#oc x gareth

[potatoesenpaii]

CAREBEARS

I never thought these two would be loved by others as much as i love them

Main/important :

Their story

Their friendship

Fics :

Not without you

Patience

Babysitting

Art :

"Do you think we'll still be friends after you graduate?"

Rambling and bonding

[moonchildreads]

small town

Chapter 26 - The Heart of Rock & Roll

IN THIS CHAPTER: Odd meetings, sudden realizations, and Dottie goes metal [14.1k]

WARNINGS: toxic friendships (not related to the Corroded Coffin boys, they are the best), technically underaged drinking, angst w/comfort, one (1) queer panic moment, author talking shit about Anthrax (the band, not the disease)

A/N: next chapter will start getting more into the mysteries of hawkins so enjoy our final beach episode type of chapter <3 also please let me know if you wanna added to the taglist! HUGE shoutout to my beloved @gutterratt who helped me put together the setlist - i love you always, and i wish i was drinking chocolate milk with you while talking shit about college.

masterlist - prev - next | main playlist - chapter playlist

They say the heart of rock and roll is still beating And from what I’ve seen I believe ‘em

Friday, June 27th - 1986

“Hey rockstar, come on in!”

Eddie Munson was pretty sure he was never going to be a rockstar. He had discussed this recently with his best friends after an intense practice session and all four of them agreed that this had been fun while it lasted, but it wasn’t something they could realistically pursue long term. Jeff was getting ready to leave for college in West Virginia, Gareth was trading in his plaid sleeveless vest for a suit and jazz music sheets, and Donny was much more interested in perfecting his family tiramisù recipe than to keep shredding his fingers by learning new bass arrangements on a monthly basis. Eddie had had a long time to think about his priorities and hopes for the future, but the proud look on Wayne’s face upon seeing his nephew’s first weekly paycheck stuck to the fridge by an old magnet was enough to cement his decision.

No, Eddie Munson was never going to be a rockstar, but that didn’t mean Corroded Coffin had to hang up their towels just yet. They were still squarely in the middle of Summer when the long awaited muggy and rainy Friday that was poised to be their biggest show to date, if not perhaps the biggest show they’d ever play, finally arrived. All in all, the members of Hawkins’ most misunderstood and badass band felt like they’d gotten their cake and were about to eat it too.

“Nice outfit,” James said, a heavy hand coming to pat Eddie’s back while he closed the door behind him. “Was expecting leather pants to be honest, but this looks great.”

“It’s too hot for leather, sir,” Eddie laughed as he hoisted his bursting backpack up his shoulder. “Maybe next time.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” the older man craned his head towards the stairs. “Honey? Eddie’s here!”

“I know!” came Dottie’s faint voice from the upper floor. “Tell him to come up, I’m not finished yet!”

“She’s already done her makeup three times,” James confided in the younger man. “Maybe you can convince her to stop messing with it.”

“I’ll try my best,” he said, saluting him before climbing up the stairs towards his girlfriend’s bedroom two steps at a time.

Eddie slowly pushed the door open to find Dottie at her desk, still wearing her cotton pajamas with a cute duck print and curlers in her hair while she put the finishing touches on the sickest makeup look he had ever seen on her. As if entranced, he leaned on the door frame while he watched her expertly apply a thick coat of mascara to her eyelashes; she smiled at him through her round vanity mirror and he swore he could feel himself melt against the wood.

“Hey darling,” he said, voice all soft and gooey.

“Hey superstar,” she replied with a flirty tone. “Are you gonna come in so I can give you a kiss before I do my lipstick or nah?”

“If I ever say no to that, shoot me because I’ve been possessed,” he kicked the door shut behind him and hurried to wrap his arms around her middle. “You look gorgeous.”

“This isn’t my final look, I’m not even dressed yet.”

“Dunno, baby, the duckies are pretty metal,” he joked while placing little pecks on her lips. She laughed and swatted at his chest lightly, making the backpack that was perched on his shoulder slide down his arm towards the floor. “Here - I brought you a bunch of shirts, thought you’d like to have options.”

“Thank you! I’ll try them on when I’m done with my makeup.”

“Can I watch while you play dress up?” Eddie wiggled his eyebrows.

“No, perv, my Dad’s downstairs!” Dottie laughed with no malice. “But… you can let me do your makeup now and then you’re free to go get a snack while I take all this stuff out of my hair.”

“Aw, are you gonna make me look pretty, babe?” he batted his eyelashes dramatically.

“No,” she said with a wicked grin. “I’m gonna make you look metal.”

Eddie was dying of anticipation as he sat at the Burke’s kitchen island, distracting himself by eating cheese crackers and talking to James. Dottie was being awfully secretive about her chosen look for the night, and he’d tried to look around her room in search of clues while she was painting his nails with her favorite black lacquer but quickly gave up when she grabbed her eyeliner pencil from her desk. Standing between his legs with her left hand gently placed on the side of his face to keep him still as she worked, he decided to let her do her thing in silence - he’d had too many run-ins with the thick pencil himself and did not want to risk an accident by pulling her focus away from her task.

For a brief moment, Eddie got to enjoy the feeling of his hands on her hips, keeping her close as she swiped the pigment on his waterline, but it was over all too soon for his taste. Once Dottie deemed his makeup perfect, she swiftly pushed him out of the room and locked the door behind him before he couldn’t even think of protesting about it. Defeated, Eddie went downstairs to commiserate with his girlfriend’s father (who was still unaware of the change in the teens’ relationship status) and James kept him busy with genuine interest and a few well placed questions about their plans for the upcoming show.

The young Munson boy was in the middle of listing the songs they’d chosen for the first half of their set when James lifted his eyes from his chopping board and looked at something over Eddie’s shoulder with a very surprised expression on his face. Confused, Eddie turned around and was suddenly met with his usually soft and adorable girlfriend looking like she’d come straight out of one of the magazines he kept hidden underneath his bed.

In the doorway between the kitchen and the living room stood an extremely nervous Dorothy Burke sporting dark eyeliner and deep red lipstick, her wilder than normal curls looking both frizzy and bouncy while she fidgeted as she waited for their opinions. She sparkled with bold silver jewelry that had been borrowed from her friends - a few of Gareth’s smallest rings, Jeff’s studded belt, and Donny’s chain bracelets -, and she was grateful to them for being so willing to help her put together a suitable look for the occasion. Two pieces from her own wardrobe were the only things she felt fully confident about wearing; the black suspender skirt and boots she’d worn for her birthday paired with new fishnets made her feel less strange in her own skin.

It was, however, what she was wearing on the upper part of her body that made Eddie feel like all the air inside his lungs had suddenly rushed out of his body. When he shoved a bunch of his t-shirts into his bag earlier, he hadn’t noticed that particular garment had sneaked into the mix, mainly because it had been a couple of years since he had last worn it. It was a simple top really, a white cotton baseball tee with black short sleeves just like Hellfire’s shirt, but  with his band’s logo printed in black at the front instead. The stylized letters spelling out Corroded Coffin now sat perfectly snug against Dottie’s chest, who was looking more and more apprehensive as silence stretched in the kitchen.

“Woah, honey, you look…,” James began, startled.

“Unreal,” Eddie completed, mouth suddenly dry.

“Shit,” Dottie shook her head. “I knew it, I knew was too much, I- I’ll go change really quick-”

“NO! No, no, are you crazy? This is- wow,” Eddie said, a huge grin spreading on his face. “You look amazing, like a- you look like you’re a Princess of Metal or something. Are you sure you’re not getting on stage with us?”

“I think I’ll leave that to the pros,” she said with a shy smile as her hands fiddled with the bottom of her skirt. “But are you sure this is okay? I have other options-”

“Honey, you look great,” James said, putting down his knife and walking around the counter so he could comfort her with a hug. “It’s just, y’know, different from your usual so we were surprised. But you look very pretty, I promise. You don’t like it?”

“No, I do, it’s just… I don’t know, it feels like I’m a poser,” she looked down at herself. 

“You’re not a poser,” Eddie scoffed. “You know the setlist front to back and you were the one who got us this gig. You’re literally our biggest fan.”

“I thought I was your manager,” Dottie joked. “Also don’t let Lee hear you say that, he’ll get upset and he loves you guys.”

“I can fight him for you, you deserve the top spot,” he said, making her snort. “He’s like 70 and is missing a leg, what’s he gonna do?”

“He’s a war vet! Have some respect for the man!” she gasped.

“I bet you could push him over if you wanted.”

“Eddie!”

“Alright, kids, no fighting veterans in this house, okay?” James said while taking off his apron. “I’ll go get the camera before you two head off - behave while I’m gone, please.”

Once he was back and with a new roll film in place, James motioned for them to pose for his impromptu photoshoot. Eddie was quick to hop back onto his stool, bringing Dottie closer to him with his arms around her waist. With him sitting down and her standing between his legs, their heights finally somewhat matched for once and the eldest Burke snapped photo after photo of the dolled up teens - first with big smiles, another one with their tongues out, a third one with the devil horns up, and the last one slightly out of focus as Eddie planted a big wet noisy kiss on Dottie’s cheek making her squeal as she tried to leap out of his embrace. James’ only comment was to offer copies for Wayne, and Dottie instantly knew by his lack of teasing that there was a potentially very embarrassing conversation in her near future.

“We good to go?” Eddie asked. “Gotta head to Gareth’s first to load the drums.”

“Yeah, I’ll go get your backpack and we can leave. Meet me outside?” she replied, disappearing into the living room.

“Come on, I’ll walk you out,” James said, guiding Eddie towards the front door. It didn’t come as a surprise to the younger man when he lowered his voice for a man to man talk. “You kids drive safe, okay? Call me if you need anything, don’t bother your Uncle while he’s at work.”

“Yes, sir,” Eddie said, uncharacteristically serious. “Donny’s gonna take over for me if I’m too tired to drive back, we have it under control.”

“Okay, good. I trust you, Ed. You go have fun, yeah? Have a great show.”

“Thank you, sir. We’ll be safe, I promise.”

None of them were exactly unaware of the deeper meaning of their conversation, especially since it hadn’t been the first one of its kind they’d ever had. Eddie felt equal parts grateful that James trusted him so much and ashamed that he was actively lying to his face every single time he saw him. He was so used to Wayne knowing that sometimes he forgot no one else did, and while he was on the same page as Dottie and they both agreed that they didn’t want to make things awkward with their friends just yet, he hoped they could tell James sooner rather than later. He’d hate to disappoint the one person who had so warmly opened the doors of his house to him before he even knew who he was and without an ounce of judgment.

Dottie finally joined them at the door and after a few quick goodbyes and loving hugs, the pair got into the van and drove off towards the first stop of their most anticipated adventure of the summer. Take that, Hawkins, Eddie thought. Corroded Coffin was officially a touring band, and he was confident nothing in the world could derail the night ahead of them.

Indianapolis was not too far away from Hawkins, located only around 42 miles to the Southwest of the much smaller town. Corroded Coffin (plus Dottie, who was by then considered as much part of the band as the rest of them) had piled into Eddie’s van with their instruments and amps as they excitedly made their way towards their biggest gig ever. After a short argument that Eddie quickly silenced, Dottie secured her place as his co-pilot due to her knack for map reading, leaving the other three boys to sit in the back with Jeff acting as the official DJ for the ride.

Entering the city felt like a dream come true. As Gareth drummed on the window with his sticks, perfectly in tune to the songs coming out of the van’s speakers, Donny leaned forward to follow Dottie’s map over her shoulder, nervously watching as their destination grew closer and closer to her moving finger. It felt momentous as they saw the bar’s neon sign calling to them like a beacon, all five sets of eyes wide with anticipation as Eddie pulled into the parking lot behind the building. They sat in silence for a few seconds once he cut the engine and the radio was turned off, everyone’s heads reared towards the direction of the bar with elation and perhaps also a little bit of apprehension.

The Hideout was safe, a known place with familiar faces that cheered for them and supported their dreams even if no one else in their godforsaken town did. Here there would be no Dave with cold beers waiting behind the bar, no B.B. and Rudy telling stories, no Shonda’s cheek pinching once they were done, no Lee asking for a Judas Priest song before they packed their gear back into the van. Turning in his seat to look at his fellow band members, Eddie’s mouth split into a contagious grin in an effort to muster some collective courage.

“Well, boys. We made it,” he said, cringing at the sound of his own uncertain voice tone.

“So, what now?” Donny asked. “Do we start unpacking or…”

“Um, I think…,” Dottie said, chewing on her lower lip. “I think I’ll go in and see if Jessie is around? I talked to her last week and she said she would be here. She’ll tell us what to do.”

“I’ll go with you,” Gareth offered, quickly jumping out of his seat.

“Okay, we’ll, uh, we’ll get ready to start unloading then,” Eddie said, motioning for everyone to get out of the van.

“God, I need a fuckin’ smoke,” Donny muttered nervously as Dottie linked arms with Gareth and headed towards the sidewalk.

Moore House was a quaint corner pub a few blocks away from the main IUPUI buildings in Downtown Indianapolis, and even though rain had been announced for later on in the night, the outside tables were beginning to fill up with tired and stressed college aged kids trying to let loose for the weekend. The new semester wasn’t scheduled to start for a few more weeks, but that didn’t mean activities at Indiana and Purdue had been reduced completely to zero; there were summer lessons to be taken for extra credits, early graduations to be celebrated, part-time and student jobs to be worked, and sport camps and clinics to be attended, and Moore House always made sure to offer a safe, fun, cheap destination for visitors and locals alike.

Gareth stared around the pub in wonder, absorbing the atmosphere while Dottie stood on her tiptoes searching for someone. There was a long bar counter in the middle of the room with wooden stools and a cash register at each end, a sizable number of booths and tables with people milling about and enjoying cold beers and various pub foods, and a low stage at the back on the right side of the building. The curly haired boy gazed at the flags and banners that decorated the room: cream and crimson for Indiana University, old gold and black for Purdue, and Hoosier pride everywhere you looked.

“Are we sure this isn’t a sports bar?” Gareth asked, eyes stuck to a table with a group of guys who looked like they would have been best friends with the Hawkins Tigers.

“It’s just a college bar, their campus is like 10 blocks away,” Dottie said, balancing on her toes. “Also there’s like a million bars around here, they need to attract people somehow and school pride always sells. Oh, there she is!”

Jessie the Night Shift Manager was standing right outside the kitchen door talking to another employee, her bold makeup and crimped hair instantly making Gareth’s eyes widen. Dottie grabbed his hand and led him straight to her, a warm smile spreading on Jessie’s lips as soon as she recognized the younger girl approaching her.

“Goddamn, teach! That’s a hell of a look,” Jessie said, pulling Dottie into a one armed hug. She was holding a clipboard on her other hand, a clearly borrowed bright pink scrunchie she hadn’t had the time to use yet secured around her left wrist.

“Wanted to look the part for the show,” Dottie shrugged. “This is Gareth, he’s Corroded Coffin’s drummer.”

“H-hi, how’s it going?” he said, a little bit dazed upon seeing Jessie’s snake tattoo wrapping around her upper arm.

“Hey, nice to meet you, dude!” she replied, putting her hand forward to shake his before she turned back to Dottie. “I know I told you last week over the phone, but congrats on your graduation!”

“You too! Any news about the job thing?”

“I’m still waiting to hear back from the lab but fingers crossed! If I have to spend another summer managing this kitchen, I think I’ll off myself,” Jessie joked. “Where’s the rest of the band?”

“Oh, they’re in the parking lot! Should we start unloading the van now?”

“Hell yeah! We’ve got a great crowd tonight, should be fun. A lot of people touring campus this week,” she said while leading them towards an employee-only backdoor. “You guys can come from the parking lot straight through here, I know your equipment is probably heavy.”

“For sure, thanks-” Dottie was saying before Gareth cut her off.

“Not a problem, I can carry heavy loads,” he grinned.

“Good for you, kid,” Jessie said, an amused smile gracing her lips. “Well, just let me know if you need anything. Come find me when you’re done, teach, I’ll get you set up at a table!”

“Seriously?” Dottie raised an eyebrow at Gareth as soon as they were alone again. “You can carry heavy loads?”

“Don’t,” he groaned. “I panicked. You didn’t say she was hot.”

“Who’s hot?” Donny asked, leaning against Eddie’s van with a cigarette between his lips.

“Jessie, the manager. She’s too old for you anyways,” Dottie said at large before going to help Eddie and Jeff at the back of the van.

“Says who?” Gareth argued.

“She called you kid,” she replied, not even looking at him.

“Shit, man,” Donny laughed. “It’s lost.”

“Ugh, shut up.”

Between all five of them, the members of Corroded Coffin plus Dottie made quick work carrying the heavy equipment inside, their constant back and forth through the backdoor making the bar’s patrons notice the commotion. A live show was always something to look forward to for the college aged students who frequented Moore House, particularly if they had a bottle of beer in their hands. College was a moment where people got to figure themselves out, and there was no greater feeling than discovering a piece of yourself you didn’t know was there before through the rush of a good (and free) show.

Eddie and Gareth began putting the drum kit back together while Jeff and Donny went back to the van to get the last few bits and bobs they’d need for the show; Dottie, on her last task before being dismissed as their roadie for the night, headed towards the bar to grab a few water bottles for her friends as she knew they’d be asking for a drink two songs into their setlist. Corroded Coffin might not have known what it was like to shed blood and tears on a stage, but they certainly could sweat for an entire crowd if necessary.

Because of the jitters currently racing through her body, Dottie did not notice there were two people staring straight at her from the other side of the bar, directly opposite from where she was waiting for Jessie to come back from the kitchen. A boy and a girl about her age were inching closer and closer to her, muttering amongst themselves curiously and trying not to startle her.

“It’s her, I know it is,” the girl said when she was within hearing distance.

“No, it’s not, just look at her,” the boy was saying, and Dottie would have turned towards them if not for the fact that Jessie had finally appeared, a pile of cold water bottles balanced on her forearms.

“Ooookay, here you go,” she said, tilting the pyramid into Dottie’s waiting hands. “If you need more, ask Pearl or Frankie, I’ve caught them up to speed now.”

“Thanks, I will!”

“Oh, also I set up two tables for you guys over there,” Jessie leaned over the countertop to point to two square tables pushed together near the stage. “Just, y’know, tell them not to aim the amps directly to that side or your ears will start bleeding two minutes in.”

“I think I’m immune to it by now, but thank you for worrying about my hearing,” Dottie laughed.

“Holy shit, it is her!”

Nothing could have prepared Dottie for the whiplash of turning around and discovering the gossiping couple were none other than Benji and Tracey, two of her old friends from when she lived back in New York. She was suddenly grateful she had her arms busy, because her first instinct had been to reach out for a hug before her brain caught up to her limbs and she remembered why she didn’t consider these people her friends anymore.

“Dorothy?!” Benji asked, confusion all over his face as his eyes raked over her image.

“H-hey guys, what are you doing here? I- I mean, how are you doing?” Dottie managed to get out, trying to school her expression into what she hoped was a pleasant face.

“I got into Purdue! We’re touring the campus,” Tracey said, proudly. “Oh my god, are you going to Purdue too? Or Indy? Do you live around here?”

“No, no, I’m… I’m here with some friends, we live in a different town. We’re just here for the show.”

“Well, you look like you’re ready for it!” Benji said with a dumbfounded tone. “What happened to your hair? It was so long before, we almost didn’t recognize you!”

I cut it myself with a pair of kiddie scissors at a gas station halfway through Pennsylvania, was what Dottie thought, but she wasn’t about to tell them that, lest they knew how brokenhearted she’d been when she’d left everything she’d ever known behind to move to Hawkins. There was an old wound opening itself in the middle of her chest, and she’d fight tooth and nail before they ever saw her bleed again.

“Just needed a change! You know how it is - new year, new me,” she laughed and the fakeness of the sound went unnoticed by the pair but not to her. “So, you’re both going to Purdue then?”

“Oh, no, just Trace,” Benji waved his hand as he spoke. “I got into UTA. Gonna do Civil Engineering actually, so you can thank your Dad for that one.”

“No way!” Dottie smiled, and this time it felt less fake. “That’s awesome, congrats. And you’re still doing Psych?”

“Yup!” Tracey beamed at the fact she remembered. “I’m so excited! I’m gonna move in with Howie so we’re looking to rent an apartment somewhere around here.”

“Oh, wow, you and Howie? Didn’t see that one coming.”

“No, ew, not like that,” she shuddered. “He’s going to Indy U. We’re just gonna live together, you know, try not to kill each other. Fun stuff.”

“Is- is Howie here too then?” Dottie asked, dread settling at the base of her stomach.

“Yeah, Jeanette and him are trying to find a place to park, they’ll be here in a sec.”

“Jeannie is here?”

“We don’t call her like that anymore,” Benji said, his tone playful but revealing of the fact that he thought it was stupid.

“Where are your friends?” Tracey asked, not aware that Dottie’s knees were flaking on her. “We can all sit together and catch up!”

“I- Sure, it- it’s that table over there,” Dottie managed to get out, pointing to it with a lone finger. “I need to do something first but you guys go sit and I’ll find you later!”

Without waiting for confirmation, Dottie launched into a sprint towards the backdoor, not stopping until she saw the parked van on the other end. She found Donny with half his body shoved inside the back, searching for something on the floor while Jeff peered over his friend’s shoulder on his tiptoes, arms heavy with carefully looped cable cords.

“He always does this!” Donny complained, voice a little muffled.

“We should get him a stick bag for his birthday.”

“He has a brown leather bag, he just never uses it because it doesn’t look cool but if he keeps losing these goddamn sticks and making me find them, I swear-”

“Woah, what’s the rush?” Jeff asked when he spotted Dottie bounding towards them.

“My friends are here,” she wheezed out, dropping the water bottles she was still holding onto the van’s carpeted floor.

“What?”

“My shitty friends from New York,” Dottie explained. “I just ran into them, they want to sit with me and catch up and I think I’m gonna pass out.”

“Okay, okay, come here,” Jeff pulled her into a tight hug. “Who are these people again?”

“Remember when I told you about my best friend Jeannie who kinda stole my boyfriend but not really?”

“That bitch!” Donny said, abandoning the search for Gareth’s second set of drumsticks.

“Yeah, so, her and three more people. Trace and Ben are being super nice to me which is odd as hell because they spent all semester not talking to me before I moved away, and apparently Howie is here too and he’s always been kind of a douchebag but I never cared for him that much and I doubt he cares about me either.”

“I know I’ve said this before but they sound like they suck,” Jeff said.

“They do, yeah,” she rested her head on his shoulder, arms wound around his waist. “What do I do? They already know I’m here, I can’t just disappear and miss the show.”

“Hey, look at it this way,” Donny proposed. “You won’t be able to talk that much when we start the set and as soon as we’re done, we’ll be there for backup.”

“Yeah! You just gotta survive like ten more minutes on your own.”

“That does not make me feel any better.”

“We’re playing Mötley,” Jeff said, looking down at her.

“What? There’s no way Eddie allowed that.”

“Oh, Ed was in no position to argue,” the two boys snickered over her head.

“What does that mean?”

“You’ll find out,” Donny said mysteriously before turning back to the van. “By the way, have you seen Gareth’s extra drumsticks?”

“Yeah, I put them in my door pocket ‘cause they kept rolling around the back,” Dottie said, unlatching herself from Jeff’s front and going to get them. “Here.”

“You hold onto them, he didn’t bring the holder.”

“I told him we were forgetting something!”

Feeling more confident after their pep talk, the trio made their way inside where they exchanged a final group hug. For good luck, Jeff said, and while no one knew if he meant it for the band or Dottie, the question went unasked. He was the first one to walk into the bigger room to take the rest of the cables to their friends setting up on stage while the water bottles changed hands once more, this time settling on Donny’s arms.

“Hey,” he said, before they finally had to face the music. “You’ll be okay. You have us now.”

“I know. Thanks, Don,” she smiled, leaning to kiss his cheek and leaving a bright red print on his skin. “Oh, no, I forgot I had lipstick on!”

“Leave it,” he laughed, walking backwards and pushing the doors open with his shoulder. “It looks badass!”

Dottie felt a little bit like a lamb walking towards the slaughterhouse as she approached her table, now occupied by friends from what felt like a previous lifetime. Tracey and Benji were sitting next to each other, each of them holding a beer bottle and doing what one could only assume was gossiping as they looked around the place and the people mingling around. Next to them sat Jeannie, hand wrapped around a tall cocktail with a practiced air of nonchalance undercut by the tiniest bit of hardness in her stare. Rounding the group was Howie, already wearing an Indiana University shirt and cap he’d probably gotten during his tour earlier on in the day.

“Hey everyone,” Dottie said, smiling at them when she approached.

“Dorothy?” Howie said, getting to his feet to pull her into a hug. “Wow, what happened to your hair?”

“Oh, I just… I chopped it off! Do you like it?”

“Love it!” Tracey was saying but a voice rose above hers, cutting her short.

“You look like you’re wearing a costume,” Jeannie sneered before also getting up and hugging her former friend.

Being friends with Jeannie had never been an easy task for anyone who had been brave enough to try. She could be lovely if she liked you, could even be considered caring on occasion, but she could also tear you apart just as effortlessly with a few well-chosen words. Jeanette Sanders was the undisputed leader of their friend group, and she carried that title with pride, not allowing anyone to challenge her or her authority if they wished to remain in her graces. Tracey, on the other hand, had always been known as the genuinely kind one of the bunch, if a bit of a pushover. Whenever Jeannie lashed out, Tracey was always there to patch up the wounds she left behind in her wrath, never complaining about it but, most importantly, never defying her.

Howie, however, was a different story. In true Golden Retriever fashion, he had been deemed too dumb to be Jeannie’s second in command but too useful to cut by the time they’d entered high school. He had the most money, the biggest house, and as soon as they reached the age to own a license, the only one who had unlimited access to a car thanks to a very generous gift from his wealthy Criminal Attorney father. That is not to say that the only reason they were friends with him was what he could purchase or what he owned; after all, they’d known each other since they were six, but it was a well-known fact that they put up with his consistent silly frat-boy behavior because he just made plans go so much smoother if he was included in them.

What Howie had going on with his dumb rich kid lifestyle, Benji matched with his stereotypical still-in-the-closet theater kid attitude. Benji was smart, calculating and quick-witted, he was unrivaled in the Fine Art of a Comeback, and had secured his place as Jeannie’s right hand man a long time ago by sheer virtue of knowing who everyone was, and most valuably, what everyone wanted. He could be incredibly manipulative and two-faced, but he was also the one who was the most honest with Jeannie, constantly calling her out and keeping her in check whenever he thought she went too far.

Regardless of this, Dottie had to admit that if you had asked her what she thought of them a mere year earlier, she would have never described any of her former friends with such harsh words. Instead, she would have told you that Tracey was loyal to a fault, tender and compassionate with everyone around her, and that Howie was funny in a boyish sort of way, clumsy, hardworking, and entirely too selfless regarding his material possessions. She would have labeled Benji as self-assured and opinionated, never shying away from being in the spotlight and most likely to be destined for stardom, and Jeannie… Jeannie would have simply been called her Best Friend.

“It’s nice to see everyone,” Dottie said, swallowing her pride and sitting at the table, her back turned to the stage. “Are you excited for college? Tracey was telling me you two are moving in together.”

“Oh, yeah!” Howie said, leaning back on his chair. “We haven’t found a good place yet, but I’m hopeful. Do you live around here?”

“No, no, I’m just here for the show,” she shrugged. “I live in a different town, we’re like 30 or 40 minutes away I think.”

“Where do you live?” Jeannie asked.

“It’s called Hawkins, it’s to the Northeast? It’s really small, you probably haven’t heard of it.”

“But it’s here in Indiana?”

“Yeah, still Indiana!”

“At least you’re close to Indianapolis,” she said, like she would have dropped dead if she had to move anywhere that wasn’t a major city.

The sudden feedback of a microphone cut through the noise in the pub, and Jessie, busy stationed at the till, motioned to a coworker to lower the lights and cut off the ambient music. On the stage, the boys cringed at the shrill sound, Donny immediately lowering the volume of an amp at his side. Jeff looked sheepishly at the crowd, one hand on the neck of his guitar, the other resting on top of the mic casually.

“Hi,” he simply said, his easygoing tone making people turn towards them with curiosity. “Our name is Corroded Coffin, we’re from Hawkins, Indiana, and we’d like to play a few songs for you tonight if you guys don’t mind.”

Dottie turned around in her seat, completely ignoring everyone else at the table and feeling all her frayed nerves turn into joyous pride as she saw her friends on stage like they were always meant to be. Jeff stood confidently in the middle, wearing a white Metallica t-shirt he’d cut into a muscle tank, ripped jeans and a plaid red shirt tied at his hips. His chains glinted as he turned to look at his band members and Eddie nodded once, giving him the go ahead so he could start playing the intro to Dio’s The Last in Line.

Even if Dottie knew the setlist front to back and had seen them play each song repeatedly throughout the last few months, she found she was still happily stunned at the talent her friends displayed every time they got to play rockstars for a while. We’re a ship without a storm, cold without the warm, light inside the darkness that it needs, yeah, Jeff sang, and if the silence in the room was anything to go by, Corroded Coffin knew they had everyone’s attention on the palm of their hands.

“Huh,” Benji said, surprised. “Was not expecting that from how they look.”

We’re a laugh without a tear, the hope without the fear, we are coming…

“What were you expecting?” Dottie asked with a knowing smile.

Benji had no time to answer as Jeff strongly yelled the word home, the rest of the band following his lead and diving into the rest of the song with purpose and childlike joy. A couple of excited hollers were heard through the bar as Jeff launched into the second verse with the usual intensity he always performed with; Eddie joined him once he reached the chorus, happy to be the background vocals to his much more operatic-inclined friend.

They took no breaks at the end of the song, launching straight into Iron Maiden’s Flight of Icarus to a similar reception from the crowd, much to their surprise. Dottie sang along without a care in the world, entirely too delighted to care about the people around her when her boyfriend and her best friends in the whole world were finally living their shared dream and gifting everyone one of the best performances they’d ever done. Moore House was no Madison Square Garden, but to Corroded Coffin it might as well have been anyway.

Once they reached the last two songs in the first half of their set, Dottie anxiously leaned forward in her seat knowing this would be Gareth’s make or break moment. Perched behind his drum set, his next task ahead was to ace Metallica’s Motorbreath and Mötorhead’s Overkill back to back, and while he felt more than capable of rising to the occasion, there was still the nagging feeling that something might go wrong at the worst possible moment. He breezed through Motorbreath with ease, having played it several times to great success at The Hideout, but to go straight into Overkill with no time to shake off the tension in his arms had him all strung-out, and he had expressed as much in the van during their trip to Indy.

“Get it, G!” Dottie yelled in an effort to be supportive, and he absolutely heard her in the lull between the two songs, letting out a crazed laugh as he launched into Overkill’s intro.

Eddie wasted no time to jump in and the rest of the boys followed, giving it their all to get the crowd hyped up before they took a small water break. Maybe it was the manifestation of Gareth’s worst fears, maybe it was the fact that he’d gone all out for the last two songs and wore the wood out, or maybe it was simply an unlucky coincidence, but right at the last second, during his last hit, one of his drumsticks fractured into two pieces with a loud crack that made even Howie wince. Donny hurried to Gareth’s side and they shared a quick talk before the drummer stood up and started power walking towards the exit, most likely headed to the van in search of a new pair of drumsticks.

“We’re gonna take a short break, let you guys get a breather and more drinks, take a piss if you need it,” Eddie said into his mic with a cheeky smirk. “We’ll be back in a sec with more songs, thank you for the great vibes so far.”

“This is fun,” Howie said, polishing off the rest of his beer as Jeannie scoffed next to him.

“Where the fuck is he going,” Dottie muttered to herself distractedly as she watched Gareth bolt past her. “G! G! Jesus Christ- Gareth!”

“I’ll be right back-” he was yelling back to her when he saw her bend down and take his extra drumsticks out of the side of her boot. “Oh, thank God!”

For the first time that night, Gareth realized Dottie wasn’t alone at their table and after shooting the strangers a quick hello, he awkwardly turned towards his friend, feeling very much observed by them and not in a particularly welcoming way. He raised his eyebrows in a silent question; she simply pressed the sticks into his hand and mouthed the words “Ask Jeff”. He was about to say something when Jessie the Night Manager appeared suddenly, shoving more water bottles into his arms.

“You’ve got great taste, teach!” she said to Dottie before turning to Gareth. “Band sounds really good!”

“Thanks!” he said, eyes widening and eyebrows disappearing behind the floppy curls on his forehead.

“Better get back on stage, hot stuff, break’s about to end,” Jessie winked and quickly disappeared behind the bar again.

“Wow,” Dottie said, teasing him. “Didn’t think you’d actually start drooling.”

“I’m gonna need you to be quiet while I restart my brain,” he breathed out, entirely too flustered to come up with any defensive statement. “You said you talked to her last week, can I have her number?”

“No. Go up there and keep being charming until she gives it to you herself! You got this,” she pushed him towards the stage; he twisted in her hold and grabbed the back of her head with one hand to plant a wet, noisy kiss to her forehead.

“I love you, thank you for these!” he said, jogging back towards his bandmates.

