Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Eddie poked idly at his food, hunched over his seat in the cafeteria while he waited for his friends to join him. He felt conspicuous, like everyone around him was laughing behind their hands at Eddie the Freak, who failed senior year and was back once again.

Sometimes he didn't know why he even bothered. What was a high school degree going to do for him? You didn't need one to work at the plant, which was where he was most likely going to end up.

On other, more optimistic days, he thought about how famous rock stars didn't need high school degrees either. But, he had to accept, the future where he worked alongside his uncle at the factory was more likely.

He decided to distract himself by scanning the crowd of students. Mostly it was the same First Day bullshit he saw every year - girls comparing outfits and new hairstyles, boys acting over the top to impress the girls. He rolled his eyes. There had to be someone new, someone interesting...

A tray landed beside him. "Any prospects?" Jeff asked as he sat down. Gareth and Frankie soon followed.

"Not yet," he said as he took a bite of food. He grimaced. The cafeteria was up to its usual culinary standards - he wasn't even entirely sure what he had just eaten. Maybe meatloaf?

He sat up straight as something - make that two somethings - caught his eye. In the corner of the cafeteria near the entrance hovered two boys, looking anxiously around. One boy was shorter than the other, with curly hair and a Weird Al t-shirt under a colorful unbuttoned short sleeve shirt. The other boy was taller, and looked like he had been dressed by his mother in a pair of khakis and a polo shirt.

These lost little sheep needed him.

"Look alive," Eddie said, slapping his hands against the table as he stood up. "We got a live one."

"Godspeed," Gareth mumbled around a mouthful of food.

Eddie strode across the room, thinking. Hellfire Club had lost half its members in last year's graduating class. If he wanted it to keep going after this year, they needed to bring in freshmen, and more than one.

By the time he made it to the doorway where the two boys were still standing, clutching their lunches, a third boy had joined them. He was dressed more fashionably than the others, but it was clear by how they gravitated around each other that the three of them were a unit. Excellent, thought Eddie. If he could convince all three to join, then their numbers would be back to where they were last year.

"Well, what do we have here?" Eddie drawled as he came to a stop in front of the boys.

They stared back at him, eyes wide.

The boy with the curly hair recovered first. "Hey," he said, smiling wide to reveal a mouth full of braces. "I'm Dustin. This is Mike, and Lucas." He gestured to each of the boys as he named them.

"Gentlemen," Eddie said, leaning against a nearby table. The girl sitting there huffed and scooted away from him. "My name's Eddie. Eddie Munson. And I run a group called - "

"Hellfire Club!" Mike interrupted. Eddie raised an eyebrow at him, and he flushed. "My sister's mentioned it. It's the DnD group, right?"

"That's right!" Eddie said cheerfully. So his reputation preceded him. Normally that meant trouble, but this time it seemed to be working out. "Who's your sister?"

Mike scowled. "She has a boyfriend."

"Not what I asked."

"Nancy Wheeler," he muttered.

So this was Nancy the Priss's little brother. This just kept getting more interesting. She had become infamous at school last year for dumping the king of Hawkins High to date Jonathan Byers - the gossip was bad enough that even Eddie, who tried to ignore shit he didn't care about, couldn't help but hear of it. Eddie was slightly ashamed to admit he had found himself wondering about it from time to time. What had made her dump Steve Harrington? He liked to think it was because he was bad in the sack. No one that pretty and privileged could possibly be as talented in that arena as the whispers said.

Whatever it was, she never spoke out about it, and was even occasionally seen sitting with both him and Jonathan at lunch last year.

"So what do you think?" Eddie grinned. "Wanna see the gruesome flames of Hellfire? We sit together at lunch, and meet on Fridays after school in the auditorium. Our games will blow your minds. No more little kid shit."

The boys looked at each other.

"Can our friends come too?" asked Lucas.

"Do they play?"

"Will does," Dustin assured him. "And I'm sure we could convince the girls..."

"No way," Lucas shook his head. "Max said she would play it over her dead body. And El's never played either."

"Then no can do," Eddie said. "It's for Hellfire members only, not Hellfire members and their girlfriends." Of course, he added mentally, it wasn't often a member of Hellfire had a girlfriend who even wanted to sit with them. Or had a girlfriend at all.

Dustin looked at the other boys. "I mean, they'll probably be fine, right?"

Mike glared at him. "Dude, no way! No Party member left behind, remember? We promised El we would be there for her."

"And she will decapitate me for saying it, but Max is going through a rough time too," Lucas said. "We can't just abandon them!"

"It's a lunch room, not a battlefield!" Dustin said.

"Come on, you know El's never been to a real school before," Mike said. Eddie raised his eyebrows. That was interesting. "We can't let her face the cafeteria by herself! She'll get eaten alive!"

"The point is, we have rules for a reason," Lucas said. "No Party member left behind."

Dustin heaved an exasperated sigh and threw his head back dramatically. "Ugh! Fine!" He turned to Eddie. "Sorry Eddie, it looks like it's all or none of us."

