#justonechancefictlet
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
piratefishmama Ā· 10 months ago
Text
Just ONE chance
Tumblr media
Stephanie Harrington never intended to be a whole presence online.
She hadnā€™t even really understood the whole thing at first, it didnā€™t exist when she was a kid! An if it did it sure as hell wasnā€™t in every nook and cranny of the globe like it now seemed to be. Kids with iPads, hands glued to phones, six year olds who simply had to have the latest Apple thing.
It was all Dustinā€™s idea. King of the Gadget. Overseer of all things technology. Gargantuan nerd. Stevieā€™s little brother.
Not biologically, Claudia, Dustinā€™s mother had basically adopted Stevie when her own parents had tragically lost control of the wheel during a storm and wrapped their car around a tree back when Stevie was still a teenager. Back when Stevie was still Dustinā€™s regular babysitter and very suddenly found herself alone having been babysitting when the news reached her.
Theyā€™d been coming back from a business trip that she hadnā€™t been able to go with them on because of school. Theyā€™d been so close to home. Sheā€™d heard the sirens. Theyā€™d been that close.
It was fine though, in one fell swoop, yes she lost her parents, but she gained Claudia, and Dustin, and that was enough, because she sure as hell didnā€™t get anything else from them. It was all swallowed up, snatched away by her parents business partners because people are sharks and she justā€¦ wasnā€™t prepared to fight them on any of it, especially not when her parents had stupidly left her without a will.
Apparently they believed theyā€™d live forever! The money vanished, the house was sold, she was left with nothing.
With growing up in the Henderson house, came choices, some great, some really stupid, and some thatā€™d led to the very happy accident of Rosie.
To be fair to herself, sheā€™d been in quite a long term relationship at that point! It was a happy one too! Sheā€™d thought heā€™d be it. Sure heā€™d been a lot rough around the edges, at the start, itā€™d been a shame cycle at the beginning since he was in fact, a colossal prick, but he was also the hottest guy sheā€™d ever seen. Like, unfairly attractive considering his personality, and he knew exactly how to touch her to melt her icy resolve into a watery mess.
But once heā€™d gotten away from his dipshit of a father, his step mother dragging him with her when she escaped the man too, once Stevie had laid down the law of how little of the bullshit heā€™d learned from said father sheā€™d personally tolerate before heā€™d get a boot out the door, heā€™d come around.
The racism had stopped immediately. The attitude had ebbed bit by bit as feelings set in, and heā€™d become a regular ol handsome teddy bear, heā€™d allowed himself to soften after heā€™d escaped the only reason heā€™d had to protect himself.
Heā€™d even started getting along with his step sister, one of Dustinā€™s friends.
Then stupidity happened when they ran out of condoms, her cycles stopped, and three months in, two drunk idiots in a pickup ran a stoplight while he was getting her some ice cream. Doctors said he probably hadnā€™t felt a thing.
Rosie came along, a beautiful little thing, had her dadā€™s soft cheeks, his stormy eyes, thick dark lashes and soft curls, but she took after Stevie in everything else.
Stevie didnā€™t date after that. A personal choice really. Sheā€™d lost her parents, lost her love, and now she had a little girl to focus on, she was done. She felt herself complete! So what if she was still in her mid-twenties. Life had dealt her a hand, she was going to run with it.
Rosie would always come first, and she didnā€™t like explaining where Rosies father was, she didnā€™t like the look of pity on peopleā€™s faces, the apologies, the rinse and repeat cycle, and so she just. Didnā€™t bother!
It was easier! She had Rosie, she had her adoptive mother, she had Dustin, she had Billyā€™s sister Max and her other half Lucas, she had Susan, she had Robin, her co-worker and platonic soulmate from that dumb job at the mall sheā€™d picked up to help Claudia with the bills, she had a whole support network, and she was fine.
Soon Rosie was in preschool, and then middle school, and the internet became a household thing, houses had computers, kids had phones, then smartphones, laptops, tablets, and suddenly the internet was everywhere and everyone had to be on it.
So there she was now. Mid-thirties, with a little girl, and a house paid for by her little brother.
Dustin had struck gold with a job at NASA, heā€™d put the downpayment on a little two bed house with a cute picket fence lined garden for her when Rosie was born without consulting her, just did it and ā€œSURPRISE STEVIE, now get the hell out of momā€™s basement, Jesus Christ.ā€ Kept paying until it was all hers, and that was thatā€¦ until he came round with computers and gadgets and then she had the internet because Rosie would need it for school because while libraries were awesome heā€™d had to suffer the five books at a time, Dustin rule one too many times and the internet had UNLIMITED books.
And now Stevie had a smart phone, and apps, and Instagram was fun! Doomscrolling the FYP took up chunks of her days off work while Rosie was at school! She never intended to be a name on there. Sheā€™d heard that people could become known for stuff, go viral or whatever.
She never intended to do that. She was a mother. Not even a hot young mom either. She was in her thirties! She remembered when the world didnā€™t have internet, she was there.
