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complicatedchelsea · 11 months

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Fallen Through Time For You

Chapter Eleven: Is It Illegal If She Deserved It?

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(gif not mine)

(Sydney's POV)

It was three weeks later that Murray called.

In those three weeks we had all fallen into some sort of routine. When Eddie was at school, I either spent the day with Steve or Hopper or even Joyce if she wasn’t working. Wayne was appreciative that I valued his sleep and didn’t want to bother him during the day, but when he was off, we spent time together too. The days at the station, Steve’s house, or even with Joyce weren’t as nerve wracking as they first were. They truly cared and asked for little in return. Joyce was like the mother I never had, accepting me with open arms and always making sure I had something to eat. Hopper was a little more rough around the edges, but he was another parental figure in my life. He provided stability and after reiterating what occurred at the store, he was quick to promise that nothing like that would ever happen again under his watch. Steve? Steve was quick to become one of my closest friends here. The bond we shared was different, just like he had mentioned. ‘Siblings that only saw of each other through cracks in the foundation’, and I felt like that matched us. Maybe that’s what we were in a different lifetime.

I was more comfortable around everyone now. It was like we all had collectively decided that while I was a mess, no one was treating me differently. The kids were very entertaining to be around, but God did they have questions. Some that I couldn’t even answer. Dustin was the most curious, and I swear he spent most of his time with me trying to get useful information. He was a very curious person, and it was an added bonus to see the way he interacted with Eddie and Steve. The bond that they shared with him was nothing I had ever witnessed. One minute Steve could be bitching at Dustin’s tone, and the next making sure he wasn’t hurt from a fight with Mike.

Max was another one I was surprised about getting close to. The rides to school and back with her let me into some more insight about what happened to her over spring break, and why she never seemed to go anywhere without her walkman. She was a firecracker, but had a heart of gold and knew exactly what to say when she saw me getting overwhelmed. We were all over at Steve’s for a movie night when Mike broke a plate. I had flinched and with just one look at me she knew what I was thinking and pulled me to the side. She fell asleep on my lap that night during a movie, and when I smiled up at Eddie, I don’t think my heart ever felt so full.

Eddie, well Eddie was everything. He was serious, after his talk that day he went beyond any effort he had made previously. It was like all stipulations had disappeared on his side; he was touchier than ever and way more vocal in his praises. It was getting easier for me too, and every time I reached out first for affection, he’d give me his million-dollar smile. It was so easy to let myself be loved by him. And any time I would worry about how much effort he was putting in and how I wasn’t worth it, he’d shut me up with a look and promise that he would do this everyday for the rest of our lives if needed. Even though I think he hadn’t said the words yet for my sake, I could feel them with everything he did.

It was Sunday night, which meant no Wayne and no interruptions. With everyone constantly checking in, it was hard to get some alone time with Eddie. Especially with him trying to graduate this year, he’d come home and do homework or work on the campaign and then crash. Not that I was complaining, a sleepy Eddie was very affectionate and it always made up for missing him during the day. He’d pull me close, thumb brushing against our soulmarks in the darkness of his room. It was so easy to melt into him, letting him protect me from everything outside those four walls.

The fabric of the couch was itchy beneath my arms as Eddie laid on top of me. His weight was something I had gotten used to over the weeks, always wanting to be in contact with me in any way possible. I was the one that pulled him on top of me one night, wanting to feel the comfort of his weight on top of me and he must have liked it because he took every opportunity to lean up against me. He was using one arm to prop himself up and his fingers tracing patterns on my bare arm, while his other hand was being used to trace light lines on my face. With every movement of his fingers, it left behind a static feeling that had my face flushing. Eddie’s face was flushed, a dazed smile on his face with his hair falling out of the lazy bun he had put it in when he got on top of me. My hands were splayed against his chest, my eyes closing at the intimacy of his actions. When his touch left my face, I opened my eyes to see that he had leaned closer, his eyes flickering down to my lips.

This was finally it. This is when he was going to actually kiss me. I closed my eyes as he leaned down and just as I could feel his breath against my face…

The phone rang.

“Jesus H. Christ,” Eddie muttered as I opened my eyes. His face had flushed darker and he pushed himself up so he was sitting on his heels. The force of his eye roll had me giggling as his eyes softened. “Do I really need to get that?”

I sat up on my elbows, giving him a nudge with my knee. “It could be important?”

He groaned again and sent me a look as he tumbled off the couch towards the phone. “Munson residence. You better have a damn good reason for calling.”

“Eddie!” I laughed as I sat all the way up and he waved a hand at me.

Eddie’s facial expression changed from annoyance to curiosity. “Let me get her.” He rested the phone against his chest. “It’s Murray. He wants to speak to you.”

I crossed the room quickly to take the phone from Eddie. He stood next to me, arm wrapped around me as he lowered his head next to mine to try and hear our conversation. “Murray?”

“Sydney!” Murray’s excited phone came from across the line. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, child!”

I sent a questioning glance to Eddie, his expression mirroring mine. After our initial meeting, Hopper explained to me that Murray is overly cautious. Claiming that the government is listening in on our phone calls after everything with the Upside Down. That if Murray had anything to say to me, it would be in riddles and half-truths until we met back up in person.

“Indeed it has,” I let out a soft laugh. “You miss me already?”

“I have those family photos you asked me to find,” Murray said in response. “The ones that your Mom didn’t let you leave with? Do you think I can drop by tomorrow and deliver them in person? We could get lunch and catch up?”

“Sure,” I said as Eddie moved a hand to rub down my back. “You want to invite Uncle Hop and make it a family affair?”

“Always, kid.” Murray replied. “You’ll tell him when you see him?”

“Of course.”

“See you tomorrow, kiddo.”

The line disconnected in true Murray fashion, leaving me slightly confused as Eddie hung the phone back up. “What was that about?”

“Murray wants to bring me some family photos?” I questioned. “Which is ridiculous because I wasn’t in an-”

I stopped. “The documents. The ones that he faked, they must be ready.”

“Already?” Eddie asked as he pulled me to his chest.

I shrugged under his arms. “I guess. That’s why he’s gotta be back in town. I’ll tell Hopper in the morning when you drop me at the station.”

“Do you want me to skip so I can be with you?” Eddie asked, starting to sway us to a tune that he could only hear.

I shook my head. Since that last altercation, I really hadn’t been in public that much, less with Eddie. We kept our appearances to a minimum for my sake, not ready for someone else to approach us. “You need to be in class.”

Eddie groaned. “Sweetheart, one day isn’t going to matter.”

“Shh,” I said as I leaned up to pat his check. “I’ll be fine. When we get home you can see my new family tree.”

Eddie sighed and looked over my head to the clock hanging on the opposite wall. “It’s getting late, do you want to head to bed?”

I snorted. “You mean hide under the covers and whisper to each other until we fall asleep?”

He sent me my favorite smile. “I knew you were made for me.”

Monday’s were always spent at the station with Hopper. His excuse was that I made his day more tolerable, but I also knew that it was his slowest day and if I wasn’t there he would be snoozing at his desk. Eddie dropped me off with a kiss to the cheek and drum solo blaring out his speakers. I waited until he drove away with El to broach the subject with Hopper.

“So Murray called last night.”

Hopper raised his eyebrows from where he was trying to light his cigarette. “He called you? About the documents?”

I raised my eyebrows. “You know the documents are ready?”

Hopper shrugged and exhaled a cloud of smoke. “He called Joyce to invite her out to the lunch you were supposed to tell me about.”

I smirked. “How do you know he called Joyce last night?”

Hopper glared down at me. “I’m not allowed to spend time at the Byers house?”

“It sounds like you had an ulterior motive, Uncle Hop.” I said with a laugh and moved out of the way as he swatted at me. “You making night house calls now?”

“Shut your mouth.” He pointed a finger at me. “You’re just as bad as El.”

I shrugged and tried to conceal a smile.

We left for the diner a lot earlier than we needed to, Hopper saying that if he heard Callahan’s annoying voice one more time he was going to lock him in a cell. Joyce was waiting for us outside the diner, sitting on one of the wooden benches with a magazine in hand.

“Hey!” Joyce leaned forward to hug me as we got closer, her hugs always making me feel more grounded. “You’re early.”

“Well, so are you.” Hopper said as he leaned down to kiss her cheek. He sent me a warning look when he stood back up, and I just smiled and pretended to look elsewhere.

“Murray claims he’s going to be on time but he never is,” Joyce teased as she guided me to sit back beside her on the bench. “That man only runs on his time.”

“But he told you why he was coming?” I asked.

She squeezed my shoulders. “After today you will officially have a paper-trail following you to Hawkins. That way no one can raise any questions about where you come from.” Her eyebrows furrowed for a second. “Is anyone else giving you trouble?”

I sent Hopper a look and he raised his hands. “Don’t look at me. Blame the kids. How do you think Eddie reacted about that day at the grocery store? Of course the kids were gonna be worried.”

“No,” I said and twisted my fingers in my lap. Maybe I should have had Eddie come with me today. “I really haven't given anyone the chance to either.”

“Sweetie,” Joyce said as she pulled me into a side hug. “You can’t just shut yourself up like that.”

Before I could answer her, Murray made his presence known by dropping his bag in Hopper’s lap and reached down to hug Joyce. “Ah, my favorite adults. How are we doing on this cloudy day?”

“Murray,” Hopper said in amusement with an eye roll. “Looks like you actually made it in time.”

“Hey,” Murray drew back like he was offended. “Since I saved your ass in Russia I have been nothing but on time.”

Joyce laughed and tugged me off the bench to follow her inside. We tried to be discreet by choosing a booth in the back, but there weren’t very many people dining in the first place. Murray waited until the waitress took our orders before sliding a folder my way.

“You are officially Sydney Thompson from a small town no one has heard about in Montana. Your “mother” is the only one listed on your birth certificate but I have an official document here putting you in Jim’s care.”

He wasn’t wrong. There were many documents in that folder, including information on a bank account in my name. I picked it up and let Joyce look over it as I glanced back at Murray. “What is this?”

Murray smiled. “It’s a welcome to the party gift. Don’t go crazy, I didn’t put very much in it, but at least you have something to your name now. It’s completely ours, but now you have roots here.”

“You mean we didn’t put much in there.” Joyce laughed as she moved the folder out the way when the waitress came with our food. “Stop trying to take credit for what we all did.”

I felt my throat get tight and looked around the adults at the table. “Thank you.”

Murray cleared his throat. “I don’t do well with tears, maybe just get me a good bottle of vodka and we’ll call it even?”

When lunch ended, Murray followed Joyce and I followed Hopper. We didn’t make it very far from the diner before Hopper stopped me. He glanced down at the folder in my hands and beckoned it over and I gave it without a fight. It was a few good minutes of him looking over some of the paperwork before he shut it with a snap and handed it back to me. Before I could take it, his grip tightened on the corner in his hand.

“Are you okay with this?” Hopper asked me. “I know that we talked about this being a temporary solution, but now it’s official. Are you still okay with being tied to me?”

I cocked my head. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Hopper looked around us to point out the obvious, the stares that he was getting from the nosy people of Hawkins. The stares that I knew he was getting every time he went out in public, how they ranged from sympathy when he was with El, to the anger some people had of him back in the police uniform.

“Hop,” I let out a sigh and refocused on him. “My father was never around much and when he was, he was a drunk asshole who wanted to tell everyone what a mistake it was to have a daughter. In my time here you’ve been more of a father to me than that man has been in my twenty years of life. And if you don’t want me thinking of you that way, then th-”

Hopper didn’t let me finish as he pulled me into a tight hug. The folder was awkwardly squashed between us and I had to stand on my toes to properly hug him back, but it was one of the best hugs I had ever got.

When he stepped back, a heavy hand squeezed my shoulder. “I’d be honored if you thought of me like that. I meant what I said that day, I always take in strays.”

I laughed and that was that. No more hesitation on my side. The found family that I discovered was amazing and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. And when Eddie and I got home that night and showed Wayne the documents, I got another fatherly hug from Wayne that leveled right up there with Hopper’s. Why would I ever want to go back?

_______________________________________________

“I just don’t get why you have to buy the Eggo brand, Steve.” Robin said as she shut the freezer door behind Steve. “It’s not like she’s going to taste the difference.”

“Robin,” Steve glared at her from across the shopping cart. “Please don’t start this again. I’m always gonna give El what she wants. If she wants Eggos, I can buy her some Eggos.”

“Yeah, Buckley.” Eddie chimed in from where he was swinging our joined hands, us watching them argue over what each other was putting in the cart. “Just like the difference between Red Vines and Twizzlers. They are both licorice, are you saying they taste the same?”

“Fuck off, Munson” Robin said, not unkindly as she pushed the cart forward. “Why are we friends with you again?”

Currently Robin, Steve, Eddie, and I were making a snack run to Bradleys. We were having a movie night tomorrow and Steve couldn’t not have the right snacks in his house. After hangry kids and an ‘accidental’ breaking of a picture in Steve’s hallway, we weren’t going to risk it. This was also the first time being out with Eddie since the incident, and having both Robin and Steve there really helped my anxiety.

It also helped that Eddie didn’t let go of my hand. But Robin had something to say about that too.

She watched as Eddie twirled me the middle of the frozen isle, the music playing throughout the story was too low to hear, but Eddie was a man that always moved to his own beat. I laughed as he spun me back to him, tripping slightly as I landed against his chest.

“Bleh,” Robin said with a smile as she looked over at Steve who was studying the list he had compiled. “Is this what we have to look forward to?”

I heard Steve snort. “Just be lucky that this is all they are doing.”

“Hey!” Eddie said, not offended as he shifted his hold from around me back to my hand. “We are not that bad.”

“She is not that bad,” Steve pointed at me and rolled his eyes. “Eddie, have you met you?”

Before Eddie could retaliate, I heard loud voices from the other end of the aisle. I turned in Eddie’s hold to investigate, but was met with the sight of three women pointing at our group.

“-let him back in public?” I heard one say.

“-pper should really be doing his job. Letting an accused murder walk the streets?” Another gawked out.

When I looked back at Eddie, I could see all amusement was wiped from his face and his eyes tightened in a way that I knew meant he was upset. Steve and Robin were quiet behind us, and with one glance, I could see that they were staring down the women too.

“Hey,” I whispered to get Eddie’s attention. His eyes snapped to me from where he was watching them, him trying to school his expression for me. “They don’t exist, remember? It’s just us.”

Eddie let out a sigh. “Just us.”

“C’mon guys,” Steve said. Robin had moved to stand in front of us, her back to the gossiping women. She reached a hand out the rub at one of my arms. “Let’s just finish this.”

Without another glance at them, I let Eddie turn me around to follow Steve, Robin stayed on my other side like she was going to try and protect me from anyone that approached us. I thought we had gotten away with it, that they were going to leave us alone and we could get out without any other altercations. But Eddie was adamant that he could go get his cereal and be right back.

“Gonna miss me, sweetheart? It’s just one aisle.” Eddie laughed and leaned down to kiss my head. “I’ll be quick, you won’t even notice I’m gone.”

I frowned, still on edge. What if those women were gonna follow us around the store?

“I’ll get you some pop tarts,” Eddie bargained with me. “Just stay here with Robin and Steve. If we split up, the less time we can be in here and the sooner we can be getting something to eat.”

“Yeah,” Robin as her arm wrapped around my shoulders. “Go get your nasty cereal, Munson. No one else is gonna eat it.”

Eddie flipped her off with a smile as he turned the corner. Anxiety bubbled in my chest as he left my sight. “They are going to follow him.”

“You don’t know that,” Steve said as the cart came to a stop next to me. “Most of them just like to gossip from a distance. I’m sure Hopper scared the rest of them off.”

“C’mon,” Robin pulled me along with her as we followed Steve. “All we got left is Max and Will’s chips and we can leave,”

A few minutes passed as Steve and Robin debated on chips and Eddie wasn’t back yet. The bubble of anxiety just kept growing in my chest. Something in my chest told me I should have followed Eddie.

And then I felt it, what Eddie was talking about all this time. I felt the feeling of fear settle into the back of my spine. I could tell it wasn’t my emotion, it was Eddie’s.

“Guys,” I said to get their attention. “We need to find Eddie, now.”

I didn’t give them a chance to argue as I took off to find him. I tried to remember the layout from the last time I was here, but it wasn’t needed as I heard loud voices coming from two aisles down. I didn’t wait to see if Steve and Robin were behind me to help me stop this, I just knew I had to get to Eddie. The voices got louder the closer I got.

“Really think you should be able to walk around here?”

“Devil Worshipper!”

“How can you even show your face around here?”

“Lying to that poor girl, how hasn’t Hopper thrown you in jail?”

“Killer!”

“Hey!” I shouted as I heard that last remark. I was just rounding the end of the aisle and saw that they had Eddie backed into the shelf, cereal box clutched in his hand. It would be a funnier sight on another day, four older ladies in their bright pinks crowding Eddie in his black clothes. But this wasn’t another day, this was today when they were harassing Eddie in a stupid grocery store. “Get away from him!”

I didn’t stop moving as I approached the group, shouldering who got in my way to stand in front of Eddie. Eddie’s face was pale and his gaze was pointed downward at his shoes when I got in front of him. He wouldn’t meet my gaze, but did take my hand when I offered it to him.

I turned back to the group of women, furious. “You have two seconds to leave before I’m calling my Uncle. You have no right to say those things here!”

“Honey,” One woman said condescendingly as she tried to reach out to me. “You don’t know what’s going on. He murd-”

I could feel Eddie flinch harshly behind me. He fought to get his hand out of mine, but I refused and tightened my grip.

“Shut the hell up!” I yelled. I could hear that the store had gotten too quiet and the sound of Robin’s boots as she and Steve made their way to us. “You don’t know anything about what happened. Eddie is not a goddamn murderer. He didn’t kill Chrissy, he didn’t kill Patrick, he’s never hurt anyone!”

