Zccming·:

backtowheeler·:

— ✎ —

“Thad,” Nancy confirmed, glancing over at Eddie. “Laugh all you want, but he’s a good guy,” meaning he’s really not, but it’s not like they had to get into that tonight, and for the most part? Nancy did like her boyfriend, he could just be a bit… much at times. “He’s into cars, so he doesn’t understand what it means to drive something just because it gets you from one place to another.”

Matching scars are metal as hell, though. “Are you saying I’m metal?” She asked, her face turning up into a grin. Nancy Wheeler was not metal, she wouldn’t even consider herself a badass, but hey maybe scars were metal. “No, no, this is my first rodeo with committing arson against the best diner in town,” she glanced down at her hands. “Jonathan. First time we ever dealt with… anything like this and Demogorgons? They like blood,” then she looked back at Eddie, and said, “remember that,” just in case this was what they were dealing with. “So we had the bright idea to cut our hands to lure it to his house. God, that feels like forever ago.” Probably because it was five years ago.

It wasn’t often that she was able to tell people about her memories of dealing with the Upside Down. Either they were there or she just couldn’t say anything. “And Steve. Oh my god, he was such an asshole back then,” then a laugh. “Get this, I held a gun at him. Like, ready to shoot him and all. I would have never shot him but…” realizing she was rambling, she settled back in the seat. “Anyways, that’s how I got the scar.”

+++

eddie nodded to himself, steered the car onto through hawkins residential area onto the main roads leading up to the trailer park. "think i mightve run into him a couple days ago.",he mused with a shrug. deciding it was better not to go into much detail about that particular encounter. "he seemed alright." meaning he really did not but who was eddie to judge, at the end of the day.

he broke into a grin at her question, nodded eagerly. "yeah, man. wheeler, you're like, one of the most metal people alive. ozzy's gnawing at another bat as we speak, just so he can keep up with you.", eddie laughed, fingers drumming against the steering wheel to the melody of black sabbath's 'paranoid'.

remember that. he shifted uncomfortably in his shit, oh, yeah, he definitely would. there was that queasy feeling spreading in the pit of his stomach again as the night's events started replaying in his head. "noted.", he muttered, more to himself.

the mention of steve, however, had a grin tugging at eddie's his lips, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, a low chuckle bubbling up in his chest. "king steve? an asshole? why, that is shocking news to me!"

xihopper·:

-

Eleven beamed happily when he complimented her roll, although she really hadn’t had much to do with it. It was all luck. But still, it was definitely exciting to think about it, and to hear again how great it was from someone who knew what he was talking about. “Thank you!” she said brightly. She thought about it for a second. “My friends like to play,” she said. “I would play with them. I think they would like it if you played, too.” She paused, looking up at him. “If you wanted to play,” she added. Just to be polite. 

El understood what it was like to be judged by something far less than your actual self. When she had first started school, everyone had treated her like she was…well, a freak. And she could understand that, in part. It wasn’t like she was normal. But she was more than what she had gone through, more than the vestiges of trauma – of living like a rat in a cage, with no autonomy, no future, no love – that it had left her with. Underneath all of that, like Eddie, she was a good person. She was soft. And all she wanted was the opportunity to be soft, to find others to cushion the blows from the world, people she could offer the same protection. 

She couldn’t help but giggle at his reaction. “Yes,” she said, clearly pleased. He thought she was a superhero – only superheroes had superpowers, after all. “I can show you?” She sounded eager to do so, especially since he was clearly so excited. El gave another little giggle. “It’s lovely to meet you, Eddie,” she said, with the good manner that Joyce and Hopper had taught her.

