#Jovi gang

[poorlymadesockpuppet]

@jimmyfission

[mikeywayarchive]

MCR opening for Bon Jovi at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ // Oct 25th 2007 // Gail G.

[thegangbonjovi]

On this day in 1884, David Rashbaum made the first entry in his journal. He was the only member of the gang that could read and write, so his documentation of the events that went down were revolutionary amongst the group of men were very important.

Now, as David did 140 years ago, I’m making my first entry on a journal of sorts. I’m blogging everything I can about this gang, because I think they’re the most interesting outlaw gang discovered to date. An Italian, a Polish, a Cuban, a Frenchman, and a Jewish. Five outcasts in the scary, scary wild west. The journal has been recently released in full, at least this one specific journal. We know there's more out there, but we found this one in full. Here's one of my favorite excerpts.

"I’m probably an embarrassment to Jon. I think he only keeps me around because he feels bad for me. I know I’m not the best at aiming and I’m not physically the strongest. I know I’m probably a disgrace to the Bon Jovi gang as a whole, just slowing them down. I mean, I’m valued the least. I’m just some kid that Jon knows.

Richie makes me feel bad for not really being able to offer anything meaningful to the gang. Tico tries to help me come up with clever comebacks, but I don’t listen. Alec thinks I’m too nice for that. I just know that at least I can read, I have that to offer. I’ll get handed papers a lot and I get asked what they say. That reminds me, I really have something going for me.

I want to make Jon proud. I want him to look at me and say “that’s a guy in my gang”. I can’t think of what I’d be without him, really. No matter how much he brushes me off. I think he’s just trying to keep us all safe. That’s what I tell myself anyway. The guys think I’m naïve, but I’m just optimistic. I’ve never really had anything happen to me or to the gang to make me think otherwise.

I’m not optimistic in a “the world has no wrongs” way, I’m optimistic in a “we will survive” way. There are bad people in the world, I know that. I know that because people think we are the bad people. Because of how many people Jon and Richie have killed alone, I think. They think we’re bad, but we’re just a few guys scared for our lives and trying to stay safe.

I remember laying against Tico, just bawling my eyes out as he smoked. He’s too busy for emotions. I admire him for that, I wish I was the same way. But no, I cry over very little things and can’t be left to my own devices for more than five minutes. I felt bad, always going to Tico for comfort. I really needed it at that moment, though. I was tired of Richie calling me weak, nothing more than a call boy.

He was sort of right. Jon had picked me up from a theater when we were both 16. I feel indebted to Jon for that. I do everything I do to try and make him proud, really. But I already went on that tangent."

[rustedhearts]

roller girl on vinyl

and if you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends

✶ everytime (part one), britney spears (ethel cain cover)//every corner (part two), gracie abrams

✶ dazed and confused (70s!steve), led zeppelin

✶ knockin' on heaven's door (70s!steve), bob dylan

✶ misled (college!steve), kool & the gang

✶ head over heels (boxer!steve), tears for fears

✶ shades of cool (boxer!steve), lana del rey

✶ battlefield (boxer!steve) pat benatar

✶ love bites (boxer!steve), def leppard

✶ send her my love (boxer!steve), journey

✶ i got you, babe (boxer!steve), sonny & cher

✶ sentimental reasons (boxer!steve), nat king cole

✶ christmas carols (collection)

✶ the old house (boxer!steve), the smiths

✶ my funny valentine, ella fitzgerald

✶ dagger (boxer!steve), slowdive

✶ i want your things in my room (fratboy!steve), julia wolf (part one)// somebody told me, the killers (part two)

✶ i can't quit you, baby (70s!steve), led zeppelin

✶ always (boxer!steve), bon jovi

✶ tangerine dreams (boxer!steve), salvatore, lana del rey

✶ losing dogs (troubled!steve), i bet on losing dogs, mitski

✶ the library ✶

[annahxredaxted]

DAVID AND SAM LISTEN TO DIVIORCED DAD MUSIC🗣️‼️‼️

(NICKLEBACK, FOOFIGHTERS, CREED, AEROSMITH, BLACK SABBATH, SUM 41, PEARL JAM, THE OFFSPRING, THE BLOODHOUND GANG, EAGLES,MÖNTLY CRÜE, STYX, BON JOVI, DAVID BOWIE AND SO ON!!)

[splatooshy]

what kind of music/artists/bands do you think the scooby gang + the originals would listen to in the early seasons?

OH OH OH

well we know from canon that even without humanity, damon can & will listen to taylor swift without complaint. even though he’s perfectly capable of compelling a music change.

& he listens to depeche mode so he’s automatically cool.

i think the salvatores have very wide tastes, but not much overlap. stefan loves bon jovi to an unhealthy degree, and would probably have been a BIG beach boys fan back in the day. he’s totally over it now though, those records in his cupboard are purely decorative!! damon would love ABBA, head over heels reminds him of katherine & he uses it to outsource his emotions in his no humanity era. stefan tolerates it for lexi’s sake (damon thinks it’s unfortunate that he and lexi have similar music taste. it’s probably the only thing he likes about her). also the cure.

i think stefan cries to bon iver’s ‘roslyn’.

both stefan and damon would be into stevie nicks & florence + the machine & paramore & david bowie (damon in fact knew him rather well back in the seventies…) but in totally different ways. damon loves anthems & grooves, discordant sounds and triplet beats, while stefan digs a good beat & steady rhythm. with a fabulous guitar riff ofc.

bonnie is also a big paramore girly. also hozier. i think she and damon bond over similar music tastes.

caroline listens to taylor swift (fearless is her fav, red & 1989 are 2&3), one direction, jonas brothers, miley, britney etc. she bullies politely asks jeremy to let her use his tech stuff to make her own mixes. she also has a hot pink boombox that she takes to every cheer practice. it’s covered in stickers that won’t come off no matter how hard she tries. yes, vampire strength has been applied.

elena spent the three months between the crash & stefan blasting dean lewis in her bedroom. hozier, bon jovi to seem cool to stefan, janis joplin, probably some british pop like dexys midnight runners, ed sheeran, bastille. but that’s a secret she’ll take to her grave.

jeremy listens to 21 pilots, mcr, p!atd, bleachers (later seasons tho. don’t think they existed til 2015 or something), the neighbourhood, arctic monkeys, fallout boy, etc. probably listens to sheppard on repeat. geronimo just really speaks to him, okay?! absolutely does not copy damon’s taste in music, that’s just a coincidence!!! he’s also the source of elena’s secret love for british pop.

matt listens to elevator music. nah he just plays whatever’s on the radio. my truck is my girlfriend & my dog has fleas kind of country music? idk.

tyler has all of those mix cds like sofresh, each 00s / 90s genre, really does not care what he listens to as long as he can nod his head along.

alaric listens to 80s rock in a dad way & whatever damon plays because damon has dj rights everywhere & will push his way onto the aux.

not really in the gang but katherine listens to male manipulator music. and female manipulator music like ethel cain, fiona apple, etc.

the originals?

klaus listens to smooth jazz. and instrumental covers. he’ll text stefan a link to the lamest love song ever (instrumental) with the caption ‘this is our song’.

kol also listens to smooth jazz, but in a cool way. as well as 00s pop. he and rebekah fight over who discovered what song first. he would absolutely LOVE musicals. has the glee & hamilton soundtracks on his little ipod. BOY BANDS OMG kol has a backstreet boys poster confirmed. also 90s-00s hip hop / rap / pop hybrids. especially nelly furtado.

OH OH THE SHREK SOUNDTRACK. that’s his jam fr fr.

rebekah is a speak now girly through and through. ‘innocent’ is literally her song. she’s just so taylor swift. she would LOVE suki waterhouse, but that’s not for another few years. OH WAIT REBEKAH’S CANONICALLY ALIVE IN 2024. she absolutely listens to chappell roan and it DEFINITELY does not make her think of hayley, why would you say that???

elijah listens to eight hour long symphonies and concertas, but won’t complain if one of the others is hogging the aux. he will not be so childish as to dagger his siblings over music disputes, (klaus), or break their arms (rebekah), thank you very much. he only demands control of the music when damon’s trying to seduce him (succeeding), because elijah knows how to woo & be wooed in return. that includes the romantic playlist. also, damon has a very annoying habit of singing along & playing air guitar when the bridge hits just right, usually whilst there is a cock in his ass.

finn likes renaissance fair music. he considers it to be contemporary, as he was daggered during this period.

[pavlovianpanic]

❝ yeah, my family owns a mountain. well, like, most of it … like, the peak?? heh ... enough to call it mount washington, but it's actually called blackwood mountain — connected to blackwood pines. it's a whole thing. ❞

a whole community, or more it was. some parts thrived more than others, though only for so long — the mines were cursed, the sanitorium shut down in the 50's, and the hotel? razed down to its lowest levels in the effort to rebuild something new, brighter, and more luxurious. his father's greed knows no bounds, a sickness passed down through blood. a curse. we're cursed. i know it.

❝ we have a lodge, actually. my dad built it. heh, i basically grew up there. if you want, i could show you sometime? you might not know this about me, jovie, but i'm actually a wicked snowboarder. yeah, yeah. it's true. you'll just have to see for yourself. there's enough boards for us both, trust me. besides, if snowboarding isn't your thing, there's enough trails and scenic sights to get your fill for life. trust me. so, what do you say? you in? i could gather the gang together, get us all up there ... or it could be a more private trip? eh? just me and you?? come on, @goldcnpeaks, don't leave me hanging. you in? ❞

[steddieficrec]

Another list. All rated Mature. Enjoy.

Devil (take my hand and we'll walk into the fire together) by Hbyrde

(1/1 I 533)

The new album had been months in the making, and the members of Corroded Coffin were committed to finding just the right concept for their cover art.

After the recent Senate hearings Eddie was almost certain the lyrics alone would earn them a ‘Parental Advisory: Explicit Content’ sticker, but the band was determined to really drive the point home.

Some artists were annoyed by it on principle, or the fact that they thought it would hurt their record sales. And Eddie was by no means a fan of censorship, but he intended to wear that sticker like a badge of honor.

If this didn’t send the pearl-clutching mothers of America rifling through their dresser drawers for their own rosary beads, nothing would.

scared to want you by steddieas_shegoes

(1/1 I 1,021)

“Are you gonna stop staring at him anytime soon?” Robin’s voice asked loudly in his ear.

