#former child star steve harrington

[hairmetal666]

au where Steve is a famous Disney kid and Eddie is a teenaged singer-songwriter. They get pushed together at events because they're close in age, but they just quietly dislike each other.

Steve's got a new show starting, a spinoff of the one that made him a household name. They hire a newcomer, Robin Buckley, to play his best friend and the two quickly become BFF in real life.

The show runs for two seasons but when it comes time to renegotiate contracts, neither star is interested. They're older now, ready to live life on their terms and not the company's, or in Steve's case, his parents.

As soon as the finale airs, Robin and Steve celebrate by going to a gay club. A few weeks later, an interview is released where Steve comes out as bi and talks about how his parents mistreated him; how they worked with the network to pressure him to be a perfect "all-American" kid even off screen.

Meanwhile, Eddie's an impossible level of famous. He's had number-one hits, won a Grammy, headlined an arena tour, achieved every dream he had for himself as a kid growing up in a trailer park in Indiana. He's not shocked by the news that Steve is leaving Hollywood, but he's flabbergasted that the guy isn't straight. When Eddie reads the interview, he gets this weird pang in his chest, almost like regret. But he never even liked Steve.

Steve isn't in the news again and Eddie doesn't think of him for a long time.

Steve goes to college. He loves it. Not because he's great in his classes, or anything, but because he's free to be himself for the first time. He makes friends and goes to parties and relaxes. He and Robin share an apartment.

After a few semesters, Steve decides to take a couple of theater classes, and is quickly cast in campus productions. In the vague anonymity of college theater he rediscovers his love of acting. No one has expectations of him, no one forces him to perform. He graduates and slowly starts appearing in small roles in Indie films, gathering critical acclaim. He feels good. Happy. Hopeful.

Eddie is blissfully unaware of Steve's career resurgence, experiencing his own musical highpoints, until the day where he's scrolling Twitter, sees a Variety headline that's getting a bunch of attention, "Steve Harrington in talks to star in Max Mayfield's first film." Eddie's livid.

"Maxine, what the fuck?" He growls when she answers his call.

They grew up together in the same Indiana trailer park. When she moved to Hollywood to start a career as a screenwriter, Eddie was by her side. And when her first script wound up on the Black List, his involvement on the soundtrack and original songs sealed her production deal.

She gives a long suffering sigh. "Munson," she grumbles. "I know you have a weird history with this guy, but I swear he's the right choice."

"He's a stuck up rich boy who's never been in trouble in his life."

"He's changed."

"Doubtful," Eddie sneers.

"Look. I'll set-up a meeting. Come hang out and you'll see what I mean." Before she hangs up she adds, "Call me Maxine again and I'll end you."

They invite Harrington to Eddie's recording studio. His hopes are not high for this meeting, so he's already a little thrown when Steve Harrington walks in, all grown up. He's in a crimson sweater, tight jeans, hair grown long so that it flops around his face in tousled waves that actually look genuine, windswept and golden. Eddie's eyes instinctively trace the scatter of moles on Harrington's face and neck, a pang of something hitting deep in his gut. Fuck, this dude is beautiful.

"Harrington," he greets, sticks out his hand. Eddie barely hears the answering, "Munson," because instead of a handshake, Harrington pulls Eddie in for a hug. Muscles bunch under the sleeves of the sweater, against Eddie's chest, and he's assaulted by the scent of cedar and sunshine and Steve. Eddie's not prepared for any of this.

They make small talk, Harrington sharing about going to college, falling in love with theater, Robin Buckley who he calls his soulmate. Eddie's head rings with how wrong he was about this guy; the pretty kid he grew up alongside who seemed to have the world in his hands. Max was right, he's perfect. Except.

"Let's get down to it, Harrington," Eddie says. Can't bring himself to call him Steve yet, feels that will somehow change everything and he's not ready. "I'll admit that Mayfield had the right idea about you, but can you sing? Play guitar? You have to perform my music, dude. That's not a small ask."

Harrington smirks, asks for a guitar. He gets it settled across his lap before he speaks. "I started taking piano lessons when I was 4. Voice and guitar at 7."

Eddie belatedly recalls that Harrington's parents were the worst kind of stage-parents, pushing their cute kid to perform even as he sobbed about wanting to play soccer with his friends instead of going to auditions. He has a moment of shame that he forgets as the other man begins to play. It's one of Eddie's biggest hits, a ballad about a teenaged broken heart from a kid whose name he can't even remember.

Harrington's hair flops in a swoop over his forehead, his fingers move across the strings with ease, skill. His voice is a rasp, close mimic to Eddie's own, but not quite deep enough. Goosebumps spread across Eddie's arms, his neck, and warmth pools low in his gut.

Steve finishes the song, looks up, cheeks glowing pink, honey eyes bright. Eddie's fucking gone for this guy. He wants so badly he might choke on it.

"Good?" Steve asks.

Eddie's embarrassed suddenly. Unsure. He tugs at his hair. "Yeah," he laughs. "Good."

He reaches out to take the guitar, the one Steve's already handing to him, and their hands brush. Eddie flushes. Their eyes meet and Steve smiles. Eddie's thoughts are consumed with the desire to kiss his plush pink mouth.

"You wanna get dinner? Just you and me?" Steve asks.

"Yeah, Steve," he laughs. "I'd love to."

🎬🎸🎬🎸

Fifteen Months Later

"Former Teen Heartthrobs Make Love Connection?"

Fans of musician Eddie Munson and former child star, Steve Harrington, were in for the surprise of their lives last night as the men arrived together for the premier of Harrington's new movie, Small Town Sins, written by up-and-coming screenwriter Max Mayfield, featuring original music by Munson. While Harrington's performance and the movie itself are garnering quite a bit of positive buzz, it's being overshadowed by gossip about Harrington and Munson's budding romance. They walked the red carpet together, pausing for photos as a duo, holding hands and flirting. When asked for confirmation of their relationship, Munson answered, 'we're bros,' before winking and pulling Harrington close.

There's a TikTok video embedded below the article, showing the men being interviewed on the red carpet. Their arms are loosely around each others' waists, and when their eyes meet they catch and hang for a beat.

"So, longtime fans of both of yours are going feral online right now because of the rumors that you two used to hate each other. Is there any truth to that?" An off-camera voice asks.

The men laugh. "We've always been great friends," Eddie answers.

"Eddie thought I was stuck up," Steve giggles.

"I did not." Eddie slaps at Steve, who gives him an affectionate smile.

"Liar," Steve answers.

Eddie leans into the camera like he's telling a secret. "Harrington here was afraid of me."

"Fuck off, I was not." They wrestle around for a couple of seconds.

Steve shrugs Eddie off, straightening his suit jacket. "Okay, maybe I was a little intimidated back then, but then this morning you found a pretty rock and cried about it."

Eddie shrieks, swatting at Steve until someone in a black suit and name tag shoos them down the red carpet.

Eddie walks off first, so he misses Steve withdrawing a hand from his pocket and saying, "Still have the rock, though." He flashes the red, grey, blue striped stone at the camera.

His gaze drifts away, landing somewhere in the distance, hazel eyes soft and heart-wrenchingly fond.

[ladykailitha]

Icarus Part 22

Hello everyone! I hope everyone had a good week. We're really getting down to the wire on this one.

I finally finished Secret Tunnel (game show) and am going through the game show parts and neatening things up a bit, but they'll be ready to go by the time it needs to be posted.

In this we have Steve learning to lean on his friends and kicks out an asshole at a press junket.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21

~

Steve and Eddie were careful but they were also friends. So every time Steve and Eddie were seen (with or without other people there) the media blew it up.

“Rocker seen with long-time friend, Steve Harrington, an EMT for the band The Fallen…”

“Steve Harrington punching above his weight class with Eddie Munson, frontman of Corroded Coffin?”

“Steve Harrington, former rich boy, now EMT seen with frontman, Eddie Munson; could a scandal be brewing for the heavy metal rock god?”

And all of them were insinuating that it was Steve who was only in it for Eddie’s fame and fortune. Even though they had had pictures taken before the tour as friends. Especially since they had gone to school together. But no. Now they were seen together on tour, it was tawdry and lewd.

Which shouldn’t have dug at Steve as much as it did. Because in a perfect world it wouldn’t be tawdry. It would be two famous people having a lunch together romantically. They could be seen kissing each other, holding hands, and just staring at each other with heart eyes.

But the world was not perfect. And Steve was not out as bisexual, even if Abbadon was. Shane had come out to his family when Astraeus did, but Steve had chickened out. He couldn’t look Dustin or Max or Will in the eye and tell them he liked men too… especially Will.

He couldn’t imagine telling his kids that all that posturing he did in high school was all for show. That he wasn’t the token straight friend with Robin and Eddie. They were the only ones who knew he liked men at all. Outside of his band anyway.

Steve let out a long shuddering breath and then did the smart thing for once in his god damned life. He called Vickie.

“Hey, Abbadon,” she greeted warmly. “What’s up?”

He told her what was going on with the most recent rash of media bullshit. “Is there anyway we can just put out a statement or something that Eddie and I are just friends?”

“That would actually do the opposite of what you looking to do,” she said kindly. “People are going to think whatever they want to. There’s no changing it, but instead play up into it. Whenever you see someone taking pictures. Grab Eddie’s hand. Swing it like you’re school children. Wrap your arms around each other and giggle. Stay clear of obvious PDA, like kissing and whatever. But make them uncomfortable with it. Make it their problem.”

Steve stopped for a moment to think about it. Really think about it. “Oh. I like that. Because then Eddie and I can get goofy with it without feeling like we’re hiding something special. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Vickie said with an obvious smile, even though he couldn’t see her.

He paused for a moment and then asked, “What made you think of that? I mean, it’s brilliant and you deserve all the credit for it, but I’ve got to ask.”

“It’s actually a common trick,” she said with a laugh. “A famous child star would come out of the play he was starring in wearing the same jeans and jacket every night so the pictures would be useless. Or another pair of child stars walking down the street holding hands, being goofy because the one has anxiety and holding hands helped. Sometimes it a zero sum game where nobody wins, but that’s way you’ve got to play it.”

Steve let out a deep sigh. It was a horrible thing to have to play by someone else’s rules, but it came with fame, like it or not. “Yeah, I can see that. Thanks again, Vickie.”

After he hung up the phone he felt a lot better. It wasn’t the fix he was looking for but then again nothing in life had a permanent solution. Fame least of all. He bit his thumb, eyeing his phone. He had heard about phone hacking in the UK and was worried someone might get a hold of his text messages.

He was in the safety of his own hotel room, but Eddie might not be. After chewing it over for a moment or two, Steve shot Eddie a text message:

-Call me when you’re alone

Immediately his phone rang. “Hey, babe.” And all of Steve’s worries and fears melted with the warm tone of his boyfriend’s voice.

“Eddie,” Steve murmured and just let everything out instead of bottling it up inside.

Eddie listened through it all. Just humming and agreeing where needed. Finally Steve told him what Vickie had said to do and how grateful he was to have someone who knew this kind of thing. It was still all new to him.

“That is a really good idea, sweetheart,” he agreed once Steve had finished. “I’m known for being goofy and affectionate with all of my friends, so this will just be seen as an extension to that.”

“Yeah,” Steve said. “So how about we go out to lunch today to celebrate our new master plan?”

