Chapter Text

“Holy shit,” Robin breathed, making her way down the hall. They were given the chance to see the stage before the battle of the bands was to begin and low and behold, she was mind blown. “This is like an actual concert! Like. We’re in an arena!”

“Yeah and our room is over here,” Billy said, leading her to the room with the “Dead Lovers Society” sign on it. 

“Oh my god! Oh my god, I wish I had my camera!”

“Jonathan brought his so I’m sure he snagged plenty of pictures. Come on,” 

With fifteen bands going on Billy didn’t expect them each to get an actual dressing room. The place they were put wasn’t anything special. Enough to find the band and a few more. There was a couch, some chairs, and space for their equipment. There was a coffee table in the middle and laid out were complimentary water bottles, mints, and trail mix. 

Jonathan was already there, with Nancy and Steve as well. The latter was sitting in a chair on the far side of the room, doing his best not to stare at the two pressed together on the couch. A look of relief washed over Steve as Billy and Robin made their way into the room. 

“Steve! This place is unbelievable!” Robin announced, plopping down onto the couch next to Nancy. “It’s an actual stage! With an actual audience!” 

“I’m guessing she didn’t hear the news?” Steve asked, those honey-brown eyes finding Billy across the room.

🎸

“ Televised ?” Eddie mimicked, reading the poster alongside his uncle. 

Wayne had taken off from work to show his support and then two took the last bit of time before the show began and wasted it by walking around. It seemed with all the buzz they had been getting a local tv station decided to televise the show. 

“You hang here. I’m gonna call Greg. He bought one of those fancy VHS recorders and I want him to catch this.”

Wayne disappeared out of sight then, leaving Eddie to his own devices. He was nervous but not in the way he thought he’d be. After the session with the band he found that win or lose he was still going to have a good time; still gonna rock out just like the legends that came before him. 

And while he could talk a big game and preach about enjoying the moment, Eddie was also terrified. Terrified of what would happen when this all ended. Would the thrill of it die down? Would the others go their separate ways? No more Robin, no more Jonathan. Billy had been there before so Eddie knew he’d be there after. Still, things were bound to change, weren’t they? Nothing he could do about it there. 

Then again, sometimes change was welcome. 

“Hey, metalhead!” 

Eddie turned on his heel, his eyes widening at the sight before him. Gone was the cheer uniform he had grown to appreciate and in its place was . . . whatever it was, it made him weak at the knees. The fishnets, the shorts, the band tee that fell off her shoulder. Chrissy’s hair wasn’t in her signature pony, but rather falling loose at her shoulders with just a bit of tease. 

Eddie still wore her scrunchie, barely taking it off except to shower at risk of ruining the material with the water. He had it on now, his good luck charm. The bright green contrasts with his naturally dull tones.

Eddie had only seen Grease once (and he’d never openly admit to it so shut the hell up) but at this moment he understood what Danny felt when he finally caught sight of Sandy in her Pink Lady getup. 

“Holy shit,” he breathed out. 

Chrissy shimmed her shoulders, doing a small spin to show off her concert attire. “Well? Robin had the print shop at the mall make them up,” 

Her shirt, which was doing way too much justice for her petite figure, bore the same logo Billy had drawn up when this all started. It seemed so surreal; a tee shirt with Dead Lovers Society; the still-beating heart in deep, bleeding red against the black fabric. 

“You’re a bombshell,” he decided, taking her hand in his own as she stepped closer. “Thank you for coming.” 

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Can you believe how many bands are performing tonight? And Vickie said it’s going to be on tv? Eddie, this is amazing!” 

“Yeah, it’s something,” Eddie replied, squeezing her hand gently, looking over her head to watch the crowd as they continued to fill the room. 

Some were getting food, others checking out the merch table, while the rest were just trying to get to their seats on time. 

“Are you nervous?” She asked, her voice bringing him back. 

“Huh? Me? No! Come on,” Eddie tried to laugh it off, but he could see in her eyes that Chrissy was calling his bluff. “This is . . . this is huge, Chris. Like, bigger than anything I’ve ever done before. All these people watching and all the ones at home?” 

“They’re all gonna see how awesome you are,” Chrissy insisted. 

Eddie snorted, breaking her eye contact to look at the crowd once more. “And if we end up sucking and they boo us off the stage?” He asked, lowering his gaze to hers once again. 

Chrissy didn’t look phased, didn’t look put off by his suggestion. Her smile was bright and bubbly, enough to distract Eddie from his momentary bout of stage fright. “Then in that crowd of boo, you’ll still hear at least one voice cheering you on.” 

