#i rly hoped this helped 🥺��� ugh i hope i covered everything!

[nervousgardenerkid]

I didn't even cry

a/n: AHHHH ITS HERE!!! i'm actually rly happy with how this turned out ugh i hope you guys like it as much as i do🥺🫶🏽read part one here!thank you guys for reading this and part one! enjoy and credit to the gif owner! <3

You let out a sigh as you finished giving Gareth the rundown of the past three years of your life. You stare at him with worried eyes as he sits there trying to wrap his head around everything you just told him.

“I know it's a lot, trust me I know. I just felt like you had to know-”

His laughs cut you off.

“You're laughing?”

Gareth nods his head and tries to catch his breath. “Dude! If I knew you had this much imagination I would’ve put you in hellfire!”

You shake your head slowly. “Gareth, I don't think you're listening-”

“I mean, c’mon,” he chuckled out. “You're telling me vecna, the monster that Eddie made up is real?”

You nod your head.

Gareth hums. “As well as every other monster from our campaign?”

“Well, not yours. The other two are from the kids before they met you.”

Gareth busts out laughing once again and puts you in a headlock.

“You crack me up y/n.”

You break out of his grasp, grab your keys and start heading for the door.

“Hey, where are you going?” Gareth asked while following you. You turn toward him and smile.

“I'm not going anywhere, we are going to go for a little ride.”

-

“Holy shit…” Gareth mumbled under his breath. You nod your head as you look up at the gate with him. He slowly points at it and turns his head toward you.

“You weren't joking?”

You shake your head and let out a sigh.

“Where is he?”

You glance at Gareth and shrug your shoulders.

“It doesn't matter-”

“No. It does matter! We're all over here thinking he's dead, mourning him, and for what?! Him to be completely fine?! For him to be alive?!”

You open your mouth ready to say something but you hear a voice at the door of the trailer. You and Gareth are quick to turn to the door, Gareth is ready to confront whoever the hell is there but you're not. You grab his hand and pull him in the direction of Eddie's room.

“What are you-”

You shush him and run to the window that's next to Eddie's bed. You open it up and motion for Gareth to follow you.

“No way!” he hissed out. “If Eddie is here I have a few things to say to him.”

“Now isn't the time! Fuck, he probably saw my car parked-”

“Hello?” you heard a voice call out. You and Gareth both recognized the voice in an instant and you shook your head at Gareth silently begging him to stay quiet.

“Henderson?” Gareth called out while storming out of the room. You were close behind him but stopped in your tracks when you saw him holding a huge bag.

“Jesus man, what the hell is in there?” Gareth said while covering his nose.

“Uh, just…you know. Stuff.” Dustin hesitated. You narrow your eyes at him.

“Who brought you here?”

“No one!”

You let out a chuckle. “Do you really want to lie to me right now?”

Dustin sighs and hangs his head low. “Steve did. He's outside.”

You mutter out thanks and tell him to stay there while you take Gareth outside to Steve's car. You quickly open the passenger door, startling Steve a bit.

“Jesus! Oh, y/n hey-”

“Take Gareth home.”

“I'm not going home!”

“Who?”

You roll your eyes and focus on Gareth. “I’m not asking you to go Gareth, I'm telling you. I can't have someone else get hurt or die and come back to life.”

Steve’s eyes widen when he registers what you've said. “Hold on, you told him?!”

“Shut up. You have no say in who I can talk to about this shit! The friends who I could go to for all this shit fucked it all up. So, take Gareth home or so help me god I will make all your lives a living hell.”

Gareth knew you weren't talking to him but he could feel the anger radiating off of you as he quickly sat in the passenger seat of Steve’s car. you make sure Gareth has all his limbs in the car before you slam the door shut. You got ready to head back into the trailer when you stopped in your tracks. You ran back to Steve's car and opened the back door behind the passenger seat and ran back to the trailer.

“Seriously?! I get that you're pissed but you didn't have to just leave my door wide open!”

“Fuck you!”

You step into the trailer looking for Dustin. You let out a sigh of relief when you see him putting things into Eddie's fridge.

“So,” you said, causing Dustin to jump. “What's in the bag?”

“I told you, stuff.”

“No shit Dusty, what kind of stuff?”

Dustin can't help the little smile that fights its way onto his face.

“You called me Dusty. You're not mad at me anymore?”

You ignore his question. “Is shit about to hit the fan again?”

Dustin sighed and closed the fridge, looking up at you.

“Honestly?”

“Please.”

“I don't know.”