Eddie laughed. “Could do, sure.” He paused for a moment. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Steve paused for a moment to really think about it. The truth was that he probably wouldn’t be all right for a while. He was trying to adjust to the meteoric raise to fame and it wasn’t going well if he was honest.

“I think this whole fame racket is getting to my head,” he muttered. “I just feel like I’m slightly out of step so I just keep bumping up against things I thought I would move past, clear sailing. I’m feeling a bit bruised and battered.”

“I wish I could tell you gets better, but it really doesn’t, it’s just your edges get rounded off.”

Steve let out a long, hard sigh. “I suppose so. It still sucks, though.”

“It does that,” Eddie agreed. “I’m glad you called Vickie and me. I’m glad you’re reaching out for help when you need it. Because you really worried us, no one could get through to you. I don’t know what Shane said to you and I’m not going to ask. But I’m so grateful he knew what to say.”

“He told me I looked hot.”

Eddie burst out laughing. He just started and could not stop. Steve grinned into the phone. “If I knew that’s all it took I would have told you that, sweetheart.”

“It was a bit more than that,” Steve conceded. “But that was the gist of it. He just got me out of my head. He didn’t want me focusing on the fact people made it more than it was and instead focus on how hot it was from any angle.”

“I like that,” Eddie said softly. “I’ll meet you in an hour for lunch.”

“I’ll see you then,” Steve said.

Once he was off the phone, he flopped on his bed for a moment. He sat up and looked around. It was a nice hotel room. Not as nice as Corroded Coffin’s rooms. Mainly because it would be weird that a couple of EMTs, a couple of PAs and a roadie had such lavish rooms. But also because Steve liked it this way.

The home away from home of a sort. None of his Abbadon wardrobe was kept in his hotel rooms but he did sneak out a couple of pieces that he liked that didn’t really blow his cover, just a couple graphic t-shrts, a pair or two of white sneakers, and a white denim jacket.

He threw on the sneakers and denim jacket over a pair of fade blue jeans and Corroded Coffin t-shirt. Just to give the paparazzi the middle finger or two.

He gathered up all the things he needed and paused briefly in the hallway mirror. He grinned at the image.

If the media wanted something to talk about, Steve was going to give it to them, both barrels straight to the face.

~

They were getting ready for a press conference the way always do these days: Spence on the phone with Nadia, Simon panicking in the corner and Shane and Steve trying to get him to breathe and calm down. He has done this a dozen times before. He wasn’t Simon, the shy nerd who hid behind his guitar, he was Asmodeus. Super confident sex god.

Simon nodded shakily. They helped him get to his feet. He slowly got dressed into his persona and pulled the red mask over his features. Steve looked over at Spence and gave him the thumbs up.

Spence nodded and said goodbye to Nadia. Then he too got ready. The jet black clothes covering the built body of a former EMT. He put on the mask and pulled up his hood.

Then it was Shane’s turn. He moved quickly and easily. His persona an easier fit than Simon’s or Spence’s. He was all over the place in his day to day life, but as Astraeus, he was grounded, more centered.

Then they all turned to Steve. Their leader and best friend. Their older brother, even though they were all super close in age. The man with the vision. The reason they were all here, living their dream.

Steve loved to play with blurring the gender lines with Abbadon. He painted his nails, wore bodices and corsets, high heels and even skirts. Like today. He was wearing a short pleated tennis skirt with knee high boots and a sheer long-sleeved crop top. He wore a short leather jacket reminiscent of Asmodeus’s stage jacket. He pulled on the mask and then carefully applied pink lipstick.

Then as if on cue, Hopper knocked on the door. Steve nodded to Spence, who walked over and knocked back.

They were ready.

~

“What do you make of Corroded Coffin leading the charge in changing the culture surrounding what a metal band should look like?” one journalist asked.

Abbadon and Asmodeus shared a smirk.

Asmodeus leaned forward to the mic. “We think it’s a healthy thing. I think country should do the same. You shouldn’t have to wear denim with tassels on it and cowboy boots to sing country and you shouldn’t have to wear leather and chains to perform metal.”

“You’ve spoken about how you were booed off stage early in your career for not looking metal enough,” another reporter asked, “what were you like before the getup?” He waved his hands over his face.

Abbadon decided he hated this guy. “Not this. Our past is our past and we’re going to leave it there. We’re here to talk about the future of the band not its past.”

The questions turned to their music and the tour then the smart ass asked another question.

“Is there a reason Abaddon is spelled incorrectly?” the guy asked with a smirk.

Abbadon stared at him blankly.

“You spell it with two Bs when its correct spelling is with two Ds,” the asshole explained like Abbadon was stupid.

“No, no,” Abbadon said flippantly. “I got that. I’m just wondering why you thought it was a question you should ask.”

The asshole’s smirk grew like he knew he had won. “I was just curious and I’m sure other people are as well.”

Abbadon drew his tongue over his lips slowly, his eyes narrowing at the man through the mask, as he thought about how to answer that.

“An error in the printing of the first fliers we ever made for the band,” he said coldly, “and no one noticed it until our second album and by then it was already set in stone.”

The guy squirmed in his seat as Abbadon continued to glare at him. He stopped taking other questions with a finger upraised.

“I want him out of here.”

And before the guy could protest, he was being hauled out by security where he was greeted by Vickie.

The rest of the press conference went off without a hitch.

The headlines the following day made a mockery of the guy. Apparently he was a shock jock radio star who had a podcast where he talked about conspiracies and aliens and was a general ass about everyone who he didn’t agree with.

No one was even sure how he got in in the first place. But Vickie swore that he wouldn’t again. She made sure that his comments were pushed into obscurity and the fringe side of the internet where he belonged.

~

Part 23 Part 24 Part 25

Tag List: CLOSED

1- @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence

3- @goodolefashionedloverboi @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @irregular-child @blondie1006

4- @yikes-a-bee @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten

5- @genderless-spoon @y4r3luv @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt

6- @disrespectedgoatman @eyehartart @dawners @thespaceantwhowrites @tinyplanet95

7- @iamthehybrid @croatoan-like-its-hot @papergrenade @cryptid-system @counting-dollars-counting-stars

8- @ravenfrog @w1ll0wtr33 @child-of-cthulhu @kultiras @dreamercec

9- @machete-inventory-manager @useless-nb-bisexual @stripey82 @dotdot-wierdlife @kal-ology

10- @sadisticaltarts @urkadop @chameleonhair @clockworkballerina @garden-of-gay

[biillyhargroves]

this is extremely niche and also topical but hear me out: former child star billy hargrove who just wants to be left alone to live a normal, boring life and his overprotective boyfriend steve harrington who is not opposed to fighting anyone who even looks at billy twice.

[steddieunderdogfics]

Yours (all along) by ohstars

@oh-stars

Rating: Mature

91,581 words, 16/16 chapters

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Future Fic, Teacher Steve Harrington, Teacher Eddie Munson, Slow Burn, Pining, Misunderstandings, Fake Marriage, lavender marriage, Parent Steve Harrington, Cancer, childhood cancer, Steve Harrington Has Good Parents, Closeted Character, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst, Everybody Lives, Gay Eddie Munson, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Steddie Big Bang 2023 (Stranger Things), Enemies to Lovers

Summary:

Eddie Munson has spent the last ten years trying to move on from the collapse of Hawkins. Now he's starting at a new school on the coast of South Carolina with the hopes that he can find some kind of peace in this new life of his. Of course, that's turned on his head when a freshman decides to get under his skin and when that freshman's parents happen to be his nemesis (and love of his life) and one of his former best friends? Eddie's certain the universe has it in for him. Now he has to navigate teaching his enemy's child and dealing with the Incident that started it all, that he's been running away from this whole time. Is it time to start running? Or will Eddie finally be brave enough to tackle his feelings head on?

Thanks for the rec! This recommendation is apart of our Writer's Wednesday! All of the recs today are written by @oh-stars. Want to nominate an author? Fill out this form!

You can submit fic recs to our asks or the submission box!

[oh-stars]

Yours (all along)

Written by @oh-stars, Art by @m0nomercy

Art is embedded in the story, but can also be found here: "The Harleys" Scene, "Beachside" Scene, Scenes from "Allies", "Bus Ride" Scene, "Happily Ever After" Scene (so many great pieces!!! Please show them some love!!!)

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: No Warnings Apply

91,579 words, 16/16 chapters COMPLETE

Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington

Characters: Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, Original Child Character(s), Wayne Munson, Steve Harrington's Parents

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Future Fic, Teacher Steve Harrington, Teacher Eddie Munson, Slow Burn, Pining, Misunderstandings, Fake Marriage, lavender marriage, Parent Steve Harrington, Cancer, childhood cancer, Steve Harrington Has Good Parents, Closeted Character, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst, Everybody Lives, Gay Eddie Munson, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Steddie Big Bang 2023 (Stranger Things)

Summary:

Eddie Munson has spent the last ten years trying to move on from the collapse of Hawkins. Now he's starting at a new school on the coast of South Carolina with the hopes that he can find some kind of peace in this new life of his. Of course, that's turned on his head when a freshman decides to get under his skin and when that freshman's parents happen to be his nemesis (and love of his life) and one of his former best friends? Eddie's certain the universe has it in for him. Now he has to navigate teaching his enemy's child and dealing with the Incident that started it all, that he's been running away from this whole time. Is it time to start running? Or will Eddie finally be brave enough to tackle his feelings head on?

Thanks to my beta and friends, @lady-lostmind, @bifuriouswaterbender, and everyone in the @steddiebang server and the @steddieholidayexchange server for being a wonderful writing community!!

I'm so glad I saw this through, and I can't thank you all enough for inspiring me to continue!

This fic is now complete, thank you all for reading!!!

[imsodishy]

i'd love to hear what 'laugh track' is!!

laugh track is my former child stars au, Steve is a nepo baby born of Hollywood royalty and Billy was Neil’s meal ticket when he got discovered. Now as adults they're doing an indie movie together, both trying to make a name for themselves on their own terms for different reasons.

He's being an idiot, he knows it. What are they going to do? Fire Steve Harrington, whose name got this whole circus financed in a day? Or fire Billy, who agreed to a massively reduced salary to cover the jacked-up liability insurance the production has to carry in case he ODs in his dressing room again? He needs to cool off and not do anything stupid.

Thanks for asking! 💜

[r-o-s-e-f-i-r-e]

former child star steve harrington who becomes the iconic face of a public access children's show a la levar burton

[lazybakerart]

Billy's in love & instead of making it him all warm & happy, it just made him irritated 🤣🤣 another favorite au? Rockstar Billy & Actor Steve....its just...mmph do good

!!!

speaking of an actor au - steve is a former child star who's now an agent for an up and coming actor, billy. billy is insufferable and constantly picks on steve and teases him and refuses to work with anyone else at the agency. since he's bringing in the big bucks and swimming in popularity, steve's stuck with him. except, what steve doesn't know is, is that billy wanted to be an actor because of steve's work. that he's steve's biggest fan. that billy is the president of the steve harrington fanclub and keeps it running to this day.

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (7-14 Aug 2022)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😊 👂‍ The Labours of Hercules (Hercule Poirot #27) (Agatha Christie, author; Hugh Fraser, narrator) - short story collection, featuring one of my fave AC characters ever, Augustus the Peke

😍 Civilian (CoraRochester, author; albymangroves, artist) - reread; an amazing and fantastic no-powers historical Stucky fic about WWII vet Steve and a younger Bucky meeting, falling in love & building an entire life together. Incredible story, incredible art. This is a desert-island fic for me.