“I’m calling Hopper,” I heard Steve say as Robin made her way to my side, both of us working as a barrier between the women and Eddie. I could barely see Steve behind them, but nodded in the direction his voice came from.

“How could you stand behind him in good conscience?” One of the women said, targeted at me. “How can you stand there knowing what he’s done? That makes you just as bad!”

“He shouldn’t even have a soulmark!” The other cried out. “Not after he split apart Jason and Chrissy! An eye for an eye, a mark for a mark!”

“Stop!” I said as I took a threatening step forward. I stood as tall as I could, wanting to seem as intimidating to these women. “You don’t know jack shit. Eddie didn’t do it! Out of everyone in this store, Eddie deserves his soulmark the most! You have no idea what happened in that Creel House. And I promise you if you lay one hand on him, you won’t ever see anything else but a goddamn jail cell.”

“Is that a threat?” The third asked with huff.

I smiled as crazily as I could at the three. “You don’t know where I came from and you don’t even know why I’m here. You really want to test that theory now? I dare you to see what happens.”

Suddenly Eddie ripped his hand out of my grip and dropped the box of cereal. He wouldn’t meet my eyes as I turned to face him in confusion, instead choosing to bolt towards the direction of the exit of the store. I watched as he stumbled around people and made a quick exit to the right as the automatic doors opened. When I turned back to the group of women, they all had smug faces.

“I think we took care of that, didn’t we Margret?” The ringleader of the group said. “He shouldn’t be back anytime soon.”

“You have no idea what you’ve just done,” I said with an angry laugh. “I can make what happened over spring break look like child’s play. You think you should be afraid of Eddie?” I took another step closer to the women, ignoring Robin’s attempt to draw me back. I was all in now. “Just go back to your boring life with your loveless marriage and repressed feelings where you see your husband for two hours at night and your kids when they want something from you. Where the only joy you get is gossiping about the people of this small town or making fun of your new neighbors. But I promise you, if you ever mess with any of the Munson’s again and I find out, I’ll make sure all that goes away. I’ll have Hopper arrest you before you can shed a single tear. Do you understand me?”

She took a step back from me as Steve reapproached us. Steve looked at my angry expression and the worried one from Robin that I could just feel with the stress rolling off of her. Steve stepped between us, his back to the women with himself facing me.

“Hopper’s not at the station but he’s sending Powell and Callahan to take care of it.” Steve said. “But he is making a trip to the store and he’s very angry that this interrupted his only night off.”

“Well, good.” One of them piped up from behind Steve causing him to turn around. “He can finally arrest Munson and get him out of here.”

Steve raised an eyebrow, a shocked expression filtering his face. “He’s not here for Eddie or Sydney. He’s here for you three. He’s put out several warnings about messing with the Munson’s, and now you’ve threatened his niece?”

One sputtered. “We didn’t threaten her!”

“I heard it!” Robin piped up from beside me, her arm coming around my shoulders. “And I’m sure no one else is gonna want to get involved to deny it!”

Noise started to pick up around us again, everyone that was viewing the spectacle started to go their own ways. Seemingly not wanting to have to deal with Hopper and whatever he was going to do to these three.

Steve crossed his arms and turned his body in my direction. “Sydney? Robin and I will stay here. Why don’t you go find Eddie?”

I nodded, sending another glare at the women as I stepped away from them. I didn’t bother with any of the crowd that lingered, just pushed my way through the people and met each disgusted gaze with one of my own. No one else said a word to me as I made it to the automatic doors and it felt like forever getting the doors to open. I peered out into the parking lot, heading first to the van that set a little aways from the door.

“Eddie?!” I banged on the back of the van as I moved around to circle the front. There was no one in the front seats and when I pulled open the side door, there was no Eddie hiding in the back of the van.

“Eddie?” I asked again into the dying light of the parking lot. “Eddie?”

I scoped the parking lot, but there was no one else there. There was a lone phone booth sitting at the edge of the parking lot, but no metalhead was holed up in there either. I let out a deep sigh as I leaned back against the van, desperate to find him. Eddie never mentioned how much these remarks bothered him, but it didn’t take a second glance to see the way he would get lost in himself. Eddie wasn’t dangerous to anyone but himself, and God forbid he does something stupid in his moment of disassociation.

Bang!

The sound of metal ricocheting drew my attention back towards the store, specifically to the area beside it. I took quick steps in the direction, almost knowing that Eddie had to be the cause of the noise. It was a little more difficult to see around the side of the store, the sun going down enough but not far enough for the streetlights to come up.

“Eddie?” I asked into the air as I took quiet steps past a dumpster and boxes of cardboard stacked upon each other. “Baby? Are you back here?”

I was met with no reply as I turned the corner to the back of the building. It was much darker back here, the only light coming from a bulb above what looked like a back entrance.

“Baby?” I asked again as I squinted to make out any shapes. “I just want to know that you are okay. Please just let me know that you are back here.”

A humorless chuckle drew my attention to the right and at that moment with a rescinding click, the lights at the back of the building turned on. There was Eddie, sitting on an overturned milk crate, leaning back against the store wall with a cigarette in his mouth. He looked so angry, his hair a mess from where he was probably pulling at the roots which I knew he did when he got stressed. His expression was pinched, but even from a few feet away I could see how sad his beautiful eyes were. One hand clutched his cigarette while the other was flipping the lid open and shut on his lighter.

“Am I okay?” He asked me, another humorless chuckle leaving him as he took a puff from his cigarette. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“Oh, Eddie.” I said, my heart breaking as I saw the mask slip and sadness replaced the anger. “It’s okay to be upset about this. I’m upset about this!”

“Are you now?” Eddie asked rhetorically, as he put the lighter away and leaned forward in his position.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked, now upset that he wasn’t fired up as I was. “That was an ambush Eddie! Those women had no right to say those things about you!”

It was quiet for a moment as Eddie threw his cigarette down and stomped it into the ground. “They sounded right, didn’t they?”

It drew me up short. “I’m sorry, what?”

Eddie’s hands made their way into his hair, pulling at the roots like I thought he was doing before. “Those women, hell the whole store probably thinks that all of that is true. So if they do, it must be right? I’m a murder that doesn’t deserve a soulmark?”

“Eddie!” I said, astounded. “None of that is true. You can’t possibly think that.”

He chuckled again, and this one sounded more wet like he was holding something back. “Were you there when Chrissy’s bones snapped and her eyes got sucked out of her head? When Patrick floated into the air in front of me on that lake? Or when the ground threatened to rip apart under our feet when we thought Vecna had won?”

I stayed silent, not moving as Eddie continued. He made eye contact with me then.

“You weren’t. You weren’t here when I started going out in public alone and had to deal with this. How I would come out of a store and my tires would be slashed or the van would be spray painted with cruel words that took days to scrub off.”

He rubbed at his face and stood up to pace, moving in a small circle around the crate.

“I’m going to have to deal with this for the rest of my life in Hawkins, sweetheart. If I were you, I’d run for the fucking hills. That’s all I’m ever going to be in this town is a murderer that just wanted to help the nice cheerleader get some goddamn sleep. And see where it got me?”

He paused, the anger seeming to drain out of him. “I had to stop doing drug deals at night because I would be followed and beaten. Do you really want to stick around for that? What if you are with me one night and they get to you?”

“I-” I started but I couldn’t seem to get a breath in as I started to cry. “What happened to all that stuff you talked about weeks ago? What you promised me?”

“This is my life, Sydney.” Eddie said as he swept his arms out, his voice kept getting louder and louder. “Being harassed in a goddamn supermarket, being followed after school, having to hide how I feel when parents push their kids behind them in public. Do you really want to have to deal with that the rest of the time we are here?”

Eddie sunk to his knees, tears finally escaping his eyes as a heartbreaking sound left him. Even when he showed me his scars and the breakdown that followed, he never sounded this sad. This resigned to the life he had. He pressed his hands to his eyes like he could force the sadness back into the darkest parts of him.

“I’m so sorry, Sydney.” Eddie cried and I finally moved forward, falling to my knees in front of him. “This is what you chose, this is the life we are going to have here. Us getting harassed in supermarkets and being denied service at some places. You think I want this for you? I can’t give you much in this life, and until we can leave here this is what our lives are going to be.”

I didn’t answer him at first, just reaching forward to pull him into me and he just collapsed. His sobs got heavier and his arms circled me to clutch me closer to his chest. I held him tightly, not realizing that things had gotten this bad. How long had this been going on before I arrived? Twice a week, three times, everyday?

“Eddie, baby look at me.” I said as I rubbed a hand down his back and tried to pull back. His grip tightened, pushing his face into my neck. “Okay, you don’t have to look at me but you have to listen.”

I sighed as he continued to shake in my arms. “Eddie, it doesn’t matter what they say to me about you. I’m never going to believe them. I chose this life, I chose to live it with you here in a small town that I had never heard of and far away from my time. Do you really think a few old ladies are going to have me running for the hills?”

“But,” Eddie hiccuped and sat back on his heels, his arms still locked around me and forced me to fall back with him. The gravel was rubbing the material of my jeans into my knees, but I wasn’t going to move. Not when he needed me. “The bruises that-”

“Baby,” I said as softly as I could. “Dustin hit me with his textbook last week and I still have a bruise on my arm. Do you really think that bothers me?”

Eddie looked up at me then. “Sweetheart, someone grabbed you three weeks ago. I can live with the shoves and assault, but the fact they think they can do it to you? That’s a line I’m not willing to cross. I can’t let you put up with that.”

“So what?” I scoffed, trying to get him to see how ridiculous he was being over this. I chose him all those weeks ago, and I’m choosing him now. “You want me to leave you here alone in all this? Go back to a time where I’m unloved and trapped in a house that’s going to break me worse than what you found me?”

“No!” Eddie yelled at me. He moved so his hands were clutching my face. “Please don’t leave me. I don’t think I’d survive it.”

“Baby,” I whimpered out as my heart broke more for him. “You can’t tell me to go and stay in one sentence. I’m telling you like I told you all those weeks ago that I’m with you. We are in this together. So what if the people of Hawkins are narrow minded? We weren’t going to stay here forever. I’d follow you anywhere; wherever you go, I will go.”

Eddie was sniffiling loudly, his brown eyes tracking across my face like he was waiting for my expression to change. “I don’t think I’d forgive myself if they hurt you.”

“No one is going to hurt me.” I said with all the conviction that I had. “Eddie, don’t turn this around on us. Nothing that happened there is your fault and it never will be. I’m angry at them, not you. I’m never going to be mad at you. I’m never going to leave you. I can’t change what happened back in March, but I can tell you that the trauma of Chrissy’s death needs to be lightened. You didn’t kill her baby, you did nothing wrong. She was with you in her final moments, can you imagine how much more scared she would have been if she had been alone? She trusted you. None of those women in that store can take that from you.”

I moved a hand up to push his hair away from his face, wiping his tears away in vain as more continued to fall. “You have never not been deserving of a soulmark Eddie. You are one of the kindest, craziest, self sacrificing people I have ever met. The universe took one look at you and decided I was worthy of all of this. I’m going to make sure you know that everyday.”

Eddie leaned into my touch, his eyes slipping closed as some of the tension left his frame. “Isn’t that my line?”

I let out a tiny laugh and moved to pull him back into my embrace. “I’m serious Eddie. It’s okay to be frustrated and upset about what they say, but you can’t ever believe them. They weren’t there Eddie. They didn’t see what you did to save this town, the sacrifices you made and probably will continue to make if Vecna comes back. You can’t let them win.”

Eddie hummed, his chest vibrating against mine. “It’s just so hard when you hear it all the time. Everywhere I go I hear the whispers of what they think of me. After a while of hearing something, you start to believe it. You know?”

I nodded and moved my hands to cup his face and pull it to where I could see him. “Baby, I promise you every day I’m going to remind you that whatever you hear isn’t true. We are in this together, remember?”

“Together,” Eddie echoed back at me like I had done to him all those weeks ago. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

I smiled then, glad to see that his tears had stopped. “You won’t ever have to find out.”

“Yeah?” Eddie asked, leaning forward to tuck some hair behind my ear. My thumbs moved to wipe the tears from his face, some color returning to his pale features.

“Oh, yeah.” I teased. “You’re stuck with me.”

“What a shame,” Eddie said dramatically as he swayed under my hands. “I have to deal with you for the rest of our lives?”

Eddie let out a laugh and made a move to get to his feet. He reached a hand down to me, helping me off the dirty ground and leaning down to brush at my knees when I stood up. He fussed over me for another moment, pushing my hair over my shoulders and wiping at my face for any leftover tears. “Thank you for coming to find me.”

“Hey,” I said as I reached for him. “Don’t thank me. I’d do anything for you, even beating up a few old women.”

“Would you now?” Eddie said as we pulled each other closer. “You’d take all of Hawkins' gossip for me?”

“In a heartbeat.” I said back without any hesitation. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m kind of obsessed with you.”

Eddie raised his eyebrows, my favorite smile of his pulling at his lips. “I’ve got you beat, sweetheart.”

Eddie leaned his face forward, completely in my space as we shared the air between us. “I crave you, Sydney. When you are not with me, it pains me to be away from you. I won’t ever need anything else when I’m with you.”

With that, Eddie leaned forward and hesitantly pressed his lips to mine. I let out a small noise of surprise and after a second of catching up, I pressed forward to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him as close as possible. Eddie responded with the same enthusiasm, his kisses getting deeper and more confident as his hands clutched harder at my face. My heart was going crazy in my chest, my body filling with static at the emotions running through me. It was like every emotion was being amplified, like touching a wire of electricity. One of my hands moved to grasp at the hair at the back of his neck while the other moved to grab at his wrist; and when I brushed over his soulmark, it felt like I was in the sun.

Eddie must have felt the same because he pulled back taking a sharp breath, his forehead leaning against mine. “Sydney?”

Instead of verbally responding, I pushed myself up to kiss him again, already knowing that I was addicted to this now. The closeness between us, the feeling of Eddie inside and out as he kissed me. I kissed him deeper, more emotional like I wouldn’t survive without him. Like he was my life-source and every minute I spent not with his lips on mine was a second of not living.

I pulled back after it felt like my lungs were on fire, Eddie moving my face to look at him. He had this dreamy look on his face and I felt pride swell within me. I did that, I made him feel that way.

“Sydney,” Eddie chuckled. “If you don’t stop, I’m not going to be able to stop.”

“Oh?” I asked him, feeling in my chest like that day at the arcade. Him pushing me against the van, the trailing of hands. “What if I don’t want you to stop kissing me?”

Eddie groaned and moved his forehead to rest back against mine. “Sweetheart, don’t ask those questions. I am a weak man for you.”

“Yeah?” I asked back with a smile. Eddie dropped his hands from my face to my waist, his grip tightening as I leaned forward to kiss at the corner of his mouth. “I want you to be weak for me Eddie.”

A series of emotions filtered across his face before what I could only describe as hunger settled on his features. He chuckled, his hands forcing my waist to connect with his. His head bent down to my neck and I felt him start to mouth at my neck. I felt my knees shake, my heart beating incredibly loud in my ears. My face was hot and flushed as I grasped onto him, wanting to stay present and not drift away in his clutches.

“This isn’t the place to be weak for you, sweetheart.” Eddie said as he pressed another kiss to my neck and then leaned back. I let out a low whine and the smile that painted his face promised me he would just eat me up. “The sounds that I want to pull out of you? Those should be reserved for my ears only.”

My face flushed darker if possible and before I could come up with something to say, I heard the sound of Robin and Steve.

Eddie must have heard them too before because he groaned and the step he took back from me seemed like it pained him. He moved to grab my hand, keeping me close to his side as they rounded the corner.

“Everything okay?” Steve asked as they came closer. He looked us both over and after a moment, I saw a look cross his face. “Wait, did we interrupt something?”

Robin eyed both of us before she busted out laughing. “We leave you alone for two seconds and you can’t keep your hands to yourself?”

Eddie grumbled beside me and moved so he had an arm wrapped around my shoulders. “What did you two come out here for?”

“Hopper’s here,” Steve shared. “He wants to talk to both of you.”

I frowned. “Are we in trouble?”

Robin shook her head. “No. I think he wants to know if you are going to press charges against those women.”

I watched Eddie’s eyes widen in surprise. “He wants to press charges?”

Steve frowned. “Eddie, he’s given several warnings and people are still bothering you. He takes this very seriously.”

Eddie shook his head. “I just didn’t expect it.”

Steve regarded him for a moment before turning to look at me. “Do you and Robin want to go ahead? I need to say something to Eddie.”

I looked up at Eddie and sent me a nod saying that he’d be okay. I leaned up to kiss his cheek before taking Robin’s outstretched hand and heading back the way we came. When we rounded the corner I could see Hopper dressed in his normal clothes, arms crossed and glaring down at the three women that harassed us earlier. They looked upset, the ring leader looking like she was going to cry at the thought of Eddie pressing charges. Good.

“Uncle Hop,” I greeted as we got closer to the group and moved in for the hug when he reached out for me. “I’m sorry you had to come out on your night off.”

Hopper ruffled my hair when I stepped back. “Don’t worry about it, kiddo. I told you to call me if anyone bothered you or Munson.”

Hopper’s expression melted back into the one I’ve only seen a handful of times, the one he gets when he goes into “Cop Mode”. “Are these the women that harassed you in the store?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“And they caused a scene? Robin said when you got to him they had pressed against a shelf?”

“Yes,” I sent a glare towards the group. “They were accusing him of being a murder and a devil worshiper.”

“But she threatened us!” One of them cried and tried to reach out to Hopper. He moved out of their range with a look of disgust on his face. “We didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Witnesses say that you three are the ones that have done the threatening.” Hopper stated. “Now do you know if Munson wants to press charges?”