“Probably not,” Steve admitted. “He’s wearing my sweater.”

He saw Robin’s head whip around to look back at Eddie. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah.”

(Un)Happy Endings by eyesofshinigami

(1/1 I 4,129)

"This bullshit right here is why Eddie doesn’t believe in happy endings. Fuck all those fairy tales and the people who believe in them. Princes don’t come, white knights don’t save the day, and people like Eddie don’t get to live out their dreams, do they? No, instead he gets to lie on the ground while Dustin watches him in his death throes. Like the kid needs another tally mark in the trauma column and it’s really fucking with Eddie that he’s going to be the one to add it there."

Or

Another take on Eddie's Not-Death and what comes after

and everything emptying into white by 02tilt

(1/1 I 4,996)

“Morning,” Eddie tells Steve.

“Good or bad?” echoes out of the shower, rising with the steam. (Steam that makes everything in here smell like Steve, every morning).

Steve’s voice tugs on either side of Eddie’s mouth— makes him smile, small and shy. Makes his heart flap its broken wings. “Good.”

“Great.”

(a day in 2002, where eddie gets back into the swing of things.)

a molecular rift you can't fix by cowlovely

(1/1 I 14,807)

The light covering of snow and frost has already washed most of the scenery in white and gray, which makes the figure clad in black at the edge of the road stand out all the more. Steve squints as he drives closer, slowing his car a little. The figure has one arm crossed against their chest and the other sticking outwards, their hand closed in a fist with the thumb pointed out to the side. As the clothes and the shape of the hair come into clearer view, Steve recognizes the hitchhiker immediately, stopping the car and reaching over the passenger seat to roll the window down.

“Munson?”

Not So Bad by outofmygourd

(9/9 I 43,409)

Vecna is dead. It's the summer after the party's freshman year. Steve Harrington spends it in the Family Video Store, and Eddie Munson is spending post-graduate life bothering him. And maybe Steve isn't as bothered as he used to be.

Summer '86 by how_about_no

(12/12 I 51,300)

After everything that happened during Spring Break, life for everyone in Hawkins returned to somewhat normal. Well, aside from Steve's new friendship with one Eddie Munson.

The gang decide they all deserve a break and head to Steve's family beach house for a week, featuring copious amounts of fluff, found family bonding, blurring (or completely ignoring) the line between platonic and romantic, and bullying being considered flirting.

A Coat of Paint by songbvrd

(13/13 I 56,334)

“Greetings and salutations to you, Harrington!”

And there he was. Just as in your face and over the top as ever.

Only he looked… different. He looked like fucking Bon Jovi. Jeans so ripped they may as well just be shorts and a crop top and hair pulled back into a bun with loose bits falling around his face. In some weird way, the jeans almost seemed more revealing than shorts. They weren’t, of course, Steve couldn’t see the backs of Eddie’s legs or his left knee or either calf, but there was so much open ripping around his thighs that almost seemed more… teasing.

“Holy shit, I can see your whole face.” Steve mumbled out, lips parted in genuine surprise, instantly reaching out to try to touch the bun at the crown of his head.

Eddie batted him away.

OR

Steve agrees to help Eddie paint his trailer, but isn't prepared for the bisexual crisis it sends him spiraling into.

Lovesick in Loch Nora by red0aktree

(11/11 I 62,603)

Even though Eddie's name has been cleared legally, he's still very much on trial in the court of public opinion. Dealing drugs isn't a lucrative occupation anymore, and getting a legitimate job in a town who still considers him a killer isn't much of an option, either. Eddie is beginning to think skipping town and starting over somewhere no one knows his name is the only chance he has left. Steve has another idea.

AKA: Steve gets Eddie a job as an anonymous columnist at a local newspaper.

the lathe by palmviolet

(13/13 I 82,547)

"This time, do it right. This time Eddie won’t bleed out in his arms, in anyone’s arms. This time, Steve will do it right."

— or, steve relives the day they try to kill vecna over and over, and eddie just can't seem to stop dying. steve finds this totally unacceptable.

[einsteinsugly]

The T7S Gang's Modern Music Tastes.

Notes:

1. Boomer is the default, obviously. Millennial/Zoomer is just an addition, if they were younger.

2. I'm classifying 2000 and later as "modern." U2, Aerosmith, and Bon Jovi had some significant hits in the early/mid 00s.

*****

Boomer! Donna: Evanescence, Alicia Keys, KT Tunstall, No Doubt, Paramore (a guilty pleasure, if just a boomer), Sara Bareilles, Norah Jones, Adele, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith

Millennial/Zoomer! Donna: Blink 182, Good Charlotte, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, Flyleaf, early Avril Lavigne, early Pink. She would have a massive pop punk phase.

*****

Boomer! Eric: Maroon 5, Coldplay, John Mayer, Five For Fighting, Weezer, Green Day, Bon Jovi, The Killers, U2, Aerosmith, Ed Sheeran, Dave Matthews Band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Matchbox Twenty, Train, Michael Buble, The Goo Goo Dolls. And Nickelback, which the gang makes fun of him for.

Millennial/Zoomer! Eric: Linkin Park (for some dramatic teenage musing), The Lumineers, Bleachers, Mumford and Sons, Of Monsters and Men, maybe some Fun.

*****

Fez: Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Beyonce (he's the biggest Beyonce stan, ever), Destiny's Child, Daft Punk, Avicii, Jungle, Sam Smith, Harry Styles

*****

Boomer! Hyde: The Black Keys, Hozier (the only very modern artist I can see him liking), Red Hot Chili Peppers, Queens of the Stone Age, Cage the Elephant, Muse, Lenny Kravitz, Green Day

Millennial/Zoomer! Hyde: Eminem, Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala

*****

Boomer! Jackie: Adele, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift (but not her country stuff), Mariah Carey, Sabrina Carpenter, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears

Millennial/Zoomer! Jackie: One Direction, Fifth Harmony, and Little Mix. Tries to get Hyde into The 1975, because she thinks it's *so him.* Olivia Rodrigo is her angry music.

*****

Boomer! Kelso: Macklemore, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Shaggy, Baha Men, Gorillaz. Listens to Nickelback in secret.

Millennial/Zoomer! Kelso: Jack Harlow (he says he's his biggest fan), Twenty One Pilots, Cobra Starship, 3OH!3, Gym Class Heroes

[guygardnerneongreenstrap]

DMC Questions Anon here!

What sort of music would be on each character's (that you want to talk about) Spotify Wrapped?

OOOOOOHHHHH OKAY GANG LETS SEE

Dante: Dante isn’t picky with his music choice, genres all blend together for him, but he favors Classic Rock. Def some MJ, The Scorpions, Elton John, Bon Jovi and Rolling Stones. His top song is Smooth Criminal by Micheal Jackson.

Vergil: An absolute prick. The type of guy who uses Youtube Music rather than Spotify, but I digress. Obviously a classic music elitist. Johannes Brahms, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, and on occasion Bizet. His top song is The Swan Lake (Suite) by Tchaikovsky.

Nero: He likes most rock/metal. Bring Me The Horizon, pre-hiatus Fall Out Boy, Grandson, Rare Americans and to a MUCH smaller extent; Weezer. His top song is Blasphemy by Bring Me The Horizon.

Lady: Classic Rock all the way, Queen, Rolling Stones, Blondie, the Zombies, KISS and the Kinks. Her top song is Paint it, Black.

Trish: Trish is an ABBA listener. No I will not elaborate. Top song is Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!

Nico: Salt n’ Pepa is her go to, but I also see Bell Biv Devoe. Of course, she listens to some country too, Dolly Parton and Shania Twain, even Carrie Underwood. She’s a lot like Dante, in the way her music range varies a lot. Her top song is Man! I Feel Like A Woman! by Shania Twain.

Reboot! Dante: 2000’s Trashy, poppy, clubbing, sludge mixed with industrial metal. Canonically enjoys Combichrist, but I definitely see him as a guy who fucks with 3OH!3 and Hollywood Undead, even Ke$ha. Top song? Touchin’ On My by 3OH!3

Reboot! Vergil: You know JP from Grandma’s Boy? He gives me MAJOR Vergil vibes. Anyways; he listens to industrial techno shit. Like just pure instrumental. Suicide Commando, Bicurious, and Chris Keya. His top song is Binary Space by The Algorithm.

Kat: Kat listens to Female-Led Rock; The Cranberries, Garbage, No Doubt, Pat Benatar and Joan Jett. Her top song is Stupid Girl by Garbage.

[dis-harmony]

🏀 Slam Dunk Headcanons: Aesthetics Shohoku 🏀

Sakuragi 🏀

Sakuragi’s aesthetic would be a jock since he is part of the delinquent gang with the four of his friends.

He would always be like one when it comes to basketball even though he might have poor skills at it at times 😞

But don’t worry, at least Haruko would support him which hopefully she’s going to love his style if he is a jock.

He would at least spend a lot of time at video games or sports, but mostly basketball to achieve his skills. He is athletic tbh.

He might want to wear a jock strap or just a letterman jackets along with a Shohoku team uniform with it.

Rukawa 🦊

Oh, this bad boy is DEPRESSED.

Rukawa would be into either goth stuff so emo things so I’m guessing he could be an E-boy tbh.

Lazy boy would be E-boy 🖤

If it’s too pretty for him, he might at least be plain emo then.

He would always admire with grunge aesthetics so he would want to look cool on it and I bet he would be listening to punk or metal rock music.

I’m pretty sure if he wears those things, the girls would really see him so dark whether they love it or not.

Crack: If he’s h?rny, he would want to be an emo femboy in private… 💀

Haruko 🌸

Sweet girl is nothing but a softie! 🧸

She has various favorites of aesthetics that can be cutesy and Japanese-cultured like bubble bujo, babygirl, girly, cute party kei, cutegore, choco girl, pastel, fairy kei, heisei retro, jirai kei, kawaii gamer, Lolita, MANY MORE!!!

But mostly, she loves to be a softie in general.

This girl will do anything for a cuteness overload to Sakuragi so he would explode with cuteness in a chibi form ❤️

She loves to write love letters, eating some sweets, spending much time listening to cute music, cuddling her pillows and plush toys, and collect kawaii figures.

Her most favorite part of all is wearing cute dresses and hoodies when going out, especially if she goes out for a date with Sakuragi.

