#jeff x barb

[sofiiel]

When they were simply pinning, Barb and Jeff would go to the library simultaneously just to "randomly" bump into each other while looking for study material for the class they shared.

This would lead to them saying they weren't ready for the test next week, which leads to them planning to study together in the afternoons.

Only, you see... they're both getting a big, large, shiny, glittering A in that class already.

On top of that, they are dressed as cute as possible. Both trying to ignore that's not what they originally wore for the day. But both tossing each other compliments.

[frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe]

@steddiemas Day 13 -  Snow Day

uh...yeah.. this got way away from me but...here's day 13! (a day late and 4k words more than normal???)

pairing: steddie | word count: 5,201 | rated: T

The following Thursday finds Eddie and the entire Hellfire Club literally and metaphorically clamoring over each other and his large dining room table while their campaign (Eddie had helpfully told him) continues on.

Luckily, Robin had agreed to spend their night off work from the video store with him.

“So, when are you going to do something about your hopeless Eddie crush?”

“SSshh! Not so loud, Rob!”

She rolls her eyes at him, “Sorry to tell you this Dingus, but I don’t think he’s paying you a single modicum of attention.”

Steve looks over at the table from his spot on the couch; Robin’s right, of course, Eddie’s already halfway onto the tabletop, his arms stretched wide and the rest of him hunched low to the wood.

He’s deep into his story and his voice is dropped low, only the tone of it reaching Steve’s ears.

“He’s such a dork.” Steve sighs, shaking his head.

“Yeah, but you loooove him!” Robin teases, poking one foot that had been with her other on Steve’s lap into his side instead.

Steve rolls his eyes at her, “Hand me another slice of cheese.”

She reaches over to one of the leftover boxes of pizza on the coffee table and fishes out a slice for him, “So what are you gonna do about it?” She asks, handing it to him.

“About what?” he asks, taking down half the slice in one bite.

“Don’t play dumb Steve,”

He sighs, “I don’t know Rob; he hasn’t made a move either! He kissed me first, remember? Right over there!” Steve points to the offending doorway, “Because of you, by the way.” he snarfs down the other half of the slice two big bites.

“I remember.” She nods.

“I honestly don’t know what to do Bob, I want to corner him and kiss him all over his fuckin’ body but how’m I supposed to know if he’d be okay with that? Does he want that?”

“Oh he wants that, believe me.”

Steve narrows his eyes at her. She only quirked a brow at him in return. “What do you know, Buckley?”

Robin snorts out a laugh, “I would say to just go for it, but I feel like he’d freak if you did that out of the blue.”

“So, what, I just say ‘Hey, I really really like you, maybe already halfway love you, and I want to know if you’d like to kiss about it maybe?’?”

“Who’s Steve kissing?”

Steve jumps at Dustin’s voice, suddenly beside him. He knew his hearing was going on his left..Robin told him he was just imagining it.

“OOh, Steve’s kissing someone?” This time it was Lucas, his voice teasing as he passes behind Dustin through the door under the stairs with his arms full of pop cans.

“I’m not kissing anyone,”

“He just wants to.” 

Damn you, Robin. Steve glances quickly to the table, Eddie has his back turned to them.

“Who is it?”

“Uh, it’s…” Steve pauses for a half a second, “None of your business. You guys done for the night?”

“Yeah.. about that..”

Oh no–

“Can we stay the night here? We have to start planning out our characters for the next campaign!”

“You guys are done done?” “Not quite,” Steve turns his head to the right, the older kid Frank is standing in the other doorway from the living room to the hall closest to the front door. “We have one more session then I’m DM-ing the next campaign.”

Steve nods along with Robin (whose head is hanging backward over the arm of the couch closest to Frank). “So you…six? Seven? Want to stay the night?” He's already skimming through the house in his head to where the extra blankets and pillows are stashed. He should have enough.

“No, just us.” Mike confirms, plopping down onto the carpet between the coffee table and fireplace across from the couch. “Me, Lucas, Will, and Dustin.”

Dustin nods, adding “And Eddie was going to stay a little longer to plan his own character, since he’s gonna be able to play in the next one.”

Steve turns back to Frank and the other older kid…Jeff…?, who’s now leaning around the doorway too. “You guys aren’t staying?”

“Nah man, we don’t wanna impose, thanks for having us though.” Maybe Jeff said.

“Yeah, of course,” Steve lifts Robin’s legs off his lap and stands, moving to see the three older Hellfire members off at the door. The Harringtons are polite hosts first and foremost. “Thanks for coming, guys.” What was he thanking them for? It wasn’t like they were here for him.

Jeff’s polite smile seemed to echo Steve’s thoughts, “Of course man, thanks for having us over.” “And for the pizza.” the shortest of the three says to the agreement of the others.

Jeff shakes Steve’s hand, the shortest one (Garby? George? It was something with a ‘G’) smiles again after pulling on his coat before heading out to Frank’s truck.

One of Frank’s solid hands lands on Steve’s shoulder in a friendly pat, and it’s almost enough to miss Eddie slipping out the door behind him into the slow fall of fat snowflakes outside. He was surprised to see a swath of snow had blanketed his front yard since the boys had been here.

Steve almost says something, but hears the guys exchanging their own farewells through the cracked door, so he turns back to the steps. 

Will is already coming back down them, arms full of blankets and pillows, Lucas following behind him.

“I was about to go grab those myself–wait, did any of you dipshits call and ask your parents if you can stay? It’s a school night!” Steve follows the two into the living room.

The four of them immediately look cowed.

“OOohh you better get moving guys,” Robin teases.

“All of you up, you’re calling home.” Steve waves his arm as if to shove them all through the hall into the kitchen. “And no complaints, otherwise you’ll all be piling into the beemer before you can say demogorgon.”

Three of the four boys grumble their complaints as they pass him, “Hey, you’re lucky I’m even letting you stay. Seeing as how I’m the one that’s gonna have to drive you all to school in the morning.”

“You’ll already be driving Robin!” Mike complains

“Yeah but I have pretty privilege.” Robin calls from her spot on the couch.

Steve hears the door click closed, and looks over to see Eddie coming back in.

“Hey–” Eddie disappears down the hall and past the steps, only to reappear in the dining area through the other doorway under the steps. He immediately goes back to whatever papers he’s got on the table.

Steve looks down at Robin, who looks up at him at the same time, his confusion is reflected on her face.

He’s about to go talk to Eddie when Dustin calls for him from the kitchen.

-x-

“Steve! Mom wants to talk to you!”

Eddie hears Dustin call from the kitchen, and he stacks his pile of notes together, finally closing them up into his spiral notebook.

He pauses then. Just staring down at the disheveled wire binding. 

He should go. No need to torture himself further, the kids will understand right? He’ll just make up something about his Uncle needing him home right away tomorrow morning or something. 

Yeah. That should work, it’s not like anyone would call Wayn—

“So. You’re down in the dumps.”

Eddie’s shoulders crowd up against his ears at Robin’s arrival.

“I’m fine.”

“Uh huh.” She doesn’t believe him, of course.

He can hear the sound of Steve’s cheery voice from the kitchen, the tone he takes whenever he’s talking to one of the kids’ parents, and Eddie can feel his face screw up in pain.

“Ah hah!”

“Don’t.”

“I didn’t say anything.” “You didn’t have to,” he bites out, “It’s not like you’re the one having to listen to your crush wax poetic about some girl he wants to kiss stupid.”

He turns to look at her. Robin’s face is blank for a moment, then a barely-there smug smirk appears on her lips.

Eddie’s vision goes scarlet. “You don’t get to be a shithead about it, Buckley. This is all your fuckin’ fault.” he spits out in a low whisper.

“My fault?” she echoes in the same tone, the smile falling from her face. “What’s my fault??”

“You’re the one who made me think I had a chance, weren’t you? The one who put up that fuckin’ mistletoe? Your fault.” He pokes her shoulder accusingly. His volume was getting higher, so he adjusts before continuing. “I should have known there was no chance; he’s the one who said ‘Now we’re even.’ after he kissed me in Melvald’s!”

“He said tha—”

Eddie was practically hissing at this point, just a steady stream of steam escaping him like a cartoon character. “He just felt bad, Robin! He just felt like he owed me something, there’s no goddamn feelings there!”

“Eddi–”

“I gotta go.”

He scoops up his notebook in one hand and snatches up his bag with the other, slinging it over his shoulder.

“Eddie, don’t go–”

He stalks down the hall past the steps away from her voice. He’s almost to his escape when Dustin cuts off his path from the kitchen doorway closest to the front door.

“Eddie, you’re leaving?”

“Sorry kid, gotta go.” He steps around him, “I forgot Wayne needs me home right away tomorrow morning.”

“But you were going to–”

“I’ll help you later, Dustin.” it wasn’t supposed to come out like that.

“Don’t be an ass, Eddie.”

“You know what? Bite me, Mike.” He really shouldn’t be taking his feelings out on the goblins.

“Fuck you, man.”

“Hey! Hey, what is happening right now?” Steve comes out into the hall then, making eye contact with Eddie for a fraction of a second before Eddie focuses on lacing his boots onto his feet.

“Eddie’s leaving,”

“...Okay? And?”

Alright, ouch.

He yanks his laces even tighter.

“And he said he would help us, and now he’s leaving.”

“Oh come off it Dustin, you heard what he said.” Lucas says, an eyeroll in his voice.

“What’d he say?” Eddie’s head told him that Steve’s voice sounded hurt, but best not to believe his head right now. “He said,” Eddie cuts in, “That his uncle needs him home in the morning.”

Steve’s soft “Oh.” was barely audible over the other three arguing back at him.

He yanks the last lace tight to his calf and stands sharply.

“Yeah, so, thanks for having us over, Harrington, I’ll see ya around.” he purposely doesn’t look up at Steve’s face as he says this, focusing on his notebook and bag.

His hand just reaches the doorknob when Robin’s voice calls out from the living room. “Don’t think you’re going anywhere anytime soon, Eddie.”

Because his arm was already in motion when she started talking, the door opens in front of him just as she finishes. 

The slow fat flakes from only, what, 10 minutes earlier? are now flying harsh and sideways across the light escaping Steve’s front door. It’s piling up out there, and fast. Bessie has braved many a winter in Hawkins, but he knows he’d get snowed in by time they got across town to the park. 

Honestly though? Getting snowed in on the side of the road is seeming much more preferable than staying here after his little hissy fit.

“Eddie? Just stay here, man.” Steve sounds much closer than before, “I don’t want something to happen to you–” What Eddie can only assume is Steve’s hand falls to his shoulder, and he immediately turns away from it, closing the front door and letting his bag fall down his arm to the floor in the same motion as he turns into the kitchen without making eye contact with anyone.

The phone is still warm in his palm when he lifts it to his ear, punching Frank’s number into the buttons on the cradle. 

In the handful of rings it takes for him to pick up, Eddie can hear the others whispering to each other, no doubt things like “What’s Eddie’s problem?”, “Why’s he being mean to Steve?”, “Why can’t he control his big gay feelings for his obviously straight friend?”.

Okay, maybe that last one was a bit much for a bunch of sophomores.

