories of him. Some spots of your room still smelled like him—especially by the window where he would sneak in, and sit on to smoke. It felt like cold spots in a haunted house to you.

“Is someone not treating you right?”

“No, mom, really. I just don’t feel well.” you murmured, and she can’t help but notice how dry your lips look. That little scab where you had been anxiously biting and picking at the skin there—a bad habit that only ever flared up when you were distraught, even as a child. You certainly looked ill, but her instincts were pointing elsewhere. She insisted you drink some of the water on your bedside table before she continued.

“Well…” she had sighed, smoothing out the blanket resting over you. “Is… is it a boy?”

You remember feeling your heart temporarily stop before lodging itself in your throat. You tried to ignore that burning feeling as you avoided breaking down and confirming her worries. But fighting it off didn’t mean that lump wasn’t in your throat. It didn’t mean your face didn’t get all warm as tears began to prick at your eyes. You were oddly silent as you kept your gaze down and shook your head. You were sure you could’ve held those tears in too, but then she got you to crack with a couple simple words.

“Oh honey…” She murmured and pulled you into her for a hug.

You didn’t want to tell anyone. It was embarrassing. It wasn’t even embarrassing—it was humiliating, mortifying. So you weren’t expecting how relieving it was to sob and finally let someone know, even if you didn’t go into detail.

“I thought he really cared about me d-deep down-“ you had wailed as your mom shushed you in a caring manner and rubbed your back.

You still appreciate the fact that she didn’t push. She didn’t urge you to tell her everything, she just let you cry until you were spent and she left to soak a face towel in cool water so she could press it to your flushed cheeks. She held you and murmured reassuringly, especially when you spoke up again—your voice horribly broken.

“I-It’s not fair because he’s perfectly fine and I… I’m…” you choked up after your tone got high with emotion before crumbling again.

“I know, honey, I know… it’s never fair…” she whispered. “But you’re gonna be okay. It feels like the end of the world now, but before you know it it’ll be a little bit better, okay?”

She had pulled back to look at you and wiped the tears off of your cheeks. “And then it’ll be better after that, and even more after that. You’re going to keep healing, I promise.”

In hindsight she wasn’t wrong, but there had still been so many days where you wished Eddie Munson would turn up dead for what he did to you. And now you felt horribly guilty for those thoughts after he had been so close. Even though you still despise him deep down, you hate yourself a little bit too. For letting him in, in the first place. For falling in love and for admitting it. For falling apart because he didn’t feel the same. For wishing he would drop dead.

And there was another thing that burned away at you. Right next to the fact that no one mentioned Eddie, was the frustrating fact that Jason was still talked about and practically canonized. There were portraits of him and Chrissy in local churches and in Hawkins High and sure maybe he didn’t deserve to die, but why wasn’t anyone talking about how he put fire under that ridiculous manhunt? To urge everyone to find Eddie and do who knows what to him?

Steadily approaching a year since Hawkins broke open, you’re scowling as you walk past that portrait of him in school. Having to repeat your senior year after the disaster threw everyone’s educational progress off the rails, you had to deal with that picture a lot. You turn your gaze elsewhere as you head to your last class of the day, and even that little glimpse of his image sparks up memories of his crazed state.

Jason had an inexhaustible vengeance, and refused to let anything—or anyone—get in his way. He had to find Eddie. He had to make him pay.

You didn’t know it at the time, but he had been hunting down Eddie’s closest friends and band mates to get information out of them. That’s how he found you.

“Where is he?” Jason shouted in Gareth’s face as he gripped him by the lapels of his cut up flannel.

“I don’t know!”

“Where is he!?”

“I don’t know!” Gareth insisted before Jason hit him again.

While a restrained Jeff shouted at him to leave his friend alone, Jason tossed him into his drums. A cymbal crashed while the set dispersed in different directions and Gareth was left lying on the floor of his garage.

“It’s gonna be hard to play those drums with a broken hand!” Jason rose his voice again, holding Gareth down by his back and crushed his hand between his sneaker and the concrete floor. There was an audible crunch as Gareth cried out in pain.

“Dustin!”

“What?”

“Dustin Henderson!”

“What?” Jason repeated, urging him to clarify.

“Dustin Henderson!” Gareth shouted again, face twisting in pain. “Man h-he was- he was calling around looking for Eddie! Maybe he found him! Maybe he found him!”

“See that wasn’t that hard, was it?” Jason taunted, but kept pressing his foot onto Gareth’s hand before finally stepping away.

“O-or y/n maybe, I don’t know.” Gareth cried out, cradling his hand that was pulsing with pain.

“Who?” Jason’s brow furrowed as he looked back at him.

Jeff spoke up for him, repeating your name in a panic.

“Y-yeah maybe. I don’t know, I haven’t seen her around him in a while, b-but I caught them fooling around in Eddie’s van once,” Jeff rambled on “And he was constantly messing with her. He… he might be with her. Or she might know.”

The more he thought about it, the more Jason remembered the occasional moment where he would see Eddie tossing things at you in class or pushing up against you in gym. Back in the car, Andy and Patrick chimed in with other things they witnessed. Eddie feeling you up. Eddie shoving you or knocking your books out of your hands. Eddie harassed you constantly. Maybe even being tutored by you (according to Andy). If you couldn’t join them through a mutual hatred for the metalhead, maybe you could at least be forced to give more information—especially if you had some fucked up relationship.

You were home alone despite your mother’s insistence to join her or your father at work. With two deaths and a possible killer still on the loose, she wasn’t wild about you being by yourself. You convinced her you could take care of yourself, especially with all the baseball bats and heavy golf clubs she kept around just in case.

Considering everything, you shouldn’t have opened the front door when someone rang, but you were so shocked to spot Jason Carver through your peephole to think about it. You weren’t impressed, even when he flashed you his best smile. You were just curious why he was here.

“Well, I’ll be quick. I’m sure you have better things to do.” he said with a soft laugh which you were sure he thought was charming. You just kept scowling.

“Yeah. I do,” you said bluntly and there was a flash of anger across his face for a moment before he filtered it through a weaker smile. “What do you want?”

“I just want to know if you have any idea where Eddie Munson is.”

You can’t help but scoff at this.

“No, and I really don’t care about where he could be.”

You’re about to close the door, but he was quick to speak up again and keep your attention.

“I heard you tutor him-“

“Not anymore. Too difficult.” You interrupted, and he faltered for a moment before continuing.

“I’m sure. I know how he treated you. It… it’s horrible really.” He spoke softly and you hesitated for a moment, hand still on the edge of your door.

But then you realized something.

If he knew, then where had he been? Why didn’t he do anything? Even if you didn’t want anyone to interfere—not really. Not to mention after he broke your heart and all ties were cut, Eddie surprisingly let up on the constant harassment. It wasn’t fun anymore. Soon enough he had been avoiding you in the halls as much as you had been avoiding him, but that didn’t mean everything before that never happened. If Jason really took notice of your interactions, where had he been?

“I could tell even then just from how he acted with you that he wasn’t a good person. He’s not a good person. He’s a killer, and he can’t be out here loose in Hawkins ready to claim another victim.”

You stare at him in silence. Your lack of response is clearly testing his patience and he’s parting his lips to speak up again, but you cut him off.

“Why now?”

“What?” Jason laughed this off casually.

“Why now are you suddenly so interested in how he used to treat me?”

“Oh, well I-”

“No,” you interrupted bluntly at your swift decision and with no room for fluff. No matter how much you hated Eddie. “I’m not here for your senseless propaganda. Thanks.”

You went to slam the door, but he kept it open. It touches on a memory of Eddie doing something similar once upon a time to get to you while you were all alone in your bedroom. The only difference is this isn’t Eddie, and Jason is really starting to scare you.

You glance over to see the concern on Lucas Sinclair’s face—you recognized him from the occasional interactions he had with Eddie and then from all the excitement of that recent basketball game he won for the high school team. He was behind Jason, a little off to the side and you spotted the car in the driveway with a few others inside. The fact that he had others with him didn’t exactly comfort you.

“I just want to know where that freak is, okay?” Jason clarified with a smile as if it covered the fact that he was clearly unstable. You could see it in his eyes.

“It’s dangerous with him out there. I’m just trying to help my community.”

“Whatever, Jason. Like I said: I’m not interested in any of this. I don’t talk to Eddie anymore. I don’t know where he fucked off to.”

“I know you’re screwing him. Just tell me where your creep boyfriend is.”

This sudden flash of anger and the contents of his accusation shocked you, but you didn’t let it force your guard down.

“I’m not with him like that. Like I said: I don’t fucking talk to him. I don’t know where he is.”

Jason still wasn’t budging, and you’re suddenly grateful for your mom’s incessant worrying when he took a step forward. You grabbed the metal bat your parents kept by the door right as he’s parting his lips to continue speaking.

“Get off my doorstep. Get away from me. Or I’m using this, Carver, I swear to god.”

This made him hold his hands up in defense and start to back off again, especially as Lucas murmured a swift “C’mon, man, maybe we should just leave her alone.” A sad excuse for a kind smile curved up the corners of the blond’s mouth. It made you sick.

“Just trying to take care of my community. No need to get violent… I’m one of the good guys. If you’re sure you don’t know anything—I’ll leave you be.”

“Well I don’t. How many times do I have to say it?” You snap, gripping the handle of the bat a bit tighter.

He finally started to walk off with an okay okay, but then he turned to look at you one more time.

“Be smart about which side you’re choosing.”

At that, you slammed your front door and locked it. One of the good guys, you think with a scoff. Yeah, sure.

Currently on your walk home, your mind is still swirling with memories of last year. You understood the need to commemorate and show respect, but the constant reminders didn’t help to move on. You hated being here. You couldn’t wait to graduate and move as far away as possible. You wanted to forget about Hawkins. You wanted to forget about Eddie Munson. You wanted to forget how close the world had been to ending.

You happen to glance up as you walk towards your house when your steps become hesitant at the sight of someone sitting on your doorstep. It was no jock ready to berate you. It certainly wasn’t Eddie.

It was none other than Nancy Wheeler.

Eddie was miserable.

Actually, it was beyond just misery. He couldn’t even think of a word to describe everything he had been through and everything he was actively going through—whether that was because he always failed vocab tests due to lazy disinterest or because such a word just didn’t exist. The whole experience took a lot out of him—quite literal chunks out of his body, not just emotionally.

Besides those who had become closest to him, once everyone was focused on the next suspect no one bothered to check back in with him. No one apologized for literally hunting him down with plans of… god, he didn’t even want to think about what they would’ve done if they caught him.

After being resuscitated, he had to be holed up in some secure room of a nearby hospital while he recovered since Hawkins Memorial Hospital was too risky for him. As the days in the hospital went by painfully and with more and more news on Hawkins turning up on the small TV of his room, he wondered if karma was a real thing. He narrowly escaped death and an arrest for a murder he didn’t commit (really the only thing saving his ass coming from the insistence of his uncle and Chief Hopper when he randomly appeared back in Hawkins). It certainly made a guy think about what he’s done.

In fact, all the isolation gave him far too much time to think. Watching the news; constantly pressing the morphine button even though he knew it wouldn’t give him more; falling into pits of depression where sometimes he wished they never brought him back—those thoughts of karma came up. He would eventually brush them off as hippie garbage, but memories of you were sounding off like an alarm in his head. It wasn’t hippie garbage. The concept held some real truth to it, and he knew he deserved everything that happened after he had been so cruel to you because of some stupid, childish need for distance from any sort of vulnerability.

