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mayrose713 · 2 years

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I'm Used To It

Steve Harrington x fem reader

Summary: When Y/n’s alcoholic mother comes home things don’t go well after she finds out where she had been. With nowhere else to go Y/n remembers she’s not the only one dealing with this kind of thing and calls Steve to pick them both up for the weekend. Friends to lovers.

Warnings: alcohol abuse, alcoholic parent, divorce, mention of abandonment, swearing, trauma

Word count: 3548

A/N: Most things that I write are based closely on my own experiences and traumas, this way I can write a better and happier ending though. If you go through anything similar please know you are not alone and you are always welcome to message me if you need to talk.

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“Sweetheart, ’m home.” Y/n heard her mother call out from the front door of their trailer but something didn’t seem right.

“Mom?” Y/n came out of her room to find her mom trying to keep herself up. “Where have you been?”

“Ran inta an old friend.” She smiled at her daughter. “We talked for awhile.”

“You went drinking.” Y/n started to get both mad and upset.

“Nooooo.” Her mom shook her head before almost falling over.

“You’re obviously drunk!” Y/n yelled.

“Pssh, you’re being redicu-lish. ‘m not drunk. Haven’t been in yearsh.” She badly lied as she walked over trying to hug Y/n. “Watcha have fur dinner?”

“I didn’t.” Y/n pushed her mom off her. “We had planned to have dinner together, remember? We were going to cook since we were both going to actually be home tonight.”

“Sorry. Wanted to catchup with a friend.” She pouted since her daughter pushed her away and tried acting like she was sober.

“No, you wanted to go drink. How long has it been going on this time?” Y/n started to yell. “Going to rehab three times already wasn’t enough for you to keep sober? Or how about dad leaving us for a girl ten years younger than you when I was fourteen because he didn’t want to deal with you drinking anymore.”

“Really?” Her mom started to yell back. “Really had to go there?”

“Yes, I did.” Y/n walked over to the fridge to find herself dinner since it’s already nine o’clock.

“Whatcha ya doing?”

“Finding myself dinner, duh.” Y/n rolled her eyes.

“Do ya really think ya need more to eat?” That hit a nerve in Y/n.

“Fine.” Y/n slammed the fridge door and stomped to the front door.

“And where do ya think you’re going?” Her mom yelled, stopping her for a second.

“Being like dad and getting the hell away from you.” Y/n yelled with tears brimming her eyes before leaving.

She took a second to breathe trying to figure out what to do. Then she remembered how Max moved to the trailer park after her step dad left and she has a similar situation with her mom. Y/n was the only person Max trusted to tell about what was going on at home. She then decided that’s where she's going to go since it was a Friday night and is sure Max isn’t doing well either.

It only took Y/n a few minutes before she was knocking on the younger girl's front door.

“Y/n?” Max looked at her confused then noticed the tears still threatening to escape. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just, you know my mom.” Y/n explained then noticed the older redhead passed out on the couch with a bunch of beers scattered around. “It looks like we’re in the same boat actually.”

“Yeah, though I’ve never seen you so upset like this.” Max grabbed her hand pulling her into the trailer and towards her room making sure the doors closed. “What happened tonight?”

“Max, I love you, you’re like my baby sister especially with how similar our lives are.” Y/n had grabbed her hands. “But this is something you don’t need to be burdened with, it’s mine.”

“It’s also not something you need to keep bottled up and deal with alone.” Max squeezed her hands. “Please Y/n/n talk to me.”

Y/n thought about it for a second then felt exactly how hungry she was and decided on something else.

“Have you eaten dinner?” Y/n asked, having noticed there wasn’t much food in the trailer.

Max stayed quiet for a moment before shaking her head. “No, even with two jobs we don’t have much money and most of what we have mom spends on booze.”

“I’m going to call Steve, okay. Tell him what's going on and to pick us up.” Y/n explained grabbing the phone from the bedside table but Max stopped her.

“You can’t.” Max looked at the older girl with pleading eyes. “Please, I told you about all of this in confidence because you understand and I see you as an older sister too. I don’t want anyone else knowing, especially not Lucas, and Steve is too close with him and the others.”

“Max, he’s my best friend and already knows about my situation and he’s never told anyone else.” Y/n explained. “He’s very protective of not just me but also you, he would want to know. Give you a place away from this.”

“He’s protective of you because he’s in love with you.” Max told her which gave Y/n butterflies in her stomach.

“Steve’s not in love with me, we’ve been friends for as long as I can remember.” Y/n said.

“But you’re in love with him.” Max reminded her. “And don’t try to lie, you already admitted it when we played truth or dare with El over the summer.”

“And I told you guys that I don’t plan to ever tell him since I don’t want to ruin our friendship.” Y/n reminded her. “And there’s no way he’s in love with me.”

“Keep telling yourself that Y/n/n.”

“Anyways, I’m calling Steve.” She started dialing his number.

“Hello.” Steve quickly answered.

“Hey, it’s me.”

“Y/n? Everything okay?” Steve perked up. “I thought you were doing a night in with your mom tonight?”

“Yeah, that didn’t exactly happen like it was supposed to.” Y/n let out a long sigh. “She decided instead of dinner with me to get drunk with a friend.”

“Got it, I’m on my way to get you and we’ll pick up pizza on our way home.” Steve said and she could hear him moving around.

“Actually, I’m at Max’s.” Y/n looked at the younger girl. “We’re kind of dealing with the same thing right now.”

“What? Max too?” Steve wasn’t expecting to hear that from his best friend, after meeting Max he couldn’t help but feel protective of her especially with everything from Billy. “Okay, tell her to pack a bag for the weekend, you’re both staying over. You still have some clothes here, and besides you like to sleep in my shirts anyways.”

“Thanks Steve.” Y/n smiled. “And just like my situation, don't tell anyone about Max, especially the boys.”

“Completely understand, I’ll be there in a few minutes to pick you both up, see you soon.” Steve said before hanging up.

Y/n placed the phone back on the nightstand and turned to Max. “Pack a bag for the weekend, you’re staying with us.”

“It’s okay Y/n, I’m fine staying here.” Max shook her head.

“Max, you and I both know I won’t let you stay here with your mom passed out and not enough food to feed you.” Y/n said while standing up and grabbing a bag from the girls closet. “And We both know that Steve will carry you over his shoulder to force you into his car and keep you all weekend to make sure you’re safe and fed. He did that to me when I was fifteen and learned about what was going on with my mom. Though he was more pissed that it was happening since I was eleven and I never told him, that he found out when he snuck over trying to get me to go to a party.”

“You know that’s kidnapping right?” Max laughed a little, taking the bag from Y/n and started packing some things.

“Yeah, I told him that.” Y/n also laughed. “He didn’t give a shit. I’m sure he’s going to feel the same now even if it’s three years later, especially when it's you Max.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s only doing this because he loves you and I’m basically your little sister.” Max scoffed.

“Max, he cares about you very much, I promise he does.” Y/n reassured her. “He still would have done this even if it was just you who called him.”

Just then there was a honk outside and Max looked out the window to see the familiar red BMW.

“That’s Steve.” Max turned back around. “I’ll meet you guys outside in a minute, just gotta put a few things away and leave a note for my mom in case she sobers up at some point this weekend.”

“Okay, don’t be too long.” Y/n kissed the top of her head before making her way through the trailer and out the front door to find Steve leaning against the driver side.

“Hey Y/n/n.” He pushed himself off the car and over to his best friend where he quickly engulfed her in a hug. “How are you doing?”

