#he likes METALLICA for gods sake

[endless-ineffabilities]

Chemical Override (bonus chapter three) - In the Modern World

Ewan Mitchell x actress!reader

a/n: I knew I wanted to do a fun bonus chapter after part seven, but I wasn't sure what about. Then came this music video, with this feral slimey cat, and the rest is history. Not to mention this brilliant anon further fueled the idea for the plot!

series masterlist ▪︎ main masterlist

Seems so hard just to be If it matters You complete me 🦎

This is set between part two and part three of the story. Right after the rumours of the reader with Jacob surface and she clarifies to Ewan that it's all just PR, and before he gets boozy and sends the voicemail.

Ewan

Martin’s room is typical of any unemployed and aimless outcast in their late 20s. Particularly, one with a penchant for conspiracy theories, reptilian critters, diorama building, and surface-level anarchy. 

“So he’s just like a regular guy,” Ewan jokes, making the director Luna laugh. 

“Sure, I bet this is how your own room is like back in… Derby, was it?”

“Yeah,” Ewan nods. “I actually have a place here in London now, too. The room is the same. But I’ve got more than one lizard.”

“Good one, mate,” she claps him on the back, before walking further into the room. She stops in front of the craggly stands that Martin passes off a workstation. “Here is where he keeps his pets. As you know, he’s got spiders, iguanas, and the rogue chinchilla.”

“Look at that little guy,” Ewan stoops down to inspect the grey rodent. “You lost there, buddy?”

“That one is our cameraman Eddie’s,” she remarks. “The bugs - we borrowed from the local habitat. All under code, of course.”

“Mmm,” he looks around the room. Maroon sheets, used up art supplies like glue and various unclean brushes, pieces of silver wire, old cables, duct tape, painted figurines, a scattering of old tickets for an underground fighting ring. Propped up on the headboard of his bed is a stolen street sign. On the wall is an assortment of posters - some of bands, some of comic strips, but mainly just scraps of art Martin finds from the internet. A rabid dog with its teeth bared. Grotesque humanoid figures. 

Standard, regular pictures. 

“You like the posters?” Luna notices him perusing the wall. “You know, I had the idea of incorporating something you like here. Maybe a band or… you like Metallica, I heard?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, I love them. So I get to choose a poster that would fit Martin?”

“Sure,” she shrugs. “Something that represents both yourself and Martin, why not? Make up a backstory for it. It can be anything you set your mind to, really. Let’s start with - what would you have on your wall?”

He considers just taking her up on her suggestion of Metallica, maybe a live image of the band in their 2009 Mexico show. But he didn’t want to settle on that idea just yet. What is he fixated on at the moment? What film, what song, what popular character…

Then it strikes him, causing the blood to rise to the surface of his pale cheeks. Of course. There is you. 

But if he props up a full-blown image of you, just you, maybe from a photoshoot or a candid photograph, would that be too much? Would he be crossing the line?

Last he heard from you, he found out that the supposed relationship you have with Jacob Elordi is but a ruse for the sake of publicity. Thank the gods, as Aegon screamed before Aemond set him ablaze. 

But in this instance, Ewan’s relief is not entirely unfounded. You aren’t with anyone. He knows he should make a move, a proper one, and not just drop hints of his admiration in interviews like the one he just did for Vanity Fair. But what can he do? You’re all the way across the Atlantic, far from his desperate reach. 

As selfish as it sounds, he couldn’t bear the thought of hearing you’re with someone else and knowing it’s true. The confession is yet to stumble out of him, but he knew he was already yours. 

He calls you whenever he can, whenever he misses you, which is quite often, as evidenced by the lengthy log of long-distance calls on his phone, from England to America. 

“What about something House of the Dragon related?” he asks. “Could serve as a nice easter egg for the fans, if they see this.” 

“I don’t see why not? If you can convince us of Martin’s motivation for it, of why he would put that poster on his wall, then we can add it right away.”

He smiles shyly, glancing down at his sneakers. He knows his own motivation for putting your image up on his wall, but what about Martin’s? He tests some ideas out, gauging Luna’s reaction, “What if he’s a sci-fi, fantasy fanatic? If he’s a devout follower of George RR Martin, and so… naturally, he had a look at House of the Dragon as well?”

She purses her lips, tilting her head in thought. “That’s something right there, yeah. But we kind of saw him as being against television, you know? Against popular media in general, and he's a guy with an affinity for obscure dark video games and comic books.”

“Hmm, yeah, yeah,” he does his best to form the proposition in his mind. How does he offer the suggestion without being too obvious? “So what if, you know, he happened to see this one character in the show, and he’s just enamoured with them for some reason? This makes it remarkable, because he does admire her, but as an act of rebellion, he still doesn’t watch the show and only bothers himself with her scenes and the art style to her character, and - ”

“Wait, her?” Luna smiles, her confusion dwindling. She’s heard the rumours. Or fan theories. Or whatever the kids call it nowadays. She hasn’t been living under a rock, and Ewan definitely hasn’t kept mum about his crush either. 

“Yeah,” he scratches the back of his neck, unable to look her directly in the eye, “I was thinking of having a poster for a character from the show.”

“I thought you wanted a poster of a dragon or something,” she jokes. “So, which character? Apologies, I’m not too familiar with a lot of them.” Ewan would recognise the knowing glint in her gaze, if he wasn’t too busy pretending to inspect a scrap of faux moldy wallpaper sticking out of the wall. Set design really outdid themselves in the details, all to give the impression that Martin is a negligent slob.

“Uhhm,” he dithers, a crooked smile breaking out despite him chewing on his bottom lip, “she’s, uhhh, one of the new characters this season.”

“Oh?” she plays along, nodding, “Which one? From what I saw, there’s two camps, right? And your camp is green, is she in that?”

“No, actually,” he shakes his head, “she’s in the opposing team, you could say.”

“That’s interesting,” she nods, slowly, trying to encourage him to simply spit it out. “You know, Ewan, mate, if you don’t actually tell me which character you want to put up, then this poster idea isn’t going to work out.”

His gaze snaps back to her, and he awkwardly titters under his breath. “Right, right. Uhhm, she’s called Alyna… Alyna Rivers.”

Luna’s mouth forms an O, as if she’s enjoying this little gotcha moment. She realises that Ewan, while reserved, wears his heart on his sleeve. What a lucky girl you are. 

“And… why would Martin want her specifically up on his wall?” 

The emphasis on Martin came off as superficial, her tone humorous, leading Ewan to believe that she actually pertains to him and not the character.

“He might see her as some sort of muse, you know… she’s a fighter, she’s got a fire in her…”

“And he’s got a crush on her.”

“Oh… well…”

“He likes her.”

“Uhhh… yeah I guess…”

“You guess?” she raises her eyebrows, grinning, “come on Ewan, what does Martin feel about her?”

“She’s his… his ray of light,” he decides. “His world is a mess. He’s lost. His one release entails getting beat up bloody every other day. But the idea of her is his beacon of hope. Untainted, you know. She’s… she’s perfect. She wouldn’t hurt him like the rest of the world already has.”

Luna nods in understanding, satisfied. She casually slings an arm over his shoulder, then says, “You know something, mate? That sounds a lot more than a crush to me.”

“Mmm,” he smiles, agreeing, the welcome image of you flooding his mind like always, “it sure does.”

The entire cast and crew for In the Modern World have the subsequent three days to accomplish filming.

Ewan sits in the makeup trailer, awaiting his cue, his vision now impaired by the unkempt strands of his long black wig. Spiky grunge cuffs decorate his wrists. He wears an ill-fitting pair of jeans and a t-shirt, the costume for the first scene to be filmed. 

He has already gone through the process of trying to get in Martin’s head, seeing what makes him tick, what drives his actions, priming himself to jump inside his skin. He’s ready. At this point during filming, he has the habit of eliminating any distraction to maintain focus, and his phone is tucked inside his backpack on airplane mode. 

Defying his routine, he retrieves his phone, nervous fingers clicking away until they land on your contact. He hovers over the voice call option, opting at the last second to do a video call instead. 

The front camera turns on, catching him off guard with how messy he appears. Maybe this was not the best idea, he falters, what am I doing? I’m gonna scare her off.

“Ewan?” It’s too late to change his mind when your cheerful voice answers, your expression curious and inviting. His ray of light. “Is that you?”

He timidly brushes his hair - his wig - away from his face. “Hello, darling. I thought I’d ring you for a second.”

You laugh openly, drawing your face closer to your phone to get a better look at him, “Are you shooting the music video right now? Oh my god, look at you!”

He smiles sheepishly, teeth clamping over his bottom lip. “What do you think?”

“Wow,” you shake your head, the sunlight reflecting on your face from wherever you are. Likely walking around outside the studio, as he spots the white buildings in the background. “You look so… cool. This is like Aemond in the modern world, rebelling against his mother with the help of cheap hair dye.”

He appreciates your clever assessment, feeling much better about himself. “Don’t I look shabby?”

“Ewan,” you click your tongue, “judging by what you told me about your character, I think you’re supposed to look shabby.”

You’re right. He shakes his head, mostly at himself, for being so concerned if you still find him attractive even in this get-up.

“I feel like Kirk Hammett. Very rock n’ roll.”

You smirk, “I’d say this is your hottest look yet.”

He blushes profusely. You think he looks hot. It may just be a passing quip, a casual thing to say, but it has him in a grip. His reaction would nearly rival that of Martin’s, who would probably jump right on to making a mini-figurine of Alyna. After just a single interaction with you, Martin would probably spend the next few weeks occupied with objectionable fantasies. You and him, rolling around in the car. Only, car jitsu wouldn’t be the physical activity at play. 

Ewan shifts in his seat, adjusting his trousers. In the end, he’s no better than Martin after all. 

“Ewan?”

“Oh sorry, darling, I was just - ”

“I said that I have to go back inside,” you say, “I do appreciate your call, though.”

His face falls, despite the fact that he has to be on set soon anyway. “Of course, darling, go ahead.”

“Kick some ass for me?”

For you? Anything. “You got it, baby.” The name jumps out of him before he can stop himself, and he justifies it as a ‘Martin’ reaction. He’s in character, isn’t he?

You roll your eyes. It is your turn to blush and fail at hiding it, and you do. “Okay, rockstar. Talk to you soon, okay?”

“Okay,” he says, then adds, “Wait!”

You raise your phone again. “Oh, what is it?”

“I, uhhh, I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” you smile, and he commits the image to memory. This moment is his, just his; Martin can bloody wait. 

Martin

Martin throws himself down on his bed, limbs limp and flailing about. It must have been the hundredth time for that afternoon -  getting up, rolling back on the mattress, prodding his pets, jumping around the room to incoherent punk music, cigarettes burning out between his chapped lips. 

He has nothing to do today, not until it’s time. Just like every other day, every other week, in this drudgery of an existence. Everything means nothing, and the twisted truth of it is that he thinks himself free. 

Free of the cycle. Free of meaningless friendships. Free of love. Free of her.

The ghost of his ex-lover still haunts him, golden haired and rosy-cheeked, bundled up in her puffy coat like some cheap caricature of an angel. But she was no angel. Angels would not abandon someone they claim to love, with a mere snap of their manicured fingers. 

But she haunts him. What they had, and what they could have had. Was it even his? Would it have come out with a thin sprig of dark curls? He did not care to know now. 

She was his everything once. But isn’t that overrated? Falling in love is so overrated. 

His fingers clumsily mess with the controls for his toy helicopter as he lays down. The apparatus hovers above head, filling the room with a buzzing noise. His lit cigarette stumbles from his lips, and the noise is joined with his frantic, fuck, fuck, fuck, as he tries to shake it out of his hair. He succeeds, but the helicopter teeters in the air, until it slams against the poster of Alyna Rivers displayed over his headboard.

He lets it fall, becoming distracted with her image. It’s a promotional still of her in her complete hunting attire - a fitted leather jerkin over a dark red tunic, tight breeches tucked into knee-high boots, a dagger sheathed in her belt. But his favourite addition is the longbow she grips in her hand, her fierce expression making it known that she is prepared to draw it back at a moment’s notice. 

Martin gets on his knees on the bed. He kisses two fingers, then gently touches them to her poster in a gesture of reverence. 

If only…

“Good morrow, my lady,” he says in a sing-song voice, “always a pleasure to come upon your visage.”

He leans closer, tracing her figure with precision, “I bet you can fix me. I bet you can make me feel alive.” 

He chases after euphoria that night, over and over, fucked up and depraved and empty. But it hits different this time. It’s better.

As white spots flicker and dance in his vision, and the fog in his mind threatens to swallow everything, it’s not the vision of his ex that flashes before him - it’s Alyna he sees. 

Her face is sharp and real, cutting through the haze like a beacon. She holds him together as exhaustion takes over him and the oxygen is slowly cut off from his windpipe. She anchors him, even on the precipice of oblivion.

The opponent is alarmed by Martin’s eyes rolling back revealing the whites of his eyes. He loosens his hold, letting go even if Martin refuses to tap out. 

“Fuck, you alright?” he rasps. 

Martin doesn’t hear him. His bloodstained, cracked lips curl into a ghost of a smile as his hand trembles, reaching out to press against the fogged-up windshield. 

With a fragile sense of peace, he murmurs, “You fixed me.”

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Some notes in the margins...

I know I said I would include the reader's reaction to the music video, but I decided to use the time to work on part eight... I still might get to writing this idea as a drabble though 🤷🏻‍♀️

Not Ewan having beef with his own character HAHAHA this lad I swear

Part eight out very, very soon! It'll be a wild ride. Oh, I'm not even kidding :)

[chxrrysangel]

What Best Friends Do

Pairing | perv!eddie x best friend!reader

Warnings | MDNI 18+, porn with plot, Eddie is a such a perv(only for reader tho, he has some morals), he stares A LOT, meddling friends, guided masturbation (f), cumming together, dry humping, eddie cums in his pants, Eddie basically has an innocence kink

Words | 1,895

Summary | Forced to be gentlemanly with pussy on his mind, Eddie spends the night with his best friend for “the sake of safety”. A best friend with the shortest skirt and cutest pout he’s ever seen. Can he keep it together?

Technically Part Two

Eddie didn’t think this through. At all. 

When Steve suggested taking everyone home in one trip, a resounding yes erupted from the group. The only problem was that there weren’t enough seats. Neither of you thought it was a massive deal at the time, it was only a 30-minute car ride. That was roughly 5 Metallica songs, 3 random brought-up topics between the 6 of you, and maybe 10 stoplights throughout Hawkins. 

Everyone piled into the car as Robin called shotgun, while Nancy, Jonathan, and Eddie took the backseat. Hand in yours, your best friend helped you onto his lap for a less-than-comfortable ride home. But you would survive, it was just Eddie after all. The second your ass met his front, he regretted the entire thing. Every single pothole or speed bump pressed your body closer to his, and it was hell. 

Eddie prayed to every god he could think of, hoping that Ozzy and Kirk could hear his pleas somehow. He tried to think of anything to stop his dick from pressing farther into your ass, but not even the image of his nana naked could make the smell of your perfume turn him on less. You could feel him, he was sure of it. And you were too innocent to not realize that every time you rubbed up against him made it worse. A particular “break test”, as Steve liked to call them, had Eddie’s arm wrapping around your waist, pushing your bodies so close together he had to bite his tongue to swallow his moans. If he was any more pathetic, he might’ve cum in his jeans. 

So he closed his eyes and tried to ignore the heartbeat of your pussy against his crotch. Someone must’ve answered his prayers, because the next thing he knew Steve was triple honking to signal a house stop. Luckily enough, it was yours. Eddie braced your body as the car door opened, stopping you from falling. You thanked him, no matter how many times he said it was no trouble. Before anyone could say their goodbyes, Steve perked up to share an idea. 

“Are your parents home?”

You told him no, and that they wouldn’t be back until much later in the night. 

“Munson, haul ass and stay with 'em.”

The two boys made eye contact in Steve’s dashboard mirror, a silent war that you couldn’t decipher. Eddie turned towards the others to beg for help, all feigning innocence and ignoring his silent plea. Right now he was rock hard, and Steve was ruining his chance to go home and jerk off until he got friction burn. But then he turned to see your patient gaze as you waited for their decision, and just melted. 

Fuck. 

Sighing, Eddie climbed out of the car in defeat. He waited until you began walking to your front door to scold the rest of the car. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he angry-whispered. 

“I don't know what you’re talking about Munson. Have fun though.” With that, Steve winked at the metalhead and drove off into the night. 

 He’s gonna regret this and he knows it. 

“Eddie, you comin’ ?” 