The brunet let out a whine, using the wall behind him to keep his balance. How the ever-loving fuck did the universe make this happen? How did this beautiful ray of sunshine end up here, at his show, in his arms? It didn’t make sense to Eddie. None of this made sense. 

“You’re amazing, you know that?” He asked softly. 

Chrissy shook her head, leaning in. “No, you are.” 

“No, you,” Eddie answered in a soft, teasing voice. 

“Nope. You.” 

“Yoooooou!” 

“Eddie,” Chrissy said, leaning up on her toes. 

The light flickered off above his head, the pieces fitting together. “Right! Sorry!” He met her halfway, pressing his lips to her for a kiss. Yet another thing he’d have to get used to. 

“Well now. I knew your band could play but I wasn’t expecting groupies this soon,” 

Eddie pulled back, looking over Chrissy’s head to see Wayne was back. He didn’t let her go, however, looping his arm around her middle to pull Chrissy against him. “Hi, uncle Wayne.” He greeted. “Wayne, this is Chrissy.” 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Chrissy spoke, leaning back against Eddie as she waved her hand. 

“And she is….?” Wayne questioned, watching his nephew carefully. 

Eddie didn’t respond. Not right away. Not until he felt Chrissy shifting in his arms, her finger drawing circles along his skin that his brain finally clicked. 

“Girlfriend! She is my girlfriend,” He announced proudly. “This total badass chick right here is my girlfriend and she lets me kiss her whenever I want.” 

“Does she now? Well then, Miss Girlfriend. Why don’t you come to sit with me so the rockstar can get ready with the band?” 

Chrissy squeezed his arm briefly, tilting her head back to kiss his cheek before slipping from his hold. “Break a leg,” she told him, following Wayne off to their seats. 

Eddie watched them go, still stuck in the haze of love he had put himself in. Snapping back to reality, he took off down the hall to find the others. 

🎸

“Your sister will be in the audience with the rest of the rugrats,” Steve told him, having moved from his seat to lean in the corner of the room beside Billy, away from the rest of the band so they could garner a bit of privacy. 

Billy hadn’t bothered telling his dad or Susan about the show. The fucker didn’t need to know why Billy would be driving to Indianapolis. The less Neil knew the better. Wasn’t like he’d show support anyhow. 

Max came through, along with the rest of the gang. Wheeler, Byers, Sinclair, and even Henderson and Hopper’s daughter showed up, all wearing shirts with the band’s name on them. Robin traded the print shop at the mall an entire barrel of ice cream in exchange for the job, writing it off as delivery damage. Steve went along with her story and the owner of Scoops Ahoy let it slide. Why would two of their best employees lie? 

“Thanks for giving her a ride,”

“You’d be surprised how many kids can squeeze into a BMW,” Steve replied, his smile full of pride. “Are you nervous?” 

“Nah,” Billy replied, meaning it with every fiber of his being. 

He wasn’t born to rock and roll nor did he give huge dreams of it the way Eddie did. He was in it for the money, or he was in the beginning. Back when he just wanted his cut of the money to add to his California fund. Back when he needed an excuse to get out of the house when he wasn’t at work or school. 

Now, things have changed. He had friends other than Eddie. Not that Eddie wasn’t his number one, but other people wanted him around now. Robin, Jonathan, and Steve. 

Now there was Steve. 

Steve, who met with him after getting off from work that night and kissed him stupid, until their lungs hurt, and tongue numb, and fingers ached from all the grabbing. Steve, was standing in a room with his ex and the guy she chose over him all because Billy was there. Billy, the guy Steve chose over the popularity contest that Steve had been winning for the past few years. 

It wasn’t perfect and they weren’t stupid, they still had to hide. The basis of their relationship was still complicated and there were things they couldn’t completely share, but neither seemed to care. 

Steve was here, standing in such small proximity because he wanted to be close to Billy. And Billy wanted him to be close too. 

“We still going to Munson’s when this is over?” He asked, his hand resting on Billy’s waist, fingers looping through his belt to tug him in closer. 

The door swung open then, with the devil himself standing in the entrance. “All members of the Dead Lovers Society, please remain where you are. Any nonmembers, please make your way to your seats for the show is about to begin.” 

Nancy and Steve let out a sigh, with the former pressing a soft kiss to Jonathan’s lips. Billy expected to see a flash of jealousy or even despair across Steve’s expression, but he only admired as those brown eyes locked on his own.

