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trashmouth-richie · 2 years

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TWIN FLAMES

PART 2: Falling

Summary: Steve! how could you forget him?! Robin and Steve come looking for y/n ! A deal is made between people who have just met. ALSO a surprise towards the end. Muahaha

<w/c> 4k (2/??)

Pairings: Eddie Munson x female!Reader, Gareth x Carrie Woodly (oc)

Warnings: MINORS: DNI / smut, kissing, throat grabbing, fondling, cheating, drug use, alcohol use, vomit.

A/N: annnd we’re back! Thank you for the love on Part 1! thank you always to @boomhauer for helping me figure this all out! GIVE ME ALL YOUR FEEDBACK I LOVE IT.

masterlist

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Your lips are like soft magnetic pillows, pulling him in. Eddie can’t hold back any longer, a deep burn in his belly driving him towards them like a sort of primal instinct.

“I don’t know what kind of magnetic pull the universe is doing right now princess, I’ve been fighting this since the moment I laid eyes on you, and —fuck I can’t fight it anymore.” Eddie whispers

This is too forward, Eddie thinks. You’re going to turn tail and run straight out of the van yelling for help.

A part of him knows deep down that you won’t turn away, a part of him knows that you feel this same cosmic connection that is radiating through his veins and out of his skin.

Eddie had his first kiss back in freshman year. A girl named Janice from two towns over was with her dad visiting Uncle Wayne. Wayne and her dad were high school classmates and had joined a bowling league with some other buddies. Every Friday night Janice and her dad drove the forty miles one way to Hawkins. The guys would have a few beers and head out to the bowling alley, Eddie and Janice ordered pizza and rented a movie. Every Friday for two months this was their routine.

Eddie was nervous at first to be spending time alone with a girl his age having spent a 30 minute detention with Tammy Thompson being his only other time being somewhat alone with a girl, and she ignored him the entire time, her “Miss Piggy” nose stuck high in the air. Janice had blonde curly hair and braces. She laughed at all his stupid jokes and admired the way he played his guitar. On the last night of bowling league for the year, Janice had kissed him, it was quick and she tasted like cheese pizza and Pepsi. Even though it was fast, and he never saw Janice again after that night— Wayne had to quit the bowling league after he was offered a better position at the plant on night shift— Eddie never forgot it. Thinking about it every night for at least a year, he thought that was the coolest thing to ever happen to him.

Until now.

You surprisingly lean in, and Eddie attaches his lips to yours. Pure bliss, the words outlining themselves in red on a black canvas in his mind. A million different sensations hit him all at once like a freight train. You smell like freshly made sugar cookies that the school cafeteria sometimes had. Or when Jimmy’s old lady would bring treats for the guys at the garage after a long work week. Your lips taste like vanilla icing straight from the container. Your hair, soft and satiny, Eddie has never felt something so delicate in his life. He never wants to let you go, the thought of it a nightmare striking against the sky. You are everything to him and more, Eddie has been longing for this affection for too damn long, and now that he has it, has you, the jaws of life wouldn’t be able to tear him away.

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Your lips are pulsing with greed, wanting more of Eddie. Needing more of Eddie. His lips part and you slip your tongue against his lower lip, a low groan escaping him. Your hands fly to his hair, it's so much longer than Steve’s.

Steve.

Steve Harrington.

Your boyfriend Steve Harrington, who is ALSO attending this party and is probably less than thirty feet away from you at this very moment! How the fuck could you forget about your own boyfriend? Holding onto Eddie’s shoulders you climb into his lap, straddling him. How hard did you hit your head anyway? Eddie’s large hands wrap around your waist and are tickling their way up your back under your shirt. How could you be kissing another guy?! Oh God but he tastes so good. What the hell is wrong with you?!

Oh no no no no no. This is beyond bad. How are you supposed to tell Eddie that although he is amazing and so devilishly handsome that he did nothing wrong, and you want every part of this and more, but you have a boyfriend?

Better pull the bandaid now before your clothes come off.

You hastily pull away from him catching your breath. Eddie’s eyes are blown with lust, his lips somehow fuller and puckered red.

“Eddie, I’m- I’m sorry I— have to go.” You climb out of his lap and fix your shirt and hair.

“W-What did I do?” Eddie asks quietly behind you, his head hung low like someone took the wind out of his sails. “I thought you were into me?”

You spin around to face him, grabbing his face with both hands making him look at you.

“Eddie baby, you didn’t do anything wrong— I, I — fuck, I have a boyfriend— I don’t know how hard I hit my head but I wasn’t even thinking about him. I am into you— I’m so into you I don’t know what to do, please I need to get my head straight, th—This isn’t your fault, you were everything a gentleman should be— you’re so fucking hot— oh God— I’m a piece of shit, I’m ruining two peoples lives in one fucking night— I’m sorry I have to go.” tears stream down your face as you practically yell that to him. You wipe your tears as you climb out of the van and in that moment you aren’t sure if it’s because you are hurting Steve or Eddie.

“Wait!…y/n! Wait! Wait!” Eddie calls after you, you stop just short of the front of the van and turn around.

“Eddie— I can’t, I-” you begin before Eddie’s lips interrupt you. Again, it’s like a lightning strike, like static electricity in the winter when you wear wool socks and rub your feet on the carpet. He wraps his arms around your waist pulling you into him. He gently pulls back and brushes your hair behind your ear.

“Please just listen to me before you run away,” he starts with his eyes starting to glisten.

“I, I don’t know what overcame me tonight but I don’t usually do this sort of thing. Girls do not bat an eye towards me in this shitty town so I’m sorry if I came on too strong, I’m just— I can’t explain it but I’m trying to… it’s just— when you— when I saw you leaned against that post and brought you to my van I knew that something was different, with me and with you. This pull or whatever it is between us is something I’ve never experienced before and I know you know what I'm trying to say because, no offense sweetheart, but you don’t seem like the type of girl to just make out with a guy you just met in a shitty van.”

He lets out a small chuckle and you do too, ugly crying and all but he doesn’t care.

“I know you have a boyfriend but I don't give a shit. I mean I do, and it kinda sucks a lot. But out of respect for you and for him, I will wait for you. I will wait for you y/n, however long it takes, I’ll be here”.

Tears fall from your eyes and Eddie rubs the pads of his thumbs along your cheeks to wipe them away. You can’t believe this is happening. You have managed to cheat on Steve and have almost little to no remorse for it. But why? Certainly if Steve were to do what you did to him you would be devastated. Heartbroken… at least you think you would be. But in this moment you don’t know how it would feel, mostly because you only have one thing on your mind, one guy on your mind, one single pair of brownie mix colored eyes on your mind.. and it’s not Steve.

You press yourself into Eddie and give him a long kiss. “Oh here! Hang on!” Eddie says quickly.

He pulls you towards the van flinging the passenger door open, diving head first into the glove compartment, his pants are hung low and you can see his red checkered boxers poking out, you give his cute little butt a squeeze and he jumps slightly banging his head against the dash.

“hey hey hey! I’m trying to be a gentleman here but you’re not making it easy” He jokes as he emerges out of the van with a Sharpie and a playful smile upon his lips.

He sticks his arm out and hands the Sharpie to you.

“So, if you’re into me like I’m thinking you are, write down your number, If you’re not into me give me a fake number and I’ll take the hint when I try to call it.”

Of course you’re into him, is he insane? Without giving a second thought you grab his left arm scooting yourself into him so your back is to his chest, you scrawl out your number on his forearm adding a little black heart and a flame. You gently lean forward and blow on the fresh ink on his arm helping it dry quicker.

“Jesus Christ sweetheart, you have got to behave or I will throw you over my shoulder and fuck you inside that barn for everyone to see.” He says with a groan.

You have never been much of a tease, but Eddie’s confession has given your core it’s own heartbeat, aching through your legs and up your chest. You turn his hand over and bring his rings to your lips gently, kissing each one. You place his ring adorned hand sliding up your thigh through the valley of your breasts and landing firmly against your throat, you lean your head back against his shoulder, arching your back and pushing your ass in his crotch.

“Y/n —Fuck, you’re gonna kill me” he moans into your ear. He begins placing wet kisses down your neck. His arms traveling to your tits squeezing them ferociously sending vibrations through your entire body. A small moan leaves your lips as you claw at the back of Eddie’s hair dragging him closer to you. And just like that the thoughts of hurting Steve and being upset about it are gone. What the hell is happening?

A distant voice is heard calling your name.

“Fuck!” You hiss.

“I know baby, you got me so fucking wound up right now I’m gonna cum in my—.” Eddie groans into your neck.

“No, listen!” you whisper, cutting him off, Eddie stops deadpan, his lips still on your neck.

“Is that?! Ste—” he starts.

“Yeaaaah, I gotta go,” you twirl around facing him, “I promise that’s my real number,” You say poking him playfully in the chest and grabbing a fistful of his shirt forcing him down to your level.

Your lips ghost delicately over his as you whisper, “you better call me tomorrow, pretty boy”. You flick your tongue slowly against his lips for one last taste of sin, leaving Eddie rock hard against the zipper of his jeans.

—————————————————————————

Steve Harrington?! She’s dating fucking Steve Harrington? Christ almighty. Eddie stands in disbelief as he watches you run around the side of the barn— away from the door.

Steve is walking fast out of the barn with Robin Buckley on his heels. He looks frantic and his face is screwed up in a painfully concerned look. His eyes are sweeping across the outskirts of the barn looking for any sign of her. Eddie almost feels bad for him.

“Y/n!” They both call.

Eddie nonchalantly walks to the back of his van slamming the doors and pushing his hands in his pockets. He needs to find Gareth and Jeff and get the hell out of here.

“Hey Munson!” Steve calls out to him.

Fuck, play it cool Eddie you weren’t just feeling up this guys girlfriend, nope not you.

“Hey man, sorry I’m all out of eightballs but I do have a few blunts left” Eddie says with a grin.

“What? No! I’m looking for my girlfriend! Have you seen her?!” Steve yells.

“Yeah, right behind ya man.” Eddie says, pointing to Robin.

“I’m not his girlfriend you fucking freak, she’s about this tall, long hair, was wearing faded jeans and a black shirt? Have you seen anyone look like that?” Robin yells back at him crossing her arms across her chest.

“Nah man, I’ve just been out here in my van, dealin’ and smoking my own supply.” Eddie says with a shit eating grin.

“Cool. Real cool, who comes to a party and stays by themself all night?” Steve says getting more and more irritated.

“Probably the same kind of guy who lets his girlfriend get lost at a party.” Eddie shoots back.

Steve places his hands on his hips and runs his tongue over his teeth. Letting out a deep breath.

“Alright testosterone city, let’s go. Maybe Dustin saw her” Robin says with a hand on Steve’s shoulder pulling him out to the field where Dustin and Jeff were.

Eddie makes a mad dash into the barn following the smell of weed. He almost knocks over a beer can tower on his way, apologizing quickly to Mike and Jonathan. He finally finds Gareth, perched atop a shitty green couch with a girl on each side of him, one kissing him so sloppily it could make a sloppy Joe jealous. The other looking as if she was going to puke at any moment.

“Ahem, Gareth?” Eddie says clearing his throat loudly.

Gareth opens his eyes seeing Eddie but doesn’t stop kissing the girl. With his eyes he motions for Eddie to get lost. Eddie shakes his head and cocks his head towards the door pointing to his watch. Gareth rolls his eyes and gently pushes the girl off of him.

“Come on man, I know you don’t have a fucking curfew!”

Gareth says, wiping his mouth with his hand.

Before Eddie can retort, the girl on Gareth’s right turns her head and pukes all over the side of the couch.

“Sorry babe I gotta go,” Gareth says all to happily and practically jumping up and leaving. “Call me” he motions to the girl as she holds her friends hair while she pukes again.

“Alright fuckwad this better be good, I never thought you of all people would be a fucking cockblock!” Gareth seethes into Eddie’s ear as they shuffle their way out of the barn.

They rush past Mike and Jonathan who are now reinforcing the tower of beer cans while El raises more into the air, wiping at her nose. Lucas is holding a very drunk Max protecting her away from anyone trying to lurk around and be a creep.

“We gotta find Jeff and get out of here, like now.” Eddie says to a stumbling Gareth.

“Well what happened? Is it Jason?” Gareth asks.

“No, not him. Just hurry we gotta find Jeff and leave!”

In five minutes time they find Jeff, drag his drunk ass into the van, and head down the gravel road, kicking up dust and rocks behind them.

“Are you gonna tell me why we left the party like you had shit yourself? Of course unless you did?” Gareth says snidely to Eddie, a small smile creeping onto his face.

“Haven’t shit my pants since I was baby, so nah that’s not why we left in a rush” Eddie laughs.

“Well then what the fuck man? I was with Carrie Woodly, you know I’ve been after her for years! I finally shoot my shot and then we have to leave?!” Gareth yells across the van.

“Dude, her friend blew fucking chunks all over the place no matter if I showed up or not you would not have gotten laid tonight— that’s girl code.” Eddie says with a grin.

“HENDERSON— HE’S DOING MY HOMEWORK FOR A WEEK WHEN SCH-(hiccup) SCHOOL STARTS!” Jeff screams from the back of the van. Eddie is driving so fast Jeff is being tossed around like a stuffed animal.

“Look man, I’m sorry I just didn’t want to get my ass kicked, I mean for her I would no questions asked. But maybe not while she is there to see it.” Eddie trails off to himself.

“Who are you talking about? You didn’t talk to a chick all night, the only person I saw you with was Will Byers, and he wouldn’t beat you up even if you asked him too.” Gareth says with a confused look on his face.

“Jesus Christ” Eddie mutters under his breath, “Listen! I met a girl tonight, she’s not from Hawkins, we really hit it off, I’m talking hot and heavy like a ‘57 Chevy type of shit. But it was more than that. It’s complicated. Oh and she uh— she has a boyfriend! And not just anyone but Steve fucking Harrington!” Eddie says in almost one breath.

“STEVE HARRINGTON! You fucked Steve Harrington’s girlfriend?!” Gareth and Jeff shout together.

“No- we didn’t, Steve showed up and she ran off but not before giving me her number.” Eddie raised his left arm in the air like he was winning an award.

“Damn Munson! You’re a dirty dog!” Gareth hoots and hollers.

“It’s not like that man, I’m really into her. I can’t stop thinking about her.” Eddie says almost shyly. He gazes out of the windshield thinking of you, counting the hours until tomorrow when he can call you and hear your voice.

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It was an awkward ride home after Steve and Robin find you. While waiting on the side of the barn you notice the younger boy from earlier making his way back from the house. Damn that house must be miles away you think to yourself. You run up to him and grab him dragging him beside the barn with you.

“Hey uh, if anyone asks I was with you the entire night, I fell, you helped me to the house and cleaned me up. Then we walked back to the barn, got it?” You ask him.

“…o-kay.. well what’s in it for me?” Will eyes you suspiciously.

“What?” You almost yell at the boy. What the hell does he mean? What’s in it for him?

“Listen I don’t give a shit what or who you’re trying to lie to but I at least want something out of this, and before you ask I mean weed not sex or anything like that!” Will says.

“Yeah okay fine I’ll talk to Eddie whatever. Just remember the plan. I was with you all night!” You say hurriedly.

You are about to walk inside when you see Eddie walking fast with a younger boy with thick, wavy, blonde hair. They walk out to a field, and you decide it’s now or never. You make your way back inside with Will by your side. The first thing you see is Billy Hargrove with a different girl than before. They are practically humping in front of everyone, just as you turn away to keep looking for Steve, the girl pulls away from Billy to catch her breath. Wait is that, NANCY WHEELER?!

You look over at Will and his face contorts into disgust.

“Oh Nancy, you can do better than him!” Will yells out to her. He lets out a laugh and shakes his head trying to get the image out of it. He spots Steve and waves him down.

You tell Steve all about what had happened, well the made up version you and Will only knew about. Steve’s face goes from scared to worried.

“Oh my God, honey I’m glad you’re okay!” He says sweeping you into a hug and placing a kiss on your forehead. But the electricity is not there, no rush of static, nothing but his firm lips hitting your head like a ton of bricks. He fist bumps Will and whispers a thank you to him before taking you out to the car.

The whole ride home Steve and Robin talk about how they looked for you but only found Munson, how he was completely rude to them and was acting like a jackass. At first you don’t put it together, after all Eddie never did tell you his last name. It’s Robin who finally uses his full name and you almost choke on your spit.

“You okay?” Steve says one hand on the wheel the other on your leg rubbing it reassuringly.

“Yeah my uh—my head just hurts a lot, listen I know we were supposed to stay the night at your house tonight but I would really just like to go home and sleep.” You say to Steve adding a little pained expression to your face to really play it up.

“Of course y/n, whatever makes you feel more comfortable” Steve grabs your hand and kisses it lightly.

Immediately your mind flashes back to just shy of an hour ago when you were kissing Eddie’s fingers, his mouth on your neck, hands groping your tits twirling your nipples through your bra—pull it together y/n! Steve is right fucking here!

You clear your throat and rest your head on the door, letting your mind wander thinking of Eddie.

Robin fell asleep on the way home and Steve had to quite literally scream in her face to get her up. The drive back to Bridgeport seemed like it took 8 hours. You decided to pretend to be asleep so You wouldn’t end up tattling on yourself.

Steve lifts you from the car into your house, going up the stairs to your room, he removes your shoes and tucks you in bed, leaving some aspirin and a glass of water on your nightstand. He places a small kiss on your cheek and walks out of your room turning off the lights and locking the door as he leaves.

You felt bad, you know you did. Steve deserves an explanation, deserves to know how you feel, but truth be told you don’t know how you feel. Are you really willing to drop almost 19 years of friendship and a relationship for a guy you just met tonight?

The answer should be obvious, and for anyone else in this situation it would be. Your future is right ahead of you all set up. The trust funds are waiting, the fancy house, the promising careers for both you and Steve. But it felt wrong, it felt forced. Not by Steve but by your parents. Since toddlerhood they had been pushing you both together. This isn’t a Disney movie, you’re not betrothed to Steve. You are your own person, but recently it seems like you are always known as we, you and Steve. Steve and you. You even got the same senior pictures taken, TOGETHER. As cute as it sounded now it just seems eerie. It’s as if a veil has been lifted off of your face for the first time. You are finally seeing clearly. And the answer is easy.

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#eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #will byers #gareth stranger things #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #mike stranger things #eleven #lucas sinclair #max stranger things #billy hargrove #no vecna #jeff stranger things #dustin henderson #stranger things x y/n #eddie x fem!reader

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saltyseagoat83 · 5 months

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oh girl you know I wanna know everything you can share about your Eleven/Gareth fic 😜

lol I know 😝

Okay. Here's what I've got for the overall plot for this one.

This one is set post-season 4. Vecna was successfully defeated. Sullivan and his goons were made to disappear, and higher ups decided to leave El tf alone after Vecna. Eddie survives, and Steve uses family connections to get his name cleared and charges pinned on Jason. The Byers clan plus (obviously) El remain in Hawkins aside from Joyce, Hopper, Jonathan, and Argyle going back to see what can be salvaged from the California house.

Mike starts getting back on his bullshit as things start calming down, and El... with some gentle encouragement from Nancy and Robin, and less gentle very fucking blunt encouragement from Max and Erica... permadumps his ass which makes him go into 'sulky little bitch poor me' mode. Erica, Dustin, and Lucas introduce El and Will to the rest of Hellfire. Instant liking, Eddie immediately adopts El and Will whether they join Hellfire or not. Some sparkage with Gareth and El. Will is a little salty at first over how Dustin, Mike, and Lucas had so readily joined the club when they didn't want to play D&D with him at all the previous summer but joins up anyway... after apologies from Dustin and Lucas b/c Mike's a brat and wouldn't acknowledge his wrongdoing. El is more hesitant when she's invited to try it out too because Mike lied to her yet again at some point prior when she expressed interest and told her D&D was only for boys (which made no sense to her because 'boy' vs 'girl' toys/play etc were never a thing at the lab). When she learns of the lie, she decides to join in out of spite. Mike is predictably a little shit about it, but it's okay because Eddie banishes him from Hellfire as soon as he finds out about the lie, until Mike gets his head out of his ass and makes amends.

Gareth increasingly dislikes Mike the more he learns little by little about how he treated El during their relationship and is determined to woo her and show her how a guy ought to treat a girl, especially one he's romantically interested in. He'd take his time, not wanting to rush her into anything like Mike did, and wanting to develop a solid friendship before actively pursuing her romantically. And El wants to show Gareth she appreciates it all and is interested in him too and starts reciprocating little by little in her own way, with advice from Joyce, Eddie, and Nancy mainly, and a bit from Robin, Steve, and Dustin. [Because we know Max isn't the sappy type, and Erica's got zero interest in dating anyone that we know of.] Not sure yet exactly how Gareth will find out about El's superpowers, but when he does he'll think it's the coolest thing ever and never make her feel like even a little bit of a monster/freak/abnormal about them. Ofc he'd keep the secret too, because he'd want to help her stay safe as best he can.