🥰 Sour as Vinegar, Sweet As Honey (thiccbuckybarnes, author; Call_Me_Kayyyyy (Cheeky9274), artist) - reread, extremely satisfying shrunkyclunks omegaverse

😍 What We Pretend We Can't See (gyzym) - reread, absolutely wonderful Harry/Draco fic featuring a great deal of magical house lore

😊 👂‍ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1) (Douglas Adams, author; Stephen Fry, narrator) - probably been at least 10 years since I last reread this and I was suddenly seized with a feeling of missing Marvin The Paranoid Android

💖💖 +244K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

The Prettiest Boy in Hawkins, Indiana (AidaRonan) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 11K - vamp!eddie + subby steve = 🔥🔥🔥 - a new chapter added this week because "[a]pparently a man can only be bitten by a vampire so many times before he becomes one."

Critical Hit (AidaRonan) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 7K - "Steve shows up to play DnD. Eddie decides Steve can stay. IF 'King Steve' recognizes the real lord and master of Hellfire." - this had an incredible inner monologue for eddie

It's Not a Big Deal (AidaRonan) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 11K - accidental sugar daddy Steve Harrington

Rebuild (rainbow_nerds) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 7K - LOVED this AU about former burnt-out child actor Steve agreeing to star in a video Eddie's band is making

Deep Sea Diving (AidaRonan) - MCU: shrunkyclunks, 5K & Deep Sea Diving II: Desperate and Devouring (AidaRonan) - MCU: shrunkyclunks, 6K - always, always gonna shout out when i reread this absolute forever fave

The Tale of Elris and Soren (rainbow_nerds) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 5K - using a D&D campaign to suss out how the kids might take the news = brilliant

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Only Murders In The Building - s2, e8

What We Do In The Shadows - s4, e6

Harley Quinn - s3, e5

The Sandman - s1, e1-4 - so far, pretty good. this first batch of stories with dream's captivity, escape & reclaiming of his tools is (imo) the least interesting. still, so far a decent enough translation.

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Overinvested - Ep. 265: Thief

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - National Atomic Testing Museum

The Jump with Shirley Manson - Karen O "Maps"

Switched on Pop - The ‘Renaissance’ Era

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Trevor Paglen and Experimental Geography

Shedunnit Book Club - Agatha The Adventuress

Strong Songs Bonus Episodes - Patreon Mailbag: Harmonica, Punk Music, Balinese Gamelon

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Seven Keys Lodge

Ologies with Alie Ward - Thanatology (DEATH & DYING) Updated Encore with Cole Imperi

Twenty Thousand Hertz+ - Ted Lasso's Dark Forest

Song Exploder - Kae Tempest "Move"

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Friendship Park

You're Dead To Me - The Terracotta Army

Strong Songs - "Help Me" by Joni Mitchell

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Jax

Presenting Paramore

Evanescence

Eagles

Presenting Dio

Metal Works '73-'93 [Judas Priest]

Presenting Judas Priest

Presenting Olivia Newton-John

Grease (The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Xanadu (The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

RENAISSANCE [Beyoncé]

Eagles

Presenting Iron Maiden

Modern Rock Uprising

Presenting Joni Mitchell

The World of Joni Mitchell

Presenting Papa Roach

Presenting Dua Lipa

[andhorror]

 MUSE LIST (under construction)

ashley j. williams; (bruce campbell) canon; EVIL DEAD FRANCHISE (haven’t seen all of ash vs. the evil dead yet oop).

abel morales; (oscar isaac) canon; A MOST VIOLENT YEAR; oil tycoon and the guy who always takes the morally high road no matter what because he has something to prove tm.

eddie kaspbrak; (jack dylan grazer/james ransone) canon; STEPHEN KING’S IT / CHAPTER 2; hypochondriac thanks to mommy issues. in love with richie. i don’t make the rules bye.

dustin henderson; (gaten matazarro) canon; STRANGER THINGS; loves computer camp, robotics/engineering, dungeons & dragons, and his besties. and of course suzie.

steve harrington; (joe keery) canon; STRANGER THINGS; loves his hair, hates his job, experienced in trauma tm.

jim hopper; (david harbour) canon; STRANGER THINGS; divorced after the loss of his daughter, hawkins native, chief of police, just trying to survive TM.

seneca crane; (wes bently) canon; THE HUNGER GAMES; gamemaker just trying to survive under snow’s thumb by being as brutal as possible. tortured soul. 

mike slattery (adam baldwin) canon; THE LAST SHIP; commander (XO or captain) of the ddg-151 uss nathan james. trying to save the world from a pandemic.

tom chandler (eric dane); canon; THE LAST SHIP; captain of the ddg-151 uss nathan james. trying to save the world from a pandemic and also his family.

kara foster; (marissa neitling) canon; THE LAST SHIP; lieutenant aboard the uss nathan james ddg-151 destroyer, tactical action officer, expert marksman, has a thing for a charming smile

hannah slattery (millie bobby brown) canon/oc hybrid; THE LAST SHIP; oldest daughter of high ranking naval commander mike slattery. girly girl, mama’s girl, loves fashion and social media. heterosexual. (age range 16-21)

aj slattery (madison mclaughlin) canon/oc hybrid; THE LAST SHIP; middle daughter of high ranking naval commander mike slattery. tomboy, loves sports, daddy’s girl, lesbian. (age range 15-21)

lucas slattery (colin ford) canon divergent; THE LAST SHIP; youngest child of high ranking naval commander mike slattery. loves dinosaurs, alligators, and science! prefers not to be labled as anything, he just digs cool people. (age range: ~9-21)

eden (angelina jolie) oc; ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK; former black ops, was sentenced to life on the island for murdering a man who tried to sexually assault her. 

wayfinder (john krasinski) oc; STAR WARS THE RISE OF SKYWALKER; personified wayfinder because ~magic~ and i do what i want.

cassandra: (natalie dormer) oc; WILLOW con artist.

matya; (dianna agron) oc; fandomless; french upper-class daughter of a wealthy family who aspires to be a detective.

marco arcelio; (oscar isaac) oc; fandomless; very popular actor just wanting a sense of normalcy

bekah rossellini; (gracie gillam) oc; fandomless; medic, photographer, lover of fun

christian dante flores medina (darren criss) oc; based on taylor swift’s ‘august’. aspiring broadway performer!

[ladykailitha]

All My Roads Lead Back to You Part 1

Hello, my beautiful readers! I should be working on “If I Rescue You, Will You Rescue Me, Too?” and that was the intent yesterday I swear. But I wanted to sit down and flesh out the first part of my “Eddie and Steve reconnect after years apart because their kids are in a rock band together AU”. Only I went from 680 words to 6020 words over the course of the day.

So um...yeah. I’m still working on “Rescue” but since I have so much of this ready, you’re going to get this for the next couple of days.

Just a couple of things, you can find the original idea for this on my Master List, but I don’t recommend reading it before this, because it makes the story a little less fun. The other thing is that in case it wasn’t clear enough the first part are all newspaper headlines.

Enjoy!

***

Corroded Coffin Signs Three Record Deal with Relapse Records: American Tour to Start Soon

-July 15th, 1986

Business Moguls Clint and Rebecca Harrington Announce the Engagement of Their Only Son Steven to Socialite Addison Reed

-June 1st, 1987

Corroded Coffin to Launch First World Tour After Huge Success of Their First Album Underdark in December

-Sept. 23rd, 1987

Steven Harrington’s Nuptials to Addison Reed to Take Place in New York on Jan. 1st 1988

-Sept. 24th, 1987

Steven and Addison Harrington Announce the Upcoming Birth of Their First Child

-Feb. 23rd, 1988

Has Corroded Coffin Frontman Eddie Munson Found Love in London? Metal Star Eddie Munson Seen About Town with British Actor Jay Sanchez

-March 29th, 1988

Steven Harrington, Son of Business Mogul, Clint Harrington to Start Tech Company with Genius High Schooler, Dustin Henderson; Says Focus Will Be On Audio Devices

-May 9th, 1988

Tragedy Strikes in Austria! The Tour Bus Carrying the band Corroded Coffin Rolled Over Late Friday Night. Most of the Band Only Sustained Minor Injuries, but Bassist, Brian Martin was Thrown From the Bus and it Rolled on Top of Him, Killing Him Instantly

-Sept 11th, 1988

Funeral For Corroded Coffin Bassist, Brian Martin Was Held Yesterday in Their Hometown of Hawkins, IN. Frontman Eddie Munson Was Surrounded By Friends and Family

Picture: Eddie at grave site, clinging to boyfriend, Jay Sanchez. Wayne stands on his other side. The other two Corroded Coffin members stand behind them. The entire Party is there. Jonathan and Argyle, too. All but Steve.

-Sept 17th, 1988

Steven and Addison Harrington Announce the Birth of Their Daughter, Edith Barbara Harrington

-Sept 23rd, 1988

Eddie Munson and Partner Jay Sanchez Announce They Will Have a Child Together Through Surrogacy: Right Wing Groups Up in Arms!

- Nov 8th, 1988

S&D, the Tech Company Launched by Steven Harrington and Dustin Henderson Last Year Has Hit a Snag. Henderson Says the Technology is There, Investors Not Convinced

-March 19th, 1989

Steven Harrington and Wife Addison Battle It Out in Court, The Former Socialite Claims All Their Money Should Be Split Evenly, Including the Trust Fund Steve Received From Grandparents Upon Their Marriage; Judge Disagrees

-May 30th, 1989

Eddie Munson Back in the Studio. Producing This Time. Former Lead Singer and Frontman for Corroded Coffin is Back at It Producing What is Being Heralded as Metal’s Next Great Album...

-June 13th, 1989

Divorce Final! Steven Harrington and Addison Reed Split! Harrington Gets it All, Including Custody of Nine Month Old Daughter, Edith

-June 30th, 1989

Eddie Munson and Partner Jay Sanchez Announce Birth of their Son, Born Though Surrogacy; Mother and Son’s Name Has Been Withheld for Privacy Reasons

-July 14th, 1989

Tech Company S&D Reached Record Profits This Year; CEO Steve Harrington’s Ex Wife Back in Court for Bigger Cut of the Pie

-Sept. 7th, 1992

Eddie Munson, Beast of the Metal Scene Back in the Studio Again as Metal Bands Clamor to Have His Name on Their Record

-Jan. 19th, 1994

S&D CEO Comes Out as HOH (Hard of Hearing) and Bisexual in the Same Press Conference, Signing and Speaking His Speech

-Aug. 13th, 1995

Jay Sanchez, British Actor and Partner to Eddie Munson, Famed Metal Producer Has Passed Away Over the Weekend Due to Cancer. Family Asks the Public to Respect Their Wishes and Allow Them Their Privacy as They Grieve

-Oct 25th, 1999

Funeral For British Actor, Jay Sanchez Held in His Native Hampshire. Fans Flock to Mourn His Loss

-Oct 31st, 1999

Audio Tech Giant S&D Announced a Line of Headphones That Can Block Out Most Noises

Nov. 22nd, 2003

Grammy Award Winning Producer, Eddie Munson to Retire Amid Rumors of Troubled Son in Legal Woes

-March 27th, 2006

*

Steve was a man of few regrets in his life. He had a job he enjoyed, a daughter he loved more than life, and close friends he could count on. One of his biggest regrets, though? Losing track of Eddie after Corroded Coffin’s bassist Brian Martin died in a tour bus rollover in Europe on their first world tour.  

