Stevehharringtcns·:

walkie talks || steddie

steve: eddie?

steve: it's me, steve!

steve: are we alone... here?

eddie: oh. hi.

eddie: what do you want, harrington?

eddie: i see, even on the walkie line he's afraid someone might hear ...

colemontgomeryx·:

xx.

As redness overtook Eddie’s cheeks, Cole took another drag of his cigarette. “Yes, I’m gay. You can say it,” he confirmed, his voice remaining low. Cole was sure Eddie would never out him, partially because that wasn’t Eddie’s character, and partially because of mutually assured destruction.

It was exhausting to have to keep such a large part of him a secret, and Cole was frustrated by it. Maybe that’s why he told Eddie (other than, obviously, trying to hook up with him). When Cole went to college, he was able to be himself more freely; he wasn’t out, per se, but he was much more comfortable discussing his sexuality. He wondered if Eddie had a similar experience in Chicago, and was now, like Cole, struggling to reconcile all the different parts of himself.

Cole grinned, noting the change in Eddie’s demeanor. Cole finished his cigarette and reached behind Eddie to throw it away. He brushed his arm against Eddie’s and took advantage of proximity this move afforded him. Glancing up into Eddie’s eyes, Cole’s own twinkled mischievously. “Well, that’s too easy. What about foreplay?” his voice was barely above a whisper. 

+++

final confirmation, eddie swallowed, blinked nervously as the words fell from cole’s lips. he nodded, a nod that said ‘me too’. as if eithr of them needed to state the face that they were both interested in men again. getting old at this point, eddie finsighed his own cigarette, felt his lips twitch, hands shaking a little.

you got this, munson, you got this. he wasn’t like this, usually, when flirting with guys. antsy and nervous and downright freaking out. he just needed to pull himself together, pretend like this was just any old other encounter in a bar or somewhere back in chicago. 

his lips twisted into a smile as he thought about the fact that the last time he’d been this nervous about flirting with someone, he’d gone and called steve harrington ‘big boy’ as they’d hijacked a goddamn rv. 

suddenly cole was much, much closer than before and eddie gulped, his eyes flicked down to meet cole’s, momentarily lingering on his lips. for maybe just a tad too long. he swiped his tongue across hi bottom lip, feeling it had suddenly gone extremely dry. eddie discarded his own cigarette, burshing up against cole, bringing them even closer. 

“well...”, he breathed, raised a brow. “we’re in the middle of a mall, in the middle of, like, vandalising said mall...what do you have in mind that won’t get our asses kicked?”

Black Sabbath - Paranoid  ♰

backtowheeler​:

— ✎ —

Nancy had definitively decided she despised being in the hospital. Every time a nurse came in to check on her, she’d just ask when she’d be able to go home with not much of an answer. In her mind, she wasn’t even that badly injured! Her casted wrist didn’t even hurt, allegedly, and the pain in her ribs was bearable at best. Not to mention the scrapes and bruises she had sustained, but she was fine! She was sure of it. In fact, she was so confident that she was planning on proving it. She had to play it out carefully, though. Nancy waited until her parents were gone and that no one was on duty with her to make her great escape. It took her a few minutes, but she managed to slide out of the hospital bed, finally feeling free from the chains of such an uncomfortable mattress.

Nancy eventually found a bag that has spare clothes in it, assumingly for her once she was released but she was going to put them on now. Reaching down to put on her pair of socks, she heard the door open. Shit. Her head popped up, just as stunned as Eddie, thinking she had just gotten caught. “My liege?” That was a new one. She nodded. “Right,” she finished putting on her other sock best she could with her good hand. “I had no idea you and Steve were boyfriends or whatever,” a joke, and a poor one at that. 

At his question, Nancy stood up from the bed, wincing slightly but attempting to cover it up with a laugh. “How do I look? Great, right?” Great was an overstatement. She hadn’t even bothered to tuck her shirt into her pants and her hair was matted in the back from how long she had laid on the pillow. “Wanna help me with something? I’m trying to escape this shithole.”

+++

his confused and sleep-deprived gaze travelled down her form to where she was currently in the process of putting her socks on. getting dressed. in something other than a hospital gown. something was off here. but before eddie had time to quite put his finger on it, he suddenly jumped at the word ‘boyfriend’. crap. had she heard them? their rooms were right next to each other, after all. nervous eyes flicked to the washed out teal colored walls. they did seem quite sturdy ... however, if he concentrated hard enough, eddie was almost sure he could hear the constant beeping noise of one of the monitors steve and cole were hooked up to. shit.