#stranger things #gareth x eleven #eleth #gareven

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alicetallula · 2 months

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Stranger Things Reverse Big Bang 2023/2024 - HIM by mashawisotsky - Part I - 25.04.2024

It's a blast to work with @mashawisotsky on the IT AU for the @strangerthingsreversebigbang

The AU will be a series with different parts added little by little with illustrations by yours truly :3

Part I NSFW

Banner - HIM by mashawisotsky - 25.04.2024

Done using ink pens and alcohol markers, acrylic paint pens and Photoshop for the title and credits

AO3 post / DeviantArt post / Instagram post / Pillowfort post / Twitter post

Banner as is - Max, El, Dustin, Gareth, Will, Mike and Lucas as adults - HIM by mashawisotsky - 25.04.2024

Done using ink pens and alcohol markers and acrylic paint pens

AO3 post / DeviantArt post / Instagram post / Pillowfort post / Twitter post

Header - Two red balloons - HIM by mashawisotsky - 21.04.2024

Done using ink pens, alcohol markers and acrylic paint pens

AO3 post / DeviantArt post / Instagram post / Pillowfort post / Twitter post

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pearlypairings · 4 months

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🛳️. For the fic recommendation thing!

11. 🛳️ A fic that brought you aboard a new ship

With a Little Help From My Friends by @1lostsoul0fishbowl introduced me to Eleven and Gareth which then led me straight to the GreatMage pipeline of Next Time I Fall and life hasn't been the same since for those two adorable dweebs <3.

Send an ask for a fic rec :)

#fic rec ask game #fic rec #stranger things rarepair #great mage #eleven hopper #gareth #el x gareth #losty converts us all #ask pearly #pearly answers #thanks for the ask!

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ofbluesandyellows · 1 year

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Twelve: Jitterbug Love - Eddie Munson/Reader

Warnings: swearing, alcohol drinking.

Word count: 7,543

a/n: this is the end my friends! Pure fluff, have fun reading it!

Previous chapter

Days felt like they were coming in slow motion, even reluctant to come at all, so slow and sticky with summer air and mugginess, but the expectation grew and it helped but what really served as the ultimate incentive was when you got the heads up from your school to get the magazine printed. Sonic Fret still looked more like a zine than anything but so far it was better than nothing and your classmates were really supportive and interested in the content of it, there were details that needed work.

Arriving at Hawkins your first stop was at the Wheeler’s. Nancy and Jonathan were waiting for you in her room, you’ve been there just once in the past and it surprised you that Nancy looked so put together that you never thought about her having a crush on anyone, but yes, there it was, a big poster of Tom Cruise occupying a large part of his wall. Interesting.

You’ve talked to Jonathan only through the phone but having both of them there was like magic happening. Things started to take form pretty quick, the magazine got a few changes and Nancy as the rich kid of the three offered to get it color printed, one of Jonathan’s photos right front and center. The inside had a little section with all the collaborators of the magazine, with a small individual photo beside each name, it looked professional but also different from all the other magazines you’ve bought in the last year, this had bright tones and lots of images that represented each piece.

Nancy and you hugged after you finished shifting and editing parts of the contents, flashes from Jonathan’s camera coming at times as you worked and at the end it was Mike holding the camera, taking the most important image of them all, you three holding Sonic Fret. Smiles couldn't be wider, it was the achievement of a year of hard work but it was finally there, not complete yet but just one print away from it.

“You guys are going to the movie night, right?” you asked both of them as Nancy drove.

Nancy nodded, throwing you a glance through the rearview mirror. “Sure, Mike has been bothering me about it since he found out, and maybe it’d be good to have photos of it, you know just for the memories.”

“Yes, correct. We have Byers’ boy here to take the most epic photos.”

“You got it! I wouldn’t miss it, mostly because there will be free food anyway so absolutely,” Jonathan smiled at you. “It’s going to be good.”

“It is already good, come on! I can’t believe we finally come to this.” the fluttery feeling of nerves and excitement increased in the base of your belly, your hard work was reflected in the almost finished magazine.

“Yes, it’s been hard… and expensive but it’s good, my mom thinks it has potential.” Jonathan exclaimed, looking out the window, “I don’t say it because it’s my mom but you know… it’s nice to have the adults opinion.”

“Tell her what Hopper said.” Nancy shot Jonathan a funny look. It made you squint at them.

“What did he say?”

“Uh. well… um he thinks it is very… cool? no, no, he said dope… your magazine is dope kid!”

“No way,” you snorted, and all three of you were laughing as Nancy reached your aunt’s home. “At least we have a strong fan base guys, it’s getting better.”

The car came to a halt when Eddie’s van came out of the curve, parking right on the same spot he had since you met him a year ago. Your whole body buzzed at the expectation of seeing him again for the first time in months.

Nancy and Jonathan traded secret glances and looked at you.

“Well, see you later,” Nancy smiled.

You saw Eddie coming out of his van and your heart somersaulted against your ribs, ready to burst.

“Say hi to Eddie for us.” Jonathan said, but you were already shutting the door close.

Eddie looked the same yet hotter and hell! his smile, you ran to his arms without thinking through.

The clash of bodies, took the breath out of his lungs as he heard you laughing, clinging to his neck, legs surrounding his hips, he had no option but to put one of his hands on your butt and the other on your waist.

“Hey, love how are you?” he was surprised by the calmness of his voice, on the inside he was shaking, legs felt like jelly just by feeling you around his arms. “Fucking hell, I missed you!” his face hid between your hair.

For the first time you felt like you were home.

Your backpack fell at your feet when Eddie put you on the ground, his eyes were shining and yours were watery for some reason you felt like crying.

“No crying, come on baby, we are having our romantic encounter.”

“But these are happy tears!” you tried to defend your emotional state but it made Eddie’s face to contort into a sad lipped smile, “don’t do that it makes me feel bad, I’m just happy to see you Eddie,”

“Then kiss me,” he quickly grabbed you by the waist and in a second you two were kissing, it started cute just chaste kiss after chaste kiss.

You had curious eyes on you, people passing by in their cars, slowing down just to see who was showing PDA on the streets of Hawkins. The news of you and Eddie being together was very new in town and of course they talked about it, your aunt was worried about what people could say or think of you but your mom eased her down, Eddie is the cutest sweetest boy in the world. She said.

Whatever happened around you was the least of your problems, you were very interested in kissing every part of each other’s faces. Your hands grasped Eddie’s soft dark hair just as his hands squeezed your sides a little as the kiss intensified slowly, tongues got in the way and restless hands tried to grab more than they could.

At some point you were dragging Eddie across the living room of your temporary home, you left the backpack on the entrance of the house. Eddie chuckled as you kept on pulling onto his arm, all was good until you got to the stairs, he froze mid-step. Your uncle watched you two from the rim of this newspaper, he was sitting on the couch, facing you.

You clearly heard Eddie gulp, and his body stiffened. Knitting your brows together, your eyes went from your boyfriend to your uncle as if you were watching a tennis match.

“Uh, good afternoon Mr. Johnson… sir.” Eddie half bowed half waved with his free hand. He wanted to run the hell away from there. The image of that gunshot still fresh in his mind.

“Good afternoon.” Your uncle grunted, folded his paper and walked out to the garden where your aunt was watering her roses, minding her own business.

Immediately after the man disappeared from Eddie’s line of vision he visibly relaxed, a sigh came out of him and you tugged at his arm calling for attention.

“What was that about?” You had a funny look set on Eddie.

He half shrugged, “nothing–I think he doesn’t like me much”

“But I do- and we are going to be here only for a few minutes, let’s go.” You had agreed to go help Steve decorate his house for the Star Wars thing, which was set for tonight.

As you guided Eddie up the stairs, he held your hand to his lips. “You’re taking me to your room? Oh babe, that’s so naughty of you.” his smug tone made you giggle.

The moment the door of your cousin’s room clicked closed you pushed Eddie against it and started kissing him again. It’s been a while. You haven’t seen each other in 3 months, you both needed it, no matter how much you had clashed your lips together earlier it was not enough.

Eddie’s hands on your hair and neck, he grabbed the chain you had around it, he saw the ring he gave you hanging there, warm to the touch, smiling he kissed you harder, biting your lower lip lightly, causing ripples of desire go down your belly. Your own hands found a place under his shirt, fingers running down his back. It made Eddie shiver and gasp mid kiss, causing you to grin. Oh the power you had over him, you were barely aware of it.

“Hey there, I have something to tell you,” he mumbled shakily over your lips, pushing your hair aside so he could have better access to your neck.

“What is it?” Eddie left tiny pecks on the side of your neck up to your cheek, eyelids and finally he kissed your nose.

His smile was one you’ve never seen on him before, wide and sweet. His eyes sparkled and he was looking down at you, with so much adoration it was making your insides squirm.

“What?” You asked again, your hands brushing the top of his hair.

He half shrugged, kissing the tip of your nose again. You felt him grip your hips slightly harder “I think I’ve never been this happy. You make me happy y/n”

Your own lips tugged upwards, “is that what you wanted to tell me?”

Eddie chuckled, “well yeah, I mean it’s not like you didn’t know already”

“But it’s nice to hear it, because you, Eddie Munson, make me extremely happy and proud.”

Eddie felt his whole face flush, he truly didn’t have much word encouragement or appreciation in his life growing up so this was nice and new and he was enjoying every second of it.

“You forgot to say that I’m the most handsome man you’ve met, with the best band in the world, that we are the future of music.” You scrunched your nose laughing, “what’s so funny huh?” He poked your stomach making you laugh even harder.

“Aah stop,” he didn’t until you fell flat on the matters, Eddie’s legs on each side of your hips, he leaned over you, as you slowly stopped laughing.

“Seriously, you make me happy and… I have news.”

Eddie had you pinned down but he was only looking at you as if you were the most precious thing in the whole universe, to him you certainly were. Grabbing your hands, interlacing his fingers with yours, he stared.

“Okay, tell me… better be good news.”

“They are,” his smirk gave it away, “we–Corroded Coffin–have a deal… like a real record deal.”

You felt your stomach clench, “are you for real?” Eddie nodded, biting his lower lip. “Shut the fuck up!”

“I fucking know! It’s insane, I mean we have to go to Chicago in two weeks to see details about the contract but… baby, it’s happening!”

Eddie squealed, jumping out of his spot in the bed, he started pacing around telling you all the details about the phone call he received only two days ago, how his friends and band members were over the moon for the news. For Eddie this was huge, and you knew, but he felt beyond happy, words were not enough to express how he felt, never in his life experienced such an amount of joy.

He truly felt like he could burst into specks of sparkles and confetti. You watched him talk with crazy hand gestures and incredible wide grins, teeth showing and rings shining. You could watch him do that forever. But most importantly he was happy and you were there to see him shine and grow.

☼

The arrangements for the Star Wars party were pretty simple but you were in awe when the mirror ball reflected the colorful lights Steve had already installed in his living room. It showered the house in rainbow rays of light, it really made you think of how the whole space jump aspect of the films looked like.

While Eddie helped put cushions on the floor and place the cookies shaped as Ewoks and R2D2’s on large plates. You went to meet Robin in the kitchen, you gave Eddie a once-over, he was smiling at the decorated cookies, proud of the way he had arranged each of them in perfect lines, you loved a childish man.

Grinning, you almost clashed with someone on your way in. Liquid swinging dangerously inside the transparent cups the person was holding on a tray.

“Shit, I’m so sorry.” you said, helping the girl.

The red haired girl smiled at you, “no worries, we didn’t spill anything, we are good. Steve would’ve killed us.”

“He totally would,” you laughed, “You’re Vickie right?” the girl nodded and suddenly Robin was by her side, as if she had appeared out of thin air.

“Ah, fantastic!” Robin said gleefully. “My two favorite girls here. so I’ll make the introductions.”

“We were already–” you tried to say.

“Shh, Y/n, this is important.”

You rolled your eyes at your friend, you heard Vickie chuckle.

“Y/n, this is Vickie… my beautiful girlfriend.” The beam Robin showed to the girl beside her made you want to cry, they both looked so happy it was the most joyful you’ve seen her in your life. “Vick, this is y/n, my best friend… I’ve told you a lot about her.”

“Yes you have, but it’s lovely to finally meet you in person y/n”

“Likewise, my friend here has been utterly in love with you since forever.” you laughed, but quickly went silent when Robin threw you a sharp look. “anyway… I hope she has told you only the nice things about me.”

Vickie nudged Robin–who still had you with a death glare– with her elbow, your friend looked at her, and then at you, her face softening immediately, cheeks growing red.

“You know Robs, she told me everything about everyone really, so yeah the good and the bad,” Vickie shrugged, “you’re okay though, don’t worry, I bet she’s one drink away from telling you all my embarrassing stories as well.”

You both laughed, and Robin grunted in faux irritation, she loved that both of you were bonding even over her gossipy self.

“I wouldn’t doubt that, but hey, let me help you with that.”

Taking the tray Vickie had been holding with drinks in bright almost radioactive colors, you turned around and walked to the living room, the snacks table was already set, all thanks to your handy boyfriend.

Eddie met you there. Smiling he leaned closer to you as you placed the tray on the surface of the clothed wooden table.

“She is cool, right? I mean, Vickie. I’ve talked to her a few times and she is just like Robin, she is less clumsy but they kind of have the same… um, goodwill and are always there to help, if you know what I mean.”

“She is very nice,” you both looked at Robin and Vickie, pouring green stuff into more cups, they were laughing about something and pushing each other playfully. Vickie kissed Robin’s cheek and then Robin kissed her on the lips.

That was your cue to look away.

“I’m just happy Robin is happy, and for once she is being herself fully, that is all that matters.”

Eddie’s sneaky arm went over your shoulders, dragging you closer to his body, he smelled like mint gum, you sniffed, oh he definitely ate one of the cookies because there was some hint of cinnamon in the air.

“I’m happy everyone is happy right now, even Harrington. He deserves someone who loves him for who he truly is not because he was popular in school,” Eddie scoffed, “it’s beyond me how he pulled off dating Wheeler, but I guess the world works in mysterious ways.”

You nodded but quickly turned to face your boyfriend, “wait… why you say that? Do you know something I don't?”

Squinting at him, Eddie gulped, shit now this was his fault, he shouldn’t have said anything.

Fuck me!

Steve was going to kill him. But more than anything he knew very well he couldn’t divert your attention to other topics, you were not going to let it go until you found out what was going on,

“Shit, okay…” the palm of his hand brushed across his face, eyes tightly closed. “Promise me you won’t tell Harrington I told you, because he made me swear on my guitar that I wouldn’t tell but look at me, I’m always so stupid. Also, he wanted to tell you everything… so… can you promise?”

His shiny dark chocolate pools of irises were enough to swear on it.

“Now spill Eddie!”

Eddie sighed and whispered in your ear, you were in shock, how was that not even Robin had told you about this, it was odd and impressive at the same time. You hated when they knew stuff and you were the last to find out. Yet you understood why Steve hadn’t told you about his current crush.

The girl was not the obvious option for him, she was new in town and she was a Star Wars fan, she had read about Lord of The Rings and played all the games at the arcade. It was the opposite of Nance. So it was twice as shocking to you when that night you found Steve blushing and giggling like a little child when said girl was around, it was a s if Steve had lost his brain in one of the rooms of his big house and now he was just… being stupid.

Robin told you all about how they met, it was all the kids doing; Max invited her to one of the movie nights and that was the end for mom Steve. You’ve seen Steve being an idiot before, several times, like it was part of his personality, yet that night he reached another level of idiocy.

Green punch fell off his hand and splashed his jeans, and carpet, the girl–named Maggie–was laughing, while Eddie snorted by your side, he was not going to let that go easily. From far away you saw Nancy and Jonathan communicating as they did, with knowing looks and smiles and giggles as they watched the scene grow more dramatic as Steve knocked over another cup of punch with his feet as he made his way to the bathroom.

Keith rolled his eyes and sighed, but not only Steve but everyone who dared to make another sound during the movie, he would remain annoying for the rest of his life.

Maggie was jolly, if you and Robin were a happy combo now with Vickie and Maggie around it was all big laughs and whispering gossip, this made Eddie and Steve worry about their own sanity, but just as Eddie said earlier, it was good, things were finally good in Hawkins and that was better than it had been in years.

At the end of the night, the whole gang was dancing to radio music as some collected trash, others ate the leftovers, and the rest just pretended to do the job as the chat kept going. And things felt like they have always been like that, Steve pulled you aside, he told you all about Maggie as you pretended to be shocked, gasping and smiling. Then again it got proven how bad of an actress you were.

“You knew already! Jesus! I can’t keep something for myself in this town or what!” Steve shouted to everyone in the house, “don’t even tell me, I know it was either Robin or Munson.”

“Hey, this is your fault, you should’ve told me! It hurt me not to hear it from you first, you dumbass.” you smacked him on the arm, he gasped.

“Ok, rude… and, sorry. I was overwhelmed and Robin made me feel bad about it the whole time, as if I had committed a crime for liking Maggie or something.” both hands on his hips, waiting for your acceptance of that horrible apology.

“Steve, shut up I never said anything bad to you, stop blaming me for your lack of confidence.”

Steve showed Robin his tongue and she flipped him the finger, you grinned, there they were, your two best friends being… them.

“Whatever Steve, are you asking her out or do you want me to tell her?” you snapped, with a wry smile.

He grimaced, “I can do that myself please y/h, I’ve done that a million times now,” your eyes narrowed, making Steve wince under the strong staring, “stop that, I swear I am inviting her out, just…. I need more time.”

“Ugh, if you say so.”

Eddie scoffed, “man, just do it… she’s gonna say yes, we all saw the way she laughed –rather loudly I dare to say, when you did stupid shit… trust me you did tons of stupid shit and still she stayed for the whole trilogy.”

Eddie was right, it was an act of stupidity followed by ten more that night, including choking on his own saliva as he said the name “Wicket W. Warrick.”

“She did not laugh that much!” Steve squealed, his cheeks going red.

“She definitely did,” Lucas tried to imitate Maggie’s laugh, only making you all laugh at his attempt, “y’all jerks.”

“Do it Steve!” Dustin started chanting, and soon everyone joined him until Steve put his hands up in the air to make you all stop the nonsense.

“You little fucks are the worst, just shut up and… let me call her.”

Howls and whistles sounded, prodding Steve to finally ask her out.

By the end of the night Steve had a date for the weekend with Maggie. That Sunday, you saw him go out of Family Video wearing a navy blue polo shirt, hair extra puffy and leaving a trace of lotion behind.

“He used too much of that thing,” Eddie coughed as you waited for Robin to finish her shift, you were taking her to the mall where she was meeting Vickie.

Robin smiled at the image of Steve fixing his hair again on the rearview mirror. If someone had enjoyed seeing him suffer that was Robin.

You were all leaning on the main desk. As Eddie and Robin made fun of him, you thought how nice it was to see him finally dating someone good for him, not that Nancy wasn’t but he was looking for someone who could replace her rather than someone he liked being around with.

Robin still had twenty minutes to go for her shift to end, meanwhile you and Eddie were pacing around Family Video, reading the back of the tapes’ summed-up parts in funny voices. When that got boring, Eddie dragged you to the farthest aisles, he put you against a self and kissed you, you were giggling the whole time.

“Shhh, VHS sheriff Buckley is coming for us.” Eddie mumbled as he leaned closer to your lips, in the movement, his hand smacked a tape off the rack and there they went… the whole line started to fall like a domino line.

“Guys!” Robin shouted from her spot on the desk, her head popped to shoot you the nastiest stares. “Seriously, can't you keep it in your pants for a few more minutes Eddie? And you y/n… I’m disappointed.”

You hid your face on Eddie’s chest, you both snorted, but it only made Robin more annoyed and for you to laugh even harder.

“Sorry Buckley, I’ll put everything in place, my bad.” Eddie put a hand over his heart, apologetically, as if that was enough to make Robin feel less frustrated.

Robin’s eyes rolled, it almost looked hurtful. “Just… ugh!” She went back to do whatever she has been doing before the commotion.

As Eddie placed the tapes back on, trying to look for the right place they were before, you watched him, not even bothered to help.

If someone saw you right there you were sure you would look like a complete idiot, Eddie was just everything for you. The way he blinked, how his smirk made your stomach twist and your toes curl, his hands were always warm and gentle when he touched you, and his rings were always there making a nice contrast to the temperature of his skin. His hair was soft and even when he didn’t want people to know he took good care of his messy locks, smelling like lavender and yeah, sometimes like weed, but hey “those are natural scents” he’d say to you with an easy shrug and a grin.

Maybe the future wasn’t going to be as easy as just being there with your friends but for now it all felt perfectly okay.

For Eddie it was like a whole new level of intimacy to have someone around not only to talk or joke around but to hug and hear encouraging words. Eddie was used to being pushed away, or looked at the wrong way, you were somewhat like the light he has been waiting on to shine on his path, to make him see things were good too. So he never missed the opportunity to say the nicest things to you, to kiss you whenever he felt like it, to hold you so close it felt natural to be there. For him it felt so instinctive to do everything knowing it was for you, and it wasn’t a possessive thing it was just a way to thank you and show what he never had growing up, love.