+++

and this was why he played, why he’d dedicated every lunch period to scanning the cafeteria for lost soulds. that smile, that happy beam. the excitement so clearly audible in her voice. god, yeah, he fucking missed it. “well, i’ll have you know that i would like it if played too. i used to run hellfire, you know. and  - don’t tell anyone this - “, he wiggled his brows suggestively, put one finger over his mouth in a ‘shh’ motion - “but i may or may not have been planning another one of my notoriously and epically sadistic campaigns these past few months.”

though even the thought of playing dnd or proposing another campaign of his own had been pushed far, far into the background by the continuous tragic events befalling the town. and it was refreshing, talking about something so normal for a change, admist all the crazy that was going on.

not that eddie would necessarily deem the topic of ‘superpowers’ normal but hey, this was hawkins, after all, and superpowers seemed somehow more ordinary than half the stuff that was going on. he eagerly nodded at her suggestion, an excited glint in his eyes. “would you? i mean, you don’t - like, you totally don’t have to. i mean, i bet there’s loads of people asking you to show them your tricks or something, right? so, totally up to you, kid.” throwing her a look that both said ‘i respect whatever choice you make’ and ‘ please, please, please show me your superpowers’.

rcbinbvckleys·:

⚢

“i should be the one checking on my eyes! wait, you’re definitely actually you, right?” logistically speaking, this could be an elaborate trick from the upside down to lure robin to her doom. okay no, this was real and she really had to stop thinking like that. physical contact was usually something she avoided, but eddie was someone she was comfortable with — although she barely had any time to react, so just had time to put one arm around him to pat his back. “it’s gotta be one hell of a campaign to stick around all summer.” if robin were given the opportunity for a responsibility free summer, she would most likely want to travel, not return to her hometown.

“i’m just, toeing the line. college. and i’m still working at family video! i’m saving up.” it was true, the glass jar shoved in the top of her closet was filled with bills. but what exactly was she saving for? the multitude of escape plans she had come up with in the past had never worked out. something was keeping robin in hawkins. maybe it was the fear of being out there in the world, alone, with no one to turn to or rely on if it all went to shreds. or maybe a minuscule doubtful piece of her mind had convinced her that one of the creatures they’d encountered in the past would follow her wherever she went. “and you, you haven’t made it big yet? i was hoping i’d already have a tape with your face on it!”

+++

he nodded, grinned, did a little spin for her. “as he lives and breathes. eddie munson, in the flesh.” some days he couldn’t believe his own eyes, when he caught his reflection in the mirror, blinking at him, staring with that confused and surprised look on his face. couldn’t believe that he was still here, among the land of the living. because that day in the upside down, he’d said his finaly goodbyes to the world, thinking that that was it. here he was, back in hawkins after all those years, 

he was alive, and so was his unlikely little group of friends that still hung about in that godforsaken town. “oh, trust me, it is a sadistic campaign, the likes of which hellfire club has never seen before.”, eddie explained, a glint in his eyes but he stopped himself from rambling - they’d be here all day once he got into the logistics of his campaigns. “chicago gets crazy and busy during summer. thought i’d escape to...a different kind of crazy.” he threw her a knowing glance. “besides, had to check up on all of you guys, see how you’re doing now the talk of the town’s moved away. tragic, i know. spare me your tears.”

eddie nodded and listened, recognized himself in her. he, too, had saved every penny, having scratched together just enough to fuck off immediately after graduation. “still working with harrington? how’s he doing? oh and keith, right? is he still, like, you know....as weird?” seriously, eddie had often wondered why the town had branded him a ‘freak’ just because he listened to metal and played a fantasy game, and not keith with...well, with his whole thing. it made eddie grimace.

so did robin’s comment, he waved it off. “don’t ya worry your pretty little head about that, i’m still a rockstar in the making. i’ll make it, i’m sure.” and he wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince here. eddie looked around, as easy as talking to robin felt, he still didn’t feel exctly safe with so many people around.

“hey, do you wanna maybe get outta here? i got some, uh, pretty good shit from chicago that’s calling our names.”

walkie talks || steddie

steve: c'mon eddie, just... give me a chance to talk

steve: whatever, i just thought i shouldn't show up at your door...

steve: did you mean what you say? do you really think it was just... a joke?

eddie: you had plenty chance to talk at the cabin, steve.

eddie: i don't know why you're doing this, are you like ... mocking me? listen, i get that you're, like, embarrassed and shit, that you regret it. i get it.

eddie: you had your fun, let's just forget it, ok, harrington?

god, I miss him so much. please come back :((

colemontgomeryx·:

Cole hadn’t realized what he’d gotten himself into by volunteering to bring a keg– scratch that, multiple kegs– to this shindig. It might not bother everyone, but the sticky beer dripping on the linoleum made Cole’s spine shiver, so he dug into his backpack for something to clean it up with. Digging to the very bottom, he found a black handkerchief. Perfect. Cole wiped down the side of the keg and the floor beneath it, and decided to perch nearby in order to nag people not to let it drip on the floor. Really, how hard was it?