“Love you too! Don’t break them, that’s your only extra pair!” Dottie yelled after him and he waved the drumsticks over his shoulder to let her know he’d heard her.

“Well,” Jeannie said with a dangerous glint in her eyes and her arms crossed. “Looks like Little Miss Dorothy isn’t so little anymore. Didn’t take you for a groupie.”

“I’m not their groupie,” she frowned. “Those are my friends, I’m just being supportive.”

“Really? How did you meet them?” Tracey asked, curiously.

“We went to school together. I had Political Science and Chemistry with Gareth, we were lab partners for a few months.”

“You’re not dating that guy, are you?” Benji laughed. “He seems nice but it looks like he’s in love with that waitress.”

“Ew, no, he’s my best friend,” Dottie said, a fond smile on her face. “They all, actually.”

“Best friends, huh?” Jeannie said pointedly. “In six months? You moved on fast.”

“Guess I learned that from you,” she shrugged, turning around once more to watch the rest of the show leaving Jeannie to fume in silence.

“Alright, everyone, who’s ready for some more?” Jeff said into the mic, capturing the bar’s attention once more. “You good to go, Gare?”

Instead of answering, Gareth simply launched into an intro Dottie was very familiar with, but she was confident it hadn’t been included in the setlist she’d seen in the van. They were supposed to open the second half of their show with a Megadeth song, she’d heard Donny argue for it, so what did Eddie think he was doing joining his drummer and plucking along to Van Halen’s Hot for Teacher? It was even more surprising when he approached the mic as Jeff took over guitar duties; the eldest member of Corroded Coffin scanned the crowd with a mischievous smirk until his eyes found his girlfriend before he leaned into the mic.

“Oh, man, wait a second,” he began, turning towards Donny and hamming it up for the performance. “What do you think the teacher’s gonna look like this year?”

Dottie let out a loud laugh disconcerting everyone at the table, but when she locked eyes with Eddie and he winked at her, she knew that Gareth had, as she’d suggested, asked Jeff about the uncomfortable situation going on offstage and had been thoroughly briefed on the issue at hand. It was so like them to change their setlist to make her feel better, and yet so unexpected that it left her a little teary. With a simple gesture, something no one else would have noticed except her, they’d managed to remind her that she had their support no matter what happened or how far they were from her.

As the show went on and the boys played a very funky rendition of Whitesnake’s Saints an’ Sinners, one of Gareth’s favorites, Benji and Tracey began getting more into it, cheering along with Dottie, swaying and headbanging in all appropriate places. Howie looked like he was honestly enjoying himself during Helter Skelter, even going so far as to sing along, elated that there was at least one song with lyrics he actually knew in the setlist. The band took a few seconds to let Jeff drink some water before they played Van Halen’s Little Dreamer, showcasing the boy’s best asset: his lovely crooner voice, full of body and emotion.

By the time Corroded Coffin reached their last song, Moore House was packed with the patrons that had been sitting outside when they’d first arrived at the bar. A light irregular shower had forced people to either go home or seek refuge inside, and many had gladly chosen to stay for the rest of the show and were now being treated to a high energy rendition of Quiet Riot’s Cum on Feel the Noize to close out the evening. During the song, there was a moment where Donny and Eddie, who were goofing off with each other, turned to look at Jeff and Gareth who were also playing along to their antics from the other side of the stage.

Miles away from home, in front of a crowd that had only just met them but seemed nonetheless enthusiastic - or at least not disgusted by their presence - the quartet had never felt more at ease when performing. Even if Moore House wasn’t The Hideout, they knew they could get used to it just as easily if given the chance.

“So,” Eddie said, once the applause at the end of the song had quieted down. “Normally that would have been our last song, but today’s a special day for us. You see, Moore House, today’s the very first time we’ve played outside of our hometown. Little Hawkins has had quite the monopoly on us for the last few years,” he joked, making a few people chuckle along with him. “The truth is, we wouldn’t be here without a very special someone in the audience. You might have heard her screaming her ass off like a banshee all night - that was pretty metal of you, princess.”

It felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room, leaving her floating between the tables as Dottie realized Eddie was talking about her. Charmed like a snake, she sat a little bit taller, eyes glued to the tender smile her boyfriend was not so secretly affording her. It didn’t matter if anyone else saw the hearts floating above his head - he was so in love with the short haired girl sitting a few feet away from him that he was willing to bear all the jokes their friends had been making at his expense for the past week every time they practiced the surprise they had planned. Just the look on her face was worth all of it, and so much more. Donny motioned for her to stand up and she did so, one hand wrapped around the back of her chair for support.

“That’s our banshee!” Gareth said, gleefully.

“Actually, that’s our manager,” Jeff chuckled into his mic without missing a beat. “And she’s the one that got us this gig so you’ve been enjoying the show, please give it up for her.”

Jessie finger-whistled loudly from behind the till, leading the amused applause that broke out while Dottie marveled at the audience happily following Jeff’s commands. It was undeniable that Corroded Coffin had always been charming, but seeing how strongly a crowd of college aged strangers reacted to them had her feeling incredibly bittersweet at the fact that their path to glory was being cut short so early by themselves of all people. Maybe she could convince them to see their college adventures as a hiatus rather than a permanent break. Four years would pass by quickly, wouldn’t they?

“To show our gratitude to our most Darling Dottie, our friend and manager, let’s end this on a high note, shall we?” Eddie redirected everyone’s attention back to the stage. “This has been Corroded Coffin, from Hawkins, Indiana, and we have one final question for you, guys-”

No fucking way, Dottie thought when she heard Jeff start playing their surprise song. There’s no way. They’d never do this outside of Gareth’s garage, I must be totally hallucinating-

“Whatever happened to Saturday night?” Eddie sang into the mic, exchanging positions with Jeff and taking the lead singer spot in the middle of the stage. “When you dressed up sharp and you felt alright?”

“Oh, I love this song!” Benji said, in true theater kid fashion.

“You used to love Rocky Horror, didn’t you?” Tracey said, remembering an old theater ticket Dottie used to keep around as a bookmark.

“I still do, yeah,” she breathed out, a dazed smile etched onto her face.

Eddie wasn’t the best singer in Corroded Coffin. He knew this very well and didn’t have any issues admitting to it, especially when what he lacked in the voice department, he knew he more than made up for with his guitar skills. When he’d brought up the idea of closing the show with Hot Patootie/Bless My Soul as a thank you to Dottie, everyone else had quickly agreed that while the gesture was lovely, the song did not fit in with the rest of their planned set. The boys had then begun suggesting different songs they knew she liked, but Eddie had remained undeterred. In the end, the only reason he’d managed to crack them was because he’d arranged the sax break into a new guitar solo that had really excited Donny upon hearing it, and so the rest of the band followed suit in changing their opinion.

“Go, girl!” Benji pushed Dottie towards the stage when the solo started and Eddie kneeled near the edge looking right at her as he played. “He’s waiting for you!”

With red cheeks and embarrassed giggles, Dottie let herself be guided towards the stage by both Benji and Tracey, turning back to look at them dancing with one another when she felt their hands leave her back. Shifting her focus back on Eddie and only Eddie, Dottie let herself imagine a future where they got to do this all the time, and instead of having to play covers of well known bands, Corroded Coffin would be allowed to play their own songs - the ones she knew were written into notebooks stashed in Eddie’s closet and Donny’s old toy chest (now turned into a junk trunk after donating all his action figures to his little sister Giulietta to marry off to her Barbies).

With your arms around your girl you’d try to sing along, it felt pretty good, woo, really had a good time, Eddie belted before he moved away and sang the chorus along with Jeff at this mic, eyes never leaving his girlfriend’s beaming figure at the bottom of the stage. He had never felt so in the zone performing before: he had a cheering audience that consisted of more than five drunks, his girl was dancing and singing along with the crowd, and his best friends were killing it even after Gareth’s little drumstick mishap. At the start of the night Eddie Munson had been sure he would never be a rockstar, but at that moment he couldn’t deny he certainly felt like one already.

“Good night, everyone!” Jeff said while they played themselves out. “You were fuckin’ awesome!”

Most people cheerfully clapped for them before going back to their chosen alcoholic beverages for the night, the speakers sparking back to life with classic rock to mask the chattering and gossiping. Eddie took his guitar off his shoulder and hurried off the stage, wrapping his sweaty arms around Dottie who squealed in delight when he lifted her up and shook her around excitedly.

“Okay, okay, calm down!” she laughed, hands coming to hold onto his shoulders for dear life.

“Thank you, darling, holy shit, thank you,” he said, his voice full of emotion as he squeezed her sides. “That was the best moment of my life, I’m so fucking thankful.”

“You guys were so good! That was your best show ever, I’m so proud of you, babe.”

“Yeah?” he grinned at her, finally moving his face off her neck. “You have no idea how much I wanna kiss the shit out of you right now but the guys are totally gonna notice.”

“We can sneak down to the lake after we drop everyone off,” she whispered, mischief in her eyes.

“Fuck, I’m so in love with you,” he groaned, eyes closed and face tilted towards the ceiling. “I’ll- I’m gonna take my shit back to the van and I’ll be right back or else I’m gonna do something stupid and get us kicked out of the bar.”

“I’ll go get us drinks!” she announced, loud enough so that the rest of the boys could hear her. “Beers for everyone okay?”

“I’ll go with you!” Gareth said, springing up from where he was squatting while he unplugged a pedal. “Leave the kit here, guys, I’ll come get it when my arms aren’t about to fall off.”

He offered his hand to Dottie who happily took it, and together they went to order beers for everyone as a prize for a job well done. Corroded Coffin’s Big Show had been perfect and a celebration was in order, even if their table had been co-opted by a bunch of teens none of them really felt like partying with. Sense of danger lulled by the excitement of the evening and the fact that she was now flanked on both sides by her best friends, Dottie relaxed and finally let her guard down, content on enjoying the festivities and listening to the chatter around her as she often did when hanging out with the boys.

In retrospect, she should have known better. Hawkins had changed her, softened her, made her more trusting, more vulnerable. She was easy prey now, and as much as she tried to hide the gaping hole in her chest every time she looked at her former best friend, Jeannie had always been an expert in sniffing out blood in the water. Dottie really should have known better.

The Corroded Coffin boys might not have been stellar students during their time at Hawkins High, but their social status as the school’s freaks had taught them a very valuable skill: all four of them could spot a lion dressed like a lamb from miles away. Introductions had barely been made before they recognized Jeannie for who she truly was, all fake smiles hiding a look of contempt she just couldn’t - or wouldn’t - mask in its entirety. It was almost laughable how easy it was to pinpoint how important she thought she was, and also just how much it bothered her that none of them seemed to fall at her feet no matter how much she flicked her long hair over her shoulders.

Jeannie sat silently at the table, becoming more and more upset as the minutes ticked by and no one so much as turned to look at her. As Tracey talked to Donny sitting next to her, gushing about the show and his performance, Eddie stretched and then dropped his arm on Dottie’s chair, pulling her closer to him without the rest of the group noticing. She looked up at him for a brief second before she leaned forward with the excuse of grabbing a napkin, letting their thighs touch as she sat back down. They both turned towards Tracey with bashful smiles, and upon hearing her friend praising the lamest band she’d ever heard, Jeannie felt a ball of anger grow and lodge itself in her throat. Time to hunt.

“How would you even know if they’re good or not? You only listen to Hall & Oates, Trace,” she laughed dismissively, finger tracing the rim of her glass with a practiced smug expression.

“You do?” Donny asked Tracey who had suddenly gone mute. “My sisters like them too, I think we have all the albums at home. Do you have a favorite?”

“Um, I don’t know, they’re all good…,” Tracey said, squirming uncomfortably under the sharp sight of her friend.

“Oh, come on, you love H2O,” Dottie said, matter-of-factly. “You used to listen to Maneater constantly.”

“Oh, oh, here she comes, watch out, boy, she’ll chew you up,” Jeff sang softly, making Tracey’s mouth lift up in a thankful smile.

“Show off,” Benji said, but it was clear to everyone he meant it as a harmless joke.

“You guys listen to Hall & Oates?” Howie asked, surprised.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t we?” Eddie shrugged. “We all love metal the most, but we’ll listen to almost anything once. How do you think we got this one into our music?”

“Actually, Donny was the one to corrupt me with that Helter Skelter cover, so if you want a teacher, that’s your guy,” Dottie smiled, remembering old conversations with the gentle boy who helped her navigate her first D&D session.

“Why does only he get the credit for corrupting you?” Gareth complained, shoving her lightly.

“Because he lets me borrow all his mixtapes whenever I want them.”

“And I don’t? I’ve offered you my tapes a million times but you never take any.”

“That’s because you’re obsessed with making me listen to Anthrax and I’ve told you like ten times that it’s fucking noise.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Eddie said, raising a hand to stop her. “That’s sacrilegious, princess, you can’t say that.”

“Can’t I have my own opinions?”

“Yes, but if they’re wrong, we’re legally obligated call you out on them,” Jeff said, bottle of beer halfway up to his mouth.

“Et tu, Jeffrey?” Dottie asked, hand to her chest dramatically making Eddie snicker next to her.

“You’re fun,” Benji declared. “I like this new Dorothy.”

“Me too!” Howie agreed.

“New?” Gareth frowned, baffled. “What do you mean new? She’s always been like this.”

It had been a long time since any of the boys had had questions about Dorothy Burke’s past. As months went on and their friendships got stronger, they’d gotten to learn about her extensively and she about them in return. The five of them were a well-oiled machine by then; banter flowed easily, diner and takeout favorites had been memorized to perfection, and comfort was given before it could even be asked.

It was strange for them to think of a moment in their lives before they knew Dottie, because it truly felt like they had known her forever. She’d opened up to them about why she was the way she was sometimes, her past experiences and her fears shaping her into the fiercely loyal yet deeply afraid of being lonely girl they had come to love and appreciate. No one could imagine her being something other than who she had always been - that shy tenderhearted teen looking for connection with a bag full of snacks and a set of borrowed dice - so hearing that Dottie hadn’t always been their Dot was a little shocking, to say the least.

“It’s not that she was very different,” Tracey tried to explain. “It’s just that she used to be more… reserved I guess?”

“She was a loser.”

“Jeanette!” Benji scolded her. “That’s rude!”

“What? You know I’m right!” Jeannie defended herself. “She never wanted to go to any parties or bars, never misbehaved, never drank. I’m surprised she even had a boyfriend while she was such a prude.”

“I- I was just busy-” Dottie muttered, embarrassed in front of her friends and feeling her hidden wounds rip open once more.

“Yeah, busy being a loser! You never wanted to go anywhere with us, the only time we could get you to break a curfew was on Tyler’s birthday.”

“If all that makes her a loser I guess we are losers too, aren’t we boys?” Eddie said, dropping his hand from the back of Dottie’s chair to her shoulder protectively. “I mean, shit, I had to do my senior year three times.”

“I had a panic attack the first time I smoked weed and I’ve never touched that thing since,” Jeff added.

“I still go to church every Sunday morning with my Nonna,” Donny raised his glass as if he was toasting.

“The only party we went to during senior year was the one Dot made us go to, and we had to leave because she got into a fight,” Gareth said, laughing at the memory.

“Actually, Eddie got into a fight,” she clarified, feeling brave with her friends by her side. “I just finished it.”

“Well, you did blackmail the guy, so I think 50% of that fight was on you,” Donny reminded her.

“Fuckin’ Andy, man,” Eddie shook his head. “I had a bruise on my ass for days.”

“She almost broke his nose so I’d say you guys are even now,” Jeff finished, turning to the four people staring at Dottie like she had grown two heads. “You should have seen her, it was awesome.”

“You did all that?” Howie asked, almost with reverence.

“Are they gifting fucking lobotomies in that shitty town of yours or did you suddenly grow a personality so you could lie to get new friends?”

“That’s so mean, Jeane-” Tracey said, but Dottie interrupted her.

“You know what, Jeannie? You’re right. I was a loser,” she said in an even tone, aware that she was bleeding out around a shark. “I’ve always been a loser, and that didn’t change when I moved to Hawkins just because I went to a party once. I’ll always be a loser, I know that, but at least I’m not trying to pretend like I’m cool when I’m actually fucking miserable all the time.”

“Holy shit,” Benji muttered, but no one paid any attention to him.

“Don’t act all high and mighty with me, Dorothy. You may have new friends now that don’t know the real you, but I do. Let’s not lie to ourselves here, you’ll always be that know-it-all nerd who used to hide under my wing for protection.”

“Protection from what?” Dottie scoffed. “I was always Jeannie’s boring little friend from preschool. No one gave a shit about me, you made sure of it.”

“Don’t say that,” Tracey said, frowning.

“Save it, Trace. You were all pretty clear about where you stood when Jeannie started dating Tyler,” she reminded them, and at least Benji and Tracey had the decency to look ashamed. “But thank you, really, because if it hadn’t been for you guys ignoring me, I would have never spent all my lunch periods alone in the library with Mrs. Randall, and I would have definitely never gotten into Michigan without her help.”

“You got into Michigan?” Tracey asked after a beat, eyes shifting over towards where Jeannie was sitting.

“Princess got a full ride and everything,” Eddie said, proudly.

“Well, shit,” Benji said, grinning. “Can’t really say I’m surprised, but congrats! If anyone was going to get in, it was you for sure.”

“You’re such a fake bitch, Benji,” Jeannie turned to him, seething.

“Hey, not my fault your GPA sucked.”

“Okay, guys, come on, we’re losing the plot here,” Howie tried to cool down the room to unsuccessful results.

“You applied to Michigan too?” Dottie asked Jeannie, gears slowly turning in her head.

“Thought it’d be fun,” she shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, I’m going to CSI anyways.”

“Crime Stoppers?” Donny said, confused.

“What?”

“CSI, that’s Crime Stoppers International, right?”

“No, dumbass, Staten Island,” Jeannie said through her teeth, humiliated and furious.

“Isn’t that… sorry, I’m not trying to be mean here but they don’t even ask for your SAT scores to get in there,” Jeff frowned, quickly realizing that had been the wrong thing to mention.

“Once I’m a registered nurse no one will give a shit about my SAT scores. And I get to live with my boyfriend in the city if I go to CSI, so that’s a plus. I’d be stupid to ever leave NYC.”

“You’re still dating Tyler?” Dottie wondered curiously.

“Of course I am. He’s so in love with me it’s actually pathetic.”

“Wow. Does he know you talk about him like that?” she cringed.

“Why do you care?” Jeannie said, smug. “It’s not like he’s still your boyfriend.”

“You’re right, he’s not,” Dottie stood up, brushing Eddie’s shoulder with her hand and feeling very thankful for the path her life had taken. “Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom.”

As she walked towards the door marked with a “Women” sign, she could hear Benji and Jeannie at each other’s throats, Howie still trying to calm them down to no avail. The heavy metallic door closed behind her back and, for the first time since they’d arrived, Dottie felt like she could breathe normally. She approached the sink furthest away from the entrance and began washing her hands with cold water, staring at the suds disappearing down the drain like she was cleaning up her own blood after a fight.

When she’d joined the Hellfire Club and met Eddie, Gareth, Donny, and Jeff, she knew things would be different. She was still fearful at the time, of course; a lifetime of disappointment doesn’t vanish just because you’ve found a few good friends, but even if she’d realized a long time ago how truly lucky she’d been to find her people in the Middle of Nowhere, Indiana, she’d never actually compared her new friend group to her older one. At least, not until now. Four friends with four clear positions, and her as an addendum. Eddie and Jeannie as the leaders, Gareth and Howie as the class clowns, Donny and Benji as the seconds in command, and Jeff and Tracey as the sensible ones.

And Dottie. Always just Dottie, loser, shy, boring Dottie, attaching herself to a group and tagging along to adventures she hadn’t planned or dreams that had never been her own in the first place. Except… well, that wasn’t the case anymore, was it? She’d gotten them the gig in Indianapolis, that had been her creating the adventure. She’d convinced them to go to that fateful party at Jason’s house, they’d gone to prom as a group because she mentioned she wanted to go, they’d gone swimming in the lake in their undies because she’d agreed to it. And that’s not to mention the countless times they’d gone out for ice cream because she’d suggested it, or the movies they had rented because she wanted to see them.

In return, she’d seen The Exorcist because Gareth had wanted to, she had accepted the job Donny had offered because he wanted to work with her all summer, she’d actually jumped into the lake in her underwear because Jeff had encouraged her to do it. With the boys she wasn’t tagging along. They always made sure of it. She was wearing Eddie’s shirt, Jeff’s belt, Gareth’s rings, Donny’s bracelets. They constantly and consistently included her, not just by inviting her to things, but by actually making the effort to make her feel part of them. And she really was. With them, she had always been, from day one and without having to ask any questions.

“Don’t talk to me, I just want to pee,” a voice broke her train of thought, and Dottie only managed to see Jeannie’s long hair swinging before she went into a stall.

Dottie considered leaving the bathroom, going back to her table and sitting down with her friends, maybe even ordering a basket of fries to share and pretend like nothing had happened, but something inside stopped her. As much as she hated to admit it, there was a part of her that still cared for Jeannie and if this was going to be the last time they’d ever speak, she didn’t want to leave things like this. Jeannie had been her best friend a lifetime ago. It wasn’t right to pretend like that shared history had never existed.

She moved to the side to dry her hands as Jeannie came out of her stall and went to wash up, biding her time until she figured out what she wanted to say. Jeannie was visibly furious, the little vein in her neck straining against her skin as she chewed on the same kind of anger she’d been carrying inside since they were kids. Jeannie used to be so furious all the time. She’d break all the toys in her vicinity, whether they were hers or borrowed, she’d bite and pull on people’s hair, and she had to be constantly put on timeout as a child so the teachers could get her to settle down for a few minutes.

Their pre-school teacher had been at her wits end the day she sat Dottie next to Jeannie, hoping that the much quieter and well-behaved little girl would be able to influence the terror that disrupted every single one of her classes. The two kids had gotten along just fine during drawing time, but when they were let out to the playground for a break, Jeannie pushed Dottie off the slide, making her fall knees first onto the gravel below. Dottie had then cried and cried, her tender knees oozing blood down her legs and staining her white socks, and Jeannie, upon seeing their teacher approach, also began crying uncontrollably.

What happened next surprised everyone, mainly because Jeannie wasn’t used to being kind to other kids, but the tiny five-year-old sat eerily still in the nurse’s office next to a sniffling Dottie, holding her hand while Nurse Olivier cleaned and bandaged the hurt child. Afterwards and unlike herself, Jeannie said she was sorry, and Dottie, much like herself, forgave her because “that’s what friends do”. Jeannie had spent the rest of their lives pushing Dottie and holding her hand afterwards. Why would she do that if she wasn’t utterly terrified her oldest friend would eventually leave her, constantly testing the strength of their friendship much like a child who can’t quite understand their own emotions just yet?

“Sorry, can I ask you something?” Dottie said, looking at her former friend through the mirror. Upon receiving nothing but silence, she continued. “Why nursing?”

“What?”

“It’s just… You wanted to do Civil Engineering. You talked about it with Benji all the time, you wanted to apply to colleges together. You even asked my Dad about it.”

“Yeah, well… I changed my mind,” Jeannie said, bitterly.

“But why?”

“Because Engineering is not a girl’s career.”

“Says who?”

Jeannie didn’t look at Dottie as she closed the tap and shook her hands to get rid of the excess water, the latter moving out of the way to let her access the paper dispenser. Her silver bracelet shook as she dabbed at her hands with the rough material and Dottie was suddenly struck with a memory so old that for a second she thought she had made it up as an eight-year-old.

They’d been waiting to be picked up after a long day of school on a Thursday, which meant that it wasn’t James the one Dottie was waiting for - it was Uncle Johnny, coming to take her to her swimming lessons at the community center near his home while her Dad was stuck working extra hours. Jeannie’s mom arrived earlier than him that day, bringing her daughter a present: a small Tiffany’s bag with two matching bracelets inside to commemorate the day she had finally divorced Jeannie’s dad. Dottie had been much too young to understand the intricacies of adult relationships and how they affected her friend at the time, so she’d only cooed and awed at the gorgeous piece of jewelry while hiding a pang of quiet jealousy at the fact that she would never be able to match anything with her own mom.

Two days later during her monthly Saturday Crafting Afternoon with Aunt Mary Elizabeth, she told her what had happened with an innocence that tugged her Aunt’s heartstrings before she tore her craft bins apart searching for supplies to make her niece feel better. Between small breaks that consisted of chocolate milk, homemade cookies, and endless hugs, the two of them worked on a ton of bead bracelets, one for each member of their little makeshift family. James’ bracelet was a gaudy little thing with the word DADDY spelled with a 4 instead of an A because they had run out of the correct letters and Mary Elizabeth was nothing if not incredibly creative. Dottie was confident that if she decided to snoop through his bedside table’s first drawer, she’d find the plastic accessory still rattling around with the rest of his junk.

“Don’t- don’t fucking do that,” Jeannie said tiredly, finally turning around and facing her. “You always do that and it pisses me off.”

“Do what?”

“Don’t act like you understand anything about my life!”

“I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to,” she said with genuine remorse in her tone. “I just wanted to know why, I didn’t mean to-”

“Didn’t mean to what? To rub in my face that you got into a good school and I didn’t? I’m so fucking sick of you, Dorothy,” Jeannie said in calm anger and Dottie wished she’d just yell at her. “Just when I finally thought I’d gotten rid of you, you show up to embarrass me like you’ve always done. Stop pretending like you’ve ever cared about me or my life, because you haven’t. You’re a goddamn liar and you know it.”

“I’ve never lied to you in my entire life, Jeannie,” Dottie said, trying not to bleed out in her attempt to find peace.

“God, do you ever shut up about how good you are? About how nice you are? You were always the Golden fucking Child, and I’ve always been trash compared to you. Oh, Dorothy is gonna do something great with her life, you should be more like her! She’s so kind, so polite, so goddamn quiet,” she said, voice mocking before it switched back to scathing. “Fuck you.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve never said anything like that to you! Actually, you were the one who was always treating me like trash!”

“Oh, give me a break,” she laughed. “You didn’t need to say it, everyone else did it for you. You were the teacher’s pet who always got away with murder, and I was the stupid fuck-up who was too much like her Dad and couldn’t get into your fancy college. I might be a bitch, but at least I’m honest.”

“Jeannie, are you even listening to what you’re saying?” she argued desperately. “I’ve never thought of you like that, I swear! I literally spent my entire life wanting to be more like you - you had a pretty house, and all the toys you wanted. And you had a mom! Everyone wanted to be your friend, and I never understood why you picked me instead of anyone else-”

“I knew it, I fucking knew it, I always knew you were a jealous bitch-”

“God fucking damnit, I loved you!” Dottie admitted, clenching her fists in frustration. “I loved you so much, and I wanted to be like you because I thought if I was, it would make you love me back! You treated me like shit all the time, and I still loved you. You were my best friend, Jeannie.”

Jeannie might have looked like she had just been slapped but Dottie knew she didn’t understand the meaning behind her words, not when she had only figured them out after they’d tumbled out of her own mouth. Feeling strangely lighter, she watched as her oldest friend’s eyes changed from furious to scared, as if she was that five-year-old holding her hand while Nurse Olivier bandaged her bloody knees again. Dottie understood then that it had never been about her or their friendship, but she’d just served a shark her corpse on a platter and she needed to get some closure before she left the sanctity of the girls’ bathroom or else she’d always wonder what could have been.

“Why did you apply to Michigan?” Dottie asked, eyes full of unshed tears.

“...Because you were there,” Jeannie muttered, defeated. She crossed her arms before she continued. “After you left I asked Mrs. Randall about you and she told me you were early admission. I was just so mad at you, I- I don’t know. I never told anyone else you had already gotten in when I decided to apply.”

“Why did you switch to Nursing? You could have picked literally anything else.”

“Tyler’s pre-med at Cornell. You know how his family is, and I obviously couldn’t get in with him, so this was my only choice.”

Tyler’s family, while perfectly nice, supportive and polite, had always stressed to their sons the importance of getting into the family business. Not all of them were doctors, but everyone who had gone to college in the last three generations had gotten a degree somewhere in the Health field, and most importantly, they had also married a medical professional. Tyler’s dad was a generalist, his mother was a psychiatrist, his uncle was a surgeon who had married his assistant nurse.

They never made Dottie feel like she had to change her career path to be with Tyler while she was dating him, and yet there had always been a silent expectation put upon their son to “get serious” further down the line. Jeannie knew what this meant for her own relationship once they went off to college, so she decided to make two households very happy by trading in her Civil Engineering dreams for a future that included a shiny RN badge and a nuclear family who lived in a friendly cul-de-sac.

“They talk about you sometimes, you know?” Jeannie said, surprising the other girl. “They say you were always nice, ask me if I’ve heard from you. I think Flynn misses you the most.”

“He’s a good guy,” Dottie said, smiling. “You should ask him for advice on college stuff, he helped me out a ton.”

“Yeah. Maybe I will.”

“I, um… I should get back to my friends,” the short haired girl said pointing at the door with her thumb. “We have a long way home, so…”

“Yeah, no, I get it,” she smiled, a little wistful. “That guy with the long hair, uh…”

“Eddie. His name is Eddie.”

“Is he good?”

“He’s the best,” Dottie’s smile grew bigger at the thought of her boyfriend. “They all are.”

“They seem nice,” she said, falling quiet afterwards.

“Goodbye, Jeanette.”

“Goodbye, Dottie.”

Jeannie stayed in the bathroom needing some space to process their final goodbye, surrounded by New York Dottie’s remains while Hawkins Dottie walked back to the table. Eddie, as usual, was the first one to notice his girlfriend’s turbulent expression, instinctively putting out a hand to touch her as soon as she was in range for him to do so. He pulled her into the space between their chairs, fingers splayed against the low of her back protectively.

“You okay?” he muttered quietly, but everyone’s eyes were on them regardless.

“Not really,” her lips curved into a small pout. “Is it okay if we go?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Eddie downed the last of his beer and sprung out of his seat. “We just gotta, uh-”

“We’re on it,” Jeff said, also getting up. “You two go get the van closer to the door so we can load the drums, it’s supposed to start raining soon.”

“I have to talk to Jessie about your payment, she told me-,” Dottie said, but the sound of more chairs shuffling cut her off.

“I’ve got it!” Donny said, putting on his battle vest while heading towards the till.

“I’ll go get my stuff,” Gareth announced, unceremoniously jogging towards the stage to disassemble his drum kit.

“Okay then, uh,” Dottie turned towards her former friends to find them already standing up and heading towards her.

“I’m so sorry,” Tracey said, throwing her arms around her for a comforting hug. Neither of them knew who needed it more. “I’m sorry about everything. It was really lovely to see you again.”

“You’re glowing, girl,” Benji said when it was his turn to get a hug. “Whatever you’re doing, keep it up.”

“Show was great, guys,” Howie said to Eddie and Jeff, giving them both a boyish pat on their shoulders.

“Thanks, man. See you around.”

Dottie wrapped her arms around herself while Eddie led her towards the van, never letting go of her hand while he guided the vehicle closer to the double doors that led to the backside of the building. The smell of an incoming storm filled the air as he lowered his window and lit up a cigarette before turning to her with a knowing look on his face.

“D’you wanna talk about it?” he asked, only the rumble of the van’s motor filling the quiet of the night.

“I… I think I used to have a crush on her,” Dottie said, coming to terms with something that deep down she had always known but had never dared to think about.

“Uh-oh. Should I be worried?” Eddie pouted, succeeding in his goal to make her giggle.

“You’re silly,” she moved closer to him, ready to put their argument behind and Eddie obliged, throwing an arm around her. “The show was so good. I’m so proud of you.”

“Yeah? You liked our surprise?”

“Are you kidding? I loved it. You’re so talented,” she leaned up to kiss him but couldn’t reach his lips, giving him a peck on his jaw instead. “We have to come back, see if we can get you booked again.”

“I love you,” he said, staring down at her completely and truly lovesick. “You’re amazing. Best manager in the fuckin’ world.”

“I love you too, Ed. Thank you.”

“The hell you thanking me for, darling?”

The van’s back doors opened with a loud noise startling them apart as Gareth and Jeff pushed the rest of their equipment onto the carpeted floor, quickly securing it and climbing into the backseat. Donny rushed out of the building with an unlit cigarette in his hand and an envelope in the other, waving it in the air proudly. The first thunder of the night mixed in with their cheers as he got in and Eddie pulled out of the parking lot.

“Hey, guys,” Donny said, watching Jeff count their earnings. “You wanna go to McDonald’s?”

“Oh, fuck yes,” Eddie said, turning the corner and heading towards the Golden Arches glowing in the distance. “We need fries, don’t we, princess?”

“Yes, please,” Dottie agreed. “And milkshakes.”

“Dot, your old friends sucked ass,” Gareth said, tone conversational but still a little upset on her behalf as he leaned over her seat to throw his arms around her shoulders.

“I don’t know. They weren’t always that bad,” she mused, hands coming to hold his forearms crossing over her collarbones. “You guys are much better though.”

“Hell yeah we are!” Donny said, smug.

“Hey, Gare… I think you might wanna look at this,” Jeff said, barely contained mirth staining his serious tone.