She posted work out videos, never having lost the competitive streak sheā€™d always had as a teenager, sports were her thing back in high school, Gymnastics specifically, which led into cheering. Sheā€™d done some competition once with the team but nothing huge, she was fit, healthy, and the subject of many a thirst comment that she pointedly ignored.
Sheā€™d posted the occasional rant about Sally the PTA bitch with the self-proclaimed ā€œbest potato salad in the Stateā€ while doing her morning makeup, still never paying much mind to the comments section, the little rapidly climbing number that signalled followers, or the occasional DM from brands wanting to ā€˜collabā€™.
She didnā€™t care for that, she just wanted to post her little videos in peace. In retrospect, if peace was what she wanted, the lunch trendā€¦ probably wasnā€™t the best one to pick up. It was just a trend though! Sheā€™d seen a few moms doing it! Just posting little harmless videos online of what theyā€™d pack their kids for lunch every day!
Harmless, fun! She loved making Rosies lunches, she saw no harm in sharing the fun!
They were always affordable, packed with healthy options, and creative too! She tried her hand at sushi, Rosie hated it, Robin loved it, so Robin got the sushi rolls in her lunches instead, picked up every morning when she grabbed Rosie on the way into work, they were both going to the same place after all, Robin taking on the music teacher role at the Middle school Rosie attended.
She tried noodle jars, cool wraps, made shapes and fun little animals out of fruit, she got creative, but they were all very cookie cutter videos, they all had the same vibe, similar content, it was something to fill her free time that she enjoyed so never in a million years would she have ever predicted that ONE of them, would cause so much chaos.
It started with the beeping.
The incessant pings sometime in the early hours of the morning. Notifications on her phone going off one after the other until she was forced to sit up, bleary eyed, and stare with squinted eyes at the far too bright screen of her phone, then she silenced it and went back to sleep.
With the chaos of the morning routines, getting Rosie up, washed, dressed, packed up for school, and out the door, she didnā€™t think about the incessant little beeping sheā€™d silenced. It was a distant memory buried under the fog of a heavy sleep and continued to be a distant memory right up until Dustin appeared at her doorstep at around one in the afternoon midway through her afternoon workout, ruffled, stressed, flustered, and frankly just a little too sweaty.
He bypassed all niceties, as usual, bulldozing straight to the point, he pinpointed her phone, which sat comfortably on the countertop, seemingly oh so innocent, grabbed it, brandished it up as if to highlight its very existence and just ā€œWoman, do you LOOK, AT YOUR PHONE?!ā€
Now, Stevie was not in the business of accepting a tone like that, especially not from her little brother. No matter how much heā€™d shelled out for the house, the attitude had to go. ā€œTone problem you little shit, fix it now or get the fuck out of this house and try again later.ā€
To his credit, he took a breath, and fixed it ā€œSorry, Iā€™m sorry, butā€”look! Look at it, please, for the love of Christ, the internet is freaking out.ā€
ā€œWhat?ā€
ā€œYour video yesterday! The one with the likeā€¦ teddy bear thing you did? With the rice an theā€”ā€
ā€œRosies lunch?ā€
ā€œYeah! Have you seen the comments on it?ā€ Stevie rolled her eyes and went about picking up her things, workout sufficiently disrupted, she wouldnā€™t be able to pick that pace back up now. ā€œStevie?ā€
ā€œYou know I donā€™t look at those, people get weird on the internet, itā€™s like it gives weirdos the perfect place to be their weirdest selves and not in a good way.ā€ Sheā€™d looked at them once, curiosity had gotten the better of her once upon a time and wound up having to ask Max what ā€˜OF?ā€™ meant. Sheā€™d taken the win, let it momentarily boost her self-confidence, and decided to never look again. She was done with all that.
ā€œStevie, this timeā€¦ one of those weirdos, is famous.ā€ Since it was the age of the internet, Stevie regarded him with a look of disinterest, ā€˜famousā€™ could be anything, it could be some dweeb behind a computer screaming obscenities at a mic hooked up to some ridiculously overpriced gaming PC for likes. It could be a podcast bro with half a brain cell kicking its long since dead other half, it could beā€”ā€œrockstar famous.ā€ Dustin clarified. ā€œOne of the guys from that band I like? Corroded Coffin, they justā€”ā€ he swiped the phone, letting out a soft scoff as the screen just flicked to life, no security pin to be seen of course, no matter, heā€™d probably berate later, he had a video to find andā€”ā€œAh-hah! Look!ā€ and a phone to once again shove into his big sisterā€™s face.
ā€œThatā€™s not even my video!ā€
ā€œI know! They took the comment down already, but itā€™s EVERYWHERE, look!ā€ Someone had screenshots. It wasnā€™t just one video covering it, Dustin scrolled, another popped up soon after, someone getting a little too excited about what was probably the most unfortunate of accidents.
