Chapter Text
"Have you heard? Harrington is back in town."
Eddie had to suppress an eye roll, keeping his gaze fixed on the whiskey in his hand and trying to ignore the conversation happening in front of him. Great, one more prick crawling back to Bum-Fuck-Nowhere Indiana after realising that 'finding yourself' didn't exactly work when there was absolutely nothing below the surface to find.
"Yeah, he's brought two girls with him apparently. You think one wasn't enough?"
Eddie stopped the stream of whiskey just short and topped it off with Coke. They wouldn't notice. He slid the glass across the bar towards them, putting the bottle back on the shelf behind him.
It had taken him a minute or two to recognise them when they walked in but now that he had, he would underpour every drink they ordered from him, the bastards.
Tommy and Carol had been a pair of dicks in school. Mean for fun. He was pretty sure they didn't even recognise him, barely glancing his way as they called out their orders.
"Not for him. You remember what he was like. Before."
"Think he managed to get his mojo back in California?"
"Only one way to find out. He's back at his parents' place. Throwing some kind of Welcome Home party."
"How the hell did you find that out?"
"Eddie!"
He whipped his head around at the sound of his name. Gareth was standing at the end of the bar, tapping his drumstick against his wrist.
"C'mon!"
He glanced down at his own watch.
9.30pm
Thank Christ for that. He hurriedly untied his apron from around his hips, dipping into the back office to throw it on a chair and calling out a quick "Lunch break!" to Charlie who didn't even look up from her magazine, waving him off.
"You good here on your own, Lionheart?" Eddie asked, turning to the other bartender, a boy of nineteen with wide innocent eyes and an easy smile as he took his beloved guitar from Gareth's hands.
Lionel giggled and gestured around at the practically empty bar. "I think I'll survive."
"You're a star, kid."
"Hey, after this do you think you could mix me up a Healing Potion?" Gareth asked as they settled in on stage.
"Do you not remember what happened last time?"
"No, I don't remember, isn't that the point?"
"Love treating you badly?" Jeff put his hand over the mic in front of him as he asked, turning around to look at them.
"Work is treating me badly."
"Sure. And Will is still with that guy."
"Jeff, I will use your head as my kick drum." Gareth snapped, pointing a drumstick at him.
"Alright, alright. Jeff, leave the poor halfling rogue alone, we've only got twenty-five minutes left. Gare, if you can make sure Charlie doesn't see, I'll make you your poisonous drink. Now count us in." Eddie settled his guitar against his hips and waited for his cue. They didn't need a verbal introduction, it was the same five drunks as usual. Hagan and Perkins didn't count.
He just hoped the crashing, thumping music would be enough to wash the name Steve Harrington from his memory for good.
It was nearly one in the morning by the time Eddie got home. He was momentarily surprised to find Chrissy awake before remembering she'd said something about a night out with the girls before he left.
"Have a good time?" He asked, dumping his bag by the couch and throwing himself down next to her. She immediately curled into his side, draping her pink throw over both of them, her face illuminated by whatever late night nonsense was playing on the TV.
They were a weird duo, the two of them. The Freak and the Queen. But after the earthquake of '86 and all the insane shit that came after, they were practically inseparable. Best friends, siblings, platonic soulmates.
Their apartment together was a perfect example of the complete clash of personalities. Like two full speed trains that had collided. Chunky knit soft pink throws draped over the couch contrasted with black painted brick work and what was, in his opinion, artful graffiti. Metal posters stuck up haphazardly side by side with pop princess icons spaced evenly apart.
The bookshelf was stuffed with D&D manuals, miniatures, classic literature, dice, plants, old cheerleading pom poms, fashion magazines, nail polish, small pride flags and team spirit flags. Photos were lining the walls of raggedy boys holding up devil horns and athletic girls cheering with a giant trophy between them.
Floral curtains and animal skulls. Combat boots and high heels. Delicate feminine gold earrings and bracelets next to chunky masculine silver rings and black corded necklaces.
Even the bathroom had the two of them littered all over it. Intense skincare that looked to Eddie like potion bottles, 3-in-1 that Chrissy said was a crime against the human body. Fluffy guest towels that weren't supposed to be touched even though he used them anyway. Hair masks and tampons next to spare lube and condoms. Perfume and cologne lined up side by side.
The only place that was completely their own was their respective bedrooms.