On his hand was a napkin with girly writing scribbled with a blue pen on it, right underneath the Moore House logo. It read: hey hot stuff, sorry to disappoint. I would have totally given you my number if you were older, but sadly you’re not. Keep drumming like that and make me regret having morals when your band becomes huge. XO, Jessie.

“Turn back!” Gareth yelled dramatically, pulling at Eddie’s shoulder. “In the name of love, turn back!”

“Sit down, Bono, she’s four years older than you. She’s not interested,” Donny cackled, forcing him back into his seat.

“Yeah, man, she just wanted to let you down gently,” Eddie said, joining in on the teasing.

“That’s my future wife you’re talking about, you assholes,” Gareth said, knowing full well he didn’t have a chance with Jessie the Night Manager but having fun pretending he did.

As the rain kept falling and their good natured ribbing continued while heading to McDonald’s, Dottie quietly basked in the knowledge that she was safe swimming on open waters with her best friends. She swore right there and then that she was willing to die for each and every one of them, because she knew they were much more likely to be on the surfboard next to her, fighting for their lives together instead of being the ones attacking her.

Previous chapter of her life finally closed, she peacefully leaned against her seat as Eddie pulled into the McDonald’s drive thru. NYC Dottie is dead, long live Hawkins Dottie, she thought, unabashedly staring at her boyfriend as he ordered enough fries and milkshakes to last them the whole trip back home.

taglist: @munsonology @kurdtbean @eg-dr3amer3 @oneforthemunny @munsons-queen

@cinemabean

[alun1r]

Garreth: Im really not looking forward to Astronomy class tonight. It’s far too cold.

Lyra: I agree. Perhaps We can just look for constellations in your freckles♥️.

Hi I really love My Gryffindor MC and drawing her with Gareth🥰 I imagine them having a very playful friendship that turns sweet and romantic along the way. Theyre both cuties and I’m melting.

[liviavanrouge]

Sebastian: *Comes up behind Deina*

Gareth: Hey Sebastian!

Deina: *Looks back at Sebastian then over at Gareth*

Deina: Sebastian?

Sebastian: *Looks down at her* Yeah?

Deina: *Smiles at him* Wanna go eat together?

Sebastian: *Nods, smiling at her*

Deina: *Giggles and hurries away, her hair swaying behind her*

Sebastian: *Glares at Gareth* Mine.

Gareth: Whatever you say bud!

Deina: Sebastian come on or else I'll eat all the sweets!

Sebastian: *Walks after Deina*

[hawkinsmafia]

day 03 : best friends

featuring Gareth Emerson x oc Fox Buckley, with Jeff & Eugene

summary: Gareth and his boyfriend have been outed to Jeff and Eugene

rating: general

wc: 541

cw: one use of the f-slur (directed at self)

an: this is a ‘missing scene’ immediately following the scene where Jason and the jocks showed up at band rehearsal, but with the addition of an oc. Fox is a trans boy with congenital hearing loss, who wears hearing aids behind each ear, and has been Gareth’s best friend since kindergarten. this was written for @corrodedcoffinfest!

After Jason and his cronies left, dragging the traitorous Lucas with them, they’d decided that was pretty much it for band rehearsal. Gareth’s hand was throbbing, but he was pretty sure nothing was broken; he went inside to get an ice pack for it, and by the time he’d come back out, the others had righted his drum kit and pushed everything back against the wall so his dad would be able to pull into the garage when he got home from work.

“Thanks, guys,” he muttered, dropping onto the musty old sofa with a huff. He was still nauseated from the sucker punch Jason had given him, and ashamed of himself for ratting out Dustin and Eddie like he had. But more than anything… he was scared. That was not at all how he’d imagined coming out to his friends.

Fox plopped down on the cushion beside him, and Gareth instinctively leaned toward him, seeking support. It was so fucking quiet in his garage that he could hear Jeff and Eugene looking first at each other, and then at the two on the couch.

“Sooo…,” Jeff started, his voice stilted and awkward. “You and Fox, huh?”

“Me and Fox,” Gareth confirmed quietly. He was afraid to look at them, afraid of what he’d see in their expressions.

It was Eugene’s turn to speak. “Are you two… like…”

“Dating,” Fox supplied.

The metaphorical talking stick went back to Jeff. “So you’re…”

“Queers,” Gareth said, and Fox nodded.

“How long?” Jeff asked, though, strictly speaking, it wasn’t his turn.

“I figured it out a couple years ago,” Gareth answered. There was a noise that was almost a laugh; Gareth’s eyes darted up for a moment, but he wasn’t sure whether that was Jeff or Eugene.

“No, I mean, how long… you two…”

“How long have you guys been dating, is what he’s trying to say,” Eugene cut in as Jeff stumbled over his words.

Gareth looked at Fox; Fox was looking back uncertainly. “Uh… couple months?” Gareth answered slowly. “Like… three or four…”

“Or six,” Fox added.

There was a flurry of movement and Gareth looked up, braced to block a strike, but it was only Eugene punching Jeff in the arm. And he was grinning.

“I told you, man!” he crowed, and Jeff looked annoyed—at Eugene, not Gareth and Fox. “I fucking told you! You owe me ten bucks!”

Gareth stared at them, his mouth falling open in confusion. He looked to Fox, but his boyfriend looked just as baffled as he was.

Bringing his hands up, Fox signed to Gareth, “What is he talking about?”

“Don’t know,” Gareth signed back silently.

“You guys were not subtle at all,” Eugene explained. “I told Jeff you were having a secret relationship, but he didn’t believe me.” Jeff grumbled darkly as he rummaged through his wallet, pulling out two wrinkled fivers and passing them to Eugene, who took them gleefully.

“You… knew?” Fox asked tentatively.

“Am I out of the band?” Gareth followed.

“Or Hellfire?”

Eugene and Jeff looked at each other, brows furrowed in twin confusion. “What?”

“Why?”

“Because we’re… fags?”

Another almost-laugh, and this time Gareth saw it come from Eugene while Jeff grinned.

“Yeah, and you’re also our friends, moron.”

(I wrote another little fic featuring Fox and Gareth at band rehearsal here if you’re interested. Also if you talk to me about OCs, I will love you until my last dying breath.)

[zoyazenik]

⏤ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐘𝐄𝐍𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐓𝐈𝐃𝐄 ( in•sp )

❝ I am my mother’s child ⏤ I carry her rage in my heart and her love in my veins. She has shielded my siblings and I from the horrors of our world time and time again, and you have killed her. ❞ Rhaelle shook her head, the fire of a thousand dragons raging in her eyes as she pushed the tip of her sword into the throat of her cousin, the usurper, ❝ Today will be the day you look back on in the years to come, the day you look fire and blood in the eyes and tremble at her feet. ❞ ⏤ Rhaelle Tully Targaryen, Dragon Fire

Aelyx watched as his home faded along the horizon, his sails blowing in the harsh winds of Driftmark. His hand clutched the letter in his hand tightly, all white knuckles and bloody fingernails. This was the last time they would underestimate him ⏤ the world would rue the day they took his father, his sister, from him. They were the purest of them all, his sister had taken every ounce of personality from their father ⏤ they loved and loved until there was nothing left for them to give. He was going to take it all back, ❝ Ready the sails, we ride for King’s Landing. ❞ ⏤ Aelyx Tully Targaryen, Dragon Fire

The world faded around Shiera as everything caught up to her ⏤ the shrieking of dragons overhead, the sword in her stomach, and her father screaming her name. ❝ It’s okay Papa, ❞ even she could hear the shakiness of her voice, she felt the blood running from her mouth as she forced a smile, ❝ I’m okay. It barely hurts, yeah? I’m strong. I’m strong like you. ❞ ⏤ Shiera Tully Targaryen, Dragon Fire

taglist 🦋: @samwilsonns, @kiara-carrera, @fleetwoodmcs, @dio-nysvs @purpleyearning, @villanele, @daisyjohvson, @arrthurpendragon, @aaudace, @julianblackthcrns, @richitozier, @megdonnellys, @anotherunreadblog, @prosemoireia, @luucypevensie, @chlobenet, @eddysocs, @phoebestarks, @stareyedplanet, @waterloou, @raith-way, @jvstjewels, @eddiemunscns, @impales, @darkwolf76

[want to be added or removed?]

[mothrite]

Hey, buddy. I'd like to make a request for a Greatwise one-shot.

Something like Will meets Gareth for the first time because he got invited at a Corroded Coffin show or because he got invited to play with Hellfire.

It was just a random idea.

Thank you in advance.

I would love too! I hope you like this short one shot, wrote it in class lol

Night Owls Dancing In The Dark

SUMMERY: That weekend all of hellfire had been invited to a party, hosted by Mike while his parents, Holly and Nancy were away. Being Hellfire’s most recent member Will hesitantly arrived and mostly kept to himself. Eventually everything felt a bit overwhelming with so many people talking all at once so he stepped out to catch his breath, little did he know he’d find another in the backyard of the Wheelers.

WARNINGS: Some One-sided Byler angst, an appearance of one of my many ST OC’s and Greatwise!

A/N: AAAAAAH THE SKRUNKLES !!!!! Also all comments judging me for adding my OC will be deleted, I love Noelle sm she’s my little skrunkle scrimblo. It’s kinda rushed and not proofread so like enjoy!

The various metal bands blared through the two story house, Will had heard it as he started walking towards it. Sporting his new hellfire shirt that he received the same time as Erica and his blue flannel. He nervously approached the front door of the Wheeler’s house, normally he’d ring the doorbell with joy, waiting for Mike or Nancy to answer so him and Mike could hang out on the weekends, but now there were so many people he didn’t know like how he knew Lucas, Dustin, Mike and Erica. All his friends may know these people but he doesn’t and it scares him.

His palms were sweating and the way his hand had moved towards the doorbell was hesitance. Quickly he had rung it and pulled his arms to his sides. Will had heard some light footsteps before the door swung open and he was greeted with Mike’s smiling face.

“Will! You’re here! I got worried that you couldn’t make it or something, come on in lemme introduce you to all the members you haven’t met yet.” Mike happily took Will’s hand in his own and lead his best friend towards the living room where a large group of people were talking over loud music blasting from one of Eddie’s cassette tapes. Mike looked around and caught the attention of Eddie and Grant who were listening to the music and relaxing.

“EDDIE,” Mike had yelled over the metal song playing “WILL IS HERE!”

Will gave a gentle wave towards the two seniors, paired with a calming smile. Eddie and Grant both smiled back and nodded, waving as well. Mike once again lead the way to the kitchen, away from Eddie, Grant and Jeff who he had already met. This time Will was greeted with two new faces. One was a boy who had short brown hair and freckles covering his face and arms. The boy with freckles wasn’t wearing his Hellfire shirt unlike Will and most of the party attendees but a black shirt with the sleeves cut off, showing his slightly muscular arms, still adorned with the same freckles that spotted his face. He had a sort of grunge, punk vibe that Will couldn’t quite place, but he knew that he liked this guy. The other member he didn’t recognize was a short girl with two long pig tails, and curtain bangs. Similar to the freckled boy she had a hellfire shirt with the sleeves cut off but unlike all the other members she wore a medium length jean skirt and many pink bracelets.

“Guys! Will is here!” Mike let go of Will’s hand to gesture over to the freckled boy. “That’s Gareth, he doesn’t talk much but he’s nice to chill out with.”

The boy named Gareth’s gaze softened as he looked at Will, giving a pleasant grin and waved before cocking his head to the side and listening to whatever rant Dustin was going on.

“And the girl over there is Noelle, try not to piss her off she’s kinda mean.” Mike lowered his voice a bit to say that last part but obviously Noelle heard it because she had said something in foreign language that he can only assume is Russian based on the slight accent.

Lucas looked over at Will for a moment. “Oh yeah also she speaks like 4 languages so that’s cool!” Noelle smirked and flipped her hair to the side before leaning against the counter.

“My dad insisted I learned Russian from a young age and my mom is Chinese so I learned all three languages growing up”

Will smiled and looked at everyone. “Well it’s nice to finally meet you two, I’ve heard a lot about you!”

All the members of hellfire —Minus Erica since she’s only 11— had been in the living room of the Wheelers, talking while music played. It was overwhelming, it felt stressful yet he had barely spoken a word since he got there. Will had never been with so many people in such a small space before, he had to get out and take a breather. He silently stood up, stretching his back and stepping out to the backyard. He took a second to lie down in the grass, staring up at the dark sky. He looked at the stars and how they glimmered. There were so many of them and so close together. It reminded him of the freckled boy, Gareth. He could still hear the music from inside, he assumes that Dustin or Lucas changed it because Eddie would never willingly listen to The Smiths. With the sound of This Charming Man playing, Will heard the glass door open and then closing along with soft steps in the grass until he saw a glimpse of curly brown hair. The figure sat down next to him in the grass.

Will looked to his side to see Gareth fondly looking at him. He gave a confused look towards the drummer and it caused Gareth to giggle a bit before speaking up. “Did you need to get away too?”

Will thought for a second before responding.

“Yeah..I- I mean I love my friends and all,” He paused, not sure if he should have said anything at all. “But they’re just a lot sometimes. And I like looking at the stars.”

Gareth laid his head back and stared at the sky with Will for a few minutes before turning on his side to talk to Will.

“So Will The Wise, would it be too much to ask you to dance with me? This is one of my favorite songs.”

Will let out a small laugh, assuming that Gareth was joking. That was until he stood up, dusted off his pants and reached out his hand for Will to grab. Will hesitantly laid his hand in Gareth’s before being quickly pulled up, their chests meeting and their faces inches from eachother. Gareth smiled before taking a couple steps back and the two spun for a second. The two danced through songs, from Blondie and Kate Bush to Queen and KISS.

By this time most everyone was gone, as Gareth was getting ready to leave as well, Will offered to walk him to the door and when those words left his mouth Gareth perked up and held Will’s hand. When they got to the front door Will stood in the threshold of the door as Gareth stood at the bottom of the single step. Light enveloped Will’s body, cascading down his back and arms.

“You look like an angel from here..” He hadn’t realized what he said until Will’s face had flushed a light pink. Gareth quickly rummaged into his jacket pocket, pulling out a scrap of paper and handing it to Will.

“Call me angel!” Gareth calmly sped walk down the walkway and into his car, driving away. Will opened the folded paper and it had Gareth’s number written on it.

“Maybe coming here wasn’t a mistake..”

[potatoesenpaii]

Babysitting

This is Oc x Canon / Part one?

Please note that this happened right before the events in season 4, Bee isn't dating Eddie like her in her usual lore here.

Every friday, Gareth was babysitting his sisters, and every friday Bee was helping Gareth at that task. Not that Gareth couldn't do it alone, it was simply the best excuse to hang out and sleepover.

21:00, the clock shown. Not that they could see it as they just succeeded as making his sisters sleep and they were now outside on the gazebo set and half dead listening to the sound coming out of the pool engine.

Hand in hand, thumb caressing the back of his hand. They weren't dating, but that never stopped them to be close like that. Her eyes were on the water, and his head thrown back against the headrest with his eyes closed. They were both exhausted.

Gareth was relishing in her touch, the feel of her skin on his. He let out a heavy sigh and slowly opened his eyes, peering at her from the corner of his eye. He squeezed her hand gently and spoke in a groggy voice. "Thank you for helping me tonight." He said before sitting up slightly, his head slightly dizzy.

"I always help you" She said with a small smile on her lips as she turned her head.

Gareth chuckled at her response, his lips curling into a tired smile. He sat up fully now and turned to face her, his free hand running through his messy brown curls. "I know, I know. But still, you don't have to do it every time. I could deal with them alone." He told her, his voice soft and filled with a hint of appreciation.

"Yeah well, i want to hang out with you so" She replied with a small voice, almost anxious he would hate it.

Gareth's smile widened at her reply, his heart warm at her words. He squeezed her hand once more, enjoying the feeling of her soft skin on his. "I like hanging out with you too." He admitted quietly, his eyes darting to her face for a split second before looking away, his cheeks growing warm.

She hummed, her head resting against the headrest as she stared at the ceiling of the gazebo. Gareth observed her for a moment, his gaze lingering on her face. There was something about her that he found mesmerizing, something that drew him in. Despite the exhaustion and tiredness, he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. He continued to draw small circles on the back of her hand with his thumb, his heart beating a little faster with each passing moment.

"I was wondering" She said softly after a bit of silence lingered between them. Gareth's breath caught in his throat at the sound of her voice. 'What was she wondering about?' he thought to himself. He looked at her, his face showing his interest, his curiosity peaking. "Yeah?" he asked, his voice a little hoarse, betraying the nervousness he felt in that moment. "Did you ever had a girlfriend?" She asked with curiosity, unable to find any memories of her friend with a girl.

Gareth's heart skipped a bit at her question. He wasn't sure what answer to give her. The truth or an excuse? He chuckled nervously, his grip on her hand slightly tightening. "N-no, not really. I never really had the chance to have a girlfriend, you know?" He tried to sound as casual as possible, hoping she would buy the excuse. But deep down, he knew he would never be able to fool her. "Why?" She wondered, he was the sweetest guy she ever had the chance to meet.

Gareth sighed deeply, his eyes dropping to their intertwined hands, his heart beating a little faster now. "I don't know. I've just never been that good with girls, I guess." He admitted, his voice quieter now. He could feel her gaze on him, and it made him feel vulnerable. He tried to keep up his usual carefree demeanor, but it was getting harder by the second. "Oh liar" She laughed, not believe that this was his reason for staying single. Gareth's eyes widened at her accusation, his cheeks blushing furiously. He was caught off guard by the sudden change in her tone. He let out a nervous chuckle and protested weakly, "I'm not lying!" But deep down, he knew she saw right through him. He wasn't exactly good at hiding his feelings for her. He could only hope she wouldn't confront him about them.

"Bullshit that you are no good with girls. You are practically raising two because your mom is a nurse and your stepdad works at the electric factory...And I never had any problems with you" Her voice got softer as she ended talking, he knew there was something hidden. Gareth tried to keep his composure, but her words hit him hard. She was right, of course. He had been helping with raising his sisters ever since he could remember. And he and Bee had been friends for a year now and not once has she had a problem with him. He swallowed hard, his eyes still focused on their hands. He didn't know what to say, his mind a jumbled mess of nerves and emotions. All he could do was let out a shaky breath and mutter a quiet reply. "It's different with you."

"How?" She asked, trying to pry information out of him. Gareth took a deep breath, his mind racing as he tried to put his thoughts and feelings into words. He felt vulnerable, like he was laying himself bare for her to see him completely. "I don't know," He started, "You just . . . get me, y'know? You understand me in a way that no one else does." He paused, his voice growing quieter. "And you never judge me. You always accept me for who I am, flaws and all."

"Yeah, because I am just like you. And like Eddie, and Jeff and Dougie and- And Ronnie" Oh she missed Veronica. Her head turning back to stare at the ceiling. Gareth's heart stung at the mention of Veronica. He knew how much she meant to Bee. They were best friends, practically sisters. And just like Bee, Gareth missed Veronica too. Her talent, her passion, her presence. She left a void that none of them could fill. He let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his messy curls, his voice filled with a hint of melancholy. "Yeah, she was something else."

"And now she is in the big apple with her big books to become a lawyer" She laughed, he couldn't help but chuckle at her words. He could picture Veronica in New York, surrounded by huge books and legal cases, chasing her dreams. "God, she was always meant for bigger things than this town," he said, a hint of admiration in his voice.

"Yeah" She said almost out of breathe. Her eyes stuck on his face. The mention of this town made think of things she already thought about. Gareth sensed the change in her tone. Her gaze seemed distant, as if her mind was wandering somewhere else. He knew that look on her face all too well. He let go of her hand and scooted closer to her, his eyes searching hers. "What's on your mind?" He asked quietly. "We graduate next year, right?" She asked suddenly.

Gareth nodded, his heart suddenly in his throat. He knew where this conversation was going. "Yeah, we graduate a year from now." He affirmed, his voice a little shaky. "Did you ever considered moving out, once you graduated?" Gareth's breath caught in his throat. He had thought about it, more times than he cared to admit. But hearing the question coming from her made it feel more real, more urgent. He paused for a moment, summoning all his courage to answer her honestly. "Yes," he admitted quietly, his eyes locking with hers.

"To where?" Gareth drew in a shaky breath, his mind racing with possibilities. Where would he go, if he had the chance to leave this place behind? He couldn't help but blurt out the first thing that came to his mind. "Somewhere far. Somewhere exciting, somewhere with better opportunities."

"Would you move to New York with me?" She spoke faster than her brain registered. Gareth's eyes widened at her question. He hadn't expected that at all. He was taken aback by the suddenness of the question, but at the same time, he felt a thrill at the idea. "New York?" he repeated, his voice a little breathless. "With you?" Her widened, her mind running 'Too soon? Shit.' She had to backtrack. "I mean you don't have to, i can- I can always ask Eddie" The hesitation showed she was way too anxious he would turn her down.

Gareth's heart clenched at the thought of her asking Eddie. He didn't want her to ask him. He didn't want her to ask anyone but him. "No," he blurted out before he could stop himself, his voice a little too loud in the quiet evening. "I mean, I, uh, I don't mind going with you." he hastily added, his cheeks turning pink. "Just...don't mind?" She was a bit disappointed, god she knew she was clumsy but never thought she misread what they had.

Gareth winced at the disappointment in her voice. He mentally cursed himself for his poor choice of words. "No, no. That's not what I meant" he quickly clarified, his heart racing. "It's not that I mind. I just... I just wasn't expecting the question. I would love to move with you." She gave a small smile, her head back to the ceiling. "It's okay if you don't want to, you know" She was not believing him. She thought she missed her chance with him, and she was completely unaware of how badly he wanted...needed to be living with her.

Gareth's heart wrenched at her doubt. She didn't understand. How could she not see how he truly felt about her? Frustrated, he reached for her hand again, his grip firmer than before. He wanted, no, needed her to understand the truth. "No, you don't get it," he said, his voice filled with a mix of frustration and tenderness. "I want to move out with you. I don't just mind. I want to be with you." Her head slowly moved as she sat up straight. His last sentence registering in her head. "What did you say?" She did not lose her chance. He was giving it to her on a silver plater.

Gareth's heart pounded in his chest as he realized what he had said. He looked her in the eyes, his gaze unflinching. "I said," he repeated, his voice firm and steady, "That I want to move out with you. I want to be with you." He took a deep breath, his hand tightening around hers, as if holding onto her for dear life.

"You're in love with me" She said out of breath and in disbelief. A wide smile on her lips and the brightest red on her cheeks.

[moonchildreads]

small town

Chapter 25 - Part-Time Lover

IN THIS CHAPTER: New routines, chilling at Lover's Lake, and Eddie and Dottie take a Big Step [17.4k]

WARNINGS: self-esteem issues (body shapes and stretch marks, both positive and negative), eddie being a simp for his girl (also maybe the author aka me being a lil gay over women's bodies), suggestive themes, jokes about male masturbation, discussions about past not so great sexual experiences (not explicit, focused on feelings and consent), allusions to sex (fluffy and poetic), NO EXPLICIT SMUT

A/N: dottie's experiences with her ex boyfriend in this chapter are heavily based on my own, please be kind. i'm not trying to infantilise her, i'm just being honest about what being unexperienced was like for some of us when we were teenagers. hope you enjoy it even if you can't relate (and let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!)

masterlist - prev - next | playlist

We are undercover passion on the run Chasing love up against the sun

Friday, June 20th - 1986

“There! I see them, park here!”

“I have eyes, man, stop hitting me while I’m driving!”

The week following their graduation, the Hellfire Class of ‘86 had been presented with a daunting task: syncing their schedules to make time for each other while officially entering the workforce. After leaving high school, each of them knew that new routines had to be established, and so they quickly discovered that familiarity was key in navigating the strange grown-up world they had been thrown into so nonchalantly. When Eddie’s van parked outside of Giulia’s that first Monday and Jeff and Gareth spilled out from the inside with snacks and vending machine sandwiches like they were spoils of war, Dottie and Donny immediately clocked out and wordlessly agreed to this new tradition that was, in fact, a continuation of everything they held dear while in school - love and companionship in the form of sharing a meal.

A plan guided by convenience had been quickly laid out: Eddie finished his apprenticeship shift at 1 pm, and upon leaving he’d pick Jeff up at the last house in his route as a very in-demand dog walker over in the upper-middle class side of Hawkins. Together, they’d head to Big Buy where they’d wait in the parking lot for Gareth to clock out at 2, and finally, they’d meet up with Donny and Dottie at a small park nearby Giulia’s, always sitting under the very same tree Gareth had frantically been pointing at through the van’s dashboard.

“Alright, nerds, what’s on the menu?” Donny said on that particularly hot Friday as he saw their friends climb out of the van, ready to get out of the heat trapped inside its metallic body.

“We snagged two pizzas today! Donny’s been learning to throw the dough and we got to keep the ones that didn’t fall to the floor,” Dottie said, proudly presenting the boxes resting on their picnic blanket to the boys.

“I’ve got Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, and a huge bag of chips,” said Gareth, letting the plastic bag fall from his hand onto the middle of their circle.

“What kind?” asked Jeff, gathering the plastic cups and napkins he’d shoved in his backpack that morning before leaving home.

“Sour cream and onion.”

“Nice.”

“I’ve got grapes, pretzels, and two egg sandwiches from the vending machine,” said Eddie, opening his lunchbox and throwing the bag of green grapes towards Dottie who cooed happily.

“I’ve got apple slices, M&Ms, two PB&Js, and Mrs. Kendall gave me a bunch of jerky as a snack, not really sure why,” Jeff finished the roll call, getting a handful of gas station jerky out of his backpack’s front pocket.

“Do you think I’ll die if I put jerky on top of my pizza?” asked Gareth at large.

“Dunno, but go for it,” Donny encouraged him, filling cups with soda and distributing them around.

Dottie loved having lunch with her friends at the park. On Tuesday, it had rained all morning so they’d instead sought out refuge at one of the booths within Giulia’s, Donny’s family more than happy to play host to the teens while they prepped for the dinner shift. They’d had a pleasant lunch that day, but there was nothing that could compare to the sense of freedom she felt while sitting on their blanket, pooling all their lunches and snacks together and complaining about their new jobs.

After only a few days, it became clear to everyone that Donny was the privileged one within their friend group - his post was inside the kitchen learning all about his Dad’s craft, and he was taking to it with gusto and innate skills he had never known he’d had but seemed to have begun developing in his Home Ec classes. Gareth, on the other end of the scale, was seriously considering asking to be switched to the graveyard shift if he had to play nice to yet another presumptuous customer demanding to see a manager because he wasn’t allowed to accept their expired coupons.

Eddie felt like he was somewhere between the two. He loved getting his hands greasy and figuring out what was wrong with a car, the satisfaction of fixing something and seeing Thatcher’s proud smile was easily the best part of the job. However, he did not enjoy the fact that all the rich idiots in town came in with their expensive cars asking for repairs to be done quicker than it was humanly possible.

Carson Humphrey, Andy Humphrey’s father, had come into the shop on Wednesday for a simple oil change. Thatcher was more than happy to let Eddie take over, confident in his apprentice’s budding skills, but it soon became clear that wasn’t happening - Carson loudly proclaimed he didn’t want “that good for nothing Munson boy” touching his car and breaking something that would certainly cost more than Eddie’s salary to replace. Thatcher had sent a red faced Eddie to the break room, told him to get himself a soda from the vending machine, and did the oil change as fast as he could to get Humphrey Sr. out of his shop and onto his merry way.

“Don’t let that asshole get to you,” Thatcher had said when he found Eddie smoking behind the shop after Carson left. “Thinks he’s all high and mighty ‘cause he has money, well… that ain’t stopping his wife from askin’ for Dougie’s number when she was here last month.”

“No fuckin’ way,” Eddie scoffed, cigarette in his mouth while leaning over to see Doug’s shiny bald head through the window.

“You ain’t heard it from me, boy,” the older man laughed. “But women love a man willing to get his hands dirty. Ask that girl of yours, she’ll tell you.”

Eddie had simply nodded and kept his hair down to hide his ears that were surely becoming more red by the second, quickly dismissing any salacious thoughts as his wristwatch beeped loudly to announce the end of his shift. He distracted himself with yet another smoke and loud headbanging music as he drove down the street - he did not need to hear shit from either Jeff or Gareth as he picked them up, his jeans feeling uncomfortably tight under the Indiana sun.

“You guys will never guess who I saw today,” Gareth said back in the present, a slice of pizza in one hand and a handful of chips in the other.

“Wheeler?” Eddie ventured a guess.

“...You’re an asshole, you knew that?”

“I never said which Wheeler! It could have been Nancy,” he defended himself.

“Why would anyone care if I saw Nancy Wheeler?”

“Can’t believe we’ve got more updates on Henderson than we do on Mike,” Jeff commented, ignoring their bickering.

“I know, right? Did you talk to him?” Dottie asked, splitting an egg sandwich in two and giving the other half to her waiting boyfriend.

“Well, not exactly…,” Gareth grimaced.

The day after graduation, the Hellfire Club got together at the Henderson house to send Dustin on his merry way to Camp Know Where, even if it was at the expense of putting their D&D sessions on hold until he made his triumphant return a couple of weeks later. Still, his friends took it upon themselves to help him pack with no complaints, all while excitedly chattering about the kinds of activities he’d be participating in once he arrived at camp. They also, of course, teased him endlessly about the fact that he was about to be reunited with his “hotter-than-Phoebe-Cates-but-still-a-genius” girlfriend, pestering him to bring back pictures as proof of her existence.

In the midst of good-natured ribbing, the older boys helped him shove his heavy bags into Claudia Henderson’s trunk; the kind woman watched them with a gentle smile on her face, grateful for the little community his son had found himself a part of upon entering high school. While they were hugging Dustin goodbye and wishing him a fun time at camp, Dottie couldn’t help but notice that after interacting with both Mike and Erica, the previously relaxed boy grew strangely serious before pressing slips of paper into their hands.

“Radio in if you need me, okay?” he said, looking at Mike with intense eyes. “I’ll check in at this frequency every morning.”

“Dustin-” Mike began to protest, but he was cut short before he could say more.

“I’m serious,” Dustin turned to Erica. “You can use Cerebro, my Mom will let you in. I can be back in a day tops.”

“You worry too much,” Erica dismissed him, but there was something in her expression that said she was taking his words to heart. “Go to your nerd camp with your nerd girlfriend and we’ll see you in a few weeks. We’ll be fine.”

“Okay, okay, just… y’know.”

“I know. We’ll keep you updated, dumbass.”

“Thanks,” he smiled at her genuinely before moving on like nothing had happened.

If the rest of the boys noticed the weird exchange, no one said anything, and thus Dustin left Hawkins in high spirits, grinning at the sight of his friends waving at him from his front lawn as his Mom’s car got smaller and smaller as it headed down the road.

It was a shame, however, that with Dustin away for a few weeks, Mike chose to essentially become a recluse in his own home instead of hanging out with everyone else. Unlike Erica who was spending all her free time roaming around town with her gang of middle school girl friends trailing behind her, the middle Wheeler sibling hadn’t poked his head out of his basement all week after seeing Dustin off. If, in fact, what Gareth was saying was true, this was the first Mike sighting they’d had since Saturday, and they knew from Dustin’s midweek phone call to Eddie that he hadn’t heard from him either.

Gareth had been counting the coins in his register for the third time that morning when he saw Karen Wheeler, baby Holly, and Mike approach, cart full of groceries. He’d exchanged pleasantries with his friend’s mother as he scanned their items but the younger boy seemed overall uninterested in joining the conversation, quickly pushing the cart (along with his baby sister) away towards their car while leaving behind his mom to pay.

Seeing the older boy weirded out by her son’s behavior, Karen took it upon herself to apologize on his behalf. Apparently Mike had been in a foul mood all week because his friends in California couldn’t make the big trip to Indiana like they had anticipated, and that meant that he wouldn’t see his best friend Will or his girlfriend Jane until further notice. It’s okay, I understand, Gareth had said in a dramatic tone. Young love will do that to you, and Karen had laughed earnestly before bidding him goodbye and following her son to the parking lot.

“You can’t be serious,” Donny deadpanned when Gareth finished retelling the encounter to his friends.

“100% true. He’s pissy because his girlfriend isn’t coming over anymore.”

“That’s bullshit,” Jeff laughed. “He saw her in March, he can’t be that whipped.”

“Right? That’s what I said!”

“I dunno, guys,” Eddie said, pensive. “I’d be pretty upset if I couldn’t see my girl for months.”

“Well, Ed, lucky for you no one is planning to cut your right hand off,” Gareth said sarcastically, and Eddie pushed him over with his foot.

“I’m being serious, jackass. Can’t a guy be a romantic and travel to see his girlfriend often?”

“Any guy? Yes, sure. You, King of the Cynics? Give us a break,” Jeff scoffed.

“You’d really go all the way to Cali every few months just for a girl?” Dottie asked, eyes stuck to her sandwich. Will you actually come visit me in Michigan when I’m gone like you said you would? was what she really wanted to ask. Will you still love me even if we don’t see each other every day? Will I still be your girl when I live in a different state than you?

“Darling, I’d travel to another dimension for my girl,” he replied, voice a little bit too earnest for the casual conversation they were having.