“No,” Eddie’s voice came from behind me. I turned and offered him my hand when he got close enough, but he opted to wrap an arm around my waist. “I don’t want to press charges.”

I sent Steve a look from over my shoulder as he came up behind Eddie, and he nodded back at me. Whatever they talked about must have worked itself out. Eddie looked a little better, still upset about what happened but more like he had let some of the sadness go.

“You three are still coming to the station with me to fill out some paperwork.” Hopper said as he pointed towards the group of women. The two other officers came forward and started to direct them towards the flashing police cars. “You’re going to have to call your husbands to get your vehicles later. You are very lucky Munson’s not pressing charges but if I hear about any of you harassing him again, I won’t hesitate. You understand?”

The women nodded and didn’t saything as they followed the officers. Hopper let out a deep sigh and rubbed his forehead. “Are you guys okay?”

“We will be,” Eddie said as he pulled me closer to him, like he couldn’t stand for me to not be touching every part of him. “I just wasn’t expecting that to happen tonight. Thanks for coming.”

Hopper shrugged. “Despite our past Munson, you’re a part of this group now and that makes you family.” He sent me a look. “You too. I mean it, if anyone bothers you like this again I am pressing charges regardless.”

Eddie shrugged. “Maybe this will finally scare them into leaving me alone.”

Hopper stared at him for a moment. “If I found out that you didn't tell Wayne about this, I am calling the man myself. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Chief.” Eddie said back with a small smile. “Thanks.”

Hopper reached out to grasp Eddie’s shoulder before stepping back and heading towards his vehicle. We watched him pull out of the parking lot, the other cop cars following after him. It was a moment or two before any of us moved, the night turning out completely different than we thought it was going to be.

Steve tossed Eddie the van keys. “I had Robin check us out as I met with Hopper. So you don’t have to worry about going back in there.”

Eddie sighed and it seemed some weight came off his shoulders. “Thanks, I really didn’t want to go back into that store. Can we just drop the two of you off? I’m not up for doing anything else tonight.”

“Sure,” Robin said. She glanced around for a second before spotting a lone cart. “Can I do one thing first?”

Eddie nodded, confusion painting his face. Robin looked around for a moment before rushing towards the cart and walking it down the parking lot. We watched her peak around before narrowing in on a car. With a big push, she sent the cart flying and watched it crash into the driver side door.

“Robin!” Steve hissed as he took off after her. Eddie and I shared a glance, our mischievous smiles mimicking each other. “Destroying someone else’s property is illegal!”

“Is it illegal if she deserved it?” Robin said as Steve caught up to her, Eddie and I took our time walking towards them. “I saw her put her stuff in this car! No one is going to say anything.”

Steve rubbed at his face before his hands dropped at his side. “Is that it?”

Robin pouted. “Will you let me slash one of their tires?”

Eddie snickered and leaned forward to give Robin a high-five. “That’s my best friend! But in the event of the police leaving, we should keep our crime rate low.”

“Next time then,” Robin said with a laugh. She jumped at Steve. “C’mon Steve, aren’t you angry?”

“Of course I’m angry!” Steve said. “I just don’t want to commit crimes in a public place!”

Robin laughed and let Steve lead her towards Eddie’s van. I watched them bicker over who should get the front seat before they both gave up and got in the back. I turned towards Eddie to see him watching them with a fond look on his face.

“How did I get so lucky?” He asked no one in particular. “Being around all of you.”

“You deserve everything, Eddie.” I said as I leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Now the sooner we get them home, the sooner you can make out with me in the comfort of your bedroom.”

Eddie sent me a mischievous look and started moving us towards the van. “I’ve created a monster, haven’t I?”

I just sent him another smile as he opened the passenger door and helped me into the van. He snuck in another kiss before he closed the door, Robin hackling him from the backseat.

Eddie looked lighter when he pulled out the parking lot and started in the direction of Steve’s house. Sure I couldn’t stop anyone from saying anything to him, but I could be there to kiss the worries away when it happens. And Eddie seemed to agree

Hello! I am sorry for the lack of updates, this new jobs is kicking my ass! This is the last normal chapter before the time skips! I have a lot planned and I'm excited for you all the read it! I wanted to go into more depth about how Eddie might feel about being harassed by the town, and our babies finally kissed! Leave your comments of what you think, I'd love to know!

Leave a comment if you want to be tagged!

Taglist: @silky-luxe @disaster-in-waiting @sadbitchfangirl@welliguessiwritethingsnow @comboboo@tuttigunner@avalon-wolf @kaitebugg03

#eddie munson #eddie munson series #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x oc #stranger things series #eddie munson x fem!reader #time travel au #eddie munson fic #eddie munson fix it fic #steve harrington #robin buckley

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kiss2012 · 10 days

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final 911 thoughts…

k tommy’s entrance in 7x03 kinda slayed ngl. the fake static LMAO

“i’d follow your hunches any day” “it’s cap and athena let them fire us” CATCH ME CRYING IN THE CLUB

eddie’s incredulous happy little laugh when they saw the flare <3

this show is at its best when 1) it’s about the inherent goodness of humanity and how everyone deserves to be saved, 2) when the members of the 118 are in Situations, 3) when they r all a happy family, and 4) when they are flagrantly disobeying orders to save the people they love

TJE BACHELOR HAHAHDHHSHSHHSHAHAHAH

u don’t understand how funny this is to me (person who watched the most recent bachelorette live)

making buck bi in the bachelor episode literally the greatest thing they have ever done.

I LOVE MADDIE CHIMNEY AND JOSH TRYING TO FIND OUT WHO THE BACHELOR IS DHDJKDD

scream at joey’s face when the contestants proposition buck and eddie

once again buck continues his trend of either flirting on purpose or flirting without realizing he’s flirting.

HOW DID ANYONE GET THROUGH THIS EPISODE WHAT THE FUCK ARE BUCK EDDIE AND TOMMY ALL DOING

buck saying he’s “keeping his options fluid” LOL.

look im glad to see harry even if the actor’s different i missed him but WHERE IS MAY

ravi i love you so deeply

oh my god ravi looks so beautiful

“you and tommy have a lot in common: both in the army both like watching half-naked men pummel each other” WHAT???? WHAT THE FUCK AM I WATCHING

so i understand exactly what’s going on with buck right now he is certifiably insane but he’s obviously jealous over eddie and jealous over tommy and worried about being replaced especially with chris and insecure and confused about what he’s feeling etc. but eddie 😭😭😭 what’s going on babe

I LOVE MADDIE

ok seriously did we need a rehash of the WORST athena plotline to date???

BUCK IS SO EMBARRASSING.

oh my god i physically can’t watch this

ummmmm yikes

i’ve seen a lot of people both blindly defending buck for this and a lot of people hating on it and i don’t really think it’s that simple. like i think it was wrong wish we could see him apologize but it is some delicious drama. like suck ur teeth in hand over mouth kinda drama.

chimney pretty much summed it up and maddie was so right…love u madney

maddie’s hilarious for being like yeah buck i understand where ur coming from i also made desperate bids for my friend’s attention. when i was a 14 year old girl.

“so stop acting like one” YEAH LMAO

END OF 7x04. WOWWW THAT WAS A LOT

you’d think seeing half of this in gifsets would’ve desensitized me to it. but it hasn’t.

this would have been the perfect opportunity to have tommy talk about how he regrets his behaviour during the begins episodes and talk more about his friendships with hen and chimney??

tommy. BUCK!!!!!!!

scream.

um im sorry i cant blame tommy for leaving buck at the curb after that hot chicks comment. and then the “bro”??? im in agony.

i thought u guys were joking this is marisol’s like fourth appearance on screen and we’ve barely heard her speak let alone seen her interact with eddie but he “really likes her” and they’re moving in together? um excuse me??? WHY ARE THEY LYING TO ME I DONT KNOW THIS WOMAN NO ONE KNOWS THIS WOMAN NOT EVEN EDDIE KNOWS THIS WOMAN

ohhhh my god that post about how unlike tommy eddie’s always treated buck like an equal partner no matter what from the very beginning. yeah…

denny is so sweet.

MADDIE AND BUCK COMING OUT SCENE MY BELOVED

disaster bi buck fr (affectionate)

the “christopher is out of town for a couple days” is still killing me. where is he.

eddie is such a dreamboat truly who wouldn’t be in love with him

so many shannon mentions this season thank you…i miss you shannon

if you need me i’ll be thinking about eddie’s thumb on That Spot.

this end scene is the best buck has looked all episode the choice to have him literally bathed in sunlight is so real and true

7x06 time oh my god im so scared

maddie and hen look unbelievably stunning. jesus christ.

eddie looks beautiful in his beautiful pre-destroyed pink suit. buck…your suit was a Choice. i will free you from whoever is doing your hair like that pls buck just let me in i can fix it pls

eddie wasn’t overtly bitchy about tommy being there until he saw tommy hug buck. he’s so funny.

HENREN AND RAVIIIIII 🥰🥰🥰🥰 and all three of their outfits r a slay

can’t explain to you how much i love clipboard buck if clipboard buck has no lovers i am not on this earth etc. and a karaoke bachelor party really is such a thoughtful idea even if it’s not what chimney wanted

but once again buck is so embarrassing i can’t do this

thanks we had a…time. HFJFJDKD

MONTAGE <33333 buck and eddie’s bestieism is off the charts im gonna cry…

“i am 911” maddie buckley the woman that you are…

i unapologetically looked at a million spoilers for this episode but i still don’t know What happened to chimney and im scared

kevin and the lees 😭😭😭😭

CHIMNEY GOING BACK TO THE KARAOKE BAR HE AND KEVIN WORKED AT. OH IM SICK

“telling buck no is like telling a dog not to jump your leg” is definitely. a line. that. they chose. for this episode.

I LOVE YOU CHIMNEYYY

home and he went to the lees. god….

IM GONNA BE SAD ABOUT KEVIN FOREVER

moment 1363673 of buck giving me the worst and somehow most affectionate secondhand embarrassment i’ve ever felt in my life

perfect episode no notes. actually one note WHERE WAS ALBERT. but other than that im in shambles time to listen to islands in the stream on repeat

#911 lb #this is crazy long but it somehow seemed worse to split it up into 20 posts

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universescreaming · 1 year

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Okay but just to build upon this for my own sake

I think Buck truly did learn a lesson in “In another Life” I think he truly did learn that he is ALLLOWED to love himself and CHOSE himself he’s allowed to Want to live just because he’s him and he deserves to live without having to earn it. But I don’t think he’s learned yet that he deserves other people to love him. It’s like

He’s found a way to accept and love himself for who he is and everything that’s become him, but he has yet to fully believe that ANYONE ELSE COULD. Cause here’s the thing okay, I mean this in a absolutely no hate way but all the love that he experiences with others comes with conditions. Not in a way that they stop loving him or love him less because of something, but because they love him despite of something, and as much as that means they still love him, to HIM it doesn’t feel that way. It feels like walking on eggshells, molding his personality to who he’s around so they still love him.

Hen loves him, but she can’t help but sometimes talk down to him when she’s feels he’s being stupid and reckless, she can’t help but see him as the annoying little brother. She loves him but sometimes she makes him feel small.

Chimney loves him, but he he can’t help but connect him forever to Maddie now, even tho Buck came first. Chim will always feel like he has to chose between the two and he will always chose Maddie, it’s not bad, it’s exactly the same thing for Buck, but Buck knows and is aware of this, that his existence to Chim now he’s been almost downgraded from friend to girlfriend/fiancée/future-wife’s annoying little brother (again that role keeps coming back), the person he can come to to understand her better but sometimes fails to see as his own person outside of her.

Bobby loves him, loves him like a son, loves him more than he’s willing to admit, but it always has set backs and flaws that we have seen from the very beginning. Because Bobby loves him so much that he almost can’t help but put him at arms length sometimes, especially when Buck is being particularly ‘reckless’. Because Bobby can’t lose another kid, and Buck makes that hard by putting himself in positions where he could very well be lost, but that’s not fully bucks fault and it IS his job, but it is a known fact that Bobby treats Buck differently, for better and for worse. So Bobby loves him, but he also worries him, he also protects him to a fault of sometimes revoking Bucks own agency over his life and his decisions.

And Maddie, god Maddie loves him more than life itself, she gave her whole childhood to loving him and raising him, and she carries that on now. But there will ALWAYS be points of contention with them, the secrets that were kept, the leaving and the guilt and the blame, there is always gonna be points where that love hurts a little more than it helps, because she looks at him and feel’s responsibility for who he is and what he feels (again taking some of his own agency away of being his own person) in him she sees all of her mistakes and her parents mistakes and also everything good she’s done and every good he’s done and it’s messy and beautiful and everything that their relationship can be expected to be after all they’ve been through , but it hurts him and makes him feel guilty.

And that’s the thing is Buck feels guilty, for everyone and everything, he takes the weight of the world onto his shoulders and carries it and feels all of the guilt and the pain of everyone he loves and internalizes it as if it was his own, as if he had the ability to change it, to fix it.

And then here’s comes Eddie. Eddie who loves him unconditionally, who forgives him and fights for and with him. Who calls him out when he’s being stupid but still helps him clean up the mess anyways. Who steps into it with him always. Who doesn’t look at him with anything other than fondness, who doesn’t ever expect him to be more than he is, who meets him halfway, who loves him in every version he’s been. Who doesn’t see him as his Buck point O’s, but just as Buck. As the person he trusts more than anyone in the world so much so that it scares them both.

Until he can face that, and see that, see the love and understand that he deserves it, he will keep circling and circling these patterns and keep coping with these same traumas over and over again

Until he can see himself for the whole beautiful and amazing mess that he is and know that someone will still love him anyways (it’s the love me anyways of it all) not in spite of but because of

#god this man makes me think so many things #911 fox #911verse #buck buckley #buddie #eddie diaz #edmundo diaz #evan buckley #buck x eddie #eddie x buck #evan buck buckely #911 abc #911 season 6 #also none of this is to say anything bad about the characters #they’re all people and this is how people love #with boundaries and conditions and povs #but this is simply just how I think it would feel / seem to Buck given his past

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leelei1980 · 1 year

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Part 15 - Beauty and the Freak

Veronica

" Eddie I don't want to hide us any more. I want to hold you hand in the hallways and I want to sit with you at lunch."

Eddie sighed." I know sweetheart but it's not a good idea. You see how the jocks and the preps treat me at school, I don't want you involved in that. I would rather just have people associate you and me as strictly tutor/classmate relationship."

It was my turn to sigh." You let Dustin and Mike sit with you!"

" That's totally different, they are guys. Those dickheads would have a field day with you if they knew you were my girl. Chrissy Cunningham can be such a bitch."

" Do you forget that I live with her boyfriend ? She's barely said two words to me. Do you think I'm worried?"

" I am."

I rolled my eyes." So we just aren't going to ever do anything in Hawkins together , just the two of us,for fear that someone might see us?"

I could see the frustration on his face." I'm doing this for you baby. You have enough going on in your life I don't want you to worry about this too."

" I Love that you care and don't want anything to happen to me. It's one of the reasons I love you so much. I'm just sick of sitting in the lunchroom, looking at you from afar, I want to hold hands and walk down to your van and leave together after school."

" And what about when they start calling you names, bullying you?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest. This was the most serious I have ever seen him.

" It's only fucking words Eddie, just words."

" Yeah, fucking mean, nasty words Princess. It's not worth it, not over me. I have dealt with fucking mean words my whole life, people treating me like garbage, I will not ruin your reputation."

" So no Parties? No Senior Prom? " I got up from the couch where I was sitting beside him and started to walk away.

" Where are you going?" A panicked look on this face.

" Outside."

" Baby, don't."

" I'm just getting some fresh air Eddie." I walked to the door , grabbed my coat and went outside, sat in one of the chairs in front of the trailer and buried my head in my hands and started crying. I was so frustrated. I love him so much, it bothered me that he no idea of his self worth. Everyone but Wayne and his close friends had shit on him his whole life, their thoughts had rubbed off on him and made him think that he was worthless and unworthy. It made me sick. He deserves all the love in the world. He needed to understand that I was proud to be with him, he was the sweetest, most caring guy I know. I was not afraid of being picked on, not at all, what are they going to do , call me names? I don't care, they could call me whatever they want. It was just words, they wouldn't dare touch me. We had the most supportive group of friends anyone could ever ask for, and as long as they were around I couldn't care less what anyone else thought.

I heard the door creak open, then footsteps headed my way.

" Ronnie?" He stood in front of me, a look of despair on his face.

I wiped tears from my eyes and looked up at him, waiting for him to speak.

" I'm not good enough for you Ronnie, you deserve someone better, someone that you don't need to sneak around with, someone that won't draw the wrong kind of attention to you. We shouldn't go out anymore."

I looked at him like he was crazy." You don't mean that Eddie."

" You deserve better than a drug dealing, outcast, Freak."

" Where the fuck is this coming from Eddie? I just told you I want to spend more time with you, that I love you so much that I want to show the world that we are together. Is that seriously a dealbreaker? And what is this not good enough bullshit? You are enough, you will always be more than enough for me, I love you.."

" I care about you too much to let you get bullied and harassed because of me. I should have know better than to let it go this far." There was sadness and regret in his eyes.

" If you really care you'll stop with the fucking crazy talk. Your breaking my heart Eddie." I started crying again

" See, I'm a fucking asshole." He started pacing around the yard.

" So these past couple months have meant nothing to you?"

" They have meant everything to me-"

" So your going to throw it away? Because some asshole might call me a name? I'm tougher than that."

" I'm not. I've dealt with it for so long now I am immune, but I can't sit back and watch them treat you like garbage. I'm doing this for your own good Sweetheart."