Eddie furrowed his eyebrows when he saw you standing there, just watching him. A smile playing on his lips, he wanted to ask what were you thinking but Robin’s clock chimed, and that only indicated that she was off, finally.

Placing the last couple of tapes on what he guessed were the right spots, he sighed looking at his work, it wasn’t the best but it was better than nothing, shrugging he turned to you and took your hand.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Eddie pushed you slightly with his hips, the chain on his jeans clicking. “It makes me feel all self conscious.”

“I was just admiring your beauty, but if you want I can look at other boys.”

He scoffed, “as if they were better looking than me.” you snorted, “don’t laugh! Let’s be honest I’m both gorgeous and have a great personality.”

“Yeah,”

“You’re mean” Eddie pushed you again, making you laugh harder, he smiled and went to the desk to see what Robin was doing.

“Just five minutes, I need to change.” She said, shoving her best in the pits of her backpack.

“Fineee! We’ll be outside. Hurry up Buckley!”

“Yes mom!”

Eddie passed you, opening the door open for you. Hand extended for you to take, funny enough, no matter how many times he did that, or kissed you, every single time you felt like squirming and jumping, the butterflies hadn’t had a rest since spring break.

Taking his hand. With a light squeeze Eddie guided you to his van, both got inside to wait for your friend.

Eddie put the radio on, pop music playing, he scrunched his nose, you only shook your head, classic Eddie.

Taking the bag you left in the car, there rested a new mixtape you made during the weeks leading up your comeback to Hawkins. Throwing it at Eddie’s lap he saw a name written on it, Jitterbug love, the song he sang to you that night a year ago.

A huge grin spread on his rosy lips, his fingers traced the name letter by letter, causing you to bite the inside of your cheek.

“Should I put it on?” He asked, already pushing it in the stereo.

“Hope it’s good enough for your high standards.”

“We’ll see about that.”

The first notes of We Will be Strong played Eddie immediately turned his face to face you, lips forming an ‘O’, for the chosen song and the fact that you knew the band had him a bit more in love with you

“Fucking Thin Lizzy, have I told you before how much I fucking love you?”

Your heart skipped a beat. No, that was the first time he ever said I love you, but he had expressed it plenty. Still the impact of his words felt funny in your chest, making your face heat up.

“Nope, but I love you too.”

He leaned in his lips and smacked yours so suddenly, grabbing you by the back of the neck, surprising and all you quickly you recovered.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” he simply said, bopping your nose with his index finger.

His head banging to the rhythm as the guitar riffs filled the space in the van, you felt at ease, joyful. From your spot inside the van, you saw Robin running around Family Video trying to put everything in place before closing for the day.

You sighed, resting your head on Eddie’s shoulder as he played air guitar. You two had the whole summer ahead, things were so different from what they were a year ago, and yet similar, one thing was for sure, change was inevitable and you were ready for it, as for that moment you were pleased with how life was developing. Next year, who knows what it’d bring.

☼

A year later.

Eddie puffed smoke out of his nose, this was the third cigarette he consumed in a row. The crowd inside the venue was only growing, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel nervous, his fucking keens were wobbling as if he was little Bambi making his way out of his mother’s womb.

It was ridiculous to him to feel so jittery for a performance when he has done it a dozen times now. To make things even worse you weren’t there, that was what had him more worried than anything else. Almost an hour late, he should be by the side of the stage now, getting ready to go up there.

The butt of the smoke went flying away with the flick of his finger. The autumn air was chilly, he had no jacket on because he felt like he didn’t need it, at least he wouldn’t once he started the show, but the moment the wind hit his naked arms he regretted not grabbing at least Steve’s corduroy jacket.

This was the most important performance for Corroded Coffin, that was true, but he tried to push the thought far away, not needing the extra pressure.

Eddie started pacing around the alley, close enough to the backdoor of the venue if someone came out looking for him but far enough to have a moment of privacy. Chicago looked so huge from where he was, he felt so little and insignificant when he thought about all he had gone through the last couple of years. All from being called the leader of a satanic cult, to fighting monsters in an alternate dimension to being in love and then being heartbroken just to be in love again, then Corroded Coffin getting big, who knew he had to go through all that just to be standing there in the cold without you in his arms.

The immensity of the world reduced to your figure running across the street. Your boots echoed in the alley, and Eddie finally felt like he could breathe.

“Christ! Baby I thought you were not going to make it!” Eddie shouted, you instinctively jumped to his arms once close enough, koala like, like a tradition now.

“I am so sorry, my bus broke down on my way here. I had to take a taxi and then another bus. But I’m here now.”

Your lips kissed Eddie’s cheek, holding his face between your hands, you smiled, he looked so beautiful with glitter on, his eyes shining even more.

“Aren’t you cold?” You asked, feeling the cold from his rings coming through your jeans.

“Nah, I’m all good now.” He grinned, and kissed you fondly.

“You were smoking,” you scrunched your nose.

He chuckled, “yeah, but I have a good excuse… you weren’t here and I was anxious, I am pissing my pants but it’s okay, you are here and that is just what I needed.”

“Hmm, okay then let’s go inside.”

Eddie let you down, fingers intertwined like second nature, it had been a difficult year for you both in terms of seeing one another. Eddie had done everything in his power so the debut album of Corroded Coffin could be recorded in New York, which they granted yet this was happening in the upcoming weeks. He was yearning for that time to spend it with you as much as he could.

They had done tours, as the supporting band which was great for them, they released their first songs at the beginning of the year and now they had them playing on the radio. It always made you smile when you heard your boyfriend’s voice coming from the speakers. Proud flooding you.

But for that you two had sacrificed visits and holidays together, so both of your careers could take off. You traveled as much as you could manage to be at Eddie’s shows and it was so much fun, you were not complaining at all, on the contrary you loved it, however, being back at Hawkins in his van sounded like a dream right now.

For you it had been good as well, the magazine was launching its official first edition in a few more weeks, shiny paper and a few record shops in Queens and Brooklyn agreed to sell copies in their establishments. That was another reason why you all were there, this was Corroded Coffin’s first performance as a band with a record on the way and singles playing everywhere, and you were there to have that first show ready to be redacted and placed on your magazine, this being one of many collaborations of the two.

Inside the venue was warm and loud as shit, Eddie’s chocolate eyes met yours every now and then as he showed you around, the green room was the final destination. Relieved sighs and claps were heard when the two of you stepped inside.

You hugged the whole band, Jeff already off the walls, like a wild animal ready to be set free.

Steve hugged you so hard the air in your lungs came out in a puf.

“Jesus, y/n. What took you so long! You should’ve told me I could have waited for you in Hawkins,”

“I’m here now, don’t sweat it.” you have him a kiss on the cheek to ease his nerves. “How was the trip?”

“Long, these kids I swear they are going to make me go insane.” Steve started to complain about all the noise and mess they made in his car, “good thing is that Maggie was there with me.”

They drove all the way from New York, to Hawkins to pick up the teens and take them to Chicago for tonight. Not all heroes wear capes.

“Where is Maggie?” You looked around to try and find her.

“Out there with Vickie and the kids, they said they wanted to have the best spots, even when I told them we had them already,” Steve rolled his eyes, “you know how they get.”

You nodded, understanding completely.

“Is Nancy and Jonathan here too? I need to know if we are good for the shots.”

Your body turned to Eddie, who was drinking water. He gave you a thumbs up, but soon enough you felt him coming for you, hugging you from behind.

“They got here like two days ago. I saw Byers earlier with all these different cameras and Wheeler was gathering information from the manager, so yeah all set.” Eddie mumbled, his chin resting on your shoulder, he kissed your cheek, that being enough for you to turn on your toes and kiss him back, harsher than necessary, making everyone grunt, you smiled, proud of the reaction.

“Hey! Am I invisible or something?” Robin complained, “I’m your best friend, y/n. I want a hug too.”

You chuckled, “We saw each other two days ago, Robs”

“So?”

“It's my time to shine Buckley, you’ll have her later.” Eddie pointed, poking his tongue out.

Now Robin and Steve were in New York with you, which was fantastic, you three shared an apartment. Good thing was that Vickie had got into a college in Brooklyn which was very convenient for Robin.

Maggie was always around, and occasionally the kids were seen in the apartment as well, you weren’t sure how but they managed to convince their parents to let them go to Manhattan. You didn’t even want to ask, they were sketchy whenever you asked about how they got permission or money. So you let them be.

“The band just finished their set. They gave you long enough so no more excuses, huh Edward.” Their manager, Martin, appeared at the door giving Eddie an accusative glance.

“Noted.” He responded still holding you, he saluted the man who smiled at you, closing the door.

“Hah, Edward.” Robin said laughing.

“Shut it, Buckley.”

Robin kept on laughing, you shook your head, dynamics always the same but it was funny to see Eddie covered in dark clothes, long hair and glittered face and then hearing someone call him Edward.

“Are you ready?” you looked at your boyfriend right in the eye.

“Am ready now that you are here,” your heart somersaulted, and the butterflies in your stomach danced wildly.

“Have the best night okay? Have fun!”

Eddie grinned, now he was finally feeling like this was the life he wanted, “can I get my good luck kiss please,” Eddie begged, his nose brushing yours.

“Of course,” your lips met his soft, pink ones, sweet and deep, his tongue met yours, teeth colliding and sighs escaped the two of you. “Good luck.” you whispered, barely able to speak.

“I love you!” Eddie held you closer, you heard his heart hammering in his chest.

“Love you more!” you replied, with a big grin, he finally let you go, reluctantly though.

Eddie felt whole for once, you were there, his friends were there, his band was not the opening act any more. They were finally playing a sold out show on their own, life couldn’t be better, after all the lows, he was finally living his dream.

“I want a good luck kiss too.” Gareth complained.

“Hey! Watch your words, man. You always have Jeff for that,” Eddie pushed his friend, clearly joking. “Let’s go boys, we have a show to give.”

The band started jumping, and patting each other on the back, making weird noises and letting the excitement wrap them.

Robin and Steve made gestures for you to follow them, but not before you could give Eddie one last look, he winked at you as you took different paths.

You followed your two best friends through a few corridors until you reached the designated place for you all. The kids hugged you and asked you about your trip and the whys you were so late, all the boys wearing their Corroded Coffin hand made shirts.

From there you saw Jonathan, he was fixing the lens of his camera, doing his best to find the best spot for the photos. Nancy and Maggie met you there the moment the light went off.

Screams made it all feel like the motor of a plane ready to take off, roars only going louder the floor shaking at your feet. Robin held your hand, Vickie by her side, Max as always ready to jump and dance with you, like your little own tradition.

Nancy had a tiny notepad by her side, she wrote a few words and went back to watch the show.

The reflectors went on stage and the band came out, the noise grew and grew making your body buzz with excitement. It started with Eddie giving a speech thanking everyone who attended the show and for requesting their song on the radio stations.

The concert went on with songs you knew by heart, shouting and dancing with your friends around, Nancy was enjoying herself a lot all the while she wrote down stuff, Jonathan nodded his head when he was not shooting flashes and changing lenses.

Their new song Fonder got everyone singing, dancing and sweating, passing water bottles to each other and laughing at the peak of happiness.

Corroded Coffin sounded better than ever, and looked even better, Eddie was shining, moving his hips, and banging his head to the sound. Solo guitars made the venue rumble as the crowd lost their shit to the sweet voice of their lead singer, and the absolute hypnotizing rhythm of the bass and drums.

“Now,” Eddie spoke on the mic, sweat pearls on his top lip. “This one means a lot to me, and I think it got secretly picked for the setlist a long time ago, and I don’t think I'd be going anywhere. Here’s a classic, Jitterbug Love by the iconic T Rex. This one's for you baby.”

A finger pointed at you, his wide grin made your breath hitch, the kids nudged you. It was the end of the song when you clocked Eddie placing his guitar aside, people screaming to get his attention but Eddie had one goal and that goal was to get to you.

The music continued thanks to the band who seemed to be very well prepared for this moment, elongating the song.

Eddie ran and dodged hands, gave high fives to a few and when he reached you, he only did what his heart felt like it. He kissed you, hands on both sides of your face, as the crowd shouted to the air, you laughed half way through the kiss.

“What are you doing?” you asked.

“I just felt like kissing you right fucking now.”

Eddie’s smile could light the whole city if possible, he was sweaty, you probably were too but it was all too sweet to even think of how sticky you felt. He ran back to the stage to sing the last couple of lines.

Jitterbug Love is going all around now

Here it comes again…

Eddie shouted to the microphone, blew a kiss to you. Cheeks were hot and you were shaking.

The green room was a party once the show ended, flowers were received and champagne spilled. Everyone gathered in the tiny room. You sat on Eddie’s lap, as he held you against his still hot sweaty body. You had glitter plastered all over your face and hands, you were loving it.

Jonathan and Nancy were talking about the piece they were writing together. Jeff pointed, “if your are good Byers, we could hired as our personal band photographer”

Which it was obvious he would.

Eddie bit your ear to drag your attention to him. You slapped his leg, hearing the rumble of his laugh on your back, “Can’t believe this happened,” he whispered.

“To me it’s all like a dream, it was wild.” you confirmed, looking into his eyes, “you were fantastic.”

“Thank you very much, I have a great girlfriend that supports me and is my biggest inspiration.” a peck on the corner of your lips, “truly, you are the best I don’t think I could’ve done any of this without you.”

A sigh escaped you, “back at you boy, Sonic Fret will have a special thank you note for your contribution.”

“Nah, not necessary. I’m happy with this, you and I here, with our friends.”

“Me too,” you snuggled closer to him as Steve and Robin depicted to everyone in the room all the crazy stuff they’ve seen in the subway in New York.

Eddie snorted, “Can’t believe they’re your friends,”

“Excuse me? They’re yours too. We fit in with them just right, we are all a little… derange.”

“In the best way obviously.”

“Hey don’t be calling us derange, you crazy rockstar.” Robin explained, “If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t have met.”

“I didn’t even say anything! And you are completely wrong! If it wasn’t for Vickie.”

“What about me? I left Y/n there, duh” Steve stepped in.

You gasped, “how dare you admit that Steve. I had to walk home alone because of you.” You pointed at him and there the chaos unleashed.

“We all made it happen, now shut the fuck up, and keep on telling us why that lady had a squire inside her pocket.”

It was a normal evening in an unusual way. It all came full circle.

Loving Eddie was easy from the beginning. You’ve done it for two years now and no matter how much your lives changed you were ready to spend it with him; weird night encounters, long distance and random PDA’s with occasional fights over who had the best music taste. You always won, though.

a/n: Merry christmas and happy holidays to everyone who read this! I wanted to give you the last two chapters as a christmas present! This was so much fun to read, thank you for being here and I hope you enjoyed this just as much as I did... was this super cheesy and cliche? totally but Eddie deserves a happy ending. Let me know what you think and thanks a lot for being here💛 see ya next time

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schrijverr · 1 year

Text

Page 34-35

Leaving also doesn’t mean never coming back, never witnessing what happens to those who have stayed behind. Moving on, doesn’t mean one can’t look back. It is important to reach back to your past if you want to be a family. Connections are built on memories and keeping up with one another. Many associate breaks with no homework and letting loose, we associate them with meeting up and letting others get to know the new pieces of yourself you have found in the time you were away.

[Under the text on page 34 are three photographs. The first is of Will proudly showing a portrait he painted of Mike. It is highly detailed and many hours went into the work, that much is clear.]

Love Painted

Jonathan Byers, 1988

[The second photograph is of El, showing off two braids in her hair, they look like the kind Nancy taught her how to braid. The smile on her face is blinding.]

The Girl with the Braids

Jonathan Byers, 1988

[The third image is of Joyce and Hopper. Joyce is on a ladder with a hammer and some nails, Hopper is holding it. Together they’re hanging up a rainbow flag on the wall.]

Acceptance

Jonathan Byers, 1988

[Page 35 has two photographs. The upper one is of Corroded Coffin, back then they were still small and performing at the Hideout on breaks, though that doesn’t seem to stop them, from being dressed extravagantly. Eddie has eyeliner tears streaming down his face alongside the sweat. He is mid-head bang, sharing a microphone with Jeff. Gareth has his arms raised high in the background, about to slam down on the drums. Chris is pouring water from a bottle over his face.]

Corroded Coffin Live at the Hideout

Jonathan Byers, 1988

[Beneath it is a photograph of Robin and Steve, they’re seated on the porch of the Munson trailer, both bend over and fiddling with something. Robin is wearing a pair of Steve’s gym shorts and a sports bra, as well as chunky chain necklaces and rings. Steve is in a shirt on which is painted ‘Queer & Here’ in choppy letters, he is also in a pair of gym shorts.]

Making Friendship Bracelets

Jonathan Byers, 1988

<<Prev Next>> AO3

#rr writing #a collection of queer photography by jonathan byers #byler #platonic stobin #jim hopper #joyce x jim #joyce byers #jonathan byers #will byers #eleven hopper #corroded coffin #eddie lives au #eddie munson #steve harrington #robin buckley #jeff stranger things #gareth stranger things #stranger things #st post season 4

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tw-inkl-e-tit-s · 2 years

Text

Taking requests, I can write smut, fluff, or angst for any of the ST Characters

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1lostsoul0fishbowl · 4 months

Text

stepping stones: a deleted scene from next time i fall (895 wc)

for @strngerpairs valentines event: greatmage (gareth x eleven)

“Look, Bear.” El handed Gareth a smooth stone she’d just picked up by the edge of the lake. “This one is so pretty.”

“Yeah, it is.” He traced one finger along the small vein of purple threaded through the gray rock, then hefted it experimentally to feel its weight. “Would make a perfect skipping stone.”

She immediately caught his hand in hers. “No, please do not throw it! I want to keep it for my collection.” The moment the words were out, though, she regretted them. Was it weird to collect pretty rocks? Would he laugh? Their relationship was still fairly new, and Gareth seemed to adore every new facet of her personality he discovered, but that couldn’t possibly last, could it?

El was still trying to determine where his line was. The irrevocable line everyone drew between cute and weirdo. The line she was bound to stumble over one day soon, completely by accident; never sure just what it was she’d said or done to cross it, only knowing with a terrible certainty, as others’ smiles went from friendly to pitying or patronizing, that she had.

But Gareth didn’t laugh. “You have a rock collection?” he asked, handing back the stone. “That’s so cool. What are your favorite types?”

She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. “I do not know what they are. I just keep the ones I think are pretty.” Stuffing the stone into her pocket, she braced herself for whatever comments might be coming her way.

When he didn’t say anything, though, she finally dared to glance up. He wasn’t giving her the look she’d been dreading— wasn’t even looking at her at all. He’d crouched down at the water’s edge and was closely examining the rocks there. Plucking one from the water, he rubbed it dry on his jeans and held it out to her with a grin.

“Look at that one. It’s kinda sparkly.” His eyes were sparkly, too, shining up at her, and El’s heart did a funny little flip in her chest. “You want it?”

“Yes, please.” She returned his grin with a beaming smile of her own. “It is very pretty. You do not think it is weird, to keep pretty rocks?”

He shrugged. “Nope. Lots of people collect stuff they think is cool.” He picked up another rock, inspected it, then made a face and dropped it back where it had been. “I love that little things like pretty rocks make you happy.”

“You— you do?” El felt her eyes filling with tears. He did that all the time now, just casually mentioned something he loved about her, and it thrilled her every time. He was so generous, so free with his affection; not at all like Mike, who could barely bring himself to utter the word ‘love’ to her. Gareth not only said I love you easily, but he could make her feel it too, with nothing more than a smile or a touch of his hand. She doubted herself often, but he left no room for second-guessing the way he felt about her.

His cheeks flushed pink. “I thought it was obvious that I love pretty much everything about you. Even the stuff you think is weird.” He got to his feet and took both her hands in his, sparkly rock and all. “If you’re waiting for me to change my mind about you,” he added softly, “it’s not gonna happen, Janie.”

She gave him what, to herself, she called an Eddie-look; head tilted down, eyebrows raised in disbelief. “‘Pretty much’ everything?” she echoed, and he burst out in a loud delightful laugh, just exactly as she’d hoped he would. She loved to make him laugh, loved knowing he wanted to laugh with her and not at her. “What do you not love?”

He grinned mischievously. “I don’t love how you always steal all the purple Skittles.”

Now it was her turn to crack up laughing. “But they are the best ones!”

“I know! And you never leave me any!” He swept her up in his arms, lifting her feet completely off the ground as he spun her in circles, both of them giggling like crazy. “Just once, you could eat all the green ones—”

“I do not like the green ones.”

“What about orange, then? Hmm? Nooo, you’re single-minded in your grape thievery.” It was such a silly conversation— Max would’ve called them ‘dorks’ for sure if she’d heard it— but they were laughing so hard they could barely breathe, and El could literally feel his happiness, bright and unequivocal. Just like her own. She let her forehead drop to his shoulder as she came down, breathing him in, vital as the sunshine.