Eddie thought for a moment. He didn't fully get what the deal was with the girls, but it sounded like at least one of them might be open to the idea of DnD - and maybe over time he could wear this Max down. Better to have four new members with two hangers-on than no new members at all.

"Alright, fine!" he said. "I admire your commitment to your Party. Bring them over when they get here." He grinned. "Unless they ditched you, of course."

He sauntered away from the group back to the table.

"What's the deal?" asked Gareth.

"We've got some Hellfire babies," Eddie announced, picking up his fork. "Plus two I'm going to work on." He saw a group approaching the table out of the corner of his eye. "Alright, my brothers-in-arms! Make a good impression for company."

Mike, Dustin, and Lucas stood by the table, joined by a boy with a truly unfortunate bowl cut, and two girls.

"Sit, sit," Eddie said, waving a hand at the empty seats around the table. "This is Jeff, Gareth, and Frankie, the other members of Hellfire Club." Each of the guys nodded or gave a small wave as their name was said. The kids sat down. Eddie noticed that Mike made sure to pull one of the girl's chair out for her, and hid a grin by taking a bite of food.

“You must be El,” he said to her. Her eyes widened, and she nodded slowly.

“My name is Jane,” she said. “El’s a nickname.”

Eddie didn’t see how El could possibly be a nickname for the name Jane, but let it go.

“And that must make you Max,” he said pointing his fork to the second girl as she sat down next to Lucas.

“I guess it must,” she said sarcastically.

“She’s kidding,” Dustin said quickly. “That’s Max! She’s a kidder!” He chuckled uneasily.

“Sure,” Eddie agreed. “I can tell she’s a barrel of laughs.” He took a bite of food as he considered the group. Mike and Jane were talking quietly, while Will eyed them with a strange look in his eye that felt achingly familiar to Eddie. Lucas leaned over to say something to Max as she stared out across the cafeteria, frowning. Dustin was practically vibrating as Frankie and Gareth began to ask him about the games they had played in the past.

Eddie leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms with a smirk. Oh yeah. This was going to work.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Eddie checked his watch, and huffed. Fucking Frankie was late again.

He shifted in his seat, looking out over the room where the rest of Hellfire was gathered. The freshmen, predictably, had been early, eager to get started. Jeff and Gareth ambled in ten minutes ago, which still made them a little early. But there was no sight of Frankie.

Eddie heaved a sigh. Frankie had been a loyal member of Hellfire since he was a freshman, which he supposed was enough to grant him a bit of a reprieve. But if he wasn't here in the next 15 minutes, Eddie was starting without him. He didn't want the freshmen learning bad habits.

He fiddled with his die, trying to look busy and unconcerned as voices washed over him. Jeff and Gareth were debating songs for their next gig at the Hideout, while Lucas and Dustin seemed to be recounting to each other in exhaustive detail their favorite campaigns from the past. From what Eddie understood, they always played together, so surely there wasn't any new information to be shared, but whatever. It could be fun reliving your greatest hits with someone who really got it, even if they were there with you.

Mike and Will were settling into their chairs, close to where Eddie sat, talking quietly. Eddie casually leaned forward.

Not that he cared what they were talking about. Because he didn't. But maybe he was a little curious! So sue him!

"I'm just saying, it would have totally sucked," Mike said.

"It probably would've been okay," said Will. "You would've had Lucas and Dustin and Max."

"It's not the same," Mike protested. "Losing both you and El to California? That would've been a nightmare."

"Hardly the worst thing to have happened to us."

"I mean, I guess, but still," Mike said. "I'm glad your mom changed her mind."

Will ducked his head, smiling. Eddie eyed him. That was interesting. There was the obvious revelation that Will and El had almost moved to California. He wondered what that was about. But also, he thought he recognized the starry look in Will's eyes as he spoke to Mike. Poor kid. Based on the similarly starry eyes Mike sent El’s way every day at lunch, Will was on his own in this.

Eddie was just deciding to keep a closer eye on Will - just in case - when Frankie wandered in.

"Fucking finally!" he said, leaping up and pointing imperiously to the seat that had been left open for him. "Get in your seat, and don't do it again. Kids, don't be like Frankie. Be on time, or suffer a horrible fate on your journey."

"I was held after class to talk to Mrs. Bryant," Frankie protested.

"Whatever, man." Eddie waved a hand as he dropped back into his chair. He grinned, feeling a buzz of anticipation curl up his spine.

It was the beginning of a new campaign, with a new group of players. How would it go? Would they be a challenge, or - more likely - would they prove unequal to the challenge he presented? He wasn't about to go easy on anyone because they were new. Right now, the future stretched out in front of him, filled with dazzling possibilities, for Hellfire, for school, maybe even for their band.

"Let's begin," he said, leaning forward.