He knew that Robin and Dustin and probably some of the rest of the Party still kept in contact with Eddie, but after Steve was forced to miss Brian’s funeral...he wasn’t sure Eddie wanted him to contact him. So despite Dustin’s greatest efforts their lives remained separate.

“Hey, Dad!” Edith called from the kitchen.

Steve sighed into the bedroom mirror. He patted his hair down to hide the hearing aid. “Coming!”

He trotted out, grabbing his keys and wallet as he did so. His daughter was sitting at the counter happily munching on her cereal. Steve grinned when he saw her. She looked nothing like her mother, a fact Addison loathed. Edith had brown eyes and light brown hair with freckles, just like Steve.

“We finally have a new guitarist,” she said happily when she saw him. “But because we can’t have it at Lauren’s anymore...”

Steve sighed. “You want to use my garage as your studio?”

Edith grinned. “Pleaseee...”

Steve closed his eyes and opened them slowly to see her giving him the biggest pair of puppy dog eyes.

“All right,” he said. She started squealing and jumping for joy. “Only one day a week and if I have a migraine...”

She sighed, “We’ll keep it down.”

Steve ruffled her hair.

“Ugh...” she moaned. “It’s a good thing I don’t spend hours on my hair like you otherwise, I’d be really upset.”

Steve laughed. “Uncle Dusty keeps telling me it’s a miracle it hasn’t all fallen out yet.”

Edith smiled softly at him, before reaching up and gently tucking a lock of hair behind his left ear. “You’re the face of S&D, Dad. It’s not a crime to show off the goods.”

He ducked his head and blushed. “I know I wouldn’t be where I am without it but it chafes, you know.”

“You’re the father a seventeen year old girl,” Edith said with a wink, “I think you’re allowed to have a hearing aid.”

Steve sighed, too. “It just makes me feel older than I am.”

Edith shrugged. “You’re already old, so what’s a few more years difference?”

Steve raised his eyebrow and she squealed as he lunged for her. He kept up swimming and had taken up running. Edith on the other hand? She loathed sports. She claimed on more than one occasion that if anyone saw her running, they best start running too, because there was something chasing her.

A joke that didn’t go well with her dad or any of his friends for some reason she wasn’t privy to.

So she was an easy catch and he tickled her.

“No!” Edith huffed. “I’m too old for tickles!”

Steve stopped and cocked his head at her. “I still tickle Aunt Robin so...invalid argument.” And went back to tickling her.

Once she was gasping for breath, Steve let her up. “Now, Miss Thing, it’s time to get you to school.”

“Ugh...” she said, going to grab her backpack. “I hate school. Why can’t I just drop out?”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “Because last time I checked, I didn’t raise a quitter. And you only have a couple months left of this year and all of next.”

“I hate being a September baby,” she huffed dramatically. “I’m older than most of my class.”

He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “You can blame your mom for that one.”

Edith smiled gratefully up at her dad. “It’s nice to have a scapegoat for all one’s ills in life.”

Steve laughed. “Thank god, for Addison Reed.”

*

Edith had to admit that there were certain parts of school that she enjoyed. She loved history and art. She didn’t know if she got that from her mom, as she had seen her mother all of three times in her memory. The first nine months of her life didn’t count.

Addison Reed had showed up when she was three when S&D had finally made it big and wanted more money from Dad. Again when she turned eight and Addison had taken her out for ice cream to try and charm Edith into giving up information on Dad so she could wheedle even more money out of him. The final time and the time that upset Dad the most was when Addison turned up when Edith was twelve to try and convince her to move in with her, so she could live off the child support.

That was when Dad got a restraining order against her, and moved them to Indiana from California. Edith missed the warm sunny days and the beaches, but she knew why Dad had done it. If moving back to Indiana was the only thing that would keep the leech away, Edith would have suggested it herself.

The other parts of school she liked were her friends. Mandy Lawrence and Kenny Grant. They had been a quartet, but Lauren decided she was too cool for them at the beginning of the year and stopped talking to them.

It was whatever.

She had art today which was a blessing because math was a killer and it always made her depressed. There was another reason she liked art class. Because that’s where she met this boy.

No, no not like that. Edith Barbara Harrington was a lesbian thank you very much. No, for all the kid’s fluffy brown hair, dimples and doe-eyes, she was interested in his ability to absolutely shred on guitar. His dad was some famous producer or some shit.

She walked up to him and fist bumped him. “H-man!”

“Miss Thing!” he greeted back. “Talked to my dad, but he said no go. He’s got too many valuable instruments he doesn’t want us touching.”

Edith grinned. “Well you’re in luck because my dad said yes.”

“Hell yeah!”

“So after school, k?” she said and he nodded. “I’ll text you the address.”

“Awesome!”

Their teacher called out for them to sit down and they did so with a grumble.

Edith couldn’t wait for after school.

***

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Epilogue

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[nothingnothingaaa]

‘We all have Hoop Dreams’: Bittersweet tale of first 'reality TV show'

By Motez Bishara, May 4 2019 (CNN)

When Dwyane Wade was a 12-year-old shooting jumpers on the playgrounds of Chicago, a movie came out that would help navigate him through his future Hall of Fame career.

Released in 1994, "Hoop Dreams" shadowed the bumpy fortunes of Arthur Agee and William Gates, two inner-city Chicago youths dreaming of NBA stardom.

Wade's path to the Final Four with Marquette and championships with the Miami Heat would be lined with the same challenges faced by Agee and Gates, including the pressures of injury and young parenting, and the avoidance of drugs and gun violence.

Twenty-five years since its premier, "Hoop Dreams" still impacts Wade. "I watched it many times, and it resonated with me because we all have hoop dreams," the recently retired three-time NBA champion tells CNN.

"Growing up in Chicago you struggle," he adds, "I look at "Hoop Dreams" and I can see myself in those individuals at the time."

Film critics like the late Roger Ebert lauded the three-hour documentary for exposing a side of America rarely depicted at the time: A class system stacked against the poor, coinciding with rising corruption in youth basketball.

Filmmakers Steve James (left), Peter Gilbert (centre) and Fred Marx worked on a very thin budget until three years into "Hoop Dreams," when they were able to secure enough funding for the project.

So what has changed since then?

College basketball is coming off a thrilling season, but faces intense scrutiny as a second corruption trial involving shady figures and illicit payments around the sport unravels in court. Meanwhile, Agee and Gates remain close -- bonded not just by their fame from "Hoop Dreams," but two devastating murders in their families.

"You can't script this stuff," says Gates, 47, a youth basketball coach in San Antonio, Texas, to CNN. "Our stories continue to (overlap) like that, because he lost Bo and we lost Curtis."

Gates' brother Curtis, a former high school star who flamed out, and Agee's father Bo were both featured on screen. Curtis was shot in 2001, reportedly in a dispute over a woman, while Bo - whose redemption from crack addiction and jail time was a seminal part of the film - was killed in a robbery three years later.

"It was very heartbreaking," adds Agee, who still lives in the West Side of Chicago, not far from where he grew up. "It's so eerie that me and William always say "Hoop Dreams" was a gift and a curse, and we both lost people that played a big part of our lives.

"And then for both of us not to make the NBA, you know, that eeriness, that gift and a curse is there."

Though neither athlete played in the NBA, both received college scholarships -- no small feat coming from the dire housing projects they grew up in.

Agee, 46, who attended Arkansas State, went on to play professionally in the now-defunct USBL and had a stint with the Harlem Globetrotters. He then turned to acting, with small parts in a film and commercials.

Agee remains tied to "Hoop Dreams," which provides his motivational speaking platform in schools, and still inspires viewers to send warm messages from places as far off as Australia and China. He also sells apparel inspired by the film, including a throwback jersey from his school days.

Gates was the more heralded of the two, receiving interest from top college basketball programs and a grant to attend the prestigious St. Joseph's high school -- the same school that is shown releasing Agee, seemingly for not playing well enough as a freshman.

But Gates blew out his knee at 16, then rushed back to the court after surgery and re-injured it. Though he played at Marquette University, the injury crippled his pro potential.

"For me, it's bittersweet on many levels," says Gates about the film which he has not watched in over 16 years. "It was a constant reminder of what could have been and what didn't happen, and also a reminder that Curtis is no longer here to hear his voice."

Nevertheless, he looks back on "Hoop Dreams" as a "life turning situation," one that led to an allegiance with Michael Jordan, who invited him to pickup games before his comeback with the Washington Wizards. (An injury derailed Gates' own tryout with the Wizards, however.)

"It has opened doors," he says. "It has done things that I never thought would happen in my life."

Dwyane Wade is pictured dunking the ball.

THE FIRST REALITY SHOW

What began as a short film idea from director Steve James and producer Frederick Marx to shoot Chicago playground basketball in 1987 with a budget of $2,000 quickly took on greater ambitions.

The pair hired Peter Gilbert as a cinematographer (later added as a producer), and the trio followed Gates and Agee on and off for nearly five years. With 250 hours of footage to edit, the production took seven years in total, eventually raising the $750,000 necessary for completion.

When it was finally released in 1994, "Hoop Dreams" went viral, though the term had not yet been coined. It was nominated for best film editing at the Oscars, but snubbed for best documentary and picture, which had critics like Ebert up in arms.

"I've actually gotten way more mileage personally as a filmmaker out of not being nominated than I ever would have by getting nominated," says James, who stays in contact with Agee and Gates. "Over the years a lot more people seem to be upset on our behalf than I was personally."

By the time it ended its theatrical run, "Hoop Dreams" became the then-highest grossing documentary of all time, paving the way for hundreds of sports documentaries and streaming series currently on air.

"I call it the first reality show," says Gates. "I think it was groundbreaking."

Gates' enrollment in Marquette was mirrored exactly 10 years later by Wade, who also struggled to qualify academically for an NCAA scholarship and sat out his first year for academic reasons, the university confirmed.

Wade shared other similarities with both Agee and Gates, including feeling the pressure to rush back to action after knee injury which required surgery at Marquette. Though the operation was successful, Wade later said it led to complications as a pro.

"I watched it when I was at Marquette from a different (angle), knowing that (Gates) was staying in the same dorm that I was standing in," says Wade, who -- also like Gates -- was caring for a child (son Zaire) while in college.

Wade was separated from his mother Jolinda at a young age when she succumbed to drugs, leading to spells in jail. Like Agee's father Bo, she turned to religion after getting clean, now serving as a church minister.

"Obviously, I was able to make it," but there are challenges, he adds. "What I learned at the time is you learn a lot about other people sharing their story."

William Gates was a 17-year-old high school junior when his daughter Alicia was born.

CONTROLLED CORRUPTION

Rewatching "Hoop Dreams" 25 years later lends perspective to how fast top college recruits are forced to grow up, and how much is at stake early on.

Gates' daughter was born when he was 17, during his junior year of high school. Trying to be a father and student while rehabilitating from two knee surgeries to make it as the next Isiah Thomas -- the former St Joe's and NBA star who makes a cameo in the movie -- became too much to bear.

By the movie's final scene, with his passion for the game already waning, Gates remarks, "When somebody says, 'When you get to the NBA, don't forget about me,' I should say to them, 'Well if I don't make it, you don't forget about me."

