Where: Lover’s Lake (cabin)

zccming·:

.

max squinted in eddie’s direction, communicating all she didn’t say. the main take away being, are you stupid? “i do do this for myself, like most nights out of the week.” her mom worked the night shift most days, it had been that way for years, max had learned how to fend for herself. sure, it wasn’t always a hot homecooked meal, but she did know how to feed herself, and she definitely knew how to use a knife without nearly losing a finger. “but you have a point.” max sighed, carefully avoiding the words you’re and right. “next time i’ll cook for us.”

at the end of the night, it didn’t matter whether or not eddie had made a five star meal or the inedible mush on their plates. the principal of sit down dinners was never about the food served, or each participants etiquette. they were about spending quality time with one another, and making an effort to connect. 

she hadn’t grown up with the most functional family and max never had a halting revelation that she wasn’t miss american pie and they weren’t the brady bunch. it was known in the same way she learned to walk or talk. she was born into chaos, from her parents divorce, to having billy hargrove and his insufferable dad as her new family members, then moving to hawkins. max seemed destined to walk a rocky path, but with eddie around, the idea of family stopped feeling so painful. it wasn’t how she always pictured it to be, but it felt nice when there were nights like these. 

unsolved mysteries prompted max to wonder if all of them were real, but that wasn’t of concern right now. she dismissed eddie’s thanks man with a, “shh! … you’re welcome.” as her eyes glued to the screen. it was going to be a long wait for their food if she couldn’t immerse herself into the show. at eddie’s assessment of incompetent law enforcement, max gave him a look, “if it seems that way then it definitely is that way.” she rolled her eyes, “we’d know living in hawkins… did you know they tried to give me a traffic violation for skateboarding on the side of the road?” groaning, max had to admit, “i’m so jealous that you don’t live here anymore. and you know, it’s only getting worse the older i get.”

+++

eddie rolled his eyes, over-dramatically but hummed in agreement, carerful not to let his pleased grin show because thats what he’d hoped max would suggest. not that he wouldn’t help her prepare the mayfield-munson-found-family-tv-dinners, he’d definitely help! just not...do them all by himself. because, as it turned out, he sucked at it. 

he settled further into the couch, idly sipping on his beer, dragging his upper lip mindlessly across the rim of the can as he let himself be engulfed by the storyline. eddie was a bit of a restless spirit, always fidgeting, never quite able to direct his attention on one sole thing for more than a few minutes. always looking for another distraction. it had been like that for as long as he could remember, though it had worsened significantly after their trip to the upside down.

as if on cue, he felt a phantom burn where his scars were located. a constant reminder that he’d been through hell and survived. “huh?”, he frowned, tore his eyes away from the screen to look at max. “for skateboarding? jeez, man. whats next, tickets for walking down the street? breathin?” eddie threw his hands up in theatrical mock outrage. “alas, we keep being oppressed by the man! sickening.”

he took a pointed gulp of his beer, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “you know, you can always get outta here, max.”, he said, mood a little sobered now. “offer still stands, kiddo. come back to chicago with me. i mean, yeah, my apartment’s like half the size of this trailer and a fucking shithole but we’ll make do. we can figure something out.”

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.”

elevcnhops·:

xx

Steps faltering, within approach the other obviously easily startled. So… this was ‘ Eddie ‘. Returning back to Hawkins to hear her friends regale her with stories of the one whom considers appearing at the scene of their crime so terrifying. El did have to accept his accusation of creeping. Years of living in mostly seclusion and the constant fear of being tortured by the government is good practice for slinking around. Poor guy, that twinge of guilt tickling her stomach. Increasingly aware of a clear trauma response from the other.

He was spoken so highly of by her friends, he helped them. Therefore El must be trust him - even if he was on edge ever since they first met. She did promise someone special that she would… and she wasn’t about to break that promise. Shuffling under his gaze. Unable to gauge him, or at least feel a sense for him. “ I was not creeping. “ scoffing to hide the embarrassment that she was in fact creeping. Turning the accusations around on him, “ And you are out here alone too. What are you doing? “

Before he could answer she realized his question, Hopper Junior? Unconsciously grimacing before looking away. Tapping her chest with her index finger, symbolism of her identification over the years. The better alternative than pulling up her sleeve to show ‘ 011 ‘. Though, she had noticed the tattoos inking his skin. Eddie’s were more extensive and El wondered if those hurt just as bad as her. Was he strapped down to the chair like she was? “ My friends call me El. And they say I should give you a chance. “ 