He touched her chin, gently lifting her face to his. “But, other than your complete disregard for candy sharing etiquette”— she couldn’t help it, another little giggle escaped her— “other than that, baby, I really do love everything about you.” His knuckles softly brushed her cheek. “You know that, don’t you?”

“Even the weird stuff?” She leaned into his hand, savored the comforting touch. “I know I am a weirdo.”

“You’re my weirdo. Yes, even the weird stuff. Everything, Janie.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

A promise like that ought to be sealed with a kiss, she thought, tilting her face up to his; he was only too happy to oblige.

#strangerpairs #stpairsvalentines #el hopper #gareth emerson #greatmage #eleven x gareth #weirdos in love

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berry-loves-yandere · 2 years

Note

Which characters are most likely to kidnap their darling or just try manipulation/other tactics?

Yandere Stranger things headcanons:

Warnings: kidnapping, manipulation, obsessive behaviours, possessive behaviours, stalking, mentions of drugging

Characters: Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, Eleven (Jane) Hopper, Lucas Sinclair, Max Mayfield, Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, Billy Hargrove, Robin Buckley, Eddie Munson, Chrissy Cunningham, Jason Carver, Gareth Emerson, Jim Hopper, Joyce Byers and 001/Henry Creel/Peter Ballard

Mike Wheeler:

Mike would be the type to kidnap his darling or completely isolate them in some way shape or form.

He would want to feel needed by his darling, he would want them to be dependant on him, that’s why he was attracted to Eleven at first, because she was dependant on him.

He would try to induce Stockholm syndrome so his darling would bend at his every whim.

Will Byers:

He wouldn’t kidnap his darling unless he snapped and would do it on impulse.

He’d mainly be clingy and if he feels the need to, he’ll manipulate and threaten people.

He’d only snap if certain things are said.

Eleven (Jane) Hopper:

Eleven would try to do everything but kidnap her darling.

Eleven had to deal with that sort of situation as a child and has trauma surrounding that.

She’d just be very clingy and unintentionally manipulative.

Lucas Sinclair:

Lucas wouldn't kidnap his darling for one reason only, if Erica found his darling, she’d definitely tell their parents and Lucas would be in deep shit.

But he’d probably socially isolate them so that way, he’s the only person they can trust.

Max Mayfield:

She’s like Mike but in a different font.

She’d probably do the same thing as him except it’s not so they’re dependant on her, but so that Max has more control over them.

Max has limited control over most things in her life, so having the ability to control her darling is slightly freeing.

Steve Harrington:

He would kidnap his darling.

“It’s for their safety” is his mentality on the situation.

He would think that the world is too dangerous for his darling especially since the Upside Down exists.

Nancy Wheeler:

She wouldn’t kidnap her darling, she’d probably manipulate them to do exactly what she wants.

She just doesn’t like the idea of accidentally hurting her darling in the process.

Jonathan Byers:

Wouldn’t kidnap his darling but socially isolate them by being so clingy to the point where his darling is never on their own, and if they think they are, Jonathan is most likely watching them without their knowledge.

Billy Hargrove:

This man is so possessive that it’s almost a necessity for him to take his darling away from everyone!

No one but him deserves his perfect darling’s presence, so he’ll hide it away, just for him.

Robin Buckley:

No way in hell would she kidnap her darling.

She’s even scared to touch her darling’s hand, how on earth would she be able to kidnap them?!

Eddie Munson:

Yes.

He’d probably be so insecure and jealous of people’s attention to his darling that he’d take them away from everyone else.

Just slip a few pills into their drink and blam! He’s got you in his grasp forever.

Chrissy Cunningham:

No, she’d hate herself for even thinking about that.

She’d never want to take away any of her darling’s rights or risk hurting their relationship.

Jason Carver:

Despite being extremely insecure, he wouldn’t kidnap his darling.

He’d probably just make it known that they’re his darling and no one have them but him.

Gareth Emerson:

Similar to Chrissy, he’d feel guilt for thinking about it but if he ever snapped or went into a downwards spiral after a chain of bad events, he would kidnap his darling.

He’d apologize but wouldn’t let his darling go since he doesn’t want to lose them.

Jim Hopper:

Yes and no.

It wouldn’t really be kidnapping but more like manipulating and/or forcing his darling to be in a relationship with him and move in with him.

Joyce Byers:

She wouldn’t even consider that an option.

She’d probably just try to drop hints that she wants to live with her darling.

001/Henry Creel/Peter Ballard:

Yes. All the way, yes.

He’d want to take them away from the cruel and disgusting world so that only he can witness their majesty.

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tooearlyforthis · 2 months

Text

Help Me Help You

Pairing: Steve Harrington x reader

Synopsis: (12.6k wc) Steve can't always admit when he needs help - which is why Robin is there to tell him. Weeks of therapy and he feels like he's gotten nowhere. So what happens when his therapist recommends a group session? What if he recognizes someone there?

Warnings: fluff, angst, mental health - anxiety, depression, panic attacks, mentions of loss, therapy, mentions of SA

masterlist || steve harrington taglist

This is a little different than what I usually post but I started writing this when I wasn't in the best place and I found it helped a lot. A lot of this stuff I've been through but if there is any feedback you guys have to portray the things discussed better please reach out!

“And how has that shaped you?”

The words echoed in Steve’s ears. He had heard it, comprehended the question; but his mind drifted far away. The grey carpet floor beneath him held no value, but he couldn’t look away. Why did he think therapy was a good idea?

Dr. Ackerman shifted in her seat, her pencil tapping against a notebook in her lap. “Steve,” she said sternly. He only mumbled a response, picking his head up. “How did not getting into college shape you?”

It sounded more like an interview question than anything else. Something a mid-level employee would ask him as he sat in the front of the store, nerves taking over his whole body.

He propped his foot up on one knee, trying to think of an answer quickly. “Uh more resilience, I guess?”

Nodding, Dr. Ackerman wrote on her notepad. “Care to elaborate?”

“I don’t know, that kind of life wasn’t meant for me. It made me move on to better things.” He tried not to tap his fingers against his thigh - a nervous tick he had developed over the years.

“And why do you think that life, going to college, wasn’t for you?”

He tried to think of a way to justify his answer. Telling the truth wasn’t an option, despite it being the reason he sought out counseling.

She leaned forward, letting her hands drift over her knees. “This won’t work if you’re not open, Steve.”

Shit how did she know?

Leaning back Dr. Ackerman continued, “I want you to come this weekend to sit in on a group session with my other patients. See how talking about what’s wrong may help you.”

“I don’t know –“ he began, already hesitant on her suggestion.

Putting up a hand, she silenced him. “No fighting. You need to commit, Stephen.”

The mention of his full name stung, a friendly reminder that she was older, wiser – a person who knew what was best for him.

“Trust me. This will help.”

Something smelled good. Way too good.

It floated through his house, filling every crevice despite the absence of bodies. It made him feel safe, an unfamiliar sensation to him from the last few years. Following the smell, he walked into the kitchen. Robin was standing over the stove, a paper towel gripped over her arm.

“What did you do?” He asked, announcing his presence.

He wasn’t surprised to see her. More and more the past few weeks she had been spending time at his house, even taking up a semi permanent room upstairs.

She turned around, her face softening from a scowl. “Just burned my arm with oil. I think I put too much in the pan.” Steve chuckled. “How did it go?”

Shedding his jacket, he sat down at the counter. “It was fine. She wants me to do group therapy this weekend.”

“Do you think it will help?”

He shrugged, not knowing his true answer. Out of all the people in their little party of monster fighters, Steve experienced some of the worst. From getting beat up more times that he could count, to getting tortured by Russians, he was in desperate need of help.

But part of him still thought he didn’t when there were always others that would need him. His brain would spiral. To thoughts of the kids, hoping another gate hadn’t opened up; to Joyce and Hopper, wondering if someone would come back looking for them. But as the PTSD of his past caught up to him, it felt like the only viable option.

“What are you cooking?” he asked, diverting the conversation.

“Chicken,” Robin replied. “I mean, it’ll probably taste like shit. But it’s been a while since we had a proper meal, ya know?”

He nodded. “Yeah it has been…don’t worry though it actually smells really good. I think I’m going to take a nap before we eat if that’s okay? Just tired from this –”

“ – you don’t have to explain. I understand.”

He smiled at her – a genuine smile. Nowadays it felt like every emotion he felt was being forced, a sign to tell the others he was okay. But Robin had a way of bringing out his true self. She understood him in ways no one else in his life did. From the moment they went crashing down in that Russian elevator, they were linked at the hip - a single mind working cohesively.

Entering his bedroom, he felt immediate relief. It was a sense of safety, like a big blanket wrapping him in a warm hug. Sinking into the mattress he let sleep take him, hoping to not wake up from the horror of his dreams.

The weekend came sooner than Steve would have liked. He didn’t feel ready to walk into group therapy, no matter how much he tried to prepare himself. The unknown scared him, even when it came to just talking about his feelings.

Robin offered to drive him. He was reluctant at first since she had only had her license for a year. But the session was a couple of towns over and she knew how his mind would run if he was alone in his car.

Pulling up to the building, she let the car roll to a stop. The engine continued to rumble in Steve’s ears, his heart matching the irregular pattern. It was like he was riding up a roller coaster, the top never coming into sight. He shut his eyes, trying to wish the feeling away.

Robin placed a hand gently on his shoulder, grounding him back to reality. “Hey,” she began. “Everything’s gonna be alright.”

Nodding, he unbuckled his seat belt and grabbed the water bottle he had brought. “Thanks for driving, Rob.”

“Of course. I’ll be here when you get out.”

With one last breath, he said to himself, “All right, let’s do this.”

He opened the car door, letting the cold air hit his face as he climbed out. It felt nice, like a wake-up call he so desperately needed.

“You got this!” Robin exclaimed from the rolled-down window.

He smiled, watching as she drove off before turning back to the big brick building in front of him. It was a different place from his usual sessions with Dr. Ackerman. But as he entered the building, he found it felt eerily similar. Was every therapist's office decorated the same? From the off-grey carpet to the leather sofa, it felt like a place he had been before. It helped calm his emotions just a smidge.

“Can I help you, sweetie?” He turned to the lady behind the front counter.

“Uh, yeah I’m here for Dr. Ackerman’s group session?”

“Follow me,” she said with a warm smile.

The lady moved from her place behind the counter to open the door at the other end of the room. Closely, he followed her down the narrow hallway. His heart began to race, wondering how he could talk about his traumas without revealing the supernatural. It was hard to do with one person but a whole group? He might as well sew his mouth shut.

“Here you are sweetie,” the lady said, swinging open a door.

He barely had time to thank her before the door was shut behind him, leaving him alone in a room of strangers. Well, strangers plus one person he never thought he’d see again; Y/N L/N. She was sitting in a chair, arms crossed in an oversized sweatshirt and leggings. It was very different from how he remembered her in high school.

From the few classes they shared and the occasional hellos in the hallway, he knew she was a pretty friendly, put-together person. She was always kind to people, despite the unfriendly rumors about how many notches were on her bedpost. Last he heard, she was heading off to some Ivy League school after graduation. So what was she doing sitting in on this therapy group?

He wanted to talk to her, to reconnect even though they were never close to begin with. Her eyes were glued to the hem of her sweatshirt, pinching at it in boredom. Then she looked up, scanning the room before her eyes landed on him. Her breath hitched for a moment as Steve saw her realize who he was.

Wanting to talk to her, he stepped forward. Before he could even make it an inch, Dr. Ackerman’s voice pulled him away.

“Mr. Harrington,” she greeted him. “Glad to see you could join us. Please, take a seat.”

Giving a polite smile, he stole a glance at Y/N one more time. She was already looking down at the floor, back to pulling on the strings of her pullover.

As the therapy season began and people began to speak, Steve found himself barely paying attention. He went into this session hoping to get the most out of it, to really take in and listen to what people had to say. But that was before he saw Y/N. Shy and still undeniably cute, Y/N.

He wanted to hear her story, not the strangers they were surrounded by. He wanted to know why she was here, not in New Jersey, and what could have happened in her life that made her need therapy in the first place. Steve knew his past was fucked up but from an outsider’s perspective, it never seemed like hers was.

Unlucky for him, she barely spoke the entire session. There was the occasional nod or spoken agreement, but she never elaborated on any subject brought up. The minute Dr. Ackerman announced their time was over, and before he could even talk to her, she was gone. Out the door and out of his life.

Steve slumped back into his chair, feeling defeated. He didn’t know why he felt so down. She was never a close friend to him, even at the height of them interacting in school. He got up to leave, hoping to catch her outside when he heard Dr. Ackerman called his name. Begrudgingly, he turned around to face her.

“So, what did you think?” she asked.

“I uh, don’t really know,” he responded truthfully.

“Then I want you to come back next weekend. And try to talk more, okay? You get out of it what you put in.”

Nodding, he gave her a goodbye. He rushed out the door, hoping to catch Y/N before she left. But alas, he was too late. Everyone had gone for the day. The only person left was Robin, patiently waiting in the car next to the curb.

“How’d it go?” She asked, as he stepped into the car.

“Fine,” he replied, as he played with the hem of his shirt. “I uh… saw Y/N L/N. Remember her?”

“I think so. Pretty sure we had chem together. Wait, wasn’t she some big shot? Going off to Princeton or something?”

Steve shrugged. “I guess not anymore.”

Robin gave an inquisitive hum in lieu of a reply. He stared out the window as she drove, partly thinking of how much Robin’s driving had improved. But mostly, his mind was filled with thoughts of Y/N and how he couldn’t wait to see her again.

Steve made sure to arrive extra early for the group session the following week. He walked into the office complex, moving his way through the halls to the familiar door with Dr. Ackerman’s plaque across the front. With one last deep breath, he went in.

The receptionist recognized him, letting him go into the therapy room with no problem. “Dr. Ackerman isn’t here yet but make yourself comfortable,” she told him.

“Thanks,” he replied softly, watching her close the door behind him.

When he turned around again, he was greeted with semi-familiar faces staring back at him. He scanned the room; no Y/N in sight. Giving a weak smile, he sat down in the same seat from last week.

He could tell the others' eyes were on him, trying to get a read on the newbie. There weren’t many people there but it sure felt like a lot. A boy, probably around his age, a slightly older woman dressed very professionally, and an older lady that he had to guess was a few years away from a retirement home.

“Hey,” the younger boy said, causing Steve to look up. “I’m Matt.” Steve replied with only his name, not knowing what else to say. Matt motioned to the woman in her late 20s wearing almost a business suit. “That’s Sam, and grandma over there is Louise. She could drop dead any minute so be on the lookout.”

“Matt!” Sam exclaimed, hitting his arm. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s alright, sweetie,” Louise calmed her. “He can say anything he wants as long as he remembers that I know where he lives, and I own a gun.”

Steve’s eyes went wide, his shoulders stiffening. Did that old woman just threaten him? Matt bursted out laughing. It was clear the group was comfortable with that sort of joking around. He turned back to a very tense Steve. “What are you here for?”

“You don’t have to answer that.” Sam told him..

“It’s complicated,” Steve said honestly. “I-I’m not really sure how I would explain it anyways.”

“Oooh,” Matt cooed. “Are you in a love triangle?”

“No I –”

“Family abandon you?”

“Well –”

“Oh I got it!” He interrupted again, sitting up straighter in his chair. “You got bit by a rabies infected bat and turned into a vampire.”

Steve tensed. How did he– it was obviously a joke. Not anything to take seriously so Steve decided to play along. “Actually, you’re not that far off.”

Matt chuckled, looking over at Sam who let out a small laugh as well. “I like you. You’re gonna fit in just fine.”

“Okay…” Steve said hesitantly, not knowing quite what he meant.

The door softly clicked open, everyone turning to look who it was. Steve sucked in a breath when he realized it was Y/N. She was wearing something similar to last week, a pair of jeans and a sweater two sizes too big. The room was small enough that as she scanned the environment, her eyes locked with his.

Steve heard the others greeting her as she stepped further into the room, but his gaze was still fixed on her. Quickly, Y/N looked down, her hair falling gently over her face. He couldn’t help but feel a little hurt. Maybe she realized that they would be seeing more of each other; maybe she didn’t want to see him at all. He watched as she walked to an open seat, setting her bag down at her feet.

Steve wanted to speak, to say something to Y/N even though he didn’t know what. Cursed again, Dr. Ackerman bursted into the room. “Sorry I’m late,” she announced. “Let’s get started.”

Even though his mind was filled with thoughts of Y/N, he did manage to listen in more to the problems of his fellow group members. Matt was from a couple towns over attending the state college. His anxiety got the best of him and he had a falling out with his best friend. Sam was an elementary school teacher who suffered from PTSD from her younger years traveling as a military brat. And Louise was grieving the loss of her son - a car accident from a few months prior. He listened in more, taking in the symptoms and coping mechanisms they used. Some of the things they said sounded familiar, things that he could learn from his own terrifying experiences.

Once Louise, recounted her past week, how it felt in the wake of her son’s death, Dr. Ackerman turned to him.

“Steve,” she said suddenly, taking him off guard from sneaking a look at Y/N. “You've experienced some loss in your life as well?” He nodded, not knowing where this was going. “Would you like to share a recent experience you had? Maybe the group has some coping skills to help you.

Suddenly all the eyes were on him. He felt violated, talking in front of people he barely knew for two days. But in the words of Dr. Ackerman, it wasn’t going to help if he didn’t contribute.

He began to speak, choosing his words very carefully. “Um yeah I guess I’ve been surrounded by loss, more so in the past couple of years.”

He felt Y/N look up at him, sympathy in her stare. It gave him the courage to continue.

“First it was my ex’s best friend. I didn’t know her well but she was last seen at my house so, I guess I blame myself for that? My friend, his mom’s boyfriend passed away, as well as another friend’s older brother…but more recently, a-a new friend. We had only just met… he uh, played a lot of Dungeons and Dragons.”

He looked over at Y/N again who was still staring at him, her sympathy replaced with something else - something he couldn’t quiet. Fright? No, recognition.

“I think of him sometimes– the new friend,” Steve clarified, glancing down at his fingers tapping against his thigh. “We only knew each other for a short while but he was a good dude…I see stuff around town sometimes that reminds me of him and I feel like I’m back- “

In the Upside Down.

“In a dark place,” he opted to say instead.

When he looked up at the group, he felt relieved. They all looked at him with a sense of understanding, like they knew what he was going through. Hell, after what he heard today they probably were.

“I see,” Dr. Ackerman began. “So group, what can Steve do?”

“Well, I find the 54321 method helpful,” Sam said.

Matt pointed at her. “I was about to say the same thing.”

“The 54321 method?” Steve asked, hoping they would explain further.

“Y/N,” Dr. Ackerman said. She looked up at her. “Would you mind explaining to Steve what this coping skill is?”

Steve looked over at her hesitantly. “Uh sure,” she said, sitting up straighter. She was trying to look at him but her eyes fell back to her lap. “You count five things you can see around you, four things you can feel… uh three things you can hear. Two you can smell and one you can taste.”

“Very good Y/N.”

She looked up at him one last time, her gaze holding longer than usual and Steve felt like she could take his breath away.

“And have you been using those methods yourself?” Dr. Ackerman asked.

She tore her gaze away from Steve, looking back at their therapist. “I-I’ve been trying.”

“Well that’s a step forward right? Effort is all I can ask for. Now Steve,” she directed her attention back to her. “Those were great examples, but not the one I was looking for.”

“It wasn’t?”

“What about your parents?”

He shook his head. “My parents aren’t dead.”

“But are they around often?” Steve froze. She knew they weren’t. Where was she going with this? Shaking his head, she continued. “Couldn’t that count as a form of loss? The loss of parental figures?”

He remained silent. Could it?

“Loss is not just death, Steve. It can take on many forms.”

Shit, he hadn’t thought of it that way. How much in his life had he truly lost? His parents, his friends, his reputation… Before he could even begin to process what that meant, Dr. Ackerman moved on to Matt who talked about his recent split from his best friend. But Steve was still in his own mind. His own thoughts drowning out the voices of the people around him.

Maybe he needed therapy more than he cared to admit.

Before Steve knew it, the session was over and he was making his way out of the room, the thought of loss still very much present in his mind. He didn’t realize how much therapy would actually help him. Though mental health was something more and more people were beginning to talk about, it still had a lot of negative stereotypes. One wrong step and you could end up in a psychiatric ward without really needing it.

Trying to give his brain a break, Steve shifted his focus to Y/N and how he desperately wanted to try and talk to her. But yet again, Dr. Ackerman stopped him. “So, how are you liking the group?”

“A lot better than last week,” he replied, watching a small smile form on her face.

“Good. That’s really good, Steve.”

“Can I…keep coming to this group? On top of our sessions?”

She nodded. “That was the plan all along. See you later this week.”

“See you, Dr. Ackerman.”

Despite the heavy topic of the session, the moment Steve stepped outside, it was like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. The air felt nice, so crisp on his skin it was like a fresh glass of water. He was reluctant to admit that Dr. Ackerman was right, but the lady knew her stuff.

