#Also when Dustin’s like dude we’re best friends how have you not told me about this Eddie is sitting there like 😳😬 because he’s also not | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

a-bang-for-your-bucky · 3 years

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Welcome Home Part 3

*not my gif*

WARNINGS: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE, seriously I use the ‘F’ word a lot.

Pairings: Cody Rhodes x OFC (Sister), Brandi Rhodes x OFC (sister), Dustin Rhodes x OFC (Sister), past Seth Rollins x OFC, future Kenny Omega x OFC

Summary: Peyton gets an offer that will change her entire career, while she tries to deal with the rising feelings for her best friend.

A/N: Here is part 3. I hope y’all like it.

The next few days following the aquarium, Kenny and I were more inseparable than usual. Everywhere we went, we were together. When Dynamite rolled around, the entire locker room was whispering about us.

I was on my way to the EVP room, when I was stopped by Kris Statlander. “Hey girlie.” She greeted, booping my nose. It twitched at the contact. “I didn’t hear from you much this week, and then I saw the pics of you and Kenny. Spill.” She smiled, with a raised eyebrow.

I laughed nervously, “There’s nothing to tell. We’re just friends.” She shook her head. I knew what people were saying. “I’m serious, Kris. Just friends who went to the aquarium together.” I defended, moving my hands in a definitive motion.

“Girl! His eyes were on you, not the damn fish.” She rolled her eyes, “How are you both so clueless?!” She threw her hands up, flabbergasted. She quickly whipped her phone out and pulled up the shark tank picture again and showed it to me, zoomed in on Kenny’s face. “Those are heart eyes, girl. He is in love.”

There was no way Kenny was in love with me. “Kris, he is literally married to wrestling. No time for relationships.” I pointed out.

“But he always makes time for you.” She said before walking away to film a bit for BTE. Kenny did always seem to make time for me. I tried to shake her words as I continued my way to the EVP room. Cody had sent me a text earlier in the day saying that creative had a storyline they wanted to pitch to me.

I opened the door and Cody was there with The Bucks, a writer, and Tony Khan. “Hey, sorry, I rushed here as fast as I could.” I apologized for my tardiness and grabbed a seat next to Cody.

“Peyton, we want you to have a with Penelope for the number one contender slot for the AEW Women’s Championship.” Tony started to explain. A huge smile crossed my face. Then Nick added, “We want you to face Shida at ‘Winter is coming’”. I shook my head.

“No fuck--” Cody gave me a stern look, telling me to watch my language, “I mean, no friggin’ way?!?” I couldn’t hide my excitement. Tony handed me the contract for the match at ‘Winter Is Coming’. I looked down at the papers in my hand. “This is legit? Are you sure there isn’t anyone else who deserves this before me?” I questioned, looking up from the packet that held my future.

“We have pulled all the stats, plus we took in account fan base and Dark comments. You beat Penelope, and you’ll be number one contender.” Matt laid it all out, and I just needed to take it. All it took was one smooth signature and it was booked.

“Well good evening, folks. It’s Wednesday night, and you know what that means! Thanks for joining us here on Dynamite. Boy do we have a lined up show for you.” I listened to JR announce as I paced back and forth in front of the gorilla monitors. The announce team of JR, Tony, and Excalibur went on to discuss the card for the night.

To say I was nervous was an understatement. Sure, I had been in the title picture before, but this was completely different. This would be my first title shot in AEW, plus Penelope and I were kicking off the show. That was something that didn’t happen often. Cody was waiting by the curtain, like he always did before my matches, to wish me luck. He immediately could tell that something was wrong. “What’s up, Pey?”

“I’m worried about Kip. It has me thrown off. He’s a wild card.” I mumbled anxiously as I bit at my nails. Cody nodded, giving me a knowing look. He pulled me in by my shoulder.

“You’ll be just fine, kid.” He smiled. I wanted to ask what he meant, but Kenny’s voice filled my ears before I could.

“Hey, Princess!” I could tell my face lit up at the sight of him. “I just wanted to say good luck. And ask if you wanted to grab dinner after?” Cody looked at the both of us and sighed. I knew he wanted the heat to die down from the Aquarium photo, for my sake. He had told me many times. I didn’t care though and neither did Kenny.

“Of course, Omega. Thank you.” I replied quickly, throwing my arms around him for a tight hug. Cody grabbed my attention, letting me know it was my time. I released Kenny, but he grabbed my hand, giving it a light ‘you got this’ squeeze, before letting go.

“The following contest, with a twenty minute time limit, is scheduled for one fall, introducing first from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, being accompanied to the ring by Kip Sabian, Penelope Ford.” I watched as they made their way into the ring and gave a disgusting show of PDA.

I fiddled with my jacket, waiting for my music to hit. I instantly regretted letting Brandi talk me into wearing a choker. It suddenly felt too tight. I didn’t have a chance to remove it before I heard the familiar start of “My songs know what you did in the dark”. I composed myself and fixed my hair. I walked out the “Heel” tunnel and onto the ramp.

“And her opponent, from Atlanta, Georgia, well they call her the “Dream Killer”, Peyton Rhodes.” Justin announced my name and the crowd still cheered, which made my heart happy. I quickly made my way into the squared circle, so the bell could ring.

The match started with a few back and forth blows. Penelope got me into a side headlock, before quickly doing an arm drag. I shot back up to my feet. Again, we locked up, before I drove a knee up into her stomach. I had quickly gained the upper hand in the match. I was getting ready to drop her with a DDT, when I saw Kip pacing outside of the ring. I flipped him a bird and slammed Penelope’s head into the mat. As expected, Kip got involved. He slid into the ring, getting in my face. “Get out of the ring, Kip!” I yelled and he stepped a bit closer. I thought he was going to push me back away from him.

Suddenly, the crowd erupted in cheers as a figure jumped the barricade and slid into the ring. It was Mox. He pushed Kip back and into the ropes, making him fall through. This distracted Penelope and I took that chance to hit the “dream killer”, my finisher. I got the three count and the bell rang. Aubrey raised my hand and Justin announced me as the winner.

Jon was still standing at the tunnels when I climbed through the ropes and walked up the stairs. I extended a hand to show respect, which he gladly took and pulled me in for a hug. The fans went wild. “What a reunion it was tonight for Peyton Rhodes and Jon Moxley. Now that Rhodes has defeated Ford, she will go on to face AEW Women’s champion Hikaru Shida for the title at “Winter Is Coming’ on December 2nd.” Tony announced for the viewers at home.

Cody again was waiting by the curtain for me. “Great match, sis. Jon, thanks for having her back.” He said, like it was all planned. I needed to know what the hell Jon was thinking.

“Dude! You guys are trending!” Matt yelled as he walked up, shoving his phone in my face. It was like I was in a daze. I had no idea why Jon, of all people, got involved in my match. Now, we were trending on social media. Before I could reply, I was being pulled by an assistant to do an interview with Dasha.

“I’m backstage with Peyton Rhodes. Peyton, what was that?” She asked. I quickly got into character. I flipped my hair over my shoulder, attitude immediately crossing my face.

“What was that? You’re asking the hard-hitting questions, Dasha.” I mocked her, before continuing. “ Let me tell you what that was. That was me rising to the top of this division, just like I said I would.” I stepped closer to her mic, “That was me letting Shida know that her days as champion are numbered.” I turned to the camera. “Hold onto that title tight, Shida. Because it will be mine very, very soon.”

Dasha nodded, looking annoyed with how bitchy I was being, “But everyone wants to know what Jon Moxley was doing?” She inquired, pushing the mic back in my face.

I scoffed, “No comment.” I quickly walked away to find out what the hell just happened. Why did Jon come help me? I tried to find him, but no one had seen where he went. So I settled for finding my brother. I went to his trailer, and banged on the door.

“Open up, Rhodes.” I shouted, and Brandi came to the door. I looked at her, fuming. “Where is my brother?” I snapped. She just moved to the side, letting me in. Cody was sitting on the couch, like he was waiting for me. What surprised me, was to see Kenny sitting there, too.

“Glad you could join us, sis. Take a seat.” Cody motioned for me to sit next to Kenny. I cocked a brow, confused, but took the seat anyway. I looked at Kenny about to say something before Cody cut me off. “Since you two are wanting to be the talk of AEW, and have no intentions to listen to me or my advice, Khan wants you to work together.” My mouth dropped.

“What the hell does that mean?” I growled. Kenny looked at me, shocked, that I was angry that we got to work together. I saw his smile drop instantly. “I mean, Don’t get me wrong, Ken, I would love to work a story with you. But I can’t do the whole ‘escort/manager’ thing again.” I objected, not going down that road again.

Kenny nodded in understanding, “I know. And you know I would never do that to you, Princess.” He ensured me, placing a gentle hand on my knee.

“I would also never do that to you, Peyton. Trust me, this will be amazing.” Cody predicted, “We have a lot to talk about.” He smirked, taking a seat across from us. “After you left the meeting last week, Tony pulled me aside.” Cody started to explain.

My mind was racing. What did Tony have in store for me? For Kenny? How in a matter of two weeks did I become number one contender and get to work with my best friend? I looked over at Kenny, who’s blue eyes were focused on what my brother was saying. He looked so happy. I wondered if it was because we got to do a storyline together or because he was getting his shot at the AEW world title?

“Tony wants you to turn on Moxley.” Those seven words drew me from my thoughts. My whole body went rigid. Did he just say what I think he said? I looked over at Kenny who was smiling like a cat who caught the canary.

“He wants me to do what?” I asked, wanting Cody to clarify what the fuck he just said to me.

#Kenny Omega #kenny omega imagine #cody rhodes #cody rhodes imagine #jon moxley #jon moxley imagine #brandi rhodes #brandi rhodes imagine #kris statlander #aew imagine

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razorblade180 · 4 years

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interdimensional dads 5 (Finale)

Orange, Blue, and Purple all make a drum roll on the table as they stare at Red, who is sipping coffee and trying not to laugh at the lunacy that is quite literally, himself.

Jaune: Y’all dome?

*drum roll stops*

Jaune:Yep, your turn. You have to be the buffest for a reason right?

Jaune:And look like you’ve seen shit?

Jaune:We’ve all been through shit. We’re us!

Jaune:Yeah, but you’re you.

Jaune:How- I’m not arguing with that one. Okay, my turn. Since you brought it up, we, I gained weight for a little bit and eventually got back into a workout routine. I might’ve went a little overboard but no one complains.

Jaune:Alright, now we can back this story up and start from wherever you like.

Jaune:Aight, I guess I start with my universe beating Salem. By that point, Ruby and I had been together for awhile. I think we were always together to a degree ever since RNJR formed. We obviously didn’t actually say anything but the time we spent felt different. At least for me it did. Maybe mourning Pyrrha had something to do with it but by the time Yang and Weiss showed up at Haven, Ruby and I were definitely on “friendly terms”

Jaune:Aaaaayyyyeeee!

Jaune:You two are too much. Haha, let him continue.

Jaune:We were trying to keep it lowkey but I’m sure everyone knew. Back to Salem, that was insane. If you were to tell me I’d help save the world when I was only 19 then I’d laugh.

Jaune:Wait...19? I was twenty.

Jaune:Same.

Jaune: I was 21! Are you saying Ruby beat Salem at 17!? That’s insane! Which one of us has the strongest versions of our friends? I never thought about it until now.

They all got silent and thought about it for a moment. That was a very good question.

Jaune:Ummm mysterious voice? Do you have an answer to that?

[Each person varies, but a majority is between Orange and Red. For example, Orange has the strongest Blake, while Red has the strongest Sun.]

Jaune:What about in terms of team RWBY?

[The feats in all universes make that a close race. Red, Orange, and Blue have extremely powerful Yangs that would most likely in a brutal draw. Collectively, the strongest team RWBY would be a tie between Red and Orange]

Jaune:Makes sense, my worlds peaceful.

Jaune:And mine doesn’t have any organized threat against it, just the dangers of living in a world trying to grasp the concept magic and gods again.

Jaune:Well we might not have a concrete answer but I’m sure my wife beats your Ruby. After beating Salem we continued traveling the world to thin out grimm threats, just the two of us. Not that the others didn’t want to but they needed a moment to breathe. Ruby and I however, we were kinda on a high of being the heroes we always dreamed of.

Jaune:Your victory lap was more adventure? Yeah you’re definitely built different from me. My Ruby went on missions but even she took a minute just to breathe. It was a very short minute, but the minute none the less.

[Comparing the two is like comparing an lone apex wolf to a jaguar.]

Jaune:Well then....all of that sounds scary.

Jaune:It wasn’t long before we got a house together. Built it actually, in Vacou. It’s a nice little spot over looking the town and another one in the distance. When Ruby was 19 she had really gotten into her stride and was only getting started. Also, I married her. I had known for awhile that she was the one so why wait? I wanted to go on all of her adventures and create new ones with her.

Jaune:Aaaaawwwww

Jaune:Things were like walking on sunshine. All of Remnant knew about Ruby Rose, the huntress that saved the world with her friends. Then at 21, I got her pregnant. *scratches head*

Jaune:I know that scratch. That’s the “My bad” scratch!

Jaune:Okay, it wasn’t exactly planned. I was thrilled when I found out since I did want kids with her. I learned a month after she knew though because she wasn’t sure what to think at first. Ruby was perfectly happy being the hero, she hadn’t even hit her prime yet technically. When she told me though, it was after she had talked about it with Tai and thought about it. I think she might’ve been happier than me.

Jaune:My Ruby would give anything to have a kid.

Jaune:Mine would give anything for her husband back...

The mood suddenly got a little less cheery with that statement.

Jaune:Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring the mood down.

Jaune:It’s fine...this next part....isn’t happy. It’s the reason I fell out of shape, and partly the reason why I look like I’ve gone through shit.

Jaune:Oh....no...

Jaune:You lost the baby?

Jaune:Yeah but uhhh, not the way you’re thinking. The pregnancy was fine, the birth was a little rough but it was fine. A little baby boy, Dustin Arc-Rose. I saw him for about five minutes and then he was stolen, by Neo and Cinder. I must’ve ran the fastest I’ve ever had that day. Faster than even Ruby can move on a good day, and yet they got away. Yang, Weiss, and I stood on the roof of that hospital and watched the airship fade into the sunset. I must’ve stayed up there for hours, screaming. Yang and Weiss kept it together for my sake but not by much.

Jaune:Dude I am....I am so sorry that you went through that.

Jaune:We showed mercy to Cinder the day we beat Salem. It came back to bite us. Things fell apart after that. I shutdown, the others felt guilty, especially Yang. As for Ruby, she broke a little. She looked longer than anyone else for a lead and drowned herself in work for about a year. In that time we didn’t talk, I never knew where she was, if she’d come back. Tai ended up taking me to live with him and unfortunately, time wasn’t gonna wait for anyone. Lives had to be lived, Yang and Blake still had to get married. It just didn’t happen with Ruby.

Jaune:How did you even find the strength to keep going after that?

Jaune:In my world, Yang is my closet friend. Thick as thieves, the two of us always try to pick each other up. She never hesitated to be by my sad whenever I asked. I don’t think I could’ve made it without her since Ruby was gone. One day however, the two of them showed up out of the blue. Ozpin had decided to confront Ruby. For once I was glad he meddling in our lives. He got her to start moving on and come back to me. That day I realized how special my friends are. Most people would’ve looked down on me for failing, not going after Ruby, breaking down, but not them. They wanted me back on my feet for my own sake. Just like they wanted for her. I’m really blessed.

Jaune:That’s good. Friendships that you want to live for, I’m glad we wall have that in common.

Jaune:Yeah. Ruby and I took some time to be together after that. No work, no leads, just healing. In that year she was gone, Ruby had become a juggernaut in the huntsman community. Even got a nickname, The Storyteller. Keeping up with someone like that meant getting back into shape. Those months we spent together gave us a slither of the joy we had missed. Eventually, thanks to Yang having her child, we found the courage to try having another one. Her name is Carmine and she’s my gorgeous daughter. We even have another son much later named Garnet.

The other three Jaune’s clap happily.

Jaune:Yeah, that’s definitely a lot of shit to go through.

Jaune:Hats off to ya.

Jaune:How’s Carmine?

Jaune:*puts head on the table* Uuuugggghhh!

Jaune:Yeah, that’s sound you make when you have a headstrong daughter. Who does she take after?

Jaune:That’s just it, she doesn’t really. Not in personality anyways. Carmine is a bit weird socially. She can be pretty blunt, making her sound rude. She doesn’t mind having friends but at the same time keeps them at arms reach. She says they would slow her down. Not to mention her and Ruby’s vision of what a huntress should be doesn’t match up perfectly so they end up butting heads on occasion. Still, Carmine is sweet if you know how to talk to her and understand her words.

Jaune:She gifted?

Jaune:*inhales*....Carmine is genius in battle. We taught her ourselves and sent her to regular school so she gained a bit of social skills. No one outside of selected few knows she has silver eyes. Carmine wears red contacts typically. New types of grimm pop up regularly so Cinder is obviously alive and well. Can’t be too careful.

Jaune:Sounds stressful. I’d rather deal with cult and my world’s grimm problem than Cinder. How old is Carmine?

Jaune: She’s 17 and more impressive than Ruby was at that age if I’m being honest. Though I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. We’ve done our best to give her a normal childhood as much as possible. I think what we gave was an odd mix of normal and insanity.

Jaune:Honestly, same.

Jaune:What do you mean Carmine is more impressive? Ruby was awesome since day zero at Beacon.

Jaune:Silver eye use, age five.

......

Red took a sip of his coffee while everyone tried to wrap that around their head.

Jaune:Since a young age, I knew Carmine was special. She has a difficult time showing up but she loves the Remnant we’re trying to build and the people in it that want to do good. I’ve seen her look out over cities before and I could feel the immense desire she had to preserve it. That girl has a strength I don’t think I could take credit for. That stern look, height, hair, and guitar skills though, That’s me. The tipsy of her hair are red though. She’s like a half ripe strawberry, hahaha.

Jaune:Sounds like an incredible girl. Must be pretty popular.

Jaune:If she could come off a bit nicer she would! I’d give up Pumpkin Pete’s for life if this kid could learn to work well with others. I’m glad people like her cousin and a couple of others that can deal with her. It’s not all bad. They know to bring out the normal teenager with her.

Jaune:Is she like Ruby and panics at rats?

Jaune:No, but she can’t deal with spiders. We have grimm spiders that are actually terrifying and that ruined normal spiders with her too.

Jaune:Grimm spiders? How big? A boot size?

Jaune:SUV....one spun her in a web. It was really bad.

Jaune:Fuuuuuuck that! I’d hate spiders too!

Jaune:Yeah but she has fun. Ballet, sleep, horses, etc. You just have to get her to work up to it.

Jaune:What about your son?

Jaune:Garnet? He’s five, has fat cheeks, and is probably eating some dry cereal right about now. He’s Ruby’s little teddy bear and is chillin. He’s probably the only thing that makes Carmine a big softie at the drop of a hat.

Jaune:Sounds like you’re doing pretty well for yourself? That’s good.

Jaune:We have struggles but we make things work somehow.

Jaune:I still can’t believe Cinder killed your kid. I don’t think I’d ever recover.

Jaune:Lost....we lost a kid. Killed wouldn’t be the right word. Dustin...just isn’t....it’s complicated. I don’t wanna talk about it.

Jaune:Sorry.

Jaune:It’s fine. That aside, I think most things life throws at us, we’ll handle just fine.

Jaune:What do you think Carmine is up to right now?

Jaune:Good question. I don’t think she’s on any mission or working with local authorities currently. If it’s morning then she’s in the garden. Playing with Garnet if it’s the afternoon so he’ll tired out. If it’s night time then.....

xxxx

“STAY AWAY!!!” A man screamed, shooting four bullets down a dark alley in the middle of the night. His target, a pair of shimmering red eyes that patiently stalked him from the shadows as he sprinted away. Each bullet seem to go right by his target so he continued running for his life, making a sharp right turn around a corner.

“You know eventually I’m going to catch you right?” Carmine said as she walked. “I’d rather you not make this longer than it has to be Tommy. We could be done by now if you just spoke to me.”

The only response the girl received was the sound of footsteps getting further away and a chain link fence being shook. Carmine sighed and looked around her before picking up a trash lid. She hurled it against a wall to her left and that was ahead in front of her, making it bounce off towards the right. The hunk of metal made its way around the corner with a whack! Followed by a heavy thump that hit the ground. Carmine continued walking until she turned the corner and found her target on the ground. He was rubbing his back in pain and groaning.

“Come on, I know I didn’t hit you that hard. The new head of crime orginization wouldn’t go down so-”

Suddenly the brute lunged at her, revealing a previously concealed dagger. Carmine was quick to react however, and grabbed his wrist before the blade could make contact with her exposed stomach. Carmine then twisted his hand down word and forced his entire arm slam down to the groun; the blade pierced the ground at her feet. Thick yellow liquid secreted from blade and soaked the ground.

Tommy felt his stomach dropped as he looked up to see the young girl staring down at him unimpressed. He went to reach for the knife but Carmine placed her boot on his hand, hard.

“Gah!”

“See? Now that’s what I was expecting. Too bad you’re not so good with knives. I guess you figured you didn’t have to be when it had Deathstalker venom in it huh? Now... let’s talk.”

Carmine rubbed her foot into the ground, causing Tommy to grit his teeth in pain.

“Stop!” He pleaded. “You’ll break it!”

“It won’t break if you talk fast enough. Tell me what I want to hear. A month ago you weren’t in charge. A tubby guy was and he always kept crates of his equipment in a warehouse outside of town. Then someone apparently shows up to have a meeting, tubby is enraged and kicks them out. Now he’s dead and you’re in charge, moving all of his stuff after you had a meeting. Are you getting the picture I’m painting?”

Tommy’s face goes pale. He starts struggling harder to free himself but it’s not working. Carmine can see the man start to sweat as if he got caught in the rain.

“Now I know what you’re thinking, if you tell me who obviously threatened you to move the crates, then they’ll kill you. But that’s the thing about the future Tommy...”

Carmine lifts her foot and swings it right into his face. She watches Tommy hold is face in pain before rolling him over and putting her knee on his back. Carmine grabs the knife and spooks him by stabbing it beside his face.

“It happens later. Focus on the present. Focus on what I could do to you right now and how to prevent that. Then you can think about your future.” Carmine said, not an ounce of playfulness in her voice.

“I....I....w-well I-”

“Before you try lying to me, I know how Deathstalker venom works. Only the babies are venomous and those are extremely hard to find here. Admittedly I don’t know you well but I know your men. They don’t have the patience or brains to find any here, because there aren’t many. So you either got the venom for this knife by being very diligent, going to a different continent, or someone got you the critters.”

Carmine leaned in close, barely away from his ear. “Or should I say made you some, instead of gathering them? Tommy, where is Cinder Fall?”

Tommy felt like he could vomit at any second. He couldn’t let intel leak. He sold his soul to a witch and now he has to live with it. “I....I can’t say.” He whispered, his lip trembling.

“I see. The fear is too much for you. Should’ve chose a different line of work. Maybe you’ll change your tune if you learn to fear me more?” Carmine grabbed the knife. “This won’t kill you but I doubt it’ll feel good either.”

Carmine lifted the knife and held is hand in place. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. She tried asking nicely. “Sorry....”

“CARMINE!” A loud voice echoed through the alleyways and made the people in it freeze. Tommy tilted his head up and got goosebumps. On the roof was a person everyone knew and criminals wish to avoid. Ruby Rose, he hadn’t seen her in person before. The woman’s cloak covered the area as she jumped down gracefully.

With no noise, her heels hit the ground and stood before the pinned man. Her piercing silver eyes borrowed into him and her long hair blew out of her face by the alley draft. Tommy’s back freed of Carmine’s knee and the young girl raised him to his feet. While Ruby’s expression was calm and oddly inviting, Carmine still looked at the man annoyed. Time was valuable and he was wasting hers. He might’ve escaped the knife but now he was stuck between two women that could all but erase him.

“Y...You’re Ruby Ro-”

“I had this under control by the way.” Carmine cut him off. “Don’t see why you intervened.

“You had him terrified and about to wet his pants. That’s a bit much don’t you think?” Ruby put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “No need to be so intense.”