“hey now, where did you pick that one up?” was what he settled on eventually, paired with a nervous chuckle meant to sound aloof and like this was totally not a big deal. it wasn’t. besides, nancy was dating someone else, and her and steve hadn’t been a thing in ages. and - nancy was a great person. she wouldn’t ... eddie sniffled, scrunched up his nose, discarded that train of thought right away.

now wholly focused on the barely unnoticeable wince nancy had tried to cover up. a sound he knew all too well, after all, he’d been in her position not two years ago.the desperate need to get out, convincing yourself that you were all better now, actually, thanks so much for asking. eddie gave a little amused scoff, shrugged. “you look fine, nancy. considering.” 

considering that the universe wouldn’t let them catch a break, apparently. that a lifetime of trauma experienced in the span of, what, three years, wasn’t enough. eddie wondered if they’d ever be free of this. the hospital visits, the constant worrying, the fighting, the loss. the nights spent laying awake with the lights on. “woah, where do you think you’re going? listen, i’d help you with anything, man, but, like, i think a couple more days of r&r wouldn’t do you any harm. trust me.”

Come crawling faster, obey your master.

where: melvald’s 

what: virgina ?? i hardly know her

who: @savethevirginia​ + eddie.

once again, edward munson was a wanted man. well, he’d been released, officially. the charges against him and billy hargrove,  which had never actually been explained to him in coherent detail, hadn’t been dropped but they'd been free to go. ‘just don’t leave hawkins!’ callahan had called after them, eddie had scoffed. he wished. but for the time being they were stuck here. for the time being, eddie was, once again, stuck in a town full of people that thought he was the epitome of evil and juvenile deliquiency. a town that so quickly and willingly pointed the finger at him, there, it was, him, that freak, he did it!

eddie had abstained from, well, going outside much ever since his arrest. save for the frequent trips from and to the hospital to check in on steve, eddie stayed in his uncle’s trailer. in his room. he didn’t even dare play any music or aimlessly pluck strings on his guitar, afraid that any noise might prompt someone to call the cops on him, get him taken away. for good this time. so he stayed in his room most of the time, in silence, the muffled sounds of whatever cassette he had laying around playing faintly from his headphones. 

however much the people of hawkins hated him, though, that hatred sadly wasn’t enough to fill his fridge and so eddie now found himself stood outside of melvald’s with his head lowered, careful not to make any eye contact. he had his hair put up in a ponytail, had ditched his signature rings, leather jacket and hellfire shirt for a simple dark washed out pair of jeans and one of wayne’s old plaid shirts. anything to make him look less like .. well, himself. which only made eddie feel worse about himself to be honest. yeah, he looked a mess as he pulled open and quickly made his way into the store. unsure whether or not he was only imagining the feeling of dirty looks burning into his back, but  - 

no , someone was definitely staring. staring hard and long and eddie’s grip around the carton of milk he’d picked up tightened. fuck this. he whipped around. “is there a problem or something? i - ginny driscoll ? what the hell are you doing here?”

stevehharringtcns·:

.

steve gave eddie a small and weak smile when he saw him take off his vest and placing him over him. that was a sweet gesture, he thought to himself, and steve loved it. he loved the vest, a vest that he had worn before, more than once now and he loved it. he loved the smell of it and it made him feel closer to eddie, especially now that they couldn’t be in the same bed because of steve’s injuries. he had to keep telling himself that the pain was only temporary or he might have gone crazy by the thought of not being able to hold eddie close to him ever again. he hated thinking about that, thinking about that one day he could lose eddie or that eddie could lose him, but he was trying not to think about that right now. he wanted to focus on the man in front of him right now, a weak smile on his lips.

steve hardly cried, so this was new to him. he had cried when nancy broke up with him the first time, but now that seemed something stupid to cry about. he wasn’t sure if he was crying because he was happy that eddie was there and alive, and he could feel him. or if he was crying because he was scared of something happening to him, to them. he let out a small sigh as he felt eddie caressing his cheek, his eyes locked on the other as he watched him close. “it’s okay… crying is okay sometimes… i’m just happy that you’re okay, eddie.” he said, taking a deep breath as he looked at him again. there was nothing more than he wanted other than to kiss him right now. “kiss me?” he asked, looking over at him, hoping that he would just lean forward and kiss him.