'86 was going to be his year. Just you wait.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Eddie woke slowly on a late September morning – the kind he loved, where the sun still shone with the memory of summer, but fall’s crisp air was beginning to make itself known in the morning and evening.

He looked at the clock, and decided it was much too early to think about getting out of bed on a Saturday. He had been out late the night before at Tana Miller's party, selling weed to cheerleaders and football players. It had been a lucrative night, but it was tiring, both physically and mentally, to sit in a basement surrounded by drunk people who hated and ignored him, except when they wanted something.

There was a knock on his door. "Eddie?" his uncle asked. "You up? Could use your help with somethin'."

Eddie groaned and flipped over onto his back, staring at the ceiling. There was nothing for it. He was going to have to get up. His uncle asked for his help around the trailer so rarely, and did so much for him, that he could hardly ignore him. But just for a moment he mourned the delicious feeling of sleeping in.

"Yeah," he called as he swung his legs out of bed. "Just a sec."

He trudged over to the door and opened it to find his uncle waiting. Wayne raised an eyebrow at him. "Still in bed? I've been up for hours."

"You work night shift." Eddie rolled his eyes. It was one of his uncle's favorite little corny jokes.

Wayne chuckled. "Before I go to bed, I wanted to ask if you would swing by our new neighbors and drop off the pie I left on the counter."

"We have new neighbors?"

Wayne chuckled again. "Do you notice anything that's not that board game of yours?"

"DnD is not a board game - "

"Anyway," Wayne interrupted, "it's a woman and her kid. Mrs. Monroe next door says she heard her husband walked out on them, and they had to downsize. Figure they could use some neighborly kindness. Bring 'em the pie I picked up from the diner, tell 'em if they ever need anything fixed they can call on us, that sort of thing."

Eddie nodded. Trust his uncle to stay up to date on the gossip going around the trailer park, and then use it to offer help instead of judgment.

"Yeah," he said. "I can do that."

Wayne clapped him on the shoulder and nodded. "I'm gonna hit the hay." With that, he shuffled off to his cot in the corner, unfolding it and laying down.

Eddie took his time getting ready, not wanting to show up too early in the day when the neighbors were just getting settled. His uncle’s soft snores filled the trailer while he nursed a cup of coffee and flipped through the paper, rolling his eyes at the conservative editorials and boot-licking political coverage. You'd think McCarthy himself wrote some of these letters to the editor, he thought.

He ate a banana while he changed clothes, then quickly brushed his teeth. He looked at himself in the mirror. He probably should make some sort of effort since Uncle Wayne had asked. He pulled his hair into a ponytail and decided he was decent enough. His ripped jeans and black t-shirt were hardly the stuff of Leave It to Beaver, but it was the most respectable clothing he owned. There wasn't even a band logo on his shirt.

He grabbed the pie from the counter and headed outside, walking across the lane to the new trailer. The leaves were starting to change, he noticed happily. He loved fall. If asked, he would say that it was a great time for business - teenagers, he had discovered, loved getting high while watching scary movies - but really he just thought it was the most beautiful time of year.

Not that a herd of wild horses would drag that information out of him.

He knocked on the door, bouncing lightly on his toes as he waited.

And waited.

He knocked again. He'd give it one more try, then head home and tell Uncle Wayne that they weren't home. He'd done his part, after all.

Finally, the door opened.

Max stared at him. "What do you want?"

Eddie stared back. "What are you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes. "I live here, obviously."

"Watch the attitude," he told her, "or you aren't getting your super special welcome to the neighborhood present."

Max sighed. "Is it a six-pack? Mr. Sampson already brought over a six-pack, and we really don't need any more."

"Uh, no," Eddie said. He held the pie out to her. "It's apple pie, from the diner. Not as good as Benny made it, unfortunately, but we make do with what we have now." He paused, remembering Lucas mentioning in passing that Max had only moved here a year ago. "Benny was - "

"Yeah, I heard about Benny," Max interrupted. "El told me."

"El? She didn't live here then, did she?" He didn't know much about El's past - she was pretty quiet-spoken, but he had gleaned that she had been adopted by Will's family over the summer, and homeschooled before then in another part of Indiana.

Max hesitated. "She heard about it from Mike," she said. She looked Eddie in the eyes, as if daring him to accuse her of lying, which she clearly was.

"Okay, whatever," he said. He handed her the pie, and shoved his hands in his pockets. Something was a little off about the freshmen. Sometimes they would start to say something, and cut themselves off, glancing fearfully around, as if nervous about what someone might overhear. Eddie had assumed at first that it was normal freshman nerves about appearing cool to older kids, but then he noticed the look they would get in their eyes sometimes. It was like something haunted them. Their smiles would grow brittle, and they flinched at unexpected loud noises. It wasn't always there, but when it affected one of them, it seemed to affect all of them. Eddie had seen a similar expression in his uncle's eyes the one time he had asked him about his time in Korea.

But what would a bunch of kids have been through that could compare to war?

