#after lucas obviously. no one can be lucas sinclair

[campbyler]

heads up that i will be using chapter 10.2 to promote my mike and mitchell best friends forever agenda thanks

[tboybuck]

got the idea in my head of the party clocking the steddie tension and bullying eddie about it so this happened | 1.7k | rating: g or t, depending on how you feel about swearing

“I’m gonna need you two to either quit that or get your shit together and make out already.”

Eddie drags his eyes away from the door at the top of the basement stairs that Steve’s just closed on his way out to pick up Max and El, back to the task at hand, the table in front of him, his lost little sheep taking their places around the table in the Wheelers’ basement. It's Erica that spoke up, her eyebrow raised in a condescending kind of way that Eddie’s not sure if she learned from her mother or from Steve.

“Hey, watch your fuckin’ mouth,” he chastises, a little belatedly, a lot unnecessarily, and very obviously a deflection from the meat and potatoes of what she said.

It’s not just little Sinclair watching Eddie anymore; they’re all peering expectantly at him like they’re waiting for an explanation. Well, they’re not gonna get it. This little dance that he and Steve are doing - if it’s even a dance at all - is nobody’s business but their own. 

It’s been months now and it’s driving Eddie out of his goddamned mind but it’s not like he’s going to talk to the fucking kids about it. Jeff and Grant have been pretty receptive about the whole thing and Eddie’s talked both their ears off to the point of annoyance. Gareth won’t even give him the time of day anymore when Eddie starts in on talking about Steve.

It’s just that he and Steve have had this little back and forth going for a few months now, where they’ll flirt and Eddie will just start to think that maybe’s he’s got a shot and then Steve will back away. And then they’ll go a few days without talking and they’ll be back at it with a vengeance, picking on each other and making suggestive comments and very intentionally checking one another out.

But then Eddie’ll see Steve laying that same charm onto every girl that walks into the video store and snap back to himself. The mixed signals make him want to scream a little bit. One minute he’s psyching himself up to ask Steve to come back to his after work, maybe watch a stupid movie and make out on the couch, but then he reminds himself that he’s fucking delusional and Steve is just like that. He’s a flirt, and the way he flirts with Eddie doesn’t mean anything.

But the kids are still watching him, still waiting for an explanation about the way he and Steve were just gazing at each other as Steve climbed the stairs to leave, and so Eddie sighs.

“It’s nothing, okay?”

“Right,” says Henderson with a roll of his eyes and a shrug of his shoulders. “Which is why you two can’t stop making those lovesick faces at each other and flirting with each other, and why neither of you can ever shut up about each other.”

“Steve talks about me?”

“Jesus Christ,” Mike mutters. He’s tipping his chair back, balancing it on two legs. It’d be so easy for Eddie to just… tap it with his foot, send little Wheeler to the floor.

“Anyway!” Eddie says again, clapping his hands together. “It doesn’t matter! It’s nothing! Stevie’s just… like that. Y’know? With everybody. Let’s get to work, we’ve got a campaign to get through, no reason for us to be wasting time talking about Steve Harrington. Right?”

“Wait,” Will cuts in. His smile is a little mischievous, a little mean, and suddenly Eddie doesn’t remember why he likes the littlest Byers as much as he does. “You think Steve acts the way he does with you, with everybody?”

“Yeah. We’re friends. He’s… flirtatious. It’s not a thing, y’know? It’s just. A thing.”

“So you really think he willingly stuffs four teenagers in his car every Friday night to drop us off here, and then goes back out to pick up two more teenagers to bring them out here because…? Friends?” Lucas is looking at Eddie like he thinks he might be ready to grow another head.

Okay. Fuck. So they’re actually talking about this. Eddie and a bunch of snotty little kids are about to talk about his fucking crush on their babysitter. Jesus Christ.

“Listen. We are not discussing this.”

Will ignores him. “If you like him, ask him out.”

“And ruin a perfectly good friendship, baby Byers? I think I’ll pass. Besides, him and Nance…”

“Are long over,” Will insists, leaning forward and putting his arms on the table. “She’s still going out with my brother.”

“Like I said,” Erica cuts in again, “I need you two to suck face already or cut it out. We might be kids but we aren’t blind.”

“Please, he doesn’t even like me like that.”

“Are you kidding?” Dustin again. It’s like a game of round robin, each kid around the table lobbing questions and insistences at him in turn. “How can you say that, Eddie? The way he looks at you, the way he talks to you. He spends his Fridays here, in his ex-girlfriend's basement, to spend time with you. Don’t you see the way he watches you?”

“He just… I tell a good story.”

Mike lets loose a scoff and a sigh that could very well shake the foundations of the house around them. “I don’t even like Steve, but yeah. He treats you different. Special.”

“I already told you - he flirts with everybody. He’s a flirt! That doesn’t mean that it means something.”

“Who else does he call baby?” Lucas asks him, deadpan.

“He has pet names for everybody.”

“No he doesn’t. Who else is he going around touching all the time?”

“Robin, who he does have a pet name for. He calls her Bird.”

“Because you started calling her Bird. He picked that up from you,” Dustin argues. “And yes, he talks about you. He asks about you when he hasn’t seen you in a few days. He mentions stuff you said. He had an Ozzy tape playing in his car today and when I asked about it, y’know what he said?”

“‘Eddie gave it to me,’” Will supplies with a smile. “And he was smiling when he said it. That weird smile he gets sometimes. You know the one.”

“The Eddie smile.”

Eddie’s mouth is dry. His head is swimming a little bit. His heart races. There’s blood pounding in his ears as he thinks about Steve listening to The Ultimate Sin in his car even when Eddie’s not around to tell him about the production of the album or explain the intricacies of the instrumentals. He listens to it because he enjoys the music Eddie’s shown him. He talks about Eddie to the kids, asks about him.

Eddie exists to Steve outside of the weekly campaigns at the Wheelers’.

Doesn’t mean Steve likes Eddie the way Eddie likes him, though. Eddie can’t let himself dwell too much on the possibilities of what that could mean. He’s been crushing for months now. It’s almost winter in Hawkins, and Steve’s started coming around to campaigns more and more often the closer to the holidays it gets; Eddie figured it’s because Nancy will be coming home for Christmas soon - she was just here for Thanksgiving and Steve spent most of that Friday upstairs with her instead of in the basement with Eddie and the kids. So Eddie just kind of figured they were reconciling… 

He’d moped about it after he went home, certain that he’d never have a chance with Steve in spite of his very big, very obvious crush on him.

The thing is, Eddie’s never been all that subtle in his affections. He’s a tactile guy as it is, but with Steve it’s like he can’t keep his hands to himself at all. He finds himself reaching out whenever they’re together, a moon orbiting a planet, and Steve is all too willing to be the gravitational pull that draws Eddie close.

But that doesn’t mean he likes Eddie.

Which is what he says to the kids. They’re still looking at him, waiting for his response.

“You are so blind, God,” Mike groans, covering his face. “We can all see the way he feels about you, and you’re so gaga for him it’s a fucking miracle he hasn’t asked you out himself. Jesus, we are all so sick of this shit.”

“Language, Wheeler.”

“Stop deflecting, Munson. If you don’t say something when he gets back here, I’m gonna tell him for you. We’re all fucking tired of this!”

“I don’t wanna hear it from you, of all people!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“If you don’t know then I’m not gonna tell you. Dumbass teenagers.”

There’s a flurry of footfalls above them, and then the basement door opens to reveal El and Max coming slowly down the stairs with Steve following close behind.

“Tense down here,” Steve smiles. “What’d we just walk in on?”

Panic rises in Eddie as Mike pins him with an evil smile and starts to open his mouth to spill the beans.

“Good news first or bad news first?” Eddie blurts out, holding out a hand towards Mike to shut him up.

“Uh oh,” Steve says. He pauses on the bottom step as the girls hover near the table. Steve’s eyebrows draw together, a little confused and a little concerned, and Eddie’s overcome with the urge to reach out and touch him. “Bad news first, always.”

“We were arguing about you.”

“And the good news?”

“Good news for you, either way. You have the option to prove them all wrong or severely gross them out.”

That crease between Steve’s eyebrows deepens. “What are you talking about?”

Well. Here goes nothing.

“The kids are all convinced you’re into me the same way I’m into you but I told ‘em that’s ridiculous. So you can tell ‘em they’re all idiots or you can come over here and kiss me, make ‘em all wanna wash their eyes out with bleach.”

Steve’s smile is slow to spread, but spread it does. It starts as a twitch in the corner of his mouth and his face softens. That twitch goes a little lopsided, one side of his mouth tipping up into an uncertain smile before it bleeds over onto the rest of his mouth, and he’s grinning. 

The Eddie smile.

It takes him no time at all to cross from the stairs to where Eddie sits at the head of the table and he drags Eddie up out of his seat.

“Guess we better get some bleach ready, then, baby,” Steve says.

And then he kisses him.

because you both asked to be tagged literally anytime i write something: @steves-strapcollection and @patchworkgargoyle - here, i wrote something

[morganbritton132]

Eddie doesn’t post much over Parents weekend. When he does post, it’s a picture to the Official Corroded Coffin twitter account of Wayne rocking a vintage CC sweatshirt (vintage as in Eddie made it for him before the band even existed).

Overly invested fans don’t have to fret though because whereas Eddie isn’t posting, the kids are.

Every year they fill out bingo cards with Very Specific Things that they think will happen over the course of the weekend and play to see who gets bingo first. This all plays out across their TikTok accounts because the rule is: if you don’t get a video, it didn’t happen (the rule was made after the cheating scandal of 2016).

The game is always centered around whoever is hosting so this round is Steddie-centric. So, no one makes it obvious that Steve’s mom clearly didn’t show up, but if you’re invested enough in his mama drama than you’d pick up on everybody’s effort to keep him engaged enough that he doesn’t really have to think about it.

(1) The first to get a piece on the board are El, Mike, and Lucas. They manage to catch on video Claudia Henderson fully lifting Steve off his feet when she hugs him. You get three different angles of Dustin next to them with the most ‘are you shitting me?’ look on his face because she hugged Steve first.  This is a staple of these events. It happens every time. Everybody had it on their bingo cards but the others didn’t get it on camera. 

(2) Will has ‘Karen says something that would’ve gotten Steve’s neighbor burned at the stake’ on his card. He posts a TikTok of Karen referring to Steve and Eddie’s salt and pepper shakers as ‘kitschy.’ Steve smiles and says, “I know! Eddie picked them out.”

(3) ‘Eddie stands on a table’ was banned from being on the card because it has happened at every single event ever. ‘Eddie falling off a table and being caught by Steve’ however? Very specific. Weird it happened. Lucas gets points, but also a little side eye.

(4)It’s not going to win Erica any points, but she posts a video of her mom talking to Robin about finding her a good man. Now, don’t get her wrong. Sue Sinclair’s LGBT+ ally-ship is only rivaled by Joyce Byers, but she never remembers that Robin is a lesbian and Robin is always too awkward to correct her. It’s like watching two robots have a conversation because Sue mentions that Dustin is single and Robin is just like, “And…short?”

Eddie is not in the video but you can hear his wheezy laugh next to her. Erica’s just like, “Would you use your inhaler or die somewhere else?”

(5)Dustin posts a video of Steve standing by the window, clearly lost in thought as he stares out at the road. You can see Eddie sneaking up from a distance but instead of scaring Steve, he takes him by the hand and spins him around so they’re facing one another. Dustin isn’t close enough to hear what they’re saying but you can hear him mutter ‘gross’ when Eddie presses Steve up against the window to kiss him.

Steve’s the one to pull Eddie towards the stairs going to the studio, but they don’t actually make it down them because Hopper pulls Steve away to talk to him. There’s an argument between the party in the comments of the video of if this counts as ‘Steve and Eddie sneak off to make out like teenagers in the studio’ because they don’t actually succeed in sneaking away.

(6) Every single person playing gets a video of Hopper looking at Eddie and asking if he’s on drugs. Eddie says, “I don’t doOoOo drugs, Dad. It’s just marijuana.”

Dustin gets an extra point for catching Steve’s eye roll. Eddie has repeated that phrase at least a hundred times since Dustin told him about the Russian elevator.

(7) Max and Dustin both score a point with ‘Steve and El pull a “prank” on Eddie’ and it’s just Steve very confidently claiming that he can roll a nat 20 easy-peasy just by rolling the dice in a special way. Eddie obviously calls bullshit and then Steve rolls a 20 three times in a row.

After the fourth time, Eddie narrows his eyes at Steve and then spins around until he spots El on the other side of the room and points at her like “YOU!!!” No one watching understands this video. There are fights in the comments about what the hell is even happening here.

(8) Max is the only one with ‘Eddie says ACAB’ on her card. She posts a video of her handwritten card and then pans the camera up to Eddie. They’re all sitting around a bonfire later in the evening. Steve’s practically in Eddie’s lap as Eddie says, “-exactly what I mean, ACAB! All cops are bastards!”

Steve: Not Hopper

Eddie: Especially Hopper! Are you kidding me? Do you know how much weed he stole from me?

(9) Mike catches Steve and Eddie sharing a cigarette on the front porch later that night. It’s only after someone edits the video to remove the sound of the wind that you can kinda hear Steve say ‘It’s just that this is kinda it, right? I opened the door and she slammed it in my face.’

Most of the conversation is inaudible, but Joyce catching them and taking the cigarette from them is not. Neither is her shooing them back inside and finishing the cigarette herself.

(10) The party members all end up staying the night and everybody sleeps in the living room since Hopper and Joyce have Steve and Eddie’s bedroom and Wayne has the guest room. Steve and Eddie sleep on the couch because Eddie’s back can’t handle the floor. Max and Lucas get an air mattress, and Dustin claims the other side of the couch with El since they’re the only single people there. Everybody else is on the floor

Max wins bingo with a one-two punch the following morning with Mike complaining that Steve stepped on him with his big ass sleepwalking feet and Dustin posting a picture to his Instagram of him, Claudia, and Steve with the caption “best moms a guy could have.”

[luvjordie]

thinking ab steve seeing sinclair!reader for the first time in this au im thinking ab writing.

shes hanging out in nancys room, her first week back in hawkins in years. dustin leads steve upstairs to mikes room, but he stops just before the door to nancys room to tie his shoe, the younger boy leaving to mikes room since steve said he didnt need to wait. beside him was the muffled sound of stacy q blaring through nancys radio, accompanied by a voice he was sure he had heard before. “so nancy drew, whos the stud?” you say, picking up a polaroid picture of steve that you’d found laying tucked under something in her room. it had ‘1983’ scribbled on it messily “i didnt even know i still had that, god. that, my friend, is steve the hair harrington” hearing his name, steve lingered a little. tying his other shoe for good measure, and to not look like the creep he was definitely being right now. “no fucking way. thats steve harrington? the one who threw up on sarahs desk in the sixth grade?” see, contrary to popular belief, steve hadnt always been hot. he had his awkward phase, which was really the only impression youd had of him so far. he winced at the memory. the sound of nancys laughter filled the room, as he stood up. brushing spare bits of carpet fuzz off of his knees, he could hear muffled conversation going on behind the door, though he stopped paying true attention after the embarrassing trip down memory lane. he was fine for a while, in mikes room helping the boys with some lego project they used as an excuse to hang out some more with steve. hed forgotten all about the conversation he overheard. until the same voice filled his ears again. “hey lucas, i need to be home by nine i have shit to do in the morning, so hurry it up please.” steve had been sure his mouth was agape as he looked at you in the doorway. he wasnt the only one who grew out of the patented sixth grade awkwardness. you smiled at him, and he felt his cheeks heat up. that was when he realized he was still totally being perceived. that and the fact that lucas smacked him hard as hell in his bicep. it didnt hurt necessarily but it was enough to knock him out of his thoughts “steve fucking stop with the sister thing its getting old. and y/n, you cant rush art” “theyre blocks? i- just hurry the hell up.” you said, tapping your imaginary wrist watch. “ i can drive him” steve offered, as the boys all looked at him like he was speaking nonsense. “thatd be great,” you smiled once again, “youre steve harrington right?” you asked. you knew the answer, and he knew you did, but he nodded anyways. “yup. y/n sinclair i assume. its been a minute.” “totally” the interaction was awkward and short, but steve still found himself smiling and nodding like an idiot while you told lucas to call before he left, and told steve the cerfew. it wasn’t until you were halfway out of the door that the boys started harassing him for his obvious new found crush. “first nancy, now this. you are the scum of the earth” “leave him alone he oh so obviously has a type” “we might have to start babysitting you harrington” you laughed it off on your walk back to nancys room that night, but that definitely didnt stop you from letting him kiss you stupid in the back of scoops ahoy two months later.

[rigginsstreet]

Lucas and Billy bonding headcanons?

Ok if anyones gonna teach Lucas to hone his skill in basketball it’s obviously going to billy. Who was good. So jot that down

Like I can see billy going to pick up max from the sinclairs one day and Lucas is outside shooting hoops and Billy makes some casual remark about Lucas’ form being off when he keeps missing shots and at first Lucas is like “fuck off dude I’m not listening to you” but he reluctantly takes billys advice and …welp he made the shot

And next time billys around Lucas grits his teeth and asks him for more advice and that’s how they end up shooting hoops together after school and working on Lucas’ game

And billy will casually ask max after game nights how it went and what Lucas’ scoring average was and max is like “why do you care about how Lucas plays…” and Billy’s like “I care about sports, max! Because I am a man! Men care about sports!”