“The same as I always am when this happens.” She explains. “Her getting upset with me as though she didn’t do anything wrong, me getting mad at her for blowing me off and drinking then her having to say something about me trying to eat dinner.”

“I’m so sorry.” He squeezed her tighter.

“It’s okay Steve, I’m used to it at this point.”

“No it’s not okay Y/n, but we’ll figure it out later, for now let's just get you and Max out of here.” He said before letting her go and realizing the red head wasn’t around. “Speaking of, where is Max?”

“She was finishing packing her bag and writing a note for her mom, just in case.” She explained.

“Is she doing okay?” Steve was very worried. “How long has she been dealing with this?”

“Why don’t you go inside and ask her?” He looked at Y/n confused which made her sigh. “She doesn’t think you care about her, that you’re just doing this for me.”

“What?” Steve was surprised by this. “Of course I care for her, I have ever since I met her, especially after I learned she was Billy’s step sister. Was scared for her and what she had to deal with living with him.”

“Go talk to her.”

Steve nodded his head before walking to the trailer as Y/n got into the passenger seat of his car. Max was finishing up the note to her mom when she heard the door open again.

“Sorry Y/n, almost done.” She looked up only to find Steve and not her sister figure standing in the entryway looking at the horror of where she lived. “Steve?”

“Hey Maxy, you okay?” Steve asked moving over to her using the nickname she okayed the older male and Y/n to use occasionally, but not all the time.

“Yeah, I’m great.” She gave a fake smile to him while folding a piece of paper and writing “mom” on it. “You know how Y/n/n is, overreacts sometimes when it comes to me?”

“Are you sure?” He asked while eyeing the place before moving over to the kitchen and searched the cabinets and fridge to find little to no food. “How long has this been going on?”

“Not long.” She shook her head while refusing eye contact.

“Max.” He moved to her, placing his hands on her shoulders and leaning down to be eye level with her. “How long has this been going on?”

Max took in a deep breath and looked up at him with tears threatening to escape her eyes. “Since my step dad left after Billy’s funeral. Mom took on two jobs and started drinking a lot more.”

“That long?” He rubbed his forehead before moving his hand through his hair. “How often is she drinking?”

“Every night, until she’s passed out.” Max looked over at her mom asleep on the couch.

“And where’s all the food?” He asked.

“She hasn’t gone to the store in over two week, keeps saying that she doesn’t have a lot of money right now to go but then comes home with more beer.” She finally started to cry and Steve quickly wrapped his arms around her to let her cry into his chest.

“I’m so sorry Max.” He whispered so that only she could hear, even though she was the only one there besides her passed out mother.

“It’s okay Steve, I’m used to it.” Saying the same thing Y/n tells him.

“No Maxy, it’s not okay. Y/n tells me the same thing in this situation but it’s not okay.” He then pulls away and crouches down with his hands on her shoulders again. “Please know that I care about you, very much, and if you ever need to talk or need a place to stay to get away from your mom or even just need a meal please, please call me.”

“I will.” She nodded as she wiped the tears off her cheeks. “Thank you Steve.”

“Anytime kid.” He smiled and stood up grabbing her bag off the counter. “Now let's go have an awesome weekend.”

“This never gets spoken about.” Max said as they walked through the trailer. “Especially not too…”

“Yeah, yeah. Especially not to the guys.” Steve interrupted her. “I would never tell anyone about this without your permission.”

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The three of them drove to one of the few pizza places still open ordering a large before going back to Steves where they sat and ate and just talked while trying to keep the mood light.

“Wait seriously, Erica told you that about Lucas?” Y/n laughed at what Max had just told them.

“How do we know it’s not just Erica trying to embarrass her brother?” Steve asked but was still smiling.

“Have you met Erica?” Y/n raised a brow at him. “She would never tell a lie like this, but embarrassing her brother just makes it better.”

“You can’t tell Lucas about this though. He doesn’t even know that I know.” Max explained.

“Our lips are sealed.” Y/n and Steve say at the same time making all of them laugh.

“Well, I think I’m going to turn in for the night.” Y/n stood up, grabbing all of the plates off the table and the pizza box.

“It is getting late.” Steve said while looking at his watch then followed his best friend into the kitchen where he took over doing the dishes from her.

“Max, I’ll show you to the guest bedroom.” Y/n said, grabbing the girl's bag.

“Thank you again for letting me stay here.” Max said to Steve.

“Anytime kiddo.” He smiled. “I’ll follow you guys up in a few minutes.”

As Max followed Y/n she noticed one room to the right of the stairs that must be Steve’s parents room then followed her passed one which must be Steve’s, then passed the bathroom and into the one next to it.

“Do you normally sleep in here?” Max asked moving to the bed where Y/n placed her bag.

“No, I usually sleep in Steve's bed.” She explained until she noticed the look Max was giving her. “Don’t look at me like, we’ve been doing this since we were kids okay.”

“Whatever you say.” Max smiled.

“I’m going to go change real quick, then I’ll be back.” Y/n told her before leaving.

Y/n grabbed one of Steve's old Hawkins High swim team shirts and a pair of black pajama shorts she’s left one of the last times she spent the night. She came back into the guest room to see Max in a long sleeved nightgown sitting cross legged on the bed with some comic books.

“Wonder Women, nice.” Y/n picked one of the comic books up before sitting across from her.

“I didn’t know you were on the swim team?” Max looked at her shirt.

“I’m not.” Y/n looked down, flipping through the pages.

“Is that Steve’s shirt?” Max gawked before giggling a bit. “Are you sure you two aren’t already dating?”

“Shut up.” Y/n laughed a little before putting the book down and looking at the younger girl. “How are you doing Maxy?”

“I’m fine.” Max refused to look at her.

“Really?” Y/n eyed her. “Please talk to me. Lucas told us about how you guys broke up.”

“I have nightmares sometimes about that night at the mall.” Max started to explain. “And you know, my mom doesn’t really help, but it’s fine.”

“You know I told you that you could come over whenever you needed.” Y/n placed a hand on the red head's shoulder. “You should have told me that you didn’t have food for dinners and stuff.”

Max shrugged her shoulders before sighing. “It’s just, you have your own shit to deal with, you have your own alcoholic obviously.”

“Yes I do, but I also don’t deal with it every night.” She paused for a second. “Well at least not in a while. It just depends on if it's a one time slip up or a long ‘slip up’. But anyways, you know I’m always here and so is Steve.”

“I’m getting used to it Y/n/n, it’s okay.”

“Yeah, you don’t get to use my line against me.” Y/n laughed a little. “But seriously, please call us.”

“I will. Thank you.” Max smiled at her before they hugged each other.

“How are you two girls doing?” Steve knocked on the doorframe wearing flannel pajama pants and an old tshirt and watched as they let go of their hug.

Max looked at Y/n for a second before turning to Steve with a smile. “We’re good.”

“That’s good.” Steve smiled back. “I’m really sorry you guys have to go through this.”

The two girls looked at each other with a smirk before saying at the same time “We’re used to it.”

“Very funny.” Steve rolled his eyes. “Why don’t we go to bed Y/n/n.”

The older girl nodded her head and stood up moving over to Max and kissed her on the head. “Night Maxy.”

“Night Y/n/n.”

“Good night kiddo.” Steve moved and ruffled her hair after Y/n left the room.

“You know she loves you right?” Max said before he could leave.

“What?”

“Y/n. She loves you.” Max said again. “I know you love her too with how you look at her, we all know it.”

