rocknrollsalad-moved

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

Just a cute fluffy thing I wrote for the holiday. A bit of fun for Steddie through the years.  word count 1660

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Valentine’s day is sort of tough for Steve and Eddie to celebrate. They couldn't go to a fancy dinner, cuddle in the back of a movie theatre, or have a picnic in the park situation. They couldn’t even hold hands walking down the street. Some arbitrary day for romance didn’t suddenly make it okay. 

Now, they’re meant to celebrate in private. The nearest they get to romance is a home-cooked meal and turning the TV off while they eat. Neither of them liked to dress up so they didn't see a reason to do so when no one can see them. 

Flowers and chocolates feel sort of lackluster in the face of that. Sure, the cashier made comments about how lucky some girl is to get things so lovely but they can smile and nod and get away with it. Jewelry was a little harder since it was heavily gendered. Distinctly so. All the cliché gifts were pretty gendered though. 

It made for this grand disappointment sitting in the middle of February. Everyone chimed in with the obnoxious positivity that at least they had someone to celebrate with but Eddie and Steve were both in agreement; being single would suck less than being bound to utter privacy. 

Which led them to the ridiculous decision to get out of town for the week. Like Valentine’s day only existed in Indiana and if they crossed into another state they’d be free of the constant reminders and pink décor. Though picking Dayton, Ohio for this romance-free getaway seemed right, no one was thinking about honeymooning there. 

A plan that sounded great on paper, award-winning even, in reality? It was far more depressing. Exiled to the dining room to share a “romantic meal” was bad enough. Eating in bed in a strange town while the couple upstairs had sex in a way that no television could drown out took “bad” to new heights. 

Yet it birthed a Valentine’s day tradition for Steve and Eddie. In the same way, flowers grow between cracks in the concrete, they made something beautiful out of this mess of a holiday. All thanks to a bit of luck and Eddie’s keen navigational skills. 

(Steve will forever point out he is a man who draws maps for fun, he should have had a better understanding of east and west)

Trying to find their way back to their hotel after eating at a disappointing hamburger joint, McDonald's would have been better, and fighting over which street they were meant to be on the boys wandered past a tattoo parlor. 

No appointments necessary

VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL Any two designs for $14 each (must be purchased at the same time)

A sheet of flash designs hung under the advertisement. Small hearts, cupid arrows, a black cat. Nothing grand but for that price they weren’t going to do a whole sleeve. It took Steve and Eddie seconds to decide to do this. 

For one, it didn’t say it was limited to couples. Eddie could have been the one to receive both tattoos, presumably, which helped. Before walking in they did both agree that it’d likely serve them well to have fake girlfriends they were getting these for. Steve didn’t really have to work hard at that cover story. 

Inside a couple sat in the back corner, chatting animatedly as a man with a ZZ Top style beard hunched over the woman’s leg. The receptionist barely managed the word “Hello” before Eddie was blurting out they were getting tattoos to surprise their girlfriends. As smooth a talker as he was a navigator. 

Unfazed, the receptionist went through all the questions and introduced them to their artist in under ten minutes. There was no backing out but only Steve was feeling a bit nervous, Eddie was pumped and ready to go. 

Eddie decided on two hearts pierced by an arrow. The artist kept suggesting a name but Eddie held tight to the superstition that tattooing a name dooms the relationship. Something Steve didn’t know but saved for his turn. Eddie got it on his bicep, it felt perfect, like some old sailor. Steve sat quietly and watched. They were a far cry from the outgoing couple, talking loud enough for everyone, but this meant more to them. They were both sure of it. 

After a quick station clear down, Steve was up and he knew his pain tolerance was great…or at least this needle would have nothing on Russians. Still, he had a bit of nerves about it all, desperately wishing he could grab Eddie’s hand. 

He’d opted for a simple heart with a bit of a flower and some leaves coming out the back. In an effort to be able to hide it, he got it above his ankle. Eddie teased him plenty about the decision but somehow that made it better. 

Pain-wise, it was nothing. Steve could have fallen asleep and he’d already adjusted to the buzzing so he chatted with Eddie and watched the two new couples who’d arrived. It felt quicker than Eddie’s and before the second couple decided what they wanted, Eddie and Steve were walking out the door (with some directions from the receptionist). 

The whole walk back to the hotel, Eddie gloated about corrupting Steve Harrington. Skipping circles around him as he rambled loudly about dishonor and bad reputations. All Steve had to poke back with was the observation this was Eddie’s first color tattoo. Not even an insult. 

Without prompting, Steve offered up that it made him feel more badass. Only making Eddie sing and dance more, saying Steve was going to be covered in tattoos one day. After that first one, it’s so hard to stop. Even when Steve tried to say one was enough, Eddie remained certain it wouldn't be the only tattoo. 

Eddie was right, of course, in a way better than Steve could imagine when they got another one exactly one year later. They drove back to the same shop because what else were they going to do with the day? It made it feel like a proper tradition and less impulsive. 

A simple, single heart not that far off from the first one for Steve and a heart sort of like Steve’s first one for Eddie. The artist didn’t say anything when he see the near-matching tattoos and for that Eddie tipped him fifty percent. 

Their third Valentine’s day added another. 

Steve didn’t bother with anything else, he didn't need to get bats or birds or crazy realistic-looking portraits. Just a collection of plain red hearts. 

For their fourth year, they were on vacation in California and unable to hit up the usual spot. Which might have been for the best. It’d look a bit weird, two guys coming in year after year after year. 

Still, they found a place without a cute deal but reasonably priced and similar styles. Eddie liked their artist’s work so much that he got a non-Valentine’s day related tattoo afterward. Steve joked that Eddie was going to have to break up with him, there wasn’t room for any more hearts. 

In the fifth and sixth years, they were living in Indianapolis and there was a great shop that didn’t care who the hearts were for. Not that he needed it but Steve held Eddie’s hand for both of them. 

By the time they’d amassed ten, they were running out of original designs. Steve was peppering in teeny tiny hearts, plain and boring but they had a good artist who worked to incorporate them all together. Giving them both a few more flowers and leaves to help it out by the fifteenth one. 

Obviously, when they made an impulsive decision back in 1987, neither of them thought they’d revisit it. Let alone every Valentine’s day for the rest of their lives. 

For their twentieth anniversary, not Valentine’s day, Eddie gifted Steve a few hours in a tattoo chair to add more flowers and stems and turn a random smattering of hearts into a full and cohesive piece. One Eddie half-crafted himself but left the artist to her vision as well. 

By the time they could legally get married, something they did immediately at the courthouse and free of ceremony or celebration, the boys had twenty-eight hearts littering their bodies. 

The twenty-ninth heart was the first they’d sat for as a married couple. No bigger than the rest, hardly special despite what it stood for. They both know exactly which one it is too. The only other one they’re able to identify without a fight is the first. 

They’re grilled on when they got them all somewhere after the thirty-seventh when they adopt two kids they’d been fostering for a while. It’s the first time someone's highlighted how much of a story it tells. All their friends are used to them, they’ve been there since the beginning and it’s not all that cool. The kids are endlessly impressed. 

After that, it’s not just a single heart each year. There are no more $14 specials but there’s a bit more comfort in saying it isn’t for their wife but their husband…and two kids. Each red heart is accompanied by smaller green and yellow ones. 

