Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1

It was the first day of senior year at her new school, and Jo was scared. But fear was an old nemesis, so that was nothing new.

She knew Hawkins High would be smaller than the place she'd been going to in New York, but that somehow made it… not better? Smaller community, which meant everybody knew each other. Would that make it harder to find new friends? Probably. She might as well have had a neon sign flashing over her head that read: outsider. It wasn't that she wore anything flashy or did her hair or makeup in some crazy way or had a personality as big as the planet; she kept to herself mostly, with her nose in her favorite book or her sketchpad, usually listening to whatever of her mixtapes she'd smuggled into her Walkman that morning. But though she'd try to blend into the walls, the others would smell new blood. Jo wasn't ready to run from the monsters here yet, when she was already so exhausted from dodging the one at home.

The buses hadn't arrived yet; the only cars in the lot had to belong to the teachers at this hour. And the only students that would be there would be the basketball team, which her father was already running through preseason drills. As she sat on the bleachers watching them sprint between the green and orange lines on the floor, shoes squeaking in protest with the sudden changes in direction, Jo marveled at how none of the boys seemed particularly bothered by him. They probably didn't know what the redness in his face or the vein spidering out on his forehead meant yet. Or maybe that was reserved just for her. Either way, her heart crawled into her mouth the louder he yelled. A least none of them were stupid enough to challenge him, even if the looks on their reddened faces said they grew less fond of him the longer they ran.

Jo tried to return her focus to the sketch she was working on. It was nothing special, something she'd slapped out last night before she went to bed, but shading the light into her dog's eyes made him seem closer. They'd left Charlie in New York with her mom when the divorce happened. Someone had been out walking their own Golden the night before as the sun was going down, and through tears she'd started to draw. It was small and stupid to cry over, so her father had said. He was probably right. But as she smoothed out Charlie's fur on the page, she could just about feel it under her hand. If only she could hop on a plane back to Manhattan….

Her dad's whistle brought her back to reality with a jolt. The lead in her pencil snapped, sending a dark line across Charlie's face. With a huff, she slammed the sketchbook shut and shoved it back into her backpack. The team, bent over trying to catch their breaths, stumbled past her.

"God, if that maniac made us run seven more feet," one of them growled, "I'd've shoved my shoe so far up his ass it'd've shot out his mouth."

"He's getting us ready, dipshit." He gasped for air as he brushed his soaked blond hair off his forehead. "We won't win a championship if we're getting outrun."

"Yeah, say that again in fifteen minutes, Carver, when I don't want to punch you both in the face."

"Or maybe Coach Walker was right. Maybe you really aren't cut out for this…."

Their voices faded as they trooped into the locker room. Jo slung her backpack over her shoulder and shakily made her way down the bleachers. Engines roared and hydraulics hissed outside. Chatter floated in through the open gym doors, as well as the sound of hundreds of shoes grinding asphalt. Her stomach flipped. The soles of her Converse finally found the gym floor, and she stood staring at the open door, watching the other kids stream past and into the main school building.

Jo pulled her schedule out of her jeans pocket, smoothed it out with now shaking hands, tried to take a deep breath, and headed towards the door.

Crushing pressure encased the top of her left arm. She was jerked from her course so hard she nearly hit the hardwood floor. Her father towered over her, locking her arm in a deathgrip. Even though it hurt, Jo knew better than to squirm. She didn't know what she'd done to piss him off, but she never did.

"Those clowns might be an embarrassment," he said into her ear, waving back towards the court, "but you sure as hell won't be, Josephine Paige. Straight As. College acceptances. And to none of the shitty places around here. You better get into somewhere good. Anybody you meet, you tell me about them. I decide if you keep them around. Get in there, and get it done. Do not make me look bad, got it?"

Staring blankly into the floor, Jo nodded. "Yes, sir."

He let her go with what no one passing by would have known was a shove, but what Jo's stumbling feet certainly recognized as one. Her father caught sight of something behind her, and his face changed completely. A bright smile replaced the scowl he'd had seconds before. Someone must have been in the doorway.

"Bye, sweetheart!" Cheerfulness fit him about as well as a smile on a snake. "Good luck!"

Sure enough, a teacher was standing in the doorway. Jo breezed past her, fighting to keep her face neutral as she stepped out into the now crowded hallways for the first time. She felt like every eye in the building was on her. By the time she finally found her locker fifteen minutes later, she was starting to recognize the who's the new kid whispers. The darting eyes and half-covered smirks said it all.

She forced song lyrics into her brain to try to calm herself down. Phantom drum beats pounded in her ears, guitars chugged and growled, and she felt a little of the knot in her shoulder loosen.

A sinner once, a sinner twice,

No need for confessions now,

'Cause now you've got the fight of your life….

At least Metallica got it. Sort of.

Jo tried her locker combination and opened the door, though she had nothing to put in it. She'd decided she'd tape her schedule inside the door once she didn't feel glued to it anymore, but compared to the other kids' pictures and decorations, it was nothing. She'd asked to put a few pictures inside the door, but her father had shot them all down.

Of course he had. Her mom was in all of them.

She shut her locker door, schedule still in hand, and started looking for her homeroom. Friends were finding each other at every turn after a summer apart; clusters of students stood in circles talking and laughing. Try as she might, Jo couldn't stop the loneliness welling up in her. She'd have her own group soon. Maybe. If someone actually liked her, and if that someone was… approved.

"God, where'd you get that outfit?" a girl with short reddish-brown hair sneered at her. She smacked away on a piece of gum. "You only shop at a thrift store?"

The boy next to her guffawed. "A dumpster's more like it!"

Jo put her head down and focused on getting away. Someone pushed past her as she kept walking. Before she rounded the corner, she saw him march up to the pair of them. He ran a hand through his thick dark hair, scowling at them, and put his hands on his hips.

"You guys are assholes," she heard him snap, "you know that, right…?"

Wait–what room was she looking for again? Jo pulled out her schedule and unfolded it. 211B.

211B. She had 207. And next to it was 208. She started down the hallway, chanting the number to herself like a mantra. 211B. 211B. 211B–

Voices rose up over the crowded hallways. Barking laughter, too, and not the pleasant kind. Jo poked her head around the corner and held her breath. The basketball team had gathered in the hallway, preening in their green and white letter jackets. It almost looked like they had cornered someone against the lockers–or they wanted to, but none of them were going to get close enough to whoever it was to actually do it.

"Oh," one of them barked, "you're about to wish you'd've gotten out of here last year, you piece of shit!"

It was the blond boy from earlier. Something, or maybe the someone, had set him off. Or maybe he'd picked on the wrong person and was about to catch it in the teeth. The others around him all started shouting at once. Jo was waiting for a fist to fly, when someone shoved past her. Her stomach lurched. It was her father.

He stormed over to them. "Somebody better start talking!"

The boys in the letter jackets jumped back and out of the way like they'd been pulled by invisible ropes, trying for innocent expressions but just looking surprised. The first thing Jo noticed about the person they'd singled out was his hair–it fell in dark ringlets to just past his shoulders–and then the wallet chain hanging from his black jeans. Then he turned around.

"Coach Walker!" Spite dripped from his smirk. "Least you must be, considering how these dudes–" he waved to the players flanking him "-just snapped to. Listen, I hate to burst your bubble on your first day–" he sauntered forward "-but God, you've gotten desperate if you're trying to recruit me. See, I have terrible hand-eye coordination, like I'd be catching that damn thing with my teeth–"

"What in hell–"

" I can hear it now: He shoots! He misses! No one's shocked!" He shook his head and chuckled. "Like, it'd be baaaaaad. So if you don't mind, I'm just gonna grab my stuff–"

"I think I know who I'm dealing with here." Her father stepped forward, towering over the boy, who didn't flinch. "My guys have told me all about you, Munson–"

The boy turned towards the nearest of the basketball players. Mischief lit his entire face. "D'awwwwww. You guys told him about me? Shit, I'm almost flattered. Almost."

"Would you shut up?!"

He fell silent, but the smirk hadn't left his dark eyes, and his lips still curled. He was playing with fire, and he wasn't in the least bit afraid of it as it danced across his ringed fingers. Jo held her breath.

"Listen, you quit messing with my guys, okay? And if I catch you–"

"Yeah, here's the thing, coach." He stepped up again, almost uncomfortably close. Jo started to ask herself if he was crazy, but that was readily obvious. Her father's face was reddening, his eyes starting to burn, which made the boy's smirk widen as he paced around him. "Unless you count a dude who's half-awake and dead inside 'cause his sad ass is still stuck in this shithole when he'd rather be anywhere else in world, unless you count that guy dragging himself to his locker to grab his shit so he can get on with his life, unless you call that messing with your guys, you might wanna have a chat with them, 'cause you'd've thought I robbed a damn bank the way they came flying at me–"

"Doubt that."

"Sucks for you, dude. Still true."

Jo didn't have to see her father's entire face to know he'd rolled his eyes. "That what happened, guys?"

"Hell no," the blond said. "Wasn't us who started it. This freak's always making trouble–"

The boy smirked. "Don't make me blush, Carver." He turned back to Jo's father. "But really. Wasn't me this time. I swear."

Jo's father raised his eyebrows, looking the boy over like an annoyed cop. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. 'Cause, c'mon, if it'd've been me, coach, you'd've known. You'd've known."

They all fell silent, staring at each other. The boy bent and picked up his backpack. It was then Jo noticed his Metallica shirt and the guitar pick hanging around his neck.

"Good talk." He started to push past them and escape down the hallway. He threw a sarcastic wave over his shoulder. "Have a good day, gentlemen."

"God, Carver," Jo's father scoffed. "You weren't kidding when you said he was a freak–"

The boy spun on his heel so fast a few girls passing next to him screamed. He raised his index fingers to his forehead, stuck his tongue out as far as it would go, and growled, a roguish light sparking in his eyes. The message was clear: I know what you think of me, and I don't care.

He caught sight of Jo, who's mouth had fallen open, and winked at her before turning around. Jo threw herself behind the wall she'd been peeking out from, a hand clapped over her mouth and her eyes squeezing shut as she fought to hold back laughter.

Had she really just seen that?

By the time Jo's father was storming past her, the nerve on his forehead was popping out. The rest of the team and the onlookers dispersed to their homerooms, grumbling. Jo resumed the search for her own, trying to beat back the smile that was cutting across her face and failing miserably.

211B.

She found her seat, sat down, and burst into another fit of astonished giggles.

Who was he?

Steadily throughout the day, Jo's backpack bloated with her books as she gathered them. Class wouldn't start to get interesting until some point next week, if it decided to at all. English might not be that bad; she wasn't a writer, but she didn't mind it. History would put her to sleep. Trigonometry was going to kill her. But her last two periods of the day were art and music, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to them. All she had to do to get to them was survive lunch, chemistry, and a free period, which she'd been ordered to spend in the library. It promised to be a boring hour, considering she didn't have any real school work to complete yet.

She trudged to her locker and dropped off her stuff she wouldn't need: everything except her favorite copy of her favorite book. She didn't have anyone to talk to, so spending lunch with her mind half in another world didn't sound too bad at all. Holding the old book close, she silently wound her way to the cafeteria, made it through the lunch line, and found an empty table to sit at. She kept an eye out for the boy from earlier, but didn't hold her breath. What would she even say to him, if she did try to introduce herself? It'd probably be a disaster. But it hardly mattered anyway. She didn't see him.

The others all talked and laughed; some looked towards her curiously as she took a seat and propped the book open. The crinkle of the pages, the scent of aged paper and binding, it offered a little bit of comfort as she took a bite of her lunch and started to read:

The sun was already westering as they rode from Edoras, and a light of it was in their eyes, turning all the rolling fields of Rohan to a golden haze….