You shook your head and walked over to the couch to sit on it. Tears were beginning to form as you rested your head in your hands.

“I don't believe you, Dustin. You can see why right?”

Dustin threw the bag in the nearest trashcan and sat next to you.

“I know why, but y/n you have to believe me when I say that we wanted to tell you.”

“Then why didn't you?! You all just sat there and watched me mourn someone who wasn't even dead!”

Before you know it, Dustin’s arms are thrown around you, and you feel the shoulder of your shirt getting wet.

“I'm sorry! We wanted to tell you, I promise we did but we couldn't. It wasn't our place to say,” he cried out.

It's sad to say, but you think you've had a lot of heartbreak in your life. Some are actually devastating while others aren't, like the time your favorite candy stopped selling in the store. That was devastating, but nothing was as heartbreaking as Dustin Henderson, one of the strongest kids you know, crying in your arms.

“I know you're mad at us. I understand that” he sniffled. “But please don't shut us out. Don't shut me out.”

You pull away from him and smile sadly while you wipe his tears away. He's still crying to you, just rambling things you can't really understand so you bring him in for another hug telling him to let it out.

“It's okay, Dustin-”

“It's not. I've ruined our trust and now you're having a hard time believing me.”

“I'm kinda having a hard time believing everyone.” You said with a shrug of your shoulders.

You stood up from the couch and grabbed the keys that were resting in your pocket.

“C'mon dusty buns, let's get you home,” you said while flicking the rim of his hat.

Dustin smiled and followed you out of the door, but hugged you before you both stepped into the car.

“I know you haven't forgiven me yet, but thank you.”

You chuckle at him and hop into the driver's seat, starting the car.

“Where to dusty?”

-

Weeks pass and little by little you're forgiving everyone in the group, well, everyone except Nancy, Robin, and Steve. Turns out forgiving kids is a lot easier than forgiving the average person. Avoiding them wasn't hard, everyone had their busy schedules, and when the kids decided to hang out with the others. You hung out with Gareth.

“You know,” Mike started while stuffing skittles in his mouth. “This is giving divorced parents vibes.”

Lucas looked at him with a confused expression.

“How would you even know that?”

“His parents are in a loveless marriage,” Dustin said, turning around to face them in the back.

“Hey man, watch it.”

You parked in front of family video and rolled your eyes.

“Are you sure Steve is taking you guys to the arcade? Gareth has a scary movie night planned and I don't want to be interrupted.”

Lucas nodded his head. “Yeah, that's what Dustin said at least.”

“Cause Mike told me.”

“When are you guys gonna stop throwing me under the bus?” Mike muttered while getting out of your car. The two other boys followed him and waved goodbye while thanking you for a ride. You waved back, rolling your eyes when you saw Steve and Robin standing by the door awkwardly waving. You lift your hand, making them think you're going to wave back when you flip them off and speed off to Gareth's house.

Hours pass and you and Gareth are too caught up in Halloween to pay attention to the outside world. You and Gareth leaned a bit closer to the TV trying to see if you can find Michael before the police do. The phone rings loudly causing you both to scream and jump into the air. You throw yourself to the ground while Gareth tries to catch his breath. He gets up to get the phone, confusion on his face when he sees you on the floor.

“Hello?” Gareth sighed into the phone while flicking on the light in his kitchen. You sit up from your place on the floor, picking up pieces of popcorn you both dropped and placing them on a napkin.

“It's for you,” he said while holding the phone out. You furrow your brows and toss the blanket aside before grabbing the phone.

“Uh, hello?”

“Y/n!” Dustin shouted over the phone.

“Dustin, I told you not to interrupt movie night! What happened?”

Dustin let out a nervous chuckle and you could hear some movement in the background of the call.

“Did you make it to the arcade okay?”

“Can you come to family video? It's important!”

You opened your mouth ready to ask him what happened to the original plans when you hear Lucas take the phone from him.

“Don't do it y/n!”

“GIVE ME THE PHONE-” then the line went dead.

“Hello…?”

You hang up the phone, turning to Gareth with a sigh. He let out a chuckle, already knowing what was up. He tosses you your keys, his jaw dropping when you catch them effortlessly.

“You up for a little adventure?”

-

You pull into the small parking lot of Family Video, and the hairs on the back of your neck stand at how empty the parking lot is.

“Didn't it close already?” Gareth mumbled while checking the time displayed on his watch.

“Yeah, kinda weird don't you think?”

He shrugs his shoulders and looks over at you.

“You going in?”

