Chapter Text
“Well, why can’t I go?” Dustin and Steve round a corner into the doorway of Steve’s bathroom.
“Because this is a trip with all the older kids; we don’t want to babysit you. Not to mention if you come, Lucas has to come, then Mike, then Will, then El, then Max, and then-“ Steve says while collecting different hygiene products and stuffing them into a small bag.
“‘Kay, fair, but what if it’s just me? I mean, c’mon Steve, we’re buddies, which means I should be allowed to go! And, not to mention, Eddie’s going too, and I’m closer to him than any of you guys! Why is he even going?”
“Dustin, no. We’ve already decided who’s going. Plus, there’s not enough space in my cabin up there anyways. Also, Robin and Eddie are friends, and I’m…close enough with him.” Steve shoved Dustin out of his way to cross to his bedroom to toss the bag into his backpack.
“Why are Jonathan and Argyle going, then?” Dustin follows Steve and leans in the doorway, crossing his hands.
“Because Nancy is going, which means Jonathan is going, which means Argyle is going.”
“Well then, it’s the same for me!” Dustin gestures to Steve, and then to himself. “Because you and Eddie are going, that means I’m going.”
Steve paused his search, moving up and putting a hand on his hip and sighing, pinching the bridge of his nose. “…Fine.” Dustin whoops, putting his hands in the air. “But I have to check with the others.” Steve wanders over to the phone and proceeds to dial his friends' numbers.
——
It was a cold, crisp, and unbearably chaotic morning. Steve gripped the wheel to Eddie’s van, knuckles white. Eddie is in the passenger seat, meaning that he got to choose the music. Despite multiple protests, he decided on Anthrax.
Robin gripped both of the front two seats, neither in the front nor back of the van, not really standing but not really sitting. All the seats were pushed down, letting Dustin, Lucas, Nancy, Jonathan, Will, Mike, El, Max, and Argyle cram themselves in there, talking insanely loud with all their stuff crashing about. Absolutely no one was wearing seatbelts, and Steve could barely focus on the damn road.
All the windows were down, making sure that hair was blowing every which way. The music was insanely loud and felt like someone was whacking Steve’s head with a spiked bat every millisecond. Robin was practically screaming her worries at Steve, and Eddie had this absolutely psychotic grin on his face.
Dustin was uncontrollably giggling at the madness. El and Lucas were trying to decode something Max had said to them, while Mike leaned over Will’s shoulder to watch him draw.
Argyle was stoned out of his mind (Steve doesn’t know if he is actually high all the time and at this point is pretty convinced this is just Argyle’s personality), trying to convince Jonathan that grapes on pizza were gonna be the next big hit, while Nancy sat very stiff and upright next to Jonathan, gripping his arm.
Everyone was trying (not very hard) to keep all the luggage from flying around, but oftentimes someone would cry out from having a bag flung into their face.
“Steve, I really think you need to pull over. Nancy looks super pale-“ Robin yelled into Steve’s ear.
“Have you maybe tried asking Nancy that??” Steve yelled back.
“No, but that’s because I don’t think she could hear me-“
“I’m fine, Robin.” Nancy replied into Robin's ear, with a hand on her shoulder.
“Nevermind, Steve!”
——
Finally, after an hour and a half of actual hell, the van pulled up to a relatively large cabin. It was two stories and directly on the lake, with its own dock and everything. There were four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a half-bath, two living rooms (only one with a TV), kitchen, dining room, and an office.
The only phone was in a phone booth, which was a ten minute walk down the road. Five if you sprint.
All the kids piled out of the car. They gawked at the cabin for a moment, before looking at each other with excitement and ran to get inside.
“The older kids get the beds! You guys have to sleep elsewhere!” Steve yelled after them, sluggishly making his way out of the car.
Robin comes up behind Steve, stretching. “Holy shit! Those kids are…okay, well, I knew they were maniacs, but I swear I lost my hearing.”
“Jesus Christ. You guys, I’m so sorry I swear I was just gonna invite Dustin-“
“Harrington, I’m gonna have to stop you there-“ Eddie walked around the van, his bag slung off of one shoulder, that same crazy grin spread across his face. “-because I think that was the most fun I’ve ever had on an hour-long ride. Having the kids here will make this all a whole more interesting.”
“Thanks for the words of wisdom, Eds, but this week is still probably gonna be hell on earth thanks to those spawns of Satan.” Steve leaned onto the van, Eddie tilting his head in confusion or…surprise? Robin popped her head into Steve’s line of vision, also visibly confused. “What, what did I say?”
“You called Eddie ‘Eds’. When did you start getting all buddy with ‘Eds’ Steve?” Robin asked, a small smirk growing on her face.
Steve felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. “Shit, I uh- slip of the tongue I guess?” He ran his fingers through his hair, tugging slightly from anxiety. What the fuck was that about???
“Don’t worry about it, Stevie, I’m good with getting cozy with ‘The King’ himself.” Eddie winked at Steve before turning on his heel and bouncing towards the cabin.
“Eddie! Wait for me!” Robin quickly grabbed her stuff out of the van (which only consisted of one massive fucking backpack) and chased after Eddie.
Steve sat there, letting himself think for only a moment about the previous interaction before hurrying off to collect his things and head into the cabin, following Jonathon, Nancy, and Argyle.