So anyway I think them building any sort of relationship starts with that, and then of course gets deeper with fighting the end of the world together, particularly having to work together to save max from whatever trouble she gets herself into

I don’t see them ever becoming particularly close just because I don’t imagine billy getting close to a lot of people in general, but I do like to think of them down the road when they’re both adults and Lucas and max are married or close to it so Lucas and Billy are practically family, they do form a sort of camaraderie. Like they’ll lament together when max is in a pissy mood and mad at the both of them or at family dinners they can hold conversation about March madness or whatever the fuck goes on in professional basketball idk. They’ll be on the couch watching whatever big sports event is going on (super bowl, Olympics, insert whatever championship level game here) and sometimes they’re rooting for opposite teams so it’s a bloodbath but sometimes they’re rooting for the same team and they’ll cheer and celebrate together and hug (which max always thinks is cute and tries to snap a picture) or one will be bitching and moaning (usually billy) about their team sucking while the other one is gloating

I feel like a lot of stupid bets are made during games too which results in max being like “what the hell is wrong with you two” and contemplating her life choices

But at the end of the day I see them forming a mutual respect for each other and that’s what’s most important. Lucas is good to max and that’s all billy really cares about. And Billy’s made his amends and become a stand up guy (well…as much as Billy is capable of anyway but he’s doing his best!) and there’s a longstanding truce between the two of them that keeps the peace

[thefreakandthehair]

I just had such a funny thought, I had to share.

Shapeshifter Steve can turn into a cat. Something happens and he gets stuck. Nancy knows, because it had come out when they’d been dating and had been one of the ways he’d snuck in to sleep next to her to help with both of their nightmares back then. So while he’s panicking, he goes to her house and goes in the window in the kitchen that’s always open.

Except he’s panicking and small and accidentally gets the wrong house, ending up in the Sinclair house instead and Erica is up getting a glass of water, flicks on the light and they have this kind of moment

Now, she’s actually a big fan of cats, so she looks at this like an opportunity. Free cat, you know? She convinces her parents to let her keep him, they start talking about making plans to take him to the vet, and as nice as it is having Erica sneak him bacon bits, he’d really like to not have THAT kind of surgery going on.

He tries frantically to escape every way he knows how, but never hurting Erica because god no, not even a little scratch, but she’s a very responsible cat owner and is keeping him very much inside.

Everyone is also panicking after a couple days when no one can find Steve anywhere.

It’s not until Lucas makes a reference to the cat that Nancy hears that makes her look insane as she starts interrogating Erica about him and figures it all out

Idk how he’d even get stuck but they get him unstuck and he swears he’s taking everything to the grave so don’t even ask.

He gets Erica a replacement cat though, obviously

this is MAYBE one of the funniest things I've ever read, oh my god. and like, Erica is way less concerned about the fact that Steve can turn into a fucking cat and way more concerned about the things he might've heard her say in confidence. she corners Steve immediately. it's hysterical.

he would get her a replacement cat though because though he'll never say it outright (he promised, after all), Erica really loved the companionship and comfort 🥹💕

[munson-blurbs]

Halloween idea anon here :) The first idea was Eddie and the reader doing the typical Halloween pranks (egging and TPing) on someone’s house and when they have to make a run for it to not get caught, when the light catches on their face, Eddie just thinks “yeah, I’m going to marry this girl one day”. The second idea was trick or treating with hellfire (because I cannot see Eddie ever outgrowing that and now they have freshmen in the club) and seeing the reader dressed as Galadriel or Arwen with the group she’s chaperoning and cutting each house visit short (much to the ire of Dustin) because he can’t let “the girl of (his) dreams” get away before he has a chance to talk to her after trying to work up the nerve all night. Sorry if neither of those are good ideas but thank you for letting me send them over!

Eddie falls head-over-heels for a fairy, but needs a little help talking to her.

Warnings: a little bit of language

WC: 990

A/N: This takes place in October 1986. Eddie & Steve are friends but obviously Eddie survived the Upside Down. Also, the LotR movies didn't come out till the early 2000s, so I decided to go with a D&D fairy costume! I hope that's all right!

--

Eddie Munson may be 20 years old, but he's not going to pass up the opportunity to go trick-or-treating. Dressing up in a sick costume and getting free candy? Sounds like a great time.

And now, he has a good excuse, since Dustin recruited him to drive the Hellfire Club (plus Steve) to the wealthier part of town. The kid had a whole plan mapped out based on the houses that gave the best candy in previous years. How could Eddie turn the poor guy down?

He’s dressed as a zombie rockstar, which consisted of an old concert t-shirt that he’d ripped holes in, ripped jeans, and some fake blood smeared across his face. He’d briefly considered bringing along Sweetheart, but didn’t want to risk any damage. 

“How are we always the goddamn babysitters?” Steve grumbles now, but Eddie knows he loves being adored by the kids. 

Before he can respond to Steve, something catches his eye a few houses down. A girl, about his age, standing behind two young kids, wearing a pair of fairy wings. But not just any fairy wings: she’s dressed as a fairy from Dungeons & Dragons.

“Holy shit,” Eddie breathes out. “Harrington, I think I’m in love.”

Steve meets his friend’s gaze, trying to keep an eye on the gaggle of children they’re somehow responsible for. “Oh, she’s cute.” He laughs at Eddie’s lovesick stare. “Go talk to her, Romeo.”

“W-what do I even say?” Eddie sputters, hands getting clammy. He clumsily wipes them on his pants.

Steve laughs, amused by Eddie’s nervous demeanor. “Why don’t you start with, ‘I like your costume’?” he says. “And, uh, try not to look like a total moron.”

“Okay, okay,” Eddie grumbles, turning to Mike, Lucas, Erica, and Dustin, who are waiting on line to get full-size chocolate bars. “Little sheep, let’s go! Put a move on it!” he yells out, waving them back.

“We didn’t even get our candy yet!” Erica laments. “I am not leaving until I have a giant KitKat in my stash, got it?”

Eddie huffs as he walks over. “There are a million other houses we can hit up,” Like the one where the girl of my dreams is standing, he thinks. “Come on!”

“Seriously, dude,” Dustin says, “what’s your deal?”

“Eddie's got a big ol’ crush on that fairy princess over there,” Steve teases, pointing in your direction.

“Don’t point at her, Harrington!” Eddie hisses, burying his head in his hands. “Forget it. Get your stupid candy.”

But the group has already snapped into wingman mode. 

“Eddie,” Dustin crosses his arms over his chest, “how many girls do you know are into D&D?”

“Um, Little Sinclair pretty much starts and ends that list.”

“Exactly!” Lucas exclaims. “So there’s a beautiful girl fifty feet away from you, who not only knows what it is, but likes it enough to dress as a character from it. And you’re gonna let her slip away?”

“No, but--” Eddie starts before Mike cuts him off.

“But what? You have no excuse; we’re not toddlers. And Steve can stay with us while you get her number.”

“Save my spot, or else,” Erica orders the boys, and they know to heed her warning. “C’mon, Munson. Let’s hurry this up so I don’t miss out on any candy.”

“Uh, okay,” Eddie stammers as Erica grabs him by the wrist and pulls him over to you.

“Hi!” she says to you, giant grin plastered on her face. “I just wanted to tell you that I love your costume! Is this your D&D character?”

You clasp your hands together excitedly. “Yes!” you reply. “Finally, someone knows where this costume is from. You don’t know how many people have called me Tinkerbell tonight.”

“Actually,” Erica says coyly, pulling Eddie in front of her, “this long-haired freak was the one who noticed.”

“H-hi,” Eddie bites the inside of his lip, cringing at how nervous he sounds. “I’m Eddie. Her, uh, baby-sitter.”

“Chaperone,” Erica corrects him.

“Right, Chaperone.” He softly kicks his foot into the grass. “I’m also Hellfire Club’s Dungeon Master.”

“You play, too?” Your eyes light up, taking him in. “Well, duh, of course you do, if you’re the Dungeon Master. I’m Y/N, by the way.” Pink creeps into your cheeks, and Eddie thinks it’s the cutest thing he’s ever seen. Plus, it makes him feel better about being anxious.

“Yeah. We started at Hawkins High, but when I graduated earlier this year, we just kept up the tradition outside of school,” he explains sheepishly. “Maybe you could join us sometime?”

He feels a kick to the back of his ankle before you can respond. “Ow!” he cries out, turning to Erica.

“That’s not a date, nerd,” she loudly whispers. “I am not missing out on rich people candy for you to half-ass this!”

Eddie hears you giggle and swerves back to rectify the situation. “Or, uh, we could go to that new café that opened downtown? I hear they have kick-ass food.”

You nod. “That would be great!” A small hand tugs on the hem of your green dress. “I have to get going,” you apologize, wishing you could talk to him all night. “I promised the kids I baby-sit that I’d take them trick-or-treating until our feet fall off.”

“No worries. It’s like the Cool Baby-Sitters’ Code,” he jokes, conversation flowing more naturally now. “Could I maybe get your number? So I can, y’know, call you?”

“Of course!” You reach into your purse and pull out a pen. When you realize you don’t have any paper, you grab his arm and write your phone number on it.

“I’ll call you,” he promises as you walk away and wave.

Erica stares up at him, clearly pleased with the situation.

“Thanks, kid,” he says, clapping a hand on her back. “You’re a better wingman than any of those guys.”

“Yeah, well,” she replies with a shrug. “I call dibs on bridesmaid.”

--

[miaisagirllover]

who you gonna call? (ghostbusters!)

here is my @bylerween2023 day 1 fic for ghosts and hauntings. it’ll be on ao3 soon as this is a queued post. basically byler and lumax catching a ghost in hopper’s cabin.

Lucas Sinclair didn’t think he’d be spending his Halloween at the police chief’s dingy old cabin, trying to capture a ghost (and go on a subtle double date). But here he was, at 10pm in the middle of the night with a torch in his left hand, and his trusty wrist-rocket in the other.

“I don’t even know why you took that dumb slingshot with you,” Max asked “If there’s actually a ghost in there, the rock or whatever you’ve brought to shoot is gonna go through it.”

“It could be useful.” Mike said, coming to Lucas’ defence. “If it isn't a ghost and is just some rat, then it could work.”

“Thank you,” Lucas replied “And it’s a wrist-rocket, not a slingshot, Max.”

“Can we just go in guys?” Will asked “I’m really tired. I only came because I had nothing to do.”

“Did you come because there was nothing to do, or was it because Mike was doing this?” Lucas asked.

Just as Will was about to retort, Hopper finally came out of the cabin, commanding the 4 kids.

“I want you all to just catch whatever is in my house and get rid of it. It’s been banging on the walls and throwing my stuff off of shelves. Even broke one of my best cups.”

“Are you sure it’s not just a rat or anything?” Mike asked sceptically.

“Tell me, Wheeler, have you seen any invisible rats around? Because I haven’t,” Hopper angrily responded “So stop being such a pussy, get in here and catch the goddam ghost!”

With those last few words, he pushed them all into the cabin, giving an extra shove to Mike. Then he closed the door. Max looked through the dusty blinds.

“He going in his car,” Max said “He’s just ditching us here! We don’t know jackshit about this ghost.”

“Can we all just agree that this is stupid?” Mike said “It’s obviously not a ghost and is just some stupid animal that decided it felt at home in this place.”

"Yea, let's just watch a movie here." Will agreed.

"I brought some candy, so it can be a full on movie night." Mike added.

10 minutes later, everyone was on an old couch, watching some horror films. It didn't seem like Chief Hopper was too big on films, as he only had old stuff in his cabin. After a while, the kids picked "The Invisible Man" as their movie of choice.

"Hey, Lucas, remember that the film isn't real, so don't get scared." Max teased.

"I won't get scared because of some shitty old film." Lucas said, before lightly slapping Max's arm.

"Max was able to scare you with a cheap Michael Myers mask, remember that?" Will pointed out.

"Yea, and you screamed like a girl too," Mike added "not even my little sister could scream that high."

Lucas pretend-sulked for a few seconds before taking a snack from Mike and eating it. As they were all eating and watching the film, Will noticed something.

"Mike, where did you get the snacks from?" He asked.

"Yea, we haven't gone trick-or-treating yet." Max joined in.

"Well," Mike began "I saw Holly's bag and thought she might be eating too much. So I just borrowed a few sweets from her."

"Mike!" Will shouted "You just stole sweets from your sister!"

"I just borrowed them." Mike responded.

"How the fuck do you borrow sweets, Mike?" Lucas asked.

"Ok, ok maybe I shouldn't have stole them," Mike said "But do you guys really wanna watch this old film without any Skittles or Reeses?"

"He has a point." Max answered, as she reached out for his bag.

"Can't believe I'm dating a thief." Will said.

“Would you break up with me if I continued stealing?” Mike asked “Because if you would, maybe I’d consider stopping.”

Will didn’t say anything back, he just kissed him on the cheek. Just as Mike was about to hug him, Max spoke up.

”Ugh, you guys are so clingy. Get a room.” Max joking said, before mime-vomiting.

”Hey, just because we didn’t break up 5 times in 9 months doesn’t mean we’re clingy.” Will replied.

Just as Lucas was about to join in, a clash of something came from the kitchen.

”What was that?” Max asked.

”Eh, probably just some cup.” Mike said.

”Cups don’t just fall out of nowhere.” Lucas said.

”What if it’s the invisble man?” Will joked. Everyone laughed for a bit, until they suddenly heard a loud bang. It shoke the living room, maybe even the whole house.

”What the actual fuck was that?” Max asked, although no one else knew.

”Should we go check it out?” Mike proposed.

”Nah, I’m good. Probably just a stray cat.” Lucas nervously answered.

”Do strays bang on walls?” Will asked sarcastically.

”No, but what if there’s something there?” Lucas answered.

”Ok, let’s settle this.” Max joined in. “Me and Lucas will go check the fallen object, and you two can see what made the bang happen.”

Everyone agreed, even a slightly scared Lucas, before splitting up. Max and Lucas went to the left of the house and searched the kitchen and guest bedroom, while Mike and Will went to the right, towards the bathroom and master bedroom.

After 15 minutes of thorough searching, Lucas and Max found nothing. They had found a bunch of little trinkets in the house, even a ballerina music box, but nothing too supernatural.

”I wonder if they’re gonna make out instead of searching.” Max told Lucas.

”It less likely that they’re not.” He joked back.

”WE CAN HEAR YOU GUYS!” Mike shouted from the bathroom.

”Shit.” Max whispered, before shouting back “HAVE YOU GUYS FOUND ANYTHING YET?”

”NOPE, NOTHING’S IN THE BATHROOM.” Mike replied. “WHAT ABOUT YOU GUYS?”

”NOTHING,” Max shouted back “LET’S MEET UP IN THE LIVING ROOM.”

It only took a few seconds for the 4 of them to get back together and they had nothing of interest to share.

”Can we just go home now?” Will asked “We found no ghosts or animals in this place, Hopper is just getting old and losing his wits.”

“Yea, let’s leave this shithole.” Mike said “But I’m not telling the police chief he’s getting old.”

They were all packing up, Mike putting his stolen sweets back in his bag. Once everyone was ready to leave, Lucas opened the door, but something happened. 

It closed on itself.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Max screamed. She and Mike were completely shocked, while Lucas and Will were now terrified. They all stared at the door for a few seconds, before Mike finally spoke up.

"It was probably the wind, let just try again." He said, though he and everyone else knew that wasn't wind. After a few seconds of trying to open the door, he found something out.

"It's locked." Mike finally said.

"That bullshit," Lucas replied, "You can't lock this door from the outside. Let me try, man."

"Alright," His friend answered, "But don't be shocked when you can't open it."

Just as Lucas was about to put his hand on the doorknob, Will heard something.

"Guys, who the actual fuck turned on that?" He asked, pointing to the kitchen counters. There stood the ballerina box, with the little figure spinning. A delicate, yet slightly eerie tune was coming from it.

"I didn't turn it on." Lucas spoke, "And I was with Max all this time, so it wasn't her."

"Well," Mike began "It wasn't me or Will so-"

He was quickly interrupted by a flying plate coming out of a cupboard. It nearly hit him right in the face, but instead smashed into the wall next to him, spreading fine china all over the floor.

"Holy shit, there's a ghost." Mike slowly said.

"We need to leave right fucking now!" Max urgently shouted.

Everyone started running to the backdoor to try and leave. But suddenly, the couch was right at the door, blocking the teens.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Will screamed. He didn't even know why he came in the first place.

"Now do you think ghosts are fake?" Max asked Mike.

"Max, we are trapped inside this cabin by something, and you're trying to make me say I'm wrong?" Mike slowly told Max.

"Who cares, let's just camp out here till morning." Lucas said

"Are you telling us to stay in a haunted house for a whole night?" Will asked. "Nope, I'm not doing it."

"You can try leave, but this ghost has us trapped." Lucas replied. "So we should wait till Hopper comes back and let him deal with it."

"Alright, fine." Will reluctantly gave in. “But I’m locking my door all night.”

”Alright,so me and Lucas get the bedroom on the left, and you and Mike get the one on the right.”

They all rushed to their new rooms, hoping they wouldn’t get a pan lobbed at them by the ghost.

“Do you think Hopper could actually deal with a ghost?” Mike asked Will, once they shut and locked the door. “I mean, if he needs teenagers to catch a ghost, he would faint if he saw what we saw.”