Carmine mimicked her mother’s gesture. “And we care about the state of people like him why? Lackeys and gang bangers with too much ego have no right to be coddled when they’re rotting the city away from the underbelly. People like that might as well disappear.”

“Carmine that’s not how....” Ruby let out a long sigh and looked at Tommy. He was clearly trying his best to remain calm. “Sorry about her. You know teenagers, always intense in one way or another.” She let out an embarrassed chuckle.

Tommy flinched again when suddenly a burst of red petals spun around him. Next thing he knew, handcuffs were on him and his back was against the fence he tried to climb earlier. The pair of red and silver eyes stared him down from just out of the shadows. Yet he could still see Ruby’s more positive demeanor.

“I’m going to jail?” He groaned.

Ruby stepped towards him. “Depends, Tommy.” She reached out and grabbed his shoulder. “The thing is if you go to jail and I bring you in, Cinder will no doubt send someone to try and kill you. Truthfully, it’s not a bad outcome, for me. I’ll just attack your killer and get more info out of them then you most likely.”

“But...you’d stop them before they kill me, right?”

Ruby shrugged, “I can only go so fast. Who knows what could happen, Tommy. Can you take that chance, knowing you will be at the mercy of circumstances around you for gods know how long?”

“N...no” Tommy gulped.

“I mean I could let you run away right now like nothing happened, but any more meetings with Cinder would be absolute hell on your nerves because there’s no way you can keep this from her. What’s worse, you could fuck up and give us information accidentally overtime and then she’d really be mad because we’ll keep an eye on you as long as you’re doing things we don’t like; an unwilling pawn for both sides until someone knocks you off the board. How does that sound to you?” Ruby’s grip got a little tighter.

“Pr...Pretty bad-

“PRETTY BAD!?” Ruby shouted. “Tommy, you will not come out of this well. You’ll probably be dead within the month if I let you leave right now. So my question is what are you gonna do to save your own skin? Because I know what I would ask for in your situation.”

“What’s that?” He asked, almost desperate for his freedom

“I would spill my guts out to the hero because they would at least try to keep you safe if you behaved. Tell me what you know and I will personally take somewhere where you’ll have a fresh start with a new name, a new life that isn’t Illegal. You’ll still sleep with one eye open just to watch your own back but you also know there’s someone who is actively stopping the person who’d want you dead in the first place. Get off the chessboard Tommy. It sucks to be an expendable pawn.”

Tommy could feel her hand trembling. Was she...nervous? No, she was sympathetic. The way Ruby looked at him wasn’t to scare him. She was stating facts and didn’t want him being another statistic. This was the huntress everyone talked about. The one that gives lifelines and creates new endings where they shouldn’t be possible. The was Ruby Rose, the storyteller.

xxxx

Ruby holds up an envelope to the light before facing Carmine, the sound of waves rocking a boat behind them with Tommy in it. Ruby was a woman of her word. She’d take him somewhere safe.

“Here” she held out the envelop for Carmine. “Take it home, no need for me to lug it across the sea.” She waited for Carmine to say something, anything. The girl only nodded and took the thin piece of paper.

Carmine started to walk off but heard Ruby take a step towards her before stopping. She looked back to see her mother frowning, an expression they were both sharing. Ruby looked at her daughter with her emotions clear as day. It was weird to be eye level with her. Without heels, Ruby would be looking up. Carmine had gotten so big the last few years. It was hard not see her as still little.

“I...I know we don’t agree on certain things, and I also know you feel like I helicopter over you. I don’t do it because I don’t trust you or anything like that. Fact of the matter is...I’m your mother. If I can find a way to solve a problem without you doing something drastic, even if you’re willing to do it, then I’m gonna step in. Just because you’re willing to make the tough calls, doesn’t mean I won’t try to keep them away from you. They weigh people down and I don’t want that for you. You’re my daughter, I love you...”

Ruby always hated their fights. It’s why they don’t do missions together. No matter how strong Carmine is, she’ll always be Jaune and Ruby’s little girl. Truthfully, she didn’t hate it at all. Carmine hated arguing too, if not more.

“I get it mom, I do. Perhaps...I was a tad hasty tonight. Thanks for...showing up.” Carmine scratched her head in embarrassment. Since when did talking to her own mom get so rough. “I love you too.” There, she said it.

Ruby gave her daughter a gentle smile and opened her arms, hoping for a hug. She knew she might be getting a bit too mushy right now but unexpectedly, Carmine walked over and embraced it without question. Ruby wasn’t about to complain. Any affection was welcomed at all times when it came from Carmine. Ruby finally let her go and got one more look at her daughter. Time sure does fly.

“My beautiful girl. I saw the trash lid truck by the way, that was pretty badass.”

Carmine playfully rolled her eyes and opened the evelope. Ruby watched the girl read over the paper several times before handing it back. “Got it.”

Ruby’s eyebrows perked up in surprise. A shocked smile came soon after. “You’re-”

“Of course.” Carmine cut her off. She put her hands together and made a glowing red rose form between them. She placed the thing right behind her mother’s ear and smiled. “See you at home?”

“Yeah, I should be back before morning.”

“Good, I’ll have breakfast waiting for you then.” Ruby watch her daughter start to walk off before Carmine slowly blew away into red and yellowish rose petals.

“My oh my, that daughter of mine.” Ruby chuckled. “I can’t wait.”

xxxx

“Done.” Carmine said, rewriting the information down as she layed on the couch. On top of her was her adorable baby brother, fast asleep like he should be. She reached for a candle that lit the room and blew it out. All in all, not a bad night in the slightest. One step closer to their goal. One step closer to the end.

Part 4

Wanna start Rosebud < Part one is a click away.

#rwby #jaune arc #the void #rwby lancaster #ruby rose #carmine arc rose #rwby whiteknight #rwby knightshade #rwby au #rwby dragonslayer #rwby rosebud

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rockrevoltmagazine · 3 years

Text

INTERVIEW: TODD MICHAEL HALL

RockRevolt Magazine: Lets talk about your debut solo album coming out in early May, Sonic Healing. I gave it a listen and fans of classic rock should be very excited for this record. There’s no questions bands that had a major influence on you such as Boston, Rush & Foreigner influenced the direction of this album. Sonic Healing could plug right into this era. Tell us how it all came together.

TODD MICHAEL HALL: I have wanted to do an old school rock album for quite a few years now. Something I talked with Joe at Rat Pack Records about. I knew Joe because he negotiated with my band Riot and the last Riot album almost got released on Rat Pack Records. At the time Joe asked if I might want to do a solo album. He was thinking something in the metal vain, I was thinking more old school rock. It didn’t end up going anywhere at the time. Then after being on The Voice, the song “Juke Box Hero,” which I did and I consider to be in the classic rock category. I don’t consider it hair metal like Blake Shelton did. Not sure why he jumped to hair metal, apparently when people hear me they think of hair metal. Anyway it was kind of hitting, it had like a million views on YouTube. So then I call up Joe and said I’m telling you I really want to do something in the classic rock vain. I have a bunch of songs written, can you hook me up with someone that can help me transform them into hard rock. The thing is when I write as a songwriter I write by myself. I play on acoustic guitar so what tends to come out is more singer/songwriter type stuff. He said I have this guy, and it happened to be Kurdt Vanderhoof from Metal Church. He said let me see if he’s interested. He talked to him and got back to me and said Kurdt loves classic rock, it’s a big influence on him also. He wants to talk. We got on a Zoom call and talked about what each of us had in mind. I told him I was looking for that riff oriented, melodic vocal, catchy chorus kind of stuff, feel good rock. He and I joke that we are both old enough to remember the KTEL commercial about freedom rock. With the hippie looking dude who says what’s that? The other guy is like that’s freedom rock. Well turn it up. (both of us laughing as I remember the commercial as well – classic). To this day Kurdt and I will be joking, turn it up dude. Kurdt’s a great guy, we just had a lot in common. Funny thing is I loaded up like 20 of my songs and suggested we just use some or all of it. He said it was great stuff and we can come back to that but why don’t we start with me just pouring out and writing some stuff and see what happens. Which was his polite way of saying Todd we’re not going to use your crap (joking). I get where is coming from. I never really experienced this before, he had to finish up something in Seattle and he got to his place in Southern CA and he called me and said I’m going to start writing now. A few days later he sent me five songs. Then he’s just sending like a song a day. I got another one then another. Over a period of like 21 days he sent me 18 songs that happened to be during the shutdown. I put total focus on it. I would walk around, listen to the songs and they were just singing to me. It was like he and I were having a battle. I would be like I just loaded one up to Dropbox and he would be like, yeah I’m loading up one tonight. Just back and forth. Literally these songs were written over the course of four weeks, last March into April. Then we did the final recordings not long after that. The album has been in the can since June it just took a long time to get all the promo material together with all the shutdowns. We really liked what he was doing and what we came up with. We just never got around to the songs I brought to him originally. It ended up being an all Kurdt and Todd thing.

How about the other parts on the album such as bass and drums? How did you handle that?

We recorded during the shutdown. Kurdt had his own home studio and I had the same thing. Kurdt basically played the bass and the drums on this as well, it’s all us. Of course for the video we wanted to have an entire band and the videographer, Jamie Brown, is the one that found people for us. The bass player is a fella named Drew Heart, he’s actually a singer from Las Vegas. He has a few different bands that he’s in. He’s also a singer on an album with Kurdt called Vanderhoof I think from the 90’s, he had some experience with Kurdt as well coincidentally. He’s not a bass player by trade but was in the video. It turns out he’s from Michigan and we got along really well. We have a lot of the same influences. It was fun to have him around, I would love to have him in a band, he would be great backup vocals. I’m not use to having singers in the bands I’m in. The drummer in video was a guy named Abel. It’s kind of a funny story. The “Overdrive” video was the second video we filmed. Day one we filmed a video for “Let Loose Tonight” and the drummer in that video is a different guy named Dustin and he wasn’t feeling well so the night before the second video Jamie called up Abel and asked if he could show up the next day and learn the song. He did an incredible job and really helped make the video great as he put on a great show.

youtube

Do you plan on touring behind the record?

Kurdt and I both have a lot of excitement behind the album, we both say it’s something we’d buy. We are excited to present it live but the challenge is if there is enough demand. From my time on The Voice a lot of people in my hometown would like to see that. Then maybe book some other shows locally over the course of a weekend. I know Kurdt has some people in mind to play with us if we were going to do something. But right now we are not sure we’ll have to see as things open back up.

Do you think you and Kurdt will work together again?

I would love to and I believe he feels the same way. We’ll see what happens. I remember the first album I did with Riot V, it felt magical. Then the second album we did felt more like a labor. That’s what I wonder, this first album with Kurdt was magical, so I’m curious to see how it would happen the second time around. I would say I’m definitely down for doing something again. I very much enjoy this style of music. But before then I have to record vocals for the next Riot album.

Getting into your experience on The Voice how did that come about and then of course you worked with Blake Shelton how was that?

I had seen shows like that over the years and was always somewhat interested. Then my sister got an email and said I should try out as they were having an audition in Chicago. I figured what the heck. I think there was a couple thousand people there. After I was done they said come on back tomorrow. Of course I wasn’t prepared, no change of clothes, toothbrush or anything. So I drove 5 hours back home. Then I had to prepare, I never did karaoke or have any tracks prepared so I had to get that together. So I ended up getting the “Juke Box Hero” track and Judas Priest “Another Thing Coming,” I think I did Bryan Adams “Someone Like You” and Journey “Don’t Stop Believing.” I did all but the Bryan Adams song the next day for them. It was a weird experience. Then I got a call back for a blind audition and when you are doing those you’re still in a group of 80+ people so you don’t know for sure. But I did get my shot. For me you sometimes fantasize, I wonder what could happen. But for me I didn’t think I would win or have a career in music only and not have the day job. I was going more for fun and a great experience and it was. Experiencing television and music production at that level it’s hard to describe, it’s amazing. And the people associated with the show were very friendly, nice to the musicians. Not like you are best friends, once the show is over they move on and have a new group to work with so it’s not like Blake and I are buddies. But everyone is really nice. No intent to slag the show but you don’t spend much time with your coach. Your time with the coach is on camera so there’s not a lot of interaction. Even with the song selection it’s not something you talk to them about. You’re more dealing with producers on that. Hopefully I’m not bursting anyone’s bubble on that. I would say as far as disappointments from the show, this is very minor compared to the lessons I took away. I just had this fantasy that Blake and I would sit down, have a beer together and just have a half hour to discuss influences and what we wanted to do and that wasn’t a possibility. But he’s a busy guy so I understand that.

I bet most people do have that fantasy, I’ll get on The Voice and will sit around talking music and work a plan together. But the reality is they are there for filming and drawing the audience but beyond that there’s no interaction. But it was a cool experience?

Yeah definitely. And I think if I got further that would be more the case. Before my knockout round they had to prepare me for my next song, “More Than A Feeling” by Boston if I had been back for the knockout round. If I had been back I would have been performing for Blake with the band. But we were doing it via video chat. We did chat it up a little bit. I think if you’re Todd Tillman who won for Blake’s team you probably got a little more chat time with Blake. I imagine the further you get the more personal time you get. It was a great experience. And great exposure.

Did things change for your music career or was it more of a blip and you move on?

To some extent it is kind of a blip. But you do gain followers on social media that you didn’t have before the show. That helps. I think the pop culture is a bit fickle. You see over 4 million views on my “Juke Box Hero” video and you think if I come out with a new album in a similar style I should really be able to key into this because there are so many people that liked it. Doesn’t necessarily translate that way. But I think there is so much noise and inputs and some many distractions. So I think The Voice has a certain apparatus that allows you to get a lot of attention but most of those people are more The Voice fans than your fans.

You mentioned you are working on a new album with Riot V, how’s that going?

It’s going well. I think the COVID situation had potentially two different effects on bands. One is I have all this free time for music. On the other hand it’s oh man we can’t go out and tour to support this album so why bother. And with no deadline you can kind of slack a bit and that’s kind of where the Riot album has been. We’ve had the songs written but let 2020 get away from us. We are just on hold to release the album until we can tour behind it.

Anything else going on?

I reached a point last year that my business, I run a manufacturing company for restaurant equipment so that had an impact which was stressful. Even now that orders are starting to come back it’s still tough with lack of materials so there is a ton of stress. Not a whoa is me thing, it’s just that music is a passion thing I pursue in my free time so it’s difficult to say yes at this time. It’s hard to find time for anything. At this time I don’t see me taking on any other projects. I did have the question did any famous people want to work with you because of your time on The Voice but no that really hasn’t happened.

Have you met any of your idols? If so what was that experience like?

What’s weird for me if you meet someone in like a meet n greet line I don’t consider that really a meet. I think for me getting to meet someone is to meet them as a fellow musician. That is much more along the lines of what you are asking. When I was on The Voice and I walk out and James Taylor is there, granted it was on film and we only had 10 minutes to sit and talk. To have someone like him throw a compliment your way feels pretty incredible. Also what is weird for me, for example Geoff Tate was incredibly influential to me in my younger days. There is a part of me, a little boy that still craves Geoff Tate to say hey Todd good job. I actually met him, my brother Rick had a record store and Queensryche did an in store for Operation Mindcrime. I met Geoff and I gave him a copy of my Harlot CD we produced in 1988. I told him he was a huge influence on me. Back then most independent bands like us didn’t have a CD so I figured that should impress him. Now that I’m in a band and people hand me CD’s often I get it that he was a busy guy and why does he give two shits about me. But I had this fantasy that he would listen to that and write me a note saying good job. Obviously that didn’t happen. To this day if I get approached like this, I’m not saying I’m a great person or anything like that, I’m sure I don’t get as much as Geoff Tate does but I make it a point to give it a little listen and find a way to compliment it. First of all if it’s not my taste they still went through the trouble to write and produce the song and I know how much goes into that. Getting back to it I still have this fantasy of bumping into Geoff as a fellow musician and we could talk and get to know each other. At the same time who knows maybe we have completely different views and maybe we wouldn’t get along. Sometimes you hear stories about people in general. At this point I’d say the closest I had with that was touring with Primal Fear, Ralf Scheepers is an incredible singer I had bought an album of his back in the 90’s that I really liked. It was interesting and cool to meet him. I got to know him really well and that to me is a little more along the lines of what you are talking about, a unique experience. As well as the experience with Kurdt. But in general when we are playing these festivals and Judas Priest is headlining, they have their own little dressing room and pathway. And they have people to make sure you don’t walk in there. I haven’t had much experience with the big dogs.

We all have this perception that you are all hanging out backstage but that’s obviously not that way it is.

Some of them will hang out in the normal food tent and they are around and if you are brave enough you can walk up and bug them. For me that’s not quite the same. I remember the drummer from Judas Priest was in there and our drummer is like I want to get a picture with him and he was cool but there’s a part of me that’s like you just interrupted him, you’re not really meeting them. I tend to be like I don’t want to annoy someone. Although I did with Michael Sweet and Biff Byford from Saxon and Jeff Scott Soto. So I have done that but I don’t post it to social media for me it’s more of a private thing. More of a personal memory.

Top five albums everyone should own?

Oh man that is so tough. I really loved Malice and Warrior. There was a band called The Front I really loved. But I would say if you are in the hard rock genre it would be tough not to say an Iron Maiden album like Piece of Mind, that’s a classic. Certainly in the Riot catalog you could throw Fire Down Under, not because I’m in Riot but I feel it’s a great album. I think for me it would be hard not to put Holy Diver from Dio in there. He was so incredible. I would say something by Queensryche, Operation Mindcrime.

I wish you nothing but success on the release of your first solo record. As I mentioned for a classic rock fan this is an album you should check it. Any final words?

Thanks for helping spread the word. Anyone that gives me any type of attention or shot I appreciate it. This is a passion thing and I’ve got so much joy from music over the years and just want to return the favor and bring some joy to others.

Connect with Todd Michael Hall(click icons):

INTERVIEW: TODD MICHAEL HALL was originally published on RockRevolt Mag

#Blake Shelton #Kurdt Vanderhoof #Metal Church #Riot V #Sonic Healing #The Voice #Todd Michael Hall

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fandomoblivion · 4 years

Text

Ella Enchanted (part two)

Fandom: Stranger Things season 3

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader

Summary: (Y/N), also known as Nine, was a girl being experimented on all her life by the Hawkins Lab, conditioned into following every command her brain heard. She managed to escape the lab, with the help of her little sister Eleven, and was taken in by Hopper. Now, it’s a year later, and the three of them are a happy family. She just got her first job, where she works alongside Steve “The Hair” Harrington… who her father doesn’t much like.

Warnings: Swearing

Word Count: 1,318

Notes: sorry this is kinda short, i’m really sick but i needed to get some creativity out tonight, ya dig?

prologue / one

The next day, you, Steve, and Robin took turns manning the counter. While Robin was in the front, you and Steve didn’t speak to each other. In fact, he altogether ignored your existence. After you told him your story, you told him that you had to get home to Hopper, and Steve didn’t say another word.

You were confused. A little hurt, too. You were finally making friends with someone who could begin to understand you, and it was all for naught.

“Is, uh, is he here?” You were brought out of your thoughts from a voice out front, which made Steve perk up.

“Is… who here?” Robin’s voice answered.

Steve jumped up and and slammed the door open to the front. “Henderson!” He exclaimed. You opened the window just in time to see Steve do a little jump and yell, “Henderson! He’s back, he’s back!” as the middle schooler in front of him laughed gleefully.

“I’m back! You got the job!”

“I got the job!” Steve whooped, followed by his (hopefully not) best imitation of a trumpet. He and the kid then did a sort of handshake with each other, complete with lightsabers and Steve getting stabbed by one.

“How many children are you friends with?” Robin asked dryly.

Steve just sighed and put his hat on the counter. “I’m going on my break. Come on dude!”

Right as they were going to turn away, the kid turned back around. “Banana boat please! Oh, hey! It’s El’s sister! Hi El’s sister!” He said, waving to you. You awkwardly smiled and waved back, still leaning through the window.

Robin made the ice cream as quickly as she could, handed it to Steve, and ushered the two of them away. She then turned to face you, leaning back onto the counter. “God, can they be any dorkier?”

You shrugged. “They seem to have fun.” Robin rolled her eyes and turned back to the counter, where an eager Erica Sinclair was waiting with her friends. So, you went into the bathroom in the back for a breather. You sat on the cold linoleum floor of the bathroom, ignoring all the germs that you knew were down there with you. You weren’t used to being in the real world yet. You were still getting used to talking to people without them barking orders at you. In the lab, your mind was fuzzy 24/7.

You exited after a few minutes and saw Steve and the kid, whose name you quickly learned was Dustin--that’s right, he was there when Hopper rescued you--in the back room. Dustin was playing and replaying a tape, and Steve was pacing nervously.

“What are you guys doing?” You asked.

“It sounded familiar. The music right there, at the end.” Steve ignored you. Of course.

“Why are you listening to the music, Steve?! Listen to the Russian! We’re translating Russian!” Dustin turned to you. “We’re translating Russian.”

Steve nudged Dustin’s shoulder, his back to you, and very clearly whispered, “Why did you tell her? She can’t help.”

You stood up a little straighter. “I want to help.”

Dustin grinned and picked up the tape. “Do you know Russian, El’s Sister?”

“Jesus, her name is (Y/N).”

“Okay, (Y/N). Do you know Russian?”

“I… I can.”

“Alright, babysitting time is over. You need to get in there,” Robin huffed, swinging the door open. She stopped when she saw her whiteboard, which was now covered in a Russian-to-English alphabet key. “Hey, my board! That was important data, shitbirds!”

“I guarantee you, what we’re doing is way more important than your data.” Dustin replied.

“Yeah, and how do you know these Russians are up to no good anyway?”

Dustin looked baffled. “Great, does everyone know about the Russians?!”

“You are both extremely loud. You think you have evil Russians plotting against our country, on tape, and you’re trying to translate, but haven’t figured out a word because you didn’t realize the Russians use an entirely different alphabet. Sound about right?” There was a pause.

“I want to help.” You repeated. “Play it again.”

“Also, it’s your turn to sling ice cream, dingus.” Robin said, handing Steve the scoop. He sighed and headed out the front door.

“Okay, you know Russian, (Y/N)?” Dustin asked.

“I can. Tell me to translate it.”

“Huh?”

“Tell me to translate it.”

“Okay… can you translate this?”

“No, like… like tell me to.”

“Dude, what are you into?!” Robin chuckled.

“Okay! Translate this, (Y/N).” Dustin hit play on the tape.

Your mind went fuzzy. When the tape was over, you automatically said, “Nedelya dlinnaya. Serebryanyy kot pitayetsya, kogda siniy tsvet vstrechayetsya s zheltym na zapade.”

“Oh, shit.” Robin said, leaning forward in her chair towards you. “Where did you learn that?”

You didn’t respond. You didn’t even hear her. “The week is long. The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west.” There. Your mind was clear.

---

That night, when you were closing up the shop, Robin told Steve of your findings.

“I mean, it just… it just can’t be right,” Steve said, pulling down the gate in front of Scoops Ahoy.

“It’s right.” You grumbled.

“Honestly, I think this is great news.” Dustin said.

“How is this great news? I mean, so much for being American heroes. It’s total nonsense.” Steve said, catching up with you guys all headed for the parking lot. Robin had, thankfully, agreed to give you another ride home.

“It’s not nonsense.” Dustin protested. “It’s too specific. It’s obviously a code.”

“What do you mean, a code?” Steve asked.

“Like a super secret spy code.” You laughed at your own answer, making Steve scowl.

“And how do we know her translation is right? I mean, did we even check it with a dictionary or anything?”

“Steve, she’s right. She broke it down for us and everything.” Robin pointed out. “Listen, just for kicks, let’s entertain the possibility that it is a secret Russian transmission. What’d you think they were gonna say, ‘Fire the warhead at noon’?”

“‘The silver cat feeds.’ Why would anyone talk like that unless they’re trying to mask the true meaning of their message?” You said.

“Exactly. And why would anyone want to mask the true meaning of their message unless the message was somehow sensitive?” You and Robin were bouncing off each other at this point, and Steve was just scowling every time you opened your mouth.

“Exactly. Evil Russians. So… how do we crack it?” Dustin asked.

Robin knew the answer to this one. “Translate the rest, and hopefully we find a pattern.”