“Oh my god, you’re so fucking corny,” Gareth threw his head back as he laid dramatically on the blanket. “You used to be cool, man, what happened to you?”

“I turned 20. Careful, it’ll happen to you too if you don’t watch out.”

The conversation quickly switched to different topics, like new music someone had recently discovered, a cool video game coming out soon, and most importantly, making plans for the upcoming weekend. Jeff was trying to convince everyone to go see a movie on Saturday, cleverly mentioning the air conditioning as a big selling point while they packed up the remnants of their lunch and headed to Eddie’s van.

“Is there even anything good playing right now?” Gareth asked, wishing the inflatable pool gathering dust in his garage didn’t have a hole in it.

“Don’t think so, Aliens isn’t coming out until next month,” Donny said. “Dot wanted to watch Labyrinth but that was next week, I think.”

“Hey, Dot!” Gareth yelled at her; she had stayed behind to fold their huge picnic blanket with Eddie. “When’s Labyrinth coming out?”

“Next Friday! Why?” she yelled back.

“Jeff wants to go to the movies tomorrow!”

“Unless it’s horror, I’m in. They have air conditioning!”

“See? What did I tell you?” Jeff said to Gareth and Donny, grinning. “We should go see Never Too Young to Die.”

“No! Nope, no, nuh-uh, I’m not watching any John Stamos willingly, my Nonna’s obsession with him is enough for me,” Donny groaned.

“She a General Hospital fan?” Gareth snickered.

“Yeah but they sent his character to jail a few years ago so he left the show and she followed him to his new sitcom. It’s shit, don’t watch it.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t,” Jeff affirmed. “But. Gene Simmons is in the movie so I think we should go watch it anyway.”

“Okay, now hold up-”

As soon as the boys disappeared behind the van, Eddie deliberately slowed down his actions so he could steal away a few seconds to talk to Dottie in private without their friends eavesdropping. While pretending like he was still trying to fit the blanket into her backpack, he looked up at Dottie with one eye closed to keep the sun from blinding him, his dimples on display as he beamed at her. She smiled, savoring their first moment alone of the day.

“So I was thinking,” he began, as he casually threw her bag over his shoulder and began slowly walking towards his van.

“Go on.”

“D’you wanna do something different today?”

“Different like what?”

“We could go to the lake,” he said, like he hadn’t been planning on inviting her all day. “We have a blanket already, and it’s a nice day, we could swim a little. Dunno, it’s too hot to be inside. And I think your Dad might be getting suspicious that I’m always around when he comes home.”

“Oh,” Dottie exclaimed, turning shy. “I- I’d love that but I’m not… I didn’t bring my swimsuit so-”

“Whatchu need a swimsuit for?”

Three sets of eyes were staring at them from the rear of the van, having been hidden from their sight in search of a bit of shadow to stand in while they waited for their friends. Jeff looked curious but innocent enough; it was Gareth and Donny that Eddie was suddenly afraid of. They were both looking at them with equally intrigued expressions, but where Donny was encouraging, Gareth was dangerously mischievous.

“Are you guys going to the pool without us?” the curly haired boy asked, staring pointedly at his best friends; Dottie looked like they’d been caught with their hands inside the proverbial cookie jar.

“No, no, definitely not,” Eddie stuttered. “I mean, who wants to go to the pool, right? It’s full of fuckin’ toddlers and their mommies, that’s so lame-”

“We were just talking about going to the lake but we don’t have swimsuits on us so we can’t go,” Dottie said, hoping to put an end to the topic.

“We can go anyways and swim in our undies,” Donny proposed, raising his eyebrows in Eddie’s direction. “It’s not like we haven’t done it before.”

“Uh, guys, I don’t think Dot’s comfortable with that,” Jeff looked at his friends.

“Yeah, yeah, totally, that’s why we said we weren’t going,” Eddie added, pushing everyone towards the van doors. “Why were you out here?”

“You didn’t give us your keys,” Gareth said, grinning at him.

“We can go.”

“Huh?” Eddie turned around to look at Dottie who was staring at the gravel.

“I, uh… It’s really hot today and we should- I mean, we don’t have to get in but we can- if you guys want to, we could still go. To the lake.”

“Yeah? You wanna go?” he asked, hopeful.

“Yeah, sure,” she smiled at him, cheeks red from the sun. “Why not?”

“Okay. Okay!” he said. “Everyone get in the van, we’re going to the lake!”

“Oooh, can we stop to buy beer on the way?”

“And more chips!”

Dottie and Eddie looked at each other sheepishly and shrugged before following their friends. Time alone for the lovebirds would have to wait until later, but who could say no to a new adventure presented in such an impromptu but lovely way? Summer had only just begun after all, and no one could see the storm brewing on the horizon yet. Might as well make the most out of their day if the sun was still shining, right?

Eddie had had it all planned out. As he tossed and turned in his bed the previous night, he decided that on Friday he was going to take his girlfriend to their spot at the lake, lay down on their blanket under the trees and kick their shoes off for a while. He had made sure his acoustic guitar was tuned to perfection, and had shoved it into the back of his van to serenade her until the sun went down, the Snoopy thermos bottle Wayne had gotten him for his birthday hidden away in his backpack and full of apple flavored Kool-Aid - her favorite. He was going to romance the shit out of his girl and kiss her until he felt they’d had enough without having to worry for a single second about her Dad coming home from work early and catching them sprawled out on the couch. Or her bed. Or worse, the kitchen counter.

The Hellfire Class of ‘86 was touchy, there was no denying it. None of them really knew what personal space meant, everyone was always on top of each other, and they’d shared enough meals together to still be disgusted about the notion of having to drink from the same cup. Eddie and Dottie were actually not the worst offenders of the group, at least not in public, but by the sheer nature of their secret relationship, the pair were on their toes about just how much physical familiarity they displayed in front of others. This was exactly the reason why during the past week, they’d reserved their soft touches and gentle caresses to when they were tucked away inside Dottie’s home, shielded from any straying eyes and the relentless gossip mill that haunted Hawkins at every step.

On Thursday, however, things had taken a turn. Maybe it had been the climbing heat of the summer, or the natural excitement that having a shared secret filled them with. Maybe it had been the fact that the cute domesticity they had enjoyed while they were still in high school had intensified by virtue of now having the house alone for entire afternoons while James was still at work. Maybe it was Eddie’s work coveralls like Thatcher had implied, lightly stained with grease and tied at his waist, or maybe it was Dottie’s flowy red sundress, his favorite color. The truth was that the waters between them had reached a boiling point, and Eddie had finally snapped and crowded his girlfriend against the counter while she was putting together a snack tray for them to enjoy, uncaring to the clock that ticked on above the kitchen door.

In an uncharacteristic move, Dottie had let herself take what she needed from her boyfriend, and in turn, he had let her explore this new side of their relationship in earnest. He’d helped her climb onto the counter where she sat prettily, lips attached to lips and hands roaming with the eagerness of an explorer. She’d kissed him before, but never like this. Never with this much urgency, like she couldn’t bear the thought of not kissing him. Mouths roamed to necks, fronts pressed against fronts, and Eddie ventured a burning hand under her skirt, tracing up, up, up on the outside of her left thigh when the sound of a car door being closed with force made them jump apart.

They’d looked at the entrance door with apprehension for a few seconds before they heard the neighbor’s dog barking loudly, clearly welcoming his owner who was unlatching his noisy sidegate and trying to control his furry friend before anyone in the neighborhood complained. Eddie and Dottie stared at each other for a few seconds, hearts racing and breathing ragged before he broke into a fit of nervous giggles. She’d tucked her head down and smiled shyly, getting off the counter and going back to the task she’d been working on before she’d let her innermost thoughts guide her actions.

Eddie had fooled around with people before, but this, he felt, was different. This wasn’t a one-and-done deal, some fun in the back of his van that he could feel good about while ignoring the fact that no one had really asked him for his name or his number before he saw them leave. No, this was different because Dottie was different. She was his girlfriend, not a random stranger at The Hideout, and yet Eddie couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the way she pretended nothing had happened for the rest of the day. There was no more flirty banter, no cheeky hands on knees, no sneaky kisses after her Dad walked into the house 15 minutes later. Eddie didn’t claim to be an expert in relationships, but he figured then he had to follow her lead.

If Dottie wanted to wait, he’d wait for as long as she wanted, and so he was going to take her to the lake and sing for her until his throat hurt. Nothing more, nothing less. For her, Eddie Munson could and would be the perfect boyfriend. That is, if their friends could stop getting in his way.

“Sweet, the dock is still here!” Gareth exclaimed, looking out of the window.

“Park over there, man,” Donny instructed from the co-pilot seat. “Sun’s gonna move soon, we’ll get more shadow under that tree.”

Quickly, all five teens jumped off the van before it came to a halt, desperate to feel the breeze on their skin. The afternoon heat had given way to an oppressive humidity that could be felt under every piece of clothing they were wearing, and no one wanted to sit on Eddie’s itchy fabric and leather seats for any longer than they absolutely had to. They spread their blanket near the van, sneakers piled up on every corner so the wind couldn’t steal it away while they were cooling off in the lake, a plastic milk crate in the middle serving as an impromptu table.

“Who the fuck bought Bud Light?” Jeff asked, hauling the cold case of beer cans out of the back of the van.

“It was the cheapest one they had,” Eddie said.

“No way PBR isn’t cheaper,” Gareth said.

“Yeah, but PBR tastes like corn,” Donny laughed, dropping two new bags of chips onto the blanket.

“Ed, what’s in here?” Dottie’s soft voice rang through the clearing.

She was holding his backpack on one hand, the heavy Snoopy thermos on the other. Eddie opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before he hoisted his guitar higher on his shoulder, desperately trying to act nonchalant so the rest of the boys wouldn’t pick up on his now ruined plan.

“That’d be apple Kool-Aid,” he admitted, a shy smile gracing his face. “Forgot to tell you I had some earlier, sorry.”

“Ew,” Gareth scrunched his face. “That’s, like, the worst kind of Kool-Aid.”

“Hey, watch it,” Eddie said, pushing him off balance lightly. “That’s her favorite.”

“Your favorite Kool-Aid flavor is apple?” the younger boy turned to her. “That’s so gross, it tastes like piss.”

“Damn, G, whose piss have you been drinking to know that?” she retorted, making their friends snort.

“Okay, enough chit-chat! I’m overheating here, let’s get in the water,” Donny said, bending down to take his socks off.

“Last in buys the popcorn tomorrow!” Gareth yelled, pulling his shirt off and letting his shorts fall to the ground before running towards the wooden dock in his briefs.

Donny and Eddie looked at each other, shrugged once, and hurried to get their clothes off as well, both of them immediately cannonballing into the cold water. Dottie watched them shove each other under the surface, loud screaming and laughter echoing within the confines of their little hidden place in the woods. She hadn’t missed the meaning of the bottle in her hand - Eddie had thought of her that morning before he left for work. He’d packed it for her, along with the guitar resting on the checkered fabric on the grass. Her eyes searched for her boyfriend, his wild hair flattened with the weight of the droplets clinging to his curls. To her side, blue and white fabric rustled, startling her out of her thoughts.

“Are you getting in?” Jeff asked when she turned to look at him.

“Uh, I- I’m not sure,” Dottie admitted. “You?”

“Y-yeah. Same.”

She examined him with gentle eyes, noticing the beads of sweat gathering at his hairline. It was clear he was feeling hot, his thick jeans sticking to the skin of his legs, the fabric around his collar getting darker with perspiration. She felt the heat too, but she had had the foresight of wearing shorts and a cotton tank top that day; his three-quarter sleeved Black Sabbath shirt didn’t look like it allowed much air to reach his feverish skin under it.

Donny and Gareth have older sisters, she realized all of a sudden as Jeff looked forlornly at their friends. It was probably normal for siblings to see each other in various states of undress as they grew up, especially if they shared bedrooms or bathrooms. Donny had been Vittoria and Isabella’s baby doll before little Giulietta had been born, and while the age difference between Gareth and Gretchen was smaller than Donny’s and his older sisters’, the fact that their bedrooms were connected through a Jack-and-Jill meant that they’d seen each other in their underwear more often than either of them could count by the time they’d both entered elementary school.

Jeff only had an older brother, and he probably felt a bit shy taking his clothes in front of Dottie. If she was being honest with herself, had she not been worried about being semi-naked in front of Eddie for the first time ever, she would most likely have had the same concerns as him.

“You can go in with them if you want to,” she said, motioning towards the lake with her head and trying to be encouraging. “I don’t mind you guys being in your undies around me if that’s what’s stopping you.”

“No, it’s- it’s fine, I’m not hot,” he said, crossing his arms.

“Jeff, you’re sweating buckets. I can turn around until you’re in the water if that makes you feel better.”

“No, it’s- it’s not you,” he sighed, apprehension on his face. “It’s everyone, I guess? I- I’m not used to, like, showing my legs to people. It makes me feel weird.”

“Oh,” Dottie said, not really understanding the issue but still aiming to be supportive. “Are you like super hairy or something? Because Donny could knit a blanket with his leg hair and no one cares, I promise no one’s gonna make fun of you.”

“No, no, I’m not hairy,” he snorted. “I mean I have some hair, I’m a guy, but no, he’s definitely the hairiest out of all of us.”

“Dunno, man, you haven’t seen me in winter when I don’t shave,” she joked, and he smiled at her gratefully for making their conversation feel lighter.

“It’s not hair I’m worried about,” Jeff said, turning towards her and lowering his voice. “Swear you won’t laugh?”

“It’s just me, Jeff,” she put her hands in her back pockets and shrugged. “When have I ever laughed at you about anything?”

Jeff hadn’t known what to expect when Dottie first joined Hellfire. They’d had a couple of female members in the club as the years had gone by, but none of them were quite like her and he didn’t know what to make of it at that time. Dottie, for starters, did not look like she was into heavy metal or nerdy stuff, dressing like any other girl he could have seen on the street, complete with trendy pastels and dainty florals. She had, however, been incredibly kind and not judgemental, eager to learn how to play D&D and taking it way more seriously than he’d thought she would on their first session, and that - along with the snacks she’d brought with her that day - had helped make him less wary of her intentions.

It certainly surprised him when all three of his best friends immediately struck a friendship with her, particularly Gareth who had a reputation of not knowing how to talk to girls in the first place. Still, in just a few short weeks, Dottie’d become a permanent fixture within their friend group and Jeff had no reasons to contradict them when the girl who sat next to him during World History lessons often smiled at him like a timid puppy asking for her new owner to play with her. If she was willing to put in the work to call him a friend, he would oblige and do the same, and that was exactly what he had done all those months ago.

“Okay, yeah,” he said, nodding a couple of times while he gathered courage. “It’s just- I, uh, I have a lot of marks on my legs. And I don’t like when people stare at them. It feels like they’re judging me.”

“Marks like scars or…?”

“Like stretch marks. I have them on the backs of my knees and on my hips. They’re… they’re kinda a lot. My Mom used to rub this oil on me to make them smaller but I don’t think it did anything to be honest.”

“I get it,” Dottie smiled. “I have them too, y’know.”

“You do?”

“Yeah,” she said, shifting her weight from foot to foot. “I have them on my butt and my hips. Here, look-” she moved her leg to the side and pulled the cuff of her jean shorts higher, letting him see the web of silvery scars climbing on the side of her leg.

“Wow.”

“I used to hate undressing in the locker room because none of my friends had them and I thought they were ugly, and then my Auntie Rachel said I should think of them like a badge of honor. Like you survived puberty and now you have all these battle scars to show for it, right?” she said, and Jeff snorted. “I know. It sounds so stupid, but it did make me feel better about them so… Dunno. It hurt like hell to get them so maybe she’s got a point.”

“God, yes. Some nights it felt like someone was trying to shatter my fucking kneecaps from the inside,” he laughed, happy to commiserate with a friend.

“Dude, I was terrified! No one told me growth spurts felt like being tied to those goddamn medieval beds that stretch your limbs until they snap, I thought I was dying,” she said. “It was the worst, honestly. I’m happy I stayed kinda short because that shit was painful.”

“Do all of yours look white?” Jeff asked, curious.

“Now they do but they used to look pink and a bit swollen, like when a cat scratches you on the leg, y’know? But they turned white after a while, so I guess that means they’ve healed. Yours don’t look like that?”

“Not really, no. I could show you if you want.”

Dottie was aware that Jeff was trusting her with something very important with his offering. Not wanting to spook him off while he was being so vulnerable with her, she nodded eagerly and waited for him to push his jeans down until they touched the soft grass under his feet. He bent down to grab them and fold them carefully while she looked at his legs with an interested expression, but not a malicious one.

“I actually didn’t know stretch marks could look like that,” she said, embarrassed.

“I didn’t know either until I got them,” he said, hands twitching nervously at his sides. “It’s probably because my skin is darker than yours.”

Jeff stood in that clearing in the blue checkered boxers his Mom had bought for him, and felt the breeze calm his heated skin. The backs of his knees were damp with sweat, and Dottie could see them painted with both cream and very dark brown scars at the point where his calf joined the back of his thigh. The intricate webbing stopped after a few inches, and then resumed at his hips, hidden by the breathable fabric, but traces of it could be seen near the elastic at the top. Jeff’s lower body had stretched and stretched, making him as tall as his brother and as slender as his mother, and the signs were displayed for the world to see for what was probably the first time since he’d gotten them.

Wordlessly, Dottie’s hands went to the top of her shorts and undid her belt, zipper falling open afterwards as her legs kicked the jean fabric aside. Jeff’s eyes roamed the patches of skin she’d mentioned before, observing silvery threads in similar patterns to his own as they climbed the sides of her upper thighs, her high-cut cotton panties not helping to conceal them unlike his choice of underwear. They smiled at each other and it was suddenly very clear to both of them that there was nothing to fear here; there was not an ounce of shame or embarrassment to behold in that clearing.

“So… do you wanna get in now?” Jeff asked, pulling bravery out of thin air.

“I… Yeah. Yeah, I’ll do it if you do it,” she grinned at him, conspiratorially.

“Okay, let’s- let’s just go for it!”

With the sort of giddiness that comes from overcoming a personal hurdle, the two teens finished undressing and walked side by side to the little dock where they sat down until they both felt comfortable enough in their own skin to jump into the water together. Jeff hadn’t known what to expect when he’d first met Dottie, but he was infinitely glad he took the chance to get to know her, thankful that his friends had had much better foresight about her than he did upon their first encounter.

Eddie wanted to drown himself. Was that a dramatic reaction to the situation at hand? Most likely, yes, but he’d never been known to be a level-headed guy in the first place so he couldn’t really be blamed for it. Not only had his plans to share a romantic afternoon with his girl been thwarted by their friends poking their noses where they didn’t belong, but also the first time Eddie was seeing Dottie in her underwear was at the same time everyone was seeing her in her underwear, and quite frankly, he didn’t care for it one bit.

It wasn’t that Eddie was jealous - that ship had sailed a long time ago and sunk to the bottom of the ocean more and more every time she told him she loved him - but he did feel like he had been cheated out of a very important First in their relationship. He’d imagined the moment very differently, and he was very much upset that he could only allow himself glimpses of her so as not to seem like a creep while she sat on the dock with Jeff, their calves shoved into the water as they chatted amicably. Still, while his friends were distracted, he felt like he could allow himself a few moments to take in the little things that he could observe about her and catalog them in his own brain under the Think About Later, Preferably While I’m Alone And In The Shower label.

If the magazines hidden underneath his bed were supposed to capture the hottest people on Earth, then Dottie was, in his eyes, a goddess living amongst common folk. Upon seeing her lounging by the water, he was reminded of that one time in Art class when their teacher had given them a presentation about statues in Ancient Greece - something about why so many of them didn’t have arms, and how beauty standards had changed throughout the years. Eddie hadn’t really cared for it at the time, but staring at the soft pudge protruding from her stomach and the thick thighs that molded themselves to the wood under them, he felt like if he were to carve Aphrodite herself in stone, she would have looked like one Dorothy Burke.

Every single detail about her was overwhelming to him. The myriad of moles that littered her body, the way the hairs on her arms stood to attention when she pulled her legs out of the cold water and the breeze hit them just right, the liquid silver that marred the skin on her hips. Her toes painted bright pink, her cute chuckles at whatever Jeff was saying, her hair moving in the wind as she stood at the dock gathering courage to jump in, the unassuming set of matching bra and panties she’d chosen to wear that day: cotton, little soft pink flowers dotting the fabric and two tiny non-functional baby pink bows, one sewn between her breasts and one underneath her belly button. He felt like a pervert ogling her and a worshiper at her altar at the same time, and he had to stop looking at her and chill the fuck out before anyone noticed that he would have gone to war, written poetry, and gladly died for her if she asked him to do so right that second.

“Eddie!” Gareth called, startling him out of his thoughts. Jeff and Dottie had already jumped into the lake and joined the fun. “You in for chicken? Dot’s gonna be the referee.”

“Hell yeah, man! Same teams as usual?” Eddie replied, doing what he did best when caught daydreaming: pretend he hadn’t been daydreaming.

“You’re going down, bitch!” Donny yelled before lowering himself underwater so Gareth could climb on his shoulders.

“Hey Ed, do you mind if I go on top this time?” Jeff asked, surprising Eddie.

A long time ago, the eldest Vitale sister, Isabella, had heard the boys gossip about Jeff and didn’t like what she’d eavesdropped on one bit. They’d been sitting in the living room at Donny’s house, putting away the pieces of the board game they had been playing on a rainy afternoon when the topic of Jeff and his pants had come up. The boy hadn’t been present for the conversation; his Mom had picked him up a few minutes earlier, and so his friends had felt like it was safe to speculate on why he was so hellbent on not wearing the mandatory shorts everyone else wore during gym class. Isabella heard them mention his newly acquired stretch marks and dismiss it as the issue at hand rather quickly, moving on to juicier theories like secret tattoos or acne in weird places. She’d shut them down in an instant.

From that day on and thanks to a long stream of yelling coming from Isabella, the boys understood that Jeff was sensitive about showing his bare legs to the world, and that if they really considered him a friend, they’d stop making a note of it every time he chose joggers over shorts and covered himself with a big towel after getting out of the pool. So in that moment, while Jeff seemed to not care that his scars were on display for everyone to scrutinize, Eddie resolved to immediately shove his head underwater and help him onto his shoulders, happy to prove to him that he’d been wrong all along when hiding himself around their friend group.

The little corner of Lover’s Lake that the Hellfire teens had chosen as their spot for the afternoon had never seen a battle the likes of The Great Chicken Fight of ‘86. Both teams fought fiercely, sometimes winning, sometimes choking on a bit of lake water, but after several rounds Donny and Eddie asked for a break to let their shoulders rest, and Team Donny and Gareth was officially crowned as the champion for the day.

At around five, every cloud in the sky was officially gone and the temperature had started to drop so everyone agreed it was time to get out of the lake and enjoy the sun before it went down behind the trees. Eddie offered Donny and Gareth to share a joint as their prize, and they gladly accepted it, all three of them grabbing a couple of beers each and sitting on the dock to smoke and get pleasantly buzzed. Not interested in partaking, Jeff and Dottie chose to go back to the blanket near the van where they sat down and drank their beers while he plucked some tunes out of his friend’s acoustic guitar.

“That sounds gorgeous,” Dottie told him sincerely, lying on her front on the blanket, head resting on her crossed arms and legs swinging behind her.

“My Mom loves this song,” Jeff said, playing the intro of Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers once more.

“I’ve never heard of it before,” she admitted. “Can you sing it for me?”

“Yeah, for sure,” he smiled, always happy to spread his love of music around.

Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, Jeff crooned, his tone raspier than usual and carrying over to where the guys were sitting at the dock. It’s not warm when she’s away, ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, and she’s always gone too long, anytime she goes away. Dottie stared at her friend in awe of his raw gift. All the Corroded Coffin members were talented, she knew that very well, but Jeff had always been the most shy in demonstrating it outside of Gareth’s garage and the relative anonymity of The Hideout, perhaps due to his father’s silent disapproval of his son’s artistic inclination.

And I know, I know, I know, I know… After observing countless practices and a couple of their weekly gigs, Dottie was fairly confident that while Eddie was the most talented guitar player out of the two, Jeff had the best voice in the band by far. As he sang about longing for someone who leaves often, she couldn’t help but think of themselves, about how summer was ticking by fast and one day, they’d all have to say goodbye to each other for a while like they had done with Dustin the previous weekend. And this house just ain’t no home, anytime she goes away.

“That was… wow,” she shook her head in disbelief once he had finished his rendition. “Bill Withers you said?”

“Mhm. He’s from West Virginia, you know? My Granddad is always talking about him,” Jeff said, going back to playing basic chord progressions while he explained.

“Maybe you’ll get to meet him while you’re there.”

“I doubt it, he’s probably like a gazillionaire by now. He totally lives in LA.”

“Never too late to ask for a transfer,” she joked, and he scoffed like he was offended at the suggestion.

“This sucks, man,” he sighed, putting the guitar aside and dropping onto the blanket next to her, elbows bumping. “All this time I’ve been looking for any excuses to leave this shithole and now that I have them, I don’t wanna go.”

“It’s just four years. We’ll blink and be back here before we know it. And there’s the holidays too, we have to come see family and stuff.”

“Yeah, I guess. Unless we get real jobs and then we won’t be able to come back.”

“Yeah, maybe. Can I tell you a secret?” she whispered.

“Of course.”

“I’m super scared that when we leave you guys will forget about me,” she said, turning around to lay on her back. “Like I’m gonna come back to Hawkins for Christmas break and it’ll be like I never existed.”

“You’re insane,” Jeff shook his head. “There’s no way we’d forget about you. Especially Eddie.”

“W-what do you mean?” Dottie said, hand draped over her eyes to hide her expression.

“Okay, so I know I’m not like an expert on this,” he began. “-but I think Eddie really likes you. As in, more than friends.”

“Oh,” she replied, trying very hard not to laugh. “That’s… I don’t know what to say. You really think so?”

“I’ve never seen him act like this before. It’s like someone brainwashed him, but in a good way? Dunno. He seems happier when you’re around. I think we all are, actually.”

“Aw, Jeffie,” she cooed, sitting up and pulling him into a one-armed hug, ignoring the fact that none of them had bothered to put their clothes back on after getting out of the water. “I’m really happy with you guys too, senior year would have completely sucked if I hadn’t met you. I think that’s what scares me the most, because I told you about my friends in New York and how they used to forget about me during summer and I just- I don’t want things to change, y’know? I’m happy like this!”

“Nothing’s going to change, Dot,” he said, sitting up too. “Well, I mean, everything is going to change when we go off to college, but that doesn’t mean we have to change. We’ll all still be friends… and maybe you and Eddie can be more than friends,” she shoved him and he laughed. “But we’ll keep in touch. We’ll send postcards, and letters, and we can call each other, you’ll see.”

“Promise me,” Dottie said, lifting her pinky finger. “Promise me we’ll still be best friends even when I’m in Michigan and you’re in West Virginia.”

“The better Virginia,” he said dramatically, linking his pinky with hers.

“The best Virginia, but only when you’re in it.”

“Why are you buttering me up so much? What terrible song do you want me to play next?” he narrowed his eyes, but they both knew he would always gladly play anything his friends asked for.

“Well, now that you mention it…”

Jeff picked up the guitar again before she could finish her sentence and launched into a sped up version of Back in the U.S.S.R by The Beatles, making Dottie dissolve into giggles as he faked a terrible British accent. Eddie watched from the dock, his bare back resting on old wood while Gareth and Donny talked next to him. He couldn’t even be mad at the fact that Jeff was fulfilling his fantasy; he was enjoying the tunes too and the view of his girlfriend lounging on the grass in her undies was enough to keep him content for the moment.

“Might wanna be less obvious with the staring, bud,” Donny said, bringing him back to the present instead of fixating on how she pushed her bra strap back onto her shoulder when it moved out of place.

“Fuck off,” Eddie scoffed. “I wasn’t staring. I was zoning out.”

“Sure you were,” Gareth said, sharing a conspiratorial glance with Donny. “That why you planned this cute little date? So you could zone out?”

“Cute little date? You mean the chill hangout you were both invited to?” Eddie said.

“You brought the dragon slayer guitar, man. This was not a casual hangout and you know it.”

“It was already in my van, I didn’t do shit.”

“Yeah, right. What about the Kool-Aid then? Her favorite flavor? Come on, Ed, we know you’re into her,” Donny said plainly. “Why are you so scared of asking her out?”

“I’m not!”

“Then why haven’t you already?!”

“I have!” he said, exasperation making him slip up.

“You have?!” Both Gareth and Donny stared at him, confused.

“I- I mean… No, I- I was gonna ask her today. And then you assholes ruined it,” Eddie deflected, making them feel bad about it to cover up his mistake. “I love you both, but you’re nosy as hell. I’m not telling you shit about anything anymore.”

“Okay, that’s so fuckin’ rude,” Gareth said, exaggerating being upset for drama. “We’re rooting for you two, jackass, you don’t gotta treat us like the enemy. We can help you if you want!”

“Nope, I don’t need any help, thank you. I’m doing pretty okay without you.”

“Really? Because from where we’re sitting, Jeff is the one having the date you planned with your girl. You might wanna hurry up and make your move before he swoops in.”

“First, don’t use Jeff of all people to try and make me jealous. That’s lame and you know that, we’re all friends here,” Eddie scolded Gareth, making him raise his hands to concede. “Second, I have nothing to worry about.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

Eddie was about to answer when a damp haired Dottie approached them, Eddie’s black sleeveless shirt that he had cut himself hanging from her fingers. She stopped right in front of them, beaming down at her boyfriend with cheeks tainted red from the sun.

“What’s up, princess?” he smirked, knowing that his friends were watching the interaction curiously.

“Can I pretty-please borrow your shirt for a bit? I’m cold but I don’t wanna put my shorts on, I don’t wanna get them wet,” she pouted at him, as if she thought he’d ever say no to her.

“Yeah, of course. There’s a flannel somewhere in the back of the van if you want that one.”

“No, this one’s okay!” Dottie said, lifting the shirt and putting her head through it. “Thank you!”

She hopped away and back towards Jeff while she pulled her arms through the big holes at the sides, the black fabric falling down her back until it covered the delicate flower pattern on her panties. Eddie took a sip of his beer can and turned to look at the boys; Donny was holding in a chuckle and Gareth was staring at him in disbelief.

“You were asking?” Eddie said, smug.

“I… Shut the fuck up,” Gareth shook his head.

“You two are gonna be so gross when you actually start dating,” Donny said, thoroughly entertained.

“Maybe. Or maybe we’re already dating and we just haven’t told you,” Eddie said, mysteriously.

“Yeah, right. You’re like the most transparent person on Earth, Ed,” Gareth said.

“And she’s the worst liar ever,” Donny added, making Eddie snort.

What they don’t know can’t hurt them, Eddie thought as they switched topics and he took another glance at his girlfriend in the distance. She was looking right back at him with a smitten smile on her face, so he winked at her once, watching how she turned bashful and looked away from him. He wasn’t trying to be mean to their friends but when he had said sneaking around could be fun, he didn’t know how absolutely right he would be, and Eddie was determined to make the most of it before they had to come clean when summer drew to a close.

“What are you doing tonight?”

“Are you asking me out? Should I be worried about the guys tagging along again?”

“Ha, ha, you’re so funny. Answer the question.”

Eddie and Dottie were waiting for a red light to change back to green on the way to her home after having dropped everyone else off. When the sun started to disappear behind the treeline, the Hellfire Class of ‘86 very reluctantly decided it was time to return to society where wearing clothes was expected of them. Eddie had mourned in silence the fact that Dottie wasn’t wearing his shirt anymore, but considering it had been warm when she gave it back to him, he felt like a small mercy had been afforded to him in his time of suffering. The temperature was falling fast as the daylight said goodbye to Hawkins for the night, making Dottie burrow further into the co-pilot seat as she turned to the side to look at the metalhead.

“Well, I was thinking I really need a shower before I do anything else because I am covered in lake water and I feel sticky and gross. And- I don’t know, maybe watch a movie before bed? You? Got any plans?”

“Not yet,” Eddie said, changing gears before he let his hand find hers, interlacing their fingers. “Was kinda hoping you could help me out with that.”

“Oh, so you are asking me out,” Dottie smiled.

“Well, since our super romantic date turned into you having to see all our hairy asses, I thought it’d be nice to make it up to you,” he shot her a quick smile before turning his eyes back onto the road. “Wanna pick up a pizza and have dinner with me and Wayne? We can get a movie too, and you can stay over if you want. He won’t mind.”

“I don’t know, Ed,” she sighed, her thumb drawing patterns on the back of his hand. “I want to, I really do, but staying the night is… Don’t know if I can get away with that.”

“Don’t wanna keep lying to your Dad, huh?”

“No, well… I don’t actually mind the lying. He’d kinda freak out if he knew, I think. And he’d sit me down to have the most awkward talk in the world and like, I’m sorry, I know he’d mean well but he’s late on that by like four years. Mrs. Maybelle beat him to it and she did a damn good job.”

“Health teacher?”

“Mhm. She was so cool. I think she single-handedly lowered the teen pregnancy statistics in my school.”