Ayako 🧢

Here goes this baddie… 😎

Her aesthetics would mostly be tomboyish but she would love to have such cool and cleavage styles to be cool like Mcbling moodb, gyaru, baddie, city pop, scene, vaporwave, and boujee

Tomboyish girl is cool!

Lots of people would go crazy about her ngl.

Best girl can get sporty too if she wanted to be like Sakuragi.

What a bimbo 💅

Mitsui ⚡️

Mitsui would be into these aesthetics that has to do with rock/heavy metal music.

But I think he would be into grunge like Rukawa does but differently ofc.

He does have a sense of fashion back in his time with his former delinquent gang which I would’ve thought he looked like he belonged to a heavy metal band tbh.

He would be into AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Kiss, Black Sabbath, and others..

If he can have that kind of aesthetic, he would wear leather jackets, studded belts, black jeans, hi-top shoes, and combat boots.

Akagi 🦍

This gorilla man would have a perfect sense of gangster stuff. 😎

GANGSTA ✨

Yes, he’s totally gonna have an obsession with gangster culture tbh.

This guy would be listening to rap music or hip-hop because of the violent lifestyle in USA.

He could wear a double-breasted suit so he can look like a total gangsta. Or he would just wear baggy clothes.

Ryota 7️⃣

Ryota on the other hand has so much experiences of aesthetics that can be weird and fun.

He would be some guy who might be used to those crazy and random weird things that he would like to see on TV or if he can play some video games like FNAF or Poppy Playtime.

POV: One day, Ryota came home from school and is literally crashed from having an amazing time of playing basketball with his team in the game performance.

But when he’s tired, he would sit and be on his computer all day but then hallucinate on weird scenery and stuff.

After that, he would end up having dreams that has to do with weirdcore.

Imagine if his teammates will turn themselves differently than normal, much to them becoming chibis.

Kogure 👓

I think this four-eyed boy would be a prep! 😊

His preppy style would be like sailor shorts, boat shoes, collared tops, and others.

This nerd would be really into college and old money stuff ngl.

Nerdy

I bet he would be quite obsessive with smart things once get himself preppy tho

I Think his favorite things about it would be like studying, vocabulary, advanced schoolwork, even many things that can make him reach to college (somehow if he would).

[arthurmorganmilk]

rip van der linde gang you guys would have loved bon jovi

[ofdissonance]

𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

FULL NAME.  Stefan Antonio Salvatore

NICKNAME.  Stef, Hero Hair 

GENDER.  Cis Male  

HEIGHT.  5′11″

AGE.  18/166 (Born on November 1st)

ZODIAC.   Scorpio sun (vindictive, defiant, passionate), Aquarius moon (observant, lonely, cool-headed), Leo rising (magnetic, generous, strong)

SPOKEN LANGUAGES.   English, Italian

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

HAIR COLOR.  Light Brown

EYE COLOR.  Green

BODY TYPE.   Mesomorph 

VOICE.  Tenor

DOMINANT HAND.  Right

SCARS.  That vampire healing is handy.

TATTOOS. One rose tattoo on his shoulder.

PIERCINGS.   None

MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S).   Smile, physique. 

𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 !

HOMETOWN.   Mystic Falls, Virgina

SIBLINGS.   Damon Salvatore  

PARENTS.  Giuseppe and Lily Salvatore

𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 !

OCCUPATION. Pretty sure he is still living off that good ol' family money. 

CLOSE FRIENDS.   The Mystic Falls Scooby gang.  

RELATIONSHIP STATUS.  Single.

FINANCIAL STATUS.  Comfortable. 

DRIVER’S LICENSE.  Both regular and motorcycle!

𝐬𝐞𝐱 & 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 !

SEXUAL ORIENTATION.  Heterosexual

PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE.  Prefers to be the shoulder to cry on, the protector.

RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES.  Very committed, but quick to be the person that says they need space (he means for the moment, not for good). His morals and unyielding nature when he knows he's right makes it easy for him to get into arguments, but he is usually the first person to apologize. He is the kind of person to see someone looking at something they want in a shop window or on their phone and just buy it for them, leave it on the table, and never bring it up again but will definitely make huge romantic gestures as well, as he feels those are important to letting the other person know how much he values them.

TURN ON’S. Protectiveness, intimacy after emotional moments, being fed from, random acts of passion. Thinks that is super attractive when his partner can guess where he is going with a plan or concept, makes him feel in tune with them.

TURN OFF’S. Forcing him to open up when he said that he wasn’t ready, talk about the future, talk about his parents, nagging, tickling (he gets so damn mad so damn fast), certain songs, uncertainty in how his partner feels about him.

LOVE LANGUAGE.  His preferred love languages to receive are physical touch, words of affirmation and quality time. His preferred love languages to give are gift giving and physical touch.

𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 !

CHARACTER’S THEME SONGS.    hold on by chord overstreet / livin' on a prayer by bon jovi / sign of the times by harry styles / habits by tove lo / angel with a shotgun by the cab / i don't wanna live forever by taylor swift and zayn malik / daddy issues by the neighbourhood / the greatest by lana del ray / take me to church by hozier / middle of the night by elley duhe

HOBBIES TO PASS TIME.  Journaling, mechanic work, almost any sport, loves taking long motorcycle rides.

MENTAL ILLNESSES.  PTSD

PHYSICAL ILLNESSES.  None (shout out to vampirism)

SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL.  He's confident in almost any of his physical abilities including his competence in a fight. Stefan is confident in his interactions with other people and his ability to maintain relationships when he wants to. He is not confident in how he reacts under distress, in his current romantic situation, or with his own self control.

CURRENTLY. Stefan has just emerged from the safe with no memory of his most important relationships or his own history. He is experiencing increasingly high levels of mistrust and anxiety due to this.

[duranduratulsa]

Here is this week's 80's Fest Amazon Music Preferred Artists...

1. Prince, Phil Collins (11 appearances)

2. Michael Jackson (10 appearances)

3. Prince & The Revolution (9 appearances)

4. Sting, Billy Joel, Daryl Hall (8 appearances)

5. George Michael, Hall & Oates (7 appearances)

6. AC/DC, Huey Lewis & The News, The Police, Kenny Loggins, Cyndi Lauper, Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder (6 appearances)

7. Def Leppard, Chaka Khan, Steve Perry (5 appearances)

8. Bobby Brown, REO Speedwagon, Eddie Money, Guns N' Roses, Journey, Bon Jovi, Tina Turner, Lionel Richie, U2 Andy Taylor (4 appearances)

9. INXS, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Starship, Wham!, Whitney Houston, Eddie Van Halen, Eric Bazillian, Rob Hyman, Billy Idol, Duran Duran, John Waite, Janet Jackson (3 appearances)

10. Dire Straits, Ronnie Spector, ZZ Top, Genesis, Animotion, Paul Young, Deniece Williams, Sheila E., Steve Winwood, Tommy Tutone, Toto, Men Without Hats, T'pau/Carol Decker, Bad English, Billy Ocean, Philip Bailey, Rick Astley, Scorpions, Beastie Boys, Blondie, John Parr, Paul McCartney, Luther Vandross, Sade, Bryan Adams, Kenny Rogers, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Bonnie Tyler, Eurythmics, Boy George & Culture Club, Jennifer Warnes, Bruce Hornsby, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Bananarama, Belinda Carlisle, Kool & the Gang, The Human League, Richard Page (2 appearances)

#Amazon #Amazonmusic #80s #80sfest #durandurantulsas6thannual80sfest #prince #RIPPrince #princeandtherevolution #philcollins #michaeljackson #ripmichaeljackson #Sting #billyjoel #darylhall #JohnOates #hallandoates #darylhallandjohnoates #georgemichael #RIPGeorgeMichael #ACDC #hueylewisandthenews #thepolice #kennyloggins #CyndiLauper #nealschon #JonathanCain #brucespringsteen #steviewonder #defleppard #chakakhan #steveperry #bobbybrown #REOSpeedwagon #eddiemoney #RIPEddieMoney #gunsnroses #bonjovi #tinaturner #riptinaturner #lionelrichie #u2 #andytaylor #inxs #johncougarmellencamp #tompetty #starship #wham, #WhitneyHouston #RIPWhitneyHouston #eddievanhalen #evh #RIPEddieVanHalen #ericbazillian #robhyman #billyidol #duranduran #johnwaite #JanetJackson #direstraits #ronniespector #zztop #Genesis #Animotion #paulyoung #DenieceWilliams #SheilaE #belindacarlisle #Bananarama #stevewinwood #TommyTutone #Toto #TPau #menwithouthats #badenglish #BillyOcean #philipbailey #rickastley #Scorpions #beastieboys #blondie #JohnParr #paulmccartney #LutherVandross #RIPLutherVandross #Sade #bryanadams #kennyrogers #RIPKennyRogers #TinaWeymouth #chrisfrantz #bonnietyler #Eurythmics #cultureclub #JenniferWarnes #brucehornsby #dianaross #DionneWarwick #RichardPage #koolandthegang #humanleague

[madaboutmunson]

Black Denim Trousers & Motorcycle Boots (Sweet Home Chicago Series - Part 2)

Summary for overview of the whole fic can be found here

For @eddiemonth 

Week 2 prompts used: Times Like These - Foo FIghters, Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi, Determined, Adventurous, Soulmates, Monsters, Come As You Are - Nirvana

Warnings: None that I could think of, but let me know if you feel any should be added, and I'll do that straight away :) 

Romance/Fluff Word Count : 9.6K

Ao3 Link

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eddie wakes with a start. An uncomfortable stiffness in his back and a numbness in his arms make themselves known quickly as a coffee mug appears in his view.

“Morning, sweetheart. I wasn’t gonna come in, but you didn’t answer, and I got a little worried,” she sits on the corner of his desk and starts picking up some of the pieces of paper that he can now see are littered all around him, “But when I saw you fast asleep on your desk, I thought I better wake you up. I know you don’t like to be late.” She smiles at him a little knowingly. He knows she can tell. He just hasn’t been brave enough to say it outright yet, and to her credit, she hasn't pushed. But he knows how obvious it is that he loves spending his days at the grocery store. He knows when they are both finally home, and she asks how his day was, he would try in vain to be calm and quiet about it, “Yeah, was good. Got a lot done.” But she’d wait a while to see if any further information would come her way before asking, “Was Steve there today?” that would just start the lengthy gushing about every little thing Steve did that day. It felt fine when he was in the midst of it, but as soon as he paused, he’d feel embarrassed, sometimes guilty. It was customary to be enthusiastic about friends, right? Especially new ones. 