She imagined the wind on her face as the Golden Hall disappeared behind her, the beat of horses' hooves, the clank of armor and steel and the creak of leather as the Riders started their journey to Helm's Deep. She'd read it a thousand times, but it never got old. As always happened, any semblance of reality and time melted away as she lost herself in the pages. It was, at least, a piece of home. A piece of her mom her father couldn't take away from her. Her note was still inside the front cover. Jo flipped to read it:

Happy birthday, JoJo! This was mine for a long time; I know it will have a good home with you. We'll talk about it after you finish–or before, if you get excited! Happy reading!

I love you!

Mom

Heat rose behind her eyes, but she battled it back while taking a sip of water. She could hear her voice as she read just as readily as she would have had her mom been in the room. She wondered if she'd grown her black hair out like she'd told Jo she would, or if she'd taken her maiden name back yet. A lot of Jo hoped she would, and a lot of her was guilty for hoping. With a sigh, she turned back to her book–

–only to have it ripped out of her hands.

Shit.

"Awww, poor thing, she's reading 'cause she's lonely." It was the redheaded girl from earlier, still smacking away on that piece of gum. "What are we reading, hmm?"

Jo couldn't look at her. "Please give that back."

The girl snapped the book shut and squinted at the cover. She burst out laughing. "Oh God."

"What?" Jo hadn't noticed the boy who'd plopped on the other side of her, the same one who had mocked her in the hallway earlier. "Carol, let me see!"

He yanked the book out of the girl's hands, took one look at it and guffawed. "Lord of the Rings? Really? God, that's stupid. Nerd. Hey." He stood up on the lunch table bench, holding the book in the air. "Hey! Guys! New girl's a giant nerd! It's… uh…" He stepped back down. "What's your name again?"

Jo just shook her head and tried to stop her hands from shaking.

The girl chortled. "Can't talk either, I guess." She batted her hand across the loose bun at the back of Jo's neck. "God, your mom ever buy you a hair brush? Or, like, some conditioner? It's looking pretty sad." She started pawing through Jo's hair. "Geez, that's pathetic."

"Get off me."

"Oh my God!" the boy said. "She can speak!"

"Barely," the girl sneered. "What was that, sweetie? I couldn't hear you."

Riiiiiiiing!

"Oop." The girl pressed her lips together and gave Jo's hair one last bat. "Saved by the bell."

Jo couldn't move, try as she might. She still couldn't look at either of them, not even to try to search for her precious copy of–

"Oh shit, almost forgot!" The boy produced Jo's book in his hands as he stood. "Gotta give this back. Thanks for letting me borrow it." He dropped it in the middle of her plate, sending food flying across the table, onto Jo's shirt, in her face even.
"Oh-ho! Butterfingers!" He knocked down her cup of water. It sloshed in her lap and soaked the cover of the book. "Sorry!"

He and the girl burst out laughing as Jo scrambled to lift the book out of the puddle of water before it was completely ruined. It was dripping when she picked it up.

"God, what a loser!" she heard the girl shout as they disappeared into the hallway.

The heat returned to the backs of her eyes as she shot out of the cafeteria, forgetting the mess the two had made behind her. She got to her locker, snatched up her backpack, and stormed down the hallway, tears almost blinding her.

Screw chemistry. She had to get out of this place.

The nearest door to the outside world spat her out by the football field. No one was out here, but people could still look out and see her. Not good enough. She wanted to disappear. She made a beeline for the woods behind the field, found a small trail, and hurried along it. It eventually led to a little clearing with a single picnic table sitting in the middle of it. She threw her bag down and sank to the ground with her back to a tree. And she finally let herself cry.

You're so damn sensitive, Josephine. It wasn't that bad. You've just gotta learn to toughen up.

That was the last voice she wanted to hear right now, but in moments like these, her father's was always the one coursing through her head. She picked her copy of Lord of the Rings, trying to inspect the damage through her tears. It wasn't as bad as she initially thought, but she definitely couldn't cram it in her backpack without ruining it completely. It wasn't dripping anymore, but her mom's note had smeared some and the pages were mostly wet through. The sight of the ink on her fingers broke her even more.

Why couldn't these people just leave her alone–

"Hey."

Jo jumped out of her skin. She hadn't heard anyone coming. The speaker chuckled nervously.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to sneak up on you. Just…"

Jo wiped the tears from her eyes and realized she was looking at the boy from that morning, the one who had faced down her father. He held his hands up, an apologetic smile on his face.

"Are you okay?"

Jo shook her head. "God, no."

"Figured." He sat down next to her. "I heard Perkins and Hagan laughing, and then you came flying past. They're assholes. Sorry they singled you out. It's… not fun."

Jo shook her head, a few tears falling down her cheeks. "Understatement of the century." She stared at the wet book in her hands. He followed her gaze.

"Shit. They do that?"

Jo only sighed.

"God, I hate them. Hang on." He jumped to his feet. "Can I see it? I think I can save it."

Jo wasn't sure if she trusted him just yet, but she found herself handing the book over to him nonetheless. Holding it carefully, he scanned the branches above them for a second and grinned.

"Yup. I'm gonna save the Shire. Hold on."

Jo's brow wrinkled. "You know Tolkien?"

"Hell yeah. I've read mine to death. Been my favorite for a long time." He stood on his tiptoes, the tip of his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated, and reached for the lowest, thinnest branch he could find that would support some extra weight. Gingerly he slid the book onto it. Slowly, he let the branch go, careful not to let it snap. The book rose with it. "The wind should dry it out. Give it a few hours. Might be a little wrinkly, but still in one piece. Definitely still readable. Oh, uh… I'm Eddie, by the way. Probably should've led with that."

For the first time that day, Jo found herself smiling. "Jo."

He flopped down next to her and held out his hand. Jo's smile grew to a little laugh as she took it and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Jo. You're new, right? Where'd you come from?"

"New York."

"Like upstate? Or…"

"The city. On the outskirts."

"Really?!"

Jo chuckled. "Mmmhm."

"Shit! That's, like, the top of the bucket list for me. You ever been to the Garden?"

"A few times. My mom worked there for like a year. Sold concessions. But she got us nosebleeds to a few of the smaller shows. Nobody I knew, but it was still really cool. I'd love to see somebody big one day. And not in the stands, either. Down in the pit."

Eddie grinned. "Me too."

"I uh… I like your shirt."

Eddie's brown eyes popped. "You know Metallica?"

Jo laughed and nodded.

"It's just… please don't take this the wrong way." He surveyed her fraying flannel shirt and clean, worn blue jeans. "You don't look like you would."

Jo shrugged. "I grew up hearing Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Zeppelin, Ozzy, Iron Maiden. You know, the good stuff."

Eddie grinned. "The good stuff."

"Yeah. My mom's got good taste."

"Your mom?!"

Jo laughed. "Yep, my mama. She's…" Jo tipped her head back against the tree she sat in front of and sighed, trying to keep the water rising in her eyes dammed back. "She's…amazing. We found Metallica together in our favorite record store back home one day. Smuggled a Kill 'Em All tape home in her purse and blasted it in our shit apartment when my dad was at work." She laughed, though her lips trembled. "Our neighbors wanted to kill us." She hated how her voice had just cracked.

"Did she not… did she not come with you?"

Jo shook her head. "Divorce."

"God. I'm sorry."

Jo stared at her feet, everything in her squirming, scrambling for a response, or a quick change in subject. She'd heard versions of those same words a thousand times over the past year or so. It took her a moment, and looking up to see the warmth and concern in Eddie's eyes, to realize he'd meant them. He'd actually meant them.

"...Thanks."

It was pathetic, but it was the only response she could think of. She watched the wind pick up a pile of leaves and send them into the air. The pages of Lord of the Rings rustled overhead. A few were beginning to dry.

"What did…" Eddie started. "What did she think of Ride the Lightning? Your mom?"

The tension began to melt from her shoulders, and Jo smiled. "She loved it. Said it's a masterpiece."

"She got a favorite track?"

"She couldn't pick."

"Perfectly acceptable answer," Eddie said. "What about you?"

"Oh, I…" Jo felt herself shrinking inside again. "I haven't heard it yet."

Eddie drew in a dramatic gasp. "No!"

A nervous laugh bubbled up out of Jo. "Didn't have time to go get a copy, or the money, with the move and all. I asked my dad if I could go get it, but… he, uh, he said no."

Eddie's brow furrowed. Slowly a smile lit his face, the same determination returning to his eyes that he'd had when searching for a tree branch earlier. He yanked his worn black backpack into his lap, shoved his arm in, and fished around for a second without looking. Jo heard cassette cases clicking together. He pulled one out, looked at it, grunted, and shoved it back in.

"You've got a Walkman, right?"

Jo nodded.

"'Kay." He pulled out another case just to frown at it and shove it back then. "Never thought I'd do that to Ozzy, but here we are."

Jo laughed. It was getting easier to laugh.

"Hold on…" He dug for a few more seconds, yanked up one more tape, and grinned victoriously. "Gotcha."

To Jo's astonishment, he held it out to her.

"Oh… I, uh… you don't have to–"

"You're living an existence without Creeping Death, Jo. Yes I do."

Her heart thumped hard in her chest as she reached out and took the tape. Jo stared at the cover art, traced the bolts of blue lightning cutting across it, ran a thumb across Metallica's logo.

"What's the catch?" she asked.

"None," Eddie said. "Just gotta tell me what you think once you've heard it a few times. Besides." A gentle smile eased across his face as he bumped his shoulder into hers. "Give you and your mom something to talk about."

"Really?"

"Really."

Jo didn't know what to say, or what to make of any of this. She hardly knew what to do with herself. She half-expected to wake up in the middle of whatever class she was missing.

"You good?"

She shuffled through the tangle of feelings inside. She missed her mom–she always missed her mom–and the sting of what happened at lunch still ache. But something else had flooded in to soothe her frazzled nerves, even if she expected it to vanish like steam over a pot at any second:

Hope.

Maybe… maybe she wasn't going to be alone through this.

Her hand tightened on the tape in her hand. She looked up at Eddie and smiled.

"Yeah." It was foreign to actually mean it for once. "I think so."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Good." He drummed on the bag in his lap. "Good, good, good."

Jo slid the tape into the front pocket of her backpack and zipped it shut.

"Thanks, Eddie."

"Don't mention it," he said. "Now if you tell me you play D and D, I'm gonna be spooked."

Jo laughed. "Never gotten to, unfortunately." She hugged her knees to her chest and looked at him. "But I'd love to learn sometime. Really love to. It sounds like fun."

"If you like Tolkien, you'd love D and D. Be more than happy to teach you. The guys and I are looking for new members for our party. You should come. It's a good time."

Jo nodded. "I'd like that."

They both fell quiet, but both still smiled to themselves. Eddie started to shift, and for a second, Jo feared he was getting up to leave.

"Could you, uh…" Jo fumbled.

Eddie leaned back on one hand and looked at her. "Could I what?"

She hoped the shadows hid the warmth rising to her cheeks. "Is there… it's probably gonna be hard without it in front of you, but…" She fidgeted with her thumbs.

Eddie's eyes sparkled. "You wanna know more about D and D, dontcha?"

The nerves that had risen up inside Jo dissipated with a relieved laugh as Eddie enthusiastically launched into an explanation of the world of Dungeons and Dragons, everything from character creation to his favorite campaign. She wanted so badly to join in on the fun his party was clearly having, but her father would never allow that.

If he found out about this interaction at all, after what had happened that morning….

Jo wasn't sure what he would do. So… maybe he didn't need to know at all.

"...oh, and my party members are also my bandmates…."

Yeah. He definitely didn't need to know.

"You play guitar, right?"

Eddie grinned. "How'd you guess?"

Jo reached out with one finger and tapped the pick hanging from Eddie's neck. He chuckled.

"Dead giveaway, huh?"

"Yup."