“Wow. Go Mrs. Maybelle,” he chuckled. “It’s okay though, we’ll see each other tomorrow. Or you can still come over only for dinner, I know Wayne misses you.”

“He does?” she bit her lip as she smiled, warmth spreading inside her chest.

“Pfft, are you kidding? He likes you more than he likes me. Asks me about you all the time,” Eddie said, a tinge of pride in his voice, like he loved the fact that his Uncle and his girlfriend got along so well.

Dottie stared at their intertwined hands as she mulled over his words, only snapping out of it when he moved to switch gears again without letting her fingers go. The van slowly came to a stop on her driveway, the soft murmur of the engine filling the quiet of the summer night. He turned to look at her with curiosity when she made no moves to get out; she was burning a hole on her front door with nervous eyes, thumb on her free hand lodged between her lips as she bit down on her nail gently.

“I’m gonna take a shower first,” she muttered. “Then we can go. And we have to tell my Dad everyone is staying over at yours too.”

“Okay,” he said, the side of his mouth coming up in an amused smile. “Anything else?”

“For dinner, can we get something that isn’t pizza? I’ve been having Italian all week, Donny’s family keeps feeding me everything on the menu so I can recommend it to the customers. I think I’ll die if I eat any more dough this week.”

“Of course,” he chuckled at her dramatics. “KFC okay? Wayne loves a drumstick.”

“KFC sounds great actually.”

Finally turning off the van and heading inside, the pair put some distance between them to seem casual in front of James, who sat on the couch half asleep with a crossword puzzle in his hand and the TV tuned in to some random game show he wasn’t really watching. He took his glasses off and brushed a hand over his face tiredly, opening his arms so Dottie could beeline in his direction and give him a big hug.

“Hey honey, where have you been?” James said, voice gruff after a very long week.

“We went to the lake,” she said, perching on the armrest next to him, Eddie taking a seat in the armchair near them. “It was too hot to do anything else today. How was work?”

“Tiring. S’that why you smell like a swamp? Because you got in the lake?”

“Dad! You’re so mean, I do not smell like a swamp.”

“You kinda do,” Eddie said, giving her a toothy smile.

“You’re not supposed to gang up on me, you got into the lake too,” she stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed in response. “If it’s so bad I’m gonna go take a shower and you two can finally be free from my ogre smell.”

“Are you two hanging out here tonight?” James asked, hand holding onto his daughter’s wrist for a second before she could leave. “What do you want for dinner?”

“We’re going back to Eddie’s for movie night. Everyone went home to shower first,” Dottie lied.

“Oh, okay. You’re staying over or you need me to pick you up later?”

“I think we’re staying but if not, Donny can drive me back, don’t worry about it. We’re supposed to go to the theater tomorrow anyway, Jeff was saying something about Gene Simmons being in a movie? Dunno. I’m pretty excited about the aircon though.”

“Of course you are,” her Dad laughed, finally letting her arm go. “Go back to the Black Lagoon now, shoo.”

“Dad, stop it!”

Dottie had long ago stopped worrying about the kinds of conversation her Dad and Eddie got up to while she wasn’t around as they often revolved around three distinct subjects: nerd stuff, cars, and whatever interesting thing had happened recently. That day’s talk seemed to be about a high end car that had come into Thatcher’s shop in the morning, and as both men marveled at its engineering like they were kids at Christmas, Dottie headed upstairs to the bathroom to rid herself of her dirty clothes and the sticky lake residue on her skin.

The water coming out of the showerhead pinged off the tiles softly, the echoey nature of the room lulling her into a sense of peace and comfort as she slowly undressed and stepped into the empty tub. Dottie took her time relaxing after a long week of intense training at her new job, gentle fingertips working her ginger and mint scented shampoo on her scalp. Her sun-kissed skin felt like it was sizzling under the warm water, more cold than hot to ease the tightness under the red patches. She turned off the water after rinsing all the soap off, wrapped herself in a fluffy white towel and padded her way to her bedroom to finish getting ready for the night.

While she dried herself and applied moisturizer to her shoulders, cheeks and bridge of her nose to avoid her skin peeling off, Dottie stared at her wardrobe with a million questions on her tongue. It was easy enough to put together an outfit for the casual date night - any t-shirt and pair of shorts would suffice for dinner with Eddie and Wayne. It was, however, the rest of her clothes that worried her, from which set of pjs would be appropriate for the eldest Munson to see her in when they inevitably shared breakfast together the following morning yet still cute enough to wear while cuddling up under a blanket with Eddie while they watched a movie, down to, most importantly, her undergarments.

Dottie, while having very limited experience, was no stranger to what sort of things couples would get up to when they had an empty house to themselves. Standing next to her dresser with her underwear drawer open, she weighed all options in her mind. Would Eddie mind that she didn’t own anything like she’d seen on the girls in the magazines under his bed? Would he care about what she wore at all? Was he even interested in taking the next big step with her? It had certainly seemed so on Thursday, but he had backed off completely afterwards leaving Dottie to overthink their interactions until she had finally fallen asleep.

Truth be told, if she really had to consider it, was she ready? She felt comfortable with him, yes, she definitely felt safe, but did that mean anything had to happen that specific night? Eddie had seen her in a completely normal set of underwear all day and hadn’t said a thing. He hadn’t even kissed her. He’d held her hand in the van after everyone left, and he’d been as affectionate and friendly as ever, but aside from that… was he put off now that he knew what she looked like under her clothes?

No. Stop it, Dottie told herself before she could go down a dangerous spiral. He didn’t say anything good but also he didn’t say anything bad. He was probably just embarrassed to say something with everyone around, that’s all. He’ll totally mention it tonight, that’s why he wants you to come over. With a confidence that was more performative than real, she chose a simple white cotton set that felt cute but was also comfortable enough to sleep in, grabbed her favorite pajamas and quickly put an overnight bag together before climbing down the stairs before she could regret her choices. In the living room, Eddie and James were still talking about the fancy car.

“You ready?” Eddie got up when she approached them. “I’ll drop you off at Family Video while I pick up the chicken.”

“Okay. Any suggestions?”

“You pick,” he smiled at her. “But get the two movie deal with the popcorn, I’ll get you gummy bears at the station.”

“Got it,” Dottie turned to her Dad. “I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon, is that okay?”

“Go have fun,” James enveloped her in a hug. “Call me if you need anything.”

“I will. Love you.”

“Love you too, honey,” he kissed her forehead and let her go to shake Eddie’s hand goodbye. “You two be safe, alright? Say hi to Wayne from me.”

“Will do, sir. Have a good night,” Eddie said, wondering not for the first time if James knew more than he let on.

Dottie walked into Family Video with a simple mission: she had to find two movies that both her and Eddie could enjoy together. They both liked fantasy and sci-fi, but a lore-heavy or emotionally compelling movie didn’t feel like the right choice for a night where everything was meant to change between them, and certainly horror was out of the picture if she wanted to get a wink of sleep for the following week. Something lighthearted and fun like Ghostbusters or Beverly Hills Cop seemed like the perfect choice in her mind, and she knew just the person to ask for help in her quest.

The smell of plastic and air freshener filled the air as she surveyed the store for that familiar head of hair she’d come to be really fond of, but when she finally found it, her plans were immediately thrown off the table. Robin Buckley stood in the children’s movie aisle looking very overwhelmed while being surrounded by three little kids and their sweet grandma, who was trying to pick a movie for them. The kids kept showing different tapes to her, and the old lady insisted Robin explain the gist of each of them so she could decide which one was more appropriate for her grandchildren to watch. By the looks of it, this had been going on for several minutes before Dottie’s arrival judging by how disheveled Robin’s vest was getting as the kids tugged on it trying to catch her attention and offer yet another tape as a new contender.

“Hi, welcome to Family Video! How can I help you?” a man’s voice beckoned Dottie further into the store, only to find herself face to face with one Steve Harrington.

“Oh hey, nice to see you again!” she said honestly, watching how the friendly looking boy lit up at her acknowledgement of him.

“Yeah, nice to see you too! Congrats on graduation, by the way,” Steve said, leaning onto the counter.

“Thank you!”

“So, what can I help you with? Unless you’re here for Robin.”

“Oh, no, it’s- well, actually I did want her help but I guess if you two are friends that means you must have good taste too, right?”

“That was kinda a backhanded compliment but I’ll take it anyway,” Steve joked. “What were you looking for? I’m not an expert like Rob, but I’ve seen some cool stuff since I got this job.”

“I was looking for something light? Like… I don’t know, something like Back to the Future maybe?” Dottie mused, following him to one of the aisles at the front of the store.

“You’re in luck because I did see that one. Instant classic. I don’t get why Alex P. Keaton was trying to bang his Mom though, what was up with that?” he lowered his voice conspiratorially, making her chuckle.

“He wasn’t, she was trying to bang him,” she said, and Steve’s eyebrows shot up. “She didn’t know he was her son. Are you sure you’ve seen it?”

“Of course I did,” he scoffed. “I saw it with Robin - hey, Rob!”

“Steve, I’m a little busy here,” Robin raised her voice from her side of the store, throwing daggers at him with her eyes.

“Just answer this for me please: did I see Back to the Future with you or not?”

“Yeah, why-”

“Thank you!” Steve triumphantly turned back to Dottie who was watching the entire interaction with an amused expression on her face. “What did I tell you? I saw it!”

“Okay, I believe you,” she laughed. “Can you help me find something similar to that since you’re Michael J. Fox’s biggest fan?”

“Who’s that?” he asked, back turned as he browsed the shelves in search of a VHS he knew he had stocked earlier in the week. “Aha! Here it is, Teen Wolf. I saw it on a date like a month ago, I think you’d like it.”

“Yeah? How did that date turn out for you?”

“Really bad, but the movie was great,” he tapped on the plastic cover. “Big recommend.”

“You’ve convinced me, I’ll take it. Oh, and this one too, please,” Dottie said, walking to the next aisle and picking up another VHS she’d had her eyes on for a while.

“Clue? Like the board game?”

“Exactly! I haven’t seen it yet, but Tim Curry is in it so it must be good.”

“Who’s Tim Curry again?”

“Did you ever end up seeing Rocky Horror?” he nodded so she continued. “He plays Dr. Frank-N-Furter, you know, the guy in the corset?”

“Ah, yes! Yeah, I remember him. It was, uhm, it was a really interesting movie! The music was very catchy,” Steve said, walking over to the counter to ring her up while he scratched his neck nervously. “You know, I’ve been talking with Robin about going to see some shows in Indy, she knows some cool spots and- and they might be showing stuff like Rocky Horror too! I mean, they seem like the kinda places that would show movies like that. You could come with us if you’d like, I know Rob would love that.”

Steve Harrington’s new self-appointed life purpose after striking out on so many dates for the past year, was to be Robin Buckley’s wingman. He was no longer interested in pursuing flings that always led to him on his own couch with his head on Robin’s lap and her hands on his hair while they watched some weird avant-garde movie she’d picked for the day. He was, quite frankly, tired of trying so hard for nothing, and he’d told her as much when he took her out for dinner on her graduation day.

In a so-sad-it’s-almost-comical turn of events, Steve’s big declaration had been forgotten rather quickly when Robin turned her head to call the waitress over and spotted Vickie, fellow band geek and current crush, making out with her college boyfriend, both of them tucked into one of the booths at the back of the restaurant. Steve tried to pick up the pieces of his best friend’s broken heart that night, her head on his lap on the floor of his bathroom for a change, but he simply hadn’t known how to make everything better at the time.

And so, it was during the next morning as he watched Robin snoozing in what was quickly becoming her side on his bed, her reddish-brown hair spilling over his fluffiest pillow, that he decided the only solution was to find Robin a new object of desire, one that would be emotionally available to reciprocate her feelings without fear of becoming the town pariah. In that scenario, who could be better than the short curly haired girl that already looked to be fond of his best friend, was seemingly unafraid of judgment since she already was friends with the freaks, and was about to move to a bigger city where small town sensibilities couldn’t reach either of them?

It was a flawless plan if you asked him. There was only one little problem in it, but Steve couldn’t be blamed for that - he didn’t have all relevant information yet.

“I’d love to go with you guys too!” Dottie said, excited at the prospect of new friends and fun adventures. “I’ve only been to Indy once so I don’t really know any cool places there or anything.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Steve laughed. “Rob’s been a few times with the school’s band though. They get around, did you know that?”

“I’ll take your word for it,” she chuckled, grabbing a few bills from her front pocket. “I have two questions. One, can I get the two movies and popcorn deal? And two, would it be okay if I invited a friend to join us on our big city adventures?”

“One, sweet or salty? Two, that depends,” he said mysteriously, moving over to the snacks display next to the cash register.

“Sweet, please,” she instructed. “Depends on what?”

“I don’t know, is your friend cute?”

“I think so, but I don’t really know your type,” Dottie said, glancing to the side as the front door opened and Eddie walked in, a big grin on his face. “Speak of the devil.”

“Harrington,” Eddie said, sliding next to her and bumping her shoulder like he wasn’t dying to throw an arm around his girlfriend.

“Munson,” Steve greeted him. “Wait, did you- is he the friend you were talking about?”

“You were talking about me with King Steve, princess?” Eddie raised his eyebrows, amused.

“Steve was inviting me to join some cool plans he has with Robin and I thought you might want to come too,” Dottie explained. “I think Dustin would be really happy if you two hung out. He looks up to you both so much.”

“He, uh… Henderson talks about me?” Steve said, surprised.

“Yeah, man, kid worships you,” Eddie scoffed.

“I asked him about you when I saw you at our graduation,” Dottie said, making both boys turn towards her. “He said you were his babysitter, but he thought of you as his older brother.”

“He did? That little shit,” Steve muttered, biting back a self-satisfied smile.

“Gotta talk Claudia into giving him a sibling, that kid’s lonely as hell,” Eddie joked, but his girlfriend didn’t seem to like it very much.

“You’re an only child, if anyone understands what that’s like, it should be you.”

“You’re an only child too,” he noted.

“We should make a club,” Steve said, bringing Dottie’s attention back to him while he put the bag of microwave popcorn and the movies she’d picked in a bag. “I’m also an only child.”

“Hey, sorry I couldn’t say hi earlier!” Robin interrupted their talk, dumping a bunch of VHS cases onto the counter. “Ring all of these up before she changes her mind,” she whispered to Steve, making all three teens snort.

“No worries, you looked pretty busy,” Dottie said, pulling her into a hug. “It’s so nice to see you, we’re kinda neighbors now!”

“Yeah- wait, what?”

“I got a summer job over at Giulia’s! Wanted to come say hi earlier in the week but they keep me on a leash while I’m getting trained.”

“No way!” Robin smiled. “Steve and I love their meatball sandwich!”

“No, you love their meatball sandwich.”

“You always eat the other half, why don’t you get something else if you don’t like it?”

“Because you hate the mortadella sandwich I like so I always let you get the one you want,” he deadpanned, while he finished scanning the stack of movies in front of him.

“Isn’t mortadella horse meat?” Eddie asked.

“No, it’s pork,” Dottie replied, well acquainted with the sandwich menu by then.

“Whatever it is, it’s disgusting,” Robin said, grabbing the bag Steve was offering to her and heading to where the older lady waited while she read the back cover for Cocoon. “Duty calls, have a good night you two.”

“Thanks, Buckley!” Eddie called, but she had already slipped her customer service smile back on to answer more of the old grandma’s questions.

“Well, you guys are done,” Steve said, bracing himself on the counter. “Unless you need anything else?”

“Nope, we’re good, Harrington, thanks,” the metalhead said, arm finally curling around his girlfriend’s waist and pulling her towards the front doors.

“Bye, Steve, see you around!” she said, waving at him over her boyfriend’s shoulder.

“I’ll drop by next week so we can make plans!” he replied, not letting her forget about his invite.

“Please do! Bye, Robin!” was the last thing Dottie could say before the door closed behind her.

Steve rested his head on his hand as he watched Robin wrap up with the older lady and her rambunctious grandchildren, herding all of them towards the exit lest they asked any more questions or shoved a new tape into her hands. As soon as they were gone, she walked back where he was standing and dropped her entire body weight onto the counter; Steve patted her hair as if to say “there, there”.

“So…,” he began.

“So?” Robin replied, voice muffled by her own arms.

“Am I a great wingman or what?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I asked Dorothy to come with us to Indianapolis. Thought she’d be into it. She said yes, by the way, you’re welcome.”

“You did what?! Steve, I’m not- if people knew-,” she began panicking.

No one in Hawkins could know about her best kept secret, which was exactly why Steve had offered to go with her to queer friendly spots in the big city of Indianapolis and act as her alibi should anyone ask. If anyone knew, if anyone found out, if Dottie wasn’t as cool with things like Robin was 99.9% sure she was… Well, it was safe to assume that Robin would be grabbing the bag hidden at the bottom of Steve’s closet and disappearing into the night, probably taking said boy with her.

“You said she was, y’know, like you! She likes Rocky Horror as much as you do, that has to mean something! And this is a perfect chance for you to get over stupid Vickie and her ugly boyfriend, come on, Rob.”

“You can’t just- ugh! You’re such a dingus!” Robin covered her face with her ringed fingers.

“What, what did I do? She seemed really excited about it when I asked!” Steve defended himself, hands on his hips. “She wanted to know if Munson could come too but he’s a freak, he’s probably into it anyway. I’ll distract him, you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Oh my god, you’re just- she’s dating Munson, you idiot!” she said, exasperated.

“What? No, no way! She totally likes girls, you said so yourself.”

“People can like two things at the same time, Steve,” Robin explained in a deadpan tone.

“...They can?” Steve frowned, looking extremely confused as his friend loudly groaned and let her head drop back onto the counter, bracing herself for a long end of shift at Family Video.

Summer nights at the Munson trailer had never really been Eddie’s favorite (mainly due to the lack of air conditioning), but chilling on the couch after dinner with his pedestal fan turned on to its max speed, a funny movie playing on the TV, and his girlfriend tucked into his side, he had to admit he had reached a level of relaxation he didn’t entirely know was possible before that moment.

Wayne was sitting at the kitchen table while he laced his boots - the last step in his routine to get ready for work - and Eddie thought that the only thing that could make the night better was for his Uncle to not have to leave at all. Reluctantly, he contented himself with the knowledge that Wayne had decided to not attend his usual Friday-before-work union meeting to have dinner with them, the KFC bucket they’d all shared now crushed at the bottom of their trash can. The dishes were washed, Eddie had already showered, and Dottie had changed into her pajamas by the time Wayne finally said goodbye to the teens, warning them to behave and not piss off any neighbors with loud music like his nephew was known to do, especially on weekend nights.

Everything felt peaceful, perfectly cozy and comforting after a long week filled with new jobs and snappy customers. The sounds of Teen Wolf filled the air, the constant whirring of the fan and the cool breeze on his skin were lulling him into a dreamlike state. As the movie progressed and Dottie sank more and more into the couch cushions, his heavy arm draped around her shoulders, Eddie pulled her legs onto his lap where he drew patterns on her skin with his fingertips, brain completely turned off as he watched Michael J. Fox prance around a basketball court with fake fur all over his body. Had he been less comatose from the amount of fried chicken and mashed potatoes he’d consumed at dinnertime, maybe he’d have noticed sooner that his girlfriend was not enjoying the quiet moment as much as he was.

Dottie simply could not focus on the movie playing in front of them, head busy nervously anticipating the moment when Eddie would finally make a move on her. And yet, as the minutes ticked on and he looked exponentially engrossed in the story unfolding on his TV, it was looking very unlikely that he would try to do anything about the fact that they were going to be completely alone for the next ten hours. What’s happening? Did I scare him off? She felt like prey waiting for her predator to pounce, except he didn’t seem too concerned in chasing her in the first place. Eddie’s perfectly innocent behavior set all her alarms off - there was danger in the unknown, and Dottie didn’t like not knowing what to expect.

“You want another one?” Eddie’s voice startled her.

“Huh?”

“I’m gonna get another Coke, you want one too?” he shook the empty can in his hand to illustrate his point.

“Oh, no, thank you. Mine’s still pretty full,” she replied, pointing to her barely touched can on his coffee table next to her yet unopened bag of gummy bears.

“Be right back,” he muttered, pressing a noisy kiss to her hairline as he moved her legs from his lap back onto the couch and jogged towards his fridge.

They were more than half an hour into the movie and Dottie painfully realized that by this time, Tyler would have already had her topless on his bed. Back then, there had been many times where she had wanted to continue watching their chosen film instead of doing, well, that, but she had never mentioned it to him for fear of pissing him off. That’s what girlfriends and boyfriends did when they were alone after all, wasn’t it? Jeannie and Tracey had said it was normal when she asked them about it after the first time it had happened. Would Nancy agree with them? Would Chrissy, or Robin?

Eddie padded his way back to the couch, finally noticing that something was off. Dottie wasn’t watching the TV like he thought she had been all along - no, her head was turned towards the screen’s general area but her eyes weren’t focused on anything in particular, right hand restlessly playing with her Mom’s ring on her left middle finger. She jumped when he grabbed her ankle, sitting back down next to her and pulling her legs back onto his lap.

“Hey,” he whispered, lowering his head to look into her eyes. “You okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” she whispered back, settling against his side like she hadn’t recoiled when he’d touched her.

“You sure? I can see your brain working overtime.”

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m just… thinking about next week, don’t worry about it. You’re missing the movie,” she lied quickly, hoping to throw his attention off her and back onto the screen.

“Fuck the movie. What’s next week?”

“Uh, your gig?” she chuckled. “We’re going to Indy on Friday, remember? You’re supposed to be driving us there.”

“Oh,” he said, surprised. “Yeah, no, of course I remember that but you… I mean, you looked like you wanted to throw up for a sec there. What’s wrong? You don’t wanna come?”

“What?! I got you that gig, of course I wanna go!” Dottie said, like he was insane for even suggesting she didn’t wanna be there.

“I’m just asking, darling, that’s all,” he squeezed her close. “You’re like, super tense right now, what’s going on?”

“I… I have nothing to wear,” she rolled her eyes, doubling down on her lie. “It’s silly, you don’t wanna hear about it.”

“Nope, no, none of that,” he shook his head. “If I’m asking, it’s because I wanna know. Hey, why don’t you ask Nancy to go shopping with you, huh?”

“I was kinda hoping I could borrow something from you, actually.”

“Yeah? You wanna raid my closet?” he smiled, smitten.

“Can I?”

“What’s mine is yours, princess,” Eddie said, nosing her hair. “You know I love it when you wear my clothes. How about I bring some stuff over for you on Friday when I pick you up and you can do my makeup like we talked about? Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect, Ed,” she smiled back, burrowing into his chest and pressing a kiss to the soft cotton. “Thank you.”

Even after she settled back next to him like nothing was wrong, Eddie knew that she had been lying. He could tell instantly, not only because he prided himself in knowing her like the back of his hand, but because he’d always found Dorothy Burke pretty easy to read. With her sitting so close next to him, he could pick up on all the little things he knew by now were signs of nervousness: the racing heart, the shallow breaths, the twitching fingers. Enough was enough, and Eddie decided that he’d confront her and get it over with, or else he’d never forgive himself for pretending everything was fine when it clearly wasn’t.

“Okay, Dot, come on, this-,” he sat up, pulling her up with him. “I can feel your fucking heartbeat. I know something’s up. Just tell me what it is so we can fix it, mhm?”

Dottie had never been one to ever shy away from Eddie’s affections; if anything, she had always given as good as she got. Hugs always lasted a little bit longer than they should, kisses were pressed to places that weren’t the apples of their cheeks, and wandering hands had never been stopped before, even before they’d begun dating. It was for that same reason that her reaction to him simply asking if anything was wrong scared him half to death, because he wasn’t used to her pulling away whenever he initiated physical contact. Eddie hadn’t even finished settling into his new sitting position when she moved further away from him, knees up in front of her like she was trying to put up a wall between them.

Eddie looked at her, really, truly looked at her for the first time all evening and immediately didn’t like what he saw. Her eyes were shifty and shiny, the lips he adored so much were turned into a sad looking pout, and her arms were wrapped around her legs like she was shielding herself from him. Had he read this entire situation wrong? She’d agreed to stay the night with him, even lied to her Dad about it. Had he come across as too eager? Too needy? Had he scared her off somehow?

“Baby, what- what happened? Did I do something wrong?” Eddie asked, searching her eyes with his as she moved her head down to avoid having to look at him. “D’you wanna go home? I- I can take you, you don’t have to stay-”

“Aren’t you gonna make a move on me?” she asked, voice timid but dejected.

“Huh?”

He swore she was fucking with him. She had to be. There was just no other way, because out of any combination of words that could have come out of her mouth at that moment, that exact sentence had never once crossed his mind. Dottie finally lifted her eyes to look at him upon hearing his confused reaction; he had never seen her so nervous and unsure of anything since the day met her. Suddenly, he was reminded of that shy girl that had padded her way into the props room all those months ago, terrified and vulnerable, yet brave in ways he hadn’t considered she could be at the time. Desperate for human connection, for someone to look at her and say hey, welcome, take a seat and don’t you dare leave. He had been trying so hard to go at her pace, to not rush her or make her feel pressured. Where had he failed?

“I’m sorry, could you- shit, say that again for me, please,” he said, dumbfounded.

“Are you going to make a move on me or not, Ed? It’s a simple question,” Dottie repeated, visibly upset.

“I- I wasn’t- Did you want me to or…?”

“No! I mean, yes, I- I don’t know,” she said, hunching over her knees, shoulders coming up in self-defense. “Isn’t that why I’m here? Because you wanna have sex?”

“Fuck, I’m-”, Eddie scrunched his face and moved closer, hands finding hers and tangling their fingers together. The tightness in his chest eased when she didn’t pull them back. “Baby, no. I invited you over because I wanted to spend time with you. Do you really think I would only ask you to come over so I can get laid?”

“Well, isn’t that what couples are supposed to do when they’re alone? Have sex?”

“When they want to, yeah, of course,” he moved his hand to her chin and lifted her face gently. “But that’s not why I asked you to spend the night, babe. Look, I know I’m selfish, okay? We had fun today with the guys, but I just wanted you all to myself for a while. Wanted to watch a movie and hold you like this, that’s all. No sex involved, I swear.”

“Oh,” she said with furrowed brows, and fell quiet for a moment. The movie kept playing in the background as she spoke up again. “I’ve never really done that before.”

“You’ve never watched a movie with your boyfriend before?” he pushed a curl behind her ear.

“No, I- I’ve done that, kinda. I’ve just never been to my boyfriend’s house when he’s alone and not had sex.”

“Oh,” it was Eddie’s turn to be surprised.

“It’s just that Tyler and I - we never hung out like that after we started dating. We always went out with other friends, and if I went to his house we’d, y’know, do it. I thought you wanted us to do that too.”

“Okay, wait, hold on,” he shook his head as if that could help him clear his mind. “You only went to his house to have sex? You never, like, chilled out with him? Watched a movie, played a board game, I don’t know, anything that wasn’t sex?”

“Jeannie said that’s, like, the only reason why guys invite you over-”

“Fuck Jeannie, she’s an idiot,” he argued. “Answer my question, darling. Did you ever go to his house and not have sex?”

“I… I don’t think so? It wasn’t a big deal, we just… he said we should take advantage of the empty house since we didn’t get to spend a lot of time alone.”

“Did you even want to take advantage of the empty house?”

“I dunno. Sometimes.”

“Dot.”

“It’s not like that!” she crossed her arms and looked away, feeling judged and embarrassed. “I didn’t enjoy it very much, okay? It was just a thing we did sometimes. He wasn’t, like, forcing me! I could always leave or not go if I didn’t want to.”

“Jesus Christ,” Eddie said in disbelief.

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Dottie declared, getting up from the couch and collecting their discarded snacks from the coffee table.

“No, I really think we should,” he followed her into the kitchen.

“Why? So you can keep mocking me because I thought you wanted to have sex with me? It’s fine, Eddie, I made a mistake, I get it.”

“I’m not mocking you! I’m just trying to understand- can you please- fuckin’ hell, Dot, stop fucking cleaning my kitchen!”

Teen Wolf was still playing in the background as they stared at each other, knowing full well neither of them was going to back down. The wet rag on Dottie’s hand dripped water onto the linoleum, silence stretching between them. Eddie waited, and waited, his expression worried and desperate at the same time. Her lower lip quivered the more she looked into his earnest eyes. She felt so dumb and small. All day she’d been stressing herself out at the possibility of Eddie wanting to take their relationship to the next level and he hadn’t even thought about it. Wanted to watch a movie and hold you, he’d said.

Dottie had never really known what it was to desire intimacy until Eddie had waltzed right into her life, and the more she pondered on it, the more ashamed she felt. Wasn’t he supposed to want it more than she did? He was the man after all, that’s what guys did, right? What did it mean then, if she was ready for more and he wasn’t? Did he not want her at all? Wasn’t he as attracted to her as she was to him?

“Can we please forget I said anything?” she mumbled, more droplets of water hitting the floor as she unconsciously squeezed the rag in her fist.

“No, baby, we can’t,” he said softly, reaching to remove the wet cloth from her hands and guiding her towards the couch again one step at a time. “We really have to talk about this.”

“It’s so humiliating, Eddie, please,” Dottie pleaded. “You don’t want to do it, I get it. It’s okay, I shouldn’t have assumed-”

“Darling Dottie, baby, my love,” he put his hands on her shoulders dramatically. “You don’t want to know how much I actually want to have sex with you because I promise you it’s a lot, but we need to talk about this because I can’t have you thinking that the only reason I want to spend time with you is because there might be fucking involved.”

“I know that’s not the only thing, but-,” she began with burning cheeks, but he stopped her by pushing her onto the cushions again.

“No, no, no. No buts. We can finish the movie and go to sleep on opposite sides of the bed and I wouldn’t give a shit. Am I gonna jerk off in the bathroom when you’re out of here? Fuck yeah, you’re hot as shit, babe,” he said, pleased that even though she groaned and covered her face with her hands, she giggled at his crass words. “But I need you to understand that we don’t have to do anything we don’t feel like doing. Ever. I’m happy with this. I’m happy with you.”

“You really mean that?”

“Do you even know how much it means to me that you want to sleep in my bed with me?” Eddie said, his voice sounding constricted. “That no matter what happens, if we have sex or not, that you’re still gonna be there when I wake up?”

“Why wouldn’t I be there?” Dottie looked confused.

“Darling, come on,” he said, like it was obvious. “I’ve never been dating material. No one has ever been interested in doing that shit with me, at least not until you showed up. Look, if you want to do it, I’m all for it. I promise you, seeing you today at the lake in those cute little panties had me almost drowning myself. I’d be happy to do literally anything with you, but if you think we have to do it because I want it, then get that idea out of your head, okay? This is… this is new to me. No one has ever wanted me just for me and you say you do, so I’m going slow with you because I honestly don’t know what the fuck I’m doing and I don’t want to fuck this up,” he pulled her hands away from where they were tucked against her chest and kneaded her skin with his thumbs. “You mean too much to me to rush into things because I’m thinking with the wrong head.”

“Eddie,” she groaned, letting her head fall forward until it hit his collarbone.

“What?” he chuckled.

Dottie felt like shit. She couldn’t even pretend not to feel like shit, because that’s truly how she felt. Here was Eddie, sweet, loving, perfect Eddie battling his own demons and still putting her first, and all she could think about was how she’d basically cornered him and accused him of not making a move on her because he didn’t like her enough to have sex with her. He did like her, more than enough if he was to believed, and he yet he was still willing to wait because he didn’t want to fuck anything up.

Her heart broke for him as they sat on the couch, his head coming to rest on top of hers and his nails lightly scratching her back on top of her pjs. She put her arms around his waist and held him, horribly cognizant of how much love was stored in him, and how little he’d received from others throughout his entire life. The idea that anyone had taken Eddie to bed (or, most accurately, to the back of his van) and had made him feel disposable and unwanted was almost unthinkable to her. How could anyone leave him after seeing him at his most vulnerable? No, that was simply unacceptable, and Dottie knew she couldn’t let that notion fester in his brain anymore.

“I’m sorry,” she said, nuzzling his jaw. “I don’t really have a lot of experience on this and I thought you were just waiting until we were alone, and then when you didn’t even kiss me, I thought I’d done something wrong.”

“Wait, I haven’t kissed you since Wayne left?”

“You gave me a kiss on the cheek at lunch.”

“I haven’t kissed you all day?!” Eddie was appalled.

“It’s okay, we haven’t really been alone-”

“It’s not okay, we need to fix this,” he said, squishing her cheeks and planting a peck on her lips. “Can’t fucking believe-” he smooched her again. “-I haven’t-” Smooch. “-kissed this pretty face-”

“Eddie, stop!” she laughed, mirth in her face and in her voice.

“Prettiest- fucking- girl-,” he kept pressing wet kisses to every part of her face he could reach while she giggled and tried to squirm out of his reach. “Why are you running away from me, huh? Let me love you, come on!”

Time stopped when Dottie’s back hit the cushion she’d been sitting on, Eddie falling on top of her and barely managing to hold himself up in time so he wouldn’t hit her face with his big head. He let out a silly laugh, grateful for his quick reflexes or else they’d be dealing with a bloody nose, but he cut it short when he felt Dottie’s hand come up to push his unruly hair behind his ear. She was smiling, yes, but she was looking up at him with the kind of loving eyes he’d only ever seen in movies before he’d met her. Eyes he never thought one day could be looking at him.