I stood up and snapped at him." Don't you dare call me Sweetheart after tearing my heart out, Munson. I don't know what the fuck changed in the last five minutes Eddie. One minute your telling me not to leave and now you don't want to be with me anymore. "

" I love you-"

" If you loved me you wouldn't be doing this."

" You don't fucking understand, I'm not going to drag you down with me,I'm never going to amount to anything. You are going to school to become a teacher. What am I going to do? Probably get a job at a fucking gas station. I have no future, nothing to offer you. I am not worthy of your love."

" You have given me everything I need and more Eddie Munson. These past couple months have been the best of my life. I wish you could see yourself the way that I see you. Your smart, caring, compassionate.That is what I see, that is what our friends and family see. Fuck everyone else. "

He looked away from me," I think I should take you home." His voice broke.

My heart sank. His mind was made up and there was nothing I could say to change it. I swear I could feel my heart breaking. I drew in a long shaky breath." No, I'll make it home myself."

" Your not going to walk home from here it is too cold out-"

" I am."

" But that's a long way to go."

" Then I will have plenty of time to think about what the fuck just happened. "

" It's not safe bab-" he stopped himself mid sentence.

" Don't worry, I'm tougher than you think I am. " I started to walk away, then turned to face him." I love you, I'm not the one giving up on us. This is the last thing I want. I would fight for you Eddie."

" That's what I'm worried about." He slumped down in the chair on the lawn, head in his hands.

I turned and walked away. After a minute I heard the door of the trailer slam shut, I walked until I exited the trailer park and made it to Main Street, then I found a bench, pulled my hood down over my head and completely lost it. I didn't care if people saw, my heart was broken.

I don't know how long I had been sitting there before I heard my name being called. I looked up to see Robin and Steve come running at me, worried and confused looks on their faces.

" Eddie called me and told me that you guys had broken up, he was worried about you and wanted me to see if I could find you and give you a ride home.What the fuck happened?" Steve asked wrapping his arms around me. Robin ran her hand over my head as I sobbed into Steve's chest. " Come on, we'll get you in the car, you can tell us what's going on ."

I crawled into the back seat and Robin slid in beside me me. I filled them in on what happened and they were just as bewildered as I was.

" I literally just told him I wanted our relationship to be out in the open , that I didn't care about the consequences and he completely shut down. He thinks he's saving me from harassment and bullying, he said that he doesn't want me to get hurt, that he isn't good enough. But he is, he's my world."

" He sounded horrible when he called me, I'll tell you it blew my fucking mind. I think he is trying to protect you."

" Don't need his protection, I'm a big girl. I just need him."

" Maybe he will take a little while to cool off and change his mind." Robin shrugged.

" I'm not going to just let him go."

" What are you going to do?"

" I don't know." I sighed and rested my head back on the seat. I was dreading going home, I didn't want to go over it again with my mom but it was inevitable. The rest of my ride home was quiet, everyone processing what happened. Steve and Robin stayed with me while I told my mom what had happened. She cried right along with me.

" It will be ok honey. Eddie loves you too much to stay away. He'll come to his senses."

" I don't know what I have to do to prove to him that I don't care what other people think, that he is enough and that he is 'worthy of my love'. "

" Do you want me to go talk to him? Tell him what a dumbass – sorry Mrs.C- he is being?" Steve crossed his arms in front of his chest.

I shrugged."You can but I don't think it will matter."

"You know what I think? I think you should completely ignore him, he will see how horrible life is without you and he'll come crawling back. If he doesn't then you show him what he's missing, and then if you are sure you don't mind the teasing, because there will for sure be some of that, you invade his space, make it known that he is yours, that you really don't care what others think and you want everyone to know. We will be right there beside you Ronnie, backing you up, right Steve?" Robin rambled.

" Totally. I think she's on to something. Give him a taste of his own medicine. Remind him what his life was like without you around. "

" It's going to be horrible at school tomorrow, you do realize that?"

"Don't worry , when we pick you up and bring you to school, we'll pep talk you the entire way. Your going to get him back Ronnie."

" Damn right I am. "

The next day

Eddie

Yesterday fucking sucked. It started out perfect, picked up my girl, brought her back to my place, we made breakfast together, I played my guitar for her, we snuggled on the couch and then I fucking blew it.

Veronica wants to make our relationship public, I know personally how fucking horrible it would be for the preps and jocks to find out, they would personally take it upon themselves to make both of our lives a living hell. I don't want her to have to deal with that. She already gets enough shit from Jason, she doesn't need it coming from the whole basketball team and the cheerleaders because Chrissy would most likely be in on it.

I truly had every intention of just keeping her safe, protecting her from the assholes, I couldn't stand to see them bully her, especially because it is all because of me. A fucking loser like me. She is such an amazing person, she deserves so much better. I don't deserve her. She has such an amazing future laid out for her, I keep seeing all these letters and pamphlets from colleges on the nightstands in her rooms, all of these places that want her. I'm afraid that she would just settle to be close to me, and I don't want that. I want her to live her life to its fullest potential. I don't want to hold her back, I love her too goddamn much .

Breaking up with her was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, to see her cry like that, to see her upset, it broke my heart to break hers. But I did it for her own good, right?

When she left I called Steve to ask him to pick her up since she wouldn't accept a ride from me. I wanted to be sure that she would make it home safely. After that I laid on the couch and cried like a fucking baby, then got high until I was numb.

And now I feel like absolute shit and I have to go to school. And even worse, I know I will be seeing her at least two times today. It was going to be rough, especially Mrs. O'Donnells class where we first met.

I felt like I was going to puke as I walked into the classroom. There she was, sitting in her usual spot in the back of the classroom, eyes looking puffy and tired, head purposefully buried in her notes.

I sat at the end of the row instead of beside her, trying to give her some space. I saw her shake her head and sigh.It hurt my feelings. I took my notebook and pencil out,coming fully prepared today knowing that she wasn't going to save my ass.

Mrs. O'Donnell walked to the back of the classroom and over to Veronica. "Good morning Ms. Montgomery," she looked down the table at me,"Mr. Munson, not partnering up today?"

" No, not today, Mrs O'Donnell. I think Eddie has decided that he is ready to be more of an independent worker now."

Ouch." I'm not sure that's exactly what I said-"

" Isn't it though?" She looked over at me for the first time, sadness in her eyes.

I had to look away.

" Well I am glad to hear that you are feeling more confident in your study skills Mr. Munson."

I fake smiled up at Mrs. O' Donnell." Yup, so much more confident."

She walked back up to the front of the classroom, and I sighed. This was really fucking rough.

I tried to keep my eyes to myself during class, but I couldn't help but glance up every once in a while to look at her. She was either following along in her book or feverishly writing notes in her notebook, not a single glance my way. I don't blame her.

At the end of class I watched her quickly pack up her things and bolt for the door. I ran to catch up with her,"Veronica?"

She stopped just outside the door and spun around. She looked up at me with those big dark eyes but didn't say anything.

" Veronica, I'm sorry." My heart was in my throat.

" Yeah, me too." And she took off.

I noticed that she wasn't at lunch and it worried me. I went through the rest of the day in a complete fog. I couldn't concentrate on anything. At the end of the day I slowly walked down the hallway where I knew that she would be walking out of band but ended up running into Robin instead.

" Hey Robin,"

She looked at me, hands on her hips."Hey dumbass."

" Ok I deserve that."

" Your damn right you deserve that, what where you thinking? She is the best thing that has ever happened to you!"

" You don't think I know that? Why do you think I did what I did Robin? I don't want her to get-"

" Hurt? Well dumbass you completely obliterated her heart so I don't think you accomplished what you wanted there. You guys belong together."

" She deserves better than me."

" Don't give me that shit Munson.You are exactly what she needs. You two were literally made for each other."

" Is she ok? I didn't see her at lunch."

" That's because she is avoiding you." Robin sighed."Remember, you're the one that wanted to break things off, welcome to your life without her."

" That's fucking harsh."

" That's fucking life dingus." She glanced back into the band room." Shit, I forgot my music, gotta run. Good luck Munson." She ran back into the classroom.

What a fucking miserable day. Time to go home and sulk in peace. I had some fucking thinking to do. I quickly walked out of the school and headed to my Van.

" Hey Eddie wait up!"

I stopped and turned around to face Harrington." Are you going to call me a Dumbass too?"

" I was going to call you a Dickhead."

" Wow, thanks friend." I said sarcastically.

" I earned the right to call you dickhead when I picked your girlfriend up off a park bench on Main Street crying so hard she couldn't breathe."

My stomach dropped and I swallowed hard." Really?" The thought of Veronica crying all alone on a bench gutted me. I leaned against the van and closed my eyes.

" Really." Steve crossed his arms in front of his chest."Look Munson, I know you had good intentions, that you are just trying to keep her sheltered from taunting and the bullying,but breaking up with her was a dumbass move."

" What the fuck would you do if you were me? Oh wait, you would never know what that is like to be me because you were king of the fucking school. No one ever chased you around the school threatening you, or beat the shit out of you because they thought you were a freak for playing a fantasy game. I have never done a fucking thing to any of those people, yet they treat me like absolute trash. I was trying to protect her."

" I'm sorry you have had to deal with that. But you know what you have now that you didn't have then? Friends, Friends that have your fucking back, and you know what, we would do whatever we can to protect Veronica too. I may not be in school anymore but I know every one of those jocks and if anyone ever tried to pull some shit and do anything to hurt our girl they would have to pay the fucking consequences."

I could tell by the look on his face that he was totally serious.

" Look Eddie, love isn't all sunshine and roses, it can get fucking messy, look at all I have been through with Nancy. But all I can say is if I had a girl that loved me as much as she loves you, I would fight to the fucking death to keep her, and if you aren't willing to fight, then you don't fucking deserve her. "

Those words hit me hard. I would fight for her, I would do anything in my power to protect her. I love her with my whole heart, with every fiber of my being." I'm such a fucking idiot Steve. What if I have ruined everything?"

"You are a fucking idiot, but I don't think it's too late. She loves you so much, no matter how hurt she is right now I don't see her ever giving up on you."

" I just hope she'll take me back, God what the fuck was I thinking?"

" I don't know what goes on in that crazy haired head of yours sometimes. All I know is that you've got to do something big. She wants people to know that your together, so make it known."

It would have to be perfect. I would do anything. An idea popped into my head and I smiled at Steve." I've fucking got it! I know how I'm going to get her back."

Veronica

So yesterday sucked, it at least brought me a tiny sliver of satisfaction to see that he looked just as shitty as I did yesterday. I hadn't been the only one crying my eyes out.

So today was phase two, according to Robin, show him what he's missing.

I decided that I was going to go with the outfit that I wore on our first date, sentimental and appropriately sexy for school but I knew it would flaunt my biggest assets . I slipped on the purple sweater, leggings and belt, some make up, a spritz of perfume and looked at myself in the mirror. Take that Eddie Munson.

My mom was waiting in the kitchen, drinking her coffee, she smirked as I walked in. "Phase two?"

" Phase two." I took a sip of juice that she had out on the counter for me." Mom, this could get a little messy for me. I'm probably going to get shit on at school, and you know what I am fine with that. I really could care less what any of them have to say about me, I literally only have to deal with them till the end of the school year, but I want you to know that if I have to I am going to stand up for myself, it's not going to come down to fights, and I am going to ignore as much as I possibly can, but I'm not going to let them treat us like shit."

" I'm proud of you honey. You must really love him. "

" I know we are just in high school and that I haven't known him for long, but I know that I am in love with him."

" I felt the same way about your dad."

There was a honk from the driveway. " Steve and Robin are here! Gotta run!"

My mom gave me a big hug, " Your beautiful baby girl. He is going to regret breaking up with you when he sees you in that!"

I smiled." That's the plan!" I grabbed my backpack and ran out the door.

I was so nervous sitting in history class, knowing that Eddie was going to be walking in any minute. Do I casually just sit here like nothing is going on? Do I ignore him and pretend like he's not here? I pulled out my notebook and text book, reviewed my notes in hopes that it would calm my nerves. Mr. Cole, our History teacher entered the room and set down his briefcase on his desk and I was beginning to think that Eddie wasn't in school today when I saw him sneak in right before the bell. He searched the room for an open chair and I felt his eyes stop on me. He literally stopped in his tracks. I smiled to myself and bit the cap on my pen. He slid into the chair beside me.

" Alright class, please open your books to chapter 12."

I opened my book, turned to the correct chapter and started looking ahead when I felt a light poke in my side.

I turned to face Eddie, damn it, why did he have to be so hot? Why did he have to look at me with those big puppy dog eyes? I raised my eyebrows in a 'Yes, can I help you?'

kind of way. He grabbed his notebook and started writing. Oh boy, notes again.

He tilted his notebook towards me." Can we talk?"

I grabbed my notebook. " Now?"

" After class."

" Where?"

" In the library?"

" Are you sure? I mean people might actually see us together!" I smirked as I flipped my notebook around. I watched a small smile spread on his face.

" It is a risk I am willing to take."

" Really? Are you sure? Because last I knew that was the last thing you wanted."

" I am absolutely 100% sure baby."

" Should I wear a disguise?"

He smirked." Still a smart ass I see."

"Always."

He scribbled again." You look beautiful, wore our first date outfit to get back at me didn't you?"

I licked my lips and bit my pen again then wrote" I don't know what you are talking about. Now if you wouldn't mind I would appreciate it if you would stop looking at my tits. That is a boyfriend only privilege ."

He smiled again." Do you have a boyfriend? "

" I did but , the fucking dickhead broke up with me."

" He sounds like an idiot."

" I thought so.Now would you please stop distracting me, I'm trying to get my work done."

He gave he the shit eating grin that makes my heart melt then turned back to his work. I wanted to keep my guard up to prove a point but it was absolutely impossible with him.

After class he took my backpack and slung it over his shoulder along with his own then took my hand, fingers interlocked and lead me to the library. We sat at a table in the very back corner, where we always went to study.

Eddie held both of my hands in his."I'm Sooo fucking sorry baby. I can't ever apologize enough for what I put you through. " he kissed my hands." I'm such a fucking idiot. We are meant to be together, through the thick and thin of it. I didn't breakup with you because I wanted to, in my mind I was doing it to protect you."

" What made you change your mind?"

" Some words of advice from a wise man."

" Wayne?"

" Harrington."

" You've got to be kidding me."

" Not at all. He really let me have it. And what he said really made a lot of sense. Baby, I would fight to the fucking death for you."

" Eddie we are in this together, always."

" I love you so fucking much, I promise I will never do anything to hurt you ever again." He looked deep into my eyes and I knew he was absolutely sincere.

I stood up watched him do the same and I wrapped my arms around him. He drew me in close and I buried my face in his neck.

" I love you Eddie Munson."

He kissed the top of my head then pulled away and smiled down at me. "So your boyfriend was a dickhead?"

" Oh no, you see the tone doesn't always translate over into written word, he was a fucking dickhead."

He laughed and got shushed by the librarian." Mr Munson please use the 10 inch rule."

" The 10 inch rule?"

" Mr. Munson, that means that only people within 10 inches of you should be able to hear you. Please speak quietly."

" Will do." He whispered and gave the librarian a thumbs up. She walked away. He leaned down and whispered into my ear." I've got something I can measure 10 inches with."

A laugh escaped my lips, it would be my turn to get scolded, I whispered my apology. "Your disgusting."

" I was talking about a ruler you pervert. Now who's disgusting." He put his arm around my shoulders as we vacated the library before we got into more trouble.

" So you said he was a Fucking Dickhead, as in passed tense, so he is no longer a fucking dickhead?"

" He is no longer a dickhead."

" Good to know." We continued down the hallway, his arm sliding from my shoulder to my waist, he pulled me close. "What do you say we skip lunch and go make up?"

" Sorry bud, but you haven't officially asked me to be your girlfriend again. We'll have to start back from scratch."

"Are you being serious?"

I looked up at him and smirked." We'll see."

I hadn't even noticed people staring at us as we walked through the doors of the cafeteria. I started to walk over to my usual table where I sat with Robin but he pulled me in the direction of his table, where the Hellfire club sat. I looked over a waved to Robin who had the biggest smile on her face. Eddie motioned for Dustin and Mike to move down so that I would have room to sit. They both smiled at me and said hi.

" I hope you don't mind, Veronica will be joining us for lunch today."

" Welcome to the outcast's table." Dustin pat the bench beside him and I sat down. He turned to Robin and waved her over and she picked up her lunch tray and snuck in between Dustin and I.

" Hi guys," I smiled at Jeff, Scotty and Gareth, 3 members of Corroded Coffin and also Hellfire.

" It's about time we got some chicks at this table." Gareth joked.

" You guys don't mind?" Robin asked.

" Not at all!" Jeff smiled welcoming us in.

" You are now sitting with the reject royalty of the school." Scotty laughed. "You ladies don't exactly fit the criteria but we are happy to have you."

Eddie pulled out a bag of pretzels, a granola bar and a can of soda out of his backpack." Did you bring lunch Princess?"

" No, I was too nervous about how today would go so I knew I wouldn't be hungry."

" You can share with me." He kissed my forehead and draped an arm around my shoulders. I sat back and listened to him talk to the guys about the next D&D campaign, band practice and an upcoming show at the Hideout. I smiled over at Robin who was trying to settle some stupid dispute between Mike and Dustin. I was so happy. This was exactly what I wanted, to be a part of this.

Eddie popped a pretzel in my mouth, kissed my forehead than stood up.

" Whatcha doing Eds?"

He smiled at me than jumped up on top of the table. The guys all chuckled, Robin turned towards me and smirked.

" Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention please?"

" What are you doing Baby? What is he doing?" I looked around at our group as they laughed.

" This is classic Eddie behavior." Jeff whispered from across the table.

" You mean he does this all the time?"

" Not all the time, just when he's got something to say." Gareth. " Last time it was a rant on forced conformity."