“Um, yeah. Sorry.” 

~~~

Eddie’s eyes began to unfocus, his head pounding as he took in the sight before him. There was something so… enticing about how little you understood the effect you had on him; on people in general. You didn’t think it was a huge deal, walking around your room in just a robe. But to Eddie, it was a massive deal. The thoughts he had earlier were coming back in full force and he had no way to escape them. There was only a single layer of material separating your naked body from the outside world and it drove him insane. He couldn’t stop himself from thinking about how short it was, making it so that just the right bend of your knees would him the perfect view of your pussy. 

Eddie didn’t really believe in God, but now he was reconsidering it. He knew it was bad to think of you like this, especially someone like you, but he couldn’t help it. If anything, your lack of experience or knowledge made him hornier. The pillow covering his crotch didn’t help much either, the dense material providing friction with every movement of his hips. 

“Eddie?” Your voice pulled him back to attention, focusing on you but not staring. Or at least trying not to stare. 

“Yes baby?” You blushed at the nickname, never truly getting over his terms of endearment for you. 

“I have a question.” He can tell by your tone that you’re nervous, and god it’s so cute. You bite on your lips as you think of what to say next, and all he can think about is that pretty little mouth sucking on his tip. 

“Shoot.” You took a deep breath, trying to find the courage somewhere to say what you need to. 

“Earlier in the car, I uh– I felt something.” Eddie fought off the urge to grin, the possibilities of what you said next giving him a depraved kind of rush. 

“What did you feel sweetheart?” He pressed the pillow further into himself, grinding his hips ever so slightly for relief. 

“Something hard. And…it felt good. I um…liked you pressed up against me. I felt tingly.” Eddie sat up straighter at your confession.

He could cum right now off your words alone. 

“Yeah?” You nodded in response, averting your eyes as your cheeks burned with embarrassment. 

“Do you wanna feel that again?” Eddie wanted to tear the pathetic robe off and fuck you over the nearest surface, but he knew he had to be patient and gentle. 

“Yes.” 

“Come here, baby. Come to Eddie.”

The bed dipped as you climbed over to him, your robe loosening just a little bit which he took notice of. Eddie removed the pillow, giving you a full view of the rock-hard erection he’d been hiding. A gasp fell from your lips, a hesitant hand reaching out before you thought better of it.

“You can touch if you want. I don’t mind.” You debated over it for a few seconds before reaching for his crotch. Your fingers brushed lightly against the tip, the friction making Eddie hiss in pleasure. 

“Oh my god, Eddie I’m so sorry!”

“No, no, don’t apologize. Didn’t hurt at all. It was the exact opposite. ” His voice was so gentle, like nothing you’ve ever heard from him before. It encouraged you to put your hand back where it was, rubbing softly to see how he reacted. You had no idea what you were doing, which made Eddie even more eager to ruin you. In his peripheral vision, he caught his eye on your closet mirror, inciting a genius idea. 

“Okay baby, I’m gonna make you feel good now. Can you do something for me?” You would do anything for him; so of course, you said yes. 

Eddie grabbed your hand, guiding you to sit in front of him with your back to his chest. His warm calloused hands bore a feather light touch as they grazed along your thighs. Slowly they inched higher, stopping just before where you needed it and pushing your thighs wide apart. Your best friend stared at the slickness of your folds, licking his lips in anticipation. Everything he'd ever fantasized about was slowly becoming part of reality.

In the reflection of the mirror, you stared at yourself, not quite sure who was looking back at you. It felt foreign to have anyone, let alone Eddie’s hands on your body in this way. The cross necklace you’ve had your entire life glittered in the light, and you willed the guilt rising up your throat to be swallowed back down. You wanted this. The brush of your best friend’s fingers across your stomach pulled you out of your trance, eyes tracing his movements. 

“Baby, you see this little button at the top here? That’s called your clit. It’s your best friend. And its favorite thing is to get rubbed on.” 

Eddie licked his fingertips in the reflection, bringing them down to between your legs to demonstrate. The wet feeling of his spit on your clit as his calloused hands began to rub circles was so foreign yet welcomed. Your brain began to feel fuzzy as the pleasure took over and your best friend enjoyed watching you come apart for him. Breathy moans and whimpers escaped your lips as you rutted into his hand, chasing something you weren’t even sure what to call.

He cooed at you, whispering sweet nothings in your ears. The ghostly feeling of his lips brushing against your hot skin clouded your mind, making it almost impossible to enjoy his praises. It was almost too much and yet you craved more. But then he stopped. 

“Eddie! Why’d you do that?” Whatever was building up in your lower stomach, aching to be released, slowly began to dissipate along with your excitement.

“Because, I want you to do it yourself.” He paused to kiss your temple, softening the blow of your disappointment. 

“But I can’t—”

“Yes you can, and you will. Give me your hand.” You did as told, watching as Eddie put two of your digits in his mouth and sucked. It was so…sinful. Nothing like anything you’d ever seen; and you couldn’t get enough.  He pulled your spit coated fingers down btwn your legs, right down to the center of your pleasure. 

“Now rub. And don’t stop until I tell you.” You did as you were told, slowly at first to get used to the feeling. 

Soon you fell into a rhythm, high off the feeling and chasing your own pleasure. Your back relaxed into Eddie’s arms, pushing your bodies impossibly closer together. His hips matched the rhythm of yours, which only made you wetter. Your moans were matched by his as you stared at yourselves in the mirror. He was enjoying this just as much as you were. 

“Eddie, oh God. I feel…I feel..”

He grinned at his reflection. 

“I know baby, I know.” He pulled your hips into his, trying to maintain as much friction as he could. At this rate, he wouldn’t last much longer.

“Hurts a little, yeah? Keep going gorgeous, it’s gonna feel so good. Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.” His voice broke on the last few words like he was gonna burst into tears at any moment. Your lower belly tightened with a delicious kind of pain, one you chased eagerly. You rubbed your fingers at a faster pace, desperate for some kind of release as Eddie grinded against your ass. He whispered the dirtiest things in your ear, saying how good you feel and how close he is. And then, the tightness stopped as a wave of pleasure coursed through your entire body, enough to make your toes curl and ears ringing. Eddie’s name fell off the tip of your lips as you came, the final straw as wetness spread through his boxers and hips slowed to a halt. You stared in his eyes as you caught your breath, trying to find the words to describe what just happened.

You were putty in his hands, he knew that now. A post-orgasm smile spread across his lips, shamelessly staring at your fucked-out state. He had plans for you.

[ladykailitha]

Icarus Part 1

Hello! I know there are a few minutes left of the poll, but there is nothing that could happen in the next 15 minutes that is going to change the outcome.

3 to 1 in favor of the main story first. The only reason I asked, was because that story has been finished a long time, but this one is just getting started. But the masses have spoken.

Original prompt here.

Summary: Eddie and the Corroded Coffin boys made it big right out of high school. So big that Metallica could open for them. Outselling the biggest bands and artists. They are huge. Then a small little indy metal band called The Fallen comes on the scene. They wear hoods and masks and go by aliases. Eddie (and most of the rest of the metal scene) are dismissive of them. More splash then talent.

Only fans don't thinks so. So when Dustin takes him to one of their concerts Eddie learns two things.

One that they are super talented.

And two, that he knows at least of one the members' of the band's real identity.

@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @redfreckledwolf @emly03 @itsall-taken

****

Getting out of Hawkins had always been the dream. Being able to do it with three of the best people he had ever had the pleasure of knowing with their music? That was the cherry on top of the icing.

But Eddie never dreamed that Corroded would outsell one his favorite bands of all time. Never even crossed his mind to dream about.

But there it was in black and white. Corroded Coffin was the highest grossing band of the year. Metallica was seventh. Fuck they had outsold Taylor Swift for Christ’s sake.

Barely.

But it still counted damn it!

What was a surprise was the number nineteenth best selling band of the year. A band he’d never heard of before. The Fallen. It said the genre was metal in that little italic font.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Yeah, it was impossible to listen to every up and coming metal band. But if they had already hit this big with only their second album, surely Eddie would have heard them on the radio.

Only on their last tour Chrissy Cunningham, their beautiful and amazing manager had put an embargo on the radio because the riffs were finding their way into Eddie’s song writing. So he guessed it made sense that he hadn’t heard of them.

So he called the one person he knew who would have all the details on these guys.

“Dusty!” he greeted when the man picked up. Man. Shit, when did they all get so old?

“Eddie!” Dustin greeted back. “Finally back in town?”

Eddie grinned. “You know it. Dude, you know my tour schedule better than Chrissy does.”

“Maybe.”

He laughed. “Guess who hit the top of the most successful metal bands of the decade?”

“Oh my god!” Dustin screamed. “That’s so cool! Is the issue out on stands yet or did you get a sneaky peak for having made it to the top of their list?”

Eddie winced. “Sadly the later. But! I can bring it over to show you when I come to hang out.”

“That’s acceptable,” Dustin said. “Steve just got back in town, too. That label he works for sure does like dragging him all over the world.”

Eddie hummed. “Yeah? Where’d they send him this time?”

“Japan if you can believe it,” Dustin huffed. “He basically came home sometime around midnight and just crashed.”

Eddie didn’t know what Steve and Robin did for the studio, no one did. But the general consensus was that they were dogsbodies of some sort. Getting coffees for execs and stars, driving them places. Just stuff they didn’t want to hire out for, they made Robin and Steve do.

“I won’t be waking him up if I come over, will I?” Eddie asked, biting his lip. He had a crush on the other man. A large one. But fame and fortune kept getting in the way of something more.

“Nah,” Dustin assured him. “He woke up about an hour ago. He’s even showered and eaten. He’ll want to see you as much as I do.”

Eddie very much doubted that, but he was going to take it. “Great! This list is insane, man. I can’t wait for you to see it.”

“Come over for dinner,” Dustin suggested. “We’ll pour over the list over pizza and beer.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe you’re old enough for beer now.”

“Yeah, yeah, old man,” Dustin said. Eddie could feel the eye roll from here.

****

Eddie was watching Steve in interest.

He was walking around like he was used to being in high heels or something, as he would catch himself on his toes and force his feet down on his heels.

He would jump at Dustin throwing open the door. He kept touching his face and rubbing at his throat.

Robin was constantly pushing tea into his hands to get them settle. When they weren’t cradling the tea mugs, they were all over the place. Not just his face. But his back and stomach, too. Rubbing his palms on the front of his jeans.

“Dude!” Dustin hissed. “What is wrong with you? Japan can’t have been that different from America.”

Steve winced from the sound. “Bud, you are seriously being too loud. I told you that I have a migraine.”

Eddie tilted his head. “Hey do you need me to go? Butthead here said you were fine.”

Steve looked up at Eddie and his expression softened. “I’m fine as long as you aren’t yelling like Dusty Buns, here.”

Eddie chuckled. “I hear that. So how was Japan? When me and the boys went a couple years ago it was so beautiful.”

Steve rubbed his forehead between his eyebrows. “I wish I could have seen more of it. It felt like we were running nonstop. At least we aren’t roadies. I don’t think I could do the work they do. They’re the true beating heart of the operation.”

Eddie nodded. “Our last tour we had twelve trucks of roadies and equipment. It was insane.”

Robin grabbed Steve’s cold tea mug and swapped it with a warm one. Steve murmured his thanks. “I’m still not sure if I’m on this time zone yet. And I worry that this fucking migraine may throw me off even further.”

“Is that why Robin is plying you with tea?” Eddie asked. “To keep you awake enough to go bed at the right time?”

Steve nodded, humming contently over the cup of tea. “Nothing caffeinated, not really. Peppermint for the most part, honey lemon, too. She thinks I might be coming down with travelers’ cough.”

Again Steve made an aborted movement toward his face.

“Stop doing that!” Dustin hissed again. “Why do you keep touching your face like that? Did the Tibetan monks curse you or something?”

Robin smacked the back of his head. “That’s China, doofus! And no, no one has been cursed. We had to wear face masks like the surgeons wear for a lot of the trip because there had been a flu outbreak.”

Eddie nodded. “Ooh, yeah. They recommended we wear them too in certain areas, it wouldn’t surprise me if I was that twitchy when we moved to the Australian leg of the tour.”

Dustin eyed Steve warily, like he wasn’t sure if he should believe him or not, but Eddie had backed him up, so Dustin decided to let it go.

For now.

“Where were you touring again?” Steve asked Eddie after taking a long sip from his mug. “South America, wasn’t it?”

“Right in one, big boy,” Eddie enthused. “It was our first time in some of those countries so it was super exciting meeting the people, learning the culture, eating the food. I swear by the end of the tour we had all gained at least ten pounds and that was with us sweating our asses off on stage almost every night.”

Steve winced. “I don’t know how you guys do it, the stage lights we had were merciless.”

“Years and years of practice, Stevie,” Eddie said, “years and years of practice.”

Dustin turned to Eddie. “All right I think I’ve been patient enough, I want to see the top twenty money makers of metal before I vibrate out of my skin.”

Steve laughed and smacked the back of his head. “You know who number one is, why do you care about the other nineteen?”

Eddie shook his head. “Not just metal bands, my weird little friend. But out of all the bands.”

He pulled out the magazine and Dustin snatched it out of his hands, careful not to rip it.

Dustin was furiously reading the list and it was clear that he was looking for someone specific.

“Eureka!” he cried. “I knew it! I knew they were outselling other new metal bands.”

Steve looked over his shoulder. “Yeah? Who’s that, bud?”

“The Fallen!” he cried. “They are so cool man. They have these on stage personas like Daft Punk and they kick ass on stage. I was so bummed when they didn’t come to Pasadena or anywhere near there when they were doing their US leg of their tour.”

Dustin was going to school at Caltech because as much as he wanted to go to MIT his mom was worried about him being by himself, so he moved out to California to move in with Steve.

He was on campus for housing most of the year, but he came home on the weekends and that put Claudia’s mind at rest.

Steve himself had moved out to California a couple of years before. Robin and him had gotten a job at record company and had to move out there to be closer to the headquarters.

Interestingly, or at least to Dustin, Steve’s friends all found jobs out here, too.

“I saw that one,” Eddie was saying. “But I’d never heard of them are they any good?”

Dustin scoffed. “Are they any good? Holy shit are they good.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “They’re a metal band, no offense to Eddie here, but there are only three metal bands on the whole list. Most of them are pop, rap, or country. How good can they be?”

Eddie scoffed and held his hands to his heart. “You wound me!” Then he flopped on the sofa, playing dead.

“That’s what does make them so good, Steve,” Dustin insisted. “Because there are only three metal bands on the list, it means they had to work their asses off twice as hard as the others.”

Eddie popped up. “Yeah, Stevie!” He stuck out his tongue and Steve laughed.

“You got any of the albums?” Steve asked, with a flippant wave of his hand. “If they’re so good, let’s hear them then.”

A shadow crossed over Robin’s face and she looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn’t.

****

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 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25

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[sidekick-hero]

Written for @steddieholidaydrabbles, prompt "spring" | wc: 1.000 | also written for the Stranger Things writing guild prompt "new beginnings" to celebrate @pearynice's birthday 💜| tags: second chances, blind date, exes to lovers, modern au

Eddie often wonders why he can't say no to Chrissy. It's become as much a part of his life as his love for Metallica or his ambidexterity. Whenever Chrissy insists, "You can't stay home every night and mope, Eddie. It's time to get out there and meet new people. You should start dating again, Eddie. New city, new opportunities." he tries to reason with her. He explains that he's not moping, for heaven's sake, and that he's meeting lots of people through his guitar lessons. He insists that he's content to be single. But Chrissy is relentless, wearing him down until he finds himself clad in black jeans and a burgundy button-down he never knew he owned, heading to his favorite bar to meet the mysterious blind date Chrissy has arranged for him.

Chrissy hasn't provided much information about the guy, just that he's about Eddie's height, athletic, and apparently very handsome and 'dreamy' - whatever that means. Eddie isn't convinced that this is his usual type, nor is he sure that he fits the bill for what this guy might be looking for. But Chrissy has a point; it's been over five years since Eddie's last serious relationship, and none of the guys he's dated since have been anything more than casual flings. Maybe it's not such a bad idea to try something different.

Since moving to New York eight months ago - first as Chrissy's roommate, then as her friend - Eddie has been searching for a sense of purpose. Los Angeles had lost its allure; too superficial, too jaded, too artificial. The only real connection he had there was Steve, who left the city and Eddie years ago, leaving Eddie adrift. Eventually, Eddie came to terms with the unlikelihood of his rockstar dreams and decided it was time to face reality.

Hence his move to New York in search of a fresh start. And maybe, just maybe, a chance at a lasting relationship - one that can mend the Steve-shaped hole in his heart.

It's hope more than anything that brings Eddie to the Hideout to meet his blind date on a warm spring night in late May. According to Chrissy, the guy would stand out with his overly preppy attire - a stark contrast to the Hideout's dive bar atmosphere.