Eddie knew that wasn’t why, and he got the sneaking suspicion his mama knew that too. He just wasn’t ready to have that conversation. He hasn’t been prepared to have that conversation since Wayne caught him with the huge A Streetcar Named Desire movie poster that Eddie had broken into the local cinema to retrieve for his own after learning that most movie posters just got plunged into storage, overhearing one of the ushers in the malt shop. He’d enacted the escapade alone for fear his fellow gang members wouldn't buy the fact that he wanted it for Vivienne Leigh, as he’d never mentioned her before. In hindsight, they probably would have just believed him if he’d told them he’d done it because he could because that's what he did back then. He didn’t need a rhyme or reason to rebel; he just did it to feel something he had control over.

And if Eddie hadn’t had Little Richard blasting out of his record player, if Eddie had remembered to just lock his door, or even if Eddie had just been listening the night before when Wayne had said he was going to be back earlier than usual, because a bunch of jobs got cancelled, then maybe, just maybe Wayne wouldn't have walked in on him running his fingers over the man on the poster. Eddie had tried to bolt, but Wayne had grabbed hold of him and sat him down, asked him to explain, and Eddie had lied. He’d told him he just wanted to be like him, that it was no different to the cowboys he used to draw or cut out of the paper and stick to his wall.

Wayne, god love him, hadn’t got mad, just blinked a few times and apologised for grabbing his arm. Asked if he was okay, “You never need to run from me, son. Not for anythin’.” And because he had no reason not to, he took Wayne at his word, but that moment plagued him for longer and much more profoundly than he cared to admit. As if to play into his lie, he decided to embody a version of Brando. The Wild One. 

He’d worked hard alongside Wayne until he’d saved up enough for an old beat-up motorcycle that he slaved away to fix up. He practically begged Wayne for a new pair of 501s and scoured the thrift shops for old biker jackets, but ended up finding one when scouring a barn for parts with Wayne one day. It was a little big, but Eddie didn’t mind. Got himself a used pair of black boots, one of his Grandpa’s old belts and a hat, and he looked the part. And whatever Eddie did, his little minions followed.

But that wasn’t enough for Eddie. He didn’t just want to look like Johnny. He wanted to become him.

It was easy to act cool when people were scared of you and your gang, and it was easy to kiss girls and make them cry when you were never into them in the first place. That's the thing about rebelling in a small town. Quickly, you run out of things to fight against, and soon, much to Wayne’s displeasure, Eddie had the town almost bending to his will, sometimes through charm but primarily by fear. Guys wanted to be him, and girls wanted to be with him, and that was great when it was impressing your friends, but it didn’t mean anything to him when he lay in bed at the end of the day. Somewhere along the way, this lonesome cowboy on his steel horse lost his north star. He wasn’t the hero taking on a stuffy old town that kept its youth down. He had become the villain. And as always with these sorts of things, he quite quickly became the scapegoat for anything that went wrong in that place.

As he sits up, a piece of paper joins him on the journey to being upright, and he peels it away from where it is stuck to the side of his face.

He tries to remember what he had been working on last night as his mama sips her coffee, and her vibrant eyes move over each page as she picks them up. Then it hits him, and he frantically tries gathering up the papers around him.

“Eddie! What's gotten into you?” She laughs and holds the paper away from him, “These are really good. Why are you hiding them?” 

“Well, uh, well…because they aren't finished. Yeah, they aren't finished,”. He lies quickly, and his mama’s piercing green eyes narrow at him and stare directly into his own.

She hands him back the sketch in her hand, “I just like seeing what you’re working on. It doesn't need to be perfect. I’ll leave you to it.” Eddie’s heart races in his chest as he nervously turns over the piece of paper his mom had been looking at and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees it is a drawing of the hero for his book. A knight who had no name or story yet, but one thing was for sure. He was a hero, a real one. One that wouldn’t lose his way. Perfect in poise and noble in deed.

Eddie shuffles through the other pages. 

The knight changes from armour and brandishing a sword to being dressed in peasant clothes that hug his sculpted body and holding an apple.

A page or two later, and all the false premise is stripped away.

Soft eyes that, even when narrowed by the sunlight, still look kind. The long lashes splay out elegantly, which he’s taken a little artistic licence with because he still hasn’t gotten over them since the first day he met Steve. His fingers trace along the slight crease at the corner of one of the sketched eyes, and soon he’s moving from beauty mark to freckle and back and down until he meets that handsome jawline, moves through the stubble that frustratingly can’t be felt. Only urging his fingers to tentatively brush over the lips that only ever spill gentle words to him.

“Eddie!” His mom calls out, and he nearly falls out of his chair due to being alarmed out of his daydream. He quickly shuffles all the papers together and shoves them in his drawer. “You want some eggs, sweetheart?”

“Yeah, Mama, that’d be great!” he calls back, breathlessly clutching his chest. 

Eddie shakes his head and drops his head into his hands. He felt awful. Steve and his mom hadn’t shown him anything but kindness since he got here, and here he was, having these thoughts about Steve. He imagines how horrified they would be if they found out. These thoughts were wrong. He knew that. He just couldn't seem to keep them under control.

Nothing he had read about this kind of attraction made it seem like an accepted ailment or condition. It was something you had to pray or force out of a person. If Eddie had been sick with anything else, he’d go to a doctor, but wasn’t it still illegal? He guessed it didn’t have to be unlawful for the public to take matters into their own hands. Not that he’d ever acted on any of it. Almost a few times, but nothing more than a lingering touch or something that felt like a kiss was on the horizon, but the sun never rose on those opportunities. Just an expanse of unknowns shrouded in shadow.

But as he sits there, he recalls how his dad spoke about Eddie being made out of pure love. So, no matter what layers he or the world draped him in at his core, that’s what he’d always be. A walking, talking personification of love. If that were true, how could anything he felt be so terrible? It would be fine if it was a girl, right? But the fact remained that the world said it was wrong, whether he understood why it thought that or not.

He knows that’s why his mama uses sweetheart above all other terms of affection for him. He remembers how she would say his smile could light up the darkest room and how his scowls only deprived the world of what it needed most in hard times. It was a dramatic statement, but he clung to it when he struggled with these things, like a scraggly worn scrap of a comfort blanket that reminds him that at his centre, he’s good.

He also knows that’s why Wayne didn't berate his bad behaviour when he confronted him about his slightly more-than-friendships with girls. Wayne explained that if something wasn’t for him, he should leave it alone. Eddie had made his point that he could get all the girls he wanted, but he didn’t have to continue to leave broken hearts in his wake any more. To begin with, he thought it was just that, a confrontation to address another tearful girl that Eddie had led on because she found him flirting with another girl the next day. But throughout the discussion, Wayne gently prised open his rebel armour at its weakest points with careful questions and sympathy.

The way he’d started that conversation stone-faced and defensive and ended up a tearful confessing mess against Wayne’s shoulder never failed to make him get choked up when he recalled it. There was no punishment, no lecture, just flannel-wrapped arms holding him tight. Rough, hard-working hands brushing over his hair and kisses on his head between words of reassurance and relief.

Eddie did tone his behaviour down from then on like the confession had freed him of a constant irritation that had been lingering just out of reach for years, but it was far too late. Hawkins had made up its mind, and that might have been his first forced step towards Chicago.

He could start over here. He could leave that old life behind and learn how to live all over again, even if that included learning to hide some aspects of himself. Maybe his dad was just wrong. Perhaps regardless of his parents, he was resigned to a life alone. Would that really be so bad? If he couldn’t love a girl non-platonically, he could aim for something else, couldn’t he? If he could be successful professionally and keep himself safe? That could be more than enough. He could morph attraction into just an appreciation of beauty. He could do this. He could change his stars.

With a deep breath and a renewed sense of purpose, he pushes down the self-loathing and love worries and starts his day over.

The rest of his morning is terrific. Being up early with his mama means he’s too early for the goons on the stairs. He strolls down by the river until the school kids dwindle and then heads to the grocery store. And just like every morning, rain or shine, the canopy is extended, and his personal table is already set up against the window. Steve’s handsome face greets him within moments, offering him espresso and a heart-stopping smile. He accepts both gladly, and though today seems busier than usual, Steve still takes his smoke breaks with Eddie. Flicks through his notes and drawings, but one element was missing today, and Steve’s adorably creased brow isn’t happy about it.

Steve grips either side of the table and wiggles it. Looks to face the same way as Eddie and looks around confused. Then, finally, he looks above him and back to Eddie, “Everthin’ alright for ya today, Ed?”

“Yeah, just perfect,” Eddie beams back at him. Because it is. Everything is perfect when Steve’s around because he eclipses everything else.

The curious look doesn't leave his face as he leans back in his chair to light a cigarette and leans one elbow on the backrest of it, “You feelin’ ok?”

“Oh yeah, the best,” he replies enthusiastically because that was true, too. When he had Steve’s attention, he felt he must be the most special person on the planet.

“ ‘Den, what's goin’ on here?” he waves the hand holding his smoke over the sketches strewn across the table. Eddie looks down at the table as if to check for anything incriminating, but there isn’t anything.

“You don’t like them?” Eddie asks tentatively.

“Oh, uh, I like ‘em plenty, just, uh,” Steve’s honey-brown eyes scan the table again before flicking back up to Eddie’s, “Well, where is he?”

“Well, he’s right…” Eddie shuffles through the sketches. He finds various fruits and their arrangements, coffee cups, an empty version of the chair opposite him, a few trees and a sunset, “Oh,” he says, looking back up at Steve. The realisation the character he’d been working on, the knight, was nowhere to be seen in word or picture.

“You homesick?” Steve asks compassionately

“No, I don’t think so,” Eddie answers genuinely because whilst he does miss Wayne, he does not miss Hawkins.

Steve hums, looks over the pictures again, “Say, uh, did you try one-a da cannoli we send home for your ma, sometimes?” The change in subject is odd to Eddie, but he’s glad of it.

“God, yeah!” Eddie replies quickly, eyes widening at Steve, “I was trying to describe them to my uncle, but I had no idea how because I’d never eaten anything like ‘em. The best I could come up with was it's like a pie tube, with the creamiest sweet filling and candied peel that cuts right through and balances it just perfectly, but, uh, needless to say, he just laughed at me. But when he visits, I’ll make sure to buy him one. Where do you get those from anyway?” Eddie finally takes a breath after enthusing over the delicious pastries that Steve or his mom occasionally put in with his shopping.