”Yea, he would not do jackshit if a fork was floating in front of him.” Will laughed

They sat in a peaceful silence for a few seconds, savouring the ghost-free moments.

”Do you wants some candy.” Mike finally asked.

”Depends,” His boyfriend replied. “Are they stolen goods?”

”Stolen, but I guess you’ll miss out on your favourite.” Mike shook a bag of Reese’s Cups in front of Will’s face.

”How dare you tempt me like this?” Will jokingly exclaimed. “You know what, fuck it.” He added as he took Mike’s bag of Reese’s.

”I knew you’d give in!” Mike victoriously said.

”You know I love them.” Will replied.

“More than you love me?” Mike teased.

”Hmmm. Maybe, maybe not.” Will said

Mike lightly punched Will on his arm, and they started play fighting, like they were 7 years old in Mike’s basement again. After a while, they decided to go to sleep, Will taking the left side and Mike taking the right. Mike was a heavy sleeper, almost immediately slumped onto Will. A few minutes passed by and Will also fell into a slumber.

”Which side are you picking?" Lucas asked. "Because I always take the left."

"I pick that side too." Max said.

"Well, there's only one way to settle this." Lucas started. "PILLOW FIGHT!"

He suddenly grabbed a pillow from the bed, and hit Max with it. She retaliated and smacked him over the head. Feathers were everywhere and the two of them layed on the bed, tired but energetic at the same time. Then Lucas had an idea.

”Wait, what if this ghost is like the invisible man?” He said, suddenly sitting upright. “We can’t see him, but he’s still touchable. We could cover him in,like, feathers or paint. Then, once we know where he is, we’ll attack!”

”Lucas, it’s a ghost, they go through walls.” Max replied. “The feathers will just fall as if there was nothing there.”

”It’s worth a shot.” Lucas said, now standing up and at the door. “I’ll wake up Will and Mike.”

He ran to the other room and opened to the door. Mike was laying on Will’s shoulder, the both of them asleep. Until Lucas spoke.

”Guys, sorry for waking you up, but I have an idea to catch the ghost.” He announced.

”Mhh, what?” Will sleepily asked, waking up and straightening his back. Mike’s head slipped off his boyfriend’s shoulder, waking him up in turn.

“So when paint falls on something invisible, it’ll cover it, right?” Lucas explained. “That means that we can cover the ghost in paint and then attack!”

”Lucas?” Will asked.

”Yea?” He replied.

”You do know that ghosts can go through things?” Will said. “So paint would just spill on the floor and Hopper would kill us.”

”That’s what I said.” Max suddenly appeared in the doorframe.

”Well, it’s worth a shot.” Lucas replied.

Will and Mike got out of bed after some more persuasion by Lucas (Mike took 5 minutes more than Will to get out). Everyone quietly crept around the house  and got their supplies. Lucas went back to his room and got feathers from his pillow fight with Max. Will got flour from the kitchen and Mike got paint from the cupboard. Finally, Max got a blanket and rope. They went over their plan quickly: they would go into the living room and try to open the main door, which would hopefully bait the ghost. Once they all have him, Lucas, Will and Mike would throw their stuff on him. Then, Max would catch the ghost with a blanket. Finally, they would fight him and tie him up.

The teens all went to the living room and loudly tried to open the door. Mike was falsely complaining in an effort to attract the ghost.

”Oh no!” He theatrically bemoaned. “We can’t open the door! I guess we’re just stuck here.”

After a few minutes of silence, an apple fell from a fruit bowl. Lucas led everyone into the kitchen, waving his hand in the direction they needed to go. Suddenly, the room shook again and a drawer opened. They all took this as their cue, as Lucas shouted, “GO!”, although Max went forward a bit sooner, clearly eager to catch a ghost.

The boys threw their stuff in front of them, right at the drawer. Most of it splattered on the counters and cabinets, but some of it covered a human figure. And someone screamed.

”WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!” It was Max. They hadn’t caught a ghost or invisible man, it was just their friend.

”Shit, Max, I’m so sorr-“ Will began to apologise, but he was taken by something. It grabbed the back of his shirt, lifted him up and pinned him against the wall.

Then, a drawer opened and a knife floated to Will’s neck.

”Holy fuck.” Mike had dropped his paint bucket in utter shock. This ghost was going to kill his boyfriend. But then the knife dropped and a pen made its way to the ghost. It went through Will’s pocket until it found a piece of paper he’d used to doodle on the go. The pen started to write something. After a few seconds, it scrunched up the paper and threw it to the kids. Mike immediately crouched down to read it. 

“Either he dies, or all of you do.” He shakily said. “That’s what the note says.”

”Mike, it’s fine.” Will spoke, holding back tears. “Just get out alive, ok?”

”Will, you are not dying to some ghost.” Max told him, blue paint masking how pale she was from terror. But as she said that, the knife hovered towards the three of them, almost like a threat.

”That it, fuck you.” Mike whispered, before running to take Will’s flour bag.

”What are you doing Mike?” Lucas shouted urgently. His friend was now reaching for the bottom of the bag. Finally having some flour in his hand, Mike threw it at the floating knife, revealing someone holding it. Will fell down from the wall, escaping the ghost’s grip.

”Take this, dipshit!” Max shouted, putting the blanket over the ghost’s head. Lucas ran to get the rope and tie him into a knot.

Mike ran to Will, checking on him in case he was hurt.

”Will, fuck, are you ok?” He breathlessly asked.

”Mike, I’m fine.” Will replied, extremely drained. “Why didn’t you just get out?”

”Do you think we were going to let you die in front of us?” His boyfriend said. They both hugged eachother so tightly that one of them might’ve been crushed.

”So, when you guys are done with your love-fest, what are we going to do with this guy?” Max asked, pointing to the writhing figure under the blanket.

”We need to stop this thing, that’s no normal ghost” Will said. “Let’s bury him outside.”

A few minutes later, Mike and Will were outside, having just finished digging a hole for the ghost to lie in. Max and Lucas were in the house, trying to carry him out. Dawn was beginning to rise, small wisps of light making it through the darkness. The two boys were sat on the grass in silence. After a bit of pondering, Mike then spoke.

”Will, when you said the ghost wasn’t normal, what did you mean by that?” He asked.

”It’s just that, I think he just drained me.” Will said, still slightly shaken from his near-death experience. “When he had me, it was like someone was in my head and they were stealing my energy. I guess that’s why I told you guys to go, it’s probably just what it wanted me to think, that there was no hope for me.”

”So you think this ghost has like, powers and stuff?” Mike asked.

”I mean, yea.” Will answered. “It should take a lot to even be a ghost, let alone being able to get into people’s head and show them-“ But then he stopped talking.

”Will, what do you mean?” Mike asked, now more worried than ever.

”It was just some stuff to scare me.” Will began. “Once the ghost got to me, he started showing me visions of you guys. Except that you were all dead in the worst ways possible. It was like a threat: you die, or this is how your friends will end up. He also showed me things that had already happened, like when my dad still lived with me, Mom and Jonathan. He just made me relive it way more vividly than a memory could ever be.”

Just as he had finished, Lucas and Max came through the door, carrying the ghost in between the two of them. Lucas was holding the feet, while Max was carrying the head.

”Can we just burn this fucker?” Max asked.

”I’m pretty sure ghost’s can’t die, and therefore can’t burn.” Lucas replied.

”Well, let’s just get this done and over with.” Will said.

Lucas and Max both unceremoniously threw the ghost into the pit, then Mike and Will tossed the dirt over it.

”Isn’t it weird this will be the closest we’ll ever get to murder?” Mike spoke.

”Well, it’s not really murder if the victim is already dead, is it?” Lucas asked

After 2 minutes, the gang was done with the job. They’d fully buried the ghost, hopefully never haunting anyone else. They all said their “fuck you’s” and “shit-heads” (Will even spat on his grave) before leaving. 

“So, can we all agree that this has been the worst Halloween ever?” Lucas spoke.

”Yea, I think getting flour all over me was the worst part.” Max said, before adding, “Well, except from Will being assaulted by a ghost.”

They all walked off into the sunrise, hoping they don’t get trick instead of treat again next year.

[captainlunaxmen]

The Lady and the Lord

Chapter 9

Eddie munson x fem!reader

This is a repost since the old blog doesn't work anymore. 🥰

Chapter summary: time to kill the bastard.

Chapter warnings: spoiler season 4, blood, violence, trauma.

Our first stop is Creel's house.

Erica, Lucas and Max goes to get out of the camper.

"Be careful, okay?" Steve tells them, then turn to Lucas. "I'm counting on you Sinclair. Anything happens, you put those headphones on her head, immediately"

"I will" Lucas replies with determination.

"We got it" Max remarks.

"We know you do" I give her an encouraging smile.

They all nod and go out... to the Creel's house.

"They're gonna be fine" Eddie whispers at me.

"Yeah... yeah, I know" I nod.

Then it's time to drive off to the trailer park.

We manage to find a good spot to leave the camper so...Time to go over the plan one last time.

"Okay. I wanna run through it one more time" Nancy starts "phase one"

"We meet Erica at the playground" Robin says while Nancy nods. "She'll signal Max and Lucas when we're ready."

"Phase two" Nancy asks.

"Max baits Vecna. He'll go after her, which'll put him in his trance." Steve answers.

"Phase three?"

"Me and Eddie draw the bat's away." Dustin answers.

"Four"

"We head into Vecna's lair, and... we kill him" I say.

"Nobody moves on to the next phase until we've all copied. Nobody deviates from the plan, no matter what. Got it?" Nancy firmly instructs.

"Got it" we all say and get up, heading to Eddie's trailer.

We walk, literally, in the dark once again sneaking around the trailer park, careful not to make noise and catch everyone's attention. Finally we arrive at his trailer.

Obviously, Steve's the one to go first and set another mattress under the portal.

"Be careful" Dustin tells him.

"Thanks, buddy" Steve replies before grabbing the rope and climbs up and then down into the Upside Down with, what he thinks, is a cool flip, he even looks up to us with a proud grin.

"Wow.. what does he wants us to do, applaud?" Robin asks sarcastically.

"Yap. I think he misses the attention" I mutter, earning an amused cough from Nancy.

In the meantime Steve brought the mattress.

"Let's go" he tells us.

Nancy goes frist, with Robin's help she climbs to the Upside Down.

After her we throw the weapons through the gate and then we climb up too.

After retrieving weapons, bombs and shields we walk out.

"Hey, guys. Listen" Steve turns to Dusntin and Eddie. "If things here start to go south, I mean, at all, you abort. Okay? Draw the attention of the bats. Keep 'em busy for a minute or two. We'll take care of Vecna. Don't try to be cute or be a hero or something. Okay? You guys are just--"

"Decoys" Dustin says for him. "Don't worry. You can be the hero, Steve"

I let out a small laugh.

"Absolutely. I mean, look at us. We're not heroes." Eddie agrees, showing a nervous smile.

So Steve starts to walk off, but Eddie stops him.

"Hey, Steve?" Steve turns to him and after a small pause Eddie speaks again "make him pay"

Steve nods and walks off, I send both him and Dustin a smile before following the other.

"Y/n?"

I turn around seeing Eddie walking towards me.

"I'll be right behind you guys, give me a minute" I tell them.

They a nod and walk away.

"Yes?" I ask Eddie, who looks back to check Dustin walking back in the trailer

"Uh... listen... since we don't know how this is gonna end... uh... can I kiss you?" He blurts out in a whisper.

That took me completely by surprise.

"I... sorry. I don't want our first kiss to be because something bad might happen. I want you to kiss me properly, when all this is over." I tell him.

"What you mean by 'properly', uh?" He asks.

"Push me against the wall, kinda thing, grab my hips... you know" I say with and embarrassed chuckle.

"Is that so?" He softly laughs.

"Yeah."

"Thought you wanted something sweet and soft" he teases.

"Oh, my lord, you'd be surprised" I wink.

"Is that a promise then? We get out of here and I finally get to kiss you?" He ask with a grin.

"And anything else you want" I smirk.

"Anything? I like the sound of that"

"Better stay alive then, uh?" I hug him and walk backwards before following Robin, Steve and Nancy.

We've been walking for, what feels like, forever. The Creel's house surely is far.

"Uh.. I don't mean to freak anyone out" Robin speaks up, breaking the silence "but I swear we've seen this tree before"

"That's impossible" Nancy immediately says.

"That would suck, right? If Vecna destroyed the world because... 'Cause we got lost on the woods?" Robin replies, rambling nervously.

"We're not lost, don't worry, okay? We'll get there soon enough" I try to reassure her.

She just chuckles and starts to walk faster ahead of us.

"Robin, hey. Watch out for the vines! Hive mind. Remember?" Nancy warns her.

"Ugh... I better catch up with her... before she falls" I say rushing to catch up with her.

"Thank you!" Steve says loudly.

With Robin sometimes it's like... co-parenting... she's cute, but...challenging.

"Robin, wait!" I say.

Once I finally do catch up with her, she grabs my hand and pulls me close to her as we walk.

"You good?" I ask with a chuckle.

"Just... freaked out" she admits.

"Hey.. you know we're gonna make it.. as always" I try once again to assure her.

"Nor even you fully believe that. You really can't sugar-coat things. Like... What if we don't make it? What if we fucked up and everything goes to shit?"

"You're right... I really can't sugar-coat anything...and well... if everything does go to shit. We tried. At least we tried." I squeeze her hand "I don't see anyone else here, do you?"

"No.."

"See? We're trying to do something, we might fail... that possibility has always been there, yet here we are, all of us."

"You're right" she simply says.

"I'm always right" I proudly say.

"Being friends with Steve made you a little too cocky, uh?" She teases.

"Oh.. God yes... please make it stop" I joke making her laugh.

"I will, I promise" she laughs.

Her gaze catch onto something in front of us.

The Creel's house.

"Shit! Told you we weren't lost!" I tell her, who immediately rush back to Steve and Nancy leaving me there.

"Be right back!" She tells me.

She comes back soon after with Nancy and Steve with her.

"There it is" I say pointing at the house "and... there they fucking are" I point at the bats flying over the house. "I think the guys are ready" I nod to the playground in front of the house where a small ball of energy sparks.

"Erica" Steve says and I nod.

So we head to her.

So far, so good.

We warn her we ready.

"Okay, the lovebirds have copied. Max is moving into phase two: distracting Vecna." She informs us.

"So far, so smooth" Robin comments.

"Yeah, we're not even at the hard part yet" Steve replies.

"Take the bait, you son of a bitch" I hear Nancy saying looking straight to the house.

Please Max be careful, I think.

"Hey.. it's okay." Steve whispers to me.

"I know... I know.. I'm just worried. I'm fine, Steve, I promise" I assure him.

"Tell me, though. Please"

"I will" I give him a smile before kneeling down to try and calm my nerves.

We wait and wait and wait.

Finally Erica speaks again.

"Okay, she's in. Initiate phase three"

Robin immediately grabs the walkie and inform Dustin and Eddie.

"She's in. Move on to phase three"

"Copy that. Initiating phase three" Dustin replies.

"Time for the concert of your life, Eddie" I mutter.

After a moment we faintly hear the unmistakable sound of an electric guitar.

Oh my god... that's of the new Metallica songs... fuck! how is it called? Master of Puppets, yes!

"Oh he's good" I comment.

The bats hear it too, they're quickly flying towards the "noise".

"Okay. It's working. Let's go" Nancy says.

We all stand walking to the house.

We enter the house, careful not to step on the vines. It's kind of difficult when the whole place is literally covered in them. Steve goes first, then Nancy, Robin and then me.

They start to walking up the stairs when I hear a noise. I stop for a moment to check if it's another creature or not.

"Guys" I whisper-shouts.

They turn to look at me from upstairs, but before I can tell them a big earthquake interrupts me.

"You guys okay?" I ask once the earthquake stops.

They don't have time to answer because a vine tied itself to Robin's ankle, next thing I know she's being held to the wall screaming for help.

I try to get upstairs while Steve and Nancy try to cut the vines and free her, but they're stopped by more tentacles slithering grabbing them, choking them against the wall.

I'm almost on top, almost to them, when I feel something wet crawling my leg. I try to wriggle free from it, but its hold is too tight, wrapped firmly on my leg, pulling.

I fell on the ground, hitting my arm hard, but I don't have enough time to react because I'm being dragged back downstairs and literally thrown back outside.

When I hit the ground I feel my sight darkening until I see nothing at all.

I finally open my eyes again.

It's difficult to breath, I feel vines still crawling over my body and I struggle to get free.

I manage to grab the shotgun and start to shoot at the roots, finally freeing myself.

I immediately stand up and run back to the house, but the door is closed shut.

"Hey! Can you hear me?" I try "Steve! Nancy! Robin!"

Fuck... I hope they're not answering because they can't hear me and not because they're still trapped.

"Y/N!"

Nancy.

"Nancy! I can't get back in!"

"Go back to the trailer then!" She tells me. "We can't open it either. We'll go upstairs and kill Vecna, you go back and find something to open this"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! We got it."

"Be careful, please!"

And then no answer again.

Fuck.

Fuck.

I take a very deep breath as soon as I feel myself shaking.

I'll go back to Dustin and Eddie and with them I can find a way. Yeah.

Another deep breath.

I start to run back to the trailer park.

I run as fast as I can.

All sorts of thought invade my mind.

What if they can't kill him?

What if he kills them first?

I couldn't stand losing any of them.. let alone all of them... I couldn't stand it again

I looked for Hopper when I saw Joyce back at Starcourt.