In one, a full length mirror and vanity sporting heaps of makeup next to a bed that was always perfectly made piled high with way too many throw pillows and stuffed animals. Old cheer hair bows in a corkboard along with team photos, medals decorating the walls, shockingly pink workout equipment stacked neatly in a corner and the floor dressed up with white faux fur rugs.
In the other, a thrifted typewriter sat on top of an antique desk that was littered with notebooks, spare pages, crumpled up attempts and coffee stains. The wall was so covered in more band posters, DnD posters, flyers, vinyls, artwork and drawings that they had started to creep onto the ceiling. On top of his bedside table was a teetering stack of books that was going to fall over soon. A heap of unwashed clothes sat in one corner and a heap of clean clothes sat in another. The corner of a fitted sheet lifted up on a bed that looked like it had never been properly made in its life. There was an empty spot to the side where his guitar would usually sit once Gareth got it back to him and a stray d4 that was on the floor somewhere that he just knew he was going to step on one of these days.
"Yeah." She giggled happily. "Really good."
"No drunken cheer routines this time?"
"No, but you'll never guess who we met."
"Do tell, my maiden fair."
"Steve's back. He's throwing himself and his friends a welcome home party on Saturday. We're invited."
We?
Eddie tried his best not to groan out his frustration. Why was he surprised? Chrissy and Harrington ran in the same circles for most of their lives.
"Well I'm sure you and the girls will have a great time."
Chrissy tilted her head up to look at him with her big, pleading baby blue eyes. "No, I mean he invited us."
He stared down at her in bewilderment. "Us?"
"Yeah, well when he invited me I think he could tell I was nervous and he told me I could bring someone."
"So why not one of the girls, they're already going right?"
"It's not the same, you know it's not the same."
"Chris, honey, I don't fancy the idea of being surrounded by the people who tormented me for years while they get brazen and drunk."
"No, it's not going to be that kind of thing. He said it was supposed to be a small get together but word got out somehow so he figures he might as well invite people he likes."
"And that includes you, does it?"
Chrissy's narrowed her eyes." Yes it includes me. I've told you, we were friendly back in school. He looked out for me, noticed things when others didn't. I told you about that time he found me in the bathroom-"
"Yeah, I- I know." He had to cut off that train of thought right there, running his hand up and down her arm. No need to go back to dark memories when they didn't have to. She hadn't relapsed in two years.
"He's not what you think he is, Eddie. He's sweet and kind and I think you'd like him if you gave him a chance. You've never even spoken to him."
"Don't need to. I know enough."
"You know what you've heard. Rumours and gossip. I mean they used to call you a Satan worshipper."
Eddie huffed.
Chrissy blinked her big eyes up at him again. "The boys are going."
"The boys? The- the Hellfire boys? Like, the kids?"
"Yeah. They're friends with him, you know that. They talk about him all the time."
"I tend to block them out when they do that. But they're kids! He's inviting them to a party?!"
"They're eighteen, Ed."
He rolled his eyes but wouldn't budge. There was no way he was going on Saturday.
Eddie scowled as he was dragged through the front door of the Harrington House, Chrissy pressed into his side, his arm protectively around her shoulders.
She was a social butterfly, alight in a room full of people, excited to be out and about with her friends. But as much as she had assured him Harrington was one of the good ones, the rest of them sure as shit wouldn't be. She wanted to be here but even being one of them wasn't enough to avoid the kind of shit bullies would latch onto. Her ex had been a prime example of that. It didn’t matter that they were long out of highschool. It sticks with you. Harrington had apparently assured her he'd weeded out the worst and they wouldn't be getting through the door but Eddie didn't want to take the risk.
He’d never been inside the house before but he’d seen what the parties looked like from the outside in the years past when he was still dealing. The music was usually thumping and there were bodies heaving, practically bursting through the front door and occasionally there’d be someone passed out in the grass. Eddie had turned more than one person onto their side to stop them from fucking dying before retreating to his van.
This time, however, it was more subdued. There were maybe twenty people here, not including the Hellfire kids he could see across the room, arguing in front of a sound system that he was loath to admit was truly impressive.
He’d love to get his hands on it and cut off that poppy nonsense that was like a cheese grater against his nerves.
There was a familiar mop of curly hair directly in the middle of the kids bickering, accompanied by flailing arms and poking fingers. Dustin was bitching with Mike while Lucas stood to the side, looking more and more withered by the second.
As he steered Chrissy around, he was surprised that there really weren't too many of the old faces he’d been dreading. The only jock he’d managed to catch sight of was Lucas, though he barely counted. He was a Hellfire boy first after all. Some of Chrissy’s cheer friends were here too, but did they count as jocks? Jocks were like… sporty right? Either way, none of the cheer girls had ever broken his nose.
