#i know a bit more mobility aids than hearing loss so hopefully this isn't like super off? def nervous about how that part develops but i'm

[kas-eddie-munson]

whelp, there's a part two now

Part 1

~~~

Eddie always loved Halloween.  He liked dressing up and putting on a persona, pretending to be someone else for a while.

He wasn’t expecting to have fun this year, but there was that twinge of hope again.  Henderson and his friends decided they were too old to trick-or-treat, so them and some of the older teens were meeting up at Steve’s house for a party.

Honestly anything to get him out of the house had to be better than nothing, right?

Steve told Eddie he’d pick him up at 6:30, which he did.  He explained in the car that the kids might get there early, and that Robin was guarding the snacks so they wouldn’t all get devoured before half the guests arrived.

Eddie watched Steve as he drove.  Tried to get a read on him.  Tapped his knuckles against the window, a habit he’d been told by multiple people was irritating over the years.  No response.  Bounced his leg a bit so his boot would tap against the floor.

Steve glanced over at a stop sign.

“You okay?”

Eddie stopped moving his leg and told him he was fine.

Eddie wondered whether he heard or saw him moving.  Noted the way Steve looked directly at him while he spoke.

He wasn’t sure why Steve didn’t say anything about it.  He didn’t have a lot of time to inspect Steve’s appointment summary the other day.  Didn’t spot a date.  It had to be pretty recent, though.  He supposed it’s not like they were super close.

Parked outside his house, Steve got out and brought Eddie his chair, leading the way down a sidewalk to his back patio.  The sliding back door was nearly level with the ground, though Eddie still had to move his chair over the bump backwards.

Once inside it was clear the party had already started.  Loud music blasted and all the kids talked over each other.  Dustin called out for him from across the room and soon Eddie was surrounded by the kids, telling him they were glad he made it to the party.  If he was alone he might have cried.

It took a minute for the kids to realize he was trying to move further into the house, but eventually they moved over, and he found the table with food on it.

On the way back he lingered in the doorway as Steve stood off to the side, eyebrows furrowed.  He asked a couple questions about the conversation that were lost to the teens talking over each other, if someone could repeat that or if he heard a word correctly.  His hand clenched around his drink.

Maybe Eddie wasn’t the only one who felt alone in a room full of people.