"Well then." He sat up, peering at her from under his bangs. "Look for Corroded Coffin at the Hideout. Every Tuesday, we're there. We do mostly covers now, but we're starting to put together some original stuff, for better or worse. Don't think it'd hold a candle to Madison Square Garden–"

"I think it would." Jo grinned at him. "Seeing as I'll actually remember the guys who played."

Another thing she'd have to figure out how to work around her father. The list was getting longer–

I'll figure it out.

Eddie chuckled. "I'll be looking for you, then." He looked at his watch, and his eyes popped. "Shit."

"What?"

He shot to his feet. "It's ten past three!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah!"

Eddie held out his hand to her and helped her up. Jo picked up her bag, glanced at Eddie, and they both burst out laughing.

"How did that happen–"

"You're the one with the watch on, Eddie!"

"And I had better things to do, so I didn't check it!"

Jo grinned as she headed back down the trail, Eddie by her side. They'd made it halfway across the football field when he suddenly stopped.

"Aren't you, uh, forgetting–"

Jo gasped. "Right!" She turned to run back to the woods, shaking her head and laughing. "I'm glad you said something!"

"I'll see you tomorrow, Jo," he called after her. "Let me know what you think of that tape!"

"I definitely will!"

Jo came back into the woods with a smile on her face. It took her several minutes and some creative maneuvering to wrestle the branch down, to lower the book back into her hands.

She checked it over. It was dry.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

"Where were you?"

Jo had returned to her locker to get the rest of her stuff and found her father waiting for her. His arms crossed his chest as he glared down his nose at her. Jo fought to keep the wave of panic surging inside from showing on her face.

"I went to look for you in the library. I didn't see you."

Jo opened her locker door and grabbed a few books. "I was there, Dad."

"I didn't see you at any of the desks."

Did he know?

"I wasn't at a desk. I sat in one of the corners to read. It's… quieter there. You, uh, I guess you didn't look hard enough."

Jo's father raised an eyebrow and frowned at her. Her heart thumped hard against her ribcage. Had he seen her coming back from the woods?

He didn't buy it, but he looked too tired to push her about it. He scoffed. "Guess I didn't. But I didn't see you in any of your afternoon classes."

Jo shut her locker door. "I… got lost."

"You got lost?"

"Yeah."

"Trying to find all of your classes?"

"...yeah." The walls shrunk around her.

"But you could find the library. Okay."

"It's… bigger! …than the other classrooms."

He sighed. "It's not rocket science, Josephine. But you've never been the sharpest tool in the shed, have you?"

Her stomach turned at the insult. Jo shook her head.

Take the bait. Take the bait. Take the bait.

"We're on the same page, then. Take these." He handed her his keys. "Get in the car. I'll be right behind you."

Jo nodded, snatched up her backpack, and scrambled to find her way to the parking lot. She followed the sound of revving bus engines, as the horde of students had already made their way out of the halls. Finally she made it outside, squinting against the bright afternoon sun. She found her father's pinto, fumbled with the keys, threw her backpack in the back, and shut the door.

The tape.

She knew she'd need a creative way to smuggle it in. The first thing he'd do when they got home was make her empty her backpack. Every pocket. He never said what he was looking for. But she did know if he found that tape, she'd never get it back. And it wasn't hers to begin with.

Looking over her shoulder at the front doors of the school, she watched for any sign of her father. He hadn't emerged yet, but she didn't have a lot of time. Jo yanked open the front pocket of her backpack and snatched the tape out as fast as she could, covering it in the loose folds of her shirt as she dove into the front seat.

Jo looked in the rearview. Her father was at the front doors. He turned to say something to someone behind him. This was her chance. She thought about putting the tape in her jeans pocket, but she didn't own a wallet, so she never had anything in her pockets. He'd see the bulge and question it.

He was walking towards the car.

Jo panicked and slid the tape under her bra strap, just below her collarbone. She adjusted the front of her baggy shirt to hide anything that looked like it shouldn't be there. Before she could even try to look in a mirror, her father was opening the car door.

"Keys."

Jo tossed them into the seat. Her hands had started to shake.

"God, Josephine, hand them to me!"

"Sorry." Jo fumbled to pick them back up before her father sat down. "Sorry."

When she held them out to him, he snatched them out of her hands and silently started the car. Something soulless came over the radio as they began to move. Jo watched the other cars go by, the clusters of students standing around them.

They passed a van that had clearly seen better days. A cloister of boys stood around the open driver's door. They wore mostly black. One wore an Iron Maiden shirt. Another twirled a drumstick between his fingers as he talked with his friends. They all fell silent and turned to whoever was in the driver's seat, listened a beat, and burst out laughing. The speaker poked his head out of the driver's seat with a mischievous grin sprawled across his face long enough to get rapped in the head with a drumstick. The guys, all of them, laughed harder as the driver gave the boy a playful shove. He smirked at all of them, the afternoon light turning his brown eyes golden.

Eddie.

Jo put a fist in front of her mouth to hide the smile that had burst across her face. Part of her hoped Eddie wouldn't see her… and a lot of her hoped he would.

Her father sighed. "You mark my words, Josephine. If anybody's gonna burn this town to the ground, it's those punks."

That tape suddenly felt a lot heavier.

Town passed in a blur. No one said a word on the way home. Home was a small house in one of the lesser neighborhoods in town, but compared to the old apartment back in New York City, it should have felt like a palace. The second story was where her room was, where she was itching to retreat as soon as she came through the front door. Her father shut the door behind them and turned around with his arms across his chest.

Shit. He saw me. He saw something. He was just saving the explosion for–

"Backpack, Jo. Now."

Jo set it down and unzipped all the pockets, her cheeks burning with embarrassment at the invasion, but relief seeping through her. She was safe for now… and that meant Eddie was, too.

It was only half as full as it should have been, considering what she'd missed. She took out the textbooks she had managed to collect before lunch, her sketchpad, Lord of the Rings, and her Walkman before turning the bag upside down and dumping everything else out. With an eyebrow raised, her father pawed through everything… which was only the books, the sketchpad, her Walkman, Lord of the Rings, a box of pencils, a few wrinkled syllabi, and a pack of gum she never chewed. He frowned.

"Pick this shit up. Go do your homework or something."

She wasn't stupid enough to tell him she had none.

Jo sank to her knees and bent to pick up the first book tp put it in her bag. The tape started to slip. She gritted her teeth. He was still watching her. As quickly as she could, she shoved everything back inside her backpack, holding her arm just so, hoping the tape wouldn't fall–

It wriggled free. Jo slapped a hand over her stomach and caught it under her shirt before it could rattle to the ground. Her father scoffed.

"Just… a klutz." Jo's heart galloped in her chest. She turned her back to her father and slung her backpack over her shoulder with one hand. She folded her arms across her stomach, pinning the runaway tape in place as well as she could, and turned back around, looking at her feet as she scurried past her father, up the stairs, and into her room.

Jo pulled the door shut behind her, dropped her books, and fished out the renegade tape, staring at it for a second. She wouldn't be able to listen to it until well after her father had gone to bed for the night, so she needed a place to hide it. After pacing around with it for a minute or so, she wound up stowing it in a drawer under a stack of t-shirts. It was only once everything had been re-folded and closed up that she allowed herself a sigh of relief.

She worked on repairing her sketch of Charlie until dinner, which she didn't eat much of and ate quickly. After a shower, she returned to her room, her focus divided between her sketch and the noise in the rest of the house. It was by no means big, and sound traveled. The sun had set a few hours ago, so she'd be hearing the TV downstairs turn off at any minute. She'd then only have a half an hour at best until her father went to bed. Once that happened, her night could truly begin, and the time until it did dragged its feet.

Finally, she heard snores rumbling from the room below hers. Jo made herself wait a few long minutes more to make sure her father was really asleep before she tiptoed across her creaking floor, careful to avoid the places in the wood that squeaked the loudest. Smiling widely, she lifted her Walkman out of her backpack, set it on her bed, and fished Ride the Lightning out of its hiding place in her chest of drawers.

She eased her curtains back to let the starlight in. That was one thing she immediately enjoyed about moving to the middle of nowhere. The stars didn't hide behind the city lights here; they were the city lights. She could see the vapors of the Milky Way stretching across the sky. Everything outside was bathed in silver.

Her mom would love it.

Jo sat down on her bed, put the tape into her Walkman, slid her headphones on, pressed play, and fell backwards onto the pillows, letting the music wash over her. The album eased her into its world with a peaceful acoustic passage, before fire was spewing from her headphones, and with a giant grin, she was punching a fist into the air. The sheer speed of Fight Fire with Fire took her breath away. James and Kirk, blowing her mind once again.

Eddie played guitar. Could he get his fingers around this? From what she'd seen, he might just be crazy enough to try.

The smile hadn't left Jo's face. She closed her eyes and imagined her mom there with her, sitting on the edge of her bed, her head and long black hair bobbing in time with Ride the Lightning and For Whom the Bell Tolls.

The ride slowed into Fade to Black. As she took in its meaning, tears rose to Jo's eyes. Trapped Under Ice met her where she was at. A gnawing feeling eating at her stomach, she raised one headphone off her ears, just to make sure the snores were still there. They were.

She readjusted her heatset just in time for the next track to start. Like with the others, she'd held the casette case up to the silver light pouring in through her window and squinted to read the title.

Escape.

Feel no pain, but my life ain't easy

I know I'm my best friend

It certainly felt that way sometimes.

No one cares, but I'm so much stronger

I'll fight until the end…

Jo nodded along through the rest of the first verse and the chorus, trying to take in all the moving pieces at once, just as she had with the other tracks. Her ear usually drifted to one thing at a time, until–

Rape my mind and destroy my feelings

Don't tell me what to do

I don't care now, 'cause I'm on my side

And I can see through you

Jo's eyes flew open. Her heart started to pound.

Feed my brain with your so-called standards

Who says that I ain't right?

Break away from your common fashion

See through your blurry sight

"Holy shit," she whispered.

Out for my own, out to be free

One with my mind, they just can't see

She could think of one person who definitely couldn't see, and never would.

No need to hear the things that they say

But those things were so damn hard to fight, it was hard to tell where his voice ended and hers began…

Life's for my own, to live my own way

She'd always felt like an animal trapped in a cage, with a keeper poking an electric rod through the bars. She'd curled in the corner and resigned herself to it.

See them try to bring the hammer down

No damn chains can hold me to the ground

But… what if there was a way…

Life's for my own, to live my own way

It took her a second, after the music had faded between tracks, to realize her hands were shaking. She dove for her Walkman, rewound until she got to the beginning of Escape, and let it roll again. Her mom would say she was breaking the laws of first-time album listening–maybe Eddie would, too–but she needed to hear it again.

…I don't care now, 'cause I'm on my side

And I can see through you….

Maybe…

…Life's for my own, to live my own way….

Maybe there was a way out of the cage.

But she didn't have the faintest idea of how. The cage, though it had seemed bigger when her mom was around, was all she'd ever known. The chains had bitten so far into her flesh, they were all but a part of her now. Removing them would not be easy. But maybe…

Maybe she didn't have to live like this.

But… what else was out there? And how did she do this without–

Baby steps, JoJo. This isn't something you can sort out in one night.

Her mom had returned to the foot of her bed. She smiled, but there was grief in her eyes. Jo remembered what she'd told her the last time she'd seen her:

When things get dark, look for the helpers. Things to look forward to. Find your friends. They'll do everything they can…

…but if you tell a soul about this, her father's voice cut in, you don't wanna know what I'll do to you if you do, let's just leave it at that…

The quiet between tracks roared in her ears. This time, she let it go on. Besides, the next track was Eddie's favorite… and it had teeth.

Once it revealed its full ferocity, it enveloped her entirely, sending her to an ancient world of plagues, of power, of vengeance and deliverance…

Yeah. Creeping Death was a masterpiece. She'd be sure to tell him that when she saw him tomorrow. As the final instrumental track tickled her ears, Jo found a smile lighting her face again.