"Holy shit, she actually got you to come." A voice piped up behind them.
Eddie turned to find Will Byers cocking an eyebrow, his gaze dancing between the two of them. It always caught him off guard just how tall Will had gotten. Gone was the little boy who'd been trapped in the woods for days on end, meek and shy and delicate. Now he was… well he was practically a man. Tall, strong but still kind and delicate. Eddie couldn't help taking some smug pride in it.
The first time he'd caught sight of the four boys looking lost and afraid in their first week of highschool, he'd seen himself immediately in Will. A gentle, scared little boy in hand-me-down clothes that never quite smelled clean because people like them, people like Will, people like Eddie, sometimes couldn't afford laundry detergent. He'd also been sporting a truly terrible haircut that could only be done by a mother who didn't have another option. There was a deep seated apprehensive fear hidden behind Will's eyes that Eddie knew all too well.
So he'd taken the boys in, brought them to Hellfire but Will was his special little project. He'd appointed himself the Queer Mentor role, taught him how to be, not how to fear and metaphorically wrenched the scissors from the hands of the tiny but terrifying Joyce Byers. While Will was now a 'completed project' as fucking impersonable and rude as that sounded, Eddie hadn't stopped trying to help the poor lost queer sheep of Hawkins. His new project was Lionel. Sweet, naive Lionel who thought the world was all peaches and cream.
Fuck, he had to stop calling people projects. It made him sound like a dick.
"She’s a witch." Eddie responded with a jostle to Chrissy's shoulders. “I fell victim to her wicked wiles.”
“I just have him well trained.”
Eddie rolled his eyes. “Stop, you’ll set Dustin off on us again.”
“I wouldn’t be too worried.” Will said. “Now that Steve’s back, he has a new target for his terrible matchmaking skills.”
Eddie snorted. “And god help the poor girl he deems acceptable. A fate worse than death, truly.” Though he wasn’t sure if the worst part of it would be Dustin’s persistence or getting lumped with Harrington of all people.
Chrissy smacked him lightly on the chest before turning back to Will. "El’s not coming today?"
“No. She was here with us before the crowd started to invade but, well, you know what she’s like around large groups of people.” He took a sip of his drink. “She didn’t want to get overwhelmed.”
"Is there alcohol in that?" Eddie narrowed his eyes at the fizzing liquid in Will’s hand.
"Would you stop me if there was?"
"No, just as long as you know your limits."
"You gonna kick me out if I get too rowdy? Didn't know a bartender's duty extended to house parties."
Chrissy giggled traitorously beneath his arm.
"Just go slow, okay?” Eddie took a quick glance around. “Your boy not with you today? What is his name? Jake? John?"
"His name’s Martin, and you know it. But no, no boy. The boy's gone."
"Oh? Are we upset about that?"
"No.” Will shook his hair out of his eyes. Thank god that bowl cut was far in the past. “I started to realise that it was less about keeping the relationship secret and more about keeping me as his dirty little secret. So I ended it."
"Damn, kid. Good move. Wouldn't have had the strength for that at your age."
Eddie didn't have the strength for it at his age. Or at twenty-one. Or at twenty-four. He knew the dirty little secret feeling all too well and it always stung like a bitch, but Will seemed good. Lighter even.
As Chrissy and Will gossiped Eddie scanned the room again. Huh. It was definitely more of an eclectic bunch. Though he was long free from the confines of highschool, he could still identify the old cliques when he saw them. Band geeks, theatre nerds, cheerleaders, kids about Will’s age who he often saw with a skateboard tucked under their arms or pulling some truly terrifying stunts on their BMX bikes. Barely any of the crowd he’d been expecting. He thought he’d caught a glimpse of Tommy and Carol weaving around but he couldn’t be sure.
No sign of Harrington or the two girls he’d apparently travelled home with, though how he was supposed to recognise them, he had no idea.
These were the people he would have partied with back in school. The type of people who would indulge his weird niche impassioned rants and would rant back to him in return. No one could drink like the band kids did and no one could experiment with partners of any persuasion like the theatre kids. The popular crowd would be clutching their pearls in terror.
At least if anyone were to approach Eddie tonight he wouldn’t need to be worried about being threatened into silence afterwards.
But no. He was here to keep Chrissy company and that was it.
“Is the band not with you?” Will asked casually, oh so casually looking around.