After realizing that, he couldn’t stop thinking about you. He was stuck in Hell on earth with aching wounds he wished would heal faster and memories of a girl he should’ve treated better. He regretted how things ended, and wondered what it would be like right now if he hadn’t ended things with such brutal carelessness. You’d probably be right by his side and making it easier to get through. And when he thought about how much better it would be to heal with you here, something ached deep inside him that even morphine couldn’t touch. He missed something he never let himself have, and certainly didn’t deserve by this point. He knew what kinds of things mattered now, and it didn’t even make a difference because as much as it changed things for him that didn’t mean it changed things for you.

Then one night, it dawned on him that you might not even be alive.

He was sweating from all the pain and the drugs and the heat of mid September of ‘86, when it occurred to him that you could be gone. Having already established a constant pattern of thoughts that revolved around you, it wasn’t surprising that he was up at 2 AM with you on his mind but that intrusion to his pleasant memories or self-loathing put him into a panic. You could be dead quickly turned into you are dead, and he couldn’t handle it. How could he deserve to live, but you didn’t? Maybe because you deserved mercy and he didn’t. Either way, he ignored his crying nerves and scrambled for the walky talky on his bedside table.

He tried just about every channel he was allowed to use, but no one was picking up. Maybe they were sleeping, but he knew he wasn’t the only one in the group suffering from insomnia after everything that happened. Still, he wasn’t granted the peace of a response and he had to lay there just hoping for a chance to make things better—and worry that he wouldn’t get to.

The group that helped him through that horrific Spring break came to visit him when they were able to. It was typically at random, with the occasional stop at his request for certain food or begging for a distraction before he went insane. Lucas was the first one to answer when he tried the radio again early that morning, and he soothed Eddie’s anxiety with the promise of stopping by.

With Max in the hospital and still no signs of coming back, Lucas had his own need for a distraction. He trudged into the dull room Eddie was stuck in, and settled into the chair kept by the bed.

“Is she alive?”

Lucas blinked, wondering if maybe he missed something in his own fog of exhaustion and despair. Really it was because Eddie blurted out in mid-thought without the courtesy of some background, but he still grew frustrated with him. His face bunched up as he briefly bared his teeth in that split second of muted rage. One of his hands made a fist before he unfurled it to rub at his face and shake his head.

“Y/n. Y/n, Sinclair—jesus christ—is she alive?”

Lucas parted his lips and then closed them again, tired eyes staring over at the metalhead as he tried to get his mind to cooperate. Eddie nearly cracked over the hesitation, taking it as a sign that Lucas was struggling to tell him that you were gone rather than trying to remember who you were and if he had seen you around.

“Yeah. Y-Yeah,” he finally murmured and a heavy sigh exhaled from Eddie’s lungs. “I’ve seen her around school. She’s alive.”

“Jesus chr—she’s okay?” Eddie was rubbing his palms over his face again, bangs partially sticking up when he pulled his hands away to gesture with energy he didn’t have to spend.

“Yeah, man, she’s okay. I think—I-I don’t really talk to her, but she isn’t injured.”

Eddie sat with that for a moment, relieved that you were alive and at least fine physically, but his eyes were still sad. Lucas joined him in this bubble of misery, the silence tugging him back to thoughts of Max until Eddie finally popped the bubble again.

“Did… did she join everyone? Y’know in the Great Hunt for the Freak?” he let out a partial laugh, but it was hollow.

“No, she didn’t buy it.” Lucas shrugged and leaned forward to rest his forearms on his thighs.

His eye stung for a moment, watered and then returned to normal. After that fight in the old Creel house, his eye was never truly the same. It healed enough that it wasn’t swollen and bruised, but it was still sensitive and it watered more often. Whenever it did, it made him think of that night and he felt as if he was being punched all over again. It made him think of Max. It made him think of Jason.

Although with the topic on you, remembering Jason made him laugh a little—a soft, amused chuckle breaking through his sorrow.

“Jason actually went to her house. I… I was still with him at that point,” Lucas flicked his gaze up at Eddie with guilt before looking back down. “He wanted to interrogate her about you. See if you were hiding with her or if she hated you enough to join him.”

Eddie swallowed, brows frowning as he waited for him to continue.

“She uh… she threatened him with a baseball bat.” Lucas laughed a bit more wholeheartedly this time.

Eddie’s head sunk back a bit in surprise, big doe eyes even wider and brows raised in disbelief. He said your first name to clarify and even though Lucas nodded, he said your full name with that same questioning tone.

“She threatened Jason Carver with a baseball bat?”

You were meek if nothing else, and as Eddie knew you—you were easy to break. Easy to bend and mold so he never considered the possibility that you were strong. That you could take care of yourself, and you weren’t as weak as you looked. But maybe it was fitting. You appeared delicate and fragile, but were tougher than you looked. Whereas he had that rough n tough, bad boy act just for it to fall apart when he found himself scrambling away from danger. He just hoped he wasn’t the reason you were surprisingly resilient—that maybe it was always there and he just never noticed.

“Yeah. He wouldn’t back off and she said she’d do it if he didn’t leave,” Lucas snickered a bit before his mood was sobered by the other side of this memory. “She uh… she was scared. He was scaring her, and I don’t blame her. He was scaring all of us…”

He was focused on his hands now, toying with them anxiously and he could hear the sigh of Eddie’s puffy hospital pillow as he settled back against it. He was letting it all sink in, and for a moment he wished he was the one to kill Carver instead of the cracking earth. You didn’t deserve the way he treated you, and you didn’t deserve Jason’s intimidation tactics just because you had been caught up with the likes of him.

He hated that you had been scared, he hated that it was his fault, and he hated how much worse he felt now that he knew that you stood up for him even after everything he put you through. Maybe not so much stood up for him, but you didn’t let yourself get dragged into the accusations and mob mentality even if you had every reason to.

This hurt worse somehow, and he was bound to a new bout of pain and suffering.

“I just miss her, I guess…” Eddie admitted to his uncle once the topic turned to you. He felt the urge to repent and voice how badly he wished you were with him right now, and his uncle was the only one he felt safe admitting all of this to.

“The girl that you were spending time with at home?” His uncle’s gruff voice wondered, and Eddie was taken aback by the question.

All he said was there was a girl he had a thing with, which he messed up royally, and he wished he could have another chance. Nothing else, so he looked like a fish out of water now and his uncle chuckled at his reaction.

“I may not be the smartest man around, but I’m not stupid,” he grumbled out, sat in the same chair Lucas had been. “I was aware of your uh… activities.”

Wayne scratched at his stubble, embarrassed to acknowledge just exactly what his adult nephew had been up to—just as mortified as Eddie was over having to discuss sex with his uncle.

“I found her panty things stuck to the inside of the dryer,” Wayne explained further. “And I ran into her one morning when I had just come home from the plant.”

You had been leaving Eddie’s room to use the bathroom early in the morning, not realizing he would be home from a shift. You hoped that with how tired he looked that he would think it was all a weird dream or maybe that he was seeing things. After all, you were back in that room in a flash. Fast enough to be a fleeting ghost, but he saw you and he clearly remembered you. Eddie was grumbling something to himself now about you being careless enough to get him caught, but Wayne was quick to shut this down. He wasn’t known to raise his voice, and he still really didn’t, but his tone was harsher now.

“No—don’t you go blaming that girl cause you insisted on keeping her a secret. Christ, boy—you know, I thought I taught you better.”

Of all the things he could say, this was the worst. I thought I taught you better. Eddie wished he could shrink down to nothing, and he looked down at his hands in shame.

“You should’ve treated her better. That’s on you.”

“Yeah…” Eddie laughed out bitterly “You have no idea…”

Eddie sighed now, hiding his face behind his palms.

“I’m so fucking stupid. I don’t know how I thought that kind of shit was important,” He rips his hands away to jerk them outwards in an exasperated gesture and looks over at this uncle. “It was fun a-and then it was too serious and I just— I— and now I don’t know why I was thinking like that.”

“Well,” his uncle started after a pause to think it over. “you may have been a grown man in the eyes of the law, but that doesn’t mean you were thinking like one. You’re still young. I…I’d like to think you would’ve learned these kinds of thing at a regular pace as you grew up, but—shit—between your parents and especially after all this-”

Wayne gestured out into the air with little energy to his casual motion.

“You’re forced into adulthood. That’s what shit like this does…”

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” Eddie finally admits in a rush after a moment of considering his uncles words. He was sure they had some truth to them, but he thought maybe his uncle was giving him too much credit. “I really cared for her— I still really care for her. I was just… I was being-“

“Stupid? Childish?”

“Yeah, yeah okay- geez,” Eddie sighs and looks down at his hands to pick at his nails. “Yeah… all of that…”

“Well… maybe if she really means that much to ya, then be honest. Try again. Really put some elbow grease into it, and maybe—if you’re lucky—she’ll forgive you.”

Eddie scoffs out a miserable laugh and gestures around him in a way that’s far more animated than when his uncle did it.

“Yeah. Cause I’m clearly so lucky.”

What made all of this worse was the fact that he couldn’t even reach out for months.

Being hidden away didn’t only mean a different hospital picked out by Hopper. It also meant no calls, no letters—nothing. He couldn’t risk being found by anyone who was still convinced he was guilty. Eddie insisted it calmed down enough to come back and he had healed enough for it, but Hopper was hesitant and ultimately unyielding.

“It’s bullshit. You guys even said no one mentions me anymore, and it’s not like I’m a suspect.” Eddie ranted to Nancy during her visit, Steve somewhere else in the hospital looking for food.

“I know, but you’ll still stand out right now,” she reasoned. “If you come back, it could stir something up again.”

“What, so I never go back? I have to uproot my whole shitty life because of rumors?”

“Eddie-“ she sighed.

“No, it’s shit. It’s all shit. If I have to stay one more second in this shitty fucking room, I’m gonna start climbing the walls,” he ranted with wild eyes. “I need to leave. I need to live my crappy life. I… I need to see y/n again.”

At that, Nancy perked up. It wasn’t out of excitement, but rather something blowing through her sideways at your name. Familiarity burned at her before it all went up in flames, and she was overwhelmed with memories and guilt.

“Oh my god… y/n…” She murmured to herself with an upsetting sense of nostalgia.

She completely forgot about you in the mess of everything. At first she had been trying to keep you from learning anything that could put you in danger—doing her best to keep it between her and Jonathan. She had already lost Barb because of her own selfish carelessness, she couldn’t let something happen to you too. Then it was all a whirlwind from there and you were suddenly caught up in a past that she forgot existed. A past where a shoebox was just a shoebox.

Her eyes grow sad, her mind filling with thoughts of how she could’ve ever possibly left you in the dust. Sure, you were a newfound friend in high school—whereas her and Barb had been friends for years by that point—but that was no excuse for letting leaving you out of the loop turn into completely leaving you behind.

She’s so caught up in her own regrets that she forgets about Eddie until he’s speaking up again and waving his hand in front of her face.

“Uhh, Wheeler? Hello?”

“Oh- uh… yeah, yes.” She shakes her head, her curly hair shuffling around with the motion, her brow frowning and her lips taut. “Yes. Yes, I know her. You know her?”