She would see him again tomorrow. That was something to look forward to.

'Atta girl, JoJo.

She'd listen through the album twice more before she finally decided to go to bed. She put her Walkman and her sketchpad back into her backpack and carefully tucked Ride the Lightning into the front pocket, concealed under a few folded syllabi and her horde of pencils.

The words still echoed through her mind as she fell asleep:

…Life's for my own, to live my own way…

She dreamed she broke the lock of her old apartment door and ran through the city streets, laughing and dancing in the rain. Her mom was by her side.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

She'd been yawning all day, but her spirit felt lighter than it had in years.

Jo had been met by a note in her locker after her first class:

Meet me behind the stage during your free period?

She'd looked up from reading with a smile on her face as she gathered what she'd need for her second class. Eddie had leaned up against the lockers behind her open locker door, waiting for it to shut so he could roll those big brown eyes up at her. She'd jumped when he'd suddenly appeared, but immediately burst out laughing. A real, loud laugh.

She was glad PE classes kept her father too busy to watch her in the morning.

Now, she only needed a plan to escape the library…

Jo nestled down in the corner with some maddeningly difficult trigonometry. She stared at it in agony before setting her jaw and attempting battle with it. She peered over the top of her textbook, looking for any sign of her father. He'd finally posted a schedule of sorts on his office door, so she knew he was tied to his office for this period before running some poor band of freshmen into the ground during seventh. Which meant he could only spend so much time looking for her…

A shadow hovered over the hopeless tangle of scribbles she'd produced on her graph paper. Slowly she raised her gaze to meet her father, who loomed over her for a second before bending and putting his hands on his knees. He took one look at her work and huffed.

"If you somehow don't fail that," he said, straightening and starting to walk away, "I'll be shocked."

Jo's cheeks burned. She waited for him to round the corner around the bookshelf in front of her before flipping her homework page over with a huff and slamming the book shut. She slid it back into her backpack and stood up, dragging the heavy bag behind her as she peered out into the rest of the library. A few students wrestled with their own homework and a few more perused the shelves.

There was no sign of her father.

Jo slung her backpack over her shoulders and hurried out of the library, a grin bursting across her face. She had a tape to return.

It took her a second to reorient and find the auditorium, which was on the opposite side of the building from the library. She slipped through the big double doors and into the back of the empty room towards the stage, feeling like there were a million eyes on her, expecting her father to come barging through the doors behind her at any second.

He went back to his office. He's not going to find you.

Still her feet propelled her forward into a faster walk, then a short-stepped run as she closed in on the stage. She bolted up the stairs to the stage itself and behind the thick curtains, sighing in relief as the near darkness enveloped her. Nothing made a sound, save for the rickety air conditioning turning on above her head.

He's not going to find you.

Jo started to look around, following the pillar of daylight that shot across the floor and the warm breeze that came in with it from outside. Was that cigarette smoke she smelled?

She stood a few yards back from the threshold. "Eddie?"

Something shuffled on the concrete step outside. The next second, Eddie stuck his head around the corner, grinning. "Hey!" He snuffed the cigarette he'd been smoking out on the concrete next to him as she walked out. "Wasn't sure you were gonna make it."

"I wasn't either."

She met his gaze, and everything she was going to say flew out of her head. All she knew was she had to get it right… but why was she suddenly worried about that?

"I… uh… I'm glad I did."

Did that sound as stupid to him as it just had to her?

The smile on Eddie's face widened. "Me too, Jo." He patted the concrete next to him.

Jo lowered her book bag to the ground and sat with her feet dangling over the walkway they were perched on. There wasn't much to look at, save the crumbling pavement that wrapped around to the rest of the parking lot to the right and towards the football field to the left, and a wall of trees that were starting to turn yellow. But it was quiet.

"I…um," Jo reached for her bag and unzipped the front pocket. "I have something for you."

When she fished out the tape and held it out to him, she realized her heart was beating faster. Not pounding or running off with her like it did when someone mentioned her father, or when she heard his voice booming down the hallways at school or up the stairs at home. For the first time, the fear that squeezed her chest since the day she'd left New York had loosened its grip on her.

Eddie's hand touched hers as he took the tape back, just long enough for the calluses on the tips of his fingers to brush her skin.

"What'd you think?" He smiled at her. "Pretty great, huh?"

Jo nodded.

"So." He rested his chin in his palm and rolled his eyes up at her. "Million-dollar question. You got a favorite?"

Jo stared at her toes for a moment. She certainly knew which track had grabbed her, but how did she explain it without… giving too much away? The last thing she wanted was to scare him off. Besides, she barely knew him. He hadn't given her a reason not to trust him, but that didn't necessarily mean–

"Escape."

"Escape?"

"Yeah. But it was all… wow." She shook her head. "You and Mom were right."

Eddie chuckled. "But Escape really grabbed you."

"It just…" Jo sighed. "I just felt like it was something I needed to hear. Like, a message I needed or something." She laughed nervously. "I don't know. Does that make any sense?"

"I know exactly what you mean."

Jo found herself smiling again.

"Please tell me you've had a better day than you did yesterday."

Jo nodded. "Have you?"

"Well it didn't start with getting cornered by Carver and his pack of pricks, so yeah."

"Carver…?"

"Jason Carver? You know, junior, little bit shorter than me, blond hair with way too much gel in it, thinks he's the king of the world 'cause he starts on the basketball team–"

"Oh." Jo's stomach flipped. "Yeah, I-I know who you're talking about."

"Assholes, all of them. Him, Hargrove, Harrington. Egoes a hundred feet high, and the season hasn't even started yet. Not even close." He sighed. "And the coach is just as bad as they are, if not worse."

Jo squirmed.

"Not to be a dick, but if they got creamed this year like they did last year, I wouldn't be complaining."

"I saw them go after you, Eddie. I'm sorry they did that."

"Definitely not a special occasion," he said, tracing the burn mark from his extinguished cigarette with his finger, "but thanks."

"The coach isn't…" Jo sighed. "He's not used to people standing up to him. He didn't know what to do. I, uh, I think you blew his mind."

Eddie laughed.

"I'm not kidding! He's used to flattening anybody he doesn't like, or anybody that gets in his way. Anybody he doesn't think is–"

"Normal?"

Jo nodded. "And everybody like him thinks he's just the greatest guy. And he's used to everyone else just… just rolling over and taking it. You didn't."

"So I'm at the top of his hit list, then?"

Jo shuddered. "God," she said, her voice shrinking. "I sure hope not."

Eddie's brow furrowed. "You know him or something? Coach Walker?"

"He's…" Jo swallowed hard. "He's my dad."

"Wait, you're Walker's daughter?"

Jo nodded.

"That jerk's your father?"

She couldn't look at him.

"Well, shit. That's… gotta suck."

Jo pulled her arms in around herself, staring at the cracked asphalt sprawling in front of her. "Understatement of the century."

She watched her feet bounce against the wall below her, desperately fighting for a change of subject but coming up utterly short. Everything in her was twisting, and the world suddenly felt smaller. The eyes were watching her again–

"The book dry?"

"Oh." The smile returned to her face. "Yeah, it did. It's, uh, it's safe at home. I didn't want to chance something else happening to it."

"They didn't come after you again, did they?"

Jo shook her head. "They looked like they wanted to at one point this morning. Right before I got your note. But they backed off all of a sudden."

"Yeah, they saw me on the other side of your locker. Most everybody here is scared of me, for one reason or another. Nobody really comes near me or my guys unless they're trying to start something."

Jo shrugged. "Their loss."

"More of me for you, though," Eddie smirked, and bumped her gently with his shoulder.

Jo laughed. "Guess you're right."

"And coming after you definitely would have started something. Guess they weren't up to picking that fight today, 'cause they knew there was no way in hell they were winning."

Jo's brow wrinkled.

"Man, you're really not used to having somebody in your corner, are you?"

"Everybody who is is halfway across the country."

Eddie pursed his lips together and nodded… before slamming his fist into his chest, grunting, and sprawling backwards onto the pavement, a smile still clinging to his cross-eyed "dead" face as he lay unmoving. Jo started, but then burst out laughing.

"Okay, okay! Apparently there's one of you who isn't!"

When he sat back up, his face was much closer to hers than it had been. His brown eyes sparkled as he flipped his hair out of his face and gently smiled.

"You better believe it, Jo Walker."

She better not have been blushing. She thought she heard the bell ring a few minutes ago, but she didn't care. She had no desire to move–

A whistle cut through the air. A coach's whistle.

Jo's heart jumped into her mouth, and before she had a full grasp on what was happening, she'd shot backwards through the open door and into the darkness. Every inch of her body trembled. Was someone calling her name? Their voice disappeared under the ones screaming in her head:

Run! Run! Run!

"Jo?"

Reality poured back in. Jo found herself wedged in a corner. Her backpack had been placed on the ground next to her. Eddie squatted in front of her, looking confused and concerned. Then she watched it dawn on him.

"You're okay, Jo. They were around the corner on the football field. Nobody saw us; nobody's coming this way."

All she could do was stare at him. Everything inside had gone blank.

"Here." He straightened and held a hand out to her. "Let's get you up."

She tentatively took his hand and was helped back up to her feet. Her breath came in short gasps.

"Holy shit." Eddie's hands were on her shoulders now, but she couldn't look at him. "You're shaking like a leaf. C'mere."

She wasn't expecting it when he pulled her into his arms. But the voices in her mind grew quieter the longer he held her. And the longer she clung to him, melting into him as he rubbed her back, she finally started to believe him.

As long as he was there, nothing was going to touch her.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

It was something her mom had taught her to do just before she’d left for Indiana. Jo couldn’t remember what it was called or if she was even doing it right, but it was supposed to help with the panic. Anything to get her heart to stop hammering. 

She was well on the way to regaining her breath, thanks to the tight hug she’d been wrapped in for the past several minutes. That was something she could feel–Eddie’s arms, one just below her shoulders, the other right above her waist. And the softness of his t-shirt against her hands, his chest rising and falling as he breathed, his chin resting on the top of her head. Onto things she could hear: She heard the air conditioning humming overhead. The distant shuffle of the last stragglers speeding down the hallway outside. The wind blowing a few leaves across the concrete outside. Eddie’s heartbeat, only in one ear, but she kept returning to it… 

What came next? She’d forgotten, but though her heart still pounded, its frantic rhythm started to slow. She smelled summer air and cigarette smoke, the leather of Eddie’s jacket–smell was in there somewhere, but she didn’t remember how it fit in, or how she was supposed to–

“You okay?”

Heat loomed behind Jo’s eyes. She shoved it down. Cry, and you make it worse. Don’t make it worse . 

“Jo?”

Her breath shuddered as she drew it in. “A little better.” 

“Step in the right direction.”

She still trembled, but not as violently. “Don’t you dare let go.”

He pulled her closer. “Wasn’t planning on it anytime soon… unless you told me to, of course. Which you didn’t.” 

That earned him a faint chuckle. Eddie patted her back. 

“Yeah, uh. My old man was a… a gem , too.” 

Jo pulled back just far enough to look up at him, her brow creased. “Was?”

“Is, was. Is? Don’t know. Don’t really care to, either. He’d pop up pretending to care and then would fall off the face of the earth. I raised myself, lived by myself, when I was a kid.”

Jo’s mouth fell open. “Shit, Eddie.”

“Mmmhm. He only ever paid little Eddie any attention if he needed something from me, or if he thought I screwed up somehow.” He scoffed. “ All that to say… I get it, Jo. I get it, ‘cause I’ve been there. It’s… hell, there aren’t words for it.”

“Scary.” She could barely get the word out as she stared at the floor.

“Bet you’re scared all the damn time, huh?” He brushed the hair that had fallen out of Jo’s bun and into her face behind her ear. Chills flew down her spine at his touch. “I know I was.”

“How’d you…” The heat was rising to her eyes again. She fought to keep her voice even. “How’d you get out?”