“Maybe ‘silver cat’ is a meeting place. Or a person. Or a weapon!” You added. You turned, seeing that Steve wasn’t with you guys anymore. “Where’s Steve?”

You three looked around to see Steve rapidly fumbling for spare change in his wallet in front of a single-ride mechanical pony. “Steve, what are you doing?” Robin asked.

“Uh, it’s a quarter. I need- do you have a quarter?”

Robin chuckled and said, “You sure you’re tall enough for that ride?” as the three of you jogged over.

“Give me a quarter!” Steve demanded. Fuzzy brain. You reached into your pocket and pulled out a quarter, holding it out for Steve before the other two even had time to register his words. Steve grabbed the quarter and put it into the machine. The horse started going, and a song played. Immediately you recognized it.

“Holy shit.” Dustin whispered. “The music.” He went into his bag and pulled out the recorder. “The music!” He hit play, and you all listened to the track in the background of the Russian words match up to the horse in front of you.

“Maybe they have horses like this in Russia?” Robin asked.

Steve pointed to the name of the horse. “Indiana Flyer? I don’t… I don’t think so. This code, it… didn’t come from Russia. It came from here.”

TAGLIST

@alina-margaret . @almostsecretmusic . @american-duchess . @anamcg317 . @annaewww . @blackandwhiteimagines . @bubblegumcat229 . @bucky-newtlock . @canny1902 . @christinawxxx . @cosmickha0s . @creativedogs . @darkcrystal-wolf . @decaffeinatedtachycardia . @djisprobablydead . @eliza-kat . @eyeballtoes . @fandomsstolemylife00 . @fredweasleysupportgroup . @ggclarissa . @ginger-swag-rapunzel . @gracelynns . @grippleback-galaxy . @gruffle1 . @hananabee . @hannarudick . @harrys-kiwi . @heavenlyholland . @hellhoundschewtoy . @in-my-dreams-2000 . @izabellah816 . @likemeonlyme . @lilyhw1 . @mackycat11 . @megsell99 . @metuel18 . @morganmindflayer . @phluffyphantom . @potterhead-witch . @pppsssyyyccchhhiiiccc . @princessrow12 . @queen1054 . @rainbowmarta . @sheridans-dynamos . @thecaptainsgingersnap . @thegloryofliterature . @thoughstofaredhead . @ucantknowmeyet . @whataloadofmalarkey

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mxtantrights · 4 years

Text

✹ 　 PART FIVE (DAMSEL)

HAWKINS, INDIANA

NOVEMBER 4, 1983

No way I was spending another lunch in there with Carol. I told Jonathan in passing that I wasn't gonna be at lunch, and as far as I'm concerned he's my only friend here. And I don't care much for milk infested curls today. She did that shit on purpose. That comment about my hair and then the milk? Not a coincidence.

What else is there to do than hang out by the middle school. At least I know no middle schooler will throw milk on me and get away with it. Not saying I'm gonna full out deck a kid, but they'd have a wedgie with their name on it.

"Jessie?"

I spin around and see my brother with his friends.

I don't find this poetically embarrassing, since they don't know about the milk incident. If they knew that and then saw me here I would feel so- I would just fly out of my body. Hover above and watch it all unfold. Cringe.

"Hey! Why aren't you guys playing?" The question I ask send them in mass denial.

Dustin starts saying their bored. Lucas says it's because they're better than the other kids. Mike is going off on a rant that the games suck. Will is just nodding along to everything. Mickey is just standing there. Still like a statue.

I hold my hand out to them and they stop at once. I point to Will. "Tell me why you guys aren't playing."

He fakes a smile and a laugh. "Like they said."

Not a chance.

I point to my brother this time. "Mickey?"

"These boys are bothering us."

"Mickey!" "Dude!" "Aw man!"

I cross my arms over my chest and stand tall. I take a look around their school yard for any boys who look off. I see two who are talking to themselves and not to anyone else. It takes a few seconds but they both look over to where the boys are standing.

I look back at my brother and his friends. "You want me to do something? Or would that be embarrassing?"

Mickey breaks out in a smile and shakes his head.

"Don't worry we got this handled." Dustin assures me, which I'm not really assured by, yet I let him think so.

"We can't have milk girl coming to our rescue." Mike spats.

WHAT?!

"How the fuck do you know about that?!" I ask and yell at him at the same time. This makes Dustin and Lucas take a step back.

"It's going around that Carol threw a carton at you." He answers with a shrug, like it's nothing.

"Don't worry we're on your side." Will pipes up and I thank him silently.

The other boys agree with him, Mike too even though he literally threw the insult at me. And then they start talking about some monster from their game. I've never had a conversation flip like that in my life.

I watch as they dawn on, and on.

Until I can't take it any longer. I'd rather sit in the gym. Or on the sun. Or anywhere really. Just preferably nowhere near Carol.

"Alright well it was good talking to you nerds while it lasted. Milk girl needs to go back to school now. I'll see you later." I wave them goodbye as I walk away from them, even though they want me to stay.

"Remember to pick me up tonight! At-" Mickey reminds me as if my memory is that bad. It's really not. I just have selective memory.

"I know dude! Chill out I'll be there!"

Benny's place was the best.

I think this might be my hangout. I used to have one back home. Me and my friend Trish used to basically live at Marlon's diner. So much so that we created our own burger that was only available when we were there. We used to have so much fun. I used to have so much fun.

But now, I have-

Chocolate milk.

Me and Trish fell out before the move. Somehow she was mad at me because I hadn't told her I was moving. Even though I found out the same time that she did. A real estate agent at our house raised some suspicion and town gossip. I found out we were moving when Trish yelled at me through the phone about not telling her.

I asked my parents and sure enough it was true.

I don't even wanna think about it.

"Hey Jess, you want a refill?"

The hand that pointed to my coke could only belong to one person. Mainly because the voice that came with it could only belong to one person. And that was Benny.

The firs time I came here, he welcomed me to Hawkins. Even though I had been here since the summer. That night in October was my first time here. Benny said he could recognize me anywhere and that I must be new.

So he gave me an extra side of fries on the side.

And then from there it was like magic.

I kept coming here, and he kept giving me fries. I told him a bit about myself and he did the same. It's nice to talk to him. He's an adult who isn't like my parents and can understand how high school works and stuff.

I pass him my cup. "Sure."

"Don't let them get you down Jessie. It's not permanent." He gives out advice like that, how am I supposed to not like it here? He makes it hard to label Hawkins as a stepping stone to someplace else.

"Thanks Benny."

I threw my bike down on the front lawn and jogged up to the door. Tonight was Lucas' turn to host and he wasn't that far from Mike's place. His parents were also nice too. They weren't assholes like Mr.Wheeler.

Yes I'm still holding onto that.

The Sinclairs let me in, and straight to where the boys are. I see Jonathan already there with Will, so the game is over for tonight. Thank all the green grass on this earth because I was about ready to call it a night before biking here.

Besides its the weekend. Meaning our family is having 'bonding time' together. I don't know what to really call it but I roll with it. Ever since Dayton left Mom and Dad are bent on spending time with us before time flies.

Seems cheesy if you ask me.

Mickey walks over to me with a smile on his face.

That can't be good.

"We're playing a new game on Sunday." He started cheesing like a manic. What was so different about this game? Why was he so happy? Maybe it's that monster they were talking about earlier? Who knows.

"And?"

"And I was wondering if I could go on my own, and come back too."

What?

Is he emberassed of me already? Did the milk thing really taint me so badly? That can't be it right? I mean we're family. He's supposed to be on my side. We're supposed to be siblings. He wouldn't thrown me to the wolves. He wouldn't.

"Is this- it's not because of the milk thing right?" I ask him a bit more quieter, as to not bring it up in front of everyone again.

He shakes his head at me. "No I just wanna have some independence."

What?

Well that was quick.

No picking him up? Sure it's this one time now and then soon enough he'll be getting to and from our house by himself with no problem. I could literally have free time to myself. This is it. This is what every big sister dreams of.

Why does it feel weird?

"Okay then. Have your independence. But know that these," I swing my bag of one shoulder and reach in for the fries to dangle over his head. He jumps at them, trying to reach. Having a little brother is one of life's greatest pleasures. "Only come when I pick you up."

"Fries!" Lucas shouts, making the rest of the boys run over to me. I hold it up even higher now and watch them jump for it like little baby kangaroos. I can't stop the laugh that's bubbling in my throat.

Soon enough I let them have it.

I don't know when but Jonathan joins me at my side. "You're like their den mom or something. It's hilarious."

I pass him a look that could be annoyance- but really it's not. I'm happy to have known these kids.

Not my brother though. I know him too well.

When he silently lets out a fart- I know the distinct smell- I yell out in disgust. "God! Mickey come on!"

#steve harrington x oc #steve harrington fic #stranger things fic #stranger things imagine #stranger things #steve harrington #here is PART 5!!#DAMSEL #I think I want to do a friday schedule ??#lets see how this works out #lol thanks for reading!!!

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lesbyers · 4 years

Text

Leaves And Lavender

{1} {2}

Chapter 3

Robin’s Advice

(btw if y’all are confused abt the timing this is after s3 but Hopper’s alive and the Byers haven’t moved because uuuhhh fuk u)

It was a the next day and Jane was in Science class with Lucas and Dustin, she was thankful to be with them. They were the type of special friends that never failed to make you smile, even so Jane’s mind was still filled with the sinking feeling of guilt but her thoughts were interrupted suddenly by Lucas nudging her with his elbow.

“Hey El, Dustin thinks that Sally Benson will say no if I ask her out bu-”

“She’s way out of your league dude!’

“No she’s not!”

“Dude seriously it’s Sally Benso-”

“What about Max?” Jane asked frowning.

“Oh we-“ Lucas began nonchalantly, Dustin cut him off a shit-eating grin on his face

“She dumped him!”

“She didn’t dump me!”

“She totally did!”

Before the arguing continued Jane cut them off.

“She dumped you?” she asked

“Yeah she randomly called me and dumped me on the phone last night. Erica wouldn’t stop laughing at me” Lucas said casually, rolling his eyes

“Aren’t you sad? Mike was sad.” Jane asked

“Nah she’ll take me back soon anyway, she always does. Plus if I go on a date with Sally she’ll totally be jealous!”

“I don’t know man, maybe she dumped you for real this time”

“Whatever you can’t judge me, you’ve never had a girlfriend before Suzie”

Jane stopped listening, she didn’t understand what she was feeling, she felt kind of happy hearing what Lucas had said and that made her feel guilty, she thought of Max, Max was her best friend so why did it feel different compared to Mike or Lucas? It was confusing, so so confusing. Jane felt her mind get hazy again and then it was back, the sinking feeling. She decided she had no other choice but to try and figure out what she was feeling otherwise she became was afraid that she might go completely insane.

“Hey Dustin. What do you when you don’t know something?” she asked nervously, her gaze averted. “Like something you don’t hear at school.” she bit her lip hoping he wouldn’t think she was acting weird

“You mean like advice?”

“Yeah, advice...”

“Oh I usually just ask Steve or something” Dustin didn’t seem to recognise Jane’s distress, if he did he wasn’t showing it, she was grateful for it. Her stomach was twisting in knots and her mind was hazy.

“Where is Steve?” she asked

“Uh he’s usually at the movie rental store” Dustin replied

“Yeah he only works there ‘cause he loooovess Robin!” Lucas teased in a sing-song voice.

Jane began debating the possibility of asking for advice, could she really talk about it? She didn’t really even know what it was? Either way Jane knew she couldn’t ask Joyce or Hop, she didn’t know how they’d feel after what Will had told her. Steve was her best bet, she didn’t know him well So he couldn’t hate her and he was older so he must know more, that’s what’s Hop had told her. She decided she would talk him after school.

The rest of the school day dragged on, Jane anxiously biting at her nails through classes, trying her best not to seem too anxious during lunch. Finally the final bell went and she flew out of her classroom and clumsily hopped onto her bicycle.

“El!” Will panted bursting threw the school doors.

‘Shit’. Jane had planned on leaving without Will noticing.

“Hi” Jane said flatly

“Why didn’t you wait for me?” Will breathed

“Oh uhh.. I’m going to uuhhh” Jane fumbled for a believable excuse

“I’m meeting Max at th-the arcade” Jane spluttered

“Oh oka-“ Will started

“Bye see you at home!” Jane cut him off quickly pedalling away

She clumsily road her bicycle to the Video Rental Store. She had only learnt how to use a bike without crashing it about a week ago with Will, she wondered if he bought her excuse, she definitely wouldn’t have but god she hoped he did.

Jane dismounted her bicycle, staring at the entrance to the store, realizing she hadn’t really thought this through, what the hell was she supposed to say “I thought about kissing a girl, is that wrong?” “I never liked my boyfriend when we were together, am I broken?” She was terrified of the answer she might get but she realised she was even more afraid of not knowing.

As Jane entered she was made uncomfortably aware that the store was empty.

“Hi how can I help you” Robin said flatly, not looking up from the book in her hand

“Um” Jane began, clearing her throat, “Is-is Steve here?”

Robin looked up, “Oh you’re that weird girl from the mall right? Jane?”

There was a heavy silence as Jane quietly nodded

“Oh uh and Steve isn’t in today, I can pass on a message if you want I guess?”

Jane felt her heart drop and her cheeks flush red.

“Uh- no- I- It’s okay!” Jane spluttered

“Hey, hey are you okay?” Robin asked noticing the tears forming in her eyes

“I-I-uh“ Jane began, her words were cut off by the small sob that came from her mouth.

“Ok, uh I’ll um lock up early and you can tell me what’s going on okay?” Robin said quickly, noticing her distress

Jane nodded her head stiffly, staring at the floor.

Robin locked up and flipped the door sign around so that it read “Sorry! We’re Closed.”

She hopped up onto the counter near the cash register and patted the spot next to her.

“Jump up kid”

Jane crawled onto the counter, sitting across from Robin, she stared at her shoes and for a few awkward seconds they both sat in complete silence.

Robin cleared her throat

“Uh, what-what’s been bothering you?” She asked calmly

“I feel..wrong...”

“Wrong?”

“Like, I- I shouldn’t be...like me” Jane flinched at how stiff her words sounded

“Okay..” “how did that start?”

“My boyfriend, he used to be my boyfriend I, I didn’t like him, I don’t know why I-”

The tears welled up in Jane’s eyes again.

“I dumped him and he- we’re friends but I should like him and I don’t I like, I like someone else, I shouldn’t like them and I- it’s wrong” Jane breathed out deeply and steadied her breath. She stared at her shoes, cringing at how none of her words sounded like they made any sense

“I’m sorry” she breathed

Robin put her hand on Jane’s shoulder,

“It’s okay, I get it.” She said softly

At those words Jane’s head shot up, what did she mean she got it?

“Is, is the person you like, a girl?” Robin asked carefully

Jane nodded her head quickly, a look of shock on her face.

“Well Jane, I think you’re like me then.” Robin said as a smile crept onto her face

Jane laughed nervously, the thought of someone feeling the same way as her never occurred to her, she’d never really been able to share any common life experience with anyone before.

“Like you? It’s normal?”

“Yeah, I thought I was weird too, I was around your age when I first felt it too.”

“All my friends were getting crushes but all I wanted was to hang out with my best friend, Tammy Thompson was her name, she- she was so pretty and I just wanted to be around her all the time but all she wanted to do was talk to boys. I felt so alone and wrong and I just wished I had someone who helped me back then.” Robin had such a kind look on her face, something about her made Jane feel safe, like Hopper did, but different

“Her name’s Max...” Jane spoke quietly

“The redhead girl that Dustin used to like?”

“Yeah..”

“She seems nice” Robin said with a smile on her face

“So, it’s not wrong if I like girls...and not boys?”

“Some people will think it is because they don’t understand, but it’s normal, people like us are called lesbians.”

“Lesbians?”

“Yeah”

“So I’m lesbians?”

Robin laughed “No Jane, a lesbian”

“Oh..I’m a lesbian..”

“Yeah, liking the same gender means you’re gay. Boys who like boys are also gay and girls who like girls are called lesbians” Robin explained

“Oh, okay” Jane answered

There was a pause, Jane remembered something Will had told her about after one of the kids at school yelled at him.

“What’s a fag?”

Robin’s smile faded and she sighed “That’s a mean way of saying someone’s gay.”

“Oh...”

“If someone calls you that come and talk to me okay? If you ever feel sad about um, this stuff you can always come here and ask for me okay? Not everyone is nice about that stuff Jane” Robin tried her best to sound as welcoming as possible, she knew what it was like to feel alone and she hoped Jane didn’t have to feel like she did when she was her age.

“Thank you, Robin.” Jane smiled softly

“Call me El” she added.

“Okay El” Robin paused “You wanna go get ice-cream with me?” She asked

Jane’s face lit up “Yeah”.

Things were going to be okay.

#oof sorry this took so long #robin buckley #stranger things #lesbian eleven #eleven #jane hopper #steve harrington #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #elmax #netflix #lgbt #lesbian #leaves and lavender

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carol-effing-danvers · 4 years

Text

knock me the fuck out (i dare ya, babe), finale

Weep with me tears of joy and fulfillment for this soft boy and his cuddly boyfriend.

i have some more thoughts about this universe that i may or not get to, but they aren't really relevant to the story i wanted to tell here, so those will have to be for another tale :D

part one, part two, part three

(if you’d prefer to read this in Ao3′s format, click here)

Billy is deliciously warm, deliciously relaxed and deeply asleep when the phone rings on the table beside the bed. He gives a displeased grunt and buries his face into the pillow as Steve rolls away from him to pick up the call, hoarsely croaking “’ello?” There’s a pause as he listens to the caller, then surprises Billy by tapping him on the shoulder. “For you, Billy.”

What the fuck? He mumbles a confused “Hello?”

“I’m so sorry.” Max sounds as tired as he is, maybe more. “But Lauren refuses to go to sleep – I told her that you’d be back in the morning, but it’s already almost midnight, and the more tired she is, the more upset she gets. Can you please talk to her for just a few minutes?”

“Yeah,” he slurs. “’a course. Lemme get up first so we ain’t talking in Steve’s ear while he’s tryin’ to sleep.”

“Oh my god,” Max says miserable and guilty, repeating “I’m so sorry, Billy.”

“No, no, no – it’s okay,” Gently, he closes the door behind him, thankful that Steve owns a cordless phone and trying not to walk into a wall. “I shoulda knew she’d bug out if I didn’t come home.”

Max murmurs “Lauren, Uncle Billy wants to talk to you.”

His whole heart breaks – Lulu is sucking in air hard, sobbing quietly. Poor Max must’ve been trying to get her to sleep for hours. “Hey, my girl. Why won’t you let Mommy tuck you in?”

“Wh-wh-why did you leave?!” she wails, sorrow all renewed.

“I didn’t leave you, baby. I’m having a sleepover with my friend, I’ll be back tomorrow. Mommy told you that, right?”

In a tiny voice, Lulu replies, “Yes.”

“I’m never gonna leave you without saying goodbye, Lulu,” he says softly. “I promise. Who’s my girl?”

“I-I am,” she hiccups, but she sounds a few shades calmer now.

“That’s right. And it’s gonna snow tomorrow, so I thought I’d take my girl out to make a snowman,” he says solemnly. “But we can’t do that if you’re too tired to play outside, Lulu. Can you lay down and close your eyes for me?”

“Don’t hang up!” she says, a bit frantic, and Billy feels another tug on his heartstrings.

“Won’t hang up, baby. Close your eyes for me and lay down. Okay? Lulu, skip to my Lu. Lulu, skip to my Lu. Lulu, skip to my Lu. Skip to my Lu, my darlin’…”

He has to stay with her, and sing to her, for he doesn’t know how long. He won’t leave until he’s sure that she won’t feel abandoned and there’s a period of calm before Max whispers “She’s asleep now. Thank you so much, Billy.”

She sounds close to tears herself. She’s probably been up since four or five o’clock this morning and as it turns out, Lulu isn’t the only girl with a piece of his heart. “Sweet dreams, little sister.”

“Sweet dreams, big brother.” Max sniffles.

Billy stumbles back toward the bedroom and finds Steve basically doing what he was doing for Lulu, except that Steve is singing his song to his fucking cat, a dark blob resting on his stomach as he pets her, scratching her around the ears and beneath her chin. “With no lovin’ in our souls, and no money in our clothes, you can’t say we’re satisfied…”

His voice is a beautiful purr, husky with sleep, warm and loving to an animal that Steve obviously cares about.

Billy is leveled like the Starcourt fucking Mall.

He blurts out, “You’re gettin’ the words wrong. It’s ‘coats’, not ‘clothes’.”

Fuckin’ smooth, Hargrove. Real fuckin’ smooth.

“Mmkay,” Steve says serenely, eyes closed. “It sounds better my way.”

Anything coming out of your mouth sounds better. “Yeah, it kinda does, doesn’t it?”

As he slides back underneath the covers, Angie gets annoyed with them moving around the bed and hops off to wander back out of the room, tail held high. Steve curls around him, humming contentedly under his breath. Steve’s nose brushes along his neck, breathing inward, and Billy feels like he’s gonna die, because this much happiness at once just can’t be good for you. His mouth has gone dry.

Steve gives another contented hum, wrapping an arm around his waist and a leg around his hips. His hand, resting at Billy’s heart, caresses down the scarred skin and muscle to rest near the waistband of his boxers, and Steve’s thumb leisurely strokes up and down his lower belly, through the trail of hair leading down to his crotch. He murmurs against Billy’s skin “I never get this.”

“Hm. I hope I’d remembered getting you to feel me up,” Billy replies, grinning at the quiet darkness.

“No.” He feels Steve grin against his shoulder, which is…just…the best feeling. “A bed. Talking. Just…letting me kiss you.”

“Letting you,” Billy repeats, a bit sarcastically. “It’s become my cross to bear.”

Steve lightly bites him on the shoulder, and Billy can feel the way his mouth still stretches around a smile. “Okay, you know what I’m saying here.”

“Yeah, I guess I do. But ain’t no hardship, sweetheart.” He squeezes Steve’s hand, and he’s silent for long enough that Billy asks, “What’chu thinkin’ about, Stevie?”

Steve sighs, low and sweet, fingers still petting at his belly. “Billy Hargrove thinks I’ve got heartbreaker’s eyes. I’m thinking ‘bout that.”

“You do,” he whispers, earnest, heart in his throat. “Took your sunglasses off and I see these big brown eyes – and my soul left my fuckin’ body, Steve, I swear. I remember-” Billy swallows, and part of him can go back to that scared, raging, confused boy. “I remember thinking that it wasn’t fair, that no boy should be able to break my heart with just eyes.”

Steve laughs, ducking his face into Billy’s neck sheepishly, even though Billy can’t see him anyway. His skin is hot against his own, lashes like the flutter of his butterfly wings over his skin, making his heart thud harder. “You are a real romantic. I never get that, either.”

Billy snorts, but he can’t really deny it. “It’s too bad, y’know. Cause you’re pretty good at this part, darlin’. Where the hell is my lullaby, though?”

Steve pets his skin some more, slow and lazy, and Billy thinks that maybe he’s already falling asleep-

“Which way you goin’, Billy? Can I go, too?” he croons, fingertips warm and gentle on his skin, petting his abdomen and stroking along the tendons of his neck, lips warm and whisper soft upon his skin. “Which way you goin’, Billy? Can I go with you? You are my whole, babe, my heart and soul, babe. I’d have nothing to show, babe, if you go away…”

He’s got chills running up and down his spine, even though his face and chest feel hot and feverish. Billy’s dying, he’s dying, because he knows now that his love was never wasted on this boy. “Who’s the real romantic?” he whispers hoarsely, relaxing his weight back against Steve’s body. “You’re sweet, Stevie.”

“You’re not fooling me,” he murmurs back and kisses beneath his ear, soft and wet. Billy shudders. “You are, too.”

He takes Steve’s hand, smooth from a life of finger-paint and glitter-glue, and presses his mouth to the palm. “Gotta keep that our special secret, darlin’.”

Sleepily, Steve says “Ain’t a secret, baby.”

---

Steve spends a week just sort of walking on fucking air.

“What’s up, buddy?” Steve doesn’t even bother to ask who it is – Dustin calls him at five o’clock on the dot, every Monday. “Excited to finish up your midterms and come home for a little while?”