The bar is bustling, as usual for a Saturday night. As Chrissy predicted, Eddie spots his date almost immediately - not because of his outfit, but because of the familiar figure perched on a barstool, nursing a beer.

It's Steve Harrington sitting across from Eddie, every bit as captivating and alluring as the day they first met seven years ago, when they were both waiting tables in Los Angeles.

The moment Steve spots him is unmistakable and his wide eyes convey that Steve, too, had no idea that Eddie would be his blind date - a twist of fate that brings them together again after so many years and miles apart.

"Steve," Eddie croaks, his throat dry and his heart racing as he approaches. "I had no clue, I swear. If I'd known Chris was setting me up with you, I would've warned her that you'd probably never want to see me again. Been there, done that, right?" He chuckles nervously, realizing he's on the verge of putting his foot in his mouth - his usual tendency. "God, I'm so sorry, really."

Steve continues to stare at him, blinking as if trying to make sense of the situation. Slowly, like shifting tectonic plates, he returns to the present, acknowledging the awkwardness of being set up on a blind date with his ex.

His voice, slightly breathless, finally breaks the silence, accompanied by a faint smile. "Well, you didn't ramble quite as much on our last first date."

Eddie can't suppress the laughter that bubbles up from within him, recalling fondly their first first date. "I have no idea how I pulled that off, to be honest. I was so nervous, I thought I was going to puke."

Steve's laughter fills the air, drawing a grin from Eddie. "Yeah, you looked even paler than usual, and the bar for that was actually pretty low."

"Oi, just so you know, it's called alabaster skin and it's considered very sexy."

Steve lets his eyes roam over Eddie's slender form in a way that still manages to fluster him, heat creeping up his neck and onto his cheeks.

"Sure," he agrees easily after a moment's pause. Then, meeting Eddie's eyes, Steve continues, his tone serious. "Listen, I had no idea you'd be my blind date, but now that we're both here... maybe we can catch up? It's been a while, and truth is, I miss you. I've been thinking a lot about you, about us. I know we broke up for a reason, but I feel like... maybe we could've tried harder, y'know? I could've tried harder."

That's so Steve, Eddie thinks, feeling a pang in his chest. He's never met anyone who wears his heart on his sleeve the way Steve does.

Pulling a five-dollar bill from his pocket, Eddie places it on the bar before reaching out to Steve. "Wanna get out of here? Take a walk and talk?"

"There's nothing I'd rather do," Steve replies, intertwining their hands as they leave the bar and step out into the warm, spring-scented night air.

They find themselves in a nearby diner, where they spend the night talking - about their past, their present, and, tentatively, their future. They only part as the sun begins to rise, a soft kiss goodbye all they allow themselves to end this magical night.

A kiss and a confession.

"I'm so glad we got a second chance, Eddie," Steve whispers, voice full of sincerity. "I don't want to start it off with a lie.A friend stood me up; that's why I was at the bar. Not as your date."

Spring, with its promise of new beginnings, has never smelled sweeter, Eddie thinks as he kisses Steve again with a grin on his face.

[iheartjameshetfield]

Thinking about Being earlier metallica James' gf, u know, back in that time where Jaymz and Lars lived together....that time were Lars would hear James railing his girl like there was no tomorrow? Yeah, so....

Imagine Being said gf and not being aware of an on going game between her boyfriend and his drummer friend, the game you ask? Seeing How many orgasms they Can Ruin

The rules are:

- Lars must pretend to be sleeping as best as he's able to;

- James Will fuck her increasingly harder, trying to rip out of her more and more noises;

- Since she's shy, Lars must pretend to stir in his sleep every time she let's a noise slip, and James Will increase his performance on her;

- Once she gets close to hitting her orgasm, Lars must pretend to wake up and cock block them (James must hold back from laughing or else he would give It away)

- And they Keep This cycle until they feel like she had been good enough for them

OR

There are no games and James is Just a shameless Motherfucker that gets his ego stroked every time someone catch him folding his girl and furiously pistoning his hips against her, knowing Full well that even If the guys are his friends and respect him very much, they still drool and lust over his girl

SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP

they’d have so much fun with you, the both of them loving how red you turn when you’re so fucking close, but then that cock-block of a drummer makes his appearance so you and james both have to stop.

one time, james was fucking you like his life depended on it. your body shoved into the bed as he’s mercilessly fucking into you. you were already worried about the squeaking of the mattress waking up lars, but then james reaches between the both of you and starts rubbing your clit to get you closer. he would grin like the devil, watching you squirm and try to keep quiet. even when you’d bring your fist to your mouth to muffle your noises, it would do shit and you’d just be so fucking loud. lars stirs to face the both of you, his eyes still ‘shut,’ james tries his hardest not to laugh at you while you’re literally trying to hold back tears. you poor thing, they’ve been edging you for a whole week every single day and you had no idea.

a loud “fuck james!” rips out of you as you grasp one of his shoulders, letting him know that you were so close as you grind your hips to meet his halfway. your moaning was getting louder and louder and you couldn’t keep quiet for the life of you. just as you were about to reach your climax, lars wakes up, causing james to pull away, your back falling against the pillow, chest heaving up and down.

“for fuck’s sake, again?!” you’d groan, digging the heels of your palms into your eyes from both frustration and embarrassment. but then you feel james fingers slip through your sopping folds, causing you to gasp. “what about lars!” you’d whisper-yell to james and he lets out a chuckle

“what about him?” he’d keep fingering you, wanting to bring you to your climax since you haven’t cum in such a long time, he was starting to feel bad. you were so overstimulated, you bit down on james’ shoulder to keep quiet, but lars tutted you.

“oh, come on. you’ve been loud all week, you’re gonna stay quiet now?” lars taunts, causing your face to turn redder than it already is.

you turn to look at james, not knowing what to do, but he nods his head with a supportive smile on his face “it’s okay, baby, go ahead.” his fingers curl and move inside you at a prompt speed. you try to keep your moans at a low volume, too embarrassed and not used to having an audience, although the thought of someone watching you being fingered aroused you.

james’ fingers kept pumping in and out of you as his thumb reached around to rub your clit, increasing his abuse on your already overstimulated cunt. when lars’ hand went down to palm himself and he let out a little groan, you started crying, ready to finally let go.

“i’m cumming, oh, god i’m gonna cum, fuck!” you would heave out since there was no oxygen in your lungs whatsoever. you thrash and wail under james and lars’ gaze, whimpering as you feel your hot cum leak out of you. you pant as james kisses you through your orgasm, murmuring sweet words “fuck, you did so good for us.” lars would praise

NEED THIS RN😭 this reminds me of this one tiktok i saw that said when james and lars used to live together in a teeny tiny apartment, lars would sit in a corner until james was done with whoever he was with that night, but sometimes lars would join in, i was shocked.

[lolamarlowe65]

𝓘𝓷 𝓶𝔂 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 //James Hetfield

“The house next door was just sold, i hope the new neighbour will be nice.”

part eight of ? part seven

disclaimers: smut, age gap (modern day james), slow burn, cursing, smoking, drinking, kissing, mentions of a size kink, mentions of death, big girls stuff nsfw

Wattpad link

࿓ 𓋪・𖧹 𖤐

Chapter 8 - Unexpected turn

I didn't sleep much. Just enough to get me through the day. My mind was occupied with James's picture. During the night I grabbed my phone a few times just to look at it. I am the only one in the world who has this picture. It feels like a part of him; a very public character; is only for me and me only. I turned around in my bed thinking about what could have been his reaction to my picture. I thought that what I sent was too much for a slight moment but given the lingering lust we have for each other, I doubt that. He makes me so alive and I won't regret at least trying. I think so much and feel so much and nothing has even happened between us. I can't help but imagine being with him, at his side, not only for lust but also for him.

I'm trying my best to look alive at work. Pamela is in a bad mood. She actually entered the pharmacy and threw some papers on the floor screaming "motherfucker". She never tells me anything about her personal life and considering her pissy mood I won't dare ask.

The day is slow, it's like it will never end! The store is closed because we had inventory to do, then we've got deliveries and now we're cleaning and stocking back the shelves. I feel like I am dragged into the hell of one of Pamela's manic episodes. But frankly, it occupies my mind.

"- Hey Ann, can you put the TV on?! Like a music channel or something?!" Pamela asks me.

"- Yeah for sure!" i answer.

There's a TV on one of the shelves behind the counter, it's mostly used for commercials and stuff. Those give you headaches all the time and that's why I hate this TV. Except on inventory day, we put it on for music. It goes from shitty music videos to the old music I am so fond of up to interviews and lives. Right now there's this loud guy who's talking about some new exclusive interview with Metallica coming up next. Wait? Metallica?! I turn the sound up to be able to hear clearly. This must be the interview James was in San Francisco for.

"- Hey guys how are y'all doing?" the journalist asks.

Oh god, it is. I can see James clearly, he is the same. He doesn't put up a character or anything. I mean to me he is already very aloof and strong minded so I guess you don't need to change a thing when you're the frontman of a metal band. The fact is, his sweet smile and good heart doesn't disappear either. He mixes them both so well and stays himself. His voice is calm and his words are well chosen, it reminds me of how much I love talking to him. It makes me so happy. I hope I will see him lost in his music one day. Seeing him play must say so many more things.

I recognise Kirk next to him, he looks and sounds the same as when I met him. And the two other guys must be Lars and Robert. Who is who tho? Who is the one that would look the most like an hyperactive drummer boy? I could check but I'll let it go so I can discover it when time comes. If it ever comes. James looks so busy. They are passionately talking about their new upcoming album and their tour next year. I don't know if I will see him as much as I do today and this thought makes me sad. All the people I have an attachment to all go away at some point. I shouldn't think about it. I don't even know what I exactly feel about James. I shake my head around trying to get back to my work and get those thoughts out of my head.

"- So last but not least. James this question might be too personal but we know things changed around in your personal life. We'd love to know how things are going?" the reporter asked James.

I turn my head around. What a shitty question. "Personal life". It means what it says for Christ's sake! Still, I'd love to hear the answer. Just morbid curiosity. From what Stacy told me, I finally remember he got a divorce not long ago. I don't why but this information came back to mind now. Then he moved out here but we never talked about it and as much as I'd love to know about it in a more intimate setting and not through a very public interview I can't stop but listening to the answer. He is very secretive about it so I can't stop thinking he doesn't know what he feels about all that. He has this whole life build for himself, what could he possibly find interesting about a young chick like me? I know he's not doing all that just for my ass, but then, why?

"- Well man, things were complicated at first but I think I'm good now. Let's say "things" took an unexpected turn." James smiles and laughs slightly.

"- Oh! Interesting and are we going to know about this "unexpected turn" soon?" the reporter asks back.

"- That I can't tell you, but I sure hope." James smiles.

I think I turned red. I cannot be what he is talking about. Nah I can't. I'm not the centre of the world, even more of his. I play with his necklace around my neck trying to get all this out of my head.

"- Haha anyway thank you guys for accepting this interview, I know y'all are pretty busy those times." the journalist says before turning his head to look at the camera. "Stay tuned on this channel tomorrow night. Metallica is playing live for charity and we are here to retransmit it! See y'all tomorrow!"

They're playing tomorrow night? I think I will watch the live. I just want to see how he looks while playing, how they look as a band. I need to see this.

"- Hey Ann, the fuck you doing?" i hear Pam coldly saying. 

"- Yeah sorry Pam, coming right up." i answer.

She is right on this point, I just lost myself in my thoughts and the interview for a good amount of time. Let's go back to work. Time is so slow I don't know when I'll get out of here. I better work without a thought in my head to make it go faster.

I finally ended my shift and went to the hospital right away. Early in the morning the hospital called and asked my grandmother to come right away. Apparently, something in her analysis was not clear, they needed her to retake it. Their tone was pressed and I just hope it's nothing bad. Her health is declining those days and I was happy to know nothing was bad in her analysis but apparently my rest was short.

As I arrive I immediately go to my grandmother. They set her up in a room. Just for simple analysis? This definitely doesn't look good.

"- Are you okay grandma?" i ask, voice trembling.

I go and hug her tightly. I need her. I don't want anything bad happening to her. I just wouldn't be able to take it.

"- I am okay sweetheart. I promise." she says sweetly, caressing my head.

"- Don't make me a false promise. You know I couldn't take it." i answer, almost crying.

I can feel that something isn't right. I can feel my grandmother's anxiety through her body. I know she's trying to make me feel better. I know she's telling me to calm myself. But I can't. She's all I have left.

A doctor walks in the room and asks me to talk privately.

"- How is she doing?" i ask.

"- Well, I will be honest with you. Her arthritis is getting worse. There is a high chance she will not be able to walk anymore." he says unbothered, i almost started crying. "We want to keep her here on observation so we can figure out if we can operate on her and to make sure it doesn't spread to her other members." he continues.

"- Will she ever go home?" i ask.

"- Not constantly. It will be better for her if she stays here at the hospital for the time being. I gather some of her friends are also here, we will make sure she has contacts with them and that you can come see her everyday. But it will be better if she stays here."

"- You don't look very optimistic." i say.

"- I'm sorry miss." he answers, not sorry.

The doctor goes away after handing me the papers I need to sign for her admission. I won't do anything without asking my grandmother. My mom asked to get her out of the hospital in her last weeks. She knew she wouldn't make it and chose to stay by our side in the house. Without her asking me, I wouldn't have done anything. My grandma deserves this choice. The doctor was not very optimistic. She is probably going to have her last birthday this year. I am defeated. I want to stay optimistic, to say to myself she is gonna be okay and everything is gonna come back to normal, but I know it's not the case. Preparing myself for this eventuality actually helps me with dealing with it all. I go back to her room and sit next to her on her bed.

"- The doctor wants you to stay here until then." i say, crushed, putting my head on her shoulder.

"- It's okay sweetheart. I will stay here." she answers.

I let out a sob. Today should have been a good day. But it's not. My grandmother tries her best to move around to cup my face with her hands.

"- Ann. My beautiful Ann." she says, putting strands of my hair behind my ear. "You are a smart young woman. I know you understood this visit at the hospital will probably be my last. It's been a few months my health is not doing great and your mother knew it too. Your mother knew I would leave you not long after she did but I promise you sweetheart." her voice trembled. "I promise we will always be with you. Forever and ever. I know you will figure your life out. I know you will find someone who will love you as much as your mother and I do. It's gonna be hard, but I don't want to see my beautiful baby girl losing herself in false hope." she wipes a tear off my face. "I love you. I love you so much. Be happy." she says before finaling. "In the meantime, don't stay here all the time. Come see me everyday, but once you get out, live your life. I want to see you happy during my last moments." 

I'm crying so much. I can't accept the truth of this. I just can't.

"- Grandma... I don't want to lose you. I love you, stay with me." i sob.

She puts her forehead against mine and we cry together. Even if she cries like me, she keeps on her sweet smile, this smile that would always reassure me. That would always cheer me up and make me go on. It still does now. Even if it's hard. I will respect her wishes. I will try to live out of here. I will come see her and change her mind with my stories for as long as she stays here. I don't know what will happen to me after she's gone. But I will try it. Just for my mom and grandma.

"- My mind is good but my body fails me. I will always exist, I will always be with you. Like your mom is in this beautiful heart of yours." my grandmother reassures me.

"- Did you sign the papers miss?" the doctor comes into the room to say.

"- Don't you see my granddaughter and I are having a discussion? What do you think your mother would think of this young man?!" my grandma interrupts him. "She will give them to you, now leave her be." she adds.

Her response made me laugh. Her mind is still there and in good health. But her body isn't. Like my mom. Knowing that she will keep her character intact until her last breath makes me feel more at peace with all this.

"- Sorry ma'am." the doctor says embarrassed before walking out.

"- Don't let them piss you off. Silly little doctors who think they're better than you because they got a diploma." she rolls her eyes. "Know what you want and get it." she says.

I'm still crying. My head's a mess but I gather myself to sign those papers. Before I get out to hand the papers my grandma calls for me.

"- Darling, get home. Have yourself a peaceful afternoon. Get me my stuff tomorrow will ya? The nurses are very nice, they will take care of me." my grandmother asks me.

"- Are you sure?" i answer.

"- Yes my love. Come here so I can give you a kiss."

I walk toward my grandmother. She gives me a kiss on my forehead and hugs me tightly. Before she lets me out she whispers in my ear.

"- Would you get Stacy, Pamela and James to come here tomorrow sweetheart? I want to give them a word." she asks.