It's no wonder he needed a break from the sport by his third year at Marquette.

"I didn't feel like a 19 or 20 year-old-kid, I felt like a kid who had been working 10 to 12 years at a job," Gates says, estimating that basketball practice and travel would take up to 60 hours a week in college. "I had a lot on my plate."

Agee had his own growing up to do, with his academics thrown into disarray after his brief spell at St Joe's, followed by Bo walking out and his mother Sheila losing her job.

In one scene, Sheila cannot pay her electricity bill and the family is left without power, while a clearly humiliated Agee broods at the camera.

(The filmmakers pitched in to get the power back on, leaving that detail out of the film. "We didn't want to look self-serving, but we felt an obligation to do that much for them," says James.)

Agee transferred to Marshall High, leading the team on an improbable city championship and state semifinal run.

In recent years the public high school has been rocked by gun violence, leaving seven former basketball players dead and two paralysed, including Agee's ex-teammate Shawn Harrington.

"I didn't let St. Joe's defeat me; I didn't let my neighbourhood and my environment pull me in to gain drugs, carrying the guns -- that whole lifestyle," Agee reflects.

It helped that the teenagers had the right people on their sides. Gates and Agee admit they were given cash during their basketball ascent by the likes of so-called street agents, drug dealers and university affiliates who often helped promising players.

In "Hoop Dreams" Agee pays for Air Jordan gear at a store with money received from drug pushers. While at Arkansas State, he says a "big street pharmacist" whose team he played for in a high school summer league bought him a car.

"That was part of the deal," says Gates of being offered gifts from universities as a highly touted recruit, before committing to Marquette. "It was like, 'Hey, you need anything let us know.' And you let them know and they took care of stuff.

"Hey I need transportation, hey I need clothes, I need shoes. They figured out how to get it to you," he says. "They did it through a friend of the program that you didn't even know was a friend of the program. That's the way it was."

In response, Marquette said it "is committed to the highest ethical standards for the recruitment and retention of our student-athletes," while Arkansas State said it had no knowledge of Agee's car purchase and that "there are too many unknown variables to comment further about a relationship from approximately 25 years ago."

Arthur Agee was recruited to play at St Joseph Arthur Agee was recruited to play at St Joseph's prep school as an eighth grader. A year later he was asked to leave, and his parents were billed for tuition they struggled to pay for.

Arthur Agee was recruited to play at St Joseph's prep school as an eighth grader. A year later he was asked to leave, and his parents were billed for tuition they struggled to pay for.

Somewhat fittingly, Gates is now a full-time coach in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), the collection of summer leagues that insiders say has replaced high school basketball as the launching pad for college prospects.

Among the players that have passed through Team Hoop Dreams are all three of Gates' sons, William Jr., a recent graduate of Houston Baptist University, Jalon, a junior guard at Houston Baptist, and Marques, currently in high school.

AAU has come under fire by an ongoing FBI investigation involving sneaker companies funnelling money towards recruits to land at big university programs. The AAU told CNN it does not fund its teams, calling the situation an "apparel company scandal, not an AAU scandal."

"People are buying and selling players; it's a human trafficking market." says Michael Sokolove, author of "The Last Temptation of Rick Pitino," which sheds light on college basketball corruption.

Multiple federal investigations have led to guilty pleas from four college assistants on bribery charges, the conviction of an Adidas executive, and the firing of Pitino from Louisville.

Pitino maintains he had "no knowledge" of infractions during his tenure as Louisville's head coach. James Gatto, Adidas' former head of global sports marketing, is appealing his nine-month prison sentence for wire fraud and conspiracy charges in connection with a $100,000 offer to the father of a Louisville recruit.

With athletic wear companies paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to support top AAU programs, the potential to use them as a means to distribute money to the families of top players or an influential coach is high, says Sokolove.

"Some of this is laundered money. These teams can be used as pass through," he says, adding that the ultimate goal is to breed loyalty with players who become walking advertisements for the shoe companies on the court.

The stakes have become much higher to land top recruits like Gates was in the days of "Hoop Dreams," notes Sokolove. "There are more people with their hands in the cookie jar and the kids are largely pawns in this whole endeavour."

In 2017 the NCAA surpassed $1 billion in revenue, mostly through TV rights, while top players like Zion Williamson of Duke are limited to a compensation of tuition, room and board with a modest stipend.

Like many around the sport, Gates thinks college players need to get paid. He suggests universities contribute $100,000 towards a "graduation fund" for the player if he stays in school four years "to get prepared to live life."

Gates sees the current NBA age requirement of 19 as an obstacle towards paying black athletes, calling it a "controlled corruption" not seen in mostly white sports like baseball, tennis, golf or soccer.

"The two sports that are heavily dominated by African-Americans, it seems like there is always an issue when it comes to money," he says. (The NFL enforces a three-year rule before most college football players can turn pro.)

NCAA president Mark Emmert told the Associated Press this month that the organisation has "serious issues which require serious change," but paying players will remain unlikely.

William Gates (centre) is now an AAU coach in Texas. His sons William Jr. (left) and Jalon played together at Houston Baptist University.

PART OF A BIGGER STORY

Coinciding with the movie's anniversary, Gates and his wife Catherine just celebrated their 25th year of marriage. The eldest of their four children Alicia, who was born during filming, is 30 and works as a dental hygienist.

For years Gates would not allow his sons to watch all of "Hoop Dreams," fearing the scenes of his injuries would spook them. He finally relented, though Will Jr underwent four knee procedures of his own in college.

Agee has fathered five children, with his youngest Devin a budding youth basketball player in his own right. Devin's mother Jennifer Genovesi stood by Agee in the wake of a 2017 arrest after a woman accused him of battery.

Agee was quick to call James -- who he refers to as an uncle -- to assure him of his innocence. The charges were dropped shortly afterward.

"I'm part of a bigger story in this film. I never want to bring any despair or negativity into the story," Agee says. "He was like, 'We'll get through it together,' and that was good as that."

"I feel like they know that I'm here for them," says James, the film's director.

The special bond between the parties involved in the film was reflected once "Hoop Dreams," which was never expected to be a commercial success, caught fire. In a highly unusual step, Agee and Gates were made equal partners by the producers.

"They weren't just filmmakers," says Agee. "They came in over a period of time and got to know me and my family, and then stayed in touch."

Arthur Agee bought his mother Sheila a house with royalties earned from "Hoop Dreams." He now uses the film as material for his job in motivational speaking.

Gates and Agee first received nearly $200,000 each, and Agee promptly brought his parents a four-bedroom house in a suburb.

His mother, Sheila Agee, who was seen at the end of the movie graduating tops in her nursing class, relocated to Alabama in the wake of Bo's death.

After Curtis' murder, Gates was given an unlikely last shot at the NBA at age 29 with a tryout with the Chicago Bulls. But bad luck struck again when he caught the flu on the day of the workout.

"I said maybe God doesn't want me to play basketball," he reflects. "That's when my ministry life began to open up."

Gates received his master's in biblical studies and worked as a pastor at the Cabrini Green housing project he grew up in before settling in Texas.

He is thankful that Curtis got to meet Jordan before he was killed -- another imprint tied to his fame from the film.

"What came along with that was the responsibility to teach, educate, be a friend, have some compassion and show some understanding," Gates says.

"I've been very honoured, privileged and grateful to be part of "Hoop Dreams," he reflects. "It's been super amazing to be a part of something that has withstood the test of time."

[ao3feed-harringrove]

On-Screen Romance

https://ift.tt/2MrtKG6

by distantscreaming

Famous actor Steve Harrington is perfectly fine with kissing people for the camera, but after the breakup with former co-star Nancy Wheeler, he swears never to date an on-screen love interest again. Things get complicated when upcoming actor Billy Hargrove is cast as the character Steve character falls in love with.

Aka the one where Steve and Billy are co-actors, everyone is involved in the film industry, and as in any great story, people fall in love.

Words: 1580, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Billy Hargrove, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, Heather Holloway, Nancy Wheeler, most characters make an appearance but I'm not going to tag all of them

Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Minor or Background Relationship(s)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Actors, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Angst, Fluff, Enemies to Lovers, Gay Billy Hargrove, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, everyone's two years older so steve's 21 and billy 20, Coming Out, billy's kind of a dick at the start but he gets sweeter, Minor Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Minor Robin Buckley/Heather Holloway, Minor Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Minor Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper, Probably More - Freeform

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2MrtKG6

[regrettablewritings]

How You Met AU: Steve Harrington

Lifted from this ship meme

Dustin was a good kid. Sure, sometimes he let a dirty word slip. And maybe on occasion he stayed out too long at Mike Wheeler’s house for a session of whatever game those kids were into. But as a whole, most parents would give an arm, a leg, and an eyeball to have a kid like him!

These were the thoughts Steve Harrington repeated to himself over and over again as he sat outside of the drama teacher’s classroom. Well, that, and also some not so pleasant gripes about the seating options. Apparently, Hawkins Middle had no adult-sized chairs to spare, as evidenced by the only offers being small, plastic, navy blue chairs that obviously had been swiped from some classroom elsewhere. If he could, Steve would’ve opted to just stand and wait. Unfortunately, the sensibility of his sensible shoes had worn away, leaving behind a pain in his soles that threatened to fuck him up if he dared to stand any longer than what was necessary. But then again, it did have more dignity to it; there was something a bit humiliating about struggling to fit one adult-sized butt cheek into the dip of the little stool. 

“Couldn’t bring out some goddamn . . .” he muttered, just barely avoiding kneeing himself in the chin. There was just way too much multitasking going on for his liking: Sitting in this damn chair, trying not to hurt himself while also trying not to panic at the fact that he’d been called in by his son’s teacher.

Dustin had existed for years without coming home with a teacher’s note requesting a meeting. But then, Dustin had also existed for years as a child in a two-parent household. And during all that time, he hadn’t acted out or anything . . . But things were different now. The signs were all there and even though Steve had made himself open to conversation, he simply trusted Dustin to come to him when he was ready. Unfortunately, the teacher’s note came first and that was all Steve needed to be on the cusp of panic that his son was suffering far more than he knew and he had, by default, failed at being a good parent on his own. Cue Steve rapidly relaying the aforementioned declarations to himself once more with double the aggression. It had been both a godsend and a gut-squeezer when the sound of the office door clicking open disrupted his umpteenth run of the mantra. The voice came first.

“Sorry for the wait,” it flowed out. It was sweet, almost melodious, yet seemed to contain a sort of power laying just beneath the surface, giving every syllable a hint of strength. Just what one ought to expect from somebody whose career surrounded conquering the stage.

But what Steve hadn’t expected was the form to whom the voice belonged. The door creaked as it was opened further, followed by the soft tap of a heeled foot stepping forward outside of the threshold.

“But thank you so much for doing so patiently.” A pair of perfectly colored lips smiled at him. And suddenly, for the first time since he’d gotten the letter three days ago, Steve’s rapid heartbeat couldn’t be chalked up to anxiety.