Eddie scratched his neck. "My uncle and I live right over there," he said, gesturing to the trailer behind him. "If you and your mom ever need anything, just let us know, okay? I'm pretty good with cars, and Wayne's good around the house, so together we've got you covered for all your handyman needs."

Max smiled slightly. "Thanks. And thanks for this," she lifted the pie awkwardly. "I'll tell my mom you stopped by when she gets off work."

"You're home alone?" Eddie didn't know why it surprised him. Maybe in Loch Nora parents could afford to not work weekends and spend lazy Saturdays with their kids, but things were different here. God knows Eddie had spent his fair share of days looking after himself as a kid while his uncle worked. But still, they had just moved yesterday.

"Yeah, well, she had to take a second job waiting tables ever since my stepdad left," Max muttered. "At the diner, actually."

"Oh," Eddie said. "So she might be sick of diner food?" He smiled, willing Max to meet his eyes and see there was no judgment. So her mom was a waitress, and worked two jobs. Max still had clean clothes, and food at lunch every day, so as far as he could tell, her mother was still doing a banner job.

"Nah, it's okay," Max said. "She doesn't eat dessert very often. Saves it for beer and cigs," she added in an undertone.

Okay, so maybe Ms. Mayfield wasn't mother of the year.

He decided to let that comment go, since he was pretty sure he wasn't meant to have heard it.

"Do you need any help getting unpacked and shit?" He blurted out. Shit, it's not like he was eager to spend his free time with a 14 year old girl who refused to join Hellfire, but Max reminded him a little bit of himself when he first moved to the trailer park. Scared, but defiantly determined not to show it. Embarrassed by the reduction in circumstances, but determined not to show that either.

Trying not to show anything at all, in fact, because it was safer that way.

"I'm fine," Max said. "I'm about to head out and meet Lucas at the arcade. The loser still thinks he might beat my high score one day." She smiled slightly. Eddie thought it was the truest expression of happiness he had seen on her.

"Alright," he said, nodding. "Well, see you later." He turned and began to walk back to his trailer.

"Wait!" He heard from behind him. Eddie turned around. Max had taken a step out of the trailer. "Do you want to come?" she asked.

He did love the arcade. But he imagined Lucas's face if he tagged along on a date, and while it was, frankly, sort of funny, he decided he wouldn't do that to the kid. "Not this time," he said. "But thanks."

"Alright," Max said, shrugging. "Later!"

Eddie slipped back inside and curled up on his bed. He could tell his uncle that he'd done his job, and now he had earned some time with his paperback of The Hobbit.

Still, he thought he'd keep an eye on Mayfield. Just in case she needed it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Eddie turned his van into the parking lot of Family Video. As he parked, he checked the clock. 9:06. Plenty of time to return his tapes before they closed at 9:30.

As a rule, they didn’t rent tapes often. Uncle Wayne had instilled in Eddie from a young age that it was a waste of money when there was a library that let you take things out for free. But yesterday was Uncle Wayne’s birthday, and as a treat Eddie had rented Murder on the Orient Express. Uncle Wayne had a weakness for murder mysteries, but the Hawkins Public Library didn’t carry it. Eddie decided to surprise him with a night in with his favorite food – spaghetti and meatballs, luckily simple enough for Eddie to manage – and his favorite movie.

He headed inside the store, and looked around. They were clearly halfway through decorating for Halloween, with pumpkin cutouts scattered around and orange twinkle lights lining the counter.

“Hello?” he called after a minute passed without anyone coming.

“Just a sec!” He heard in response.

Eddie looked around for the voice, before spotting its owner in the back of the store. A lean, trim body was perched precariously on a stepstool, straining to reach the corner with a Halloween banner. Eddie took a moment to admire the strip of tanned skin that was revealed by the man lifting his arms over his head before hurrying over.

“Hey man, let me steady that for you,” he said, grabbing the stepstool. “You’re about to wipe out.”

“Thanks.”

Eddie looked up from where he was grabbing the stepstool, and felt a drop in his stomach as he met the eyes of Steve Harrington.

“Well,” he said awkwardly, “if it isn’t Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington.”

“Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson,” Steve responded tartly. He slapped a piece of tape over the corner of the banner and nodded before hopping down.

Eddie failed to move out of the way in time, and the movement brought their bodies within an inch of each other. He swallowed as he looked into Steve’s deep brown eyes. Fuck, Steve Harrington smelled good. He didn’t know what the scent was – probably some fancy shit he couldn’t afford to even look at, but damn if it didn’t smell amazing.

Steve took a step back and then pivoted and walked toward the counter. “What can I help you with?”

“Uh, just returning a tape,” Eddie said. He told himself sternly to get a grip before following Steve to the counter. So what if Steve Harrington smelled good and had really soft-looking hair? They didn’t exist in the same world, and as soon as Eddie got through this interaction and left, they would return to their own spheres and all would be right with the world.

Steve was already scanning the tape that Eddie had left on the counter. “This is late,” he said.

Eddie blinked. “What? No, it’s fucking not.”

