Colemontgomeryx·:

4.06 || 4.09

colemontgomeryx·:

This was exactly what Cole had wanted to do all day: sit by the lake holding a book, giving him the perfect excuse to disassociate without being judged. But instead, he’s been all over town: helping Max break into a grocery store, getting roped into the Wheeler barbecue, and generally exhausting his already-low social battery. So he trudged through the vegetation to his favorite spot: an isolated bench just far enough away from the shoreline to be remote.

Or so he thought. A sudden burst of movement much too big to be a squirrel caused Cole to slow his steps, until he peered around the trees to see none other than Eddie Munson. Cole didn’t know Eddie very well, but everyone knew about Eddie. Personally, Cole didn’t believe the stories: Eddie was so not the kind of guy who could kill a cheerleader. Plus, Eddie was friendly with Max and Harrington, so he couldn’t be that weird. Geeky, maybe, but not creepy.

Setting his novel aside, Cole bent down to help Eddie pick up the figurines.Fuck, why were they so small? “Yeah, I’m good,” Cole said, handing over the three he’d collected. “Eddie, right? Were you leaving?” he asked, not wanting to kick Eddie out of his spot. “Hey… what are these, anyway?” Cole asked, standing up and brushing leaves off of his knees.

+++

He took them from Cole’s hand with an acknolwedging nod, slowly got up again once he had all figurines back safely in his lunch. Eddie dusted his palms off on his jeans, leaving stains but whatever, and finally looked up to meet the other person’s eyes. His own narrowed slightly, gears turning. “......Cole. You’re Cole, yeah?” And it sounded more like a statement than a question. But that’s Eddie for you, extremely awkward at times. He nodded - then...shook his head. “Yeah, I was headin’ out -”, he pointed behind himself with his thumb. “Like, soon as I heard some noise I was gonna get outta here. Not really looking for trouble, you know.”

He just...idly nodded to himself, clutched the handle of his metal box a little tighter. Until it dawned on him and his eyes narrowed again. “You’re not here to, like, beat me up, are you? Because I swear to God there are enough people in Hawkins looking to get a good punch in with Eddie ‘the freak’ Munson.”, he said, somewhat exasperatedly, and sigh deeply. He lifted his arms. “So if you are then, just, like, get it over with. I’m not looking for trouble.” And he closed his eyes, bared his cheek, brows drawn together, waiting for that painful hit to his jaw.

But it didn’t come. Tentatively, he opened one eye, the other still squeezed shut. But Cole wasn’t charging forward to pull him in by his collar and plant a punch, no, he was standing there rather....peacefully. Non-threatingly. Eddie lowered his arms. “Huh?” His eyes followed Cole’s gaze, dropped down to the lunch box. He blinked. “Oh, these? The little...”, he trailed off, gestured with his thumb in the directon of the metal box. “They’re...do you remember Hellfire Club? They’re for the next DnD campaign.”

walkie talks || steddie

steve: we... weren't alone back then

steve: i'm not mocking you and i'm not embarrassed, it's just... hard for me, okay?

steve: please don't go

eddie: i don't know, harrington, sounds a whole lot like you were embarrassed to me

eddie: you think this isn't hard for me? jesus.

eddie: if you really wanna talk, for whatever reason, then come over. i'm not doing this with you over walkie.

eddie: think i've been humiliated enough already.

zccming·:

as eddie yelped in pain, max cut in, “geez! watch it! i can’t afford to pay for your burn treatments right now.” the state of the kitchen stirred enough concern in max that she crawled off the couch and stood guard at the threshold, watching eddie. “don’t blow my house up.” her words of encouragement, obviously, weren’t helping, but she couldn’t seem to bite her tongue. the effort from eddie was sincere, and max did appreciate it, but at the end of the day she was a little shit who couldn’t keep her mouth shut and the idea of her mom coming home from a long shift to this mess was enough to get her antsy. 

eddie miraculously finished the meal and max stared at the aftermath skeptically, “i don’t complain.” she whined in refute. “now you go sit down, find us something to watch.” max prompted, mostly urging him out of the kitchen. while she had been very vocal about not helping him clean up, once she got him sitting, that’s exactly what max did. she swept the vegetables off the floor and did some of the dishes she could before making a plate for eddie and herself, then pouring then drinks to match. maybe this would work out to be a nice gesture after all. 