++++++++++

Well, you thought, observing the man before you. At least now I know where Dustin got his hair from. Was it weird to be taking in the father of one of your students? Probably. Maybe. Yes. But you tried to ease off the weirdness by reminding yourself that you’d never actually met the man before. You were simply taking in the features was all. As a teacher for an elective class (and a new one at that), Mr. Harrington had been under no obligation to meet you during open house. Furthermore, you were essentially an outsider to the Hawkins educational circuit: After years of performances at theater companies in a couple of states, you thought it might be time to quiet down in a quiet town which you could proceed to introduce some theatrical zest to. And while Hawkins was definitely a place in need of such vigor, there still was apparently a bit of a culture clash even on your end (well, besides the dramatic shift from city life to whatever the heck this hamlet could be considered).

Specifically, how so many of the people here grew up here and therefore knew one another. Especially when it concerned Steve Harrington. Apparently back in high school, he was The Man™ and had since been established as somewhat of a small-town legend of sorts as a result. And while the man before you wasn’t necessarily the maverick the women around the water cooler had had you envisioning, you had to admit: He certainly was nice to look at. Especially for a dad. Most fathers you’d met during your short time here were schlubby or indifferent at best. But Mr. Harrington held a sort of boyish handsomeness to him, as though time had only done him justice rather than the expected harm. And considering that you’d worked alongside some pretty handsome people during your stint as an actress, that was saying something.

You offered your hand out to him.

“Hi, I’m Dustin’s drama instructor, Ms. (L/N),” you grinned. It required your skills in acting to avoid acting like the giddy schoolgirl you felt yourself threatening to revert to. It was a façade that nearly cracked when the man, grunting as he stood himself to his full, lanky height, accepted it into his own with a firm handshake.

For a former basketball player, his hands were surprisingly soft.

++++++++

Well, Steve thought, following you into your office. They didn’t make teachers like that when I was growing up. Or maybe they did, just not in Hawkins. Frankly, you didn’t look like you belonged in the sleepy town: You could’ve been a star with a face and voice like that. And with a body like that . . . an invasive thought commented, forcing his eyes to watch the sway of your hips as you rounded yourself about your desk.

Oh, shut up, you creep, the more logical part of his mind scolded. We’re not here to gawk, we’re here to find out what the heck the kid did.

“Once again, thanks for agreeing to meet with me,” you said, taking your own seat opposite to him. (Steve couldn’t fathom how somebody could actually make the process of sitting down look graceful but you did it.) “I understand that it was a bit last minute, so trust me when I say that it’s greatly appreciated.”

“Oh, no, it was no trouble at all,” Steve found himself insisting. He threw in a smile for good measure, though deep down he knew it was for more than just that. He almost wanted to kick his own ass for it. This was no time to harken back to his playboy days – he had a kid now, and that whom this meeting was about. His poor, sweet kid of whom probably drove this poor woman to drink from a desk flask; this was no time to be focusing on such foolishness as making his availability shamelessly known.

“Well, Mr. Harrington, I’ll just cut to the chase,” you sighed. The puff of air, gentle as it may have been, was more than enough to cause Steve’s own breathing to still.

Oh, god, he grieved, this is it. The moment of truth, wherein Steve would have to confront the fact that he’d fucked up as a father and now his kid was paying the price.

You went on, “You see, Dustin’s –"

“I’m sorry,” Steve blurted. For all the acting you had been doing up to that point that evening, even you couldn’t stop yourself from hiding the confusion that interruption had caused. Your rapid blinking went unnoticed by the man before you, however, as evidence by the fact that you’d made an effort to speak further only to be cut off once more.

“I get it if it means nothing, like if it doesn’t fix any of this but I just – ” It all came tumbling down from the inside out. It started as that all too familiar ball of anxiety that dwelled within the man’s stomach, trembling upward into his lungs. It didn’t take long at all before it manifested on his face as an expression of regret and disappointment – all directed at himself. His eyes scrunched closed. All you could do was sit there quietly, watching as he squeezed the bridge of his nose in a failing effort to alleviate the discomfort.

“Dustin,” Steve sighed finally, “he’s a good kid, I swear. But I get it if he hasn’t been acting right lately; that’s my fault. I know I should be more attentive to him but just . . . You know how kids are, they never wanna talk to you even when you wanna talk to them but it’s just all so hard – ” His eyes flew open, revealing hazel hues encased with worry. He opened his hand in defeat, shaking it for emphasis.

“But it’s just like? You don’t wanna force them or anything because shit’s – I mean, stuff is tough. I feel like he hasn’t been the same since – ” He waved a hand in random directions “—since that. But it’s also like he’s hiding things from me. A kid needs his mother but she’s not around anymore so it’s all I can do to at least try to take on that role in some way, I guess. And I’m trying to be a good parent in all this but . . . But it’s hard. Really hard. I’m on my own, nobody taught me how to do this, let alone on my own all of a sudden so it’s like I’m relearning everything from scratch and I’m trying to get our crap together but – And I feel like . . . Like I’m failing him.” He paused, uncertain of where the newly budded feeling of horror within him was sourcing from: That he was really vomiting his emotions out in such a way-too-informative manner, or that he could swear his eyes were beginning to sting with the threat of tears.

Being that the courses you taught were electives (and therefore had little bearing on a student’s report card in most regards), most parents who’d visited you in your brief time at Hawkins Middle didn’t care enough to shed any tears. If there was ever a problem that needed addressing, the typical response from the parents was to get on your case or passive aggressively suggest that perhaps you weren’t cut out for teaching or that theater wasn’t even that important to begin with. It certainly stung and made you feel discomfort on your own part, but it wasn’t anything you weren’t prepared to handle or at least hadn’t experienced in some way, shape, or form before during your professional stint. But honestly, you’d never considered the possibility that one parent would cry. Much less that it would not only be a father, but the legendary Steve Harrington on top of it. And dispensing such information, no less!

Even in all your confusion, you felt deep for the man. And as the realization of the depth of his words settled in, so did a weight inside of you. And yet, in all your uncertainty, you couldn’t think of anything more to offer than, “I’m sorry, Mr. Harrington. I didn’t know . . .” You awkwardly ushered a small box of tissues towards him. While Steve did accept it, he didn’t make use of it. In fact, he seemed to be making an effort of sorts to do damage control. Of course, there’s only so much controlling that can be done when one dispenses so much baggage in such a scenario.

“No, no,” he sniffed insistently, “it’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known, it’s not your job to.” You bit your lip. You wondered if it was appropriate to state that, to an extent, it was. At the very least, if you wanted to be aware of a certain child’s well-being but . . .

Steve cleared his throat, his expression becoming manageable once more. “But whatever it was that he did, I’ll be sure to have a talk with him when I get home.” It’s been long enough, he inwardly sighed with defeat. Painful to acknowledge but necessary.

“Well, actually . . .” You pressed the tips of your fingers together, awkwardly trying to pull the nearly one-sided conversation down a more comprehensible and survivable path.

“I’ve had a chance to see that for myself: Dustin is a good kid.”

Wait . . . What? At the sound of that statement, Steve perked with interest and his own brand of confusion. More specifically one that dared to be hopeful.

“In fact,” you went on, happy to notice the subtle change, “he’s more than just good; he’s a wonderful student. That’s actually why I called you in today.”

Brown brows furrowed over widening hazel eyes.

“I . . . What?” he questioned dully. You offered him a small smile and nodded.

“I’ll be honest, sir, I haven’t been teaching for very long at all. But I’ve been in the theater business long enough to know a true performer when I see and hear one.”

Steve only nodded. It was all he could do, really. He couldn’t find the words, let alone finish piecing thought after thought with ever word you delivered.

“Soooo . . .” you said in a sing-song voice (one that, in spite of his current state, Steve could still compute as lovely and sweet). “I was wondering if it would be appropriate to possibly discuss taking it a step further.” At this point, Steve’s thoughtful state broke with the fluttering of his lashed.

“Pardon?” he asked. “ ‘A step further’ how? Exactly?”

You pursed your lips. “Well,” you lowered your hand to a desk drawer and retrieved a slip of paper. “I thought that perhaps this may be a start. At the very least, it’s something to consider.” Steve accepted it, quick to notice a very familiar image in the header: Two masks, one smiling and one frowning.

“I’ve recently gotten involved with the Hawkins Playhouse,” you explained, allowing Steve the time to read over the information. In grainy but still relatively comprehensible images, he could make out people in whimsical costumes posing and grinning at the camera. Below them, in slightly bulky font, were the words, “Fun! Expressive! Cultured!”

“Normally, kid parts wind up being played by adults because we can’t get enough children interested or involved, let alone dedicated enough to actually stick to it. But Dustin?” You flashed Steve Harrington a grin. “I’ve seen that character of his; I can’t help but feel like it’s a bit too big for just a classroom elective. I’ve seen people like that. They have the potential to go far, if I do say so myself!”

“Hm,” Steve hummed, bringing his eyes back up to you. At the sight of your smile, he couldn’t help but force his eyes back down to the sheet before him. He also may have attempted to lift it closer to his face to hide the blush he feared was beginning to develop. “S-so you’re saying that Dustin . . . might have a chance at this?” That dare to hope had grown, becoming all the more evident in his voice. It made a warmth begin to dwell inside of you, a complete contrast from the mood just moments before.

You nodded. “Pretty much. Of course, it’s all up to Dustin and yourself. And he would still need to audition for shows. But I just wanted to bring this to your attention, if just for thought. Your son has a lot of potential, Mr. Harrington.” You heard a slight huff from behind the paper; maybe one accompanied by a smile, but who knew?

“You should be proud.”

Unfortunately, you weren’t entirely certain if he was or if he wasn’t. Not with that paper still in the way. It was in that break of silence that you observed the man’s trembling ever so slightly.

Uh-oh. Your smile faltered. While the slight breakdown from earlier had been unexpected, you had certainly been prepared for what you assumed was about to happen. The abundance of parents (especially dads) who were against their sons becoming more and more involved in the theater world was near endless. You’d seen far too many disgruntled and intolerant assholes criticize their sons, calling them absolutely horrid names. Sure, Steve Harrington did something most of them would not do (that is, cry and basically vomit up his anxieties), but you of all people knew by now: Tolerance had the weirdest limitations. If one thing was fine to one person, there was no for certain guarantee that something possibly linked was just as acceptable.

You had wanted to believe that maybe Steve would be different, that he would actually be excited to hear that his child was thriving. It certainly beat the alternative that he’d worried about before. But as the silence went on, the more that hope of yours dwindled. After what had felt like an eternity of awkwardness, you couldn’t take any more of it. You just wanted him out of your office if he was going to be like this.

“Mr. Harrington,” you said. Your voice no longer carried the honeyed tones from before. “Are you alright?”

“Mm,” came the hum once more. But this time, you could actually see the face being made as it was produced. The paper lowered to reveal Steve’s face, slightly unfocused but completely awash with something that made the tenseness almost immediately evaporate: Relief.

“I am,” he said quietly, eyes still trained on the piece of paper he held. He nodded. “I am. It’s just . . . Wow.” For the first time since he’d even sat down, he slumped against the chair. His spine was grateful for the relief, but not nearly so much as his nerves were.

“Wow,” he whispered once more. “This . . . This is incredible.” As he delivered that proclamation, you heard a hint of a giggle. “No, really, you don’t get how much this means to me.” In his growing joy, Steve forgot his nerves for a second, allowing his eyes to flicker up back to your face.

“My kid . . . My kid is thriving? Like, he’s not screwing around or anything?” he questioned.

You bit your lip. Perhaps in an attempt to keep from laughing, but you managed to disguise it well enough to pass off as a habit of thought.