when eddie agreed to doing the lift with him, steve let out a weak laugh as he thought about the two of them doing it. eddie was clumsy and knowing them, they would end up on the floor. but they would get up again and they would laugh. steve smiled at the thought, of making memories with him and dustin, max, lucas and everyone. he couldn’t wait until he got out of the hospital. he was glad all of them were okay, even if it would take them all a while to recover from what they had gone through. but steve was trying to focus on the good things for now, looking at eddie with a smile. “i’m pretty sure… i can lift you easily.” he finished off, nodding his head.

he watched eddie closely as he tried to assimilate what steve had asked. steve didn’t regret asking it, in fact, he would ask it again in a heartbeat. they were young and they were clearly into each other. and after this whole thing, steve thought it was for the best if he just admitted his feelings for eddie. he had done that, but he didn’t want to hide anymore. he wanted everyone else to know, he wanted them to share their happiness too. he wanted to tell max and see her reaction. he wanted to tell dustin so he could be happy for them, because he knew he would. he was just waiting for the other’s confirmation, smiling at him. “you heard me correctly.” he said at eddie’s first hesitation, nodding his head slowly.

and then he felt his heart filling up with happiness once eddie said yes, pulling him into a soft kiss and blushing as he did. he was so happy in that moment that he almost forgot the pain he was in, wanting to wrap his arms around eddie and pull him closer to him. but he couldn’t do that without wincing, so he thought it would be for the best if he stayed still. “of course… i’m sure. i’ve never been so sure of anything, ed. i… want you to be my boyfriend. and trust me, i could be put through… russian spies super drugs or whatever, and i would still ask it. i don’t care about anything else, i just want… you. to be my boyfriend.” he said with a nod.

+++

eddie choked on a laugh, mingled with a sob he tried to cover up with said laugh, and he nodded, over-exggeratedly. “you’re....so wise, stevie, i’m... thoroughly impressed.” a weak attempt at a joke to lighten the somber mood, though eddie feared neither of them would be in high spirits anytime soon. as glad as eddie was that they had both gotten out of it ... somewhat okay, he couldn’t ignore the nagging thought at the back of his head. they’d made it out this time.they’d made it out and yet he was visiting steve in the hospital, pulling down his sleeves so he wouldn’t see the marks callahan’s handcuffs had left on his wrisst. eddie couldn’t imagine what it would be like the next time around - if there was a next time. if they survived said next time. this, whatever it was, was far from over.

“i’m happy you’re okay, too.” so happy. and eddie readily complied, leaning in to press a soft kiss to steve’s lips. don’t cry again, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. eddie did his best to try and ignore the constant rhythmic beeping of the monitors and machines around them, the acidic smell of cleaning agent that lingered in the air. it was all .. .well, for lack of a better word, incredibly and horribly depressing. and it simply wasn’t... fair. they deserved their sliver of happiness. they’d been through plenty - they deserved a break. a clean cut, even. a moment of peace, no matter how fleeting.

eddie decided that, despite the stale and creepy atmosphere of a hospital, this must be his moment of peace. a soft chuckle fell from his lips, so low it was barely audbile, yet a sound of genuine happiness, however brief. he shook his head softly, smiling. “you know, sometimes i forget you’ve been through this, like, what ? four times already ? you’re such a ... i hate to say it, you’re kind of a ... badass.” eddie had to give him that. though, the first time steve had told him about their past run-ins with hawkins’ resident supernatural creatures, eddie had had a hard time believing him. well, he’d thought that the starcourt mall incident of ‘84 and steve’s subsequent fighting with russian spy soldiers in their secret underground miliatiry base had been total bogus. but here they were and eddie had come to know that well, stranger things had happened. 

“and then, in the next minute you turn around and ask me to learn the dirty dancing lift with you. you’re - “ eddie had to stop, interrupted by genuine giggles. a couple of beats passed before he’d calmed down enough to continue, grinning down at steve with a fond look in his eyes. and god, his heart felt like it might burst. “you’re a dork, steve harrington.” shutting up any and all protest steve could’ve thrown in with another kiss. followed by a quick peck on the tip of his nose, his cheek, his forehead. yeah. eddie munson was officially whipped. fuck.

he leaned back reluctantly, eyed steve with a curious expression on his face. wondering if the topic better stay avoided but - no, he had to ask. for his own sake, too. he shifted in his seat, cleared his throat. “so, uh. where -have your parents been in yet? “

stevehharringtcns·:

dvstybuns·:

“What? No. No one broke into your house. You got mad the last time I did that, so I stopped.” Dustin replied to Steve, frowning at the question. If someone else had, Dustin would have called the cops - and then left. He wasn’t about to try to fight off a burglar at Steve’s house; his parents could afford to replace it all, anyway. And then all hell broke loose when Steve and Eddie realized why he’d used a Code Red. 