Steve kissed Billy there, in front of all those in the room because they had no reason not to be in front of them. No one here would judge, worry, or think they were freaks. Billy sighed into the kiss, his guard finally down. Harrington pulled away to follow Nancy out, closing the door behind him. 

“Alright. By a show of hands, who wants to die and or throw up?” Eddie asked. 

Robin and Jonathan raised their hands high. 

“Good! Keep up that energy people.” 

“God, what I wouldn’t do for a drink right now,” Billy announced, taking Nancy’s place on the couch. 

“Or a smoke,” Jonathan added. “I haven’t been able to do anything since Hopper’s been around. You think a guy like him would be cool with it,” 

“You think a cop would be cool with you smoking weed?” Robin inquired.

Jonathan shrugged, slumping back in his seat. “He’s cool!” He argued. 

Eddie came to stand in the middle of the room, clapping his hands to take their attention. “Friends! We will be going on eighth in the lineup. That’s smack dab in the middle of this thing.” 

“Shouldn’t we be heading out then if it’s about to begin?” Robin asked. 

“Wait, you wanna watch this thing?” Jonathan question. “I thought we’d just sit back here and meditate or something. Pray to the Rock gods or something.” 

“You can do whatever you want so long as your ass is on that stage when they call our name,” Billy said, his cigarette between his teeth.

Robin snagged it from him just as he was about to light it, throwing it across the room. 

“Can we -- focus. Please. Just for one more second.” Eddie requested, waiting for all eyes to be on him. “Thank you. I just want to say, win or lose, we’ve had a good run these past weeks and I’m honored to be in a band with you all.” 

“Awe! Eddie.” Robin placed her hand over her heart, pouting sweetly. She pushed up from the couch, tugging on both Eddie and Billy. “Come on, group hug.” 

“We don't-” 

“Oh yes, we do. Come on, boys. As the leader-”

“-lead singer.” Eddie corrected. 

“I demand we have a good time! Look! We don’t know how this is going to play out. But at the end of the day, I don’t care. We made it this far, right? Think of all the bands that didn’t cut.” 

Jonathan bumped her shoulders, smiling shyly. “She’s got a point. Even just being here is pretty rad,”

“So let's just have fun, alright? Let's take that stage and make it our own for one final show.” 

“This is getting a little too touchy-feely for me,” Billy mentioned, though the smile on his lips was genuine. 

“Come on. Band hug,” Robin decided, pulling the three others into the circle. The hug lasted for about ten seconds, breaking away as a knock on the door came. Hopper stuck his head in, with Joyce just behind. 

“This thing is about to start. We’ll see you out there!”

“We love you, kids, break a leg!” Joyce called out.

“Awe. Johnny’s mommy loves us,” Eddie teased, yelping as Billy shoved him forward. 

“Let’s go. I have a date to get to,” 

While the others went to find their respected guests, Eddie stayed behind, lingering in the waiting area as the show began. They had a whole intro, with the bigwigs who ran the thing giving speeches and whatnot before finally letting the bands begin. 

And these bands . . . they were good. Damn near professional. Their sound was great and their outfits were on point. Now to say the attire the band chose to wear wasn’t good. For the first time since they started this, they looked like they were all performing at the same place. 

One by one they went, getting down to the wire of it. Playing in the middle didn’t suddenly feel like such a blessing and by the time the seventh band went on, Eddie was puking in the trash behind the stage. 

“Don’t worry kid, you’ll be fine.” Someone said, patting Eddie’s back as he walked by. 

“Gee thanks,” Eddie replied, keeping his head down. 

“Hey! You alright?” Billy asked, coming to Eddie’s assistance. 

“Um guys,” Robin muttered, tugging on Billy’s sleeve.

Eddie leaned up, sitting into the trash can to get the taste out of his mouth. “I’m fine. Rock and roll Ritual. Every great has hurled in the bin at least once,”

“Guy, seriously.” 

“You’re not gonna do that on stage are you?” Jonathan asked cautiously. 

Billy handed Eddie a water bottle which he used to swish around his mouth, sipping once again in the bin. 

“If I did it would certainly be a show to remember.” 

“Guys!”

“We know, Robin! We’re up next!” Billy snapped. 

“No asshole! I think that was the singer from Van Halen!” 

Eddie nearly tripped over the trash can to chase after the mystery man, finding him just as he was going on stage. They were at the halfway point and another speech was to be had by none other than an Indiana-born rocker. 