Something that comes full circle one year when the Munsons take every available artist for a couple of hours after closing time. A special accommodation for a special celebration. Steve and Eddie will be adding their fiftieth heart to their collection. Fifty Valentine’s days together and Steve sappily crying for fifty more. As monumental as that is, their kids are both old enough to get tattoos of their own. Each left with a red heart overlapped with a black one. 

The tradition carries on and that’s where Eddie gets emotional. He blames it on Steve but they’re both excited by the thought of tiny little hearts carrying on the memory of their love long after they’re gone. Whether that’s five hearts later or fifty.

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

It’s actually very normal for writers to want recognition for their work. It’s okay to wish for it.

It is also important to remember that your worth can’t be measured by the amount of comments or kudos you receive, but you’re not wrong for wanting people to interact with your work.

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

your writing does not have to be good. your author’s note does not have to go on its knees for a hundred words before each chapter repenting. you only have to let the soft gremlin of your brain write what it wants.

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

And I as held you, oh so close I knew no one could ever take your place

                                          One summer night, we fell in love

I know I posted this once already but I’m really proud of this story (so proud I rushed out the other posting of it when I should have done this in the first place) anyway, be your own biggest fan!

Inspired by this post from unclewaynemunson / bowtieandflannel I wrote some super sappy fluffy stuff with everyone’s favorite boys.  A heat wave doesn’t stop everyone from hanging out at the Munson trailer, Eddie and Steve are constantly crashing Scott and Wayne’s good time so it’s no wonder they think the men are taking a long time to get together. After a sad story and some feelings of missing out, the boys hatch a plan to give Scott and Wayne the school dance they never got. 

         established steddie ◈ bad high school memories ◈ found family cock blocking teenagers ◈ smoking and drinking ◈ 6520 words ◈ on ao3 here

A heat wave was on its way. Wayne talked endlessly about how he knew more than those hacks on the news with their ridges of low pressure and cooling off at night talk. Eddie never really thought of his uncle as a fighting man but he was fairly certain if Wayne ran into Skip Weatherly or whoever in a dark alley, only one of them would be walking out the other side.

However, they didn’t need the TV to tell them it was hot right now. Scott Clarke had come over for dinner, one Wayne almost canceled due to the heat and Eddie had to beg him not to. Not just because Steve was coming over for the same meal but because if Eddie didn’t meddle, Wayne would never spend time with Scott. It showed Eddie where his insecurities with Steve came from.

Plans for a casserole were replaced with simple hot dogs and chips. It was no time to turn the oven on in their tin box of a home and Eddie took it a step further and ran down to the other side of the park to borrow a grill and some charcoal. They’d have to go down and look at Ed’s grandson’s car to figure out the rattling sound but it was worth it.

Wayne fussed over the house and whined about not wanting to be seen by anyone this sweaty and tired. Eddie laughed and eased every worry that came out like a complaint. For not wanting this to be anything special, Wayne was doing an awful lot. When Steve showed up, Wayne was taking a shower. The boys stood on the porch and made fun of the situation, getting all their jokes out of the way before they could be heard.

It used to be weird, having a former teacher around. Eddie didn’t remember Scott as Mr. Clarke but he blacked out a lot of his junior high years. Steve did though and they were both aware that the man knew them as barely teenagers. He’d graded their papers and was aware they’d failed things.

Now that things were at this dating-but-not-really stage, he was just Scott. A man who still knew they failed tests and talked about what great opportunities those failures were to learn new things but he was also a man who kept a toothbrush in the bathroom and fought over the last piece of cake like he baked it.

He was a man who went out and bought a tub of potato salad because it made dinner feel more like a picnic. A sentiment seemingly shared by Steve who brought a few two liters of soda. Eddie had always been fluent in his uncle’s looks but he knew he was wearing the same one as they looked at each other to celebrate how lucky they were.

With every door and window opened in the house in hopes of finding that “cross breeze” from wind that wasn’t blowing and a box fan working overtime in the living room, the men sat around and kept things to a minimum. The air was cooling down as the sun set, Eddie made sure to announce that the weatherman had said it would because it riled his uncle up.

Hot dogs were plumping on the grill perfectly placed in Wayne’s line of sight on the front porch and Eddie remembered years of nights like this one. Thoughts that must have been broadcast because soon a story was shared of a five-year-old Eddie, visiting before Wayne had this place in Hawkins. And how desperately he wanted to help make dinner on the grill. The adults all thought it was best to stop young Eddie from getting near an open flame, however minimal it may have been, but there was no stopping him. Since Eddie couldn’t put burger patties on the grown-up's grill, he built his own out of sticks and leaves and a milk crate.

It would have been adorable except Eddie was observant and he’d grabbed the lighter fluid, dowsing his mulch in the remaining half of the bottle. It wasn’t until he came and took Wayne’s lighter that anyone caught on to his plan. Wayne cleared the porch in a single step and snatched the lighter Eddie was trying to get to work before he touched it to anything flammable.

Of all the stories Wayne had to share, that was a tame one. Eddie didn’t remember it but he liked the way it made his uncle laugh. It left a fond smile on his face and Eddie should have been embarrassed but he felt…loved. More so when Wayne continued to say that Eddie cried and cried so Wayne ended up packing him around for the rest of the night. They talked about fire safety and that no one was mad at him. Wayne eased it all with some of the slowest (but safe) marshmallow roasting at the end of the night.

Eddie was lucky long before Steve came along. He wasn’t sure he deserved Wayne but Eddie was going to do everything he could to thank him for stuff like that. Too scared to ask where his parents were in the present company but knowing one of them surely should have carried Eddie around and not Wayne.

Scott shared a couple of Boy Scouts' camping stories and left Eddie and Steve fighting giggles. There was no amount of being Just Scott to make knowing their teacher used to be a boy scout not a hilarious mental image. It was hard to imagine any of their former teachers as children, let alone in that little Boy Scouts uniform.

It set the night off on a path of reminiscing. After a couple of camping stories, Steve talked about his trips into the woods which all involved girls and making out. Something the rest of the room didn’t quite relate to. But they didn’t relate to being in the scouts either. No one stopped him and everyone enjoyed the tales the same as they’d been for everyone else.

Wayne eventually busted out the “fine china” and condiments. Scott found cups and ice, opened the potato salad, and prepared a little station to make your meal. Eddie and Steve sat on the couch, cigarettes in hand, and listened as Wayne yelled the rest of his story from the doorway.

What had started as a miserable, muggy day off was ending warm in an entirely different way. Eddie rested his head on Steve’s shoulder and listened to everything around him. It was a weird little family but it was his. It was almost too much to take when Scott and Wayne traded places with them. Letting the “kids” get their food first.

Only they sat down on opposite ends of the room to wait, Wayne lit a cigarette. The desperation Eddie felt to get them together came out in him slowly moving his hands towards each other, squinting his eye like he had the power to slide those chairs through the room with his mind.

He continued to whisper with Steve about them and the sad distance between them as they slathered ketchup and mustard in buns and piled their plates with chips. Unable to understand why they didn’t want to touch and be close at all times. Steve poured them each a glass of store-brand orange soda when Eddie looked back to the living room to see both Wayne and Scott on the edges of their respective chairs, whispering to each other just like Eddie was with Steve. Maybe it wasn’t as dismal as he thought. Maybe he and Wayne weren’t as identical as he thought.