Steve smiles hugely, “I know-a-guy,” he takes another drag on his cigarette, “Anyways, you don’t like dis knight no more? Is dat it?”

Eddie shrugs, “I dunno. I guess, um, he’s just not inspiring me today?” he awkwardly smiles at Steve, whose mouth downturns a little, but he nods.

“Oh, did he do sumthin’ wrong…in da story?” Steve asks as he stubs out his smoke, not looking at Eddie.

“No, it's not like that. It’s kinda like, somedays I get up, and all I can think about is the story and everything the knight is, was and could be, and on those days, I can write about him or draw him for hours. But then, some days, he’s just not there. Or he is, but I just don't wanna write or draw about it, you know? It’s just inspiration. Sometimes, you arrange the oranges in a pyramid and decorate the table, right? With grapes and whatever those things are, and some days, you just put the crates out. A spark of creativity,” Eddie overexplains and feels a little embarrassed, revealing something that must sound utterly ridiculous to Steve, who works hard every day regardless of how he feels. He does it because he has to, for his family.

Steve tilts his head, looking Eddie over, probably trying to figure out why he said such strange things or got so animated about them. A small smile reappears, “Figs,” he says finally.

“Figs?” Eddie asks, one of his hands gripping tightly around the side of the chair seat, fearing he might float away straight up to cloud nine if Steve keeps looking at him like that.

“Yeah, next to the grapes,” he points over to one of the odd-shaped things and looks back at Eddie, “Figs,” He repeats, and picks one up and cleans it on his shirt.

The fruit looks a lot smaller in his hands. As he holds it between them, tearing it open easily, he offers half to Eddie, who shakes his head, “Oh, no thank you. I’m good.” It's a strange thing, purple on the outside and on the inside a halo of yellow around a red fleshy centre.

“I ain’t steered ya wrong so far,” Steve says simply, putting one-half of it midway between them on the table. He smiles at Eddie and turns his attention onto the street, raising the fruit to his mouth.

Until this moment, Eddie didn't really know why the story of Adam and Eve didn't sit right with him. Sure, he hadn’t read it in-depth, just vaguely remembered it. Sure, it was a story to explain creation because, at the time, they probably had no other reasons as to why humans were on this planet. But the thing that always bugged him was that they apparently used fig leaves to cover themselves up when their innocence was lost after Eve took a bite of an apple, so surely the nearest tree would have been an apple tree. But as Steve's full lips push against the skin of the fruit he’s flipped inside out, a droplet of juice spills out of the corner of his mouth and races towards his elegant jawline. Eddie realises that maybe something had been lost in translation, and perhaps Eve had bitten into a fig, just like this, because nothing so far in his existence has been this tempting or felt so forbidden, as he watches Steve bite into the fruit to consume it. Desperate for the knowledge of how it might feel to have his lips right where the fig is. He realises he’s staring at his mouth, but as he flicks his eyes up, Steve doesn't appear to have noticed, thankfully. To prevent himself from openly drooling, he picks up the fruit and copies how Steve ate his half, even looking out onto the street to avert his eyes. Though he’s absolutely sure he doesn’t look anywhere near as good as Steve looked doing it. Due to concentrating heavily on trying to compose himself, the sweetness and flavour take him completely by surprise. He makes an involuntary, pleased noise and eats the whole thing.

“Told ya,” A voice softly says in his ear, and he jolts with surprise, only to find Steve leaning across the table into his space. They laugh at Eddie’s over-the-top reaction, “You know it’s said figs are food of da gods. Maybe you’ll feel like writin’ again soon enough, huh?”

Eddie can only smile as his stomach somersaulting like a circus act prevents him from forming a coherent response. Because all his brain wants him to do right now has very little to do with writing or drawing.

His pulse is almost rumbling in his ears, at least that's what he thinks it is initially, until the noise becomes clearer, and the butterflies in Eddie’s stomach vanish and are replaced with a plummeting feeling when he recognises the noise. 

Motorcycles.

Eddie thinks his past has caught up with him. He knew someone would come looking for him eventually, for a fire he didn't even start. He frantically goes to gather his things, but Steve’s hand is on his shoulder, and Eddie can’t look. Was this what this was? Had he befriended Eddie to keep him in place for that motorcycle gang? 

“Hey, easy, buddy. Dese are just my friends. They ain’t bad,” Steve smiles reassuringly, “Dere hygiene and sense-a humor maybe.” Steve’s hand on his shoulder radiates a soothing warmth, almost like a sedative spreading through him from the point of contact, “No more espresso for yous today, huh?” Steve laughs light and melodic, and Eddie finally smiles back.

“Sorry,” Eddie says awkwardly.

“ ‘S ok, buddy. I get it. Remember, you’re safe here, yeah? I-we won’t let anything happen to ya. Promise,” Steve says with such an earnest expression that Eddie can only believe him. He turns his attention to the bikes pulling up, and stands to greet them.

The four guys are dressed in Eddie’s old day-to-day uniform. Leather motorcycle jackets, black boots, jeans. An odd bunch, he thinks. The first guy, who looks like the leader, has the most confident strut, pulls up first and is walking ahead of the rest, his hair in a jelly roll style. To Eddie's surprise, just to his left is an African-American guy with a dimple on his upper cheek as he laughs at one of the others stumbling with their kickstand. His hair was in a pompadour style, cut in that style rather than straightened and styled. Next is a tallish, thin guy with small features. His sandy blond hair is cut in a similar style to Steve’s but a little longer and unruly, and last of all, a Latino-looking guy with the longest braided hair Eddie thinks he’s ever seen on anyone.

The one at the front runs up to tackle Steve, and then all except the sandy blond pile in also, and all four of them end up falling into one of the displays, as Steve laughs along with them, grabbing the little one in a headlock.

“Shit, Steve, not my hair!” he yells.

“Aw, come on, Gaz, doesn’t matter how good your hair looks, you’re always gonna have dat little chipmunk face of yours,” Steve laughs but lets him go.

Eddie feels someone looking at him and turns to find the slender guy staring at him. As Eddie averts his eyes, he notices his name painted in beautiful cursive on his jacket. Jonny. There was a time when Eddie would have stared right back at him, but not this new Eddie. Not his second-chance version of himself. 

Steve eventually prises himself from the others and walks over to shake Jonny’s hand, “Good to see ya, Jon,” he says, but the only reply he gets is a silent nod before walking around the table to stand next to Eddie.

“Alright, ya bunch of assholes, calm down. Dis is Ed. He’s new round here,” Steve looks and smiles at him, and Eddie returns it and gives a weak wave to the others.

“Hi,” is all he can think to say before turning back to the street, “Nice wheels,” he says.

“Thanks, man,” says the one with the long braid, who picks up an apple from the stall and bites into it.

The little one steps forward and thrusts a hand out to Eddie, “I’m Gareth, that’s Jeff, Argyle and Jon, but most people know us by Hellfire. The Hellfire Motorcycle Club.” he says proudly, turning to show the painting on the back of his jacket of some kind of devil with a long forked tongue, surrounded by flames. Eddie nods at each of them in turn.

“So where you from then?” Jonny asks.

“Indiana,” Eddie answers with a smile.

“And you came to the windy city because….” Argyle asks, taking another bite out of his apple.

“I, uh,” Eddie glances at Steve, who gives him the slightest nod and smile, “I wanted to write,”

“What, you can’t write back home?” Jeff laughs, “What happened? They take away all the stationery in Indiana?”

Eddie laughs, “Uh, no. I mean, I want to be a writer, and I thought coming here would be more inspiring, you know?”

“How much does that pay then? Writin’?” Gareth says, curious as he picks up one of Eddie's drawings off the table, pulls an impressed face at it, and shrugs, passing it to Jeff.

“Oh, I dunno, honestly,”

“Doesn’t sound very secure,” Jeff frowns and passes the drawing to Argyle.

“What if you don't make it as a writer? You got a backup?” Argyle asks.

“I honestly haven't thought-”

“Got your own place?” Jeff asks quickly

“No, I live with my-”

“Hmmm, yeah, haven't thought about it, got it,” Johnny says, “You from a big family? You Italian?”

“No, and No, but-”

There is a collective groan from the motorcycle club.

“So whatcha sayin’ is you ain't gotta job or income or your own place, and you ain't even Italian?” Gareth laughs.

“Is that- Is that bad?” Eddie looks instinctively at Steve for reassurance due to the barrage of questions he is facing.

“But what are your views on fruit on pizza?” Argyle asks

“I don’t really eat a lot of-”

“You got a ride?” Eddie snaps his head to Gareth again and shakes his head.

“A girl?” Jeff asks as Eddie's head whips around to him, and he indicates negatively again.

“ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, you shitbirds. That’s enough,” Steve shouts, and they fall to silence as he turns to Eddie, “ ‘Scuse us for a sec, Ed” he says apologetically, and the gang follow him inside.

Eddie decides to give them a wide berth and looks at something comforting. The motorcycles themselves. God, that was an absolute embarrassment. He could have been much cooler about it, especially with Steve there. Oh well. Eddie looks over briefly and can see them in the window in an intense discussion.

Gareth has a virtually brand new Honda Dream C71, two of them have different year versions of the BSA Bantam, and last of all, someone has his old bike, a 1950 Thunderbird. This one wasn’t customised to look like the one out of the movie like he’d done with his own, but there had been, what looked like, some abandoned attempts. He reaches out, runs his fingers along the gleaming paintwork, and quickly retracts them, remembering how touchy he’d been if anyone even looked at his bike for too long. Whoever this one belonged to took excellent care of it.

The bell ringing over the door gets him to his feet before anyone can startle him. Steve waves him over, “Ed, come ‘ere, da guys have somethin’ to say,” Eddie swallows nervously but tries to put on a slight air of confidence and smiles at them all.

Gareth tilts his head at Eddie, “So, we’s just wanted t’ say, we didn’t mean to make yous feel uncomfortable, OK? You’re just new, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. No issues here,” he puts up his hands and takes a breath, “I was just looking at your bikes. They’re real neat.” He offers the verbal olive branch of changing the subject.

“You like motorcycles?” Steve asks a little oddly. He sort of sounds a little disappointed.