No signs of him.

Maybe he's talking to someone about this whole situation, I thought.

But then... I saw Joyce's face looking at El.

She wasn't happy, like "we won" kind of happy. No... she was devastated.

That's not possible, I said to myself. It can't be.

I kept looking at Joyce and El talking and then hugging. Joyce trying to comfort her.

When her eyes locked into mine... I fall.

Hopper was gone and I couldn't do anything about it.

I cried, my chest hurt... I couldn't breath.

But then, a hand touched my shoulder.

"Y/n..." Dustin's voice calmed me a little.

"Sweetheart..." Joyce. "I'm so sorry"

She kneeled with me holding me as I sobbed against her.

"I know.. I know."

I've never felt that pain before... not like that...

How can anyone survive that?

How?

"Ma'am?" Someone calls.

"I'll be right back, okay?" Joyce whispered at me.

"I'll stay here" Dustin offered then proceeded to kneel beside me and put his head on my shoulder reassuringly. "You know... uh, my mom always asks about you. Insists you're always too thin, well.. ever if you weighted more than a whale, you'd still be too thin for her..." he let out a small laugh "what I mean is, uh.. you're always welcome, you know"

"Thank you Dustin" I managed to say.

"You're always welcome at my house too" I turned around to see Mike standing up, holding El's hand. "I mean.. my whole family love you more than they love me so.. might as well" he added, with a chuckle.

I hold my hand out for El, who gently accepted it to sit with me as we hugged each other.

"At my house too" Lucas joined.

"Same" Max with him.

"And obviously.. same at mine" Will.

"Thank you guys"

As I approach the trailer park I see something moving... running.

I stop for a moment, trying to understand what's happening there.

Oh my god.

It's Eddie. He's running from the bats.. but why?

I scream as I see the bats knock Eddie over, off of the bike, but he stands up quickly, thankfully.

I get back to running, eyes fixed on him, I don't think he can see me, yet.

He's running away, but stops, turns around and grabs the shield and the spear.

Fuck.

No. No. No.

He manages to fight off a lots of them, but they're still too many and they manage to attack themselves at Eddie's sides.

I stop. Grab the shotgun... and aim.

I'm able to hit a few of them, before Eddie turns around and sees me.

I keep getting closer and closer as I shoot the creatures, until I'm basically by Eddie's side.

"What part of 'don't be heroes' you didn't understand, uh?" I scold him.

"Can't run forever" he simply answers.

I take care of those bats above us while Eddie the ones getting too close.

After what feels like eternity, the demobats, suddenly, fell.

"Maybe they did it..." I breath out.

"You think?" Eddie asks me.

"I hope... fuck..."

I feel Eddie's hand on my shoulder, to keep himself up, but he falls on the ground.

"Eddie?" I kneel down beside him, noticing just now the huge wounds on his body.

"Oh shit.. okay.. " I shakily say.

"That bad, uh?" He asks.

"No. Hey, look at me okay? It's okay. They're... not exactly good, but they're not that bad" I insist.

"Has anyone told you you can't sugar-coat anything?" He asks. Voice tired and weak.

I feel my eyes watering, there's so much blood... too much blood.

I have nothing to help him, except maybe...

I immediately take off the shirt he gave me and start to rip it.

"I'm gonna buy you a new one, I promise" I tell him.

"Hey... hey..." he weakly calls "I know we said after all this, but...seeing the situation..do you think I could get that kiss now?"

He laughs it off, but I can tell he's scared.

"I'm sorry, love" I force myself to smile as I put pressure on his wounds with some ripped tissues "We're gonna get you to the hospital. You're gonna be fine and then... you'll kiss me properly."

"Hey... uh... I didn't run away this time, right?" He asks and I let the tears freely fell.

"You didn't. You're so brave" I caress his cheek with one hand. "And you played amazingly too"

"Yeah?" He asks. "Did you hear it?"

"Definitely. Gotta have to play for me, one of these days" I wink at him.

"I'll play whatever you want, m'lady" he says in a pained whisper.

I keep putting pressure and clean his wounds, trying my best to take deep breaths and keep my hands steady.

"I liked that, you know" he speaks again in a whisper.

"What?"

"You calling me 'love'... I liked it" he admits almost shyly.

"You're getting shy on me now, Munson?" I try to joke, even if my tears disagree.

"With you? Always"

"Eddie!" I look up and see Dustin running to us. He's.. limping towards us.

"Dustin.. what the hell happened?"

"Hey buddy" Eddie says.

"He.. he said he wanted to buy more time and.. and cut the rope and took the mattress off so I had to climb up.." he cries.

"Okay.. Dustin listen. Keep pressure here, I'll run get the others"

"Are they okay? Why are you here?" He asks me.

"They're at the house, but the door closed and we couldn't open it. Now, please, keep pressing there okay?" I tell him, standing up and grabbing a spear, I don't know how helpful it would be but there's nothing much here.

"Hey.. don't leave me." Eddie's weak voice breaks my heart.

"I'll be right back. Okay? I promise" I tell him.

I turn back ready to run back to the Creel's house when I spot Nancy, Steve and Robin in the distance.

I rush to them, they do the same.

We meet halfway.

Steve's quickly to wrap his arms tightly around me, as Nancy and Robin catch up with him.

"Thank god you're okay, honey" he whispers.

"I was so scared" I say back, letting him go and immediately hugging Robin and Nancy.

"You did it?" I ask.

"Perfect flambé" Robin winks.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Eddie... You.. you guys need to help us"

I run with them back to Eddie and Dustin.

"Hey" I say kneeling back down with Dustin "told you I'd be back"

"Hey, m'lady" he weakly smile at me as I grab his hand, feeling more tears coming out.

"Help.. please" I look up to Steve who looks more scared than ever, not sure on what to do "please" I whisper.

Robin gently grabs me to make me stand up as Steve kneels down and with Dustin's help they manage to make Eddie stand.

That's a good sign.. right?

"It's gonna be okay, Y/n" Nancy tells me.

I just nod, eyes focused on Eddie's back as they walk to the trailer.

It's gonna be okay. I keep repeating in my head.

It has to...

[bellascarousel]

Okay! So, my writing goals for 2024 (dear fucking Gods, how is it almost 2024 already?) is to get my damn Urban Fantasy revised, and to write and revise at least one of the Romance novels I've got percolating. 2024 is gonna be the year I become a published author, dammit! Anyway... to that end, I'm gonna ask you guys to help my ADHD addled brain pick a writing project to actually fucking stick to. So, first up, some brief rundowns of the stories I have the best handle on and can see myself actually finishing, if I would just stop letting myself get distracted and wander off to start something new:

Married At First Sight - A Regency-era arranged marriage. Andrea Sinclair is a spinster whose father is dying. Worried about what will happen to her when he's gone, he decides she NEEDS to marry this season. And he's willing to take matters into his own hands, if need be. Matthew Beaumont is the second son of a marquess. His father needs him to marry because his older brother's wife is dying without providing an heir, and with Sarah and James having been a love match, odds are against James being willing to remarry. Lord Beaumont and Mr. Sinclair decide to marry off their two problem children to each other. Andrea and Matthew like each other well enough, but there's a problem. Andrea agrees because she WOULD like to have children and she needs a husband for that. Meanwhile, after watching both his mother and his mistress die in childbirth (the mistress was birthing his daughter, so he feels responsible), and his beloved sister-in-law spend years wasting away from some illness that seemed to have been caused by the birth of her daughter, Matthew has taken a personal vow of celibacy because he can't bear the thought of being responsible for another woman's death. Obviously, their main conflict is going to be between Andrea's desire for children and Matthew's utter refusal to risk it. (I am NOT going the Simon and Daphne route with this. Matthew will not become the pull-out king, he's gonna stick to his vow of celibacy - which just causes further issues cause it plays into Andrea's insecurities. And Andrea is not going to try to... ahem... force the issue. I have plans for this that I think will be interesting.) It's going to be the first in a trilogy. I have plans for Matthew's younger sister Kitty, and also to give James a second chance at love.

You're Still The One - a Regency-era second chance romance. Four years ago, Evelyn and Lucas fell in love. But, her stepfather intended to marry her to an associate of his, using her dowry to pay off a gambling debt. Evelyn takes one night for herself and sleeps with Lucas before running away. Four years later, Lucas has a bad riding accident and in his moments of semi-lucidity the only coherent thing he can say is Evelyn's name. So, his older brother tracks her down. When he finds her, he also discovers that she has had Lucas's baby. He drags them both back to London. When Lucas finally actually wakes up and finds out about their child - and about the fact that her stepfather and fiance are still looking for her - he realizes the only way to protect them is to marry her. Of course he kind of hates her for what she did, and never mind her reasons.

His Brother's Wife - a contemporary enemies to lovers romance. Ethan Sullivan hasn't seen his twin brother Connor in almost twenty years - not since they got into a drunken fistfight at their mother's funeral. In that time, Ethan married a friend to give her medical insurance (and some modicum of respectability in her parents' eyes) when her FWB got her pregnant and then left her, he has since been widowed and is raising his stepdaughter alone - though only the two of them know that he's not her father. Meanwhile, Connor had a drunken one night stand that resulted in pregnancy. He married Lydia, also for the insurance. They are raising their daughter together, but have an open marriage. Ethan and Connor are forced back into each others' lives when their father dies, and his will stipulates that in order to inherit anything, his sons have to live together in the family home for a year. So, the five of them all end up living together. Ethan and Lydia slowly fall in love. But, it's all complicated by Heather's biodad coming back into the picture and suddenly wanting custody.

So, I'm putting up a poll. Which of these stories would you most be interested in spending a good chunk of 2024 reading my writing progress updates about?

[lorifragolina]

Some little tease, I don't know, I wanted to explore that relationship

Lucas Sinclair, Billy Hargrove

After the Starcourt battle, Billy was in the hospital, lightly sedated and covered in bandages, barely able to move for the first week.

And alone. 

His father didn't show up when he was awake, nor did Susan to look at him.

He knows that his sister and her friends were in the hospital too, because when he woke up he could hear their voices far away in the hallway.

He was bored. And sad, why hide it. He felt pain and itch and was bothered by the situation. Some government men said that he was in a bad car accident and that's it, but obviously he knew the truth. He kept thinking about this scary girl and what she made him see, and the scream of Max before he passed out after that battle.

He felt empty. And alone. And guilty. He deserved bad. He felt bad. He cried sometimes. 

Despite all he would know about her, if she was good or wounded or something. He felt he could do better. And it was damn difficult to dry the tears with all of those things on his arms and hands.

One day he woke up from one of these naps from all that boredom and meds, and he was not alone.

Lucas Sinclair was standing near his room's door, looking at him with a worried look.

- Mmh? 

Billy groaned.

- Oh, h.. hi, you were sleeping...

- What do... You want?

It was difficult to speak, and he tried to move the head too fast, ending in pain.

- Just... Just checking. You were alone, and well... Max ...-

-How's she?-

- Well she's doing good... Good-

Lucas got closer while speaking, looking awkwardly at Billy's body in the little lit.

- You ok?- asked at the end.

- Better than ever- muttering, and chuckling. 

- Max sent me to check you��- Said Lucas after a while.

- She kicked you out? - giggled Billy, causing himself quite a pain.

- She's bored of me talking, really-

- So you go here where I can't move-

Lucas looked surprised, but relaxed seeing the little smile on Billy's face.

Billy noticed the book Lucas had in his hands.

- What's this?-

-What? Oh, Brave New World-

- Christ - Billy rolled his eyes and sight.

- Well I'll go now, tell Max you're doing well...-

- Give me that book, for God's sake - Billy stopped him, trying to lend his hand. It caused pain -Fuck...-

- You ok?-

Lucas reached out the bed, putting the book right in Billy's hands. 

Billy grabbed Lucas' wrist. He could not use real strength, but Lucas froze. It was a very long moment.

- I'm sorry - said Billy, a single tear running down his cheek.

- Oh no... No problem dude...- babbled Lucas in great discomfort. - Was cool, that... In the mall- started after a while.

Billy left his arm. - Cool...- giggled another time. - Not so happy now really-.

Lucas nodded. - You're doing well. I will  come later for the book ok?- 

Billy lowerest his eyes.

- Maybe I can bring another?- continues Lucas.- Ok?-

Billy smiled, a timid smile, but still.

- Ok. I'll be here I guess -

Lucas left. 

Billy opened the book. He was alone again, but not so much.

Not this time.

[elekinetic]

PLEASE write a camp counselor au. also sorry for keeping sending asks this is too much fun!!

imagine dustin roping them all into working at camp knowhere though!!! you're completely correct about everything tbh. dustin is obviously well known because he's definitely went every single year since he was 12, the older kids know him and so do the older counselors. he's the perfect storm between responsible and HEY KIDS WANNA SEE SOMETHING EXPLODE? lucas is the biggest sweetheart counselor and he's super popular for the obvious reasons (i mean come on he's lucas sinclair). max is cool and aloof and she skateboards and is the coolest person on the planet (popular but on the opposite end of the spectrum. she's also a big sweetheart but she will not hesitate to threaten kids not to talk about it and ruin her Cool Teen Reputation).

will is good at his job because. look at him in season 4. he was literally created to be an older brother. he's nice and nurturing but also the biggest shithead ("is that why you have no friends?") which is a huge part of his appeal. he's sweet but then he'll say something super sarcastic and kids will be left baffled.

mike and el are popular for the same reasons. they're a huge mess. mike is literally a sentient pile of twigs that someone gave a shakespeare anthology to once. he's 90% limb. but also he's super smart, so like, he gets cool points there. el is, like you said, extremely strange (affectionate) and thus extremely fascinating to be around. kids are gossiping that maybe she's like, magic or something.

exactly!! you pegged dustin to a T, they would all see him as The King Of Know Where, and kids are always bothering him asking him science questions cause he just knows everything. lucas is the counselor everyone has a crush on. you either like him or want to be him, and you can't even hate him out of jealousy bc he's too nice. and ykw fuck it im saying camp know where is in michigan and they take a beach trip and lucas and max are the cool lifeguards in charge of keeping the kids alive. max takes no shit from the kids. "nerds, lights out was ten minutes ago. get your asses to sleep." they think she's super cool cause she curses. she can also do card tricks (which she only does in the cabin and makes them swear not to tell anyone) and knows all the best camp songs. her cabin always wins challenges, though el's cabin puts up a good fight through the power of sheer chaos. her cabin and will's gets partnered a lot cause their tables in mess are near each other, and its always so much fun. they always kill at volleyball for some reason. i think it takes will a little bit of time to get confident telling the kids what to do and acting as an authority figure, and he's nervous at first, but once he gets his footing he's such a great counselor. "cmon...casey... you can't eat that." everyone thinks he's super nice, until someone catches him teasing mike. thus the rumor that mike and will hate each other is born, and obviously everyone takes will's side bc will is a sweetheart and mike what the fuck did you do? like you said, mike is super smart, but i also think he's a little pathetic and has a hard time getting the kids to respect him. his and will's cabins are partnered for arts and crafts one day and mike is having difficulty getting his kids to settle down. will steps in and is like, "guys, come on. let's chill out, okay? listen to mike," and they go quiet. mike's jaw is on the floor, cause they actually start listening to him after that. well. until arts and crafts is over, at which point they start tormenting him again.

i have so many more thoughts on this, this is insane.

ask me anything!

[marypsue]

Hhhhhn I’m glad you put your pinned post back bc i missed a few sneak peeks!! First of all, I love the ominous suit baddies and a new introduction for Erica Sinclair bc she honestly would be a child detective and rabble rouser! Also I love that Erica has heard enough about Lucas’s connection that lets him sneak into the movies that she goes to Steve when she feels unsafe! Tbh I feel like it’s a crime that we never got a scene of Lucas braving about his cool older friend who lets him go to movies for free and drives only for Erica to call Steve a loser but clearly note down that he’s a trusted adult ( let thé Sinclair siblings bond!! Let them be children and shit talk but also care for each other deeply! )Also truly such a joy seeing your impeccable sense of dramatic tension bc that scene sucked me right back in and left me excited about stranger things again . The blend of character work and plot has really gotten so good and it’s fun seeing how your style changed since the first installment!! Also belatedly, the age swap fic (another beloved marypsue AU that is always rotissering in my brain alongside body swap) with Nancy detectiving and a fun twist on the classic Hopper finding the government conspiracy beats of ST1.

Hello hello! Thank you so much! I'm thrilled to hear that the tension is good, and that the plot and character work seem to be working together well. That's all I ever want.

I love Erica and I want her to have all of the screentime! All of the sibling relationships on Stranger Things are so interestingly set up and I just want more of all of them. All the time. Forever.

I feel like the setup in this AU allows for a little more cross-generational interaction in general than the show itself implies. That was one of the things I really liked about s3, the way it put together the Scoops Troop instead of just splitting everybody up into three groups based on age again. It worked really well in s1 because, obviously, they were riffing on three different genres aimed at the three different age categories, and also because none of the characters knew anything, including that the others were involved. The more everybody knows, though, the more you either have to come up with external obstacles to separate them out and not have them share what they know with the others, or you gotta play with and shake up that structure a little. (I'm having some fun with it with former heroes right now, and I hope you'll like how it turns out!)