Stacy and Pamela I get but James? What does she want to tell him? It makes James even more important to me knowing that my grandmother thinks so highly of him. Even if I don't know how to ask James I will try. I don't know how he is gonna react.

"- Okay. I will. I can't promise anything for James. He is busy. I'll have to catch him before then."

"- I am sure you will, love." she smiles, hinting something.

She let go of me and I got out of the room holding tears in the corner of my eyes. Now, each time I will get out of this room I will not be able to know if this is the last time I see her. But I need to keep my head high and do what she asked me. Before heading out, I give back the papers to the doctor. I know James is coming back soon, I told him I would see him today but I don't know if I actually will. Deep within myself, I hope I will. I want him to tell me everything's okay. I want to open this pain of mine to him.

When I get home I lay down on the couch. I don't want to cry so I look at the ceiling with empty eyes while smoking a cigarette. This house is empty without her. I think about my future. My grandmother has lived a full life. She went for her passion, she travelled all around the world and met my grandpa, she had a kid, which she always wanted to have but she never put her work and passion aside. Do I want to travel? How to live off of your passion? Do I want kids? I don't know. My mom would tell me to stop thinking so much, she would say that I will see what will happen when it will happen. She is right. But I'm sure of only one thing right now: I will keep on living to make these two women who made me who I am proud. I just hate the fact that I am so alone in this. Putting my hand on my collar bone to touch the necklace I open my messages, hoping to see one of James, but nothing. He has seen my message. It's written he saw it. I think I'm gonna break down.

I hear a knock on the door and go up slowly to open it.

"- Coming!" i open the door.

"- Hey Anna." James expresses calmly.

"- Ja... James." i say, surprised.

"- Are you okay?" he asks me right away.

I didn't even answer him. I just threw myself into his arms. I hold him tightly by the chest. Maybe it's too much and he will reject me but I didn't think about it, I just needed to do it. James doesn't move, he doesn't do anything. I shouldn't have done that. I try to go back and stop hugging him but James holds me back immediately into his arms. One of his hands is holding tightly by the waist and the other is in the back of my head. My head rests against his chest and I can hear his heart ringing. It goes fast but peacefully. I'm pretty sure his music is not as beautiful as this sound. I can feel him trying to move around. He doesn't let me go but he makes me understand to take a step back so he can close the door behind him. That's better. It's more intimate and makes me feel more at ease. He doesn't say anything and just holds me without forcing me to talk.

"- My grandma. She has to stay in the hospital. She probably doesn't have long anymore." i say, very softly.

"- Oh Anna." James sight. "Everything's gonna be okay." he holds me tighter.

James lets me out of his arms just to hold me lightly. Looking at me, he studies me, trying to get how I react.

"- You are the most courageous woman I know. And I'm sure your grandmother is the first to think it. I know you will be okay. I know she will be okay. Wherever she goes. It's gonna be hard. I know. But your mind is strong and you will keep her in your heart, always."

"- Thank you James." i say, sweetly.

"- Hey." he says, putting his hand on my cheek. "I know that saying those words won't heal you or make anything better but I'm saying them to you to tell you I'm here." he smiles. "I'm here for you. If you want it and whenever you need it."

I look up to him and my eyes dive into his. How happy I am to have him around. Somehow, it makes my grief more peaceful. Because I shared it with him. Because he is here for me. I had very few people around me when my mom died. Apart from my grandmother, Stacy and Pamela. They all helped me with their presence. Having them around made me more tranquil but having James around I feel protected. I didn't know I needed to feel protected until today, but I do. I want to feel like I have a shield that's not made with my survival instinct. A shield that's made of comfort and hope and mostly a strong shield that you wouldn't dare to try and break. James is that. He is comforting, he gives me hope and he's strong enough to kick anybody's ass. I'm pretty sure, at the very least, his mind is strong, and so is he. And as long as he allows me around him, I will see him as such. James isn't only that for me, well, not the only thing I want him to be but that's still too complicated to say. I love the way he is here for me. I don't know if I'm courageous but I will try.

"- Let me get you something to drink, Anna." he says, looking for the kitchen.

I draw a mellow smile, letting out a small laugh.

"- Here James." i show, walking toward it.

As we walk into the kitchen I go and get two glasses out of the cupboard. When I try to reach for the bottle in the fridge James stops me.

"- Let me do it. Sit down and ease your mind." he presses.

I nod and sit down at the table. How sweet.

"- My grandmother... she wants to see you tomorrow." i remember.

"- I'll be there." he answers immediately. "She will kick my ass if I don't come so I'll be there." he then jokes.

I love the way he jokes around to make me cheer up. And it works like a charm because it does make me laugh. She will kick his ass tho. Tomorrow night, James is supposed to play live and I know it. Now, I don't know too much about the organisation of a metal concert but I'm pretty sure his day will be quite busy. Yet he accepted right away without any condition. While I'm getting lost in my thoughts James pours me a drink and gives me the glass.

"- Thank you." i smile.

James leans himself against the kitchen counter in front of me and locks his gaze on me. The kitchen is not very big, having him here, like this, makes it feel even more tiny. Not in an anxious way at all, in a tensful way. It's like the walls are shrinking because the room wants us close. I'd love to nestle myself into his arms and stay here for hours. Feeling his heartbeat, reminding me that I have to keep on and make mine beat as peacefully as his. But I can't. I won't dare trying. The quick hug I had from him minutes ago was so intense I can barely hold on. He made me feel better just with his arms, he made me forget for a brief amount of time about this day. Made me forget about her leaving me. James observes me, probably wondering what I am blabbering about in my head.

"- I saw the interview." i interrupt my own head saying.

"- Did you?" he smiles.

"- The one you did yesterday in San Francisco. It was on this morning at the pharmacy."

"- And what did you think about it?" he answers, keeping on his smile.

"- Well, I still don't get who's Lars and who's Robert but I recognised Kirk. See, I'm becoming a fan. I'm getting there." i silently laugh.

"- You'd be the best fan we've ever had." he smirks. "But I'm already jealous of Kirk so retard the moment you get to know the two others." he jests.

His dumb joke let out of me an honest laugh. I'm also a hundred percent sure I'm burning red. I know he isn't actually jealous, and that would be weird if he was, trust me, but hinting a certain attachment to me by making these kinds of jokes makes me feel so confused.

"- I loved the way you talked. I love the way you don't change from the James I know. Even if I don't know you much yet. You are so sure of yourself and you show it by using a serene tone, never by bragging or thinking you are better than the ones around you. I love that about you." i say, calmly, James keeping his gaze locked on me. "I don't know much about your music but you sounded so passionate. I'm also glad you said things we're doing okay for you. Truly." i conclude.

I think again about "the unexpected turn" he talked about earlier. I'd loved to know what he was precisely talking about. My heart tells me I am, but my reason tells me that I'm giving myself delusions. But yet, there's the necklace, the photo I have of him, all of this that I can't forget about.

James puts his glass aside next to him and straightens up from the counter. I see him slowly walk towards me. This must be about four steps but it feels like twenty. Sitting on my chair, he approaches me and puts two of his fingers under my chin.

His hand.

He lifts my head up so I can look at him. James is already so tall, looking at him from this perspective makes me feel so weak. I don't have a size kink. I swear. And I'm not even "petite"! He is just so much. So much of him. So much that I want. My hand immediately goes to his necklace around my neck. Our eyes connecting on each other's gaze.

"- You know that you are my "unexpected turn"? Right?" James states.

I take a heavy breath. I think my heart skipped a beat. James looks entranced by me. His eyes glimmer a different light. Something changed in the air. Something that feels like the whiff of his breath in my neck I felt the other day. My heart was right. He was talking about me. He sees me in his future. When he said he would be here for me he knew he wanted my heart. His determination is obvious. I can see it in his eyes. But I can see he is scared. I can see he doesn't know how I will react. I get to see a side of him that I would have never guessed about the first time I saw him. He is so beautiful.

So fucking beautiful.

Suddenly my head moves up slightly, desperately trying to reach him. James's head does move toward mine too and I feel his hand slide slowly in the back of my head, in between my hair, helping me to stand up, pulling me toward him. In between paths, him and I trying to reach each other our lips connect. He kisses my lips passionately, holding onto me like he is afraid I'd disappear. But I'm not going anywhere, I have never felt something like this. Lust, romance, whatever. Time stopped at the moment we connected. My hand goes in the back of his neck, trying to reassure him. Telling him, "I'm not going anywhere." His body straightens up and moves me so I can stand up. At this moment, our lips disconnect so we can take a breath, but those seconds must have felt like hours because we kissed again as soon as we took one breath like we are starving without each other. James pushes me against the counter behind me and I push his head even closer to me with my hand in the back of his head as a way of telling him to deepen the kiss. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I let his tongue dance with mine. Grabbing my waist he pushes me back even further and I hear him grunt before he sits me down on the counter. One of his hands stays on my waist and the other goes in the back of my neck.

This is the best thing I've ever felt. I wish time would stop and we could stay like this forever.

"- Last night." James says, in between kisses and out of breath. "I thought I was going crazy when I saw your picture." he kisses me deeply. "I understood. I knew I had to come to you. All the reasons I am so entranced by you I could see in this picture. I had to see you." he kisses me again. "I had to tell you. I wouldn't even have dared to think about kissing you but here I am."

"- James..." i whisper.

"- Here I was with my silly picture, thinking I would make you smile, thinking I could make your eyes bliss, before you sent me this and made all my effort go to waste." he pauses and smiles. "You are so talented and so goddamn beautiful." he adds, our eyes locked on each other's.

My mouth opens slightly to express how bewildered I am. "You are so talented and so goddamn beautiful." Nobody has ever told me that. Never. Even more with such passion and honesty. I am speechless. I want him. Everything. I don't even wait before throwing myself in his arms again, kissing and hugging him, giving him the opportunity of giving me a bear hug, that he takes instantly. Such a sudden act. An act that I wanted to do for longer than you can think. Just feeling his lips on mine is better than anything I have done thinking about him.

"- James... I... You..." i try to gather my words.

"- Shhh... It's all about you right now." James answer.

I don't know how to tell him everything. Everything he makes me feel. Everything I want him to do to me and everything I want him to be. He understands me so well and his answers make me even weaker than I already am. I smile and he kisses me again, my hands starting to play with the end of his shirt. I need him so much. I can hear him grunt as he slowly slides his tattooed hand under mine, grabbing my waist roughly, playing with my skin.

"- The neck-" i say, interrupted by the phone in my house that starts to ring. fuck it. "Fuck it..." i whisper.

James stopped kissing me as the phone started to chime but I take his head back to crash him back onto my lips. His hand is still playing with this little parcel of my skin, initiating an indescribable fire into me. He's my fuel, my fire, my desire.

The phone stops to ring but bips, letting the person on the other side of the line leave a message.

"- Hey Ann... It's Stacy... I know you've had a shitty day but I really need you there." i can hear her hesitate. "Well... something happened. I tried your phone but as always, you leave it on silent. If you hear this, just know I left my door unlocked, see you soon!" Stacy concludes.

Her tone is sad and struggling and I feel guilty not hearing my phone ringing. If she had to call on the house phone then she was really desperate. I can feel James's hand let go of my waist to put a messy strand of my hair behind my ear.

"- Go." James says. "She needs you."

"- Are you sure?" i ask.

"- What do you think? Your friend needs you. I don't even have a say in this." he smiles, kissing my lips quickly.

James is such a sweetheart. I don't want this moment to end. But my best friend needs me and I will be here for her. Smiling, I can see him trying to gather his words.

"- Listen Anna. I want to do things right. I want you, but I don't want you to think I just want to play with you." he suspends, studying my expressions. "Let me take you on a date. One date."

"- Yes James. Show me everything about you. Take me anywhere." i answer, my arms wrapped around his neck.

"- Then come to my gig tomorrow night, I want you to see me play. Then the rest of the evening is for you, all for you." he pauses. "I will never accept you not having what you deserve." he concludes, one arm around my waist, one hand playing with my hair. "You deserve a date, you deserve something that's done right."

I nod. Delighted by this news. My whole life is changing and at least I'm glad James is a part of my new world. I want to see him play, I want to have a nice evening with him. I want to know him more deeply. I love the way he talks to me, I can't believe he thinks so highly of me, I can't believe anybody would ever treat me as good as he does in my life. Just for that, I don't wanna let it go. I was afraid my age would be a problem for him, I was afraid it would just be me. But he takes it seriously. And if I didn't have enough proof I can just look at the fire in his eyes, I can just feel his heartbeat. His body and mind work together to show me how honest he is. My eyes glimmering, happy the universe sent him to me in this weird period of my life. "Thank you mom" I say to myself chuckling.

"- Let me drive you at Stacy's." James interrupts, still playing with my hair.

I nod, I don't feel like driving right now. As I'll probably stay over at Stacy's tonight and go to the hospital with her tomorrow, using my car is useless anyway. Having more time with James isn't. Going down the counter I follow James to his car.

The ride is peaceful because I spend it looking at his expressions while he drives and I give him the instructions as to where Stacy lives. When he notices it he lets out a laugh and gives me quick looks trying to stay focused on the road. As we arrive, I thank him and get out of the car. Before I could go, he gets out of the car and asks me to come here. As I get to him, I feel a breeze and hold my arms together. I left home without taking anything other than my bag and I forgot my jacket, even if the weather is hot, the breeze in the evening is still cold. I'll take one of Stacy's for tomorrow, it's okay.

"- Here, take that." James says, putting his leather jacket on my shoulders.

"- I can take one of Stacy's, it's okay James." i smile.

"- I don't care." he teasingly smiles. "You look so good when you wear my things." he adds, looking at the necklace.

"- Okay." i answer, burning red. 

His smell is impregnated on his jacket. I wish I could tease him back by giving him something with my smell on. Giving him my panties maybe is too much now but I would if I could easily take them out. I laugh at my dirty thoughts and I kiss his cheek as a thank you. Before I go James takes my wrist in his hand. This hand of course.

"- Send me a text before you go to sleep, just so I know you are okay and safe because if you don't, I'll come rescue you."

"- Don't tempt me, Mr. Hetfield." i conclude, walking towards Stacy's place.

I can't believe how well he treats me. I can't believe he made me actually feel good on a shitty day like this. I can't believe I will get to have that again tomorrow. I can't believe James is real.

࿓ 𓋪・𖧹 𖤐

A/N : i’m sorry it took me so long to write it, i got sick and all. hope you enjoy it because i loves writing it <33 just imagine living that with james aargh

[bitchinfawkseh]

Love Like Ghosts - Chapter Three

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Summary: After finally finding one another, they decide to leave the forest and Dottie goes into labour.

Word Count: 4733

[A/N] girls supporting girls <3

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They had no other choice but to follow this man, he mentioned Estelle by name and her occupation. That was no accident, and he was just one man. If they needed to kill him, they could. Ruth had her hand on the handle of her knife the entire time as they followed the man, and she watched him like a hawk for her sake and Dottie's. It seemed that he was patrolling the area for his group, that's what he said anyway – he also said that he fanned out further when he heard them talking. So it was Dottie's fault that they had been found. Ruth was silently cursing her for ever being born.

“My names Glenn by the way,” the man suddenly introduced out of the blue. “Estelle said that your guys' names are Dottie and Ruth, is that right?”

“Um, yeah.” Dottie answered reluctantly. This guy knew way too much to not know Estelle, unless he was some psychic or something. Glenn nodded and glanced back at them from over his shoulder briefly, “she mentioned you were pregnant – I'm glad I found you guys.”

“Uh-huh.” Dottie hummed out.

“How did you find Estelle?” Ruth asked with a raised brow, still a little reluctant to trust him. They were risking a lot by merely following him, might as well aleve some worries. Glenn sucked in a deep breath before answering: “Daryl found her – apparently she had stolen his game, offered to share it with him and now we're here.” Glenn explained. Ruthie's eyes widened and Dottie's eyebrows shot up, there was no doubt about it now. This guy definitely knew Estelle. The question was whether or not she was still alive. Alive and well was their hope, but alive would do just fine too.