“Yeah, I’m going straight to a study group as soon we’re done.” He sounds as cheerful as he ever is, but by now, Steve is also intimately familiar with what he sounds like when he’s tired, too.

“Okay, but try to make sure you get enough rest,” Steve says, holding the phone on his ear with his shoulder as he lifts Angie onto his lap. “You’re smarter when you’ve slept longer than four hours a night, buddy.”

“Yeah, I know.” Then, a little less cheerfully, “So, uh…how are you feeling?”

Steve frowns. Had he been sick the last time he talked to Dustin? He didn’t think so… “Uh…fine? Why?”

“Well, you know…the ten year anniversary is coming up,” Dustin says awkwardly. He sounds distinctly like he’s also frowning now. Unhappy. “And like…I get worried about you, and stuff.”

“Dustin…”

“-and you always say you’re fine, even when you’re definitely not fine…”

“…pal…”

“Robin says you’re okay, which I guess is good but…”

“Dustin.”

“-it’s not the same as be able to see for myself…”

“Dude, seriously-”

“And you’re lonely, man, the people there treat you like shit!”

“DUSTIN!” Steve says loudly, scaring poor Angie right off his lap. “…I have a boyfriend.”

He says the words before really thinking about them and all of their implications. Dustin lets out this hilarious little ‘eep!’ before shrieking “Oh my god, really?!” like he’s suddenly sixteen again and asking Steve how two men have sex, in the technical sense, and jeez-

Steve really misses him, feels his eyes sting. “Yeah. I mean…it’s a new thing, but we’ve already gone on a few dates and it’s going pretty well.”

“Really? Okay, well, what’s he like?!” Dustin asks impatiently.

“Uh, well…” Nervously, Steve wishes that he hadn’t bought a cordless phone. His fingers have nothing to play with in moment like these. “You sort of already know him…Or, I guess, knew him, would be the better way to put it.”

Exasperated, Dustin says, out of the blue, “Oh my god, if it’s Tommy Hall, Steve, I know he had a crush on you, but you can do way better-”

“What?! No, Tommy Hall didn’t-what the fuck, who gave you that idea?”

“Robin,” he says, with an obvious ‘duh’ at the end.

“What the fuck?!” Steve repeats, this time at a volume that makes Angie cower under the coffee table. “Oh Ang, I’m sorry, baby – c’mon. Daddy’s sorry.”

Apologetically, Dustin explains “She told me and Erica not to tell you, because she didn’t wanna out Tommy to you even though she was pretty sure he wanted to fuck you. Then after your crisis, we agreed he wasn’t good enough for you.” Steve feels a sudden headache coming on, because this entire scenario has ‘Scoops Troop’ written all over it in big bold letters. “If it’s not Tommy Hall, then who?”

“Billy. Max’s Billy.”

There is a pause before Dustin asks “…is he okay now?”

The thing about Dust is that he’s so outwardly goofy that it’s easy to forget that he’s so smart, and he’s so smart that it’s easy to forget that he’s so empathetic. “Yeah, he’s okay now. He grew up a lot more when he went back to California.”

“Is he nice?” It’s less a question and more a demand.

“He’s really nice,” Steve says honestly, finally coaxing Angie back onto his lap after earning her forgiveness. “And he’s more…patient now. More relaxed. I think Lauren might be his best friend – he calls her Lulu, and I see him every morning when he drops her off. He um…he works for El.”

Jane Hopper is something of a…not exactly a sore spot for Dustin, but mentioning her tends to make him droop like a wilting daisy. They are not close and probably never will be. Steve used to think Dust was exaggerating when he said that Eleven didn’t like him, but she tends to shut down in one on one conversations with him, and she’ll do just about anything to avoid being left in a room alone with him.

Steve doesn’t really think that it’s because El straight up doesn’t like him, he thinks that it’s more of a matter of a sheltered person like El not quite knowing how to deal with a personality as loud and attention-grabbing as Dustin’s could be. That reaction crushes his self-confidence though, so the Scoops Troop try not to bring her up, and Steve tries to do El the courtesy of not overwhelming her too often.

“Oh good, Mike was just telling me she was getting busy enough to start needing help,” Dustin says neutrally. There was a pause, and then, more quietly, he asks “Is Max doing okay?”

It’s a little weird, because even though they’re all the same age, Max kind of had to grow up the faster, because while the others were thinking about the end of their freshman year of college, Max was giving birth and dealing with a marriage and a mortgage. “I think she’s excited to have Billy back in town – he’s hinted that she was having a bit of financial trouble before he got here.”

“So, you don’t think that she and Justin will be getting back together?”

Steve sighs, irritated. “If Lucas wants to make me a spy, the least he could do is ask me the questions himself.”

“That’s not a yes,” Dust coaxes. “Just yes or no, I refused to ask you anything else.”

“No, I’m pretty much sure that if he comes back to town, Max will be asking to borrow the nail bat.”

“Hm, there’s a long line for that. Can you pick me up from the station?”

“Uh-huh. Eight o’lock on the 30th, right?”

“Right.” Dust sighs, and again Steve’s heart gives a painful pang at hearing how tired he sounds. “Sorry, it’s time for my study group. Love you, Steve.”

“Love ya, kid.”

---

He has way more work to do now, since Robin insists that the original bet was for only a make-out session and he kind of ended up with a boyfriend, so she gleefully dumped upon him all of the quizzes she gave before the students began spring break, including the twenty page midterms she made them do. He didn’t have to grade the three page essays at the end but that still left seventeen pages to mark through forty-five times.

Despite the stack of paperwork in front of him, Steve’s still got a huge grin on his face as he sits across from Robin in the diner and lifts his coffee mug. Dazed, he says “I’ve got a boyfriend.”

He can’t say it too loud, that’s inviting trouble on himself that he doesn’t need, but he can’t hold it in.

Robin looks up, threads of hair escaping from her messy bun, and smirks at him, but her eyes are enormous and warm. “Yeah, you do.” Setting down her pen and flexing her fingers, Rob rests her chin on her hand. “And you still haven’t given me any details on dates number two and three.”

Steve’s brain helpfully provides him with the dreamy vision of both of those.

Date number two was a pool house in Evansville, drinking beer, talking trash at each other that was at least half flirting, and finding reasons to brush up against Billy in public, until Billy stood behind him as he was making a shot and growled in his ear, “Get in the fuckin’ car, darlin’. Gonna bite you where you like it.”

They steamed up the windows of the Impala that was the Camaro’s spiritual successor, and Billy pulled him on his lap, yanked opened the buttons on his shirt and assaulted Steve’s chest – pinched, kissed, sucked, and yes bit him, until Steve had his hands braced on the roof to keep himself grounded in a world that kept spinning, and cried “Oh fuck, Billy, stop, I’m gonna come.”

“Mm, I don’t hear a downside anywhere in there. Lemme get you off, heartbreaker.”

Right there in the driver’s seat, Steve’s head thrown back and mouth wide open as he tugged frantically on Billy’s shortened hair, coming without a hand ever touching his dick because he had Billy’s groaning mouth sucking at his nipples. Limbs shaking, Steve shoved his hand down the front of his pants and jerked Billy off with sharp rotations of his wrist, kissing all over his face, his neck, his chest. “Baby, baby,” he murmured, nipping at Billy’s neck. “Look at me.”

Billy’s eyes were the blue of distant oceans, like he kept a part of California in him wherever he went. Steve whispered “Fuck, Billy, you’re beautiful” and suddenly his fingers were soaked with come, Billy staring up at him in stunned rapture, like Steve was the sun and he couldn’t bring himself to look away.

Date three was Billy making California-style tacos for him (he had no idea that avocados were so delicious, what the hell!) and then watched Stand By Me, the Friday night movie on tv, head on Billy’s shoulder while he explained how Stephen King basically ripped off The Party’s life story, minus Maxine and Eleven.

Billy looked so startled when Steve started groping him on the sofa. There were sometimes moments that Billy really seemed to think that Steve was some kind of stuck-up prude, when he looked absolutely flabbergasted that Steve was as into this as he was, could be as aggressive as he was.

“Bed?” Billy asked in his ear, grinding down against him, his hands squeezing Steve by the hips. Thick, throbbing against him, making Steve’s mouth water and his heart beat three times faster. His belly was wet with pre-come, smeared all over his skin, burning hot where their skin met.

Steve had his teeth clenched together, trying not to shout so loudly that all his neighbors knew his guest’s name was Billy. He grabbed Billy by the upper arms and squeezed hard, sweating and arching his hips into his every motion, thighs tightened around his hips. “Billy, if you stop right now, I swear I’ll kill you.”

“Yeah?” The dummy was so surprised. “Getting close, heartbreaker?”

Sometimes, Billy still seemed surprised that Steve even reacted to him, like he was an untouchable statue. My ice princess. But he was flesh and he was blood, and it scared him, how much he wanted Billy to touch him. How bewildered he felt at the sight of Billy lying next to him in the morning, face down in the pillow.

He’d show him a goddamn ice princess.

“Give it to me good, baby, c’mon,” he moaned, and Billy bucked faster, breathed harder. Steve could feel his arms shake and smiled against his mouth. Raking his nails down his back, Steve slid his hands beneath the back of Billy’s boxers and got two handfuls of his ass, rasping “That’s it, like you mean it. Fuck, don’t stop, Billy. Right there! Baby-baby-!”

“Steve-o, earth to Steve-o!” Robin sing-songs. “What planet did you land on, dingus? Care to share with the class?”

He waves her off. “You don’t want to hear all the sweaty, manly details, Rob…”

She watches him drift off, pale skin flushing warm and vivid. “Oh my god, what’s that face for? What did you do?!”

Blushing like a schoolgirl, Steve hides his face. “After the boning, he made me hot chocolate and we spent three hours cuddling on the couch!”

“Oh my god, Steve, leave it to you to get embarrassed by the high school romance bits,” Robin is laughing at him, loud and happy. “What a dingus!”

Despite her laughter, Rob is practically glowing. Has Steve’s new relationship really made her this happy? With a bit of a whine to his tone, Steve says, “Well it’s not like I haven’t done the other parts before! I didn’t even know Billy wanted to do the sappy shit!”

She clicked her tongue, grinning fondly. “You love it.”

“I do,” he admits, bashful. “He’s all…romantic and stuff. Y’know.”

“And stuff? Come on, you can give me better details than that.” Steve can’t manage to do anything but blush harder and Rob smiles like the Cheshire cat. “Oh, that good, huh? I bet he brings you breakfast in bed and calls you pet names.”

Steve is hiding a smile behind his fingers, a lost and awed expression in his eyes. “Heartbreaker.”

“Hm?”

“He calls me sweetheart, and darlin’, and-and heartbreaker.” Self-conscious with himself, Steve buries his head in his arms and moans, “Oh god, please don’t make me say anything else.”

“That’s ridiculous and I love it,” Robin replies, with an enormous grin.

“Buckley, why are you torturin’ my guy?” Neither of them heard Billy walk into the diner, but there he is – blue flannel, fleece-lined jacket, and heavy denim. Steve becomes a puddle in the booth and it must be obvious because Rob looks positively gleeful and Billy is starting to look smug and maybe a little besotted.

Fuck.

---

Billy knows that Robin must’ve been teasing him – Steve’s pretty face is all pink, even the tips of his ears are red. Buckley, on the other hand, is almost demonic with glee. Clearing his throat, Steve gives him such an adoring expression that it leaves Billy nearly breathless. “Hi there, Harrington.”

“What are you doing here?” Steve asks playfully, with a smile that veers dangerously close to naked flirtation.

He shrugs. “Lulu went to her friend Sam’s birthday party. Wanted to check on you, since you said the slave driver chained you to your paperwork.”

Buckley huffs. “I won that bet fair and square!”

Steve huffs back, with an endearing little pout. “I never agreed to it, you bully!” He throws Billy a look with those devastating eyes. “She’s going to abandon me to see a movie. Wanna keep me company?”

If anyone ever figures out how fucking easily he falls to that gaze, he’s a dead man. Aw shit. From Buckley’s face, she’s already figured that out. “Yeah, ‘course.”

Buckley rolls her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, like getting to moon at your new boyfriend is such a hardship.”

“Rob!” Steve hisses, looking at nervously.

She scoffs, getting up from the opposite side so that Billy could take her place. She gives Billy sort of a challenging stare, and tosses her head. “If he didn’t wanna go public, he should’ve said no the first damn time, when you warned him.”

Maybe Billy’s answer would be different if his father were still alive. But he ain’t. “It ain’t that big a deal – just don’t wanna get Harrington into any shit.”

She pitches her voice so that it won’t carry. “You don’t get to take whatever you want in private and leave him out in the cold in public.”

He can’t even imagine how Old Billy would react to having a woman talk to him like this. But by the hardness in her eyes, he does know that even Old Billy wouldn’t have scared her. Robin Buckley has fought monsters far more disturbing the one he used to be. She also, judging from the steel in her jaw, has seen people (men? women? both?) do this to Steve before. Take their physical pleasure from him in dark of night and then pretend they can’t see him in the light of day.

She looks ready to knock his teeth out if she doesn’t like his answer, and Billy can both understand that anger, and respect her desire to protect Steve from pain. “Down girl,” he murmurs, “I wouldn’t leave him out in the cold anywhere, never mind around these wolves.”

“Rob,” Steve says lowly. “Don’t give him a shovel speech. I can take care of myself.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” she responds, with a smile that’s equally sweet and poisonous. Billy’s opinion of her skyrockets. “Have fun, boys.”

Steve sighs at her retreating back, looking put upon for a moment before he smiles at Billy again. Flicking his hair out of his face, he pushes his glasses up his nose and admits, “I actually do have to work on these. Sorry.”

Billy steals his coffee mug. “Yeah, I kinda assumed that.” He pulls a dog-eared copy of Red Dragon from his jacket pocket. “Don’t worry, I can keep myself entertained. Besides, I got somethin’ real pretty to look at.”

He throws in a wink just for good measure, just because he knows he’ll be well rewarded with another rosy blush coloring Steve’s cheeks.

It’s relaxing, sitting around like a normal couple, nobody giving a shit about the two of them sitting there. Understandably, he’s pretty surprised when something – or someone – touches his dick under the table.

His eyes immediately shoots up to Steve’s face as the arch of a socked foot presses into the fly of his jeans, rubbing gently against the rapidly thickening semi there. The question on his lips dies almost instantly. He hardly needs to ask if it’s an accident – Steve’s gaze is already fixed on Billy, biting down on the corner of his lip as he tries to hide the curve of a wicked smile, his eyes dark behind the frames of his glasses.

Billy’s mouth drops open slightly as Steve’s toes curls around the rigid line of cock, wedged painfully against his zipper. Steve makes a low noise, a satisfied kind of purring, at how quickly Billy goes from semi to fully hard. Gripping the edge of the table with one hand and squashing his book into an open position with the other, Billy croaks “Steve.”

Oh so innocently with his angel-faced smile and his creamy rose blush, Steve says “What are you reading?”

Billy has to bite down a pained groan as Steve rubs him just a little harder. It’s torturous – there’s too many layers between them to get Billy off, which he suspects that Steve is well aware of, but it also feels so good that he doesn’t really want him to stop. Too late, he recalls Robin’s words about Steve in the 11th Hour. He likes to flirt with danger. He’s addicted to risk.

He honestly couldn’t think of anything riskier than Steve trying to bring him off in the middle of one of the town’s busiest attractions, only edged out by the churches and the bars. Billy stares at him helplessly, wide-eyed and voiceless with the force of his surging arousal. There is the hint of a command in his voice when Steve repeats, “What are you reading, Billy?”

“R-red-Red Dragon,” Billy responds hoarsely, fighting to stop himself from humping Steve like a fucking animal. He can’t stop himself from letting go of the table and sliding his hand under the cuffs of Steve’s slacks, wrapping his fingers around his ankle to keep him there.

Steve looks very pleased indeed and gives Billy’s dick another rub, finding his cockhead through his pants and flexing his toes right around it. “Steve,” he says weakly. “Are you trying to give me a fetish?”

Surprised, he asks “Do you have one?”

“No, but-” He holds in a whine and hisses, “Keep touchin’ my dick like that, and I’m gonna start having inappropriate thoughts about your feet, sweetheart.”

Surprised and curious now, Steve presses harder. “Can you come this way?”

“I don’t-I don’t know.” Billy has to hold back another whine and quickly lets go of his book before he can start accidentally ripping out pages. “Why…why are you…?”

Shyly, which is very rich coming from someone in the middle of giving him a footjob in public, Steve says “Just trying to make you feel good. Can’t use my hands from all the way over here.”

Despite these words, his stare on Billy is hungry, and he can hear Steve panting softly through his words. The distant part of his mind that’s still rational wonders what is that’s doing it for him – that Billy is kinda weirdly turned on by his feet, that Billy is somewhat at his mercy, or that anyone could catch them doing this. Or maybe it’s a little of all three.

Unable to take it any longer, Billy gently pulls Steve’s sock off, preferring to be able to touch warm skin, and cups the top of his foot against his dick. He strokes Steve’s ankle and rolls his hips as subtly as he can, swallowing a moan as Steve’s dark longing stare holds him captive.

“Dunno where you got an idea like this, heartbreaker,” Billy croaks.

“We can stop,” Steve suggests sweetly, pushing his heel against his aching balls and flexing his toes again. Watching Billy’s eyelashes flutter and the way the hand still on the table clenches and unclenches spastically. Steve nibbles his lower lip and lowers his voice to a suggestive, throaty husk “Or you can just come for me.”

“Steve.” He doesn’t know which is stronger, surprise or desperation or fear.

“Nobody’s watching,” he promises, still in that honey-sweet persuasive purr. He emphasizes this with an up and down rub against the denim seam and licks his lips with an obscene flick of the tongue.

Billy’s cock twitches hard, weeping pre-come into his boxers, and he knows that Steve can feel it because he’s losing the effort to hold in that wicked smile now. His tongue darts out again, like he can taste Billy in the air, and Steve squirms around like he’s trying to relieve the pressure on his own cock.

He sinks down in the booth and spreads this thighs apart, holding Steve against his prick with a little more pressure. He pleads “F-faster, darlin’. Just a little…”

Billy can feel the muscles and tendons in his ankle flexing and shifting as Steve immediately gives in, all coy teasing over as rubs at a pace clearly meant to bring Billy off even through the thick fabric. An echo from the past murmurs “Yeah, it’s me. Don’t cream your pants.”

His lips form around a silent ‘fuck’, trying not to be extremely obvious when he bucks into the contact, choking off his noises to soft helpless whimpers.

“Fuck, you are so hot,” Steve breathes in the present, nostrils flaring. He’s almost openly panting now and his eyes look nearly black.

Black holes that want to completely consume him. Billy bites down a scream and comes, wet and sticky, because beneath that angel-faced sweetness is a wicked, hungry smile. Just for Billy.

Lazily, Steve takes a twenty dollar bill from his jacket and slaps it down onto the sticky table. “Gimme my sock back,” he says, collecting all his papers and fondly stroking down Billy’s thigh before taking his foot back. “Do you like French silk?”

“Who doesn’t?” Billy says faintly, dazed.

“Good,” Steve says, all sugar and sweetness again. Billy’s fucking dizzy, man. “I made us one. Let’s go.”

“Don’t you want…?” His eyes dart down to Steve’s lap.

“Already did,” and there’s a hint of that dark gleam again. “Watching you, baby.”

Holy fucking shit.

#harringrove #knock me out babe #teacher steve #soft billy

27 notes · View notes

kaspbrak-tozier-reddie · 4 years

Text

Band of Toziers - 4/?- ao3

Pairings: Reddie, Storis, Byler

Words: 14.5k

Preview:

- The Losers come over as soon as Eddie send them a text, with a 'Code WTF?!' - The Party drive up to Derry to meet Richie after Mike sends them all a text Just a sappy chapter on Mike, Boris and Richie meeting the Party and Losers Club.

We're now getting some Reddie, Storis and Byler stuff now ❤

Notes:

Because there are two Mikes, I'm calling Mike Wheeler 'Mike' and Mike Hanlon 'Michael', when the two are in the same place. If I get lazy or lose track, I may refer to both by their surnames just to lessen the confusion.

This does jump from boy to boy, so I'm sorry but it should get better. I've never done this sort of thing before.

An hour after Eddie had sent a 'Code WTF' (Unique situation - changes per person), Bev rushes over. She doesn't bother with the front door and jumps in through Richie's bedroom window.

"Uhhh, did you make a clone machine?" Bev asks as soon as she picks herself off the floor. She eyeballs the three Richie's in the room, noting the subtle differences between the 3 and picks out her Richie, the only one with the bad eyesight. The other two look like weird variations of Richie's personalities.

Happy Richie:

Okay, now she's reaching, but that's just the vibe he gives her.

Emo Richie:

Fall Out Boy,

My Chemical Romance, and

Panic! at the Disco.

maybe industrial

maybe a plug

double lobe

Bev's reaching, but she wants to have fun before they come by and trash her judgement.

"Hi I'm Michael, but you can call me Mike," the one dressed in bright colours says, holding out his hand towards the young redhead.

"Hi, Mike," Bev replies.

"I'm Boris," the emo looking Richie says.

"Hi, I'm Beverly, but please call me Bev," she replies. Her strong demeanour falters into shyness. Nothing about this is okay. Why hadn’t Richie told any of them about his family?

”So, uh, I’ll explain when the others get here,” Richie says.

As they all wait for the rest of the Losers to arrive, the 5 of them sit in absolute silence. Bev is confused, watching as the three Toziers interacted with each other just by eye glances. She noted a heap of similarities in their demeanours. "Weird right?" Eddie asks.

"Yeah, and here I thought one Richie was enough," Bev replies.

Richie's bedroom door swings open and in walks the rest of the Losers Club. "SUP FUCKERS?!" Bill screams as he enters, then he sees the 3 Toziers sitting around Richie's desk. "Oh shit!" Stan, Ben and Mike spot the 3 Toziers in the room. Completely disregarding Eddie and Bev who are chilling by the window.

"Richard, did you finally make that cloning machine? The one you've been talking about?" Stan asks.

"Nope," Richie replies. "This is my twin brother, Mike." He gestures to the identical twin in the bright clothing, "and this is our cousin, Boris."

As Boris looks at the rest of the Losers, he locks eyes with a blonde-haired boy. He smiles slightly, at him, and the boy smiles back.

Now was Richie's introduction of the Losers, all groaning in dread

"Guys, this is Big Bill, our ring leader. If he jumped off a cliff, he'd expect us all to follow," Richie says as he hugs the leader.

"This is Haystack, he's a gifted poet. It got him a girl that's way outta his league," Richie points to Bev and tussles Ben's hair.

"This is Mike Meyers, you know, that dude from Austin Powers. Mike's our nerd, he lives in the library."

"Finally, we have Staniel or Stanley Urine, either one works. He likes watching birds, at first I thought he liked watching girls but I found out he meant the actual animals. So I promise, he's not a creepoid."

Mike and Boris laugh simultaneously.

"Ignore him," Stan says. "I'm Stanley Uris, that's Mike Hanlon, Ben Hanscom and Bill Denbrough." Stan throws a quick smile to Boris before looking away, blushing.

Beverly catches it in her peripheral vision. Stan's demeanour changed as soon as he saw Boris. "Eddie, do you know if Stan had a crush on Richie at some point?" Bev asks the hypochondriac. Eddie feels a pinch of jealousy running through his veins but still thinks upon it. He wasn't subtle with his feelings, but if Stan did have a crush on Richie, it would've been subtle. The hypochondriac tries to get into Stan's mind but comes up blank.

"I don't think so, why?" Eddie responds.

"I swear I just saw Stan blush."

Eddie sits upright and looks directly at Stan. He tries to hide his jealousy, and takes his time before saying, "Richie?"

Bev shakes her head, "Boris."

Eddie wants to laugh, that can't be right. Stan is emotionless and often talks about dying or birds. So, it can't be true, that Stan blushed, Bev must've been seeing things. But then he sees it for himself, Stan is laughing with Boris, his cheeks are bright red but he doesn't even care. He elbows Bev and gestures to Stan, she smirks, then turns back to Eddie. "So, what about you and the Trashmouth? Told him yet?"

"No," Eddie lies through gritted teeth. He has to talk to Richie about it first before they tell the Losers.

"So, Mike, you seeing anyone?" Ben asks Richie's twin.