The tension in the air was thick as she made herself comfortable between his arms, legs opening so he could hover over her like he’d done a few times by now whenever they kissed on her bed. Eddie was about to lean in to do just that when she moved her hand from his hair and brought it to the buttons at the front of her pajama set. As if transfixed, he saw her undo the first button, and then the second one, the dainty blue floral pattern giving way to skin covered by a pure white cotton bra with a thin lace trim. Her fingers were onto the third button when Eddie’s right hand covered hers, stopping her movements at once.

“W-what are you doing?” he said, searching her face for any signs of discomfort or unease. He found none.

“Can you help me take this off?” she said, with that characteristic tender determination he loved so much.

“We don’t have to. That’s not what I meant-”

“Just love me, Eddie. Please.”

“Darling, I-,” he was terrified. Completely and utterly terrified, his big doe eyes shining as he tried to find the words for what he was feeling.

“I’m gonna be here when you fall asleep, and I’ll still be here when you wake up. I promise,” she whispered, knees rising until they bracketed his hips, her hands moving to cup his face again.

“I love you,” Eddie said, letting his weight pull him down and into her embrace as he burrowed his head into her neck. “Fuck, I’m so in love with you.”

“I love you too, Ed.”

“Yeah? You do?”

“Mhm. So so much.”

“Okay,” he mumbled wetly.

He gave himself a few seconds to breathe in the moment and she let him, understanding that as much as this meant to her, it meant a whole lot to him too. After mentally patting himself on the back a couple of times, he rose back again onto his forearms and nodded once, like he was convincing himself that he wouldn’t ruin anything by charging forward. After all, it looked like she had been waiting for him at the next pit stop once more.

“Okay, we’re gonna do this, yeah? You ready?” he asked, mouth pulling into half a smile.

“Yeah. You might have to, like, have some patience with me. Because I want this, I swear I do, but I’m really nervous.”

“I’m nervous too,” he said, filled with easy excitement. “Let’s, uh, let’s get ready for bed first, okay? And we can see where it goes from there?”

“Yeah, okay,” she agreed.

There was palpable electricity around them as they collected themselves for the night. While Dottie was in the bathroom, Eddie took his time straightening the living room for when Wayne came home, not wanting a repeat from the awkward talk they’d had with him a few weeks back. He didn’t want to disappoint his old man; he really had taught him better than that. When she was done and it was his turn to brush his teeth, she waited for him right next to the light switch, and once he returned to her, they moved together hand in hand from the darkened area to his cozy bedroom, self-contained mess on every corner welcoming them further in.

“Do, uh,” Eddie said as he clicked his door closed. “Do you want the lights on or off?”

“Off, I think,” Dottie replied, chewing anxiously on her nail again. “But maybe we could open the curtain a little bit? I think that’d be good.”

Once the room was sufficiently shrouded in darkness and their eyes had adjusted to the pouring moonlight, Eddie suddenly remembered something of vital importance he had tucked away in one of his drawers. Dottie watched him from where she was sitting on the corner of his bed; he moved around old shirts and socks until he found what he had been looking for. Sheepishly, he turned to her and held a little blue box, almost identical to the one they’d thrown out when they’d cleaned his room all those months earlier.

“Figured this would come in handy one day,” he scratched his neck with a sorry grin on his face. “I promise I checked the expiry date on these before I got them.”

“Yeah, that’s, that’s kinda very important,” she laughed at how ridiculously bashful they were being. “Y-you wanna get in now?”

“Sure!”

Eddie threw the newly purchased box of condoms onto his bedside table to find later if he happened to need them and got under the covers, lifting them up for her to get in as well. They lay there for a few seconds, turned onto their sides so they could see each other but neither moved. Feeling very goofy because of how much they were tiptoeing around the whole thing, he reached out across the bed until his fingertips found her arm, gently pulling her closer.

“Come ‘ere,” he whispered, tucking her into his side like he’d done so many times before and was sure he’d do many more times in the future.

“I love you,” she said, between soft kisses.

“I love you,” he replied.

Summer nights at the Munson trailer had never been Eddie’s favorite, at least not until now. He didn’t care anymore about the climbing temperatures and the fact that they didn’t have a functioning aircon, he couldn’t find it in himself to give two shits about the way the neighbor’s dog barked all fucking night, and how the cicadas never stopped singing their song until the sun was out in the sky again. How could he, when there was a literal miracle happening right inside his own bedroom?

As the two lost teens found themselves in each other, a dream grew underneath their shared bed: flowers fed with love blossomed in the humble garden of an imaginary fixer-upper in a quiet, yet pleasantly quirky neighborhood. There was a dog basking in the sun in the backyard, and a swing in the front porch with hand-sewn cushions on it. And in the imaginary foyer of the imaginary house, on the imaginary entrance table right below the imaginary frames that held pictures of moments that hadn’t happened yet, sat a shared bowl of rusty keys from long forgotten padlocks that neither owner knew where they were anymore, the keys not belonging to one or other, but to both of them at the same time.

taglist: @munsonology @kurdtbean @every1lovesanunderdog @eg-dr3amer3 @oneforthemunny

@munsons-queen

[pullingyourstrings]

Sunny with a chance of rainbows

Pairing: dad!gareth x bestfriend gn!reader

Summary: Your best friend Gareth becomes a single dad and you decide to help him raise his daughter Sunny.

Words: 1.7k

Warnings: oc!Sunny Emerson, oc!Anne, character death, dealing with grief, fluff, happy ending.

Gareth was your best friend since you were kids and you still talked everyday, even when you moved out to another city. So it was obvious you were coming back to Hawkins the day he called to tell you his girlfriend Anne got into a car accident, leaving him and their 6 months old daughter, Sunny, all alone.

You arrived at Mrs. Emerson's house the same day, supporting them any way you could and helping Gareth move back and into his feet on the next few days. He was immensely grateful to you, but insisted you didn't need to stay forever. He and his mom would make it work. But you knew his mom was old and sure, she could help with Sunny, but babies need a lot of care and attention and she couldn't do it alone all the time while Gareth worked hard to support his family.

"Gare, please let me help you. At least until Corroded Coffin fires off and you don't have to work at that shitty restaurant anymore" you offered.

"Are you sure? I don't wanna bother you more than I already did, I don't wanna ruin all your plans and–" you understood where he was coming from, even grieving he was always kind and selfless, but to you this was more important than anything. You remembered all the times Gareth and his family helped with your troubled childhood, how many times they welcomed you in their house, how many times they went to your presentations when your busy parents couldn't make it, how Gareth's mom taught you how to cook and how to fix a lightbulb for when you were on your own, his sisters taught you how to wear make up and his dad helped you get your first job. You remembered how Anne always treated you nicely, how she made sure Gareth called to check up on you. It was only fair you gave something in return to all of them.

"I'm staying. You're not bothering me. I can stay here with her, help your mom around the house..." you turned your attention to Sunny, resting her head on her dad's chest and giving you the side eye. "Isn't that right, honey? We're gonna have so much fun!" you talked in a warm, reassuring voice and Sunny expression changed, smiling big and giving you grabby hands. She threw herself from her dad's arms and you grabbed her.

"That's right! Let's go inside to play, yeah?" you walked towards Gareth's house, tickling Sunny's tummy and making her giggle. "Say bye bye to daddy" you waved at Gareth's direction and Sunny mirrored you. Gareth smiled and waved back before getting in his car and leaving for work.

You never wanted kids, mainly because you've always been scared of the pregnancy part, but helping your best friend raise his kid? That's pretty rad. You found yourself quite enjoying it and getting more and more attached to Sunny. She was the funniest smartest little girl you've ever known. She liked playing games, listening to music and dancing. She was really easy to take care of, she rarely threw tantrums and enjoyed quiet times watching TV or when you're reading her a book. Mrs. Emerson said her good behavior meant you were doing a pretty good job at raising her and you liked to believe it was true. After all, you weren't doing it alone and Gareth was indeed a really great dad. He always said he wanted to be the dad he never had. He played with her, took her to corroded coffin rehearsals, they often baked together... He made sure to give her everything she needed, all attention and love he could.

Time flew by and suddenly it was Sunny's 2 year old birthday. Still, you only stayed with her while Gareth was working and went home to your little cabin as soon as he got home. Mrs. Emerson would always invite you to stay, since after Gareth's sisters left to build their own families, she often felt lonely. Sunny has been a light on her life and she also really enjoyed your company. But you thought it was better this way. You liked to give them space to be their own little family because, sometimes, you still felt like an intruder. You weren't trying to replace her mother. You were just trying your best to raise her in a respectful, kind and loveable way and you hoped that, wherever Anne was, she was watching approvingly. You knew Gareth was. You two spent a lot of time together, from taking Sunny out on fun trips to the mall, the park or the beach, to staying home with her, baking and watching movies. And you often caught him staring at you while you played with her and he had this look on his face, this soft smile and shining eyes, that you couldn't point your finger on what it meant. So you took it as approval, as recognition that he saw how much you cared and loved his kid. So much, that you couldn't help but miss her and be worried whenever you were apart from her.

You received a call one night, a tired Gareth on the other side and you could hear the faint noise of Sunny's crying.

"Hey... Can you come over please? Sunny has been crying nonstop since you left and I-I don't know what to do."

"I'm coming." you left immediately, heading to his house. You walked up the stairs quickly, finding him with her in his arms, swaying her back and forth. You could tell she was tired, eyes closed, body limp on his arms but she still cried, inconsolable.

"What's wrong?" you asked worried, approaching them.

"I don't know! I tried everything, I fed her, changed her diaper, checked her temperature. Everything is fine, you're fine baby" he talked more to her than to you, kissing her forehead gently and shushing her.

"Can I try?" you offered and Gareth nodded, placing her in your lap. You hugged her close to your chest and started humming to her a little song you made up when you just started doing this. She stopped crying when she recognized you and your voice, sighing deeply. She was asleep just minutes after.

"Huh. I guess she just missed you. She's so used to having you around" Gareth whispered as you placed her in her crib gently as to not wake her up. "Which is great. Because I guess I'm pretty used to it too" he completed when you turned to face him. And there was that face again, the one you couldn't point your finger on. You understood it now as he got closer to you.

"Listen, Gare, you don't need to do this. I love Sunny like she's mine but we don't have to just because I'm helping with her" you placed your hand on his chest and took a few steps back.

"I know but I want to. I really like you, Y/N..." he grabbed your hand and despite you shutting him down, he still smiled softly.

"I like you too, we've been friends forever but..." his smile faded. "But I knew Anne and I'm not in any way trying to replace her." you confessed. You knew you were letting your insecurities get in the way, but he needed to know.

"I understand that." He took a step back, leaning on the wall opposite from Sunny's crib. You leaned beside him, watching her sleep. "You're not replacing her though. She's part of our life and she always will be. But knowing her, she would want Sunny to have the best family ever. She would want us to be happy. And you make us happy." he reassured you. "So if you want to just... keep things like they are... that's fine by me. But I really, really want us to be a family. Like, officially." he finally looked at you, your eyes meeting again. You thought about it, your heart racing uncontrollably. This wasn't new. You always had a special place for Gareth in your heart and the connection you two had was something meant to be since the first time you met. Raising Sunny together was only a confirmation of that, besides being the best thing that ever happened to you.

"Okay" you smiled "I think I want that too."

Nothing really changes, other than you moving in with them to stop paying rent and stopping answering "Oh no, we're not a couple" when people in the street asked about you and Gareth.

With Gareth being your best friend since forever, you were already close, already knew all of his perks and you already loved him when it all started, so your relationship blossomed easily. Gareth is easy to love and fun to be around and he found himself in the same situation, falling in love with you more and more everyday. Eddie would often joke and say that you looked like the perfect family he saw on tv ads.

Eventually Corroded Coffin blows up and the boys sign a deal for their first tour around America. Gareth finds himself in a conflict, because he REALLY doesn't want to leave you and Sunny in Hawkins while he travels. He'll just miss you too much. But this was always his dream, he couldn't just drop it now that they finally got something. So his plan was to arrange everything so it would accommodate you both, from the most comfortable tour bus to how it would work with Sunny's education and healthcare. That way, you couldn't say no when he invited you to go touring with them. And you're glad he did because it was a blast. All the fans knew about Sunny and they really loved and cared about her. They also knew about you and how happy you and Gareth were as a couple, so they're always respectful and kind. Sunny grew up on a tour bus, traveling the world, and all of you loved it so much, so happy you created this amazing family.

[schrijverr]

Page 142-143

[Page 142 has four images on it. The upper left is of Eddie and Steve. There are bags around their feet, Eddie obviously just returned from tour. They’re clinging to each other, as if one of them is about to disappear.]

Reunion with his Husband

Jonathan Byers, 1992

.

[Next to it is a photograph of Robin at the table surrounded by books, looking like she would pull out her hair if she had hair long enough to do so. Behind her is Steve, kissing the top of her head as he puts down a steaming mug of tea.]

Senior Studying

Jonathan Byers, 1992

.

[On the lower left is a photograph of Eddie and Nancy, who are sitting on the couch in the Munson apartment, drinking tea. Steve is lying across the couch Eddie is occupying, burying his face in Eddie’s stomach. He hasn’t left his side since his return from tour.]

Tea Party for Three

Jonathan Byers, 1992

.

[Next to it is a photograph of Corroded Coffin and Robin crammed around the kitchen table at the Munson apartment. Eddie is behind a DM screen, instead of being seated on a throne, he is seated on Steve’s lap, his arms wrapped around Eddie’s waist. The band had been playing a campaign while on tour, so Robin is joining as a one off character for a side quest. Later their manager would say in interviews that Corroded Coffin was one of his favorite bands to work with, since they would play DnD on the bus instead of wreck hotels as so many others did at the time.]

Corroded Coffin on an Adventure

Jonathan Byers, 1992

.

[Page 143 is dedicated to one photograph. It is taken in the Byers apartment where an extra fold out table has been set up to fit everyone around it. The photograph is taken with a timer, though this time Jonathan made it safely to his seat. Next to him are Argyle and Nancy, both Jonathan and Nancy are under one of Argyle’s arms.

Chris is sitting next to them, Jeff at the head. Both of them are smiling, dressed as if they’re poor students (though all of the band members dropped out in ‘91), instead of rising rock stars.

On the right side of the table are Robin and Rose. Robin is next to Jeff and has her chin hooked over Rose’s shoulder, planting a kiss on her cheek as she giggles.

Next to the couple are Steve and Eddie. Steve is wearing one of Eddie’s shirts, while Eddie is snuggled up in one of Steve’s sweaters. Eddie has an arm thrown around Steve, who is leaning in, both of them grinning broadly.

At the other head, next to Eddie, is Gareth turned around so he can smile at the camera as well. He is throwing up devil horns and sticking out his tongue.]

Boston Thanksgiving Dinner of 1992

Jonathan Byers, 1992

~~

<<Prev Next>> AO3

[mattiehenderson]

Mattie is everyone's favorite neighborhood queer, well except for Robin because come on who doesn't love that woman?

And they can't resist those big, doe hazel eyes and pouty lips and his gentle voice. And Eddie? Oh please, the pretty male blonde has the metalhead wrapped around his manicured finger.

So Mattie is a Halloween baby, literally, he's born on Halloween 🎃 even! It's his favorite holiday, natural for a teenage goth.

Well in Muncie, the next town over, their movie theatre is having a Rocky Horror night on the second Friday of October, and it's always been he and Robin's tradition to go.

Every year they switch out characters and now with a group of friends, the little Enchanter has pulled the mystery gang into the Transylvanian madness.

Eddie doesn't know he was the one that ended up in the corset playing the Tim Curry character but if the star of his dreams asked him to put on heels and fishnets, he will ask when and where. Jonathan and Nancy are naturally Brad and Janet, Vickie is Columbia, Steve is Eddie not Eddie, Mattie thought that would be funny. Jeff is THE professor, Gareth is Rocky, and Robin is Riff Raff and Mattie is Magenta.

Eddie couldn't get enough of his boy in a little maid dress fishnet thigh highs...

[hawkinsmafia]

𝒔𝒆𝒈𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔

featuring Gareth Emerson x oc Fox Buckley

summary: quiet little slice-of-life moment of boyfriends peeling oranges on a rooftop

rating: general (mild suggestiveness)

wc: 622

cw: just queer boys being cute :3

an: as a refresher, Fox is a trans boy with congenital hearing loss, he and Gareth have been lifelong besties, and they’re secretly dating each other in a conservative Midwestern small town in the 80s. I write Gareth as gay, and Fox would call himself pan if he had access to that terminology. YMMV, and that’s the fun of fanfic!

Gareth pressed his thumb right into the navel of the orange, punching through the peel and into the center of the pithy segments. He was carefully skinning the fruit, trying to remove the peel in one piece, when he heard the sound of an approaching skateboard coming up his driveway; a few moments later, he swore as his careful dissection skewed wildly to the left and tore off a strip of leathery peel, while sneakered feet scrabbled up the siding of the garage. He didn’t have to look up to know who was coming to join him on the roof.

“Hey, Fox,” he said aloud, giving a quick wave in his boyfriend’s direction. “How’d it go?”

Fox dropped lightly onto the asphalt shingles beside Gareth. “S’fine,” he said, shrugging. “Still kinda deaf.”

“But only kinda.”

“Only kinda. Lots of ‘raise your hand when you hear a beep’. I missed nine and heard three that weren’t there.”

“Maybe they were there but you’re the only one who can hear sounds in that register, they ever think about that?”

That made Fox chuckle, and he leaned over to rest his chin on Gareth’s shoulder, looking at his snack. “The hell are you doing to that orange, pretty boy?”

Huffing with frustration, Gareth held up the orange, slightly mutilated, and the handful of pith and peel he’d managed to pry off it. “How do you do this?!” he asked, irritated, and hurled his peels out into the air and to the grass below. “How are yours always so clean and pretty?!”

“I don’t rip into it like the orange fucked my wife, for starters.” He held out his hand, and Gareth dropped the mangled orange into his palm. “Go slow. Take your time. Be gentle.” He demonstrated as he spoke, easing up the edge of the peel that hadn’t wanted to yield to Gareth’s thumbnail, separating the clinging pith from the segment membrane without difficulty.

Gareth huffed again, and now he was the one resting on Fox’s shoulder. “So you’re saying I gotta work on my fingering game.”

A slow smile spread across Fox’s face, a petal-pink blush tinging his cheeks. “No, there’s nothing wrong with your fingering game,” he said quietly, keeping his focus on stripping Gareth’s orange and steadfastly not meeting his boyfriend’s mischievous gaze. “Your orange-peeling game is a little rough, though.”

It took no time at all and seemingly little effort before Fox held up a perfectly naked orange. Everything that had still been attached to the fruit’s flesh when it had been handed to him had come away in one solid piece, pith and all.

“Show off.” Gareth snatched the orange back and broke it into two halves, handing one to Fox. A glint of blue behind Fox’s ear caught his eye, and he used his pinkie—the only finger not yet sticky with orange guts—to tuck Fox’s brown hair out of the way. “Hey, those are new.”

“Oh, yeah, I also got another cybernetic upgrade,” Fox said before popping an orange segment into his mouth and pulling a hearing aid out from around his ear to show Gareth. It was brand new, the plastic tube still clear-ish white and the receiver a shade of pink that didn’t quite hit the mark for replicating anyone’s skin tone, and the casing for the piece that fit behind Fox’s ear was a bright, metallic blue. “The mold on the old ones didn’t fit right anymore, that’s why they were giving me so much feedback,” he explained, and began wiring himself for sound again.

“So you can hear a bird fart now, huh?”

“Yup, and you sound like you’re getting a cold, by the way.”

“What do you think the orange is for, dummy?”

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

Love in a Ghost Town--Part 7: Seismic Shifts (Finale)

Eddie Munson’s become content with working his day job. After the crazy stretching of events from 1983-1986, Eddie’s grateful for a little bit of normal in his life.

That is until one day, Valeria Browns shows up in town looking for a quick car fix. And she’s more than he might’ve bargained for on the eve of Valentine’s Day. Valeria is just trying to enjoy her Valentine’s Day weekend after many years of being perpetually single. She has her fun, but it’s never serious. Maybe Eddie can change some of that.

Older!Mechanic!Eddie Munson. 2003 alternative universe. BlackFem! OC.

The Upside Down doesn’t exist in this fic. But strange things do happen to the town of Hawkins, Indianna. Major Character Death that is not canon as a result of the non-Upside Down AU.

This chapter is from Eddie's perspective.

CW: 18+ content (Smut, oral--male and femme receiving, p in v); Pregnancy (unplanned); implied/past alcohol abuse

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Edited Picture of Eddie by @eddiemunsons-missingnipple

Feel free to review my masterlist here

______________________

Eddie can count the number of times he thought the next day was never going to be his. Exactly 5,844 days of thinking the next day won’t be his--it’s not that Eddie is counting lately. He promised that when he made the promise to Valeria he’d stop. For all the times he didn’t show up to algebra or trig, he’s lightning at multiplication. Never mind the fact that he did the math on a calculator to double check himself. It’s not necessarily counting when he realized the last day he counted the days that the days kept coming was after Valeria came back into town and dropped off exactly 350 dollars in fifties, twenties, and tens. He stopped counting because he didn’t want to know how long it would be until he found himself in her presence again. Too much of an ache when he realized his life felt too settled--or perhaps he felt settled on the fact that he would live and die by Hawkins in the long run and he would never get out--and this ultimately settling could rob him of something more. 

Eddie is selfish at times. He can admit that. It is a fatal flaw in his entire composition. He’d been selfish with Sinclair and his basketball years on the tail end of his final senior year by not always being flexible on Dungeons and Dragons sessions. He’d been selfish about Wayne’s funeral. Wayne told him to have just a small viewing and then cremate him. But Eddie spent what he had to give Wayne more. Eddie liked to tell himself he was doing his uncle proud--the mid range cost casket, the mid-range cost flowers. Nothing jaw dropping, but still more than Wayne said he wanted. Eddie felt like he couldn’t let his uncle go out in death remembered as the person who’d gotten too sick, spent too much money on not even getting better but rather only staying alive to afford anything else. The truth of it is simple. The funeral was for Eddie in retrospect. Wayne was always known around town as a good, decent, hardworking guy with a quick and quiet wit. But Eddie needed to see him go out with something more because it’s in that memory of Wayne’s body in a properly tailored suit, casket shutting on the still too young but hollowed face and lowered into the ground like good decent people go, that makes it easier for Eddie to sleep at night. 

And maybe this particular moment, staring at his ringing house phone, knowing exactly who it is to call him at such a time in the evening, that Eddie’s hesitation to answer is self-preserving. There is a difference in being selfish versus knowing that the good thing is the scary thing and not choosing it. The difference is fear. The easy choices are made without much thought because there’s no need to question what comes after. The answer is already known. The answer comes like it’s supposed to. 

Eddie answers though. He could never preserve himself enough around her. He picks up the yellow receiver on the fourth ring and settles it against his ear. “Hey, Val,” he greets. 

“Hi, Eddie.” Her voice makes his innards feel like ice cubes melting in the summer heat. It’s not necessarily a rasp to her voice. But it is low, smooth in a way that makes Eddie feel warm on the inside. “How’d you know it was me?”

“When is it never not you?” Eddie returns, leaning into the wall. The yellow cord dangles around his legs. “I’m at a point where if it’s not you, it feels strange.” A confession--not that he hadn’t been trying to confess for a couple weeks now. He did miss Valeria and it didn’t shatter his whole day. It was an achy miss--a kind of longing he hadn’t really experienced since Wayne’s initial passing. Eddie couldn’t get enough of listening to Valeria in the evenings after work. He loved listening to her day; loved it when she asked about his day, picking up pieces of his job’s lingo. 

Eddie missed Valeria in a way that feels sometimes so pitifully simple. He wants to watch movies next to Valeria tangled up on a couch, her buried into his side and swatting at his chest when he gives unnecessary commentary to the film. He wants to hear her laughter not through a phone, and wants to see her smile again--when she’s not playing coy or caring about how big her smile is. Eddie just fucking misses Valeria. 

Lights fill the trailer. Eddie spins, listening to the rumble of a car cut out right outside his house. The curtains don’t fully shut out the light. When Eddie occasionally fell asleep on the couch, the thin barrier woke him before he really wanted to. “Can-can I call you back, Val? Someone’s outside I think and I’m not expecting visitors.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure.”

“Thanks,” Eddie hums. “Hopefully it won’t take long.”

“Be safe.” 

“I will.” 

Eddie hangs the phone back up on the receiver and ducks towards the front door. It’s dark out so he can’t make out who it might be or the car all too well from the window. Right after getting the blinds and curtains settled again, a knock rings out from his door. There’s no hiding it anymore. He turns the knob and like a visage, some sort of hallucination that Eddie can’t separate out from reality, is Valeria on his porch. The hand still on the knob twitches. Eddie can’t make heads or tails if he’s close to swinging the door close or swinging it wide open. 

“Heard it’s someone’s birthday today,” Valeria offers. 

“What the fuck are you doing here, Val? Is this even real?” Eddie’s own heart is thundering in his chest. He can feel it beating against his ribs. The edges of his vision blur for just a moment and then as Valeria speaks, his vision clears.

“I came to make a delivery.” From the top of her bag, she digs out a white envelope. 

“Don’t--no. No more money,” Eddie huffs, releasing the door to pull her up the steps. His hands are flying to shove the envelope back into the slightly unzipped bag. He’d nearly thrown the cash she gave him back into a new envelope to mail it to her, but her note specifically said otherwise. Eddie’s sure that if Valeria hadn’t said anything otherwise he would’ve sent it all back. But she knew him all too well. 

Valeria doesn’t resist Eddie’s work. She just pulls the tickets back out. “I heard there’s a show up in Indy tomorrow. Thought you might be interested in going.”

Eddie watches more closely now as she pulls the envelope back out and flips the lid. She produces two tickets. Eddie is gobsmacked. He’d been trying to get tickets--it was a match up of different bands on the road together-- and had even asked Valeria if she’d be interested. She’d returned that she’d been stuck with a shift that she couldn’t shake. After that Eddie let go of the romantic notion of getting one more weekend with Valeria. Valeria had begged, though, for Eddie to still do something for his birthday. He’d gotten dinner with Harrington, Buckley, Older Wheeler, and Byers. He’s sure the kids would track him down after work tomorrow for something to do as well for his birthday. Eddie felt at peace with the idea of merely enjoying the antics when the kids came up to get him. He’d happily accept the love when it came from them, attempting to make good on his promise. He is sure that he would give them a hard time about it. But inevitably he’d take the kindness, even if Eddie still didn’t seek it. Seeking is still much too risky. 

“But the shop, I can’t--” Eddie counters. 

Valeria slips the tickets into his hand, curling his fingers around them. “Jeff will cover.”

“How--you don’t even…?”

“I talked to Robin and Nancy who talked to Steve, who talked to Jeff.” 

“I don’t know what I’m going to wear, Val. I can’t show up to this looking a mess,” Eddie teases. He wants to find something else--anything else--to rebut this act of kindness with. If he could come up with something more than who was going to watch the shop, he would. But in reality, Indy is only another two hours from here. The drive wouldn’t be bad. They could even visit some places around the venue if they wanted before the show. By the time it ended, it would be late, but not so late that the two hour drive back couldn’t be handled by one of them.

“Consider me your personal stylist for the evening,” Valeria whispers in retort. 

Her eyes--deep and warm-- hold him steady. Like she’s begging him to not put up the front. The thing is Eddie always would at least a little bit. He’d always front, but Valeria would always be able to break him down. The stiff October breeze cuts over Eddie’s arms and he’s reminded that they’re still on his front porch. The door to the trailer is still wide open. God only knows what sort of bugs have flown in possibly in all of this. Eddie pulls Valeria inside, shutting the door softly behind him, a click of the lock sealing them firmly inside. 

“You didn’t have to do this. How’d you get out of the shift?”

“I sacrificed some PTO before Thanksgiving in exchange with the assistant store manager. I bought the tickets months ago and then sort of worked backwards from there to get things all worked out.”

The living room feels more lived in as Valera slides out of her shoes and shucks her duffle back onto the single arm chair. The space exhales around her, like it too was rigid and waiting for her return. “You hungry?” Eddie asks, slipping the tickets onto the dining room table, next to his wallet and keys. 

As he’s spinning to face her, Valeria’s slipping into his space. Her socked feet slide ever so gently over the floors and her head’s falling into his shoulder. Eddie winds his arms around her body with ease. His inhale is deep--pressing the smell of something sweet without being floral still decorating her skin. He wonders if it’s the same Shea Butter lotion he noticed she used or something related to it. But God, he loves it. He missed the scent on his sheets. 

“Hey,” Eddie whispers against her temple. 

“Hi,” Valeria giggles into his neck. The sound sends a shiver up his spine. “I ate on the road.”

Eddie hears the words, but he focuses for just a moment on the way Valeria feels in his arm. She’d never been small by any means. From their first sighting Eddie was well aware of that fact. But she’s always been soft against him. Valeria’s firm still because not even years away from sports can take away what genetics bring to the table. Maybe even firmer now than what was there before. She’d mentioned occasionally tagging along with Chelsea to the gym, but it doesn’t sound consistent. And all Eddie can manage to do is pray that his fingertips can absorb this feeling--Valeria’s warmth. 

“Want something sweet then? I’m not much of a baker but Pillsbury does right by me each time.” 

Valeria shakes her head against Eddie’s shoulder. There’s no braids this time. Her last visit she’d had her hair a slew of them, parted into squares. Now the tressesses fall like corkscrews down to her shoulders. The roots are flatter, look gelled or sprayed down and then curl down from there. Eddie’s not sure how to describe it. But he presses his nose into the foliage of her hair and inhales yet again. 

“Are you sniffing my hair?” Valeria asks. Her voice is muffled now by the muscle of Eddie’s neck. 

“Maybe,” he whispers. He is. He’d do it again. He’d do it forever if he had the option. “It smells tasty. Maybe I should take a bite out of it. Hmm. Think it could be a tasty treat.”

Valeria’s laughter echoes. As she struggles back out of his embrace, all she can do is laugh and laugh and laugh. Eddie adores it. He feels the sound down in his toes. “My hair is not for consumption, sir,” Valeria teases, plopping down onto the couch. 

She fills the space, one arm resting up against the back of the couch. Valeria’s always spilled the space. But Eddie drinks in the sight, her sprawled out and laughing still. He could consume her. Not that he wants her selfishly, to have her so no one else can. But he wants her to swallow his heart in her arms. He wants to know the fullness in his chest like he knows the back of his own hands.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Valeria’s voice is soft, head ducked. Her hair--a dark brown with some honey highlights--covers her face like a curtain. Though she ducks her head, she still keeps her arms spread out. She still refused to fully stop consuming space. 

“Tell me. Tell me how I’m looking at you,” Eddie laughs, reclining into the table, arms folded across his chest. He swears his body will totally evaporate if Valeria actually answers him. And he knows when he demands it, she will. 

It’s silent for a moment. Her nails click--a nervous habit Eddie’s noticed. Valeria flicks her nails together when she’s gathering her nerves. This time her nails are painted a pearl pink with black spider webs across the fingers. Her middle fingers hold a spider though, a black window specifically given the red patch on the top. Eddie thinks--no, he knows--he wouldn’t mind getting caught in Valeria’s web. Hell, he probably already was. Everyone noticed it--Robin, Steve, the kids. They knew if Eddie didn’t talk to Valeria much the day before. He was a bit more clipped in his responses. Never actually grumpy, but never fully centered. Eddie always felt a little off kilter, like he hadn’t gotten enough rest by an hour or two, but knew he would still get through the day. 

Valeria looks up, a new resolve settling onto her face. It pulls her lips down just a little into a pout. Eddie knows it’s never actually in displeasure. Her face usually scrunches up when she’s displeased. It reminds him just ever so slightly of Erica--they were both books that didn’t have problems opening up. They advertised who they were without hesitation. But Valeria’s looking at him, eyes slightly glazed over. He can’t tell if they’re tears or not, but the thought that they might be immediately sets his heart thundering. 

Her words pin him back into his spot before he can push up and start over to her. “You look at me like you might love me. Like, love me differently than just friends do.”

Like you might love me. It was no question for Eddie though. He does love Valeria. He loves her more than he does the rest of his friends. He knew it a couple months ago. He didn’t want to say anything about it. Because it was ridiculous. They lived hours apart from each other. Neither one of them seemed to budge on making a move for more. Eddie didn’t want to leave the comfort of this town--even if it had caused him pain. Valeria most definitely wouldn’t be moving away from her friends to a town like Hawkins. 

“I’m too chicken shit,” Eddie replies. “Because what would happen if I did say I did love you? What would we do if I said when I told you when you came back in June that when I said I missed you I wasn’t just talking about missing you in a friendly way.”

“Too chicken shit,” Valeria laughs softly, pushing up from the couch. “But my question in return is would you choose me? You said before you couldn’t choose. That it’s too scary to choose because inevitably someone leaves.”