Eddie smiled. “I had somebody fighting like hell for me. And it worked out, ‘cause I’ve lived with him ever since. My uncle. He’s a good guy.” 

She didn’t have anyone like–

“You’ve got your mom, it sounds like, even though she’s stuck in New York.”

He had a point there. 

“She did say she wanted to try to get me back with her, but that’s–”

“A big legal mess? I bet. Wait, how old are you?” 

“I’m eighteen next week.” 

“So, theoretically, as soon as next week rolls around, you could get the hell out of here.”

“And go where, Eddie? I can’t go back to New York just yet; there’s no way in hell Mom could support me right now, not even for however long it would take me to get on my feet. I’ve never worked. Dad won’t let me. So I have nothing. And besides.” Her voice shrank. “He’d come after me. So… until I graduate, I’m stuck. Maybe… maybe even after.”

“I doubt your mom would let that happen.” 

“She’d try not to. But she got turned out with nothing, Eddie. She’s having to rebuild from scratch. She’s shacked up with a friend until she can get back on her feet. She said something about trying to go back to school, but she’s got no idea what she’d wanna do, and then she’s gotta come up with the money to do it. That’s gonna take a while.”

Eddie sighed. “Shit.”

“Yeah.” Jo lowered her head back onto Eddie’s shoulder. “Shit is right.”

“He’s, uh…” Eddie clearly wrestled with the words as he drew her back to him. His grip tightened before he spoke: “He’s never tried to hurt you, has he? Like, physically?”

Jo shook her head. 

“He ever hurt your mom?”

“She said he never did, but I’m not deaf, or blind. Grew up hearing the fights, seeing the bruises. She always said she fell or something. Maybe he hasn’t done anything to me yet, but…“ 

“But what?”

It was like someone had clamped her mouth shut. Everything inside went blank. Her body started to shake again. 

“Hey, shhh.” He rubbed her back. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to upset you.”

She fought to get the words out. “Not your fault.” A few tears slipped down her cheeks before she forced them back again. 

“You’ve got me too, Jo. I’m serious.”

She was crying now, but silently. She’d better not soak his shirt through. 

“Look at me.” 

She wiped at her eyes with the back of her arm as she stepped back and hoped the darker room would hide the redness that puffed up her face. Tears still swam in her eyes–she could barely see through them–but she refused to let them fall. 

If only she could disappear. 

“If you ever need my help–and I know the road you’re getting ready to walk, so you’re gonna–you’ve got it. No ifs, ands, or buts. Whatever you need. Just know I’m here.”

The words wobbled as they came out: “You barely know me, Eddie.”

“Still your friend though, aren’t I? Least, I’d like to think I am. I’ll leave that one up to you.”

She nodded, then started to smile. 

“So you are my friend, then?”

Jo laughed. “Yes.”

“Hopefully a member of the party soon, right?”

“God, I hope so.”

“See, me and the guys–Greg, Gareth, and Dougie are their names, and yes, I told them about you, and yes, they do wanna meet you–see, we’ve got this thing. A pact, if you will. Say somebody’s facing down a dragon, in Hellfire, in real life, it doesn’t matter. If one of us is staring something big and scary in the face, we all jump in and do what we can to help. Seeing as you are my friend, officially now–” he smiled when Jo laughed “–you’re in on that deal, too. ‘Cause guess what, Walker? That’s what friends do. Get the feeling you’ve not had a lot of those.”

Jo shrugged. “They’d be around until they started to figure out what was going on. Then they’d suddenly… not wanna be around me. Guess it was too much.” She added under her breath, “Or I was too much…”

“Or your dad got wind, and he ran them off and blamed you.”

She’d toyed with that idea, but she’d never be sure which was really true. “Maybe.”

“But you know, he’s gonna have to pull something pretty big to fully run me off.”

Jo blinked at him.

“I’m not going anywhere. Promise.”

Her mouth hung open a little. “R-Really?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die, Walker.” 

A smile trembled across Jo’s lips. The tears that escaped her eyes hardly had time to hit her skin before Eddie wiped them away. 

“C’mere.” 

She leaned back into him without hesitation, quietly weeping. But something else rose inside of her, cool and comforting, like water on a burn: relief. A tiny part of her screamed not to believe him, that it was too good to be true.

Even if it is true, you don’t deserve it . 

But here he was, knowing about the biggest, scariest skeleton in her closet, staring it in the eye, and refusing to back down from it. Just realizing that she wasn’t alone in Hawkins anymore–part of her wanted to pinch herself, but…

“You’ve gotta be careful, Eddie.”

“I will be.” 

Jo pulled back enough to look him in the eye. “Don’t underestimate him.”

His arms tightened around her as he let out a big breath. “I won’t.” 

“‘Cause it’s not a matter of if he finds out, Eddie. It’s when. And he already doesn’t like you. ‘Cause he…” She paused, and surprised herself with a small chuckle. “I think he knows he can’t control you.”

“Damn right he can’t.”

His hand found the back of her neck as he lowered her head back to his shoulder. It was easy to lean into him, to rest…

“And I think you’re both about to find out he can’t control you, either.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

It had been almost a week since that day behind the stage. She'd seen Eddie long enough this morning to know his band was playing tonight. And Jo was going to see them play.

Somehow.

Get caught, and you're fucked. Both of you. He'll never want to see you again. And you'll wind up hiding the bruises and lying about how you got them, just like Mom did for so long–

The bell rang. Jo scooped up her books and slid her backpack over one shoulder, her mind racing. She'd never been in a place like the Hideout. Where even was it? And how on Earth would she get there? Her dad had a function to go to tonight, some stupid thing about the first semester sports, and she would be stuck in the assembly right in front of him. What if he looked for her in the stands between speakers patting themselves on the back and she wasn't there?

"Could you get a cab, maybe?"

A cigarette bounced on Eddie's lip as he dug through his bag for his lighter. Jo had met him at their spot behind the stage at the start of free period. She'd found him there every day for a week. What class was he missing?

Jo shook her head. "No money. Besides, Dad'll have his eye on me for the entire program. If I leave, he'll know, and if I'm not back in five minutes, he'll come looking for me, and if he does that–"

She cut herself off.

"Do you have to be in the gym? Would he let you stay home if you faked being sick or something?"

"Tried that before. He'll shove a thermometer in my mouth, see I don't have a fever, and tell me to toughen up."

Eddie grimaced as he blew out a stream of smoke. The waning afternoon light had turned his brown eyes golden, like there was fire in him, and he could breathe it.

"So much for that idea."

Jo sighed. "I do not want to spend my birthday in a stinky gym with a bunch of hose-headed dickbrains who think they rule the fucking world because they play football or basketball or whatever the hell else there is."

Eddie took another drag of his cigarette and scoffed. "Scumbags."

"They think they're freaking dying when they lose. Football got their asses handed to them by Christian in the season opener. I had to be there for it."

"Wonder they haven't all dropped dead yet then, 'cause surprise sweetheart, they lose every one."

Jo laughed. "I'd be a free woman!" She took a deep breath and burst out laughing again. "And then I could go wherever the hell I wanted! Do whatever I wanted!" Her voice trailed off, her finger tracing invisible nervous shapes in the concrete. "Be with whoever I wanted to be with and not be afraid, no have to hide it."

Eddie put his arm around her, pulling her to his shoulder, and she leaned into him.

"I'm going to that damn concert. There's gotta be a way."

They sat in silence for a bit. The wind scattered now falling leaves across the parking lot; they scraped the pavement as they went by. The sun warmed her entire body. And the weight around her shoulders had slowed her always hammering heart.

Jo's eyes had started drooping shut when Eddie shuffled.

"Hm."

Jo looked up at him. "What?"

A smirk slid across Eddie's face. "I think I have an idea, sweetheart."

"Can I stay in your office tonight?"

She'd been working up the courage to speak for at least half an hour. Letting the words out was like ripping off a bandaid.

Her dad eyed her with disdain. She stood in front of his desk in his disorganized office, feeling like she was sitting in front of the Judgment Seat he loved to loudly remind her of from time to time.

"I…I have a lot of homework." She pulled out the graph paper from her trigonometry book, set up and numbered like her teacher instructed them to do to work problems. Except these problems didn't exist.

Maybe everyone thought he was stupid–her father included–but Eddie was sharp.

"And?"

"I've got to read for history, too. And English."

She showed him both syllabi and handed him her trig papers. She did indeed have reading assigned for tonight, reading she wasn't going to do.

"It's like fifty pages. Long chapters, tiny font." Also true. She dug in her backpack for her history book and her copy of War and Peace. "Look."

Her dad cracked open the books, scanned over the trig papers, a deep frown etching into his face.

"It's gonna take me hours. And if I don't do it my grades will tank. And then my chances at NYU or Stanford or Duke go out the window–"

"Fine, Josephine. Fine."

Jo froze, watching her father and hardly daring to breathe. Had he just said what she thought he had?

"You can stay here. But you better be working the entire time. And if you don't get A's on all of these assignments, I swear to God, Jo, I will–"

"Make me wish I had? I understand."

"God," he grumbled, standing up from his desk and stalking for the door. "You're such a bitch, Jo, talking back like that after I gave you what you wanted."

Jo's cheeks flushed with embarrassment… and burned with anger.

"Sit," he snapped, reaching for the door handle. "And get it done."

He stepped through the door. It clicked shut. Though Jo didn't move a muscle until the sound of his footsteps vanished down the hallway, and she waited several more minutes still, just to be safe.

Silence.

The coast was clear.

Now she could do what she came for.

She started pulling drawers open. "If I was a pack of dollar bills, where would I be?" He had to be keeping his lunch money somewhere. It was about to be cab money, if she could find it.

She tore through every drawer in the desk twice, three times. Not a penny. He must have left it at home, or it was in his wallet in the back pocket of his jeans. Shit. Shit shit shit.

Defeated, she closed the last drawer and dragged out her history text, her head sinking into the palm of her hand as she started to read.

The clock ticked monotonously on the wall. Every now and then, a miced voice or cheers floated down the hallway.

She had just finished reading about the assassination of Prince Ferdinand when it hit her. She sprang up out of the chair and was nearly to the door when she stopped dead.

If he came back and she wasn't there…

No.

He didn't get to take this from her.

Her heart slamming in her chest, she slipped out of the office and into the hallway, slinking to the front doors. And it was as she'd hoped. Many of the kids in the program had ridden their bikes from home to school that morning… and it was a small town. These people trusted each other so much that she doubted any of them even knew what a bike lock was.

Her hands shaking, she grabbed one of the bikes from the rack, her head on a swivel, and swung a leg over. She started pedaling, heading for the road. A smile split her face.

Her mind wandered back to that afternoon as she neared the street and stopped:

Where even is this place, Eddie?

It's sitting between the steelworks and a bigass cornfield, Jo. Down Main, through town and out of it. It's a straight shot from here, believe it or not…

She looked both ways. Nothing was coming.

She turned, a grin splitting her face.

She was going to see Eddie.

Her father didn't get to take him from her.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

Though Jo's legs and lungs burned, she couldn't stop smiling. The lights of Main Street glowed in front of her, growing bigger and brighter and louder as she stood and stomped into the pedals as hard as she could.

Once she made it down Main and the lights started looking dirtier and dimmer, she'd nearly be there.

A truck careened past her, spraying puddle water onto her jeans as it blared its horn at her. She screamed, but as fast as she had lost her balance, she'd regained it, and the truck was gone. She burst out laughing as she flew down Main and past the grocery store, past the theater.

The buildings around her steadily grew shabbier and shadier. Then came the old steelworks Eddie mentioned, and the harvested cornfield that sprawled under the stars as far as Jo could see. Dim lights drifted into the street from a rickety building, and floating on the air, the unmistakable wail of an electric guitar.

She'd found it.

