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)
stevehharringtcns·:
.
standing by the door as he looked at eddie, steve felt a little too naked for his liking. sure, he was used to walking shirtless around his place, but of course he was alone, and now, having eddie standing in front of him and staring at his bare chest made him feel… something. he didn’t feel uncomfortable, it was eddie after all, but he definitely felt something once he felt his eyes on him. he was almost sure that his face had turned into another shade of pink, but he was hoping that eddie wouldn’t realize it.
it was getting a little bit too awkward just standing there, but he didn’t know what to say. he was just waiting for eddie to finally say something and that’s when eddie finally spoke about eggs. eggs? steve wasn’t sure if he had heard that correctly, but he didn’t say anything until the other was done with his sentence.”why don’t you… come inside? it’s probably for the best if you just don’t stand there talking about… eggs.” he said as he moved away so the other could make his way inside. once the two were both inside, steve closed the door behind him as he started making his way to the living room - something that wouldn’t happen if his parents were home, but luckily for him, he was alone.
“make yourself at home.” steve offered, as he motioned towards the couch, before looking at the other and crossing his arms over his chest.. what was this about? why was eddie in such a hurry to see him and why did he seem so nervous? “what… what’s this conversation about the eggs… and fire? did you eat some bad eggs at benny’s? because that wouldn’t be that surprising.” he said with a small shrug of his shoulders.
steve couldn’t help but to notice that eddie really seemed nervous about whatever was going on, but he didn’t know what to do. “just take a seat, eddie and… breathe or something. what’s going on?” he asked yet again, waiting for an answer. everyone seemed to had gone through something lately and steve wasn’t even in town to see it. had he really missed that much just by being gone?
+++
eddie nodded, still unable to form a coherent sentence because holy fuck, steve harrington had opened his door shirtless, wearing only shorts, and eddie would save that image and treasure it forever, lest he might never see it again. “yeah. yeah, inside. inside is good.”, he muttered and pushed past steve, thinking to himself that his pattern of speech oddly represented that of hopper’s kid and -
- yeah, that was another thing to unpack. because eddie could’ve sworn he’d seen her open the door to the diner with... well, what exactly, that was the question. not her hands, no, it seemed like it had been her... mind? perhaps eddie was losing his mind here.
he let his gaze wander around the entry way, the living room, couldn’t help that his eyes widened at the sight of steve’s home. because damn, he’d known that steve’s family was loaded or whatever. but he’d never been in a house as big as this. it was ridiculous. he plopped dowon on the couch, hands shaking, fidgeting with his rings. “i ... fuck. i don’t know.”, he muttered, nervously chewed on his bottom lip. foot tapping restlessly. eddie buried his face in his hands for a moment, trying to calm himself.
“i was hanging out with wheeler - nancy.”, he clarified, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment as he tried to recall that night’s events. “and, like, a bunch of other people and she took us to benny’s. which was shut down, there was this fight and...well, we went into investigate, or whatever, and there..then the flashlights, and they...”
eddie trailed off, restless, he couldn’t sti still anymore. he jumped up, began pacing around the room. leaned his back against the wall for comfort.”you know the freaky shit that happened two years ago?”, eddie said and gulped, feeling the phantom burning of his scars hot under the material of his shirt. “it’s back, harrington. it’s back. we saw some shit in there, man, like some...some fucking alien...monster...upside down eggs. they had tears in ‘em, steve, and... i don’t know. the diner burned down. “
eddie looked up at him, felt the prickling of hot tears in his eyes, brows pulled up, face twisted into a grimace. “it’s happening again. i can’t...are you ok? someone said you were at the cemetary and that...people got pushed into graves and all, i just...wanted to check on you.” he averted his gaze to the ground. “didn’t want to be alone.”
“Living after midnight, rockin’ to the dawn. Lovin’ ‘til the morning, then I’m gone. I’m gone.”
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.
eddie’s tag dump !
stevehharringtcns:
.
steve let out a small laugh at what eddie said about his ego, shaking his head slowly at the other. “my ego is just the right size, thank you very much… but you could have just been honest that you wanted to see me instead of creeping around the store. i’ve noticed you’ve been coming here a lot lately, i didn’t know you were such a fan of movies.” he said with a smirk, as he looked at eddie for a couple of moments.
shaking his head slowly, steve sighed. “i know it’s called dungeons and dragons, but i really don’t know what it is about. i usually shut off when henderson talks about that shit, unless, you know, it’s important to save our lives and the town.” he said - unfortunately, that had happened way too many times for steve’s liking. he still thought it was weird that every once in a while, creatures would emerge from the ground and put everyone at risk. but after two years of quiet, steve had to admit that it was too quiet for his liking. he just had to admit that they could all finally have some peace. “you’re still playing that shit or what?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at the other.