Tumblr media
ā€œDonā€™t they have likeā€¦ I dunno, people running their accounts? A person? Maybe their internet person just forgot to log out of that account?ā€
ā€œNo! Eddie runs it! The guitarist? Eddie Munson, he usually runs it all himself so everyone thinks itā€™s him, ANDā€”AND LOOK!ā€ Dustin clicked on the Corroded Coffinā€™s account, then tapped on the most recent post. Just a big black square, with the word ā€˜Whoopsā€™ in big bold white lettering, captioned ā€˜I regret nothing. Just ONE chance, sweetheart, just one.ā€™ With a little prayer hands emoji. ā€œHeā€™s ASKING you out!ā€
ā€œHeā€™s being a freak on the internetā€ hands found her hips, the classic mom pose. Immovable, stubborn.
ā€œHeā€™s always a freak! But heā€™s really cool! He does like, Make A Wish stuff, andā€”and visits childrenā€™s hospitals dressed up like fantasy characters, and he runs DnD things on the account every few months an heā€™s just REALLY cool, I mean theyā€™re all really cool but Eddie is really cool maybeā€”maybe you couldā€”ā€
ā€œUpend my life, Rosieā€™s life, for a guy I donā€™t know, who has a job that takes him all over the world, who probably has his pick of whoever the hell he wants so what exactly could I bring to the table to keep him around? Iā€™m done with all that shit, Dustyā€¦ I had my time, I have Rosie, I have everything I need. What makes you think Iā€™d even like him?ā€
ā€œYou liked Billy.ā€
ā€œGet out.ā€
ā€œNo, wait, not like that, I mean, theyā€™re the same! Well, okay, not the same, Eddie didnā€™t start out a giant prick an heā€™s never been racist, but theyā€™re sorta similar, similar music tastes, shit fathers, heā€™s rough round the edges, lil scary looking sometimes but heā€™s just a big softie when you get past the whole, scary dog thing. Eddieā€™s likeā€¦ if Billy never had a shit dad. I just think that maybeā€¦ if you looked him up, maybe youā€™dā€¦ I dunno, youā€™d like himā€¦ maybe heā€™d be your kind of guyā€¦ maybe you could finally find someone who appreciates youā€¦ youā€™re not supposed to be on your own, Stevie.ā€
ā€œYeah well, Iā€™m not. I have Rosie, and Robin, an you guysā€¦ an yā€™know. Bob.ā€
ā€œBob?ā€ One of her patented looks told him all he needed to know, he jerked back in revulsion ā€œew! God! Fine, could you just! I dunno, look him up or something? Just think about it, I swear heā€™s really cool an Iā€™dā€”ā€
ā€œYouā€™d love free tickets to their next concert.ā€
ā€œWell, yes, butā€”ā€
ā€œAlright then, nice to see you Dustin. Always a pleasure to have you round, please get the hell out of my house.ā€Ā 
ā€œUggGGGGGHHHHH, STEVIIIIEEE!!!ā€
ā€œUggghh, DUSTIIIIN! You interrupted my work out for internet pervert nonsense.ā€ She began shooing him toward the door ā€œShoo, shoo. I have a family sized bar of chocolate to work off my hips before it gets stuck there.ā€
ā€œHeā€™d love your hips! With the addition of chocolate bars or not!ā€
ā€œWeird! Out!ā€ Out the door he went, it closed behind him.
That of course didnā€™t stop him from yelling through the door, ā€œJust look him up!! I promise you wonā€™t regret it!ā€ But she mostly ignored him, until he went away.
Mostly becauseā€¦ Dustin never spoke up in favour of men before. Heā€™d even gone through a period of hinting at maybe just switching sides and dating Robin when he found out Robin was a lesbian, but both women had promptly shut that down every single time he tried bringing it up.
He wasnā€™t a huge fan of men.
Heā€™d been raised by a strong independent woman, heā€™d had a strong female role model in Stevie whoā€™d pushed through every trauma life had thrown at her, he had Robin, he had Max, Jane, Erica, he had Nancy his friend Mikeā€™s older sister, one of his friends had also been raised by a strong independent woman, heā€™d been surrounded by strong women his entire life with only one real solid male figure.
And that was his middle school science teacher, Scott Clarke. Which was kind of sad when you thought about it.
For him to really vouch for a man, it meant something! It wasnā€™t something to ignore, even if every instinct Stevie had told her to just. Leave it. What kind of man could a rockstar lifestyle have created. What kind of red flags could Eddie Munson be hiding that Dustin couldnā€™t (or didnā€™t want to) see.
Did he really even mean it?
Was it actually Eddie, and not someone else from the band? Would she be seen as foolish for even entertaining the thought? It wasnā€™t like sheā€™d ever paid attention to the bands Dustin liked, so surely nobody would see her as a weird fan for thinking about it, right? She didnā€™t even approach him!
He approached her!
Shit like that didnā€™t just happen though. Or did it? Could it? Was she stupid to even entertain the thought?
Before she knew it, it was time to pick Rosie up, and she hadnā€™t even finished her work out. it was fine, her hips could handle a chocolate bar. For now. Its days were numbered.
645 notes Ā· View notes
piratefishmama Ā· 8 months ago
Text
Just ONE chance | Part 2
ā€œAre you gonna message him?ā€ It was later in the evening, Rosie was in the living room watching some gameshow while Stevie sat at the kitchen island, having just finished cleaning up after dinner, Robin facing her through her phone, stuffing her face with what looked like French fries.