"Yeah, my best friend, Will Byers," Mike replies.

"Gee Rich, step up your game and ask out Eddie," Bill says.

"I thought that - " Mike sees Richie shaking his head; he doesn't continue.

Much like Eddie, Richie wants to wait until he has spoken to his hypochondriac boyfriend.

Richie listens in on Mike, learning about his group of friends. Like Richie's group, they have a name for themselves. Instead of the 'Losers Club', Mike's group calls themselves the Party.

There's a shit ton of similarities between the two groups that Richie realises as Mike explains. The Party sit in Mike's basement playing Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) and the Losers Club sit in an underground bunker (clubhouse) doing god knows what, mostly drinking and playing 'truth or dare' or 'never have I ever'.

Then as Mike starts explaining his friends, Richie quickly learns that Mike's their ring leader like Bill's the Losers Club's leader.

Will sounds a bit like Eddie;

Dustin = Richie;

Lucas = Stan;

Jane = Ben;

Maxine 'Max' = Bev; and

Steve = Mike.

Richie got all of that just by Mike's descriptions of his friends. It amazes Richie, sometimes, how fast his mind works. Maybe it also has something to do with his undiagnosed ADHD.

"Anyone want anything to drink?" Richie asks, they all said 'yes'. "Eds, can you help me?"

"How many times, Richard? Don't call me 'Eds'!" Eddie responds and gets up, following his tall boyfriend down the stairs.

"Hey, Boris, can I talk to you for a second?" Beverly asks the 'emo-looking' Richie.

"Yeah, okay," Boris replies, he gets up from his seat on the desk and sits on the window sill, beside Bev.

"Do you like Stan?" It catches Boris off guard, it stammers a little. "It's just, he's been blushing like mad and he never really does that." Boris looks towards the blonde-haired boy for the umpteenth time today.

There are several things that Boris notices about the bird expert. The way he stands when talking to people; perfect posture. His hand gestures as he speaks. Boris is not one to believe in 'love at first sight' but he thinks that he can let this one slide. There's just something different about Stanley compared to Theo. He started to like Theo a few months after they started to hang out, maybe it was the drugs or the alcohol but he's been sober for 48 hours now. He hasn't had a craving for weed, coke or alcohol since he laid his eyes on the blonde-haired boy.

Beverly nudges Boris, "you're staring," she states. "I can hook you two up if you want?"

"No thank you, Beverly. I need to get to know Kolibri first," Boris says.

"'Kolibri'?"

"It means Hummingbird in Russian." Boris removes himself and goes back to join Mike and the others.

Bev just lets it sink in, 'Hummingbird'. Why did he call Stan a Hummingbird?

He did make Stan laugh before; it makes sense. Maybe.

Stan looks over to Bev, she quickly signals over. He mutters a quick 'sorry' to Mike, and pads over to Bev. "You called?" Stan says.

"Do you like Boris?" Bev asks, cutting to the chase, she's not in the mood for that airy-fairy bullshit.

"No, maybe, yes? I don't know," Stan sighs.

He too isn't one to believe in 'love at first sight', he finds it bullshit. But he couldn't explain his feelings about Boris any other way.

"He called you a hummingbird, in Russian."

"It's the way I laugh, it sounds like I'm humming." Stan smiles and blushes. Beverly had only ever seen one person do that, and that was Eddie whenever he spoke about Richie. With Eddie, it was a sign of embarrassment and shame because of the bullshit lies Sonia fed him. But Stan? Stan's is because he's shy, he's opening up to Beverly about something that he would normally go to Richie for. Richie would make a joke, to break the tension, but would 100% support him.

"Is it weird? He looks so much like Richie, I need to talk to him." Stan gets up and goes downstairs to where Richie and Eddie are pouring everyone a drink.

"Richie, Eddie, can I talk to you both ab - " Stan cuts himself off as he walks in on Richie and Eddie kissing. "Never mind." He does a 180 and heads back to the stairs.

"Wait!" Richie calls, "We'll explain just tell us what you wanted, please."

"Okay, I'll go first," Stan says, he sighs, "I may have developed some sort of crush on your cousin." Eddie's jaw drops; he didn't misread Stan. Richie smiles, which freaks Stanley out. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because it's cute!" Richie exclaims.

"But he looks like you! I just don't think - "

"You worried you'd get feelings for me or something?"

Stan pauses for a bit and looks at the ground. "I don't know, maybe. You both look alike, he's basically like you. So's Mike."

"Stan, look at me." Stan moves his head up and meets Richie's eyes. "Look me dead in the eyes and tell me that you only see me as a friend."

Stan looks to Eddie, who's still got his lips parted. The blonde boy smiles momentarily at Eddie, then looks back to Richie. He searches Richie's face, looking at the similarities between Boris and him; physically. Okay, so Richie's kinda hot, Stan thinks, but as he gets to the personality, Boris is more chill and conventional. He isn't spontaneous like Richie is.

Richie is bothersome, his jokes are appalling and not to mention his flirting with Eddie. Considering what Stan just saw in the kitchen, he's hoping that Richie will be less vexatious. But then again, even before Eddie, Richie was annoying. Who knew a 5-year-old could be that irritating? Also, he's astonishingly intelligent, barely has to study for anything and will still pass with flying colours (it'll be interesting to see what he'll be like at college). Stan's spent too much time with the trashmouth that he's not fully attracted to him, besides his looks. But that's because Boris, who looks a lot like Richie, opened a floodgate.

"I like you as a friend," Stan says, staring at Richie.

"Also, Stan, please don't say anything to the others about Rich and me, please," Eddie says.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Kaspbrak," Stan replies and grabs a tray off the bench.

The three boys carry up a tray each of the drinks, for the Losers, Mike and Boris. Richie gives Stan a wink and shoves him lightly into Boris, causing him to fall directly into Boris' lap. Stan gives a tight embarrassed smile at Boris before giving Richie the middle finger, to which, Richie responds with his own.

Mike watches from the sidelines, looking between both Richie, Stan & Boris. He nudges Michael, "Does that normally happen?" Mike asks.

"Hmm, no, Stan and Richie say one or two words to each other. Then just stare," Michael replies. "Richie smiling at Stan? That's not normal."

"When Richie tried to set Stan up with Greg, he smiled exactly ... " Bill trails off and looks directly to Stan, who, by the way. hasn't bothered to remove himself from Boris' lap. "Oh."

Even Ben and Bev notice the smile that Richie is giving Stan, whenever their eyes lock. Everyone in that damn room can see that Richie and Stan are best friends. Mike Wheeler thought that maybe Richie and Stan hated each other but that smile; that god damn smile ... It's living proof that Stan likes Richie's opinion. Because Richie and Stan are best friends.

Bev walks over to the three boys, leaving her boyfriend with Richie and Eddie. "You know, Stan told me that he needed to speak to Richie," Bev says.

"That makes no sense," Michael says. "Stan has never once asked for Richie's advice."

"Whenever Richie and I have our smoke sessions on Fridays, he tells me if Stan had spoken to him," Bev explains. "Not to mention, Richie goes to him before he comes to me."

"Wait, wait. Does that mean that Stan found out that Richie was gay before you did?" Bill asks. Bev nodded. "If you knew for a whole 5 months, Stan knew for what? 5, 6? Months?"

"8, actually." The boys' jaws drop; Stan had kept a secret for 8 months and said nothing?

It puzzles the Losers as to why the two-act like they hate each other when, in reality, they're the best of friends.

Mike is just listening in by this point when he starts to get a little bored - he's not going to lie. He decides to talk with the others on the opposite side of the room.

"How's it going, Mike?" Eddie asks.

"Good, good. This is the chaos that I miss," The Party's leader says. "It was before we met Jane and Maxine, it was just us boys."

"Chaotic as fuck?" Richie chimes in, Mike laughs and nods his head. "Say, Mikey, invite your friends up. We've got the room and I'm sure mom won't care. If not, we can chill at Mike's farm."

Mike shrugs and pulls his phone out from his pocket. He opens the Party's group chat inviting the Party up to Derry.

**** **** ****

A few hours later, the Losers, Boris and Mike all head down to the clubhouse. Showing the two newcomers the ropes. As per usual, Eddie and Richie sit in the hammock, just not head to toe like normal. More like sitting side-by-side, cuddling. "Say, Koromyslo, you and Edward? Yeah?" Boris pipes up. Richie ignores the question, only focusing on the unknown word that sounds a Russian translation of sorts.

"What's a 'koromyslo'?" Richie asks.

"Rocker," Boris says monotonously. "So you and Edward? Yes?" Stan giggles.

"You fucking snitch, Stan!" Richie yelps.

"I said nothing, you two are so obvious!" Stan laughs. "You always sit head to toe. Now you're cuddling?"

"You're insufferable," Richie mutters.

"He isn't denying it," Beverly says. "Did you two finally admit your feelings?"

Richie rolls his eyes and looks at Eddie, the boy beside him nods head slowly with caution. The Trashmouth cups Eddie's face in his hands and kisses him. He goes to lean down a little more, trying his best to get in a comfortable position but accidentally leans too much into Eddie. The hammock rocks dangerously and tips the two boys out.

Richie's glasses are just millimetres from falling off his face and are held up by Eddie's shoulder. Quickly fixing them, he looks up to see Eddie straddling him. "Well, I like this view," Richie says. Eddie groans in disgust.

Why? Goddammit, Richie! Eddie thinks to himself

"Come on guys! Leave this place for our innocent childhoods!" Ben groans.

Eddie pushes himself off Richie, dusting himself down before holding out his hand for Richie. "Damn, then I can't tell you ... eh, who am I kidding? I've jerked off to the thought of Eddie's mom down here," Richie says.

"BEEP BEEP RICHIE!" All 6 Losers groan and Eddie punches him in the arm.

"Why do I like you?" Eddie mutters.

Richie looks somewhat offended but knows that Eddie is 100% joking. The two reposition on the hammock and Richie leans over to grab a comic book. His backpack sits by the wooden post that's barely within arms reach. Bev watches on, silently hoping that the hammock tips over again; that would be priceless.

Mike and Boris watch the Losers Club sit around minding their own business. Richie and Eddie are reading a comic together, while Stan is bird watching, from a hole in the ceiling. Bev, Ben, Mike (Hanlon) and Bill are playing cards quietly by the swing.

The only sounds that can be heard are the rustling of pages turning; rope squeaking, as the hammock rocks gently; leaves rustling above them, and birds chirping.

Suddenly a buzzing noise interrupts the silence, every head in the underground bunker turns to Mike. He pulls his phone from his pocket.

"Hey, babe?" Mike answers.

"We'll be there in like a day. We're catching a flight now," Will says on the other side of the call.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Will. Love you."

"Love you too."

Mike hangs up the phone. "What?" Everyone goes back to what they were doing, leaving Mike to his thoughts.

"It's 6 pm, guys," Bill says.

"Crap! Mom's not going to be happy! I'll be grounded for sure!" Eddie says.

"You're staying at mine, remember?" Richie says as he helps Eddie out of the hammock.

"Shoot, sorry, Rich."

"All good, Eds."

Mike follows but looks back to Boris, who's waiting patiently for Stan. The Wheeler boy sees something in his cousin's eye; a look that he's seen today and every day, for the past year. It's the look of love, no doubt about it. He climbs up the corroded aluminium ladder where Richie and Eddie are waiting. Mike feels a slight wind change and sees Eddie shiver. As if on intuition, his brother wraps his arms, tightly, around the hypochondriac. "Hurry, you two. Eddie will get hypothermia!" Mike calls.

"It's not that - " Stan emerges from the bunker and immediately gets hit with the wind change. "Never mind, it's a wee bit chilly."

Boris quickly hoists himself up and shrugs off his leather jacket, enveloping it around Stan's shoulders. The boy blushes ferociously, as he tugs the jacket's opening together, he leans into Boris for extra warmth.

As the 5 of them walk up to the streets of Derry, Mike feels like he's 5th wheeling, slowing down his pace to walk behind the couples - one couple; Richie breaks his awkwardness.

"I was thinking since your friends and boyfriend are coming tomorrow, what if we go on a camping trip? The 6 of us? The week before we're set to go to college?" Richie says.

"Hang on Rich, 6 of us?" Stan asks.

"Well, wouldn't want Boris to be 5th wheeling now, would we?" Richie replies, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah, but why me?" Stan states.

Richie simply points to the leather jacket that's enveloped around the blonde's shoulders. Stan reddens again, leaning into Boris to conceal his embarrassment, but that only makes it worse.

**** **** ****

The following day, Mike awaits the arrival of his friends. All but Dustin and Lucas were coming, due to last-minute college plans and family vacations, the two couldn't make it; but Max, Will and El are coming. The three of them are catching a taxi into town. "When were you friends supposed to get here?" Maggie asks Mike.

"9 am," Mike replies, still pacing impatiently. The clock on the wall reads '11 am', the Party is 2 hours late and Mike's starting to worry. "Maybe their flight's delayed."

Maggie nods, hugging her second son briefly before heading off to work, leaving Mike and Richie alone, in the kitchen. The Wheeler boy checks his phone again for the 10th time within the past 20 minutes, still no messages from his friends. Richie makes another cup of coffee for himself, putting himself in the way of Mike's pacing line.

"Check the Snapmap," Richie says, getting annoyed with his brother's pacing.

"I don't have snap chat, and neither do my friends," Mike replies.

Abruptly, a boy comes down the stairs in nothing but boxers, huffing out in annoyance. Boris could hear the two of them, all the way upstairs. He's usually a heavy sleeper so how the fuck is Eddie still asleep?

"What even is social media?" Boris replies groggily.

"Did you seriously just get up?" Mike ripostes.

"Yes, now quiet. I need my normal 4 cups of coffee before anyone talks to me," Boris says and grabs the pot of coffee, pouring it into a mug that he pulls from the cabinet above. Richie and Boris leave the kitchen to wake up elsewhere, allowing Mike to deal with his chaotic crisis.

Finally, 3 hours later, the Party shows up, "What the hell?" Mike says as he stands on the bottom-most stair. "Where have you guys been?!"

"Our taxi broke down, we had to walk all the way here. No reception." Will puffs out.

"Mike, who's at the - oh, hello," Richie says as he goes down the stairs. "I take it, you're Will." Will just about faints when he sees Richie and it doesn't help that Boris exits from the kitchen, causing poor Will to faint.

Richie yells for Eddie with his 2 fanny packs (that he no longer uses) but still has first aid supplies.

The feisty young lad comes bounding down the stairs with a cold and wet cloth. "Well, lay him down," Eddie says. "And Boris, Richie, mind if you leave the room? I don't want him to faint again." The trashmouth and the emo leave the room, while Eddie tends to Will.

"Richie wasn't kidding," Mike says.

"Yeah well, you pick up a few things when your mom makes you think you're sick when you not," Eddie retorts; he turns his head to look at the girls. "Hey, I'm Eddie, Mike's told us all about you."

"I'm El, and this is Max," the brunette says. "Who were those boys?"

"The one with the glasses is Richie, my boyfriend and Mike's brother. They had no idea that the other existed until yesterday." Eddie explains. "The other, dressed in black, is Boris, their cousin. He was adopted by a Russian family when his parents died. His story is super morbid."

Will stirs on the couch and Mike rushes to take Eddie's place beside Will, keeping the cool cloth on his head. "What happened?" Will asks.

"You fainted, guess my brother and cousin are a bit too much," Mike says. "You okay?"

Will nods and Mike leans down to peck his lips.

"Don't worry, I'll bring them out, just don't faint on me again," Mike says.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Will replies, the boy spots Eddie in his peripheral vision. "I'm Will Byers."

"Eddie Kaspbrak," Eddie replies and takes the cloth off Will's forehead.

Mike walks back out with Richie and Boris; the two boys behind him, scratch the backs of their heads nervously as they are introduced to each of the Party members. So as it turned out, Mike and El dated before Mike got with Will. It had taken El moving away with the Byers for Mike to realise that he wasn't in love with El, he was in love with Will. "I had spoken to El, about it," Mike says, "thankfully she was understanding."

"We were better off as friends anyway," El states.

It's awkward for a moment, and Richie thinks of a good icebreaker. "Shall we head down to the quarry?" Richie asks.

"Where Koromyslo?" Boris asks.

"You know where we were yesterday?" Boris and Mike nod, "It's a few yards further, it's where we like to go swimming."

"Ahem!" Eddie fake coughs.

"Sorry, most of us, like to go swimming. Eddie hates it because there are germs," Richie fixes. "But, babe, let me just say that there are germs everywhere you go, including a hospital."

Eddie rolls his eyes. "If we're going, we need swimwear," Eddie says. El and Max look at each other, "Shit, Richie maybe we should go and get Bev."

Richie whips his phone out and immediately starts texting the redhead and not even 2 minutes later, she's bursting into the Tozier residence.

"I heard two gals needed swimmers," Bev says. "Hello, I'm Beverly Marsh, the only girl in the group of 7 dirty annoying, chaotic boys."

"Piss off Marsh, I just wanted the swimmers. You're not coming," Richie spits, then starts laughing and as does Bev. "Sorry, she can be a bit of a handful sometimes. Ignore her, she's just happy that she has other females to talk to."

The redhead sticks her tongue out at the trashmouth, only to get a middle finger in return. "Well Bev, I'm Maxine, Max for short. And this is El," the other redhead says. "I think we're going to get along just fine." Bev leads them up the stairs, letting the 4 boys wonder what the fuck just happened.

"Girls." They all said simultaneously.

**** **** ****

As the lot of them finally made it to the quarry, they are aced with the massive cliff. "Is it safe to jump?" Max asks.

"We do it all the time," Richie says.

"Yeah, after Bev constantly shows us up," Eddie replies and on cue the redhead pushes past everyone, jumping straight into the murky green water below. Boris goes next, somersaulting into the water.

"Oh come on!" Richie cries and goes to do a run up.

"No! Don't you dare, that's dangerous"' Eddie says sternly, Richie gestures to Boris. "You're clumsy and idiotic; he's probably done a heap of practice. Do. Not. Do. It."

Taking his boyfriend's advice he just does a basic run and jump, landing feet first in the disgusting water below.

Since Eddie is left with the newcomers he links them up, standing in between El and Will, taking both their hands in his and guiding them forward. Mike spits out the shitty water that got into his mouth and as does Eddie.

Boris, Bev and Mike immediately start to splash each other and wrestle, in the water; while Richie sits on the sandbank to get to know the others a bit.

Max starts off, talking about how she beat Mike's highest score on an arcade game. It was the initial reason as to why she thought Mike hated her. ' 'MadMax' beat my high score '. Richie and her, got talking about skateboarding, he had always wanted to try it but never got around to it. "I'll show you, I taught El not too long ago and now she's a pro," Max says.

"Well, in that case, sign me up," Richie replies.

El's next. She had fled the orphanage when she was 12/13, she met Mike, Dustin and Lucas in the woods one rainy night while they were looking for Will. Richie starts to laugh as El said that Mike hid her in his basement for a solid few months without no one knowing besides Dustin and Lucas.

Before Will can say a word, Richie feels cold water on his now partially dry hair. "You're dead Marsh!" Richie bellows.

"It wasn't Marsh this time," Eddie teases.

"I don't care that I love you, you're going down Kaspbrak!"

Will, Max and El watch on as Richie and Eddie tackle each other, laughing.

#reddie #storis #byler #richie x eddie #eddi x richie #stan x boris #boris x stan #mike x will #will x mike #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #stanley uris #boris pavlikovsky #mike wheeler #will byers #it chapter 1 #it chapter 2 #the goldfinch #stranger things

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teaspacebar · 5 years

Text

far too young to die (8/???)

a/n: another part ready to go! i have a little bonus drabble that is from steve’s point of view i will put up sometime tomorrow, so stay tuned for that! i had always been debating whether i wanted the reader to do when scoops troop gets separated, but i had a lot of fun with how i went about it.

taglist: @ashtounding @orchideax, @asheseiler @steve-harrington-said-gay-rights @kake-babe @sweetpeabellamyblakedracomalfoy

relationship: steve harrington x reader

word count: 1000+

summary: you just wanted to keep your job at the starcourt mall movie theater. all you had to do was find out how these kids were sneaking into the movies without coming in the front door. your small little movie theater conspiracy ends up pulling you into something a lot bigger, and a lot scarier.

previous part / series masterlist

chapter eight: with tasers blazing

You knew you should’ve stayed with Steve and Robin. Dustin and Erica seemed to be doing well enough on their own. Right now, you were just… a liability. That’s it. Just a stupid liability. You were moments away from a full blown panic attack after the three of you got out of the vents. You were surprised you’d been able to keep yourself together for that long.

You could remember the look on Steve’s face when he yelled for you to go. And then Dustin had caught you and Erica up on all things “strange” with Hawkins. Let’s just say you were having a hard time wrapping your mind around another dimension filled with monsters and now apparently the Russians wanted to open up the doorway again. Government conspiracy theories you could handle, but that.

A violent zapping sound made you jolt out of your numb state for a moment, vision focusing on Erica and Dustin.

“For saving your friends.”

“I thought you were more realistic than that, nerd.” Dustin was giving Erica a look, since she was the one holding the long pole, taser like thing. You vaguely wondered what kind of monster that zap stick would take down. You inhaled sharply as a thought ran through you – Barb was killed by one of those monsters. That’s why Steve was upset about you questioning it. And now, after everything Dustin had told you, your guilt just deepened. Steve Harrington had been through so much shit, and you just butted right in, asking him all sorts of questions he wasn’t supposed to answer.

A call of your name and a hand waving in front of your face made you blink. You hadn’t realized you were disassociating again. Whoops. Dustin had a concerned look – that almost resembled Steve’s – on his face.

“We need to go, are you okay?” It was nice of him to not comment on the fact that he was having to be the adult in this situation. Shit, that meant all the kids knew about the other dimension too. You were ready to explode with worry and guilt. “It’s the best way we’re going to get Steve and Robin help.”

You nodded, making your way over to the golf cart looking thing. Dustin hopped into the driver’s side and your brain suddenly snapped out of its haze.

“We can’t just leave them.” Erica and Dustin both looked over to you, “We have a giant zap stick that can take down a 600 pound man, and did you forget that there’s a whole vault full of that acid shit right next to us. I am not going to leave them behind. I know that I’m asking you guys to walk right back into danger, but they saved us from being kidnapped and enduring whatever torture bullshit they have. I owe them more than that. I owe him more than that.” Erica grinned, giving you a look of admiration, whereas Dustin had this look of understanding. Nobody mentioned that you said “him”.

Erica rubbed her hands together, “What’s the plan?”

Turns out the plan was to cause a distraction and run in, guns blazing. Or…tasers blazing. You made sure to bring up the rear, focusing on keeping the kids safe as you could. And then you realized that Steve and Robin had been drugged, which equated to them acting like five-year-old kids. You were just happy they were okay…for the most part. Steve looked really roughed up, which caused you to feel a flutter of worry in your stomach. There was also the fact that when you bent down to feel his forehead, he had yanked you down into his chest and gave you this splitting grin, waggling his eyebrows. You had pulled yourself up pretty quickly, ignoring the feelings in your chest.

Then you guys almost got shot at by Russians, making you pull everyone inside, and you ran towards the movie theater. You knew that you could blend in there, and that there were showings of Back to the Future going on that night. It would be busy, a lot of tickets had been bought ahead of time, so you thought it was the best bet.

After sitting Steve and Robin down in some theater seats, you ultimately decided to go with Dustin to try and get help. While you two snuck up to the projector room, Dustin said, “You okay?”

You let out a breathy laugh, “I think I’m supposed to be asking you that, bud.”

“I’m doing alright, considering.” Dustin gave you an encouraging smile, although you could see the fear in his eyes.

You put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently, “Hey, you’ve been doing great. Far better than me, anyway.”

“You just found out that Russians are trying to re-open a portal to another dimension that contains monsters that have been in Hawkins before. I knew about 75% of that information already. You knew none. It makes logical sense.” Dustin shrugged, pulling his walkie out of your backpack after you set it on the ground.

A snort left you, “You’re my favorite, in case you didn’t know.”

“Thanks.”

Dustin managed to make contact with his friend Mike, who was with the rest of the “Party”. Progress was being made until Dustin realized his batteries were dead.