“here.” she handed him his food first, then sat with her own. eddie signaling max to try first didn’t bode well for the final product of this dish. willing to be somewhat optimistic, she took a bite, then immediately frowned. she managed to choke it down, then looked at eddie, “eddie,” max levelled with him, “this is burnt.” before he could ask what part, max clarified, “like, all of it.” she tapped her fork onto his plate, “you eat it and try to tell me this is edible.” she set her plate down, shaking her head. “idiot. i told you.” 

eddie had made enough choices about dinner that max was finally taking matters into her own hand. she marched into the kitchen and pulled out various take out menus from a drawer. calling to eddie, she asked, “do you want enzo’s, takeout from the bar menu at the hideaway, or something else?” and while she was at it, might as well add, “i hope you found something worth watching in the meantime.” 

+++

eddie scoffed, “this is hardly a house”, and turned on the tap, holding his hands under the cold water. he doubted this would actually help the blisters that would most definitely form on his palms in the near future but, oh well, better than nothing. 

next thing he knew he was being ushered out of the kitchen and eddie knew better than to protest. not that he was particularly keen on having to clean up, either. so he just rolled his eyes and plopped down on the couch, straining his arm to reach for the remote because once eddie sat down he was sat. he’d rather perform an acrobatic stunt that get up again, not after what felt like hours he’d spent slaving away in the kitchen. he chuckled. sounded like he was a housewife or something.

he aimlessly zapped through the channels, hooked on a dallas plotline for a moment before changing the channel yet again. dynasty? definitely not. zap. oh - he sat up straighter. now, this would do. eddie grinned, looked over his shoulder at max. “found our evening entertainment. unsolved mysteries.” eddie wiggled his eyebrows. “sorta ironic if you ask me. but it’s so good, max.”

what was, apparently, not as good was the food he’d cooked, as even eddie himself stared down skeptically at the plate she’d handed him. “what? come on, don’t bullshit me, you can’t burn pasta.” and to reiterate his point he did take a massive bite and soon found out that it was, in fact, very possible to burn pasta. he nearly choked, grimacing as he chewed and then swallowed. frowning, he set the plate aside on the side table. “god damn it. son of a bitch must’ve given me the wrong recipe.”

blame someone else, always a good tactic. sheepishly, eddie looked at max, gaze following her as she went to get the take out menus. “’m sorry. i fucked up.” and really, eddie was quite mad at himself. good for nothing. couldn’t even cook them a nice meal. shit. “um, enzo’s sounds good?”

where: blue quarry mall who: eddie + cole ! @colemontgomeryx​​

despite the inital apprehension, because he really didn’t need the hawkins police department all up in his business again, not when he’d been a murder suspect barely two years ago, eddie slowly felt himself relax, some of the tension slipping from his body. not all, ever since that upside down debacle he hadn’t been able to relax fully. but the beer helped - bless that kid who’d brought the keg - and the general air of...insanity that lingered amongst the party-goers and protesters.

the sounds of black sabbath filled the mall, eddie felt himself nodding along to the tune, and, hey, he really didn’t care that most of the people here had never heard of ozzy osbourne in their lives. they all seemed to have a great time, anyway. so he didn’t even need to whip out that tape of 1988′s top of the pops he’d recorded, just in case they’d want to burn him at the stake for seducing them with his evil satanic dnd music.

he leaned against a pillar, let his eyes wander among the crowed, took a sip of beer and - hey, there he was, that kid with the keg. definitely not a kid now that he got a proper look at him. eddie tilted his head, his mouth dropped open slightly and he craned his neck, pushed himself off the wall, because... wait a minute.

wait a damn minute. he narrowed his eyes, looked down and. holy shit. well, if his eyes weren’t deceiving him then that - yeah that - that was a bandana. dangling from his - cole’s - back pocket. on display. he nearly choked on his beer, coughed and, taking another sip to ease said cough, he booked it across the mall, tapped him on the shoulder.