Finally, a low crackling fire came into view and Glenn had shut off his flashlight and motioned for Dottie to put out her light as well. The little fire was enough, they didn't need anything seeing the light and coming to find them. People sat around the fire, and from what the girls could tell, there was a child and another pregnant woman. Though, Ruth wasn't too sure if the woman was pregnant or just fat. Glenn cleared his throat before speaking up: “I found them – Estelle's friends. They were wandering not too far, apparently following tracks.” Glenn glanced back at them before gesturing for them to come closer so the others could see them. Dottie reluctantly stepped forward, then Ruth rolled her eyes and marched forward as well. They searched through the circle of people, seeing nothing but unfamiliar faces until they noticed not too far off, Estelle was sitting alone by a tree. She hadn't seemed to notice Glenn, or that people were even talking in the first place. She seemed to be in her own little world, Dottie had seen Estelle get like that during complicated surgeries or when they had to resuscitate a patient. When the patient was a child or baby, it was a much more difficult situation to navigate.

Ruth clapped a hand over her mouth and blinked back some tears, her sister wasn't dead – she didn't kill her, she was alive. Alive and well, just like she had hoped. “Estelle.” She called out, her voice barely above a whisper. Of course, Estelle didn't hear her, so she paced towards her with Dottie right behind her and Ruth sniffled deeply. “Estelle!” She said, a little louder this time. Estelle's head shot up at the sound of Ruth's voice, her eyes blown wide and her lips parted as if she couldn't believe her ears. Her search with Daryl didn't leave her with much hope, so hearing them – seeing Dottie and Ruth alive – well, it almost brought her to tears. “Oh my God,” Estelle murmured as she climbed to her feet, she set a hand over her racing heart before sprinting over to the two of them to bring them into a tight hug. “You are okay!” Estelle gasped out as if she couldn't be more relieved. Ruth wrapped her arms around Estelle and buried her face in the crook of her neck, which was a little awkward considering she was five inches taller. It was more comfortable to hug Dottie honestly because she was around the same height as she is, but Ruth couldn't just not hug her sister after thinking she was dead.

After what felt like a couple minutes of hugging, they finally pulled away from one another, as if to make sure that what they were experiencing was real – that they were really together again. It was real, sure enough, and Estelle was over the moon with happiness. She tucked a strand of hair behind her hair and glanced back at the rest of the group, and she flushed with embarrassment when she realized they were all staring at her, everyone except for Daryl. He didn't give two shits and let them have their moment, Estelle appreciated this greatly. He kept to himself for the most part and minded his business, part of her thought that it was because he disliked her presence. She didn't blame him, they have only known each other for a little over two days – she barely knew him either, but – she wanted to know him. Getting to know Daryl was almost impossible though considering he ignored half of the things she said or replied with some snarky remark. Estelle guessed that he was only being cautious.

Estelle's lips thinned before she tore her gaze away from Daryl's backside, she looked to Glenn instead. She smiled sincerely and fiddled with her fingertips out of nervous habit. “Thank you, for finding them.” She said sincerely. Glenn sent her a lopsided grin and nodded once, he had no problem with it. He was just doing the right thing, they needed doctors, it was simple enough. If they help Estelle, they get help in return –it was a fair trade. “No problem…” He murmured before going to sit next to what Estelle thought was his girlfriend: Maggie. Everyone had seemed to go back to their own quiet conversations, some were asleep too having full bellies for once. Most of the group have accepted Estelle since she had gotten them a deer for food, and now Dottie and Ruth had to become accepted somehow. That would be easy for them however, Ruth was good at fishing, and Dottie was a damn nurse and wicked good with a gun. All would be okay.

That night, everyone slept while a few people swapped out on shifts to keep watch. Being in a group was a better idea – they wouldn't have a repeat of what happened nearly three days ago. The girl's were all huddled up next to each other on top of a tarp they had laid out, and Ruth was trying to sleep but she just couldn't. She was listening to Daryl and Rick whisper to one another about them intently like it was her job. She was curious about what they had to say, and she didn't care that she was eavesdropping. ‘Don't yap so loud then,’ is actually what she thought.

“That girl Dottie looks like she's abouta pop any day now.” Rick murmured. Daryl nodded once in agreement and looked back at the sleeping trio before at Rick again. “Gotta figure out a plan, keep tha’ baby quiet as possible.” He replied quietly. Ruth's brows furrowed and she sniffed once, she wondered what they meant by keeping the baby quiet. Maybe they meant killing it, but likely not as Rick's wife was pregnant too. It'd be simply inhumane to kill a baby. Ruth smirked a little bit and discreetly moved her hand to cover her mouth so they wouldn't be able to tell if they looked this way again. She found whenever she was trying to pretend to sleep, she struggled to not grin or laugh. Rick's eyes narrowed slightly and he set his hands on his hips, “that Estelle girl has proven herself I think,” he said, “got that deer for us and all, she also checked up on Lori and Carl.” Rick added. Daryl sighed once through his nose and scratched at the back of his head before dropping his arm to his side. “Guess so,” was all Daryl replied with, “still a damn danger though, saw her take down that deer myself – ain't nothin’ heard her.”

“I doubt she'll do anythin’ to harm us, she's worried about Dottie and her baby.”

Daryl only grunted in response, which Ruth guessed was an agreement by the sound of it. She wondered why this man insisted on not using his words to communicate.

“We should try to find somewhere temporary to stay for Dottie to give birth, and for us to stay until she's ready to walk.” Rick added quietly. They were right about that at least, Ruth reluctantly had to agree. Maybe a little cabin or house, even a few cars would be sufficient. Anywhere that was safe for a baby and a new mom. “Tomorrow.” Daryl said. “Tomorrow we'll find a place.”

“Yeah… we should get goin’ by dawn.” He replied. Daryl nodded before letting out a quiet sigh, they haven't been able to find anywhere sustainable to stay. It was getting tiring constantly being on the move. “Yeah,” he breathed, “ya get some sleep, I'll wake ya in a couple hours to swap out.”

“Thanks, man.”

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Morning came by sooner than Ruthie had hoped, because she was listening to Daryl and Rick talk, she had barely gotten any sleep. It wasn't like she could sleep anyway though, but she likely could have gotten a little more if she wasn't so focused on those ‘men.’

She yawned and rubbed her eyes as tears welled in them, paying no attention to how Estelle stared at her with a confused look and furrowed brows. Estelle sighed before shaking her head in disapproval, it was obvious Ruth didn't get much sleep – she knew her well enough to know that. She rolled up the tarp that they had laid out the night before to sleep on and stuck it into her bag. Following everyone else's que of course, everyone was packing up what little belongings they had so they could start moving. Estelle had been conversing with Lori some, just mostly about her pregnancy and what she has been doing so far. Estelle had to make sure that she knew all about Lori's pregnancy like the back of her hand. They couldn't have any mishaps happening in the future after all.

Dottie who was standing near a tree was rubbing her stomach in slow circles, breathing in and exhaling heavily. Whatever would help her not focus on the pain – Braxton hicks were the worst. She's had them a couple of times before earlier on, but never this bad. It damn near felt like something was scrapping at her insides with a butter knife. Dottie screwed her eyes shut and raised her chin to the sky as if praying to God for Him to make the pain stop. To Dottie's surprise, it did for the time being. ‘Maybe He is real after all…’ She thought with a snort. In reality, if God was real, He wouldn't have let the world get like this.

“Uh, hey – Dottie, right?” A man's voice asked. Dottie's eyes snapped open and she looked to the man almost immediately, it was none other than Elias – but she only knew his name. Nothing else about him. Her brows knitted together and she wrinkled her nose as she nodded. “Mhmmm…” She hummed out.

Elias gestured towards himself, “I'm, uh, Elias. Elias Dellen.” He introduced. She rolled her eyes and scoffed, still rubbing her stomach in small circles near her belly button. “Uh, yeah. I know. I ain't stupid.”

“I didn't say–”

“It was a joke.” She deadpanned.

“Oh,” Elias breathed out before letting out a nervous chuckle. He scratched at the back of his neck for a moment and then dropped his arm to his side. “So, uh, you're pregnant.” He said. Dottie rolled her eyes again, was this boy being serious? She grinned chastisingly, “wonderful observation.”

“Right – are you excited to be a mom?”

“No duh. Would've stuck a hanger up there if I wasn't.”

Now there was an uncomfortable silence between the two of them as Elias didn't quite understand Dottie's love for dark humour yet. In fact, he found it a little strange and part of him thought she was being serious. Elias let out a shaky breath and scratched at the back of his neck again, he had no idea what to say to her now. It seemed like she didn't really want to talk to him, but he wasn't sure considering all of her ‘jokes.’ Dottie let out a sharp gasp and clutched her stomach, quickly bowing her head as if to focus on something. Elias’ brows furrowed in confusion and he swallowed hard, he glanced around before back at her. He was a little concerned by her sudden act, especially because she was pregnant. Dottie pursed her lips together and took in a slow and deep breath, trying to focus on anything but the pain she was experiencing right now. These Braxton hicks were kicking her ass right now.

The pain finally disappeared in little waves, giving her relief for the time being. Dottie sighed contentedly before cracking her eyes open, then she noticed that Elias was staring at her with a look she couldn't quite discern. Dottie's nose scrunched up and she looked him up and down with judgement in her eyes. “The fuck are ya lookin’ at?” She hissed. Elias flushed and quickly turned his head in the opposite direction, slightly embarrassed that she had caught him staring. “Nothing.” He replied quietly. Her eyes narrowed and her lips thinned into a straight line, she knew it wasn't nothing. He was concerned for her. She found it a little amusing. “It's ‘cause the baby is ripping my insides up. Turned into a walker an’ all from the womb.” She grinned cruelly at her own joke. “Mommy walker and baby walker.” Dottie then let out a high pitched laugh, she couldn't resist not laughing anymore – to which Elias awkwardly laughed with her, unsure of what to do or say.

Dottie swiped her thumbs under her eyes to wipe away some tears that had formed from her laughing fit and let out a heavy sigh. She thought that she was awfully hilarious, and she didn't believe anyone who didn't think the same. “Oh, wow,” she giggled again, “I am fuckin’ funny.”

“Yeah…” Elias trailed off before nodding once. He didn't want to disagree with a pregnant woman who joked about having a dead baby… Dottie's face lit up when he agreed with her, not that she'd believe him if he said no – but she liked that he said yes. Then, she smirked and looked him up and down again, less judgement this time. “I like you,” she said, “you're a fuckin’ nerd, but I like ya.”

“Uh, thanks?” He replied.

Dottie patted his arm, “no problem, nerd.”

“Dottie!” Estelle called out just loud enough for her to hear, but no walkers. Unfortunately, nowadays they have to be careful with being too loud or even flocking too much attention towards them. Dottie jerked her head towards the general direction of Estelle’s voice and raised her eyebrows in slight interest. “What?!” She called back.

“Can you come take Lori’s blood pressure? I gotta, um…” Her voice grew quiet and she flushed with slight embarrassment. But, having spent so many years working with Estelle, she knew that she likely had to go take a piss – not use the restroom because they were in the middle of the damn woods, but piss. Dottie sighed before she sent her a single nod, it’s not likely that Estelle even remembered how to check someone’s blood pressure – nurses usually did that, not surgeons. Their job was to cut people open, fix whatever was the problem, and to sew them back up. Nurses were responsible for the rest. “Yup, be there in a minute.” Dottie replied.

“Okay! Then take your own, okay? Wanna see how that baby is doing.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Dottie said with an eye roll. She glanced up at Elias, and her lips thinned for a moment before she grinned. “See you around, nerd.”

“See you…” Elias breathed out. This Dottie woman sure had a personality, he found himself wondering if she had always been like this – even at work when she was a nurse. But, part of him couldn’t help but feel drawn to her, she was interesting: like a puzzle begging to be solved. Elias wanted to figure her out, however long it took.

Dottie sauntered over to Lori who stood by one of the many trees that surrounded them in the clearing and worked the arm piece onto her upper arm. “Don't move,” Dottie said, “won't read properly if you do.”

“I know,” Lori replied, “not my first pregnancy.”

“Ah, sorry, it's jus’ habit.” She sighed. Dottie squeezed the small rubber pump a few times, watching the little dial carefully as the arm piece inflated. As per her request, Lori didn't move – she didn't talk either: she was a pro at this. “One ten over seventy, great.” Dottie smiled faintly before taking the blood pressure reader off of her. Lori muttered a quiet thanks and tugged the sleeve of her blue flannel down again. She tucked a strand of chestnut brown hair behind her ear and studied Dottie for a second. “Your first baby?” She asked gently. Dottie nodded and pursed her lips together, first baby, but not first time being pregnant. She was a bit of a whore in her teen years and her twenties. “Yeah, got any tips for me?” Dottie sighed.

“Just do your best,” Lori smiled kindly, “that's all you can really do.”

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Having finally made their way out of the forest by noon, they now walked down what used to be a highway on the outskirts of the woods. Estelle was too focused on her conversation with Hershel to notice that Dottie seemed to have waves of pain that would come and go. Labour, not Braxton hicks. Labour.

Estelle smiled and squinted hard as the clouds parted and the sun glared into her eyes. Sometimes she hated having such light grey eyes – they were a pain in any kind of weather. She practically hated snowy weather, which is why she moved back to Georgia from her birth place: Ireland. “You were a veterinarian? Did you work on pets or farm animals?” She asked as Hershel had mentioned living on a farm previously.

“It varied.” He answered with a smile. Hershel was just as interested in Estelle as she was him, so he asked her: “Are you the only doctor in your family?”

Estelle shook her head, “no,” she replied, “my daddy was a cardio surgeon, and his dad was a neurosurgeon. My brother Elliott was a neurosurgeon too.”

“Wow,” he chuckled, “your family is full of ‘em.”

She laughed along with him weakly, “oh, yup! Us Hickey's make excellent surgeons.”

“Did you enjoy doing surgery?”

“I loved it. I miss it quite a bit.”

A murder of crows cawed and soared above the group, catching the attention of almost everyone except for Dottie and Elias. Dottie sucked in a sharp breath and clutched her stomach painfully, bowing her head as that familiar feeling of death crawled through her. Elias, who was obviously quite concerned, hesitantly set a hand on her back in an attempt to comfort her and leaned down to peer at her face. “Um, are you sure it's not labour?” He asked quietly yet hoarsely. He didn't know what to do when a pregnant woman was in labour – especially if he just met her. Elias didn't know what Dottie needed or what she was comfortable with. Dottie grit her teeth and let out a tiny pained noise that only he could hear, “yes–” then another shooting pain hit her, “no! I ain't sure!” She cried out. Elias’ eyes widened and his nostrils flared as he took in a deep and shocked breath. He wondered how she couldn't be sure about whether or not she was in labour – but he would never question a pregnant woman on that. He knew enough about women from his sisters to do that.

Ruth walked a little up ahead from the group, mostly because she didn't want to talk to anyone and she wanted to be alone in her thoughts for once. Other people were close enough that if something attacked her they'd be able to help, Ruth wasn't worried. She grinned to herself as she thought: ‘Plus, I get first dibs to shank whatever may be up this hill.’ Ruth quite liked stabbing things… even before, she'd fill bags with sand and grass and stab them just for the fun of it.

As she made it to the top of the hill, she skidded to a stop, her boots scraping against the asphalt road. Just up ahead there was a huge moving truck – it was the perfect size to hold all of them (if there wasn't any furniture in it, of course.) Ruth's eyes widened and she quickly glanced back over her shoulder at the rest of the group. “There's a moving truck up here! Pre’ big.” She announced. Daryl's gaze darted up from the road to her in an instant and he and Rick both jogged up to meet her. Sure enough, there was a moving truck. These sorts of things always had the keys in them too – they hoped that it was still there anyway. This was exactly what they were looking for too, it was like fate (or too good to be true in most people's eyes.) “That's perfect.” Rick breathed out.

“Mmm, yeah.” Daryl hummed out in agreement. Suddenly, Dottie let out a loud gasp of pain and just then, a massive herd of walkers stumbled out of the trees; heading right for them, and Dottie let out another pained noise which finally caught the attention of Estelle. She knew right away that Dottie was in labour.

Estelle raced over to Dottie and Elias while everyone else went for the moving truck. “Dottie!” She called out, desperation in her voice. She grasped her arms and attempted to pull her forward, but Dottie wouldn't budge. She was simply in too much pain, she didn't think labour and childbirth was this bad. A walker swiped at Elias, and thankfully he dodged it before plunging a knife into the top of its head. “Okay, come on, Dottie.” Estelle started gently, “come on, we have to move. You can walk.”

“I can't!” She cried, “it hurts!”

“I know, but you have to, come on.”

“No!” Dottie sobbed, shaking her head. Actually, her entire body was shaking like a leaf – Estelle was wondering if the baby was coming sooner than they thought. Maybe it was the ring of fire she was experiencing right now – or worse: she was crowning. She glanced up at Elias, her eyes blown wide with fear. “Keep those things away from us – please. I need to get her somewhere safe.”

Elias nodded, “yeah – yeah, don't worry about it. I got your back.”

Estelle wiped one of her hands on the skirt of her dress and slowly backed up, encouraging Dottie to walk with her. “Here, can I feel down there? See where you're at?” She asked. Dottie weakly nodded and took a few staggered steps forward as Estelle dipped her hand into her pants and carefully felt at her vagina. When the tips of her fingers brushed against the top of a head full of hair, she jerked her hand back. Dottie was crowning; this baby was coming whether they liked it or not. Estelle swallowed hard and smoothed Dottie's curly hair back from her forehead, “okay, Dottie? I felt the head, we are really gonna have to start walking now – okay?”