She swerved into the parking lot. Laughing in triumph, legs still shaking, Jo hopped off her borrowed bike, dragged it to the front, and propped it against the wall. Music drifted in from inside. Blast beats and a deep, growling bass already shook the floor as she opened the door. She forgot her breathlessness, the burn in her lungs, her aching legs, as soon as she stepped inside.

The voice would have gotten her attention anyway, but seeing it come out of him as his Warlock seethed in his hands made Jo stop in her tracks.

No one made Iron Maiden sound good but Iron Maiden. And Corroded Coffin, apparently. "The Trooper" was all but bowing down to them, and Jo hadn't even heard much of the first verse. But she was comfortable in the shadows where no one could see her, and her feet refused to move.

Eddie had told her playing with the guys felt like flying. And flying he was as his fingers rocket across the fretboard, somehow making a complicated solo look effortless. He was in another world, on another planet. He'd clearly played it so many times that he hardly needed to concentrate. The song was a part of him, his guitar an extension of him.

Then he came back down to Earth to sing. And that was when he caught her eye. His brow furrowed; then his face lit up. He couldn't keep the smile out of his voice, even if he was belting out a story of war and blood and death.

They rolled straight out of The Trooper into Heaven and Hell without stopping. As the band's feet hit the ground after soaring with Iron Maiden, Jo's did, too. But she knew where they were going, and they'd soon be flying again.

Eddie's eyes didn't leave hers as he sang, as he played.

The lover of life's not a sinner, the ending is just a beginning….

Everything drifted away as they picked up speed, soaring again moments later, riding the wave of Ozzy's genius. Jo didn't want to come back down again, but then Eddie was reaching for his acoustic, and now she didn't fly with him, but walked through cool grass, just the two of them, in a world that was quiet and far away from all of their troubles.

Jo hadn't quite come out of the daze when Eddie set his guitar down, said they were taking five, and hopped off the front of the stage, if it could be called that. It was more like an old riser that threatened to fall out from under then at any second. Hell, it was a miracle the roof hadn't fallen in on them. It was like the inside of a dingy, cigarette-soot smelling cave, but Eddie's smile lit it up like it had just been strung with Christmas lights as he jogged over to her and wrapped her in a tight hug. It took her a second to hear him laughing over the Slayer blaring from the speakers.

"It fucking worked. I can't believe it fucking worked!"

Now Jo was laughing. She buried her face into his shoulder. "It almost didn't."

"How so?"

"There wasn't any cash in that entire office!"

"Then how'd you get here?"

"I… biked."

Eddie's hands found her shoulders. "You biked. Like you pedaled from school, like eight miles, just to get here?"

Jo smiled and shrugged. Eddie slipped his arm around her shoulders, the familiar weight of it making the room seem a little less foreign.

"Didn't think your dad would let you have a bike, either."

"He doesn't."

"Then how'd you–"

"I took one from the racks in front of the school."

"You stole a bike?!"

"I didn't steal it, Eddie, I borrowed it. I'm taking it back."

"Okay." His arm tightened around her as he smirked and whispered in her ear, "Thief."

Jo laughed. "It's like taking a book from the library, you know… without telling the librarian."

"Thief."

Now her cheeks were burning. "Fine. How about non-consensual rental?"

"That sounds so wrong."

Now she was laughing so hard her whole torso hurt.

"You're not riding back on that thing, though. I'll take you back once we're done here. I can get you there in ten minutes. No problem."

"Eddie! Ready when you are!"

"I'll be right there!" He turned back to Jo, and it was suddenly hard for her to think or breathe, and her stomach was fluttering, her heart skipping around in her chest, at the ten million gigawatt smile that lit up Eddie's face.

"I'm so glad you made it, Walker."

Words. Words would be good, if she could get them out without looking like an idiot.

"I… I am too."

She thought the laugh that followed was the stupidest sounding thing.

God, that laugh is the most magical sounding thing—

"I'll find you after. Be a good time to meet the guys, if you want to."

Even mentioning it sent a pang of nerves through Eddie's chest. Why on Earth was introducing his new friend to his other friends so damn daunting all of a sudden? Maybe it was because this could be the last time he'd imagine how if went before it actually happened. There was no reason they wouldn't get along.

Jo was nothing like the last one. They'd see it.

As he slung his guitar over his shoulders and found his feet in front of the mic again, he realized his palms were sweating. He blew out a big breath and looked over his shoulder.

"You guys ready?"

Gareth, Greg, and Dougie all wore matching smirks.

"Shut up."

"So that's her?" Gareth raised an eyebrow while spinning a drumstick.

'Shut up."

"She's cute," Dougie said.

"Shut up."

"You two would have cute babies," Greg said.

"Fuck you all."

The band had returned to the front of the stage, and Jo wondered who was who behind Eddie. Why was Eddie introducing her, his friend, to his other friends, feel like going to meet the in-laws? Or, at least, what she imagined that must feel like, seeing as she'd never–

"So every now and then," Eddie said, "we'll take a song that's definitely not metal and put our own spin on it."

"Just 'cause we can," one of the guys came in behind him. Was it Greg who played rhythm guitar, or was it Gareth?

"Just 'cause we can. So here's a little Foreigner, our style."

It didn't sound too much different from the original to start; just had a heavier drum and more grit in the guitars. Jo recognized it immediately—a song her mother loved and her father hated.

You don't have to read my mind

To know what I have in mind

Honey, you oughta know

It took her a second to realize that as he sang, Eddie looked right. at. her.

Now you move so fine

Let me lay it on the line

I wanna know what you're doing after the show

He flashed that grin at her, and again, it got hard to breathe.

Now it's up to you

Can we make a secret rendezvous?

Just me and you

I'll show you lovin' like you never knew

She hoped to God and whatever else might be looking down on her that he couldn't see her blushing. Her face and neck smarted.

But you've got to give me a sign

C'mon, girl, some kind of sign

Tell me, are you hot, mama?

You sure look that way to me

Heat roared through her entire body. Maybe she didn't realize it until now. No, she was kidding herself. She knew, and she'd smashed it down. She'd known from the second she saw him in the hallway on the first day.

He was utterly, completely gorgeous.

Are you old enough?

Will you be ready when I call your bluff?

Yes, and… yes?

Is my timing right?

Did you save your love for me tonight?

She didn't know the first thing about—

But the way he belted out that chorus, and the way he looked at her, said he absolutely did.

Now it's up to you

We can make a secret rendezvous

Oh, before we do

You'll have to get away from you-know-who

And that, right there, was the hard part. But she'd done it once. Maybe her luck would hold and she could do it again.

Or maybe you-know-who would come storming through the door—

He doesn't get to ruin this!

The thought was like a thunderclap, and even she was surprised by its ferocity.

He didn't get to ruin this, like he'd ruined everything else.

Besides, she thought with a smirk. It was her birthday.

You get what you want on your birthday.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7

His fingers usually smarted at the end of a few hours of playing, even as calloused as they were, but Eddie was used to it. He carefully lowered his Warlock and his acoustic back into their worn-out cases before hopping off the stage, heading for—

“So do we get to meet mystery girl?” Dougie said. “Or do we just have to watch you making bedroom eyes at her all night?”

Eddie had to laugh, and he found himself less frustrated this time. Why had he even been in the first place? Where was this defensiveness coming from? They had to like her. They probably would… but why was he so desperate for this to go well?

The last one had crashed and burned. But the last one had been more of a fling than anything. And why on God’s green Earth did that even keep coming up? Jo was a friend.

A friend . 

That was all. He was sure.

Yeah. Just a friend. 

They were walking over to her now. By the shuffle in his step and the slight wideness in his eyes, Jo guessed Eddie was as nervous as she was. But something had awoken inside her not but two minutes before, and now all she wanted to do was look at him… but she couldn’t raise her eyes to his as he approached. 

It had happened backwards, as her mom would say. Most people notice someone’s appearance first. The book judged by the cover. But Jo had been drawn to his fearlessness in the face of her father, by his kindness later after he’d found her in the woods. He just so happened to now, on top of that, be gorgeous, and talented, and– 

Oh God.

“Hey, Walker.” 

Dammitdammitdammit.

Just the sound of his voice made her face go red. Hopefully the sooty darkness of the Hideout had hidden that from Eddie, but her face and neck smarted. Nonetheless, despite the panic, a smile came to her lips. 

“Hey again.” Her hands were in her pockets now, and she forced her eyes from the floor to his. Big, beautiful, and deep brown. Soft. Kind. 

Jo’s smile widened a bit. She couldn't help it.

“You guys are really good.”

It sounded stupid to her, but it was all she could get out. 

“Thanks,” one of the guys, a broad guy with black curls, replied.

“Jo, this is Dougie.” He was definitely nervous, because Eddie was talking fast. Well, faster than usual, and that was pretty quick. “Dougie, this is Jo. And this is Gareth–”

“A pleasure,” Gareth said, shoving a drumstick into his back pocket so he could shake Jo’s hand. He tossed his brown waves out of his eyes. “Thanks for coming out. We’ve heard a lot about you.”

Jo’s eyes widened at Eddie a little behind her smile. 

“Just the good stuff, Walker,” Eddie said. “It’s all good stuff.” 

If her face could go deeper red, it just had. 

The last boy, who was a little taller than Eddie with deep skin and a bright smile, laughed. “Nothing but good stuff. I’m Greg.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jo said. “Rhythm guitar?”

“Yup.”

She turned to Dougie. “Bassist. Do you play guitar too?”

“Nah. I never got into it. Couldn’t get my fingers around it.”

“And you’re obvious,” Jo said, turning to Gareth. “How long have you been playing drums?”

“Since I was little, but only with these guys for a few months since their last drummer dropped out to go to school.”

“Booooo.” Dougie might’ve not let that one go just yet. 

“Hey, she’s doing what she’s meant to, and she’s happy about it.” Eddie smiled at Jo. “You would love Ronnie. I’ll introduce you the next time she comes home.”

“If she’s anything like you all,” Jo said, “I think we’ll get along.” She noticed her heart had stopped pounding… but then she looked at the clock on the wall. “Oh, shit .” 

“What?” Eddie stepped up quickly, his head on a swivel. 

“It’s not–” how did she say this without freaking out the guys? “--it’s not that , Eddie.”

“Not what?” Gareth asked. 

“Not important,” Eddie said. “But what is it?”

“I’ve gotta go. Eddie, it’s past ten.” She lowered her voice. “That assembly was over fifteen minutes ago.”

Eddie’s eyes widened. “You won’t make it back in time if you go the way you came. I’ll take you back. I can get you there in ten minutes.” He turned to his bandmates. “Can you guys get everything together? I’ll be back for you, I promise. This just… this needs to happen. Jo can tell you later if she wants.”

If she wants. 

She won’t. Not yet. 

Nervous laughter trickled through the guys. Jo’s heart sank. 

“You sure you don’t wanna walk?” Gareth said. “You might get there slow–”

Dougie cut him off. “But you’ll get there alive .”

Jo’s eyes darted between Dougie and Eddie. “What does he mean?”

“Nothing,” Eddie said. He yanked his keys from his pocket. “You ready?”

Jo nodded, panic starting to rise in her chest, and not the heart-skipping-happy-butterlifes-in-her-chest type. The real, visceral, numbing fear she was used to.

He was going to find them when they got back. 

He was not going to find them when they got back, so help him God. And even if he did, he wasn’t getting to Jo. But maybe that wouldn’t happen. Maybe the assembly went over. Maybe Coach Walker was stuck talking to a bunch of student-athletes who worshipped him. Nah, that wasn’t stuck. That was exactly what he loved. 

“Let’s go,” Eddie said, nodding towards the back door and starting to head that way. 

“It was nice to meet you all,” Jo said as she started to follow him.

“Catch you tomorrow, Walker?” Gareth called. “Assuming you survive the drive?” He gestured towards Eddie, who narrowed his eyes at him even though a small smile was growing on his face.