“Well uh…” he lets out a nervous laugh, suddenly fearful of the rage of an old friend. “We sorta… we had a thing going…”

He risked a glance over at her, and her expression was anything but sparing. She clearly wasn’t happy with how guilty he sounded, but who was she? She abandoned you for all intents and purposes, even if she didn’t mean to. And if she had been blind enough to never notice what went on between you and Eddie, she had no right to chastise him for it even if she did have the familiar urge to get up on her high horse.

“But uh… I kinda screwed everything up,” he muttered and was back to picking at his fingers while he stared down at them. “Like you wouldn’t believe. And I just… shit, I’m so sick of this place and waiting around.”

“I’m sorry, Eddie, but you can’t go back to Hawkins yet.”

“Yeah, I think I got that,” he snaps bitterly before cooling down again. “I just… I need to talk to her or something. If she could be brought here, or if I could meet her somewhere else. I need to fix things.”

After constant complaining and threats of breaking out of the hospital, Nancy eventually found a compromise to get him to shut up.

Steve came back around the time he had started rattling on again about how he was going to go crazy. Utterly confused as always, he was off to the side and watched as Nance did her best to calm Eddie down again. He occasionally broke through all the noise with his questions, only to get a searing glare from Nancy. At some point, he finally caught on (kinda) and only made things worse.

“Munson has a crush,” he finally said with a snap of his fingers and points at them. “That’s cute. Embarrassing, but cute.”

“I don’t have a crush, you idi-”

“Will you please stop?” Nancy hissed over at him, expression begging for him to keep out of it.

“Why am I even here?” Steve wondered out loud with a sigh and kept eating his suspicious hospital jello.

“Cause I can’t leave this fucking place!” Eddie reiterated, making Nancy groan over Steve agitating the problem that she was just barely starting to settle.

“I’ll- I’ll give her a letter!” she finally offered, cutting Eddie off mid-complaint. Her arms shot up with the raise of her voice, laughing with exasperation. “Just write down what you want to say, and I’ll give it to her!”

“What are you doing here?”

It came out harsher than you intended and even you wanted to flinch at your own words, but maybe it was justified. She completed cast you aside you when you lost a friend. You both lost a friend, and it seemed to make her hate you. Or at least that’s how it felt. Why else would she have avoided you? Why else would she have stopped talking to you?

“I guess I deserve that.” Nancy replied with a soft huff of a laugh, and a sheepish smile.

More news seemed to be coming up little by little about Barb. Once upon a time you thought it all came to a close when it was revealed that she died from a chemical leak, but now there was talk of things that a chemical leak would wilt in comparison to. Things that went on in your own home town that you can’t even imagine going unseen by so many. Or maybe they all saw, but curled up into their comfortable ignorance to avoid it. You couldn’t judge them—you did too. You believed every story you got, even if—in hindsight—they were obvious cover ups every time someone started to demand for better explanations.

You eye her cautiously, hoping your eyes don’t show the sadness that came with such hesitancy around someone you used to know so well.

“I uhm…” Nancy shook her head the way she always did when she needed to clear her thoughts, brows furrowed and nose briefly scrunched up as she glanced at the ground. “I had to bring this to you…”

She was looking at you again, gauging your reaction as she extended her slim arm to offer you an envelope. You’re toying with it in your hands, wondering why there was no name on the back and if you should open it now.

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

You look up at her now, but remain silent. What was there to say?

“I should’ve never left you behind like that... Trust me, I never meant to. I thought I was protecting you and I was, but…” Nancy’s pouty lips scrunch together for a moment. “It wasn’t fair.”

“No, it wasn’t…” you concur, but your heart aches from the look on her face.

Sure, she hurt you but maybe you should’ve been grateful. Even if you wished she would’ve been honest with you, you knew how stubborn Nancy could be when it came to protecting those close to her. Instead of shutting her out, you extend an olive branch.

“Barb would be rolling her eyes at us right now, huh?”

Nancy stutters over her own disbelieving laugh as she glances at you through her lashes.

“Yeah, she would be.” Her nose scrunches again, lips bunched up a second time as her gaze grows sentimental. “She’d be telling us to stop being so stupid.”

“‘You both get perfect grades, why don’t you use your brains outside of school?’” You quote before laughing and she joins in.

“Guess we can’t say she wasn’t honest. She was always pretty straightforward with her thoughts.”

“One of us had to be.”

Nancy nods, and then let’s out a sigh as she rubs her arm and starts to move out of your way.

“Well, I should probably let you get to that-“

“Yeah, this letter that isn’t suspicious at all.” You joke, holding up the blank envelope and she laughs lightly before ducking her head down.

Figuring you were parting ways now, you turn around and open your front door, just to turn around in your doorway when you heard her suddenly chirp out your name. She hesitates again, but then finds her words.

“I… now that things seem to be going back to normal… I… I’d love to try being friends again. Maybe have a girls night.”

A smile breaks out onto your face, and you watch her defenses slowly start to melt away and smooth out the stiffness in her body.

“I’d like that.”

“What did she say? How’d she react?” Eddie asked over the radio, barely even waiting for a second to pass before continuing. “Wheeler? Hello?”

“Can I have a moment to respond?” Nancy quipped back, the crackling of the station breaking up her voice but not enough that he couldn’t hear her frustration. Not that he cared right now.

“What’d she think?”

“I don’t know, Eddie,” she sighed. “She didn’t open your letter in front of me.”

“Shit…” Eddie mutters, chewing at his thumbnail. He wanted—maybe even needed—the instant gratification that Nancy could’ve given him had she stuck around to watch you open the envelope.

Then again, maybe he was lucky.

“It— It’s whatever. I just hope it makes a difference.”

“What…what did you say to her in the letter?” Nancy asked now before shifting her focus quickly. “What did you even do in the first place?”

“Uhh, well let’s see,” Eddie looked up at the ceiling from where he was sat on the edge of his bed as his leg started to bounce. “I was a dick. Yeah… yeah, that about sums it up.”

“Don’t make me regret doing this for you, Eddie.” Nancy sighed and turned down the volume to her walky talky.

“I’m sorry, and I mean it. I’m capable given the right circumstances, remember?” the writing said, then there were a few words that had been crossed out and he followed those scratches of ink with a winky face, concluding with: “Leave that window unlocked, kay? I’ll be back for that necklace so keep it safe.”

Was the world falling apart all over again? Did you actually die and you didn’t even realize it? Everything seemed so unexpected and oddly… nice? Reassuring? Like Nancy showing up and apologizing. Or this letter you had open on top of your bedding.

It was part of a full sheet of paper, likely the bottom third of a page torn off. The handwriting and the comments throughout were enough to immediately make you think of who wrote this—even if he didn’t sign it. But what really confirmed it was the necklace with the red guitar pick hanging on it. You’re infuriated with the involuntary flush reaching your cheeks as memories rush in. All the times he was on top of you, that necklace hanging down and resting on your chest or nudging your chin and lips.

“God, you’re such a good girl for me.” you remember him groaning that one time he watched you sucking on the guitar pick, big eyes staring up at him while he fucked into you.

You had been folded into yourself on his mattress, tears prickling at the corners of your eyes from each and every thrust that fed your greed for him but was inevitably making your body ache.

The pick that was now resting in your palm was suddenly just a thin slab of plastic. The more you thought about it, that’s pretty much all it tasted like it, but you remembered the saltiness of his sweat too. What made it so special in the first place was knowing it was his. It was such an integral part of him—it laid close to his heart where you wished to be, and it was cherished by him which you wished for yourself once too. That moment in his small bedroom when you let it slip past your lips, you hadn’t been sure how he’d react, and to be completely honest you were too fucked out to think at all. But he didn’t pull it away from you, he sunk into you with that shuddering praise instead.

The memory of his words was enough to raise your body temperature, but you fought off that familiar instinct to melt just for him. He’s an asshole. A cruel heartbreaker. He’s selfish. He’s mean. He’s smug. He ruined love for you.

Your stomach bends and curls enough to make you nauseous as the butterflies kick in—then why do I still want him so badly? You were so desperate to take every single ounce of attention—good or bad—that he gave you. Hadn’t you learned your lesson? Hadn’t you been practicing your borderline religious hatred for him enough for it to be real?

You’re not sure if it’s anger towards him or yourself for slipping so easily, but your blood is starting to boil. You remind yourself of all those games he used to play with you and the sentiment of him being a heartless, sadistic fuck plays on repeat in your head so that no softer thoughts can break through. Surely he was toying with you. This was a test of some kind, probably because he got bored and wanted to brush you off like some forgotten toy he wanted to use again.

You needed to prove to yourself that you can shoot him down. Stare into those gorgeous doe eyes and tell him to go fuck himself. Look up at him when he’s giving you that beautiful half-smile and moving his hands to hold your hips, and tell him to never talk to you again.

You needed to show him how it felt to be treated the way he treated you. Maybe it was childish, but some twisted part of you felt relieved at the thought of it. He deserved to have his hopes shattered when he thinks he’s getting what he wants, just to be shut out. He deserved to be humiliated. He deserved to be broken down so thoroughly just like you had been. To be broken down into such a fine dust that even when you were sure everything had been swept back together again, there were always going to be those missing bits and pieces that fell through the cracks or blew away.

As you’re toying with the necklace in your hands, you can’t help but think you’re being too immature. What about last year? Everything that happened to him? Maybe he’s been put through enough? Your brow frowns, and you’re internally cursing yourself for being so horribly incapable of making a decision.

Your hand shot up to cover your frustrated expression, a groan leaving your lips. You wanted to let yourself hate him so badly, but you wanted to feel loved by him so much it hurt.

You think it over for the rest of the night, laying in bed with your hands still clutching that necklace. You’re up for hours, only falling asleep when your body forces you into submission around 4 AM—nodding off and snapping back up just to nod off again. Your last thought is that you had to be strong—whatever that meant. You didn’t have to be mean, but you refused to cave and immediately let him have you in whatever way he wants.

He’s won far too many times, and now it’s your turn.

“If you get caught then I had nothing to do with this—got that, Munson?” Steve whispered as he glanced over at the metalhead, one arm still outstretched as he held onto the steering wheel.

Eddie was too busy taking in the sight of your house and breathing in the fresh night air. It never occurred to him before just how much he loved the smell of chill in the wind, like it might snow soon. Ever since last year he was realizing a lot of things he never knew he loved, and he felt both relieved and crushed by the knowledge. He was sure he knew himself before everything happened. He liked fantasy games, music, and indulging in that metal rockstar lifestyle even if it was just another fantasy he was playing into. He liked having all eyes on him as he made a scene in the lunchroom. He liked being the local anarchistic leader of fellow freaks, and ignoring any other responsibilities. He liked girls he could use like he was some big shot backstage after a show.

He thought everything was about prepping himself for that kind of life. He was comfortable being the asshole who never pulled his weight anymore than he had to if he wasn’t interested enough. He was comfortable being a runner because then he could continue living the way he was used to without anything to come in and hold him back, until his whole life fell apart. Then he was afraid for his life. Then he was afraid for that kid’s life—all of their lives, actually, not just Dustin’s. Then he was suddenly the person charging into danger to give someone else a chance.

And now he was alone. He still had his new group, but they could continue their lives while he was kept hidden away and all he had to do was think about everything he never realized he would miss. Something as simple as recognizing a familiar comfort in the smell of a soft breeze felt heart wrenching. Or laying in a hospital bed wishing he still had that one girl to love him made him horribly aware of how empty he’s always been.