“Dude, what did Steve say about not draining the battery?!” The two of you ran back to the theater where you had left Erica, Steve, and Robin.

“You said your backpack had everything!”

“Not eight double a’s, Dustin!”

Dustin ran to Erica to see if she had any batteries – you stayed in the back of the theater to keep watch – when you realized to seats in the front left were empty. “Dammit.” Dusting must have had the same realization because he suddenly turned around to look at you, gesturing to the seats. “Fuckin’ shit,

Steve.

” You were so going to kick his ass when he was no longer drugged, and you all weren’t in imminent danger.

#far too young to die #steve harrington x reader #stranger things fic #steve harrington #stranger things #stranger things 3

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insideoutstory · 5 years

Photo

Inside Out → Chapter Fifteen

summary: The party goes looking for the gate. But things don’t go the way they’d hoped. word count: 6k warnings: N/A

[ masterlist ] [ FF.net ]

If Christine lived through this, she was seriously considering trying out for cross country. She’d gotten enough training in, that was for sure, with all the aimless wandering around Hawkins. She was so tired, she wasn’t even sure if she was tired anymore.

After their doomsday meeting, the party had split up to change and grab supplies. What the boys had told their mothers, she had no idea. If they’d even told them anything before sneaking out. Christine had taken the Dustin-route of preparation. She just filled a backpack with a few water bottles and granola bars in case they needed to hike through dinner. Also a hammer from the garage, just in case. She’d changed into pants, made sure to wear her boots this time instead of her tennis shoes, and put on a warmer sweatshirt. Despite her best efforts, Eleven still refused to change out of her pretty pink dress.

Once they’d reconvened, they set out for Mirkwood again. They’d learned their lesson from last time. Not enough not to go, of course, but enough to go without their bikes. It would take them longer to get there, but save them time in the long run. They’d spent so much energy slipping and sliding on their last hike, untangling their wheels and handlebars from brambles. And it wasn’t like they could ride their bikes through the trees anyway.

“Besides,” Dustin had pointed out at Lucas’s impatient groaning, “we’re going to find an interdimensional portal with massive electromagnetic force. Bikes are metal, dude. Get them close enough to a magnetic wormhole and—whoosh! Bye-bye bicycle.”

“Just shut the hell up and walk,” Lucas had grumbled.

The two of them had taken the lead as navigators. They kept their compasses out in front of them, cross checking occasionally to make sure they were still heading in the correct direction. Mike and Eleven trailed behind them, and Christine stayed at the back, unable to contribute much after her magnet presentation.

There was less chit chat today than there had been the first time around. Christine couldn’t be sure if that was because everyone was more tired or more nervous. She certainly was the latter. It was a supposed portal to another dimension—a realm of monsters and death for crying out loud. And they were armed with, what? A super-powered twelve-year-old and a hammer? She was sincerely regretting not grabbing her father’s shotgun instead.

Christine wasn’t sure where they were headed, or what they’d actually be able to do when they got there. For now, the only thing keeping her sane was doing a head count every sixty seconds.

One kid, two kids, three kids, four kids. One, two, three, four. One, two, three four.

From Mirkwood, they trekked through the woods, drifting deeper than they had last time. They were all on high alert, waiting for another twig to snap, for the low, growling, clicking sound to advance on them from the shadows of the trees. But nothing happened.

The trees stayed close together, until the five of them were spilling out onto a set of train tracks that wound through the forest. Christine had been dead set against it. She was not going to let them get distracted on the tracks and send five more bodies to the Hawkins Mortuary. But Dustin had assured her that the Hawkins Railway had been shut since for about fifty years. There hadn’t been a train on these tracks since FDR was president. After several minutes of the boys calling her chicken, Christine had relented. Only because it was easier to walk on the tracks than through thorn bushes.

Christine had actively not worn a watch. She did not want to look down and despair about how long they’d walked without finding anything. She did not want to look down and realize it had been twenty minutes when it felt like four hours. And telling the boys it was getting late was not going to make them turn around. So what was the point?

At some point, after what felt like a very long time, Eleven stopped walking.

“Hey,” Christine said, suddenly on high alert. “You okay, El?”

Eleven shook her head, but Mike sighed beside her. “She said she’s tired.”

“Yeah, join the club.”

Christine huffed, watching Dustin and Lucas’s backs grow smaller as they forged ahead. There was no stopping them. That was for sure. So she looked down on Eleven with a weary smile.

“You want a piggyback ride?”

“A…what?”

“Come on.” She passed her backpack to Mike. Then she kneeled down, helping Eleven put her arms around her neck and hoisting her up onto her back. “Oof! Okay. See? I can’t carry the magnetic force field of the Earth, but I can carry you.”

Mike snorted next to her. “Wow. That was bad.”

“Thanks, Mike. I appreciate it.”

They started off down the tracks again. Every now and then, Christine had to hoist Eleven a little higher, making her squeal. Christine would ask if she was alright. Eleven would sniffle, wipe her face, and nod into her shoulder. It was so cold, Christine thought nothing of it.

“Hey, Chrissy?” Mike asked as they walked on. “Thanks for coming with us.”

“Of course. Mike, I know how important this is. And I wouldn’t want you guys out here alone.”

He nodded, his eyes trained on the ground. “That was pretty cool what you did before with the magnet. It really helped that you knew that.”

“I guess,” said Christine. “But Dustin knew what he was talking about. I’m sure he would have gotten you guys there eventually.”

“Maybe. But you also helped hide Eleven, and made us all listen when we didn’t believe you about her powers. So thanks.”

“Um…you’re welcome,” she said, unable to mask her surprise. “Thanks for…saying thanks, I guess.”

Mike nodded at the dirt. It looked like he still had more to say, but being genuine was apparently very hard for him. Christine did her best not to push him.

“I’m sorry, too. I know that I keep calling you annoying, and telling you that we don’t need your help. But the truth is…it’s kind of nice to have someone to talk to about crazy stuff like this. You know, someone older. Someone outside of the party.”

“Ouch,” Christine said with a smirk. “We’re hunting down a portal to another dimension and I’m still not part of the party?”

That made him smile.

“We’ll discuss it. I’ll let you know when the party decides.”

“No rush. We’re just trying to travel out of the earthly plane and into the shadow realm to rescue Will from the Demogorgon. Just let me know by Sunday so I can be ready for the next campaign.”

“Remember when you first moved here?” he asked. “You were helping Nancy with some dumb English project while Lucas, Will and I were planning in the basement.”

“Ugh, I do remember that project. It was on Huckleberry Finn. I hated that book. I was so glad when you guys started screaming and broke up our study session.”

“We weren’t screaming. It was a battle cry. We were going to war to save the Paakliah people from the wrath of their warlock overlord.”

“Right,” said Christine, rolling her eyes. “Well from upstairs it just sounded like a bunch of screaming. Nancy dropped everything because she thought one of you had broken a leg or something.”

“You guys were pretty cool about it,” Mike said appreciatively. “I really thought Nancy was gonna kick us out to the backyard, but you just picked up a tube of wrapping paper and started sword fighting with Lucas. He had no idea what to do. It was awesome!”

“Well, you can’t wage a war without a pair of warlock bodyguards to duel. So you’re welcome. And—God, Nancy was mortified at first. She really thought I was gonna take one look at you guys and bolt, make her do the rest of the project by herself. That feels like so long ago.”

Christine chuckled at the memory. They all seemed too small, even her and Nancy. She’d still been in middle school then, the boys in elementary school. All of them had been wild and energetic, for the most part carefree. She shuddered to think how she’d swapped a tube of wrapping paper for a hammer.

“Are you still not talking to Nancy?”

“Yeah. I mean—…” The question took her off guard, and she glared at Mike affronted. “No. I’m…Why do you know that I’m not talking to Nancy?”

“I heard her talking to my mom about it,” he said with a shrug. “She said you guys had a fight and she was mad at you, and then she did something stupid so you were even more mad at her. She was crying and everything. She told Mom she was really scared, and then that you guys were blaming each other for Barb going missing.”

“Great. Well…just do me a favor and unhear all of that, okay?”

“It’s stupid,” he said, glaring at her. “You know it’s not Nancy’s fault if Barb’s gone. And it’s not yours either. If she’s gone like Will is, then we can get her back.”

“It’s not that simple, Mike,” Christine groaned. “Nancy and I have both done a lot of stupid stuff lately.”

“Because you both like Steve Harrington?”

“Just shut up and walk, Mike.”

“Fine. But it’s dumb that you guys are fighting over some lame douchebag. There’s way more important things happening. Like, life or death things. And Nancy really misses you. Plus, she’s way less annoying when you’re being friends. Fighting’s making her cranky.”

He hiked Christine’s backpack up onto his shoulders and marched ahead. Christine tried to grumble her curse words quiet enough that Eleven couldn’t hear, and stomped on after him.

The train tracks curved to brush along the edge of the woods, and the five of them walked out into a clearing. It was some kind of junk yard. Abandoned cars and rusty barrels were strewn across the field. Even an old transport bus sat on the edge of the hill. It would have been a killer place for parties, but there wasn’t a single red Solo cup on the ground. They must have been too far out for even rebellious teens to walk.

Dustin came to a stop in front of the group, looking around in confusion. “Oh, no.”

“Oh no?” Lucas repeated in annoyance. “What’s oh no?”

“We’re headed back home.”

“What?!”

“Are you sure?” asked Mike.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Setting sun right there. We looped back around.”

“Oh, for the love of God,” Christine sighed. She set Eleven back on the ground, stretching her aching arms. “It’s the sun, Dustin! How are we only noticing this now?”

“Well it’s darker in the woods! If it’s so obvious, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I’ve been carrying Eleven, and you two idiots said you had navigation under control!”

“Hey, don’t look at me,” snapped Lucas.

“What?” Dustin demanded. “Why is this all on me?”

“Because you’re the compass genius!”

Dustin sighed, spinning on the spot and looking at his compass again. “What do yours say?”

“North,” Lucas and Mike replied in unison.

“This makes no damn sense,” Dustin groaned. “Any ideas, Chrissy?”

He passed off the compass, allowing her to look at it as well. But the needle was pointing the way they’d been headed. Without seeing the magnetic field, there was no way to tell where the interference was coming from.

“I don’t know,” she said, spinning it in her hands. “I mean, it could be a third magnet? Layering three magnetic fields? But we would’ve had to walk a perfect circle right around it.”

“So it’s in the woods?” Lucas asked.

“Maybe. Still, for the needle to point at neither the whole time…that wouldn’t happen if they were two fixed points.”

“So maybe the gate moves?” Mike suggested.

“I don’t think so,” said Dustin. “It’s a tear in time and space. Not exactly portable.”

“Okay, so…maybe something here is screwing with the compasses. You know, that’s how we ended up in the junk yard.”

“It’s not gonna be just a bad car battery,” said Christine. “To cause miles of interference like that, it’d have to be like a super magnet.”

“It’s not a magnet.”

Lucas was glaring back at the path. Eleven was still standing exactly where Christine had put her down, avoiding all their eyes.

“Lucas, knock it off,” Christine sighed.

“No! She’s been acting weirder than normal! If she can slam doors with her mind, she can definitely screw up a compass.”

“Why would she do that?” asked Mike.

“Because she’s trying to sabotage our mission. Because she’s a traitor!”

“Woah, okay! Hold on, boys.” Christine planted herself between Lucas and Eleven as he tried to advance on her. “Look, we’re all tired. We’re all desperate. Why don’t we just sit down for a minute and…?”

“Will doesn’t have a minute!” Lucas yelled. He tried to walk around her, only for Christine to grab his arm. It didn’t stop him from snarling at Eleven. “You did it, didn’t you? You don’t want us to reach the gate! You don’t want us to find Will!”

“Lucas, come on, seriously,” Mike shouted. “Just leave her alone!”

“Admit it. Admit it!”

He broke out of Christine’s grip, running at Eleven. She jumped back in terror, but not before he could grab her wrist. He held her arm up to the light. In the dying light, dark blood was shining on her jacket sleeve.

“Fresh blood,” he spat, throwing her arm back at her. “I knew it!”

“Lucas, come on!” Mike pleaded.

“I saw her wiping her nose on the tracks! She was using her powers!”

“Lucas, it’s just cold,” Christine reasoned. “We’ve been walking for miles…”

“No! She was using her powers, and you and Mike are too stupid to see it because you like her! You think she’s cute and innocent, but all she is is a liar!”

“Bull,” shouted Mike. “That’s probably old blood. Right, El?”

But Eleven did not answer.

Mike squinted at her, fear rising in his voice. “Right, El?”

“It’s…not…It’s not safe…”

Eleven was sniffling again. But it was not because she was using her powers, and it was not because of the cold. Christine could already see the water welling in her eyes. She was moments away from bursting into tears.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Christine said instinctively. She dropped down next to Eleven, brushing the hair out of her face. “I know it’s scary.”

“See?” Lucas demanded. “She just admitted it, and all you two care about is making sure that she’s okay! But what about Will? She’s leading us around in circles and Will’s out there running for his life!”

“And we’re gonna find him!” yelled Mike. “El’s just scared! We—We all are! Right, Dustin?”

Dustin, however, seemed to know better than to answer.

“It doesn’t matter how scared she is,” said Lucas. “She lied! What did I tell you? She’s been playing us from the beginning!”

“That’s not true! She helped us find Will!”

“Find Will. Find Will? Where is he then? Huh? I don’t see him!”

“Yeah, you know what I mean.”

“No, I actually don’t. Just think about it, Mike! She could’ve just told us where the Upside Down was right away, but she didn’t. She just made us run around like headless chickens!”

“Alright, calm down,” Dustin said, finally pushing between them.

“No!”

Lucas smacked Dustin’s arm away, storming toward Eleven again. Christine immediately stepped in front of her.

“She used us!” he yelled. “All of us! She helped just enough so she could get what she wants! Food and a bed! She’s like a stray dog!”

“HEY!” Christine shouted, but Mike was beating her to it.

“Screw you, Lucas!”

“No, screw you, Mike! You’re blind—both of you! Christine’s just lonely cause she’s fighting with Nancy, and you’re blind because you like that a girl’s not grossed out by you. But wake up, man! Wake the hell up!”

“I SAID HEY!”

The boys stopped as Christine rose to her feet again. And now, she was shaking with fury.

“Both of you are going to shut up right now. No one speaks, no one leaves until we all calm the fuck down. We’re not gonna get anywhere throwing bullshit insults like this. We will figure out where Will is…”

“We don’t have to figure it out,” Lucas snapped, jabbing a finger at Eleven. “She knows where Will is. And now she’s letting him die in the Upside Down.”

“Lucas, I said stop.”

But Lucas would not.

“For all we know, it’s her fault!”

“Shut up!” Mike screamed.

“We’re looking for some stupid monster, but did you ever stop to think that maybe she’s the monster?”

“I said shut up!”

Mike leapt forward, grabbing Lucas around the neck and attempting to throw him to the ground. Lucas was faster, grabbing Mike in the same way and countering the throw with a harsh tug of his own. They wrestled and screamed, toppling over and still attempting to fight.

Everyone was screaming. Christine ran forward with Dustin, trying to pry them apart.

“Stop!”

“Knock it off, you idiots!”

“Boys—Mike, just stop!”

“Stop it!”

“Mike, get off!”

“Stop it!”

“Dustin! A little help, please!”

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Before Christine knew what was happening, Lucas was flying out of her hands. His body shot into the air. It was like he was being propelled by an invisible force strong enough to toss him like a rag doll. He hit the ground hard, sliding through the dead grass and colliding with a totaled car.

Dustin and Mike ran forward. Christine stayed where she was, too shocked to move. Then she turned around to gape at Eleven. Her nose was bleeding again, her hands balled into fists at her sides. She looked horrified already, the reality of what she’d done beginning to sink in. But Christine couldn’t scold her. Couldn’t comfort her or yell. She felt paralyzed in the grass. For the first time, she actually felt afraid.

“Why would you do that?” Mike demanded. He seemed to have figured out what had happened. He looked up from Lucas’s limp body, glaring at Eleven the same way he had at the quarry. “What’s wrong with you? What is wrong with you?”

“Mike…” Eleven whimpered.

It was enough for Christine to push her fear aside. She started toward Eleven, ready to…was she going to comfort her? She had no idea. But Eleven needed to calm down. If bodies started flying when she got upset, the best thing Christine could do was keep the situation under control. But then Dustin called out to her.

“Christine! Chrissy, he’s—he’s not getting up! W-What do we do if he doesn’t get up?”

She froze, torn at Eleven’s tearful face and Dustin’s broken voice.

“Okay. Just—Just hold on, El.” Christine held up a hand and backed toward Lucas’s body. “Eleven, just breathe, okay?”

“Christine!”

She turned, and ran to Dustin’s side. She slid the last few feet on her knees, despite the pain. Lucas was still lying unconscious against the car. He didn’t show the slightest response to Mike’s voice, or the way Dustin was shaking him. Christine had to beat his hands back.

“Stop. Stop, Dustin! If he’s hurt, you could just make it worse. Just back up.”

The boys followed her instructions immediately, which just proved how scared they must’ve been. Christine braved a straight face. She didn’t want to scare them more by admitting she had no idea what she was doing.

She looked over Lucas head to toe. His limbs looked normal and he didn’t appear to be bleeding, which was good. Unless all the bleeding was internal, in which case it was very bad. She stroked his hair, trying to ease him into consciousness rather than shout. Unfortunately, that wasn’t working either.

“Lucas? Come on, bud. Can you hear me? Lucas?”

“Do we need to give him mouth to mouth?” Dustin asked behind her.

“What—no!”

“Fine! If you don’t want to do it, I will. Move!”

“Dustin, stop! He’s breathing! We just need him to wake up.”

“Oh…”

Christine was ready to break out a water bottle and pour it over his head. But Lucas stirred before she could ask Mike to hand over her bag.

“Lucas? Oh thank, God.”

She sagged back onto her butt, giving the boys more room to push forward.

“Lucas, you okay?” asked Mike with a relieved smile.

Lucas did not respond.

“Lucas, how many fingers am I holding up?” asked Dustin. He waved his hand in front of Lucas’s face. “Lucas, how many fingers?”

Again, Lucas did not respond.

“Let me see your head,” Mike offered, reaching out.

Lucas smacked his hand out of the air faster than a rattlesnake.

“Don’t touch me!” He struggled to his feet, ignoring his friends’ concern and shoving Mike again for good measure. “Get off me!”

He pushed his way past the group and marched toward the woods. Christine could hear the fear in his voice. She’d only seen him this upset at the quarry, when his best friend’s body was right before his eyes. It was why she grabbed Mike before he could go after him.

“Mike, stop,” she said softly. “Just let him go.”

“But—But what if he’s hurt?”

“Man, just let him go,” Dustin agreed.

They watched as Lucas disappeared into the trees. Christine felt sick to do it, but running after him would only make him more upset. Lucas would be alright, she tried to convince herself. He had his compass. And she knew from personal experience how sobering rage could be. So long as nothing else bad happened…

“Where’s El?”

Mike’s voice echoed around the yard without response. Christine whipped around, staring at the bus, which Eleven had been standing next to less than a minute ago. Now she wasn’t. Not next to the bus or the cars or the trees. She wasn’t anywhere.

“Eleven!” Christine screamed, looking around at the tree line. “Eleven, it’s okay!”

“El?” Mike called, and Dustin joined in. “El! Eleven! Eleven? El!”

They must’ve screamed for ten minutes. They checked inside every car, behind every bush, searched the forest ten feet deep in all directions. But there was no blonde wig or pink dress in sight.

Christine bit her lip hard. She’d been trying to bottle it all up, trying to be the adult. But it was exhausting.

“FUCK!”

She screamed, and it echoed around the sky. Christine kicked the closest rock, which collided with the closest wreck. The impact chipped the windshield, and Christine watched the crack spider its way across the length of the glass.

Dustin was at her side in an instant.

“We’ll find her,” he assured her. “Christine, we’ll find El. We’ll help you look.”

“No.” Christine felt her body shaking, but her voice was firm. “No, I want the both of you to go home right now.”

“No,” Mike argued. “El is out there alone! And so is Will!”

“And you’re not gonna find them in the dark. You two are going home. Now. Before the sun goes down, and before your parents start asking questions. I will look for Eleven, and I will call you if I find her.”

She did not give them room to argue. She seized her backpack from Mike, taking out both her hammer and a flashlight. Then she walked back into the forest, following the train tracks the way they’d came.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. She’d been so worried about Eleven and Lucas that she hadn’t thought twice about marching into the woods alone. It wasn’t until she’d lost sight of the junkyard, after she’d followed the train tracks and trekked back into the brush, that her personal safety occurred to her. It was getting dark. Even without leaves, the trees blocked out the fading light overhead. Unlike the boys, she didn’t have a compass, and she only had a vague idea where she was going. But at a guess, she wasn’t far from Mirkwood—where they’d heard the first twig snap.

The thought made her tighten her hand around her hammer.

Occasionally she’d call out for Eleven. Most times, she tried to make as little noise as possible. The darker it got, the more aware she was of the sound of the wind. Trees rustled in the breeze. Twigs snapped. A few times she thought she heard voices in the distance. She’d called for Eleven—and the sound had immediately stopped. After she imagined someone calling her name, she decided it was safest to stop looking and find the road.

How she got there was as much a mystery as it was a miracle. But she nearly fell to the pavement with relief. She would have sprinted the last leg home if she weren’t so tired. Luckily, someone else had thought ahead.

“Finally,” said Dustin, perched on his bike where the wilderness gave way to the suburbs. His headlight blinded her like an interrogation lamp as she approached. “If you were gone another twenty minutes I was gonna call the cops.”

“I told you to go home, Dustin.”

“I did. Where do you think I got the bike?”

“And you came back here alone? To the place Will went missing? What if something had happened, Dust? Don’t be an idiot.”

“That’s rich, coming from the girl who was just walking alone for over an hour. Now do you want a ride home or not?”

Christine was hesitant. She was a lot bigger than Eleven, and she hated to put the burden on Dustin. But he was already turning the bike around, patting his back wheel. And her legs were killing her. So she stowed the hammer and flashlight in her bag, and climbed onto the bike.

To his credit, Dustin did a better job keeping them steady than she thought he would. It was only a block or two before they were sailing smoothly. So long as he didn’t brake too hard, they had it under control.

“Did you find anything?” he asked her as they cruised down the street.

“Does it look like I found anything?”

“Cranky.”

“What about you? Anything at Mike’s house?”

“Nah. He thought El might hide in the basement, but there’s nothing there.”

“Not really surprising,” said Christine, and Dustin nodded. The way Mike had yelled at her, Eleven wasn’t likely to look for safety in his basement. “What about Lucas? Have you heard from him?”

“No. But he’s definitely home. I went passed his house and threw stuff at his window until he closed the blinds. So he’s alive.”

“That’s a relief.”

They leaned into a curve as Dustin made a sharp turn. She’d just recovered when he threw her for another loop.

“Why aren’t you mad at Eleven?”

“Dustin…”

“I mean, I kind of get it. I’m still worried about her too. But she threw Lucas with her mind. That’s not cool.”

“I don’t think she did it on purpose, Dust. El was scared, and all of us were screaming. She just wanted it to stop. I think when she gets overwhelmed, her powers probably act up.”

“Like Jean Gray,” Dustin supplied.

“Sure. Like Jean Gray,” Christine agreed. “And then she thought we’d be mad at her, so she ran. I just hope she’s okay.”

“Still. Lucas had a point, you know? She lied. Will needs us, and we still don’t know where the gate is. If Eleven doesn’t come back, who knows if we ever will?”

“Dustin, if anyone can find that gate, I know it’s you.”

He shrugged his shoulders, not all that comforted by the thought. Christine gripped his jacket a little tighter, trying to think of a way to explain it.

“Think of it like this,” she tried. “Say there were two sets of train tracks. On one track, one person’s tied up, and on the other there are four. You can’t move any of them. You can control where the train goes, but it has to follow the tracks. What do you do?”

“I don’t know,” Dustin said quietly. “Why can’t I save them?”

“You don’t have enough time. There’s no wrong answer, bud. It’s just a hypothetical.”

“Okay, well…the one I guess. Cause you save more people.”

“Alright. Now imagine the same thing, but the four people are me, Will, Mike, and Lucas. What do you do?”

“Who’s on the other track?”