“No, Will. Gareth isn’t here.”
Will’s shoulders sagged momentarily before he righted himself. “That’s not what I was asking.”
“Uh-huh.”
“What about you? You keeping your eye out for anyone tonight?”
“No. God no. I have taken myself off the market. I want to concentrate on my writing and I don’t need some numbskull following me around, whispering false nothings to me until he insists it was just an experiment and leaves me in his rearview mirror. No, thank you.”
His year long dry spell ached within him but he pushed it far, far back. He wasn’t here for that. And even though he could disappear to the city for a quick suck and fuck whenever he wanted, it was growing tiresome. Was it too much to want… companionship as well?
Either way he wasn’t getting it tonight. He didn’t want it tonight. He had plenty of other things to keep him going. He had his book, writer's block be damned. He had his band, his guitar, his campaign. He was focusing on himself and his goals. That was fine. He was fine. It was enough.
Will settled himself on Eddie’s side, opposite to Chrissy who both started to steer him towards the kitchen. “Maybe we can leech this bitterness out with something with too much alcohol and too much sugar. What do you say, Chris?”
“Yeah. Something to bring your sweetness back up.” She poked at his cheek, teasing.
“I’m not bitter.”
“Uh-huh.” Will parroted in the exact same tone of voice that had been used on him earlier.
“Well, if you two want to help me drown my sorrows in a free drink that’s far too colourful, I won’t say no.”
After one… okay two very strong drinks, (perks of being a bartender, knowing how to hide the bite of alcohol underneath a few mixers), he found he was actually enjoying himself, though that probably had to do with the Hellfire boys more than anything. They kept his spirits up, kept Chrissy’s spirits up and weren’t shy about knocking back drinks with that youthful elasticity that kept hangovers at bay.
Eddie wasn’t sure how to feel about it. On the one hand he couldn’t tell them off for it without being an incredible hypocrite, on the other he couldn’t stop seeing them as kids. Small little fourteen year olds glancing nervously around the cafeteria, not eighteen year olds who were all due to graduate this year.
Lucas, the tallest out of all of them, caught sight of something over Eddie’s head and his face split into a wide grin. “Max!” He called out.
Eddie turned to see a girl about the same age as the boys with bright fiery red hair tied up in a ponytail weaving her way through the crowd towards them. She looked bored, unbothered and too cool for school as she sauntered her way past him and straight into the middle of the boys who all collectively threw their arms around her. She grumbled and complained as they piled on but held on tight.
“Eddie, Chrissy, this is Max. She came back from California with Steve and Robin.”
Yeah, he's brought two girls with him apparently. You think one wasn't enough?
He didn’t like the insinuation that ran through his head. She was a bit young wasn’t she? But he didn’t know. He could be assuming. The name Robin did sound familiar though. Were they all from Hawkins?
Max smiled at Chrissy, giving her a small wave and Eddie nearly felt himself wilt as her sharp gaze landed on him. She dragged her eyes up and down his body, an eyebrow cocked.
“ This is the ‘super cool’ Dungeon Master you all have been raving about for years?”
The boys sputtered in embarrassment, groaning at the smile that was spreading over Eddie’s face. He’d never let them live this down.
“Max.” Dustin groaned. “Please be nice.”
“I am being nice. Not my fault you talked about him like the sun shines out his ass.” She shrugged looking him up and down again. “Skinny.”
“Pasty.” Eddie replied, determined to meet her energy. She glared at him but the corner of her mouth ticked up ever so slightly.
The boys seemed to read the energy differently, however. Jumping in to try and ease the tension they thought was there. “Max went to school with us for a while.”
Hm. He thought he could remember a redhead popping up around the boys occasionally in his memory but he couldn’t be sure. “Had no interest in Hellfire?”
She snorted and rolled her eyes. “None. I actually had a life.”
“Max.”
There was something in her tone. It was like she was testing him, challenging him to see if he lived up to some kind of hype and he couldn’t help but think that the boys might have talked up his bitchyness to her and she wanted to see for herself.
“Can’t be much of a life if I never saw you around.”
“Oh, forgive me for not wanting to hang around a super super senior with shitty tattoos and even shittier style.” She waved her hand at his ripped jeans and distressed band tee. “Sooo edgy.”
Eddie eyed up her clothes in turn. “Maybe I could have given you some tips. Taught you how to live without so much constipated gender envy.”
“I had actual shit to deal with. You know, dead mom, birth father in prison, left in the care of a shithead step-family.”