“hey, man - cole.”, he said, held eye contact with him for perhaps a tad longer than was appropriate. cleared his throat, gestured down towards his own back pocket. a quick look left and right, they weren’t in hearing distance of anyone else. still, he lowered his voice. “hey man, are you... are you flagging?”

where: where do we think

what: eddie’s making his rounds at the hospital ig

who: @backtowheeler​ + eddie.

coming to see that steve was doing semi-okay, that he was awake at least and well on the road to recovery had calmed his jangled nerves signifcantly. however, it had done nothing for the rest of his sleep-deprived being,truly, he must’ve looked like a ghost, roaming around the painfully brightly lit hallways. he felt like it, too, felt like he could very well collapse with every step he took.  but it was fine, he’d catch some shut eye later, maybe a quick nap in that awfully uncomfortable plastic chair next to steve’s bed. eddie wasn’t leaving him out of his sight again. not a chance in hell.

surpressing a yawn, he pulled the door to what he suspected to be steve’s room open with considerable effort - had it gotten heavier in the last then minutes ? - clutching the cup of ice chips he’d left the room in search of. “your delivery, my lieg- oh.” eddie stopped, blinked and frowned as he wasn’t greeted with the sight of steve but rather nancy. a couple of beats passed in silence as eddie stood there, waited, so he could be certain that this was real and not some sleep-drunk hallucination. “wheeler, hey. i was just -” just what? ‘paying your ex-boyfriend who i’ve been sort of secretly dating for the past two weeks or so a visit and got lost on the way back?’ he pressed his lips together. “checking in on people. uh, steve.” clicking his tongue, he gave her a sheepish smile. “how are you holding up?”

stevehharringtcns·:

.

steve couldn’t help but to smirk at eddie once he repeated his words, shaking his head slowly as he held the other close. he remembered that night so well, but not for a moment he thought that eddie was flirting with him. maybe he was just oblivious to that, but considering that he was used to flirting, he should have known. “well, you know, i thought you were interested in… something else.” he said with a shrug, letting those thoughts creep into the back of his mind again. he couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe eddie hadn’t been flirting with him during that night, but instead he was flirting with someone else. but he didn’t want to get into detail.

he let out a light chuckle fall from his lips as he heard eddie, his hands never leaving the other’s body. he didn’t want to let him go, he could stay like this for the rest of the night if he could. he smiled at the other, shrugging his shoulders. “that wouldn’t be half bad. i would suggest we go for a swim, but i don’t think lover’s lake is the best place to swim.” he said with yet another chuckle, but the truth was that he really couldn’t stand the idea of going out into that lake ever again.

at the mention of the yellow sweater, steve was a little surprised that eddie remembered it. he didn’t even remember the last time he had worn it, but apparently he had worn it enough times for eddie to remember. “you want my yellow sweater? i’m sorry, but i just love it too much, i can’t let it go…” he said as he squeezed the other’s hips with a smile, teasing him as he kissed his cheek for a couple of moments and then looked at eddie. “maybe… we’ll see. i have tons of clothes you can go through.” he said with a nod.

he kept kissing the other passionately, pulling him closer every second. it felt right to be this close with eddie, but he still felt like the two needed to talk. if not only to know what… well, what they were. steve wasn’t sure about it, but he needed to understand. it wasn’t easy for him to just go around kissing eddie like everything was alright, but in all honesty, steve cared about him. it was obvious that they weren’t just friends anymore. “i just…” he said.

but he was interrupted by eddie speaking. steve wasn’t even sure if he had an answer for that, but he didn’t think all of those things. he let eddie finish and just as he was about to open his mouth to talk, he heard the cabin door opening and his first instinct was to let go of eddie and take a step back from him. he didn’t even think about it or the impact that it would have, especially when eddie had just said all of those things. “wait, eddie…” he said as he took a step forward to get closer to him again. “i don’t…” he said, trying to figure out what to say. “can we talk somewhere quieter?” he asked, now in a whisper, as he looked over at the person who had just walked inside of the cabin and then back at eddie.

+++

eddie furrowed his brows, trying to search the expression behind steve's eyes, he pulled back slightly. "'something else'? like, what, steve? you keep talking in riddles.... hey, you should try dm-ing sometime at hellfire. that'd be hot." eddie gave him a tongue in teeth grin, swaying side to side as he got closer to him again. and despite the warmth of the day cooling down, eddie suddenly felt oddly warm, with steve's arms wrapped snugly around him. it was dangerous, how quickly he'd gotten used to it.

eddie grimaced, gave steve an over-exaggerated full body shiver at the mention of going swimming. yeah, no, all of the kings guards and all of the kings men couldn't get him back into that lake. no matter how hot hawkins got in the summer, eddie would gladly take the community pool or any other body of water over lover's lake.