In theory, Dustin knew that Code Red meant Code Red and he wasn’t supposed to use it for other shit. He knew that! He didn’t need this lecture right now, damn it. “Okay, but you wouldn’t have gotten here as fast if I’d told you the real reason I needed to see you!” Dustin replied, voice rising to match theirs. Not that he had any real reason to be annoyed at them. “But fine! Whatever! I won’t use Code Red again unless I’m dying, okay?” He grumbled at Eddie, looking at Steve for some sympathy here. Not that he was really expecting to find it, but still. Of the two, Eddie seemed more pissed right now. 

Sitting down on Steve’s couch, he looked to the two older boys for guidance. He had asked them both for help because they were both like big brothers to him, or dads even. Older male figures that he looked up to and respected, even if just thinking that made him want to gag. Dustin loved them, and he trusted that even if their advice was shitty, it came from a good place because neither would actually actively want to ruin his life. 

“No, I know I need to take her on dates!” Dustin shook his head, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. “I can do that. I can be romantic,” He murmured quietly, nodding at Eddie’s advice as he took it in. “Um, actually, we can’t go away somewhere because of the fucking border,” He reminded them, brow screwing up in confusion at the mention of a cabin. That seemed pointed, for some reason, and Dustin had no clue why. 

Was something else going on here? What was happening with them? Was this about a girl or something?

Pausing, Dustin took in the rest of Eddie’s advice. Okay, that was solid. That was something he could do. But that was also mostly what he was already doing. “I guess… I don’t know. It’s like, when we were talking over Cerebro or the phone, it was easy. Now that she’s here, I’m just…” He paused, looking down at the floor. It shouldn’t be embarrassing to admit - they both already knew how dorky he was. It was just hard being vulnerable sometimes, although he knew Steve and Eddie wouldn’t really judge him. Steve had been around for the fiasco that was the Snowball, and Eddie had known him for years too. Talking about this with them would be fine. Easier than talking about it with Mike and Lucas, for sure. 

“…I’m nervous. I really like her, and it’s been a long time since she’s been around me in person. What if she realizes that I’m weird or something and doesn’t like me anymore?” Dustin admitted quietly, avoiding looking at either of them.

When Eddie asked to leave, Dustin looked up at him sharply. “What? No! I asked you both here for your advice! Just because you don’t know much about girls doesn’t excuse you!” 

@stevehharringtcns··

.

these stupid walkies had only given steve headaches. he could have easily had a talk with eddie at his cabin, but of course they were interrupted by dustin. and since it was a code red (or so they thought so), they couldn’t exactly ignore it. “eddie’s right about this, you can’t just go on and about saying code red when you feel like it! you know that my dad would kill me if something happened to the house while he was out. just don’t do it again.” he said, feeling like he was done lecturing dustin. sometimes he did feel like a babysitter. he shared a look with eddie, nodding his head slowly. he thought that he didn’t need to say anything as they made their way inside of the house, watching as dustin took a seat on his couch.

as much as he wanted to focus on dustin, steve couldn’t help but to feel bad that he was there with eddie like everything was okay. he decided that it was for the best to not bring it up to dustin. he liked to believe that dustin looked at steve for some comfort, and the way he had talked about eddie before, he definitely saw him the same way. he wasn’t going to bring him into their mess. but then again, it was kind of hard to do when he felt eddie’s stares burn into his head and the occasional jabs, even if subtle, that the other threw his way.

“a cabin is a really good place for a romance, if two people are alone. that much is true, dustin…” he said, giving eddie a look for a couple of moments, wanting for him to stop. what had happened at the cabin wasn’t his proudest moment and he felt sick every time he thought about it, but this wasn’t the best time to fight about it. although that he thought he would never hear the end of it from eddie. if he had been given a chance to talk to him before getting interrupted, maybe they wouldn’t be like this now. but it didn’t matter, steve wanted to focus on dustin. “look, this isn’t about me and the dates that i’ve gone to, ed- dustin.” he said, correcting himself at the end and clearing his throat. “clearly we’re different because i was popular back then and dustin is… well, dustin.” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

steve listened carefully to dustin’s concerns about suzie. in all honesty, dustin made it seem like suzie was going to leave at any moment, but steve doubted that. after meeting her, she seemed way too nice to do something like that and she cared about dustin. steve pursed his lips as he nodded his head, thinking about on what to say next. “have you… you know, tried talking to her about it? maybe asking her?” he asked, raising an eyebrow before shaking his head.