While the music continued to sound around them, it was like someone had cast Silence over their group. Everyone else was tense and apprehensive, expecting one of them to snap and start throwing hands but to Eddie it felt more like sparring. Max jutted her chin up, daring him to make it awkward. Unfortunately for her, he was a fucking pro.
“Fun! Me too! If you remove the step-family. I got dumped on my Uncle Wayne.”
“Not a shithead?”
“Very much not a shithead.”
“Wow. Practically had life handed to you on a silver platter. The privilege.” She sneered, eyes glittering with joy.
“As privileged as trailer trash can be. What kind of tragedy befell your dearly departed mother?”
“Earthquake of ‘86. You?”
“Alcoholism like…” Eddie exhaled a breath, puffing out his cheeks while calculating in his head. “Twelve years ago?”
“It’s a disease.” She mocked, in the same false sympathetic voice he’d gotten so used to hearing over the years, but coming from Max it sounded like understanding. He was well aware that all the tragedy they were talking about was a good few years in the past. Even though they were sparring, in competition, it was like there was a mutual understanding between them that recent events were off limits. Eddie didn’t really have anything recent to add to the pile anyway, but maybe Max did. He wouldn’t go near it, not unless she brought it up first.
He nodded solemnly, unable to keep his lips from curling upward. “What’s your sperm-donor away for?”
“Home invasion and criminal battery. You?”
He couldn’t help his smile growing, wolfish and cocky. “Grand theft auto, child endangerment and manslaughter.”
“God damn it.” She muttered to herself.
“I win.”
“Yeah, whatever. I’ll get you next time, Munson.”
“Look forward to it, Maxy.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Sure thing, Red.”
As the boys around them started to relax, Chrissy surprisingly ended up in a deep discussion with Max about their respective athletic endeavours. Max agreed that cheerleading was fucking difficult but not taken seriously and Chrissy lamented with her that female skateboarders were overlooked and undervalued in the scene. Eddie was pretty sure Chrissy knew jack shit about skateboarding but maybe it was some kind of feminism thing. Supporting your fellow woman or whatever. The din of the strangers around them shifted, people whispering and gossiping about something. Eddie looked around trying to figure out what had caused the change in atmosphere, when, like two cars colliding, his dark eyes met honey brown ones and the whole world fell away.
His body, his brain, his heart betrayed him in that moment as he took in Steve Harrington from across the crowd, watching him with an intensity that didn't match his relaxed posture.
He looked… different.
He looked good .
His famous hair was longer than he'd last seen it, the same gravity defying volume ever present as it swooped around his head like he was the main character in some period romance novel. His face was older, sharper, his skin darker from the California sun. What Eddie could see of his clothes seemed to have lost the preppy edge but just barely. A thin, soft grey henley stretched across his chest and shoulders, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows showing off tanned forearms and thick veins popping up against his skin.
He looked gorgeous and Eddie hated himself for thinking that. He might be an Adonis on the outside but if he knew anything, it was that Steve Harrington was going to be just as miserable and haughty on the inside as he always was.
He had to be.
Their eyes were torn from each other as Harrington turned his head to listen to the girl on his arm who Eddie hadn't even noticed until now.
She didn't look like the type he would have expected to be hanging off him, dressed in a white button down and a loose black tie with a pair of suspenders sitting over her shoulders. She wore a chunky chain bracelet that she could have swiped from Eddie's dresser, her sleeves also pushed up to her elbows and her hair cropped short into a pixie cut.
He wondered if Harrington knew his girlfriend was giving off extreme lesbian vibes.
"Is that Robin Buckley?" Chrissy asked from his side, her wide eyes fixed on the girl.
Robin Buckley? No, it couldn't be. Robin Buckley was a gangly band nerd, always carrying around an instrument case and always swamping herself in oversized t-shirts and jeans, endlessly frustrated by her hair getting in her face. He remembered Robin. He would recognise Robin. He'd tried to invite her to Hellfire before seeing the same awkwardness and kinship he'd felt in Will.
But as he looked again he had to concede that yes that was in fact Robin Buckley in the flesh, her outfit tailored to her body in a masculine fashion and looking more comfortable in her own skin than he had ever seen her before.
Not Harrington's girlfriend then. But was she the second girl he'd 'brought back' from California? He does remember her seemingly dropping off the face of the earth a few years ago. He thought she'd gone off to college. Maybe she had.
"She looks…" Chrissy seemed to struggle with herself, trying to find the right words. "She looks really good."