" Ladies and Gentlemen-"

" Why don't you sit down Freak?" Someone shouted.

Eddie just smiled made devil horns behind his head with his fingers and stuck out his tongue at them.

Our table laughed, the lunch monitors didn't even look phased, and others watched amused and intrigued.

" As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted-" he walked back and forth on the table." I'd like to introduce you to Veronica Montgomery. Some of you may know her as the new girl, some may know her as the super smart girl , all of us at this table know her as the funny, sweet and sassy girl. " He jumped down off the table and strutted over to me. " and if I'm lucky, I will call her my girlfriend." He smirked at me."Veronica Montgomery, will you officially be my girlfriend?"

I smiled at him and nodded." Yes Munson, I will officially be your girlfriend."

He took my face in his hands and lightly kissed my lips.

Our table cheered, some people clapped and some people just didn't care. As for me I was the happiest girl in the world.

" Wait a minute, I thought they were already going out?" Mike asked, confused.

" They broke up you dingus." Dustin shook his head.

"I clearly didn't get the memo Dustin."

" It doesn't matter because they are back together now."

Eddie pulled me up into a hug and whispered."Is that official enough for you sweetheart?"

" You're the fucking best."

" So does that mean we are going to go 'make up'?" He smirked down at me.

" Did you do all that just to get into my pants?"

" Well they are awfully sexy pants. Oh by the way, your boobs looked spectacular from up on the table."

I laughed." Your horrible."

" Just taking advantage of my ' I get to look at your tits because I'm your boyfriend privileges.'

" I was hoping you would look, that's what I wore this sweater for. I was fully planning on seducing you."

" I would love it if you would still seduce me."

" Maybe if you take me to you place after school I could make that happen."

He smiled." I can definitely make that happen."

The bell rang and we headed out to our next classes hand in hand. It didn't take long to start getting hate, by the end of the day I had a note on my locker that said ," Munsons Slut."

" Wow, so original." I just shook my head.

I could see the upset look on Eddies face." Baby please don't let this bother you. It doesn't bother me." I took a pen out of my bag and added a response..

" I heart his rooster?"Eddie asked, confused.

"Think about it baby. I think my drawing is quite impressive."

He shook his head and laughed . " So inappropriate."

" Well they called me a slut, like that's not offensive. Just giving them a taste of their own medicine. And besides, I didn't technically write cock so how can I get in trouble?"

" Your mom will flip her shit-"

" My mom already knows I'm going to put up a fight, so don't worry your pretty little head Mr. Munson."

He pulled me into a tight hug." We are in this together Sweetheart."

" I know Ed's. Now I think we might need to take a quick trip the mall so I can pick up a few things."

He looked at me with a confused expression on his face."Like what?"

" You'll see."

Veronica

Yesterday was wonderful, holding hands, eating lunch together, having him put his arm around my shoulders, hanging at the Hellfire table and joking around with all of the guys, that truly made my heart happy. I know that he was upset to see the note stuck to my locker but I was prepared for it and fully expecting it. I had a sneaky suspicion that it was most likely Chrissy Cunningham's handy work, and that was fine. I could play her game.

I couldn't wait to see Eddie's reaction to the outfit I chose to wear today, he was going to love it.

I put my hair up in braided Princess Leia buns, that was more for Eddie than anything, he mentioned that he thought she was hot during one of our movie nights,I was wearing his Hellfire shirt ,which he said I filled out nicely, a short pleated black skirt, a jean vest, fishnet stockings with knee high socks and my converse high tops. I put on some makeup and grabbed my backpack. I ran into Jason in the hallway and he sneered at me but didn't say a word just went down the stairs and out the door. I walked into the kitchen ," May I introduce you to Eddie Munsons Slut."

My mom looked up and just about spit out her coffee."Wow Honey, you look cute."

I laughed." It's ok Mom, I know how I look. I got a note stuck to my locker saying that I was Eddie's Slut. So I'm giving them what they want." I hopped up and sat on the counter." Trust me Mom I am not breaking any dress codes. "

" I just wish you didn't have to deal with this, it's so stupid."

"It is, but it won't last forever. Once they realize they can't bully me it will get old and they will stop. I have the most amazing group of friends that anyone could ever have. They all have my back, the guys are all looking out for me."

"You really do have the best friends here in Hawkins."

" I do." There was a knock at the door."That must be Eddie! Bye Mom!" I hopped off the counter, grabbed my bag and ran to the door. I checked my reflection in the mirror then opened the door.

" Good morning Sweetheart , I-" He stopped mid sentence and stared. His eyes roamed over me from head to toe, he swallowed hard ."Wow."

" Just a little something I threw together."

" Holy Shit baby."

I walked out and closed the door behind me." Does it scream Eddie's slut?"

He slid his arm around my waist and walked me to the van. " Your fucking sexy as hell." He opened up the door for me and I got in. He took my seatbelt in his hand and leaned across to buckle me in, kissing me as he did this. I took his face in my hands and kissed him back. When he pulled away he smiled. "Gotta keep my Princess safe."

He closed the door than ran around to the drivers side and got in. " Are you ready?"

" Abso-fucking-lutly. Let's go get 'em."

When we got to the school Eddie took off his leather jacket and put it on me. "Perfect." He kissed the tip of my nose. "Whatever you do, don't sit next to Mike at lunch, pretty sure he would slip into a catatonic state."Eddie laughed. "Although whenever I see you in that shirt I feel the same way."He wrapped his arm protectively around my shoulder as we walked into the school and watched peoples jaws drop.

#eddie fanfic #eddie munson smut #eddie stranger things #eddie munson

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cha0ticspacebi · 1 year

Text

The King of the Hellfire Club: Chapter 6

Your dad promised this was the last move until after you graduate. You see Eddie Munson outside Nancy's house shortly after your arrival in Hawkins. Everyone tells you to stay away but you're sure there's more to him than he lets on. Now it's the day before spring break and you just have to work up the nerve to actually talk to him before you lose your chance.

Tags: 18+ MDNI,falling in love, full of cheesy cliche high school romance tropes, dungeon master Eddie, dom Eddie, rockstar Eddie, hurt/comfort, getting together, fluff/smut

dividers by firefly-graphics

Chapter 6/13 ☆ Previous chapter → Next chapter

☆ You can find me over on A03 as Cha0ticBi ☆ Master list link! ☆

You fall asleep in Eddie’s arms. His metal mixtape playing to no one. Sometime in the night it clicks off as the two of you continue to lay entangled in one another. Eddie wakes when he hears a dog bark from outside. He rubs the sleep from his eyes and looks at the time. 6:00 am. He watches your chest rise and fall gently as you continue to sleep. He pulls the blanket up over your shoulders and grabs a joint. He opens the small window that faces the forest and smokes. Not long after, he hears you become restless. He presses the joint out.

“You didn’t have to stop you know,” your sleepy words seem to be for the pillow rather than him.

“Sorry sweetheart, I didn’t mean to wake you. It’s still early, go back to sleep.”

“Mmm can’t,” you sit up and stretch out your arms over your head, “Is everything ok?”

“I’ve never felt better,” he rejoins you on the bed, “I honestly just keep waiting for myself to wake up. Guys like me never get the girl ya know.”

You frown with a yawn, “Eddie, listen to me. I know last night you said no mentioning previous partners but I think you need to hear this. I had a boyfriend back in California and before you ask, I ended things with him well before moving here. He was a football player. I’m sure you know the type.” He made a face but let you continue, “I used to do nothing but sit on the bench at his practices reading stories of yearning and longing. An unparalleled passion that he could never give me. He was selfish. The moment I started talking about things I enjoyed he acted disinterested and changed the subject back to himself. Guys like that don’t deserve the girl.”

His smile was still sad, “Yeah but you deserve better than the local loser drug dealer too. You’re so smart and me? It’s taken me three years to finish a senior year that's only supposed to take one.”

You tilt his chin towards you so he can’t avoid eye contact. You smile at him, eyes bright and kiss his cheek, “This is going to be your year Eddie! I can feel it. ‘86 baby! We will walk that stage together and both flip Principal Higgins the bird!”

His arms wrapped around you so tightly your back cracked. You kissed him again. More and more, “Careful sweetheart, I still have you trapped here in my bed remember?”

“I have condoms if we need more.”

Eddie collapsed in uncontrolled laughter holding his stomach. His laugh melted your heart. He nuzzled into your neck, leaving love bites everywhere he went, “As much as I’d love to keep you locked away all to myself you should let your parents know that I didn’t murder you in the woods…” he voice trailed off.

“My mom knew I wasn’t coming home last night. No it’s Robin you need to worry about. She’ll kill me if I don’t call her again.”

“Your friends don’t trust me do they? That’s fair, I wouldn’t trust me either.”

“They just don’t know you. Robin is a good friend. My friends are supposed to push your buttons. Gotta make sure you’re treating me right.”

Eddie twisted a lock of your hair in his fingers, “You’re so beautiful.”

You blushed, “Eddie! Give a girl some warning.”

He put a hand on your still bare shoulder, “Sorry. But I mean it, beautiful.”

You jump as you hear someone enter the trailer. Eddie whispers, “That’s my uncle. Would you wanna meet him?”

You nod. “I should probably get dressed first,” addressing your current state.

“Damn right, no one gets to see you undone like this except me. I’ll go announce your arrival, my queen. Get dressed.”

Eddie leaves the room and you hear talking on the other side of the door. You don’t really want to leave Eddie’s bed. It’s warm. Before getting up you take a minute to savor the moment, rubbing your legs on his sheets. Smelling his lingering woodsy musk. You get up eventually and blush as you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror behind his guitar. He wasn’t kidding about leaving his mark. Some parts of you felt sore but the ache only helped solidify the memory of last night. You finished getting dressed and peeked out the door to see if it was ok for you to come out.

Wayne Munson, Eddie’s uncle, stood in the small kitchen with a coffee, he took a sip and eyed you as you stepped in to join them, “Good morning young lady. I hear you went out with my nephew last night.” He spoke as if keeping you at a distance.

“Yes sir. Eddie’s quite the gentleman. He took me to a movie and then we came back here so he could show me some of the music he likes. We had a really nice time.” You spoke intentionally and politely trying to make a good first impression.

He sipped his coffee again, looked at Eddie and then back to you, “Yeah Eddie’s a good kid. I’m sure you won’t do anything to hurt him,” he finishes his coffee and says to Eddie, “I’m gonna get some sleep, kid.” He walks into the room next to Eddie’s and closes the door. You are left feeling a little confused. Had you said the wrong thing?

“Come here. I can see those circuits overloading, don’t worry. It’s nothing against you, really.” Eddie pulled you against him as he leaned on the counter, “He’s just protective is all.”

You nod, wiping your eyes with another yawn, ”I guess I can sympathize. I’d be protective of you too.”

“Go get your stuff, let’s get out of here. Let the grumpy old man sleep.”

Eddie’s careful to close the trailer door quietly. It’s a cool morning out. A slight fog held along the ground, “Here desert girl,” He put his jacket around your shoulders and his voice cracked watching you put your arms through the sleeves, flipping your hair out from beneath the leather where it landed flawlessly on your back, “Fuck. I could look at you all day.”

He opened the passenger door of his van for you, “Where are we going?” you ask.

“Anywhere you want my queen.”

“Like you said, I should probably tell my parents I’m not dead. Would you be so kind as to return me home my king?”

With a flourish of his arm across his chest, he bowed his head. His hair brushes against you he flicks his head back up, “It’d be my pleasure.”

Eddie was quiet the whole drive. You noticed the lights in your house were still off when the van pulled up out front. He turned the key and looked at you, eyes glazed over, “I had a really great time last night. Don’t forget about me, ok?” he spoke before turning his head to the window.

“What are you talking about Eddie?”

He continued to look out the window, “I get it. This is the part where the magic spell has ended.”

Your chest tightened, heart aching “I’m confused. Did you think I didn’t mean what I said last night when I told you I liked you? Everything I said last night was true Eddie. Every last word. I really like you and I…I want to keep seeing you. Not just as a one night stand…unless that’s all you wanted.”

“No!” He yelled turning back to you, “I would follow you into Mordor and back again! It’s just - ” he held his head in his hands with a loud groan.

“Just what Eddie?” you yelled, tears forming in the corner of your eyes.

“This is what I’m good for. This is my part to play! People come to me for their fix and then pretend we’ve never spoken. My purpose is fulfilled when the sun rises,” He pauses, “Do you remember right after you moved here; the cops showed up at school, when Jason and I got into a fight?”

You nodded. Eyes still burning, chest still tight.

“Well he told everyone that it was because I tried to sell Chrissy drugs but that wasn’t it. It started very similar to when you approached me. Except she actually did want to buy drugs. She was dealing with a lot at home and wanted something stronger than weed. I was happy to help her out but I don’t keep that shit on me, it stays at home. Anyways, I brought her back to my place and we ended up sleeping together. It just sorta happened. She said her and Jason were finished but then the next day at school I saw them making out in the hallway. I wanted to talk to her but Jason saw me asking her to meet me after school and punched me. I don’t blame Chrissy, I just wanted to know that she was going to be ok.” His leg was shaking as he looked anywhere but at you.

“Eddie,” you reached your hand out to touch his thigh. He didn’t stop you. You rubbed softly trying to soothe him, “Do you um- do you have feelings for Chrissy?”

He whipped his head around and grabbed your hand, “Of course not! She was a sweet girl who had a shitty home life, that’s all we had in common.”

You took a deep breath, brows furrowed, “Is it so hard for you to believe that I want you? What Chrissy did wasn’t right. Is it so hard for you to trust that my feelings for you won’t fade when we return to school? I want to sit with you and hellfire at lunch, I want to help you study for that final in Ms. O’Donnell’s class but then end up making out instead! I want to kiss you and make Dustin tell us to stop being gross. I want us to make every other person in that school jealous because my boyfriend is hotter than theirs! What do I have to do to make you believe me?”

His eyes scrunched closed, “It’s not you…”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence Eddie Munson! I’ve had the best two days of my life and now I feel like my soul might leave my body,” your tears spilled onto your cheeks, dripping down your chin.

He reached out to wipe your face with the side of his hand, “I’m so sorry. I really am. I’m a colossal ass for assuming you’d do the same thing. A king should never make his queen cry.”

You sniffled, wiping your cheek again, “Answer me one question Eddie and you better answer honestly.”

“Anything.”

“Do you want to be with me?”

He looked at you with tender eyes. He cupped the side of your cheek, caressing it softly with his thumb, “I’ve wanted you since the first day I saw you. I would watch you take your lunch outside in the fall when the weather was nice. You always had one hand free to hold your book. Sometimes I would go to class just on the off chance I saw you in the hallway. On those days you made it easier for me to make it through the day. The smile on your face when one of your friends made you laugh. I wanted to be the reason for your smile. I still do. Can you ever forgive me?”

His words soothed the ache in your chest, “After you do one more thing for me.”

“Whatever your heart desires.”

“Ask me to be your girlfriend. Not here though. Somewhere public I can prove to you that I don’t just want you behind closed doors,” you thought for a moment, “Tonight. Meet me at Rink-o-Mania at 6. Trust me,” you kissed his cheek and handed him back his jacket, “Thank you for the ride home.” You hopped out of the van and Eddie watched you disappear into your house.

This is not how you envisioned this morning going. You wanted to invite Eddie in to spend time with your family but while you were upset at Eddie for assuming you’d leave him, you wanted to help show him that he was deserving of love. Mom and dad approved of your plan. Dad wasn’t too happy he made you cry but you assured him that deep down Eddie is a good man. He’s just got some insecurities to work out. No one is perfect and hey this way you get to tell all your friends and his at once. You called Robin and told her to bring Vickie. You called Steve and Dustin. You told Dustin to call Lucas, Erica, Gareth, and Jeff. Instructing them all to meet you at Rink-O-Mania just before 6. You tried to call Nancy but was informed by her mom that she and Mike had ended up going to California for break to visit her boyfriend Jonathan, his brother Will and Mike's girlfriend El.

Everyone sounded excited, Dustin said it would be a Bitchin’ way to start spring break. You told them all the details but made one thing clear. Don’t tell Eddie.

You arrived early and parked your car. You hopped up on the trunk, put your headphones on and waited. Slowly but surely everyone showed. Eddie’s friends Jeff and Gareth arrived first.

“Hey healer! Where’s Eddie? Dustin made it LOUDLY clear we weren’t supposed to say anything to him.”

“Hey guys, he’ll be here a little later. Could you guys go inside and get us a big table?”

They nod and head inside.

Just as the next song finished you saw Steve’s caravan service show up. Dustin, Lucas, and Erica were in the back seat. Robin had Vickie on her lap in the passenger seat. Pretty sure that’s not legal , you thought to yourself putting your headset away.

“Ok girl what the hell?” Robin demanded marching over to you, “You were being super weird on the phone but since you didn’t sound upset I figured everything had gone well with Munson, but now I don’t see him? What happened? Did he reject you? Do I need to have words with him?

You shook your head with a quiet laugh, “No Robin, but he did do something pretty stupid.” Everyone’s eyes and ears perked up.

Dustin spoke up, “Is he not coming? I swear I didn’t tell him anything!”

“I told you guys to be here earlier than I told him, Here’s what I need from you. Gareth and Jeff are already inside. Go sit down and just sorta stay hidden until I say so. I’m sure you’ll figure out what it is when you see it.”

“Jeez! What the hell did this guy do?” Steve asked

“In his own words,” you explained, “he was a ‘colossal ass’”

“I’m going to meet him in the parking lot and then we will meet you guys inside. He dosen’t know any of you are coming. He thinks it’s just the two of us.”

“Whatever you need girl!” They all headed inside. The roller rink was pretty busy considering the school holiday. Perfect timing , Eddie’s van pulled up. He parked next to you and joined you behind your car.