It's funny that you should mention the change in style, because it's something I've been thinking about recently. Part of it is definitely that the first installment in this AU is canon divergent after all the canon setup and everything, so I was able to lean a lot more heavily on what I could assume the audience already knows. I liked that a lot, and I'd like to try to pull that stylised, storytelling-style voice back into it more. But the changes in the s1 and s2 fics have enough knock-on effects, and I'm also changing enough things in the plot, that I can't lean so much on what people already know about s3. (Although I'm definitely having fun using some of those expectations!) I want to make sure everything's set up well, clear, and makes sense, and I'd like to do a little more of that highly stylised stuff again. Hoping I can strike a balance there.

Also, just so you know, for when and if I change the pinned post again (which will happen when I have a new fic to post), there are a few ways to see only the samples on my blog, other than the pinned post. I am from the Ancient Times, before tumblr decided blogs should automatically open in the dash, and my pinned post is actually just a roundup of the links in the header that you can see if you go to my public-facing blog page! (This page also has the added benefit that you don't have to be logged in to tumblr to see it. Technically, every blog has a URL like this, but I believe that if you use the default tumblr theme, it forces you to go to the blog-in-the-dashboard version automatically. I'm not sure, though, I haven't changed my blog theme in something like a decade.)

I also tag for organisation, and I find it's easier to find tagged posts in the [blog].tumblr.com view than the blog-in-dashboard view. On marypsue.tumblr.com, if you click on a tag, it will show you every post tagged with that tag, in chronological order. It won't catch posts that use the same phrase in the body text, only posts that have been tagged. But it will bring up every post with that tag, and it won't show you duplicates of the same posts (which I find the search often does for no apparent reason).

All my fic samples and fic posts are tagged with the wildly imaginative this is mary's fic tag. All my original writing is tagged with mary writes. I've also tried to start tagging by WIP name. So if you're, say, in the mary writes tag, and you read and enjoy a sample from Fearleading Squad, you can click on the fearleading squad tag on the post and it will show you more samples from that WIP. Or if you're looking for samples from the upcoming final installment of the Hawkins, Indiana psychic baby boom, there's a tag for that too.

(If you already knew all of this and just found the pinned post more convenient, I hope you'll forgive me. I just realised as I was reading your ask that tumblr goes out of its way to direct you to the blog-in-dashboard view, and I don't know how common knowledge it is anymore that there's another option.)

[schrijverr]

Life Is Ours, We Live It Our Way 10

Chapter 10 out of 18

Genderqueer Stevie with platonic soulmates Robin and Eddie living their best queer life.

In this chapter, Stevie has a talk with Mike. Then he goes off to the city and has an insightful talk with Madame Tucker, before deciding to try and forget about life and try something new. Drag.

On AO3.