+++

he nodded, feelin a little caught. “fair. i was just ... i don’t know, man. looking for those things, i guess? i don’t even - i don’t even know what they were, i don’t think i wanna know, to be honest...”, eddie trailed off, one hand on his hip, the other dragging down his face. he made a mental note not to agree to hang out with nancy anymore, at least not before she told him what she had in mind, in detail.

and there he was, standing in front of the burnt out shell of beloved family owned diner ‘benny’s’, hoping and praying to god that whatever they’d stumbled upon had burned down with it. the image of the cracks in the shell burned into his mind, he squeezed his eyes shot for a moment, shook his head, as if to shake the thought out of him. 

and to think this wasn’t even the weirdest thing that happened to him in hawkins. fucking unbelievable. quirking a brow, eddie turned back to her. “el - oh, shit. you’re the el. like, the superpower girl.”, he blurted out, a wide smile tugging at his lips.”sorry, i’m, like, out of it today. ‘course i know you. i probably know, like, a little too much about you, actually - mike wouldn’t shut up about you, always going on and on about how cool you are and how he has a girlfriend. gotta say i thought he’d made it up for a hot minute.”

cassieconrads·:

Cassie gave a nod at Eddie’s question, noticing his demeanor shift as she mentioned the Wheelers. As he described how he was friends with Mike, things started to make sense: maybe her new companion wasn’t that much of a stranger, after all. “Yeah, I came back with Nancy from the summer from college,” she explained, “we’re in the same sorority there, and they kind of all suck, so we bonded over it. Mike, though? I’m trying to get him to like me better than Nancy’s boyfriend, who somehow managed to follow us across the country to try and win her back, or some shit.” Cassie shrugged.

She let out a laugh, supposing he was right: Eddie certainly wasn’t the kind of guy she saw on the streets of Boston or San Francisco. “Shit, I’m sorry. I mean, I’m from California, and we had nothing like that going on there. Honestly, more has happened in the past few weeks that I’ve been here than my whole life there.” Including, but not limited to, a weird night at the graveyard and an entire diner burning down. “I’m Cassie. I appreciate the personal escort.”

+++

see, any friend of nancy’s that nancy trusted and liked enough to invite to stay with her over break surely wouldn’t mean no harm and eddie immediately relaxed. the...unfortunate encounter with ‘unnamed asshole slash jason carver carbon copy’ still had him somewhat shaken, looking over his shoulder more often than usual. and, at the mention of a dubious boyfriend that had followed them across the country, he slowly began to connect the dots. hoped to god that he had connected them all wrong. “that, uh, that boyfriend of hers - does he, like, have a little temper problem? and, like...does he sort of look like a ken doll right out of the box? “

he chuckled at her statement, shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “yeah, hawkins sort of does that to a person. lived here all my life before i moved to chicago, twenty years of, like, constant mayhem. and not, like, the good kind of mayhem, either.” 

but he spared her the gory details, the story of how, two years ago, he had nearly died while being attacked by vampire demon bats in the literal hell version of hawkins underneath the town. “well, pleased to make your acquaintance, cassie.”, he said with a grin and gave an over-exaggerated bow. “may i inquire what brings you to the library on such a fine day?”

mmuscles·:

.

thad didn’t take kindly to when people didn’t take kindly to him. in hawkins, it was happening at what felt like every turn, but with this guy? it was different. not only did it bug him that he wasn’t wagging his tail to help him find a bouquet for nancy, but he totally gave thad the creeps. he countered for that by continuing to huff and puff and blow everyone in hawkins down with his ‘charm’ and ‘status’. it probably would have been wise at this point for thad to exit the conversation, and yet, he couldn’t stand to surrender first. “yeah man, ‘cause you’re like, the first person i saw?” thad furrowed his brows, shaking his head slightly as he explained where he was coming from, frustrated. “it has nothing to do with you specifically, in fact, it would’ve been killer if i could have avoided talking to someone like you.” he continued to rant and rave about totally irrelevant information, but the desire to let the other know how much he didn’t care for him was too strong to stop. 