“Hello?”

“Frank, you’re home?”

“Uh. Yeah. You called me at home.”

“Well it’s snowin’ like shit outside now, I wanted to make sure you guys got back safe.”

“Oh. Yeah, yeah, I just got in when I heard the phone. Everyone’s home safe.”

“Alright good, I’m gonna stay here at Harrington’s; talk to you later man, I gotta call Wayne.

“Okay Ed, see ya’.”

Eddie jabs his finger into the phone’s switch to end the call, then starts to dial the trailer. Wayne should be just about to leave for work.

“Y’ello?”

“Hey Wayne, it’s me.” Eddie says, turning his face away automatically when someone shuffles into the kitchen.

“Ed, where’ya at?”

“I’m still at Steve’s. It really started to come down so I don’t want to risk driving home tonight.”

“Good. You stay righ’ there, son.”

“Are you still going in?”

Wayne hums in agreement, “Got to.”

Eddie’s stomach sinks, “Wayne–”

“Now don’ you worry ‘bout me boy, I woke up early enough to get the chains on the truck.”

“Fine, fine. Be careful, old man.”

“You got it kid. I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

He hangs the phone back into it’s cradle on the wall feeling much looser now; he’d almost forgotten why he was so wound up, but seized up again as soon as he turned.

Steve was standing at the stove, stirring something that was obscured by his torso. “You want some hot chocolate too, Eds?” he asks, not turning from the stove.

Eddie gives him a short “No.” and goes back out into the hall to unlace his boots once again.

He wanders back into the living room with his bag and plops down in the recliner, pulling out his monster manual and his smaller, less pulverized notebook, the one with the basics of his next character fleshed out in it.

A tiefling bard, one he had imagined as having such thick skin on him that no matter what snide remarks, insults, and bashes to his character were thrown at him, he’d only shrug them off. Something real Eddie’d love to do. A charming, charismatic bard that got all who heard his songs to overlook his hellish appearance.

Wouldn’t that be something.

While he’s mulling over what name to give his bard (he’s waffling between Zarlech and Erron), Robin appears, settling in on the corner seat of the couch beside him.

He tenses up again, thinking she’s going to try talking to him about the too-good-for-this-world man in the yellow sweater in the next room, but she doesn’t. She only sits down and starts back in on the thick Vogue magazine she’d been swiping though since he and his troupe arrived.

Steve comes in with two mugs of cocoa not long after, walking to Eddie first with a soft smile.

“I told you I didn’t want any.”

He regrets his tone as soon as the words pass his lips; Steve looks stunned, the boys’ idle chatter from the coffee table dies off immediately.

Eddie’s face burns in embarrassment, but before he can even open his mouth, Robin says “I’ll take his,” and reaches for the steaming pale yellow mug. 

He passes it over, and stands there for a moment with the other mug before turning and handing it over to Will, the closest to him of the four on the floor.

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose briefly, then turns out of the room. Robin’s up and out of the room not a moment later, saying, “I’ll go help him with you threes’.”

There’s a beat of silence, then: “What. In the actual fuck. Is your problem, man?”

Eddie turns to face the voice; all four teens are staring at him, each one with a different level of incredulousness on their faces. Mike’s is the worst, looking at Eddie like he just killed his dog.  And he’s about to get revenge for it.

“Who do you think you are to talk to him like that, huh?” Mike seethes at him, “This is his fucking house, and you’re gonna sit here and be rude as all hell just because he doesn’t like you back?”

What the fuck?

“What the fuck?” Eddie hears his voice echo his thoughts. “How do you—”

“Steve puts up with enough shit from us as it is, he doesn’t need it from you too.”

There’s surprise on the other threes’ faces, but Eddie’s got an inkling it’s surprise at this coming from Mike and not from the content of the outburst.

“Uh..”

“Mike’s right, Eddie. You’re our friend, but Steve’s our…” Lucas trails off.

“He’s our Steve.” Will says resolutely. 

“He’s our Steve.” Lucas agrees, “And we won’t hesitate to drop you like a dead fish over him.”

Eddie turns his gaze to Dustin, not looking forward to what he might see in his closest butthead’s expression.

Dustin’s face is set in determined lines, and he meets Eddie’s gaze solidly. “I love you both as brothers, man. Don’t make me choose between you two…Though I will choose Steve.”

Robin returns before Eddie can formulate any sort of response to..all that.., pressing a steaming mug of cocoa into each of the boys’ waiting hands.

She came in with four though, and brings the last one to Eddie. “Leave him be for a minute. I’m sure he will be fine, but he’s upset.” He takes the mug from her and she squashes back down into her abandoned seat with a sigh. “Which usually means he’s going to be doing laundry until I make him go to sleep.” 

Eddie spends the next 25 minutes trying to think about what he’s going to say to Steve, what he’s going to tell him was the reason for his bullshit attitude.

For a solid three, he seriously thinks about telling Steve the truth, that he got all pissy at the thought of him sucking face with whoever it is he’s got a crush on, but that’s really not fair to Steve..or to this mystery girl.

At 30, Robin nudges his arm with her bony elbow, so he leaves his book and still-unnamed character on the chair and goes to find Steve.

He follows the sound of music coming from off the kitchen, stopping just outside the door when the low sound of Steve singing along to ‘The First Nöel’ playing softly through the radio.

It had to be that damn song, didn’t it?

…Okay, maybe it’s not so bad if Steve’s the one singing it..

He steps into the narrow room once the radio host comes back on. It’s small, but there’s more than enough room for the machine’s doors to open and to manuver a basket around in here, and there’s a side door out to the yard at the end of the room; there’s neat-ish piles of clothes in front of the washer and overflowing a basket under the dryer door, a few loose dust bunnies and used dryer sheets litter the corners.

Steve’s standing at the dryer, pawing through a seemingly freshly cleaned pile of towels on its top.

He glances up at him briefly when he enters, going back to the pile immediately, “Eddie, hey, sorry for sulking off like that. I just..got into my head a bit.” Even Steve sounded like he didn’t believe what he was saying. “I’ll be back out in a minute, just gotta take care of this load..”

“Hey, it’s alright man. It’s not all on you, you know.” Steve’s hands stop when he looks over, dropping themselves and a half-folded towel back onto the pile. “Look, I’m sorry Steve. My brain is weird sometimes too; I had some of my own shit pop back up for no fuckin’ reason at all and it just..really threw me. I didn’t mean to take it out on you like that, I swear.” 

The truth. For the most part at least. He really didn’t mean to snap at Steve like that over fuckin’ hot chocolate.

“Really, it’s okay Eddie. You did say that you didn’t want any.”

“Yeah, well, that doesn’t give me the right to be an ass to you.” Eddie ducks his head in embarrassment.

“Thank you,” Steve finally says. “I appreciate it, Eds.”

Relief floods through him at the nickname, he meets Steve’s gaze again. “Do you uhm, need help or anything?”

Steve smiles softly, “No, I really do just need to take care of this last load and I’ll be back out there.”

A low howl of wind from outside the side door cuts him off before he can reply.

Eddie groans, “Well that sounds like it’ll be fun…”

All in all, it was fun.

After going back to the living room and confirming with the others that he did, in fact, apologize to their Steve, Eddie sat back down with his notebook and got back to work.

He was slowly absorbed into the boys’ huddle and by time Steve comes back in, all five of them are heavily debating what alignment Zardok the bard should be.

Not 30 minutes later, the lights flicker off above them.

“Aw hell.” Steve mutters from the sofa.

“I’ll start running the tub.” Eddie sighs, pushing himself off the floor and waving his arms in front of him so he doesn’t run into any walls on his way.

“Why would you run the tub?” Dustin asks, incredulous.

“You fill the tub with water in case the pipes freeze while the power’s out. That way you still have water to flush the toilets and get clean and stuff.”

“Thank you Will, exactly.” Eddie says. Smart kid. 

Damn. Why doesn’t he carry a mini flashlight again?

“That’s a thing?” Robin asks, then clicks on a flashlight. Where in the hell’d she get that?

“You don’t need to do that, Eds. The place is plenty well insulated.” Steve assures, stopping him from leaving, “The pipes won’t freeze, I promise.”

“....Lucky bastard.”

Dustin goes to the opposite end of Robin’s couch and fishes another light from between the cushions.

He and the other three make quick work of arranging their blankets and pillows there in the living room, Dustin’s light only going so far as to help continue their brainstorming.

Steve and Robin leave them to it, and lead Eddie upstairs with their light. 

One round of fighting off nightmares later, he’s dragged into wakefulness with the smell of cinnamon.

He re-cinches Steve’s lended sweats around his hips and trudges down the stairs.

There are snores still reverberating from the living room, and Steve is standing in front of the stove flipping something.

A square glass pan with an inch of some sort of mixture in it was sitting on the island across from him along with an open bag of bread and half a dozen eggs still in their carton.

The floor under his feet squeaks when he stops in the doorway, alerting Steve to his presence.

He glances over his shoulder at him, then goes back to the stove to flip something again. “Hey Eds, just makin’ some breakfast, you want something?” He turns to him fully then, leaning his elbows onto a clear patch of the island countertop.

Steve must take his sleepy silence as confusion.

“Oh! The power came back on last night. Well, er..” he looks back at the stove’s clock, blinking 5:08 out at them, “Early this morning, actually.”

Huh. Guess it was confusion.

“Anyway, you want some french toast?” That explains the cinnamon. “Or I can whip you up some eggs…?”

“No, no, french toast is great.” his voice comes out scratchy with disuse. “Thanks Stevie.”

Steve smiles and turns back to the stove, “The coffee machine is on, if you want a cup; I’ll have a plate ready for you in just a couple minutes.”

Eddie wakes up slowly with his coffee, watching as Steve resets the clock on the oven to his watch.

“It’s 8:30 already? Shouldn’t we get the kids up for school?” Holy shit. Who knew Eddie Munson would ever sound so much like a mom.

“Nah,” Steve waves him off, “I was up with my alarm to get them up and ready, but when I got down here, Claudia called. The school called a snow day.”

Steve passes him a plate of toast, already smothered with syrup. “You want powdered sugar?”

“Ooh fancy, fancy,” Eddie laughs, adding a haughty accent to his next words, “Bring me my powdered confectionary Steeves, I wish to dust it upon my imported french breakfast.”

Steve rolls his eyes at him, but passes over a short ceramic container of the stuff.

Lucas is the one up next, going to the coffee machine before acknowledging either of them.

He sips on his cup without adding anything to it, the heathen. Eddie’s own cup was nearly drowned out with milk and sugar.

Slowly but surely, the rest of the house wakes up and wanders to the kitchen, each getting a plate stacked high with sweet cinnamon-y goodness.

Dustin, Mike, and Will are sitting at the little breakfast nook table in the kitchen’s front window, getting steadily louder about their plans for the near eight inches of snow that’s blanketed across Steve’s front yard.

“You’re going to help me shovel it out so I can get you free-loaders home as soon as possible. That’s what you’re going to do.” Steve insists, pushing a plate of toast in front of Robin, the last to get up.