In his bag, Cole caught a glimpse of his cigarettes and felt a familiar pang in his gut. Surely it wouldn’t be in bad taste to smoke inside, given the circumstances? Absentmindedly, he tucked the bandana in his back pocket and grabbed a cigarette. “Hope no one minds,” he mumbled, mostly to himself, and lit up.

Shutting his eyes, Cole allowed the blaring music to distract him from the fact that he was inside the mall where the love of his life died. Light stuff. He wasn’t mad at the music choice, surprisingly. Cole tried not to be pretentious about music, but he could only take so many days of people coming into the Music Center asking for the new Rick Astley or Whitney Houston. Thankfully, this music had some teeth. He wondered who’d been recruited to play it. 

When Cole opened his eyes to take another drag, he was shocked to see Eddie Munson running right at him. Cole leaned back instinctively, confusion written on his face, “Uh, sorry. What’d you call me?” He followed Eddie’s eyes to his pocket and pulled out the handkerchief. “Wait– flagging? I’m cleaning up the keg because these goddamned kids can’t be bothered to catch their beer…” he paused, suddenly curious. “What did you think?”

+++

shit. shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. he should’ve known, should’ve known that this was a bad idea, should’ve known better than to ask a current resident of hicksville, indiana if he was flagging. stupid, stupid, god, what had he been thinking? nothing, apparently, and now his mind was wiped empty once more as he stared at cole blinking at him in confusion - and, what was that, curiosity? - as eddie scrambled for something to say. he cleared his throat. 

“never....mind.”, he said slowly, cautiously, tongue pressed to the roof of his mouth. shit. eddie shook his head. “nothing, nothing. i just thought -” oh my god, munson, shut the fuck up. “i just - “ no matter how hard he tried to stop himself the words now fell freely from his lips. “well, i wondered if you...well, do you know someone named - “ if he didn’t stop talking right then and there he was going to explode. well, spontaneous human combustion it was, as he simply carried on. “are you...perhaps a friend of, uh. of dorothy’s ? “ a beat passed, eddie sucked on his bottem lip nerverously. he waved it off. “you know what....nevermind. nothing. it was stupid.”

he flashed him a pained grin, nodded, ‘right, then’,  and turned on his heel. already squeezing his eyes shut because oh, the embarassment now creeped up on him, made his cheeks flush. at the last minute he decided to turn back, walk back to cole. “can i bum a cig off you?” please, please, heaven, god, if there is one - eddie thought to himself as he stared at cole expectantly -  please just don’t let him bring it up again.

stevehharringtcns·:

now that had been a turn of events that steve hadn’t been expecting when he set foot in the carnival. everything had happened so fast. he had gotten into a fight with jack and heather, he remembered that. he remember being bruised when he punched jack, which was weird. and the next thing he knew… he was at the hospital. apparently it had been a full day ever since those events and when he woke up and learned that eddie had been arrested, he felt sick to his stomach. at least he saw that max, dustin and robin were okay. even though, everyone else didn’t seem to be. how had things escalated so fast?

he found it easier when he had his eyes closed, although it was hard to get some sleep with all of the pain he felt. the explosion had left him with a couple of broken ribs, a broken wrist and some other bumps and bruises. he would have thought that his face looked the worst however, with whatever had happened with jack. he was still trying to figure out what had happened, but his brain was too busy thinking about other stuff. he hadn’t seen eddie ever since the carnival, and he was starting to get even more worried about it.