“Oh fuck! The head!” She gasped out. “I can't have this damn kid now – I –”

“They're waiting to meet their momma, you gotta move, mhm? You can do this, you're strong.”

“No, I ain't!”

Daryl stood at the top of the hill and flagged them over, “come on!” He yelled gruffly. Estelle jerked her head back, the panic on her face was clear as day. She needed help – she couldn't carry Dottie and Elias was making sure none of the walkers got to them. He was doing quite well at it too. “She's about to give birth! I felt the head! She can't walk!” Estelle yelled back as tears brimmed in her eyes. She didn't want to die, but she also didn't want to leave Dottie to die either. Daryl's lips thinned and he looked over his shoulder briefly before jogging down to meet them. With ease, he scooped Dottie up and carried her like a bride and ran up the hill, hoping that Estelle and Elias would follow. “Elias! C'mon!” He yelled as Dottie let out another pained cry. Yet another contraction, and she had the urge to push.

Daryl carried Dottie into the back part of the moving truck with ease, immediately barking out an order which was to lay out one of the tarps that the girls had. Estelle and Elias narrowly avoided some walkers that swiped at them, hopping into the back of the truck just as Rick yanked the metal door down. The walkers that had seen Estelle and Elias pounded at the door and scratched at it, desperate for any sort of meal. But, they were safe enough – and there were more pressing matters at hand. Dottie was about to give birth.

Ruth smoothed out the blue tarp onto the floor, quickly ducking out of the way so Daryl could lay Dottie down onto the tarp. The women circled around her, and it was a source of comfort to Dottie. She felt supported, cared for… less scared. Dottie sucked in a sharp breath and briefly nodded her head in Maggie's direction. “I don' want ‘em to look at me–” She panted out. “The men.” Dottie gasped. Maggie nodded once, “I'll make sure they don't look at ya, jus’ focus on you and the baby.”

Dottie shook her head frantically, “okay, okay.”

Estelle bent down between Dottie's legs and popped off the elastic band that held the button of her jeans shut. She didn't fit into them anymore and they couldn't find any maternity pants, so they had to improvise. “May I take off your pants?” Estelle asked the new mom gently. She nodded and her brows furrowed together as another wave of pain swept over her. “Fuckin’ hurry your ass up! I gotta push!” She groaned out.

“Okay, okay,” Estelle nodded as she tugged her jeans down to her ankles. All of the men had turned away thankfully, giving Dottie the privacy she deserved – birth could be an uncomfortable experience – plus, it wasn't like they wanted to look anyway.

“Ruth, get the kit ready and sanitize the tools with the vodka,” Estelle ordered as she pulled on some latex gloves she got from her bag. They had a lot of time to find these supplies that would help with sanitation, and Estelle knew what they needed so they were quite prepared. “And someone hold her hand! A woman preferably.” She added. Lori and Maggie each took either of her hands, giving them a tight reassuring squeeze. Lori knew the fear she must be experiencing right now, the uncertainty of being a new mother – the fear that you won't be good. She felt all of that before she had Carl. Estelle positioned her hands around the top of the head that poked out and looked up to meet Dottie's fearful eyes. “Push when you feel the urge, okay? Baby can't wait to meet you.”

“I haveta now!”

“Push then!”

And so, Dottie squeezed the women's hands and pushed hard. She pushed and pushed with all the strength she had in her – she needed to make sure her baby lived. Her baby. As a tiny cry erupted into the air, she knew her baby was alive. She was a mommy. Dottie's eyes fluttered shut and she slumped back, slipping into a vast world of unconsciousness.

[thevengajo3s]

"Baby, I'm sorry."

The one where popular!reader asks Eddie to prom and he thinks she's joking so harshly rejected her until he realizes she wasn't joking and finds his own way to make it up to her.

"Look Y/n are you sure you want to do this, Eddie doesn't really do pro-" Mike starts but Dustin cuts him off by elbowing him.

"It'll go great. Eddie so obviously has a crush on you just go for it" Dustin says with a reassuring smile.

You look down at your shoes, flowers, chocolate, and a teddy bear in your hands. You knew it was cliche and it was normally men who did this for women but when you saw the teddy bear with a Metallica shirt on the shelf, you just knew you had to get it for him. You never really spoke to Eddie but you observed him a lot, and you knew quite a lot about him. So when you saw the teddy bear, you were even more excited to ask him.

"Wish me luck.." you exhaled a slow breath and looked over at Eddie, who seemed to be sitting on his own waiting for hellfire to come over with their lunch. You hesitated but slowly walked over, flowers and teddy bear in hand, chocolate in your bag.

"H-hey, I'm Y/n. I don't know if you know me."

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

Oh, he knew you. He sure as sugar knew you.

It wasn't as if Eddie had the biggest crush on you ever or anything... definitely not.

Eddie was really confused when you began your way over to the table, I mean, why wouldn't he be? A pretty and popular cheerleader walking towards the freaks table?

"Uh- no no I don't know you" lie number one. He knew almost everything about you, he knew your favorite food was chicken wings with barbeque sauce but a specific barbeque sauce because you thought others didn't 'mix' right with chicken wings, he knew your favorite album of all time was 'Like A Virgin' by Madonna. He even knew your favorite perfume was Tiffany Eau De Parfum for god's sake and he'd never even spoken to you in his life!

"Oh... well uh- I- just came over to ask if you maybe, wanted to go to prom with me?" You sighed shakily, "I even got you a teddy with a Metallica shirt on because I know you love them" You smiled slightly and handed him the bear and flowers and reached to get the chocolate out of your bag but you were cut off by his voice.

"You really think I'm going to fall for this little joke of yours? Jason's watching by the way... I hope you get a good laugh, well you won't. I'm not falling for it. Not this time." He says bluntly.

"Eddie- it's not a joke- I-" Your mouth went dry.

"Just go away Y/n! I don't want to go to prom with you!" He raised his voice, loud and clear. Lie number two. He'd absolutely kill to go to prom with you.

"I'm sorry." You say, merely above a whisper, voice breaking slightly as tears welled in your eyes. You walk fast, out of the cafeteria, leaving your gifts for him on the table.

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

Eddies' heart melted when he saw that teddy bear, it really did, he could only wish it wasn't some joke that Jason and his gang put you up to. He felt horrible for being so harsh but he wasn't going to get made a fool out of, not today.

That's when Mike and Dustin appeared, "So, how'd it go?" Dustin says excitedly.

"How'd what go? Oh, get this. Y/n fucking L/n comes up to me and asks me to the fucking prom. As if I'm falling for that shit." Eddie scoffs, chewing on a pretzel.

Dustin's eyes widen at this, "E-Eddie what do you mean you're not falling for it?"

Eddie shrugs, as if its obvious, "I mean come on, Jason and his little gang obviously put her up to it to make a fool out of me."

This is where Dustin starts to panic, "Eddie, no no no, we put her up to it because she actually likes you!"

"Don't fuck with me like that Henderson, not funny." Eddie throws a salted pretzel at him and scoffs.

Dustin flinches slightly and dodges the pretzel, "Eddie I'm not fucking with you... she likes you, a lot."

Eddie freezes at the serious tone in Dustin's voice, "no.. no"

Dustin corrects him, "YES, now go after her!"

Eddie panics and stands up quickly, "Ah, shit" he tells Dustin to keep his gifts from you safe and runs to go find you.

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

You began crying as soon as you sat down in the woods, why did he shout at you like that? Why did he not believe you? You'd liked him since he did the school talent show in freshman year, and now he shouts in your face when you ask him out? Great going Y/n.

You'd been sitting there with red puffy eyes, and tear-soaked sleeves for what felt like hours when you hear a branch snap behind you, someone was coming, when you saw the mop of curls you instantly stood up.

Your throat suddenly felt dry again, "I'm- so sorry, I didn't know you'd be here, I'll go-"

"I don't want you to go.." Eddie admits quietly

You feel slight anger inside you, he treats you like shit and then says he doesn't want you to go, "What?"

"Just.. sit down with me, please?" He pleads and looks at you.

"Fine." You sigh and sit opposite him on the bench, "What do you want?"

He gulps, "I lied. I do know you."

"Wow!" You say sarcastically, "Helps!"

"No- I mean... I thought.. I thought you were mocking me, didn't know you were serious." He admits.

"Well, I was. Very serious" You glare at him.

He looks down at his hands and plays with his rings. Is he.. nervous? You furrowed your brows, clearly confused.

"I was wondering.. if you could maybe, forgive me? A-and maybe.. if the offers still up- take me to prom?" He looks at you with his brown doe eye, "I really love the teddy by the way.."

Your heart clenched at his vulnerability, and you find it hard to deny.

"Yes. Eddie I will take you to prom." You smile

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

His heart burst to see your beautiful smile back on your face, proud of himself that he was the one to make you smile. Also proud that you, of all people, are taking him to the prom.

There's silence in the air for a minute or two but then Eddie works up the courage to say, "I would kiss you right now but I haven't kissed anyone before and I don't really know how.." He gulps nervously.

You smile, "I can teach you if you like?"

Holy.

Fucking.

Shit.

You, Y/n L/n, offering to kiss him?

"YES!" he blurts out, "I mean- yeah cool"

You smile and hold his face and he quickly moves away nervously, he does this a couple more times before you just grab his face and pull him into a deep kiss. He swears he's died and gone to heaven.

You pull away and smile and he whimpers at the loss of contact.

He slowly looks down and his eyes widened. His first fucking kiss and he popped a hard-on.

"Eddie-" You laugh.

"I know! Shut up!" He flushes a bright shade of red.

"Okay Okay!" You smile and kiss his cheek, "So I'll uh, see you around then?"

He looks at you, "Oh yeah- see you around."

You stand up, "Bye" You smile and walk away.

"Bye" You hear him say behind you as you walk.

You turn around to get one last look at him before you go and he pumping his fist in the air triumphantly.

"I CAN STILL SEE YOU EDS" You shout and laugh.

He chuckles slightly embarrassed but smiles.

What a successful day for two teenagers.

[atomicladytimetravel]

How I Met Your (Step) Mother

Chapter Three: Flashbacks

Summary: We take a trip back to the 80s to see how things started for the trio.

Word Count: 2,895

Chapter Two

Monday August 22nd, 1983

It was the first day of freshman year and Tommy was nervous. His leg bounced subconsciously as he sat waiting for the day to start. His older brother had tried to calm his nerves on the drive over, telling him that high school is no big deal and it’s not exactly how it’s portrayed on after school specials.

He glanced over when he noticed a girl he didn’t recognize sit next to him. She was very pretty. She wore a Metallica t-shirt and ripped jeans, worn black Chuck Taylors on her feet. He had been going to school with the same people since elementary school and he knew most of the people surrounding him in his home room, but he’d never seen her before.

“Hey,” he said. When she turned to look at him, he continued, “I’m Tommy. I’ve never seen you before.”

“My family just moved from Dallas,” she responded. She went back to staring at the board ahead of her.

“You got a name?” Tommy prodded. She gave him her name without looking back at him.

“Pretty name,” he said, giving her a half smile.

“Thanks, my mom gave it to me,” she deadpanned. Tommy laughed. The tiniest grin tugged at the corner her mouth. She decided he might be okay.

—————————

It didn’t take long for the two of them to begin dating. He brought her home after school one day and introduced her to his parents and older brother. Joel was as good looking as Tommy was. He was the reason Tommy broke up with her the first time.

In the second semester of freshman year, she and Joel had home economics together. He was the only other person in the class she had ever really spoken to, so she sat next to him. They talked during class and realized they have a lot in common. She laughed at his jokes and when they left class, he held the door for her.

She found Tommy in their usual spot at lunch. She attempted to kiss his cheek but he turned away. She frowned.

“What’s up?”

“Heard you were having a pretty good time with Joel,” he spat.

“What are you talking about Tommy?”

“In home ec? I heard y’all were getting pretty cozy,” he explained angrily.

“Oh my god.” She rolled her eyes. “He was the only person in class I knew so I talked to him.”

“From what I heard it was a little more than that,” he said.

“What, are you spying on me? All I did was laugh at something he said and he held the door for me when we left class. You’re acting like I fucked him in the floor or something. Jesus.”

“Well if he’s so fucking funny, you can go out with him then. I’m done.” He picked up his lunch and stomped away from her.

“Tommy, wait!” she called after him, but he ignored her. She stood there, stunned, until she felt tears prickling at the corner of her eyes. She made it to the bathroom before she let them fall. Unfortunately for her, Joel’s locker was right across from the bathroom and he saw her emerge, eyes puffy and red. He rushed over to see what was wrong.

“What did he do?”

“He broke up with me because someone told him you and I were getting too friendly in home ec,” she told him honestly. “He wouldn’t listen when I told him it was nothing.”

Joel was taken aback. Had he been subconsciously flirting with her? She was pretty, but she was his brother’s girlfriend - and a freshman for fuck’s sake.

“Oh fuck…I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to start anything,” he said. “I’ll talk to him, maybe I can fix it.”

“It’s not your fault, I’m the one that sat next to you. You would think it would be good that we get along but I guess not.”

She was sulking in her room when the phone rang. She ignored it, thinking it would be for her mom or dad. Her mom called up the stairs that it was for her. She rolled over and picked up the receiver from the phone on her nightstand.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Hey…,” Tommy’s voice came through, sheepish and apologetic.

“What?” she huffed.

“I’m sorry. Joel told me what happened and said if I ever made you cry again he would kick my ass,” he said.

“You should’ve believed me when I told you there was nothing going on,” she pointed out. “You have to trust me. Yeah, me and Joel get along but that’s about it.”

“I know, I’m an idiot,” he sighed. She smiled.

“You’re forgiven,” she giggled.

Friday September 14th, 1984

“Tommy Miller, you unbelievable asshole!”

They were at a party they most definitely shouldn’t have been attending. Most of the kids were seniors, but a few underclassmen had been invited. Tommy had gotten drunk for the first time and she had just found him in someone’s bedroom with Tiffany Anderson, a cheerleader who was always subtly flirting with Tommy.

She slammed the door and ran downstairs to find a phone. She couldn’t call her parents, so she called her only other friend not at this party - Joel. She breathed a sigh of relief when he answered instead of one of his parents.

“Joel, can you come get me?” she sobbed into the receiver. His stomach dropped.

“What’s wrong? Where’s Tommy?”

“I found him in a bedroom with Tiffany Anderson.”

“I’ll kill him,” Joel growled. She heard Tommy calling for her.

“Just hurry, he’s looking for me and I don’t want to talk to him.”

“Okay. Wait outside, I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

She managed to avoid Tommy until Joel pulled up to the curb where she was standing. She flung open the door and slid into the seat before a fresh bout of tears overcame her.

“You been drinkin’?” he asked.

“No, but he was,” she said through her tears. “He got really drunk.”

“Great,” Joel grumbled. That meant after he dropped her off, he’d be going back for Tommy. “Tell me what happened.”

“I was talking to some people when one of the girls grabbed my arm and said she’d just seen Tommy go upstairs with Tiffany. I went up there and found them kissing and her shirt was off.” It took her a few minutes to get the whole story out between sobs. Joel felt bad for her and hated seeing her cry. He patted her on the knee gently.

“I’m sorry he did that. I guess I’m gonna have to kick his ass now.”

She thought back to the promise he made last year if Tommy made her cry again. Despite how hurt and angry she was feeling, her heart fluttered a little at the realization he cared enough about her to remember that.

When he circled back to the party, Tommy was already waiting for him outside.

“You’re gonna kill me, right?” he slurred when he opened the passenger door.

“Somethin’ like that, yeah. Get in, you little jerk.”

Instead of roughing him up, Joel did the next worst thing a brother could do - he ratted him out to their parents. Tommy was grounded for a week for going to the party and two more for cheating on his girlfriend. The Millers weren’t raising playboys.

Saturday March 23, 1985

It took six months for her to even entertain the idea of talking to Tommy again. She talked to Joel every day, the pair having become good friends since the incident. That bothered Tommy to no end.

“You know it’s not cool that you still talk to her and she won’t talk to me,” he complained over breakfast one Saturday morning.

“Get over it. I ain’t gonna stop being her friend because you couldn’t control your hormones. You really hurt her. Don’t you think it would hurt her feelings even more if I took your side when you were clearly in the wrong? Have you even tried to apologize?”

Tommy looked down into his bowl of cereal and mumbled a defeated, “no.” He knew Joel was right. He called her house and to his surprise, she agreed to talk to him. He apologized a hundred times, telling her he had been so drunk that he doesn’t even remember doing anything with Tiffany, or how he got home.

“I miss you,” he told her earnestly. “Can we meet somewhere?”

She was quiet for a few moments. She missed Tommy, too. She believed he was sincere, although she was pretty sure Joel was the catalyst for the conversation. He was always the voice of reason among the three of them. There was a tiny part of her, shoved away in the recesses of her mind, that wished she could be with him. The older Miller was more mature and they had a lot more in common. She was in denial about her feelings for him and he was seeing someone anyway.

“You still there?” Tommy asked tentatively.

“Sorry, I was just thinking. Yeah, we can meet somewhere.”

Friday May 8th, 1987

“Why don’t you just fucking admit you’re in love with him?” Tommy shouted.

“Tommy, I’m not in love with Joel. I love you, would you please stop?”