"no, steve, no offense but your other clothes just won't do. it has to be the yellow sweater.", eddie said, whined almost, and shrugged. "won't settle for less, big boy."

and eddie had leaned back in again, ready for the requested last kiss to smooth the hit of steve's rejection when the cabin door suddenly swung open and steve all but leaped from his arms. with fluttering lids, brows drawn together and his lips parted slightly, he exhaled shakily, watched steve closely as he took a step towards him again. as he did, eddie took one back. pulling his lip in with his teeth, he gave a weak scoff.

"i see.", eddie said quietly, spat almost. he didn't miss how steve's gaze drifted to the side but he didn't bother follow it, eddie couldn't give two fucks about who had just walked in, interrupted their moment. he gulped, scrunched his nose up, eyes darting between steve's. breath going faster, hear threatening to burst out of his chest, but not in the way it had the first time he and steve had kissed, for example. no this was the exact opposite of that happy, excited feeling.

eddie pressed his tongue to the roof of hiw mouth when he felt his eyes water, he'd read somewhere that that stopped you from crying. and he really didn't want to give steve the satisfaction of crying in front of him.

"you know what, harrington? spare me your... explanations, apologies, whatever. i’m not mad, promise.", accentuating his words with exaggerated gestures, hands flying about. "i don't really care what this was for you, steve. some... experiment, a little joke with your jock friends or... i don't know, releasing some tension after wheeler dumped you. whatever." he shrugged. "i don't.... care, steve, really. but.... i thought we were friends. you didn't have to be so fucking mean about it."

voice a little shaker now, eddie let out a sad chuckle, scratched the back of his neck. "see you around, king steve.", he whispered, averted his gaze and walked past steve out the cabin.

zccming·:

.

before max could even get mad, she was grateful. eddie came to visit often, but it wasn’t often enough by max’s standards. after the dust settled, eddie and herself struck up an odd little friendship in those last few weeks before he finally managed to hop into that cap and gown then leave. it consisted of meals spent together, regular check-ins, and generally good, quality time. with her mom still out of it, it was the closest semblance to family max had in a long time. so of course, it sucked when he left. but it was an even better feeling when eddie eventually made his rounds back. she didn’t like to clue anyone into how much either meant to her, though. same as now, she stifled her reaction and took the hug in stride. 

“i thought you were the cops.” max lied, pulling away. there was no time to be wasted with the when did you get in?s or the how long are you in town?s. “there’s a barbecue at the wheeler’s. you can come if you want.” she explained with a hefty sigh, as if she wouldn’t eat up every second of suburban normalcy. “i’m trying to get something to bring.” she gestured to the store, “didn’t have anything at home, don’t want to show up empty handed, here i am.” max glanced back to the road where she had discarded her rock, then looked up at eddie with a faint smirk, “i mean, how bad would it really be if i smashed through the front? nobody would know.” then she added, as if it were a perfectly good point, “and it’d be pretty cool if i were maybe able to…i don’t know…snag a couple of beers and bring them to my friends?”

+++

eddie was an only child, didn’t really have any family except for his uncle, but if you were to catch him in a vulnerable moment, there was a seventy percent chance he’d list max as a family member. he returned to hawkins semi-regularly,but if it weren’t for max he surely wouldn’t come back just as often. his uncle was fine, after all, got on great on his own, eddie wasn’t too worried there. but, jesus, with all the shit max had gone through ever since moving to hawkins - well, he just liked to make sure she was ok.

“do i look like a cop to you? be honest.” eddie gave her a ltitle tiwrl, showing off his outfit - black ripped jeans, worn out converse - not docs like he usually wore but how was he expected to survive in boots in this weather ? - black muscle shirt and his denim vest. and, of course, that ever present black bandana dangling from his back pocket. “‘cause if there are cops in hawkins looking like this well, shit, i might just have to go an join the force.”

eddie clicked his tongue, narrowed his eyes as he looked back and forth between max and the store. “ok, so, let me get this straight, yeah - you’re invited to a barbecue at the wheelers” - he emphasized the name, paused afterwards - “and instead of showing up there and going ‘oh sorry! i spaced, my bad, all store’s are closed’  your next immediate thought is ‘oh, you know what, let me fucking .... break into melvald’s and smash in the front’. just so karen wheeler won’t look at me funny.” 