"Oh! Steve and Robin have come down." Dustin was bouncing on the balls of his feet. "C'mon guys, I want you to meet them."
He grabbed Eddie's arm and started leading him and Chrissy through the crowd.
Oh no. Oh no, no, no. Not happening.
"Why would I want to 'meet' King Steve?" Eddie pulled his arm from Dustin's grasp and was surprised to see a hard look cross his face, the expression mirrored in the faces of the other boys and Max.
"Don't call him that. He's not like he was in school."
"You don't know what he was like in school."
"No, but I do." Chrissy was giving him the look. "I told you, Eds. He's not what you think he is."
"He's one of my best friends, Eddie. I want you to know each other."
"This is bullying. This is peer pressure and… and… gang initiation!"
"Oh suck it up, drama queen." Max rolled her eyes, giving him a hard shove in his sworn enemies direction.
When the gaggle of them broke through the crowd, Robin greeted them with an excited jump and a genuine smile.
"Hi guys! Hey Eddie, it's good to see you again."
He couldn’t help but smile back at her, her raw energy was infectious. When her gaze slid to the girl tucked under his arm her eyes went wide. “Chrissy? Chrissy Cunningham?”
Harrington’s eyes snapped over to them in an instant, his face softening at the sight of her.
“Chrissy.” He nodded, his voice irritatingly smooth.
Chrissy extracted herself from Eddie’s side for the first time that night and beamed. “Glad to have you back in Hawkins, Steve.” She turned her attention back to the other woman who was still gawking. “Hi Robin. I’m surprised you remember me.”
Robin stared for a second, dumbfounded like she couldn’t believe what she’d heard. Harrington moved his arm, almost imperceptibly nudging her and she nearly physically jumped into her next sentence. “No! I mean of- of course I remember you. You w-were Head Cheerleader while we were at school, right? I was in the band. Or, not like in the band or like a band, I mean I was in band. You know band, band? I’d see you at practice a lot.” Robin’s face paled ever so slightly before the colour rose back up. “Not that I was, like, watching you or anything! I’d just see you a lot and you know, you- you’re hard to miss.”
Robin was rambling, stuttering and falling over her words. Gone was the easy casual demeanour she’d held only moments before, a hot blush rising across her cheeks the more she spoke. Robin was down bad . Poor girl. He just hoped it didn’t break her heart too much when she found out Chrissy was straight. Although… Chrissy also had a light blush crawling up her neck as well, twisting her fingers around themselves.
“Yeah, I remember you too. You played the trumpet right?”
Robin practically squeaked as she nodded, seemingly unable to respond. Harrington’s eyes were darting in between the two, a slow smirk spreading over his face that set Eddie’s teeth on edge. So, great, Harrington knew about Robin but he was going to be a fucking creep about this, wasn’t he? God damn straight boys were disgusting when it came to two women.
“Steve, this is Eddie,” Dustin piped up, apparently oblivious, “our resident Dungeon Master and author extraordinaire!”
Eddie groaned inwardly. Why did he have to mention the author thing? He was barely halfway through the first draft. He didn’t even know if he wanted to be published yet. Harrington barely even seemed to notice, his eyes scraping up and down Eddie’s body with a cocked eyebrow, just sending a stiff nod in his direction.
Well fuck you too.
“Is there alcohol in that?” Harrington asked, narrowing his eyes at the drink in Dustin’s hand.
“Yes.” Dustin glared back, puffing up his chest.
Atta boy. Fight the man.
“Oh, get over it, Steve. You were doing worse at our age.” Max snapped and Eddie had to hold himself back from jumping in front of her, fully prepared for King Dick to go into full douchebag bully mode.
Colour him shocked to his core when all Harrington did was scowl and place his hands on his hips like some kind of mom . “There’s no need to get snippy with me, young lady.”
What. The Fuck.
Just as Max opened her mouth to reply, Lucas, wide eyed and clearly trying to stop her from digging herself into a hole, grabbed her by the wrist and almost shouted “Let’s go dance!”
She allowed herself to be dragged away, but not before knocking back her drink like a regular barfly while maintaining direct eye contact with Harrington. Almost like some kind of demented conga line, Max grabbed Will’s arm with her free hand who grabbed Mike who grabbed Dustin.
Eddie turned back to Chrissy, needing to latch onto something, anything familiar but-
“Do you want to go for a dance too?” She asked Robin, the colour continuing to rise up her neck.