“Of course I love her, she’s my best friend.” Steve tried to play it off.

“Steve, you’re in love with her.” Max corrected, making him sigh.

“What am I supposed to do? I don’t want to ruin our friendship.” He brushed his hand through his hair.

“Just tell her. I promise you won’t ruin your friendship.” She reassured him.

“Fine.” He closed her eyes before looking at her again. “I’ll do it if you promise to call whenever you need something.”

Max thought it over for a second before nodding her head. “Deal. Good night Steve.”

“Good night.”

Steve turned off the lights in the room before going back to his to find Y/n already laying in bed.

“Everything okay?” She asked while sitting up when she noticed him.

“Yeah.” Steve nodded his head as he took his shirt off since he likes to sleep without one. “She just wanted to tell me something.”

“What’d she say?”

“It’s nothing.” He lied as he started to get in bed.

“Steve.”

“Do you remember when I punched that guy at the last party of the school year last year?” He asked, confusing her.

“Yeah, the blonde baseball player who was flirting with me.” She nodded her head. “Why are you bringing that up right now?”

“Do you know why I punched him?”

“You had said that you had heard him talk shit to some of the guys making a bet that he could get in my pants in less than five minutes.” She explained. “You were being your protective self as usual.”

“Well I lied.” He sighed.

“What?”

“I never heard him make a bet.” Steve confeased.

“Then why did you punch him?” She was really confused now.

Steve looked over and pushed some hair behind her ear. “I was jealous.”

“What would you be jealous about?” She giggled a little.

“I was jealous because I hated seeing some guy flirt with you.” He said while placing a hand on her cheek. “Because I’m in love with you.”

“Really?” Y/n couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her best friend, Steve “the hair” Harrington, is in love with her.

“Really. You don’t have to say it back or an…”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence though as Y/n leaned up and kissed him. He was shocked at first but quickly composed himself and kissed her back. It was a soft kiss but he could feel all of her emotions in it and she could feel his.

They soon pulled apart needing to breathe but looked deep into each other's eyes.

“I love you too.” Y/n finally said, making him smile before he pulled her back into another kiss.

“Well finally.” A voice from the door caused them to stop everything and turn towards the culprit to find Max with the biggest smile. “I’m radioing everyone.”

Max left, leaving the two alone again as they smiled at each other before going back to what they were doing before being interrupted.

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A/N: Sorry if this was badly written, had to take a few breaks while writing it so as to not cry because I’ve gone through the same things both Y/n and Max go through from when I was 11 until I was 20. Though I wasn’t lucky enough to have a Steve in my life until I was 17 who had an alcoholic father and understood what I was going through and gave me an out whenever I needed it.

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thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles · 1 year

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Eddie, after getting knocked on the head:

Steve: Oh my God, Eddie! Hey, look at me, look at me, are you okay?

Eddie:

Steve: Eddie! What's two plus two?!

Eddie: *slurring* Duh... a potato.

Steve: And that's why Eddie's learning basic addition before he gets hit in the head next time.

#steddie #steve x eddie #steddie incorrect quotes #stranger things 4 #stranger things #stranegr things 4 vol 1 #stranger things 4 spoilers #st4 #stranger things 4 vol 2 #st4v2 #st4v1 #stranger things season 4 #stranger things incorrect quotes

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bike-wheeler · 2 years

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for all that mileven’s arc more explicitly addresses and revolves around the concept of love, i really do think lumax manages to actually show a real, genuine love more. it feels grounded and believable in a way where your heart aches for both of them, separately and together.

#its unfortunate because i wish ml/vn was as compelling #but oh well whats written is written i hope s5 is at least satisfying #lumax #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #o. post #st4 #st4v2 #st spoilers

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aryci · 2 years

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if the duffer brothers hurt any of them im climbing into their walls and staying there

#byler #will byers #mike wheeler #will x mike #stranger things spoilers #stranger things s4 #stranger things #st4v2 #my art

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cirixwqnd · 2 years

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“steve doesn’t care about eddie” lol ok but why no personal space?? 🤨

episodes: S4:E7, S4:E8

#my steveddie hc is that robin is secretly rooting for them <3 #rip eddie tho you could’ve had more scenes w/ steve 😔#eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #stranger things s4 #steveddie #steddie #st4v2 spoilers #byler #stranger things v2

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xxmarzimoonxx · 2 years

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super long post but feel free to read/skim if you need some byler hope (no promises this will happen though lmao)

i personally don’t think the byler story is going to end here. noah has said a few times after volume 1’s release that they’re “building it up”, seemingly hopeful of a future for the ship. not to mention what i talked abt it one of my previous posts abt how finn so blatantly ships byler, and the clear difference between his acting in byler scenes and mileven scenes.

remember that noah has also implied multiple times that the duffers have been “planning” this, and it’s just a matter of seeing how far they’ll go. however, who knows with these interviews at this point considering basically everyone lied in their interviews regarding volume 2. in regard to these interviews, there’s many rumors and hints that season 5 may have began shooting some early stuff during/towards the end of season 4, which would explain things like noah’s harness. if this is true, and if the actors have already seen early versions of the scripts and stuff, this could explain a lot of the actors (finn, noah, david, charlie’s) behavior in interviews.

if they do choose to continue their story into season 5, which i feel like they have to, they have a few opportunities to do so.

first, it’s been said that will is going to be a main character next season, so with that being said it would be much easier to spend more time on his relationships here and there, whereas it wasn’t as easy to do so this season when he only had a few minutes of screen time. i really hope this is true as Jamie once said in an interview that volume 2 would center around will, but that didn’t happen did it?

with will *most likely* having more screen time, the next question would be how would they write off mileven? i personally think it wouldn’t be too hard to do so, even with everything that happened with mileven this season.

mileven isn’t meant to last. as the duffers have said multiple times, mike and el have a “first crush” or “puppy love” relationship. they don’t compliment each other well, and instead bring each other down. they fight EVERY season. el literally thought of mike as a brother at first. mike like never closes his eyes after they kiss, and always looks disgusted afterwards, which can’t just be a coincidence. everything about their whole relationship is so ick to me lmao.

so let’s take a quick look at the mike monologue/ily thing to el. it’s forced, both by the character and by the actor (mike is basically repeating most of what will had said to him and finn baby what was this). it basically comes out of no where. and the only reason mike says i love you is because they need el to fight. i mean mike can’t say i love you to el until she’s basically dying, and he only says it because he knows he has to. and as expected, he praises her for being a super hero and stuff, because her powers are pretty much all he sees her as and all he admires her for. further, there’s barely any non forced emotion in the scene, mike and el don’t talk about it afterwards, it’s just so out of pocket. most of what mike says is literally taken from will, it’s not exactly “true” to him, plus why would he say his life began when he met el when the best moment of his life was meeting will? that moment is literally just a reworded version of the byler scene from season 2, not original to mileven. plus, mike knows he doesn’t love el in a romantic way, why else would he act the way he did in the “from mike, from mike” scene, but he knows that it is what el needed to hear to fight. and he probably does love El, he’s just very obviously not in love with her. i mean, even finns sorta forced acting in this scene conveys this, and the duffers mentioned they loved finns work in that scene, so obviously he was portraying the character and how he feels about el the right way.

to add on to this, the i love you could very easily be written off as platonic, considering mike and el don’t kiss or really share an intimate moment after they reunite (even though el almost died!!!). they actually start to gravitate away from each other, which seems to imply a shift in there relationship, considering they were pretty much inseparable w their relationship when they were younger, most likely since they relied on each other. but now they are becoming more independent, especially el, which we can also see in the final shot of the season.