You think about it for a while. You want to go in, something in there is calling for you to go in there but you remember how urgent Lucas sounded when he told you not to come.

“Fuck it,” you whisper. You pull the keys out of the ignition, stuffing them in your pocket as you make your way to the building. You quickly turn around when you hear your car door open and then close, a smile on your face when you see Gareth following you.

“Wipe that smile off your face, I'm just making sure you're gonna be safe.”

You snort. “You know the kids called me right?”

The bell above the door rings as you walk into the empty video store. You and Gareth look around confused, eyes landing on a door when you hear shouts coming from behind it.

“Have you guys not learned anything?!” Lucas’ muffled voice shouts. “She literally just forgave us and now you're gonna ruin it all over again!”

“Lucas, relax! If she forgives you, maybe she's on the road to forgiveness for us!” Steve said.

“You're gonna make her hate us even more dingus!” Robin shouted.

More shouts are heard and Gareth chuckles, whispering how you're most likely considering not forgiving them now.

“You know what,” Lucas said. “I'm out of here.” he swings open the door only to freeze when he sees you and Gareth standing at the entrance with your arms crossed.

“Something tells me I'm not going to like what's behind this door.” You sigh out. Lucas puts his hands in the air claiming he had nothing to do with this and it was all their idea. You open your mouth ready to ask more questions but stop when you see him walk out.

“Y/n, please I can explain-”

“You son of a bitch.”

Suddenly, everything is in slow motion. Gareth’s hands are on Eddie as he pushes him up against the counter screaming at him.

“You've been alive this whole fucking time?!”

“Get the fuck off me Gareth!”

Gareth pushes him harder, his hands are gripping the Metallica shirt he's wearing and you can tell Gareth is trying so hard not to punch the daylights out of Eddie.

“What kind of fucking friend does that?! You had all of us, including Wayne, cry over your sorry ass, and for what?!”

Eddie pushes Gareth off of him and stands up straight when he stumbles off of him.

“Don't talk to me about him. You don't know what the fuck I've been through Gareth, I wouldn't push any buttons right now.”

Gareth scoffs and swallows the lump in his throat. “Who the fuck are you man?”

Eddie feels shitty. He wants to hug his best friend and apologize, he wants to tell him and you how he's a monster. He's not how he used to be and he doesn't know if he'll ever be like that again, but Eddie was never one to think before he speaks.

Gareth turns his back ready to walk out with you when Eddie decides to open his mouth.

“Yeah, walk away Gareth. This shit doesn't concern you.”

Gareth’s eyes lock with yours and you can see the fire behind his eyes. Your eyes widen and you shake your head but it's too late. Gareth’s fist connects to Eddie's jaw and before anyone knows it, the two of them are on the floor fighting each other. Gareth has the advantage first since he caught Eddie off guard, he was on top of Eddie just hitting random places. You couldn't see all that well but you know Gareth got a decent hit in Eddie's ribs and you want to guess near his eye from the way Dustin reached for his. Steve steps forward trying to pull Gareth off of Eddie, but Gareth pushes Steve away saying he’d be next if he doesn't back the fuck up.

You need to stop this, but you don't want to, You understand how Gareth is feeling. The pent-up anger, the feeling of betrayal, knowing you cried over the death of someone you truly cared for, only to have them magically come back to life and not tell you about it. It's a specific situation, but you understand it.

Somehow, some way, Eddie finds strength in himself to flip over so that he's on top. Eddie struggles to pin down Gareth's hands, Eddie doesn't want to fight. He’s never liked fighting, he only did it when he needed to and even then he hated it.

“I'm not going to fight you-”

“Fuck you! Fuck you, Eddie!”

Gareth is crying, every emotion he's bottled up spilling out. Eddie is shaking his head trying not to cry.

“I'm sorry Gareth-”

“Fuck you! I fucking hate you!”

Gareth eventually tires himself out and stops trying to fight Eddie. Eddie loosened his grip on him and Gareth pushed him off with what little strength he had left, he stood up with shaky legs and looked over at Eddie.

“You're a bad friend.” He whispered before walking out of the door.

You look over at Dustin who nods his head and sticks out his hand. You dig into your pocket handing your keys to Dustin and it's only then you realize you're shaking.

“I'll be there soon,” you whisper while looking at Eddie.

Dustin nods his head and walks out of the store with Mike and Lucas not too far behind.

“Robin?”

She straightens her posture and clears her throat.

“What's up?”

You walk toward Eddie, getting on your knees and looking at his face.

“Where’s your first aid kit?”