Robin opened and closed her mouth like a fish before nodding dumbly with an awestruck expression.
Eddie watched them go and wondered exactly which god or devil he’d managed to piss off to leave him here alone with Harrington standing in one of the most awkward silences of his entire life. He darted his eyes around, please god let something crash through the window or drop from the ceiling. Something to say. Another earthquake maybe? Why was he drawing a blank, he always had something to say and Harrington was just standing there like the atmosphere between the two of them wasn’t weighing heavily in the air.
“You don’t dance, Harrington?”
He looked over at Eddie, seeming to size him up for a long moment, his eyes flitting over his face, his hair, his clothes, his drink before rising back up to meet his eyes. King Dick turned his head to look back out over the crowd in the direction of the kids, Chrissy and Robin before replying shortly.
“Not if I can help it.”
Eddie couldn’t stop the scoff that escaped him. “Well aren’t you just precious.”
It was meant as a slight, something bitchy and just on the wrong side of mean but it came out more teasing than anything. He turned on his heel and escaped into the crowd before Harrington could respond. He really didn’t feel like being hate crimed right now.
Thankfully the kitchen was mostly empty but an inviting draught was escaping from a cracked door at the back. Ducking through he found himself in an open, empty garage. He silently sent his thanks upwards or downwards, it didn’t matter, just whoever was listening as he tapped out a cigarette and lit up.
What the fuck happened in there? What the fuck was going on with Chrissy? She’d only ever been so shy and bashful around boys she liked, never with girls. Girls were easy for her to interact with. There was kinship there, some kind of female solidarity that he both understood as a queer man but was still alien to him.
It was like she liked Robin. Like liked.
And then there was the whole… everything about Harrington. He’d been an ass but Eddie had honestly expected him to be more of an ass. Bitchy or draconian or uncaring. He remembered what he was like in school. Shit like that doesn’t just go away. Though to be fair, he was still acting like an ass. Barely acknowledged Eddie’s existence when introduced and kept his head on a swivel the whole time like some kind of turret, like someone was going to jump out and start attacking at a moment's notice.
What was he looking for?
Eddie didn’t just stop at one. He puffed his way through four, the alcohol making them easier to smoke, before his stomach and throat started to ache from it. He used to be able to chainsmoke a whole pack in his youth but Chrissy, ever the athlete and health nut, was on his ass to quit properly this time. He’d cut down but hadn’t found it in himself to quit completely just yet.
“She’s so fucking pretty, Steve, I can’t handle it.”
Eddie tensed.
Shit. He didn't need to be hearing any of Robin's super secret confessions. How the fuck was he going to escape this? The garage door was open, it was an option. But he’d have to round the house from the outside and risk being spotted through the windows.
“Sure. She’s a… a lovely girl, Rob.”
Harrington sounded less stiff, more relaxed. His voice was easier and god damn it it was even smoother. What the fuck kind of devils magic was that. Eddie knocked himself in the head with his fist. What did it matter? Who cared how his voice sounded anyway? Not him.
“A lovely girl? Steve, you sound like her grandmother. Did you not see her? Her blue eyes… and her skin is so smooth and soft and the muscles! Agh! God help me! I bet she could still, like, triple salchow or whatever the fuck-" There was the sounds of liquid pouring and sloshing inside, a familiar song to Eddie of drinks being mixed.
"That's figure skating."
"I bet she could, though."
“Sure. Just… be careful, Rob, okay? Remember-?”
Okay. Nope. No. He couldn’t be here for this. He couldn’t hear this. This was not something for his ears. Even as he slowly backed away, the sound of their conversation seemed to follow him.
“Yes, I remember.” Robin snapped, her voice louder now. “I get it, Steve. No falling for the straight girl again, at ease soldier, I don’t need a guard dog.”
Harrington sighed and Eddie could almost hear the wince in his voice. “I know, I’m sorry.”
There was a beat of silence before Robin moved on. “But you get it right?”
“We have very different taste in women. She’s not my type. I don’t really have a type.”
“Yes, you do. Your type is curly haired, big eyed, snarky, bitchy, smartasses who know exactly what they want.”
“You’re describing multiple people.”
“Exactly. I’m describing almost all of your ex’s.”
Harrington scoffed. “Whatever.”
“Speaking of, what did you and Eddie talk about?”
Oh. Well. How could he turn a blind ear to the sound of his own name? He’d never been great at impulse control. He decided not to think about it too hard as he crept forward again, undoing all his progress.
“What do you mean, speaking of? There’s no speaking of .”