Looking around, he noticed Robin hadn’t arrived yet. Everybody else was gone, or so he thought.

“I didn’t know that about your parents.”

Steve turned around to find Y/N leaning against a wall, a cigarette between her fingers. There was no need for introductions, they both had remembered each other – it was just a matter of who would speak first.

“Uh, yeah,” Steve began to respond, shoving his hands in his pockets. He spent so long building up the moment they would speak again that when the time came, he felt frozen. Like a deep in headlights. Making his way over to her, he continued, “Most people don’t.”

She nodded, taking a puff of the cigarette. As she breathed out, a cloud of smoke followed, slowly floating above them. Steve tried not to wince at the smell. “Want one?” she offered.

“No thanks, I quit last year.”

Her eyebrows raised, surprised. Slowly she shrugged. “That makes one of us.”

Not knowing what to do, Steve looked around, trying his best to find something for them to talk about besides the obvious. Unfortunately, he came up with nothing. “I thought you went off to college.”

“I did,” she said before mumbling, “Until Gary entered the picture.”

“Who’s Gary?”

Not responding, she puffed out more smoke. It was clearly a touchy subject and Steve knew all too well about those.

“I-I’m happy you’re here though.”

She scoffed. “Really?”

He nodded. “I wished we stayed in touch when school was over.”

“Hate to break it to you, Harrington, but I didn’t consider us friends.”

“I mean, me neither. But I remember you being one of the few people that called me on my bullshit – could see through my lies…I need more people like that in my life.”

She stared at him, her cigarette still loosely hanging between fingers. He didn’t know what she was thinking, what she was searching for in his comment. Maybe the truth? To see if he was lying? Before either of them could say anymore a honk echoed across the parking lot. Steve turned to see Robin pulling up to the curb. She rolled down the window as she parked.

“That’s my ride,” Steve said, slowly backing away. “You remember Buckley? Another Hawkins High survivor.”

“Yeah, hey,” Y/N said, giving a small wave.

Robin waved back and said, “Oh hey, yeah we had chem together right?” Y/N nodded.

“I’ll uh, see you next week?” Steve said, turning back to her one more time.

“Uh, yeah. Yes.” She took another puff. “See you next week.”

With one last wave, he climbed into the car, watching Y/N become a speck in the side-view mirror as they drove away.

“So,” Robin began, “You finally talked to her?”

“More like she talked to me but, yeah,” he responded.

“She’s different from what I remember. Tougher, less open to people. I didn’t know you were close.”

“We weren’t.”

Watching as his house turned into view, all he could think about was seeing her the following week.

“Why are we going to the other side of town again? Why can’t we just go to the burger place down the street?” Dustin asked, leaning forward from the backseat of Steve’s car.

“It’ll be fun!” Robin said, arching her head to look back at him.

“What’s the place called again?” Lucas asked.

“Gordy’s,” Mike responded. “Stupid if you ask me.”

Usually in these types of scenarios, Steve would be the one to call them on their bullshit. To be the babysitter that steps up to make things right. However, because of more recent events, instead of stepping up, he was slipping away.

Robin noticed almost instantly, jumping in to control the situation when her friend couldn’t.

“Hey!” She shouted, cutting off the chatter from the back. “Yes, the diner is called Gordy’s. Yes it’s on the other side of town. And we are going because Max likes it and she used to go with her family. Right Max?”

“Y-yeah,” Max spoke up from the back. “It’s pretty good, I think you guys would like it.”

“I’m excited,” El said, getting an agreement from Will.

Little chatter soon broke into more chaos, the kids talking over each other without a care in the world. Steve wanted to say something, his grip on the steering wheel tightening in an effort to stop feeling the anxiety running through his chest. But still, it was too much. He needed to focus on the road.

“See? El’s excited,” Robin chimed in again. “Quit your yapping, we're almost there.”

Almost on cue, they turned into the Gordy's parking lot. Steve took a deep breath as the chatter in the back started to die down. He could almost hear his thoughts again, though he didn’t know if that would be a good thing.

As the kids began to pile out of the car, he felt Robin’s hand on his shoulder.

“Hey,” she said. “Deep breaths, remember? If it gets too bad, do that thing you learned okay? The 123 method.”

“54321 method,” he corrected.

“Yeah, the 54321 method.” She watched as he nodded, taking another deep breath. “Hey,” she willed him to look at her. “You’re doing great. You ready to go in or do you need a minute?”

“No, I’m good…” It wasn’t until they were standing right outside the doors, the kids already packed into a booth that he spoke again. “Sorry about that, I can’t control it sometimes-”

“You never have to explain yourself,” she interrupted him, grabbing one of his hands. “Never.”

Steve felt this warm haze travel through him, his chest expanding with what felt like a clean breath of air. Sometimes hearing that there was someone there for him was enough to keep him going. Squeezing her hand back, he motioned that he was ready.

It was easy to navigate to where the kids had decided to sit – noise only coming from one side of the diner. Of course, they were arguing. It was about some movie that had just come out though both of the older teens couldn’t quite place which one.

“Zip it!” Steve shouted over them, standing at the edge of the diner booth. They all abruptly stopped to look at him. It was the first real words he had muttered all night. “Pick what you want to eat. We’re not spending an hour deciding like last time.”

Dustin smiled at his words. Sure, they were kinda mean, but when Steve got bitchy that meant he was alert.

Sliding into the booth across from Robin, Steve picked up a menu. The options were like any other establishment, and the kids were quick to decide what they wanted. When it came down to it, their orders didn’t really change much from diner to diner. It was the talking that made their visits longer. But Steve liked to mix it up from time to time, especially when eating with Robin - they often split meals.

So when the waiter came over to take their orders, he was happy they didn’t have to send the guy away. With El eager to get her waffles, she went first, Mike going straight after her. Steve guessed that meant he would be last. He took the moment he had to look around the diner Max had selected.

It was nice, much nicer than the other places they had tried but that wasn’t saying much. Midwest towns with small populations meant slow repairs. The floors looked a little wet but that was probably from the amount of people walking through with the recent storm. The coffee machine was out of order and by the looks of it, it had been that way for at least a month.

Besides that, not much was out of place. There was an elderly couple sitting at the counter top across the place. Slowly they traced their fingers along a spread out newspaper Steve had to guess was an attempt at the crossword puzzle. But his eyes slowly drifted away from the puzzle and onto the waitress putting down their food.

It was Y/N. Blue apron, hair pulled back to not obscure her face.

His breath hitched when he saw her. It was so unexpected, seeing her in a place like this. She looked so calm, almost happy. He hadn’t seen her like that since their senior year. It made him wonder what had gone so wrong, what this “Gary” did to make her dropout of college. And even though he wouldn’t find that answer tonight, he couldn’t stop himself from staring at her.

As she smiled at her customers, her eyes scanned the diner. Looking for more people to help, her eyes landed on him. There was some shock, the unexpectedness of seeing him, but she forced a smile on her face.

“Steve!”

He was pulled out of his daze by Robin, motioning to the waiter standing before them.

“W-what would you like to drink?” the waiter asked again, though Steve swore he never heard him the first time.

“Uh, just water, thanks,” he said sheepishly, his cheeks turning red from embarrassment.

The waiter, however, just nodded, walking over to where Y/N stood. Steve let his eyes follow him, watching the coworkers engage in conversation before Robin spoke again.

“That’s her, right?” she whispered, not wanting the kids to hear. He nodded. “You should go talk to her.”

He whipped his head around to look at her. “What? No.”

“Why not?”

Because my anxiety will make me fuck up my sentences.

“Because she’s working,” he said instead. “I don’t wanna interrupt her.”

“Please, it’s so dead in here she would probably thank you.”

“Who are you talking about?” said Dustin, trying to worm his way into the conversation.

“No one,” Steve said quickly. “Do your maze.”

He looked down at the kids menu in front of him. “I’m not a child!” he exclaimed.

“Maybe, but you love those mazes.”

He took one look at Steve before back down at his menu. Sighing in defeat he said, “Okay yeah I do…”

It was a new record. Almost an entire day without a panic attack. The food had arrived, the kids eating like it was their last meal on earth. Meanwhile Robin took the time to neatly split her and Steve’s food in half, handing him one of the plates.

He smiled at her before diving in. Well, more like inching in. He didn’t feel too hungry, despite not eating at all that day. That was the main reason for this little outing - to get him to eat food. But as the night went on and his food was still barely touched, he knew that something deeper was happening.

Ever since he started therapy, he had been getting better at spotting anxiety and panic attacks, even preventing a few which he was proud of. But some would start for no reason, even if he was feeling better than he had all day. Something began to rise in his chest and he knew one was coming. Apparently, Robin did too.

Over the noise of the kids debating over some new comic book, Robin asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Steve dismissed out of instinct. “Just gonna go to the bathroom.”

He quickly stood up, not waiting for a response. The bathroom was unlocked thankfully and looked a little disgusting. Still, he had been in worst places. Staring at the faucet he cupped his hands, splashing water on his face.

Sometimes that helped, giving his body a wake up call it didn’t know it needed. But unfortunately, it wasn't working. He felt his breaths become shorter, more labored. His heart felt like someone was squeezing it in their hands.

He needed fresh air. Yeah, fresh air would help.

Exiting the bathroom, he was thankful to see there was a back door just a few feet away. Pushing through he was met with the cold crisp air of the back of the diner. There was some air conditioner blowing so loud he could barely hear his own thoughts.

Picking what looked to be a clean wall, he sat down, trying to take deep breaths. His hands still shook, not slowing down despite his efforts. Nothing was working and he didn’t know why. What had even caused this panic attack? There was nothing he was scared or really anxious about to warrant this level of panic.

He tried to remember what Dr. Ackerman told him in one of their private sessions. Sometimes panic attacks don’t need a reason for happening.

“Harrington?”

He willed himself to look up at who was calling his name. It was Y/N, a cigarette in her hand. Perfect, just great. This is exactly how he wanted her to see him.

“Oh, hey,” he tried to say casually, trying to mask his attack. They could both tell it wasn’t working.

“Are you doing okay?”

He could tell it was more of a rhetorical question and he was too tired to lie. “I- not really. I don’t know what happened I just-”

“Hey it’s okay,” she interrupted him, crouching down to be at eye level with him. “We all get them okay?”

He nodded though his heart still felt like it was beating out of his chest. “I-I can’t stop it.”

“Have you done the method yet?” He shook his head. “Okay,” she continued, throwing her cigarette to the side before fully sitting down in front of him cross legged. “Let’s go through it, yeah?”

“Aren’t you working?”

“I’m on my break. Don’t worry about that, let’s help you okay? Name five things you can see.”

“O-okay…” he said, taking a deep breath. “Um, my shoes, those plants ... .uh the-the ground. I can see the wall and- your eyes. Shit- sorry that was weird,” he said, curling back into the wall.

“No, don’t apologize,” she told him, reaching out her hand to cover his. “Describe them to me. What do my eyes look like?”

He looked up at her - there was no hint of mockery in her face. “Well, they're vibrant, they’re a couple of different shades…they're beautiful.”

She smiled at him, not disgusted or annoyed, but genuine happiness. She chuckled, dropping her head for a moment, thanks… Now, let’s continue…”

They listed more things, following the method. With each concentration, the hold on his heart loosened more and more. He couldn’t tell if the method was working or he just liked to be in her company. Whatever it was, it worked.

As he listed off the taste of his meal, he felt like he could finally breathe. Sighing, he let his back hit the wall.

“Thanks for that,” he said, closing his eyes. He could still feel the pads of her fingers gently rubbing his hand.

She responded, not letting go. “Of course, we have to look out for each other.” In the distance, someone called her name. “Shit, my break is over. You think you’ll be okay?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Slowly she stood back up. “I uh, guess I’ll see you this weekend.” She gave a small wave, not waiting for a response as she scurried back inside for the remainder of her shift.

As he watched her walk away, he felt the urge to call her back. Her presence, the way she calmed him down - it wasn’t something he wanted to let go of. Begrudgingly, he stood up, knowing that his friends would be wondering where he was soon. He walked through the same back door, passing the bathroom before finding his friends still in the diner booth.

Robin spotted him first as he made his way over - it seemed like the others barely even noticed his absence. “Are you okay? You look pale,” she asked.

Usually he would lie, say he was fine and tough through his emotions. But as Dr. Ackerman and later Robin told him, he needed to be more honest with his well being.

“I don’t think so. Could we skip the ice cream run tonight?”

“Of course, yeah. Let’s get going, I already paid for the food.” She turned to the kids. “Alright, let’s get you guys home.”

“What about ice cream?” Dustin asked, followed by overlapping replies from the rest of the kids.

“Not tonight. Maybe next week.”

With solemn looks on their faces, the kids slowly climbed out of the diner booth, ready to pile back into the car. Steve watched as Robin unlocked the door, letting them all climb in. While doing so, he turned back, hoping to catch Y/N one more time.

She emerged from the back with two plates of food, locking eyes with him. She gave him a smile and he already felt a million times better. Nodding at her with a grin, she knew he meant it as a thank you.

Turning around, he made his way to the car, hoping that another attack wouldn’t happen when she wasn’t there.

For the first time since starting therapy, Steve Harrington could say he was satisfied with his progress. He had another panic attack later that week and was able to not only realize the source of it, but calm himself down in record time. Well, record time for him, at least.

Leaving Dr. Ackerman’s office, he waved goodbye to the other patients before making a b-line to the bathrooms. His bladder was not happy about the wait. After relieving himself, he opened the door to leave.

“Do you usually hang out with that many kids?”

“Gah!” Steve jumped, not knowing that Y/N was standing outside smoking a cigarette like she was usually seen. “Jeez, you scared me.”

He began to walk to the building exit, her joining at his side. “Sorry, but you gotta answer the question, Harrington. It’s been bugging me since I saw you.”

Pushing open the exit doors, he said, “Uh they’re my friends so, yeah I usually hang out with them.”

“But children?”

“They aren’t random children, okay? But yeah, they're who I’m close with,” he shrugged. “Probably my only friends if I’m being honest.”

“Huh…” Y/N replied, taking a long drag of her cig. “That’s fucking weird, Harrington. Did you and your girlfriend adopt them or something?”

He cocked his head. “Girlfriend?”

“Yeah, Buckley... Sorry, I just assumed-”

“Oh,” he replied with realization. “Buckley, no we’re just friends. She’s practically my sister.”

“Oh okay, cool.” She took another puff.

“Do you ever think about quitting? It’s a nasty habit.”

“Yeah well, what else do I have to do?”

“Go out with me?” She turned sharply to glare at him, her eyes going wide. “Not like go out with me. Shit, I said that wrong- Hangout. I meant hangout with me. As friends!”

She still looked frozen, giving him a look he couldn’t quite read. Was that happiness? Distast? Maybe she didn’t want to try being friends with him.

“I wanna see you outside of therapy and your work ya know?” he explained, trying not to dig himself into a deeper hole. “To not listen to Matt re-explain every class he has. I mean like, we’re not the ones in school.”

She laughed at that, probably understanding what he meant. Next to them, a car pulled up to the curb. It wasn’t Robin.

“That’s my dad,” she responded softly, walking over to the car. She turned to open the passenger door but paused and looked back at him. “Meet me at the Hideout at 7? Saturday?”

Steve couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “I’ll be there.”

She gave him one last look before climbing into the car, driving away. The smile was still plastered on Steve’s face and he couldn’t help but think that this friendship was the beginning of his new life. One where the Upside Down didn’t haunt his dreams, or where he didn’t fight any demogorgons. One where he could leave that all behind.

The Hideout. It sounded familiar but Steve couldn’t place why he knew it. Even as he walked into the place, he knew he had never been there before.

It was very grungy. The floors looked like they needed a deep cleaning and the walls were covered head to toe in band posters. A bar sat on the left side of the room, perfectly out of the way of the stage on the back wall.

Walking in, Steve opted to stand next to a high table, no chairs in sight. He figured it was just a place for people to set down their drinks. Alcohol, however, did not feel the right call. He wanted to stay alert for his first hangout with Y/N.

As his eyes drifted across the stage, he watched a band set up their equipment. There were only four of them. A drummer, bassist, guitarist, and a rhythm guitarist. It was probably some local band he had never heard of - he didn’t really keep up with current music.

But as he looked closer, he realized that they were familiar. The guy on rhythm guitar, he had seen him before. A math class? Was that it? Slowly, it started to come to him.

This was Eddie’s band.

The room felt like it became a million times hotter as Steve began to sweat. His heart thumping faster than normal. He needed to stay calm, he needed to control his panic.

Since Eddie died, he tried to stay away from all things related to the guy. Instead of sitting in on the last few minutes of Dustin’s dnd games, he’d wait in the car. Instead of surfing any radio channel, he made sure to skip the metal station. But there was no skipping tonight.

He recognized three of the members but there was one that was new. He had shorter hair, a lanky build and a tattoo peeking out from under the arm of his t-shirt. He didn’t look familiar - not someone he went to school with. But then it dawned on him.

He was Eddie’s replacement. Before he even had time to process that information, he felt a small hand on his back, a presence next to him.

“Hey, you made it,” Y/N said with a smile on her face. He hadn’t seen her smile like that in a long time.

“W-whata- what…” It was like he couldn’t speak, the image of Eddie’s band moving on without him still in his mind. “W-why did you bring me here?” he finally got out.

Y/N furrowed her brows. “To see Corroded Coffin?” she responded, not really understanding what he meant. “I thought it would be fun, my brother said they’re playing a new song tonight.”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “Brother?”

“Yeah… Gareth? On the drums? I thought you remembered.”

No, he didn’t remember. He turned back to the band setting up. Gareth was putting down the hi-hat to complete his drum set.

Trying to stay calm, he said, “Oh cool…did uh, did you know Eddie too?”

Her face dropped slightly at the mention of his name. “Yeah, I did. He was a good guy.” All he could do was nod, taking a deep breath in. He felt her arm wrap around his. “Everything’s gonna be fine. I’m sorry I should’ve told you why we were here.”

“No it’s okay. It’s like exposure therapy.”

She chuckled, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Sure.”

It didn’t take long for them to start, the music blaring out of speakers that were too loud for the room they were in. The new guy, in place of Eddie, was singing and Steve had to admit it wasn’t bad. His heart still ached at the thought of the band having to replace their star singer. They all looked like really close friends back in school.

They played a couple songs, and Y/N pointed out the new one that her brother had mentioned. It was good, or better than he would have thought. Steve didn’t know how much he actually liked metal music but if he had to listen to any it would be this.

But he wasn’t really focused on the music, more of the person standing next to him. He tried not to stare but she was so memorizing. Singing along to the songs she knew, bobbing her head to the ones she didn’t. It was nice seeing her outside the context of therapy. He also wasn’t complaining that her arm was still wrapped around his for a majority of the night.

As the new lead singer thanked the small crowd, leaving as they cheered, Steve felt Y/N tug his arm.

“Come on, let’s go say hello,” she said, pulling him through the crowd.

“S-say hello?” he asked. “Like to the band?”

“Duh,” she replied, waving at a bouncer guarding the backstage door. “We aren’t gonna see my brother perform and then leave.”

The corridor backstage was busier than he thought it would be. The bar was small but it sure didn’t feel like that. People were walking up and down, some running like it was Madison Square Garden. He couldn’t tell who worked there, performed, or were just groupies stopping by.

Turning right, they were met face to face with the green room, a written sign saying Corroded Coffin taped to the door. Y/N smiled at him before she reached for the handle, turning it to reveal a very hectic room.

The band members were just chatting but it sounded like shouting. It all halted when they walked in.

“Y/N!” Garrett exclaimed, running over to hug her.

“You did great tonight, honestly all of you did,” she told him.

“And the new song?”

“Better than I could’ve imagined.”

Garret turned to look at Steve, his expression changing to something of confusion. “What is he doing here?”

“You brought Steve Harrington?” Jeff, the rhythm guitarist, chimed in.

Y/N turned to look at Steve confused. “I thought you said you knew Eddie?”

“I-I did,” he told her, suddenly aware of how many eyes were staring at him. He looked around the room quickly before back at her. “I- just not with his usual crowd…”

The band continued to give him a blank stare.

“I know Dustin, Lucas, and Mike? I know you used to play dnd together,” he added.

Grant, the bassist, crossed his arms. “You know Henderson?” he asked.

Steve nodded. “He’s like a little brother to me.”

They stared in silence at him and what was probably five seconds felt like eternity. It wasn’t until Jeff shrugged and spoke up that Steve realized his heart rate was quickening.

“I guess you're okay then,” Jeff said, “As long as you don’t try to shove us into lockers.”

If Jeff didn’t chuckled he would have if he was serious. His laugh rippled throughout the room, breaking the tension and it was like life started again. Joints were lit, drinks were poured, and Steve’s past was left forgotten.

“Can I ask you something?” Steve asked. He walked next to Y/N in the cold, night air, the only sound audible coming from the shuffling of their shoes.