he stared at her for a moment, feigning outrage before he erupted into loud laughter. eddie softly shook his head, dug into the pocket of his jeans to produce a hairpin. “thought i taught you better than that. take this -”, he thrust it into her hand, looking at her intently - “ and pick the lock in the back, and, like, grab some... i don’t know, some barbecue-y stuff.” he shrugged. “my van’s parked across the street, meet me back there once you’ve secured the good. i got a couple of six-pack’s in the back, so at least you don’t have to steal alcohol. ‘cause that’s like so beneath you, maxine.”

he grinned. truthfully, eddie could think of a about a thousand better ways to spend his afternoon that lounging in karen wheeler’s backyard, getting dirty looks from hawkins’ good society. but whatever, it was gonna be worth it if it meant he got to spend some time with max.

stevehharringtcns·:

who: steve harrington and @eddiemcnson·

where: the video store

steve hated that he have to work. well, he didn’t hate working whenever he was accompanied by robin, but this time around, it was his turn to have a shift on his own and he didn’t know what to do with himself. he definitely didn’t want to spend most of his shift talking with keith, so he kept himself busy with rearranging the videos, although he was always with a bored look on his face. it was summer, why the hell was he wasting away at the video store? he should be at the pool or getting drunk with his friends, but instead he was just carrying the videotapes from one side to the other and organizing them in the right section. he heard the door open but he didn’t look, he was sure that keith could handle it.

he was about to turn and make his way around one of the halls, his eyes locked on the pile of videos that he carried before he almost bumped into someone. he was lucky that he didn’t drop anything or else he was never going to hear the end of it. getting ready to argue with the person, steve finally looked up to find eddie. why was he blushing out of the sudden? he didn’t know. “eddie!” he said, a smile forming on his lips as he looked over at him, before clearing his throat. “what are you doing here? seems like we keep running into each other, right?” he asked with a smile, as he just stood there waiting for an answer from the other.

+++ 

‘act casual, just ... act casual.’, eddie thought to himself, desperately trying to appear relaxed and unbothered as he continued browsing through stacks of vhs tapes he had no intention of watching. no, he wasn’t at family video for the videos’ sake. his fingers traced over the rough plastic edges of the casing of ‘fast times at richmond high’ - eddie grimaced - and he walked down another aisle that he’d been in about three times already. stealing quick glances at the man behind the counter - the actual reason eddie had come to the store.

not keith, ugh, no, never. but steve harrington, this time without his seemingly ever-present attaché robin buckley, engrossed in his work. he hadn’t looked over at him yet, and, well, it would be awkward if he came up to greet him, wouldn’t it? so eddie waited, waited until steve would finally notice him. stupid. he felt like a teenager with a silly crush.

lost in though, he accidentally pulled on a case, scrambling to catch it before it fell. close one. when he turned back ‘round to steal another glance at steve, eddie found him standing right in front of him, a little too close to comfort. he cleared his throat, signature grin pulling at his lips. “my my, harrington, what a surprise.”, he said - as if he hadn’t come by almost every day since coming back to hawkins, seeing if steve finally had a shift without buckley ( much as eddie liked robin, he’d wanted to catch steve alone ). as if he hadn’t just ‘browsed’ through movies for a good half hour.

stupid. he’d gotten over his stupid crush on steve, it had done himno good, destined to end in heartache and lead nowhere. or so he’d thought - because locking eyes with steve, eddie felt himself get flustered, he nervously played with his rings. “what am i doing here? well, you gotta think real hard steve, what do people usually go to the video store for?”, he teased, moved a little closer, one hand placed on a nearby shelf, leaning against it, the other on his hip. he shrugged. “i’m waiting to receive that world famous customer service you got going on here.”

stevehharringtcns·:

.

at that very moment, steve wanted to get up from the bed and wrap his arms around eddie, tell him that everything would be okay. he just wanted to do that, but he couldn’t. his cuts and bruises were still pretty recent that every movement that he made, made his body ache. he hated seeing eddie like this. steve looked at him as he opened his hand slowly for the other to take. if he couldn’t hug him, he could at least hold his hand. it was the least he could do, he thought to himself. “eddie…” he said, pursing his lips as he tried to hold back his own tears as he saw eddie like this. he didn’t like it, he didn’t like it for a second, but he thought it would be better if the other just shared how he was feeling rather than repressing it.

when he felt eddie’s hand on his cheek, steve closed his eyes for a few moments and let out a sigh of relief. eddie was okay. when he had heard that the other had been arrested for no apparent reason, steve almost thought about getting up from the hospital bed and marching on to the police station, but just the thought of it made his body ache. he was still weak from everything, but he wanted to act tough for eddie. “no… i’m glad… you weren’t there.” he said weakly, giving the other a nod of his head. he would have hated if anything had happened to eddie like it had happened to him, he hated just thinking about it. “when i woke up… and you weren’t here… i thought…” he said, choking up on his own words. he couldn’t finish the sentence, he just couldn’t think about something like that. he didn’t want to. “i’m just glad you’re okay.” he said with a small nod, his hand reaching out to eddie’s.