“Mmm-hmm.” Robin hummed into her glass, their voices getting further away as they retreated back into the party.
“We didn’t talk about anything. He didn’t have anything interesting to say.”
Excuse me the fuck?!
Nothing interesting to say?! All Eddie was was interesting things to say, and yeah okay maybe that was a bit prideful but it’s everything he was. He was a Dungeon Master, a writer, a lyricist and an improviser. Nothing interesting to say? Who the fuck did that asshole think he was?!
There was a voice in the back of his mind reminding him that he hadn’t even given Harrington the chance to engage in conversation, just a few stilted words shared between them before he bolted but he shoved that shithead voice way down.
He was right, of course he was right. King Dick was the same old fuckface he always was. And an awful conversationalist to boot. If Eddie never had to see him again it would be too soon. He had half a mind to jump ship right then and there but he couldn’t abandon Chrissy.
Speaking of, he needed to find her. Make sure she was doing okay surrounded by ex-peers and ex-friends and just people in general. He hoped the kids had looked after her in his absence. Maybe he was being a bit overprotective but she was his person.
By the time he'd managed to sneak back out of the garage through the blessedly empty kitchen without being seen, the whole gang was back together in their old spot including Harrington but his stomach dropped at what met him.
Tommy and Carol had shown up and they were practically glued to King Dick's side, simpering, mooning and just in general sucking up. So much for weeding out the worst. Harrington looked like he'd rather be anywhere else, constantly pulling his arms from their grip and rolling his eyes at Robin who was openly glaring at them, standing with a shoulder in front of Chrissy, almost protectively, who was shrinking back.
It only got worse once he overheard what Dustin, the constant meddler, was saying.
"I mean she's single, you're single. It'd be almost poetic, right? The jock and the cheerleader?"
Oh god he was not trying to set Chrissy up with Harrington was he?
The kids didn't know the gory details of her final breakup with Carver over a year ago. Barely anyone did. But they were all acutely aware that she was taking time to find herself now she was no longer under his thumb and Dustin was putting her on the spot like this, in front of all these people she didn't know while she was clearly uncomfortable?
Eddie sidled up beside her, putting his arm back around her shoulders and pulling her into him. She tugged him close with an arm around his waist and practically hid her head in his shoulder. Robin glanced back at the two of them, relaxing her posture ever so slightly.
He looked up to find Harrington watching the exchange closely, his eyes fixed on Chrissy in a way that would usually unsettle him.
"And it's been a year since-"
Chrissy visibly flinched, holding him tighter. He turned angry eyes to Dustin, opening his mouth to stop this right the fuck now but he didn't get the chance.
"Dustin." Harrington's voice was sharp and left no room for argument. "Cut it out now." His eyes were still on Chrissy, looking almost concerned?
No, it couldn't be concern, probably pity or something else equally as unwelcome.
"So, Eddie! What have you been up to while we've been gone? Are you still playing at the Hideout?" Robin turned her strained smile to him, trying to break the tension that had settled over the group.
Thank god for her.
"Yeah, gotta bring culture to the masses, you know?" He forced a laugh. Mostly succeeded too.
"Oh that's where I've seen you around." Carol was grinning snidely at him from Harrington's side. "You're a bartender there."
She said the word like it was something to be ashamed of or laughed at. Poor little Munson, working a job that didn't require a college degree or nepotism and wouldn't lead anywhere.
"I worked as a bartender." Harrington turned his cold eyes on her and she seemed momentarily shocked that he wasn't joining in on the shit-on-the-working-man parade.
"Oh."
Chrissy squeezed his side twice. Yeah, time to go.
"I think it's time we leave your glorious company everyone. Dustin,” He turned his eyes to the oblivious eighteen year old and spoke through gritted teeth. “I'll call you in the morning."
The boy looked at him in bewilderment for a moment before registering his pointed gaze and nodded. They would talk about what the fuck he'd just put Chrissy through.
"It was really nice to see you all again." Chrissy said quietly to the group, though her eyes never left Robin's. She unwound herself from his arms and pulled Robin into a hug who looked like she either wanted to melt or run or both.
As they made their goodbyes, Mike asked "You sure you can't stay out any longer? It's barely midnight."
"Alas young Paladin, we're not as spry as we once were." His skin was practically itching at this stage to get the fuck out , his irritation practically choking him.
Eddie couldn't help throwing one last barb over his shoulder as they began to walk out. "One should always leave a party when they have nothing interesting to say."