anyways, mikes scenes with will have been much more intimate, and you gotta remember how many times the directors will watch a clip to make sure it’s perfect. i promise you they see the lip glances with will, and the lack of intimacy with el.

this season we’ve gotten so many byler parallels, not just to past byler scenes, but also other canon couples as well. the ending even seems to solidify this as we have jancy, jopper, and byler all standing in duos with very large gaps in between them, obviously pointing out who is paired with who. additionally, the way one of them is always wearing blue, and the other yellow, in this season cannot be a coincidence.

the reasons i think the byler story will have to continue into season 5 in some form is to just clear up plot holes at the very least. mikes behavior towards will for the past two seasons can’t just be switched in a second, and considering the two were best friends, they would need to clear the air in some way. i also think there is still some “romantic” tension lingering between the two, considering all the shots of the two just staring at each other, even without dialogue. so something will have to go down between them next season, whether they just go back to being friends or more.

i also found the following interesting. remember how finn said there would be a “mutual understanding and acceptance” of will and mikes feelings? im thinking there was? i mean mike cannot be dumb enough to not realize will was talking about himself in the van, he wants to be a writer when he’s older for gods sake, he obviously knows, and seemingly accepts it. wills understanding and acceptance may be of mikes feelings towards el, but we’ve already discussed that scene enough to know it was bs on mikes part. while i feel like mike definitely knows how will feels, i believe that will is still a bit oblivious towards how mike feels, because as ive said before, finn wolfhard could not convince me mike is actually in love with el.

so in conclusion (of this wonderful essay), this is not the end of byler. will and mike will continue their story in season 5, with hopefully more of a fleshed out storyline due to their increased screen time, and will continue to be built up as noah always says. however, i can’t be positive they’ll end up being endgame. i think all signs logically point to that, but after season 4 im just not sure if the duffers will have the balls to do it, and to be honest, i don’t want some half-assed last minute romance. at this point, i only want byler if they’re going to do it right. ive been thinking a lot about what millie and noah said, how will and mikes relationship or whatever is sort of “left to interpretation”, and i agree. i truly think that’s where volume 2 has left us in regard to byler, with all the parallels, the final scene, the glances, and the acting choices, byler is truly “left to interpretation” at the moment. and personally i don’t have a problem with this. of course it would’ve been nice for them to get together, but i don’t think their story is over at all. unfortunately, we’re going to have to wait anywhere between 1-3 years before we find out if they’re endgame or not, and all of the acting choices, all the parallels, all the interviews, all the byler story lines, and everything we know and interpret about these characters point to the ship becoming canon. it just depends on if the duffers have the balls to go through with byler, a ship they’ve been planning from the start.

and one last note before i post this (pretty impressed if you’ve read all this) is Netflix’s need for money and views. byler still has the potential to be a story about internalized homophobia, repressed feelings, and fear of being your true self, and it’s so beautiful that this story could happen in a super mainstream show, that doesn’t focus solely on a queer romance, and isn’t marketed primarily to queer people. but that sparks a point, stranger things is not marketed towards queer people. it’s one of Netflix’s biggest shows ever, and it’s marketed towards everyone. Netflix wants as many people as possible to watch the show, and unfortunately we live in a world where there are people, even just casual viewers, who would not want to see will and mike together, purely because they are two main characters who both happen to be boys. if said people saw this relationship come full circle in season 4 (which it didn’t), it may lower their chance of watching season 5, therefore lowering Netflix’s profit on the show, which is a pricy show at that. with inflation, and all the real world problems, netflix needs to profit as much as it can. therefore, byler really had no chance of becoming truly canon in season 4. 5 however, the last season that won’t affect future seasons and profit, allows for byler to become canon without risking a loss in viewership.

again, since it’s up to interpretation at the moment, season 5 could go either way. i don’t think mileven will be endgame, I think a lot of finns acting choices/notes have alluded to this, so there is a strong possibility for byler to happen. since it’s the last season, the ship won’t affect viewership, and considering their relationship is one that has been implied to be planned since the beginning, i think there is a very strong chance of byler becoming canon in season 5, especially if articles and videos pop up about queerbaiting in this season. i truly think them becoming canon in season 5 just makes sense, and we just got to hope the duffers do it right and don’t rush it.

so anyways that’s my thoughts! prolly my last big post in a while now that ive gotten over my disappointment of season 4 and gotten my thoughts together. thanks for sticking through if you did! and hopefully this made some sort of sense! 😍

#byler #stranger things #st #stranger things 4 #stranger things volume 2 #will byers #mike wheeler #finn wolfhard #noah schnapp #st4v2 spoilers #stranger things spoilers

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thebentleyao3 · 2 years

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STRANGER THINGS SEASON 4 VOLUME 2 SPOILERS AHEAD

i feel so.. sick to my stomach. this is it. baby's first queerbait. i was always always skeptical but seeing all of the theories and hope and positivity? it made me really beljeve we had a chance!!

but of course not. im heartbroken seeing all the genuine pain the whole byler tag is going through...im sorry guys :( screw the bluffers

#byler #queerbaiting #st4v2 #stranger things season 4 #spoilers

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tommiruewrites · 2 years

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The Night We Met

summary: Songfic based on "The Night We Met" by Lord Huron! (i'm awful at summaries i'm sorry) pairing: eddie munson x henderson!reader

word count: 6.76k requested: yes | no requests: open | closed request rules here

warnings: Major S4 Vol1 + Vol2 Spoilers!! fluff to heavy angst, cursing, light kissing/making out, major character death, not proofread, no use of y/n, gn reader / no pronouns or gender descriptions for reader except an implication of long hair (if i missed anything please lmk!!) a/n: it's my first time writing anything for stranger things or eddie munson so sorry if it sucks! feel free comment any thoughts or suggestions, they make my day <3

· • —– ٠ ☆ ٠ —– • · • —– ٠ ☆ ٠ —– • · • —– ٠ ☆ ٠ —– • ·

I am not the only traveler Who has not repaid his debt

"No, Nance, I'm not going with you on a date! I refuse to be the third wheel again-"

The bedroom door burst open, shaking the pictures on your wall as Dustin invited himself inside. You sighed, used to his antics, "Hold on a sec' Nance." You shoved the phone face down into the pillowy fabric of your bed to muffle your talking.

"Christ, Dustin, how many times do I have to tell you to knock on the damn door?" You groaned dramatically at the interruption.

"I need you to pick me up after the hellfire campaign tonight."

"That's nice." You picked up your phone to continue your conversation.

"Oh, come on-"

You slammed the phone back down, "Dustin! I'm in the middle of an important conversation right now. Can't you just bike home like you always do?"

"No! It's gonna be pouring! That would be like five miles in the rain!" His voice cracks as he waves his arms dramatically. "Do you really want me to get soaking wet, and then catch a cold, and then die because you made me bike home all by myself in the-"

"Dustin!"

"I'm just asking!"

You groaned in annoyance once again, knowing that he's already reeled you in. "Say the magic word." You smirk him, tapping your finger against the phone impatiently.

Dustin huffs, crossing his arms childishly, "Fine. Will you please pick me up from Hellfire tonight?"

You pretended to think it over before you finally gave in, "Fine! But I swear if you run so much as ten minutes late, I will leave you there to walk home."

"Thank you, you're the best!" He hollers back at you, racing back down the stairs and leaving your door wide open. "DUSTIN!"