“you’re not… okay, you’re definitely weird, but that’s past the point! she fell for you during that… camp or whatever it was. and even after that, she still wanted to talk to you through those stupid walkies. if she does all of that for a guy that’s miles away, then i definitely don’t think she’ll think you’re weird. or maybe…” he said, looking over at eddie for a couple of moments, a glint in his eyes as he pursed his lips and looked at dustin. “maybe she likes you because you’re weird.” he said, nodding his head. he thought if he was actually talking about himself. he let out a sigh as he sat down next to dustin and patted the other on the shoulder with a smile on his face. 

“i don’t think you have to worry about suzie thinking you’re weird. right, eddie?” he asked, feeling his heart pounding as he looked at eddie for a few moments, giving him a look. he wanted the other to agree with him and forget about what was going on between them for a couple of moments. this was about cheering up dustin and giving him some advice as he asked. they could fight later.

“how about this? you’ll go home tonight and ask suzie what are some of her favorite movies and tomorrow you can stop by the video store and rent them out, okay?” he asked, smiling at dustin. “it’ll be on the house.” he assured, patting the other on the shoulder again. he wasn’t the best at advice, he thought, but a movie always seemed to help whenever he had a date. even if he didn’t pay that much attention to the movie.

@eddiemcnson··

+++

eddie threw steve a sharp look, then sighed heavily. it was better to leave his own resentment out of this - for dustin's sake. and he was instantly reminded of a line he'd heard countless times in his childhood, over the sound muffled shouting and breaking glass - "not in front of the kid!"

besides, he didn't stand a chance when dustin looked at him like that so, slightly disgruntled, he plopped down on the couch. steves comment about popularity drew an eye roll from eddie. "ah, great, stevie ,amazing, real nicely done. makes him feel real special i bet." though eddie knew what he meant. he himself hadn't been exactly popular in high school, either, especially after the whole town had accused him of satanic ritualistic murders. still, that hadn't exactly gotten in the way of his dating life, seeing as it had been nonexistent in hawkins. a lack of options, if anything. perhaps a lack of adequate social skills, too.

he leaned in, gave dustin a shrug and a comforting smile. "as much as I hate to say this but i agree with king steve over here. and anyway, the hell's wrong with being weird, anyway? i'm weird. you're weird. i wouldn't like you if you weren't weird, henderson. you see...", he trailed off, pursed his lips, fingers drumming against his thigh as he thought of how to phrase it. "freaks and weirdos, yeah, they, like, attract each other. we're like magnets. when I first saw you, i mean, you definitely looked odd with your fucking weird al shirt." he chuckled slightly at the memory, feeling a little more comfortable now despite the lingering tension between him and steve." but wheeler, he looked, like, disgustingly, boringly normal. "and he made a fake gagging sound to accentuate his words. " but i still came up to you two and asked you to sit at the hellfire table. because i could just tell you two were freaks. hey, think of it like this - weird is just like another word for special."

a reassuring smile he gave dustin a comforting pat on the back, freezing as his fingers lightly brushed steve's from where the other's hand rested on dustin's shoulder. he pulled it back, perhaps a couple of seconds too late. "yeah, go... go with what harrington here says. dinner and a movie, yada yada. take her to the arcade - you said she digs computers and that shit, right?"

@dvstybuns

elevcnhops·:

WHERE ; benny’s burnt down diner WHO ; el &. @eddiemcnson·

of course he was an admired hero in their party - dustin wouldn’t stop talking about him on more than one occasion. even mike had mentioned the other once or twice. eleven just never imagined she would be meeting him in a deserted diner. even more surprising that he was still around after… everything. remembering his absolute panic as the lights went out. and even all the things after. feeling a bit guilty, their experience felt all too familiar. this was probably her fault. the never ending twinge of guilt ever since she returned.

better yet, he was back at the place of their first actual encounter. el’s better judgement leading her back to the diner. the other night with nancy and Hop… but he was there. she could recognize that hair anywhere. she wasn’t the only nosy one in this town apparently.

eleven smelled the ash before she could sense it. sure, the smell of burnt concrete was a grim reminder of the fact.. this place was done for. “ do you see anything? “ she didn’t know his name, only that he was to be trusted. inhaling briefly in the aftermath of the destruction that they brought upon themselves. “ eleven. “ giving him a second of truth as she roamed through the debris. “ and you? “ hiding the rosy tiny upon her cheeks as embarrassment flooded her questioning tone. “ i’m sorry, i should know that. “