Eddie lies quickly, “I mean, my friend back home used to let me ride on the back of his sometimes. So I think they’re neat, is all.” Eddie cringes at his overuse of the word neat, like some little kid.

“He did?” Steve almost sounds slightly annoyed, but Eddie can’t determine why. Maybe it wasn’t the right thing to say.

“And this friend of yours,” Gareth says, tearing his eyes from Steve to land on Eddie, “You still talk to him?” 

Shit, what if they think he was involved in some rival gang or something, “No, we lost touch a little while before I decided I wanted to move here.” Eddie, desperate to ease the tension he seems to have created, smiles around the group, “Just different life paths, you know. It goes that way sometimes.” Steve returns his smile, and Eddie's heart almost packs its bags to move into Steve’s hands immediately.

“Also, sorry ‘bout that comment earlier regarding’ your job. Guys like us are happy with our feet on the ground, you know, and I forget sometimes the world needs people to shoot for the moon,” Gareth offers him a shrug of a smile, and he does seem genuine in his apology, but the way Steve nods at his friend, makes him think that maybe Steve had jumped to his defence in the store, and Eddie tries desperately not to grin wildly at that thought.

Steve's eyes cast up for a moment in thought and then move towards the ground before he checks his watch, “I’m sure I could borrow some wheels if you ever miss it,” Steve shrugs, lighting a cigarette, and all four heads of his friends snap to his words, “Ain’t dat right Jonny boy?”

“Yeah, course, Steve, she’s yours anyway,” Johnny quietly agrees.

“No, no. None a dat. It’d just be for today or whateva,” Steve smiles at Johnny and then Eddie, “Unless you got plans?”

“No, not at all. That’d be great. I’ll leave a note for Ma-my mom and be right back.” Eddie says excitedly and packs up his things.

“Hey Arg, can I ask you somethin’?” He hears Steve ask, and the five of them disappear into the store as he walks back to his apartment.

Thankfully, the coast looks clear, so he heads inside, leaves a cute note for his mama, and is about to leave again when he pauses and goes to the bathroom cabinet. Score! There was some cologne in here. As he picks it up, a piece of note paper falls out. He picks it up to put it back and notices it’s yellowing. His curiosity gets the better of him, so he opens it.

For my soulmate:

The most beautiful star in the world

Take me in your arms

Lead me in my dreams again

I'll sell my soul for it.

What is it worth? 

Only you know

Eddie quickly folds it back up, feeling a little embarrassed. It was probably something private of his mama’s.

He adds a few extra pins to his hat to keep it from flying clean off and grabs a warmer jacket.

As he leaves the building, a set of familiar voices make him sigh in exasperation.

“This ain’t Hellfire’s place, Jonny. So why don’t you just go back to riding Steve’s coattails, huh?” Billy snides.

“I don’t know how many times we gotta tell you three morons to leave people alone around here. And for your information, this building is the concern of Hellfire now. So what you wanna do is turn around and go and crawl back into the dumpster the three of you ghouls crawled out of,” Jon fires back, and inside, Eddie has to cover his mouth to stifle his laughter.

“Oh yeah, and what if we don’t care about Hellfire’s new rules from its new asshole of a leader?” Tommy seethes.

“Well, how can I put this? If you don’t, the matter is gonna get escalated, and then it’s gonna be out of our hands. So I suggest you just run along now, so no one has to get hurt,” Jon says calmly.

“Oh, I see how it is. You're recruiting this new guy, are ya?” Jason asks spitefully, but Jon just laughs in response.

“Well, you should know, he’s a fucking creep. Was sitting here drawing pictures of Nance and the two Harrington girls,” Billy offers, and Eddie feels sick to his stomach.

“Oh, was he?” Jon says, sounding almost intrigued.

“Sure was, bold as anything, ogling them,” Billy continues, and Eddie can almost see the sly grin on his face. He should just step out there before this gets worse.

“Thing is William. I actually have conversations with my girlfriend and actually have friends. So when Nancy told me about your performance here, she said Rob and Max told her he’d ended up at the store. I called Steve. And guess what, guys,” he says with sarcastic surprise, “He was just drawing the surroundings and saw them first. I’ve seen it, it’s terrific actually. Steve’s Ma has it hung up already, and most importantly, Nancy and the girls never had a problem with him. They, as per usual, just wanted to get away from you,” Eddie hears the venom in Jon’s voice and the rustle of his leather jacket, and he knows that shift in stance, so he steps outside to interrupt.

“Oh, hey, Jonny,” he smiles at Jon, which seems to defuse the situation. He turns to the others with a smile, nods, and walks down the stairs, “Gentlemen.”

As he and Jonny reach the bottom of the stairs, Billy calls out, “Nice to see you still resting on Steve’s hand-me-downs, Jon. First a jacket, then a bike, and then his girl. What next?” Billy and his goons laugh together.

And something about the judgement entirely rubs Eddie the wrong way, and he turns on his heel to face the three of them to say something. But then there is a hand on his shoulder, and Jonny calmly smiles, “Ooooh William, time to get some new material, maybe? You’ve been tellin’ the same joke for years now, and no one with more than one brain cell of their own has ever laughed at it. Come on, Ed. Let’s go,” he says, and they walk back to the store.

Once they are far enough away, Eddie dares ask, “You ok?”

“Yeah, don’t sweat those guys. They bark a lot, but only one has got any bite,” Jon stops before they get to the store, “Just try your best to ignore them, ok? Steve’s Ma don’t like ‘em anyway, and if you end up in a tussle with them, so will Steve, and then well…things will get escalated,” Jon looks at him seriously, “Steve’s a good guy. We don’t want him getting into any trouble, capiche?”

Eddie looks puzzled at him.

“Understand?” Jon tries again, and Eddie nods, “Also, what he said was true. Steve did give me his jacket and old motorcycle, but Nancy, that’s different. They were together but not, you know?” Jon says, and Eddie nods like he understands, but he doesn’t at all, not that it matters. “Anyway, you been enjoying your days at Heartbreak Hotel?” Jonny chuckles, and Eddie screws up his face in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“You haven’t noticed?” Jon starts but reads the puzzled look on Eddie’s face quickly enough, “The constant stream of pretty girls that keep coming to the store for Steve but just end up leaving with groceries they probably didn’t need?” he laughs.

Eddie shakes his head, “I noticed it was busier today, but I was drawing, so I didn’t register who or anything.”

“Huh,” Jon half-smiles at him and looks him over, “Didn’t look up from your drawings all day?”

“Oh sure, when Steve was on his break,” Eddie says, understanding what he means now.

“But the rest of the time, not one single girl caught your eye?” Jon questions and Eddie begins to see how weird this might seem.

He fakes a laugh, “I just mean, I didn’t really engage with anyone else other than a glance. Number one, I didn’t really come here to date. It's not like I have much luck in that department, anyway. Chances are, if I make the whole writer thing, I stand a better chance, right? If I got tied down now, I’d have to get a job that paid me actual money for bills and dates instead of living off savings. My writing wouldn’t get a look in. And number two, drawing and looking at people only leads to trouble, or at least that’s what I’ve learned the last few weeks,” he pauses, “I’d really like to get the chance to apologise and explain to Nancy, Rob and Max sometime. Just so they know I’m not a creep.”

Jon puts his arm around Eddie’s shoulders and pulls him into his side, “You know Ed, I get the feeling you’re gonna get that chance,” Eddie is a bit weirded out by the physicality, but he doesn’t mind it. Jon lights up something that smells familiar to Eddie, but it’s not a cigarette, “If it’s any consolation, what I said was true. The girls didn’t move because of you. Nancy is pretty observant, so if she had felt threatened by you looking at them, she would have moved them all on someplace else.” He adds as they walk to the outside of the store.

The bell above the door rings as they step in front of it, and Steve skips a step or two on his way out and looks between him and Jonny, “You sure made friends fast,” Steve says with a huff of a laugh.

“He’s just a likeable guy, Steve,” Johnny says, giving Eddie a pat on the back.

“He is, ain’t he?” Steve says kindly,  half-smiles and then quickly looks at the bike, “Ready, Ed?”

“Yeah, yeah. Absolutely,” Eddie claps his hands together and is glad for this moment of waiting for Steve to get situated on the bike first because Steve looks gorgeous. That is just the facts. He’s beautiful and kind, and that is more than enough. But he’s looking exceedingly handsome right now. He’s traded his regular footwear for some engineer-type boots, and his hair is combed back into a place a little more, but the jacket is really causing Eddie a problem. It was style-wise just an ordinary leather biker jacket. Except this one was a mid-brown colour that seemed to make the colour of his eyes even more entrancing somehow. Like they were no longer merely functional parts of a human being but impossible, magical orbs that might turn him completely to stone if he looked directly into them. The leather is well-worn but not damaged, just lots of lines of use. The stitching is elegant, and he’s flicked his collar up against the cold.  As he sits on the bike, he fusses with it.

“Guess I’m not as small as I used to be,” he huffs out a small self-deprecating laugh, and Eddie doesn't miss that divine blush that just hits his cheeks. There is no way Steve should feel any less than the most stunning thing on the planet. Not on his watch.

“I couldn’t even tell. Looks like a perfect fit to me. It’s real nice,” Eddie says as he swings his leg over the bike to sit behind Steve, and this already feels like a mistake. Being this close. If the visuals were not enough to send him off into orbit, the smell of leather and Steve’s cologne was a heady love potion on their own.

Steve looks over his shoulder, “Thanks. Uh, you haven't even asked where we are goin’.” 

“You haven’t steered me wrong this far,” Eddie says, trying not to grin back wildly, placing his hands on his own legs. He sits back to create a suitable distance between them, but there are some things he can’t prevent, like the way his knees have to sit on either side of Steve’s hips. It makes him violently jealous of maybe all the past girls who had sat in this seat before him but were able to wrap their arms around him. Rest their heads against his back, maybe even hear his heart beat fiercely for them as they ride off into a perfect sunset.

The journey itself is pleasant. Eddie sees parts of the city he hasn't seen before whizz past him, and due to the steady speed Steve is going, he can fully enjoy the wind occasionally rushing against him as he lets go and doesn't fight the bike with his body in the turns. He thinks about all the times he’d ride at night just to feel the wind rushing through his longer hair under the moon's light.

They stop near a park and dismount. Eddie looks around the vast park in wonderment. Sure, Hawkins had the woods, the lake and the quarry, but this place was so curated.