I've been searching for a trail to follow again Take me back to the night we met

You pulled up into the trailer park, feeling the bumpy traction from the gravel underneath you. You parked in front of the trailer Dustin instructed you to, noting the quiet atmosphere of the lot. You probably wouldn't normally find it eerie except for the fact that you were alone and in the dark with no one in sight. To distract yourself while you waited for the campaign to end you decided to play some music. You searched through the heap of cassettes in your glovebox, settling on your brand new and already overused tape of Master of Puppets by Metallica. You popped it in and let yourself get distracted by the music. You began absent-mindedly tapping against your steering wheel, lost in your own little bubble. So lost, in fact, that you didn't notice that the campaign had ended.

The club members filed out of the trailer, saying their farewells and heading off in their respective directions. Dustin, Lucas, and Mike all said their goodbyes before heading towards your car. Eddie watched the kids trail off, opening the doors to hop inside. Suddenly he heard a wave of music flooding from your vehicle. Is that... Metallica?

He peered his head around to look through the windshield. He was just too curious to see who this mystery person was who happened to be listening to one of his favorite bands. As he looked in, he could see a glimpse of your face through the window. You looked like you were talking to the kids in the back seat, peering at them through the rearview mirror. He swore he could feel his stomach swarm with butterflies, something he'd never felt before. Something that made him want to vomit up all the cheesy feelings and stomp them out on the pavement.

Eddie had seen you around in school. You were in his year, but he had always just admired you from afar. The more he admired you, the more he wanted to know about you. He started taking note of all your quirks and habits. He noticed how you would always put a heart next to your name on tests, and sometimes a little smiley face. He noticed how you always tied your hair back at lunch with the hair tie that was permanently engraved in your wrist. He noticed how you would poke little holes into your eraser with your pencil when there was a particularly difficult exam. He would never admit it, but he had been harboring a growing crush on you for a while. Thought you were gorgeous, but definitely way out of his league. You were attractive, smart, kind, and almost always had jocks and cheerleaders fawning all over you... but now that he knew you were into metal? Now he was a goner.

He admired you as you talked, watching how the light from the streetlamps illuminated you face with this perfect, golden glow. It made you look almost angelic. He got so wrapped up in his staring that he almost didn't notice you staring right back at him. When he caught your gaze, he could feel heat rising up to his face.

You noticed his staring, sending a kind smile his way. He smiled back at you as he shifted his weight on his feet awkwardly. Man, did he have a pretty smile. Not just his smile, everything about him was attractive, and you found his awkwardness to be extremely endearing. You offered a small wave before kicking your car in reverse and pulling out of the lot.

"Hey, Dustin, who was that?" You ask, eyes trained on the road ahead.

"Who?"

"The guy with the long hair."

"Oh him?" Dustin asked curiously, "That's Eddie. Our DM? I figured you'd know of him. I mean, he is in your year."

Oh, you knew of him. The whole town practically knew of him at this point, being one of the few proud metalheads and DnD nerds in Hawkins. Of course, you already knew of him, but you had never really put much thought into it. You always respected him, admiring how he was so unapologetically himself and could always speak his mind. You had just never gotten the chance to speak to him. Well, you actually had many chances considering he was in most of your classes and close with your little brother. You had just never been able to muster up the courage to talk to him before.

Eddie Munson.

Little did you know that Eddie Munson felt the exact same way about you, and it was only a matter of time before your paths would cross.

And then I can tell myself What the hell I'm supposed to do

"Stephen King, huh?"

You practically jumped out of your seat at the sudden interruption. You look up to see the one and only Eddie Munson, a sarcastic smirk on his face. "A little jumpy for someone who's into horror." He teases lightheartedly, noting your lack of response.

"Oh, uh... yeah. Guess I just didn't hear you coming." You reply awkwardly, placing a bookmark between the open pages before setting the book to the side. You slide over on the doorstep, inviting him to sit beside you. You could hear the booming music and loud chatter from inside still bouncing off the walls behind you.

"You have good taste." He smiles at you, this time much less smug. "Not a fan of parties?"

"Not so much. Too many people." You shrug, fiddling with the sleeves of your varsity jacket anxiously. "You don't seem like the party type either, Munson."

He leaned back, palms pushing into the harsh pavement with a dramatic sigh. "Well, when money calls."

Eddie could sense your nervous energy, watching how you could barely sit still. He noticed all your tells: your restless fidgeting, how you chewed your bottom lip raw, the way your leg bounced up and down in a way that made your whole-body shake. He felt a small pang in his chest as he realized how uncomfortable you must be feeling. He had the urge to put his hand on your bouncing knee to calm you down, but he didn't want to make you even more uncomfortable, so he didn't.

"So why did you stay? If you don't like parties, I mean. You here with someone?" He asks nervously, secretly hoping you weren't with anyone.

You looked down at your hands, almost embarrassed to admit it. "I came with some girls from my class that practically dragged me here. They left with some guys a couple of hours ago and now I don't have a ride home." You trailed off, not wanting to seem too pathetic. "I'm waiting for some friends to get off of work and pick me up."

Eddie's face softened, all of a sudden feeling this unexplainable anger towards a group of girls he didn't even know. "When does their shift end?"

You checked the watch on your wrist, "In about an hour or so."

"Honey, it's freezing out here!"

Honey, Honey, Honey. You felt a light blush tint your cheeks at the nickname.

"You can't wait out here for an hour, you freeze to death." He thought for a moment before offering, "I can drive you home if you want? My van's parked just across the street."

He really hoped you didn't think he was some sort of creep.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be any trouble-"

"Nonsense!" He said with his usual dramatics, causing you laugh. God, he loved your laugh. He wanted to be the one to make you do that all the time.

"Well, if you insist." You smiled, taking his hand as he helped you up off the ground. His hand lingered on yours for a moment longer than necessary before dropping it with an awkward shift. You would have been lying if you said you weren't a little bit disappointed.

He walked you over to his van in almost complete silence, both of you too awkward and nervous to come up with anything interesting to say. Once you got into the passenger's seat, he opened up his glove box to reveal a huge selection of cassettes that almost rivaled yours. Almost.

"Pick anything you'd like." He said absent mindedly as he turned on his engine, letting you freely rummage through the pile. You let out an excited gasp, seeing your current favorite song amongst the collection. Master of Puppets. You quickly pull it out, excitedly handing it to him to put in the player.

He took the tape, fingers ever so slightly brushing yours, sending little shocks through you at the contact. He turned it over to look at the title, causing a wolfish grin to spread across his face. "I knew it! You, Henderson, are a cute little metal freak." He exclaimed teasingly, pushing the cassette into the player.

You felt a much heavier blush spread across your face this time, biting your cheek to hold back a giddy smile. He thinks I'm cute?

"Shut up, Munson."

And then I can tell myself Not to ride along with you

You laid against Eddie's chest, his arm wrapped comfortably around your waist as the two of you laid on his couch watching Sleepaway Camp. It had become a weekend tradition to have a movie night at Eddie's, and this week was his turn to pick the movie. You watched as a particularly gory scene came on, hiding your face in his chest and gripping his shirt like a like your life depended on it. He laughed softly, rubbing soothing circles into your hip. He definitely didn't choose a scary movie just so he could have an excuse to hold you.

"Scared?" He leaned down to whisper in your ear, the warmth of his closeness calming you.

You buried your face further into him to hide your embarrassment, "Just shut up and watch the movie Munson."