“Hello?” Steve urged with an impatient tone.

Eddie glanced over at him and despite his frustration at the lack of response, Steve felt taken aback by the sight of him. Something about finally seeing him back out of the hospital made him realize just how miserable Eddie really was. Maybe it was because sadness made sense in a hospital, or maybe it was the way the moonlight hit his features the right way and he could see the deeper shadows of his face and his sullen eyes.

“Just… be quick alright? And I was never here.”

“Yeah, Hopper’ll have your head.” Eddie snickered quietly.

“I’m less concerned about Hopper…” Steve muttered as thoughts of a certain young woman being upset with him flashed through his head.

“Women, am I right?” Eddie asked playfully in a mocking manner to anyone who ever seriously shared that sentiment, leaning his body towards Steve before laughing as the brunet nudged him back.

“Will you just go?” Steve laughed it off, shaking his head and watched him finally clamber out of the car.

Eddie snuck to the side of the house where he could spot your window. It had been a solid couple of weeks since Nancy brought his letter to you, and he just wished you would let him back in. He huffed before forcing himself up to make his way towards the window, the tip of his tongue sticking out of the corner of his lips in concentration. He was understandably weaker since the last time he was doing this on a weekly basis, but he pushed through and squeezed his eyes shut in frustration when it wouldn’t open. You kept it locked.

Your whole body tensed at the sound of someone rapping on your window, hand clutching your blanket. It had been long enough that you thought he was never going to come and retrieve his necklace, and you were irritated with your own disappointment. Now you were struggling with the sudden surge of excitement lighting up your nerves, which was making a sour combination with all that built up anger towards him.

When you finally forced yourself to look over your shoulder, you weren’t expecting how badly you wanted to cry. You wanted to let him in and just kiss him. Kiss him until you could pass out from the lack of oxygen. Hold him to you and refuse to let him leave. He wasn’t allowed to make a visit like this and leave you again—physically or emotionally. You couldn’t handle it, and you were surprised at how all these feelings presented themselves.

“What is your problem?” Is the first thing to leave your lips when he’s climbing into your room, and you might’ve been more surprised by your words than he was.

“W… what?” he laughs off your question, shocked by you starting the interaction this way; although realistically he shouldn’t have been.

“Why are you here?”

“Well I…” he rubbed his arm once he was back to his full height, scratching a bit at his elbow. “I wanted to apologize-”

“Why does it matter to you now?” you interrupt, your anger surprisingly not faltering even when his big eyes flit up to look at you sadly like a dejected puppy. You felt so broken when you finally saw him again, you didn’t know where this was coming from. Why—when you wanted him back so badly—you were being so… mean.

“What? Did you develop a conscience all of a sudden? Get hunted for months and suddenly have an opportunity to stop and think ‘hm it really sucks to be treated like garbage, gee I wonder if this is how I made her feel’”?”

Eddie’s expression hardens for a moment, and it’s more familiar to you than any bit of softness he was showing you.

“Y’know, I wasn’t exactly treated all that great in school either. I can assure you, I already knew what it’s like to be treated like shit.”

“Oh so that excuses it then.”

“I-” Eddie huffs, letting out an incredulous laugh before trying again. “That’s not what I said. Shit— I just… I’m sorry, okay? I’m not trying to make any excuses. I should’ve been better to you.”

You stay silent for a moment, arms crossed as you watch how honest he looks when he’s all soft like this—with those puppy eyes hopeful and glossy.

“Why did you do it? If you really cared all this time why were you so hell bent on hurting me so thoroughly?”

“I never wanted to hurt you…” he mutters as he looks at the floor, glancing up when you scoff out a disbelieving laugh of your own. For once this kind of attitude doesn’t fuel his fire, but tamps it down. He felt awful, and what made it worse is he couldn’t blame you if you didn’t believe it.

“I… I thought you were cute before. Just in passing, y’know, cause you were still an underclassmen back then, but…” he glances down at his shoes. “I overheard you with your friends talking about me, and when the possibility of me liking you came up you jus’ laughed about it. Like taking an interest in me was that bad.”

His brow furrows at the memory, and just when you’re about to respond he continues to explain himself the best he can.

“I just… I don’t know, alright? It was stupid but it made me feel like shit. Like as if you would ever give me the time of day. And then it was like you were obsessed with me, and I just…”

“Wanted to make me hurt?” you question and he glances up at you briefly before nodding.

There’s a beat of silence, and he’s hopeful this is you letting everything sink in and understand where he was coming from. That you’d see his sincerity, and take him back because fuck he couldn’t stand being alone again.

“You took my heart and ripped it into shreds because of that?” you finally ask, tone sharp enough to make him cringe. “Because of something I said as a nervous sophomore who couldn’t fathom being liked? Or being seen as interesting? That’s what this is all from?”

“Well- I- but you liked the teasing-” Eddie attempted, and immediately regretted when he saw the fire in your eyes.

“That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it!”

“I… you… you do it too! Sometimes we overreact! It happens!” Eddie finally snapped back, but tried to keep his frustration within a whisper the same way you were. “Sometimes you overhear a conversation and you make the wrong conclusion! Sometimes you don’t get kissed and you get upset! Sometimes you try to sell a girl drugs and end up on the wrong fucking side of hell opening up! Shit happens in fucked up ways! Things get messed up! I’m trying to fix how I messed up!”

He’s visibly distraught, and even though he knew this wouldn’t be easy, deep down he wished you’d melt into him like always.

“You don’t get to pull that with me, Eddie. I’m sorry about what happened last year. I really, truly am because you don’t deserve it—no matter how much I hate your fucking guts. But you don’t get to use it to distract me with it.”

“I’m not—fuck— I’m not trying to distract you with it! I’m just saying things get mixed up because of assumptions n shit like that. And I’m… I’m sorry I…” he trails off, letting out panting breaths. “You… do you really hate me?”

You hesitate, that broken look on his face almost getting to you, but you’re so sure you know better. You know how he can manipulate things.

“Yeah, Eddie. I hate you.”

He’s surprisingly quiet as he looks at you, an unfamiliar glittering to his eyes.

“And by the way, there’s a huge difference between you spending years hell bent on my misery and leaving me beyond devastated; and me giving you the silent treatment after you fucked me in the middle of the night and didn’t stick around or kiss me or make me actually feel cared for in any way.”

Eddie murmured your name, taking a step forward in a quiet plead for forgiveness. Mercy. Anything but this.

“No. I’m talking right now. Not you. So shut up and listen for once,” you choked out as tears filled your eyes, which felt oddly dissonant to your anger.

“I don’t like you. I don’t trust you. And I don’t want you back in my life,” You listed off with an attitude that surprised him, even if he deserved it. “I’m sorry that Hawkins has ruined your life, but that doesn’t mean you get me back just cause all of this has given you a fucking backbone and a conscience.”

Eddie’s lips part and then close again, feeling like a fish out of water. He doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t know what to do with that aching in parts of his body he didn’t even know could ache.

“Doll, please… I really…” he breathes in deep enough that it turns shaky and burns deep in his chest. “I need a chance. I need a chance to show you I mean it. That I did love you back. That I still love you. That I can make it all up to you.”

You dig your nails into your crossed arms, looking away. You know if you keep looking into those big brown eyes that look so desperate right now that you just might cave.

“Well… I don’t love you anymore. So don’t call me doll, and just leave me alone.”

Eddie rubs his hands over his face, reaching back to temporarily grip his hair to use up some of that rage on himself before he lets go again.

“What do I have to do? What do I have to do to get even one chance? Just one, that’s all I’m asking. It’s all I need cause I swear I won’t hurt you ever again,” Eddie pleads and he’s shocked by his own words, but he doesn’t regret them for even a second. “I-I’ll check in more on how you’re feeling. I’ll ask if there’s anything I can do better. I’ll meet your fucking parents. I’ll be gross and romantic and honest. Please. Just give me one last chance, and I won’t take it lightly. Just don’t lie to me if you still love me. Trust me, I know what’s it’s like to be scared shitless about letting someone in so you’d rather just lie. It’s not worth it.”

He notices that last remark sparks up your frustration and he clarifies speedily.

“And I know that me being like that is the reason you’re hesitant to let me in now. I know that’s my fault, I just… shit, I need another chance.”

The fact that he was so insistent and willing to grovel gave you some comfort, but you’ve learned to not get your hopes up. You stick to your guns, but not as confidently as before. And Eddie sees that.

“Please just leave…” you murmur, even if it’s burning away at you to insist that he go.

He groans, rubbing at his face again but goes to straddle your windowsill anyway.

“I really do care about you. I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner.”

You started chewing at the skin around your thumbnail—a nasty stress-related habit you picked up from someone. You didn’t respond, just waited for him to actually go. You were too busy fighting your urge to crumble at his words that actually felt so sincere.

“I’m glad you’re alive.” You finally offer in a voice so soft you might as well have never spoken up, but it’s enough to ease some of that aching he felt.

“I’m glad you’re alive, too… I was worried you wouldn’t be. Bugged the shit out of Sinclair so he’d let me know.” he admitted with a soft laugh.

“You asked about me…?”

“Yeah… you’re all I’ve been thinking about.”

You bite your lip, swallowing when you realized just how tight your throat felt. You’re unsure of how to respond without giving into him, until you catch a glimpse of his necklace on your bedside table.

“Oh uhm… you came here to get this back.” you murmur, padding over to the nightstand to grab it and bring it over to him. Eddie stares at the pick in your palm before looking at you with sad amusement.

“The necklace wasn’t really what I was interested in coming back for…” he admits with a soft chuckle, eyeing you as his smile falters. “Keep it.”

“But it’s your-”

“Keep it. Please.”

The moment is bittersweet, and you’re thinking about what it would be like if you really gave him a chance to prove he’s being honest with you tonight, but you’re too fearful to take that chance. You do hold onto the necklace though.