Tumblr media
ā€œDusty thinks I should butā€¦ should I? It doesnā€™t feel tooā€¦ I dunno, desperate? Cause Iā€™m not desperate, I could not care less about dating rockstars, in fact before all this the idea of dating a rockstar would have never crossed my mā€”ā€œ
ā€œStevieā€ Robin cut her off ā€œif anyone seems desperate right now, itā€™s him. It ainā€™t you, nobody in their right mind could think it was you. You were just doing your own damn thing and he cringe-failed so hard he broke the internet. Listenā€¦ you donā€™t have to do shit, EVEN IF Dustin is telling you to. Dustin doesnā€™t know everything.ā€ Stevie bit her bottom lip in pensive thought, Robin on the other end of the video call stuffed another French fry into her mouth before asking, ā€œdo you want to though? Thatā€™s the important thing, do you want to?ā€
ā€œI donā€™t KNOW, thatā€™s the problem. Itā€™s niceā€¦ I guessā€¦ to be wanted, but itā€™s not just about me anymore.ā€ It was about Rosie. Stevieā€™s life wouldnā€™t be the only life impacted if she took that chance. Maybe if she were younger, maybe if she didnā€™t have Rosie things would be different, maybe sheā€™d have been wild and jumped at it, but she had Rosie, and Rosie mattered way more to her than anything a stranger on the internet could give her.
ā€œItā€™s a little bit about you, Stevie, and itā€™s okay to let it be about you. Youā€™ve spent literal years putting yourself on the back burner, even Mike got hitched before you, like who called that?ā€ Nobody. Nobody called that, even though he and Will had been dancing around each other since kindergarten, nobody would have called that. ā€œWe both know Billy wouldnā€™t have wanted you to be on your own like this either.ā€
ā€œWhat if heā€™s weird about Rosie?ā€
ā€œThen he hits the road, simple. I heard heā€™s good with kids though.ā€ Stevie offered a look, a simple unimpressed raised brow ā€œWhaaatt, okay fine I looked him up when I saw it all blowing up, call it me doing my sisterly duty. Heā€™s weird, but in a harmless opossum kind a way, yā€™know? Like he probably scampers or something.ā€
ā€œWhat about likeā€¦ drugsā€¦ alcoholā€¦ shit I donā€™t want around Rosie?ā€
ā€œAccording to his Wiki page, the whole band an issue with addiction in the early days, toxic music label, it was a huge legal mess, they all went to rehab, cut their old label an theyā€™ve all been clean and sober since. Knowing you, like I doā€¦ I really do think youā€™d like him, and Rosie would love him too, Heā€™s veryā€¦ I dunnoā€¦ā€
Vickie, Robinā€™s fiancĆ©e, chose that exact moment to shove her face into view of the camera to announce, ā€œHeā€™s like a mix between Billy and Dustin, a suuuper-hot, but a huge nerd, youā€™d like him, definitely.ā€
A weird mix of Billy and Dustin. What a wild mental image.
ā€œSo youā€™re both on Dustinā€™s side then. I should message him?ā€
ā€œItā€™s not our place to tell you what to doā€ Robin shrugged, she couldnā€™t tell her what to do, but she could offer a helpful suggestion of ā€œmaybe ask Rosie, sheā€™s the only reason youā€™re hesitating and sheā€™s old enough now to at least have an opinion, right?ā€ Stevie looked toward the living room, where the glow of the TV bounced off the walls, Rosieā€™s laughter echoing from the other room.
ā€œShe already knows somethings up, Stevie, kids talk in schoolā€ Vickie reminded them ā€œand Eddieā€™sā€¦ pretty famous, Corroded Coffin arenā€™t exactly unknown, an youā€™re not exactly unknown online either, someoneā€™s bound to have mentioned it to her by now.ā€ If the kids hadnā€™t, Dustin probably would eventually just to get her on his side before Stevie could get her on hers.
ā€œFine. But if this all blows up in my face, iā€™m revoking both your lunch privileges, for life.ā€
ā€œWhat?! Nā€”ā€ Stevie cut their unison attempt to argue off with a well-timed click of the end call button, put her phone face down on the island top so she could ignore the incessant buzzing of them attempting to dial back, and made her way to the living room, where someone just face planted into a lovely pool of mud on the TV. Good ol gameshow night.
ā€œRosieā€¦?ā€ No time like the present. ā€œCan we talk?ā€
It wasnā€™t often that Stevie interrupted gameshow night, usually theyā€™d be watching it together, but Stevie had had other things on her mind, other much more pressing things that people didnā€™t seem to want to let die.
She was prepared to let them die, let this be a weird story of her ā€˜youthā€™ that sheā€™d remember some day in a nursing home, a story nobody would believe but sheā€™d swear blind happened!
A rockstar thought she was hot enough to send the internet into a meltdown one time. It happened, she swore it!
It wouldnā€™t die though. Not until she either told everyone to drop it, or entertained it.