he lied in his bed, mostly because there was nothing to do. he kept his eyes closed, now used to the noises that the nurses made when coming in and out of his room. at least he had been able to charm the nurses to get more cups of jello, which he didn’t mind at all. he didn’t know why people complained so much about the hospital food - it was good in steve’s opinion. the noise of the door closing didn’t bother him, keeping his eyes closed as he took a deep breath, his insides aching a bit because of the broken ribs and then he heard a voice calling for him. a voice that he knew all too well.

opening his eyes slowly, he saw eddie approach his bedside and he felt relief. actually, he thought it was just a dream at first, but he quickly realized that it wasn’t. he couldn’t help but to give the other a weak smile. “eddie…” he said weakly, nodding his head slowly. “hey…” he said, smiling at him. he wished he had the strength to wrap his arms around him and hold him close, but any movement he made, made his body ache. he would get better eventually. “are you okay?” he asked, looking at the other’s face.

+++

he practically sprinted the last couple of steps to steves bedside as he hear his voice perk up. a relieved exhale basically ripped out of him, eddie blinked repeatedly, gasped a little at the feeling of hot tears streaming down his cheeks. "oh my god, oh my god, steve." he sobbed, crashed into the chair conveniently placed next to the bed. bottom lip trembling so much it made it hard to breath, eddie sucked in a breath, choked on it, erupting into a sputtering cough as the true emotional and physical weight of the past day and a half came crashing over him like a wave. his whole body ached, eyes sore, he wanted to scream.

eddie had to physically hold himself back from pulling steve into a bone-crushingly tight hug,but he needed to reach out and touch him, make sure that this was real, this wasn't just some vecna nightmare scenario thing, where everything started off good and then went horribly wrong. but the other looked so pale, weak. frail and delicate, eddie's hands shook as he softly reached out to let his knuckles ghost across steve's cheek. "god, im sorry.", he croaked, buried his face in his free hand as he let the sons rock through him for a moment. "i should've - i should've been there, i should've done something." something other than run. he dragged his hand down his face, exhaled with a groan.

"you - you're seriously asking me if i’m okay? you're the one in the hospital bed, not me, princess." a smile, an incredulous chuckle broke through eddie's crying, he shook his head softly in disbelief. "don't worry about me, ill be fine. always am. how are you, stevie? you’re okay, right? you’re going to be okay?"

colemontgomeryx·:

xx.

Since Adam had died, Cole had been chasing the feeling– the euphoria– of connecting with another. That’s not to say he was looking for a relationship… no, he was too closed off for that. He was looking for a reminder that he was still capable of connection, maybe even love. One day.

And today, this chance encounter with Eddie was exactly the feeling he’d been wanting. He’d always noticed Eddie in school– how could he not, the way Eddie seemed to fill up every room? But he’d never seen Eddie like this: nervous, but sure. In control. And Cole was loving it. 

Cole’s stomach leaped when Eddie took him by the wrist and pressed him against the wall. He could feel the heat coming off of Eddie’s body, he could practically taste Eddie’s words. Fluttering his eyes, Cole looked up at Eddie, hand still gripping the other’s shirt.

“I am. Are you?” 

+++

his eyes flicked between cole’s - jesus, how did he have lashes like that, it was unfair - as if searching for even the slightest hint of uncertainty that would make him pull back, apologize, would make them part ways. but cole’s hand was still in his shirt, he was still so intoxicatingly close and now he had verbal confirmation, too.

eddie looked around one more time, hating how nervous and paranoid he got everytime he went back to hawkins, a shaky exhale drawn from his lungs, the air was clear. and still he felt himself hesitate, eyes meeting cole’s again, and the thought of how bizarre this was, how this wasn’t even the guy he’d spent his waking moments fantasizing about while sat in the back of ms. o’donnell’s class.

no, no, he nipped that strain of thought in the bed, no, this wasn’t the time to dwell on past crushed. to hell with it. eddie gave a weak nod, grin pulling at his lips. “yeah”, he breathed, “’m sure”, and dove in to connect their lips.

willthewize·:

    Seeing Eddie jump up like he’s on fire, startled by the simple sound of a footstep, is almost saddening enough to overtake the joy Will feels upon seeing one of his heroes back in town. The reminder that even though they were hopefully done with all the shit that gave them nightmares, life didn’t just automatically go back to normal, no matter how much they wanted it to…It was the kind of thing Will tended to push down, save for later (and later was more of a fluid, conceptual thing, than a real time-frame.) So he focuses on the miniatures that had spilled from Eddie’s lunchbox.