Eddie’s not sure why he thought with Valeria they could just ride the wave. Maybe before--when she’d only come back once. But now she’s back twice. She’d chosen Eddie twice now and he still hadn’t budged. “You always know what you want,” Eddie returns. It’s meant to be a joke, but something catches in his throat when he watches her face drop. 

“Do you know what you want? Are you ready to put in work? I feel stuck. All the time. And when I got unfortunately stranded, I realized I felt stuck because I was living this life on auto-pilot. After everything I’d done, seen, been through, going through the motions was just about keeping me alive, but wasn’t about me living. I want to live now. And I don’t know what that looks like, what it really means in the grand scheme of things. But I’d like to figure it out. With you. If you’re ready.”

That--that is the million dollar question. Is Eddie ready? Here, at thirty-eight, he felt like he should have a more readily available answer, but in the grand scheme of things, Eddie is still scared. He’s still the boy that lost his uncle--the last bits of family that felt like an anchor. He’s still the boy who got chased by this town, spilled blood for no real reason outside of other’s narrow beliefs. 

“I don’t know who I am if I’m not here,” he replies. “I don’t know what it means to leave this--the town, this life. What if I’m just lost once I leave?”

“Those questions haunt me too, Eddie. You think I don’t think for a second about what happens if I leave my friends behind. Who’s going to ride by my grandmother’s to check on her each Sunday if it’s not me? What do I actually want to do with my life besides what I’ve already been doing? I don’t have these answers. But I’m trying. I signed up for fucking ballet classes. I don’t know if you remember but my ass is maybe too big for a tutu. I am haunted by ghosts. That statement feels more literal than not sometimes. But what do I do if I don’t try?”

“Your ass is not too big for a tutu. I happen to think it’s the perfect size for one.”

“Not my point, Eddie.” Her eyes narrow. “You can be scared, but you can’t not try.”

One of her flaws. Valeria has a very specific view of the world. It’s not that she’s wrong. It’s just that she fails to account for how fucking hard this is. She fails to account for a perspective fully outside of her own. “You don’t get to dictate what I do and don’t do, you know? I’m terrified. As ridiculous as it may sound. But it doesn’t mean I don’t think about what could be. You don’t get to assume.”

Valeria rests her hand onto his forearm. She tugs and Eddie hadn’t even fully recognized how closed off he’d made himself until Valeria’s silently pleading for him to let her back in. “Then tell me. What do you think could be?”

“I think about waking up next to you, in an apartment or something in a city that neither one of us has history in. I think about standing over your shoulder as you cook. I think about how angry you’d be at me for getting something red mixed in with the whites and turning all my work shirts pink but how ultimately you’d tease that pink might be my color after all. I-I think about if just in the other room that we sleep if it weren’t filled with my guitars and records and your stuff, maybe you get back to softball. I think about what if it had a crib instead. And I think about how scared I am. How much I could fuck up a good thing in a blink.”

Valeria blinks. Her eyes swim and then cloud over. Eddie can only watch for a moment but it feels heavy and his arms fall unceremoniously at his sides like they are suddenly filled with lead. Valeria’s hand goes with the action. She nods, a laugh falling from her throat. “Got it, Eddie. Got it. Envisioning a whole family but still too chicken shit.”

“What about you? What are you envisioning?”

She takes a step back and Eddie takes a step forward, but she curls her arms under her chest. Oh, how the tables have turned. The saving grace is that Eddie’s not going to push and when he reclines back to the spot where he was, Valeria stays in the half step between them. Her voice is clear. “Effort.”

It stings. He thinks maybe it was supposed to, but she’s right. Even if she’s never totally subtle about it. “Nope, never one to mince words, huh.”

“Never will be,” Valeria returns. “Let’s see what you’ve got in your closet since you can’t show up a mess.” She nods her head down the hall and then starts for Eddie’s bedroom. 

He can only watch. Valeria’s arms are still folded, but she still carries on. Eddie hopes to God she waits for him. He wouldn’t dare call it a prayer, lest Valeria be the altar and the God he’s worshiping. But watching her, the sway of her hips, as she carries herself down the hallway more and more the darkness swallowing her, Eddie thinks maybe he should pray more often. Maybe he should get his fucking act together because no one can wait forever. But goddamn it, Eddie hopes Valeria does have the patience of a saint. That, Eddie realizes, is the truly selfish part. He wants Valeria to wait for him or at the very least come back to him. If she can’t wait, God, let her come back. 

“What do you think?” Eddie holds his arms out. The pants have been sitting in his closet for years now--leather didn’t really seem like it was having its moment in the 90’s or early two thousands, but he’d been too proud of all the work he’d done to save up for them. So they sat in the closet and Eddie yearned for a day to break them back out. He’s thankful to all hell he got them a couple sizes larger than he might’ve needed them. There’s very little stretch in the material--some, but not a lot. 

Valeria’s gaze is slow. She takes her eyes up his body. She has been the last hour of Eddie’s frantic flurry. Clothes flying out of his closet like a cartoon, Eddie hated almost everything he’s ever bought in his life. Occasionally, Valeria would give an impressed hum and then suggest what needed to change--bottoms that needed to go, jacket that was clashing. Now Eddie stands in his leather pants that he was sure would never see the light of day, and a white cotton button up that Eddie is sure was influenced by Robin. He unearthed his black cowboy boots from the corner of his closet to complete the ensemble. 

Now, Valeria’s gaze travels up and up and Eddie can only wait. His fingers tremble just a little and he wonders for a moment if the soft click of the rings is audible enough for Valeria. Eddie watches her eyes. He needs her eyes to lock onto his again. Ever since she walked into the bedroom, she’d kept herself tucked away, legs pulled up to her chest. Valeria chews on her bottom lip. Just look. Please. Just look at me baby, please. 

“You look good, Eds.” 

Her voice is soft and when her eyes finally lift, settling onto his, Eddie exhales. Her eyes sparkle just a little. Something floats still behind them--sadness or maybe something else, but in front of that is a spark. Just what Eddie needed. If he could keep that spark alive, he could keep Valeria. And it’s insane really. Eddie is insane--no two ways about it. He’s insane about Valeria and he’s insane to keep toying with her. But fear--damn fear is a strong motivator. But if he can keep the spark in her alive maybe it would buy him a little bit more time. 

“Oh, a nickname to the nickname. Damn, I must be special,” he teases. It’s not what he wants to say. He wants to beg. Ask Valeria not to let him go. Tell her that he just needs a little bit more time. But instead, he cracks a joke. Because that’s what he always does. It’s what always saves him. It’s the easy choice. 

Valeria scoffs, resting her chin on her knees. “You’re special alright. Certifiable some might say.”

“Then I wonder what it says about you?” He crosses the foot between his bed and closet to the edge of the bed. One knee falls into the mattress and Valeria watches him the whole way. “Don’t you think there’s something to be said about you too in all this?”

“Yeah, that I’m certifiable too.”

Eddie leans in, holding his weight up on one pressed down fist. He tucks a little bit of Valeria’s hair back behind her ear. “What are you wearing?”

“Jeans, corseted top. Boots. Nothing special.”

“Let me see. We can’t clash.”

Valeria snorts. “You’ll see tomorrow. Also, I think you should go with the leather jacket.”

“That’s a lot of leather going on in one outfit, don’t you think?”

“Some might say that occasional indulgence is doctor recommended.”

It’s Eddie’s turn to snort at Valeria’s comment, head dropping for a moment. As it does, he feels some of the hair he hadn’t gotten secured well enough in the elastic fall down. It doesn’t stand a chance though. Valeria’s moving the strands back behind his ears just as soon as they fall, palms pressing into his cheeks. Her nails--a perfect addition of pressure when she scratches lightly at his bearded jaw. Eddie’s stomach quivers at the touch. 

Eddie watches her tongue dart out to lick her lips. It’s hanging again between them--the tension. Eddie tilts her head back with just a gentle press of his palm. “Can I kiss you?”

He needs permission because it’s reckless. To tell Valeria he dream of what they could have--love, a family, and then to tell her that he won’t take the leap because he’s too scared is a coward’s move and it’s smothered in the stench of assholery to ask for more. Knowing he can’t give her what she wants. But still wanting it all. 

“You’ll want more.” It doesn’t sound accusatory as it falls from Valeria’s lips. It’s factual. Because Eddie will. He will always want more. 

“Is that a yes?” Don’t take what’s not given, but damn do I want you to say yes--the thought echoes and echoes until Valeria’s voice interrupts it. 

“I worked all day and then drove down. Rain check.”

There and gone. Eddie nods, smiling at Valeria. He thinks it might reach his eyes, but even he can feel how it may not fully reach either, like the corners of his mouth and eyes hit an invisible wall. “I’m sure you’re exhausted. My bed or the guest bedroom--your pick of the litter.” 

“Probably the guest room.”

“Probably? No one’s kicking you out, sweetheart. We can just cuddle, do face masks, kill the pint of vanilla ice cream I have if sugar cookies aren’t going to cut it.”

“You do not have a pint.”

“Go hop in the shower and find out then, hmm. I’ll teach you a thing or two about doubting me.” Eddie laughs and this time it does feel real as he pats her ankle. This time it feels like what they’ve always had when Valeria narrows her gaze but unfurls herself. This time it feels real when she smacks his ass. It’s a loud pop and Eddie’s not sure what stings more, her hand, his ass, or the lead in his chest. Just give me one more shot, he almost says. 

Eddie changes out of the outfit, tucking the items back onto their respective hangers. He knows Valeria won’t be terribly long in the shower. Tucked back into the sweatpants and tank, Eddie settles on the couch. The shower still runs, but Eddie can feel the buzz, the anxiety creeping up under his skin. He’s going to lose it all. Everything he had and what could’ve been is going to slip through his fingers. There’ll be nothing to catch it, not even a coffee table with a pint of ice cream and one spoon. 

“Where’s your spoon?” Valeria questions, freshly showered. Her skin still echoes with warmth that Eddie feels covering his arm. 

“Must’ve forgotten,” he laughs, but opens his mouth wider when Valeria holds out a spoonful for him to have. 

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” she laughs. But that luck feels like it’s running out. 

____________________

It’s not a long drive to Indy. Eddie’s done it himself plenty of times in under two hours. He doesn’t even fuss for control of the radio. He’d rather listen to Valeria sing along to the songs, the Top 40 that she seems to keep on all the time. He’s sure that she must get tired of it. But he doesn’t get tired when she bounces in the passenger seat to Hey Ya. It’s maybe the second time it's been played since they started driving. It makes the drive that much more entertaining as Valeria chants, “What’s cooler than being cool? Ice cold!”

 Eddie joins in on the second call-and-response because he can catch just out of the corner of his vision, Valeria motioning at him. It's noon now, sun high above them. They’d stop to get lunch at a place Eddie enjoyed and then get dinner at a little mom and pop shop that Valeria recommended. An even and fair approach to the impromptu day trip. The middle is sort of up in the air. Eddie has some places he likes to frequent--the tattoo shop he’s gotten all his ink done at, a couple of record shops. Valeria vaguely mentioned wanting to stop at a few boutiques. It feels remarkably normal as the cracks in the window allow air to seep through. 

It feels remarkably normal, but Eddie knows that it’s not. Even as Valeria giggles at his stupid jokes over her plate of fries and a burger, Eddie knows it’s not normal. When Valeria drags Eddie into a boutique and he snatches a fun green dress and pleads for Valeria to try it on, it’s not normal. When Valeria saunters out in the dress, off the shoulder sleeves, ruffles, and cinched waist, and Eddie’s jaw drops, it is not normal. It’s not normal to feel his arousal in fingertips. It’s not normal to drop to his knees from the stool outside the dressing room. 

“You’re getting that. I don’t care how. You are getting that,” Eddie breathes. But this isn’t normal because Eddie knows that something between them is different. But he’s going to pretend that it is normal. Because he wants it to be normal. He wants what they’ve always had. 

Valeria takes a socked foot and presses her toes into his sternum. “Slow down there. Dress is sixty dollars. And I technically need one more size up.” 

In the reflection now of the mirror, he can see how the zipper is still undone. She got it partially up but it does look like a squeeze. “XL?” Eddie asks, dragging his fingers over the bone of her ankle. 

“1X actually. This one doesn’t stretch like I thought.” 

Eddie arches his brow, fingers now dragging over her calf. He should be more worried about standing. The leather pants will not hide anything. But he doesn’t care. This is about keeping the little piece of normal going that they have. His pride be damned. “I’ll go look for it.” 

“That’s if they sell plus sizes. I can normally get by on the extra large.” 

“I’ll go look, yeah?”

“Don’t do anything stupid, Eddie,” Valeria demands. She drags her foot down his stomach, pressing right over his crotch. There’s no hiding it—his erection. But the press of her foot is just enough. It should hurt and it does. But it hurts in just the right way. He groans—long and drawn out but he doesn’t care. 

“I am going to do so many stupid things,” Eddie whispers into her knee. But he doesn’t wait for Valeria’s response. Maybe she doesn’t even respond. He stands, careful to get her foot back to the floor and let her get stable. He prays this place has a 1X. He needs them to have that dress in the right size for her. 

He darts back to the rack where he saw the item. Small, small, extra small, medium, medium, medium, large, extra large, extra large. His breath stops in his throat. No 1X. “Excuse me, miss,” Eddie starts, trying to flag down the one person he spots behind the register. When they look up, Eddie smiles and lifts the dress. “Do you happen to have this in a 1X?”

The woman glances down at the item. The seconds are long and Eddie swears his heart is going to leap out his chest. His grip keeps tightening around the thin plastic of the hanger. “Hmm we don’t normally sell plus size here.” 

Of fucking course. 

“But I think that designer just recently expanded sizing, actually. She works directly with us so we try to make good sales. Give me just a second!” With that the worker flies off to a back corner. Eddie watches, hearing the scratch of metal over metal. He leans out and notices a longer rack of clothes—one that might be used to wheel loads of clothes to be stocked on the floor but aren’t themselves racks to shop off of. But her fingers are quick and then she lifts up the green dress. 

“Last one too!” the worker calls out. 

“I’ll take it.” Relief isn’t the right word to name what Eddie feels. His limbs feel like they’re floating and then suddenly drop back to earth. He hangs the clothing item back into the rack and begins digging out his wallet to meet the worker at the register. 

“One lucky lady,” the woman teases. She scans the tag before pulling the hanger out of the neckline. “How long have you two been together?”

Did it seem like decades to the outside world? There was no way others would be able to see how well they fit together, how natural the whole thing felt. What Eddie and Valeria had feels like lifetimes together. The reality is that they only had a few months, but there’s no way someone on the outside could see it. And even if someone could see it, there was no way that Eddie was going to burden some stranger about his own inability to get his life together. Eddie grins, “Feels like a lifetime but wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

Maybe it’s too soft how he says it. The girl looks up at him, a pout settling on her lips. “That is so sweet. God, I’d kill for a love like that. When it does come, you definitely have to hold onto it.”

Eddie can only nod, passing along the bills for the dress. All the words are dried up on his tongue because he knows. As much as he didn’t want to fuck things up with Val, he might have already. A dress wouldn’t save them. Maybe nothing would save them now. But Eddie takes the bag, a smile plastered on his face. “The right person will come around soon,” he offers. Just don’t fuck it up like me. There’s no need to break the illusion for her though. Maybe she’d already suffered enough heartache. Eddie does believe in love for other people. She’d find the right person soon. It takes hope. And effort, but hoping is so much easier. 

“Please tell me you didn’t.” Valeria’s laughter cuts through whatever rebuttal the worker had primed on her tongue. Eddie turns to see Valeria carrying the dress that was a size too small, glaring at him. Even though Valeria called the outfit simple, tried to shrug it off as something minimal, Eddie still couldn’t believe the sight in front of them. The royal blue of the top dazzles off her skin. The black jeans and boots only seal off the look in a way that when Valeria stands next to him, it makes him feel taller. Though she’s the one in the four inch platforms. 

Valeria shakes her head as she smiles. She places the dress back on the rack, by passing Eddie completely before facing him again. “Eddie, please. It’s your birthday not mine.” 

It takes him a moment to work his throat and mouth again--tongue drying a little out on him. Eddie shrugs. “My birthday was yesterday. It’s over now.” 

“No it’s not,” Val huffs. “It’s not over until this concert is over.”

Eddie holds out his bent arm. “Too late. It is done. Where to next?”

Valeria takes a gentle hold of his crooked elbow. “Your pick, birthday boy.” Valeria presses a kiss to Eddie’s cheek. Her lips brush against his skin as she whispers, “Record store?” 

Eddie slips his free hand around her fingers. It reminds him he’s alive, in the middle of a clothing store. He’s not gone yet. Neither is she. Valeria’s not gone either. “It’s a little far out. You sure there’s nothing else you want to see on this side while we’re out here. We could just walk around?” 

“Are you going to complain about your feet in those boots?” Valeria snorts. 

“These boots were made for walking,” Eddie returns, voice barely above a whisper. His nose brushes against Valeria’s forehead. This could be his. This could all be normal--for right now, it is. It is normal. And it is Eddie’s. 

“Sure, I guess. There’s a cool vintage shop I think around the corner. Maybe you’ll find some new rings.”

“Worth a shot.” Neither one of them moves for a moment, still pressed close together in their own bubble. But Valeria shifts, straightening up and that’s all it takes for motions to set off. They give their thanks and goodbyes to the worker. Valeria leads them to the vintage shop. The click of her keys on her hip and the heel of Eddie’s boot echoes. The sound precedes them. From the vintage store, back to the truck, to the record store, to the restaurant for dinner. There’s the click and clack of their synced steps. When the venue fills with chatter, others laughter bubbling around them, Eddie can still hear Valeria. Her breaths, the clink of her earrings when she bobs or turns her head. Everything is attuned to her. Because Eddie just needs to hold a little bit longer, a little bit tighter. 

Eddie takes her hand when the songs slow down, thumb rubbing over her skin. Valeria squeezes in return. This is all you could ever need, Munson. And just as the thought settles, he feels the ‘but’. It’s the undermine--the thing Eddie tells himself so he feels better about his lack of action. In reality, the ‘could’ should be replaced. This is all he needs, but he fails to act on it, to make it a reality. 

“...my drink? Edide?”

Eddie blinks, turning his head just a little to see Valeria looking at him, her lashes long and thick. The bass is still vibrating through the speakers. “What was that?” he shouts back to heard over the music.

“My drink,” she calls out. “Do you want the rest of it? I’m stuffed after dinner and the beer’s gonna disagree with me if I keep piling on more.” Her laughter just catches onto his eardrums. 

Eddie holds out his empty cup and nods. “I’ll see what I can do for ya.”

“You don’t have to, if you don’t want.”

Eddie shakes his head, unraveling his fingers from hers to take her cup and stacking it into his own. About half of it is gone already, it shouldn’t be too hard. But even Eddie will admit that he might not have space for it after the slice of apple pie at dinner. “That cup alone was half my water bill, it’s getting drunk.”

Valeria pats his stomach. “Don’t bust your gut though.”

“Ha ha,” Eddie returns. “A true comedian you are.” 

“I know!” Her smile is bright and Eddie catches it even in the dimmed lights of the theater. His face warms as if he were standing out in the sun on a summer day. His rebuttal catches in his throat and he can only manage an eye roll before slipping his arm around her shoulders. She tucks herself back into his side, arms winding around his waist in the process. It feels like a cocoon--the shared warmth of their bodies. Eddie never has to leave this. He can stay here, with Valeria’s breath tickling just a little at his neck, listening to bands he’s loved since he was a teenager. It’s all this moment needs. 

It’s an awkward shuffle out of the venue. Eddie doesn’t want to leave just yet, wants to soak in every last echoing sound of the instruments. Wants to feel his bottles rattle to a stop, but they’re at the start of the row just about and there’s some guys to Eddie’s left that turn and he knows they’re looking to get out. Valeria and Eddie should too. It’s still a two hour drive back to Hawkins. So he follows behind Valeria, climbing up the step. Once outside he stops, tugging on Valeria’s hand to pause her too and turns to stare at the building. They haven’t dropped from the curb just yet to head back to Eddie’s truck. The seal of the moment hasn’t been broken. Once they step out into the parking lot, the reality all comes back. But until then, the cocoon remains intact. 

“Not ready to go just yet?” Valeria asks. 

“Gotta soak it all in,” Eddie returns. Because it is one part ritual for Eddie just to take a few extra seconds to soak in the adrenaline, to let the thundering of his chest still slowly. Eddie tugs on Valeria’s hand. 

“Yes, Eddie?”

He tugs again and she steps in closer. Eddie’s faster, cupping her jaw with his palms to bring her in even closer. “Have I told you thank you?” He knows he hasn’t and as Valeria goes to speak, he’s already talking. Mouth moving faster than his brain at this point. The words are just falling. “Because thank you, thank you, thank you,” he chants, kissing her lips with each phrase. The kisses get longer and long. 

She had a piece gum at some point, Eddie can tell. Her breath minty against what should've been the bitter bite of beer. But Eddie doesn’t really care. He’s just lost in the softness of her lips. The way Valeria ever so tentatively lets Eddie lick up into her mouth and melts into his embrace. Eddie knows when Valeria pulls out of the kiss first, slowly and with pecks to soothe the separation, he’s going to thank her properly. Because that’s how the moment should be savored, down to the last drops on his tongue. 

“You’re welcome, Eddie,” she whispers against his lips. 

“Don’t thank me just yet. Haven’t thanked you properly yet.”

“Oh, I. No, I don’t--”

“Please,” Eddie interrupts, hands slipping from her face down to her waist. He continues on, soothing her sides. “Please,” he whispers. It doesn’t even sound like Eddie. The whine in his own throat sounds desperate and sure Eddie is desperate to have Valeria again, make her come undone on his tongue, his fingers, his cock. But he won’t push her. He’ll plead but whatever she says now will override any desire he has. 

“It’s two hours back to your place,” Valeria laughs. 

“You say that like I don’t know, sweetheart. But there’s motels around here.”

She shakes her head. “Gonna make you wait.”

Eddie groans, taking a small nibble at her plump bottom lip. “You fucking tease.”

“And I’m driving back.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Eddie barks out between tufts of laughter. “That’s not fair.”

Valeria takes Eddie by the back of his head and brings his gaze to hers. “Never said it would be.”

The words bring a shiver to Eddie’s spine. But all he can do is close his eyes on the shaky exhale. Never said it would be. Eddie’s not sure if it’s a threat or a promise, but he likes the sound of both. None of this was probably fair but they were doing it anyway. Hell, Eddie would in a heartbeat. It may not be fair, but it for damn sure wasn’t going to stop Eddie. 

Eddie slips the keys into her pockets, giving it a heavy handed pat. “Then let’s get this show on the road, hmm, darling?”

______________________

Eddie doesn’t waste time. It’s a pride of his to know in his older age that he doesn’t waste too much time--he’ll waste some, but never too much. The clocks are ticking up and past one in the morning, but all Eddie is focused on is Valeria. She sighs into his open mouth. He swallows it down. If he could tuck Valeria up under his ribs, he would. If he could carry Valeria in his fingertips, he would. Eddie drinks in every sound. Valeria giggles at the tickle of his scruff at her neck and it makes his bones vibrate. He could fall apart right then and there when Valeria laughs. 

“What’s so funny huh?” Eddie laughs in her neck. 

“Just tickles,” Valeria hums. 

Eddie skates his fingers over the soft skin of her belly, biting at the skin of her breast. Valeria gasps at the sensation but he can hear the smile in voice and that’s all that matters. All that matters is the way when Eddie takes, Valeria gives. All that matters is when Eddie gives, Valeria takes. Valeria’s nails trail over the skin of his back and shoulders, to his chest. Whatever fear he could have about the scars always melts away. Valeria touches him like glass, like she can’t quite believe it’s him in her hands. And while it might seem frustrating, Eddie appreciates the tenderness. It reminds him that there are people who still care. There are still people who may want to consume but they do not do so maliciously. There are some people who may want to pour back. It’s a rarity, but Eddie knows he needs the reminder.

The fire in Eddie’s gut only burns brighter. It’s messy, Valeria dripping down on his chin, but he doesn’t care. Her fingers tangle in his hair, pulling like she can’t get him close enough. Maybe she can’t. Maybe Eddie can’t be close enough either. He holds her legs down, knowing Valeria likes to buck. But this isn’t about something quick and dirty. This is about taking their time--sunlight and responsibilities be damned. Eddie’s going to drink down every drop. 

“Fuck,” Valeria whines, high in her throat. 

Eddie can hear the strain in her voice. He laughs into her thighs, leaning up to watch Valeria’s heaving chest. “You doing okay up there, princess?” Eddie lazily drags a finger on her inner thigh. 

“Better than okay,” Valeria hums. “So fucking good.” 

“Oh, that’s what I like to hear,” Eddie grins before licking another stripe up Valeria’s cunt. She quakes when his tongue hooks around her clit. And though Valeria teased him by making him behave on the two hour drive because she was driving, Eddie is also going to tease her back by lapping from her--slowly, let his own body feed from her pleasure. 

Everything her body can take Eddie wants. Eddie doesn’t care how he gets it. He’s always been one up for an adventure. But he must admit, when Valeria drags him up her body, still heaving from her orgasm, and seals their lips together in a kiss, Eddie thinks it’s going to be a reprieve. He thinks maybe they’ll just take a minute or two. What he’s not expecting is Valeria’s push up, hooking one leg around his waist and then onto his back Eddie goes. It’s not without a laugh, not without his own tease and wiggle of his brow.

“Oh, what a view,” he hums as Valeria settles on his waist. 

“How does it feel down there?” she laughs. 

“It’s a cool 50 degrees down here, I’d say.”

“Prepare for a warm front.”

He wants to ask what specifically that means but the words don’t get off his tongue before Valeria’s teasing him with her fingers. Eddie twitches in her hand, anticipation of what she might do next seeping into his skin and dripping into the sheets. Valeria leans in, mouth opening but she just breathes. Right over Eddie’s face. He whines, not meaning to, and Valeria tightens her hand around his cock. She mocks his whine just a little, laughing. “Cat got your tongue?”

“No,” Eddie heaves out. “A pretty vixen has my dick though in her hands and I would really appreciate anything she wants to give me though.”

“A wordsmith, aren’t you?” 

“I try.” The words all take every ounce of Eddie’s strength to get out. Valeria’s started to lazily stroke him. It’s wet, more than he’s sure his own precum but he doesn’t dare think about Valeria reaching between her own legs to lube him up. No, the thought would absolutely make Eddie blow his load in half a second. 

The tugs increase in pace, tighter and a little faster. More and more until Eddie’s throwing his head back against the pillows. “Shit, shit, shit, Valeria, please,” he cries out. The pace doesn’t feel like it’s sustainable like something’s going to give, either Eddie or Valeria, but so far, Valeria grins against him. Maybe she won’t tire out anytime soon. 

“Please what? Need full words, baby.”

“Please,” Eddie huffs. “Anything. I’ll take fucking anything, honey. Shit.” His toes are curling. Everything in his lower gut is on fire and he swears he’s never going to actually feel anything like this again. Nothing can be as good as this. 

“Anything anything?” Valeria asks.

Eddie can only nod, eyes screwed up tight, holding her hips in his hands. She’s so close, hovering right over him. He can feel the occasional drip onto his length adding more slick to the mess between them. “Anything,” he whimpers. 

Valeria sinks, a sigh leaving her lips and Eddie’s eyes fly open. “Oh shit,” he huffs. Valeria lifts up and then settles again, hips grinding. Her warmth spreads like wildfire. Eddie’s clawing at Valeria to get her to bounce on him again, to create a rhythm that they can both enjoy. But she’s content for the moment just to grind. 

“Tsk, tsk,” Valeria mocks from above him. “Don’t be greedy.”

“Oh, fuck, easy for you to say,” Eddie returns. He wants more bite in the words, but he can’t get it out. All he can do is pant and pray. Eddie’s floating. He feels it before he can name it. But his head it gone from his shoulder and he doesn’t care that Valeria mocks his every sound. He doesn’t care that her teeth are bruising his skin. He doesn’t care that he’s lost all his senses. All that fucking matters is feeling the hot breath on his skin. All that matters is the way Valeria bounces on him, a greedy pace that makes him feel needed. How desperate it is just to be needed no matter the format, but Eddie’s beyond a rational understanding. There’s nothing rational left here as the room fills with the echoes of their moans. 

“Holy--” The swear doesn’t get enough air from Eddie before he can cums. All the air leaves his lungs as Valeria works atop him, hips rising and falling back onto his length. Maybe Eddie got this whole thing wrong. Maybe instead of getting everything Valeria had, she was going to get everything he had. Maybe they’d always wind up like this, giving and taking and giving and taking all in equal measures. Valeria falls into his chest, panting in her own right. She shivers against him and Eddie wraps her up tight in his arms. It’s a give and a take. 

“Do you want pancakes in the morning?” Eddie asks into her temple after they’ve cleaned up. It took a few minutes before either one of them got feeling back into their limbs but it did happen eventually. 

Valeria nods, curled into Eddie’s side. “You got blueberries?”

“I can do that for you.” It shouldn’t be too hard. Eddie can wake before she does and go out to the store to get a cartoon or maybe it would be better to get a frozen bag. But either way, Eddie feels himself drifting into sleep thinking about Valeria in his arms. 

___________________________

The thing about their goodbyes is that when they should be permanent, they never feel that way. At least not with Eddie and Valeria. There’s something underneath them that always says more, says it’s goodbye just for now. Maybe this time will be like all the others. Eddie holds Valeria in the doorframe, in the liminal space of inside and outside his trailer. “You’ll still call, right?” Eddie asks. He needs those. What would fill his days if not for work and Valeria.

“I’ll still call,” Valeria promises. She looks at him, eyes swimming and Eddie knows. He knows that things are shifting. It feels like an earthquake beneath his feet that one one else can feel. This goodbye won’t be like the others because the thing neither one of them demands at that goodbye is how frequent the calls will be. And maybe Eddie knew it was a good idea not to ask. Maybe even in all his disbelief he still knows the ultimate outcome. A week from the concert and Eddie only gets five calls. They’re just as long as they’ve always been, but not every day. Two weeks from the concert and the calls drop from five to four. Then four to three. Three to two. 

Two months pass and it feels like a drought. The calls happen, usually once a week. And then they shorten. It’s passing on how they’re doing--abbreviated retellings of the mechanic’s shop and the store. It’s just enough to feel like it’s a substantive conversation but not what they used to be--what would take hours, only take thirty minutes tops. The bottom of the barrel becomes higher and higher in their conversation more and more silences that feel much too awkward than before. The air is thick. Valeria’s breathing has filled Eddie’s ears for the past two minutes and she keeps stopping and starting her sentences. 

“Cat got your tongue?” Eddie teases. “Did you eat chocolate? You know you’re mildly allergic to it right?”

Valeria laughs. It’s the first time Eddie’s heard it in weeks this full and this loud. It makes his chest tight at the sound and he’s so fucking thankful for it in the moment, he exhales deeply into the receiver. “No, no chocolate, Eddie.”

“Damn, I was sort of hoping maybe you had so you could finally answer my question about what’s your favorite M&M.”

This bout of laughter is deeper and Eddie feels his body sag in relief. He’s on a fucking roll and it feels so much better. Eddie feels like he can breathe. “The answer is clearly the red ones.”

“Atta girl,” Eddie cheers. Their laughter is shared and soft. Just as quickly as the tension is cut it returns. Eddie reclines into the wall next to his fridge. He hasn’t forgotten what Valeria said at the start of his call. How he barely got his greeting out before Valeria was barrelling through hers. “You said you called because you had something to tell me.”

Eddie tries not to panic when Valeria agrees that she does has something to tell him. Because it was coming--the end. It was always coming and it marched so freely because Eddie didn’t do anything to stop it. He was too chicken shit to do anything. Even if the world was going to shift again at least this time he would have nothing left to hold onto it. Maybe the world would just swallow him whole. 

“It’s-I don’t know how to say this.”

“Just like always, putting one word in front of the other, sweetheart.”

“But it’s--it’s going to change everything.”

It’s at that sound that Eddie pushes back up. He’s not sure if he’s bracing himself for the inevitable or there’s the last spring of hope he’s holding onto surfacing. “Change everything?”

“I’m-I’m pregnant, Eddie.”

Yeah, there’s that earth swallowing him whole and spitting him out on his face. But it’s the one fucking thing he needs. It’s ice water on his face. It’s a broken nose. It’s the time Wayne had to buzz his hair back in middle school because he’d gotten it so tangled up that no one could really get it back into order. 

A reset. A hard one that that. 

A wake up call. 

“Do you plan to keep the baby?” Eddie asks. 

“I-I want to, yes. But I know you don’t necessarily want kids.”

“I want this kid,” Eddie confesses softly. 

“No, you don’t have to do that. Tammie and Chels are willing to help me out.”

“Val, I’m not just saying anything. I want to be there for you and for my kid. I love you, you know that right?” 

The words are out again before Eddie can process what they actually will do and mean. But he’d already been dropped on his face once today, learning that Valeria was pregnant with his kid. What was a second drop in the grand scheme of things. 

“But not like that,” Valeria deflects. 