“Hello sweetheart,” he took your hand in his. You pulled him closer, “Whoa! I missed you too.” He reached a hand up and played with your hair, “I’m sorry again. I can’t believe I said those things. Guess I’m more of a sentimental stoner than I thought.” He laughed swaying back and forth with you in his arms.

You shook your head, “No I’m glad you did. Now we can address this together. You remember what I asked for?”

He buried his face in your hair, kissing your neck on any surface he could reach, “Haven’t stopped thinking about it.”

“Good,” you wove your fingers together as you walked into the Rink-o-Mania hand in hand.

Energetic pop music played over the speakers. Couples, singles, and everything in between crowded the aisles. Everywhere was packed. You panicked for a second, unable to locate the group. You and Eddie had to wait to rent skates giving you a chance to look around. Bingo! Over in the far corner you spotted Dustin’s bright white shirt glowing in the blacklight. Making sure to find a spot away from them, you both changed into your skates.

“Let’s go!” You started towards the rink without him.

He gripped your shirt pulling you back, steading himself, “I may need your help my fair maiden. It may come as a shock to you but Eddie the Banished hasn’t actually done this before.”

You grin and take him tightly by the hand, “I’ll protect you my king.”

Eddie moved like a small child navigating wooden floors in socks. It was absolutely precious. You’d almost made a full rotation around the circle when you found the perfect spot. Keeping an eye on Dustin’s white shirt you led Eddie out one of the exit gates and positioned yourself within their sight lines.

“Phew! Thanks for letting me off the ride sweetheart. All I could think about was how the hell I was supposed to do this on the rink.”

He stood up from his seat, still a bit unsteady on the skates. He clutched his chest with one hand as he began shouting at the top of his lungs, “My dear queen of hellfire! My absolute divine goddess gracing this unworthy earth with your beauty and grace,” It didn’t take long for a crowd to build. He offered you his hand before falling to one knee. What the hell Eddie?! ”Will you accept this gift and sit beside me as my girlfriend?” Your heart swelled with joy as you opened his hand revealing his guitar pick necklace.

“Yes Eddie! Of course I will,” you helped him to both feet before he pulled you into a loving embrace. Kissing like you were the only other person in the room. His hands wrapped up in your hair, holding it back as you put the necklace on.

“Eddie you son of a bitch!” Dustin ran at him at top speeds

“Henderson? Oof -” Dustin crashed into him knocking him to the floor, “What the hell are you doing here man?” He looked up to see a mountain of familiar faces.

“Your queen here invited all of us,” Steve explained, “She was very persistent that you did not know. Said something about you needing a reminder not to be a…what was it?”

“A colossal ass,” Dustin finished, “Whatever you did I’m sure that made up for it. We all thought you were about to propose marriage!”

Eddie laughed, “Yeah I did need a reminder. One can only hope that our just and noble queen of hellfire can forgive me.”

“Eddie the Banished, you have done well! You’ve completed your quest and won my favor.” You helped him up off the floor, laughing as he tried to kiss you again, “Do you believe me now?” you smirked, “I told you Eddie. I want you…everywhere. Not just in the dark,” you held the guitar pick in between your thumbs and kissed it.

You stayed at the rink until they closed. By the end of the evening you nearly had the rink to yourselves, which was helpful because despite your teachings, Eddie still wasn’t king of the roller rink. Watching Eddie have fun with his friends made your heart feel so full it nearly burst with excitement. The hellfire kids all spent the night teasing Eddie about his low dexterity score on roller skates. Erica and Dustin each grabbed a hand and pulled him around as he screamed for them to slow down! You skated contentedly behind them watching. You're pretty sure Robin and Vickie were making out in the bathroom somewhere. And Steve? Poor Steve…always the goddamn baby sitter.

#eddie munson x reader #eddie x fem!reader #eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #stranger things fic #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #stranger things fanfic #stranger things smut #18+ content #high school sweetheart eddie munson #dungeon master eddie munson

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harrywavycurly · 1 year

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Girl what’s wrong with you?!? Like what is actually wrong with you?!?! Did reader do something to you or you just enjoy thinking up the worst ways to hurt her?!?! 😭 I mean REALLY 💔 there needs to be some justice. Someone can’t treat a person like this and get away with it. Imagine how hurt she would be reading that. Omg. Maybe she needs to, to fully understand. He cared more about Sarah and doing nice things for her and trying to be good for her. Maybe he respected her more. I can’t. So awful.

Hiiii babes!! I’m so sorry I know I am the worst but you’ll see it does get better, we just have to see it from all sides including Sarah’s BUT Eddie will get what he deserves and the Reader will get to be happy don’t worry! 🥺💖

#heartbreak extras

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kingbabysitter · 2 years

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steve rambles about s4 p1

here are my live thoughts through my first watch through; there will likely be more. spoilers (obviously), read at your own risk (also forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes, as i am writing this i am currently bouncing off of the walls because of this damn show)

GOD THIS SEASON!!! i know people are pretty divided on it, but i LOVED it so far. i’m a bit worried where it’s going to go during part 2 - namely with will and mike, jonathan and nancy, and i’m becoming so protective over dustin, max, lucas, (and erica!!) so far. i have to admit - as someone who never cries at movies/tv shows, this season got me choked up more than i’d like to admit, namely during max’s scene w/ vecna in the upside down, the battle against the demogorgon in russia, jopper reunion, and the possibility of nance getting hurt (i’m normal and i have normal thoughts).

in terms of storyline, i was a bit confused why we didn’t see the cali gang at all after like. the middle of episode 6 or something. i hope we get to see them soon in part 2. i really liked the russia plot, i found that the beginning of the joyce/murray plot was a little boring but GOD as a dynamic they work really well together and i’m so glad that murray is a “main” character this season. i am loving robin as always - she was definitely written for gay band/theatre kids and it shows (good thing.) “i have a hard time with social cues,” oh robin the platonic (capital P!) love of my life and worst best friend ever.

speaking of loves of my life, i LOVED the characterization and relationships this season. it was great to be back with nancy (although, i do NOT think it should be romantic), lucas and max made me sob, suzie’s siblings, especially eden, are hilarious and i loved that feeling of a chaotic house full of kids, argyle and jonathan are my two new favorite stoners, joyce and murray are unlikely best friends!, and, of course, hopper and enzo being “friends” (as much as you can be in a prison where you cannot trust eachother) was really awesome to see too.

wasn’t a big fan of jason’s gang/the basketball squad.. i think they were good to move the plot along and i think jason seeing patrick Die was an important aspect, but they were kind of just.. dropped after that? i’m not sure if they’re going to make an appearance in part 2 or if they’re mostly going to stay in the background. i’m going to be 100% honest with you guys (sorry steddie fans) i did NOT like eddie in the beginning. i was worried he was just going to be some edgy stereotype that was kind of a shitbag to everyone but the fandom loved him anyway. now i can see he is just Mentally Ill and has been treated like SHIT by society. he reminds me a LOT of myself when i was younger, i resented anyone who was popular/rich/etc because i had been treated so poorly by them so i completely empathize with him on that front. i’m going to be honest i’m still not sure why he couldn’t move his game to another day; i’ve DMed before (and have been in a decent handful of campaigns) and as long as you have the prep time and plot [at least semi-]planned out (it seems like he does!) you usually don’t need a set date. i’m not saying his reaction wasn’t justified (and i love getting more erica screentime!!) but it just felt like the stakes weren’t as high as the basketball game. tl;dr - pre-chrissy death eddie i was ehh on, after-chrissy death eddie? i think he’s Neat. :-)

favorite duo this season (so far) HAS to be nancy and robin. i am so happy for nancy to have a good friend again after barb. they both deserve the WORLD

the twist with 001. OUGH. i got the fact that 001 was vecna spoiled to me, and during the beginning of the finale i started putting two and two together (who 001 was), so i knew what was going to happen to him (which sucks, by the way - i really wish i could’ve been caught off guard, there were a lot of twists at the end that i had spoiled for me unfortunately! please remember to tag your stuff correctly!

very glad that everyone is sort of having a more equal amount of screen-time. i was pretty pissed last season especially since i felt like they really pushed jonathan and nancy aside... the fandom sure has!! regardless, i think that they incorporated the new characters pretty well too, it was definitely a LOT at the beginning but given that the kids were going to two different NEW schools it made sense. (i’m also kind of glad that el didn’t really do anything with the other kids at the lab and 002 was the real only person who we had to keep track of... so many faces in that lab!!) finally, i want to shed light on dr. owens... i love morally grey characters like him, i think he is supposed to be one of those “good people who have done terrible things,” and dr. brenner’s message really applies to him (not dr. brenner though. fuck that guy). you can tell his heart is in the TRYING to be in right place but he’s definitely still corrupt and is working with the man who is testing on literal children and giving them severe trauma. so, once again, morally grey.

my biggest questions for part 2 are: - why are we stuck in 1983 in the upside down? (my first idea was that’s when the gate was opened, but that doesn’t make any sense given the timeline of season 1.) barb died on november 8th, not the 6th, so i don’t think it was vecna trying to mess with nancy’s head.

- what the FUCK did will paint.

- how is everyone’s relationship with eachother going to develop?? i’m loving the characterization this season!

- not a question but i need to see what happens to jonathan and nancy please please please please. i have SO many theories about the love triangle i don’t know how much longer i can wait

- where is vickie? duffer brothers Answer Me. c’mon.

#steve's thoughts #stranger things spoilers #stranger things season 4 spoilers #stranger things #stranger things season 4 #s4

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lesbianbuck-archived · 3 years

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EVAN BUCKLEY WEEK DAY THREE - “I NEED YOU TO TRUST ME” + HURT

He had posted the pictures on Facebook. He had been expecting the phone call. He just hadn’t thought it would come in the middle of dinner with Bobby and Athena while Eddie and Christopher are there with him.

Buck excuses himself from the table and walks out into the backyard, sliding the door shut behind him. He holds his phone up to his ear. “Hi, mom.”

“Evan, what is this?”

Buck sighs. Proposing to Eddie had been the easiest decision he’s ever made, even though he had been terrified to actually do it. He had known the shit storm from his parents was going to come as soon as he put the pictures up online, but he’s decided that he’s done living his life in fear of what other people might think. It just hurts a little more when the judgement is coming from the people who raised him.

Well, that might be an overstatement. They were at least in the same house.

“I thought the pictures made it pretty clear,” Buck replies, faintly hearing the door slide open and shut behind him and feeling a hand on the small of his back soon after. Eddie. “I’m engaged.”

“To a man, Evan. I mean, is this some kind of cruel joke?”

Eddie inhales sharp and angry next to him, no doubt able to hear his mother through the phone. They share a look before Buck answers. “No, mom. Why would I post something like that as a joke?”

“Why would you post it at all? You don’t need that kind of attention, all those people looking into our lives—”

“I’m pretty sure it’s my life, not yours.” And just like he had in Maddie and Chim’s kitchen, Buck feels like a twelve-year-old again, fighting to deserve a place in the family. A place that had existed once, but not for him. He feels a little braver this time though. He attributes it to the gentle way that Eddie’s hand is keeping him steady. “I’m thirty-one. I’m more than capable of making my own decisions.”

“That’s clearly not true if these are the ones you’re making. Evan, we didn’t even know you were seeing anyone, and now you’re deciding to get married out of nowhere? You have no idea how big of a commitment—”

“I’ve been in love with him for almost five years, mom,” Buck retaliates, and he can’t help the soft way that he says it. He looks over at Eddie and he’s looking at Buck in slight disbelief. Buck assumes that Eddie had guessed that, but Buck has never confirmed it out loud. “It’s not out of nowhere.”

There’s silence on the line for a moment. “We didn’t know.”

The lights click off in the dining room as he shuffles from foot to foot. “That was on purpose. Because I knew you would react exactly like this.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” His mom sounds like she always does, like she can’t believe she could ever be in the wrong about anything. It makes Buck want to crawl into himself and hide as much as it did when he was a kid. “We’re worried about you. You don’t call, you don’t text, and you don’t ever come home for the holidays. What kind of parents do you think that makes us look like?”

Buck holds himself back from being brutally honest in his answer, instead reaching out and holding onto Eddie’s bicep for dear life. “You’re not worried about me. If you were, you would have come to the hospital when I almost died. Twice.”

Eddie whispers next to him. “Buck, you don’t have to have this conversation if you don’t want to. You can hang up.”

Buck shakes his head. He’s not going to win this conversation, but he’s at least going to say his piece. “Listen, mom. I forgave you and dad for the way you treated me growing up. I’m trying to move past the way you hurt me and do better, and it’s working. And sure, part of it is therapy, but another big part of it is Eddie. I need you to trust me and my ability to make decisions for myself, so if you want a place in my life, then you have to be okay with Eddie having a place in it too.”

“Evan—”

“It’s Buck.”

His mother sighs through the phone. “Buck. This… this man, you’re sure you’re ready to commit the rest of your life to him?”

“His name is Eddie,” Buck seethes, gripping Eddie’s arm harder. “And yes, I know, and I’m sure. I’ve never been surer about anything.”

“A marriage takes work, you know.”

“It’s not work to me. Not if it’s him.” His mother doesn’t respond to that, but he hears Eddie’s breath stutter. Buck slides his hand down and Eddie moves his off Buck’s back so they can push their fingers together. “I gotta go. I’m in the middle of dinner with Bobby and Athena, and I’d like to get back to it if you don’t mind.”

A beat of silence. “I just hope you aren’t making a mistake.”

Buck hangs up.

He stares down at his phone in his hand, the screen dark. “Love you too,” he mutters sarcastically.

Eddie turns to him and places his palm on Buck’s cheek, rubbing his thumb soothingly against his cheekbone. “Well, it could have been worse. You spoke very highly though, which I appreciate.”

Buck huffs a breath out. “Well you won’t do it yourself, so I have to do it for you.”

Buck isn’t really expecting it when Eddie leans in and kisses him softly, lingering until Buck feels the itch under his skin he didn’t even realize was there dissipating. When Eddie pulls back, his eyes are shining. “Kinda wish you would have mentioned my stellar ass, though.”

“You’re right, maybe that would have changed her mind.”

The sliding glass door opens and Athena calls out to them. “You boys still hungry? Dinner is cold now, but dessert just finished up if you want to come inside.”

Eddie laughs as Buck tugs him back into the house for dessert, and yeah, Buck never doubted for a second that this man is it for him. Bobby calls Eddie and Christopher into the kitchen to help serve dessert and Athena pulls him aside. “You okay, Buckaroo? I know your family can be frustrating.”

He looks at Athena with her casual concern, at Bobby who is staring at the both of them from over the kitchen island with worry and love on his face, at Eddie who somehow got chocolate frosting on his nose and is making goofy faces at his son. At their son, soon.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” he says, and for once he means it. “I’ve got my real family right here.”

#ew2021 #evanweek2021 #buddie #buddie fic #911 fic #911 fox #evan buckley #eddie diaz #siren scribes

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buckleyblueyes · 3 years

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buddie + pranks

This one was so much fun! Married fluff ahead. (also thanks for your patience, I know it took me awhile)

It’s all Chimney’s fault. He’s the one that suggests the prank war in the first place, he’s the one who gets them all to put $20 into a pot for the “winner” of the prank war. He’s the one who sets the rules so that Buck and Eddie can’t work together. Chimney did this to them, and it’s going to be the end of their relationship, Eddie is sure of it.

Well, okay. That’s dramatic. But the set week of pranking is almost up and so far Eddie’s shampoo has been replaced with Mayo, his (spare, Buck’s not a monster) car keys have been superglued to his kitchen counter, the fancy controls on his truck that he never touches have been messed with and now he can’t figure out how to turn the AC on (it’s summertime), and his sugar has been replaced with salt (as if he needed a harder time in the kitchen!)

And sure, Eddie has given as good as he’s gotten, replacing Buck’s hair gel with (water soluble) glue, smearing peanut butter on the Jeep’s door handle, and giving Buck Mexican candies laced with Chili powder (Eddie actually likes these candies, but when you don’t know they’re going to be spicy and you shove a whole handful in your mouth at once? It’s a bad time).

But Eddie is over it at this point. This prank war has brought out a very ugly, competitive side of his husband. He wants to spend time with him without feeling constantly on edge. He wants to kiss Buck without worrying that Buck has something planned. So Eddie stops pranking Buck and waits until Buck gets bored himself without the threat of losing to Eddie. But he never does.

See, the winner is whoever pulls off the most successful pranks, and Buck really wants to win. $20 times 8 people (Buck, Eddie, Chimney, Maddie, Hen, Karen, Bobby, and Josh (Athena is Above this but secretly helping Bobby)), is $160. And Buck plans to use that money to treat his husband to a nice dinner and evening out. He’s already lined up their schedules with Bobby and asked Pepa to take Christopher for that night, and made reservations at a sushi restaurant (something Eddie didn’t know he loved until he moved to LA). If he doesn’t win this money, all that will be for nothing.

Finally, the week comes to an end and Buck is declared the winner, edging out Chimney by 2 pranks. Buck is over the moon, excited to be able to wine and dine his husband. Everyone else is salty as hell, most of all Eddie who has been Over It for the last three days. He sulks over his beer, which is growing warm on the table, as the rest of his friends drink and laugh about the pranks and agree to make the prank war a yearly thing.

Of course, Buck notices Eddie’s mood, and pulls him to the bar to check in, only for Eddie to snap. “Nothing, I’m glad you won.”

Buck is taken aback. He knows Eddie stopped pranking, but he figured Eddie ran out of ideas, or got bored, not that he had some kind of issue with the prank war. “Uh…are you mad at me?”

Eddie sighs. “No, of course not. I’m sorry. I just got kind of sick of getting pranked after awhile.”

Buck is sheepish. “I know, I may have gone a little overboard. I just really wanted to win, and you’re the easiest for me to prank, because we live together. More access, y’know.”