It had been months since Eddie drove you home from that party, and the two of you had quickly become inseparable. You saw each other practically every day and told each other everything. Well, almost everything. He was your best friend, but you wished so badly that he was more. Besides, Robin and Steve wouldn't hesitate to tease you relentlessly for it and you wanted more than anything to be able to shove it back in their smug faces.

You finally willed yourself to look at the screen again, getting anxious with the suspense.

"Hey, hey-" Eddie tilted your chin up to look at him, gently pulling your lip out from between your teeth where you were gnawing at it nervously. "Don't do that. You'll make yourself bleed."

"Oh..." Was all you could find within yourself to reply. With the close proximity of your faces and his hand under your chin, thumb still lingering on your bottom lip, you were starting to get a little lightheaded. Your eyes flickered down to his lips before you could catch yourself. You quickly averted your gaze to his neck, hoping he hadn't noticed. He noticed.

He let his eyes wander back down to your lips, slowly leaning in towards you. You felt his lips barely brush against yours, his warm breath fanning your face as he waited for confirmation that you wanted this too. He looked at you with the softest look you'd ever seen, silently asking for permission. You finally leaned forward to close the gap, feeling yourself melt into him. Both of you smiled into the kiss as you felt the cliche fireworks go off in your heads. You moved your hands around his neck, entangling your fingers to lightly tug at the hair near the nape of his neck. He let out a soft moan, so soft you almost missed it, muffled by your lips on his. The response sent a swarm of butterflies to your stomach. He placed his hands on your hips, shifting you to straddle his waist so you were in a more comfortable position. You noticed how his lips were surprisingly soft despite refusing to use chapstick, and you could taste cigarettes, the slightest hint of weed, and something sugary you couldn't quite place. His hands gripped tighter at your hips, slowly moving under your (his) t-shirt to rest on your waist. His cold rings made contact with your skin, causing goosebumps to rise in their wake. You softly giggled into the kiss, slightly ticklish.

You eventually let your hands fall to his chest as the two of you reluctantly pulled apart for some much-needed air. The two of you just sat there staring lovingly at each other, panting as you tried to catch your breath.

"One hell of a first kiss." He teased, a dorky smile on his lips.

"Go big or go home." You smiled down at him, absolutely giddy with adoration. "I like you, like, a lot... If that wasn't clear."

"I Like you" was an understatement.

Eddie's heart swelled, "I like you a lot too."

That was an understatement too.

He leaned up to press another peck to your pretty lips, neither of you able to wipe the smiles off your faces. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to tell you that. To do that."

You leaned down to press excited, loving kisses across his cheek and down his neck, nuzzling your head into his shoulder. "Me too, Eds."

The grip you had on his shirt was loosening as the day finally caught up to you. Eddie rubbed your back soothingly as you started you started to fall asleep in his hold. "It's okay. I'm right here, sweetheart." He whispered quietly into your hair, "You can rest now."

He held you close to his chest as you finally let your eyes flutter shut, the film playing in the background long forgotten as he carried you off to his room to let you sleep.

Yeah, Eddie thought as he admired you, This is the one I'm going to marry someday.

I had all and then most of you Some and now none of you Take me back to the night we met

"Eddie? Eddie!" You whisper shouted uselessly, shining a flashlight into a dusty window.

"Yeah, that'll find him." Dustin snarked, shaking his head in disappointment as he walked towards Steve.

You and your brother were with Steve, Robin, and Max, searching around a seemingly abandoned house in search of Eddie. You banged the flashlight against the window, coughing as dust fell into your face.

Robin started hollering out for Reefer Rick while Dustin and Steve argued pointlessly over whether or not Steve could take a squirrel in a fight.

"Hey guys..." Max caught our group's attention, her gaze fixed to a shack behind the house, "Has anyone checked back there yet?"

The lot of you ran through the grass and into the broken-down boathouse. You carefully surveyed the area, making sure not to step on any loose floorboards. The rest of the group looked around, Robin occasionally sneezing due to the amount of dust.

You and Dustin looked around, searching for easy hiding places. "It looks pretty empty."

"Yeah, I'm missing collar bones, not eye's."

"Stop talking."

Steve studied a window covered in cobwebs, "What a dump." He grabbed an oar off the wall, making his way back over towards a tarp covered boat, poking and stabbing it. You watched him for a moment before losing your patience, "What are you doing?"

He shrugged at you like it was obvious, continuing to poke at it, "He might be in there."

Your little brother piped up, also losing his patience, "So take the tarp off."

"If you're so brave, you take the tarp off!" Steve and Dustin continued their usual bickering. You quickly lost interest, growing increasingly more worried about your missing boyfriend. Especially considering all the accusations against him. Not that you believed any of them, of course. Eddie could barely kill a bug without crying, there was no way in hell he was a murderer. You were just worried that he would be put in danger, and you would do most anything to try to avoid that. You honestly didn't know what you'd do if something happened to him.

"Hey, look over here!" Robin and Max displayed a clutter of snacks, food wrappers, and empty cans. "Someone was here."

"Maybe he heard us?" Steve added, "Got spooked and ran?"

Dustin chimed in again, "Don't worry, Steve will get him with his oar!"

Steve deadpanned to Dustin as you held back a laugh, "I know you think you're being funny, but considering everyone in this room has nearly died a hundred times, personally, I don't find it funny in the slightest-" Suddenly Steve was being pushed up against the wall with a shard of broken glass pressed to his throat. Everyone jumped back in terror, before noticing exactly who was on the other side of the glass.

"Eddie?" Eddie's face softened as soon as he heard your voice, turning to face you and immediately dropping the glass to the floor. He looked at you with a fear in his eyes that you had never seen before. He looked confused and scared out of his mind. It made your heart squeeze as you looked at his trembling hands. You immediately walked over and pulled him into a bone crushing hug, shoving your face into the crook of his neck. "I was so worried about you." Your words came out muffled, cheek squished into his shoulder.

His shaky hands came up to pull you impossibly closer, "I didn't do it. I- I tried to save her, but she wouldn't wake up. I didn't know what to do, and I ran-"

"Shh, It's okay. I know." You whispered soothingly, "I know. You don't have to convince me, Eds. I believe you."

I don't know what I'm supposed to do Haunted by the ghost of you Oh, take me back to the night we met

"There's no way it's been busy for three days. That's not Joyce." Max argued, slamming the phone back into place on the wall.

"She's right," Nancy agreed, pacing back and forth across the room, "it can't be a coincidence."

You tense up in your seat, "But Vecna can't hurt them there, right? I mean, not outside of Hawkins."

"Not if he's dead." Nancy said firmly, giving you a determined look that made your stomach twist with stress. Eddie must have noticed your leg start to bounce anxiously because he rested his hand on your knee, rubbing your leg to try to calm your nerves.

"We have to go back into the Upside Down."

"What?!" You, Eddie, Erica, and Dustin all gasped simultaneously. Eddie started violently shaking his head, "Nope, absolutely not."

"Nance, you know I love you." You started, hands fidgeting with Eddie's rings as your anxiety kicked up to 100%, "but are you out of your mind?!"

Steve started towards Nancy, hands raised in surrender as if he was afraid to set her off, "Let's think this through-"

"What is there to think through!" she snapped.

Steve piped up again, "Max almost died, Nance."

"That's because we weren't prepared." Nancy countered, "This time, we will be."

"He's not afraid of us."