They switched places, Steve and Eddie returned to the couch and sat impossibly close as their plates took up the coffee table. Except for when Wayne called out to ask where the spicy mustard was (they’d finished it a few nights ago), they all continued their hushed conversations.

At least until everyone was back in the same room. Wayne passed a spoon over to Scott before sitting down as they tried to pick up conversations from where they left them. Strolls down memory lane and incredible amounts of insight into each of them. Including that story Wayne shared from “when he was their age”. Why he always had to start it like that, Eddie would never understand. Maybe it was an old guy thing but Scott never said it.

All the half-hearted stories missed the mark and Eddie was ready to start filling the air with nonsense until Steve opened his mouth and had the nerve to say “Well, I went to prom…” and that was as far as he got.

Eddie cut him off gagging loudly and with his full body. Which caused Wayne to clear his throat in that way that said “Enough, boy.” but Eddie gave a few more good heaves to be sure he’d really sold his stance on the subject. A quick glance Steve’s way to make sure he was laughing had Eddie thinking he should have listened to his uncle. He leaned over with a quiet apology that he didn’t entirely mean. Sorry for hurting Steve’s feelings but not for his opinions.

In a small, innocent way only Scott could pull off, he took Steve’s half-started conversation and let something off his chest. “I never went to my prom.”

He didn’t need to say more, he’d packed the words with all the longing and regret one could. It was obvious Scott wished he had gone to prom. A sentiment Eddie didn’t share but took a breath to not repeat the mistakes of a few minutes ago.

Wayne looked across the room, the same gentle gaze he gave Eddie when he used to cry about everyone at this new school hating him. “I didn’t either. I even had two chances and didn’t manage to make it.”

“Me either,” Eddie scoffed. Still trying to figure out why this was a solemn conversation.

They should all be proud! How much fun could it be? Getting all dressed up in ridiculous clothes and, in the case of nearly everyone in this room, forced to take a date you don’t want to, all for what? The tradition of it?

Again, the conversation smacked the rebellion out of Eddie as a tiny, quiet voice came from the hung head next to him. Trying to hide in his hair or disappear into the couch, Steve meekly offered. “I was prom king.”

So often, now, Eddie equated Steve to the geeks he kept company with. He saw him as someone similar to Scott, they had a lot in common, they were the bright and cheery to the Munson’s usual charm. All of it made it a little easy to forget what Steve was like in his past life.

Eddie could feel the eyes of not just Wayne on him now but Scott. Both of them mentally told him not to say whatever it was he was thinking. Ignoring them, Eddie said “Yeah, but your junior year so it didn’t really count. It was a practice run.”

Steve sat up a little and nodded. Eddie tossed a harmless “mean” look from Wayne to Scott. He was so good at this boyfriend stuff and didn’t need warnings from two old men who couldn’t even get it together enough to kiss.

“It’s not really as fun as you think,” Steve said. Scrunching his face before deciding to eat rather than elaborate.

“I don’t think it’s about fun in hindsight, Steve. It’s a quintessential experience and at the risk of setting Eddie off, one I wish I hadn’t missed out on. Unfortunately, my company wasn’t in high demand in school.”

“You mean this isn’t the part where we realize Mr. Clarke was a total babe in school?” Eddie teased.

The joke came quickly in an effort to hide that Eddie understood that. In something Eddie didn’t want to admit, he would have put on the uncomfortable suit and bought the ridiculous flowers if he had someone to take or even had a chance to take someone he was interested in.

After he spoke, Eddie looked to Wayne who just rolled his eyes. “I’m making a pot of coffee, who wants some?”

No one wanted any but none of them worked graveyard shifts either. It didn’t stop Wayne from making his way into the kitchen.

“C’mon Wayne,” Eddie continued to push. “Did you wanna go to your prom?”

“No.” was all he offered.

“My school had an Under the Sea Ball, like in Back to the Future except not as well decorated. I was fifteen and my mom took me out to Sears to buy all new clothes. She worked with James’s mom, our school’s prom king, and got the scoop on what the kids were going to wear. She styled me up and helped me get ready, dad dropped me off and I practically floated into the school, I was so excited.”

Scott had a way with words that didn’t make sense given he was a numbers guy but he had everyone hanging on his every word. Even in the shortened version and the clear implication it wasn’t going to end well, Scott had them eating out the palm of his hand. Wayne had stopped making coffee and was now leaning against the cupboard with the pot half filled in his hand and Steve and Eddie had shifted on the couch to better look at Scott.

“This was it for me. I was going to turn things around and start living some great high school life and it was all going to happen at the under the sea dance. An incredibly foolish hope. With my ticket in hand, I was stopped at the door as expected and met by a group of kids the grade above. All of whom refused to let me in. I showed them my ticket, they said they didn’t accept fakes printed by nerds. I had to hang out in the park until my dad came back to get me. I didn’t want my mom to know it’d gone so poorly. She worried so much and worked so hard. I think she kept the picture of me framed until her dying day.”

Steve pushed his hand into Eddie’s as everyone sat in silence. Wayne gently put the coffee pot on the counter and went to Scott’s side, putting a hand on his shoulder. Another gesture Eddie recognized. Eddie had a passing thought about having to teach Scott how Wayne showed he cared but he'd get it figured out eventually, he wasn't going anywhere.

After a few moments of uncertainty, Steve leaned in and whispered “We should go for a walk.”

Eddie whipped his head around in confusion, catching on before he voiced it. With a nod, Eddie turned back to his uncle and grabbed the last half of his hot dog in his fist. “We’re going to walk! On a walk, I mean. We’re going on a walk.”

“Nailed it. So smooth,” Steve said, side-eyeing Eddie.

Eddie grumbled but Steve had a point. With the same energy he launched the words out, Eddie stood up and moved around the coffee table. Steve followed slowly behind with a nod in Wayne’s direction that Eddie was sure was meant as an apology but read like "I'll have him home by nine, sir".

They made their way out and onto a familiar path into the woods. Eddie finished his food, half wishing for a paper towel or something but half thrilled to dirty up these shorts so he couldn’t wear them. Meeting in the middle of that, Eddie wiped most of the ketchup onto a tree…then his shorts.

Summer was hell on Eddie’s fashion and usually, he stuck to it, dedicated to the look, but he’d been home with people who’d seen him look far worse than breaking "uniform". Jeans that were now shorts (and just a little too short) and a t-shirt that long ago became a tank top, armholes cut to the hem. That part wasn’t so bad but the low-top sneakers without socks and lazy ponytail were the biggest crimes here.

Not everyone could look as flawless in summer wear as Steve. His jean shorts were way shorter than Eddie’s and it didn’t look embarrassing at all. In fact, Eddie kind of appreciated them. Mixed with an undershirt that was just a bit see-through and the sandals smacking out a warning of their arrival through the woods. Eddie should have hated every part but he’d been walking a few steps behind to appreciate it.

Something Steve didn’t let last long and, this time, Eddie didn't complain. Turning around to try and walk backward and look at Eddie but stumbling, with all the leaves and sticks and his flip flops, it wasn’t easy. So Steve stopped moving.