“Holy shit. HOLY SHIT !” 

“Guys we need to get to our places,” Jonathan urged.

“He touched me! I’ve never been touched by someone like that!” 

“I’m sure Chrissy will be very understanding,” Billy said, pulling Eddie along. 

The speech was about three minutes long with the former Van Halen frontman going into detail about being a simple kid from Indiana with big dreams and massive talent. 

“You think he’ll be offended if we don't perform a Van Halen song?” Robin asked as they stood in the dark behind the curtain. 

“Doesn’t matter,” Eddie said, eyes forward, wide as ever. “None of this matters man.” He turned around, facing the others. “We’re on the same stage as a rock God. Win or lose, no one can take that from us.” 

“Glad you’re seeing the light, asshole. Now get to your place.” Billy said, shifting comfortably behind the drum set. 

“Clap your hands and stomp like hell for our next performers: The Dead Lovers Society!” 

The lights didn’t turn on as the curtain went up, but that was fine by them. The sound guys, who were in charge of the backtrack for the piano, kicked into motion and suddenly, they were on, falling in sync with one another just as they had practiced. 

Robin, pulling the mic off the stand, moved fluidly on stage, like she owned the place. Gone were any fears of falling or slipping to her doom. She was in complete control. 

And the crowd went wild. A crowd of hundreds, thousands even, counting those watching from home. All the people who treated them differently, who thought they were freaks, now had front-row seats to the biggest moment of their lives. 

Anything could’ve happened in those few short minutes but as Eddie said, it didn’t matter. They had been doing this for so long, working up to this very moment but the only thing that mattered to them was jamming out together. If this was their very last performance then do it be. 

They’d go out like rock stars. 

And as the song came to a close and Robin held onto that final note they were met with roaring applause, the cheers surely being a sound to echo in their ears for weeks to come, maybe even longer. 

They were ushered backstage, through the hall to where their dressing room was. Once inside they did everything they could to keep from flipping the couch and table with their excitement.

First Hopper and Joyce knocked on the door, followed by Chrissy and Vickey. Soon enough Nancy was there, with an excuse from Steve who was left babysitting the kids in the stands. Billy excused himself to find him, letting the shorter male pull him in for a tight hug as he greeted him. 

“Christ Hargrove, I know those lights are hot up there but you’re dripping here buddy,” Steve claimed, brushing Billy’s hair from his face. 

“How’d we do?”

“You rocked man. You know that as well as I do.” 

“Billy dude, you’re kick ass!” Dustin insisted from beside Steve.

Suddenly he was swarmed, each eagerly feeding him with compliments, save for Max who wasn’t going to let her guard down around him just yet. They hadn’t had much of a deep conversation since she ran off a while back. Billy knew they’d be due for one soon enough.

“How do you feel?” Steve asked, his fingertips brushing against the skin exposed at the bottom of his shirt. 

It was a small gesture, one they could get away with in a crowd this large, this busy. Billy leaned into the touch. 

“Tired,” Billy admitted, laughing it off. 

As the next band came to the stage, Billy stole the seat he guessed belonged to Nancy, settling beside Steve though now and then his eyes would drift to Max. She was seated between Lucas and Jane. In the corner of his eye, he could see her pale fingers intertwined with the basketball players. An innocent gesture that he couldn’t even do with his boyfriend. 

He chose not to say a word, letting his eyes shoot forward so his focus could be on the performance once again. 

The show carried on without a hitch, with the rest of the bands going on one after the other. Each brought their style to show off, but Billy was feeling confident. They did well, far better than half the other guys, even with a cover song. 

When it was over, all the bands were called backstage as the committee took their time to vote. It felt like a lifetime of waiting, until finally the guy running the damn thing took the stage, took the mic, and began his speech. 

Out of fifteen bands, there is only one winner. Technically three, if you count second and third, but who did, you know? 

“Hey. Only lovers left alive, right?” Billy asked, bumping his shoulder against Eddie’s. 

“Sick tagline,” Eddie replied, earning a smile from his blond counterpart. 

“Could use work,” Billy added, laughing through his grunt as Eddie elbowed him. 

In the end, they got what they wanted. A trophy to show off, handed off by none other than David Lee Roth. It was an experience of a lifetime, even if the trophy was for third place. 

“You think if we throw it into the fire we could roast marshmallows?” Jonathan after they looked over their glorious achievement. 