Ships: none

Warnings: none really

~~~~~~~~~~~

Princess Dingus

Stevie feels giddy about hosting DnD at his house. It has never been a possibility before since he didn’t want to risk exposing her friends to her parents, no matter how unlikely, but now their looming shadow has receded and he is hosting alongside Eddie.

Eddie is picking up Robin, Will and Dustin, while Stevie makes the rounds past the Sinclairs and Mike.

He and Lucas talk about how his training for cross country is going, while Erica rolls her eyes. When they get to the Wheeler house, Mike is already waiting outside, which isn’t that unusual, but he looks more annoyed than is standard.

After he’s slammed the car door shut, Stevie turns back and asks: “Are you okay there, Wheeler?”

“I’m fine,” Mike spits, obviously not fine. However, Stevie knows that sometimes ‘I’m fine’ is closer to ‘don’t push me’ or ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ so she lets it go for the moment and decides to ask again later.

As the drives goes on and the Wheeler house disappears in the distance, Mike relaxes and gets pulled into the conversation, laughing with Lucas by the time they get home.

Stevie is the first one back and unlocks the door, letting the kids get settles around the couch like they did at Eddie’s place and giving them something to drink. Before long Eddie gets there too and it’s a bit of a commotion before they’re seated.

“Why is Robin here?” Mike asks. “She doesn’t even play.”

“Because it’s at my boyfriend’s house, dingus junior,” Robin sticks out her tongue. “I get to hang out here whenever I want.”

Robin always hangs around during DnD nights, because she likes being out of her own house. Her parents are judgmental and it’s stifling sometimes. Before now that’s never been an issue with any of the kids, but now Mike scowls: “I didn’t have El hanging around when we hosted at mine and Lucas didn’t bring Max every time.”

“That’s because you ignored Will and didn’t play DnD for that whole summer and after that it became a moot point, Wheeler,” Stevie tells him, not letting Mike push his foul mood on everyone else.

Mike looks chastised, but not giving up just yet. “I just think that it’s stupid that you have to hang around all the time.”

“Okay, something’s up with you, kid,” Eddie steps in, backing Stevie as he always does with the kids. “Now you get your shit together or I won’t start the game. If something’s bothering you, talk about it with someone, don’t take it out on others.”

“There’s nothing wrong,” Mike snaps, even if it comes across as a lie.

Stevie wonders what could be bothering the kid. He was already annoyed at his own house, so it must be something there, but he seemed okay when they got there only to snap at Robin’s presence, so what-

Oh. Of course. Nancy’s back in town as well as Jonathan, they’re set to come by and visit on new years, so he hasn’t spoken them yet, but he can imagine they’re wrapped up together now that they’re here. Based off Mike’s comments after thanksgiving, he’s not happy with that.

“Hey, Mike,” Stevie speaks up and Mike’s head whips around to him, confused by the switch to the soft tone and the use of his first name. “Walk with me for a sec.”

Reluctantly, Mike gets up and follows Stevie to the back porch. This one looks out over a little grass clearing, before it turns into forest. The view is truly stunning and Stevie feels lucky for managing to sign the house.

Mike crosses his arms and pouts, as he asks: “What?”

“I know you’re not my number one fan,” Stevie starts, which is an understatement – though he likes to think they’ve gotten closer and they’re at least somewhat friends. “But you can talk to me. If anyone knows what it’s like be ignored by Nancy for Jonathan, it’s me.”

The deer in headlight eyes she gets only confirm his suspicions, before Mike scowls: “I’m not upset because I’m getting ignored by Nancy. You’re projecting. I can’t believe you still have a thing for my sister when you have a girlfriend.”

“Ugh what is it with you shitheads? I don’t have a thing for Nance,” Stevie rolls her eyes. “All I’m saying is that you’re in the same scowl-y mood as you were after thanksgiving. You called it the Nancy-show, remember?”

Mike blushes and ducks his head. He frowns to his own shoes, looking much like the twelve year old Stevie first met in ‘83. Mike mutters: “It’s just stupid.”

“If it makes you upset, it’s not stupid. I won’t judge, promise,” Stevie tells him, which earns him a disbelieving look. “I’ll trade you something that made me upset for what’s making you upset. I think mine’s more idiotic.”

“Don’t doubt that,” Mike snarks, but he looks grateful about Stevie’s offer.

“Last week I nearly cried because we were out of milk,” Stevie says. She’d been home alone and with all the stress, she just wanted some milk in her coffee, but the universe couldn't grant her that and the little thing was enough of a push on top of everything else.

“That is pretty stupid,” Mike agrees.

“I know,” Stevie nods, because it was pretty stupid in hindsight. It hadn’t come out of nowhere, but it was small in the grand scheme and he wasn’t that torn up about it. “So what about you? What’s bothering you?”

“It’s stupid,” Mike begins, “because it’s not like me and Nancy have ever been the best of friends or something. We’re siblings, but not the closest. Of course I get that she would rather spend time with Jonathan than with me. And she’s in college doing all these new things and of course mom wants to know about that and talk about it. I don’t know, it would just be nice if she asked how I was doing and at least talked to me for a bit. I- I missed her.”

“That’s not stupid at all, Mike. You and Nancy have been through a lot and going from seeing her daily to once every few months is a lot,” Stevie says. “She probably hasn’t realized you felt that way, but I’m sure she’ll make time for you if you tell her.”

“I don’t wanna tell her,” Mike pouts, face stuck between petulant child and moody teenager.

“You don’t have to,” Stevie assures him. He knows this age is hard, especially for someone who’s as emotionally constipated as Mike. “I heard Will mention that he and El are going to skating with Jonathan on Sunday. Nancy will be free then. I’m sure if you suggest doing something together then, she’d love to.”

“Maybe,” Mike says, but Stevie can tell he’s considering it.

“Just think about it,” Stevie smiles, giving him a moment, before asking: “Are you good to go back in again?”

“Yeah,” Mike nods, still a bit in thought, but more settled than earlier.

“Good, because it’s cold out here,” Stevie jokes, shivering. She should have put on a jacket before going out.

Mike laughs at her pain and they go inside, where Mike actually apologizes for snapping. God, these kids are all growing as people and if Stevie doesn’t look out, he’ll get emotional. After that, they start the game, having fun as they always do.

When they’re done, Robin is draped over Stevie. Apparently she got lonely sitting at the small table with her book and bothering Stevie is her favorite pastime anyways.

Stevie doesn’t know when she fell asleep, but know she can use it. Robin doesn’t get nightmares that often, but her overactive brain keeps her awake from time to time. So, he shushes the kids and carefully twists so that he can cradle her in his arms. Then she carries her to their room and puts her in bed, kissing her forehead and leaving a note that they’re taking the kids home.

While she was away, Eddie herded the kids outside and Erica is waiting next to the passenger door, glaring at Lucas and Mike. She has won the shotgun, it seems, Stevie grins, unlocking the doors.

The drive back is peaceful. They say goodbye to the Sinclairs and Mike clambers to the front seat, growing silent as his house appears. So, Stevie slows down and asks: “You going to be okay, Wheeler?”

“Yeah, I think so. Jonathan will likely be there, but I don’t feel like hitting him anymore,” Mike says, surprising Stevie with the honesty.

“That’s good,” Stevie laughs. Then sobers up: “Anything else?”

“I’ve just been thinking about what you said about ignoring Will that summer,” Mike admits. “I hadn’t considered it, but now I feel like a bad friend.”

Stevie is again surprised by Mike’s words. He knows how torn up Will was that summer and with how he looks at Mike, it’s not exactly difficult to figure out why Mike’s indifference had especially hurt.

He never thought the two would talk about it, but his own mouth might become the push. If only she handles this well right now.

“Well, I’m not going to sit here and say it’s fine,” Stevie starts. “However, it’s not like I don’t get it either. Getting a girlfriend or boyfriend is always exciting, especially when it’s all new and you didn’t do it alone, Lucas also got distracted by Max, he was just lucky that Max was allowed out of the house. But it did hurt Will. Did he ever mention it to you?”

“No,” Mike shakes his head. “Spring break was a little weird, seeing him again, you know. I was a bit of a dick too, but I feel like we sort of made up again. He’s my best friend and I don’t want to loose him.”

“Did you ever tell that?” Stevie asks. “Because it might be good to tell him that you care about him and that you’re sorry about how that went.”

“Maybe, but then it’s also weird between us sometimes,” Mike shrugs, semi-hugging himself.

Stevie realizes this might be a conversation that needs more of her attention, so she pulls over at the end of the Wheeler’s street and asks: “Weird how?”

“I don’t know, it’s like he sometimes expects me to pick him over El,” Mike says. “And I know he’s my best friend and that we’ve known each other for years, but El is my girlfriend, you know. I love her. And she doesn’t have many people, I can’t just leave her on her own.”

“I thought El was settling in at school okay,” Stevie frowns, wondering if he missed something in the girl, if she is okay.

“She is,” Mike assures her, “but all the social aspects are still new and it doesn’t help that she’s associated with us. We’re the nerds, you know.”

By god does Stevie know. She hates it so much, but he knows. He’s been the guy that pushes people like Mike and Will around and at the end, he had to keep his head down not to be one of the people that got pushed around. He softly says: “I know.”

“And Will is also my friend and part of that group, but he can’t be my focus,” Mike says.

Something in the way he says it pings for Stevie, who frowns. The ‘can’t’ especially stands out to her. He might not be the brightest, but social clues are his strong suit. Cautiously, he asks: “Why can’t he be your focus?”

Mike looks at him like he’s insane and says: “Because I have a girlfriend?” like Stevie is the idiot between them.

“I know,” Stevie placates. “But that doesn’t mean, you can’t focus on your friends from time to time. It’s healthy to invest in other relations than your partner. You need friends. They make life better. You can’t make your partner your entire social circle. So, why can’t Will be your focus every once in a while?”

Next to him Mike falls quiet. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, before slouching in his seat. However, Stevie isn’t giving him the comfort of breaking the silence and waits patiently for Mike to say something.

Finally he does. It’s quiet, like he wishes Stevie won’t hear him. “It will make me sound like a horrible person.”

With what Stevie has gathered he knows exactly what kind of horrible person Mike is afraid of being and he mentally steels himself as she answers: “For tonight this car is judgment free. Just tell me what’s bothering you.”

“I think Will has a crush on me and it makes me feel weird,” Mike blurts out, before immediately defending himself. “I’m not homophobic or something, but I just can’t.”

Stevie notes he used ‘weird’ instead of ‘uncomfortable’ as he nods and thinks, not giving Mike an indication that he’s hurt by the words. Slowly he asks: “Why do you feel weird about it?”

“I don’t know,” Mike tells her, sounding anguished.

“Would you feel the same kind of weird if you thought Max had a crush on you?” Stevie asks.

“I’m not homophobic!” Mike exclaims.

“And I’m not saying that you are, I just want you to think about it,” Stevie soothes the boy. “Do you feel weird about it because Will is your friend? Because he’s a boy? Would you feel the same if you thought Lucas or Dustin had a crush on you? Just work through it for a moment. It’s okay. Take your time.”

Thankfully, Mike doesn’t argue with her for once. He frowns, still ducked into himself in the passenger seat of Stevie’s car.

The silence drags on, but Stevie doesn’t mind. Mike needs to work through this.

After what seems like an eternity Mike finally mutters: “I- I think it’s because I like him too, but I- I can’t. I have a girlfriend, I love her. I’m not- I’m not gay.”

“You know, I thought something very similar when I realized I was bisexual,” Stevie tells him kindly, looking intently to check if Mike is listening. “I can’t make decisions about your sexuality, but you can like Will and El, there’s nothing wrong with that Mike. You can do whatever you want and be whoever you want with whomever you want.”

He hasn’t thought of Brook’s words in the bar for a while, but they helped him in the stage Mike is in now, so he repeats them for the kid.

“I can?” Mike asks. “It’s not weird?”

“It’s not weird,” Stevie assures him. “There’s nothing wrong with you. You can’t help who you like.”

“But it feels wrong to like Will while I’m dating El,” Mike says, nearly tearing up. “It feels like I’m cheating on her or something, like I don’t love her.”

“Oh, Mike,” Stevie sighs at the boy’s turmoil, awkwardly hugging him over the console, though Mike doesn’t seem to mind the awkward angle, burying his face in Stevie’s neck as he started to cry.

Once Mike’s crying slows down, Stevie says: “It’s up to you how to deal with this and it’s not going to be easy. Feelings never are.”

“I don’t even know where to start,” Mike admits.

Stevie thinks for a second then says: “You have to contemplate if you want to grow over these feelings and move on or if you want to do something with them. And you have to let Will know you will always care about him. Even if you don’t try to pursue anything romantic with him, you can still make space for him in your life. Me and Robin haven’t dropped Eddie, right? You don’t have to leave either of them behind.”

The situation with him, Eddie and Robin is a bit different than this, but Mike doesn’t know. Besides, they have always left open space for romantic partners in their future. They won’t leave each other behind for romance. They’ll just mold around it.

“I guess,” Mike says, pulling back from Stevie’s arms and resolutely not meeting her eyes in that embarrassed teen way. Classic.

“You don’t have to decide right now, Mike,” Stevie assures him. “Just take your time and think about it. Or it’ll keep eating at you. I’ll be here for you if you need to talk again.”

“Thanks,” Mike replies.

“No problem,” Stevie smiles, driving the last bit to the Wheeler house and pulling into the driveway.

Nancy is at the door with a frown. “You guys are late.”

“Sorry, Nance,” Stevie says, not sounding all that sorry. “You know how Eddie can get lost in his theatrics. No need to worry. Hope you had a good Christmas.”

She looks between him and Mike, who is hiding that he was crying, while Stevie tries to convey not to ask with his eyes. She picks up on it, because she nods: “Alright. Uhm, I had a good Christmas. You too?”

“Yeah,” Stevie says, before calling out: “Bye, Wheeler. Bye, Nance,” and driving away.

When she gets back to house, Eddie is smoking on the front porch, calling out: “There you are! I was about to send out a search party. I thought you had the short route, what happened?”

“Child in crisis,” Stevie responds, Eddie is only partially joking about the search party. They all get uneasy when some runs late. Still, she can’t help but joke: “You look like a worried mother.”

“Oi, you’re the mother,” Eddie responds, but he’s laughing.

Eddie finishes his smoke and they do the dishes together, before waking Robin, so she can brush her teeth. Then they all climb into bed and fall asleep.

The next morning, Stevie tells Robin he’s going to the city today and she pouts about not being invited. He’s unsure what to tell her, but she must see something in his eyes, because she drops it and blows a raspberry at him and proclaims that she and Eddie will be having loads of fun without him.

Stevie rolls her eyes and pretends to withhold pancakes from her until she caves and promises that they’ll miss her loads.

Their goodbye is maybe a bit dramatic for one of them being gone for one day and night, but they don’t care. They haven’t been separated really since the summer and Stevie wonders how he’s going to sleep with everyone so far away.

The drive to the city seems much longer without Eddie and Robin there and he pathetically plays their music to make herself feel better.

She’s going Saturday, because the shops will still be open and indeed hunts for gifts for the better part of the afternoon, loading up his trunk with all sort of shit, careful with the nail bat that she meant to leave behind. So, it’s nearing 5:00 PM when he finally finds the address Madame Tucker gave him.

He worries a little as he knocks. They’ve called a lot since meeting her, but he’s only hung out with Madame Tucker once – twice if you want to count the show – can he invade her home like this, she wonders.

However, all her worries were for naught, when Madame Tucker throws open the door, it’s with a big smile and a hug as she exclaims: “Stevie, honey, it’s been so long! God, your hair had gotten so long. How pretty!”

“Hey,” she can feel the grin pulling over her face as she hugs back. “How are you?”

“I’m perfect, doll,” Madame Tucker tells him. “Here, come in and make yourself comfortable. I have a show tonight if you want to join me. It’ll be a bit chaotic tonight, but I have the time before dinner. I’m not a hero in the kitchen, I have to warn you.”

“That’s okay, I can cook if you don’t mind? I like it,” Stevie offers. It’s true and she want to be a good guests.

“If you’re sure?” Madame Tucker asks and he nods. “Alright then, I have the stuff for pasta in the fridge, make yourself at home.”

And Stevie does. He looks around the small apartment. It has a kitchen/living room mix like his own house, but two doors. One bedroom and one bathroom. However, the small space is homey with a rainbow flag hanging over the couch and picture everywhere.

They end up on the couch talking about all sorts of things. They regularly kept up on the phone of course, but there’s something different about talking in person.

Madame Tucker is telling Stevie all about her Christmas with Brian when he moves to the kitchen preparing them food as he listens. It’s really cute how much Brian cares for her, he thinks. She looks absolutely smitten.

It’s not until they’re seated at the bar that functions as a dining table in the small apartment that Madame Tucker turns serious and asks: “So, honey, what did you want to talk about?”

God, these past few days have been nothing but serious talks, first Eddie, then Mike and now Madame Tucker. Though, Stevie knows this is good for her and she should do this. So, he sighs and says: “You have to promise not to judge.”

“I won’t, honey, you know I won’t,” Madame Tucker assures him. “I promise.”

“Do you know anything about BDSM?” Stevie rips the band aid off, hoping the answer is yes, because he’ll be horrible at explaining it.

“Yes, I do,” Madame Tucker luckily answers, her curiosity obviously piqued.

“Okay, so, uhm, this is a bit embarrassing, but after I came home Thursday, I- I fell into- uhm, Eddie called it subspace,” Stevie softly confesses. “I didn’t even know that was a thing for me, but it was nice, soothing. Eddie talked me out of it, said he didn’t want to risk doing anything to help when I was under – iffy consent and all that – but we talked after. He- He offered to help, that it could be a thing, but I haven’t given an answer yet.”

“I’m glad he didn’t do anything to you,” Madame Tucker tells him. “Murder isn’t a good look on me, you know. I’d look horrible in orange.”

Stevie laughs, feeling warmth at the protectiveness. Still, he assures her: “Don’t worry, Eddie is very much on the talking about everything train.”

“Good,” Madame Tucker nods, seemingly satisfied with that. “So, why don’t you know? Is it because of Eddie helping or you not wanting to be helped?”

And while it’s the exact reason he wanted to talk with Madame Tucker, Stevie hates this. Hates having to reflect on her own feelings and talk about the with another person. Especially vulnerable, mushy feelings.

Because Stevie can’t ignore that she fell into subspace that night. That is just a thing that happened as a natural de-stress response. After white-knuckling it through the stress, his body did that, which means it can happen again. And the possibility of it happening again means that Stevie has to acknowledge it and plan for it.

If she just collapsed into sleep for twenty hours or something, then this would be a lot easier. That way he could just fall asleep again next time and that was that. But this subspace made him vulnerable. Made her need someone.

Needing someone scares her.

This whole thing has been terrifying, if not also a little exhilarating. He should at least consider talking with Eddie and making up boundaries that if this happened again accidentally, he could help her like he wanted to last time. She thinks it would be less scary to follow Eddie’s lead if she’s already under.

Because that’s truly the thing, isn’t it? He doesn’t know if he’ll be able to do this as a more regular thing, like Eddie was implying.

She remembers how comforting the fuzzy headspace was when she was in it. How peaceful she felt during it. Even how she felt more settled afterwards. But he also remembers he couldn’t just snap out of it. How if Eddie had been a different person, the whole thing could have ended up so, so much worse.

But it is Eddie, who’ll be with her. And he trusts Eddie with his life, with his soul, with his entire being. Plus, the man has more than proven himself not to toy with that trust, should she place it in him. They’re soulmates.

Still, he can’t help but think of what will happen if he’s under and the Upside Down comes back or one of the kids is in trouble. Of what will happen if the others find out. Would they revoke their trust in her? Would they think he’s weak? Would they hate her?

He can’t imagine what it would do to her if she got shunned by the party after everything they’ve gone through together.

And it’s worse that he doesn’t know. It scares him. He doesn’t want to loose these people. It’s the same reason she hasn’t told anyone beyond Eddie and Robin about the gender thing. She cares about their opinions too much. It would hurt too much. He can’t recover from their reactions, should they be bad.

Yet she also knows she carries stress like a second skin. The nightmares may have lessened by not being alone at night, but that doesn’t stop him from always watching over his shoulder, always worrying when she can’t see the kids and always being on the edge, waiting for it all to come crashing down again.

Just because she’d gotten at hiding it, doesn’t mean she isn’t always a bit tense. Except for when he’s with Eddie and Robin or with the kids. They make him feel safe, like he can let go for a moment.

But whenever she is with the kids, she still has to watch them and make sure they’re alright and when he is with Eddie and Robin, he keeps thinking, keeps watching over them.

If he wants to carry on, he needs a way where he can let go and not think for a moment. Eddie is offering that to her on a silver platter, so why is she refusing? DnD is a nice escape, it helps the kids and Eddie, she knows, like books help Robin, Eddie too. Jonathan has/had drugs and Nancy has her school and work. Stevie doesn’t have that. DnD is more fun, hanging out, not unwinding in the sense the others do it.

“So which one is it?” Madame Tucker prompts when he has been silent for too long. “Eddie helping or you not wanting to be helped?”

“Me not wanting to be helped,” Stevie sighs as she admits that.

Madame Tucker makes a sympathetic face, then says: “I know I don’t know every detail of your life, honey, but I can listen. You do so much for everyone around you and I rarely hear you talking about yourself. Why don’t you let people in, Stevie?”

“It’s just who I am,” Stevie shrugs. “I like helping people. I’m good at helping people. And I don’t like feeling helpless.”

“Letting yourself be helped isn’t the same as being helpless, doll,” Madame Tucker reminds him. “I know, it’s hard, but you can’t keep walls around you for the rest of your life. If this is something you want, you shouldn’t stop yourself from accepting the offer.”

“Maybe,” Stevie sighs again. “I just- I don’t know. What if I’m bad at it?”

“Oh honey,” Madame Tucker smiles, “you can’t be bad at this, unless you’re not doing it safely, but from what I hear Eddie is taking safety seriously.” Stevie nods. “If you don’t like it, then you tried and it isn’t for you and you can’t stop. You don’t have to agree for a lifetime, you know.”

She’s not wrong. Eddie has promised her that no matter the answer, it won’t be awkward and he knows Eddie can keep it. It’s just…

“It feels like something that can ruin things, you know,” Stevie sighs.

“Elaborate?” Madame Tucker requests.

Stevie scratches the back of his head, before ordering his thoughts out loud. “We’re, like, soulmates, me, Eddie and Robin. We’ve made all these plans for the future, you know. I don’t want to risk all that just for something that might not work out.”