Steve huffed. “Yes, it fucking is. They were due yesterday.”

“I only rented them yesterday morning!” Eddie protested.

“The computer says it was the day before,” Steve folded his arms.

“Well, Keith said it was due before end of business today,” Eddie leaned on the counter.

Steve narrowed his eyes. “How do you know Keith?”

“What does that matter? It’s a small town.”

“Meaning you sell pot to him.”

“Listen, Nancy Reagan, I’m sorry but I don’t see the relevance –“

“I’m just saying that maybe you got a little mixed up, which can happen –”

“When someone’s a pothead, is that what you mean? Jesus, you’re a piece of work.”

“All I’m saying is that the computer says the tape was due yesterday, which means you owe a late fine.”

“God, you’re on a power trip, huh? What, Steve Harrington can’t rule Hawkins High anymore so now you have to take it out on your minimum wage job – “

Steve slammed his hands on the counter. “I’m on a power trip? That’s fucking rich, coming from you.”

Eddie blinked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You rule over your little club, and practically make people take a test to sit and have lunch with you, and you don’t actually play the game, do you? No, you always have to be the – what do you call it –”

“The dungeon master,” Eddie replied faintly.

Steve snapped his fingers at him. “Yes. You always have to be the dungeon master so you can be in charge because God forbid someone else tell you what to do for once –”

“Okay, where the fuck are you getting this?” Eddie spat at him.

“Hey! Hey, what’s going on?” A girl hurried out from the back, wearing a Family Video vest. Eddie recognized her vaguely from school.

“Eddie here won’t pay the late fine because apparently he’s too good for late fines or whatever,” Steve snapped.

“And I told you, I only rented it yesterday morning!”

“Maybe you got the date wrong!”

“It was my uncle’s birthday, so no, I don’t think I did!”

“Okay,” the girl said slowly. She looked at the computer. “Keith put this in. He probably put the wrong date down. He was pretty high when I took over from him yesterday.”

Steve shot a glare at Eddie, like it was his fucking fault what his customers did when he sold to them.

“So why don’t we let this slide this one time, and let Eddie go, because the store closes in two minutes and we haven’t started cleaning up yet?” the girl asked.

Steve sighed. “But Robin, he’s such a dick.”

She patted him on the shoulder. “I really wouldn’t be casting aspersions about that if I were you.”

He frowned.

Eddie huffed a laugh and began to back out of the store. “Okay, well, it’s been fun.” He scooted out of there before Steve changed his mind again and decided to start waving his meager bit of power around again.

Later that night, after Eddie had shamefacedly jerked off to the memory of soft brown hair, a trim waist, and a petulant frown, he lay in bed, kept awake by a single, persistent thought.

How did Steve Harrington know anything about Hellfire?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“ – and then,” Eddie said around a mouthful of sandwich, laughing, “that’s of course when Chief Hopper, of all fucking people, showed up.”

Jeff, Gareth, and Frankie burst into laughter, but there was uneasy silence from the freshmen end of the table. Will looked visibly uncomfortable. El bit her lip and stared at her lap. Mike put his arm around her.

“He stomped up to me,” Eddie tried again, “and started growling about how he had better things to be doing days before Halloween than dealing with me. He was so pissed, his mustache was quivering!”

The guys laughed again, but it was interrupted by El bursting into tears and running from the table.

“El!” Mike said, standing up.

Max put a hand out and stood up. “Easy, lover boy,” she said. “She ran into the girls’ room. I’ll go.” She glared at Eddie and followed after El.

Eddie looked around the table. Jeff, Gareth, and Frankie looked bewildered, but the kids looked… well, fuck, they all looked sad. Lucas was picking at his food, Dustin was sniffing, and Mike was running a hand agitatedly through his hair.

“So, anyone wanna tell me what I missed there?” Eddie asked. “’Cause it seems like I put my foot in it.”

Will cleared his throat. “Hopper adopted El last spring, after her Papa died.”

Oh. Oh, fuck.

“Her dad kept her pretty isolated, with the homeschooling, so Hopper decided to let her adjust for a couple of months before starting school in the fall. But then Starcourt happened…” Mike trailed off.

“He had already made a will,” Will added. “Leaving guardianship to my mom if something happened. Not that either of them thought… but yeah. That’s why she came to live with us.”

“He was a good guy,” Dustin said sadly. He looked up, eyes shiny with tears. “He was really decent, you know?”

“Yeah,” Eddie said. And for all that he liked to joke, Hopper had been pretty decent. Grumpy, sure, but decent. He hadn’t made a fuss when he found Eddie parking with Barry Snyder, just sent him home. He had lived in fear for days that Hopper would make a report or let it slip who he had been with, but he never had.

God knows that twerp Callahan would probably have announced it in the town square if he had been the one to catch them.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. All around them students stood, gathering their things for class, but Max and El hadn’t returned yet.

Mike grabbed their books. “I’ll get them.”