ā€œSure, but uhmā€¦ if this is about the Eddie Munson thingā€”ā€ she turned away from the TV to look at her mom ā€œUncle Dusty warned me about it way in advance, got me just before school started this morning.ā€ Probably saved her from being ambushed about it by the kids at school. ā€œItā€™s cool! Heā€™s really cool, I mean, heā€™s super weird, huge nerd butā€¦ he seems niceā€
Meddling little shit. Stevie took a breath, accepted this information, decided to deal with it later, and just powered through. ā€œAnd you donā€™t think itā€™s unrealistic for everyone to think this is real?ā€
ā€œItā€™s definitely real, mom. Uncle Dusty found his private account on your followers list, heā€™s been following you for aaaaaages,ā€
ā€œMost people call that stalking.ā€ How did Dustin even find it among the mass of others? Had Eddie been that obvious? Or was Dustin just that good?
ā€œIn the old days maybe! Itā€™s almost romantic nowadays. You should message him, before Uncle Dusty does, cause he will. We both know he will.ā€ Dustin had been uncomfortably absent all day since bursting in without warning. Stevie hadnā€™t even thought of it as a red flag until Rosie mentioned it ought to be. ā€œItā€™s time, mom. Itā€™s okay.ā€
ā€œYouā€™re really okay with it? Itā€™s not crazy?ā€
ā€œOh, itā€™s SUPER crazy, but itā€™s a cool crazy, my momā€™s gonna date thee Eddie Munson cause he begged you to, itā€™s the best kind of nuts, I wonder if heā€™d teach me how to play guitarā€¦ā€
Tumblr media
Had Eddie Munson actually asked anyone before he opened those DMā€™s, anyone at all, because he didnā€™t really consult the band as to what he was going to DO on the band's accounts, theyā€™d have probably told him not to do that.
And theyā€™d have been correct!
Because everyone and their mother, and even some fathers, decided to shoot a shot they never had!
He didnā€™t just get one DM, no, he gotā€¦ many. Many. People messaged asking for autographs, merch, people asked for tickets, some offered themselves if Stevie didnā€™t message, some offered to DRESS UP as Stevie for him, a few went with Eddieā€™s own plan simply messaging with a plea for just ONE chance for themselves.
For hours. Hours. He scrolled through those messages.
Sure, he could have gotten someone to do it for him, but heā€™d done everything else on the account by himself, so heā€™d tackle the DMs too. Heā€™d delete them, one by one, everything that wasnā€™t relevant to his quest, making sure to view each one, even if they did surprise him in their creativity, because what if she had a private account like he did? What if she actually recognised her popularity and created a tiny incognito safe haven from it all like he did?
She didnā€™t though.
She didnā€™t have one.
She didnā€™t need one.
At least that was what he gathered at the end of the long list of DMs, she didnā€™t have a private, she just had her main one, and she hadnā€™t sent him anything from it.
He knew it was a long shot, he could have had all the fame and fortune in the world, it wouldnā€™t matter if she wasnā€™t interested in it all and she clearly didnā€™t seem to be if what Chrissy had said was true. She didnā€™t do sponsored posts; she wasnā€™t aiming for fame and fortune. She lived a comfortable life with her kid, and just happened to be popular on the internet.
She didnā€™t owe him anything, he didnā€™t deserve an answer, heā€”
Bzzt-bzzt
He snatched his phone right back up lightning fast, swiped down the notifications bar, and with wide eyes read the first line of the message heā€™d been sent,
ā€œPLEASE HEAR ME OUT Iā€™M STEVIEā€™S BROTHER, DUSTIN.ā€
Eddie wasnā€™t about to claim Stevie didnā€™t have a brother. He didnā€™t know if Stevie had a brother, just that Stevie had a sister because the sister, Robin, had turned up in a video once, bursting in on a live in the early days to accidentally announce to the world that ā€˜Vickieā€™ was now single.
It could be a trick, it could be a way in, it could be literally anything, what Eddie knew for sure though, was that it was the closest heā€™d gotten to potentially speaking to Stevie.
So, he did the only thing he could think of.
He replied, ā€œprove it.ā€
The reply came through quickly, almost like this mysterious brother was waiting by the phone in hopes Eddie would be there to receive his message. It was a photo of a polaroid. Grainy as it was, it was clearly a younger, frankly stunning Stevie with a barely-there baby bump, reaching back to a guy who was leaning over her with a ridiculously stacked sandwich, she looked happy, she looked lovestruck, she glowed, and for a moment, jealousy struck him as if he were some childish teenager.
This was likely her childā€™s father, the one who was no longer in the picture for some unknown reason. Sheā€™d never disclosed why. He looked happy too though soā€¦ there were more questions than answers at that point.
Plus, the Polaroid had a scrawled ā€œStevie domesticated Satanā€ on the white part with a little devil face so, many questions, very few answers.
With the image, however, came the caption ā€œI took this when she was pregnant with Rosie, itā€™s the last photo we have of Billy, Rosieā€™s dad.ā€
Rosieā€¦ Stevie had a little girl.