“Yeah, I guess you will.” Jo grinned at Gareth, though Eddie noted the panic growing in her eyes. She waved and exchanged final pleasantries before scurrying after him as he neared the stage.

He knelt and laid a hand on his guitar case. “I’ll be back for you, sweetheart. Just hang tight.” 

Quickly he stood and strode towards the door, Jo on his heels. 

“Wait, Eddie! The bike!”

“We’ll swing around and get it. Don’t worry. C’mon.”

He walked as quickly as his legs would carry him towards his van. “It’s not much and it’s a mess, but it’ll get you back where you need to be.” He unlocked the door. “Hop in.” 

The engine sputtered, but after a swift slam on the dash by Eddie’s fist, it roared to life. He looked at her with a wild grin on his face. 

“Hang on,” he said, and floored it.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8

Jo’s knuckles went white from gripping the seat within seconds as Eddie banked around the corner, jumped out of the van, grabbed the bike, and threw it in the back. He hopped back into the front seat, the manic grin on his face only widening as he cranked the Black Sabbath blaring from the speakers. 

“Ready?”

“I don’t kno– holy shit! ”

The van jerked up the driveway and bumped over potholes Jo had missed easily on the bike, sending her bouncing against the seatbelt. Was there something to grab besides the seat? Nope? 

You might get there slow, but at least you’ll get there alive!

“Damn it, Eddie!” Jo found herself laughing. “Slow down!”

“You said quick! This is quick!”

“Not if the cops pull you over!”

“They won’t.”

Another bump, a stop sign ignored, and a turn taken so hard the left wheels left the ground. The tired squealed. “ Eddie! ”

“I’ll slow down in town! Hang on!”

If he did slow down through town, it wasn’t by much.

By the time the school parking lot was rolling into view, Jo’s breath had all but been beaten out of her, but she couldn’t stop laughing. Finally they jerked to a stop.

“The hell was that?!” she said.

“You said quick! ”

“We almost died.”

“We did not! I had it! I–”

His voice trailed off, and it took her a second to notice he was watching her laugh. His features softened. 

Jo beamed at him. “Why do I want to do that again?”  

“Everybody’ll think you’re crazy for that.”

“Yeah?” Jo leaned across the seat, the smile on her face widening. “I think I might need a little crazy.”

“Oh really?”

“Sure. Your brand of crazy.”

Did his face go red? She swore his face went red.

“C’mon,” Eddie said with a grin. “This where you left the bike?”

In that second, someone with a letter jacket flew through the door, perused the line of bikes, and blanched. 

“Maybe we wait a second.”

“Good idea, sweetheart.”

Then the rest of the people came pouring out. 

“Duck,” Eddie said. 

Jo didn’t waste a second complying. 

“My bike’s gone, coach! Someone took it! I don’t see it!”

“Tough luck, Carver. My daughter is missing.”

Jo’s heart dropped to her toes. 

“Stay down.” Eddie sounded like he’d seen a bear. “I’ll drive around back and drop you off. You can get to his office from there.”

She wondered how much willpower it took him not to floor it around the corner, but this wasn’t the moment to draw attention to oneself with squealing tires. He crawled around the corner and turned the headlights off. Jo prayed there was no one following them. 

Gravel and broken asphalt crunched under the tires as they rounded the corner to the back of the auditorium. There was only one light on, and it flickered, but it was enough to light Jo’s path as she hopped out. Eddie was right beside her. 

“I guess you need to go,” he said.

“They can look for me a little longer.”

Was she crazy, or did those words just leave her lips? Had she lost her mind?
Someone called her name.

“Shit,” Eddie said, and they flew up the stairs, through the door, and into the darkness. 

“Jo!” the voice called again. Had its owner seen them? 

Steps crunched through the gravel, stopped, and walked away. “Not back here!” the voice shouted. 

It was then Jo realized Eddie had grabbed her hand when they ran in, and he was yet to let it go. Carefully he peered out of the door, watching the person in the letter jacket disappear. He breathed a sigh of relief. 

“I should stay here for a second, till it calms down,” Jo said. 

But there were no footsteps in the hallways. Not a sound in the auditorium. Just silence, the dark, and them. 

And, if she were honest with herself, Jo wasn’t ready to leave him. 

“Thanks for getting me back here.” she whispered. 

“Any time, Walker.” 

“You’ve gotta get back to the guys.”

“Not yet I don’t. They’ll understand.”

Jo’s eyes widened. “You didn’t tell them about my father , did you?”

“Hell no! That’s not something you just trumpet out. If they know about that, it’ll be from you, and only you.”

Jo went quiet, taken aback by the hardness in his voice. Had she angered him?

“Sorry,” she said. 

“For what?” 

“No, I accused you of something pretty huge. And something I don’t actually think you’d do. Honest.”

Eddie’s hand tightened around Jo’s. “I believe you,” he said. He watched the outside for a few seconds more before turning back to her. “We need to get you back to that office.” 

Jo sighed. “We do.” 

“I could walk you.”

“That puts a giant target on your back, Eddie.”

“I don’t care, Jo. I need to know you make it back safe, and that he’s not going to go ballistic on you.”

“He won’t. He’s just an asshole. He’s never tried to hurt me.” 

Then why are you so scared he will?

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

Eddie frowned. “Okay. Just… be careful.”

“I will.” She took a step back, her hand still safely enclosed in his. “Eddie?”

“Oh, yeah.” Eddie dropped her hand like it was on fire. “Sorry, I–”

“When can we do this again?”

She watched him pause, his brow furrowing for a moment before a wide smile lit up his face. “As soon as you want, sweetheart. I’ll be there.” 

She smiled at him, and before she could stop herself, she’d stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “See you tomorrow. I’ll be okay.” 

She couldn’t see his face well, but she’d heard his breath catch. “You’d better be.” 

“I will be.”

“Sure you don’t want me to walk you?”

“I’m sure.” 

Eddie blew out a hard breath. “Okay.” 

Jo took a step back, still smiling. “Goodnight, Eddie. And thank you. For everything.”

He stared at her for a second–she wondered if he had heard her–before saying, “Any time. You be careful.” 

She nodded, stepped back, and disappeared through the curtains and out into the auditorium. 

She’d told him he couldn’t walk her back, but that didn’t stop him from trailing her. Not that he was trying to be creepy. He felt creepy. But Eddie had told the truth. He just wanted her safe.

Heavy footsteps thudded around the corner. He flattened himself against the wall around the corner from the office and stopped, holding his breath. The door flew open. 

“Josephine?!”

“Hi.”

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere! The hell have you been?”

There wasn’t an answer immediately. Eddie squeezed his eyes shut.

“Bathroom.”

“The bathroom.”

“Yeah. My… stomach is upset.”

“I had one of the cheerleaders check the bathroom. You weren’t there.”

“She must’ve checked the wrong one.”

A fist slammed into something hard. Eddie guessed it was the desk Jo was now almost certainly sitting behind. He didn’t hear what Coach Walker said, but he could all but feel Jo’s blood run cold with his own. A minute later, Jo came flying out of the room, her backpack on her shoulder and tears in her eyes.

Man, fuck that guy. 

He watched them leave, his eyes not leaving the back of Jo’s head for a second. 

Then roared down the hallway: “Has anybody seen my bike?”

“Shit.”

As fast as he could, Eddie ran back through the hallways, through the auditorium, and hopped into the van, now not caring if he made a scene. 

It could distract that guy from Jo. 

So he slammed on the gas, taking great satisfaction in the way the engine growled and the tires spun and threw gravel every which way. He floored it into the parking lot and to the front of the school, just in time for Jo to come out the front door with her father as he jumped out, Carver on their heels. 

Eddie walked around to the back of the van, threw open the door, and yanked out the bike. 

“The hell?”

Carver glared at him, closing the distance between them. He tried to be menacing. It was working. 

“What’d you do that for, freak? You put a curse on it?”

“Here,” Eddie said, shoving the bike into Carver’s hands. “Find out,” he deadpanned. “If you fall, it worked.” 

Carver couldn’t turn away fast enough to hide his face going white. 

“Munson.” Coach Walker frowned. “Of course if was you.”

“Can’t let you all get too comfortable, Walker.”

“I should call the cops on your ass.”

“And they’d do what? Arrest me? I returned the thing. Without a scratch. Not what I was looking for.”

“God only knows what you’re up to.”

“You really wanna know?”

“No.”

“Excellent.”

Every eye in the place was on him, including Jo’s. Eddie wished he could wipe the tears from her face. Hopefully he hadn’t just made it worse, taking this on. 

“Well this has been fun, but I’ve got somewhere to be, so I’m gonna go. Don’t blame me if you break your neck, Carver.” 

With that, he jumped back in the car, revved the engine, and drove away. He looked in his rearview, searching for a small figure with a beat-up brown flannel and black Converse. 

When he found her, despite her father hulking towards his Pinto in front of her, she was smiling.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

The humidity of late summer traded itself in for the coolness of fall slowly as the leaves on the trees began to change color. Jo had always loved fall–the excuse to wear layers, drink hot cider, watch scary movies with her mom when her dad wasn’t home. 

Some of that she wouldn’t get this year, but she had other things to make her smile. One thing in particular, who hadn’t let up since the day she met him. 

She’d finally convinced Eddie to go to whatever class he’d been missing to see her, but he frequented her thoughts during her free period. During class. During lunch, which she wished she didn’t have to spend alone. 

But to sit with Eddie and the guys was to expose them. And that was the last thing Jo wanted. 

She’d read well into Return of the King by the time the homecoming pep rally came along. She stood when she had to and clapped when the others clapped, but these events were never her thing. She didn’t see any of the guys–they called themselves the Hellfire Club, which had made Jo laugh. She didn’t get to see them nearly as often as she’d like, but during free period two days ago, they’d all hung out together. She’d started to notice the differences between them: Gareth was the quietest, Dougie always had something blunt to say, and Greg was pure sunshine. She wished they were here now, but as she scanned the football field and the stands around, she didn’t see them. 

Not that she expected to. They disliked this kind of thing just as much as she did, so why would they be here? 

Jo would return to the stands later tonight to watch the game with her father. She’d rather watch paint dry than sit through guys in spandex running down other guys in spandex, but she had no choice. 

The pep rally let out, and the rest of the school day passed by slowly. Art and music class weren’t so painful; they never were. She liked her teachers and enjoyed what she was learning. She’d been working on several drawings of things from home and even a painting of the stars outside her house at night, one of the things about Hawkins that she’d loved immediately. She’d been working on her voice and refining her piano skills in music. It was an apt description from Eddie–playing really did feel like flying, once you got the hang of it. She didn’t think she was anything special at either skill, but she loved it so much she didn’t care. Her mom had taught her to play, so she played on. 

The bell rang, and Jo picked up her backpack. As she wound through the hallway, she hummed the piano piece she’d been working on. 

“Oh my God, look who it is!”

Oh shit .

Carol Perkins emerged seemingly out of thin air, keeping her stride even with Jo’s. Was she always chewing gum?

“Haven’t seen you in a while, Walker. You still reading that lame book?” She batted at Jo’s bun at the back of her neck. “Still not using any conditioner, I see. God, you’re pathetic–”

“And if you don’t back off, Perkins,” someone called. It took her a second to see that it was Gareth. “He’s gonna end your ass.” 

Eddie appeared behind him, shooting Perkins a grin full of venom. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Hanging with the freaks now, huh Walker? Be careful.” She spun on her heel and said over her shoulder, “They might put a curse on you or some shit.”

Jo only glared at her in response. She turned to Eddie, who had come to stand behind her. Kids scattered in all directions, eyes wide with fear. 

“What was that about?” Jo said. “Carver said something too the night I came to see you guys play. The hell?”

“They think I sold my soul to Satan,” Eddie deadpanned. 

“ What? ”

“Yup.”