“I can do it if you have to get to class,” Eddie offered. “I don’t give a shit if I’m late to Chemistry.”

“Isn’t that the class you need to pass to graduate?” Dustin asked. Eddie ignored him.

“No, it’s okay,” Mike said as he stood up. “We have English together after this. I’ll give it to them.”

He stared Eddie down calmly. Eddie suddenly felt completely superfluous. He was used to the members of Hellfire – especially the younger members – relying on him for everything. Support, fun, encouragement, whatever they needed to get through high school. But these kids were different. He realized suddenly that while they made it clear that they liked and admired Eddie, they didn’t rely on him. They relied on each other.

Maybe that was healthier.

Still, he thought as he walked to Mrs. O’Donnell’s classroom, it’s kind of nice to be needed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Eddie slipped outside, the chill November air making him shiver as he sat on a picnic table not far from their trailer. He squinted at the guitar in his lap, the fading light making it hard for him to see the strings. He strummed once, twice, made a few adjustments, and tried again. It wasn't often that he played his acoustic guitar anymore, but he had a fondness for it. His uncle had given it to him for his 12th birthday, and taught him what he knew about playing. It wasn't long before Eddie had outstripped him, and was figuring chords and melodies out by trying to repeat what he heard on the radio. He would play for hours and hours every day until he could get each song just right.

He played a few random notes, and looked out over the trailer park. Most of the trailers were lit up. He could hear laughter and music from the Sampsons next door, and raised voices from behind him. The Watkins were arguing again. He sighed as he played idly. Their poor kids. Not much of a Thanksgiving.

He thought of their own meal, a few hours earlier. Uncle Wayne and him both hated turkey, so they cooked up a ham and some potatoes, bought a pie and stuffing from the market, and ate until they felt sick while they watched football. Not that Eddie cared about football, but it was the one game his uncle asked that they watch together, so he managed every year for him. Besides, Wayne was cool about him talking while they watched, never smacked him around for distracting him during the game like his old man used to.

When they were done, Uncle Wayne headed to the factory for a shift. He'd apologized for taking it, but Eddie knew they could use the extra money for working on a holiday, and besides, they still got to eat together. And he wasn't a kid, didn't need his hand held on every dumb holiday.

But still. The trailer was kinda quiet.

Eddie preferred being out here, even in the cold, where he could see glimpses of his neighbors, and remember that he wasn't alone.

"Hey."

Eddie jumped. "Jesus!" His hand jerked against the strings, and a discordant clang the likes of which he hadn't made in years sounded out. He turned around to see Max standing next to the table, arms wrapped around herself. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged. "Saw you out here. Thought I'd see what you were doing." She walked around the table and sat down next to him. "What are you doing? It's fucking freezing out here."

Like hell was Eddie going to admit to a freshman that he was lonely. He picked at the strings of his guitar. "Just taking in the show," he said finally.

"Show?"

"Yeah," he nudged her with his shoulder. She raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Spend enough time watching the neighbors, and I could tell you anything about them."

"Oh yeah?" Max tilted her head.

"Of course," he said. "There's no secrets here. Not if you're paying attention."

"Okay," she said, narrowing her eyes as she scanned the surrounding trailers. "What about them?" She pointed to a brown and yellow trailer catty-corner to them.

"Ah, the Coopers. He was let go from the factory two months ago while she cleans houses. He tells her he's looking for a new job but really he's lying around while she's at work, getting drunk and watching TV. Not to mention visiting Mrs. Wallace two down."

"Mrs. Wallace?"

"Yep. She hates her husband and steps out on him every chance she gets. Half the men in the park have visited her at some point or another."

"Have you..." Max trailed off, blushing.

"No," Eddie laughed. "Not my type. Come on, give me someone else."

Max nodded, and pointed to another trailer. "What about them?"

"The Campbells! Sweet older couple, say they've been married 48 years. They might have been together that long, but they've been married for two."

"Two?"

"Yep. He was married before to a woman who didn't believe in divorce, and they couldn't marry until she died."

Max stared at him. "How do you know all this?"

"I just pay attention. Also, I sell to half the trailer park, and weed can make some people chatty."

"So it's true," Max said. "You do sell drugs."

Eddie eyed her. "Yeah. You give a shit?"

She shrugged. "Nah."

"Okay then."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Night fell, and Eddie shivered as the temperature dropped. Somewhere nearby an owl hooted.

"Why don't you tell me why you're out here and not inside, stuffing yourself with food?" he asked finally.

"Why aren't you?" she shot back.

"We had an early dinner before my uncle went to work," he said evenly. "Now your turn."

"Oh." Max turned to stare ahead of her, jaw clenched.

Eddie drummed lightly on the guitar resting in his lap.

"What's your favorite song to play?" she asked.

Eddie blinked at the change of subject. "It depends which guitar I'm playing."

"What about this one?"

"For an acoustic, let me think." He leaned back as he pondered the question. Then he grinned and began to play. His fingers skipped nimbly over the complicated chords until it was time to sing.