“No,” Eddie returns stern. He doesn’t need her to assume anything anymore. Assumptions had gotten them in this place—at least on Eddie’s part. He’s assumed his way into this mess but he wouldn’t let it get worse. Not when a closed door cracked again. It wouldn’t do that too many more times. “Exactly like that. I fucked up before. I’m not going to fuck up twice. I love you, Valeria. Do you hear me? I love you. You were leaving and I did nothing to make you stay. I didn’t show effort. I just wanted to keep things like they were and hope bare minimum was enough. It wasn’t. It wasn’t enough and fuck, I’m not doing that again. I’m not asking you to pity. I just need you to hear me. I’m sorry. You were right. Effort is so important and you’re important. And I’m sorry I let you go.”

“I mean I left. I wasn't going to hurt myself if you weren’t ready to commit. I know that sounds harsh. I was walking away, Eddie. But the thing I wouldn’t do is lie to you. I wouldn’t try to hide anything from you.” It’s not that it’s harsh. It just stings. Valeria had walked away—not all at once but things had shifted between them. Eddie didn’t fight the current. He had no reason too when Valeria asked if their relationship would ever reach for more he’d all but stomped it out. It’s not penance; it’s just a natural consequence. Every action has a reaction.  “You are never one to mince words.” 

“I’m sorry Eddie. I just wanted to tell you. You deserve to know.” 

“Don’t.” Eddie knows that tone. A resolution she’s decided well before this conversation. “That’s still my kid. I know I messed up but please don’t cut me out of my own kid’s life.”

“No, no. I didn’t—I’m sorry. I meant it like you should know. You need to know so we can decide what to do next, ya know?” 

“I’m a fool. I’ll admit. I am the court fucking jester but I—the thought that I’m a dad or going to be a dad. It means everything.” It’s the first time he’s thought about it like that. He’s going to be a dad. He’s going to have a kid—come hell or high water. He blinks back tears. Some fall over his lash line and he doesn’t move to clear them. “I can do this. I can do it right. I promise Val. I can.” 

“I know you can, Eddie. I’ve always known. I just—I had to take you at your actions before. I still do.” Her voice cracks, the wet sound of her tears thickening her voice. 

“I’ll show it. I’ll put in the work.” It’s silent. Eddie wonders if Valeria’s silence is bad but he barrels on before he can think too much about it.  “How long have you known?” Eddie asks. 

“About a month? Missed my period a couple of times and thought something was up. Took some at home tests. I go in two weeks to the OBGYN to see if I am for sure.”

“What day?”

“Friday, the 16th at 11 AM.”

“Text me the address, okay? I’ll be there. I’m going to be there for everything, I swear, Val.” He knows they’ll have to discuss if anyone is moving, which will mostly likely be him. He’d hate to uproot her in the middle of something like this. He could find another shop to work at. Eddie can and will do whatever necessary now to ensure he doesn’t let Valeria slip through his fingers again. 

“I’ll text it to you. Promise. And I’m sorry. For dropping a bomb like this on you.” 

Eddie giggles. Sure it is a bomb, and not what he anticipated when she said she had news, but at this point it is what it is. There’s no going back. “I’m sorry to have done it to you.” The smile is evident in his voice.

“No, you’re not. Admit it. Just fucking admit it,” Valeria laughs. 

“I mean, if you’re yanking my leg. The picture of you pregnant is pretty hot so less sorry. But we probably should’ve been more careful.” He can’t remember if there was a condom involved or not. He was usually more on top of it, even if his sex life was inactive aside from Valeria. It was important to keep up with the expiration dates and keep them on hand. It’s not like Eddie can even blame the alcohol. He’d barely finished the second beer. He was in most rights in his right mind. 

“It’s the antibiotics I was on, according to the nurses I spoke with. I’d just finished some two days before seeing you due to a root canal and they can make birth control less effective. As we now see.” 

“Oh shit. I didn’t even know that. How—how are you? I mean this for real. I don’t want bullshit, Val. Not after what I know.” 

Her exhale crackles through the receiver. The beats feel long—like stretched out taffy that keeps stretching and keeps stretching. He thinks the moment may never break and then Valeria speaks. “I’m scared, Eddie. I’m so fucking scared.”

Eddie spins, dropping his head into the wall, voice falling into a whisper as he speaks. God, he so wishes he was there with her. Not that he thinks she’d want him there immediately. But he wishes he could be. “Hey, it’s alright to be scared. I’m the biggest scaredy cat there is. Being afraid is okay. What’s got scared you?”

“Everything. We live in different cities. I have no clue how to take care of a baby. Morning sickness is a bitch. I’m starving but I can’t keep anything down. Haven’t pooped in a week. Pregnancy really isn’t all it’s glammed up to be.” 

“Not shitting for a week and not being able to keep anything down sounds horrendous. It’s okay if you feel a little insane right now. Are you off tomorrow?” 

“Yeah. I am.” 

“How far are Tammie and Chels from you?”

“They’re planning to come over anyway, tomorrow.” 

“Okay, good, good. What time?”

“One, I think. What-what are you doing, Eddie?”

He shakes his head, though she can’t see it. He knows that she knows. It’s who they are together--sentiment of each other in ways that should be creepy. “Can you get water down?”

“It’s a fight some days. But you’re changing the subject. Eddie, what are you planning?”

“Nothing, Val. I just want to make sure you’re okay, since I can’t be there.” From the living room, Eddie catches the chime of his phone. It goes off once. A text and he thinks it’s just the address Valeria promised to send, so he doesn’t bother going to look at the message. “For your appointment on the 16th, would you-would you be okay if I stayed the weekend with you? I want to talk properly. Face-to-face.”

“Yeah, that’d be okay. I think it would be good to talk.”

His phone chimes again and this time, Eddie does look in the direction. Not too many people had his cell phone number. The kids did, Harrington, Buckley, Older Wheeler, Byers, and Valeria. Gareth had it for emergencies--namely about the shop. And no one texted him. He was shit at it--hated it in the way that he had muster through it when absolutely necessary but much preferred just talking to someone. 

“There’s two addresses I sent. I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess,” Valeria states. There’s a bit of something that catches at the end and from far away, Eddie catches a cough. 

“You okay?”

“I think one of my neighbors is cooking fish and the smell is getting to me. It’s-” Another gag interrupts her. “It’s gonna be a long night.”

“Tell your neighbors I told them no more seafood. They can fight me on it.”

Valeria laughs--soft and mostly from her nose it sounds. “I’ll tell them. I’m sorry to cut this so abruptly. But it’s gonna get bad over here in a minute and I don’t think you want the sounds of someone vomiting in your ear.”

“I would. For you. But if you gotta go, I get it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I thought you weren’t planning anything, hmm?” 

Eddie catches what sounds like a smile in her voice. He grins. “Just take care of yourself, Valeria.”

“See you tomorrow, Eddie.”

Eddie listens to the dial tone for several minutes after the phone call ends. A static in his ears but the longer he stays on the line, the longer he has with Valeria. Tomorrow, he’s got to get his life together for tomorrow. Eddie slams his phone back onto the receiver and scurries to his phone. The first message comes through and mentions Dr. Johnson is Suite 1121. But then he reads the second address, Apartment 23C. Tomorrow. 

“Eddie?” Gareth answers on the third ring. “You alright, dude? You never use your cellphone.”

“Can you cover for me this weekend at the shop and the weekend starting the 16th?”

“Yeah, yeah of course. Is everything okay?”

“I-It’s Valeria.”

“Val? I thought--it’s been months.”

“She’s, uh, well, she’s pregnant and I really have to be there. I’m gonna have a kid.” The sentence makes his face lift, a grin pressing at the corners of his mouth. 

“Fuck, dude. Congrats! Yeah, yeah, I got this weekend and the 16th. No worries. If you need anything else, let me know!”

“I will. Thanks, Gareth.”

Eddie’s expecting--well, he doesn’t really know what he’s expecting when he knocks on Valeria’s door. Maybe she lied. Maybe she’d kick him out and tell him to fuck off. He saw her car, but he doesn’t know what Tammie and Chels drive well enough to know if he’s going to be greeted by the lot of them once the door opens. Either way, Eddie raps his fist against the door, waits two, maybe three seconds and then brings his hands back up to knock again. 

Just before his fist connects, the locks click and the door swings open. Valeria stands, face a little hollowed, but still with the cascade of dark brown corkscrew curls. They’re pulled to the top of her head and fall like bangs against her forehead. She smiles, stepping back behind the door. The gray t-shirt displays a college on it; it’s a little baggy, but still fits her mostly well. “Hi, Eddie. I’m sorry I’m such a mess right now.”

“No, no, you’re not a mess,” Eddie returns, gesturing to see if he’s okay to come in. Valeria nods. “It’s early.”

Eddie’s hit with the small of something like vanilla, maybe something deeper too. And around the edges of the scent, it smells of cleaner. The apartment is bright, thanks to the blinds being open. The couch is dark brown, blue throw pillows. A white knitted blanket is thrown over the back of it. The wooden TV stand holds a decent size TV, DVD cases resting on it. Eddie slips out of his shoes quickly, noting her hardwood floors though she has a thick shaggy rug in the living room. 

“You didn’t have to clean for me,” Eddie laughs. He slips the duffle bag off his shoulders and places it right in front of the couch. 

“Needed to clean anyways. You hungry?” 

“I-I ate already. Thanks.” There’s a couple feet between them, Valera leaning against one of her bookcases--there’s two slender ones on the side resting against the wall between the two outward facing windows. Eddie stands still near the door. 

Valeria nods, arms folding under her chest. Her gaze doesn’t lift up to meet his. Eddie feels like he’s intruding, but she did agree to this. “I’m-I’m going to try and fail with some toast. Bathroom’s down the hall, first on the left. Whatever’s in the kitchen is free for you to consume. Feel free to watch whatever too.”

Eddie takes a tentative step forward, fingers just brushing over her forearm. “Valeria, can you look at me?”

She lifts her head, slowly. She looks tired--more so than Eddie’s ever seen her. Eddie cups her cheeks, thumbs brushing the bottoms of her eyes. It makes his chest ache. He hopes she hasn’t been like this for the entire month and he hopes it won’t last the entire pregnancy either. “That’s it darling,” he praises once her sight is level on him. 

 “I’m glad you’re here.” It’s a soft whisper but Eddie catches it all the same. Her lower lip wobbles and before the tears even fall, Eddie hears it. The truth of the matter is that she’s scared and while she had friends, it was still a lot. 

“I’m happy to be here too. But you can let it out now, okay? I’m here.”

Valeria falls into his body, face buried into junction between his shoulder and neck. She shakes--like a leaf in a winter wind, Valeria shudders against him. “I don’t want to do this alone,” she sobs. 

“You won’t. You won’t do this alone. I’m here. Tammie’s here. Chels is too. You’re not alone.”

“Promise? I know it’s stupid. But I—,”

Eddie cups be back of her head, brushing ever so gently at the hairs at the nape of her neck. If only he could take the shakes, if only Eddie could pull the dead out of her bones. “No. It’s not stupid. I promise I’ll be here for you. You won’t be alone.” 

_____________________________

Eddie’s early. He knows that--knew it the moment he left his house at 7 in the morning. But he hadn’t been able to fall back asleep. He woke around 4:30 in the morning, a thick heat consuming his chest. He turned the fan up, cracked open a window, but nothing brought in enough of a chill to allow him to drift back to sleep. When his clock ticked over to 6, he called it--showered, got dressed, ate breakfast and then got on the road. Being early be damned, Eddie was not going to show up late to this. Besides, the earlier he was the more time they had to talk. It seemed like all they did these days--talk, trying to plan out a future even when it seems so daunting. 

The front door has become an all too familiar sight. It’s a little after 9 now so Eddie knocks--twice and then waits. Valeria’s usually not far when he knocks. Just like always, the door opens a couple beats later. Valeria’s face is a little fuller now. She can keep food down more consistently now. But still struggles with seafood and beef. Eddie’s just grateful she’s not barfing up everything she eats anymore. 

“Come here often?” Eddie smiles. 

“Apparently you do.” Valera waves him inside. He toes off his shoes and drops the bag down in front of the couch. “Sorry to make you do this trek so much.”

“No, you need the appointments. I don’t mind. Besides, I’m sure the guys at the shop are thankful to get rid of me for a couple days here and there.”

“As long as you’re sure. Hungry? I just finished up some french toast and don’t mind sharing.”

Eddie nods, finger tips warm and itching to pull at one of the curls. He resists though. The casual displays of physical intimacy are at a snails pace. They hugged, occasionally held hands, but it was clearly a line that Valeria wasn’t going to cross soon so Eddie does his best to respect that limit. “I can go for a piece, if you’re sharing.”

Valeria’s kitchen is smaller than Eddie’s, a byproduct of the way the kitchen is sectioned off from the rest of the apartment. But it’s cozy to be in--the counters are lined with kitchen utensils in holders, flowers (a set that Eddie sent a few days prior and then another set that he’s not sure where they came from). There’s plates and bowls set out with the french toast, a fruit salad made by hand, and bacon in them. “Bacon okay too?”

“Fine with me.” Eddie hadn’t eaten much before leaving, knowing Valeria would offer up something once he arrived. If feeding someone is a love language, Valeria speaks it fluently. Eddie doesn’t mind though. He’s learned to speak it--accepting the offerings, finishing off what Valeria swears she can’t. If the stress weren’t getting to him like it was, he’s sure he would’ve gained ten pounds. 

“Everything okay? You look like you’re being haunted.”

Eddie takes the stretched out plate, watching the way her eyes assess him. They would always get each other. “Worried sick about you some days and making sure we can do this, feasibly, you know.”

“About that,” Valeria starts, sighing a little. Her own fork clinks as she assembles her plate too. 

“Yeah,” Eddie agrees when she looks at him. Her eyes say it all--we’re going to have to do something, make some sort of change.

There’s a moment of silence. Like neither one of them truly wants to crack open the surface. Nothing changes if they don’t go deeper. Valeria speaks first and the moment finally cuts loose from their shared fear. “I could move to Hawkins. Try and transfer to that GAP.”

Eddie scoffs, sliding his plate onto the dining room table before facing Valeria fully. He gets the gesture, what she’s probably offering, but the last thing he want if for Valeria to be miserable. “You’d hate living in Hawkins, Val. I’ve lived there my whole life and it’s not getting better.”

“Well, I don’t want you to sacrifice the car shop. You’re managing the shop. All your friends are there in Hawkins.”

“I’m not pulling you away from the people who can support you right now. You said so yourself you don’t want to do this alone. Tammie and Chels are your rocks right now and I think it’s important you feel supported.”

“You matter too, Eddie. I’m sure Steve and Robin are keeping you sane right now.”

“They are,” he admits. He talked to either one of them at least once a day. Buckley is ecstatic at the prospect of a tiny human addition. But Harrington, Harrington was keeping Steve on the straight and narrow. There were many times Eddie found himself in the aisle in the grocery store staring at the bottles. His fingers itched to grab one, thinking if he could just forget the fear and the anxiety it make things so much easier. Harrington’s cellphone number is etched into the tips of Eddie’s fingers from how many times he’s dialed it. Eddie doesn’t really want to drink. He just wants something to take the edge off. Drinking was stupid though.

“Is that why you’re building muscle? Challenging Steve now?”

Eddie lets himself clamber backwards into the edge of the dining room table at the jab to his bicep. He hisses like it hurts, though it doesn’t. “Be careful. I’m sensitive.”

Valeria snorts, grabbing two glasses from the cabinet. “Need someone to rub your back?”

Eddie lets the tuft of laughter fall from his lips. “Harrington’s suggested I go to the gym when I feel…out of it.”

“Out of it?”

Eddie shrugs, pushing up to help her. He closes the cabinet for her and pulls out the jug of orange juice. “Out of it…you’re not the only one scared. I worry I’m going to fuck it all up. When that happens, I think about doing stupid shit.”

“Stupid shit? Eds, I don’t--you can talk to me.”

“It’s not that I think about drinking myself to death. But just. It’s stupid.”

“So you think about drinking? When you’re out of it?”

Eddie nods at the question. “Dad was an alcoholic. Never violent. Just…couldn’t function without it sometimes.”

Her eyes widen, the realization falling deeply onto her face. “No, no, you talk to me, Eddie. Okay? You call me. I don’t care what time it is. You call me, okay? Please.”

Eddie wants to recoil. Her fingers are cold from the juice, but her hold is firm and Eddie can only nod. “I’ll call you. When it gets bad.”

“You promise?”

“Yeah, I promise.”

Valeria nods. Her eyes stern, but her runs her hands down Eddie’s arm. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like you can’t talk to me.”

“I don’t--it’s just I know you’re dealing with a lot. I don’t want to make it seem like I’m piling on.”

“You don’t. It’s a me thing.” Because it’s Eddie’s own anxieties. He knows he could talk to Valeria, but he doesn’t want to add on when she may not have the capacity. “I don’t want to burden you.”

“You’re not a burden, Eddie. A pain in my ass, but never a burden.”

“Sometimes I forget there’s a difference.” Eddie’s not sure where that came from, when the lines had gotten blurred from him. But it’s the truth. He’d spent so much time trying not to be a bother, that he couldn’t tell when people wanted him around sometimes. 

Valeria steps in closer, body pressing flush into his. There’s just a few inches between their faces, but Valeria closes that gap too, pressing her forehead into his. Eddie encases her waist with his arms. It’s a slightly strange feeling, the slight bump of her stomach pressed into his. “Then let me remind you of the difference, okay?” 

“Okay,” Eddie whispers, eyes fluttering close. Valeria goes to pull away, but Eddie squeezes. He doesn’t want to let her go just yet. “Can I have one more minute?”

“Of course, you can.”

Eddie misses this, holding her close. He’s missed the way she slots against him, head tucking into his shoulder. They’re like puzzle pieces slotted together to bring to life a fuller picture. Her breath tickles against his neck, but Eddie leans into the feeling. It lets him know she’s still real. 

“Did you get a new body wash?” Valeria asks after a minute.

“Is it bad?”

“No, no, it smells really good.”

Eddie snorts. “Yeah, it’s new.”

“Smells good enough to eat.”

“No, that’s what your french toast is for. You can’t make our baby a cannibal without their consent first.” Eddie noses her temple. She still smells the same. Always has. It’s a true solace. When he leaves, his clothes still smell like her and he can carry the scent for a day or two longer in his jacket and hair of the candles she burns, the perfume she wears on occasion. Eddie cups the back of her head, lips pressing into the warm skin of her forehead. “We’ll make it, right?”

“We have so far. I have faith,” Valeria returns. There’s no hesitation in her response and Eddie thinks maybe he can believe that too. They resume their breakfast, hands finding each others under the table, sitting shoulder to shoulder instead of across from each other. 

“Do you think moving into Indy is a good idea?” Eddie poses. He’s situated at Valeria’s vanity as she scraps through all the items in her closet. She pulls out a sweater--baby blue, and holds it up in front of her. “It’s cute.”

Valeria huffs and throws it back into the closet. “You said that about the last top. And I don’t think it’s a bad one. When are you thinking about it? My lease is up in April, another two months.”

Eddie’s situation was a tad more complicated. He’d paid off the mortgage on the trailer a few years ago, but he was still paying the land rent. If he wanted to move, he’d have to find a way to sell the trailer. Which wouldn’t be terrible, but it would be tedious. “Is this about the sweater or something else?”

“I don’t feel like any of my clothes fit right.”

“You’re growing a baby. Things are going to grow and change for a little bit. I really do think the blue top is the right one.”

Valeria nods and pulls it back out. “So Indy? You’re sure about that?”

“It’s close enough to home. Neither one of us has bullshit from our hometowns toto worry about. Still close enough that folks can visit.”

“What do you think about Franklin? Closer to Indy, but maybe not as crowded?”

“Oh, God, babe,”  Eddie fakes a gag. “No. We are both not built for a town like that.”

Valeria snorts, slipping into a pair of black leggings. “Okay, fair. Franklin may not be our cup of tea. But you sure you want to dive into city life? A small town boy like yourself,” Valeria’s voice dips into a slight, albeit slightly off Southern twang. 

Eddie pushes up, noticing a slight struggle Valeria’s diving into with the pants. He kneels in front of her, hand coming to her knee to settle her squirming. Eddie pulls the excess fabric up and off her heels. He then stands to help get the rest up her hips. “I think it’s time for the small town boy like me to get the hell out of there.” Satisfied that the pants are up and straight, he taps the end of her nose. “Gold earrings?”

“When do I ever go for anything different?”

“Never. Can I choose?”

“Yeah, absolutely.”

Eddie heads over to the vanity, fingers tracing over her jewelry. “Leave the shoes alone and let me get them please.” He spots her glare in the mirror and laughs as she settles onto the edge of the bed. It’s not a hard choice, Eddie’s always gravitated to simple. But he still reviews each pair of earrings before settling on a pair of gold holds with her name written on the inside of them. 

“You know I’m not so pregnant I can’t do this by myself.”

“And do I look like I give a shit?” Eddie returns, grabbing a pair of slip on Vans for her. 

“Not in the slightest,” she sighs. “So Indy?”

“If you’re okay with it?” Eddie counters, helping her into her shoes. “No, let’s go. We have an appointment to make. A baby to see!”

Valeria takes his outstretched hands. “I think it’s a boy.”

“Nah,” Eddie laughs. “Totally a girl.”

_____________________________

She told him he could do this. Yet his fingers still shake. His body tells him to call Harrington like he always does when it gets like this. But he watches Valeria’s name in the phone in slightly blurry vision. The grocery store is a shitty place to have a moment like this, but it’s where Eddie finds himself. In another month Valeria’s lease will lapse. She’s already started selling some things in her house. Eddie’s still hasn’t found someone to take over the trailer. Hasn’t started packing up anything. They have a place they like in Indy, but are on the waitlist until June. In the meantime, Valeria’s taking a position at The GAP in the mall and Eddie’s transitioning Gareth and Jeff to take over the shop. 

But Eddie hasn’t done a goddamn thing to get movement on the trailer--packing, selling or otherwise. And fuck the paralysis that comes with the fear. Before Eddie can over think it too much, he presses SEND. The phone rings and rings in his ear. “Shit, shit, shit. She’s probably at work, Munson. She told you she had a shift.”

“Eddie? Everything okay?

“Oh, thank fuck,” Eddie exhales. 

“Baby? What’s going on?”

“Tell me to walk out of this grocery store, please. I don’t need it.”

“Eddie, get out of that aisle, please. Okay. It’s okay if you’re out of it. If it’s too much, but you don’t need anything on that aisle.”

One step. That’s all he gets. But if he hooks a left at the end of this aisle, he’ll run into the cookies. “I’m scared.”

“Why? What are you scared about?”

“We’re supposed to get the new place in June and I haven’t done anything. Nothing. Jack fucking shit. I’m just…stuck right now.”

“Want to vent or want some help?”

“I think I need Jesus and this is coming from me.” It’s not an answer. Eddie knows that, but it’s okay. “I just. I only got one step. There’s so many more.”

“Give me one more. One step is perfect. Just one more.”

He does. He takes another step away from the aisle. “What should I do? Just talk to me. Scream. I don’t care.”

“Enlist Dustin, Max, Lucas, and Erica. Yes, tell her I told her to be there because she will keep you all in line. Start just with your closet. What are clothes you don’t need anymore? Clear that out. Just one room at a time. You won’t be able to get through it all. It’s just a start.”

“But then who takes over the trailer? It’s paid off.”

“I’m sure the kids are probably feigning to get out from the parents. Maybe two of them are willing to take it over.”

Eddie gets to the end of the aisle and stops. It makes perfect sense. All he needed to do was take it in increments. Tiny pieces at a time. And while Harrington, Buckley, Wheeler and Byers all had places of their own. It didn’t meant the kids wouldn’t be looking for something else. The boys would probably enjoy having their own space. While Mike was still settling in from his post graduation life, Dustin and Lucas could forge something of their own. “Woman, you are a fucking genius. God damn.”

“You going to work out now?”

“I need to bypass the cookie aisle first. But why? Why are you saying it like that?”

“Nothing, no reason! But you might be able to transfer the paid off trailer to a couple of the kids and they can take over.”

“No, no, no. We are not bypassing the fact that you totally have the hots for my newly deeper defined biceps.”

“No, I don’t!” Valeria huffs. It’s indignant, fully. 

“Oh, yes you do, sweetheart. Yes, you do,” Eddie teases. He continues on, waving at Dustin who waves in return. “Just admit it, love. Just fucking admit it.”

“Eddie, I do not have the hots for your new deeper defined biceps or large pecs. Absolutely not.”

Eddie’s grin is deep. Outside in the fresh air, he feels like he can breathe again. “Yes, you do. Let me hear you say it.”

“Nope. Nope, this is about you.”

“Yes, it is about me. Flatter my ego, lovebug. Please.”

Valeria’s laughter is big and loud. Eddie’s chest surges with pride at the sound. “Eddie, no. I’m not going to admit that pregnancy hormones are raging. Nope, nope, nope.”

“Are they raging my dear?”

“Maybe,” Valeria grumbles. “But again, this isn’t about me. This is about you. You don’t have to have it all sorted right this second. We can take it one piece at a time.”

Eddie climbs into his truck, phone pressed to his ear by the work of his shoulder. “Yeah, one piece at a time. Okay, I can do that. I can gather the troops for the weekend. You don’t have anything this weekend either?”

“No, no, next appointment is the week after.”

Eddie nods. “Got it. It’s on my calendar already. The weekend, cleaning out my closet. Yeah, yeah, doable.”

“You can call me while you do it too. If that’ll help.”

“I’ll get distracted, with you on the line. Never get any work done.”

“I expect a report though. Itemized. Head to toe.”

Eddie nods. “I-I can do that. Thank you, Val.”

“You’re so welcome, Eds.”

“Enjoy the rest of your shift knowing I’m going to be very sweaty in the gym.”

Valeria groans. “Fuck you. Enjoy the workout. I’ll call you once I get home okay?”

“Sounds like a plan, sugar. Talk to you then.”

“You’re getting your rocks off on this, aren’t you?” Valeria asks through a laugh. 

“Only just a little,” Eddie answers. “Only just a little. I like making you sweat.”

“Just for that. The next time you visit, you’re rubbing my feet and you don’t get to control the remote.”

“Oh!” Eddie huffs. It's a ritual now during his visits. He sets up her foot spa--that he bought unnecessarily--and gives her a pedicure and foot rub. In return, Valeria gets to bliss out for a little bit and she forfeits all power over the remote. Eddie only teasingly stated that he’d only keep it up if he could control the remote to the TV and the color of the polish. Valeria freely relinquished the control. “That’s so not fair! If you tell me I can’t pick out the nail polish color, I’d rather you just take me out back and shoot me.”

“I’d never go that far, Eddie. Love you.”

He freezes, air catching in his throat. “Valeria.”

“I know what I said, Eddie. It’s not the pregnancy hormones. I’ve always loved you.”

“I-I don’t feel like I’ve earned that back. And I know it’s ridiculous but-”

“Eddie, you’re going on a spiral. Love isn’t earned. Trust is, but not love. You have never had to earn love and anyone who has told you otherwise is a dispshit. I’m sorry if I made you feel that way. I have always and will always love you. It took me a while to trust, to take a leap. But you’re too stinkin’ cute not to love.”

Eddie blinks. It’s only with the action that he realizes there are tears in his eyes. Snot drips down his nose and he sucks it back. He uses the back of his hand to clear his face. “I’m glad you trust me again. And I’m so fucking floored to hear you say that. To hear you say you love me. I love you too.”

“I know.” From faintly behind her, Eddie catches Valeria’s name called out. She sighs. “I’m sorry, Eds. I gotta go. They need up at the registers for something. I took my headset out to talk.”

“Yeah, no, no. I get it. Go. I’ll be here.”

“I’ll call you here soon.” Their goodbyes are clipped and Eddie drops his head to his steering wheel. I’ve always loved you. Oh even if the rest of the day is a disaster, Eddie’s never going to get a higher high. 

_____________________________

“She’s so stinkin’ tiny!” Eddie whispers. Valeria laughs, but Eddie doesn’t care, too caught up in the little girl in his arms. He’s repeated the mantra god only knows how many times since they brought her home. In the hospital Eddie wanted to keep his mind on getting Valeria through delivery. It’s a type of pain that he could never fully comprehend but sounded and appeared to be exhausting. Now Eddie can marvel. He can watch his baby girl’s face in blatant awe. 

“She doesn’t eat like she’s tiny though,” Val snorts. 

Eddie nods, taking the pad of his finger to trace her cheek. Denver Edith Munson in his arms--all seven pounds and 3 ounces of her. Though he’d argue there were built a few more ounces than before on her. She’s much too pale right now to see who she really will take after, but for the moment, Eddie sees the slope of Valeria’s brow and his nose. His entire universe feels wrapped up in a white and pink blanket. Denver’s eyes remain unopened but she has the cutest scrunch of her nose. There in the small dusting of freckles on her cheek, Eddie can see his heart resting in the constellation. A centimeter really in the grand destiny of the world but his little girl holds the essence of his heart on that one little cluster. 

“I’m going to teach you all sorts of things, kiddo, okay? Stuff that will give your Mom a heart attack, but it’s okay. She’ll go easy on you. You’ll probably be sick of me sooner rather than later. But god, I’m going to be there for everything, alright? Every single thing. Giant poops. Skinned knees. Boyfriends. Your first drink. License. I love you, you know? Love you so much.”

A soft grunt greets him in return, Denver’s face pinched with the nose. 

“Maybe that giant poop is sooner than you think,” Valeria teases. 

“Oh God, I can handle this. Totally. I can totally handle this,” Eddie mutters. He’s not freaking out. Never, it’s just poop. Plenty of people change diapers. It can’t be that hard. He’s watched Valeria do it. Nurses helped in the hospital. It’s not like it’s defusing a bomb. Changing a diaper is a reasonable task and something anyone can handle. 

“Want to tag me in?” Valeria asks. 

“No! Absolutely not. You need your rest.” 

“Start by getting a clean diaper, honey.” Valeria directs from the couch, watching from above. 

Eddie assembles all the necessities-- the changing mat, a fresh diaper, wipes, trash bag for the soiled diaper, a little bit of baby powder. “The poop guardian angel,” Eddie teases, popping the secure tabs on the soiled diaper. 

“Well, given that you have the new diaper upside down, I think it’s warranted.” 

Eddie balks. “I haven’t even gotten her cleaned up yet, what are you on?”

Valeria grins. “Just making sure you’re paying attention to the lecture.”

He flicks her off, and Valeria can only laugh. The sound bounces in their living room--a bright summer day in Indy surrounding them. There’s still some clouds in the sky and given how dry it’s been in the summer, there’s an expectation that the summer showers will come in heavier in the following weeks. The thunder still rattles Denver--the sound of her cries still breaking Eddie’s heart. Together they’ll get through though. Always together. 

Positive that Denver’s fresh top to bottom, Eddie slides the new diaper under her. “Now, we secure the tabs, and there! Bada bing bada boom! Easy peasy!” Eddie rubs his nose over Denver’s. “Do you feel secure, madam?”

A snort sounds from around them. It’s soft and sounds like it almost didn’t fully come out. “You’re such a dork.”

Eddie grins, looking up from Denver to Valeria. Her eyes are closed and he knows soon she’ll be drifting off for a nap. Not that he minds. There’s just dishes left and the laundry going in the dryer. Things he can surely handle to give Valeria a little extra sleep. “Your dork, though.” He nods down to the gold band on her finger. Not that she can see the motion. “Stuck with me.”

“I tossed out the receipt. I chose this,” Valeria grins, lifting her hand.

Eddie’s glad she did. It hadn’t been easy but the effort had been worth it in the end.  “Perfect. Because I wasn’t going to go quietly into that good night.” 

“I most certainly am. Right to sleep.” 

“Can you spare me just two minutes while I go wash my hands?” 

“Absolutely I can.” Valeria’s quick to scoop Denver up, slating her against the expanse of Val’s chest. Eddie’s knees pop as he stands. Surely being nearly 40 would do that but he’s met with barely concealed giggles. He lets it go with an eye roll, turning to head to the bathroom. “Hate when you walk away but I love to watch you go,” Valeria teases.

“You can’t steal my line! Totally unfair!” 

Eddie’s only in the bathroom for a couple minutes. Nothing long at all. But when he returns to the living room it’s quiet. Valeria’s light snores make barely a dent over the hum over the A/C unit. Denver is tucked under Valeria’s chin, one of Valeria’s hand on her back. The dryer shrills and Eddie shuffles down to the closet. He’s quick to shut off the noise and looks back down the hall to see if it’s awakened them. But it doesn’t seem to as they still rest comfortably on the couch. That’s a sight that Eddie thinks he would never want to get used to, so he’s always struck with a sense of awe and wonder each day. 

“Leave the fitted sheet, I’ll do it.”

Eddie giggles at the gruff sound of Valeria’s voice. “Thanks babe.” He should’ve at least expected Valeria to stir at the sound. 

“I swear I’ll be up in a minute. Just-just checking my eyeballs for cracks.”

“Keep checking them for as long as you need.”

Tagging: @munsonology @avidreader73 @2clones-1kamino

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[magnus-cinis]

Thank u guys so much for giving Gareth so much love

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Now what if I told you he's been hopelessly pining after Lilia for over 500 years-