So that’s what originally got them all outside, but two shovels can only get two of them so far with the driveway before any of the other five start fucking around.

The first blow comes from Mike, a well thrown snowball hitting dead center on the back of Will’s head.

Then Lucas lobbed one aimed for Dustin but hit Mike right on the nose.

Will’s shovel was abandoned, teams were made, and Steve was left shoveling alone when the snowballs really started flying.

Robin, Lucas, and Will booked it for the bushes on one side of the yard, immediately packing snow up between them and into gaps in the branches to protect them from the flurry.

And of course, the only other good cover on the other end of the yard from them was Steve’s beemer, so Eddie, Mike, and Dustin dove behind the newly uncovered tires, frantically packing snowballs from the untouched drift under Steve’s car.

“Really?” The three of them look up at the sound of Steve’s voice.

Fuck, he looks so adorable all bundled up like this. Nose and cheeks bitten red with the cold and with the exertion of shoveling, scarf tucked around his neck and into his jacket, the dark blue mittens, one on his hip and one over the handle of the shovel, the matching knit cap—even as he glares disapprovingly at them.

“So you’re not gonna help me, and also subject my baby to enemy fire? Not cool, guys.”

Mike lobs a ball across the yard.

“Join us then! Help us defeat those heathens and we’ll help you with the driveway.”

A snowball smacks into the back passenger side window of the car

“No.”, Steve says with finality and goes back to shoveling.

Another ball soars over the roof of the car and splats across the cleared-ish pavement behind them.

“Awe, you’re no fun Stevie.” Eddie complains, though he’s definitely not complaining about the view he’s got right now.

Dustin sends one back, mumbling out a “Damn! So close..” soon after.

“Bite me.”

Not 10 seconds later, a blast of snow smacks the back of Steve’s head.

Everyone freezes.

-x-

He turns slowly back around to face the three snow-covered idiots crouched behind his car.

All three stare wide-eyed at him, faces flushed with cold.

Mike and Dustin's hands raise at the exact same time, both pointing at Eddie.

He can tell from Dustin’s face that it was definitely him that threw the thing at his head, but the panicked, adorable, wide-eyed look Eddie has at the accusation is worth playing along for.

“What?! You traitors!” He scrambles up and back, glancing over and managing to duck a snowball aimed for his head by Robin, “Stevie, sweetheart, darling, you know I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“Do I?” He growls out playfully, advancing on the doe-eyed menace.

“Yes! You know I love you, Steve, I would never betray you like that.” 

The words, even said teasingly as they are, make Steve’s stomach swoop heavily. He’s lucky his face was already red from the wind.

“I don’t know, Eds,” He holds out one mittened hand to Mike as he passes between the two boys. He drops one into his palm. “Sounds like something you would do.”

He raises the snowball and yells out, chasing Eddie around the front of his car to the hoots and hollers of the others jeering him on.

Eddie is not a good runner, and his Reeboks slip and slide as they try to carve a path through the fresh snow in the yard.

He’s quick though, and doges out of Steve’s reach when he almost catches the back of his borrowed puffer coat, launching off toward the side of the house instead.

Oh no.

“Wait, Eddie! There’s a—” Eddie’s dark head of curls disappears under his feet as he slips off over the side of the hill. “Hill—shit!”

Steve spoke too soon even for himself, unable to stop his momentum before he slips down the hill too.

Snow pushes itself under the back of his jacket down the first half of his slide, then one of his feet gets stuck up under him and he tumbles ass-over-tea kettle the rest of the way.

“OOF—” he lands on something much more solid than snow at the bottom.

Eddie’s cackling laughter bursts out from under him, his chest heaving with it under Steve’s own.

“Eddie, you okay, man?”

Steve pushes up on his hands, one on either side of Eddie’s torso, to look down at him properly.

He lost the red hat he’d grabbed when they came outside earlier, gone to the snow somewhere, and his hair is fanned in an almost perfect halo around his head.

The red spots on his face show off the flakes that fall onto them briefly before they melt under the heat of his skin, his mouth open wide and his eyes crinkled shut in laughter.

Steve was already head over fuckin’ heels for this man, but…oh.

Oh.

Eddie has laugh lines.

They’re so deep already, crinkled up at the corners of his eyes, but for a split second, Steve can’t help but wonder how much more they’d be in 10, 15, 20 years in the future. 

And he realizes in that instant that wants so badly to be there to watch them grow longer.

look out, it's noelle coming in hot with the Oh. Oh. moment!

other parts! Pt. 1 (Day 1) | Pt. 2 (Day 2) | Pt. 3 (Day 5) | Pt. 4 (Day 6) | Pt. 5 (Day 7) | Pt. 6 (Day 11) | Pt. 7 (Day 13) [YOU ARE HERE] | Pt. 8 (Day 18) | Pt. 9 (Day 21) | Pt. 10 (Day 25) also on AO3! this year

[metalheads-trash-bin]

Working on a draft of the JTK x reader

Im unsure as to when I’ll be posting that or my fliff fic chapter <3

For the fliff fic, expect it by Saturday latest!

[horrorhussy]

I don’t think I’ll ever get over how funny Billy the puppet is from saw. Like there really is just no need for him, and yet, Jigsaws always gotta include him. And they’re always so serious about it to? Like there is no functional use for the puppet which would make you think it’s just for Jigsaws own entertainment, but I don’t think Jigsaw ever even so much at smiles in regards to Billy, every Jigsaw seems to take that puppet very seriously and I just cannot figure it out. Here are some of the times Billy is utilized which confuse the fuck out of me:

-saw VI in William eastons trial when Billy is used as a demonstration for that barbed wire hanging trap, I just think for all traps that need a demonstration this is not the one, as long as you understand gravity it shouldn’t be that hard to understand what’s going on here- also kinda funny that as soon as John Kramer dies, Hoffman just abuses the fuck outta dis puppet.

-Saw 3D, adding onto the last one, Billy gives the instructions to the impalement wheel from a cage?? I think Mark just really hates this puppet (probably just mad they have the same haircut)

-Saw III when Billy is staged to look like Jeff’s kid in that car accident, like what the fuck man lol.

-Brad and Ryan’s trap, where the hell did he come from?????

-Saw x and how Billy brings out the tools for the brain surgery trap, like John and Amanda have no problem walking around the victims in their traps before and after that but still, they have Billy roll out on his tricycle, hauling a cart of surgical tools behind him so this dude can cut out a piece of his own brain, instead of just having Amanda or John hand him the tools like the saw for the bone marrow trap.

[corroded-hellfire]

Prompt Day 13: Sex, Drugs & Rock n Roll

Word Count: 1000

Rating: T

Pairing: (All in relationships that are talked about) Eddie x Reader, Jeff x Barb

CW: Language, talk of sex

Summary: The guys make a bet to see who can go the longest without sex

This is for my girls @munson-blurbs @the-unforgivenn @rip-quizilla and @word-wytch. The idea for this fic came from an extremely entertaining conversation about the CC guys’ sex lives 😂

@corrodedcoffinfest

“I could so be high and not have chips.”

Eddie, Jeff, and Frank chuckle, knowing Gareth’s claim is wholly false. 

“I don’t think you could even give up chips sober,” Frank says. 

The four friends are at Jeff’s apartment, getting high while watching Weekend at Bernie’s. 

“What?” Gareth asks, brushing his hands together to get rid of chip dust. “You think I don’t have any willpower?”

“Out of the four of us? You definitely have the least,” Eddie says before taking another drag. 

“That’s bullshit.” 

“Wanna bet?” Jeff asks.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Gareth declares. 

“On who can go the longest without chips?” Jeff laughs. “Dude, you’re the only one who would go into withdrawal. We’d kick your ass.”

“Fine,” Gareth says as he gets off the burgundy couch. He stumbles over to the television and switches it off.

“Hey!”

“What the hell?”

“Dude!”

Gareth’s doing his best to stare them down and Eddie doesn’t have the heart to tell him it’s not working.

“What’s something we all like, huh? Be a real test of willpower?” Gareth asks.

“Music?” Frank suggests.

“Nah, that’s unavoidable. Grocery store? Music. Elevator? Music,” Eddie points out. 

“Oh.” The way Gareth’s eyes light up after he says it makes the guys worried. “I know exactly how we can test who has the best willpower.”

“And what’s that?” Jeff asks.

“I’ll even lay down twenty—no, fifty dollars on this bet,” Gareth says.

“Just tell us,” Eddie whines.

“I wager I can go the longest without having sex,” Gareth says with a self-satisfied smirk.

“Dude, really?” Eddie asks. “You want us to give up sex?”

“What’s wrong, Eddie?” Gareth taunts, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t think you could do it? Don’t have the willpower?”

“No, I just like fucking my girlfriend,” Eddie says with a laugh. 

“I’ll take that action—er, bet,” Jeff says, surprising Eddie.

“What?” Eddie practically shouts.

“I mean,” Jeff starts with a shrug, “it does seem like a fair test. We all live with our girlfriends.”

“I’m in,” Frank says. “Fifty down for me, too.”

“Means it’s just you who’s out, Eddie,” Gareth taunts. “I’m starting to think you're wussing out on us.”

Eddie rolls his eyes and takes another hit. 

“Jesus, fine, I’ll do it. What’re the rules gonna be?”

“Everyone puts fifty in,” Gareth starts.

“And no one tell their girl,” Jeff adds. “This is about our willpower.” 

“Yeah, that’ll be fun.” Frank’s voice drips in sarcasm. “Ally wants to have sex and I reject her.”

“Just pretend to fall asleep on the couch,” Gareth suggests with a shrug.

“You really think you can keep your hands off Annie?” Eddie asks Gareth, an amused smirk on his face.

“No rule about my hands not being on her.”

“Okay, yeah, that should be clarified,” Jeff says. “When we say, ‘no sex,’ what exactly does that entail?” 

Gareth tilts his head from side to side as he thinks about it.

“No vaginal, oral, or anal,” he decides. “No hand jobs. Basically, your girlfriend can’t get you off in any way and you can’t get her off.”

“We’re idiots for doing this,” Eddie complains.

“Feel free to forfeit and be the loser,” Gareth taunts.

“I could use that extra $150 bucks,” Jeff says. “Weren’t you looking for a new guitar, Ed? This would help.”

“Fuck,” Eddie sighs. 

“So, we’re all agreed?” Gareth asks. “Fifty bucks in for each of us. Starting today, we see who can go the longest without sex.”

The three others confirm their assent—and just in time.

The front door to the apartment opens and Barb steps in. 

“Hi, guys,” she greets as she sets a few grocery bags down.

“Hey, Barb,” they hum in unison. 

“What’re you up to?” she asks.

“Watched Weekend at Bernie’s,” Jeff says, pushing himself off the couch to go kiss his girlfriend. 

“Still going to that bar where the manager wants you guys to play? To finalize things?” Barb asks. 

“Yep,” Eddie replies as he stands up.

Gareth looks down at his watch, then says, “If we leave now, we can get pizza first.”

“Yeah, go get pizza,” Barb says, giving Jeff’s arm a loving squeeze. “I’ve got plenty here I can have for dinner. Just have to unpack it first.”