“You don’t know. It’s a stranger.”

Dustin was quiet for a few blocks. “Is this a trick question? It feels like a trick question.”

“It’s not a trick question,” said Christine. “But it’s hard. That’s what Eleven was trying to decide this afternoon. She wanted to protect the four friends she has, because sometimes that’s scarier than losing someone you don’t know.”

“I guess. I didn’t think about it like that.”

They didn’t talk for the rest of the ride. Christine let Dustin mull over the situation, and kept her eyes on the streets. She was hoping to catch a glimpse of pink hiding behind one of the houses. It was a long shot, but she felt like that was all she had for now. There was only one other place Eleven might be hiding, and Christine couldn’t check there just yet.

She hopped off the bike as Dustin leveled with his driveway, allowing him to shoot up and park his bike next to the garage.

“Will you come talk to Lucas with me tomorrow?” he asked her. “You’re better at explaining the metaphor than I am.”

“I don’t know. I think I’m just gonna stay home. In case…you know who comes back.”

“But what am I supposed to say to Mike and Lucas? What if they won’t talk to each other?”

“They will, Dust. They just need time to cool off. But they’re best friends. If anyone can make them see reason, it’s you.”

“Easy for you to say,” Dustin huffed, tugging on his backpack straps. “Whatever. I probably shouldn’t be taking advice from you about it anyway.”

“Excuse me?” Christine chuckled in surprise and folded her arms. “What does that mean?”

“It means that Lucas and Mike are fighting about Eleven just like you and Nancy are fighting over Steve.”

She must have gaped at him for a solid ten seconds.

“No,” she managed to squeak through the shock. “Dustin, no! That is—That is so not the same thing!”

“Um, yeah it is.”

“No, it is definitely not!”

“Let’s think,” he said, stroking his chin. “Two really close friends get pushed apart because some cute person comes between them. One of the friends gets hurt, and gets mad cause the other friend doesn’t care. How is that not the same thing?”

“Okay, well—for one—Steve didn’t throw me across a junkyard with his mind.”

“No. He just made you cry because he used you to get to Nancy.”

Christine shut her mouth. It felt better than standing there with her jaw dropped as she stared at her miniscule fetus of a neighbor, standing there so sure and so confident and so…right. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

“Just go inside, Dustin.”

She tried to walk back to her house, only for Dustin to grab her hand.

“Hey,” he said quickly. “I’m sorry. And I’m sorry about what Lucas said too. About you being lonely and obsessing over Eleven. That was dumb. But if Lucas and Mike are gonna make up, I think you and Nancy should try too. It’s easier when everyone’s being friends.”

“I know it’s easier,” she said wearily. “It’s just not easy to make them that way.”

“Okay.” Dustin nodded, playing with his backpack again. “Do you wanna stay over? I can ask mom to drive us to the video store.”

And just like that, he drew another smile out of her.

“Nah, not tonight, Dusty. Like I said. I’m gonna stay home to be safe.”

“Alright. If you need anything…”

“You’ll be the first to know,” Christine assured him. She rubbed his cap on top of his curls. “Get going. Your mom’s probably gonna kill you.”

Dustin scurried inside at her suggestion. The front door slammed behind him, but Christine could still hear Claudia’s worried shouts. She smiled, backing off the lawn and sneaking around to her own back door.

It was locked. Not that that meant anything. Christine knocked halfheartedly—two slow, then three quick. There was no response. She tried again, just in case, but got the same result. After a few minutes of waiting, she grabbed her spare key and let herself in.

Everything was exactly where she’d left it. Her unmade bed, the empty pillow fort, the abandoned waffle plates and ruined magazine. The stereo was off, and though she checked her freezer, there were still the same amount of Eggos.

“Eleven?” she called hopelessly. “If you’re here, you…you can come out. I’m not mad. No one is. It’s okay.”

She continued to stand in the dark, knowing she wouldn’t get a response.

At some point, her exhaustion must have caught up to her. She didn’t bother making dinner. She didn’t even bother turning on the lights. She just changed into her pajamas and grabbed her dwindling box of Cheerios. However, she hesitated at the back door.

Habit told her to lock it. She was a teenage girl home alone in a town where two people were missing, mysterious scientists were hunting children, and interdimensional horrors were running loose. But a lock wouldn’t stop a mad scientist, and it wouldn’t stop a Demogorgon. The only people it might stop were the boys, or a scared little girl looking for a place to sleep after running away.

Christine dropped the cereal in her room. In the kitchen, she popped one waffle in the toaster, then placed it on a plate. She left it on the back stoop, looking longingly at the shadows outside. The waffle would get cold fast, she knew. But it wasn’t about whether or not Eleven would eat it. She just wanted to send a sign. It was still safe inside. It was okay to come home.

Without much debate, she left the porch light on. And when she went to bed, she left the door unlocked.

#ocappreciation #fyeahstrangerthingsocs #stranger things oc #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things #chapters #chapter 15

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hunnywrites · 5 years

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Sixteen Candles: Part Four

Summary: It’s the day that Vivian has been looking forward to nearly her entire life: her sixteenth birthday. But between her sister’s wedding overshadowing her big day, and praying that her crush Billy Hargrove will finally notice her things aren’t going too well for her. If she can just survive the under the sea dance at her school and avoid the really weird and creepy Tommy H her night might be salvageable. Maybe.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove/OFC

A/N: We’re nearing the end guys! I think the next chapter is gonna be the last. Enjoy!

“God that was a stupid movie.” Robin groaned as she and Vivian made their way out of the Hawk theater.

“I know,” Vivian said with an eyeroll. “They could pick anywhere in the world, and the Russians decide to invade some lame ass midwestern town? Like that’ll ever happen,” while the pair had decided early on that the movie was a total dud, they had entertained themselves by poking fun at how ridiculous it was. At least until Nancy Wheeler’s little brother and his friends started complaining that they were being too loud and started a popcorn war with them. But even that had been better than the movie. “Even Patrick couldn’t save that one.” she said with a sigh.

“Yeah, you’re definitely not picking out the movie next time,” Robin teased. It was late now. Most of the shops on Hawkin’s main street had closed for the night. “You know…maybe we didn’t think this plan all the way through.” Robin said as she surveyed the empty street.

Vivian frowned and looked over at her. “What do you mean?”

“We totally don’t have a ride home,” Robin laughed softly. Vivian groaned loudly and threw her head back. Just when her night was starting to look up, it was going right back down hill. “Enzo’s is like a block over. We could always go ask your parents for a ride home.” she offered.

Vivian shot her an unamused look. “Right. And let them know that I ditched the dance and Carol? This birthday sucked ass, but I don’t want it to be my last.”

Robin let out a snicker. “Alright, alright...well, I do have one suggestion,” she offered. Vivian raised an eyebrow. “You’re not gonna like it…” she warned.

“As long as it isn’t asking my parents I can live with it.” Vivian said.

Robin turned, nodding her head towards the entrance of the movie theater. Mike Wheeler and his friends were crowded around the bike rack, chattering excitedly and unlocking their bikes. “No,” Vivian said, crossing her arms. “No! Absolutely not. Are you trying to embarrass me?”

“Viv, it’s either this or we walk home. And I really don’t think you’ll wanna do that in those shoes.” she said, nodding to the heels that Vivian had borrowed from Sarah. Vivian didn’t move. As much as she didn’t want to walk home, she definitely didn’t want to ask a bunch of middle schoolers for a favor.

Robin rolled her eyes, taking Vivian’s arm and practically dragging her over to the group of preteens. “Yo, Wheeler! We need a favor.”

Mike Wheeler whirled around, sending a death glare back at the two girls. “Tough shit!” he called back.

A red head that Vivian recognized to be Max Mayfield, Billy’s step sister, rolled her eyes dramatically and let out a tired sigh. “Ignore him. What do you guys want?”

“We’re kinda stranded,” Robin admitted. “Can we maybe hitch a ride with you guys? My house is like a block over from Dustin’s and Vivian lives down the street from Mike and Lucas. Piece of cake.” the group, excluding Mike, looked at each other as if they were telepathically discussing it. Vivian shifted uncomfortably behind Robin. She absolutely hated the idea of riding home on the back of some 13 year old’s bike.

Finally Dustin stepped aside, motioning to his bike. “Your chariot, m’lady.”

“You guys are the best,” Robin said as she perched herself on the wheel pegs of Dustin’s bike. “Come on, Viv. Stop being a baby and get on the bike.” she teased. While Mike had made it clear that he did not agree on the plan, Lucas was the one to offer Vivian a ride home.

Vivian eyed the bike carefully before letting out a loud huff. “Fine. But I’m so never forgiving you for this.” she kicked off her heels, holding them tightly in her left hand as she balanced herself on the small wheel pegs. At least everyone she knew was probably still at the school dance. She wasn’t sure she’d ever live something like this down if anyone were to see her.

She had a near death grip on Lucas’ shoulders as they took off down the street. Suddenly Vivian realized that she had basically put her life in the hands of a thirteen year old boy she didn’t know and regretted choosing not to walk home.

“Hey, aren’t you Carol’s sister?” Max asked, riding alongside Lucas on her bike.

“Unfortunately.” Vivian muttered.

“Isn’t there some dance? How come you guys aren’t there?”

Robin let out a loud snort and looked over her shoulder at the two red heads. “That’s a looong story, kid. You don’t wanna get her started.”

Vivian glared at the back of her best friend’s head before looking back over at Max. “Let’s just say I’d rather be doing this,” she motioned down to the bike before gripping Lucas’ shoulders harshly again after almost slipping. “Than be at that stupid dance.”

Max let out a small laugh and shook her head. “You sound like Billy.”

---

Billy had told Cheryl they could stop by Tommy’s for a few minutes. That had turned into nearly two hours. He had lost her at some point pretty early on. Cheryl never really want to stick around with him at parties and he didn’t really care very much about finding her. He had considered just leaving. But Cheryl had a habit of getting absolutely shit faced and passing out. And as much as she annoyed him, he couldn’t just leave her knocked out in one of the upstairs bedrooms and hope Tommy would get her home safe.

“Yooo, dude! How come you don’t have a beer?” it was Tommy. He threw his arm roughly around Billy’s shoulder, spilling some of his beer onto the carpet. He was too drunk to notice. “Hey, have you seen Carol anywhere? If she’s up in my mom’s closet trying her shit on with Cheryl my mom is gonna kill me, dude.”

Billy shrugged Tommy’s arm off roughly and straightened out his blazer. “No, Tommy. I don’t know where she is. You got a phone in your room?”

Tommy gave him a blank look, like he was trying to decide if Billy was speaking English or not. He blinked a few times. “Huh? Oh! Yeah, dude! Up in my room. Who’re you gonna call? Gonna invite Cheryl over?” he asked wriggling his eyebrows.

“She’s already here, dipshit. You were just talking about her,” Billy said with an eye roll. Tommy was so wasted Billy was surprised he was able to keep himself upright. “How ‘bout you cool off on the beers and go find Carol, huh?” he clapped his friend on the back before moving around him and making his way upstairs.

Tommy’s bedroom was thankfully unoccupied. Billy guessed it was probably so dirty that it would chase off any couples looking to fool around on his bed. It wasn’t like he kept his own room spotless, but even Billy shuddered at the idea of sitting on Tommy’s bed while he called Vivian. He grabbed the phone that was sitting on the nightstand and dialed Carol’s (technically also Vivian’s) phone number.

He ran an irritated hand over his face as the phone rang. The answering machine picked up, and Billy slammed the phone back into its cradle with an annoyed huff. Maybe Vivian was still at the movies. He’d just have to call back tomorrow. That was unless Cheryl was able to work her charm on him and have him back under her thumb before the night was over. He kinda doubted that was gonna happen though.

“Biiillyyy…” a voice called from the hallway. Cheryl. Speak of the devil. Jesus Christ, this night just keeps getting worse, he thought with a groan. “Billy, come on honey, let me in!” she whined.

When he opened the door, Cheryl was dressed in a fur coat and about three pearl necklaces that he assumed belonged to Tommy’s mother. She was pouting up at him with a can of beer clenched tightly in her hand. “How come you locked the door?”

“I didn’t.”

Cheryl frowned. “Oh...well what are you doing in there anyways? I’ve been looking all over for you,” Billy definitely didn’t believe that. “I was thinking we could have some alone time…” she ran her hand up his chest, her long fingernails scratching gently at his skin.

“I’m not in the mood, Cheryl.” he pushed her hand away.

Cheryl fixed her glossy eyes on him and scowled. “What do you mean you’re not in the mood? I mean,” she motioned to her body. “Look at me, Billy.”

Billy rolled her eyes and gently took her by the arm. “You’re wasted. Let’s go home, huh? Tommy’s gonna be pissed if he sees you in his mom’s shit.” this is part of why he hated going out with Cheryl so much. She was like a giant child. More often than not he was just chasing her around and making sure she didn’t get herself killed.

Cheryl yanked her arm away. “No. Fuck Tommy. I’m having fun! God, you’re so fucking boring. I don’t know why I put up with you!” she let a heavy sigh and slid down the doorway, plopping down onto the floor. “You wouldn’t be anything at school if it wasn’t for me.” she grumbled.

Reason number two why Billy hated Cheryl, she was a bitch whether she was drunk or sober. He could sit and argue with her in Tommy’s doorway, or he could remove himself from the situation so he didn’t have to deal with her anymore. He chose the latter. Without another word he slammed the door shut.

“My hair!” he heard Cheryl whine from the other side of the door. He ignored her and picked up the phone once again, jabbing the buttons to dial Vivian’s number. It rang and rang, but no answer. “Oh fuck me,” he spat, slamming the phone back down. Billy let out an irritated huff and ran his hand over his face. He jumped a little when the phone rang beside him. He eyed it for a few moments before slowly picking it up. “...Hello?”

“Who is this?” a woman asked.

Billy frowned. “The hell do you mean who is this? You called me.”

“Are you the little hooligan that’s been calling here all night and swearing at us?”

He groaned and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, look I’ve been trying to call Vivian. Is she there?” Billy only assumed the woman on the other end was Vivian’s grandma. As if things couldn’t get any worse.

There was silence on the other end before a man answered. “Whether Vivian is here or not isn’t really your business. I don’t think we want our Vivian having anything to do with a boy like you.”

“Look, gramps, I can just keep calling until she answers.”

“Well we’ll just have to make sure that she doesn’t pick up the phone! Now goodnight!” and with that he hung up. Billy could only stare at the phone in his hand. There was a screech out in the hall that quickly distracted him from calling back and giving those two little old prunes a piece of his mind. The screech was followed by a loud cackle that could only belong to Carol.

“My hair!” it was Cheryl. Billy swung the bedroom door open to find Carol knelt down beside her best friend, dressed similarly in a fur coat and string of pearls, and clutching a pair of scissors along with a large chunk of Cheryl’s strawberry blonde locks. Billy couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s not funny!” she sobbed. “This all your fault! You closed my hair in the door!”

Carol crawled forward towards Cheryl. “Shhh, shhh. Cheryl, honey,” she let out a snort, covering her mouth. Carol’s expression turned serious again as she regained her composure. “It’s fine, ‘cause you’re not stuck anymore! And your hair will totally grow back!”

Cheryl’s expression momentarily softened until Tommy found his way upstairs. He let out a loud laugh that had Cheryl crying all over again. “Dude, what happened to your hair?! You look like a total mental patient, Cheryl!” he laughed. Carol sent her boyfriend a stern look before nearly breaking into a fit of giggles with him.

It was a moment like this that made Billy think that maybe there was such a thing as karma. He managed to control his laughter and clapped Tommy on the shoulder. “Well, Tommy, I think it’s time I head off.”

Cheryl’s face twisted into a scowl. “What? You’re just gonna leave me here like this?!”

Billy only shrugged. “...Call me when your hair grows back.” he said before he retreated down the hallway, the sounds of Carol and Tommy’s drunken laughter travelling behind him. His night definitely wasn’t going the way that he’d hoped, but seeing Cheryl’s butchered haircut definitely had things looking up.

---

Vivian couldn’t get comfortable. She had been tossing and turning on the couch for the last hour and a half and still couldn’t manage to find a position to sleep in. Carol managed to make it home before their parents. She’d waltzed in drunk off her ass and laughing over something about Cheryl’s hair. Vivian couldn’t really make much out between Carol’s slurring voice and her laughter.

Vivian had helped Carol up to her room and into bed before she made enough noise to wake up their grandparents. It was a pretty thankless job being the younger sister. It wasn’t like Carol would remember any of that night and thank Vivian for it the next morning. Especially when she couldn’t even remember something like her birthday.

When their parents had come home with Sarah they seemed in pretty high spirits. Kevin was spending the night at the hotel with his parents so Sarah could avoid seeing him before the wedding. Apparently Enzo’s had actually done it’s job and impressed his parents. They’d managed to make it through dinner and drinks without a single argument or backhanded comment from Kevin’s mom. Which Vivian was thankful for. She definitely wasn’t in the mood to hear Sarah bitch and moan about how her life was over.

The kitchen light flicked on, and Vivian watched as her dad shuffled in and grabbed a glass of water before he turned his attention to her. He awkwardly lingered in the living room's entrance. “Can’t sleep, kiddo?” he asked.

“The couch sucks.” she muttered. ‘

He chuckled. “I know. It’s almost over though,” he let out a heavy sigh. “One more day and this’ll all be behind us...well, until you and Carol get married,” he joked. Her dad fiddled nervously with the belt of his robe. “Vivian, I um...I have to apologize.”

Vivian frowned and sat up. “Apologize for what?”

“Your birthday,” the look in his eyes let Vivian know he felt very and truly sorry about how her big day had gone. “I can’t believe...everything’s been so busy with Sarah’s wedding...I know it’s no excuse. It’s your sixteenth birthday. It’s a big deal for a teenager, you know? Just trust me when I say that your mother and I are definitely going to be making up for this once the wedding is over.”

It was like the sky had opened up and there were angels singing. Finally someone had realized. “...Does this mean you’ll buy me a car?” she asked with a teasing smile.

Her father chuckled. “We might have to discuss that before I make any promises. You don’t hate me, do you?”

“No! I mean it was totally the cherry on top to like a royally shitty day, but...unless me saying yes gets me a car.”

“Nice try. You wanna talk about your royally shitty day? It’s the least I can do.”

Vivian shook her head quickly. “It’s fine. Really. It’s boy stuff, daddy. I so totally don’t wanna talk to you about boy stuff.” plus she didn’t really know where she would even begin with the Billy subject.

“Oh…” he shifted uncomfortably. “Well...just, you know, make sure you’re being careful…”

Vivian was pretty sure that her face was as red as her hair. This almost wasn’t worth him apologizing for forgetting her birthday. “Oh my god. No. Dad, no. It’s so not like that. I mean he barely even realizes I exist…”

Her father frowned and sat at the end of the couch. “Well, why even bother with him?” he asked, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Because, daddy, he’s Billy. You’re always saying that mom barely even spoke to you in high school. It’s like the same thing.”

“Wait, is this that little punk that’s always hanging around your sister?” he asked. Vivian gave him a pleading look. He held up his hands. “Alright, alright. I won’t judge. But can I just say...I understand having a crush. It’s part of growing up. But you don’t want to mess around with any boy who isn’t bending over backwards to get your attention. You’re worth it, honey. The right guy will see it.”

She liked to think Billy tried a little. He had invited her to Tommy’s party. He had been the only person aside from Robin to tell her happy birthday. Was she totally delusional? “Thanks, daddy. I’ll keep that in mind…”

He patted her on the knee. “Anytime, sweet pea. Alright. I think you and I need to get some sleep, huh? We have a long, long day ahead of us tomorrow.” he sighed with a tired smile. “But in a little over 24 hours it’ll be all about you. Promise.”

Vivian snickered and nodded. “Deal. Night, daddy.” she knew that he was right. Robin had said something along the same lines so many times that Vivian had almost lost count. But she was sixteen. She could let herself have some stupid crush for a little while longer, right?

It was her birthday. She could do whatever she wanted.

#billy hargrove #billy hargrove fic #billy hargrove x oc

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softpanfanfics · 5 years

Text

Cafeteria: Mike Wheeler X Reader

Hello, lovelies! 👋 This is the first fanfic I’m actually posting on this account. I hope you like it!

Description: Mike has begun to fall for the new student at Hawkin’s Middle, and they have nowhere to sit at lunch. Takes place after Season Two.

Requested: No

Warnings: One swear

Word count: 1,186

Your P.O.V.

With your beige tote bag at your side, you followed a couple of your classmates towards the cafeteria. You smirked a bit at how anticlimactic its size was. You knew Hawkins was a small town, that was one of the main reasons your parents moved you there, but you were expecting something more threatening. It wasn’t tiny or anything, but even though it was slightly chaotic, it paled in comparison to the hectic hellholes books often described cafeterias to be.

While it was small in size, your eyes couldn't help but widen at the number of lunch tables. It was like there was a table for every social clique in the grade and then some.

You trotted into line, taking a lunch tray with you. You had significantly less anxiety than you had expected considering it was your first day at a new school, but your fingers still gripped the edges of the tray more than they usually would. When you reached the front of the line, you paid for the cafeteria food and proceeded to scan the tables for any sign of a friendly face.

One of the eight seated tables were filled by a group of tough looking guys you were worried to make eye contact with. Another was filled with preppy fakes and yet another by some theatre kids. You continued scanning the room, silently praying that nobody was staring at you.

A familiar face caught your eye at a table near the back. It was the face if Mike Wheeler, the boy Mr. Clarke told you to sit behind in science class. You walked over, doing your best not to fidget with the edges of your tray.

Mike’s P.O.V.

I was spacing off while the others were debating the plans for this weekends campaign. I was thinking about today’s lesson in science. More than that, I was thinking about who arrived in science. Mr. Clarke announced her arrival with a set of drum rolls from Dustin and Will. Her name was (Y/N), but she said, “If we ever become friends, feel free to call me (Y/N/N),” She seemed funny and quirky, and had a tote bag with books with her. She seemed genuinely intrigued by Mr. Clarke’s lesson. And though I’d never say it out loud, I had begun to fall for her.

“So, Mike,” Lucas chided, snapping me out of my trance. “how’s your crush on (Y/N) going?”

“What?” I snapped. “I don’t have a crush! Especially not on (Y/N)!”

“Yeah? Then who were those heart eyes in science for? Mr. Clarke?”

“He does have a point,” Will chimed in. “You were staring at her for like, the entire class.”

“Will!” I hissed. “Not helping!”

"Dude! It's the same face you used to make at El, until after the Snow Ball when suddenly you two," Lucas gestured to El and I. "suddenly decided you 'weren't right for each other'!"

"You're in love," El stated simply before returning to the Eggo Hopper packed her for dessert.

"It was only a matter of time. I was just shocked it was you who fell first!" Max agreed with a smirk.

I blushed a bit and looked up from the group, only to see a familiar face walking towards our table.

"Guys!" I whisper-shouted. "Act normal!"

Your P.O.V

I approached their table to see two of the boys making duck faces at Mike, while the other one had a girl I recognized as Max’s foot on top of his head. The other girl, the one with shorter, dark brown hair was staring at the others in confusion while Mike buried his face in his hands.

“Um, hey,” I stuttered slightly. “I uh, I’m (Y/N), you may not remember me. I’m in, I’m in your science class? With Mr. Clarke? I’m new, and I need somewhere to sit. We don’t need to talk or anything. I brought a book so-”

“Sit,” The dark-haired girl interjected, putting you out of your misery.

You sat down awkwardly next to Mike, setting your tray on the table and retrieving our copy of The Fellowship of the Rings.

“Oh!” Mike perked up. “You’re reading Lord of the Rings! It’s a good series, isn’t it?”

“Yeah!” I smiled. “I actually prefer the Hobbit, but it's buried in some box somewhere, so until my family finishes unpacking, I'm reading this one.”

“That's cool. Um, I'm Mike, this is Dustin and Will, Lucas is the one with Max’s foot on his head, and that's El.” He gestured to each of them respectively, and Max lowered her foot. “It’s kind of funny that you're reading The Lord of the Rings because I used to get a lot of my ideas for Dungeons and Dragons from fantasy books like that.”

“Oh! You play DnD?”

”Yeah! Our entire party is actually here. I'm the paladin, Will is a cleric, Lucas is a ranger and Dustin is a Bard. El and Max are both pretty new to D&D, but El is our mage and Max is our zoomer.