     “Hey, it’s fine. It’s just me,” he answers the other guy’s muttered apologies as he gets down, not only to be on eye-level and show that he’s no threat, but to help pick up the tiny figures—hand-made and painted with evident care. Will pauses to admire them, turning an inch-tall monster over between his fingers. “These are amazing. Did you make these for the next campaign? Shit, should I not be looking at them?” In the interest of not spoiling the fun of the upcoming Hellfire game for himself, he carefully places the miniatures back in the box and stands, dusting his hands off before holding one out to Eddie to help him up, if desired.

     “So, you’re in town! You have a bunch of D&D figures. When’s the meeting?”  Will wastes no time beating around the bush. There are few things more exciting to him than the prospect of a Hellfire Club reunion hosted by the one and only, the original, Eddie Munson himself.

+++

“Ah - hey! Byers junior! What’s up, man?” And Eddie instantly, involunatrily relaxes once he realizes that it’s not just anyone it’s Will and hell, he’s glad to see him. A sight for sore eyes, he is - and how could he not be, when Eddie himself had appointed him Dungeon Master upon his exit from Hawkins. He grins, the sight of Will did remind him why he popped back into his hometown every now and again, but his grin quickly fades into a paniced expression, a tring of  “Oh, shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!” falling from his lips as he quickly - but carefully - gathers all miniatures from the ground and pops them back into his lunch box.

He accepts Will’s offer to help him up, dusts his palms off on his knees, thus leaving dirt on his ripped jeans but hey, whatever. “Well, duh. I’ve not, like, gone into the figurine trading business so yeah, they’re for the next campaign.” And with a grimace, he adds: “And you were definitely not supposed to see them. Well, fuck it.”

Will immediately resumes talking and the grin returns to Eddie’s lips because this? The anticipation and excitement in Will’s eyes? That’s a feeling unparalleled and Eddie lives for it. If making the freaks and outcasts and nerds of the world feel happy was this easy then, hell, why shouldn’t he go and do it? Why would he stop, just because he’s not in school anymore, just because he’s not living in Hawkins?

He nods. “Yup, I’m in town, I got the goods.”, he nods towards the box. “I was thinking maybe, like, next week-ish? Or the week after?”, Eddie shrugs, absent-mindedly pulls the bandana from his back pocket to wipe his hands off the remaining dirt. “I don’t know, I’m here all summer. Any word from Henderson or Mike?”

where: the munson trailer, living room

what: date night <3

who: @stevehharringtcns​ + eddie

eddie didn’t know how long they’d been in this exact position, both of them on the couch, eddie’s legs lazily draped over steve’s, the record he’d put on had long since faded into a static crackling noise. it felt unreal, having steve over. like this. with eddie’s arms around steve’s neck, bringing him down every so often for the occasional kiss. it felt unreal, it felt better than every dream eddie had ever had about a similar scenario. better than the little daydreams that helped him go to sleep.

it was the real thing and eddie wondered if the butterflies in his stomach woiuld forever be there. clutching at steve’s shoulders, he pulled him into another kiss, a shorter one this time, hands tangled into the other’s hair. ready to deepen the kiss, eddie suddenly cursed and quickly pulled back, trying to untangle a lock of steve’s hair from one of his rings. “oh, shit, sorry, princess”, he gave him a sheepish smile, shook off a strand of hair that he’d accidentally pulled out. “sorry, my bad. should’ve taken ‘em off.”

dissatisfied with not being as close as humanly possible to steve anymore, he quickly grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers. gazing up at him in a way that could only be classified as ‘lovingly’. big, stupid grin on his face. eddie let his head loll to the side so it rested against the backrest. as much as he tried to actually get a conversation going - well, it was hard when steve had the audacity to look this pretty.

“you wanna watch a movie, hot shot? i - i don’t have a lot here, can’t promise they’re any good, wayne taped over a lot of them.”