“We have to give them a dance,” he said. There was a seriousness in his words but not the urgency Eddie was used to, it wasn’t an order. It sounded like a request and came with a hopeful bit of innocence that almost had Eddie crying. That voice could get Eddie to walk in an active volcano.

“There’s no way. How do we do it? Are you offering up your place?”

“God, my parents would skin me alive. Please.”

Eddie did not want to hear the reason why on that one. “So what, we break into the school? Actually, no wait. I kind of like that part.”

“You think you could steal Scott’s keys?” There was a spark of mischief in Steve’s eyes that Eddie always enjoyed and that said he’d hatched a full plan.

It wasn’t hard to figure out the plan but Eddie wasn’t going to take this moment from Steve. He’d heard the grievances, the whining in private because Eddie was a safe and similar space, all about not being taken seriously. Eddie did that other thing they were both a little too good at and played dumb.

Pressing an innocent hand to his chest, Eddie played shocked. “Lil old me? Commit such a crime? Why, sir. I would never.”

“Why can’t you ever answer like a normal person? Okay, so it was a dumb question, of course, you can but will you?”

“Off his person or from his house?”

“Yeah, B and E sounds good but I’m not waiting for you, so if you get hauled in I hope it’s worth it.”

Steve started walking again, aimless and slower this time now that they’d completed the mission of getting far away from the trailer. Eddie followed, easily catching up to crash into Steve affectionately.

“If we invite him over I can easily slip it off the key ring. He always tosses his keys on the table. What are you thinking?”

“He’s probably got the same classroom as always, right? I mean it’s kind of hard to move all the science shit. So we break into the school, with the keys I mean, and we decorate up his classroom like a horrible dance. We’ll have to trick them there and I don’t have a plan for that yet but I can come up with something. I think your uncle will be the hard part so you might have to help and then they can have a dance because even though they’re totally dumb and I don’t know why anyone would wanna go, Scott kinda needs it and I think it’d be so cute. Bam, it's totally easy.”

“Cute? You think it’d be cute?” Eddie said the word as if it were new to him but with a smile that could be seen from space.

“Shut up! You know what I mean!”

“Yeah, you mean a cute date for cute old men. It’ll be so adorable.” Eddie cooed as he clutched his hands to his chest.

“What night are you breaking into Mr. Clarke’s…Scott’s place? I mean, so I can tell the cops to be somewhere else obviously. Also, do you happen to know Scott's house number...for unrelated reasons.” Grumbling as he walked, Steve tossed one of his award-winning stares toward Eddie. I would have stopped a weaker man but not Eddie, he fed off it.

“That’s not very cute of you.”

“I’m breaking up with you.”

“Then who will be on the dance committee with me,” Eddie whined.

With his arms crossed, Steve glared into the woods. “Look, if it was a dumb idea you could have just said so. You didn’t have to do all this.”

Whoops, too far.

Eddie drops the act with a whole show like it hurts him to do so for Steve but Steve's worth it. Why he does that rather than apologize, even he doesn't understand.

“It’s not a dumb idea, I like it. My uncle is going to complain the whole time but I think we can pull it off. I might even be able to get him to dress up for the occasion.”

—

Of all the ways Scott thought he’d be spending his summer vacation, hanging around the Munson home didn’t make the list. He and Wayne had always been cordial, a head nod, how's the weather, good to see you. Every once in a while Scott would be blessed with more, an update on Eddie, or asked if he was still teaching but it was barely more than he had with the other guardians of former students.

And he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t wanted more. That he was well-behaved and never thought about Wayne Munson unless faced with him, which used to feel so silly. An unattainable goal, a statistical improbability, a dream.

Yet here he was spending his summer break with the Munsons and not hiding in his garage or working some horrid summer job. There was likely something cheesy to say about dreams coming true but Scott stuck to talking about the odds or that the answer was never truly a zero percent chance.

While they lived in this strange space, where Scott felt as comfortable in Wayne’s home as he did his own (a feeling he hoped was mutual). So much so he kept a few important things in the trailer. They also hadn’t put a label on anything. Scott didn’t need that but it meant he occasionally felt like he was getting ahead of himself with all this.

As enjoyable as it was, there were a lot of adjustments as well. Wayne was hard to read yet left so much between the lines, Scott felt he had a head start on this but Wayne at home was nothing like the man that stormed the school, yelling about his nephews' grades and the other boys picking on him.

This led to occasional confusion, especially when it came to the nature of what they were. Rather than wearing his heart on his sleeve like Scott, Wayne had it under his sleeve and piled in thick layers of flannel topped with a winter jacket.

Scott was chipping through the layers slowly and he didn’t mind a bit of work. The rewards that followed were always that much sweeter. Every tiny gesture felt monumental and kept Scott walking on clouds for days. Yet always itching for a bit more.

Bigger than all that was the adjustment in having all these things could be called dates be double dates. Either planned with or crashed by Eddie and Steve Harrington. And school taught Scott plenty to prepare him to teach but there wasn’t a single lesson dedicated to how to put the moves on someone when a former student was in the room.

Both boys had graduated, they were adults in most ways, but they’d not been out of school long enough for Scott to not remember them both vividly. He still saw them as the middle schoolers they hadn’t been for years now.

A skill that came in handy as everyone stubbornly tried to ride out a heat wave in the Munson trailer rather than coming to Scott’s house. He only had a window unit, not central air, but it’d keep them a hell of a lot cooler. It was pride, he knew that much, and was willing to suffer a bit to let them have it.

Since all they were doing was laying around, waiting for nightfall (which wasn’t providing as much relief these past few days), Scott found his way over more days than not. They could all be miserable together.

Steve must have had a similar thought process since he was always there. Though usually whispering in the corner with Eddie or dragging him on walks. For whatever reason, those boys took off multiple times a day, Wayne insisted it was to fool around but this wasn’t the only home they could invade. They were up to something, Scott could feel it. Even if he couldn’t put it into words enough to explain to Wayne how wrong he was. Teacher’s intuition, survival, and just a good old fashion hunch but Scott knew something was brewing.

A couple of weeks later, Scott was given the chance to gloat as the boys showed up at his house…without Wayne. Looking every bit like they were fundraising for their class trip and making it hard for Scott to see them as the young adults they were. Aided greatly by Eddie’s royal presentation of a piece of paper.

Steve rolled his eyes hard enough for everyone as he stood there with his hip cocked to one side and a sigh moving his hair off of his forehead. He offered some supplemental information and returned the keys to the school that Scott did not know he was missing. The second part was far more frightening than the first.

And off they skipped to light fires or steal keys, apparently. Scott looked over the paper, clearly the handiwork of Eddie. It was hard to forget those doodled papers turned in without answers but epic wars that took place throughout the whole sheet. And he worked in a bit of that flair despite trying his best to work with a theme.

Not any theme, though, a seafoam green and beige under the sea theme. Scott remembered the conversation, more than that he remembered feeling foolish for his admission. It was awkward enough to clear the room but it hadn’t seemed to scare Wayne off who was incredibly understanding. Even let that stoic nature drop to share he too regretted not attending school dances. The uncomfortable moment turned into something nice, something that Scott hoped brought him and Wayne closer but was also not to be brought up again.