“Let’s get Surfer Boy,” Gareth suggests as he heads for the door.

The guys mumble their agreement and Barb gives them a wave as they head out.

“Have fun, boys.”

A chorus of “bye Barb” echoes before they’re all out and Jeff closes the door behind him. 

Barb unpacks her bags, keeping an ear out for cars leaving the parking lot. This is the second time the slightly open window has been used to Barb’s advantage in the last ten minutes. 

Once all the food is put away and Barb has checked that the guys have left, she shuffles over to the phone on the wall. She dials your number and impatiently waits for you to pick up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Barb,” she says.

“Oh, hey! What’s up?” you ask.

“I heard our men having an interesting conversation when I got home. I don’t think they realize how loud they talk—or that they had a window open.”

“Oh, God,” you say with a laugh. “What’re they up to now?”

“They’ve made a bet with one another to see who can go the longest without sex,” she says. “And they’re not going to tell us girls about it.”

A giddy gasp comes from the other end of the phone as you think of all the possible ways you could have fun messing with Eddie on this. 

“Oh, Barb,” you croon. “I think we need to call up Ally and Annie and do some lingerie shopping.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Barb confirms. “So happy we’re on the same page of making this bet as hard as possible for them.”

You chuckle.

“I know four women who are suddenly going to become the biggest teases these guys have ever seen.”

[jadeylovesmarvelxo]

Back to You 💌

You and Eddie used to be friends, the best of friends since meeting during childhood. Now your friendship is in tatters and Eddie hates you? Right?

Enemies to lovers fic, childhood friends, idiots in love, protective Eddie, minors shoo.

Eddie Munson x Reader

Brief Billy Hargrove x Reader

If you have any requests send me an ask 💌 make sure to read my request rules on my pinned post 💞 💌

🎀

You remembered the day you and Eddie stopped speaking like it was yesterday.

Exactly a year ago you auditioned for the cheerleading squad and made the team, you were so excited and rushed to tell Eddie.

He was actually supportive of you joining the squad but the thing he didn't like was your new friends. They thought Eddie was a freak and Eddie hated the lot of them with a passion.

No matter how you tried to make it work the distance grew between you both and culminated in a final argument that the two of you never recovered from.

It was now your senior year and the bond between you and Eddie was still shattered, he became more ensconced in his group of friends and in Hellfire Club and you settled nicely with your friends.

Animosity hung between you both and more often than not it led to the two of you bickering. It was like the two of you were never friends at all.

The thought makes your stomach clench and your throat tighten. For as much as you pretended to despise Eddie, it couldn't hide the fact that you missed him, the little ache never really went away.

Though you had no doubt that Eddie didn't care one about you anymore and that sends a wave of hurt through you. There was only so much that icy glares and mean barbs could hide.

Speak of the devil. Eddie stops talking to the rest of Hellfire and glares at you, there's a stubborn frown on his face that turns into a smirk.

"Staring at me again sweetheart? Anyone would think you were into me" he looks so smug and you clench your fists, remind yourself to count to three before you engage in his shit.

"As if Munson, Your voice carries across the cafeteria. Not everyone wants to hear your delusional rants you know" Eddie's eyes narrow and he folds his arms across his chest, his gaze pins you to the spot.

The rest of Hellfire looks back and forth between the two of you. You and Eddie both argued so much you were sure it must be entertainment for his friends.

Gareth and Jeff used to be your friends too a tiny traitor voice whispers to you and you swallow down the fact that you miss them too.

"Why don't you go back to your table and continue being a bitchy, vapid princess yeah?" God you hated him, you really did.

You give him one final dirty look and don't give him the satisfaction of seeing the words have upset you. It's not like he would care if they did.

He stopped caring about you a long time ago.

...

Parties really weren't your thing at all but this was the third one that Jason invited you to in two months so you figured you better show your face for a little bit.

As soon as you enter the party you wish you could turn around and go back home. The only saving grace is Chrissy who tucks you by her side and takes away some of the anxiety you're feeling.

Eddie is here because of course he is. No doubt he's selling weed, you'd give him shit for it but you know that he does it to help his uncle with money. How could you give him shit for that?

You're pulled out of your musings by a gentle tug on your hair and you turn to find Eddie behind you with a shit eating grin on his face.

"Did you just pull my hair, what are we five again Edward?" His eyes light up and he smiles at you, all dimples and mischievous.

"I love when you're angry princess. It's kinda hot" you still and his words disarm you for a minute. Only a minute.

"Hot? As if you would sully your precious reputation by dating one of them and I quote "Buttheads from the dark side" he was just doing this to rile you up and it was working.

He doesn't answer and you realise your heart is racing waiting for him to say something. A tiny bit of disappointment fills you but you choose to ignore it and storm past him.

Maybe you would be able to enjoy the party if you could just avoid Eddie but then you see one person who you work hard to never see at all costs. Someone worse than running into Eddie.

Billy Hargrove, surrounded by people as he chugged from a keg of beer.

Ugh. Seeing Billy was enough to annoy you at the best of times but this? Drunk Billy was a whole level of irritating. The two of you briefly dated last year and it was nice at first, until he cheated on you with some girl from another school outside of Hawkins and you found them at the cinema making out with not a care in the world.

What the hell did he want? "Hey babe, fancy seeing you here?" he smirks and walks over to you, swiftly blocking your way out. Fuck.

"Hargrove. Move your ass from my sight will you?" you snap, you're already verging on getting a headache, talking to him will just make it worse.

"Such harsh words honey. I mean last year you were all over me and now this?" You wince as you remember being really into Billy, god you were an idiot.

"Temporary insanity" you snap and he grins and leans close to you.

"Oh honey, it's your fault if you think you meant anything to me in the first place" fury curdles in your stomach. Asshole.

"Is there a problem here?" you freeze and let out a groan. Oh great. Just who you need to appear, Eddie.

His eyes are narrowed as he looks at Billy who smirks and moves past Eddie. "Nah Munson, just catching up with an old friend" he winks at you and you turn away still fuming and your eyes wet. Ah fuck.

"Dickhead, Eddie mutters and his glare turns to you but softens just slightly at your tears, "What the fuck did you see in him princess?" He demands and you shrug.

"No idea. He is a dick" it startles you that both you and Eddie are in agreement. You wipe your eyes and Eddie's fist clenches.

"You shouldn't cry over him princess" he tells you and his voice is still gentle. You peer up at him and feel that pull towards him, the pull that never really went away.

"Like you can talk Munson" Eddie's eyes widen and he stiffens when you say this and his gaze turns agonized.

"I never want to make you cry sweetheart" he swallows hard and still looks bereft. You can't stand seeing that look on his face.

"It only happened once" you shrug it off but it still doesn't clear that look from Eddie's face. He follows you as you need outside, trying to think of something to say to him.

Then the heavens open and rain begins to beat down on you both.

"Uh shit. Do you want me to take you home or something?" You shake your head at Eddie's suggestion, it's sweet but your parents aren't home tonight, you were meant to be staying with one of the girls.

"They aren't home. I'm supposed to be staying with one of the girls but I just want to get away from this shit for a night" Eddie nods and opens his van door for you.

"Then milady. To my castle I shall take you" you hadn't been back to Eddie's in such a long time but right now it was all you wanted and you gesture at him to lead the way.

Billy's words still echo in your mind as eddie drives. You thought you meant something to Billy last year but your hopes were quickly dashed. Your hopes of maybe finding someone who could love you for you were smashed to pieces.

If you were being honest with yourself the one person who you thought you would end up with was Eddie, when you were friends the thought would sometimes enter your mind. A far off future after high school where you and Eddie were happy and in love.

Obviously that went to shit too. You weren't Eddie's type. You had seen the girls he hooked up with occasionally and they were nothing like you, now it didn't matter because he hated you.

This makes your mood worse, just a bit. Then again if he hated you why was he being so kind to you right now?

You ask him as he leads you into the trailer, the question won't leave your mind and you need to ask.

"Eddie why are you doing this? You hate me don't you?" his eyes widen when you ask this and you flash back to the first time you met Eddie when you were four and he ran off some jerk who tried to steal your sweets in school. He was protective of you, even then.

"Okay uh let's get one thing straight, you can annoy the hell out of me but I could never ever hate you princess" this warms your heart just a little bit.

"Well ditto"

You kiss Eddie's cheek, his heated gaze meets yours and you're so tempted to kiss him. It's an impulsive thought but it's not really all that surprising.

"You want to kiss me" he gently teases and you swat his arm playfully. He really could read you like a book, even now.

"Please, as if. I know I'm not your type anyway. I've seen the girls you've hooked up with" Eddie is quiet for a second and that startles you, he's never quiet. He's always on the go and running his mouth about something or other, usually Jason.

"They didn't mean anything. They weren't you" he says the last part so softly that you have to move closer to hear it but you do. Like magnets the two of you move closer and closer...

Then Eddie's lips meet yours and it's... It's everything. It's perfect. Wayne also picks the perfect time to walk in and you and Eddie break apart.

Wayne smiles when he sees you, "Well hi there honey, haven't seen you around in a long time" it has been a while and you feel an ache deep in your bones. You've missed being here, it's one of the places that feels like home to you.

"I've missed it, being here" you admit to him and Wayne smirks a little bit.

"Mmm, someone else has missed you around here too" he nods to Eddie who glares at him.

"Yeah thanks for that old man" Wayne shrugs looking like he's trying really hard not to laugh and invites you to stay for a little while longer.

When he's busy with setting up some dinner Eddie leans into you and whispers in your ear.

"I do miss you" his voice shakes a tiny bit and his big brown eyes are full of tenderness. It's taken a lot for him to admit it and you take your hand in his.

"Ditto"

💌🎀💓

[munson-blurbs]

Everybody Talks (Best Friend!Eddie x Fem!Reader)

Summary: You've worked hard to keep your crush on your best friend a secret, since he doesn't feel the same way. But when the Hellfire Club members open their big mouths, it threatens everything you've tried to hold together.

Warnings: some angst, fluff, mentions of financial insecurity

WC: 1.5k

--

“Pizza’s here!” you call out, carrying a stack of pies into the Wheeler house. “I got one pepperoni, one mushroom, and one plain for all the boring people,” you tease, looking directly at Eddie as you say it.

“I prefer classic,” he retorts, taking the boxes from your hands and setting them on the table. The rest of the guys start to crowd around him, paper plates in hand, practically drooling at just the sight of food. “Hey, hey,” he chastises, pushing them out of the way, “ladies first.” He offers you a plate and you take a slice, quickly moving aside before you’re trampled by the herd of hungry teenage boys.

“So,” Gareth says to Eddie between bites, “your last Hellfire campaign is over and done with. How’s it feel?”

“You wish,” Eddie scoffs, plopping down next to you on the sofa. “Just because I’m graduating doesn’t mean I’m done kicking your asses in D&D.” He chugs his plastic cup filled with Mountain Dew and wipes his lips with the back of his hand. “Anyone else want a refill?” he asks, shaking his empty cup before looking over at you. “Oh, shit; you don’t have anything to drink. Diet Coke, right?” Before you can protest that you can get it yourself, he’s up and pouring you a glass.

