Chapter Text
Eddie found himself running a lot recently. Found himself more cowardly than he remembered. He supposed he’d played dnd in Highschool for two extra years just to distract himself, to kid himself that he was a hero, a god in his own narrative. When really he’d run all his life. From Hawkins lab, from the memories that let him, from bullies and Chrissy and goddamn portals opening up every where he’d been that past week.
The simple fact of it was that Eddie wasn’t like Steve, with his insane barbaric bravery, or Nancy, with her unanticipated sniper aim. Even from what little he remembered of the the rainbow room, Eddie felt he was more useful for his finding skills than his Jedi teleke-what’s it crap.
The day he escaped something had happened, had shifted, and Eddie felt within the marrow of his bones an urgency to flee. A voice carved inside his nature telling him to RUN. He’d found his uncle’s trailer on nothing more than a fragment of a memory of his birth father, and made enough noise to make everyone believe he’d always been at school. Accumulating tattoos and growing out his hair had managed to trick even him out of his memories of his childhood, and with dnd as a back door from reality Eddie learned the meaning of ‘ignorance is bliss’.
Cut to a shit show and a half later:
“Munson? Hey, man you with us?”
Steve the-hair Harrington was beside him, dishevelled and bleeding, and filling out Eddie’s jacket quite nicely. Eddie's feet hurt.
“Yeah, man. Just.” Eddie sighed, “What a day.”
Steve huffed, “You’re telling me.”
“I just can’t deal with it, how are you so okay with all this hellscape shit.” Eddie gestured around them, at the blue, viney bizarro version of their hometown.
“Well, I’ve been dealing with things to do with this place for, what, three-four years now. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t get used to it. Just, I guess, better at knowing what’s important and how to protect it.”
Eddie nodded, his heart still jumpy at the suddenness of it all.
Steve piped up, “You’ve handled it incredibly though.”
Eddie snorted, “what, by running at every given opportunity, even though if I were in jail my name might be cleared by now.”
“It’s not that simple and you know it.” Steve looked him in the face with certainty. “I pretty much shat myself the first time I saw a demagorgon, and that was back in Hawkins. Believe it or not this is actually my first time in the upside down.”
“No way.” Eddie looked up to see if Steve was lying. His eyes held the same sincerity as ever.
“Yeah.” He confirmed, “Granted I’ve heard about it a lot. But you were pretty badass with those bat things - thanks by the way.”
Eddie shrugged, not feeling the least bit brave about it.
“I just did what everyone else was doing.”
Steve bumped his shoulder to Eddie’s. His chest gave a jolt.
“Nope. Not fair, you saved my life.”
Eddie’s mouth twitched into a smile.
Steve rolled his shoulders, “what if, when this is over. We all get a beer, something familiar we wouldn’t have done before.”
Eddie blinked. “Beer? Nah, I’m a spirits man, no weak vanilla drinks for me.”
Steve barked a laugh. “Fine.”
“You’re on, Harrington.”
Steve held out his palm and Eddie hesitated before taking it to shake. Steve’s hand was soft, unmatched to Eddie’s callouses from band, and he very much wanted to hold it.
Steve dropped from him and pointed, “speaking of familiarity.”
Eddie followed his gaze to a fragmented mock-up of his trailer - his home of 4 years, give or take. It looked to him like someone had copied the concept of his house from a grainy memory, and built it in the dark. Stepping inside, everything was recognisable, yet off, shifted just out of place. There were no photos of him and none of his possessions; it was as it stood the day he’d shown up in his scuffed up hospital gown, a lanky, tired, traumatised teenager.
The group centred in the room, where a wet gap bled from the ceiling - exactly where Chrissy... Eddie shivered.
Steve looked around, checking for any traps, “Dude, where's your stuff?”
“Oh,” Eddie shifted feet. “I guess the day that that Will kid disappeared was the same day I transferred here. My uncle took me in.”
“Huh. I thought you’d always been at Hawkins.” Steve clicked his tongue.
“My showmanship and beauty hypnotises the masses, your welcome.” Eddie bowed.
“Guys!” Nancy hushed them. Above them all something was twitching inside the fissure. From the other side something was prodding, almost pregnantly at the membrane across his ceiling. They readied themselves for some other inexplicable horror. Eddie could feel his heart in his fingertips and a broiling clenching in his stomach. He gulped.
The membrane snapped and Eddie flinched. And when he opened his eyes, that goofy, toothy, huggable child’s grin was laughing up at him. Through Eddie’s ceiling was his floor, where several children stood giggling through the mouth of a scientific impossibility. Eddie almost passed out from the emotional whiplash.
Using some forbidden physics the group managed to construct a bridge through the divide, across the dimensions… using Eddie’s sheets and worse for wear mattress. Which he really couldn’t give a shit about them seeing right now.
Robin and Nancy passed through no problem, landing back home. Eddie was just a little excited to see Steve’s ass climbing that rope, and held a hand out to steady him.
Steve froze, gesturing the same.
“You first, Munson.” Steve blanked.
Eddie swiped his hand. “No need, Prince Charming.”
Steve stared back at him. “Aren’t you going to climb?”
“You first.”
Steve backed away, “nope.”
“You’re injured, you think I’m going to leave you here - what if you fall or need a hand?”
“I’ll be quite fine without your assistance.”
Eddie crossed his arms, “Don’t be an ass.”
“Don’t be a- “Guys!”
The entire group yelled in unison. Steve and Eddie looked up.
“Can we quit the dick-measuring contest and just get out of the literal hell-dimension?” Dustin raised his eyebrows. “Steve first, I’m calling it.”
Steve grumbled to himself but started to climb. Making his way through the portal, his hair losing somehow even more gravity over the barrier. He fell with a grunt, agitating his wounds.
Eddie tutted and began to ascend. Regretting his incredibly nerdy lifestyle, Eddie heaved himself through the gate, and let go.
Falling… and falling and falling not from the recognisable ceiling of his trailer but into an abyss. Screaming, and reaching instinctively, Eddie sought a way back. He was so close, so fucking close to leaving everything evil behind. He didn’t see a floor but felt the sickening crack as his head ricocheted off the darkness, ringing.