+++

it was stupid. it was a horribly, horrifically stupid idea but, staying true to the munson name, eddie actually found himself standing where benny’s diner once had been, just... staring. contemplating, maybe? he didn’t know. didn’t know what had posessed him to hop into his van and drive back there in the first place but there he was, standing in the midst of the burnt down ruins, just looking.

eddie liked to think that he didn’t know what he was looking for but that was a lie,  eddie knew exactly what he was looking for as he absent-mindedly kicked some pieces of gravel through the ash. those ‘eggs’, those freakishly large eggs that had had tears and cracks running through them. and the weird sludge, just... clues. he was looking for clues. upside down clues and he hated the thought of that with a fiery passion. 

“god - jesus - fuck!”, eddie jumped, one heart coming up to clutch at his heart as he whipped around violently, curls whipping through the air like daggers. the frame of ... hopper junior, eddie didn’t know her name, came into view and a shaky yet relieved breath was drawn from his lips. hands on his thighs, eddie dropped his head, took a couple beats to get his breathing under control. “shit, man! you can’t just creep up on people like that.”

after what had happened at benny’s, eddie was even more on edge than usual. he frowned. “no, i...don’t see anything, kid. ‘cept for you, scaring the freaking daylights outta me.”, he muttered, eyes travelling over the site once more. confirming to himself that he was definitely not seeing any eggs or the like.

eddie narrowed his eyes, brows drawn together tightly. “huh? eleven?”, he echoed, looked her up and down. then looked behind her, to see if he’d missed anything. or anyone. “eleven what?”

this exchange was getting weirder by the minute, eddie planted his hands on his hips. “uh, eddie. munson.”, he said after a moment, smiled. “well, i mean i’ve got no idea who you are, hopper junior, so no offense taken.”

thequeenofhawkins·:

— ♔ —  

What. The. Fuck. 

It was a thought, one that Chrissy would never speak out loud, fear that Laura Cunningham would hear her all the way from the Cunningham two story house to the trailer park. She watched as Eddie backed away from her, grabbing the remote and using it as some sort of defense. Chrissy shook her head, trying to listen to his frantic voice. He was scared.

Scared of her. 

She couldn’t understand why. Sure, Chrissy was presumed dead or at the very least missing. Her parents buried an empty casket. People had mourned her. For all intensive purposes, she had come back from the dead. Chrissy just wasn’t thinking this would be her homecoming from Eddie. The same guy that had made her laugh. Like, genuinely laugh in years. After that, there was just darkness. Haziness. A cloud she couldn’t walk through. 

“What…” She couldn’t even get a sentence out from his yelling and then subsequently, his passing out. Chrissy could have ran, leave in the opposite direction. He’d wake up eventually and then it would be like she was never there, but she stepped into the trailer.

In an instant, heaviness hit her. Every step she took felt like there was someone pressing on her chest, it was nauseating. Something she didn’t feel prior to walking inside. Chrissy didn’t feel like she belonged inside and something told her it wasn’t because of a class difference. “Eddie?” She walked further, hoping he would pop back up, but he was still out cold. She bent down to his level, tapping him on the face. Again, hoping that would jolt him awake. “Eddie, wake up.”

+++

slowly, grimacing and groaning, eddie came to, from one if the most vivid nightmares he'd had in a long time. jesusxit had all felt so real. opening his door to see chrissy cunningham, queen of hawkins high, standing there - alive, breathing and fucking furious. standing in the doorway of the very trailer where she'd died some two years prior.

it had all felt so scarily real. just as real as the persistent tapping on his face that pulled him back to the realm of the living, the voice insisting that he 'wake up!'. and if he hadn't been quite so frightened and confused, eddie would've chuckled at that - the wax the voice echoed what he'd said to chrissy shortly before she'd started floating to the ceiling.

speak of the devil - another groan, eddie cracked one eye open. and met with the gave of chrissy cunningham once more, he instinctively backed into the wall behind him, hitting his head. eyes darted to the side for a moment - he'd dropped the tv remote when he'd fainted, it had slithered underneath the coffee table, out of reach. eddie gulped, backed himself as far as he could into the wall.

"this is not real - no, you are not real. this - am I dreaming? am i, like -", eyes widening even further, his breath hitched. "oh fuck, shit, am i dead? did I die? Is this, like, hell and you're coming back to haunt me?"