“Thanks,” you smile, taking a sip. The bubbles fizz on your tongue as you lean back, careful not to get too close to Eddie. Not that you don’t want to; the mere thought of him draping his tattooed arm around your shoulders makes you giddy. 

Just a few more months, you think to yourself, and I’ll be off at college, meeting new people, and I won’t have to worry about my embarrassing crush on my best friend.

“You guys ready for prom tomorrow?” Mike asks, interrupting your pity party.

Jeff nods. “Just gotta pick up a corsage for Barb, and she’s getting me a, um, a…”

“Boutonniere?” you fill in helpfully, and he snaps his fingers and replies, “yeah, that thing.”

“What about you?” Lucas pipes up, turning to Eddie. “You ever decide who to ask?”

“Oh, he decided,” Jeff laughs, earning a scowl from his friend. “Too bad she decided to go with Jason Carver.”

Dustin throws his hands up in exasperation. “Dude, you’re still hung up on Chrissy Cunningham?” He rolls his eyes. “I told you; she’s sweet, but she’s not your type. You need someone who’s as nerdy as you are.” His eyes scan the room. “You know, like Y/N.”

You feel your cheeks burn with humiliation, not at Dustin calling you a nerd; you know he means that with utmost affection. It’s not even the idea of Eddie asking you out that has you nervous; it’s the prospect of him laughing at the thought. You’ve done a great job hiding your puppy love a secret from him, and you’d like to keep it that way.

“Ha!” Gareth barks out. “She wishes!”

No. No no no.

Tears spring to your eyes, and you can’t think of a decent excuse to leave before you’re dashing through the door, letting the screen slam behind you. There’s no lie in what Gareth said; you do wish Eddie had asked you to prom. Every time that the subject of the dance came up, you’d waited with baited breath to see if he’d say something to you. But he’d always ignore it, eager to move on to the next topic. And now you knew why: he wanted to take Chrissy, but she was in love with someone else. How ironic.

You’re almost at your car when you hear the squeak of the front door opening. “Sweetheart, wait!” Eddie shouts, probably a bit too loud for the short distance between you two. “I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” you tell him softly as he jogs over to where you’re leaning against the passenger side door. “‘S not your fault.”

“Kinda is,” he shrugs, bringing you to the front steps and motioning for you to sit next to him. “I mean, I was the one who went to a freshman for romantic advice. That’s the last time I do that; I don’t care how nauseatingly cute he and his singing girlfriend are.” He gives a small chuckle, but neither of you meet the other’s gaze.

Hold on. Freshman? Singing girlfriend? “Eddie, what are you talking about?”

Eddie stops gnawing on his lower lip long enough to answer you. “I’m talking about you being embarrassed by Henderson’s painfully obvious last-ditch effort to get me to man up and finally ask you out.” His brows furrow when he sees your similarly confused expression. “That’s not…what are you upset about?”

“Um, Gareth blabbing to everyone that I wanted you to ask me to prom?” You finally allow yourself to look at him, noticing the dejected look on his face. 

“I couldn’t do that,” he mutters, resting his palm sideways over his mouth and shifting his body away from yours. His words come out all muffled, but you can still make out what they are.

“I wouldn’t have said no to you,” you reassure him, mustering up all of your courage to place your hand on his bouncing knee. He relaxes almost immediately, but he still seems sad. “Eds, what’s wrong?”

His eyes are misty when he turns back to you. “I couldn’t ask you to prom because…because I couldn’t afford it,” he confesses, twisting his skull ring around his finger anxiously. “The tickets, a tux, those fancy wrist things…best I could do is steal some flowers from Mrs. Wheeler’s garden.” He hums out a sad laugh. “‘M sorry, sweetheart. I wanted to take you, but I knew I’d just be letting you down.”

“But Jeff said you were going to ask Chrissy,” you point out.

Eddie shrugs. “Don’t get me wrong; Chrissy’s nice and everything, but I just said that so he’d get off my back. Because if I told him the truth, he wouldn’t shut up until I made a move.” He sighs. “His dad’s a lawyer, and his mom runs her own business. He doesn’t understand what it’s like to worry about having enough food in the house, let alone all the extra shit like prom.”

You’re quiet for a beat, letting everything sink in. You knew Eddie lived in Forest Hills Trailer Park, and you knew money was often tight. Wayne worked hard to keep a roof over their heads, but the plant didn’t pay nearly enough. There were many occasions where you’d spotted Eddie eyeing something in the grocery store and instinctively thrown it in your cart for him, but for some reason, it hadn’t even occurred to you that finances was the reason he’d avoided talking about the prom.

“I wish you’d told me,” you finally say. “I would’ve understood.”

“Yeah, I know.” Eddie rubs his nose against his hand, another nervous tic of his. “That was never the problem. You’re the most understanding fuckin’ person I know. You just…I dunno. You deserve the whole ‘prom’ experience, not whatever half-ass version I could offer you.”

At that, you can’t help but giggle. “Eddie,” you begin, “do you really think I wanted to go to prom so I could wear a fancy dress and uncomfortable shoes in a stuffy gym? I just wanted to dance with you, and then spend the night on your couch watching stupid movies and eating junk food and talking shit about everyone who was there.” You look deep into his chocolate brown eyes, nearly losing yourself in their beauty. “I just wanted to be with you.”

Eddie stares at you, gaze traveling down to your lips. “Can I kiss you?” he asks, voice barely above a whisper.

“If you don’t, I’ll kiss you.” 

Your mouths crash together clumsily, but you’re too happy to care. You soak in every part of it: Eddie’s stubble rubbing against your chin, the way he tastes like stale cigarettes and marinara sauce, his curls brushing your cheeks. He only breaks the kiss to take a breath, and then he’s back, more purposeful in his movements the second time around. He brings his hand to your jawline, caressing it gingerly with his thumb as he parts your lips with his.

“Can’t believe I just did that,” he muses, smiling at you shyly. “Been wanting to kiss you for too goddamn long.” He leans in, frowning when you place your hand on his chest to stop him. “What?”

“You gotta take me on a date before you kiss me again,” you inform him, lacing your fingers through his. “When are you free?”

“Uh, right now? We can grab ice cream at Scoops. Lemme just get my keys.” He stands up quickly to head back towards the house.

“Wait, Eddie,” you call out to him, “what about the guys? And pizza night?”

“Who cares? I have a date with the most beautiful girl in Hawkins.”

--

[hoffmannwrites]

On My List

1  - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 + 1 Masterlist

Author’s Note: Look at me! New fic, new fandom, new style, ouhhh! So new, so shiny! Anywho, this is a 5+1 fic based off THIS text post which has been rattling around in my brain for weeks. Thank you @stevietruther for the insufferable thoughts in my brain.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson

Description: 5 Times Steve and Eddie kiss as friends, and one time they don't.

Warnings/Tags: Everyone lives, Nobody dies, 5+1, Kissing, Fluff, Idiots to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, some pretty brief mentions for drinking, smoking, being inebriated (the gang is drunk here but nothing too bad, just in a fun way), uhhh they're gay your honor, no beta we die like Barb, let me know if I missed anything?

You Spin Me Right Round

One

The first time Steve and Eddie kiss is also the first time Steve kisses Robin and Eddie kisses Argyle. It’s just the older members of the party and a few random acquaintances that tag along, and there ain’t shit to do but get high and drunk and play party games. Later into the night, when everyone is inebriated enough to feel comfortable around each other and they have managed to lose both beer pong balls, Vicki suddenly perks up, chest a blotchy bright red under her button up. “We should play spin the bottle,” she announces, feigning bravery with a hopeful glance in Robin’s direction. 

“Oh fuck, seriously?” complains Steve, who is already doing a mental inventory of the people there and how terrible it would be to kiss all of them. Well, most of them, at least.

“What? You afraid someone’s gonna realize that Big Bad Sex God Harrington isn’t actually all he’s cracked up to be?” teases Eddie, pushing his shoulder into Steve’s with a huge smile on his face. 

“No- that’s not- I just…the ratio is off!” Steve sputters, going hot under the collar. He knows that at least one of the girls is a lesbian and the other is his ex girlfriend and the OTHER is the girl his best friend has a crush on. And as he has this thought, his eyes shift to Robin who is wringing her hands in her lap, not looking anyone in the eye. Oh. Oh. This is her chance. To kiss Vickie without any one thinking too much about it. To see if Vickie is as into her as she is. To see if there are sparks, without any pressure. Because it’s just a drunken game. 

“We’re actually gonna motor,” says Jeff, getting up off the floor and pointing to the two Hellfire members behind him. “As much as I would LOVE to stay and lock lips with Munson, some of us have actual jobs in the morning. And Gareth is 1 beer away from ralphing on Harrington’s front lawn.” Gareth just shrugs, knowing he is notorious for over imbibing. 

The three Hellfire boys make their way out the door, leaving just the usual suspects and, of course, Vicki. 

“See? Almost even now, Harrington. Pass me that empty Seagram’s,” says Eddie, oblivious to the fact that this is, by all accounts, a horrible idea. 

“You go first if you’re so intent on planting one on all of us, Eds,” Steve replies, determined to call the older man’s bluff. 

“Gladly.” And with that, Eddie spins the empty bottle and watches smugly as it settles on Argyle. 

“Oh, come to Daddy, Surfer Boy!” Eddie exclaims, shooting his eyes from the bottle up to Argyle, who had already leaned over the bottle towards Eddie expectantly. 

“Dude. I’m expecting greatness. Lay it on me, bro!” Argyle says so seriously it was startling and puckers his lips in the most cartoonish way possible. Eddie grabs his face with both hands and lays one quick and dramatic kiss directly to the other boy’s lips, complete with a loud “Mwah!” Sound effect added. Everyone chuckled at the display, all relaxing slightly due to the fact that the first victims of the game were the two must unserious people of the group, who had no problem breaking the ice.

The game continues, with Jonathan landing on Vickie. He decides to chivalrously go for a kiss on the hand, as he previously declared his loyalty to Nancy. Nancy lands on Robin and kisses her softly on the cheek, sighting the same reason as Jonathan. Argyle goes next and ends up landing on Jonathan. He kisses the photographer lightly on his forehead and pets his hair, which left Jonathan furrowing his brow, but laughing nonetheless. Vickie goes next. Robin holds her breath as the bottle spins and spins and spins for what feels like a lifetime until it lands on…Robin. The girls lock eyes immediately and Vickie subconsciously ducks her head and pushes a piece of hair behind her ear. They turn to each other and just kiss. No preamble or bullshit explanations or disclaimers. They just kiss softly and sweetly for a few moments before breaking away. Neither girl says anything, but Robin is noticeably redder in the face and Vickie seems to lean into her just slightly for the rest of the night.

Next is Robin’s turn and although she prays to whatever high power she can think of for the bottle to land on Vicki again, it lands on Steve. “Ugh man, no! Gross!” Robin whines. “Dems da rules, sugar plum,” Eddie smirks and wiggles his eyebrows.