seeing eddie’s reaction to his compliment made steve smirk slightly, nodding his head slowly as the other talked. “i think it looks good now, so don’t worry about that.” he said, his eyes now moving to see the other’s tattoos, especially the one that eddie made sure he showed once he pulled down his shirt collar. maybe steve looked for longer than he liked, but could anyone blame him? there was something about eddie and steve couldn’t just wrap his head around on what it was. did he find him attractive? he definitely did… but he wasn’t sure how eddie would feel about that if he knew, so he just smiled at him. “those look pretty sick, munson, i have to say i’m impressed.” he said with a small laugh escaping from his lips as he placed his hands on the counter, watching as the other leaned forward.
eddie’s reactions were making steve laugh like no other, but then he realized. had he just asked the other on a date? it couldn’t possibly be a date, they were just two friends hanging out. nothing special was going to happen, right? it was just two friends hanging out, he kept repeating in his head as he looked down at eddie. he was a bit at a loss for words. “uh… i think, we could just uh… watch a movie. that sounds like a plan.” he said with a small nod, before clearing his throat as he looked at eddie with a smile on his face. “just a movie it’s fine i think… and don’t worry, i don’t kiss on the first date. sorry to disappoint.” he said, regaining some of the confidence he usually had, as he looked at eddie. they were just friends. just friends.
+++
eddie bit his lip, felt his cheeks heat up. he quickly averted his gaze, shit. so he hadn’t been as inconspicuous as he thought he’d been. great fucking job, munson. he looked down, finger starting to play with his rings, twisting them around, moving them from one finger to another. fidgeting. “see, i’m not a big movie guy but i am a fan of looking at that pretty face of yours. withotu having to hear you talk.”, he teased with a chuckle, though he still felt a little nervous and that ‘witty reply’ of his had taken entirely too long.
he shifted his weight from one foot to another. as steve mentioned dungeons and dragons he, again, let himself fall against the counter, actually slid down, pretending to claw his way up as he got back upright. “dost thine insolence never stop?”, he said with a shake of his head, a deep sigh. “ and see, that’s exactly why i took the spot of the ‘designated a ltitle weirdly older best friend’ and replaced you, stevie. henderson worships you but the dissing dnd part? not cool, man.” eddie proudly rose his chin, give steve a stern nod, curls flying about as he did so. “’course i do, i’m doing a little hellfire reunion campaign this summer, too. it’s fun, harrington, wouldn’t kill ya to have some every once in a while, hm?”
‘i think it looks good now’. damn his body for releasing that swarm of butterflies in his stomach, eddie thought and swallowed. well, if somebody had told eddie like, five years ago that he’d one day be a squirming, blushing mess because steve harrington complimented his hair? he would’ve thought them clinically insane. and the butterflies were apparently dead set on staying, viciously swarming as he caught steve’s eye slingering on his exposed chest for just - a - tad - too - long. he felt dizzy, adjusted his collar again. he grinned, a stupid little lovey grin. “thanks, man. you know you should get some of your own. it would make you, like, ten times hotter.” still grinning, though wavering a little as his mind caught up with what he’d said. eddie’s eyes widened. “i mean, like you know. the chicks would dig it.”
great fucking save, munson. he had to fight the urge to squeeze his eyes shut in embarrassment. god, what was it that steve did to him that turned him into this mess of a person. he mirrored steve’s nod. “just a movie, then. very sensible. i’m in, harrington.” as if that wasn’t fucking clear enough.
okay, but at this point, it was steve’s fault as much as eddie’s that eddie couldn’t seem to form a coherent thought. because the minute he’d said the word ‘kiss’ that’s all he could think about - kissing steve. his tonge darted out to wet his lips and he had to physically tear his eyes away from where they’d dropped to steve’s lips. god fucking dammit. he blinked. “aw, shucks, stevie. and i was hoping to get to second base with you during the especially scary parts. man. you’re such a tease.”
backtowheeler·:
𝐖𝐇𝐎: Nancy Wheeler & @eddiemcnson······
𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓: Post-Benny’s shenanigans
𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄: Outside of Benny’s while it burns <333
So, that happened. Nancy Wheeler started a literal fire and now she was watching as Benny’s bursted into flames. She told herself it would be fine, the damage wouldn’t be that bad, and it’d give the owner a reason to update the place but fact of the matter was it still happened. And they still agreed to let it burn down instead of calling for help. She backed away from the building, splitting off from the group as they decided it was time to clear out before anyone showed up. Nancy walked down the paved road, quick on her feet. “Hey, hey,” she jogged over to Eddie, who was only a few paces ahead of her.