It was true, she had shaken any feelings she thought she had for Joel. She focused on her relationship with Tommy after they got back together near the end of sophomore year. Things went great for a solid year - until Stephanie came along that is. When Joel suggested a double date, she had been excited to meet the girl he talked constantly about, but she wasn’t worth the hype he gave her. She mostly ignored Peach and Tommy in favor of kissing and touching Joel whenever she could. It made Peach want to vomit. When she did talk, she was condescending and rude. Peach was mad at Joel by the end of the night for even entertaining this woman. This triggered the argument between her and Tommy.

“Please, you seethed the entire time we were at the restaurant with them,” he argued.

“Yeah, because she was a huge bitch. She acted like we were fucking toddlers because we’re still in high school. If we’d closed our eyes for a few seconds, she probably would’ve fucked him at the table,” Peach countered.

“Stephanie’s only half of the problem. Jealousy is the other half.”

Peach put her head in her hands, frustrated that the conversation was getting nowhere.

“Maybe we’re just supposed to be friends,” she sighed. “I can’t keep breaking up and getting back together with you. If you leave me over this, then I’m done. I don’t know how to convince you that I’m not in love with your brother.”

“You can’t,” Tommy said sadly. “I can see it. It always been Joel for you, Peach. I just couldn’t see it til now.”

“Tommy please, that’s not true.” Her voice broke and a cascade of tears flowed down her cheeks. “I love you Tommy.”

“Maybe so,” he shrugged. “But I don’t think you love me as much as you love him.”

He didn’t give her a chance to respond. He stormed out of her house and left her sobbing in her room - only this time Joel couldn’t pick up the pieces.

When Joel asked her what happened, she told him it was too upsetting to talk about and he didn’t push her. He couldn’t console her like he wanted to - not without Stephanie losing her shit. She didn’t like Peach but put up with her because Joel was adamant about being her friend. Stephanie ultimately ended up getting her way, though, because Joel hung out with Peach less and less. She lost her boyfriend and her best friend in one fell swoop.

Saturday June 6th, 1987

For the first time in weeks, Joel approached Peach and gave her a big hug. He’d had to elbow his way through the throng of fresh high school graduates to see her.

“Congratulations, grad,” he beamed. Peach saw Stephanie scowling over his shoulder and Tommy was glaring at her from across the auditorium. She fought the tears that were coming and gave Joel her best fake smile. He saw right through it, of course, and his face fell.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “He’s an ass. He - he told me what happened.”

“For fuck’s sake,” she groaned. “I’m not in love with you, okay? He’s always thought we had something but it’s in his head and I can’t make him see any differently.”

“I know, I know. It’s okay,” he soothed. “Hey, it’s your big day and I see your folks lookin’ for ya right now. Go enjoy yourself, okay Peach? Promise me?”

She gave him a weak smile. “Okay. Promise.”

Saturday July 4, 1987

Peach walked through the back gate of her friend Julie’s house. Her family always had a huge barbecue on the fourth and Julie was allowed to invite whoever she wanted. They were filthy rich. Joel spotted her coming in and called out to her; she found him sitting alone at a picnic table, smoking a joint. Julie’s parents were very liberal. He offered it to her as she sat across from him.

“What would Saint Stephanie say?” she teased before taking a drag.

“She ain’t gonna find out,” he replied.

“Where is she, anyway?” She passed the joint back to him.

“This ain’t really her scene. She’s doing something with her folks.” He took a drag off the joint and passed it back.

“How are you doing since…you know?” he asked. Just when he asked that, Tommy walked through the back gate, Tiffany Anderson clinging to his arm.

“Well, I was doing a lot better until he just walked in with Tiffany.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Joel sighed. “He’s so stupid.”

Peach made to get up, but Joel stopped her.

“Don’t leave. He just wins that way. Besides, we ain’t talked in weeks.”

“Fine,” she agreed. Tommy approached them with Tiffany in tow.

“Peach, you know Tiffany,” he said smugly.

“Yeah, it’s really nice to see you with your shirt on Tiff,” Peach quipped with a fake smile. “And Tommy, at least you broke up with me before whoring around this time. I call that character development.”

Tommy scowled at her, his plan obviously failing. He grabbed Tiffany’s arm and left without another word. Joel shook his head.

“Idiot.”

Later that evening, there was a knock at Peach’s front door. Tommy stood on the other side, hands shoved in his pockets and guilt on his face.

“What do you want, Tommy?” Peach sighed when she opened the door.

“I’m sorry. It was stupid for me to show up with Tiffany. I don’t know what I was thinking.” He looked genuinely sorry.

“Are you two dating or what?”

“No; I asked if she wanted to come with me but I took her straight home after and I didn’t even have a good time,” he admitted. “I miss hanging out with you.”

“I miss hanging out with you, too,” Peach told him honestly. “Can we try to be friends? I’ve been miserable all summer.”

Tommy looked at her sheepishly, knowing he was at least half the cause of her misery.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” he said.

Thursday October 6th, 1988

Things went back to normal for a long time. Peach, Tommy and Joel saw each other on a regular basis. Peach and Tommy were getting along much better as friends and the three of them were closer than ever. They were hanging out at Joel’s new place when Peach noticed he was being unusually quiet.

“What’s up Joel?” she asked. “You look a million miles away.”

He heaved a heavy sigh before answering, “Stephanie’s pregnant.”

Tommy and Peach stared at him in stunned silence. Tommy had finally seen what Peach saw in Stephanie and he didn’t like her either.

“You’re having a demon spawn with She Devil?” he asked incredulously. Peach nudged him in the ribs.

“Tommy! You can’t refer to your future niece or nephew as demon spawn.”

“You didn’t say anything about the She Devil comment,” Joel pointed out. Peach raised her eyebrows at him.

“You know how I feel.”

“Well, she’s gonna be the mother of my child so I suggest y’all get on board,” he shot back angrily.

“Oh god, you’re not gonna marry her are you?” Peach groaned.

“Thought about it,” he said with a shrug. “But I’m gonna give it a little bit.”

The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes. Peach was the first one to finally speak.

“Well…if you’re happy, I’m happy,” she said. “Obviously I wish Stephanie was a better person, but as long as she treats you and the baby right, I’m good.”

“She’s getting better at lying,” Tommy thought to himself. He wondered if she believed anything she was saying, because he didn’t.

Thursday July 20, 1989

Tommy and Peach waited anxiously in the waiting room of the maternity ward for Joel to come out and tell them he was officially a father. He’d called from the hospital a few hours prior and they rushed right over. At 4:47 pm, he burst through the doors with a huge grin.

“It’s a girl. Her name is Sarah.”

[letsstartariot2002]

Into post this is pinned!

Hey guys! My name is Salem but please, unless we actually talk, call me Riot! My pronouns are(in order of preference): they/he/it/void/voids/voidself/entity/entity's! Please use all my pronouns not just one or two sets. If you don't know how to use my neos in a sentence here's an example. "Void is annoyed leave Void alone today" "That's entitys phone please don't touch it". My bestest bitch is @shatteredhope123 so if you see me insulting them or typing in all caps at them IT'S ALL JOKES, WE'VE KNOWN EACHOTHER FOR LIKE 6-7 YEARS. We also know eachother in real life. I'm transgender ftm, Polyamarous, Gay, Demisexual and Demiromantic but I'm HAPPILY TAKEN AND NOT LOOKING FOR ANYMORE PARTNERS. My partners are Sam(long distance), Cody(long distance), Berat(close distance), Carlo(Headspace alter), and Duff(headspace alter). I have DID, ADHD, Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety disorder, separation anxiety,social anxiety, and I suspect I may have some sort of anger disorder, so please use tone indicators when talking to me. If I don't answer you when you dm me, it means I'm socially drained or I just don't want to talk, so please respect that. I'm a furry, my fursona right now is a Pot dragon(closed species by Wikk Elam on Facebook, dm him if interested in owning one), and a grey Greek demigod cat named Skyler. I'm quite chill and laid back, until you piss me off that is. My hyperfixations right now are Helluva Boss, Hazbin Hotel, Subnautica, God Of War, FNAF, Wings Of Fire, the backrooms/liminal spaces, and weed(not doing it, the different strains and different effects, basically learning about it). If you couldn't tell, I am in fact a stoner. I'm 21 years old and I'm choas. I like to watch memes, or stupid shit, play games, and call my friends or boyfriends(mainly Berat and Sam, but separately). I have many many ocs so feel free to ask me about my oc lore, I so badly want to lore dump but nobody will listen to me yap about a fictional grey cat I made way back in grade 7/8.

Here are my triggers and things I'm not comfy with so please don't talk about these to me or tag me in posts related to these:

-Anything to do with someone dating someone much much older(had someone try to pull that shit with me recently)

-Abusive parents(unless ur my bestie then vent all you want, okay? Or oc lore, oc lore is fine as it's fake)

-Abusive romantic relationships, even if it's fictional. I've been in to many of these to fucking count

-Obsessive behaviors(had to deal with this recently, please just don't I can't even if it's fictional)

-Anything that has to do with Native legends(the W, flesh pedestrians, I'm native and highly believe in them so please don't glorify these things)

-Zoophila or pedophila(U WILL BE BLOCKED AND CALLED THE FUCK OUT)

-petty furry drama. Fucking sick of ppl claiming colors and animals. Grow up.

-Metallica(the band, trauma reasons)

-do not mention these names to me as I knew ppl with these names and they gave me trauma: Aiden, Justin, Annah, Sam, Hayley, Makayla,Karlee,Scott, Collette, Leonard. If I see any of these names for my own sake I will either unfollow you or block you. I know it's just a name but you guys don't get how heightened emotions get with ADHD.

Here are my current interests so feel free to dm me and ask me about these:

-fnaf

-subnautica

-Disney dreamlight valley

-minecraft

-wings of fire

-Eragon

-weed in general

-bendy and the ink machine

-Venom

-Spyro the dragon

-Ratchet and Clank

-animal jam for both pc and mobile

-my ocs

Feel free to tag me in things related to my likes or something you'd think I'd like! I love knowing ppl thought of me! I'm still learning how Tumblr works so I'll try to be more active to learn how it works. If I don't credit art please remind me to as sometimes I get way too excited to post art I get. I have a job so please be understanding that if I dm you, it means I value you. I'm VERY tired after work and have to constantly fight sleep all fucking day. I'm not very mentally stable from being exhausted so please be gentle on me. But yeah! Below are me and my boyfriend Berat! The dragon is the pot dragon, his name is Bear and he's HEAVILY BASED OFF MY BF BERAT SO PLEASE DONT TAKE INSPIRATION FROM HIM WHATSOEVER. DO NOT STEAL HIM EITHER. Art of Bear is by MilkyManta on discord. If you see someone other than me using him, TELL ME ASAP. same with Skyler.

This be skyler. if you see someone using them, TELL ME ASAP.

This be Bear, if you see someone using him, TELL ME ASAP. Species is by Wikk Elam on Facebook, they are a CLOSED species. You MUST tell Wikk if you are interested in owning one, you also must be 18+. Wikk will provide you the link to the official discord server.

[giurochedadomani]

Steve for the ask game!

This is about this game

favorite thing about them

'peaked in highschool' kind of vibe. Don't get me wrong I adore him, but it makes for a really interesting character, when someone who has grown up in a really cozy safety net suddenly doesn't have it, things start not going his way, etc (the struggles with getting into an uni, the crappy jobs, etc.).

least favorite thing about them

I don't think I have one. The posh look in s1, maybe? And that's just because I've always been way more into metalheads, so the polos do absolutely nothing to me. But to each their own xD

favorite line

Ahoy, Ladies! Didn't See You There. Would You Like To Set Sail On An Ocean Of Flavor With Me? I'll Be Your Captain. I'm Steve Harrington

brOTP

Robin, although I have read some fics that flesh a little more Tommy and Steve's relationship and in which Tommy helps Steve out 'for the sake of old times' which are....... interesting)

OTP

Metalsandwich (it's a breath of fresh air? It's honest to God the first time I encounter an ot3 which people don't reduce to a love triangle? Like, everyone has their own little headcanon about it, but all seems to be in the direction of thinking how would they work).

I also like Harringrove a lot

nOTP

Nancy.

random headcanon

He's extremely competitive, but only in the stupidest context (which is bad, because Eddie knows exactly which buttons to push to get him to follow into some crazy idea)

He's exactly that type of person who'd ask you a hundred times if you're mad at him and why you're mad at him (which is not bad per se because when Billy is morose it can be a bit tricky prying of him why is he mad. And I kind of feel like Eddie would be kind of the same, shutting off in the bedroom and turning metallica up to a 110%)

He undersells himself a lot and cares a really unhealthy amount about what others think about him

He hates texting and has a brick phone until his 50s, however having a chat with him can add years to your lifespam

unpopular opinion

song i associate with them. If Steve was Spaniard he'd definitely be an Hombres G fan and he'd get all dolled up for a date to the tune of 'Voy a Pasarmelo Bien' (I'm going to have a great time) (🎵 I know I have some enemies, but tonight they cannot count on me, I'm gonna turn into a werewolf, I've promised myself that I won't sleep alone, because todayyyyy... Today I'm gonna have a great time 🎵) . Although Hombres G quite literally have a song that goes 'Devuélveme a mi chica' (Give me my girl back) about the loser of the class whose girl prefers to go with a really posh hot guy in a yellow sweater that would be more of a jonathan type of song but it does make me think about Steve

Anyway Hombres G is one of the most iconic 80s Spaniard groups.

favorite picture of them

the moment he grimes up good I'm literally on my knees

[hawkinssongbird]

❝  broken things aren’t always ruined.  ❞

MAGNOLIA  CASTILLO  SENTENCE  STARTERS.

Dinah thanked the music gods for Eddie Munson whenever he came around the record shop. Sometimes it was her rounding the corner to the metal section to find him already there, other times it was him to find her there.

First time? It was in the listening booth back in the summer of '85. Embarrassingly so, considering he caught her coming out of the booth clutching Metallica's Ride The Lightning album like her life depended on it with tears in her eyes.

Could have been worse. She could have bumped into Billy Hargrove and that would have been a living nightmare. Though, she did her best at the time to tolerate the guy for Max's sake. And, sure, the majority could say Eddie was worse. The so-called town Freak, but Dinah never thought so. Not even a little.

"Becaauuuse." She started off, pushing the records back that she had been flipping through to bring her attention to him with a smile. "Most broken things can be mended and made whole again?" Her nose scrunched, shaking her head, before moving across the aisle. "Are you here to give me philosophical lessons, or musical corruption?" A pause to give him a look, eyebrows raised with a tease. "I swear if you pull out a D20 to roll for initiative on the choice, I'm walking out of here and never coming back."

[ladysstardust]

All right, yeah I got something to say Yeah, it's better to burn out Yeah, than fade away

perfect needle drops (3/?)

[fbfh]

steddingrove/three musketeers x reader dynamic hcs

warnings: smut, tripple penetration, fluff, they're all doms, your boys treat you really well, brief optional mention of reader posessing a coochie

as with all nsfw works all characters are aged up to 18+ minors for gods sake dni!!!

a/n: I want to bite all of them also emailing therapists again wish me luck

tags: @yesv01 @hopefullhearts @littlewinter1917 @thatawkwardlittlefangirl  @Sad-brunnettee @ilikemypolarbear @lubsana @cowboylikekelsey @hopefullhearts @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @ilikemypolarbear @Ronnasey @cowboylikekelsey @hxgemxscles @hopefullhearts @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @justbookworm @Sad-brunnettee @ilikemypolarbear @Ronnasey @hxgemxscles @demirunner @hopefullhearts @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @inqueee

Billy and Steve 

We've seen Harringrove in action 

We know what they're like 

Billy is kind of a slut

He's insane

And he brings out ALL of Steve’s competitive side 

They fight all the time with like a grossly sexual overtone to it yk

Steve is a soft, attentive, almost coddling dom 

Billy is a feral, smoldering, stupid horny dom 

They’re both so charming like jfc

They butt heads a lot, a small part of which is thinly veiled sexual tension

But there’s no one better to take out their thinly veiled sexual tension on than you

They work each other up through vaguely erotic competitive bullshit and then once they’re both really fired up, they turn their attention on you

Sometimes they fight over you

Who knows your body better

Who can make you cum faster

Who can make you cum harder

So of course they have to settle it with you in the middle 

All their focus is on making you cum as much and as hard and as many times as they can

And they both have plenty of experience in that area

They’ll also be completely caught up in how good you make them feel

That is the one thing they bond over

The one time they get along is when they’re getting you off

Steve and Eddie

We've also gotten to see steddie in action 

And when I tell you that they are both the flirtiest motherfuckers in existence 

Steve will have you blushing

Eddie will have you giggling 

They'll both have you a total horny mess 

Out of the three other them I think Steve and Eddie have the most opposite personalities 

So as stated in my steddie x reader headcanons they start off also very competitive but in a “wow I kinda hate this guy” way not in a shotgunning beer and seeing who can make you cum the fastest way like Billy and Steve

But oh my god they’ll bond real fucking fast over their mutual love for you 

More likely to tag team or take turns or pass you back and forth than go at you at the same time but they’ll still go at you at the same time once they get bored of that which will happen real fast 

They’re literally so caring too

They’re so attentive

If you are an attention whore they will actually be the death of you

If you’ve had a hard day you better believe Stevie will pull your back to his chest and have you sit all cozy on his cock while Eddie gives you head until you’re SHAKING

Steve might roll his eyes at Eddie’s nerd references and dramatic nature and eccentric tendencies

But he feels a deep camaraderie he knows is reciprocated when he and Eddie are both showering you with praise nonstop, making you squirm and whine and clench at their touch

And Eddie really feels like the playing field is level like this

With him, a social outcast, and Steve, the former king of their highschool working in tandem to make you cum until you’re so fucked out and overstimulated you can’t remember anything but your daddy and dungeon master

Billy and Eddie

HATE each other at first