“Sure,” she said, reaching into her pocket to grab a cigarette.

“That first time we talked, like at Dr Ackerman’s…you mentioned someone named Gary.” He felt her stiffen next to him, a slight stutter in her step. “Who was he?”

Dropping her head to the unlit cigarette, she decided to shove it back into her pocket. He instantly regretted asking.

Apologizing, he said, “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s okay…” she waved off. “Exposure therapy, right?” she said, repeating his words from earlier in the night, letting him know it was okay. “Gary was my neighbor in my freshman year dorms. We hit it off really quick and started to date.”

She looked at the ground as she talked, hands shoved into her pockets. Steve however, couldn’t take his gaze off her.

“He was fine, uh, a good boyfriend. Well, at first…” she took a pause, almost long enough that he was thinking he should say something.

Luckily, she continued. “He stumbled into my room really drunk one night…tried to take advantage of me.” She shrugged, actually shrugged, like what she just told him was nothing. “I pushed him off me and he went blabbing to everyone that I was an attention seeking whore. All my friends stopped talking to me, even my roommate…and the administration wouldn’t do anything about it even though he, you know…”

She trailed off as she kicked a rock with her shoe and Steve could feel his heart breaking into a million pieces. How could someone, anyone, do that sort of thing? Not even when he was considered King Steve would he force himself onto a girl.

Y/N sighed. “It was like high school was repeating itself, you know? I didn’t get to have my fresh start.”

He nodded, trying to understand what she went through. They never ran in the same circles in high school, but it was hard not to hear the rumors going around about who she was sleeping with. He assumed Billy was the one to start them and let it be. Looking back, he wished he had stood up for her.

“It sucks,” he began warily, not knowing if it was okay to speak. When she looked up at him, it gave him the courage to continue. “When other people decide who they think you are. I-I mean, I didn’t go through that but I do have problems with the way people perceive me, my reputation.”

“I-I mean that’s when all my panic attacks started I just- I couldn’t stay there. It’s so stupid…”

“It’s not!” Steve reassured her. “Not stupid in the slightest. I would have left too if it were me. I mean, I didn’t even get into college. There was nowhere for me to run.” The more he began to speak of his own problems, the more anxious he became. “Not that what I went through was worse than you, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to turn the conversation on to me-”

“-No, Steve, it’s okay. I get it, you’re just trying to relate to me.” He nodded - it was like she took the words right out of his mouth. “Could we go back to yours? If I remember those high school parties correctly, you have a pool.”

“Sure. Y-yeah cool,” he blubbered. He couldn’t remember the last time talking to a girl made him anxious like this. Trying to catch his cool, they headed toward Loch Nora.

“The back door should be unlocked,” Steve informed Y/N as they approached his house.

It wasn’t a far walk from the bus stop they got off on and he could still see his car parked in the driveway - but only his car. Robin had told him ahead of time that she was going to sleep at her own home for once that week - her parents wanting to see more of her.

“Wow, it’s exactly how I remembered it,” Y/N commented as he opened the back gate.

He looked back at her. “You remember what my house looks like?”

Shrugging, she said, “Like I said, I went to a couple of your parties.” The pool’s lights illuminated the otherwise dark backyard, steam rising from its surface. “Now this is what I’m talking about.”

Without warning, Y/N pulled her shirt off, moving to pull down her pants. Steve’s eyes went wide, turning around to give her privacy. “What are you doing?”

“Getting in your pool? I don’t know about you, Harrington, but I don’t carry a bathing suit with me.”

“I guess…” Steve said, suddenly unsure of their plan.

It was just like a bikini right? Only it felt so much more intimate. He heard a splash from behind him, a gasp as she rose to the surface for air.

“You coming in?”

Slowly he turned around facing her as she grazed her hands over the surface of the water. She looked so majestic with her hair slicked back. He felt like deer in headlights as he looked at her. He could go inside, grab one of the many swimming trunks he had in his closet. But instead, he opted to strip down to his boxers, leveling the playing field.

He could tell she was surprised, not thinking he would do the same thing as her. But nonetheless he jumped right in. The splash completely covered her but she didn’t seem to mind, already dunking her head moments before. When he rose to the surface, he inhaled deeply.

“Hey!” She exclaimed, wiping water from her eyes.

“You were already wet!” He retorted.

Without warning, she lunged herself at him. Steve felt as she collided with his chest, sending him falling back into the water, taking her with him. He barely had enough time to breathe before he felt himself submerged back under the surface. On instinct, an arm wrapped around her midsection, balancing her against him as he used his legs to push them back up for air.

Breaking the surface tension, he felt Y/N cling to him, her arms wrapping around his neck as she tried to balance against his bent knee. They were both gasping for air, taking a moment to recover. But the moment she looked up at him, those beautiful eyes he stared into at the diner, it was like a damn broke.

She smiled, letting out a giggle and he too couldn’t keep a straight face. As her face buried in his neck he asked, “What was that for?”

“I don’t know, it looked like you needed to have fun,” she responded.

“So you pushed me.”

Y/N lifted her head from his neck, her hands still around his neck. “You’re a very pushable person.”

“Oh am I?”

“Definitely.” She giggled, her fingers absentmindedly playing with the hair on the nape of his neck. “I could stay like this forever.”

Steve smiled, his cheeks getting warmer. “Me too. It’s like a little pocket out of time. We don’t have to think about the future.”

“Or the past…” She was silent for a second, her fingers still moving and Steve tried his best to stay still. A beautiful girl was practically sitting on his lap and he was trying to hard to not fuck it up.

“That first session, you talked about all the loss you’ve been around. Is there a reason for that?”

“Interdimensional monsters,” he blurted out. It felt good to say the truth even if it was met with a laugh. Who would believe in another dimension anyway?

“Fine don’t tell me,” she said, letting her hands rest on his shoulders.

The cool touch of her fingers spread across him, down through his chest. It was hard to stop thinking about how little fabric separated them, especially with the way her fingers grazed his skin.

For a moment he almost swore she looked down at his lips. “I bet…” she began, tilting her head back to show her thinking. “That you have daddy issues.”

“Who doesn’t?”

She giggled, her forehead tipping forward, almost touching his. A piece of hair fell across her face and without thinking he reached up to brush it away. Y/N looked up at him, their eyes meeting as he softly pushed the strand behind her ear.

This time, he knew for certain, she had looked at his lips, right after he did the same.

The little space left between them closed as Y/N leaned forward, capturing his mouth. It was softer than he would had thought. Her rough exterior not matching her tender touch. He felt her arms wrap back around him, fingers gripping his hair. He let out a moan, tightening the grip he had on her waist.

She pulled back for a moment, only to tilt her head to the other side, her lips crashing back down on his. A small whimper let out from her mouth and Steve felt like he died and went to heaven. He wanted to hear it again, to be the only one that made her sound that way. It was intoxicating, like a vampire thirsting for blood.

He let his kisses trail down her cheek, reattaching himself to her throat. She moaned even louder and he never wanted to let go.

“That feels nice,” she said, breathlessly. The grip on his hair grew tighter but he didn’t mind. She could poke, pull, or prod, any part of him and he would let her.

“You feel nice.”

Without meaning too, she pressed down on his lap. And even through their underwear and the water of the pool, Steve felt ecstatic. He detached himself from her neck gasping at the pressure.

“Jesus Christ,” he murmured to himself but it might have been louder than he expected.

Y/N looked up at him with a smile. But as her eyes found his, Steve was confused as to why it started to vanish. Detaching herself from him, he watched as she floated away until her back hit the pool wall.

Something was wrong, he just knew it. Was it something he did or said? Was it the kiss?

“I should probably go,” she told him, pulling herself out of the pool.

“Oh,” he said in surprise. Why the rush to leave so quickly? “Okay…”

As he joined her by the lounging chairs, he watched as she tried to put a leg through her pants.

“Wait,” he stopped her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him before straightening her back. “Don’t put your clothes over your wet ones.”

“How else would I-“

He interrupted her, knowing if he didn’t say what was in his mind he’d lose the courage to say it.

“-you can stay. Like, stay over?”

Why was he this nervous? He had plenty of girls over before. But with her, things felt different. Y/N raised her eyebrows at his comment.

“If you want to,” he rushed out to say. “You could take a shower, I could dry your clothes and-“

“Okay,” she spoke over him.

It felt like all the air left his body. “Yeah?” He asked again for reassurance. Slowly she nodded, a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Okay yeah. Cool, um…this way.”

Steve’s hands twitched nervously as he sat on his bed. Y/N was in the shower, due to come out any minute. It wasn’t like he hadn’t had a girl over before. Just that the last person to sleep in his bed broke his heart. They had shared a space, gotten warm together under his blankets, baked in the morning sun. It held more meaning to him than he realized before.

As he clutched his hands, trying to calm himself down, the door creaked open. He looked up, watching as Y/N hesitantly peered in. As soon as he saw her face, it was like there was a calm that washed over him. The idea of having someone sleep in his bed filled him with anxiety, but when he saw Y/N it all faded away. He wanted her next to him, he wanted to share his space with her.

Closing the door behind her, Y/N stood awkwardly across the room. But Steve couldn’t help but smile. She looked so cute in his clothes, the fabric clinging to her skin in ways that left little to the imagination.

“I left the towel in the laundry room,” she said. “I hope that was okay.”

“Yeah,” he said quickly, being pulled from his thoughts. “Yup that’s okay. I already started the load on drying your clothes.”

“Cool,” she said, intertwining her fingers in front of her.

Steve motioned to his bed. “Do you prefer a side or-”

She shook her head. “Nope. I-I’m fine with either.”

Steve hummed an agreement, moving to take the ride side of the bed. He watched her join on the other side as he pushed the covers back. They both had romantic experiences; both sleeping with someone else in their bed. But in the moment, it felt like they were little kids again.

Steve carefully covered both of them, sinking back down into his mattress. He tried not to touch her, to give her space after what happened in the pool. And with her past, he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. Starting at the ceiling he heard Y/N sigh. Turning his head he could see her covering her face.

“Are you okay?” He asked, turning to face her. “D-do you want to sleep in my parents room? They’re not home-”

“No, this is perfectly fine just,” she dropped her hands onto her chest as she stared up, not meeting his gaze. He could see her eyes getting watery, a tear on the verge of falling. “I-I don’t wanna do anything with you like- sexually. And I’m sorry if that’s blunt but after everything with Gary-”

“Hey, it’s okay,” he reassured her to try and show her this was a safe space. “I wasn’t expecting to, honestly.”

She turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “Really?” she asked, not convinced.

“Really,” he replied. “I haven’t really been the same since Nance and I broke up and- nevermind it’s not important. I could leave if this is too much.”

“No I want you here I really do I’m just…confused. I don’t know.”

She buried her head in her hands again, probably to stop him from seeing her start to cry. Steve ached for her. To see her like this, to know that this was the fault of another person. That a person could do that to someone else.

“I’ll sleep on the floor,” he told her, moving the comforter aside. “That way we won’t be alone but we can have our space.”

She looked back at him, her cheeks wet with tears. “No, I don't wanna make you sleep on the floor in your own room.”

“It’s nothing really,” he dismissed, grabbing his pillow and a spare blanket that was thrown across his desk chair. “Trust me, I’ve slept in worse places than on a rugged floor.”

“If I wasn’t a mess right now I’d ask you to elaborate.”

He fluffed his pillow, pulling the blanket up over his shoulders. Y/N peered over the bed, still unsure of the sleeping arrangement though he could tell it was putting her more at ease.

“A conversation for another time,” he said and he swore he could see a smile on his face.

“Okay,” she said softly, her head disappearing as she laid back down on the bed.

There was silence for a moment and Steve thought that she had fallen asleep. But her soft voice glided through the air.

“Steve?” she asked.

“Yeah?”

There was another beat. Another moment of silence before he heard her whisper, “Thank you.”

Even on the floor of his room, the sun found a way to shine on his face. The warm light slowly woke him up, making him rub his eyes in an attempt to not blind himself. He almost forgot he was on the floor of his room until he rolled over to open his nightside drawer, feeling his hand brush against the floor instead.

As his eyes came into focus, he willed himself to sit up. Why was he on the floor again? Right, Y/N. Beautiful Y/N who should be asleep on his bed. But as he leaned his head up to see over the edge of the mattress, he was met with an empty bed. The covers were made neatly, all pillows back in place, as if no one had even slept there the night before.

Steve rubbed his eyes, like if he cleared himself from his sleepy haze she would materialize in his room. But as his eyes began to focus again, he found he was still alone. Grunting, he stood up, pulling the pillow and blanket he had used with him. He looked around the room and it seemed that nothing was out of place.

Did he imagine last night? Did he feel so alone that he willed himself to believe that Y/N actually slept over? His eyes continued to scan for anything out of place, a breath of relief when they landed on his dresser.

The clothes he had lent her were neatly stacked on his desk and if he had to guess, her drying clothes in the laundry room would be gone. So he hadn’t imagined it. What happened? Why was she in such a rush to leave?

Maybe she regretted the night before, thinking he hadn’t changed since his days at King Steve. Perhaps the kiss was too much and she regretted it. Steve’s mind spiraled down a dark hole he knew too well. If he didn’t stop now, he would trigger another panic attack.

Taking a moment before getting ready for the day, he sat down on his bed, closing his eyes. He just needed to breathe. In and out, in and out. Over and over again he focused on his breath, letting all his energy go into calming himself down.

He needed to talk to Y/N. To clarify everything from last night before it ate away at him.

Steve drove himself to therapy the following week. Partly because Robin was still back at her parents, and partly because he needed more time to think. As the time of the group session approached, he felt his heart rate begin to rise. His thoughts raced faster than they did when he woke up to find her gone.

He just needed to get there. Seeing her would calm him, reassure him that he didn’t fuck up. But as he parked his car and raced inside, he was saddened to find that she wasn’t there. Maybe she was just late. She had been late in the past, it was logical to assume she could be late today.

Matt and Sam had tried to talk to him but he only politely nodded as they spoke. His tongue felt too heavy in his mouth. Like lifting it to speak would only result in incoherent babbling. Thankfully, Dr. Ackerman’s presence let him stay silent.

The session began and Steve found himself staring at the door. He nodded, giving short answers when required but his attention was still trained on the closed door. She had to walk through the door. To join their weekly sessions. But as the topic drifted from one person to another, Y/N never arrived.

Steve was quick to leave, rushing to the parking lot to see if she had missed the session and was just arriving. To his disappointment, she wasn’t there. Not even a lingering smell of cigarettes in the air from her usual smoking spot.

He arrived early for the next session, and the next, and soon a whole month went by without her attending. Every session his eyes stayed on the door, willing her to walk through. Maybe if he was like Eleven, telepathically gifted, he could find out where she was. No, he thought. Even with those powers, it would be an invasion of privacy. And he didn’t want to be where he wasn’t welcomed.

Robin had been spending more and more time with her parents to figure out packing for the fall semester so Steve had been driving himself more often in Y/N’s absence.

Another missed therapy session had him driving home in silence, not even the radio playing to fill the void. His fingers tapped against the steering wheel in an irregular pattern as he turned onto his street. Slowly, his house came into view and he could see the vague outline of someone sitting on the front steps.

That’s weird, he thought to himself. Robin had a key, most people in the party did for emergencies. So why was she waiting outside?

As he pulled closer, almost fully into the driveway, his eyes adjusted. It wasn’t Robin, or anyone he had fought monsters with. It was Y/N.

Y/N, smoking a cigarette as she patiently waited for him to come home. He felt himself falter, his foot almost slamming on the brakes. She was here, more beautiful than the last time he saw her – though it was pretty hard for her to look anything but perfect.

The engine revved as he pulled into the driveway, pulling Y/N’s attention to him. Quickly, she stood up, putting her cigarette out with the heel of her shoe. Steve felt glued to the inside of the car. Their eyes had met, not separating as he put in the car in park. All he wanted was to get out and speak to her. But something in his chest tightened. If she had been avoiding him for the past week, she had her reasons. And part of him didn’t want to know for certain he was the problem.

He tried to move, he truly did. But his anxiety was ruling over his brain and he didn’t know how to stop it. Thankfully, Y/N seemed to notice. Moving forward, she opened his passenger door and climbed in. He never took his eyes off her, even when she turned her back to close the door.

Turning back to him, she weakly said, “Hey.”

“H-hi,” he managed to blurt out. Silence hung in the air, as he figured out what to say. Y/N continued to speak. “Sorry to show up at your house, I didn’t mean to be a bother.”

“You’re not a bother,” he blurted out. “Y-you’re never a bother.”

He was looking directly into her eyes, his gaze never wavering. It didn’t break until Y/N looked down at her lap and he could have sworn he saw a small smile form on her lips. A moment passed, then two, and neither of them talked.

Despite being uncomfortable with long silences, Steve didn’t seem to mind. He didn’t feel like his social battery drained when he was around her. If anything, she made him feel more alive. She knew what he was going through, one of the best kept secrets in his life and she knew.

“I missed you,” she said softly, still looking down at her lap.

“I’ve missed you too…Louise keeps talking about her one night stands and I don’t think I can take any more of it,” he said, gaining back some composure from earlier.

Y/N laughed, her shoulders hunching forward. She looked back up at him, her eyes darting back and forth between the two of his. As the smile slowly faded from her face, her eyes remained on his. It was clear she wanted to talk about what happened. Maybe she just needed a push.

“Do you…wanna talk about it?” Steve asked.

She shook her head slightly. “I don’t know it’s just – when I woke up in your room, my mind immediately went back to Gary.” She paused for a moment and he let her gather her thoughts. “I just went into a spiral like I did with him. Like did I force you to kiss me? Did you really want me sleeping in your bed or did I coerce you to? What would people think if they see the town whore sleeping with the former king of Hawkins High just – it’s stupid, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not stupid,” he said immediately, reaching his hands out on the center console. He didn’t want to touch her without asking, but wanted to let her know he was there if she needed to. He sighed.

“I didn’t expect to kiss you that night,” he continued. She looked up at him, biting the inside of her cheek. “But that didn’t mean I didn’t want you to. You in no way forced me to kiss you…and I was the one who wanted you to stay. I-I should’ve been more vocal so you didn’t feel forced to.”

Y/N nodded, leaning forward with her hands on the center console, not quite touching his.

“If you want to keep seeing me, friend or something more, I promise I will walk you through everything thought in my head so we’re on the same page.”

She raised an eyebrow, some color coming back to her face. “Every thought?”

He nodded. “Oh for sure. Like how I’ve been craving a ham and cheese sandwich since I woke up this morning.” She giggled again at his obvious attempt to make her feel better. “And like how I’d really like to hold your hand right now.”

He stared at her in his car, the sun slowly setting outside, and felt the touch of her fingers against his. It felt like an immediate release, a tightness he didn’t know was there unfolding in his chest.

“I would like to keep seeing you too,” she told him, and it was like his heart was doing a million leaps of joy. “I don’t know if I can handle anything more right now,”

“-and that is completely fine with me,” he reassured her quickly, feeling a tight squeeze of reassurance in his hand.

“Thank you for understanding. In the future, if I’m ready…I’d like to explore that possibility with you.”

Steve gave her a big grin, not trying to hide what he was feeling. “Good, uh, that’s good to know.”

They sat in his car, hands intertwined like the rest of the world didn’t matter. Like their pasts and reputations didn’t haunt them like a shadow. For now, they had each other and that was all they could ask for.

Steve didn’t need some fancy school or big corporate job. Just someone who understood him, who knew what it was like to feel the things he felt and not be judged.

He was happy he finally found someone who did just that.

Taglist: @afraidofshrimp @halflifejess @nix-rose @palmtreesx3 @cilliansnostolgia @sweetdazequeen

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upsidedownwithsteve · 2 years

Text

Eddie Muson x fem!reader[3.2k] prompt: patching Eddie up after he got into a fight. Soft Eddie, clothes sharing, Eddie's a little huffy shit.

Eddie Munson was not a fighter.

Not that you knew of, at least. You’d spent enough time with him in dive bars and after gigs to know that Eddie had a look to him that was just intimidating enough to keep trouble away. He was more man than boy now, all black leather, big rings, skulls and crossbones.

The strong lines of his nose and jaw made him look a little sharp and it created some sort of barrier, one that most people didn’t want to cross. You’d sit on his lap at these bars, tucked into the corner with his friends, tucked into him.

You’d tease him a little, soft mocking that was always soothed by a kiss straight away. Your whispers would be laced with cheap beer and sticky sweetness, his hands curled around your thigh as you told him how scary he was, how badass he looked on stage.

You told him all that, grinning, only to remind him the act always crumbled when he jumped off of the stage, found you and smiled. Maybe beam was more of the correct word, that slow stretch of his lips that showed off his dimples. You swore it made his eyes brighter, chocolate brown to caramel, all brown sugar and fondness.

Eddie Munson melted, but only for you.

And after over a year with the boy, you could readily confirm that he was very much a lover, not a fighter.