“Well, I can’t say if that’s the case with his other classes,” you admitted. “But considering that I’ve never heard anything around the water cooler about Dustin, I’d say that your child’s doing just fine, all things considered.”

A sigh rippled from the smile that was beginning to ease onto Steve’s lips. “Oh, thank God,” he said. He poised his hands apart, gently shaking them as if trying to grab for the right words. “It’s just great to see him thriving. It’s the best thing I could ask for, really. I feel like I should be thanking you, actually.”

At that, it was your turn to feel blush threaten your face. You tensed, waving your hands as if to ward off the suggestion. “Oh, nonononono! It’s no trouble at all, seriously! Dustin is a delight in class and I’m just so used to seeing people waste their potential – I just thought I could do my part and see if that could be avoided in his case.” All the while, Steve nodded. Had this been last week, he would’ve been in too much of a funk to have progressed any further. It wouldn’t be true to call it a complete opposition to how he had been when he was a teenager, but it certainly wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration either.

But in this moment, right now? He was invigorated. He was like a hot rod with a fresh coat of paint and a new engine. It had felt like an eternity since he’d experienced good news but tonight, he felt like he’d hit a triple whammy: He wasn’t failing as a father, Dustin was doing okay, and, most uplifting of all, Dustin had a shot at something that made him happy. It was too much; it needed to be expressed in the most Steve Harrington-way possible.

“Maybe . . . Buuuuttt . . . I think this still calls for a celebration of sorts.” He flashed you a smirk that had had many years of practice and perfecting, a grin that had been his moneymaker back in high school. And judging by your body language, it still worked.

“I . . .” You stammered. You had to be honest with yourself: While you’d seen many a handsome smile, what with all the actors you’d run into, they had nothing on Steve’s smile. “I wouldn’t say a ‘celebration,’” you said, averting your eyes. But only for a moment. When you returned them to him, they had been renewed with confidence. “But maybe perhaps to discuss looking into the Hawkins Playhouse? A piece of paper can only explain so much, and I’m sure Dustin would like to be in on it as soon as possible.”

“Oh, most definitely,” Steve agreed, that smile and steadied stare never wavering once. “Sounds like a date to me.”

“Indeed, it does,” you said through a smile that threatened to wobble into a pile of goo. You could feel your heart throbbing, but not quite in the same way as it did whenever you got nervous before a performance. That was because you couldn’t act anymore; you were most certainly reverting back to the schoolgirl who freaked out after catching the eye of the school’s heartthrob.

You no longer had any doubts in your mind that Steve Harrington was The Man™ that your peers had talked about.

[restlessmelodrama]

Say I Never Mattered Chapter 4*:･ﾟ✧

Steve Harrington x Y/N Henderson (Slowburn) Warnings: swearing, hinting at domestic abuse and mention of alcohol addiction

Wordcount: 3.690 words

Chapter 1  / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 /

Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8

Playlist

A/N: Hey, I’m so sorry that it took me so long to share this chapter but I was out of town and had some family stuff to deal with.

I honestly don’t know how I feel about this one, but I hope you still enjoy reading it.

And again, thank you for your massive support on this story and for your sweet comments and messages.

I also quickly wanted to tell you that my requests are open from now on, so if you feel like requesting a plot etc, go ahead! :)

+ this story has a tag list, so let me know if you want to be tagged in the next part.

Disclaimer: English is not my native language, so I’m sorry for any grammatical or spelling errors.

“You look beautiful honey!“

She sounded proud.

You looked in the mirror and adjusted your flowy, off shoulder dress.

It was dark blue and embellished with a thin layer of sheer.

“I don’t know. I don’t really feel good. Maybe I should just stay home.“, you said, biting your lip, looking at yourself critically.

You could taste your cherry lip balm.

“You can’t just stand him up, Sweetie. Imagine how disappointed he would be.“, she retorted, now standing behind you, giving you a reassuring smile in the mirror.

You stared at her in disbelief.

“It’s Steve Harrington we’re talking about. You met him, mom. He would get over it pretty fast.“, you let out a sad chuckle.

The ringing of the doorbell interrupted your conversation.

Your mom’s eyes went wide and a big, bright smile formed on her lips.

“I’m going to open that door right now and you are going to move your stunning self out of this room behind me to have a wonderful night with the cute boy waiting for you outside!“, she whispered excitedly, before leaving the room.

It seemed like it was one of your mom’s good nights.

And it felt really nice to know she was there to support you.

But you were still nervous to the point you were shaking. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down.

You had never gone out with a boy before…not like that.

And you did not feel “beautiful“ or “stunning“.

It was quite the opposite, you felt not good enough for him.

But you had agreed to come with him when he had asked you to accompany him at the Snowball because you really liked him. You two had gotten along so well over the few weeks of knowing each other. You had spent every free minute together and you never felt more comfortable with a person. But now standing in your room all dressed up you weren’t so sure about going anymore.

“You can do this…“ you whispered to yourself, looking at your reflection one more time.

You grabbed your coat.

Actually, a coat that you couldn’t afford.

Your mom had bought it with the intention to return it the day after the dance.

She had carefully removed the tags and placed them in a drawer next to the labeling machine she had borrowed from work.

The shoes you wore were hers but the dress was yours. You had saved all the money you could get your hands on since the beginning of seventh grade to be able to buy something nice for yourself someday.

And that something happened to be this dress.

When you reached the front door Claudia Henderson was going on about how handsome Steve looked in his black suit and the bow tie that matched the color of your dress.

You cleared your throat so your mom would move out of the way. She turned around and smiled, before stepping out of the doorway. Your eyes met Steve’s. And you couldn’t hold your smile back. He grinned back at you.

“You- You look really pretty Y/N.“, he stammered in awe.

“Thanks, you look really good as well.“, you said feeling your cheeks begin to blush.

“You two are so cute together.“, your mom said overly emotional.

“MO-“, you wanted to warn her, but she was already crying when she interrupted you.

“I need a photo of this. Wait here!“, she sniffled and ran inside.

You looked at the ground now blushing because you were embarrassed.

Steve noticed that and took your hand in his squeezing it slightly and smiling at you sheepishly.

You smiled back, feeling the heaviness that had been pressing down on your heart the whole day, lift up, getting replaced by pure happiness.

The way he looked into your eyes gave you chills. No one had ever looked at you like that. And you had never felt anything comparable to the emotion, you were feeling at this moment.

“Okay move a bit closer, please. I can only take one more polaroid on this film, so better make it a good one.“, she said reappearing behind you and motioning her hands for you to move.

You stepped closer and Steve put his arm around your waist.

His touch made your knees go weak. He whispered something in your ear and you smiled mischievously, nodding quickly before your mother could notice that anything was going on.

“Where’s the fucking button?... Oh,  right there! Okay, 3,2,1…Smile!“, the flash went off and the Polaroid began to develop.

“Alright mom, we’re gonna have to leave now. We can’t make Steve’s dad wait any longer.“, you said pointing at the BMW behind you, barely able to stop yourself from bursting into laughter.

“It was nice seeing you again Mrs. Henderson!“, Steve said half laughing.

“Have fun you two!“, Claudia Henderson called out. “And Y/N, remember I’m going to pick you up later, your brother is staying at the Wheeler’s place tonight.“, she added.

You nodded and waved in response before getting in the car, through the door Steve had already opened for you. He was really laying it on thick tonight. But you didn’t mind that at all. You sat down and he closed the door behind you.

“Hello, Mr. Harrington.“, you greeted the driver, while Steve was making his way around the car.

“I’m-“, you tried to introduce yourself, but were interrupted by a monotone, “Evening.“, from the man. You understood and didn’t try to say anything else. Steve had already informed you that his father was absent and disinterested most of the time, so you weren’t bothered by his behavior. When Steve got in the car your eyes met his, trying to contain your laughter but after a few seconds of staring at each other he finally gave in and started laughing. You joined.

“What do you think? How long will it take until she notices?“, he chuckled a bit out of breath.

“I don’t know how long does it take till it’s fully developed?“, you said with a sarcastic tone.

When the flash had gone off you both made funny faces. That was the plan Steve had imparted you earlier when he had whispered in your ear. And it worked out, your mother hadn’t noticed. At least not now. You really wanted to see her face when she’d find out that you had ruined her perfect memento.

You looked out of the window, back at your house that was slowly beginning to get smaller, your mother still in the doorway. Then you turned to face Steve again, without knowing that this had been the last glance you were going to take at your mother for a really long time.

...

“Come on guys, the silence is killing me! Hopper, you said you wanted to talk to us, so talk!“, Dustin exclaimed, annoyedly from the backseat.

You had been silent since you had gotten in the car. You were frightened about what was going to happen next and Hopper kept quiet because he didn’t know if it was okay with you if he told Dustin that he had found your father.

“Hopper?! Y/N?! Am I talking to a wall here? Somebody say something!“,Dustin yelled.

“He found dad, Dusty.“, you answered dryly.

“We’re on our way to see him now. I’m guessing at the police station or the hospital.“, you added after locking eyes with your brother in the rearview mirror.

“The hospital“, the chief decided to use his chance to join the conversation, “He crashed after leaving a liquor store he had tried to rob.“

“Shit, is he okay?“, your brother asked, now worry and tears building up in the eyes, yours were still locked with.

You reached behind you, to grab his hand and he took yours, pressing it frantically.

“Yes, he’s alright, as always.“, Hopper sighed giving you a pity-filled look, before returning his gaze back to the street.

You have to admit that you felt kind of sorry for yourself too.

You cleared your throat.

“Are any charges being pressed against him?“

“No, nobody tried to sue him. Yet.“, Hopper explained.

You nodded.

“As always“, you whispered, after a few seconds of silence, now bathing in self-pity as you were starring outside with an empty expression.

Dustin pressed your hand even harder as you started to sniff.

You couldn't stop the tears from rolling down your cheeks. So, you decided to drop your head in your free hand trying to stop your lip from quivering and yourself from crying out loud.

Hopper’s knuckles turned white from pressing the wheel as hard as he could. He hated in how much pain you were. He was so angry at his former college. Andrew Henderson had been a cop until everything went downhill. He first started showing up late to work, then he didn’t show up at all for one or two days at a time and after a while, he did not even bother keeping his uniform. He had left it on the chiefs car, indicating he was done with his job. He never made the effort to find a new one either.

Jim Hopper was one of the only people that seemed to know a little bit about what was happening in the Henderson household. Not enough though. If he knew what Andrew did to his daughter behind closed doors, they certainly would not be sitting in his car on their way to visit him.

Hopper was aware of your father's drinking problem, which he fought was displayed in him coming home drunk and sleeping it off on the couch. He was wrong about the last part. In his defense, he had asked you many times if he could help you somehow but you wouldn’t tell him anything, knowing that the only thing he could do was notify child protective services. They would look for your mother, find out she was equally as useless as your father and Dustin and you would be sent to different foster homes far away from each other and Hawkins.

You couldn’t let that happen. So you put up with it. You started making the money which was not a lot since you were barely fourteen when you started working. You took care of Dustin; the cat, neither of you had seen in a while; the household and your dad. You made sure they had something to eat when either of them came home, that they had clean clothes and that Dusty never had to witness the violent side of Andrew Henderson.