After the initial "this buffoon is a monument to everything I hate" and "this guy?? I used to bully guys like this" 

I’m sure you can guess who says what

They both realize they actually have a lot of overlap with their taste in music

They start jamming out to metallica and ac/dc and motley crue and kiss

And they bond fast as fuck

They’re both so glad to have someone that they can not only talk to about music, but shares a ton of the same opinions and favorite songs????

Hell yeah!!!

They also realize they’re both very intense 

Billy’s is more fiery intensity 

Eddie’s is more passionate joie de vivre 

What do you expect he’s a manic pixie dream boy

And that intensity really solidifies that bond 

So when they team up

It’s less competition and more co conspiring

It’s also very good cop bad cop

Billy is a mean dom and Eddie is much softer

So while Billy is degrading you for taking Eddie’s cock so easily, Eddie is praising you for following Billy’s orders so well

A lot of whiplash

But definitely the good kind

Steve and Billy and Eddie

Aftercare kings

When you’re taking all three of them (which is a real feat)

Usually you have Billy in your mouth, Steve in your coochie/hands, and Eddie in your ass <3

Taking all of them at once is so much

But if you can handle it????

(which you can, they’ve trained you very well)

You will never ever ever want to go back

They are all dominant

They all have breeding kinks 

And they ALL love what a whore you are for them <3

Aftercare with all three of them is elite

They’re all naturally so good at aftercare, especially steve and eddie so they drag billy along with them yk

You have steve and eddie lying on either side of you with billy flopped on top of you pressing kisses to your face

You don’t know who’s kissing you, who’s caressing you, who’s playing with your hair or touching your neck but they’re all soft gentle loving touches from your boys and they fill you with the best feeling ever

You can feel all their hearts beating with yours, and they have you in this cozy little oven of warmth generated from your body heat mixing together 

They work so well together 

In and out of the bedroom

To make sure you feel loved and attended to all the time

You and Eddie go to Steve and Billy’s basketball games

You and Billy and Steve go to Eddie’s shows at the hideout 

You and Eddie and Billy surprise Steve at work

And they will all surprise you at work or your things yk

And jesus fucking christ you had scary dog privelages with one of them

All three???? At once????

You’ve never felt safer

Which is good because they do keep you safe

They’re good at keeping you safe and taking great care of you

And you take just as great care of them just by existing

They really do love you so fucking much

[witchthewriter]

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 @deviltryhours

⤷ black, male, and any size reader. Requests are open, thank you for reading!  

a/n: thank you so much for being so patient. You’ve been nothing but lovely and supportive. I thank you soooo much!

SFW🌿

Eddie Munson had captured you body and soul. 

There was no one like him. 

No one could make you feel this way; butterflies in your stomach, sweaty palms, and the yearning

Oh god the yearning. It’s like your body would not stop. You ached to touch Eddie, even just a brush of the hand, or bumping shoulders

Even though he smelt of body spray and cigarettes, Eddie was ... well, he was Eddie. Anything he did was perfect

“Hey Trench!”    The way he said your name felt devious, surely a person couldn’t make you feel this way? 

Your boyfriend made you feel on top of the world

Eddie ADORES your hair; he once described your locs as “fucking cool, actually the coolest hair I have ever seen.”

Honestly, all Eddie ever wants to do is lay in bed, cuddled next to you, listening to music. It’s his idea of heaven

He wants you to teach him Spanish, he already knows “mi amor” and yeah, he kinda does butcher the pronunciation a tad 

TELLS YOU ABOUT DND ALL THE TIME. Will slip it into most conversations:     “Hey babe, what do you think of-”

You two get up to absolute MALARKY. CHAOS. There is literally no one saying “hey maybe don’t do the thing” because you’re both as bad as each other

You have both adopted Dustin. I mean it. You’re his parents. 

You always make sure he’s had something to eat, while Eddie talks DnD with him 

You also teach Dustin how to swear in Spanish 

But a lot of the time it’s Dustin teaching you guys how to do things 

Eddie always drives you around, even if you do have your licence

Painting each other’s nails, and Eddie gets so fed up when he doesn’t keep it neat: “oh for fuck’s sake!” 

Probably teaches you a lot of things about social queues and how to act around people

Would be very accomodating about your mental illnesses and your injured knee

He would be the sweetest boyfriend in the whole UNIVERSE 

Theme Songs:

✧ The Sails of Chiron by Scoprions ✧ For Whom The Bell Tolls by Metallica ✧ Enter Sandman by Metallica ✧ Me and Your Mama by Childish Gambino  ✧ One More Hour by Tame Impala

Relationship Tropes: 

✧ Both Look Like They Could Kill You But Are Actual Sweethearts

✧ Emotionally Unstable (You) x An Absolute Menace (Eddie)

✧ Chaotic Asf (You) x Just As Chaotic But Also Dumb (Eddie)

[40orangecuck]

Love Walks In — Close to Me (Pt.1)

In which Eddie graduates in ‘86, gets a job at Hawkins’ record store, and is a bit of a perv down horrendously for a girl who’s way out of his league. 

Eddie’s slow afternoons at the record store usually consisted of him leaning on the counter and daydreaming. He would build the narrative of the next Hellfire campaign in his head, or sometimes he’d pop on some headphones and listen to the latest release from Metallica or Sabbath, imagining Corroded Coffin performing the music. On this particularly slow Sunday afternoon, Eddie found himself daydreaming again as he mechanically unboxed some tapes. But instead of pondering D&D and rock, he let his mind slip back to a month ago: to graduation day. The last time he’d seen her. Probably the last time he would ever see her. 

She’d worn some big pearl earrings and a strapless dark green dress. Her smile was so wide as she clasped her diploma, her gown billowing behind her as she’d trotted excitedly off the stage. The sun in her wild hair and the flowing fabric of the gown gave her a truly ethereal glow: an image Eddie couldn’t forget if he tried. For a moment, he’d caught her eye from his place in line, her smile infecting him as he watched her go. Then she’d disappeared into the crowd, swept away by her proud family and her goodie-goodie friends who would have run away if he’d approached them. 

He’d wanted to say something, but what was there to say? “Thanks for not treating me like a freak when we were partners in bio?” “Hey, that one time you covered for me in Mrs. O’Donnell’s class was the coolest thing anyone’s ever done for me?” “I know we never really hungout but I think you’re smart and hilarious and so nice and drop-dead fucking gorgeous and I hate the idea of never seeing you again?” It would have weirded her out if he’d just come up to her out of the blue; she probably didn’t even remember him. Or if she did, he was just some dude who’d been held back twice who she’d been nice to out of pity. No, it was better to let her go. She was one of the few people who hadn’t treated him like a freak. It was better to remember her like that than to say something to make her realize he was a freak after all. 

Lost in the bittersweet memory and fiddling with the box of tapes on the counter, Eddie had barely registered the dinging of the front door. He could hear the sound of heels clicking on the linoleum over the radio faintly playing “Close to Me”. The clicks called to a memory he couldn’t place, eliciting subconscious excitement. He had just gathered an armful of tapes that had to be stocked when he looked up and was frozen in place. 

Her back was turned to him, untamed hair sweeping her shoulder as she surveyed the rock section. She turned her head slightly, revealing two oversized chain links dangling from her ear. They jingled lightly as she walked. A bit of lapis blue shimmer adorned the center of her eyelids, black smudging the corners. Her lips were stained a dark crimson. She flitted her fingers over some Talking Heads, completely oblivious to his awestruck presence behind the counter. That was, until the tapes he was holding slipped out of his grasp. 

“JESUS CHRIST!” he squawked, dropping to his knees behind the counter to collect the rubble of Madonna that surrounded him. He heard the clicking of heels again, realizing why the sound sent a shock down his spine. She always wore those wide heeled boots; they stopped a few inches shy of her knees, belt straps crossing the ankles. He’d watched them bounce impatiently against her desk in biology almost every day, perked up when he’d heard them announce her arrival to class. Sometimes, when she wore a shorter skirt, she’d cross her knees and the black leather of her shoes would rest perfectly against the soft skin of her thigh. He couldn’t explain the beauty of that sight, the thoughts it gave him. Thoughts he should not have been pondering while he was at work and she was mere feet away for fucks sake. God, he felt like such a creep for how he thought about her. Her mane of hair, the freckle on her collarbone, her soft pink lips. That one denim skirt of hers that showed off her upper thighs. Her legs. Fuck, her legs. 

Eddie shook his head and blinked hard, trying to physically derail his self-destructive train of thought while regathering copies of True Blue from the floor. Inhaling sharply through his nose, Eddie reminded himself of the reality of the situation. He was just her weird former classmate and she was just minding her business, looking at some music. If he was lucky, she might smile at him while he rang her up before skipping out the door. There was no way a girl like her was itching to be around the town freak. Accepting his fate and bracing himself, Eddie stood up and immediately let out a yelp. 

“bAAAH GOD DAMN IT!”

“Woah, hey Munson! Did I scare you there?” she giggled, her face leaning over the counter just inches from his own. 

“Yeah! Sorry, I—Wow ah—you fucking got me there,” he stammered, playing off the amazement as surprise. He totally hadn’t been blown away by the fact she remembered his name, addressing him with the same ease and friendliness she had in class. He had very normal emotions about the fact her face was inches from his. His knees hadn’t faltered at all when he caught a whiff of her sweet citrus perfume. 

“I’ll try to announce my presence next time. Maybe I should wear a bell like a cat,” she joked. Eddie grinned at the remark while the self-destructive gremlin in his brain imagined her wearing nothing but a black silk choker, a single bell dangling from the middle. Fuck he hated his mind. 

“You work here?” she inquired, pointing around vaguely. 

“Y-yeah! Like, selling music,” he mustered, recollecting himself a little. 

“Nice! Lot of Madonna, huh?” she gestured to the tapes in his arms. 

“You have NOOOOOO idea,” he hissed, eyes wide. The smile tugging at her lips widened. 

“It seems like they’re trying to bury you in it.”

“That’s actually my worst fear, being buried alive in Madonna. How did you know?” 

“Here, I’ll save you, just let me take a few,” she chuckled, reaching towards Eddie. 

“Good GOD woman, are you MAD? This is HAZARDOUS MATERIAL!” he hollered, jumping back dramatically. “Please, for your own safety, leave the handling to the professionals!”

She let out a fit of giggles as Eddie walked out from behind the counter, stretching out a hand in front of him to keep her away. As he did so a tape fell off of his stack and she picked it up, prompting Eddie to let out another exaggerated cry. 

“Now you’re INFECTED! Your music taste may NEVER RECOVER!”

“Never?!” she exclaimed with a wide smile, tone rising to match his. 

“Well, perhaps if you received the best treatment available,” Eddie muttered, stroking his chin as he walked to the new releases shelf. “There’s still a chance you could enjoy real music again.”

“Oh? And what’s the treatment?”

“Only the very best harmonies the human race has to offer,” he quipped, snapping back to face her after sliding the tapes into their shelf. “And luckily for you, I happen to have my very own secret stash.”

Hopping over the back counter, Eddie motioned over his shoulder for her to join him. She jumped to sit on the counter and swung her boots around to the other side, skirt shifting up her thighs as she did so. It was the denim skirt. Eddie swallowed hard and briefly clenched his left hand into a fist behind his back. Heaven help him. 

Crouching to reach, Eddie tugged hard on one of the bottom drawers behind the counter. It wouldn’t budge. He tried jiggling it side to side and up and down without success. With a knowing nod, Eddie gave the drawer a good kick with the back of his heel. It shot open, revealing about a dozen tapes scattered inside. 

“Behold! My sacred crypt of metal.”

“Holy shit!” she mused, crouching next to him and reaching for the 5150 tape. “I’ve been looking for this one for ages! Guess it was hidden back here, huh?” she teased. 

Brows furrowed, Eddie whipped his head back to stare at her. Did he hear her right? “You listen to Van Halen?”

“Just since 1984 came out, but yeah.”

His brows raised and a wide smile started in the right corner of his face. A breathy chuckle escaped his disbelieving lips. He shook his head slowly.

“What?” she asked, studying his response. 

“I just never would have pegged you as a metal fan,” Eddie mused. “You’ve got more of a…what’s the name of that girl in The Breakfast Club? And Pretty in Pink?”

“You mean Molly Ringwald?”

Eddie snapped his fingers, pointing in agreement. “Yes. Her. That’s who you’re like. You’re more of an American darling than…well, a metal-loving freak,” he gestured to himself.

She grinned shyly, looking down at her feet. Did Eddie see a blush in her cheeks? Had he made her uncomfortable? Shit, he shouldn’t have admitted he thought she looked like that actress chick. It’d just slipped out. She did dress like her, and her big eyes were even more captivating.

“Well, not all of us chose to show off our eccentric tastes like you do, Munson,” she teased. “Doesn’t mean I enjoy good music any less.” A smirk tugged at her lips as she gazed at him through her lashes. He breathed out a chuckle, face still plastered with awe. 

“Well, in that case,” he said, stepping back and slapping one of the huge stereo speakers lined against the back wall. “I’ll let you choose an album to play on these bad boys.” She rubbed her hands together, wearing a mischievous grin and biting the corner of her bottom lip. Eddie licked his lips at the sight. 

He watched her as she crouched next to the cache of tapes. Her messily-painted sparkly blue fingernails hovered over them, dancing lightly as she made her decision. A squiggly copper ring with a single, large red bead hung on her right middle finger. There was one of those little gold rings with two hands holding a heart on her pinky. He’d seen other girls wearing them, but he never knew what they meant. Was it some kind of promise ring? He wasn’t surprised by the thought she had someone, but it made his chest feel like a hollow cavern. His eyes darted away from her hands and were immediately met with the sight of the skin between her thighs and ass, right below the hem of her skirt. Turning redder than her lipstick, Eddie turned his head sharply and covered his mouth with his fist. He began counting ceiling tiles like his life relied on it. 

“This one,” she piped up, confidently holding Powerslave out to him.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Eddie chuckled, giving into his yearning to look at her again as he reached for the tape. His fingertips brushed hers as he clasped it. She glanced at the tape and then up at him with an unassuming smile. Blinking profusely, he turned away from her and busied himself with the stereo quickly. He didn’t think his face could feel any hotter, and he was all but certain he looked like a tomato.

With the press of a few buttons and a satisfying *click*, the shrill guitar and building drums of Aces High’s intro began to play. Eddie air guitared for a moment, head banging in time with the slow beat of the drums. Turning around, Eddie found her sitting on the counter, legs crossed and t-shirt hanging a bit off her left shoulder. Just like him, she was banging her head with the slow drum beats. Then, both of them paused as the intro slowed. Locking eyes and raising their brows in anticipation, they waited until the tempo sped up and the guitar resumed, and proceeded to head bang furiously, in sync with the new beat. Eddie kept going for a few seconds, but found himself stopping to admire her hair as she moved enthusiastically. He’d thought his hair was good for head banging. It was nothing compared to the storm on her head. It was completely unfair how sexy it was. 

She stopped after a few seconds, giggling at herself and grinning ear-to-ear as she pushed hair away from her face. As he drank her in, Eddie couldn’t keep a grin from creeping up his face. She was downright infectious. 

“Seems like you got a pretty good gig going here,” she remarked. “Access to good music and a bitchin’ sound system? I’m jealous.”

“Yeah, I just wish I could play this kinda stuff more. Boss man gets mad when I play it around customers.” The store owner, Frank, wanted music on the speakers to be “family appropriate”. But as long as Frankie boy wasn’t around and the store was empty, Eddie could play whatever he wanted. When he got a closing shift he would practically sprint to put on some Def Leppard after turning the front sign to read “closed.” He would jump and sing along while sweeping, twirling the broom around like a sword or a microphone. On one or two occasions, he had danced with the broom while imagining it was her. He had dreamt up the vague toss of her hair and the crinkling of her eyes, but every inch of him yearned to see the real thing. If he had one dance with that woman, he would be able to die a happy man. 

“Ugh, tell me about it! My manager gets so bitchy when I—,” 

Suddenly, her gaze fixed on the clock above Eddie’s head and her eyes widened. “Shit, I’m almost late!” she hissed, tossing her legs over the counter and hopping down on the other side. 

A dull panic hit Eddie as he saw her preparing to leave. There was too much he wanted to say and nothing he actually could, but he knew he needed to try. He let the pounding in his chest spur him towards her, grabbing the 5150 tape as he did. 

“Wait, here, take it,” he sputtered, arm jutting the tape over the counter. “You, uh, said you were looking for it? I feel like an asshole for stashing away the last one.”

“Eddie, that’s so—thank you!” she beamed, pressing the tape to her chest. “How much you want for it?”

“You kidding me? Your money’s no good here!” he exclaimed, batting the air. “I always meant to, uh, to thank you for your help. In O’Donnell’s. This is the least I could do.” 

“That’s…that’s really sweet. Thank you.” Her eyes softened as her gaze met his. 

“Don’t mention it,” Eddie muttered through a soft smile. His hand rubbed the back of his neck, eyes wandering to her slightly-smudged red lips. The rhythm of his heart jumped as he traced the glossy shine of her lower lip with his gaze. Eddie had to force himself to look away, suddenly becoming very grateful for the counter hiding his lower body.

“Ah! I—I’ve gotta run, but I’ll see you around!“ she called over her shoulder, smiling as she jogged towards the door. 

“Y-yeah! See you,” Eddie called, waving as a dazed smile grazed his lips. After watching her dash down the street, Eddie threw his hands over his face and groaned.

“Jesus H. Christ,” he groaned. “I am sooooo fucked.”

Notes: Been working on this for a while and I've got plans for upcoming parts. Stay tuned ;)