“this? they’re just some cuts… and bruises. i’ll be fine.” he said weakly, letting out another small chuckle as he started coughing, his body flinching with the pain he felt in his ribs. that was going to be hard to get used to, but he closed his eyes for a couple of moments, gathering his strength as he looked back at eddie. “i need… to ask you something, okay?” he asked, looking over at eddie.

+++

“shh, shh, don’t speak. don’t.”, eddie gulped and quickly shuffled closer, elbows resting on the edge of the bed. cupping steve’s face with one hand he slid the other into his palm, gave it a gentle squeeze, thumb softly tracing along his knuckles. careful not to move any of the iv’s attached to the back of his hand, he gently lifted it to press his lips to his hand, trembling lips lingering there for a moment or two. it’s real, it’s real, it’s real. this is real. eddie squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, brows knitted together. this is real, steve is fine, he’s fine, it’s real. fate had played one trick too many on them these past few years, eddie wouldn’t let himself have that breath of relief until he was absolutely certain that this wasn’t all just taking place in his head. being back in hawkins he was never sure of that.

eddie sniffled,blinked a few tears away. “you’re cold.”, he simply stated as he lowered steve’s hand again, smoothing over where his lips had met his skin with his thumb. “your hand, you feel - it feels cold. do you need a blanket or something? want me to call the nurses? or i can  - i can look for one myself, if you want. i’ll do it. just say the word.” he was full aware that he was rambling. but when steve eyes had fluttered shut at his touch, eddie’s blood had run cold, his stomach had tightened at the sight and if it took him rambling or, hell, even singing for steve to open his eyes again then eddie would gladly oblige. the feeling passed somewhat, not entirely, when he  met steve’s gaze again. no more closed eyes, no more cold hands. from now on only warmth and aliveness. eddie hadn’t even realized that his fingers had positioned themselves around steve’s wrist so that eddie’s pointer rested over his pulse point. 

the sound of steve’s voice had eddie biting down on his bottom lip to stifle a choked off sob. he’d never seen him this weak, this frail. close to crying, too, eddie gulped in an attempt to swallow the enormous lump in his throat. he shook his head, shushed him again. “it’s - i’m fine. nothing happeend, i’m fne. i’m fine, yeah? we’re - “ the small smile eddie had mustered up and given steve now suddenly fell as he broke, erupting into loud, soul shattering sobs. the kind of crying that left one breathless, gasping for air. that had people tell you to ‘calm down’, asking what’s wrong but that left you unable to respond, for every sound was replaced by a wail. the kind of crying usually reserved for a child seeking its mother’s attention. eddie lowered his head so that his hair would hide his face, watched through his clouded gaze as tears fell onto the material of steve’s bedsheets, leaving marks there. “i thought you’d - i - that you weren’t - you - “ he struggled through the words, they made no sense in his head, either. nothing made sense, except for the way the soft skin of steve’s palm felt underneath his calloused fingertips. “i thought you were dead. when max said -” eddie shook his head, didn’t want to continue the sentence. he sniffled again, struggled through shaky breaths until his voice was a little calmer than before. lower, too. weaker, mirroring the sound of steve’s. “i can’t do this without you, man. i can’t - here - i can’t be here when you’re not here. this, the - the whole upside down vecna shit, i can’t - “, he looked back up at steve, through tear stained lashed. “i don’t want to be here - i can’t. i can’t be here without you. heree, everywhere, not - not without you.”

if he’d expected anything from his summer back in hawkins, well, crying at steve harrington’s bedside and telling him how he couldn’t live without him, that certainly hadn’t been on eddie’s bingo. and his sudden confession certainly took a weight off his chest, yet it invoked a sense of horror and anxiety in him previously unknown. he’d let his guard down. he was vulnerable in a way he’d never been before. a way he’d promised himself to never be, not in hawkins. not anywhere, really. weakly and cautiously, he gave steve a nod. “sure. anything, man.”