Steve walks a little ahead of him, does a full turn with his arms outstretched, and shouts, “Welcome to Lincoln Park, Eddie,” he flashes a huge smile as he waits for him to catch up. Eddie can’t even imagine being this proud of Hawkins if their roles had been reversed.

“So, um, what are we doin’ here?” Eddie asks as they stroll along together.

“We’re going to look at what I’ve been told is da most inspirin’ thing in d’ world,” Steve smirks mischievously, and Eddie can’t help but glance over as his heart flutters in his chest at the thought that Steve is such a good person, he’s trying to cure Eddie’s lack of inspiration, “Stars.”

The word jolts Eddie out of his daydream as Steve slows to stop outside a large building, “But it’s nearly two in the afternoon. We can’t see the stars.” Eddie responds, confused.

“Oh yeah, dats right. Well, I guess seein’ as we’re here anyways, I could show you some other weird stuff?” Steve says with a shrug.

“Weird stuff?” Eddie scrunches his nose in bewilderment, but the smile doesn’t leave him.

“Come on, Ed. Live a little. It’s a super scary museum,” Steve jokes, wiggling his fingers at Eddie. 

“I’m not scared,” Eddie says, putting his hands on his hips.

“Oh yeah?” Steve smirks.

“Yeah!” Eddie says defiantly and walks past Steve into the massive building alone.

Apparently, it's the Chicago Academy of Sciences, and the science Eddie had stumbled into was zoology. Around him are many wooden glass-fronted cases of various sizes, all showcasing animal life. Some exhibits were tiny things containing bugs, others were great dioramas of an era or a setting, and then there was the set of large bones that towered over the place belonging to a mammoth.

Eddie doesn't think he’s ever seen anything like it in his life. He can only stand there and gawk at everything because he doesn't know where to go first.

“Pretty neat, huh?” Steve says as his arm envelops Eddie’s shoulders, walking him around the virtually empty place.

“Neat is one word for it sure,” Eddie tries to say as calmly as he can, but he hears how soft it emerges from his mouth, not like he could help it when he's pulled into Steve’s side like this.

Steve’s free hand waves out in front of them across the room as the other grips his shoulder, “‘Dis place, Ed, I thought it might help ya out, ya know? If you wanna create a monster, all da references are right here, ain't dey?”

Eddie knows that all that is holding him back from fully embracing Steve and his kindness right there and then is prison, death and losing maybe the best friend he’s ever had. Why did he care so much about Eddie’s dreams? Didn’t he have one of his own?

“Wanna play a game, Ed?” Steve asks, turning his head to him, and Eddie can only reflect the radiant smile being beamed at him. A lowly mortal in the presence of the embodiment of the sun itself.

Steve checks his watch quickly, “Ok, we got ten minutes to run around here, find an animal, pick a part of it, and draw it roughly, or write it down.” he fishes in his leather jacket pocket and pulls out some paper scraps and a pencil each, “Den, we switch animals, got it?” 

“Um, why are we only drawing bits of the animals?” Eddie laughs as he takes the items from Steve.

“Creatin’ monsters, o’course!” Steve shouts as someone shushes him, and he gives Eddie’s shoulder a final squeeze before running off towards a deer. 

Eddie’s legs feel like they won't budge, or maybe he’s afraid of walking in case they buckle beneath him. He’s sure if he doesn’t soon, he’ll become an exhibit himself.

Lovesick Homosapian 1959 - Donated by S. Harrington.

He walks to the nearest exhibit and starts making a rough sketch of the body of a stag beetle. It's a very minimal sketch because, try as he might to keep focussed on the task at hand, he can’t help but keep looking over at Steve, who is adorably crouched, resting the paper on his thigh to draw. His tongue pressed between his lips, and his brow furrowed in concentration. Steve must sense his stare and turns toward him, “Done already?” he grins and indicates they trade places.

By the end of the ten minutes, they crowd next to one another to pour over the results. They both have some fascinating creatures on their pages, made with elements of beetle, deer, squirrel and flamingo elements.

Eddie went for the body of the beetle, the multiple legs of the deer, the two heads of a flamingo, the arms of a squirrel and the tail.

Steve’s was…well…it was kinda cute, even though it was still weird-looking. The legs of a flamingo, the body of a squirrel, the head of the deer and the wings of the beetle. It’s also quite impressive for someone Eddie has never seen draw. He hadn't even mentioned it. Then Eddie realises he never really asked either.

“Wow, I really like your one,” Eddie enthuses over Steve’s drawing.

“Ya do?” Steve says excitedly, and his face looks almost like he’d been waiting his whole life to hear it, but the expression fades as quickly as it appears. Steve shakes his head and looks down with a laugh, “Ah, ya got me. Good one.”

“I’m not kidding. I do like yours better.” Eddie says, pulling the drawing towards himself from under Steve’s fingers. “Though it doesn’t seem very monstrous. Seems kinda sweet, honestly.” Eddie teases and turns to his friend, whose sweet brown eyes are waiting to cut off his breath, and tries to refashion it into a sigh, which somehow Eddie manages to swallow down, and turns back to Steve’s drawing, rolls it up like a scroll and puts it in his inside breast pocket, “Seems only fair, you already have one of mine.” 

Steve doesn't say anything, just keeps that gentle smile on his face as he lightly tugs Eddie’s elbow to follow him, but sadly doesn't keep hold of it.

Steve stops outside a huge, tilted back, painted, partial globe. Protruding from it is a rectangular box with seats in it. At a complete loss, Eddie turns to Steve, who looks at Eddie from the corner of his eye, looking pleased, but says nothing.

An elderly man approaches them, and his face lights up, “Steve?!”

“Da very same,” Steve answers happily.

“I haven't seen you in a while. Everything ok?” He says, coming forward to kiss Steve on each cheek, and his eyes fall on Eddie, “Nice to meet you, welcome to the-”

“No. Don't tell him,” Steve quickly interjects, “It's a surprise. He’s not from here.”

“Oh, ok, no problem.” The man opens the door to the rectangular type box, steps inside and seats himself, and waves them in.

Steve nods towards it and goes in next. Eddie follows him inside. As he sits down next to Steve, he barely has time to enjoy the sensation of brushing arms with him when the whole thing starts whirring and the box they are sitting in starts moving into the orb, and as they do, the globe begins to close over them, until they are plunged into complete darkness.

And that's when Eddie starts to see them, the stars.

The machine whirs, and the sky turns, allowing them to see more constellations. And Eddie is entirely in awe even lets out an audible gasp a few times, causing Steve and the greying gent to snicker. But Eddie couldn’t care less. Here he was basking in a marvel, the ability to see the stars any time of day, irrespective of weather, and this was all happening due to the incredible man shuffled up next to him. A feeling of disappointed acceptance begins to gnaw at him and threatens his unabashed joy. He’d found this amazing person who goes to such lengths to help him with something that most people would find trivial, yet he could never have him as his own.

He’s glad it's dark in here, so Steve can't see the frown that sets onto Eddie’s forehead as he thinks about how furious society makes him, that it asks him to be kind and loving but be tough and never show emotion. Asks him to show love freely, but only in the confines of heterosexuality. Tells him to take his time to appreciate the world around him but forces him to hurry along and keep his head down.

Steve shuffles next to him, breaking him out of his momentary lousy mood, and reminds him that whilst he can’t have everything he wants, he can capture moments like this and keep them for his own forever, and no one could take those away from him.

The machine whirs again, and light fills the space as they exit the contraption, “The Atwood Sphere,” The greying gent says as they leave, looking amused at them before waving them goodbye.

Eddie clears his throat, “That was amazing! Did you come here a lot as a kid?”

“Yeah, and no. My pa used to bring us here after he’d come home after da war. The navy used dat for training navigation, ya know.” Steve replies.

Eddie feels the question on his tongue but is frightened to ask, so he rephrases it, “What an incredible thing to share with your Pa. Bet he knew a lot about the stars and things like that?”

“Oh sure, yeah. Wish I could remember more of da stories he told us dat lived in the night sky.” Steve says a little quieter, “Did your pa do the same?”

Eddie chuckles to lighten the mood a little, “Couldn’t shut up my dad up. He had a story for everything. Especially if it had anything to do with my mama.”

“A romantic, was he?” Steve chuckles, and it's like music to Eddie’s ears.

“That is an understatement. Pa’s crazy about her.” 

“Yeah?” Steve asks curiously.

“Oh yeah, think I found a piece of his poetry to her earlier,” Eddie smiles and glances at Steve for his reaction. To see if he frowns or ridicules at the softness of a man towards his wife, but Steve only smiles and nods.

“What was it about?” Steve happily asks.

“Something about a star and a soul,” Eddie tries to remember, and Steve hums as they walk. They enjoy the quiet for a few steps outside the building before he continues, “You ever heard the story about soulmates?”

Steve turns to him and raises an eyebrow, “No.”

“Well, in the legend. Humans originally had four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. They had started to become quite powerful and threatened to rule over the gods, and Zeus didn't much like that at all. The gods were gonna wipe out the humans completely, but they needed the humans to offer tributes, so they had to come up with something else,” Eddie clasps his hands in front of him, “So they decided to split humans in half as a punishment, to remind them of their place, and at the same time would double the tributes offered.”

“But wouldn’t dat make twice as many humans to rise up against them?” Steve asks curiously, and the fact that he’s actually been listening makes Eddie put a little more performance into the story. Jogs a few steps ahead of Steve and animatedly tells the rest while walking backwards.

“Well, it should have, except for one thing. The humans were miserable, and without their other half, they didn't care if they lived or not. Also making their tributes dwindle,” he stops dead in his steps with a finger in the air, and Steve does too with surprise-widened eyes. Seemingly fascinated in the tale, “But Apollo hated seeing them this way, so he sewed them up, leaving them one physical reminder of their true original form. The humans never quite rose up like that again because even though they were healed, they still longed for their other half, not just their body, but the other half of the soul too.” Eddie finishes with a flourish of his hand and a bow. Immediately after which, he regrets it. This was the part of him he’d been trying to keep under wraps. Showing off was his old self, not this one. But he hears the one thing most performers can’t resist. Applause.

Steve is smiling and clapping his hands, and Eddie feels the heat rise to his cheeks as he turns around and falls into step next to Steve, “So yeah, that's the legend about soulmates.”

“I hadn’t heard dat before. Thanks,” Steve says as they approach the gleaming Thunderbird. He turns and looks curiously at Eddie, “Say, you wanna take us home?”