“I had no idea you were this competitive.”

“Well, I was properly motivated.”

“What do you mean?”

So Buck explains his plans for the winnings, how he wants to treat Eddie to a romantic evening at an upscale restaurant, how he’s planned it all out and taken care of every detail, and he knows Eddie isn’t really a fancy restaurant guy, but "damn it, Edmundo you deserve to be romanced."

Eddie: 🥺🥺🥺🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍

Needless to say, Buck is forgiven, they get their romantic evening, and Eddie spends the entire night swooning over his wonderful, thoughtful husband. At least, when he’s not trying to think of something equally romantic to do for Buck next.

(The following year they bully Chim into letting them team up, and it’s complete and utter chaos.)

#buddie #god this was so much fun #I hope you like it!

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petersthree · 3 years

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Okay so I’ve seen a lot of conflicting responses to Buddie this episode, from it being clear to people that they’re getting together, to thinking the writers have unintentionally messed things up to thinking it’s purely queerbait.

And I get the different responses, I do - tbh I’m somehow in two camps, where I simultaneously believe it’s a slowburn but I also think it’s bait. And those are two very different opinions to have and it got me thinking about why we have these different responses as fans to the possibility of a queer ship (namely two men who would presumably be bi/pan) being canon.

While people talk about how it’s just people wanting two characters to kiss or entitled fans - sure, that’s existent in every fandom, but I think there’s also a very real fear from queer fans who don’t want to get their hopes up and I d on’t love how the conversation has shifted to calling queer fans stupid for having hope, so I kind of wanted to break it down into 3 aspects that I’ve noticed:

How writers portray bi characters and why that makes fans hesitant to have hope

What queerbait actually means as a concept

How much “slowburn” has changed in procedurals

1. How writers portray bi characters

Something I’ve thought about a lot are the bi characters I’ve seen on TV - Darryl (CEG), Sara Lance (Arrow), Lucifer (Lucifer), just to name a few. These are great characters imo and I think you’d have a fun time watching but a thing to note is that all these characters were established as bi within the first season of their respective shows and they all fairly quickly fell into a clear romantic ship as well (with the exception of Sara as she spanned multiple shows). It may have taken time for them to say the word bisexual, but it was still clear these characters were queer fairly quickly on. You could maybe argue that Lucifer was a slowburn, but then (while it does not take away from him being bi/pan so do not use this as an excuse to be shitty about him) it’s a m/f ship which is still not the point of my post, to find a m/m or f/f ship that has that same treatment.

Some writers have done it - like for Valencia in CEG, or Petra in JTV - when they saw that fans read them this way, but trying to find those characters were few and far between, and when I looked at popular queerbait ships (whether or not they actually are queerbait) it’s usually ships where the characters are largely viewed as bisexual. A lot of times this also comes with pushback from both straight and to be frank, other queer fans as well. Straight fans don’t always see the signs that queer fans do, so to them a queer character who hasn’t been explicitly clear from the start comes out of nowhere. And what I’ve seen from certain queer fans are concerns that people aren’t appreciating the canon queer characters in a show - and I think there is a conversation to be had about that, but I don’t think the response should also be about then demanding less representation for people either.

If we go back to 911, people talk a lot about how it has canon queer characters, which it definitely does - Michael, Hen, Josh, Karen, and David are all canonically gay/lesbian and that’s awesome, and we absolutely should talk about fans (white fans in particular) ignoring these characters. It also does not change the fact that none of these characters are bisexual and that is the representation people are looking for. Both of these things are true - these characters are often under appreciated in canon AND people deserve bisexual representation. They don’t contradict each other and to act like one negates the other does a huge disservice.

And even if a character was made bisexual in the canon text we don’t get that slowburn. This may be true for things like Leverage, or LOK, but there’s also a real fact of censorship that affected these shows and the fact that general audiences may not understand the queer text tjat the writers intended. It doesn’t make the writing any less wonderful or the ships any less poignant or beautiful or important, and there’s ofc shows like She Ra that made this more obvious (or the.....mess that was Supernatural that made it. Half true?) but these are still real things that should be acknowledged on why people are so hesitant to call it slowburn - because it’s something most queer fans haven’t SEEN DONE, because m/f ships will get that care for slowburn when it’s done but it’s not done for m/m or f/f ships in that same capacity.

2. What queerbait is

This one’s fun because I don’t think many people understand what it is, but queerbait is very dependent on the intentions of the writers/creators/etc. - which tbh can be hard to gauge, because a genuine intention that ended up not happening or someone baiting fans or someone trying to support all ships and not be rude all have very different intentions but to a fan who only sees bits and pieces of this person on social media, it can be hard to gauge.

Honestly with how much the 4th wall gets broken because of social media now I’d personally say we’ve probably moved into a different definition of queerbait - unintentional vs intentional - because we’re at a point where a show knows what ships are popular and at what level of excitement fans are for it - but that being said, there’s still a clear spectrum of intent. And imo? I don’t think 911 has that intent of queerbait - whether it’s a slowburn or they have a different vision for buddie that I (probably) won’t agree with remains to be seen, but this show usually treats its storylines with care. Are they perfect at it? No, definitely not, I definitely think that they’ve dropped the ball a few times (especially with just how many characters they have lmao), but they also clearly do their storylines with earnest and with genuine care for these characters.

Is 911 getting them together? I want to say yes. I don’t think this was always the plan, just something that they decided along the way, but I also don’t think that changes anything about the ship. A lot of people point to Tim Minear being vague about the ship, or the actors and their interpretations, but 1. We have no idea what they’ve been told about Buddie moving forward and 2. No show runner is going to spoil their show that much. 911 may be keeping quiet because they have a different plan for buddie, sure, but also maybe because they’re still figuring out how exactly they want to do this and/or they want to make this slowburn and don’t want to give it away.

3. Slowburn in procedurals

I feel like this is something that procedurals have started shying away from, but slowburns used to be very common - Bones, Castle, their ships didn’t get together for literal years, but that’s just not something that many shows do nowadays, even for m/f ships. Even things like Deckerstar will have the characters get together after ~3 seasons and explore the relationship onwards, whereas a few years ago, y ou’d pr obably be watching a sh ow and it’d take them 7 seasons to get together. My assumption for this is that shows are afraid of getting canceled, but there’s been a pretty big shift in getting a couple together after say, 6 seasons to now getting them together about halfway through the show. I don’t think either one is bad or good - in good writers’ hands, either can be amazing - but that shift has made it so that a lot of younger fans in particular, I think, don’t fully recognize slowburn when they see it.

911 as a show tends to run pretty fast - it kind of has to with its depth of characters they have - but when they do have slower running storylines they really do make use of that as well. Bobby’s addiction is something that’s always going to be present in his character, May’s suicide attempt was brought up again front and center after 3 seasons, even Chim’s dynamic with the Lees was brought up again and it was reinforced again that they’re his family. There are certain storylines that have to be continuous and aren’t a one and done type of thing, and that includes Buck and Eddie, especially if you want to establish them as queer to a general audience who doesn’t think about these things.

And honestly, despite my fears, I think they are laying groundwork there. We have Buck learning to be more confident in his relationships, we have Eddie ready to date and learning to follow his own heart, we have Buck and Eddie both establishing that Buck is family and will always be there for Christopher. These are pretty big steps to do for a ship and we’ll obviously have to see how the show goes forward but they’ve already insinuated Eddie and Ana are breaking up, I’m sure Taylor and Buck may last a season and be over, but we do have to see what this next season brings. Do I think they’d say this? No, definitely not.

tl;dr:

911 is a show with good viewership, but there’s always a possibility they can’t continue with their season and then their promises would feel like a lie. Or they may still be hammering out the details as this season hasn’t been written. Or they may just simply not want to spoil their show, or they don’t want people criticizing a story before it’s finished, all of these could be reasons. The showrunners, writers, actors, ultimately they owe nothing to us as a fandom to potentially spoil their series, or do something, change it or their schedule for it, and get accused of bait.

But it also doesn’t change why fans are wary of this storyline either, and I wish people would have more nuance and compassion for fans who are worried about queerbait (whether they think it’s not queerbait and dislike people worrying about it or if they do and are calling people idiots for believing it). There’s a lot of reasons why fans are wary and don’t want to have hope, and it’s not necessarily about 911 specifically as it is a pattern of writing seen in other pieces that have fans worried. These things can all coexist and I wish we as fandom in general could acknowledge that, because pretending that they don’t and criticizing each other/people’s intentions or knowledge when they have certain expectations also doesn’t do much to help.

#warning this is long so if you read this bless you #but also i wrote this forever so maybe give a read?#it gets into buddie more specifically at the end so bear with me lmao #buddie #911 fox #fandom #queerbait #janie overthinks media #buddie meta #911 on fox

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yurtletheturtlehenderson · 3 years

Text

Scars That Heal || Eddie Kaspbrak x Reader Series

• Ch. 11: Under Pressure •

TRIGGER WARNINGS: blatant homophobia from Nicklesmart The Beatboxing Jester™️ in disguise as someone you know, internalized homophobia throughout the whole chapter. As usual, will put a skip marker for the heavier scene before and after if you need/want to skip. It is not light, ngl 😔 [trigger words: f*iry + the f slur, each used on exactly one occasion, and (as an insult) queer. I'm so sorry, this was not easy for me either and please do not read this if any of this in any way bothers you, i won't be mad if you skip the chapter 💕]

A/N: Next chapter will be all fluff I promise 🥲, I'm so sorry, but I needed something that could solidify Richie and Y/n's friendship for good, and her helping him through his worst fear is the best way to do that and will be explored in other ways throughout the rest of the series, specifically in the sequel. all that aside, I missed you guys and this series so much!!

LGBTQ+ RESOURCES AND SELF HELP LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CHAPTER

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

- 𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧 -

Richie keeps his eyes trained on the dried mud on his navy blue slip-ons as he makes his way across town, his mind buzzing twice as fast as it normally did. He felt as if his entire body had been put through a blender; his skull still vibrating in his head turning his brain into jelly. His stomach empty and lurching as it twisted into knots far more impossible than what you'd see from a circus performer and his heartbeat could rival a hummingbird's. Not to mention he was walking with two extra legs he'd grow from time to time, another freaky affect the physical and mental toll these past few weeks had put on him and his eyesight. The caffeine he had been living on hadn't helped him one bit either he reckoned.

Insomnia had become his best friend in the past few weeks, hence this last-minute trip to the old gravel pit just behind Derry Town dump. At least, this was the lie he told himself to pluck up enough courage to call Y/n up. Richie hoped she could talk him through it, give him some advice. He was never this nervous to talk to her and deep down in a corner he wished to bury forever - that small part of himself that begged to be free - knew exactly why. This small, repressed Richie Tozier that lived locked away in the center of his heart was calling the shots that day. Hell, he probably had been his whole life but he wasn't ready to admit that to himself yet, let alone his true attentions of seeking her help.

All he knew is he was nervous as all hell, his palms were sweating, he couldn't stop fiddling with his glasses and he was sure one wrong move and he'd shit his pants. For fucks sake, he needed to shake this! He had already freaked Y/n out, that he knew. He could still hear her voice over the receiver. It was soaked in static and every 's', or 'c' sound she made felt like a pencil was being shoved into his eardrums cause of her shitty outdated telephone.

"You," she had asked with a pause. "want to meet at... the dump?"

"Yeah," he scoffed, scratching the same spot behind his ear for what had to be the billionth time out of nervous habit. "you got wax in your ears, L/n?"

"Nope. Just, a little confused is all. You seem kinda... I don't know, squirrely," she said wearily, and through a sharp crackling hiss from the receiver he can make out a nervous chuckle on her end. "You sure nothin' jumped up your ass or anything?"

He bit his lip. Hard. As if punishing himself for drawing her suspicions this early. What if she somehow caught on to what he was gonna talk to her about? Her walk to the gravel pit would surely give her enough time to get to that conclusion, and Richie wasn't daft. He knew he wasn't exactly subtle about... "insomnia". What with how many times he teased insomnia, called it that special nickname he knew it hated but secretly loved. That forbidden flutter in his chest when insomnia would laugh at his jokes, and the small but precious moments they shared from time to time when the others were late that would stay in his heart and mind for weeks to come. But it didn't matter now, as everyone knew; insomnia kept Y/n's company now.

Thankfully his mouth was faster than his brain, and it fired a rapid response before a lull could form.

"You bet your fur," he fires, his lanky arm had rested awkwardly against the wall beside the wall mount. "I am right as rain, toots."

He of course hadn't seen it, but she had frowned at her phone. Her concern was growing with every word spoken from him.

"Yeah," she snorts, throwing back a sarcastic remark. "Cause you sound it."

She had eased a bit, growing soft and falling back into their usual banter. Their special dynamic always seemed to coax down his guard a bit.

"You're talking like a 1950's gangster in a speakeasy," She straightened a little and had begun pacing as much as the phone cord would allow her. "Ya know... More than usual."

Y/n smiled when she could practically hear the smirk taking over his face, and she certainly had no trouble picturing his hunched shoulders and intimidating snarl he was most likely dawning.

"It's a little somethin' called moxie, kid," he spoke with curled his words, imitating all the gangsters he had seen in those cheesy old films. "somethin' you just don't have,"

Y/n had rolled her eyes again, at least Richie could see her doing so when he heard her respond. "Right, right. My bad Baby Face."

"Hey!" He barked, snapping his fingers and pointing at the floor as if she could see him. His voice lowered in a thick Chicago accent. "That's mista Baby Face to ya."

"Mista Baby Face Nelson!" She strained, her annoyed shout tainted with a laugh. "Are we meeting at five or not?"

Richie released a quick and silent breath, expelling as many nerves as possible.

"You bet your fur."

The exchange kept playing over and over in his mind and Richie wondered if the same rang true for Y/n. He hoped not, cause that would mean she was thinking about it too much. Hell, he was thinking about it too much now. A heavy sigh rolls off of his chest as every anxiety collectively manifests into its own dark thought.

Fuck, he really had it bad.

How pathetic he was.

Eddie would surely be horrified to know what Richie really thought of him, that was for sure.

And as if he hadn't felt crazy enough, the thoughts actually began to feel like voices calling him from the darkest shadows of his mind.

'And the other Losers? You'll be lucky if they even look at you again.'

Richie was surprised to find himself fighting back, pushing back as much as he could. Despite all the jokes and jabs, he couldn't be completely alone. A small part whispered in his heart that he wasn't, and he thought briefly of the turtle strangely enough but it was gone just as soon as it had come. All he knew was that whatever was telling him this thing was stubborn. But so was Richie Tozier.

He treated it as an intrusive thought. Made a decision then and there that it was, never occurring to him what it could be if wasn't.

No way. Not those assholes, he tells the voice. These are the Losers for fucks sake!

The more he thought about it the more he was sure of it. God forbid Eddie did find out, which Richie had no intention of, and what would happen was in fact unclear. But no matter how he looked at it, he just couldn't picture the little spaghetti man ever cutting him out of his life completely. Not by choice at least.

Now Ben, that lovable sappy haystack of his that was too passionate for his own good. Richie may not be the silent type but he does pick up on things, and Hanscom's affections for Beverly Marsh were far from subtle. Always opening doors for her and turning redder than a tomato when she smiled at him. Not to mention Richie was about ninety percent sure there was a poem of some sort involved. And that was just Beverly, Ben was always thinking of the Losers. Now Richie knew for sure that boy had no hateful bone in his body to the point it was fucking annoying.

Mike, Richie felt, might be a little similar. The kid had a lot of heart, always going on about the animals on his farm. Would even go as far to say he considered them his friends, what with how much Richie knew about Mooriuel the calf and he hadn't even met her for cripes sake! Richie imagined he'd be a bit more shocked but would try some sappy speech when he came around. Would make a whole big thing of it, pat him on the back, and even invite a conversation. He scoffed at the thought, the image of Mike slapping him on the back and his signature grin... Yeah, he appreciated the hypothetical gesture but it wasn't Richie's style.

He could easily see Big Bill sputtering up a storm, but managing a smile. He'd probably even manage to forget their differences long enough to say something stupid but supportive. And Beverly and Stan were the ones he worried about the least. Stan would probably be too indifferent to care, throw him some snarky ass comment like, "took ya long enough, dipshit," and Beverly? Well, Beverly had always been cool, very laid back. She never took shit, and she never dished it out if she didn't think it was deserved which Richie admired greatly. This was one of many reasons he was so shocked she had taken Bill's side in the fight.

The thought brings him back down again, and as soon as the memory touches him so do the nerves in his jaw tensing up again where he had been hit. He could feel the punch all over again. And he suddenly remembers why he is here.

He is here, he realized.

Just around the bend, coming into view was the gravel pit. Old and crumbling it was, and overrun with weeds and bushes. One could easily scale in and out of it, and at the very bottom Rich had discovered one day was a beaten and tattered leather seat from a car that found its way from the junkyard just a ways over. This was where he told Y/n to meet him.

Y/n...

Jesus fuck, what would Y/n say? How would he tell her? Would she still wanna be friends with him? Would she laugh and crack a joke, not taking it seriously? Would she hate him for it? More importantly, why in the ever-loving fuck was he here and willing to tell her?

His gangly legs tumble into a sprint as he picks up momentum descending the uneven terrain. The rubber soles of his shoes kicking up the layers of dirt and shaved gravel that lay beneath the rocks and he had to put effort into not crashing as he comes to a stop. He manages to avoid a nasty fall, completely ignorant to the fact that his right foot had been only inches away from a root peeking out from the rocks surely would have broken his neck had he made even one wrong move. He puffs out his chest, dusting himself off, and once again tries to dispel the nausea broiling in his stomach like hot tar.