“mike brady? really?” he scoffed, “do you think you’re like, funny or something?” thad narrowed his eyes, taking a step closer, “i don’t like jokes.” he informed. that wasn’t really true, he just didn’t like that joke. still, these directions were the closest thing thad had gotten to help. so he might just have to swallow his pride and take them. “of course i can manage that.” he answered promptly, “you think i can’t?” he asked foolishly, clearly now just looking for a fight. thad tried to reign it in though, he couldn’t show up at nancy’s with a fat lip. “watch your back.” he threatened, with no intention of following up on that. in a final power play, thad spit at eddie’s feet and continued towards this melvald’s.

+++

eddie simply stood there and watched with his brows drawn together, nose scrunched up in what could only be described as digust. “someone like me.”, he echoed, nodded to himself. noted how eerily similar this felt to just about any interaction he’d had with jason carver back in high school. noted how all he ever really got in chicago was a shove to the shoulder on the street, a couple of dirty looks. not someone so clearly unapproving of his life choices that he was looking for a fight.

he’d presses the play button on his walkman before the head of the brady bunch had stopped talking, could hear the music faintly playing over the headphones hanging around his neck. he gave him another look up and down, then shrugged. “back your watch.”, eddie called after him before he slipped his headphones back on and stomped off in the opposite direction, a little faster than before.

EDDIE THROUGH THE YEARS + THE SONGS HE LISTENED TO

freshman year ‘80 - ‘81 : blank generation - richard hell (1977) ; god save the queen - the sex pistols (1977)

sophomore year ‘81 - ‘82 : search and destroy (bowie mix) - iggy and the stooges (1973) ; breaking the law - judas priest (1980)

junior year ‘82 - ‘83 : paranoid - black sabbath (1970) ; crazy train - ozzy osbourne (1980)

senior year #1 ‘83 - ‘84 : cum on feel the noize - quiet riot (1983) ; holy diver - dio (1983)

senior year #2 ‘84 - ‘85 : for whom the bell tolls - metallica (1984) ; a little bit of what you fancy - saxon (1984) 

senior year #3 ‘85 - ‘86 : she sells sanctuary - the cult (1985) ; 2 minutes to midnight - iron maiden (1984)

spring break ‘86 and beyond : shot in the dark - ozzy osbourne (1986) ; master of puppets - metallica (1986)

chicago ‘86 - 87 [trauma era] : i could have been a dreamer - dio (1987) ; flood II - the sisters of mercy (1985)

chicago ‘87 [coping era ]: animal (fuck like a beast) - w.a.s.p. (1984) ; sex dwarf - soft cell (1981)

back to hawkins ‘88 : rainbow in the dark - dio (1983) ; round and round - ratt (1984)

*bonus: songs he listens to with steve: head over heels - tears for fears (1985) ; (i’ve had) the time of my life - bill medley, jennifer warnes (1987)

eddie munson + being a lil spider monkey

4.06 || 4.09

rcbinbvckleys·:

⚢

all robin seemed to be able to do when eddie spoke even louder was laugh. “you are so annoying.” she shook her head fondly, paying no real mind to the loud music coming from the bedroom. this was eddie they were talking about, and if there was one thing besides hellfire that he was known for, it was his love of music. which is why robin wasn’t fazed, and she was pretty used to it by now. it was just something that came with their friendship.

 “i will never forget that mattress in my life. the image is still carved into my eyelids.” robin hoped that somewhere along the line, eddie or at least his uncle had replaced the old thing. but until she received explicit confirmation, it was pretty likely that she would purposely stay well away from sitting on eddie’s bed. 

 taking the joint from eddie’s hand, robin took a long drag from it. “where do i even start?” another drag, just for good measure before passing it back to him. “do you ever feel like, something’s going on but you just can’t be too sure about it?”

+++

the second the joint was taken from his fingers eddie buried his face in his palms, partly to hide the embarrassed flush that rose to his cheeks, a long groan falling from his lips. "buckley, please, i'm begging you - I know it was gross, okay? i have a new mattress now and i - i don't know what those stains were, okay?"

eddie knew absolutely what those stains were but the nature of said stains was a secret he'd take to his grave. he flung his hands about, gestured for robin to move on to a different topic of conversation.

he sat up a little straighter as she spoke, took the joint from her hands, a long inhale. "uh..." brows pulled together, he followed the smoke as it traveled up from his mouth to the ceiling. "just.... like, on a daily basis." a lopsided grin, he huffed. "what's this about, rob?"

So apparently men's crop tops were a thing during the 80s...