For as in the way as those boys could be they had to be awfully observant. Sneaky too but that wasn't Scott's job to deal with in this situation. He would have to mention some parts to Wayne though.

He’d been instructed to show up to his classroom (which explained the keys) in two hours and to come dressed in formal wear. As Scott showered, Sam Cooke on the record player, he wondered who was the mastermind behind this. It didn’t seem like the sort of thing Wayne would put together but it also didn’t seem like the sort of thing Wayne would attend so he had to be involved somehow.

Scott took nearly the entire two hours to get ready, this hopeful little feeling making a nest in his chest as walked out to his car was nice. Feeling as childish as he’d accused Steve and Eddie of being but excited. This was a hard gesture to misinterpret and things with Wayne might be a little more serious than Scott thought. In the best possible way.

He hadn’t thought he’d be excited to see the school in the summer months, never mind downright giddy. Wayne’s truck was nowhere in sight but Scott was almost late so he went right inside in case it was parked somewhere else. Easily walking the empty and dark halls toward his classroom, excitement switched to nerves. With no clue what was waiting for him, Scott tried not to think the worst.

The door stood open, and light poured out into the hall, as soft music played from the room. Standing in the doorway, though, Scott realized that wasn’t even half of the magic. The boys would have to be talked to about making such liberal use of his access to the school. Later, much later. For now, they deserved an award. They’d dragged in everything they could and if he walked the halls he’d find nothing but open doors and ransacked rooms but it was so hard to be mad looking at this scene. Not only to mention the care and work that went into this.

The way the boys took what they had around them to make something beautiful was admirable. It was proof that tests and forumlas weren't the only way to measure how smart someone was.

Streamers made their way from the center of the room to the walls, they’d covered some of the lights with blue butcher paper, and one lone window had a wave taped to the bottom. Either they ran out of time or dedication.

It was no surprise to find half his AV equipment pulled in for a sound system. Which was resourceful but made Scott’s skin crawl a little knowing he’d likely have to put it back to get it how he liked it. Currently, it was playing The Supremes and Scott found something a little too fitting about hearing how you can’t hurry love.

There was a little drink station on a desk with what looked like the largest Tupperware bowl the Munsons had and Dixie Cups Scott recognized from the bathroom. Around it were hand-drawn fish and a single mermaid. The chalkboard had more of the same, including mermaids made to look like Steve and Eddie. They may not have been the third wheel Scott wanted but they could be so adorable sometimes.

Scott dared to venture into the classroom, slowly wandering around and humming along with the music. Lost in thought as he inspected his very own school dance. Which led to him finding the first and second post-it notes, among the school of fish on the chalkboard.

     We promise we will clean everything up.

          And put it back where we got it.

The second one had a tiny "no" in the corner, in pen, that looked like someone tried to erase it. He could hear the boys bickering and see that affectionate annoyance on Steve’s face. But it switched his admiration to a mission as he sought out any other notes.

Another set was on the desk beside the bowl of mystery liquid in color plastic. A string of words no science teacher wanted to put together.

     It’s Hawaiian Punch. No liquor.

          There’s rum under the table if you want to change that. (Written in a different handwriting than the first)

Scott debated the alcohol but he thought he’d wait and see how Wayne felt. Who he was starting to doubt was coming. With a deep breath, Scott tried to avoid letting all of that take over. There was a clear plan here and it wasn’t going to fall apart just because he wasn’t included in the making of it.

Resuming his wandering, Scott caught a duffle bag on his desk. By far the most out-of-place item in the room. Immediately he moved to investigate. A mess of yellow notes lay in front of the bag.

     We couldn’t figure out how to get Wayne to dress up (half a page worth of sad faces finished this message)

     So I (Eddie) picked out the nicest outfit he has and put it in this bag. Sorry about the wrinkles. Steve says sorry about the color.

     You’ll have to tell him to change. Also sorry about that.

     A friend of ours will be by at 7:30 to take your picture. Gotta have the full experience. At least get him dressed up for that.

      Have my uncle home by midnight.

The last note came with doodles in the corners, a nice little demon stabbing the word midnight because some things never change.

What this told Scott was that Wayne did not have a hand in this. All of this work came at the hands of Steve and Eddie and he wasn’t sure if it was supposed to feel like a compliment but it did. It went beyond that, this was an honor.

So many horror stories were out there trying to get involved with a family and right now, Scott had more confidence the boys were welcoming him in than Wayne. It couldn’t hurt his chances though if he had Eddie’s approval.

Scott tried to stop stressing about every little thing and remind himself to just enjoy the journey. It was going well and he knew that. He also knew Wayne well enough to know what he was getting into. This was enjoyable, he needed to relax and take it all as it happened. Something Scott had been telling himself since childhood.

Somewhere in the middle of his ancient mantras, Wayne materialized. Standing in the doorway, not unlike Scott had minutes ago but looking far more out of place. It softened those bits of anxiety, preventing them from taking hold and Scott needed to figure out when the man started to have that effect on him.

“The boys have been busy,” Scott said just above a whisper.

“I’m guessing you don’t need help with repairs and setting up for the school year?” Wayne let out a chuckle that said he really should have known they were up to something.

“They usually don’t let us in for that this early.”

With a laugh, Scott walked across the room until he was just out of reach. Trying to find some of the confusion he had when he first showed up.

“So what’s all this then?”

“I think they decided to give us that school dance we never had. I mean, I didn’t get the chance to ask if you wanted to go with me but I’m hoping the answer is yes at this point. It’d be awfully awkward if it wasn’t.”

Smiling brightly, Scott clasped his hands behind his back and rubbed the toe of his shoe on the ground. Expecting a yes, or more likely a sure, to follow his playful question.

“They’re idiots,” Wayne shook his head and leaned back into the hallway, looking in both directions.

For the first time, Scott thought this wasn’t going to happen. That Wayne was going to turn around and walk out. A typical school dance experience, Scott supposed. He didn’t have a whole lot of experience asking anyone but the rejection would be an expected risk.

He stopped the over-the-top nervous fiddling and tried not to deflate. That could wait a few minutes. Scott didn’t say a word, he didn’t want to agree that the kids were idiots. Not when they went through all this trouble. Not when they made him feel this much a part of the family before he had any right to. Even the mermaid self-portraits and tiny demons were worth appreciating. He'd have to figure out a way to thank them for their troubles later.

And like he did, Wayne stayed silent. Something Scott usually didn’t mind but right now every second of it felt like a lifetime. Of which Wayne subjected him to several.

“They got a lot right,” he started “But they shoulda let me ask you properly. I don’t even have one of them flowers for your jacket.”

Weight dropped off Scott. He knew he was smiling like an idiot, his cheeks hurt from trying to broaden them beyond what his face could hold. “With everything they thought of, I am a bit surprised they didn’t leave us any flowers. They probably would have been picked from the field behind your place or, worse, one of Steve’s neighbors.”

“Yeah, probably and I’m guessing they already got a list of crimes.”

“They did steal my keys.” That might have come out more as a complaint if Scott had stopped smiling, words still laced with promise and a touch of affection.

“I’m gonna have to ground ‘em both and I’m tackin' on a couple of extra days for letting me come looking like this.”