"Yeah, and for good reason!" It was now Robin's turn to speak up, "We were wrong about Vecna/Peter/Henry/001. He's a number like Eleven only a sick, evil, male, child murdering version of her."

Nancy sighed, unable to understand Robin's fast paced nature, "What's your point?"

"My point is he's super powerful. It's not fair, right?"

"Then why fight fair?" Dustin started, "You're right, he's like Eleven which means-"

"Which means we have the upper hand. We know all her strengths and weaknesses." You finished, jumping up from your place on the couch and towards your brother.

Erica raised her brow, sceptical, "Weaknesses?"

"Yeah, when El remote-travels she goes into this trance like state." Dustin clarified, "I'm willing to bet the same is true for Vecna."

Lucas jumped to his feet, snapping his fingers at his revelation, "Which explains what he was doing in the attic!"

"Exactly." You add, "So that would mean that when he attacks his next victim, he'll be back in that attic. Physical body defenseless."

"Defenseless?" Eddie scoffed, "What about the giant army of angry bats?"

Dustin started pacing, trying to think of something "We'll have to find a way past them. Distract them somehow."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." You snapped, letting your nerves get the best of you as you begin to dig your nails into the palms of your hands, also pacing the room.

"Yeah, distract them." Eddie asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice as he walked over to you, grabbing your hands in his, "And how are we supposed to do that exactly?"

"No idea..."

Eddie dropped his head onto your shoulder laughing nervously like a mad man, "We're dead. We are absolutely dead."

"But-" Dustin continued, trying to be optimistic, "Once their gone, Vecna doesn't stand a chance. It'll be like slaying Dracula in his sleeping coffin."

Eddie wrapped his arms around you, letting his head rest on the back of your shoulder to stop you from pacing as well as calm his own worries, "Yeah okay, that's great in theory, but we still don't know what the bats are capable of." You grumble out, wanting nothing more than for all of this to be over.

"Yeah, and there's no pattern to Vecna's killings either. We don't know when, or who he's going to get next."

"Yes, we do." Max stepped forward and into the conversation. "I can still feel him."

Everyone turned their attention towards the younger teen, plotting and debating our next move. You tried to pay attention but you just couldn't focus on the words anymore. You zoned out as your whole body went rigid with dread. It's not like you haven't fought the supernatural before. You've been fighting it since your freshman year when Will first went missing... but this was different. Something was off and you couldn't shake that uneasy feeling in your stomach. You couldn't get rid of the swirling thoughts in your head telling you something you didn't want to hear. Not everyone was going to make it this time.

When the night was full of terrors

"Five!" Dustin shouted over the earth-shattering music; eye's locked onto the swarm of bats heading directly for you. You watched Eddie as he continued playing his precious guitar; playing the song he learned for you. The iconic, Master of Puppets. Maybe you were crazy, but you wished desperately that you weren't in imminent danger right now because my god did he look good doing it.

"Four!" The bats screech and scratch as they get closer, making goosebumps raise on the back of your neck. You watch Eddie intensely, both of you waiting for the cue to run like your life depended on it, because it did.

"Three!"

They were almost here.

"Two!"

You could hear your heart pounding in your ears.

"One! Run!" The three of you ran as fast as your feet could carry you, almost tripping over the slimy vines covering the area. Eddie helped you and Dustin off the roof, pushing you up the steps. You all shoved your way inside the trailer, shutting the door tight behind you. You panted and stared up at Eddie wide eyed, Dustin having a similar expression written on his face.

"Most. Metal. EVER!" You shouted, jumping into your boyfriend's arms as adrenaline took over. The three of you squealed and jumped around in achievement like excited children.

And your eyes were filled with tears

Your little celebration was cut short by the sound of sharp, scraping footsteps above you. You all snap back to reality, refocusing your attention on the situation at hand. You still didn't fully know the abilities these bats actually possessed. You pulled yourself out of Eddie's protective hold, turning to grab your weapons off the floor. "I don't like the sound of that." Your voice lowered down to an almost-whisper, trying to listen to the thuds through the thin metal. The boys hadn't yet mastered the skill of volume control.

"They're on the roof!" Dustin squeaked, holding up his hand-made weapon.

"Yeah, no shit." You moved slowly to follow the sound. The boys timidly trail behind you, looking every which way just in case they were in for a surprise. Eddie picked up a weapon with a string of curses, adjusting spear in his hand nervously.

As the noise stopped, you all stared up at the roof with bated breath, waiting for something, anything, to happen.

Suddenly the vent burst open, a giant, ugly, demobat trying to force its way through the small space.

"Jesus H. Christ!" Eddie yelled over you and Dustin's screams as the three of you rapidly poked and stabbed at the bat, trying to either kill it or make it so sick of your assault that it leaves you alone. You watched out of the corner of your eye as Eddie dropped his weapon, grabbing a spare shield off of the floor. "Move!" Eddie shouted, practically shoving you and Dustin out of the way. He then pushed the nail covered shield up into the ceiling, effectively blocking the vent. The three of you heaved a breath of relief before Dustin's eye's go wide, face paling.

"Eddie... you don't have any other vents in here, right?"

"Shit!"

When you had not touched me yet

Eddie raced over towards the back of his trailer, you and Dustin hot on his trail. As soon as he's turning the handle to open the door, he's slamming it back shut just as an ambush of demobats swarmed in through the other vent. "Fuck fucking shit!" Eddie screeches against the door just as a bat pounds against it. "Go go go GO!"

The three of you stumbled over each other, rushing over to the open gate as fast as you could. "Up, Dustin!" You demanded as you and Eddie helped him up the rope and safely down onto the other side. Eddie ushered you to the rope, "Go! Come on!" Eddie practically begged as you hesitated, looking back to the door.

The demobats were making progress, dents and cracks in the wood only getting larger. You looked back at Eddie, looking into his eyes and seeing them almost glossed over with a look you didn't recognize. "We're running out of time!" You felt your stomach twist with anxiety, feeling the words stab right through your chest. He was right, you just didn't know then exactly what that meant.

You snapped out of your trance, hearing Dusting screaming for you to hurry up. You let Eddie help you back through the gate.

Oh, take me back to the night we met

You and Dustin stared through the gate as Eddie grabs the rope, shouting for him to hurry up and climb. You watch as he freezes, turning towards the door to see that the bats have almost broken it in completely. It's only a matter of time. You feel a lump start to form in your throat.

"Eddie come on! Hurry up!" Dustin shouts, "Christ, just climb!" You can hear the anxiety evident in his voice, making your heartbeat impossibly faster in your chest.

"Eddie!" You scream down, begging for him to hear you. "Eddie what are you doing!? Climb the rope! Climb the damn rope, Eddie!"

Eddie looks back up at Dustin for a moment before turning to you. You feel tears begin to prick your eyes as you whisper a choked "Please."

You see Eddie's eyes water with a shaky breath as he mouths out an "I'm sorry." with one last smile. You feel your entire body go static like a live wire as you watch him cut the rope connecting the worlds, leaving you with no way to him as he races out of the trailer, taunting the bats to follow him.

Your ears start to ring, drowning out the sound of Dustin's and your own screams, drowning out the screeching of the bats as they chase Eddie out of the trailer. You don't even have time to process your own movements as you pull a chair under the gate, standing on it to jump up through the portal. You land on the other side with a thud, letting out a pained sob as you hear your arm crack underneath you. A sharp pain shoots through you before turning into a dull throb, but you can't think about it right now. All you can think about is Eddie. Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. You use your good arm to push yourself to your feet, breaking out into a run as your legs move faster than your mind, pulling you out into the darkness.