“Good night, Eddie.”

taglist: @mynameismothra @angelina16torres-blog @tlclick73 @elvendria @psychospore @daisyridleyyyy @sidthedollface2 @kelsiegrin @swiss-cheeze @darknesseddiem @magnificantmermaid @hazydespair @bonehead-playz @stephanie-nicks76 @madaboutjoe @homiesexual-or-homosexual @neobanguniverse @prestinalove @galaxyfxcs @canyonmooncreations @hereforshmut @ediewentmissing @sadest-bookshelf @harlowsgirl @damon-loves-pie @stardustmunson @imjuststeddietrashatthispoint @bitchyseawitch @littlered0000

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson imagine #stranger things x reader #as if eddie munson #bully!eddie munson #mean!eddie munson #eddie munson x fem!reader #as if angst #as if part 4 #as if eddiessluttywaist #eddie munson x y/n #eddie stranger things #eddie munson stranger things #eddie munson angst

333 notes · View notes

joysmercer · 27 days

Note

What would happen if Nina never came to Amun Boarding Academy?

i think patricia would have lost it with worry as she did in canon, but with no nina-took-her-place!! accusations, people (fabian and mara, mainly) would have been less dismissive, even if they didn't quite share her worry. the facetime with joy would have happened a lot quicker as a result since everyone would want answers. but i simply don't think sarah would have dumped the locket on them (one, because she has no kinship with them, and two, since it wouldn't work for them anyway), so they would not have any way to truly discover the ~mystery~, let alone solve it.

patricia's pre-sibuna plotlines (up until kidnapping rufus) would be mostly the same, though, maybe dragging fabian along with her (since he's not busy with nina)…but more likely that he refuses to participate but knows what she's up to, so he ends up being the one to bail her out lol. joy would have still sent her the messages/been there in the audience, and i'd like to think they still find her on prom night and know something is up, but it's not going to be as clean as an ending because they have no way of knowing what that something is.

so then joy would have come back super duper traumatized with no answers, and maybe she'll fill in patricia and fabian about what she knows, but certainly not amber – not that that thought would even occur to her, anyway, considering amber would not have founded sibuna if it weren't for nina. and then nothing would happen in s2 because there's no fabina date-turned-senkhara release (actually, there's no cup for senkhara to be stuck in in the first place). maybe they see the adults milling around and follow them, but it's more likely that the adults are unsuccessful since they can't spy on the kids and get the answers.

jerome's entire thing would still happen though, so he'd still get the gem and have to deal with rufus…not sure how that would shape up but I think this is when eddie's Osirian powers would awaken somehow (even with the actual chosen one miles away and unaware), and patricia (dragging joy and fabian with her) would follow him and that's how they all get involved?

but then s3 rolls around and no one knows anything because sweet's kept his mouth shut, and maybe alfie steals that bracelet but i doubt that, without 2 years of sibuna shit under their belts, the kids would even think of it being a mystery, let alone decide to follow the trail or whatever. not to mention the fact that amber wound not even be involved in sibuna anyway. actually, i feel like amber would have just bugged the school to give her a year-round place and stayed in the states after fashion camp without ever coming back lolol but for the sake of this, she does come back first

so amber has the bracelet and probably just gives it right back to victor. maybe jerome gets involved via alfie and is like idk if you should have done that but they don't listen because what is he even talking about.

so kt shows up with this key and it's her and eddie against the world, except eddie immediately confides in fabian about his visions, and since fabian doesn't have a (weak) excuse to be a dummy about it in this au, the three of them immediately start working together. and jabian stays besties throughout s2 and up to this point because at least that aspect of her psyche is a little less traumatized here, so joy's in, and brings patricia with her. but, like, no locket! and probably no bracelet! so they have no leads or ideas…and this is when jerome crashes the party like "yo victor's package was a mysterious bracelet and i think it's important?" and somehow they figure out denby's a fraud and the adults are Up To Something. and joy's like "i know their weaknesses let's get em" and they try to thwart the eclipse ceremony, but fail to do so, in basically the same way in canon (except that both jerome and joy also know what's going on). so now alfie's involved too because "wtf was that, guys," and the lead up to the rfs-is-alive reveal is all pretty much the same besides the extra sibuna members.

(also cheating arc still happens amidst all the ceremony drama lol) (and the fake date-turned-peddie getting back together) (and the dog-washing-turned-jeroy-arc)

so anyways! with nearly the whole house involved, and especially joy, there's a buddy system immediately implemented to make sure none of them get taken (miss mercer's directive, obvi). sinners are victor, sweet, and mara. patricia does get jealous here, but joy recognizes it and manages to calm her down (/not let her run off alone anywhere/throw her laptop in the toilet). so that's not a thing.

so the phonograph doesn't get destroyed, they manage to break out the three sinners before 2 more are taken, and all is fine in the world…

until he and patricia and kt go back to the states for university and the two of them meet kt's new roommate ("she was actually my bestie in preschool! small world!") and now that the chosirian are together again, well…

college!sibuna, anyone?

#asks #anon #my original answer for this was 'nothing would happen because no sarah' and then it turned into THIS im so sorry #it is also very canon noncompliant because i have not rewatched in a hot minute #house of anubis #my writing

17 notes · View notes

runninriot · 7 months

Text

Inspired by the prompt Love is an endless act of forgiveness by (Beyoncé, Peter Ustinov &) sidekick-hero for @steddielovemonth

@sidekick-hero – Thank you so much for all the work you put into this event and for giving us a platform to share our writing. Thank you for the encouragement and the lovely words. You’re awesome! 🖤 (& thanks to everyone for the wonderful prompts and the inspiration)

Forgiveness

wc: 1901 | rated: t | cw: vague mention of drinking problem, dealing with undefined trauma | tags: hurt/comfort, heartbreak, drifting apart, supportive Wayne Munson, Steve and Eddie are fighting, love confessions, happy ending

“Do you really think you can just waltz back into our lives after what you did?!” Steve can’t believe it, is too baffled by the sheer boldness of the man standing at his door.

He wants to strangle him, wants to wrap his hands around Eddie’s neck and shake him until his head falls off. Steve is fucking angry and Eddie acts like that makes him the villain. Like it’s all his fault.

Two years.

It’s been two fucking years.

What else is Steve supposed to feel but burning rage and the need to slam the door right into Eddie’s face?

He can’t do this. Not after everything he’s been through.

For two whole years he hasn’t seen or heard of Eddie. And after all this time, he now has the audacity to just show up at his doorstep? Saying ‘Hey, Steve, long time no see’ so casually as if they were still friends. Acting like nothing had happened. Like he didn’t just leave without saying goodbye, without telling anyone where he was going.

Not even his uncle knew.

They had been worried sick, thought something had happened to him until three days after his disappearance Wayne finally got a phone call.

No contacts, no location, just a sorry ass ‘I’m fine’ was all he got.

Wayne never really let it show but Steve could tell how much it broke his heart.

Wayne didn’t deserve that.

Neither did Steve.

Or maybe he did, back then.

Because Steve knew Eddie had problems. But he was never adamant enough, always gave in too quickly when Eddie refused to talk about it. Always let it go too easily, let Eddie play it down each time Steve mentioned the dark circles under his eyes or commented on his drinking habits. Steve knew Eddie wasn’t doing well but he hoped things would eventually get better. Thought that if he’d just be there, subtly offering his help, Eddie would maybe come around.

But things only got worse.

Until Eddie just... snapped and ran away.

And for months Steve tried to understand where things had gone wrong. Blamed himself for not doing more, for not doing everything in his power to help. For not being enough of a friend despite wanting to be so much more than that.

It took him more than a year to finally forgive himself for it. Took a lot of conciliation from Wayne to accept the painful truth – ‘He would have run anyway.’

Wayne said it so matter-of-factly, reassured Steve over and over and over again that he couldn’t have done anything to prevent Eddie from leaving.

And shit did that hurt in more ways than one.

Still, despite his understanding for Eddie’s behaviour, Wayne never gave up on trying to find his nephew, found out an address (it’s unofficial but Steve’s sure that Hopper helped with that) a year and a half after Eddie’s disappearance. He got in contact with him, relieved to know that he’s safe and alive.

He told Steve about it, didn’t tell him where he was because he’d promised Eddie he wouldn’t. Told Steve it’s for the best because he would just try and reach out to him or to show up at Eddie’s place, maybe scare him away and make him leave for good this time.

“Better to know he’s safe than not knowing where he is at all, right?”

It wasn’t enough for Steve. It could never have been enough.

And Wayne knew.

Steve and Wayne had become quite close over time. It started with Steve just checking on him, just wanting to see how he was holding up.

Maybe it was a little selfish and invasive to just randomly pop up at someone’s door who had to deal with the grief of losing the boy he’d raised as his own. But Wayne didn’t seem to mind, welcomed Steve in his home with a friendly smile each time he knocked on his door.

Steve found comfort in Wayne’s presence – talking to him about mundane things like Sports and work, just hanging out at the trailer.

Talking about Eddie was always painful for both of them, though. For different reasons.

For Wayne it was the feeling of having failed Eddie. Of not giving him enough of a support system to deal with his trauma and find healthier ways to cope. For being at work all the time, never home enough to have an eye on him. Never there when Eddie needed him most.

“That’s bullshit, Wayne. You did the best you could.”

“Guess sometimes the best isn’t enough, huh?”

They both had that feeling of guilt, that nagging voice in the back of their minds telling them they should’ve done better.

But to Steve there was more.

Because not only did he lose his friend; the day Eddie decided to pack his bag and leave was the day he also took Steve’s heart with him.

Wayne had been the first person Steve came out to. Even before he confessed his feelings for Eddie to Robin.

It was an accident, really.

The two men were sitting on the front steps of the trailer, smoking cigarettes and drinking beer. With his tongue loosened from the alcohol, Steve went on a rant about how angry he was at Eddie’s selfish behaviour. And Wayne just looked at him, a sad smile on his lips.

“Eddie’s just- he’s always been a troubled kid. Has been through so much, worries too much. He struggles a lot. But I know he’ll come back. As long as you’re here he’ll come back. I know he loves you.”

It felt like a knife to the heart. Hearing Wayne say these words like they were easy, like they didn’t pull Steve’s legs from underneath him. Like they didn’t flip his world on its axis and made everything suddenly seem so clear.

“If he loves me, why did he leave? Why did he leave me, Wayne?”

Steve broke down in the older man’s arms, violently sobbing as the knot tightened around his heart finally burst and made way for a flood wave of emotions he couldn’t deal with.

Wayne was there to catch him, held him through the worst of his breakdown, told him to never give up hope.

“Just tell me where he is. I want to bring him back. I want him back, Wayne!”

But of course, Wayne wouldn’t betray his nephew’s trust. Stood by his word to not give away his whereabouts.

So Steve started writing letters instead, begged Wayne to send them to Eddie.

He never got a letter back.

It’s been two years, and Eddie is now standing before him like a ghost from the past. Like the fucking nightmare that wouldn’t leave him alone.

“How dare you, Eddie! How dare you show your face here like I didn’t try to reach you over and over again. You never wrote back. Not once. And I know you got my letters. I know Wayne sent them to you.”

“I never opened them.”

What?

“I couldn’t. Steve, I- I was in a bad place. I was fucked up. I had to go, I had to deal with this mess my own way, on my own terms. I knew you and Wayne would’ve tried to help but I didn’t want your help!”

Steve can see Eddie’s lips move but the words don’t make it to his ears. His brain is too caught up on the part where Eddie just told him he didn’t even open his letters. He didn’t read them. He doesn’t even-

“Steve? Are you listening to me? Please, if you’d just let me explain. I-“

“You don’t even know, do you?”

“Don’t know what?” Eddie looks at him confused.

Looks at him with glassy eyes and-

Oh god, those eyes.

They’ve haunted Steve’s dreams for more than two years now. Two years of waiting for him to come back. Two years of hoping, trying to believe in Wayne’s words – ‘As long as you’re here, he’ll come back.’

Steve waited, and hoped, and cried, and begged the stars to send him a sign that it’s worth it.

And now, Eddie is standing before him like he never left. Reopening wounds that haven’t even fully healed yet.

It’s been two fucking years and Eddie-

“You don’t know!” Steve giggles hysterically, feels like he’s going insane.

He can’t stop laughing, he can’t breathe.

Eddie doesn’t know and Steve has hoped in vain.

“Steve, please. You need to calm down. You’re shaking. What’s going on?”

Steve can feel Eddie’s hand on his shoulder, wants to push him away, wants to yell at him, scream-

“I love you, you fucking idiot!”

Eddie pulls away, steps back as if Steve just hit him. And maybe he has, maybe the weight of his confession hit him so hard it hurts.

Steve hopes it does.

He deserves it.

“I love you, Eddie. And you just left me. Couldn’t even be bothered to open my fucking letters. It’s been two years and I still fucking love you and it’s not fair!”