“Ho-ho!” Scott said, raising his finger in the air. “They thought of that. There’s a bag of your clothes on my desk and there's plenty of places to go change.”

“Those little shits!” Wayne said with a laugh, walking over to grab the bag. “Which way are the bathrooms in this place?”

“Take a left, then another one. You can find them from there.”

Wayne disappeared and Scott half wanted to swat at the air. No doubt there were little cartoon birds and hearts flying around his head. He was definitely floating as he went back to looking around for any additional notes.

As Fats Domino told the room where he found his thrills, Wayne returned. Scott immediately greeted him with a wolf whistle that echoed off the halls and earned a now-familiar growl of required protest.

“I don’t know why they picked this shirt,” he grumbled, tugging at the buttons and trying to get it to lay right.

“I do.”

“Are y'checking me out?”

Scott shrugged his shoulders, diverting his eyes but not denying the claims.

“We are far too old for that nonsense,” Wayne said with a shake of his head and a very sly smile. The sort that wrinkled his face in just the right spots and said there was so much more to him than the stoic man everyone else saw.

“We’re also standing in a makeshift high school dance. Lean into it, I say. We aren’t going to get another chance at this.”

“Does that mean you saved a dance for me?”

Scott raised his eyebrows and took a page out of Wayne’s book. He nodded his head rather than saying anything.

They continued with the silence after that, comfortable in it but not something they were dedicated to. A couple of stories triggered by their mixtape here, a few jokes about getting caught making out there, and sitting on the desks to complain about long days, but they didn’t need to say more. Swaying around the room to music, regardless of the tempo of the song, happy to be there.

And if they shared a couple of soft kisses, and snuck their hands a little lower than they should, then that was their business. This wasn’t a high school dance. No one was here to tell them how to behave.

If they were younger, if they still did things like that, Scott would have asked to go steady or to make this official but he was in his forties and stopped sending check yes or no notes decades ago. Yet, he didn't have to ask. There was more than a gut feeling the "yes" would be checked. Wayne was going to be someone in Scott’s life for a long time.

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

right now, apparently, my writing kryptonite seems to be editing. it’s a fun little brain hack. as soon as i try to edit anything my brain decides it’d rather do ANYTHING but work on the story. can’t write, can’t edit, can barely read. this sucks. 

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

Sometimes I’m writing along and I’m like “oh ho ho this is so clever!!! No one will ever suspect the crush he is hiding!!”

Other times I remember this will literally be tagged. It couldn’t be anymore obvious. In fact, it’s what people are reading for. 🤦

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

ISO Beta reader (Steddie)

BASIC INFO:

I have two fics. One basically finished but it’s over 200k. The other is a WIP.  They’re both sort of general audiences type things. No smut, no violence. Slow burn if you squint and very slow burn. Focused on the relationship

I am a very old person but a newish fic writer. The obsession hit hard here and I don’t know how I’m cranking out all these words but I’d just really like them to be the best they can be. 

SUMMARY: 

The untitled epic - Neither Steve nor Eddie are doing all that great after everything with the upside down and, yaknow, being eaten by demobats. They find each other and sort of jump head first into this whole thing. There’s road trips and slumber parties, rock shows and drive in movies. It’s sort of cute and it’s a lot messy. 

I Search For the Beat in This Dirty Town - kind-of-teacher!steve works at a school and is learning to live his best life. His friends live all over the place and he’s kind of alone, feeling like he’s treading water and not really an adult.  There’s a lot I have planned for this but it’s actively being published so I don’t want to lay it all out there (that feels silly to type but still)

PAIRINGS

In case you have some notps; 

Steddie, vickie x robin, jargyle, jancy, (whatever jonathan, nancy, and argyle is called), jopper, byler, lumax.  past buckingham, ronance, and jason carver x chrissy 

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR:

With the one fic being so huge and my brain still wanting to cram ideas into it, I’d like a big of help with the whole plot and story. There’s definitely grammar checks needed because me and grammarly only catch so much. and maybe a few questions about the whole big fic process. The occasional “help me pick between two totally reasonable options on something that has no impact” 

WHAT I CAN OFFER: 

I’m a great hype squad and will also help you out with your fics if you’d like. I’m shit at grammar though.

 Also I can send you memes and laughs. 

Please comment or send a message (i never know what to do with likes) but mostly, have a great day/night and thanks for reading 🥰

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

AO3 collection + FAQ Prompt List 2023 - alt text under the cut

January

first kiss | mission fic | fake dating | "whenever I look at you..." | snow | historical au

February

valentine's day | pollen/fear gas/truth serum | established relationship | "if i kiss you, will you shut up?" | different | mermaid au

March

fresh starts | road trup | getting back together/mutual pining | "make me" | acceptance | fairytale au

April

pranks | canon divergence | (seemingly) unrequited love | "no, i'm not dating your brother" | peace | university au

May

flower language | sick fic | pet/child acquisition | "who are you" | sunshine | fantasy/medieval/dark knights of steel au

June

wedding/proposal | saving the world | (accidental) love confession | "you aren't what i expected" | downpour | soulmate au

July

vacation together | power swap | enemies to lovers | "batman won't like this" | stars | coffee shop au

August

au of your choice | time travel | meet cute/blind date | "you're the only one i could turn to for help" | storm | vampire/werewolf/dc vs vampires au

September

high school/college sweethearts | hurt/comfort | meeting the family | "i wrote this for you" | flood | shifter au

October

couples costume | test messaging | identity shenanigans | "you can't bench me!" | lightning | sports team au

November

life changes | de-aging | secret relationship (reveal) | "be careful what you wish for" | growth | music/band au

December

holidays together | crack treated seriously | moving in together | "that's my favorite thing about you" | forgiveness | tattoo parlor/flower shop au

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

a lot of times i feel bad because i don’t care about writing smut

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

Most of my chapter titles are like goofy, things that make me laugh, or a painfully obvious bit of what happens in it. It’s stuff that makes me smile and it’s not being published like that or anything

But every so often I do one that like hits all three points and makes me want to have better chapter titles just to use that one.

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

How slow is too slow of a burn???

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

omw to write a story consisting solely of my favorite tropes and characters i think are cool

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

ao3 comments will be like “i like this line of your fic” and my reply will be like “fantastic thank you here’s my entire thought process about how i ended up with that particular line and also an outline for another fic i have and fifteen resources i used to research 1980s politics” and nobody asked for that chill

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

Dear boss,

Sorry I was late. I got wrapped up in writing Steve’s queer awakening and lost all track of time. In fact if you could let me go back home that’d be swell, I didn’t finish it.

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

spent fifteen minutes playing around and researching someone only to delete it completely from my fic two hours later

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

From the Top, Make it Drop

Steve and Eddie learn to use tik tok.

Of course, it takes months for them to use it to play pranks on each other. Steve's cute, wholesome videos of him signing song will never be the same.

All prompted by a convo with ainsalaco that inspired me just a little too much.

rockstar!eddie    deaf!steve    modern era

                                                  __________

word count: 3207 trigger warnings: the lyrics of wap but honestly they’re mostly implied. let’s just say language though?? it’s wholesome as shit ao3 link: here

                                                 __________

It started the same way this did for anyone not in high school; morbid curiosity and boredom. 