“I, um, I don’t even-” Eddie starts to lie.

“I don’t think dats true at all. I think you can ride, and I think you had a bike like dis one,” Steve says with smug confidence.

“How did-” Eddie tries to ask, a little flabbergasted.

“Well, because I used to talk to your ma a lot when she worked on things at da store and apartment for us,” Steve laughs but doesn't seem mad that Eddie lied, “You ain’t gotta be anyone else but you ‘round me, Ed. We’re good. Everyone’s gotta past.” 

Eddie realises that perhaps he isn’t just accepting the version of Eddie from before, but also he was inviting Eddie to accept him too. Clearly, he wasn’t just randomly friends with a motorcycle gang, and he didn’t just magically have a bike lying around to give to Jonny. And with what Jonny had said, there was more than just a bunch of kids watching out for Steve.

“Sure,” Eddie smiles, “Sorry,” he adds an apology, and Steve nods, tossing him the keys, which Eddie fumbles to catch as they almost drop to the floor.

Eddie sits at the front of the bike and barely has a few seconds to enjoy the feeling of the handlebars under his grip because Steve is already clambering on behind him, and he has to brace his legs and lean his own weight against Steves to keep the balance. Not that he minds in any way. It's clear Steve is not accustomed to being the passenger as he struggles to get seated, using Eddie as a supportive climbing frame. 

“All set?” Eddie asks as he looks over his shoulder to see a glimpse of Steve, who gives him a thumbs up. But as he turns his glance back to the road ahead, he sees how Steve's thicker thighs are at his sides, and he’s elected to put his hands on his knees and a glimmer of mischief enters Eddie’s mind as he starts up the bike.

He pulls away much too quickly on purpose and feels Steve's large hands grip his waist, “Uh, sorry about that. I’m a bit rusty,” he shouts back as he slows down. Steve’s hands release him but come back to smooth over his jacket where he’d latched on and shuffles forward slightly. 

The city looks different as the sun sets on it, bathing it in both the last remnants of its glow and the coolness of approaching dusk. It feels almost like the city is waking up for its second shift as more lights from homes and signs begin to illuminate as they travel. It should be calming, but that is impossible due to the rate at which his heart is racing.

Eddie can barely breathe when he feels Steve’s legs squeeze around him as he moves, and the mix of his body heat and Steve’s almost makes him feel like he might overheat. But rather than panic, he tries to relax into it, as occasionally Steve leans forward gently to point out the turning he needs to take. It makes Eddie wish it wasn’t just a primarily straight road going home because every time they come to a turning, Steve would extend one arm out to indicate, and his other would rest against Eddie somewhere. His hip, his waist or shoulder, and each one comes with surging electricity of magic that pours through the threads of the fabric of his clothes, seeps into his skin and makes his heart and soul spin like characters on a carousel along to the music of Steve’s occasional laugh when Eddie takes a corner too tightly or pulls away from a light quickly.

Sooner than he’d like, they are nearing home, and Steve points towards Eddie’s apartment, “You sure?” Eddie shouts.

“Yeah!” Steve affirms, and Eddie pulls up outside the apartment building.

They stand near the bike for a while, and it feels familiar. And he knows it's not. It could never be, but it looks a lot like all those times he’d dropped girls off at their houses after taking them on a date. Except he’s not in his usual role. Regret swirls as he thinks about all or any of those girls that might have felt like he does right now, as he looks at Steve smiling back at him from the bike.

Almost like he can read his mind, Steve tilts his head curiously. “Can I ask you somethin’ Ed?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, sure,” Eddie blurts out as he is dragged out of his thoughts.

“Dat story you told me earlier. ‘Bout da soulmates. You didn’t say what happens when dey find each other.” Steve asks, looking at Eddie but toying with one of the zippers on his jacket, “Or don't dey?”

“Oh well, my pa said that there is no escape,” Eddie laughs gently, “They are drawn together over time, and when they finally do meet. They just know. Like their souls do all the understanding for them, so they don't have to work it out. They’ll feel whole and happy. Like the happiest they ever felt, kinda thing.”

“I like dat,” Steve smiles hugely, “See ya tomorrow, Ed,” he says with a two-finger wave and starts up the bike to ride back home.

Eddie watches him ride the short distance away, and suddenly, the chill in the air makes itself known. He huddles his jacket around himself and climbs the stairs to the doors of the building before turning back to watch as his waiting friends swarm Steve outside the store. His laughter on the breeze makes Eddie smile again, and he finally turns to go inside.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some extra bits of info if you are interested:

Notes: The Building they visited was the Chicago Academy of Sciences in Lincoln Park https://naturemuseum.org/explore/history/

The Atwood Sphere was based in this building until 1997 when it was moved to the Adler Planetarium.

[pavlovianpanic]

"Shit, Shit, Shit —" Not another moment was spared as the brunette hauls herself at the door, trying to squash any attempt of something following them inside before she flicks the lock with a heavy sigh. Jovie sinks against the rough wood until she feels the planks beneath her & exhales once more. Emerald irises flicker towards Josh, the same concern & edge remaining as it colors her voice: "Did that . . . Did it get you?" Not an ounce of hesitation seen as she crawls over to him, inspecting every inch of visible skin with a hawk-like gaze; Fingers wrapping around the excess fabric of her shirt as she begins to rip it apart. "It got on me . . . On my side, I think." She can feel the warmth against ice cold skin & yet, seems far more concerned with her company. "Does anything hurt?"

(For josh :') im not that familiar with until dawn but i think there are creatures as well?? so i thought this might work <3 or maybe josh could visit golden peaks? im 100% down for either <3)

— @goldcnpeaks (moved from @grievedifferent!)

it had been damn good timing — a mountain, a shed, a monster, a chance of hope.

she came for me. josh had been left behind by chris first at mike's discretion, then by mike directly, so he's assumed it's for dead were anyone to bother asking. they left me ... but she came for me. he can ask questions later. he can ask her what it means — was it on purpose? or just pure, dumb luck? does it matter? well, it does. it does to me.

in their escape, hasty as it was, they had been blindsided. she had gotten bit, it seems, hurt, but he had remained unscathed by anything other than the environment. scrapes, bruises, and a welting mark that's swelling where mike pistol-whipped him good.

in the midst of the confusion, the fighting and struggling, they frantically booked it back towards the lodge. the creature had been hot on their heels, seemingly subverting expectations of the narrative, narrowly bypassing chris, the boy who had come back for his friend with the stranger.

by the time they got there, josh was gone, no trace of him, no blood, nothing, and the air was silent for them, and they trudged back begrudgingly. this is where the story should come together, the gang reunites with josh and jovie in tow, even the stranger subverting fate.

but their path gets twisted, having to take unnecessary turns, getting lost, and finding the old trap house that josh had laid out for chris and ashley just hours earlier. it's their safest option, right? leading them to where they are now. here, alone, and seeming to have taken the creature off the path to follow another noise, a stray deer that added to the monster's confusion and the good luck of josh and jovie.

❝ it got you? ❞ he croaks, and she is so close to him now. he can feel her. his eyes are having trouble focusing, while his lungs are unable to gasp for successful breaths the way he usually is, all of the wind taken out of him from running for his literal life. his muscles feel absolutely sapped, as heavy as sedation, and he wearily peers at the closest window, though does not approach. an instinct tells him that could be a terrible idea (the worst!). ❝ ... d-does it hurt? ❞

he's almost completely out of it, yet a small string of clarity keeps him grounded: her face. it's the presence of a person that allows josh to engage / to be engaged with. her reaction tells him that what they saw is very, very real. it's not a hallucination, a trick of the eye, a foolish glance twice ... something fucking chased us here!

and it's real, and that is the most frightening thing of all. he cannot simply declare it false; there is no telling it to go away, to leave him alone.

time is running out for josh.

❝ if it b-bit you ... if it bit you, that means ... ❞ his mind swells with information of mixed media he's encountered — zombies, werewolves & lycans, vampires, and more! all bitten! and never shy!! — so that must mean ...

❝ you could be infected with ... with whatever that thing is. it didn't get me ... but it got you. oh fuck, oh no, ❞ he wails, all but whining, and grabs at his head to retain focus. focus. focus. what fixes a bite? better: what reverts a bite? ... if it even means anything. i've never seen anything like that in a movie or comic before, never read about it in a book. i-i dunno ... i dunno what that thing is, so i don't know ... how to save her ... i can't save you. i can't kill that thing. none of us can ... if the others are even still alive. he has to imagine they are, right? but what could survive that?

that deer will only distract them for so long, joshua, a familiar voice seems to call to him.

come on, brother. you know better than that. deer are prey animals. you told me that. remember? you're the only wolf up here, the other resounds, identical, yet knowingly different.

he can tell the difference. he could always tell them apart.

you're wrong, he says. there's something worse than me up here, and you're not real. you're dead. but that thing is real, and so is she, and so am i ... and ... and ...

❝ we have to do something, right? that thing will come back for us, won't it? ❞ one hand detaches from the side of his head, patting at the many pockets of his tearing overalls. that's right. i have the — ❝ — the keys to the cable car ... if we can get there, maybe we can ... ❞

get help for the others, but more importantly: help themselves first. if she turns on him, then he's done for ... and so is everyone else, either by her change or the thing that will inevitably make her that way.

if only they could see the narrative for what it is, they would know these bites mean nothing. the diary of the stranger would confirm it, but they are detached from the main plot now, acting on their own, making their own decisions.

two people placed on the same mountain in a seemingly random, yet intricately concocted through many branches and threads, dreams woven of prophecy, and warnings over years of a promised curse that's come true (it has been all along! existing beside a lovely young family, festering under their floorboards, seeping into their skin, rotting their flesh).

❝ s-should i go ... by myself? no, we should go together, right? w-what about ... the others? ❞

he looks to her for some sort of clarity and confirmation, yet he is required for her salvation (so it seems!). lack of evidence and assurance leaves them stranded for answers, trying to make decisions with half the knowledge required to survive.

❝ no. no. we go together. ❞ he seems to relax, becoming more silently resolved as he allows himself to fold to her. women make me uncomfortable, his mind argues. that was my choice, wasn't it? but he is beyond comprehensible choices of symbolic meaning and subconscious sway. no, this is about survival. their survival. i want to live! ❝ i ... i trust you. i trust you. ❞