Robin was pouting the whole ride home, chatting the band's ear off. Eddie didn’t say a word, keeping his eyes on the road. Jonathan replied now and then to Billy.

Well, he was fine with it. 

Third place paid one hundred and fifty -- less than forty bucks a person. It would pay for gas in the Camaro if he was lucky, but he wasn’t banking on it. 

“Hey! Out of the fifteen bands, only three got trophies,” Billy fired back. “That’s damn impressive if you ask me.”

“Billy’s right. We made it as far as we could and still came out as winners.” Eddie said, speaking more than three words for the first time since they left the showcase.

“You should keep it,” Robin said, pushing the trophy closer to Eddie. “It's your band after all.” 

“Our band.” He corrected. “It was nice while it lasted.” 

“Don’t look so glum, kids. You know the HPD will be more than happy to throw you some gigs,” Hopper said as he walked past. 

“Okay, who keeps inviting him?” Eddie whispered. “Like he’s cool, but I can’t keep shoving my stash under my floorboards.” 

“I heard that, Munson!” 

“No you didn’t, sir!” 

“If we're done with our little cry fest, I’m gonna go snag something to eat. I’m starving,” Billy said, breaking away from the group. 

They were back in Forest Hills, back around Edde’s trailer. It was a cross between a bonafide celebration and a sad pity party, depending on who you asked. Wayne set up a fire pit for the night and Hopper brought burgers and hot dogs to grill. It was well into the night, but nobody cared. Wayne had the string lights up and the kids were making s’mores. 

Billy made his way to Steve, who was sitting with Vickey. Nancy and Chrissy were chatting over by the fire until their boys came to snag their attention away. 

“Hey,” Chrissy breathed, moving down the bench to be closer to Eddie. “Feeling any better?” 

Eddie had accepted the hug when the show was over, letting the blonde show him praise even if he wasn’t feeling exactly like a winner. He knew it was dumb to be sad about not getting first place, but he also knew if anyone would understand it was her. 

“Me? Oh, I’ll be fine. I get to keep the trophy, so that’ll be a nice reminder,” He said, lacing his fingers with hers. “Thanks again for showing up.” 

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Chrissy answered, her second hand touching gently at her chest; briefly forgetting her ‘86 necklace was no longer there. 

“I have something for you,” He mentioned quietly. He pulled his hand from her own, his fingers working on the clasp of his necklace. “This was the first pick I ever learned to play guitar with. Wayne -- my uncle -- turned it into a necklace after I upgraded. It’s sort of been my good luck charm over the years.” 

In reality, it was nothing special. A worn-out black guitar pick hanging on a chain. And yet it hadn’t left Eddie’s person since he got to high school. Outside of his guitar and other materialistic things, Eddie didn’t have much he truly cared for. The necklace was it. 

“And you’re giving it to me?” 

“It’s not as fancy as the one Carver gave you, but. It means a lot to me. And so do you.” 

Chrissy twisted on the bench, turning away from Eddie. As she lifted her hair, Eddie got the message and went to put the chain around her. The black pick sat comfortably at the hollow point of her neck; a perfect construct against her pale skin. 

Chrissy’s fingertips touched it gently, her smile as radiant as ever as she turned back to face him. “Thank you.” She breathed, leaning up to kiss him. 

And Eddie, well he wasn’t sure if he’d ever get used to that, but he’d sure enjoy it for as long as he could. 

“Eddie Munson and Chrissy Cunningham. Who would have thought?” Steve mentioned from across the lawn. 

They were standing over him and Billy, overseeing the whole get-together. Billy watched as his best friend kissed the girl of his dreams, not giving a damn who was watching. And while this was a safe space for them, he still wasn’t bold enough to do the same. 

“Next thing you know, she’ll be dragging him to college with her,” Steve noted with a chuckle. “Now that’ll be something.” 

“Hey, Steve?” Billy mentioned. 

Harrington turned his way, those brown eyes warm and welcoming as he waited for Billy to continue. 

All thoughts of his acceptance letter came and went and as Billy turned away from the others to look at Steve, he figured he could wait a little while longer before telling Steve his decision.

“Nevermind.” 

And while Billy might not have been bold enough to make a move, Steve on the other hand didn’t give a damn. Grabbing Billy’s chin, he turned the blond away from the rest, until he was only seeing Steve. It didn’t take much more for him to close the gap and kiss him. 

“Hey! Get a room!” Eddie shouted from across the lawn. 

And with his back to the crowd, Billy flipped him off, kissing Steve through his laughter.