“You don't have a dungeon master?” you questioned.

“Not anymore, right now we're just using the pre-written modules,”

“Oh, well, um,” you paused, carefully considering your words. “I used to write a bit of adventure in my spare time, so, if you need any new storylines or even just ideas, ah, I have some you can use,”

“Thanks,” Mike muttered in response.

The group fell into an awkward silence and you took a bite of your meal and glanced at Mike, who immediately tore his eyes away from you and blushed. “Saturday,” El offered politely.

“Oh, right!” Mike said with a grin. “We have a campaign on Saturday, if you don’t have any plans, you can come over to my house and be Dungeon Master! Or you can just watch if you don’t know how to,”

“It sounds fun! It should be fine for me to come over, but I’ll check with my parents just to be sure. What’s your number, Mike?”

The two of you exchanged numbers while the others smirked. You didn’t understand until you looked up from your notebook and saw Mike’s face flushing a bright carnation color. It was then that you realized your face was also hot. “Th-thanks,” you stammered.

“You’re welcome,” he muttered, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

The lunch bell rang, and you walked out of the small, not-so-terrifying, table filled cafeteria more excited for Saturday than ever.

#stranger things #x reader #mike wheeler #mike #dustin henderson #dustin #lucas sinclair #lucas #will byers #will #mike wheeler x reader #fanfic #fanfiction #school #first day of school #first fanfic

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harringrovecryptid · 6 years

Text

The Party Looks for Mothman

This was requested by @dead-night-harringrove

Thank you for voting!

“This is so dumb.”

“Shh!”

“Henderson if you shush me one more time I swear to God I'm leaving you in the woods.”

“I just caught you threatening to abandon me, an innocent impressionable child, in the middle of nowhere on camera!” Dustin pointed his video camera in Billy's face.

“Good then you probably also recorded what an annoying ass you've been all day!”

Steve tried to tune out the sound of Billy and Dustin arguing. He had bigger things to worry about. Like keeping Dustin and all his dorky little friends alive the rest of the night.

“Fun camping trip my ass.” Steve mumbled to himself as he dug around inside his backpack.

They were supposed to spend a quiet weekend out of Hawkins to help the kids unwind. To forget the Upside Down and all the horror’s they’d experienced the past few years.

Steve knew he should have been more suspicious when Dustin was adamant about camping in West Virginia.

“Uh, Steve?” Will spoke softly as he stood patiently next to his would-be guardian. “We are okay though, right?”

Steve looked up to meet Will’s eyes and-- Oh god Will. He was the smallest in their group and therefore the easiest to lose. Hell, judging by Steve’s luck the kid’d probably get snatched up by an owl or something.

God he hated camping without an adult.

Steve smiled broadly, hoping Will wouldn’t notice the effort it took. “We’re fine. Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts about joining us.”

The kids had been divided on how they wanted to spend their summer. Dustin and Lucas wanted to go camping, while El and Max wanted to visit the coast. Apparently Max had been telling her all about the sand and the ocean.

So when a compromise (or as El liked to call it, a halfway happy answer) couldn’t be found, Hopper suggested they do both. Naturally Mike went with El, Max, and Hopper. Which left Steve to take the boys and whoever else wanted to join on a camping trip.

Will thought for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I’m good.”

Truth be told Steve was a little surprised Will chose the woods over a beach. The poor kid didn’t have a great track record when it came to this kind of setting.

Billy was also a surprise, albeit a welcome one. And Steve had a sneaking suspicion that he made Will feel safer somehow. That quiet, unspoken ‘I’m okay, so you’ll be okay’ understanding that Will didn’t seem to have with anyone else, even Jonathan.

“Both of you shut up!” Lucas snapped, jumping down from a tree. The action make Steve gasp in horror even as Lucas landed safely on the ground. It’s so dark and he could have twisted his ankle…

Lucas didn’t seem to notice the effect his action had on Steve. He was too busy arguing with Dustin. “Mothman uses both sound and thermo-vision. It doesn’t matter what noise you guys make if he can see us from a mile off.”

Dustin and Billy squinted at Lucas through the beams of their flashlights.

“You just made that up.” Dustin said, aligning himself closer to Billy, who in turn rolled his eyes.

“All of this is made up.”

Dustin was back at Lucas’ side again, glaring through his camera at Billy. “Oh so you can believe in monsters from an opposite dimension but you refuse to believe in Mothman?”

Billy shrugged. “You gotta draw the line somewhere.”

“Here we go!” Steve shouted triumphantly, pulling out a long line of rock-climbing rope.

“Now,” Steve began tying the rope around each boy’s waist, “none of us are getting separated tonight.”

Dustin looked around the woods. “But what if we find the Mothman and have to run away real fast?”

Steve paused on his way to attach the rope to Billy. Finally he turned to Dustin and shrugged. “If we find Mothman then we’ve got bigger problems than just rope.”

The three boys then began to quietly discuss their best course of action once they found the stupid cryptid. Steve shook his head and began wrapping the rope around Billy.

“I thought we were saving the kinky stuff for later.” Billy’s voice had a flirtatious tone to it even in the dark, and Steve was sure his lover’s tongue was sticking out of his mouth with a cheeky smile.

Reaching out to where Steve imagined Billy’s face was, he playfully shoved Billy’s mouth shut. “Can you please take this a little more seriously?”

“Babe, we’re in the middle of West Virginia. What could possibly go wrong?”

Three Hours Later

Steve knew Billy was strong. But not ‘dragging a daisy chain of teenage boys through a forest’ strong.

Apparently an adrenaline rush and strong will to live can be one hell of a motivator.

“Ohmygod Ohmygod Ohmygod!” Dustin kept screaming with each stride and leap they made through the forest.

It was a wonder they hadn't gotten tangled around a tree yet.

“Did anyone else see it's teeth?” Lucas called out.

No one had any extra oxygen to spare to discuss what they did or did not see. Steve was personally way too distracted by the creature's giant red eyes to consider looking at anything else.

Eventually their luck ran out, and Lucas ran left when Billy ran right, causing their party to clothesline around a tall pine.

If Steve hadn't just face planted into the forest floor, he would have complained about the bruises the rope definitely caused.

There was a long silence as everyone caught their breath. Billy and Steve kept looking between each other and the sky, afraid that whatever they were running from was still in pursuit.

“Is everyone okay?” Steve finally panted out. “Will?”

Will was hunched over on his hands and knees, fingers gripping fistfuls of damp earth. He hadn't spoken since they first started running, and it was dawning on Steve just now how traumatic this whole thing might have been.

He reached out and placed a hand on Will's back. “Will, are you okay?”

“That. Was. Awesome.” Will said between gasps for air.

“Really?” Steve stared in confusion at Billy before looking back to Will.

“Are you kidding? That was my first encounter with a monster that ended with me being okay.” Will sat up and winces, grappling at the rope that was still tightly pulled around his waist. “Almost okay.”

“Well I'm not okay.” Dustin whined. “The camera broke when we fell.”

He held up the flattened and cracked remains of his camcorder.

“Are you serious dude?” Lucas shoved Dustin. “We almost got eaten by the Mothman and you're complaining about your camera?”

“But now no one'll believe us! Besides, it wasn't going to eat us.”

Lucas threw up his hands. “Here we go again. What is it with you and thinking monsters are harmless?”

Lucas and Dustin began arguing about Dart and Dustin's completely “scientific” and “rational” need to collect weird animals, eventually dragging Will into the midst as a mediator.

While they were busy, Billy untied himself and crawled over to where Steve was sitting against a tree. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Steve whispered back, intertwining their hands together in his lap.

Billy squeezed Steve’s hand and leaned in closer to get a better look at his boyfriend. “You okay?”

Steve gave a breathless laugh before shaking his head. “We just saw a fucking Mothman Billy. How do you think I’m doing?”

Billy shrugged and gave his boyfriend a quick peck on the cheek when he was sure the kids weren’t looking.

They didn’t seem to mind their relationship after Steve convinced them to give Billy a second chance, but kids still get a little icky about romantic gestures regardless of gender.

“To be honest,” Billy whispered into Steve’s ear, “I’m not convinced it wasn’t just a big bird.”

Steve half-considered just tying Billy up against a tree and leaving his ass in the woods, but the drive back to Hawkins was a long one. And aside from the convenience of having a second driver, Steve was beginning to think he wanted Billy by his side for as long as life allowed.

#harringrove #voting drabble rewards #my stuff #My writing

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hoekins · 6 years

Text

busted | s.h

based from this request, thank you anon!! i hope you like it ♡

pairing: steve x henderson!reader

warning: y’all made out and dustin cursed

request | prompts | masterlist

1.3k words

You can’t even count with both hands how many times you and Steve almost got busted. Dustin’s a smart boy; he’s really perceptive, and sometimes you feel a little guilty purposely hiding it from him but you have to admit, it’s kind of fun and exciting sneaking around.

The first scare was on the same month you got together with Steve.

“Hey, Y/N?” Dustin asked while he sliced through his lunch.

You looked up from your plate, “Yeah?”

“How did Steve know your telephone line?” You almost choked on your own spit at the question. Thankfully, your mother was too busy flipping through a glossy magazine to even listen to the conversation.

“What?” You asked as you took big gulps from your glass of water.

Dustin stared you down, “When you were out, your phone kept ringing so I answered it. Turned out it was Steve and apparently, he confused your private line as the house line.”

“Dunno,” you shrugged, putting on a typical indifferent act. “Maybe Mom got it mixed up when she gave him the digits to the house line.” You stabbed your steak with a fork and nonchalantly shoved it in your mouth as an excuse to stop talking.

You were able to breathe normally again after Dustin dropped the subject and started talking about the new movie coming up.

Then there was also that one time:

“I’m so proud of you, babe. I knew you would get in.” You looked up with your head on Steve’s lap and smiled at him. “They’d be stupid not to accept you.” Steve just received his acceptance letter to a university two hours away from Hawkins and his first instinct was to tell you and celebrate with you.

Your fingers traced Steve’s bigger ones, soothing and calming him down. “Thank you. I can’t wait for you to get yours.” He said softly, and then leaned down to plant a kiss on your nose. “How—“

“Y/N!!” Dustin dragged the vowels on your name as his voice got louder and louder each second.

You jumped up in panic and pulled Steve off the bed and inside your cramped closet. “I know it’s tight in there but breathe a little until I get him out—“

Your door sprung open, “Y/N, have I told you how much I love you?” Your brother asked with wide eyes and a soft smile.

You ran a hand through your hair and sighed, “What do you want, Dusty?”

“Nothing,” he hummed. “Just wanted to let you know I love you and you’re the best sister.”

“Spit it out, what did you break?”

“Nothing!” He smiled wider, “Just that there’s a huge game sale at the mall.”

You watched your brother swing heel to toe with the widest grin on his face. “Your friends aren’t going with you?” You asked curiously. It’s almost like he and his friends were attached to the hip so it’s impossible that they wouldn’t raid the sale with him. You supposed he wanted you to drive him there.

“They are... but we’re a few bucks short.” He said with a frown but then bounced back with the same big smile.

“I am not your personal bank, Dustin.” You sighed, but contradicted yourself since you were already walking towards your bedside table and pulling out a 20 anyway.

“Yes!” He yelled. “Thank you, thank you, thank you-“ he repeated a hundred times as he took the bill from your hand and hurriedly ran out of your room.

You closed your door and soon enough, Steve was walking out of your closet wearing a bra over his shirt. “I like this one,” he smiled teasingly, striking a model pose and showing off your own bra to you. You simply laughed and tried to unclasp it to take it back but he crossed his arms in front of his chest, “Whoa, whoa. Slow down, babe. This is a little too fast for me. Take me out first, then you can undress me.” He winked.

“Shut up, give it back.” You laughed and tried to pull the bra from him.

“No. Let’s trade.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“You’re an idiot.”

Then there was the closest one yet:

You were simply innocently making out with your boyfriend of three months when you started hearing soft pats on the carpet. “Someone’s walking through the hallway,” you muttered , opening your eyes to focus more on the sound.

“I don’t hear anything,” Steve replied and continued to distract himself on you.

“It’s Dustin.” You said upon recognizing the footsteps but really you weren’t in the proper state of mind to actually pull away. Steve’s touch on the sides of your ribs and the trails he left on your jaw completely clouded your thought process until a shadow on the gap between your door and the floor brought you back.

You quickly pushed Steve off your body, sat up and grabbed the first book you could, which for some reason is the Holy Bible. A look of confusion flashed on your face but you recovered from it pretty quickly.

As the door opened to reveal your brother, you started talking as if you’re already mid-sentence, “- cause he’s always wanted a son and then all of a sudden, God tells him to kill his only son whom he wanted SO bad-“ you looked up from the book and gave Dustin a questioning look, “What?”

Dustin’s eyes switched between you and Steve in shock which is understandable because all this time, he thought you couldn’t stand Steve let alone talk to him about the... Holy Bible? “Why are you breathing like that?” Dustin asked the first thing on his mind.

Well shit, of course you were still panting. It’s not like you were just drying the fuck out of your lungs with your boyfriend just seconds ago. “The story is really intense.” Steve answered for you, his eyes wide and tone convincing.

The confusion on Dustin’s face doesn’t fade at all, especially when he noticed Steve’s disheveled hair. “You do know you’re holding it wrong?” Your younger brother asked after a moment of long, awkward silence. You almost asked him what he meant by that until you noticed that you were literally holding the book upside down.

“It’s a skill she’s practicing.” Steve shrugged. “Helps the brain think faster.”

Dustin has never felt so confused, but at that point he already forgot why he even went to your room in the first place. “O...kay... Well keep the door open, that’s house rule.” He said firmly before he turned around and left.

You sighed in relief, lying back on your bed and putting the book back where you grabbed it.

Then there’s right now.

You weren’t expecting Dustin to enter your room, really. He always knocked before entering but today, he didn’t, and you’re sure he wanted to sneak in because you didn’t hear his footsteps either. So yes, he opened the door and saw his older sister sitting on a shirtless Steve.

You gasp, “It’s for science.” It was the first thing that came to your mind, and as funny as it is, you just weren’t prepared for this.

Dustin winces and throws his head back. “Oh God, my eyes.” He rubs them with his hands but continues to walk in your room anyway. “Really? Right in front of Tews? Jesus Christ,” Dustin proceeds to mutter under his breath as he picks up the cat who you didn’t even know was lying on your vanity.

You shake your head, hiding it on Steve’s shoulder while he sits up and tries to explain, “Sorry we didn’t tell you, Dustin. We didn’t know how you’d take it.”

Dustin only nods, “It’s fine, I already knew.”

“What?”

“Yeah, dude. I saw you climbing down my house the other night.” He shrugs and turns to you, “And you have a hickey on your neck this morning. I immediately knew it was Steve because no one else is patient enough to handle your attitude so—“

“Hey!” You narrow your eyes at Dustin and then look at Steve for help.

You didn’t really know what you wanted Steve to do but you didn’t expect him to just smile at your brother either. “Thanks, man. Love you,” And what do you know, Dustin just nods and smiles back.

You switch gazes between the two boys with your mouth gaped a little. “Okay, get out please,” you tell your brother.

“Give me 10 or I’ll tell Mom.”

“You are not extorting money from me—“

“Okay.” Dustin shrugs and turns around to walk back at the hallway. “Mom! Y/N was making out with Steve!”

“DUSTIN!”

#oh wow #stranger things #stranger things imagine #steve harrington #dustin henderson #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x reader #henderson!reader #stranger things request

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tehnardier · 6 years

Text

Not A Couple — Steve Harrington

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader

Words: 1756

Summary: Tired of seeing his friends pining for each other, Dustin tries to play matchmaker to get Y/N and Steve together.

Warnings: none

A/N: this was supposed to be just a small ficlet but i ended up getting a little too excited (as usual).. enjoy and don’t forget to send me an ask saying what you think about it!

When Dustin invited you to go ou to dinner with ‘them’, you had thought that by ‘them’ he meant the whole group, not just you, him and Steve cramped up on a booth of a busy diner that played fifties songs nonstop.

You kept shifting your eyes from Steve to Dustin, waiting for either of them to explain or to at least start talking as they both stared at you quietly from the other side of the table. Dustin cleared his throat after a while and gave you one of his signature toothless grins. “You look absolutely stunning tonight, Y/N. Doesn’t she, Steve?”

Dustin fixed his gaze on the boy beside him, who looked like a deer caught in headlights with his eyes comically wide and mouth agape. “Uh, yeah!” Steve agreed, fumbling with the menu on his hands and trying to keep eye contact with you. “You look beautiful tonight. Not that I don’t think you look beautiful every night, or everyday for that matter... It’s just that you look exceptionally beautiful right now.”

You looked down at your clothes and frowned, wondering what he found so ‘exceptionally beautiful’ in your old sneakers, worn out jeans and stripped t-shirt. Even though you didn’t exactly understand, you still blushed at Steve’s words. “Thanks, I guess.” you mumbled, biting back a smile.

“What Steve is trying to say is that he’s attracted to you.” Dustin chimed in. You would’ve laughed at Steve’s reaction if you hadn’t reacted the exact same way. You both jumped in your seats and looked at Dustin as if he had just grown a second head.

“No!” Steve said loudly. “That’s not— I mean, yes, but—“

Before Steve could say anything else and make the situation even more awkward, the old lady that worked at the diner for as long as you could remember appeared out of nowhere at the table and smiled down. “Have you made up your mind on what you’d like to have, dears?”

You and Steve just stared up at her, both still speechless by the last couple of minutes. Dustin groaned impatiently, making everyone turn their heads to him. “It’ll be three cheeseburgers with fries, a chocolate milkshake and a vanilla one.” he said, grabbing all the menus off the table and handing them to the lady.

“Ok, I’ll be right back with your orders.” she said as she eyed them warily and walked away slowly. The moment she was out of earshot, you raised one of your eyebrows at Dustin and cocked your head to the side. “Who said I didn’t want a milkshake?”

At the same time you asked that, Steve pouted in deep thought. “Why only two milkshakes?” he wondered.

“I thought you could share one since you both like the vanilla one.” Dustin explained easily.

“That doesn’t make any sense.” you told him, shaking your head in confusion.

Dustin groaned again, resting his palms in his eyes for a second. “Y/N, seriously? It’s a big cup. I’m used to drinking everything in it, but you’re not. I didn’t want to assume that you two would be able to face it alone.” he explained as if it were obvious.

Steve coughed and laughed awkwardly. “So, you just assumed that we’d share one?”

“I didn’t think it’d be such a big deal since you two are such good friends.” Dustin said, emphasizing the word ‘friends’ and rolling his eyes.

“That’s not the point.” you said, ignoring the clear insinuation in what Dustin had said. “The point is that you ordered for us without even asking for permission, or our opinion, for that matter.”

“Ok, geez, we’ll change the order.” Dustin said, raising his arms in surrender. “You two sound like my parents.”

“Actually...” Steve started, looking between you and boy beside him. “It’s ok by me. I don’t mind sharing.”

“Neither do I. Why would I? We’re friends.” you said stubbornly, glaring at Dustin in a challenging maner.

Dustin returned the glare, not taking his eyes off you for a second as he shooed Steve away from the table. “Go sit next to Y/N, Steve. It’ll be easier for you to share.”

You sighed in defeat, looking away and shuffling to the side as Steve sat beside you cautiously. It was no use, the booth was too small and you two ended up pressed against each other. You tried to ignore the heat you felt on every part of your body that was touching Steve’s and how fast your heart was beating.

“Would you look at that? You look like a couple.” Dustin said smugly. “Am I the only one who feels an electricity here or...?”

“Huh?” you questioned in annoyance.

“Oh, I don’t really know. It’s just this thing I feel in the air right about here.” Dustin said as he waved his arms around you and Steve.

Steve cleared his throat, adjusting himself in his seat and glaring at the boy. “Dustin...”

He ignored Steve’s warning, instead choosing to smirk at the teenagers in front of him. “Who am I to know anyway, right? Steve here is the expert on feeling that sexual electricity.”

You felt Steve’s legs move under the table and, the next thing you know, Dustin was shrieking in pain and grimacing. “What the fuck, dude? That hurt.”

“Just shut up, Dustin. Please.” Steve pleaded, ignoring you as you stared at him not as discreetly as you’d like it to be. You turned your head to look at Dustin, who had returned to his normal self and was meticulously looking between you and Steve, as if he were studying you two. You opened your mouth to question him but, before you could, the old lady arrived with another waiter and the orders at hand.

“Here it is, sweethearts.” she said as the waiter put the plates of food on the table and moved aside. “One for the boy and one for the couple.”

“Oh, we’re not a—“ you started correcting her while she put down the milkshakes.

She was gone before you could finish, leaving with a smile and a cry of “enjoy your meal”.

“—couple.” you ended your sentence to no one in particular, frowning at the vanilla milkshake.

“Told you.” Dustin chipped in, throwing a fry in his mouth as he grinned shamelessly.

“Dustin!” you and Steve exclaimed loudly at the same time, glaring at the boy.

“Ok, ok. I’ll stop.” Dustin huffed and turned to his food sulking.

He did stop. At least for a few minutes, the three of you enjoyed your meals and talked about other subjects, such as the new arcade game and how Eleven was adjusting to the town. That was until you and Steve went in at the same time to drink the milkshake and your heads knocked with each other, making you blush and violently back away.

In that moment, Dustin let out another groan, this time louder than ever. “Y/N, do you really need to lean that far back whenever Steve’s taking a sip from the milkshake?”

“I’m not doing that...?” you answered meekly. Dustin only gawked at you.

“Are you seriously that stubborn or are you joking?” he asked, fixing his shocked look at you into one of determination. “Y/N, Steve is hopelessly in love with you and has been for a very long time.”

Before you could even digest his words, Dustin turned to Steve with the same look on his face. “Steve, Y/N is hopelessly in love with you and has been for a very long time.”

You felt Steve grow stiff beside you and you were sure your heart had stopped beating for a second. Neither of you even dared to breath as Dustin stared at you exasperated, groaning yet again. “You didn’t listen to me when I said the other felt the same way, and don’t seem to be able to get a hint even when the answer is being screamed at your faces not only by me, but also by the lady that works here and maybe the entire population of Hawkins.” he explained, but you barely listened as you were acutely aware of the boy you loved, and seemingly loved you back, sitting beside you.

Dustin took your silence as an invitation to continue talking. “I guess I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.” he said, looking between you two with a dramatic intensity. “Would you please go on a date together and end all of our misery?”

“Uh, yeah.” Steve said from beside you, turning his body towards you. You did the same and now you were both facing each other in the small space of the booth. “Do you really...” he trailed off, his eyes on your lips and his breath hot against your skin.

“Yes. Do you?” you asked quietly, subconsciously moving even closer to Steve. He only nodded in response as he eagerly closed the space between you and kissed you hard, somehow his lips still feeling soft against your own. Your head was spinning, but you still managed to move your hands to the back of his neck and cradle his head, deepening the kiss.

“Come on!” Dustin said in the background. “Just because I want you to be together doesn’t mean I want to see it.”

Steve leaned away just slightly. “I love you,” he whispered and rested his forehead against yours.

“I love you, too, you dumbass.” you whispered back smiling and laid your head on his shoulder. He put his arms around you and pulled you closer.

When you both turned to look at Dustin once again, the boy had a look of pure disgust on his face. “I think I’ve lost my apetite.”

“You brought this on yourself, Dusty.” you mocked him and put your arms around Steve’s middle just to spite him.

Dustin chuckled in amusement. “I didn’t think you’d jump at each other like bunnies the moment I told you.” he said, a grin growing on his face as he couldn’t hide the happiness of seeing his two friends finally get their act together.

“Well, you’ll have to get used to it.” Steve said as he placed a kiss on the top of your head.

Dustin simply shrugged and grabbed another fry. “Only if I’m your best man when you get married.”

Steve laughed and agreed. You felt your chest grow warm with the amount of love you felt for the boy as you snuggled closer to him and smiled at Dustin, for once glad of his total bluntness.

#i'm proud of this actually lmao #stranger things #steve harrington #dustin henderson #stranger things imagine #stranger things imagines #stranger things x reader #stranger things x you #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington imagines #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #dustin henderson imagine #dustin henderson imagines #my writing #my-writing

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