It’s why you were so surprised to get a call from Gareth one night, not all that late. You’d worked overtime and came home with a headache, annoyed with yourself when you had to tell Eddie that you weren’t feeling up to a gig tonight. His band wasn’t even playing, it was just some other guys from out of town playing some Dio covers, but it upset you nonetheless to have to cancel on the boy.

Eddie had just pulled you into his arms, pressing soft kisses into your cheeks, laying down a pretty line of them until he could brush his lips over your forehead, pressing his nose to your hairline as he told you not to worry.

“Can have my girl feeling shitty for the sake of some bad guitar and lukewarm beer,” he’d said.

Eddie had left you in your bed in one of his shirts, a soft grey thing with a sun bleached Metallica logo on the front. It still smelled like him, smoke and spice, something a little woodsy, something that reminded you of coffee and home.

It’s probably why you fell asleep so quickly, the credits of the movie you’d only seen the beginning of rolling across the screen as your phone rang. It was disorienting, the clock telling you it had only just passed eleven, the few hours of sleep you’d gotten making you feel heavy and slow.

A phone call after eight o’clock always made you panic and your heart was racing a little quicker when you picked it up, the house dark and empty as you stood in your kitchen with the receiver pressed to your ear.

Hearing Eddie’s friend on the other line did nothing to soften that worry and as soon as you realised it was Gareth, your voice was a rush of panic, asking the boy what was wrong, where was Eddie, was he okay?

But then he was telling you to calm down, Eddie was fine. But this was more than a ‘one too many beers’ situation, and that your boyfriend has landed himself in a little trouble. Gareth was almost laughing as he told you that the other boy was refusing to get into the car.

You could hear Eddie in the background, voice sounding a little drunk and a lot forlorn as he whined about how “she’s gonna be so mad at me.”

“Gareth, what did he do?”

“Defended your honour and got himself punched in the face.”

You gasped, shocked at the idea of Eddie in a fight and before you could ask if he was okay, or what had even happened, Jeff was wrestling the pay phone out of his friend's hand and telling you excitedly, “s’okay! You should’ve seen the other guy!”

You closed your eyes, head leaning on the doorframe of the kitchen and you sighed.

“I’ll be there in twenty.“

You had the common sense to pull on some pyjama shorts before you stuffed your bare feet into some old trainers, Eddie’s shirt covering the majority of your thighs anyway. You were lucky the night was still warm as you got into your car, pulling out into the dark streets towards The Hideout.

There were a bunch of boys in the parking lot, loitering and looking entirely too menacing in leather and spikes, chains and rings and messy hair. Smoke surrounded most of them, pretty tendrils of grey blue in the air and they would’ve been an intimidating sight if it wasn’t for the curly haired boy lying flat on the grass, a pout on his lips and his hand holding his cheek.

You parked the car a little askew, not really caring as the pub’s patrons started to clear out, an annoyed barmaid standing at the front door as she yelled about how cleaning up blood wasn’t part of her job description.

Eddie didn’t see you walk over, in fact, he didn’t see you at all until you were standing over him, hands on your hips and head tilted to the side.

“Hey, slugger.”

The boy’s eyes opened in a flash, something softening in them at the sight of you. But then he groaned, wincing, as if waiting for his scolding. It never came, you were far more concerned about how he was feeling.

“Baby,” Eddie mumbled and he said it like ‘sorry.’ A soft sigh escaped him and he sat up, a palm curling warm around the back of your bare calf. “Who called you?”

“Gareth,” you told him, one hand going to his head. Your fingers scraped through his curls, a little messy and tangled from whatever scuffle he managed to get himself into.

Eddie lay his head against the soft of your tummy, cheek resting against his own shirt and he glared accusingly at the boy, who had the right to look a little scared.

“Snitch,” Eddie grunted before turning back into you, face pressed against your stomach and he drew lines up the backs of your thighs with gentle fingers.

“You okay?” You asked him, soft enough that the rest of his friends wouldn’t hear. “What happened?”

A grunt, a grumble and a kiss to your ribs was all you really got before you tugged a little at his curls, making his head fall back so he would look at you. Eddie was pouting again.

“Eddie,” you admonished, thumbing over the soft push of his bottom lip, smiling and rolling your eyes when he pressed a kiss to it. “What happened?”

“M’fine,” he told you, “just those assholes from Trash Monkey talkin’ shit and not knowing when to shut up.”

You knew of the other band he was talking about, some guys from the next town over who always drank too much and ended up smashing up a guitar on stage. So you hummed in agreement, your fingertips finding the edge of a fresh bruise that was beginning to bloom on your boyfriend's cheek.

The colours bled into the corner of his eye, lilacs and blues, ringed by red, angry skin. You tutted, watched the way Eddie’s eyes fluttered shut against your gentle contact and you had to tap his chin to get his attention again.

You held him there, finger thumb on stubble, keeping his eyes on you.

“What happened, Eds?” He still hadn’t answered that question.

The rest of the boys went quiet and no one said anything when Eddie just shrugged, gaze flickering off to the side so he didn’t have to look at your earnest expression. You huffed, dropping your hand from his chin and gesturing to your car instead.

“Come on,” you told him, “let’s go.”

He followed without argument, an overgrown puppy at your heels and he barely said bye to his friends as he placed a hand on your back, chancing a touch despite knowing you weren’t happy with him. You didn’t like being kept in the dark.

You didn’t speak again until you were back on the main road that led you into town, away from the dive bars and open fields, where little street light leaked into the dark.

“Mine or yours?” You asked, eyes on the road.

He was fiddling with his rings, knuckles a little swollen and red, the finger with his skull ring split at the thickest part, bloodied and angry looking.

“You got beer in the house, sweetheart?” Eddie asked, “‘cause I need one.” He was prodding at his cheek, the slant of it mottled with different colours, the bruise darkening as time ticked by.

Eddie hissed as he pushed into a particularly tender spot. He frowned and so did you.

You didn’t answer him, you merely just turned into your street, knowing that your house was empty and your dad definitely had some beers in the fridge. And you knew Eddie liked your bed better than his.

“Why won’t you tell me what happened?”

“Because you don’t like it when I fight,” Eddie mumbled petulantly.

You took your eyes off the road long enough to spare a glance at the boy, bathed in the yellow orange of the flickering street lights. Eddie was leaving into the seat, cheek pressed to the fabric and gazing at you from underneath his lashes. He looked too pretty, bruises and all, and you wanted to reach out and brush away his curls.

“I don’t like it when you teach Dustin and Max how to pick locks either,” you grumbled good naturedly, “but you still do that too.”

Eddie grinned, boyish and like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

He was still looking at you when you parked back in your driveway, silence sweeping over your both as you turned off the engine. Eddie’s hand reached over the console to squeeze at the soft of your thigh, bare skin a little colder now that you’d been away from your bed for so long. He tugged at the hem of your sleep shorts, smiled fond when he realised it was his shirt you were wearing.

“Thanks for comin’ to get me, sweetheart,” Eddie mumbled.

He sounded tired, but not drunk, and you turned to him with a twist to your lips, unable to hide your smile even though you still weren’t best pleased with your boyfriend. “In the house Munson, c’mon.”

Your hands were on Eddie's ass as you persuaded him up your stairs and into your family’s bathroom. He protested softly, once, twice, telling you that he was fine and the beer was in the kitchen, not the bathroom. But once he clocked the furrow between your brow, the downturn of your lips, he gave in and let you manhandle him into the small room.

You didn’t have to ask him to sit on the countertop, Eddie did it anyway, bangs falling into his eyes and the low glow of the vanity light turned him into shades of gold and peach. He watched you in silence as you moved around the room, opening cabinets and drawers until you gathered what you needed, cotton wool, antiseptic and flannels thrown onto the counter beside the boy.

Quick work was made as you filled the sink up with some cold water, tilting your head towards it as you unscrewed the cap to the bottle of cleaning alcohol. You wrinkled your nose at the smell of it and waved away Eddie’s sore hands as he tried to help.

“No, no,” you told him softly, “put your hands in the sink babe, we need to get those rings off.”

Eddie frowned but did as he was told, his leather jacket already a heap on the floor and you toed it out of the way when he grunted, scrunching his pretty features at you in disdain.

“Baby, it’s fuckin’ cold.”

You snorted, grinning at his whine, “I know,” you told him, “your knuckles are all swollen, dummy, we need to cool them down first.”

Despite your words, your tone was still soft, all soothing as you busied yourself around the boy. And when you had enough cotton soaked in antiseptic, you tapped at Eddie’s knee and he hissed as he took his hands out of the cold water.

“Can’t feel my goddamn fingers,” Eddie groaned.

“Oh, good,” you smiled, a little mockingly, “that’ll make this easier then.” And with that, you eased off each of his heavy, silver rings, the band still a little tight over his poor, swollen knuckles but they came off much easier than they would’ve before.

Eddie made soft noises of discomfort as the metal passed over the broken skin, cuts in the lines of his fingers that were still a little bloody. You hushed him, soothing sounds leaving your lips in nonsensical words of comfort.

“I know, pretty boy, m’sorry, almost there.”

Each ring clattered against the side of the sink and you didn’t give him much warning before you were stepping between the boy’s knees and bringing a hand to your chest. You pressed a quick kiss to his palm before you swept the cotton over each knuckle, soaking the open wounds in disinfectant.

Eddie jumped and hissed, his thighs tightening around your waist as he pulled you into him. He was frowning, big brown eyes a little sad, glaring at you as if you’d meant to hurt him.

“Don’t be a baby,” you murmured, smiling at his cute pout.

“That shit stings,” he grumbled back, shuffling on the counter until his ass was closer to the edge, granting you more room between his knees to curl into him.

“Well, don’t get into fights, Eds,” you levelled him with a stare, one he knew too well. “Wouldn’t have to douse you in alcohol, would I? God knows what kinda bar germs are stuck in these cuts.”

“You’re hot when you’re mean, you know that?” His voice was all smooth and warm, honey and sugar, flirting as much as apologising.

You rolled your eyes at him, didn’t bother to try and hide your smile as you continued to wipe down his sore hands. You dumped the bloodied cotton in the trash when you were done, tutted and took the boy’s chin between your finger and thumb to inspect his bruised cheek.

“You’re gonna look like a badass in the morning, babe,” you told him, your own pout painting your lips at the sight of his sore face. “That’s gonna be some bruise.”

“You mean even more of a badass?” Eddie smirked, all messy hair and dark eyes.

Another roll of your eyes, a huff of laughter and you relented easily when his hands curled around your wrists, tugging you to him. He was taller than usual on his perch beside the sink, a whole head and shoulders above you. But his palm found its way to your jaw, fingers sweeping along the slope of it until his thumb smoothed over your cheek. Eddie leaned in and down, crowding over you - smoke and bourbon and warmth and home.

His nose nudged yours, bumping into your cheek, foreheads touching. “Kiss,” he mumbled, soft and sleepy.

“Demanding,” you whispered.

“Please,” came next, sticky sweet and like candy against the corner of your lips. Eddie was hovering, mouth over yours, waiting, as if you’d ever deny him. “Please, baby?”

You indulged him then, let him kiss away the smile he created, mouth slipping over yours, trapping your bottom lip between his. He tasted like whiskey and weed, like Eddie. It was one of those kisses that made you feel so loved, like he was coveting every pass of your mouth over his, a slow sweep of his tongue against your own, nose smushed to your cheek like he could never, ever get close enough.

Eddie pulled back just enough, close enough to lean into you still, to swipe his thumb over your bottom lip and murmur a soft “thank you,” into your neck.

It wasn’t until you were tangled together in your bed, sheets pushed to the bottom of the mattress, pillows askew because your head preferred Eddie’s bare chest, that he eventually spilled his secret. Your leg was thrown over his lip, bare apart from his shirt, one hand in your hair and the other pushed under the soft cotton, palm warm against your spine.

You were both fighting sleep, that heavy lull that made your cheek smush to the muscles in his chest. Eddie was grazing his lips over your hairline, a soft back and forth that made it difficult to even hear him when he whispered to your temple:

“Baby?”

You stirred, tightened your hold around his waist and hummed in response.

“M’sorry I got into a fight,” he whispered, the darkness of your room making him feel a little braver, “I didn’t mean to.”

You sighed soft, pushing your lips to the slant of the boy’s collar bone as if you could kiss his apology away. “Eds it’s okay, don’t have to be sorry, jus’ don’t like seeing you hurt, that’s all.”

He hummed in understanding, a hand coming to sweep back your hair as he littered tiny kisses across your cheek, your nose. Everything was slow and lazy, soft and worn down with sleep. It was lovely, it made you ache, made you wonder how you could possibly ever sleep on the nights that you didn’t have Eddie beside you.

“Matty T made a comment about you,” he mumbled, “that cocky little shit of a drummer from Trash-”

“Trash Monkey,” you finished for him, “yeah, I know. He’s an ass,” you agreed, wondering what the other boy could have possibly said for Eddie to lash out.

“He is,” Eddie nodded and it was so dark in your room that you could only barely make out the soft whites of his eyes when you pulled back to gaze at him. “He asked me where you were, said somethin’ disgusting ‘bout how I needed to learn how to share.”

You wrinkled your nose. “That’s pretty gross, yeah.”

Eddie mumbled something you couldn’t quite hear before he tucked his face into your neck, nose pressed to the spot he liked to kiss the most. His arms found your waist again, winding round tight, his palms smoothing up your sides until he found bare skin.

Bare hips, bare waist, bare breasts. He sighed, kissed under your ear and curled closer.

“Told him he was a fuckin’ pig who needed to learn some manners,” the boy continued, “but he kept runnin’ his damn mouth.”

Suddenly, you didn’t feel as mad as you previously had about your boyfriend’s sudden change in temper.

“Punched the asshole before I even realised, Gareth stepped in, then musta’ called you.”

“Oh,” you breathed, wondering if it was possible to love the boy more. “Not that I’m encouraging violence, baby, but thank you… I think.”

Eddie snorted, face burrowing closer into you, one hand finding the bend in your knee so he could hitch your leg to a little higher on his hip. You weren’t sure where you ended and he started. You definitely didn’t mind.

“Knight in shining armour, am I right?”

“More like Tarzan in a leather jacket,” you grinned, “but just as sweet, sure.”

You got a grin back, another kiss, soft and as sweet as the boy.

“I’ll take it,” Eddie told you happily.

#eddie munson #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fic #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson oneshot #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fanfic #strangers things #stranger things fic

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fckinwild-kiwi · 6 months

Text

Dec. 11th: You're Not My Girlfriend

Day 11: Playing with their hair/Cute habits

We’ve made it to day eleven of @comp-lady’s Domestic December writing challenge!

Warnings: Maybe Swearing (This is an 18+ blog, minors dni) Word Counts: 1.1k+ Words Pairings: Eddie Munson x Reader

Eddie was very protective of his hair. It was one of the first things you noticed when you became friends. While Steve spent time styling his luscious locks, Eddie spent his time finding ways to keep his hair naturally healthy and that meant that nobody was allowed to put their oily fingers in his hair. “It will fuck with my natural pH,” He once said after smacking Gareth, who tried to give him noogie. Ever since then, everyone stayed away from the hair, fearing Eddie’s wrath.

During movie nights with the group, even before you two started dating, Eddie would run his fingers through your hair, slightly massaging your scalp as he did so. It was comforting and made your heart just sizzle and burn with affection. You quickly noticed that Eddie would do this whenever he wanted to express affection and be close when actual closeness was inappropriate. For instance, during a group dinner with Nancy, Jonathan, Robin, and Steve. Eddie, with his arm around your chair, would bring his hand up to run his fingers through your hair, running his fingers through the strands before dragging his fingertips across your scalp. You leaned in to this behavior. Eddie’s love language was physical touch and it was his way of reminding you, ‘Hey, I’m here and I love you.’

The fact that your love language was words of affirmation sometimes threw him off and the conversation about it was frequent. “Do you still love me?” He randomly questioned as you both played on your parents couch, Macy asleep on the floor. You were so confused, how could this boy possibly think your feelings for him have dwindled even slightly?

“Of course I still love you, probably more today than I did yesterday,” You said, reassuring the poor boy as you grabbed his hand. From that moment on, you made it your mission to express your love with physical affection so he would never question the love you had for him.

The first time you purposefully used affection to reassure your boyfriend, you were eating dinner with your Mom, Macy, and your grandparents. Though they knew who Eddie was, they weren’t the most thrilled by your relationship upgrade. “What do you plan to do after you graduate this year then, Eddie?” Your grandpa probed.

Eddie tensed up beside you but before he could respond, Macy interrupted. “Eddie is a rockstar, Papa!”

“How do you expected to do anything with that kind of career, will you be able to financially support a family?” Your grandpa continued asking.

“Grandpa!” You scolded, shooting glares across the table.

“No, it’s okay, babe,” Eddie reassured you before continuing. “I love to think I’m the rockstar that Macy thinks I am but while I wait for those dreams to take off, I got a job working at the record store on Main Street.”

“And we are so proud of you,” Your mom said, smiling at Eddie from across the table. Noticing Eddie’s tight smile, you reached up, placing your hand on the back of his neck before giving him a slight squeeze. Keeping your hand there, you began lightly running your fingers along his nape. Eddie quickly relaxed, looking at you with a soft expression.

“The crazy thing, Grandpa,” You started, continuing the soft touch to Eddie’s neck. “Is that I will support Eddie in any endeavor he wants to do as long as he’s happy and passionate about it. If he becomes the next Ozzy, I’ll be at his show, side-stage, cheering him on. If he decides that he doesn’t want to be a rocker and instead he wants teach music, I’ll be at every recital or performance cheering on the best teacher there is. That’s what it means to support your partner.” You sighed, before looking at Eddie who, in returning his love language with yours, mumbled out a soft, “I love you.”

The next time, Eddie noticed your increased physical touch was during his graduation ceremony. Though it was Eddie’s third time as a senior, it was perfect as you two graduated together. As you sat next to each other on the chairs in the stuffy gymnasium, Jason approached the two of you. “Third time really is a charm, huh, Munson.”

“I’m not doing this with you today, Jason,” Eddie grumbled out. Noticing his normally bubbly personality begin to shrivel into the person that only Jason seemed to change him into, you grabbed his hand before wrapping your other hand around his arm. Finding comfort in your touch, Eddie took a deep breath before responding again, “Enjoy your day, Jason.”

“That was impressive,” You mumbled out, pressing a quick kiss to Eddie’s neck.

With a shudder, his hand found yours on his arm before he squeezed it. Eddie said, ”You made me feel stronger.”

“I’m always here to help you when you need it, Eds,” You whispered. “Let’s go find our families.”

And today, the rest of the party noticed too. Everyone was hanging out at Steve’s house for their weekly movie night. The couches and recliner full of bodies, you and Eddie opted to lay on the floor with you sitting up right, leaning against the side of couch, and Eddie with his head in your lap.

“I’m just saying that I think ‘Halloween’ is probably the best slasher movie ever,” Dustin said, shrugging.

“No way, ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ scared me for months,” Lucas argued. “It’s definitely better.”

“You’re missing Dustin’s point, Sinclair,” Eddie laughed out. “‘The Hills Have Eyes’ is scary but what makes ‘Halloween’ better is how diabolical Michael Myers is with his slow speed.”

“Exactly!” Dustin shouted. You laughed at their childish argument before running your fingers through Eddie’s hair, your fingers massaging his scalp with a practiced touch.

“What are you doing,” Gareth gaped.

“Hm?” You questioned, your fingers continuing their movements. “What do you mean?”

“You’re touching Eddie’s hair,” Gareth said, loudly with fear in his eyes. Eddie, who had fallen under the trance of your fingers popped up at the mention of his name.

“I did not know that was against the rules,” I said, glancing down at Eddie before looking at the rest of the group, who all decided to stop their discussion and look at you two.

“It’s not against the rules for you, baby,” Eddie said, grabbing your hand and putting it back into his hair. “It’s against the rules for those assholes who liked to fuck with me.”

“Hey!” Gareth argued. “You quite literally punched me in the shoulder last time I even came new your hair.”

“Yeah, and you’re not my girlfriend,” Eddie retorted. “Besides, when she does it, it feels like love and comfort. I’m not worried about what she might be doing or a punchline she might be making.”

Eddie loved physical touch and the innocent touches that you could provide, whether that was rubbing his back or massaging his scalp, provided him with the sense of safety and comfort. And you were more than willing and happy to provide that.

#Eddie Munson #Eddie Munson x Reader #Eddie Munson Fluff #Eddie Munson x Reader fluff #Stranger Things #Stranger Things AU #Stranger Things FLuff #fckinwild kiwi #fckinwild kiwi writing #comp lady domestic december #domestic december

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ijustwanttoreadfanfiction · 1 year

Text

Candyland

Rockstar! (ish) Eddie Munson x AFAB! Bar Dancer Reader

Cherry Pie is always the inspiration for some absolute filth. Reader works at a Coyote Ugly type bar - you'll find out, it's hard for me to describe this one. Because I suck.

Warnings: Explicit language, explicit sexual content, oral sex (m receiving), p in v sex, suggestive content with the dancing?