“Fuck. Fine! But Capital P, guys. I’m so serious,” she warns everyone before turning to Steve. “Don’t worry. I’ll do my best not to woo you with my masculine charms,” Steve says before kissing her so quickly that if anyone blinked they would have missed it.

“Ew,” she states simply when it’s over and wipes off her lips dramatically, like a petulant child wiping away a kiss from their mother. Steve silently takes the bottle and spins it, just begging that it lands on anyone except his ex girlfriend. Anyone! Anyone at all even…Eddie. It stops on Eddie and Steve looks at him, like a big brown eyed idiot in headlights, all that previous confidence gone. Eddie clears his throat, shuffles almost uncomfortably. “So, you gonna show me what Hawkins’s Most Eligible has to offer?” he asks, trying so hard to look like he’s not sweating bullets. 

And Steve is just drunk enough that he’s got the balls to shut Eddie up the way he’s been thinking about for months, since he was called “big boy” in that stupid trailer when the world was ending.  Suddenly, Steve is all siren-eyes and sex appeal, letting his voice drop just a little when he almost whispers “Get ready, big boy,” and grabs Eddie by the back of the neck. Steve tilts Eddie up just enough and takes his sweet time leaning in and ghosting over Eddie’s lips, just enough to make him shiver a little, but not enough for anyone to notice. They share each others air for a fraction of a second before Steve leans in the rest of the way and kisses Eddie, really kisses him, the way he’s been doing to girls for years. And Eddie kisses back, just enough that somewhere in the back of the rockers head, red flags and sirens are going off. But he doesn’t notice, too lost in the feeling of Steve on him to register anything else. They separate after what feels like entirely too long for a kiss during spin the bottle, and wait with bated breath. What for, they’re not sure. But no one says anything and the air feels like it’ll shatter is if they do. And then the moment is gone, because the doorbell rings and Argyle jumps up, chanting “Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!” And suddenly they’re all too hungry to focus on that moment that felt just a little too charged. The rest of the night, Eddie and Steve take turns sneaking glances at each other, like they’re really noticing each other for the first time. But come the morning, everyone is too hazy on the night before to read into it. They all remember the nights activities, but no one thinks to question the tension, chalking it up to being cross faded. Except Eddie suddenly pays a lot more attention to Steve. 

A/N: Fun fact! Wine coolers came out in the early 80s and have only gotten better tasting and more hangover inducing since! 

[hunnysfwart]

Some art I've made for Stranger Things x self-inserts! :)

Depicted from top to bottom, left to right: Tommy, Carol, Jason, Dmitri, Murray, Vecna, Nancy, Joyce, Alexei, Barb, and Jeff

[dylanwritesgood]

Got My Fate Lyin' in Your Hands | 4

masterlist | ko-fi | ask

Part: One, Two, Three, Four, Five

Summary: Barb Holland feels invisible. Her best friend is pulling away for the popular crowd and a boy, and she knows she's being forgotten. Gareth Emerson just wants her to know he sees her... but first she needs to notice him.

Pairing: Barb Holland x Gareth Emerson

Rating: Teen+

Warnings: General high school bullying, low-key canonical underaged alcohol use.

A/N: Shh, don't hurt me. Good things are coming! Gotta give him a chance to be her knight again.

divider graphic by firefly-graphics

WC: 1,750

Tags:

@rebelcthulhu, @mvnsonfreak

The Spring Fling was just around the corner, and the committee for it had positively slathered the school in decorations and posters reminding students to get their tickets and sign up to volunteer at the dance. Gareth made a point of ignoring all the nonsense. Dances were for people who actually bought into the whole “high school is the best time of your life” thing. The fact that he was rather low on the pecking order around here was evidence of the fact that the sentiment wasn’t true. He hoped to God it wasn’t true. He needed life after high school to be better than this.

It’s not like he had anyone to go with, anyways. He could go with his friends, he supposed, but his friends were even less likely than he was to want to go. But yeah, no one was going to be asking him to be their Spring Fling date so he could just ignore the candy-colored crepe paper until little spitballs of it ended up in his hair during homeroom. Tamping down an annoyed sound, Gareth brushed the sticky, wet wads from his curls and tried to ignore the tittering from behind him. When he’d first started high school and Eddie had found him eating lunch in the bathroom, his advice had been not to feed the trolls—if he paid them no attention, they’d get bored of him soon enough. He was still waiting for that. At this point, he’d give anything to be invisible—except to one person, and that person was going to the Spring Fling with Reed Branson. 

Gareth hadn’t really meant to see the big, stupid construction paper heart taped to Barb’s locker with a single pink rose, asking if she’d go with Reed. Who even did that?! It’s not like he was asking her to go to prom—though as a junior, he had that coming up at the end of the school year and could. But Gareth had, and he’d seen Barb’s excited smile as she squealed and showed Nancy. He was getting tired of the sour taste of jealousy that flooded his mouth each time he was reminded of Reed’s existence.

Whatever. He wouldn’t have to see them at the dance together, and he and his friends would all pile into someone’s living room and watch terribly campy horror movies and eat themselves sick on candy and popcorn as they celebrated his (slightly early) birthday, because none of them—none of them—were going to have a date to the goddamn Spring Fling.

Jeff had a date to the goddamn Spring Fling. Her name was Misty, and she lived a few trailers deeper into Forest Hills than Eddie did. And so Jeff had badgered them all into going, too. Moral support, he’d said. With Eddie there, at least someone would spike the punch. Gareth was madder than a wet cat he was getting dragged into this, even though his mom was thrilled her kid was at least trying to do normal high school activities that didn’t involve dice and minis. 

It was her who took him shopping for something because apparently, he owned nothing that passed motherly muster. She picked out a nice sport coat and some grey slacks—something he’d never willingly wear again—and paired it with a baby blue button-down and a neat navy tie that made his eyes look beautiful. He only fussed a little as she fixed his tie and tried to rearrange his ever-messy curls into something respectable. That damn tie was going in his pocket literally the moment he was in Eddie’s van when his friend came to pick him up.

Mrs. Emerson had roped Eddie into coming inside and posing for pictures with Gareth, to their mutual embarrassment. Eddie goaded Gareth into the classic prom pose for one shot—holding his short friend in front of him, arms draped around his waist and Gareth’s hands folded neatly on top of his. At least, if everything else sucked, they could cackle about that picture when his mom finally remembered to develop the roll.

Eddie had hardly dressed up—black Levis that were (miraculously) unripped and a black button-down that hadn’t seen an iron in its life. It was probably just enough to appease the dress code. Gareth was jealous. His leather jacket was surprisingly heavy when Gareth moved it off the front seat, and Gareth raised his eyebrows at Eddie.

“Are you smuggling in a handle or something? How much do you need to spike a few punch bowls?” Gareth questioned, setting the coat on the bench seat behind them.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out in like, another two years,” Eddie explained as he backed out of the driveway a little more quickly than he should’ve. “Don’t drink the punch. I mean it. I’m not explaining to your mom that I got you drunk. She already isn’t keen on me.”

“Wasn’t planning on it, but noted,” Gareth replied, working on freeing himself from his tie. He tossed it on the dashboard, where he’d (hopefully) remember to grab it when he was dropped off. “How long do you think Jeff is going to make us stay for ‘moral support’?”

“I say we give it like, an hour, hour and a half. If he’s still shaking like a chihuahua in a snowstorm by then, we’ll figure out how much longer we have to stay,” Eddie decided. 

Gareth could deal with an hour. An hour of pop music and the itchy tag on his shirt and trying to not embarrass himself. He could do that. He blew out an annoyed breath. “Don’t ditch me, okay? Like, I know you’re going to sneak away at some point to smoke but… don’t ditch me in there.”

“Pinky promise.” Eddie held out a pinky to Gareth, not taking his eyes off the road. Gareth hooked his own around the digit and squeezed.

School dances were awful, it turned out. Gareth held out maybe the tiniest little flicker of hope it wouldn’t suck because he was a romantic but no—it definitely sucked. He, Eddie, and Kev sprawled on the bleachers at one side of the gym, watching Jeff nervously slow dance with Misty. He held her like she was going to shatter in his arms and mumbled one- and two-word responses to her attempts to start a conversation. Apparently, she thought it was endearing though, because she stood up a little on her tip-toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Even in the dim lighting, his friends could see a dark flush work its way up his throat and across his cheeks. They cackled to themselves as he very nearly stepped on her toes and apologized profusely for the near miss. He was never going to hear the end of this.

Gareth let his eyes wander across the crowded gym, picking out people here and there that he was on friendly terms with—or desperately wanted to avoid for the rest of the night. He picked out his favorite tall redhead, hovering near the edge of the dance floor, and sat up attentively. For a brief second, he’d thought maybe she was here alone, but a moment later, Reed reappeared at her side and passed her a little paper cup of punch. The punch which Eddie had rather generously spiked. Oh boy. She took a polite sip but made a face and then ignored the drink in her hand while she talked with her date.

At least now he had something to do besides waste his night warming a bleacher and half-listening to Eddie and Kev make fun of anyone and everyone. He couldn’t outright stare, obviously, but he could glance her way every once in a while and enjoy her pretty smile, even if it wasn’t for him. She liked pink, he noticed. She wore it often and she was wearing it tonight—the same color as the rose taped to her locker, the same color as the roses in the corsage at her wrist. He hoped she felt as pretty as she looked.

The end of their two hours was coming up—Jeff had begged for them to stay just a little longer an hour ago—when Gareth noticed she was standing alone again, this time near the low stage at the front of the room where the DJ was set up and blasting something inane and bubblegum-sweet. He didn’t know why the image opened up a pit in his stomach until he heard Eddie say,

“Oh, shit—they’re gonna Carrie someone.”

Several members of Hawkins social royalty—a football quarterback, one of the baseball team’s catchers, Tommy H and Carol, and some that Gareth didn’t know—were carrying one of the large drink coolers that made an appearance at every sports game and heading right for Barb.

She never even saw it coming, as sticky, red punch was dumped over her head, leaving her standing in a puddle of shame and sugary juice. Gareth had frozen, too far away to do anything to stop it and helpless to look away from the impending catastrophe. As soon as it happened, every head turned to witness Barb, drenched and stained red, mascara running from either tears or punch—no one could tell. In the crowd, Gareth could see Reed laughing at his date’s misfortune as Barb fled towards the restrooms. He didn’t know if the older boy was in on the prank or just an asshole, but he saw red. He was off the bleachers in a second, shouldering his way towards the laughing perpetrators. His hands clenched into fists as he broke through the crowd.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” He shouted at them, fully ready to square up.

Around them, chaperones were scrambling to respond to the incident, but Eddie was faster. He snatched his freshman up by his collar and marched him away from the confrontation. Gareth would be a grease spot on the floor if Eddie didn’t get him and his big mouth out of the gymnasium.

“Go find Barb, lover boy. I’ll see if I can find that one chick that’s on the newspaper… what’s her name? They’re friends, right?” Eddie hissed in his ear giving him another push towards the doors.

“Nancy. Her name’s Nancy.”

“Right. I’ll find Nancy, you go rescue the princess.”

With that, he gave Gareth a last push out the door and into the halls.