Another photo followed, this one of Stevie and a younger boy with curly hair, the kid all dressed up in a brown suit, hair done up to the nines, probably for some kind of party. No pregnancy in sight, they were both beaming at the camera, the kid with an awful lot of metal in his mouth but, adorable. The Polaroid had ā€œSnowball!!!ā€ scribbled on the white part, followed by a message reading ā€œmy mom took tons of photos of us for the Snowball dance back when I was in middle school, Stevie helped me do my hairā€ so the kid was supposed to be this ā€˜brotherā€™ of hers.
A final photo was sent, this one clearer, obviously taken on a phone of what looked like a grade graduation ceremony, a more recent image of Stevie, with her daughter, and an older version of the kid from the snowball picture. Captioned with the message ā€œonly family could get so many family pictures!ā€Ā 
The next message came through without a photo ā€œweā€™re not related by birth, she was my babysitter for years before circumstances got her adopted by my mom. Iā€™m oversharing a lot and sheā€™s probably gonna kick my ass for it BUT I think sheā€™d like you if she gave you a chance so Iā€™m building a bridge of communication!ā€
Oh yeah, this guy had meddling little brother energy for days.
Eddie quickly typed back, ā€œthanks for your vote of confidence, man but she isnā€™t giving me a chance here, you are, itā€™s not up to anyone but her.ā€
Typingā€”typingā€”tyyyyyping ā€œshe just doesnā€™t know you, an sheā€™s hesitating cause of Rosie, I could probably get you a meet up though!ā€
ā€œWhat like, ambushing her in the wild?ā€
ā€œItā€™d work!ā€
ā€œSounds like itā€™d get me slapped by both her, and a restraining order an neither are good for my public image, or my feelings.ā€ He then quickly added, before ā€˜Dustinā€™ could argue ā€œListen dude as much as I appreciate this, an I do, Iā€™m real touched by your approval, it means the world to me, at the end of the day, itā€™s up to her. You canā€™t make this decision for her, alright?ā€
The typing stopped, then started again, and then stopped. Then finally ā€œfine, but can you leave your DMs open for a little longer? Sheā€™s got Rosie to consider so she may just need to think about it a bit longer.ā€
ā€œDeal.ā€ Heā€™d leave them open for one more day, after that heā€™d just have to accept the loss, accept that she didnā€™t want him, cause she sure as shit didnā€™t need him, and move on with his life.
Dustin sent him one last emoji, a little salute, and that was that for the rest of the night. There were a few more pings, opportunists, but nothing from the person who mattered most. He deleted them, switched his phone to silent, and took his disappointed little self to bed.
It wasnā€™t that late but, he was done for the day.
He was tired.
209 notes Ā· View notes
piratefishmama Ā· 9 months ago
Text
Just ONE chance | Part 1
Eddie Munson was only certain about one thing in his life, and that was that it was supposed to end in his twenties.
But it didnā€™t.
Tumblr media
Thanks to a very dedicated swimsuit model with first aid training, a kick up the backside from Wayne, and a solid year long stint in rehab, Eddie Munson did not die at 23 years of age, when he fell, system full of drugs, into a pool head first from the pool house roof and didnā€™t QUITE stick the landing.
His head hit the edge of the pool, dyed the water a sickly red.
He still had the scar, he knew he was infinitely lucky that that was ALL he had, but that scar remained forever, buried beneath the mass of curls atop his head where theyā€™d had to operate to reduce the swelling. A terrifying reminder that life was fleeting, and fragile, and god he could have died.
He could have wound up paralyzed, he could have wound up permanently disabled needing round the clock care, could have wound up as ANYTHING but perfectly healthy. Doctors said he must have had some kind of exhausted guardian angel looking out for him because a miracle was really all they had to describe it as.
Eddie gave a toast of apple juice to the terribly drab ceiling of his private hospital room, thanked his mother whoā€™d long since passed for her life saving help because honestly who else would it have been, and then, after that kick up the backside from Wayne, not that it was needed but it was appreciated, he proceeded to fix his life.
Of course, the rockstar life wasnā€™t easily fixed, but he was a man on a mission. A man with a life he realised that he actually wanted to live.
Corroded Coffin hit fame early, they struck what initially appeared to be gold at some back ally dive bar in Indy, a guy, a fancy embossed business card, a label, words of promise like roses hiding thorns. It was all flashing lights and good times at first. They were thrust upon massive stages to crowds mostly paid to be there to make it look ā€˜packed,ā€™ label never told them that, theyā€™d told them theyā€™d put their material out on the air and people had responded well, half-truths really. They had gotten the music out there, but the people hadnā€™t really come until those packed venues hit the magazines.
Everyone wanted to be part of the next big thing. The up and coming next big name in the music industry, already selling out shows!
They were stars, they were famous, they were puppets on strings being pulled this way and that, given alcohol and drugs and thrust into the limelight to dance a jig thatā€™d keep them relevant, not for their music but for their mess.
How very entertaining a human can be when theyā€™re not fully coherent, when they exist purely to make a mess of themselves.
Heā€™d lost himself, his bandmates lost themselves, and only through him not dying did they finally realise that somewhere along the way things had gone so terribly wrong, only then did they finally realise that those perfumed words said in a dank bar back in Indy those years ago, were just well masked poison all along.