The R-Bar, Chicago - 1991

Eddie is sweating his nutsack off, fingers red raw from shredding for almost two hours, voice sore and crackling. The mediocre applause that follows him off the small stage with the rest of the band hardly seems worth the pain. He snags a water bottle from a beat up trestle table, chugging it in relief as their manager Lambshank approaches; so named because he got shanked in prison with a lamb bone, true story.

“That was a killer set guys, great work, the crowd loved you!” He hails with so much bravado it verges on sarcasm.

“Yeah, all fourteen of them.” Eddie deadpans.

“I counted seventeen.” Jeff wryly supplies with a rough croak, finishing off his own bottle of water.

“Alright, it wasn’t the biggest crowd, granted, but everyone has to start somewhere.” Lambshank reasons.

“Yeah, but we started this group eleven years ago, Shank.” Eddie huffs, he knew the rockstar dream wouldn’t be an easy one to achieve but he thought after graduating and being able to pour all his time and what little money he had into the band they’d be playing bigger and better venues by now.

He was fed up, every place was like The Hideout back home, filled with drunks, and sticky floors. They did have a couple of genuine fans, who they appreciated even if they were slightly over-zealous in their affections; Gareth had never quite been the same since Luann, the forty-seven year old divorcee, threw her FF bra directly at his face mid-show.

“You fellas need a fun night out, get yourselves pumped up again and I know just the place.” Lambshank says bracingly, working his fists back and forth like a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robot. Eddie scrubs at his tired sweaty face, pushing his hair out of his eyes, wanting nothing more than to shower and go to bed, god he was getting old.

“Shank I don’t need a night out, I need to get some sleep.”

“Eddie, I promise you, you’ll enjoy it - and the first round of drinks are on me.” Shank offers teasingly.

_______________________________________________

“Candyland?” Gareth asks, reading the pink neon sign aloud as they all stand outside a rather nondescript looking building, the loud heavy bass thumping of music the only indicator there might be something going on inside.

“Candyland.” Lambshank affirms with a grin, gesturing towards the heavy door in front of them, a burly and surly looking doorman giving Lambshank a curt nod letting the group in.

It’s a cacophony of noise, and flashing lights, the place is packed to the rafters, the smell of stale beer and sweat heavy in the air. But it’s the movement from the bar area that catches Eddie’s eye, a group of women all around his age in various states of undress, dancing and grinding along to No Sleep Till Brooklyn - Beastie Boys, they also appear to be serving drinks.

“Welcome to Candyland boys!” Lambshank laughs, patting Eddie heavily on the back.

It’s certainly a show, the girls are laughing and screaming things out, men and women on the floor crowded up to the raised surface cheering loudly, throwing money, and generally having the time of their lives.

The song finishes up, and the bar girls all jump down to be replaced by an older looking blonde woman with a microphone in her hand.

“Candyland, how are we doing tonight?!” She yells, to a deafening cheer. “C’mon I know you can do better than that, I said HOW ARE WE DOING TONIGHT?” She corrals with a fist to the air.

The bar shouts back in unison, even Eddie finds himself wanting to join in.

“That’s what I like to hear.” She laughs throatily. “Now I want you to give it up, and by that I mean your hard earned dollars, for our girl JETT!”

I Love Rock ‘N Roll - Joan Jett starts up, along with a raucous cheer from the crowd as girl jumps up onto the bar in black PVC booty shorts, a ripped white crop top, black bra visible underneath and black high-top converse, her back is to everyone as she claps her hands and stamps along to the beat, Eddie tears his eyes away trying to work out the best route to the bar in order to actually get a drink when Gareth starts tugging hard on his arm.

“Jeez man what?” Eddie huffs in irritation, Gareth points dumbly back towards the bar, mouth hanging open, Eddie looks again and feels his own jaw drop.

“Holy shit it’s -” Jeff breathes, the girl is finally facing the crowd, throwing her body back and forth, a huge smile plastered across her pretty face.

“Y/n -” Eddie finishes his sentence with a gulp.

Eddie hadn’t seen you since graduation, but it was definitely you, despite your get up and apparent new found sense of confidence there was no mistaking your face. You had been something of a shrinking violet at High School, choosing to hang out with Eddie and the gang as they didn’t mind that you were painfully shy and preferred books to conversation, and whilst you had never been a fully fledged member of Hellfire you sometimes took part in the occasional campaign if they were short and Eddie coaxed you enough.

It didn’t seem you needed to be coaxed into doing anything anymore though as you gyrated on the platform, hooking your leg and arm around a pole between the bar top and ceiling, spinning about seductively. You headbang slightly, before dropping low to grab a handful of dollars from a howling man, one of the girls behind the bar passes you up a bottle of vodka and you expertly pour a shot into the man’s open mouth. As the song fades out, some of the other girls jump back up to join you, the vodka bottle in your hand being swapped for the microphone.

“Good evening Candyland.” You purr slightly out of breath, laughing loudly at the tumultuous response. “Life is sweet, but you know what? It could be a little sweeter, so how about we pour a little sugar on you?” You ask suggestively, throwing your arms up as Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard rings out.

Eddie doesn’t know where to look, well he knows exactly where he wants to look but he doesn’t know if he should. You’re back to back with one of the other girls, both winding down to your knees, you crawl across the bar and Eddie finds himself standing tiptoes to follow your progress. You lay on your back, arching upwards, so your chest is on display, while a redhead girl in Daisy dukes wets your body with the seltzer tap. You screech wildly, shaking your head allowing the liquid to splash the front row, Eddie thinks he might pass out as the blood thunders down from his brain to his cock.

You move back up into a kneel, taking the tap and spraying it into the raucous crowd, whilst necking a beer you’ve taken off of someone. You and the rest of the girls line up, all bending sideways so you’re grabbing the ass of the other, spanking in time to the music, before shaking your legs so the muscles bounce and jiggle.

“This is insane.” Gareth says weakly next to Eddie, and he has to agree. You straighten up, spinning around the pole once again until you’re head on staring at Eddie and the group, a wide beaming smile of recognition breaking across your face. You seem to be dancing with even more enthusiasm now you’ve clocked your old school friends, hands running over your own form, as you strut up and down the platform. The redhead from before has a bottle of whiskey in her hand which she pours on her chest with a subtle nod to you, you lean in and lick the gold liquid from her skin, to rapturous hoots and hollers, tracing your tongue up her neck until you meet her mouth; Eddie notices more dollar bills clutched in your hands as you pull away.

The song comes to an end, and you instantly jump down into the crowd, pushing patrons out of your way, practically racing towards the band.

“OH MY GOD, HI!” You shout excitedly, barrelling straight into Eddie first, he barely has time to snap out of his funk and embrace you back before you're pulling away to address the others. You’re flushed with exertion, but to him you’ve never looked prettier.

“Gareth, Jeff!” You hail, bringing each of them in for their own hug, Eddie having to fight down a sudden surge of jealousy.

“Y/n! What the hell man?!” Gareth greets you with a laugh, gesturing to the hive of activity still taking place on the bar behind you.

“Girl’s gotta make a living, ya know.” You tease, punching him lightly in the arm. “It’s my Aunt’s place, she’s the blonde one up there.” You point to the older woman who revved up the crowd earlier, she’s currently pouring a row of shots, but all the while keeping an eye on her girls, including you.

“What are you guys doing here?” You ask casually, like you’re not standing in front of them scantily clad, and the source of their awkward crotch covered stances.

“We’re on tour.” Jeff supplies.

“Holy shit - that’s so cool, where are you playing?” Eddie wants to answer you, but your devastating smile is making his brain short circuit.

“They played the R-Bar tonight. Lambshank, manager extraordinaire and long time patron of Candyland.” Lambshank butts in, offering his hand in greeting, you shake it and Eddie sees a slight wariness enter your expression.

“The R-Bar huh? I’d thought with how good you guys were in High School, you’d be playing bigger venues than that.” You don't say it maliciously, you seem genuinely concerned, and it sparks Eddie's brain and mouth back to life.

“We’ve been trying to but it’s not been going so well.” Eddie says quietly, and you nod in understanding.

“Where are you guys playing next?” You ask with interest.

“We’re at the R-Bar again tomorrow night.” Gareth says, unable to keep the dismay out of his voice.

“Ok, cool, leave it with me. Drinks on the house by the way, just go see my aunt. Catch up properly at close?” You ask quickly, already backing up towards the bar, slipping under the gap and whispering in your aunt's ear as you service the clamouring groups.

Eddie's gaze is firmly fixed on your retreating form, he always had a soft spot for you through school, ok maybe crush was more accurate, although he'd play it off as a brotherly protective vibe when people had asked but what he was feeling now was far from brotherly.

"I'll get us some beers." He says not caring if the others are listening, purposely ignoring Lambshank's request for a double JD, as he makes his way through the thronging horde, with a little elbowing he eventually gets to the front.

“What can I get you handsome?” Your aunt asks him, leaning across the bar.

“Uh - four Coors Dry please.” He responds absentmindedly watching the way you’re shaking a drink at the other end of the bar, clearly flirting with every customer and doing a damn good judging by your overflowing tip jar.

“Would you prefer for my niece to serve you?” Your aunt says with a wry smile.

“Oh - uh - no sorry, just haven't seen her in a while.” Eddie stammers, slipping across a $20 bill.

“You’re Eddie right?” He nods, she smiles and it’s not too dissimilar to your own. “I'm Paula. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name. She never used to shut up about you when she was a teenager, Eddie this, Eddie that.” She laughs, pouring the beers.

“She liked me?” Eddie asks in shock, the thought makes his head spin.

“I don’t think you need to put it in the past tense hunny.” Paula grins, sliding his $20 back across the bar. “You break her heart, I’ll get Doug the Doorman to break your fingers.”

Before Eddie can respond, your voice cuts across the noise once more, you’re up on the bar again, microphone in hand.

“Alright Candylanders, it’s come to our attention that we have some very, very special guests here with us tonight -” The seductive lilt in your tone is back, commanding the attention of everyone in the room, but none more so than Eddie. “- all the way from my hometown of Hawkins, Indiana, they are the next generation of rockstars, the one, the only CORRODED COFFIN!” You bellow pointing towards where Gareth, Jeff and Lambshank are still standing.

“They’re the real deal, and they’re playing at the R-Bar tomorrow, I know - I know it's a fucking shithole." You argue back to the murmured complaints. "But here's the deal, you all go and I will reveal my very secret, very intimate tattoo at the end of their show -” You teasingly pull at the waistline of your booty shorts, before stroking your hand down over your covered mound, the crowd going wild. “- Alright you bunch of horn dogs, save it for tomorrow, now let’s get this fucking party started!” You scream, throwing the microphone down to Paula, who gives you a huge wink.

Cherry Pie - Warrant blares out of the speakers, the girls clambering up to join you once more, pitchers of water in their hands.

“ANYONE ELSE FEELING WET?” Paula shouts into the mic, as you and the rest of the girls pour the pitchers over yourselves, Eddie watches completely enthralled as the water cascades over your chest and down your legs, barely noticing how Gareth and Jeff have joined him.

You stomp over towards them, a huge smile on your face again, dropping into an impressive front split, water droplets glistening over your flushed skin.

“Hey Eddie, you want a blowjob?” You ask loudly over the music.

“Do I want a what?!” Eddie asks incredulously, half laughing, half choking on his beer.

You jump down, grabbing a shot glass, and two bottles of liquor, topping it off with some whipped cream.

“A blow job.” You present to him with a devious smirk.

Eddie throws his head back in a proper laugh, the kind of laugh you used to savour hearing through school, he moves to take the shot but you slap his hand anyway.

“Oh that’s not for you big boy, it’s for me. You need to sit right here.” You say patting the bar top, Eddie looks at you warily but hoists himself up regardless with a smile, you wink and then move to the other end of the bar, whispering something to Paula as you pass.

“Ohhhhh! Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like Jett is about to give some lucky guy a blowjob!” Paula shouts through the mic, stopping mid pour to ring a bell, Eddie’s ears hurt from the wolf whistles and stamping of feet.

Two girls, the redhead and a brunette, help get him in the correct position, legs spread with the shot in between, you get lifted onto the bar by Doug blowing a kiss to him and the gathered crowd. Sinking to your knees you stalk towards him in a slow crawl, he would never be able to listen to Smooth up in ya in the same way ever again. When you reach him, you lean in close to his ear so only he can hear you, his arm automatically coming up to steady you as you hover.

“When I touch your knee, put your hand on the back of my head, and when I touch it again let go.”

You move back, grinning from ear to ear, running your hands over his chest, down and down, fingers brushing his thighs, until you reach his knees; Eddie lifts a shaking a hand to run through your hair at the crown of your head, you wink again before arching low, ass in the air, he can see your lips wrap around the glass; he knows you must notice his raging hard on.

“SHOT, SHOT, SHOT!” The bar screams and Eddie suddenly remembers there are a hundred people watching your antics. Once you have the drink secure, you run your hands back up his legs, tapping his knee once, he lets his hand drop from your head albeit reluctantly. You throw your whole body back, chest jutting out, swallowing the shot to ear splitting cheers and clapping, letting a carefully choreographed bit of liquid spill from the side of your mouth, using your thumb to seductively chase it back to your mouth with a firm suck.

You press a quick kiss to Eddie’s lips, before standing abruptly, taking a bow.

“Can I get one of those? Please?” Gareth asks, voice strained.

_______________________________________________

The rest of the night passes in a blur of girls dancing, pounding music and alcohol but Eddie only has eyes for you. Even when Gareth gets his ‘blowjob’ from the redhead, Cherry, you’re still his focus, the way you move, how openly you laugh with the girls sharing private jokes, the way you handle yourself; fearless and so sexy.

The bar finally closes at 2am, it’s oddly quiet now the sound system is off, only the chink of glasses being collected and general chit-shit fills the air. Lambshank is chewing Paula’s ear off about management opportunities, which she seems to be responding to with good humour. Gareth is following Cherry about like a lost puppy, helping her with clearing tables, and Jeff is asleep in one of the booths, a cocktail umbrella tucked behind his ear.

You’re wiping down the bar top, a shy smile on your face, the one Eddie remembered from school, it seems the shrinking violet is still there once the music is off.

“So Eddie Munson the rockstar huh?” You say, voice a little croaky from a night of shouting and singing.

“I wouldn’t say rockstar.” Eddie murmurs, sipping at his drink.

“Is the band your only job?” You ask pointedly, spraying at a stubborn sticky spot.

“Yeah.” Eddie says, rubbing at his neck feeling self conscious.

“Well then, you’re a rockstar.” You grin softly.

“Alright ladies, you can all head home, Mr Shank here is going to help me finish up.” Paula calls, meeting your raised eyebrows with a sheepish shrug of her shoulders.

Eddie watches as Gareth attempts to rouse Jeff from his deep drunken stupor, wondering if he can manage to get him back to the hotel by himself, not quite ready to leave your side, evidently you are thinking along the same lines as you place a delicate hand on his arm.

“Shall we help get the guys back to your hotel?” You suggest gently, trying not to laugh as Jeff sinks lower into the seat trying to pull Gareth in for a spooning.

“You want to come back with me?” Eddie asks, surprised, not believing his luck.

“Yes, if that’s ok.” You say blushing profusely. “Unless you don’t want me to.” You add quickly feeling unsure of yourself.

“No! - I uh, I mean I would love for you to come back with me.” Eddie stammers, his face burning likely matching the same reddened shade as your own.

“Ok, just lemme go get changed.” You smile breathlessly.

The hotel isn’t far from the bar, and the thirty minute walk allows you and Eddie to catch up some more, sharing lingering looks and touches where you can, in between half carrying, half dragging Jeff. Gareth being absolutely no help, floating along behind slowly, waxing lyrical about how he is in love with Cherry.

“Should I tell him she’s a lesbian?” You whisper to Eddie, stifling a giggle.

“Let him have his moment whilst he’s still hammered.” Eddie laughs. “I’ll break it to him in the morning, assuming he remembers.”

Your head is swimming with all kinds of Eddie related thoughts as you try your best to concentrate on the task at hand, helping Gareth into bed, he passes out as soon as his face hits the mattress in the double room. Eddie situates a now entirely unconscious Jeff with some difficulty, before making sure they both have glasses of water and Tylenol on the bedside table ready for their no doubt horrendous hangovers.

You’re bubbling with nerves as he closes the door, but they abruptly disappear when he takes your hand, leading you down the corridor to his own room. It's small and basic but at least it’s clean.

“So - uh do you want a drink?” Eddie asks, rooting about in a plastic bag on the side. “I have slightly warm Coke or slightly warm Mountain Dew.”

“Such variety! I’ll take a slightly warm Mountain Dew please.” You laugh, perching on the end of his bed, rubbing your hands over your leggings.

“For Madame.” He passes you a can with a silly little French accent, sitting next to you with a can of Coke. “Gotta say it was one hell of a show you put on tonight sweetheart.”

You’re blushing again, shaking your head in embarrassed disagreement.

“It’s nothing special, just silly little dances and tricks, but it pays the bills, and it helps Paula out.” You say dismissively.

“I think it was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” Eddie mutters, his leg jiggling with nerves or pent up energy, you couldn’t tell.

“C’mon Eddie, it wasn’t that good.” You mumble, thinking if your cheeks got any warmer the sprinkler system would go off.

“When you did that thing with the shot, I nearly came in my pants.” He says honestly, laughing at his own admission, it sparks something within you, the same feeling of fearlessness you experience when you’re up on the bar. You stand up, taking his drink from his hand and placing it on the windowsill with yours, kicking off your shoes and pulling down your leggings so you’re left in your panties and pink Candyland sweater.

“It would be a waste if you came in your pants Eddie, when my mouth is right here.” You whisper, sinking to your knees in front of him, praying you hadn’t misread the signals.

Eddie doesn’t give you long to worry, grabbing your face in his hands, leaning down to kiss you hard, tongue stroking into your mouth making you moan softly.

“Jesus Christ, I can’t believe this is happening.” Eddie murmurs against your lips as you unbuckle his belt, lifting his hips to help you tug his pants and boxers down. His cock slaps against his belly, long and hard, making your mouth water, you wrap your lips around him eagerly, tongue flat against the shaft as you bob up and down.

“Oh - f-fuck.” Eddie groans, hands back in your hair just like at the bar, gently guiding your movements. The room is filled with the sounds of your choking and sucking, the wet slide of your mouth over his throbbing dick, and Eddie’s whimpering gasps.

“Yes! Oh baby, your mouth feels - shit - so fucking good. Used to dream about you - fuck - used to dream about you doing t-this.” He moans, hips pistoning up to meet your open throat as you move quicker. “Can I - ah! Can I fuck you? Please sweetheart?” He begs, and it sends a surge or arousal through you.

You pull off him with a broken gasp, lips swollen and wet.

“Yes please.” You say sweetly, slightly out of breath.

Eddie’s hands are everywhere as he hauls you up from the floor, peeling your panties down, fingers tracing through your wetness whilst he kisses you deeply again.

“Condom - where the fuck did I put the fucking condoms?!” He hisses, stretching back down to retrieve his pants, you laugh peppering his neck with licks and nips.

You’re practically dripping, hovering over his cock, waiting with baited breath as he rolls the condom on, angling the hard tip to your slick opening. Both of you letting out loud moans as you sink down inch by inch, walls hugging him tightly, spasming with the stretch.

“Eddie - oh my god!” You whimper, nails biting into his shoulder, rocking against each other, his balls hitting your ass.

“Yesss, you feel like fucking heaven.” Eddie growls, using his strength to hammer up into you, both knowing the other wasn’t going to last long, the entire evening serving as foreplay. You bring your fingers down to rub roughly at your clit, whining into his mouth through messy kisses, each thrust of his cock bringing you closer and closer to the edge.

“Eddie, babe, I’m gonna cum.” You gasp, pussy tightening almost to the point of pain, vision going blurry as you climax hard.

“Oh god - baby! Fuck -” Eddie chokes out, arms holding you in a bruising grasp, head against your neck as he jerks his hips at a brutal pace, hurtling into his own release with a loud cry.

Eddie continues to pump gently into you, drawing out your orgasms, lazy kisses, and stroking touches bringing you back down.

“Goddamn, why didn’t we do this years ago?” He asks breathlessly, as you laugh with exhilaration, he lays back on the bed pulling you with him, thundering heartbeats steadily slowing.

“Y/n?” Eddie asks quietly after a time, fingers stroking up and down your thighs.

“Mmm?” You murmur sleepily.

“I know I was a little distracted back there, but - uh - I didn’t see any kind of tattoo.”

You laugh again, pushing off the bed, rummaging through your bag, throwing a small packet at Eddie.

“Candy cigarettes?” He queries in confusion.

“Yep, with a free Batman rub-on tattoo.” You grin, jumping back onto the bed straddling him once more, shoving one of the candy sticks into your mouth.

“Those are a filthy habit, sweetheart.” Eddie teases grinning widely up at you.

“Care to do the honours?” You smirk devilishly, waving the temporary tattoo at him.

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