“And in this future you planned, I know you’re not dating Robin, but do you- do you picture yourself dating Eddie?” Madame Tucker asks tentatively.

“No,” Stevie shakes her head. “I love him, sure, but like I love Robin. But I know that I could love him romantically, but I try not to. Just like I got over Robs, you know. They both mean more to me than any of my romances ever meant and I don’t think it’s worth it. Eddie hasn’t shown any signs of liking me like that. So, why put myself through it, you know?”

Madame Tucker hums thoughtfully, then says: “That is something to consider if you decide to put so much faith in him. People in these sort of dynamic become attached to each other. You’re going to have to talk about boundaries surrounding this, if you don’t think he likes you and if you don’t want to like him. For both your sakes.”

“See, that’s why I don’t want to,” Stevie says. “It’s just too damn risky. I actually don’t like taking risks like that. I just want everyone to be safe. Playing with the order isn’t safe.”

“You’re going to deny yourself a lot of happiness if you think like that, doll,” Madame Tucker points out.

“But also a lot of hurt,” Stevie retorts.

“I don’t know about that, honey,” Madame Tucker raises an eyebrow at him. “It sounds to me like you’re setting yourself up for a life full of hiding. I’m not saying you have to shout who you are from the rooftops. God knows I know how dangerous it is. But you have to find the risks that are worth taking or you’ll be dealing with hurtful comments from people who don’t want to hurt you for the rest of your life.”

The words silence Stevie for a second. He knows that Madame Tucker is talking about more than saying yes to Eddie. Stevie has told her about coming out to the kids as bi and with permission from Eddie also about his coming out, as well as alluding to the fact that kids themselves might not all be straight.

She is adamant that he found the right people and that he should come out so that she can have some spaces to be herself, since the world isn’t going to be that for him.

And it’s not like Stevie hasn’t thought about it. He loves these kids, he trusts them. But she doesn’t know if it’s worth the risk.

For all Eddie says about Stevie being a hero while he is a coward, Stevie doesn’t like taking many risks, while Eddie takes them all the time. But she has her excuses. Like him coming out will put eyes on Robin and it’s a bit more odd than being gay or bi. It’s not like she’s a girl, so he would have to explain it all to them and hope they will listen and get it. Hope they can keep their mouths shut.

Besides, what about Joyce and Hopper. He hasn’t told them about being bi, despite them being cool with Will. And he needs them. They’re more her parents than her own. He values them too much to risk it all. Same goes for Wayne.

She can never bring herself to risk it.

But- But sometimes, he wants to. Whenever he watches Erica play Lady Applejack, he wishes he can join her as Lady Stevie. When Dustin calls her ‘dude’ she wants to ask the kid to stop. He wants to let Max and El do his nail polish, not because they need bigger nails, but because Stevie wants them painted, wants to be included in their giggling gossip. She wants Hopper to call her kid like Wayne does, instead of son. God, he wants…

Eddie and Robin know. He took the risk and it paid off. They’re both so nice about it. Robin hasn’t gotten the chance to do his makeup yet, but she’s very excited about it and Eddie was almost more invested than her in taking the vanity.

Risks have paid off before. Not just the big Upside Down risks, but the small ones. Like when he said yes to Madame Tucker that first time in that backroom or when he flirted with the barman in DnD or when she told the kids that she was bi or when he encouraged Will to come out to Joyce and Hopper.

He’s shocked out of her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder and when she looks up, Madame Tucker is giving her sympathetic eyes. “You don’t have to make any decisions right now, honey, but just think about it. You can take your time,” she tells him.

It’s the same advice he gave Mike yesterday, so he can’t really argue with her, even if she doesn’t know that.

“You think I should say yes to Eddie,” Stevie replies.

“I can’t tell you that, that’s up to you,” Madame Tucker says. “I just know that you have a habit of denying yourself things, because they scare you and you told me it was nice and you trusted Eddie with this. And I feel like you don’t consider that in favor of being scared.”

“Fuck, I hate it when you get wise on me,” Stevie groans, burying her head in her arms. “I do want to try,” he admits. He hasn’t admitted it like that yet, but now it’s there in the open. “I want to feel that again. I want to try and take more risks. I just wanted someone to talk me out of it, so I wouldn't have to face that.”

“Sorry, honey, but I’m the wrong person for that,” Madame Tucker says.

“I know,” she tells her. “That’s why I came to you with it. That and the fact that the list of people I could tell is very limited.”

She grins: “I’m choosing to take that as a compliment.”

“You should,” she assures her.

“Good,” she winks, before she turns genuine. “Seriously, I’m glad you talked to me Stevie. I’m always here for you. You have your own support system back home and I’m happy you do, but I’m glad that I can take you under my wing, like someone did for me.”

“I’m glad you did too,” Stevie says softly. He doesn’t know where he’d be without meeting Madame Tucker back in June. “And I get it, with the kids, you know. They look up to me, I can help them. It’s nice.”

“Yeah,” Madame Tucker smiles. The she claps her hands: “Now, I have to get ready. Do you want to come with me tonight?”

“Hell yeah,” Stevie immediately answers. “I never get to go out and last time was amazing! I didn’t see you after the show, but you were stunning.”

“Thank you, doll,” Madame Tucker blushes. Then she quirks a brow and says: “Do you want to try drag? It’s a bit more risky getting to the club, but you could be a girl for a night, find out how the other side lives.”

Stevie’s eyes grow wide. She isn’t the best at makeup and she hasn’t tried much, but the idea of getting all dolled up is tantalizing. To be seen as a woman for a night instead of a man.

He bites his lip for a second, then smiles: “I mean, I’m going to try and start taking risks, aren’t I?”

“That’s the spirit!” Madame Tucker cheers, dragging her to the bedroom.

Madame Tucker explains that getting in drag is less glamorous than the end result and that she should trust the process. She teaches her how to tuck (warning her that it can be dangerous), hoist Stevie into a spare corset (luckily saying nothing about the scars, because they all have their stories, don’t worry, honey) and pads her hips and chest. And that’s all before they can even get into makeup and outfits.

She has to sit and wait, while Madame Tucker gets into her own undergarments, but she doesn’t really mind. It still feels intoxicating, like they’re doing something that isn’t allowed. It feels a bit like snooping during a sleepover. Like Max and El whispering and giggling together while the others play DnD.

When Madame Tucker is done getting dressed, she puts Stevie onto a chair in front of the mirror, a table of makeup in front of it. Stevie is staring at it with big eyes as Madame Tucker stands behind him and asks: “So what’s the vision?”

“I- I don’t know,” Stevie says, a bit overwhelmed.

“Can I do something?” Madame Tucker asks, like she’d done at their first meeting. Stevie smiles and nods. “Okay, so were are not the same body type, but I have a few clothes here from one of my sisters, so I’m matching it with the outfit, alright?”

Stevie nods again and lets Madame Tucker go to town. At first, he wonders what the hell, he’s gotten himself into and it’s not until she’s done that he can only gasp at his own reflection.

She looks good.

Madame Tucker has carved out a new face shape on his own. Her cheeks are fuller and sharper as is her nose and her eyebrows sit higher. There’s a blush dusting her cheeks and the false lashes do their work perfectly. The eyeshadow is bright pink as are his lips. It’s magical.

“As much as I love your hair, we’re putting a wig on you. That okay, doll?” Madame Tucker asks, running a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Stevie says, trying not to lean into the contact too much.

He is thrilled to find that she can braid it before putting something called a wig cap on her, before sliding on a magnificent blonde wig. It’s big and swoop-y and Stevie feels like a princess, even if the undergarments look a bit dumb.

She can’t stop looking in the mirror – much to Madame Tucker’s amusement and delight – while the drag queen does her own makeup, going for a more grungy, dramatic style. When Stevie asks about it, she shrugs: “You have more a sweet vibe to you, honey.”

The dress she hands Stevie to put on is pink, like the makeup suggested. It has a polo like top, though more feminine and a cute heart-shaped breast pocket, while the bottom is pleated. The dress is a bubblegum pink, however, she’s also been given a hot pink petticoat for underneath, which gives the dress volume, giving him more of a shape.

They discover that they’re the same shoe size and Madame Tucker tells him that’s good, because that way she won’t have to subject him to heels just yet. Then promptly hands her a pair of pink cowboy boots that make Stevie wonder why she owns them.

When Stevie is fully dressed, Madame Tucker can’t help but clap her hands excitedly, saying: “Oh, I knew you could pull off a southern bell!”

The she takes out a polaroid and asks if she can take a picture, to which Stevie agrees, striking a silly pose. She tips an imaginary hat, cocking her hip with the other hand on it.

Once it’s fully developed she explains: “When you put someone in drag for the first time, you become their drag mother. I like having the first look for every one of my girls.” She points to a few more pictures on the mirror, names scrawled under it. “What do you want your drag name to be? It can be whatever you want.”

Stevie thinks about it for a second, then decides: “Princess Dingus.” It’s a combination of nicknames given to him by his two soulmates and she thinks it’s perfect.

“I love that,” Madame Tucker grins, writing the name under the picture with a flourish, before hanging it on the mirror.

There’s a knock at the door and Madame Tucker tells her it’s Brain, who will be their ride and if Stevie wants to her to tell him that it’s Stevie under there or not. Stevie knows Brian is cool and decides it’s good if one other person knows that he’s not from the city, new to this and can be trusted in Madame Tucker’s home. So, he nods.

Brian, as it turns out, is as much of a sweetheart as Madame Tucker gushed and it’s absolutely adorable how he lights up when he sees her, complimenting her until she’s giggling and hiding her face.

It’s a bit funny to see Madame Tucker in her full fishnets, black corset, small cheetah print dress, with a black beehive wig, standing next to Brian, who is an unassuming man. Both are in their early thirties, but Brian is already balding a bit and looks like he could be a manager at any grocery store in town.

When Madame Tucker explains who Stevie is, Brian grins and holds out his hand, saying: “Well, you look lovely, Stevie. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Thank you, the same,” Stevie says. “I’ve heard only good things.”

“I’m glad,” Brian grins. “And the same. You’re a good friend.”

“Okay, before either of you can embarrass me, lets get this show on the road,” Madame Tucker interrupts their meeting.

Stevie is fine with following, but Brian stops them before they can leave, asking if they have a picture together yet. When the answer is no, he insists on taking one for them.

He ends up taking a few pictures, but he gifts Stevie her favorite. In it, she and Madame Tucker have their faces pressed close together, both sending the camera a kiss, though they barely manage through the laughter. On it he writes: ‘Indy 27-12-‘86 Madame Tucker and Princess Dingus’

The club is thriving with life and while Stevie has been terrified on their way there, once within the safety of the walls, she feels alive. She might not be preforming, but Madame Tucker introduces her to all the girls as her drag daughter and he gets cooed over by all sorts of drag performers.

This time, he’s in the crowd with Brian, which is a bit awkward, but Brian is nice and Stevie is good at small talk, so they make it work until the show starts.

It’s as awe inspiring and intoxicating as the first time and Stevie feels bad about blowing through most of his cash today on presents, but he tips what he can miss.

She feels alive watching these people. Feels less worried about life back in Hawkins. Just exists as part of the crowd.

After the show, she stays and talks at the bar with Madame Tucker and a few of the others. He gushes the entire time about them, which buys him more favor with them. She listens to their advice with rapt attention. He doesn’t mind being inexperienced for once, it’s nice to not be expected to have answers and, who knows, with her kids, she can use all the advice to pass on.

They pile back into Brian’s car at about 4:00 AM, Stevie the sober one behind the wheel. When they get back to the apartment, Stevie barely makes her way out of drag, before crashing on the couch.

When he wakes up, it’s 9:00 AM, which is better than expected. And while he wakes up with a start, it isn’t with a scream.

She makes coffee and starts on breakfast with what she can find in the fridge, guessing that if she woke up tired without a hangover, Brian and Madame Tucker will suffer more with theirs. And a good meal is something that you crave when you’re done vomiting.

Sure enough, Madame Tucker comes padding into the room soon after and groans: “How are you up and running?”

Stevie laughs. “I was the king of high school parties and showing up the next day like it hadn’t touched me,” he says, not telling her that he has become so used to functioning on a little after all the nightmares and didn’t drink anyway.

“Should have guessed you were a popular kid,” Madame Tucker snorts.

“I’m trying to do better,” Stevie jokes in a way that’s not a joke. Though Madame Tucker gets that with how she nods sagely.

Then she says: “Brian isn’t a morning person – neither am I, honestly – but I figured you wanted to head back home early and I didn’t want you to do without saying goodbye.”

“Thanks,” Stevie smiles. She had indeed half thought to leave a thank you note and sneak out if the two wanted to sleep in, but he has to admit it’s nicer to be able to say goodbye in person. “Last night was fun. So also thanks for that.”

“Of course,” Madame Tucker replies, sounding pleased. “You deserve to let loose a bit and you could use a distraction after this month.”

“Tell me about,” Stevie snorts, plating the food and sliding onto the bar with Madame Tucker as they started to eat.

“You know, you don’t have to wear drag outside of the house,” Madame Tucker breaks the silence after a second. “God knows I started out far away from others doing the most horrible makeup looks that I am glad never saw the light of day.”

“I have roommates,” Stevie points out, picking up on what she is putting down.

“Nice, supporting, soulmates for life roommates,” Madame Tucker argues. “Look, doll, all I’m saying is that you had a blast and if it made you feel good, you shouldn’t deny yourself the little pleasures in your own home.”

Stevie hums, not agreeing but not really disagreeing either.

“Hell, you don’t have to go the whole nine yards with it, but there’s nothing wrong with buying a few more feminine items to wear around the house to make yourself feel nice,” Madam Tucker says. “Stop with that Christian mindset of self denying.”

“Hm, never thought about it like that,” Stevie says after a second. “And I- I do have some items, I just don’t get around to it very often.”

“My advice is to try and make a day out of it every so often,” Madame Tucker tells her. “In this day and age there’s enough to bring you down, finding moments of joy should be treasured, honey. Take a moment for yourself. The world is better for it.”

“You are truly a beacon of wisdom, but it’s also early morning,” Stevie groans, though they both know she’s considering the advice and tucking it away for later.

So, Madame Tucker gives in with an: “Alright, alright, an old lady’s crazy must stop somewhere,” which makes Stevie laugh, though she later offers to send him some zines from the big city with news and updates from the community as well as new terms that are popping up.

They finish the rest of their breakfast, before saying their goodbyes. Stevie hugs Madame Tucker tightly and thanks her again for everything, while Madame Tucker tells her it was her pleasure and to not be a stranger.

When Stevie drives home, he feels lighter than when he drove there. He has a plan now, a resolution, something to do. It’s nice.

At home, it’s not just Eddie who is there, but Robin too. Together they bounce off the couch to come hug her and ask how she’s doing.

Stevie smiles widely and says: “It was good. I- I needed the trip. Madame Tucker is comforting and she gives good advice. It was nice to leave the past month of stress behind me.”

“And you couldn't do that with us?” Robin pouts, still not entirely happy by being left behind while Stevie went of to the city without an explanation.

“I’m sorry, Robs,” he kisses her forehead. “I just had to talk with someone about me and you know I’m bad at talking about that. I needed to talk with someone who isn’t caught up in the whole Upside Down thing.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Robin says, backing off. “I know you need and deserve a break sometime and if we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together I have to accept that sometimes that includes taking a break from me. I’m sorry for being pushy.”

“Thank you,” Stevie tells her, because it’s always nice to hear that he can have privacy for some things as well as get the reassurance that life with Eddie and Robin is still there. “But I rarely need a break from you,” she adds, because she can’t have Robin thinking she’s annoying or unwanted.

“So, anything scandalous happen while you were away?” Eddie asks to break the tension.

By the tone he asks it in, he isn’t expecting a positive answer, so Stevie takes great delight in taking out the picture Brian took and holding it up as he says: “I did drag.”

“What?” Eddie yelps, as Robin plucks the picture out of her hand with a: “No way!”

They both study the picture closely and Eddie wolf whistles and Robin grins cheekily while somehow managing to look touched as she reads: “Princess Dingus?”

“It felt like it fit,” Stevie shrugs, blushing and not meeting their eyes.

He is tackled in another hug by the two of them, before they go to place the picture on the vanity together. Their room is already more personal than Stevie’s old one ever was. It’s thrilling and exciting to have that now.

She is very aware of the fact that Eddie knows why she went to the city and what she talked about with Madame Tucker. However, he never sends him a questioning glance or gives a look to indicate he’s trying to read what his reply will be.

Sure, it could be that it is because they’re keeping it from Robin (for now at least, though Stevie isn’t sure how or if they want to keep this from her). But he knows it’s not that. Eddie is giving him all the space, letting her set the pace.

It’s nice to be considered like that. She’s getting more and more used to it with Eddie and Robin around.

Stevie vows to make talking to Eddie about it all a new years resolution.

~~

A/N:

Stevie deserves to try drag, I don’t make the rules <3 (seriously though, I made myself emotional writing about it, idk man, it just got to me)

((also if there are fan artist out there, who are bored **eye emoji**))

Also, again, I love Madame Tucker so so much and I have deep lore about her and Brian, okay, I would sell my soul for them. Home made blorbo’s baby xp

[sadieshairbrush]

Stranger Things: Clementine

Summary: Clementines friends ain’t shit, and Steve is lowkey an asshole. This one is a struggle, the kids are facing some major heartbreak. Clem finds herself putting some distance between her friends and herself.

Chapter 3: Holly Jolly

Who would have believed, even a couple of days ago, that I’d be doomed to spend an eternity in a 12 year olds basement? Who would have believed that I’d assist said 12 year old and all his friends into certain mortal danger? Willingly.

I wouldn’t have.

“I can’t believe she’s still down here,” I spoke. If the government are after her, isn’t that all the more reason to stay away? Instead, she’s tucked away in her fort.

I expressed this feeling, but was only met with Mikes famous glare.

“I’m just saying, we don’t know what kind of danger she poses. And what if keeping her here is doing her more trouble than sending her back would?”

“We can’t do that!”

“We have a child whose parents, or guardians or whatever –– the Government –– are probably searching for at this minute!”

I’d heard all sorts of nonsense since setting foot down here this morning. The craziest of which was that this kid knows where Will is, and that she has powers.

“We don’t know it has anything to do with the Government,” he argued with a sharp tone. “You never wanted to help us from the beginning.”

After all the manipulation to get what he wants, after all the lies I told to keep the shithead safe, after all the times I bit my tongue to spare his stupid little baby feelings.

Now it was my turn to glare.

“Listen, you moron. If I wanted to leave you to figure this out yourself, I would have. I’d have done it long before now, and I still could. You think I’m scared of being caught sneaking out? Think again. If I open my mouth, it’s your asses, I’ve been grounded for worse,” I warn with a prompt pop of the lid off the Vicodin I’d been clutching. This is the last thing I needed on top of this hangover.

“Clementine’s right,” said Lucas, finally coming to my aid. He was willing to defend Mike to the death before this kid with a number for a name came into the picture. “But the fact remains, if she can help find where Will is we gotta do it.”

“Except she’s not a magician!”

Sure I’d been fed some bullshit about how she can do some party tricks, and even then I don’t believe it. But now we’re talking about using the kid to find Will.

“Trust me, Clementine!”

I look at Mike whose eyes are suddenly pleading. He’d gotten his own spoilt way entirely too many times in the past couple of days. And I suppose I should put a stop to it. Maybe just not today.

“Shit, what’s the plan?”

With a new grin, he flattens his board game on the tables surface. “Us three can say we’ve got D&D after school. Your dad thinks you walk us home, then get picked up by my sisters new, ugly boyfriend ––“

“Affirmative.”

“–– so we each have an alibi that’ll give us at least a few hours for Operation Mirkwood.”

And it has a name, of course. This could only mean this has been floating around in his head a lot longer than he’d dare to admit to me.

“You seriously think that the weirdo knows where Will is?” Lucas tries, but Mike cuts in before giving himself a chance to explore this idea.

“Just trust me on this, okay? Did you get the supplies?”

“Yeah.” Lucas turns to fish from his open backpack at his feet. A pair of binoculars, army knife… from ‘Nam. A hammer, camo bandana… and the wrist rocket.

“Does your dad know you take his shit from his military days? I don’t want you with a knife on you.”

His cheesy smile drops suddenly, and he’s pulling his supplies closer to him protectively. “Obviously, he does.”

The Sinclaires have always been the smiley, friendly neighbours with the white picket fence. Nothing about that family screams “we let our son take our weapons!” So he can’t exactly blame me for the expression I pull.

“Forget that!” Dustin cries, leaning over the table. “You think you’re gonna take out the Demogorgon with a slingshot?”

Glad to know I had someone on my side, I find myself nodding along to Lucas who insists the creature isn’t real. I mean, come on, everything including its name is straight from a D&D manual. Literally.

“But if there is something out there, I’m gonna shoot it in the eye… and blind it!”

The motion of the slingshot makes me jump, and I push his hand down with an approving nod. “I like that. Did anyone else bring supplies?”

Dustin is ready for his time to shine.

But when he pours a tonne of snacks from his backpack I can’t tell if I’m disappointed or amused. All I know is that I’m getting my hands on one of those nutty bars one way or another.

“We need energy for our travels! For stamina,” Dustin explains when he’s met with disapproving looks from the boys.

“And besides, why do we even need weapon anyway? We have her.”

I feel bad when I spare a glance at the girl, curled up on the couch with Mikes walkie-talkie in her hand. She looks up at Lucas’ loud voice.

“She shut one door!”

“With her mind!”

“That didn’t happen!” I butt in, folding my arms over my chest. “She’s just a lost kid, not some magical being who closes doors with her mind.”

“She can!” Dustin answers back. “How couldn’t you believe us?”

I’m a little stuck for an answer here. Would any of them believe me if I came to them with a story that could easily be debunked by a breeze from an open window?

“I- Well, I don’t know, it’s just stupid.”

On a mission, Dustin springs into action, determined to prove me wrong. I preferred it when I barely knew this kid.