[sofiiel]

Jeff takes Barb to the dance,

She wows and shuts everyone down dressed in 1940s style glamour.

He's got his chest puffed because that's his sophisticated girlfriend.

Jeff's opening doors, and offering to get her punch. Offering to dance by holding out his hand, "Mind if I have this dance?" He's trying to make it the best evening for her.

Barb is blushing as she allows herself to feel like one of the 'It girls' but in truth she feels so much better than just that.

The two slow dance, and when some random comes up to ask Barb to dance, Jeff is fully ready to let her say yes. He wants to give the night to her ~ But Barb is quick to say 'No thank you'

Her words hold a tiny bit of bite in them as well. This person never even talked to her before she showed up dressed to the nines, why would she stop dancing with the guy who made her feel like a star?

Bonus: Lucas takes Max to the dance too and they dance next to Jeff and Barb and they're just virtually mini-me versions.

[notquitehuman-creations]

IM BACKKKK ‼️ :3

What do you think the would be the easiest trap to get out of in Saw (in any movie) and do you think you guys could get out of it?

-🦷

HII AGAIN TOOTH!!

ok so I just went back and watched all the saw kill counts to jog our memory and I'm gonna make a list, one choice per movie the the ultimate. lists are fun ^^

Saw: the barbed wire trap probably. just crawl under it L

II: not many options here, so I guess I'll go with the razor box. or Eric's test if that counts, I could listen to John talk for hours <3

III: I could do Jeff's test and any of the the traps in it. I'm better than him

IV: idk. the scalping seat I guess. it's the only one that doesn't totally suck. and I do like doing nothing which was the whole point of that set so

V: neck tie trap. easy peasy

VI: oxygen crusher. I'm quite good at not breathing

3D: public execution. this one is verrry easy to cheese if you hold the contraption at the right angle so all three contestants stay just out of reach of the buzz saws

Jigsaw: shotgun keys. borderline not even a trap if you just, like, listen

Spiral: I GUESS the subway trap. once again, still not ideal, but the others are worse

X: fingerbending suckmaster 9000, without a doubt. not that it wouldn't be difficult, I happen to like my fingers, but compared to the others... yeah no lmao. fingers, leg, brain, hand/foot, or lungs? really...

and out of all these,

*drumroll*

shotgun keys. no contest. it's a simple riddle that you'll solve in a minute tops as long as you're not an idiot(sorry Anna)

[metalheads-trash-bin]

Hello everyone! My name is Toby, I’m a beginner writer and love to make shit uber realistic for readers. Here’s all the info about my stuff!

——————————————————————————

Key:

Ships

Notices

Warnings

Fandoms

Baseline importance

——————————————————————————

So far I have three fanfics, a fourth is on the way.

All of my fics will be linked down below! They are wips, so please be patient. Each has their own schedule so make sure to read!

All fanfics will have nsfw, and I don’t mean the basic “stick penis in hole” shit. I mean detailed, loving, and non vanilla nsfw.

——————————————————————————

TROLLS:

The first one is my all time fav: Fliff! It goes into Floyd’s trauma, his healing, and realistic dynamics between the characters. This fanfic will be updated twice a week, it used to be updated every day but that’s not survivable long term for me ^^

The second one is Breek! Creek is in no way infantilized in this fanfic. I look at things in a psychological aspect and make damn well sure he’s not babygirlified. This fic goes into Creek’s trauma, Branch’s trauma, allll the trauma, a bunch of healing, and a little bit of angst. It’s updated whenever I feel, but it won’t be abandoned or rarely touched!

The third one is John Dory x Reader! In this it talks about JD’s trauma, some headcanons of his diagnostics, and a bunch of intimate stuff and heart to heart stuff. He is not glamorized in this fic, instead he’s recovering and in therapy. He also has a smallll teeny weeny alcohol issue, but he’s in therapy for that as well! The reader is a trans male, fat L if you can’t handle that. <3 It’s updated whenever I feel just like the Breek fic, but it won’t be abandoned or rarely touched!

The fics are interconnected, so if you see a ship or lore that’s in one of them, assume it’ll be mentioned or involved in the other!

——————————————————————————

CREEPYPASTA:

I am currently working on ideas for a rework of a Jeff x reader fic I read. It had a really nice plot but the execution was absolutely horrendous + it was abandoned. I’ll type more info as I update!

———————————————————

Where else you can contact me or see my content:

Insta: _.metalheads.trash.bin._

Twitter: _mhs_trash_bin_

——————————————————————————

And with that…

!!Release the hounds!!

———————————————————

TROLLS:

Summary:

Floyd is forced into therapy after Branch takes him to his annual checkup since he's staying with him.

Branch's reason for sending him being that he notices Floyd's facade of "being fine" and totally not traumatized even toward a doctor. This leads to him sitting in therapy, which in turn gives him homework. Whats the first assignment you ask?

Making friends besides your brothers and Poppy.

Who better than Barb, the queen of rock, as a starting point??

Summary:

It was the last few weeks of fall, Branch heading to the forest to get the final harvest for the season. There were rumors of an animal lurking around the farm, he didn't realize that that animal was a familiar face.

Summary:

You're a metal/rock troll starting a new life in Pop Village. During one of your bonding activities with Branch, you notice a large creature in the meadow.

Why not pay the owner a visit??

——————————————————————————

CREEPYPASTA:

———————————————————

PS. I have a shit ton of playlists on Spotify of ships, characters, and more! Check em out down below~

——————————————————————————

Enjoy! <3

——————————————————————————

[corroded-hellfire]

Prompt Day 6: Heard it in a Love Song

Word Count: 995

Rating: G

Pairing: Gareth X Barb

CW: Language

Summary: Gareth is nervous about talking to his crush, so the other guys help him out. The prompt title kept reminding me of the song “Heard it on the Radio” by Ross Lynch from back in the day lol. One of the lyrics in the song is “he’s a drummer in the band” and I realized that after I decided to write this about Gareth, so it just seemed perfect!

@corrodedcoffinfest

“Just ask if she’s going,” Jeff says. 

“Yeah,” Eddie adds. “You’re just seeing if she’ll be there. A simple, innocent question one friend would ask another.”

Gareth takes a deep breath and nods his head. It’s obvious to his three friends that he’s not so much nodding in agreement rather than psyching himself up.  

“What if she has no idea what I’m talking about?” Gareth asks, a tremble in his voice. 

“Then you tell her about it,” Frank says. “About us playing a set and the party.”

“Yeah,” Gareth breathes out, rubbing his hands together. “No big deal.”

“Exactly,” Eddie agrees, slapping his friend on the back. “You’ve got this.”

“And don’t worry about the others, we’ve got that taken care of,” Frank reminds.

“It’s usually only Nancy,” Gareth says. He’s absentmindedly twirling one of his drumsticks in his hand. 

“We can handle Wheeler,” Eddie says. “Now, come on. Their lunch period is about to end.”

Gareth’s shoes seem to be glued to the ground, so Jeff gives him a nudge that gets him putting one foot in front of the other. 

Waiting outside of the cafeteria is the most nervous Gareth has been in a while. Not much can shake him, but talking to the girl he’s been pining for all year? Yeah, that’ll do it. 

The bell rings and Gareth begins nervously tapping his drumstick against the side of his right leg.

“Will you put those away?” Eddie hisses as the students begin to pour out of the lunchroom. 

The drummer feels more secure with a drumstick in his hand, but he knows Eddie’s right; it would look weird if he was just tapping one against his body. He slips it into his back pocket and adjusts the flannel over his t-shirt to hide the part that sticks out. 

“Hey,” Frank whispers loudly. “There they are.”

Gareth feels his stomach flip as he scans the crowd and the moment his eyes land on her, he swears his heart stalls like it’s his dad’s old stick shift.  

“Boys,” Eddie says, inclining his head towards Nancy.

They all shoot Gareth encouraging looks before they leave him on his own.

“Wheeler! There you are,” Eddie says, standing right in front of the petite girl, his boots squeaking against the white linoleum. 

“Uh, yeah. What’s going on?” Nancy asks. 

“You, um, well, I borrowed a book from Jonathan, and he asked if I could give it to you if I saw you before him.” Jeff comes up with the line on the spot. 

“Okay…” Nancy’s brow pinches together. “Where is it?”

“Oh, it’s uh, in my locker. Which is right over here.” Jeff gestures around the corner, to the adjacent hallway. 

He nods his head in that direction to indicate that she should follow him. 

Nancy sighs.

“I’ll see you after school, Barb,” she says, turning to her friend.

“See you,” Barb says. 

Jeff, Eddie, and Frank all walk down to Jeff’s locker with Nancy, which both girls find weird. 

As soon as Barb takes a step forward, Gareth gathers his nerve and comes up next to her.

“H-Hey, Barb,” he says.

“Oh, hi Gareth. You didn’t want to follow your posse down that way?” There’s a teasing smile on Barb’s lips and the drummer has to remind himself to breathe.

“Nah, I actually wanted to ask you something,” he manages as the two stay in step with one another. 

The redhead pushes her glasses back up with the hand that isn’t holding a notebook and a few folders against her floral purple blouse. 

“Yeah? What is it?”

“I was, uh, wondering if you’re going to the party at Mosaic Lake on Saturday?”

“Oh, I heard about that. There’s also one at Lover’s Lake on Saturday,” Barb says.

“Yeah,” Gareth says, releasing a breath. Mosaic Lake is far smaller than Lover’s, but he would bet good money that the company will be better at the less popular lake. “Guess all the jocks and the populars are behind that one. Which means it’s gonna suck because it’s all those people.”

“Those people?” Barb asks, arching an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, you know.” Gareth shrugs. “Assholes. But the party at Mosaic Lake is for guys like me who want to have fun and don’t care if they’re not top of the food chain here.”

“So…freaks?” Barb asks, not unkindly. “And nerds. Like me.”

“For all of us who the Hawkins High royalty deem lesser than,” Gareth says in his best impression of a snobby, posh person. It makes Barb laugh and he almost trips over his own feet. 

“Well, Nancy wanted to go to the Lover’s Lake party,” she says and Gareth’s heart drops. “But I don’t. I’d rather go to Mosaic Lake. And I’m pretty sure Jonathan would rather go to Mosaic too, so maybe if both her best friend and boyfriend are in agreement, she’ll change her mind.”

“Awesome!” Gareth realizes there was far too much enthusiasm in his voice, so he clears his throat in an attempt to cover it. 

“Corroded Coffin is playing for a little while. After us I think it’s that all-girl band Rosa Santiago started.”

“Are you going to play any Van Halen?” Barb asks.

“We do know a lot of their songs, so there’s a strong possibility,” he teases. “You like them?”

“Yeah, Van Halen is my favorite.”

Absolutely need to talk to the guys about the setlist, Gareth thinks. He wonders how many Van Halen songs he can convince them to put in there. 

The warning bell rings, and Barb heaves a sigh.

“I definitely want to go,” she tells Gareth. “I’ll do my best.” She gives him a smile as she starts to turn down a different hallway for her next class. Gareth gives a small wave, which she returns.

Once she’s out of sight, Gareth leans on the closest wall and lets his exhale deflate his lungs.