     I don’t want to watch a bunch of kids dance. 

     We’re too old for that, there’s nothing on it for us. 

     Who wants to be cringy and trendy? 

Steve and Eddie had gone through all the stages of grief with TikTok, happier with their Instagrams and Facebooks (though Corroded Coffin also had a Twitter to reach the maximum amount of people) but TikTok wasn’t going away. 

Dustin text links relentlessly, if Eddie didn’t watch it then the link was sent to Steve. Or the other way around. Will and Lucas started talking only in references to videos and stopped making sense to those too old, too unhip to get it. Max went viral several times over for roasting her friends and that was enough to have both Steve and Eddie making an account but not using the app to its full potential. 

What it took was one weekend. Arguably the worst Christmas one could have but Eddie and Steve got snowed into the airport and entertainment was minimal. Will sent a video to express his sadness and seventy-five hours later, when they were finally heading home, Eddie and Steve had not only perfectly honed their for you pages but filmed their first Tik Tok. 

That’s all it took. The monster was created. Everyone rejoiced, of course, and filled the visit with tips and tricks and accounts to follow. Max and Nancy taught Steve how to get captions of videos that came without and how to clear everything off his screen when people were kind enough to turn captions on but not make them accessible. 

Will and Mike taught Eddie how to link multiple accounts so he could have one as Eddie: lead singer of Corroded Coffin and one that could be private, for friends and family. Understanding that blending the two worlds wasn’t always a good idea but also knowing they did not want to accidentally go viral for saying something stupid in the background of a famous, blue-checked video. 

Erica immediately blocked them both and tried to get them to delete the app. Saying it was like having her dad watching her and that was not going to happen, thank you. 

Eddie did get the blue check, verified fairly quickly, and with it came a massive following. The voyeurism of learning what celebrities got up to when they weren’t “on” was the backbone of social media. Comments came in on every video from metalheads playfully cursing Eddie for making them join this god-forsaken app. 

He didn’t post all that much. A few goofy videos from backstage, a handful of “what we’re up to”, and the occasional stitch to make someone’s day as they performed a Corroded Coffin song on kazoo. It was as active as the rest of his social media. 

However, the private one was nonstop videos. The top comment on every single one was Robin tagging Steve and begging him to take Eddie’s phone. No one needed this much information. Which only encouraged Eddie. He sent Robin flowers the day Tik Tok allowed him to make three-minute videos. 

Steve, on the other hand, used his to uplift everyone around him. Look at my amazing husband packing for tour and boldly thinking he needs no socks and five neckties, I love him so much. Watch my best friend argue with a literal light post for ninety seconds. Check out these cute ducks that crossed the street today and made me late for work. 

No one followed him other than his friends. He never went viral. Half the time his thumb was creeping into the shot and the videos were shaky. Until El and Max stepped in and started teaching Steve the trendy dances. It wasn’t a side of Tik Tok he was on and they kept it that way for him. Watching him go in blind and attempt the latest trend was the funniest thing they could think of. 

He got the tiniest bit of traction because he wasn’t great but he would start yelling at Max in sign language and the internet ran with that. Instead of being laughable (which it was) he became inspiration porn (which he hated). 

The nature of Tik Tok, though, was that traction lasted a couple of weeks and soon they were left to do whatever they wanted for the joy of their friends and a handful of people who stuck around. Likely because the videos stopped popping up on their fyp and they didn’t think to go unfollow. And Tik Tok was fun again. 

When videos started to go viral of sign language interpreters killing it at various concerts, giving it their all, and in some cases upstaging the performers themselves, everyone flooded Steve with links. It didn’t take long for the geniuses Steve surrounded himself with to suggest that Steve start doing this with trendy songs. 

Loads of people got millions of views lip-syncing, Steve should sign the songs. Millions of views weren’t his goal but Steve was a sap and they might have preyed on that a little. He wanted to do this with his friends but a small part of him did enjoy being able to participate in the trends in a way that felt “normal”. 

It wasn’t someone stopping something to make special accommodations for Steve, or him missing the joke because no one could translate it properly. This would be his own thing, doing something the rest of the world was doing, and he got to do it with his friends. 

Tripods, ring lights, and redecoration of the “best spot” in the house came as Steve learned a bit of the B-52s Love Shack. It came with a silly little dance that was easy enough to learn. A few dozen videos later, proving to Steve that most people did the bare minimum by way of dancing, they'd found their way to participate. Even if it took a little bit of tweaking and a lot of pleading. 

Eddie was home and procrastinating songwriting so he was in their way as much as possible. As annoying as it was, he put the work in. He learned the signs, he learned the dance and was willing to be “embarrassed” for fifteen seconds. More than that, every single member of the group wanted video evidence of Eddie dancing to a B-52s/Brittney Spears mash-up in his grungy old Megadeth tee and ripped jeans. 

If Eddie had known what he was in for, he might not have agreed to it. Much like Steve, though, he was an absolute sucker for those he loved. That fifteen-second video took four hours to shoot. In part, because it was a little harder to do while staying in sync with someone than either Eddie or Steve anticipated. But mostly because people couldn’t stop laughing. Especially Eddie 

Like all of Steve’s videos, it did…nothing. Unlike the rest of the videos, the gang had found something they all wanted to do. Everyone wanted in on it, even Erica. Who wouldn’t spill how she’d seen the video in the first place but signed up to help organize this because that first video was “a mess”. 

So they stopped waiting for the trends. It meant less dancing but they made a few of their own moves. Steve and Eddie would hide away for a couple afternoons and listen to the song over and over. They argued about the meaning of the lyrics endlessly and how to best translate it. Which seemed to be as enjoyable as every other part. 

A sharp juxtaposition to them going into the studio, Eddie would mess with the levels of the song and let Steve feel it. Every part of the tender moment laughed in the face of pointless arguments as Steve sat on the floor, focused and occasionally reading the lyrics on his phone and Eddie focused on Steve. 

Once that was finished Robin would get the final say on things. She sided with Eddie more than Steve and, inevitably, there was more arguing. Behind every Tik Tok was a solid day of pointless arguments. No one tried to stop them, they factored this into prep time. 

As if the constant, meaningless argument wasn’t joy enough, they’d block out an afternoon to shoot this. With more than enough food around, people would pour into the Munson-Harrington house to “help shoot” the video. So what if the rest of the world wasn’t watching? The house was filled with people and laughter, getting in the way of “production” and more than once, tossing Steve into the pool. 

What none of them knew was that was what made their videos truly great. Somewhere between the imperfections and the pure joy radiating off everyone, they’d tripped into more than just a neat sign language video. It was watching Steve in the foreground, concentrating and hoping to not lose the beat, while Eddie was replaced with Robin and then Max. 

These weren’t the people trying to become influencers but those who fall out of frame halfway through talking about the occupants of a midnight train or can’t remember the lyrics to a song that’s been popular longer than they’ve been alive. This was a group of friends having the time of their lives. 

They posted more bloopers than they did successes. Corroded Coffin even used their nearly empty account to repost the time Eddie messed up and signed something that would certainly have got them banned if Tik Tok knew what he'd said. And the nearly full minute of laughter as bit by bit everyone either figured it out or was clued in. Steve took the camera off its little stand and filmed his friends rolling in laughter, ending it with a cinematic shot of Eddie looking incredibly embarrassed. It got no views because they didn't translate it but it was Steve's favorite video of all. 