"She broke down and let me in
Made me see where I'd been

Been down one time
Been down two times
I'm never going back again"

Max smiled and lay back on the table. Softly, so softly he wasn't entirely sure he wasn't imagining it, Eddie thought he could hear her begin to sing along.

"You don't know what it means to win
Come 'round and see me again

Been down one time
Been down two times
I'm never going back again"

Eddie played the final chords before leaning back next to Max. He lay the guitar between them on the table.

"Lucas invited me over to his house for dinner," she said softly. "Things have been sort of weird between us ever since he got on the basketball team - "

"He what?!"

"Not really the point, Eddie," she huffed. "Anyway, I thought maybe he was moving on - that he'd want a pretty, happy cheerleader girlfriend instead of - well, me." She gestured to herself.

"Hey, you're pretty fucking awesome, Mayfield," Eddie argued. "And don't you let anyone forget it, okay? Not even Lucas."

"I live in a trailer, I can't sleep half the time so my skin sucks, I can't afford new clothes or makeup, or any of that shit. And even if I could, I only ever liked it on special occasions. But now Lucas has this thing where he wants to see if the grass is greener over in jock-land, and I don't know if I'll be what he wants anymore." She sighed. "But he did ask me to dinner tonight. And I wanted to go. But my mom took the night off from the diner, and if I went, then she'd be alone. So I stayed home."

Eddie looked at her. "And why aren't you there?"

"She's passed out, drunk, again," she said bitterly. "Never even made dinner. I had a sandwich."

Eddie looked back up at the night sky and wished there was something he could do. He couldn't make Max's mother not have a problem with drinking, or bring her stepbrother back from the dead or bring her stepfather back from wherever he fucked off to. Not that it sounded like she was missing much with the two of them, honestly. But she was a cool kid and it didn't seem fair to him that things couldn't be just a little bit easier for her.

"Well, shit," he said eventually. "You want some pie?"

Max turned her head. "What type?"

"Pumpkin."

"From the diner?"

"From Kroger."

Max considered it a moment, then nodded. "Could we eat it out here?" she asked, sitting up. "I like seeing all the people in their trailers. It's like not being alone."

Eddie smiled. "Yeah, sure thing."

Later, after he brought out the pie and a blanket that he insisted Max cover herself in (he knew that you didn't actually get sick from being cold, but it hurt his heart to watch her shiver in her thin zip-up hoodie), and he played a few more songs just to make her laugh, they parted ways. He headed inside with a smile on his face, and went to the closet to dig around for the white paint leftover from when they had touched up the trailer's trim over the summer.

When he finally found what he wanted, he grabbed the paint and a brush and got to work.

The next morning, he slept in, waking only when his uncle knocked on his door around noon.

"Eddie? I'm headed to the store. You need anything?"

"Pack of smokes?" he called, voice raspy from sleep.

His uncle's sigh was audible through the door. "Fine." Eddie grinned, and got out of bed while Wayne grumbled. "Can't believe you're asking me to enable your damn fool behavior -”

Eddie flung the door open. "I could always just steal yours," he said innocently.

Wayne pointed at him. "Don't you dare," he said, and stomped into the kitchen. Eddie laughed. "And get your guitar off the table so I can eat a sandwich!"

Eddie darted past him, eager to see how it looked.

The letters were a little wonky - it had been after midnight, and he had only turned on one light to do it, after all - but he thought it was perfect.

THIS MACHINE SLAYS DRAGONS

He smiled.

Chapter Text

" - and then I said, what are you talking about, man? How can you not know who Lars Ulrich is and call yourself a fan? Like, come on."

Eddie nodded absently as Jeff laughed. His stories tended to ramble, and required little participation from anyone else.

He looked around the table. Max was scowling at her food, headphones over her ears. Two days earlier Lucas had told them that he had been invited to sit with the basketball team, and he hadn't been back. Will and El were talking quietly, while Dustin and Mike listened, wide-eyed, as Gareth told them the story of when he got his latest tattoo.

"It's so cool," Mike gushed, looking at the scorpion tattoo Gareth had on his forearm. He had gotten it for his 18th birthday at the beginning of December. "It must have hurt like a bitch!"

"Not really," Gareth shrugged, looking pleased. "The parts that are closer to the bone hurt more, but the rest was fine. Of course, I have a pretty high pain tolerance."

"You couldn't take it," Dustin poked Mike.

Mike scowled. "Whatever, man! I so could!"

"Yeah, right!" Dustin laughed. "A needle, jamming its way into your skin over and over? You'd faint."

"Come on, guys," Gareth said. "I mean, yeah, it hurts, but I'm sure by the time Wheeler's 18 he could handle it."

Mike rolled his eyes.

El looked away from where she was talking to Will and nudged his shoulder with hers. "It's not so bad," she said quietly. “You go into a kind of headspace after a little bit, where the pain hardly seems to matter.”