Eddie thinks he's dreaming cause your hands are holding his checking for bruises knowing he didn't take one swing. He doesn't know it, but you're analyzing him. You're making sure this isn't some fucked up dream you're having, you're making sure he's real.

Robin doesn't answer your question, instead, she hurries into the office and comes out with a bright red box. She hands it to you with shaky hands and lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding when you smile at her. You mouth thank you and gently take the box from her. She walks to Steve saying how they both need to go since they both have opening shifts tomorrow.

“I can lock up, Steve.” You say while opening the first aid kit and grabbing an alcohol wipe.

Steve nods his head and tells you where the keys are stored and then he and Robin leave. For the first time in your life, you got something you wished for. You got to be with Eddie again. You're sitting in silence opening the alcohol wipe pack you grabbed earlier, you gently grab Eddie's face turning it to the left. You make a mental note of how cold he is, you wipe at the little cut on his face smiling when you remembered Gareth wore his rings today. Eddie hisses at the contact of the wipe meeting his skin.

“Oh stop it, you died and came back to life. You'll be fine.” you chuckled out. Eddie takes the quiet laughter as a good sign and clears his throat.

“Who knew? Eddie Munson was the second coming of Christ. Jason would flip his shit.”

You let out a snort and shake your head. “He's rolling in his grave as we speak.”

Eddie turns to look at you with wide eyes. “No way.”

You nod your head and set the wipe aside, grabbing a band-aid.

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

Silence fills the air and you gently place the band-aid on his cheek and rub your thumb over it. You clear your throat and drop your hand to point at his ribs.

“Does it hurt?”

It doesn't, but Eddie nods his head and lifts his shirt a bit to show you the bruises that’ll disappear within a couple of days. Your hands gently trace the bruises and fall to the scarring of the bat bites. Tears sting your eyes as the memories you've suppressed come rushing back. Eddie wipes your tears away and brings you to his chest.

“Hey, it's okay. I'm right here.”

You shake your head and cling onto him scared he’ll disappear any second now.

“How? I watched you die! You died in my arms, Eddie! How are you here?”

“I don't know.” He’s telling the truth, he doesn't know how or why he's back. All he knows is right now, in this very moment he'd rather be six feet under than have you be mad at him.

You pull away from him, wiping away some tears trying to get a clear look at him. He looks the same, he looks like your Eddie, but then he doesn't. His hair looks darker and his skin looks a bit paler than usual, you place your hands on his cheek noticing they're still freezing.

“You're real?”

He places his hands on yours and nods his head.

“I'm real sweetheart. Promise.”

You jump back from Eddie when Dustin honks your car horn and shouts out sorry! That was Mike! Which soon followed by it wasn't! A shaky laugh leaves you as you stand up and wipe the palm of your hands onto your pants.

“I should probably lock up.” You say while walking into the office and grabbing the spare keys Steve told you about.

Eddie nods his head and waits for you to finish putting up the first aid kit so that he could walk out with you. When you reach your car he pulls you away from it and looks down at his feet.

“Can I explain what happened? Why I'm back and everything.”

You grab onto his hand and rub your thumb over his knuckles. You nod your head and clear your throat.

“Yeah. Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow.”

Eddie bites down on his bottom lip trying not to smile. He knows he's not completely out of the dog house, but it's a step.

“Okay, I'll see you tomorrow.”

-

The car ride back to Gareth’s was quiet and tense. Dustin, Lucas, and Mike were asleep in the back seat, and Gareth’s eyes were focused on his hands the whole time.

“Are you going to forgive him?”

You parked the car in his driveway and looked at him.

“I'm gonna hear him out,” you sigh. “But yeah. Eventually, I'll forgive him.”

“Why?”

“Because I love him.”

Gareth’s shoulders drop a bit and he nods his head.

“This year sucks.”

You nodded your head. “Fuck ‘86.”

“Mom? Where are we?” Mike grumbled out. “I’m hungry.” He said before falling back asleep.

You and Gareth stare at each other before laughing loudly, then shushing each other trying not to take up the kids. Your laughter died down as you both took deep breaths trying to call down.

“What happened?!” Dustin said with eyes shooting wide open. The laughter soon returns and eventually, everyone gets out of the car and goes into the house falling into the softest things they could find. When everyone was fast asleep you were wide awake staring out of the window trying to piece together what was going on. You sigh quietly not knowing what to think except for one thing. If the next couple of years were going to be like this, you are going to lose your damn mind.

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it didn't let me tag some of y'all but i hope u guys can still read it :(

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