Eddie’s expression turns from shocked to fond, then angry.

“Nothing is fucking fair in this world!”

Eddie steps closer, hands balled to fists at his sides.

“And those letters? They wouldn’t have changed anything.”

Steve can feels tears prickling in the corner of his eyes. How much more does his heart have to take? This is already too much. He doesn’t need to hear Eddie tell him all this, doesn’t need him to pour salt into the wound. Steve needs to leave, he needs to-

“Because I was a coward.”

What?

“I didn’t want to leave but I was so fucked up back then. Even if- even if I had known, I would’ve just messed it all up. But I’m better now. Things are better now and I will fight for you, Steve”

Eddie is too close now, standing right before him with his hands now held up in defeat.

“I’m back and I won’t go anywhere. I will do whatever I can to make things right. I am sorry for hurting you.”

Trembling fingers reach out for Steve and to his surprise, Steve doesn’t find it in him to fight them off, lets Eddie take hold of his hands.

“I’m sorry for leaving you. I’m sorry for not telling you sooner that I love you.”

They’re both crying now.

“I should’ve fought harder, Eddie. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to help.”

Eddie lets go of Steve’s hands, wraps his arms around his middle instead.

“No. No, baby. None of this is your fault. This is all on me. And I know I can’t ask you for forgiveness but I promise I’ll do everything to-“

“Just shut up and kiss me already!”

Steve feels like the world stops spinning when Eddie’s lips crash on his. And suddenly, everything feels right again.

It doesn’t magically change the past, doesn’t wipe out all the worries, the tears, the pain, and the anger. It’ll still take time to heal. To build trust and start all over again. To forgive themselves and each other.

But as long as there is love, there is something worth fighting for.

As long as there is love, there is hope.

And in this moment, holding Eddie in his arms and feeling the soft press of his lips on his own, Steve knows they’ll make it.

#steddielovemonth #love is...#day 29 #eddie munson #steve harrington #steddie fic

27 notes · View notes

tartarusknight · 1 year

Text

For the beginning of Pride Month, I wrote this small little guy. I hope all of you have a great pride month and stay safe out there!!!!

Bisexual wasn't a word in Steve Harrington's dictionary.

Steve Harrington didn't really understand the anger and hatred pointed towards the queer community. Because sure, you didn't think everyone was attractive, but God, there were so many attractive people out there.

Steve thought girls with soft curly hair and big innocent eyes were adorable, and he wanted them to step on him. But then there were guys who were lanky and so... well, Steve knew he had a type. People who were smaller than him, either in height or muscle mass. Curly hair, big eyes, nerdy, and well, someone who could basically, well, put him in his place.

Still, he noticed how no one talked about same sex crushes, so neither did he. But behind closed doors, he shared his first kiss with Tommy H and thought that the guy in the year above him who stood on table tops with his curly hair just below his chin was hot.

Freshman year, he lost his virginity to a senior girl named Lisa. But the first two years of his high school experience was spent at party, having meaningless encounters with girls while he spent his free time with Tommy and Carol. Honestly, he spent most of his time in bed with the two of them.

Well, until junior year when he got his first girlfriend, Nancy Wheeler. She was his type to a t. She needed some time to really get comfortable around him, but he saw her for who she truly was. As he fell in love with her, he lost Tommy and Carol. But he knew that it was better this way.

He felt more free to do things, and he didn't feel like they were breathing down his next 24/7. However, in senior year, when Nancy broke up with him at a party, he kind of missed them.

Still, he did what he could and got a job at an ice cream shop at the mall. He messed around with Robin there and got a free look at the curly haired guy who worked at the record shop not too far down. All in all, it wasn't terrible.

Well, until there were Russians under the mall. Then, it was frantic and terrifying. But still, he had a moment to sit down on the bathroom floor, as Robin told him about Tammy Thompson. He didn't understand it. Not really. Sure, she had a crush on a girl, but were there no guys she found attractive? Still, he knew when a girl didn't like him back.

Of course, after everything happened, he spent all his time with Robin. If he could, he'd live in her head, but he couldn't.

It was until the spring break that Steve was forced to examine his feelings. Curly haired metalhead now had a role other than distant crush that Steve did have the name of but refused to call him it. Not when he wanted to give all the pet names to him. Well, he finally said the name Eddie Munson, and it was like all hell broke loose. Call it superstition, but... if Dustin hadn't called about dnd and tried to combine his two older brothers' worlds, Steve would've been fine.

Instead, now Eddie was in the hospital with Max, and he was sleeping in a bed with Robin, Dustin, and Erica. They had taken over his king-sized bed, and the scoops troop staying together, holding onto each other closely.

It was then that Robin came out to the group. One Dustin comment made her explode. "Because I'm a lesbian! I only like girls!" She shouted, and the four of them went silent.

"Oh," Dustin said and Steve's brow furrowed.

"What you only like girls?" He asked and she looked at him like he lost it. "No guys, at all? What about the guys that fit in your type?"

She wrinkled her nose, "Anything with a penis isn't my type."

Steve blinked and looked at Dustin and Erica. "What about you two? Do you guys only like gender?" He asked, and everyone was staring at him. "Okay, if you like a certain type and there was someone that fit in that type, you would like them, right?"

"Steve have you ever had a crush on a guy?" Robin's voice was startlingly soft.

He huffed, "Duh. I've had sex with one." They all choked, and Steve didn't understand. "I thought everyone liked everyone. Is that - is that not right?"

"Who?" Robin asked and Steve crossed his arms.

"No way, you'll judge me."

Dustin who seemed to finally get his voice. "Your type. Oh my god, your type! You like Eddie!"

Steve's face went red, "okay this- stop. Nope, not doing this. You don't get to start with me and Eddie!"

He waved his hands around, and Erica started to laugh. And while they knew that Eddie was going to be fine. With Max still in a coma and Vecna on the horizon, it felt nice to laugh about this.

Steve would take their judgment for now. "Please just tell me it wasn't Tommy or Billy," Robin begged and Steve crossed his arms.

"I wouldn't sleep with Billy! Are you kidding me!"

Erica's brow raised, "You're not denying about Tommy though."

Steve pointed at her, "Watch it, Sinclair."

"Ewww," Robin complained and Steve threw his hands up in the air.

"It was only once- wait that's a lie. Once just me and him."

"Lalalala," Robin started shouting, her fingers in her ears.

Steve grinned and tackled Robin into the couch. "But I did sleep with him and Carol plenty of-" and he was shoved off the couch.

#stranger things #bisexual steve harrington #bisexual #lesbian Robin Buckley #lesbian #happy pride 🌈#pre steddie #tommy hagan #carol perkins #steve is poly?#boy is everywhere #knightly talks

84 notes · View notes

ashwhowrites · 2 years

Text

Hi there. I wanted to request an angst story of Eddie with the prompt I found on Instagram: “Why did he leave me for another girl and why did it have to be her. He told me she was just a FRIEND The other girl is Chrissy btw.

Requested by @biittersweet

⚠️ angst

Y/N lived in Hawkins all her life. That's where she met the love of her life, Eddie and her best friend, Robin.

Her and Eddie fell in love freshman year. It was hard not to fall for his confidence, good looks, and how charming he was. She fell more in love with him as they got older. He was turning into this gorgeous man right before her eyes.

She knew everything about Eddie. His favorite color and why. His favorite cord on the guitar. She even helped him buy his sweetheart. She remembered how excited he was and how they'd stay up together while he played. She was there when he wrote his first song. He said she was his inspiration, and would be forever.

When she had to move during junior year she was heartbroken, her dad got a job in another town.

But she refused to lose Eddie. Together they agreed on a long distance relationship. They called each other everyday. She wrote letters and he sent songs.

Even the distance couldn't keep their love apart.

When she hit senior year, half way through she transferred back to her real home.

Back to Hawkins. She wanted to graduate with the love of her life. And she planned to attend college nearby so her and Eddie could be together forever.

When she arrived at the school she searched for Eddie and Robin right away. Right when she walked through the doors, there they were.

Eddie was holding a bouquet of flowers and Robin stood there smiling huge.

Y/N didn't bother to hide her tears. She sobbed as she threw herself in their arms. Sure they came to visit when they could, but this was different. She didn't have to leave them again.

Eddie has never felt this happy in his life, seeing her again was like a breath of fresh air.

She looked as gorgeous as ever. Their lips met in a wet kiss.

Robin tried not to gag nearby but she couldn't deny how cute they were.

She hated knowing Eddie had a big secret. A secret he said he'd tell his girlfriend when he saw her face to face.

She felt like she failed as a best friend, but it was Eddie's place to tell her. And she is going to make sure he did.

After the mini reunion, Robin stole Y/N away. Showing her the new parts of the school.

Y/N followed but turned around to say bye to Eddie when she saw him talking to a pretty blonde.

She smiled, Eddie made friends. She was always worried when she left he wouldn't adventure out. She didn't want him to ever be alone. But as he watched this girl smile at him and him smile back. She was happy. He did have friends.

The more she watched them the more she questioned if it was a friendship.

Eddie seemed weird around her when this blonde was around. Almost like he was waiting for something to happen.

There's a secret in his eyes that she couldn't quite figure out.

Y/N asked Robin about it. Robin was a watcher, she knew everything about everyone.

"So who's Eddie's friend?"

Robin tensed but smiled it off

"oh she's a sweetheart. Captain of the cheerleading team, name is Chrissy. That's about it."

Y/N nodded along. A cheerleader? Definitely not Eddie's group of friends but he also wasn't one to judge others.

Y/N trusted Eddie and she would never think he was cheating on her. But lately she felt a little less sure.

He spent time with this Chrissy girl a lot. Like basically every day. Y/N normally wasn't jealous. And even being in a long distance relationship she never thought of him being unloyal.

Her fears were slowly becoming a reality. Eddie has been distant. He doesn't kiss her anymore. It was like he didn't care she was back home. Like it didn't change any aspect of his life

He laid on her chest as she ran her fingers through his hair. He seemed so relaxed and calm. Maybe nothing's wrong?

"hey baby can I ask you something?"

She felt him hum against her chest.

"Do you like this Chrissy girl? Like more than a friend?"

He sat up fast and looked at her. His eyes are huge and he chuckled nervously.

"pff of course not. She's just a friend. You're my girl."

For the first time since she got back, they made love that night.

Even after he told her Chrissy was just a friend, she still felt worried.

Girl to girl, she knew Chrissy liked him. And some type of girl code needed to be set

Y/N decided she'd wait until cheerleading practice was over.

She headed to the gym but stopped when she saw Eddie already there with Chrissy.

She walked to them slowly and her breath hitched when she heard her name in their conversation.

"Eddie. Are you sure about this?" Chrissy asked

"of course baby, I'm telling you I'm breaking up with her soon okay? She is just still getting used to being back home. I don't want to ruin that for her. You're it for me okay? I promise."

She didn't know if his words hurt worse or the fact he kissed Chrissy after he said it.

She fell in love.

And now she's feeling the consequences of it.

Her boyfriend of 4 years was cheating on her.

"I think it's already ruined." She spat at them. She had fire in her eyes. She could practically feel the flame.

Chrissy looked at the voice and moved away from Eddie.

Eddie could feel his whole body turn to ice. It was like there was no blood running through his veins. He was too scared to turn around. He was too much of a coward to see her face.