“Holly shit,” he says to himself. “I did it. And I didn’t ralph.”

[complicatethemostofthemantra]

don't mind me, just over here writing and thinking about two idiots in love in a long-finished sitcom and their endless supply of their dueling "fuck you (figuratively)" and "fuck you (literally)" energy

[freakbabyy]

see you in hell

chapter four

eddie munson x reader, steve harrington x reader, billy hargrove x reader

cross posted on AO3

96 weeks left :)

comment to be added to taglist

“Thank you, Principle Higgins.” 

“Don’t worry about it, Miss. Henderson. I know your mother is a kind soul, I’m sure Mrs. O’Donnell just overreacted. Now, off to lunch and have a good day.”

“You, too. Um, where’s the lunch room?”

“I’m sure Mr. Munson will help you find your way. Tell him he’s off the hook since I’m in a good mood on the first day of school.”

Closing the door to the office, I stopped in front of Eddie, who was about to walk into the office,

“Ah, Mr. Higgins said you’re off the hook for today. But he said in exchange you’ll show me to the cafeteria?”

“Well aren’t you my guardian angel? Getting me out of trouble,” He played with the ends of his hair, covering his face with it and smiling. “Come on, I’ll show you the way. Gotta grab a seat before it fills up and we have to eat in the bathrooms.”

I followed the crazy haired man down the halls, he would point out certain classrooms on the way, before we ended up at a pair of double doors, and inside the chatter of teenagers was already incredibly loud. I caught sight of Nancy and Barb, sitting with three other people, but their table was full. I then looked around for Chrissy, and saw her sitting with the cheerleaders, their table full too.

“You can sit with me, if you want. My friends are cool, they wouldn’t mind. Might be a bit too nerdy for you, though.” He pointed to a table near a window, a group of guys sat there, seemingly in a deep conversation.

“That would be great, actually. I was about to go eat in the bathrooms.”

Eddie smiled again, grabbing lunch, telling me about the different foods to avoid when they’re being served, and then sat at the end of the table, the seat to his right empty. I recognized the one guy across the table, and waved.

“Hey Gareth,” He returned the wave, motioning to Eddie,

“Hey, see you met Eddie.”

“You two know each other?” Eddie asked, the rest of the table introducing themselves to me, all were super welcoming so far, too.

“We have band together, jazz band too. Y/N plays keyboard, AND sings. She’s doing guitar for jazz, too. Speaking of, Y/N, this is Jeff, he’s the guy who’ll help you learn some more guitar for jazz band. He’s in it, too.”

At the mention of guitars, Eddie’s eyes lit up again, the same way when he found out I knew DnD.

“You play guitar? A woman after my own heart.” 

“Do you play?” I asked, taking a drink, “An instrument, I mean?”

“Guitar, and she’s my pride and joy. I just got her, saved up for three years. Gareth, Jeff, Nick and I are in a band.”

“Let me guess, you do cover songs from Metallica, W.A.S.P, Motörhead, Dio, Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, am I missing any?” I named a few off, recognizing the pins on Eddie’s vest, who was slack jawed, the entire table was actually.

“Are you psychotic?” 

“Jeff, you idiot, it’s psychic, not psychotic!” I laughed at the bickering, before pointing to Eddie’s vest, 

“The pins gave it away. Although they are good bands, I have to say.”

“So you have music taste, you play DnD, you play keyboard and guitar, and you’re real?” Gareth poked my arm, and I rolled my eyes,

“She plays DnD? Why doesn’t she join Hellfire?” Jeff asked,

“Hellfire? What the fuck is that?”

“It’s a DnD club, we all get together and play. It’s after school on Fridays.”

“I’d love to boys, but I can’t, I have work.”

“Well, there goes the only chance of a girl joining hellfire. Too bad. Where do you work?” The bigger guy had asked, Nick, if I remember.

“Hawkins National Laboratory. Right outside of town.”

“That explains why a girl’s sitting with us, you’re mental.” The entire table burst into laughter, agreeing with Gareth,

“Why, what’s wrong with it?”

“What’s wrong with it? What ISN’T wrong with it? There’s not many people that work there for a while, most skip town after about a week working there. Only people that work there now are all from out of town, it’s a conspiracy my dad says.”

“My dad says they make weapons there to fight the Soviet Union, and that people don’t skip town, they die there.”

“Mine just says it’s a research laboratory, isn’t it?”

“No, idiot, that’s the hospital. They make lightbulbs and shit there.”

“Boys, boys, boys!” I exclaimed, the table going silent, “I can settle this right here. I’m an intern, and I personally took a tour through the whole building, and I can safely say, Jeff’s right. It’s a research facility, as well as partially a hospital. They study patients exposed to harmful chemicals, as well as radiation.”

“Hah! Suck it!”

“Alright, calm down, Jeff. So, Y/N, what you’re saying is that you’re going to grow a third arm being around all the radiation?”

“I-What? No! I’m just taking notes for the scientists there, I’m an intern, dummy.”

“Yeah but-” The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

“What class are you going to next?” Eddie asked, shoving the last of his pretzels into his mouth, and I pulled out my schedule.

“Looks like you’re stuck with me for the rest of the day, sweetheart.”

“You’re a senior aren’t you?”

“Was that a nice way of asking why I’m in sophomore classes?” 

“No! I mean, I was curious, but I’m in sophomore classes, too, and I’m a junior.”

“I failed senior year last year, so they bumped me back down to the lower classes. What about you? Fail junior year?” I was just now realizing that he didn’t have a backpack, which seems pretty important on the first day of school.

“I actually was homeschooled my whole life, and I’m a few years behind. I’m lucky they didn’t bump me down to freshman. Half of the shit they told me about today I didn’t understand. Hell, I think my brother would understand better than me, and he’s like, eleven!”

“Hey, at least science is next, you’ll probably do better than I would, and I do pretty well in science. Like, I know that CO2 is water, so I don’t know why they put me in chemistry again.”

“Hey, Munson?”

“Hm?”

“CO2 is carbon dioxide. H2O is water.”

“Oh. That’s probably why I’m in chemistry again. Are you sure? I swear it was water.”

“Yeah, pretty sure, Munson.”

The rest of the day went by without a hitch, and Eddie seemed to make it pass by a lot quicker, passing notes when he had a chance, making faces when the teacher turned around, even chatting when we could. 

Before I knew it, it was the end of the day, and I had changed my shoes into my roller blades again, and was about to start my way towards the Lab. I was making pretty good time, already halfway there when it started getting a bit chilly. The building was huge, just as I remembered from when I had toured it.

I scanned my badge on the security door, before entering. I ducked into the bathroom, quickly changing into my assigned lab uniform, which consisted of khaki’s two seasons behind, a white shirt, and a matching white lab coat. I had to pull my hair out of my face, before slipping on a pair of protective glasses, and walking into the main hall, as I ran into the very man who hired me.

“Good evening, Dr. Brenner.” I nodded, as he smiled fondly, almost like a grandpa would.

“Good evening, Ms. Henderson. I’m afraid there’s been an incident and Mr. Munroe declined the job offer, which leads us to promote you. Would you like the job?”

“Oh! Um, yeah! I’d love that, is it the same job, or?”

“Different jobs, but not to worry. You’d do his job eventually, this is just pushing the process along faster.”

“I can’t wait to take notes on the new position, sir, I even brought my own clipboard and pen, and I made sure to stretch my hand out before-”

“Oh,” He let out a laugh, and I felt my blood run cold at it, was he making fun of me? “You won’t be taking notes today. Come along.”

“Alright, although I wasn’t told of anything like this, are you sure? I was told I wasn’t even stepping foot into the actual lab part until a few years-”

“Yes, well, you’re needed. Since Mr. Munroe left, we have no one else.”

I was led deeper and deeper in the lab, down sets of stairs until I hit an area that we had not toured, through the steel door that had a DANGER DO NOT ENTER sign on it. How comforting.

“Now, if you’ll be so kind as to put on this hazmat suit, and put all of your belongings into a locker.”

“What is it I’ll be doing, if I might ask?” Glancing around, I wasn’t sure if I liked the way this looked, and started to think that the boys at lunch were right.

“Well, you’ll be going to test some things out for us. You’ll gather data. You’ll also observe and maybe you’ll even live to become one of our most valued scientists.”

“That’s not funny, sir. I was assured that I would be safe here, that nothing dangerous goes on here.”

“Ah, well I lied, dear. Now suit up and gather some weapons of your choosing, you’ll need them. Hurry, my patience runs thin.”

I needed to get out of here, and I needed to get out of here fast. The exit we came through had two large men on either side, which I hadn’t realized before. The other door had men as well.

“Sir, I think I’d like to kindly decline this job offer, if that’s alright.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible. You’ve already signed the paperwork, and boy does your paperwork have some mighty fine print.” He held up the folder with my name on top, flipping it open, showing all of the paperwork I signed at orientation. “Did you really not read any of it? You’ve signed away your right to decline this. You’ll do as I say, or else I’m afraid you might join Mr. Munroe.”

“You can’t do this. I’ll tell the newspaper, or the cops, or maybe even the government!”

“Afraid I can, and I will. Now, suit up. This is the last time I’ll tell you. If you don’t comply, I’m afraid we’ll have to terminate you. Permenantly.”

I looked around, before lunging as fast as I could to the weapons on the wall. I was yanked back before I went a few steps, and felt myself being lifted off of the ground, each arm in the grasp of one of the large men. I tried to struggle, but they tightened their grips more.

The door was opened in front of me, and I was thrown rather harshly into the room, which was oddly cold. I put my hand down to push myself up, but felt a slimy-sticky substance, which looked like flesh. I got up and looked around. There were glass windows looking in, and scientists watched me. On the other side of the room was a large crack in the wall, which oddly enough, seemed to pulse as if it were alive. Just a few feet ahead of it was the top half of a body, an actual human body. 

“Mr. Munroe,” I gasped, before scrambling backwards, hitting the door with the back of my head.

The crack in the wall let out a noise, or rather, something in the crack did. The crack opened a bit, and a long arm reached out. It grabbed the half of Mr. Munroe’s body and dragged it through the crack, letting a screech out.

I scrambled up, and pounded on the door,

“Let me out! You can’t do this! My family will look for me! I promise I won’t tell anyone about this place!”

An intercom crackled, as the screeching got louder,

“Once you’re terminated we’ll let your family know what happened, or, perhaps show them. Don’t you have a little brother?”

I felt my blood run cold again, and stopped pounding on the door, and looked towards the glass where Dr. Brenner was.

“Don’t touch him. Don’t touch my family, I’ll- I’ll work for you, anything, just, don’t touch them.”

“You won’t tell anyone about what happens here, and you certainly won’t tell the cops. Agreed?”

“Agreed!”

“You’ll keep the job?”

“Yes! Just open the door, please, it’s getting closer!”

Just as the door swung open, I heard the crack in the wall open more, and just as I ran through the door and it shut, pounding started on the other side. I was on my hands and knees, catching my breath, trying to wrap my head around what was in there, as a hand was thrust in front of my face.

“Happy to work with you, Ms. Henderson.”