“I’m really sorry for dragging you into this,” I didn’t think it was anything serious. Instead, there was goo and eggs and arson. Not the Nancy Drew mystery she had expected to solve. She had seen how spooked Eddie was and rightfully so. He had been to the Upside Down, even experienced the horrors of Hawkins once before, but this was entirely different. They were supposed to be safe. “Let me drive you home?” She asked, reaching into her pocket and grabbing the car keys to her mom’s station wagon, wincing at the pain she felt in her right hand from the burn she had gotten which was surely starting to blister. “As long as you don’t mind a one handed driver.”
+++
eddie was still in the process of catching his breath, hands braced on his thighs, leaning a little forward as he stood there and watched. watched benny’s burn down to the ground. the events of the night re-playing in his head like an episode of ‘unsolves mysteries’. he took another moment, then turned to head out, too.
seriously questioning and doubting his sanity. because what. the . fuck. had just happened. and how had he managed to get himself into another heap of hawkins shenanigans again. as if nearly dying in an alternate dimension while half the town thought you were a cold-blooded murderer wasn’t enough. no, apparently, the upside down had decided to introduce overly large ... eggs into the mix, too. typical. he should’ve figured. figured that this wouldn’t be a normal, happy, carefree summer.
he jumped slightly, startled, still spooked, as nancy called out and caught up with him. eddie shrugged. “not really your fault, wheeler, is it? i mean, whatever the hell this....shit is, was gonna catch up to me eventually.”, he said and managed a weak smile. “though, gotta say, not what i imagined when you asked if i wanted to hang.”
though what had he expected, exactly, from nancy ‘i have guns, plural, in my bedroom’ wheeler ? eyes glanced down to her hand, concerned frown appearing on his face. eddie quickly snatched the keys from her hand, careful not to brush her injured hand. “uh, no, no way, wheeler.” he was about to suggest that he drove her home instead and then walked back, but remembered how long it had taken to bike back to his trailer in the upside down - and he really wasn’t keen on walking through hawkins alone, at night.
“how about i drive myself home and then let you take over? so you only have to be a one-handed driver for the last leg of the journey. and when you’re not responsible for two lives.”
zccming·:
WHO: max mayfield && open.
WHERE: outside of melvald’s general store.
this wasn’t max’s most…well-thought-out plan, but she had ransacked the trailer for anything she could bring to the wheeler’s barbecue. and she was pretty sure cereal or swanson’s tv dinners wouldn’t cut it. as she skated her way downtown in hopes of a miracle, she brainstormed what she could bring that wouldn’t be too complicated. she came up with the likes of doritos or boxed pasta salad. of course, when max pulled up to melvald’s and tugged at the doors, they were locked. melvald’s, like the hawk, and every other godforsaken business in this town just had to be closed. “shit…” she breathed out, scanning her surroundings. not a car in sight…not a person … but there was a rock. maybe if she just…she could get away with it…
max scooped it up from the ground and raised her arm to chuck it through the window, but she felt these eyes on her. turning around, max initially jumped at the sight of another person. hadn’t she checked for people? in a swift recovery, max rolled her eyes and frowned, “asshole. you can’t just sneak up on people like that.” as if to explain herself, she stepped forward and gripped the handles once more, “it’s locked.” after chucking the rock out into the road, max placed her hands on her hips, then eyed the other, “i need in, like now.” then as a hint to help or get lost she asked, “got any better ideas?”
+++
well, wasn’t this one hell of a way to say ‘welcome back’? eddie raised his brows, sighed heavily and over-dramatically as he buried his hands in his pockets, lazily crossing the road to make his way over to max. “’hello’.”, he said, pursed his lips. “’welcome’. ‘hi’. ‘how’s it going, man’. ‘sup’ . even ‘good day’”, said with a bow of sorts. he came to a halt before her, brows pulled together to a frown. “out of all the phrases and greetings to choose from she settles on ‘asshole’. classic max mayfield.”
his stern expression quickly fades into a wide smile, eddie’s face practically lit up, as he surged forward, scooping max up into a tight hug. he’d only just gotten back into town yesterday, hadn’t had a chance to say hello yet, and out of all the people he wanted to check in with - which didn’t consist of a lot of people, seeing as he was still shunned by most of the population of hawkins - her name was at the top of his list. “so, what’s up, you little shit?”, he asked once he’s set her down again. “getting yourself into trouble again, same old, same old. what ever could be so pressing you need to break into melvald’s for ?”
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?”