They spent two years of their lives after Eddie emerged from Rehab, two years and frankly way too much of the money theyā€™d risked their very lives to earn, to free themselves from the web of legal bullshit their label had ensnared them in.
But they were free. Sure, some of their old material was lost, claimed by their old label, but a quick rerecord, few changes here and there and a solid re-release under their own, self-made label, Corroded Records, well. They werenā€™t too worried about the future after that. Sure, their old label attempted to slander them online, tried to spread awareness of how theyā€™d paid their earlier audiences to attend shows, but the real fans didnā€™t care.
The real fans hit back just as hard.
Used that fancy lil internet gizmo everyone now seemed to have to spread awareness on the frankly abhorrent practices their old label had engaged in, practices they hadnā€™t only used on Corroded Coffin, but several other smaller, younger, vulnerable members of the entertainment industry.
It was a long hard slog to the top full of pains, addictions, rehabilitations, and recoveries. But finally, they had their footing. They were making new music. They were comfortable. They were happy.
It was a brand new, quickly evolving world, and thanks to those new world advancements, thanks to home computers, laptops, smart phones, tabletsā€¦ the internet, they very quickly found they had a way to get their creations out to everyone from the comforts of a Ā home studios while they figured themselves out post nightmare. Dove into their roots, rediscovered themselves, thrived.
But survival didnā€™t come without its downsides.
Eddie Munsonā€¦ hadnā€™t died at 23 years of age, but that didnā€™t mean heā€™d gotten to live straight away afterwards. Even as a clean and sober man, there were things he hadnā€™t done, things thatā€™d justā€¦ taken a back seat on the list of priorities while the years had ticked on by during their long haul trek to creative freedom.
Life had taken a backseat. For him at least.
Gareth had found himself a girlfriend, and now fiancĆ©e in a girl theyā€™d known of back in high school, but had only recently reconnected after they found out she was a back up dancer in one of their new music videos. Once Head Cheerleader, now professional dancer Chrissy Cunningham, the reunion had been adorable, and aired on TV in ā€˜behind the scenesā€™ footage.
Jeff had had an ongoing thing with the backup drummer theyā€™d taken up at a gig when Gareth had broken his arm a few years back. Never having been able to talk about it publicly thanks to their old label.
And Dougie was engaged, fell ass over tit for their lawyers assistant, thankfully it was mutual. Their relationship was a whirlwind but soulmates were supposed to be like that.
Eddie was thrilled for them all, really he was but no matter how much heā€™d realised heā€™d wanted to LIVE after nearly dyingā€¦ he still hadnā€™t really lived at all. He was still justā€¦ Eddie Munson, now thirty something rockstar. Single, sober, and honestly kind of sad.
So sue him if he watched a few slice of life things on the internet every now and then.
The bands accounts were thriving nicely with him at the helm, he got the hang of itquickly enough, adapted well as the technologies advanced, so much so that people accurately guessed very early on that it was him running the channel himself, rather than a social media professional. It was a nice distraction! Kept him busy, allowed him to watch silly little videos and find the occasional fan being adorable in their mentions, he loved his band accounts.
But his private account was his favourite.
Because of her.
Heā€™d found her videos on the camera app within a few hours of signing up the bands account, and very quickly made a private one just to follow hers.
Was it weird? Was it a little stalkerish? From the experience could he possibly understand where some of his own fans were coming from when they stalked the bands socials? All of the above, yes.
But heā€™d found a goddess on his very first real adventure into the internet. He figured he ought to be cut some slack!
Stevie was her name, or Stephanie, but she never went by Stephanie. He found out very quickly that she was a mother through her morning makeup videos where she ranted about PTA mothers, from what he heard, Sally was evil and her potato salad was garbage.
He would have been more than happy to just watch. He followed the account on his private one very early on, and heā€™d have been content to just simply watch, swoon in silence, appreciate every little mole he could see on her without ever doing anything about it. Heā€™d had crushes as a kid, he wasnā€™t a stranger to unrequited attraction, or even completely one sided attraction cause the other person didnā€™t know you exist, so it didnā€™t matter to him that she would never really know he existed.
He didnā€™t even comment on her videos. Liked them sometimes, but heā€™d never commented. Even on the one where she let slip that sheā€™d been single for a while. He remained respectful.
That wasā€¦ until the lunch videos.
Specifically, the little teddy bear thing she did with the rice.
He didnā€™t know what it was about that specific video, heā€™d watched a few of her cute lunch videos before, the sushi was adorable although not to Eddieā€™s taste, the ramen pots? Genius, Eddie had even tried to do that himself a few times, although the ā€˜soupā€™ never tasted half as good as hers looked like it would be, the little fruit animals? He actually, for a moment, genuinely wanted to eat fruit!
But he still kept his words to himself.
But that little teddy bearā€¦ nestled in a cushion of healthy greens with a small pot of home-made sauce on the side, it hit Eddie in a way he couldnā€™t really explain, he wanted that. Wanted someone who loved so hard that they went out of their way to make cute lunches for the person they loved the most. He wantedā€¦ the domesticity of it all. She didnā€™t just have what he wanted. A life. A lived life. She was what he wanted.