He couldn't. He couldn't see Y/N falling apart in front of him, and knowing it was because of him.

"Eddie? Seriously?" She spoke again. He still couldn't turn around.

He could feel his eyes begin to burn as tears collected on his waterline.

He did the one thing they both promised to never do.

The one thing he promised her when she left.

Apparently he didn't know how to keep promises.

Y/N left the gym and headed straight to Robin's.

The fact he wouldn't even turn around to talk to her just added salt to the wound.

He fucking promised her

He fed her lies

When did he stop loving her?

She was sobbing as she explained to Robin everything that was going on. Robin held her and tried to calm her down. Hands soothing over her back.

Robin's heart broke for her. Y/N was the best person in her life. And she knew one of the best people in Eddie's life. And his stupidity was going to lose it.

"Why did he leave me for another girl and why did it have to be her. He told me she was just a FRIEND!”. Robin held tears in her eyes watching her best friend fall apart.

She was always so strong. The one holding everything together. It hurt to see her so vulnerable.

"because he's an idiot Y/N. He's going to regret this more than anything I promise you that."

"is she prettier? Is it because she's popular? A cheerleader? What did I do wrong Robin? When was I not good enough anymore?"

"absolutely nothing! Do not doubt yourself because of him. You are so much better than she is. I mean she knew he had a girlfriend and still went for him. That's something you'd never do. That just shows you are a better person than her. You are beautiful, funny, smart, and too good for anyone in this world. Okay? Do not do this to yourself."

She took Robin's words to heart.

Eddie helped her learn to love herself.

She can love herself on her own.

She doesn't need Eddie.

He can have Chrissy because she was done.

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #eddie stranger things #eddie munson angst #eddie munson angst x reader #eddie munson request

291 notes · View notes

lovecolibri · 6 months

Note

oh your tags on that one post are EVERYTHING:

#you want to love your child from a distance you do that by sending birthday and christmas cards #and sending letters and maybe having phone calls #you don't do it by cutting the child out of your life #and then making it all about yourself

like loving your kid from a distance doesn't mean much if they don't know about it. i was always annoyed about her lines about "maybe you've adapted to life without me, i hope for that and fear it" or whatever the exact lines were. like that is so freaking self centered and of course it's ok to feel that way but don't put it in the letter to your kid!

Hiiiiiiiiiiii *waves from 3 weeks down the line* Look what I found in my inbox that i forget to check especially now that my app is refusing to work at most things. ANYWAY. Yeah, I was confused when everyone was ooohhing about how sweet that letter was because to me it just felt so manipulative and a way to shift blame. I know I put in the tags of another great post about this the other day that Shannon needing time is understandable and needing to go be with her mom is understandable but cutting off ALL contact?? With her child??? Did she bar her mom from contacting her grandson?? Did her mom call and Chris and Eddie had to wonder why Shannon refused to speak to them? How many birthdays and holidays went by before they stopped checking the mailbox for a card? Did Shannon's mom still send cards and like the phone calls did they hope to see Shannon's name in them only to be disappointed she couldn't even sign a card for her child?

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I actually liked the arc in s2 because it paints SUCH a contrasting picture of a) Shannon and Eddie as parents, b) Eddie's trust in Shannon vs his trust in Buck with Chris, c) Shannon and Buck as co-parents, and d) Shannon and Buck as partners to Eddie. We get a LOT of milage out of just a few scenes! And an underrated moment, I think, is seeing that Eddie has abuela chaperoneing Shannon and Chris. But in season 3 we see Eddie being perfectly fine leaving Chris alone with Buck, including AFTER the tsunami. It speaks volumes to me!

And all of that is why I SO dislike the retconning KR tried to pull in s6, and I really hope we get to see more than just that letter "fixing" things for Chris. He's getting older now and I would love to see him and Eddie having some hard talks about what happened and how they both felt and working through some of that together. Maybe even some family therapy with them! Tim has so far been doing a good job of getting the show back on the rails and righting some wrongs ("I don't know what I was thinking dating a death doula" still cracks me up) and I would love if this is one of those things.

Thanks for stopping by! Sorry I am Bad At Tumblr Friends

#my sweet nonnie friends #911 #anti shannon diaz

18 notes · View notes

magicalmysteries777 · 6 months

Text

The Bloody-Handed and The Anguish of Loving Them - Chapter 5.

Summary: Almost a year has passed since Eddie Munson died and it feels like the only person that isn't moving on is Steve.

After spending the night studying a Dungeons and Dragons handbook, Steve is convinced he's figured out how to bring Eddie back. Not only that, but defeat Vecna once and for all too. Now he just has to prove it.

Pairings: Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson

Masterlist: Here.

Chapter: 5 of 10.

Chapter WC: 3538.

CW: Swearing.

A/N: (see end of chapter for notes.)

This story can also be found on AO3 here.

Taglist: @ohmeg 🖤

March 24th, 1987.

Steve had always thought that the phrase “they locked eyes and it was as though time had stood still” was bullshit, nothing more than a heavily recycled trope used by romance authors to sell their readers on the ideology of ‘true love’ - a lie, a fable, pure fiction. Yet there he was, with Eddie Munson’s fiery, red eyes locked on his while the world around them stilled.

“Eddie?” he asked, cautiously. The party spun around, a well-earned number of muffled “what the fuck?!”s and shocked gasps escaping from their lips as they too set sights on the winged man staring down at them. The younger members of the party all began asking their questions at the same time, rambling over one another in a wave of emotion. Steve couldn’t form a coherent sentence, his mouth opening and closing comically like a fish as he tried to find words. Eddie remained silent, his eyes still locked on Steve’s as the rapid-fire questions kept coming at him.

“How did you get out of the grave?”

“Why didn’t you come back through the gate?”

“I can’t believe you’re actually alive.”

“Did the bats turn you into a vampire?”

“Do you drink blood now?”

“Does this mean you can be our Dungeon Master again?”

“Wait until we tell Jeff and Gareth.”

“Wait until we tell Wayne, he’s going to be ecstatic.”

“What’s the wingspan on those bad boys?”

“Are you going to help us kill Vecna?”

Eddie didn’t answer, his eyes still locked on Steve’s with his expression blank. Dustin stepped forward to approach Eddie and his babysitting instincts leapt into overdrive. Steve’s hand shot out and clasped onto Dustin’s shoulder before he could think about what he was doing, eagerly pulling him back to the group despite his protests. “Get off me, Steve. He’s right there. Eddie’s right there,” he pleaded.

“That’s not Eddie,” Steve replied in a hushed whisper, his eyes narrowing.

“What are you talking about?”

Steve felt his stomach drop as he watched the corners of Eddie’s mouth twist into a wicked, devilish grin.

“Little Stevie is right, boys and girls,” Eddie announced, his large, bat-like wings beating rhythmically to keep him suspended in the air looking down at them. “No Eddie here.”

“I’m looking right at you, man. What the hell are you talking about?” Dustin asked.

“You left Eddie Munson to rot, in that hole right there,” Eddie spat, pointing to the ground behind them. His eyes darkened. “He sacrificed himself for you, for everyone, and you left him.”

“We-”

“Don’t try to fucking justify it!” Eddie yelled. “You couldn’t even give him the decency of taking his body back through the gate. You left him in another fucking dimension!”

“I’m sorry, Eddie. We couldn’t-” Dustin began.

“Enough!” he bellowed, silencing Dustin in an instant. “Your pitiful excuses mean nothing to me.”

The party said nothing, waiting with bated breath for him to speak again and fill the eerie silence. Steve felt Robin slip her hand into his and give it a reassuring squeeze.

“Do you know how long it takes to claw your way out of a six-foot-deep hole?” Eddie asked, his voice growing more maniacal with each syllable that ushered from his lips. “Days. It took him fucking days to get out of that stupid hole and who should he find waiting for him as soon as he gets out? Vecna. Turned out he had a little proposition for dear old Eddie. Go back to rotting in the hole or join him. Eddie refused, of course. Said Vecna was “out of his goddamn mind” if he thought for one second that Eddie would join him. Swore blind he’d never betray his friends. Didn’t need all that much convincing in the end.”

“Come on, man. What is this? Some sick joke?” muttered Mike.

“Does it sound like a fucking joke to you?!” Eddie spat furiously. “Vecna can be quite convincing, you see? He told poor, little Eddie all about how his sacrifice was useless. How he died for nothing because his precious friends failed to get the job done. How you all left him to rot while you went about your lives, letting everyone believe that Eddie Munson was the satanic cult-leading freak who killed a bunch of Hawkins High students. But Vecna could help. Vecna could make it all worthwhile. He could change him, give him power - enough power to make all those who had wronged him pay.”

Eddie’s wings slowed as he flew lower, allowing the party to get a closer look at him in the dim light. His skin was pale, almost white, void of all colour and signs of life. His once deep brown irises were now blood red, the skin around his eyes dark and sunken. The corners of his mouth twitched into another cruel smile, revealing a long, pointy pair of fangs where his canines used to be.

“Eddie Munson is gone,” he began, “and I am what remains.”

“Bullshit!” Steve cried, unaware he was about to speak until the words had already left his mouth. Robin’s grip on his hand tightened.

“No bullshit, Stevie.”

“Eddie wouldn’t do that. He’d never become a monster, he’d never join his team. I know he wouldn’t do that to us, to me,” he argued, choking on his words a little, fully aware of how in denial he sounded.

“The Eddie you knew was a scared, pathetic child who ran away at the first sign of trouble. All bark but no bite. I am not.”

“You’re Kas, aren’t you?” Dustin asked nervously.

“You always were the sharpest tool in the metaphorical shed,” he replied, gesturing to the rest of the group.

“Just answer the question.”

“Kas the Bloody-Handed, the Lich King’s Lieutenant, at your service.”

Kas flew higher into the air before lowering himself into a taunting bow. Steve let out a stifled sob, his stomach dropping further than he ever thought possible.

“Everything you’ve done so far, every choice you’ve made, every battle you’ve fought - it was all for this. This was his grand plan all along. It was me who sent the army of the undead to greet you at Karlach’s cave. Me who gave the orders to finish you all off. I’ll admit, you’ve all gotten a little tougher since last year but it’s no bother. That was just a small taste of what’s in store for you all - I’ll get you next time. We’ll be seeing each other again soon.”

And with that final taunt, Kas flew off into the dark sky and out of sight, leaving the party to ruminate on the events that had just unfolded.

Fifteen minutes passed in utter silence before Lucas finally spoke. “We’ve got to kill him too, right?”

Steve felt sick to his stomach. He couldn’t do it, couldn’t sit there and listen to them debate on whether or not they were going to kill Eddie. Eddie who they’d all come back here to save. Steve excused himself and rushed into the trailer, making a beeline for the bedroom and slamming the door shut behind him.

Steve collapsed against the door, sliding down it and landing in an exhausted heap on the floor. Tears began flooding out of him like a burst dam, far too strong for him to keep contained. His throat burned as he wretched and choked on his sobs, his watery eyes locked on a rather distressed-looking Hellfire Club shirt strewn on the floor. He felt like he was losing Eddie all over again. Every word that Kas had taunted them with was just another knife to Steve’s heart, shattering more and more with each syllable.

“Hey, man, you okay?” came Jonathan’s voice from the other side of the door, trying the handle as he spoke.

“Go away,” Steve croaked.

“Talk to me, man. You can’t hide in here forever.”