"Eddie?!" You picked up your pace, clutching your arm to your chest and ignoring the hot tears rolling down your cheeks as you frantically searched the red storm around you, "Eddie!" Your heart plummeted to your feet as you turned a corner to see the swarm of bats starting to fly off into the distance. You see something lying on the floor and your head starts to go fuzzy. "Oh my god-"

I had all and then most of you Some and now none of you Take me back to the night we met

"Oh god-" You fall to your knees next to the love of your life, blinking away the tears to see blood pooling around you. "Oh god, what did they do to you?" You frantically take off the flannel you had wrapped around your waist, lifting him with a groan of pain to tie it tightly around his wounds in an attempt to slow the bleeding. You do the best you can with one arm, sobbing out frustratedly as you use all your strength to try to tie it tighter. You hear Dustin screaming in distress as he falls to the ground next to you.

"Sweetheart-"

"Don't worry, everything is going to be fine." You state firmly, voice wavering as you and Dustin begin to lift him up. "We're going to get you to a hospital, and everything is going to be okay.

"Don't-"

"Just hold on for me, okay? I'll fix this, I have to fix this" You sobbed frantically, "You just need-"

"Just-" you hear Eddie groan in pain as he softly squeezes your arm, "Just... give me a minute." You freeze, time slowing around you. You hesitantly put him down, not willing to accept where this was going. You move your hand to put pressure on his wounds, staring at the blood seeping onto your trembling hands through your teary vision.

You feel as though your head is under water, hearing a muffled conversation between Eddie and Dustin. You can hear your brother crying and panicking but the pounding in your head drowns it out. You refuse to let it end this way. It's not fair. It's not his time yet, it can't be. You haven't had enough time yet.

"Hey, hey-" You hear Eddie's weak voice and his cold hand softly brush a hair off of your cheek. "Please don't cry."

You feel your lip tremble as you finally look at his face, seeing him all beat up and bloody you let out a choked sob. You try to hold yourself together, wanting to stay strong for Dustin. Needing to stay strong for Eddie. "I didn't run this time, right?" He asks, smiling at you.

"No, no. You didn't run." You use your remaining strength to give him a weak smile back, "But god, do I wish you did."

You grab weakly at Eddie's wrist, pulling his hand gently off of your cheek and up to your chest. You hold his hand against your rapid heart, hoping that maybe you can transfer your life supply through to him. "Next time you do something stupid like that I'm gonna have to kick your ass." You say with a watery smile, trying to pretend that everything is fine for just a little bit longer.

He lets out a small, pained laugh, squeezing your hand just a little bit tighter. "Still got that date next weekend." Eddie says with a wobbly voice, and you can tell he's using all his strength just to stay conscious. You can see the tears pooling in his eyes, spilling slowly down his face, and it makes your throat feel like it's closing in. "Don't forget to pick out a movie, okay?"

You can only give a feeble nod and an "Okay." Unable to breathe properly anymore as your lungs feel like their frozen and on fire at the same time. His arm weakens and tenses in your hold. You can feel him trying to fight just a little bit longer for you, and you can hear his pain. You finally let out quiet tears as you realize that there's no getting out of this one. You can't run away from it forever.

You lean forward to press a soft kiss to his lips, tasting the bitter tang of his blood on your tongue, reminding you that this would be the last time you would feel his lips on yours. The last time you would touch him, laugh with him, hold his hand... everything. You didn't want to let go. You weren't ready. You finally make yourself pull away, resting your forehead against his to keep him close.

"I love you so, so much Eds." His eyes flutter, trying to stay open. He squeezes your hand, staring back into your eyes with all his energy. He tries to speak, and you know you'll break down if he does. "Shh, It's okay. I know," You whisper reassuringly, "I know." You can still hear Dustin's sobs and pleas from beside you.

"Don't worry about me, okay? Dustin and I'll take care of the kids while you're gone. We'll be okay." You prayed and wished for that to be true, but you knew it wasn't. How were you supposed to keep going if he was gone.

He looked so tired, and you knew you couldn't make him be in pain any longer. You can hear his staggered breathing begin to slow and you feel your silent tears falling onto his face as you will yourself to let him go. You have to let him go. "It's okay, I'm right here. You can rest now, Eds." You swallow the knife in your throat as you squeeze his hand three times, "I love you."

He finally allows his eyes to flutter shut with a weak smile, and his cold body goes limp beneath you. The dam finally breaks as you scream and sob for him to come back to you, body going numb as you cling to him. Dustin cries out behind you as he pulls you away from Eddie's lifeless body and towards the gate, away from the bats screeching in the distance.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do Haunted by the ghost of you Take me back to the night we met

You sit silently in the filled school gym as you watch everyone around you busy themselves. You offered to help Steve with the clothes, but he told you just to rest. You didn't put up a fight, knowing you couldn't do much with your arm in a full cast anyway.

As you sat there, your brain ran blank. Like the channel was switched, buzzing around with white noise. You haven't been able to speak in days. You've barely eaten, slept, showered. You just can't bring yourself to do anything anymore. You can't get the image of him bloody and afraid out of your head. Your hands haven't stopped trembling and it takes all your energy to stop yourself from sobbing. The only thing keeping you going at this point is Dustin, knowing he's struggling just as much and needs you with him.

Your eyes lift as you see Eddie's Uncle, Wayne Munson, trudging into the gym to put up a new missing poster for Eddie. You feel your chest tighten as you watch him do it, not even able to bring yourself to look at Eddie's picture. You reach into your pocket to feel the cold chain of the pick necklace you've been carrying around with you. You couldn't bring yourself to put it on. It felt wrong. So, you carried it in your pocket, wanting to have a piece of him with you. Looking at his uncle now, you know that he needs it more.

It's what Eddie would have wanted.

"Excuse me, Mr. Munson?" Even saying his last name hurt like barbed wire on your tongue. Mr. Munson whipped his head to glare at you, his gaze softening when he realized who you were.

You were over at the trailer with Eddie most nights, so you knew Wayne well. He leaned in to wrap you in a big bear hug, careful of your injured arm. You could feel his worry and you envied the hope he still had. The hope that you were about to strip away.

"Mr. Munson-"

"Please, darling, call me Wayne."

"Mr. Wayne. I, uh- Eddie wanted me to give you this." you croaked out, your throat feeling like sandpaper as you spoke. You pulled the chain from your pocket and placed it carefully into his hand. He stared at it for a moment, his face holding a blank expression you couldn't read.

"Where- How did you get this?"

You had to mentally restrain yourself, not wanting to break down in front of everyone. Especially not someone who loved Eddie as much as you knew his uncle did.

"I was with him when- the uh... the earthquake happened." It made your stomach curl with nausea to lie about what really happened, but you knew there wasn't another option.

He moved his gaze from the necklace up to your face, "And where is Eddie now?"

Your face paled, lip quivering as you swallowed back the dry lump in your throat. Your silence was all the answer he needed. "I'm so sorry."

He sat down on a nearby table to steady himself, clutching the necklace tight enough that his knuckles turned white. You could see his eyes fill with tears and you sat down beside him, leg bouncing with anxiety. "I wish everyone had gotten to know him." You started, holding back fresh tears, "Really know him." You looked down at your hands, fiddling with the ring Eddie gave you all those months ago. "Because they would have loved him, Mr. Munson."

"They would have loved him."

The two of you sat in quiet sorrow, neither one of you strong enough anymore to speak another word.

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