Everything about her, that he knew at least, that she was smart, creative, full of love, beautiful, but also pretty damn feisty if her inspired rants about Sally and her potato salad were anything to go by. He wanted her.
He typed a comment, hit send, closed the app, and turned off his phone. Certain that that would be it, sheā€™d ignore his personal account, as she ignored everyone else, heā€™d get the urge out of his system, heā€™d feel sad for a little while after the inevitable ignoring, and all would be well.
If only heā€™d have just looked at the account he was on, before he pressed send.
Maybe itā€™d have protected his poor front door from the abuse it suffered a few hours later when Dougie finally realised he was at home, because really out of all four of them, Dougie really was the only one with the solid arm strength to really beat the shit out of his front door.
ā€œEDDIE, OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!ā€ Or the vocals to reach him all the way up in his bedroom where heā€™d very maturely burritoed himself after turning his phone off.
Itā€™d been up for hours. Had he not turned his phone off, heā€™d have known immediately, because it wouldnā€™t have shut up, there were over fifty thousand likes on his comment already, over six thousand replies to it.
And the first video on his for you page was someone REACTING to it.
There were screenshots circulating. Stevie hadnā€™t replied to it, everyone ELSE had, but she hadnā€™t, deleting it wouldnā€™t do anything, but he did it anyway. The damage was done, the spotlight was lit and aimed. It was only when the others managed to get to his place and get him seated on his comfy couch, that he finally asked the most important question. ā€œWhat should I do?ā€
ā€œWellā€¦ we could blame an imaginary social media guyā€ Gareth offered, already expecting the following, ā€œtell everyone it was just an oopsie?ā€
ā€œNah, everyone knows Eddie mans the accountā€ from Jeff. ā€œMaybe we justā€¦ silent treatment it, let it blow over?ā€
ā€œThatā€™s not exactly fair on Stevie though, is it?ā€ Chrissy piped up from where sheā€™d perched herself on the arm of the chair Gareth was sat on. ā€œSheā€™s been thrown into the spotlight here and some of your fans can be kindaā€¦ intense.ā€
ā€œSheā€™s an influencer though, being in the spotlight is like her job.ā€
ā€œUh, no, Dougie. Sheā€™s not.ā€ Chrissy argued ā€œnothing she does is sponsored, sheā€™s justā€¦ popular, and Eddieā€™s just given her a lot of unwanted attention. Eddieā€¦ you really should address it. Either say you were joking if you were, orā€¦ I dunno, own it. Be serious about it.ā€
ā€œWere you joking?ā€ Jeff stepped a little closer, into Eddieā€™s space, crouching down a little to his level. ā€œWas this just little Eddie talking? Orā€”or were you serious? Like, sheā€™s hot, donā€™t get me wrongā€”ā€
Gareth snorted, cutting him off ā€œyou think sheā€™s hot?ā€
ā€œIā€™m gay, Gare, Iā€™m not blind. Eddie?ā€
ā€œā€¦An if I were serious? Would that be okay? I could hear a but before Garebear interrupted.ā€
ā€œBut, she does have a kid, right? She comes with a real little human being, kids are fragile, impressionable, opinionated, and rockstar lives arenā€™t kid friendly most of the timeā€¦ I know weā€™ve cooled it down, and I know youā€™re great with kids, Ed butā€¦ are you prepared to likeā€¦ have one? Like a whole ā€˜this is one I made earlierā€™ little kid with its own pre-built personality that youā€™ve made zero contributions to?ā€
ā€œI made zero contributions to you shits too and yet you turned out alrightā€ Eddie sniped right back, a little more defensive than he really had any right to be. ā€œIf it werenā€™t for me hunting this lil chubby cheeked fuck down after his first hellfire he wouldnā€™t even be here!ā€ Eddie motioned to Gareth, who squawked in objection
ā€œHey! Iā€™m neutral here leave me out of it!ā€
ā€œDo you not think I could take care of one?ā€ Eddie ignored Gareth completely, eyes on Jeff, who shook his head without any offense taken from the outburst.
ā€œI think youā€™d be great at it, Iā€™m pretty sure youā€™d be like, the first choice for godfather if any of us had kids, but Iā€™m asking youā€¦ are you prepared to take one on right now, even if they might not like you very much at first, if sheā€™s interested? Because that kid will come with her, thereā€™s no ignoring that.ā€
He didnā€™t even have to think about it. Even though the godfather thing was something heā€™d undoubtedly circle back to later, his answer was an instant ā€œYes.ā€
ā€œThen own it. You have our support to use the account to make a public statement, however you choose. See where it gets you.ā€
His public statement was a picture, a black square with big white writing on it. Just a big ol ā€˜WHOOPSā€™, captioned ā€œI regret nothing. Just ONE chance, sweetheart, just one.ā€ And then he opened their DMā€™s in the hopes that maybe.
Just maybe.
Sheā€™d message.
Part 3
285 notes Ā· View notes