He closes his eyes tiredly as he drags his feet to the leather bench, letting his backside fall through the air and into the somewhat plush cushion with a deep groan. "Fuck."

His fingers rub his tired eyes, his fingertips finding bits of crust he hadn't gotten earlier and his knuckles brush his glasses further up onto his forehead. Not quite knowing what to do with the overwhelming thoughts and emotions clouding him, his fingers dig further into his eye sockets until all he can see are inky splotches behind his eyes.

Richie doesn't know why he would ever think those things of Y/n. He hadn't ever told her this, not directly at least, but she was just about the only person in the world he trusted most. He knew in his heart of hearts this was why he found himself dialing her number before he could even register what he was doing. Even after their separation and the bitter feelings they took with it, the Losers were and always would be his best friends in the world.

So why did everything about this feel so wrong?

From the moment the phone call ended, he felt like he was waltzing into a trap like some putz...

"Well, look who it is..." snarled a voice from up above the surface.

Richie's blood ran cold and it felt as if the remainder of the air in his lungs had been squeezed out like air in a deflating balloon. He whipped around at the voice, his head twisting up at the silhouetted figure so fast he was shocked he hadn't broken his own neck. The figure held their hands on their hips, thousands of the sun's rays spilling around them as they blocked out a part of the sun, an advantage they reaped from where they stood before Richie at just the right angle. His breath caught in his throat as he had recognized the voice immediately, but the figure didn't quite match the voice.

The last thing person he needed to see right now was Henry fucking Bowers, that was for sure.

The universe agreed so it would seem. The figure shifted, just out of the light revealing the teasing smirk of his best friend Y/n. Her hands snapped together, her palms forming a handgun, the barrel aiming right at Richie's forehead.

"The jig is up," she snarled. "We knows it was you. You was the ones to steal from Big Bill's dame, and I wouldn't be surprised if yous was in cahoots, neithers."

Despite the fear that had clutched his heart only seconds ago, a small chortle left Richie at how awful her accent was. Hadn't she learned anything from him? A smug smile overtook Y/n's face as he broke. She holstered her handguns and gracefully descended the pile of gravel. His smile expired not long after, and despite the thin veil of clouds creeping over the sun the light in the sky was much too hard to even glance at his friend without blinking back several painful searing tears from the harsh light. But he could still make her out.

She was dressed in her usual ratty and eclectic garb; a mix of something far too big for her frame and something that seemed far too tight to be comfortable. Richie was certain she had never once owned even a thread of clothing that had always been hers. Her s/c brow had its usual, light glossy sheen of grease that Richie had learned very early on to not ask about. But there was something about her now, something he couldn't quite place.

Though one question kept popping up in his mind. One that left an itch in his brain he couldn't quite scratch in his dazed state. And that was how could he have possibly thought she sounded like Henry Bowers?

He finds himself looking down at the gravel now, wiping away as much of the sun's damage pooling in his eyes as he can. Unbeknownst to him, she watches him studiously, the ghost of her smile still on her lips as if she was enjoying his discomfort. His long and gangly limbs are folded awkwardly, still, onto the leather seat that sits on the ground. Finally, she takes a seat beside him with a huff as he had.

As he rubs his tired eyes for a second time she takes a long look around, breaking the silence when her trip around the gravel pit lands on him.

"Well, you've looked better." She quips, offering a smile.

Richie snorts, pushing his slipping glasses up the bridge of his nose with a friendly smirk. "This comin' from Raggedy Ann?"

They both breathe a small laugh and for a moment - just one beautiful, fleeting moment - Richie forgets he was ever scared. This is what he needed.

"So," she says, pulling his gaze towards her, sending him a cocky smile as a knowing look sparkles behind her eyes. "I'm guessing there's a reason I'm here, and not helping you with your summer training?"

Richie, for reasons unknown to him, feels his muscles tense up again involuntarily. Like a puppeteer suddenly yanking the strings, ripping his shoulders up to his ears and his muscles bracing. He felt rigid and he was, but he was doing all he could not to show it. All his unease came back in steady waves marching up the sand, but what could he do now? He could already feel her eyes burning holes into the side of his head as he kicked around a sizeable rock with the toe of his shoe, studying him. Waiting.

Finally, his shoulders slumped in a shrug, lower lip in an indifferent pout as he looked around at the sky hanging above the gravel pit.

"Just needed a change from all those ugly mugs, I guess," he manages a laugh, and he rises to his feet to lazily chase the rock that had rolled out of his reach.

He can feel her eyes on him still, and he doesn't know what to make of it until finally she breaks her silence with a chuckle and rises to join him. She catches the rock with the heel of her dirtied sneakers. They're worn down to the very last thread and several shades off from the original color. She kicks the rock back to him, and they engage in a lazy game of rock soccer.

"I can understand that," she says calmly, eyes trained on the rock as it tumbles across the gravel with several chunky clanks. "Reckon it'll be good for you, too,"

He frowns confused without looking up at her, winding one lanky leg back before one big kick. "Whad'ya mean?"

"Well, you don't wanna spend your whole summer inside of an arcade, do you?"

Richie's face freezes in a frown, the rest of his body going rigid. His eyes cement on the rock underneath his shoe, willing away the veil of tears that threatened to fall. Had he not been so caught up on why he was here, Richie might have had a clear enough head to realize Y/n wasn't there for that conversation, nor had she heard about it from anyone there. Instead, all Rich can think about is the small hypochondriac boy that had stolen his heart.

He can hear the conversation he had with his best friend, all those weeks ago when school let out. And if felt like a lifetime since he had seen that squishable, pouty little disgusted frown Eddie always put on that made Richie's inside melt. As if reading his mind, Y/n spoke.

"This is about Eddie, isn't it?"

Her tone is gentle but veiled. Something was concealed about the way she held herself, ever since she had arrived, something that Richie couldn't quite place. And there it was. He was right about her suspecting him, he must be. Richie battles the lump forming in his throat, and he can feel his ears turning pink under her unwavering and unblinking stare.

Richie does all he can to fight a snarky response, not knowing how else to navigate and survive the intensity of his feelings. All he manages to do is nod.

[■■■■■■■■■■■■]

"Rich, it's okay," she says, taking a step forward, his gaze is pulled to her eyes. And here it is, he thinks. The moment he had been dreading, the moment he hadn't even allowed himself to think about. "...I miss him, too."

His face caught in another frown. That's definitely not what he expected her to say. Quickly as he could, he wiped away a spot of snot at his nose. He had managed to keep the tears at bay but now they had found another way out. He felt like a fucking fool, and he wanted nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. Of course she didn't know what he was talking about. Why would she - how would she? His spirits were crushed, and he suddenly didn't feel like getting into it now. She seemed off today, not that Richie cared. All he wanted was for this whole day to be over with, not even knowing the worst had yet to come.

She studies his reaction, almost as if she had been waiting for this and she blinks for what Richie is now starting to realize must be the first time since she got here. Y/n's face screws into a frown, and yet there still lingered an uneasy smile that taunted him. Her eyes squint suspiciously at Richie, her head tilting in an expression he never knew he had always feared would come.

She laughs finally, a shrill and grating laugh he hadn't quite heard before and she nudges him playfully. "Oh, come on! It's not like you've got some faggy crush on him or something?"

When he doesn't answer, she scoffs, turning away and shaking her head in disbelief for a moment.

Richie felt he just might vomit. Or cry. Or both. He had never felt so distraught, so dejected. So broken.

How could she be saying these things?

He tries with all his might to conjure a response, any fucking thing at all so he wasn't some blubbering broken chump breaking down in front of her. But for the first time in his life, Richie "loudmouth" Tozier was speechless.

That fuck-awful grating laugh returns, a sour look screws up her face as she looks him up and down in disgust.

"Wait, seriously?" She gapes with a scoff, making him feel about two inches tall. "You actually think he'd want to be with some fairy freak like you?"

"F-f-uck off," he sputters, though he does not feel better.

The trembling in his voice, the vulnerability, hearing it in himself strips any remaining scrap of confidence he had left. He's crying now and there's no hiding it. And she heard it in his voice, he knew that now as he looks at her. Her lips curl into a malicious smile and she takes another step closer, Richie fumbles a step back.

"He isn't some," her nose crinkles as she continues to advance on him, the fire in her eyes building as he stumbles back to escape her sudden venom. "rotten queer like you."

Y/n spits the words out like they were poison on her tongue, and this was true in every way. Her fiery stare never left Richie, it burned holes right through him as she advanced on him like a wolf on a wounded doe. They were nearing the edge of the gravel pit, and Richie had nearly run out of room when her finger stabbed his chest like a sword's final strike to the heart, pushing him to the ground as she spoke those poisonous words.

Richie felt his backside meet several jagged rocks that brought even more tears to his eyes, though none of them hurt as much as her words. She towered over him now, the sun beating down on her back and pouring over her shoulders, trapping Richie in her shadow. She shakes her head, and he can still make out the pathetic look on her face as she glowers at him.

"It's girls he likes. It's me he likes." she points to herself, shaking her head. "He was mine the second he saw me, but you?"

She scoffs again, and her shadow releases him as she kneels to balance on her feet, legs folded before him with a snide look.

"You've always been the insufferable loudmouth he couldn't get rid of." A sharp laugh escapes her, the clutch on his heart tightening to dangerous amounts he fears it will give out. "Well, I guess he doesn't have to worry about that now, huh?"

His heart feels as if it has been ripped to shreds, the claws of the wolf had struck and now he was drowning in his own sorrows as pain as the heartbreak filled his lungs. Richie could no longer see behind the thick wall of glassy tears that blanketed his eyes, and the sounds of his own sobs amplified his embarrassment and despair. He was hopelessly broken, and he could feel himself crumble, each piece disappearing amongst the gravel underneath him until he couldn't be found. He blinked only once, but it was enough to send every tear racing down his cheek at once.

Another malicious smile contorts her face, her e/c eyes burning darker until they looked almost a completely different shade. Her lips seemed to stretch on and on and on in a way only one thing could. And it was then that it occurred to him.

Not one thing she had said to him is something he could have ever prepared himself for, each word constricting his heart and lungs and swelling his throat with the ever-growing lump.

Nor was any of it something she would ever dream of saying, he knew this now.

[■■■■■■■■■■■■]

This wasn't Y/n, this was never Y/n. She had never showed, and if he hadn't been so wrapped up in his own fucking head he would have caught on from the second "Y/n" arrived. Especially that entrance, Y/n surely would have fallen on her ass on her way down into the gravel pit never mind the fact her accent wouldn't be nearly as shit.

But none of this mattered now. This thing that looked like his friend had him cornered, and It knew it.

A wicked grin overtook the mask of Y/n's face that chilled Richie to his bones, and yet it also reassured him. Y/n was tough and could be scary from time to time, but he knew she could never be capable of the pure evil that now danced in It's eyes. Richie's body was already in motion, his arms and legs scrambling for any sort of grip that could take him up the side of the pit and to safety. But the gravel beneath him was always shifting, rolling out from underneath him when it wasn't raking his palms to pieces and all he was accomplishing was a small plume of dust that clung to his backside.

Richie didn't know where it came from, but his actions were faster than his feelings as his fist collided with It's nose. And no sooner did the heel of his shoe collide in a painful crack that sent It's head back, did his eyes widen in horrific shock. The painful crack that would surely haunt him for many nights to come, had not been from the collision of his heel on It's nose but It's head - or Y/n's as this was still It's disguise - had snapped completely back and dangled completely off It's/her shoulders.

The only thing connecting her head to her shoulders was the suit of s/c skin. Protruding from the center of her neck just under the skin was the end of her spine where it had disconnected, giving away a disturbing lack of muscles and veins in her neck as if it had been hollowed out like a pumpkin. Her head rolled back and forth limply, and Richie could feel bile climbing up his throat, ready to burst out his digested mac and cheese.

His mind was screaming at his legs to run while all was still but a small part of him knew this was all a gambit, that it didn't matter if she was frozen stiff or not. Richie knew as soon as he booked it, It would spring to life with something even more twisted. That now, without his friends, he was as good as dead.

And It was more than happy to prove Richie right.

The clone of his friend sprang to life, It's head still rolling around on It's shoulders. Connected only by the skin of It's neck, and moving around like some fucked up slinky toy. Richie was already halfway up the gravel pit, bits of rock and dirt finding their way into his shoes as he kicked up the earth though that was the farthest thing from his mind.

By the time Richie reached the top of the pit, he could no longer hear the thunderous boom of his heart attempting to break loose from his chest, which was saying an awful lot. His screams echoed out into the air only to be swallowed by the screams of other children and Richie didn't know how he knew this but he knew those were the screams of Betty Ripsom, Ed Corcoran... Georgie Denbrough. The bloodied screams of It's victims were drowning Richie as he ran for the junkyard, and he wondered if he might live to hear them stop.

The screams were so fucking loud in his ears he could see them. Each of them a blinding, deafening, gut-wrenching, and blood-curdling scream that danced through the air like ribbons as they begged for their lives. Richie cried out and he couldn't even hear his own voice, but he didn't let this stop his legs from pumping as hard as they possibly could. He was nearly to the junkyard, surely he could use something to fend It off but he knew he was just buying time.

He could taste the blood on his tongue from where his teeth bit into his cheek. In all his short life, Richie Tozier would not have guessed child-eating clown to be the way he'd kick the can. When ever the thought of death began troubling him, he always liked to picture something like a western. Him and his rightful enemy squaring off against good and evil, he'd shoot first and save the day but still sustain an injury and bleed out. But it'd be a hero's death. And that was something.

But this... this was something born out of darker than evil and Richie was about to be pulled into the gravity well of this black hole and swallowed up. And he knew in his soul, the very pits of his stomach it would reach out with its shadowy arms and pull him into darkness.

And it did.

Richie had been rapidly approaching the edge of the junkyard without realizing and within an instant found himself on the ground, caved in on himself as he tumbled in the dirt and rocks accepting he was to join them soon enough. He closed his eyes and waited for death as a hand curled around his shoulder and pulled him around. Another jolt of shock shot through his entire body at the sudden contact, locking his jaw and paralyzing his entire body in fear as he was met with the new threat. He didn't dare open his eyes, and certainly not when he heard his best friend's voice again.

"Richie! Richie?"

It was her again, he realized. Y/n's real voice, the one that he heard on the telephone that was dripped in static. The one now dripped in fear.

"Richie?!"

When the boy opened his eyes, they were filled with terror and his sobs continued. A lense Y/n never thought she'd see Richie look at her through. Her heart broke in an instant when she realized he was afraid... of her. Instantly, she released him and let her backside fall back into the gravel. She watched through a thick wall of tears as he trembled, crying to himself, and never in all her life had she seen Richie Tozier so broken.

It tore her apart.

She didn't have to be a genius to realize what had happened here. Before she had even reached the junkyard on her bike she had heard his screams strangled through the wall of trees gating the area. When she had reached the gravel yard, she was happy to see him still in one piece but he was running for his life from an invisible force. The damn coward had gotten what It wanted and scared him shitless, but why would he disappear just because she showed? She had wondered.

Now she was beginning to understand. It didn't need to be here to scare her. Just the sight of Richie in such a state was enough to tear her down and it took just about everything in her not to scream into the sky from a mix of fury and fear.

Besides the tears that race down her cheeks and wet her legs, all Y/n could feel was a painfully numbing fear. Fear that Richie would never be the same. Fear that Richie would never speak to her again. Fear that Richie would never trust her again. Fear for whatever the fucking hell that thing did to Richie. Fear that It would do it again.

All she felt now was fear for Richie.

Y/n doesn't bother to fight the sob that breaks loose, her bottom lip quivers violently and her arms fall to the gravely pavement beneath her. As if her head had filled with lead, it grew heavy enough to fall into her chest where her chin landed, shaking several more tears loose.

"I'm s-so sorry, Richie,"

Y/n yearns to say more, but her body is physically weak from sadness and shame. Yet still, she repeats it in her mind hoping with everything in her it slips out of her mouth, or maybe if she thought them loud enough he'd hear them in his mind.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm sorry for whatever happened. I'm so goddamn sorry...

"I'm sorry," she whimpers. "I promise..."

I promise I'm not gonna hurt you. I promise I'm not gonna hate you. I promise I'm gonna be there for you, from now on. I promise.

Her sniffles blend with his own, and Richie is unsure why this is the moment he knows for sure this is the real Y/n before him; maybe he was just too exhausted to think it through, perhaps it was the godawful sound she was making trying to keep herself from snotting as bad as he was but he knew It had gone. And the Y/n sitting beside him — crying with him, was the one he dialed up today. This was the Y/n he had been prepared to bare his soul to. His true self.

So with one shaky hand — the other still tucked in close to his chest — Richie's left hand slid out from under him and across the gravel to Y/n's open palm. Her fingers were digging into the gravel, sharp edges of the rock digging into her skin as if to assure herself she was really real. Suddenly, she felt Richie's shaky palm slide underneath hers, carefully taking it.

Y/n picked her glassy stare up from the ground to look at their intertwined hands, and she melted a little. Several of those fears — not all of them, but some — were ebbed away and she looked to Richie. He was still curled up in the dirt, his eyes closed and silent tears streaking his dirt-covered face. Each tear paved a path of clean skin, washing the dirt away in wild streaks where ever each tear had fallen. Several large and swollen beads of tears collected at his chin where they dangled, threatening to fall.

She gave his hand a squeeze, letting him know she was there for him as she had promised him. And she was ready to sit with him for as long as he needed.

For hours that feel only like minutes, they sit together in tear-filled silence, clinging to one another's presence and the knowledge that they are now all they have left.

And there was no way they were letting go.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Here are some LGBTQ+ resources for mental health and self help if you feel you need them:

How do I find LGBTQ friendly therapy?

An article on safe ways to find the best sources of help that are right for you

The Trevor Project

Self Care Tips for Trans and Non Binary Folks

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