“I said go away, I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Steve, open the fucking door.”

Steve pried himself off the ground and sat on the bed, looking like a child that had just been scolded by its parents, waiting for Jonathan to enter the room.

“You know,” Jonathan began, sitting next to Steve on the bed. “It’s okay if you’re not okay.”

“I’m fine. Just… a bit rattled, I guess?”

“Cut the crap, Steve. You’re a recovering alcoholic who just found out the love of his life is a fucking vampire, but not only that, a vampire that tried to kill us all.”

“He’s not the love of-”

“I know. Before he started with all that ‘Kas’ crap, you were looking at him the same way Will looks at Mike.”

“Oh. Does Nance know?”

“No, she just thinks you’re having a mental breakdown, and I’m about ninety percent certain most of the kids still think you’re doing this for Dustin. Will might have an inkling, though.”

“Robin figured it out too. It was only a matter of time.”

“So, are you okay?” Jonathan asked sincerely.

“No,” Steve admitted, the tears from earlier trying desperately to make a reappearance.

Jonathan pulled Steve into a hug, holding him whilst Steve let his tears fall freely once more. A couple of minutes later, Steve pulled away.

“It’s just not fair, you know?”

“I know.”

“He was supposed to graduate, he was supposed to get a record deal and go on tour but then he fucking died, and I thought I’d figured out how to bring him back but now he’s a vampire. What the fuck am I supposed to do with that? It sounds crazy. It is crazy. He’s a vampire,” Steve rambled, his left foot bobbing up and down on the spot. “A fucking vampire, Jonathan. How do you cure vampirism? Can it be cured?”

“Steve-”

“Maybe Lucas was right. Maybe we are going to have to kill him. We could take the spears apart and shave them down - stake to the heart and whatnot. Does silver work on vampires? Or is that just werewolves?”

“Steve, stop,” Jonathan interjected, his hand covering Steve’s mouth. “You’re spiralling.”

The door to the trailer opened and Jonathan scrambled to his feet, ready to jump into action for another unwelcome surprise. He visibly relaxed, letting out a deep sigh when he heard Robin’s voice calling from the living room.

“Guys, Will thinks he’s found something.”

Steve sprang into full babysitting mode when he exited the trailer, opting to ignore the knowing look Robin gave Jonathan when she’d seen Steve’s puffy eyes, and began laying down the first few steps of their new plan.

“Before Will says anything, I think we need to get out of here. I don’t know about anyone else but I need a shower and a hot meal before I can do any more thinking. I reckon we go back through the gate and meet up at my place. We’ll take showers, order food, start our new plan, and get some sleep. You little ones best call your parents too, so they don’t panic. Sound good?”

“We’re sixteen, you asshole. Stop with the little ones crap.”

“Sounds like Dusty-Bun needs a nap.”

Steve was the last of the party to make it back to his house. They’d filtered out of Eddie’s trailer one by one; it was too risky to travel as a group until they’d showered. The sheer amount of blood, sweat, and tears that were caked onto every one of them was bound to draw unwanted attention. He wasn’t sure just how long it had taken them, but as he hung his car key onto its hook he realised it was long enough for the ‘happy families’ charade they were all putting on to break.

“What did I miss?” Steve asked in a hushed tone as he took a seat next to Dustin and Will at the breakfast bar.

“They’ve been at it for the last fifteen minutes.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do, Mike. Nobody does. Not anymore,” El yelled.

“I’m not trying to tell you what to do, I’m just saying-”

“You’re just saying what you think I should do and not listening to anything else anyone has to say!”

“It’s too risky.”

“What other choice is there?”

“We’ll come up with something.”

“There isn’t enough time!”

“Would you please help me out here?” Mike prompted, turning to them.

“I think-” Steve began.

“Don’t drag them into this!”

“I think,” Steve repeated with a little more authority, “everyone needs to take ten minutes and calm down a little bit. Mike, go outside and cool off.”

“I’m not a fucking dog,” Mike grumbled, making his way to the back door.

“You okay, El?” Dustin asked. She stormed upstairs and slammed the door behind her without saying a word.

“I’ll go check on her,” announced Will, already halfway out of the room.

Steve folded his arms on the table and dropped his head into them, both mentally and psychically exhausted. “What’s gotten into her?” Robin asked, pointing to the stairs behind her as she entered the kitchen.

“Mike doesn’t want her to face Vecna again,” Dustin answered, finally giving Steve some context clues to go off.

“Well, none of us want her to but we might not have another choice,” answered Robin.

“That’s what El said but Mike isn’t listening to her.”

“That boy is in for a harsh reality check. Anyway, the shower in Steve’s bathroom is free.”

“Dibs,” Steve interjected before Dustin could even open his mouth. “There’s some cash in the kitchen, order pizzas.”

It was the best shower he’d ever had in his entire life. Hot but not scolding and very, very long. Steve scrubbed his skin red raw until he finally felt clean and then he just stood there, letting the hot water rain down on him in the hopes that it would wash away his sadness too.

“Sadness comes in waves. If you’re scared of the wave, you can run away and wait for it to go back out - never really knowing what the ocean feels like. But if you’re brave, you can ride it out and let the wave wash over you. The water will pass and the calm will follow, as will another wave - but you’ll probably find that it won’t be so scary next time,” Robin told him. “Something my Grandpa used to tell me when I was feeling down as a kid.”

Steve’s sadness didn’t feel like dipping his toes into the ebbs and flows of a gentle wave. It felt like he was out in the middle of the ocean, treading water like his life depended on it, with no signs of land in sight.

A series of quick knocks and a muffled yell of “food!” grabbed Steve’s attention who, in turn, inhaled deeply, put on some clean clothes, and went downstairs with as much of a grin as he could muster. Perhaps he would drown those sorrows later.

The ten of them, significantly less cranky now they had full stomachs, gathered around the crackling fireplace in Steve’s living room, books out and ready to plan.

“Who wants to go first?” Nancy began.

“Things have gotten a lot more complicated than just killing Vecna. Kas gave us a warning and I think we need to make that our priority. If we’re going to kill Vecna, we’re going to have to kill Kas first,” Lucas answered.

“Well I think we need to cure Kas before we fight Vecna. It’ll be a hell of a lot easier to defeat Vecna with Eddie on our side than it will be to defeat Vecna and Kas at the same time,” Dustin interjected. “Any objections?”

“Sounds simple when you put it like that but what would that actually entail?” asked Jonathan.

“Most of the folklore ends in killing the vampire to cure it,” Robin answered, earning a scorned glare from Dustin.

“‘You touch a creature that has been dead for no longer than 200 years and that died for any reason except old age. If the creature’s soul is free and willing, the creature is restored to life with all its hit points.’ True Resurrection,” Will read aloud, not looking up from his handbook. “Cleric, level nine. Nancy could cast this on him.”

“Okay, now we’re getting somewhere,” Dustin grinned, clapping his hands together.

“One small problem,” said Erica, all eyes landing on her. “The book said ‘if the creature’s soul is free and willing’ so that would mean, for the spell to work, Kas has to want to be cured. Sounds to me like he’s pretty set on being a vampire and killing us.”

“Eddie’s still in there,” answer Dustin, calmly.

“Bull. Shit.”

“We all heard him give the same speech, right?” Dustin asked, receiving a couple of nods in response. “He was talking about himself, Eddie, in the third person - as though they’re two different people. If that was the case, he wouldn’t have Eddie’s memories or anything like that, would he? He’s just a little… brainwashed. All we have to do is convince him that he wants to be cured.”

“You have a really bad habit of making complicated things sound way too simple, you know that right? He’s more likely to attack on sight rather than stand there and listen to us. We’re going to have to trap him or something,” Steve added.

“I can help with that,” El told him. “I can use the vines to restrain him.”

“Brilliant. So how do we kill Vecna?” asked Nancy.

“Will, didn’t you think of something earlier?” asked Robin.

“So,” Will began, snapping his book closed. “It was more like a three birds, one stone kind of plan. When a wizard dies any magic he cast will die along with him. So, in theory, if we kill Vecna the spell he used to turn Eddie into Kas will be null and void.”

“That’s only two birds, what’s the third?” asked Robin, stifling a yawn.

“Max.”

“How do we kill him?” asked Lucas, a look of determination spread across his face.

“It has to be me,” El announced.

“No,” Mike argued instantaneously.

“You’ve been awfully quiet so far, Mike. I don’t see you coming up with anything better,” defended Jonathan. “El’s tough, she can do it.”

“And she won’t be alone this time. She’ll have Will’s powers and the rest of us as backup,” added Steve.

“No,” repeated Mike, rushing out of the room.

“Mike, come back! I can help her,” yelled Will, following Mike from the room.

“I guess we vote, right? To make things fair?” Steve shrugged. “Nance?”

“I’m on board.”

“Jonathan?”

“Me too.”

“Rob? Robin?” Steve asked, not gaining a response. He turned to face her and found her drifting off to sleep, her head on her shoulder. “Right, everyone go to bed. We’ll carry this on tomorrow.”

March 25th, 1987.

Steve waited until he was sure everyone was asleep and tiptoed to the entryway, grabbed his car keys off the hook, and very cautiously closed the front door behind him. He’d tried to sleep, really he had, but the image of Kas glaring his fangs burned into his mind was too much for Steve to bear. He had only one destination in mind when he turned the key in the ignition - the twenty-four-hour gas station.

“Well, hello handsome. Hair cut suits you,” greeted the Clerk, the bell above the door diverting her attention from the magazine she had been reading at the desk. “Not seen you for a while.”

“Thanks,” smiled Steve, making his way over to the shelves. “I’ve cut back.”

He grabbed the first bottle of vodka he saw, not caring about the brand or price as long as it got him to sleep. He placed the bottle on the desk and searched his pockets for his wallet.

“Any smokes tonight, darling?”

“No, I’m good,” Steve answered. He produced a few bills from his wallet and tucked the vodka into his inside pocket before muttering his goodbyes to the woman behind the counter.

Steve argued with himself the whole way home.

He knew he shouldn’t, but what use was he to anyone if he didn’t get any sleep? He could miss something. Mess up an important part of the plan. Yes, it was vital that Steve got some sleep - even if that meant having a drink to do so. Or was it? What if he drank too much? It was hard to have ‘just the one’ these days. No, no. He’d be fine. He’d have one (maybe two) shots and go straight to sleep, wake up feeling slightly less zombie-like, and be ready when it came time to face Kas again.

With the front door locked and his keys hung up, Steve turned to make his way upstairs for a night of blissful sleep - instead, he almost jumped out of his skin. “Will? What are you doing up?” he asked in a whisper, gaining no response. “Will? Hello? You sleepwalking or something?”

He reached out and grasped Will by the shoulder, turning him around so that they were face to face.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Stevie,” Will growled, the voice coming from his lips not his own. His eyes rolled upwards, eyelids fluttering violently as he was placed under Vecna’s trance.

Author's Note: There’s a lot of dialogue in this chapter but I felt like we really needed to bond with the characters as well as have them bond with each other (and give Steve a hug, jfc) after that battle.

I can’t believe we’re halfway through already! Four more chapters and an epilogue to go. 😲

Just want to drop in and say a huge thank you to everyone who’s been reading, liking, reblogging, and commenting thus far. It’s super appreciated and I love finding out your thoughts on the fic. You’re all amazing.

11 notes · View notes