He darts around for a moment, digging out some stupid spaceship toy of Mikes before holding it out to Eleven.

“Concentrate, okay?”

He releases it, and it falls to the ground with a light clatter. But he doesn’t give up that easy.

Much the his friends’ dismay, he tries once more only to be met with the same result.

I can’t help the “told you so” expression that I pull as Mike scoops up the toy.

“She’s not a dog.”

“Clementine!” Karen’s voice comes, snapping us into action, packing Lucas’ ‘Nam weapons back into his bag. “Time for the boys to leave!”

“Yeah, coming! C’Mon, I’ll end up late.”

I ushered the boys along and, as always, Lucas and Dustin are racing up the stairs before Mike has made a move to leave at all.

“Stay down here. Don’t make any noise, and don’t leave,” he whispers, kneeling in front of Eleven. I watch from the bottom of the stairs, anxious of raising any suspicions with his mother. I hadn’t known her long, and I hadn’t known her well. The trust I had with her wasn’t unbreakable.

“If you get hungry, eat Dustin’s snacks, okay?”

Against our agreement, he instructs Eleven to meet us behind his house at 3:15, and gives her his watch. When he runs back to me, I lightly hit the back of his head, growling into his ear.

“You just tell me where to go now?”

He pushes me away, and runs ahead of me. Before I can bring myself to leave, I spare a quick glance over my shoulder at the girl who sits there, analysing the watch on her wrist with great interest. She’s so weird… and I really, really want to understand why…

I arrived late for school that morning, apologising on my arrival. When I’d explained I got the kids I babysit through the door of their middle school before coming in, I was given an understanding nod.

“Given the circumstances, I can let it pass. Take your seat.”

And I took it next to Tommy who looked at me with wide eyes, and a million unvoiced questions.

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what? You just disappeared on us last night,” he complained, leaning his elbows on his desk as the usual chattering picked up around the room. “Steve’s pissed.”

“Well, he can get unpissed,” I bit, shrugging out of my jacket and flinging my bag at my feet. “I didn’t feel right, and I got Barbara to tell you.”

“Well, she didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to stick around after Steve took Nancy up to his room.”

“So they did it, eh?”

The thought of Barbara leaving early didn’t sit right in my mind. She wouldn’t leave Nancy without a ride unless she decided to stay over.

“I feel kinda bad.”

“If she wanted to stay, she could’ve, alright? Me and Carol stayed down stairs but she decided to stay outside. Then I guess she just left.”

As expected, Steve wasn’t too happy to see me.

We sat together at lunch, Tommy greeting Carol with a sloppy kiss before he plopped down next to her.

Recovering from her love-sick laughter, she turned to me with a near evil look of teasing.

“Well, well, well, look who actually showed up.”

“Oh my God, I leave early from one party and I don’t hear the end of it,” I huffed, exasperated.

Even if they had any idea of what was going on, I can’t help feeling that what happened isn’t a crazy big deal anyway. “I told Barb to tell you.”

“Well, she didn’t,” Carol said, itching her ankle.

“What’s wrong with you?” Steve speaks, playing with his food.

“I think I’m, like, dying or something.”

As if forgetting he was mad at me, Steve shares a look with me. Carol has always been the biggest hypochondriac on the face of planet Earth, so we were accustomed to being subjected to the same old spiel every time she coughed.

“It’s a bug bite,” I told, shovelling some of my fries into my mouth.

“No, it’s all red.”

“It’s a bug bite.”

“It bled a little.”

“Because you’re scratching the bug bite.”

With a loud sigh, she scoots her seat back, and props her foot onto the table as if to display the evidence that I was wrong.

“Science says otherwise.”

“See,” Tommy starts, leaving his plastic spoon in his mouth as he assesses her exposed ankle as if we weren’t all trying to eat lunch. “How could a doctor even look at that and know what it is? That’s why science doesn’t make any damn sense to me.”

“No, I swear. Look at this, it’s totally frostbite!”

I can’t help but to scrunch my nose, whacking her foot with my hand.

“That’s disgusting, I’m trying to eat, you wench.”

As Nancy approaches, I move up to give her the chair between Steve and I. But she seems like she’s miles from us, like she’s barely present.

“It’s a heated pool,” Tommy mutters through his next bite, thanking Steve who passes him his open jello container.

“If it’s not frostbite, then what is it?”

“A bug bite! Now move!”

“Yeah, come on, it’s disgusting!” Steve agrees, welcoming Nancy with a sideways glance.

She takes her seat but still seems off, looking straight to Tommy to ask if he’d seen Barb.

“I seriously have to idea who you’re talking about.”

At Nancy’s kicked puppy look, Steve swoops in to assist her.

“Come on, don’t be an ass, man. Did you see her leave last night or not?”

He looks from Steve then to Nancy, giving in.

“No. I already told Clementine she was gone when we left.”

“She probably couldn’t stand listening to all that moaning,” Carol joined, throwing her head back as Tommy chuckled. She lets her eyes flutter closed, and she lets out a whimper as she begins moaning Steve’s name in mimic.

Ignoring the thought of Barb being alone during this, I click my tongue to get their attention.

“You laugh at your girlfriend moaning another dudes name? that’s weird, you’re weird.”

He doesn’t seem to care, but joins in as if playing the part of Steve, letting out exaggerated grunts.

Steve ignores this, trying to hide his smug smirk as he assures Nancy that Barb is likely just skipping.

Even I know that’s out of character, and probably isn’t doing much to soothe the girls obvious anxiety.

I wonder what going on there, but I don’t give myself much time to think about it when Tommy puts his tomatoes on my tray.

By the end, we’re all giving each other the food we hate, everyone collectively dropping the infamously repulsive meatloaf onto Carols tray.

At the end of the school day, Steve finally asks me what my problem was last night when he catches me in the hallway. And for the third time that day, I found myself explaining a very simple story.

“Okay, but it came outta nowhere. You were having fun, and you just left.”

Steve may have sounded hurt and whiney, but I knew better.

Me leaving irritated him because he was used to us all flocking around each other, acting like glue.

“Sorry, alright? I promise, I’ll tell you myself next time since you were so concerned,” I jabbed. You’d think atleast one of them would have thought to ask if I was okay if they insisted on going on about it.

“I knew you were fine,” he snapped, pulling my backpack a little harder than usual. “Come on, those two are waiting for us.”

Routinely, whoever gets out of class first waits by Steve’s car, and we all go home together. Normally, especially these days, it was restricted to our usual four. But today, we planned to stay for the basketball game.

So I was a little confused to see Nicole leaning against, not even Steve’s, but some rando car, whispering to the couple frantically.

They watched our approach, and Carol pushed Nicole towards us, urging her to share with us what she’d just told them.

We were all pretty close with Nicole. She was a nice girl, never really picked on anyone the way some others did.

So when the news spilled from her mouth I hadn’t doubted her.

“I’m sorry, Jonathan Byers?”

“Yeah, I saw them in the photo lab.”

Jonathan taking pictures of girls changing through the window? Really?

I wasn’t sure how to respond, honestly. Had the rumours about his creepy nature been true the entire time? Or was this some manic coping mechanism that came with losing his brother?

Either way, a shiver ran down my spine when I realised just whose car we were waiting by.

Is this what Nancy gets for displaying kindness?

“That definitely what you saw?” Steve questioned.

I tried not to notice the harsh swallow that made his throat bob, or the stony look in his dark eyes. If he acts now, he might do something stupid.

When Nicole nodded, I turned to him, prepared to calm him down, but he shook his head.

“Goddamn creep-“

“Steve, I’m not going to tell you not to be mad, but you know what happens when you confront people angry.”

Of course he knows what happens.

He winds up with bloody fists and a head filled with regret. I know this because I’m the one who has to hear about it each and every time it happens. Which is more often than you’d think.

I could only hope my words stuck in his head because he was pouncing forward the second Jonathan Byers tries to get to his car, stopping him in his tracks.

The confused, darting eyes that I might have held sympathy for suddenly felt different.

“What’s going on?”

“Nicole here was, uh, telling us about your work,” says Steve, stalking ever-so-close to the boy whose shifty eyes dart to Carol.

“We’ve heard a lot of good things.”

“Yeah, sounds cool,” Tommy adds.

“And we’d just love to take a look. You know, as… connoisseurs of art.”

I feel sick as Jonathan brushes off the confrontation. Surely that must be guilt nagging at him to run away as fast as possible.

Just the other day I had defended this guy to Carol, and now I couldn’t even bring myself to feel bad when Tommy rips his bag away from him. I just watch on as he desperately tries to snatch it back, but faces a loss when it’s passed over to Steve.

He was trembling, which Steve pointed out only proved he had something to hide.

He watches on, helpless as Steve grabs the fully developed photos, and begins to shift through them.

Not only were there the pictures of Nancy we’d been warned about, but we were all here, minding our business with no clue we were being watched.

I feel a little uneasy about him capturing me in all the moments I’d zoned out, all the times I felt 500 yards away.

But the others seemed none the wiser.

“Yeah, this doesn’t seem creepy at all,” Carol spits, her usual level of sarcasm spilling past her lips.

“I was looking for my brother,” Jonathan excuses, stiffly.

“No. No, this is called stalking.”

Again, Steve was right. Nothing about what happened is okay, I know that. But the mention of Will managed to make me silently splutter.

I remembered just as Nancy arrived that I’d made a commitment to the kids to meet them today, not exactly by choice but even then I checked my watch. 3:03.

“What’s going on?” Nancy demanded, voice thin with uncertainty at the scene.

Now the man of the hour was shaking like a leaf as Nancy is filled in on his antics.

As he hangs his head in shame, I note the look in Nancy’s eyes. Whether it was hurt, fear, even just general discomfort, it agonised my very being.

Steve, upon seeing her discontentment, clicks his tongue, eager to make a point.

“See, you can tell he knows it was wrong, but… that’s the thing about perverts… it’s hardwired into ‘em, you know, they just can’t help themselves.”

Steve’s hands are on Jonathan, adjusting his collar almost casually. Steve somehow appears bigger than usual, his shoulders squared next to the others slumped ones.

Tommy can only laugh as Steve tears the photos apart.

“So… we’ll just have to take away his toy.”

I can just barely make out Nancy pleading with Steve over Jonathan’s new-found voice begging.

Her arms are crossed, and she’s drawn into herself.

Of course Steve, with his own revenge to reek, doesn’t take notice. His territory has been moved in on.

This is war.

When he hands the camera back to Jonathan, I almost believe he might give it back. But he lets it fall to the ground, smashing to pieces.

It’s in tens of pieces, scattered across the parking lot, it’s completely unfixable.

“Come on, let’s go, the game’s about to start.”

He leads us away, back towards the gym building like a rather disturbing event hadn’t just taken place.

About half way to the gym, I stopped, announcing out of nowhere that I had places to be.

Steve, brows knitted in his pre-established fury, reels on me, expression cagey.

“Again? Clementine, really?”

“Seriously, you’ve been a huge flake lately,” Carol piles on, gum smacking. “Now you’re leaving again?”

“I left one party!”

“Yeah, and you’ve been weird as hell since Monday,” she argued, leaving me to look to Nancy for help. I’m not sure why, but seeing as my friends couldn’t understand, maybe she would.

But, again, she seems like she’s not even here as she runs back to us, torn photos being stuffed into her bag. I can only hope if she opens up to them about what’s going on with her, they’ll give her the time of day and listen. “Yeah, whatever, I’ll- I’ve just got somewhere to be.”

Then I took off, trying not to huff and puff as I left a mess behind me.

It’s hard to push the look in Nancys eyes out of my head when I’m making my way towards her house.

Why were these things happening to her?

The others could play in traffic for all I care. Although part of me is glad that they didn’t care enough to concern themselves – we can’t exactly have them clued in – another part of me was way too bitter that they’d jumped to their own conclusions. That I don’t care about them, that I’m turning weird. Is it so hard to just accept that I might be tired, that I might have homework to finish? Or something more plausible…

I just have to push it out my mind. These fish were currently frying are way bigger than highschool.

As I approached the power lines behind the Wheelers house, I almost expect to meet Mike in his most exasperated form, so I’m surprised to see his small face looking relieved and nearly, if it’s not pushing it, happy to see me.

“Clementine, we were scared you wouldn’t come.”

I mightn’t have, had the situation not been so bizarre. Had the kids invited me out to ‘play’ or ‘hang out’ any other time, especially when there was a game on, I know I wouldn’t have bothered to show up. Lucky for me, these kids are able to keep themselves occupied.

Speaking of occupied, my eyes fall quickly to the boys chin where he sports a newly forming scab. It looks nasty, blood drying around the edges of a fresh patch of wounded skin.

“What did you do?”

I lean down, motioning him to allow me better view, but he subtly tucks his chin into his chest.

“It was-“

“Nothing. It was nothing,” Mike interrupts a confused Lucas. When Mikes eyes dart to the small girl who encircles his torso from the back of his bicycle, now sporting a jacket that was presumably one of the boys, Lucas seems to understand. He rolls his eyes, but lets it go.

I suppose I should too.

“It’s not fair that you all have bikes, you know.”

“I’ve got you covered,” Dustin chirped, motioning to the back of his own bike. There’s no way he’s serious.

“My butt’s gunna swallow the seat!” I squeaked, still moving towards the boy anyways. It was either this, or I’d have to race alongside them, and I hated that idea even more than sitting slightly uncomfortably.

As we rode, Dustin would swerve slightly, making comments like, “God damnit, Clementine, how much do you weigh?”

“shut up!”

By now, the game would be starting any minute. Instead, I’m here being bullied by children, and we’re about to use a random little girl as a guide dog to find another kid.

Thankfully, the woods became too difficult to ride through, and we’d headed the rest of our journey on foot.

As soon as I’d gotten off the bike, I pushed Dustin with barely any restraint.

“…call me fat.”

“I didn’t! You’re just really heavy,” he excuses, rubbing his arm.

“I think you’re just weak,” Lucas teased, smirking to himself. “If it was me, I’d have gone way smoother!”

And there they go, bickering again.

I’d never paid much attention to them while babysitting, never had much interest as they always managed to keep themselves occupied. Sure, I’d make sure they ate, make sure they were safe at all times, but otherwise they could do what they wanted.

“Stop, you’re so annoying!”

They listened, dropping silent, only sharing a deadly glare. “Why is it always the woods?“

“Because Will cuts through here on the way home and he’s not been seen since, obviously. She must be able to sense him.”

I’m very thankful for daylight the further we venture into the trees. The night before, I might have experienced cardiac arrest, but everything was a million times less scary when you could see every empty hiding place a psychopath might take.

I felt better with the kids beside me, Mike and Eleven in front of me, in plain sight.

I do wonder what’s going on there, if it’s healthy. Their bond appears strong, thinking about it. He’s the first to jump to her defence, he’s soft spoken around her. That’s not Mike Wheeler. If it were any other girl, I’d think he had a crush, but who knows what life she’s lead until this point. Who knows what’s next for her once we figure out where she belongs. Still, maybe it’s not my place to say anything. Afterall, I’m not even sure I understand it.

But the pair continue that way as the sky darkens, side by side as we arrive at the Byers.

I stopped for a minute, brain shutting down. Am I just not keeping up with what’s happening or are we not supposed to be here?

The boys seem to share my thoughts, exchanging curious looks amongst each other.

But she stops in front of the house, seeming certain.

“Yeah… this is where Will lives.”

“Hiding,” she whispers, but Mike is ready to shut down the notion that he’s been cowering under his own bed for two days.

“No, no, this is where he lives. He’s missing from here, understand?”

He seems to exercise patience even now. Voice light through the inconvenience.

Of course, Lucas didn’t have a reason, like Mike, to display this kind of understanding, and kicked up a bit of a fuss.

He and Dustin seemed to think it was all for nothing, and though I agreed, what did they expect out of this kid?

“Do you two ever stop whining? What are you, nine year old girls?” I turn to the girl, who stares intently. “Why are we here? If you’re making all this up, you don’t have to.”

She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. She’s stammering and spluttering, but she’s unable to process as she’s shut down before she can continue to try.

“Don’t waste your time with her.”

“What do you wanna do then?” Mike snaps at Lucas.

“Call the cops like we should’ve done yesterday.”

“I agree,” I admit, throwing my hands up in the air. At Mikes incredulous gaze, I motion towards the girl. “If someone bad is after her the cops won’t send her back to them! They’ll be investigated, she’ll be safe, and she’ll get better help than us!”

“What, you think the bad guys are her parents?”

Not only are the bad guys probably her parents, but we’ve kept her around longer than necessary, and that’s looks bad on us. Especially me.

But Mike doesn’t want to hear it and begins to bicker.

It’s all we seem to do. We squabble and fight and disagree because we’re a horrible team that doesn’t know what we’re doing.

So we talk over each other, and we bitch and moan so adamantly that we don’t even hear the sirens until Dustin reels us back to reality.

The awful sound of the screeching alarm flies past us, blinking lights illuminating the words on the side of the massive van behind to police cars. Expecting the van to be an ambulance, I’m surprised to see the words “Fire Engine” painted along the side.

We must follow it. If Will is found, and there’s a fire engine, he must need serious help.

So he must have his friends there with him.

If Will is found, he mustn’t be alone.

And so we do, path illuminated by the flashing lights until we come to a clearing.

The body of water is familiar, and it makes my heart sink as deep as the Quarry. Sattlers Quarry.

The memories of breaking in and messing around with friends are soon replace with a full-body-crushing fear that makes me sick as we take cover behind the fire truck.

A small group of people and at the shallow end of the Quarry, and they’re working their hardest to pull something to the surface. I try ignoring my hearts unwelcome presence in my throat but I can’t seem to swallow it.

Not now. Not when the object they’ve pulled from the water takes shape, the shape I feared it would.

A tiny boy, unmistakably Will even from where we stood. It seemed so far away, but in actuality we shouldn’t have ever been this close.

I ache.

I know it’s too late when I see Jim Hopper, chief of police turn away from the scene.

He was a tough man, one I’d run into more trouble with than I’d like at Wills age. One that was relentless and unforgiving. And he can’t bear to look now. It only could confirm what we all knew.

It’s too late.

“It’s not Will… it can’t be…” Mike breaks us from our heartbroken silence.

“It’s Will,” Lucas confirms, eyes dropping to the ground. “It’s really Will.”

We’re looking at his body. Lifeless and small, being hauled to shore. Really, truly, that’s Will Byers…

El reaches out to Mike, seeing his pain-stricken face, his breath shallow. But he slaps her hand away making a sound loud enough for me to flinch at.

“You were supposed to help up find him alive! You said he was alive! Why did you lie to us? What’s wrong with you? What is wrong with you?”

For the first time, he’s angry at her. This strange child who lead us here with a promise of finding the missing boy whose body was discovered before us. All this time he trusted that she possessed the abilities she claimed to, believed she knew where his best friend was.

Now she stands in front of him, eyes brimmed with tears, looking lost.

“Stop it, Mike. She’s a lost kid, and we’re using her as a guide dog,” I tried, assessing the full situation up until this point. But he wasn’t having it, reeling on me with furious eyes.

But he didn’t say anything, just took off on his bike, leaving his friends to call after him… and for me to get Eleven to Lucas’ door.

It was a silent walk through the woods, leaving the blaring ambulances behind us, but eventually I made it home, thanking every deity that all the lights were off before I pushed the front door open, quiet as a mouse.

It wasn’t my first experience sneaking home in the middle of the night, but I didn’t normally have my heart in my throat or my stomach in my bladder. And I’d never been unlucky enough before tonight to have been caught.

There’s a first time for everything, evidently.

Before I even close the door behind me the hallway light switches on, and my dad stands before me with his night grown tied tight, and a look more stony than I’d even seen from him as he stands, arms crossed, by the phone.

“I didn’t think you’d be up,” is all I could get out at first. “I was with Carol and Steve–

His fingers move to the answering machine where Steve’s voice rings out.

“Clementine, you missed the game. And Nancy left, too. If you have a problem, say it to us.”

And then another.

“It’s been three hours. You could at least let us know you still give a shit. Bye.”

Really, I couldn’t bring myself to care about his whining. Not right now.

“Wow, he’s so concerned.”

“Do you think this is funny? While they’re out there searching for that little boy, you think you can run around in the dark by yourself, and lie to me?”

I didn’t even realise how much his voice rose, that this is the first time he’d raised his voice at me at all. Because he still didn’t know.

“They found Will.”

And just like the world fell apart.

Because even though I seen his body with my own eyes, I’d just spoken it out loud. To my dad. In my own house. It was part of our reality. It was all real.

“Oh my God, Joyce…”

Joyce who is about to learn that her baby boy is gone forever.

I feel my dad’s arms wrap me in a hug, and I feel the reality come crashing down as all bad blood is momentarily forgotten.

Will Byers is dead.

[roosterbox]

The Stranger Things watching continues with Episodes 7 and 8

And that’s a wrap on Season One!

Cut for potential spoilers

THIS MAN. BLORBO BLORBO BLORBO.

…

Sorry about that. I love him so much it makes me stupid. The way he told off Tommy and Carol. The way he helped clean up the theater sign. The way he went to the Byers house to apologize/work things out with Jonathan. The way he got all concerned and protective when he saw Nancy’s bandaged hand. THE WAY HE CAME BACK TO SAVE THEM.

I just.

🥺😭😭

My EMOTIONS are a little HIGH right now, OKAY???

Also I love that, finally, the whole team got together. Pooled their knowledge and resources, you know? And if I didn’t already know that there was a second season (and a third and a fourth and a soon-to-be fifth), I could definitely see how that would have been a pretty solid ending. But of course, El isn’t really gone. And there are more characters to meet. Like Max. And Robin. And Erica. And even more!

Overall, this first season is pretty great. That’s pretty much agreed upon in the fandom, right? But I have heard that the quality of the subsequent seasons may vary. Some say that, because the Duffers obviously didn’t initially plan beyond S1, the writing suffers a bit. I don’t know how true that is (…yet), but I am trying to keep an open mind. After all, they decided not to kill Steve, so they’re not all bad, lol.

Top five favorite characters this season:

STEVE HARRINGTON

Joyce Byers

Jim Hopper

Lucas Sinclair

Eleven

Season Two viewing will begin… soon. Will there be more of my babygirl in the future? Of course, lol! I can’t wait. Well, I can, technically. I need a short break to process, read a little fic, you know how it goes.

Thanks for joining me in my first time watching season one, and my official blorbo discovery. See you when I start the next one!