Slowly things picked up traction. Which most found slightly exhilarating. Their fully costumed, six-person rendition of Monster Mash for Halloween spread the furthest. And if they’d made another video, they might have taken off, but everyone had holidays to celebrate. Sometimes together but no one wanted to perform and translate anything. 

Those that had followed Steve for these song and dance numbers were none too happy to see the videos shift back to Will showing off something he’d made or Nancy ranting as Jonathan and Steve snicker off-screen. They following they amassed was here for one reason and one reason only. Something they didn't mind demanding in the comment section of every cute video Steve put up of his friends. Steve stopped posting for far too long as a result. 

When they picked it back up in the new year, it was back to a couple of thousand views. Steve didn’t care about the views but he missed the stitches of people signing along. It’d have been easy to let it fall off here, Steve could go back to his proud “dad” videos and embarrassing his friends who were full-grown adults now but would always be kids to him. Only no one was willing to give this up. If this didn't mean anything to the audience, that was fine, it meant a lot to Steve and his crew of nerds.  

To spice things up and keep it interesting, Eddie hatched a plan he barely had to explain to earn support. A prank, of sorts, that worked so beautifully because Steve looked so squeaky clean and, well, couldn’t hear well enough to know what was really happening. 

In secret, Eddie would learn to sign WAP. A trendy enough song but one Steve wouldn’t know and went so wildly against that cultivated squeaky clean image Steve liked to keep. They all knew differently but the audience didn't. However, WAP would be a song he would have turned down otherwise. It was the perfect choice to mess with Steve. Though they'd have to lure him into a false sense of security first. 

That’s where the meat and potatoes of the prank came in, Eddie and Steve would work together to learn Dustin’s long-time request, Like a Surgeon. He was convinced Weird Al would see, somehow be so excited he needed to meet Steve and Eddie and, of course, Dustin would be able to tag along claiming to be the cameraman or the brains of the operation. 

An easy sell because Steve already knew the beat of the song since they’d done the original version before (and he had vague, incorrect memories of hearing the song long ago). Though Dustin, who they didn’t let in on the joke, was dead sure Steve couldn’t sell the comedy needed to go with the song. He’d sign it too seriously and mess everything up. 

The way Steve took that as a challenge both to prove Dustin wrong like all good friends would do but to want to get it all correct for Dustin made it almost impossible for Eddie to continue. Twice Robin, Jonathan, and Argyle had to talk him back into this joke. They could make the Weird Al video after this one, it wouldn’t be forgotten. 

So everyone descended on the house one Saturday to watch Steve try and make Dustin’s little dreams come true and Eddie dash them in the same breath. The buzz was bigger than anything this house had seen and Corroded Coffin got nominated for an award while they lived here. 

Everything hinged on the mirror in the room they’d put up months ago to help everyone stay together and the fact that Steve would watch Eddie the whole time. Everyone knew and they all took turns pretending to gag and barf before this moment. 

The music started, Steve was counted in and as he always did, he watched Robin for the first thirty seconds as she kept the beat. All the while, Eddie’s just a step behind Steve, right in his blind spot, signing along to the actual music playing. 

There’s some whores in this house. 

Robin had to keep the beat this time, occasionally it was Max, but Robin was musical enough to keep the wrong beat as WAP filled the room. Those who didn’t know what was going on quickly caught on. Glances were exchanged and in seconds the room agreed to support this, marking the first time in their short Tik Tok career, the whole room managed to not get caught up in the giggles. 

Certified freak…

The patients fading fast

Nothing is matching up as Steve’s focus leaves Robin for the first time, eyes naturally drifting to Eddie’s reflection as his thumbs and fingers connect and it’s moved from his eyes to his chin, tongue out and looking far too delighted. 

Steve’s brain short circuits and he can’t remember his next sign. He’s stuttering without making a sound as one hand sort of shakes, trying to jump-start the next line in his brain. Eddie is not only not signing the same things but he’s talking about…no. He couldn’t be. Why would he be? 

The entire printed-out page of lyrics rolls past Steve’s eyes as he tries to figure out where it says anything like Eddie is saying. Or where those liberties could be taken. Not once does Eddie stop, he barely falters and is now talking about parking in a garage. Steve's eyes go wide, that can't be what he just seen.

No one lets their face change, those who aren’t actors saved their skills for this exact moment. Steve tries to read them but turns back to Eddie fairly quickly. And Eddie loses it, his hands drop to his knees and he’s laughing loud enough that everyone is sure Steve can hear him. And when Steve tries to shove Eddie over they believe, for a minute, he could. 

Once it starts, everyone joins in. The Tik Tok jumps to a much calmer room and Steve and Eddie sign furiously. There are tears of laughter in Eddie’s eyes, he can barely keep it together to explain anything. The camera turns around to show most of the gang and Robin saying “I think we’re in trouble.” 

Of course, no one was. Steve yelled and stomped his feet for a minute but he proved everyone's predictions right. He was mad because they'd strung Dustin along for days only the pull the rug out from under him at the last moment. After everyone explained they’d already made plans to do the song for real, Steve calmed a little.

The first duet came from Max’s account as she showed Steve watching the video. Making jokes about seeing the exact moment Steve’s soul left his body (complete with a freeze frame of the video to prove it) and that he’d already called the divorce lawyer. 

A few others came in the following days, most people laughing and doing little else to add to the content. But a week and a half later, Lucas came over with Gareth and gave Steve the revenge he didn’t ask or plan for. 

It was a stitch, started close up on someone who let the silence hang in the air for a while before asking, “What’d you say to me about that last video?” 

“I said, ‘Is that Eddie Munson?’” 

“Who’s that?” the person on camera asked.

“Who’s that?” the off-screen voice said with too much disgust. 

The video cuts, now on the back camera. On the tv across the room is a video on YouTube of Corroded Coffin playing live. It pans over the person who was the off-screen voice headbanging along for a few seconds before saying “That’s Eddie Munson” and then playing some air guitar. 

The camera pans back to the tv and down to a tablet playing the Tik Tok and the camera zoomed in on Eddie signing WAP. Another cut and it’s Eddie headbanging on screen. After another camera switch from back to front, it shows the first person looking incredibly confused and that’s where it ends. 

While that would be enough for Lucas and Gareth to show off, they have video after video of people stitching or dueting that person’s video with a similar look of confusion. In a chain of events that only the internet is good at, the last video they play shows a tweet from Megan Thee Stallion on the top of the screen. She's cracking jokes and mentioning Weird Al Yankovic, asking when his version of WAP is coming, she has an idea for the video. 

Days later, a blushing Steve stood next to Eddie in the same room they did all their Tik Toks in. A dramatic silence was soon followed by the chant "There's some whores in this house". This time, Steve signed along with Eddie. The laughter wasn't off-screen this time as they worked to put their all into it. The top comment was Dustin, furious this came before the video they owed him. 

The next comment was Erica refusing to help them ever again. 

Steve made it through nearly the entire song before he had to walk out of the room, laughing too hard to stand up. It ends with Eddie standing in front of the phone, rock fingers, tongue out.