The car came to a stop and you finally lifted your head up. Hopper loosened up his tense posture and reached into his pocket to get you a tissue. You grabbed it and wiped your face, then glanced back at your brother through the rearview mirror again. He had put your headphones on and was listening to the album “Hot Space“ by Queen with your Walkman. He seemed fine. He gave you a small smile and let go of your hand. Dustin knew that it would be comforting to you if he acted like he was doing okay and was listening to music instead of eavesdropping the conversation between the chief, your father and you, that would happen eventually. All he wanted was for you to feel alright. And if that was achieved by him holding back his own feelings for once, he was fine with it.

You both seemed to have that in common.

You had just gotten out of the car when you heard the familiar sound of an engine, slowly creeping up behind you.

You seriously could not believe this boy. You had told him to go home, you had implored him but there he was, sitting in his BMW parked right behind you. You turned around to glare at him, like you had in that Diner the other night but this time it was him shaking his head at you, letting you know that he wasn’t going to leave. You were so done with all of this. You did not even care anymore, so you just started to head towards the hospital without knowing where you even had to go.

Of course, Hopper and Dustin had also seen Steve. Dustin was about to run after you when Hopper held him by the shoulder.

“I noticed you were trying to make this easier for your sister, which is honorable. So would you do her another favor and just stay with that wild-haired douche over there? I think your both better off when Y/N gets to speak to your dad first. I’m getting you to see him after they’re done talking. Does that sound manageable to you?“ Hopper tried to convince Dustin.

“Yeah. I guess so.“, Dustin sighed, already walking towards the car, which Steve hadn’t dared to leave yet. Hopper had been staring at him this whole time with narrowed eyes.

“You’re a good kid, Dustin. You can be proud of yourself.“, Hopper let him know before he also headed towards the hospital entrance where you were waiting for him.

Dustin just waved dismissively but was secretly flattered that the chief thought of him like that.

He opened the door and got in, with an annoyed “Hello, Steve.“

“Hey.“, Steve greeted Dustin.

And an uncomfortable silence laid over them for a while.

Until Steve broke it, “Can you fill me in on what’s happening?“, he said with a concerned expression on his face.

“Oh, Hopper sent me over to watch you. His exact words were that I had to make sure the wild-haired douche stayed in his for a High Schooler way too expensive car.“, Dustin exclaimed dryly.

Jokes apparently were his way to cope with the current situation.

But Steve wasn’t having it.

“You know what I meant Dusty. I’m really worried about you and Y/N. What is going on?.“, Steve asked in a stern tone.

The boy looked up at him and saw that Steve Harrington was actually worried. He hadn’t seen him like this since the events that had taken place at the beginning of the month.

Dustin leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. “So, you already know that Y/N’s car was not in the shop... My dad apparently hijacked it from her work, drove around and somehow ended up crashing the car near a liquor store he supposedly tried to rob.“

“What? Is- Is he alright?“ Steve stammered confusedly.

“Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I’m not allowed to see him yet“, Dustin said staring up at the ceiling.

“I can’t believe this. Why would he try to rob a liquor store? He’s a former police officer, isn’t he?“, Steve was trying to put the pieces together but was missing a lot of the context.

“Yes, he is but you might have noticed that we have a small money problem since my sister is the only person working in this household, except for my occasional paper rounds and-“, Dustin was interrupted with another confused question,

“What do you mean? He’s an early retired police officer, he must have some type of income.“

Dustin looked at him smiling in disbelief. “You really don’t know a whole lot, do you?“

“Maybe it’s because you guys don’t tell me a whole lot.“, Steve defended himself. He looked sore.

“Our dad just stopped showing up to work when our mom left.

He did not retire.“, Dustin explained ruefully.

Steve was confused. He apparently had just assumed that’s how it had gone down. But everyone thought that’s what happened. The whole town thought that Mr. Henderson had retired early. You had never talked to him about it either. You were awfully quiet around the time your mom had disappeared. But Steve had always believed that it had been because of your interaction at the Snowball and that you were only acting like that towards him.

...

It had been a wonderful night, at least that’s how he remembered it. You had laughed a lot and had danced your feet off. You were about to go get something to drink when the song "I'll Be There“ by Jackson 5 came on. Steve had stopped you and asked you if you wanted to postpone the bare necessity of grabbing something to drink and dance with him one more time instead. It was the first slow song of the night and he did not want to miss out on slow dancing with you. He remembered how nervous he got when you agreed. You took his hand and you moved through the mass of already dancing students. You turned to face him and placed your other hand on his shoulder. He placed his on your back. And you slowly started moving to the music. You were looking down smiling at first but soon found Steve’s eyes. He remembered how beautiful you looked and how he couldn’t think of anything but pressing his lips against yours and holding you tightly. You felt the tension between the two of you too. It was a good tension though and it got intenser with every move and touch.

“Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter“

Steve moved his face closer to you.

“Togetherness, girl, is all I'm after“

Your eyes began to focus on his lips.

“Whenever you need me, I'll be there“

Your lips met and you felt the butterflies in your stomach.

“I’ll be there“

The kiss was quick and innocent.

Steve could taste your cherry lip balm.

You smiled. It was like a cloud of happiness had formed around you. You leaned your head against his chest and you could hear his heart. It was beating as fast as yours.

“Just call my name, I'll be there“

You had a great rest of the night after that as well. You were holding hands the whole time and when Steve’s dad came to pick him up he pecked your cheek and beamed at you before getting in the car.

He had offered to make his dad drive you home, but you had told him your mother would be here soon and she’d be worried if you weren’t there. So he left you in front of the gym.

...

When he met you at school the following Monday you were weird and distant. You were avoiding him and at first, Steve couldn’t figure out why. This went on for months. He was hurt. He wasn’t sure what he had done wrong but since he did not want to lose you, he tried to make up for it and confronted you one day in the parking lot.

“Y/N!“, he yelled.

You kept on walking. You hadn’t heard him. You had started to work at the Radio Shack on weekends and Bob, the owner had gifted you the first Walkman that had hit the market in July and a pair of headphones for Christmas. Since then you were always listening to music on your way home. “Ain’t No Sunshine“ by Bill Withers was playing when you felt a hand touch your arm. You turned around and saw that the hand belonged to Steve Harrington.

You felt guilty and sad when you looked at him. You put Bill on pause and pulled your headphones out.

“Do you have a minute?“, he asked giving you a small smile, that didn’t meet his eyes.

“Um, yeah.“, you responded hesitantly.

“Look, I’m sorry. I should have asked you before I kissed you at the Snowball. I just felt so close to you and I was positive you were feeling the same way. I get now, that you don’t have these kinds of feelings for me and I’m an idiot for making stuff weird. Can we just go back to being best friends again and forget this whole thing?“, he said embarrassed.

“Steve, I-“, you tried to explain shaking your head, but Steve cut you short, “Please Y/N, can you just agree? This is embarrassing enough. Can’t we go back… I don’t know.. to how it was before?“

His gaze fell to the ground and he started to move his foot awkwardly against the gravel.

“Okay…“, you brought out after a few seconds of silence.

You gave him a small smile and he smiled back looking at you again now with hope in his eyes.

“I guess, I’ll see you tomorrow then.“, he said, but it sounded more like a request.

“Yeah.“, you answered.

Since you lived on opposite sides of the town your ways parted.

And you cried the whole way home. Life was unfair.

You were still a little awkward around each other the following months but eventually grew closer again.

When you transferred to High School Steve started seeing other girls and making lots of other friends. He introduced you to everyone as his best friend. You were glad you had him in your life, but the term just felt a little off. You never got the chance to tell him what had actually happened on the night of the Snowball and that he had been right. You felt really close to him and you had those kinds of feelings for him. You had wanted to kiss him. And you still wanted to every time you saw him but you couldn’t tell him.

...

A knock on the window brought Steve back from his memories.

He opened the door after Hopper had moved to the side. Dustin was listening to music again, so Steve assumed he’d been zoned out for a while.

“You can go up now.“, Hopper said looking at Dustin.

He pulled the headphones down and got out of the BMW.

“Surgical Ward, Room 184.“ The chief sent Dustin on his way.

Steve was about to close his door again since Hopper didn’t move away far enough for him to be able to actually get out of the car, when the man said, “You too, Harrington. Go talk to her. I don’t know what happened between you but I have a feeling that she might need you up there.“

Hopper stepped back to give Steve enough space to get out of his car.

And they shared an intense look.

“Thank you.“, Steve said before walking towards the entree hall, the chief following close behind him.

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[rodrigohyde]

Karl-Anthony Towns: NBA should allow medical marijuana for player treatment

If Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns could be NBA commissioner for a day, he knows exactly what he would do with his power: He would allow players to use medical marijuana for injury treatment.

Towns, one of the NBA’s top young stars, spoke out about medical marijuana in an interview with ESPN about his career and the league.

"I agree with David Stern with marijuana," Towns told ESPN, referring to the former commissioners recent comments on the use of the drug. "You don't have to actually make it 'Mary J' [or] 'Half Baked'. You don't have to do it like that, but you could use the [chemical] properties in it to make a lot of people better. That's something that Adam Silver has to do. That's out of my control, but maybe legalizing marijuana. Not fully legal, where people are chimneys, but using [marijuana] as a beneficial factor as an athlete, as a person living daily."

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Stern recently came out in favor of the rule change while speaking with former NBA player Al Harrington for a documentary on LeBron James' Uninterrupted media platform. "I'm now at the point where, personally, I think it probably should be removed from the banned list," Stern said. "You've persuaded me."

Towns told ESPN that the situation with medical marijuana is a personal one for him, as his girlfriend has an autistic nephew who has used “new treatments involving properties of marijuana” to help with his condition.

Towns said that while he has never smoked or used any type of marijuana product before, he’s seen the results of using marijuana-related treatments. Towns thinks that NBA players could benefit from using them as well.

"I've seen nothing but benefits for him," Towns said of his girlfriend's nephew. "And I'm very happy that he finds comfort. He finds that normalcy every day. Just like a father, a mother, a parent with a child, you'd do anything for your child. These guys, just because we're NBA athletes, we're not superhumans. Some of us have conditions that could use [medicinal marijuana] to our benefit for everyday living, just taking care of our kids and our families."

Towns explained that he has not spoken with anyone from the NBA about his opinion or ideas about medical marijuana use, but that he could eventually get in touch with NBA leadership on the subject.

"We have such a great commissioner in Adam Silver who's willing to listen to opinions and talk to us about how he feels as well," Towns said. "I think David Stern obviously made an intellectual statement from his experience and just seeing things from a different perspective. The NBA has done a great job of just really cracking down on things that should not be legal. Not only legal as a performance-enhancing, or whatever case it may be, but just for daily living to have a better life, a more sustainable life, a more healthy life by removing those drugs from the game."

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Towns isn’t the only high-profile figure in the NBA to speak out about medical marijuana use. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told CSN Bay Area last year that he used marijuana multiple times to help his chronic pain after dealing with a back injury.

Currently, the NBA has no plans to address its policies regarding marijuana, although Silver did say ahead of the 2017-18 season that a future change could be possible.

"I would say it's something we will look at," Silver said when asked about the future of medical marijuana during a Reddit interview in August. "I'm very interested in the science when it comes to medical marijuana."

Want to learn more on the subject of medical marijuana? Check out these studies, expert analysis, and stories from Men's Fitness:

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Weed

from Men's Fitness https://www.mensfitness.com/sports/basketball/karl-anthony-towns-nba-should-allow-medical-marijuana-player-treatment