“That’s ridiculous. You’re the nicest person I’ve ever met.”

Eddie grinned, genuinely this time. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

“Why don’t you tell them the truth?”

“It’s a pretty good weapon.” Dougie said.

“Yeah, nobody likes to mess with you too much if you’re packing that kind of a punch.” Eddie sounded distant. “Besides, even when I did–and I tried when I was younger–no one believed me. So… we all decided to run with it.” 

Jo started to smile. “Hence Hellfire.”

“Hence Hellfire.”

“Use it like armor and no one can touch you,” Gareth said. 

Jo had never thought of it like that before. 

“Josephine!” The voice flew around the corner at them. The owner wasn’t far behind. 

Jo’s heart froze over. “You guys need to go.”

“What?” Gareth said. “Why?”

Eddie’s eyes had gone wide. “Yup, great idea Walker. Guys. Now.” 

He shepherded the confused group around the corner like he was herding cats. And just in time. 

“Get to my office, Jo,” her father said. “Finish your homework. Then you can come watch the game.”

She didn’t know which would be worse–trigonometry or football.

She gave up on trig after the first fifteen tries, slamming the book shut with a groan. She thought she’d been able to work one problem, but none of it made sense, and she figured it would be better to be bored than frustrated.

But leaving the office meant she had to deal with him . 

Her heart started to race as she left her dad’s office and headed for the football field. She followed the noise of the crowd that had gathered for the game. Jo looked up at the scoreboard as she rounded the corner to the bleachers, wondering who was ahead, but there was no score. 

God, the game hadn’t even started yet?

This was going to be a long night. 

She spied her father, a big smile on his face as he talked the ear off of one of Jo’s teachers. She laughed at something he said, and he puffed with pride. A soft gaze fit him horribly, and that look in his eyes only meant one thing. Jo’s shoulders slumped. 

An arm reached out and grabbed hers, yanking her under the bleachers. She squealed and her limbs froze, but the arms wound up wrapped around her gently, rocking her a little bit. 

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Eddie said in her ear. “Didn’t see any other way to get your attention without bringing the wrath of God down on us both.”

He pointed up through the slits in the bleachers overhead, right to her father. Jo heard Ms. O’Donnell laugh again… and then her father put his arm around her. 

Tears swarmed Jo’s eyes. He really was going to forget her mother that fast.

Eddie rubbed her back. “I’m sorry, Jo.”

Jo didn’t know what to say.

“Would it help to get away from them?”

She nodded. 

Eddie held out an arm like he was welcoming her into a mansion. “After you, milady.” 

She followed his outturned palm deeper into the shadows. Slits of light poured in between people’s feet, making a basket weave of sorts on the grass under their feet. She chose a patch of grass that was close to the bottom of the bleachers, where they could hide in the shadows a little easier. She lowered herself to the ground, Eddie flopping unceremoniously next to her. 

The bleachers above them were empty, she noticed. People must’ve still been coming in.

“You good, sweetheart?”

Jo turned to him, smiled, and nodded. “I’m glad you’re here, Eddie.”

“Me, too. How’d you get past your dad?”

“He thinks I’m in his office doing homework. And he’s… distracted.”

“Right. We’re not thinking about that.”

“No we are not.”

“It’s just you and me. That’s all that matters right now. Yeah?”

Jo nodded.

“Good.” 

He put his arm around her, and she gladly put her head on his shoulder. Leaning against him, smelling his scent–the leather that had mixed into it in recent months to shut out the cold, the faint hint of cigarette smoke, and just him –was all she needed right now. Her heartbeat slowed to a happily excited patter from the racing panic that nearly always was there. Slowly she found herself reaching for his hand, and the moment their fingers brushed, he guided her hand out in front of them both and laced his fingers slowly through her own. The cool of his rings against her skin sent shivers down her spine. 

There was clattering from above, but that hardly mattered. All that mattered was him, and how safe she knew she was, how close he was now to her. His gaze flicked down to her lips, his own parting slightly in want, his eyes asking the question.

Oh my God .

She couldn’t have stopped the smile coming across her face if she’d tried. It was just them in the world now, just her and Eddie, as he cupped the back of her head gently with his hand, moved in, and– 

THRUUUUUUUUM

Eddie jumped and banged his head hard into the bleachers above him. “Gah, shit!”

It wasn’t just anyone who was above them. It was the band, The brass section and drums. Jo covered her ears they were so loud, but she laughed all the same. 

“Damn it!” Eddie groaned, rubbing his head. “I hate football. I hate football. I hate football.”

“Why don’t we just get out of here?” Jo said, still smiling. Something had shifted inside of her. Heat burned under her skin. “You know, pick up where we left off.” 

Eddie raised his eyebrows at her. “Well then, by all means, milady, lead on.”

Jo flashed him an excited grin, grabbed his hand, and moved towards the end ot the bleachers. Her father was far at the other end, and distracted, so he wouldn’t see them. Nobody in band cared. So as far as she was concerned, they had cover. 

She looked at him, laughed, and took off running for the nearest door, which was darkened by shadows. No lights were on inside. They both plowed through the entrance and ran to the nearest classroom. Eddie tried the door. 

“Dammit, locked!” 

Jo was still giggling. She tried the next one. “Shit!”

Eddie wound around her, pulled something lean and sharp out of his pocket, and picked the lock. “Go, go go go!”

The door swung open, and Eddie yanked it shut behind them. Kickoff must have just happened, because the crowd was going nuts. 

“You sure he didn’t see?”

Jo grinned triumphantly. “He thinks I’m in his office doing homework. He’s probably not expecting me until at least halftime.”

“Guessing that homework isn’t done, is it?”

“Nope.” She took a step closer to Eddie. “I got better things to do.”

Eddie put his hands on her hips and drew her close. “That you do, sweetheart.”

Her hands landed on his chest, chills flying down her spine as he tilted her chin up so she was looking him in the eyes. 

“Eddie?”

“Mmmmhm.”

“Is… is this a bad time to mention I’ve never done this before?”

“Nope. Shit. You trust me that much?”

Jo nodded, smiling. “Show me what to do.”

He nuzzled his nose against hers, earning him another giggle, before he closed the gap between them and kissed her. Electricity flew through Jo’s body as he drew her closer and deepened the kiss. She all but melted into him. She felt him smiling. She couldn’t stop smiling herself.

So this was what it was supposed to be like. She’d never let herself imagine it. Other girls dreamed of this moment. She’d never had the courage to. 

But here the moment was, with her standing in it with the sweetest guy she could imagine spending it with, him wanting her as badly as she wanted him. 

FInally they pulled apart, Eddie resting his forehead on hers, breathing hard. 

“Damn, Jo,” his voice low as he wound his fingers through her hair and took it down. “You sure you’ve never done that before?”

A smile burst across Jo’s face. She nodded. 

“Really?”

Now she was laughing.

“You’re a natural.”

Now she was blushing. Furiously.

“Buuuuuut a little extra practice never hurt anybody.”

He closed the gap between them again, and Jo lost herself, the world condensing itself to just the two of them again. She knew she wasn’t, but how on Earth could he make her feel like she was the only girl he’d ever held this way?

Time ceased to exist. Everything–her homework, her father and Ms. O’Donnell–melted away in Eddie’s embrace. All she needed was him. All she wanted was him. The need was exploding inside of her, the need to be close to him. She deepened the kiss herself, and he laughed against her mouth. 

“That’s it, sweetheart,” he murmured, and went back in. 

When they finally parted, he just held her, and held her. It had to be past halftime, but she didn’t care. She snuggled closer to him, wanting the memorize the feeling of his body against hers. Nestled in his arms, she knew nothing could touch her–

The door banged open. The lights flew on, blinding them both.

“What the hell?!”

It was her father.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

Eddie shoved Jo behind him, holding his arm out in front of her protectively. His whole body had gone rigid, but he stood his ground. 

“Don’t touch her,” he growled. 

Coach Walker’s eyes flashed. “Josephine Paige. Here.” He pointed to the ground next to him. “ Now. ”

He felt her move, and Eddie pushed against her. “Jo, don’t,” he hissed between gritted teeth. 

“It’s okay,” she said, gently pushing his arm down and stepping forward. “I’ll be okay.”

The second she was close enough, Coach Walker backhanded her so hard in the face she hit the ground like a stone.

“ Jo! ” 

Eddie made a run for her, only to have his arm locked in a vice grip. 

“I should call the cops on your ass,” Eddie spat. Was that red at the corners of his eyes? 

Jo’s father barked out a humorless laugh. “I’d like to see you try,” he sneered as Eddie struggled against him. 

“Dad, don’t hurt him!” Jo begged.

“Make a move, and she gets it. I’ll just tell them you did it. And with your track record, who the hell do you think they’re gonna believe? Not you, Munson.” 

Eddie fell silent, staring past her father right into her eyes, paralyzed. A sob forced its way out of Jo’s lungs. Her father let Eddie go and wheeled on her. 

“You shut up! ” he thundered, yanking Jo to her feet like she were a ragdoll.

That sent a bolt of lightning down Eddie’s spine. “I swear to God, man,” he seethed, stepping forward, “I’ll–”

“You’ll what?” Coach Walker mocked. “You have no power here, Munson. Try anything, and I’ll call the cops. And they’ll take you where you belong. A jail cell!”

That stung more than Coach Walker would ever know. Eddie deflated. Clearly sensing victory, Coach Walker yanked a sobbing Jo towards the door. 

“Don’t listen to him, Eddie,” she said, barely audible. 

Eddie’s feet moved forward towards the two before he could stop them. Coach Walker yanked Jo’s arm behind her at a strange angle, squeezing a cry of pain out of her. 

“Another step, Munson, and her arm breaks.”

Eddie froze, tears welling in his terrified eyes. Satisfied for now, Coach Walker released Jo, who stumbled forward and caught herself on the door frame. 

“This isn’t your fault, Eddie,” she said before he could even have the thought. His stomach turned.

What if she was wrong?

Her father grabbed Jo’s shoulder and threw her out into the hallway. She smacked into the ground, the tile floor squeaking as she slid across it. Her face smarted and her arm ached from where she’d been struck and where she’d tried to catch herself. 

“Get back to the office, Josephine. We’re going home. And you .” Her father threw a finger in Eddie’s face. “If I catch you touching her again, you have no idea what I’ll do to you. I swear to God, Munson.”

Jo stumbled to her feet. 

“I see you two together again, and you’re both dead!” 

Jo wasn’t sure if that was a metaphor anymore. 

Her father stormed out of the doorway and down the hall towards her. “Come on,” he said, grabbing her arm again and dragging her along with him. “I can’t believe you, Josephine. Him? God, you’re just like your mother, you whore.”

Except her mother had never done anything. She was too terrified to.

Jo suspected she was about to find out why. 

She threw one last look over her shoulder, just long enough to see Eddie’s silhouette in the hallway, before she was marched through the dark and out of the building. As soon as people were in view, her father let her arm go. 

“Keep walking,” he said flatly. 

Jo wiped at her stinging face with the back of her sleeve as she put her head down and all but charged for the car. She realized she needed her backpack, but it was too late now. Her father would find some way to blame that on her. 

He cranked the car engine wordlessly and drove out into the parking lot. Something soulless came out of the radio, followed by something equally as bland as the old Pinto wheeled out into the street and streaked for home. The trees and stars flew by in blurry streaks through Jo’s tears

When they turned into the driveway, the radio caught Jo’s attention:

If he ever hurts you

True love won’t desert you

You know I still love you…

The door was ripped open, and Jo yanked out by the top of her arm. Up the stairs to the front door they went, Jo trying to wrench her arm free to no avail. The door swung open and she was tossed inside. As soon as she hit the ground, she heard the door slam… followed by the unmistakable metallic click of a belt being removed. 

“You’re gonna learn to obey me, you bitch.” Her father raised his hand.

It seemed she would be lying about bruises after all.