Eddie dropped his sandwich. The older members of Hellfire all stared at her. She took a bite of her cafeteria meatloaf, grimaced, before looking around and noticing the group staring.

"What?"

"You have a tattoo?" Eddie asked. She was just barely 15. How was that possible? It's not like he'd never met an underage kid with a tattoo before, but she seemed quiet, sweet - not at all the type to get an illegal tattoo.

El nodded. Mike wrapped his arm around her. "You don't have to tell them anything," he said softly to her. Eddie was fairly sure that wasn't meant for him to hear.

"It's okay," she said. She looked at Eddie square in the eyes, chin determined. Slowly, she lifted her left arm toward Eddie, and tugged her sleeve down to reveal the numbers 011 tattooed over the thin bones of her inner wrist.

"Is that why they call you El?" Eddie asked stupidly. It was the only thing he could think to say.

El nodded again. "My papa gave it to me on my 6th birthday," she said simply. "I was the 11th child he had raised."

Frankie choked on his PB&J sandwich. Jeff clapped him on the back.

El brought her arm back to her lap, pulling the sleeve of her flannel down over her wrist again. She gave Mike a small smile, and picked up her fork to poke listlessly at her food.

Eddie felt sick. He imagined a tiny version of El, maybe with pigtails or a Disney t-shirt, eyes wide as the man she trusted held her down and forced a needle in her arm, branding her with something that marked her as his. It was disgusting. It was vile. It made Eddie wish, just a little, that the mysterious "Papa" wasn't dead, so he could kill him himself.

The bell rang, and all around them, students darted to their feet to rush to their next class. El lingered, slowly getting to her feet as she gathered her books. Mike grabbed her tray along with his and took them to the tray return. Eddie stood, nodding to the others as they walked away.

"You know, kid," Eddie said, sauntering over to her. "There are tattoo artists who specialize in covering up bad tattoos."

El looked up quickly, eyes wide.

"Mostly it's for tattoos that get fucked up, but I've heard of people getting tattoos they want to forget covered too," he continued. "You wouldn't want to go to the place in town - they have no idea what they're doing beyond the basic shit - but if you're interested, I can give you the info for a buddy of mine in Indy. He's done a few of mine, and covered one that I tried to do myself." He smiled at her, inviting her in on the joke. "Turns out I was pretty bad at it."

She laughed briefly, then tilted her head. "I'll have to talk to Mrs. Byers," she said. "But could I have the information, just in case?"

He grinned. "Sure can do. Got a pen?"

She handed him a pen and one of her notebooks. He quickly scribbled the name and address of the shop in question, and handed the pen back. "You don't have to, obviously," he said. "But I thought it'd be cool if you had the option."

El nodded and gave him a small smile. "Bitchin'."

He laughed and reluctantly left for class as the freshmen walked off down the hall in the opposite direction.

They didn't speak of it again, but after Christmas break, El had a small white bandage covering her left wrist when she came to lunch. Eddie nodded toward it when he caught her eye. "Have a good break?" he asked.

"Yeah," she sat down, and took a large bite of food. She swallowed, and smiled cheerfully. "It was bitchin'."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Eddie entered Melvald’s, grabbing a basket from the stack near the door and walking quickly to the back. He was due at band practice in twenty minutes. Maybe he shouldn’t have put off running his errands in favor of sleeping in, but it was too late now.

He sped through the aisles, grabbing paper towels and tossing them in the basket before going to look for his toothpaste.

As he looked at the tubes, comparing prices, the bell over the door jangled and raised voices filled the store.

“I told you that you guys could use my patio, not that I would pay for everything!”

Eddie poked his head out to see Steve Harrington bickering with Dustin, Will, and Lucas.

Since when did they know each other?

“It’s for science, Steve!” Dustin said as he walked ahead of the group, grabbing things off the shelves and shoving them at Steve.

Eddie couldn’t tell what they were getting from this distance, but he wondered how Steve Harrington got roped into helping his freshmen with a science project. He had been in the same biology class with Harrington sophomore year, and he had basically slept through the class, only participating the bare minimum to get a passing grade.

Not that Eddie could throw stones about that.

He finally grabbed a tube of toothpaste and threw it in his basket, eyeing the other group as he went to stand behind them at the counter. They seemed to be having an intense conversation with the woman behind the register.

“Fine, but Steve’s in charge, okay?” she said finally. “Listen to what he tells you and be careful.”

“Yeah, of course, Mom,” Will said, nodding his head furiously. “We’ll take care of her, I promise.”

“Well, well, well,” Eddie said as he set his basket down. “What shenanigans are you getting up to on this fine Saturday?”

The younger boys jumped and turned around. Harrington swung a head around almost lazily, as if he wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

“Eddie!” Lucas said, his voice pitched high with surprise. “What – uh – what are you doing here?”

Eddie eyed them with amusement. Oh, yeah. They were definitely up to something.

“Just running errands,” he said. “What are you up to with your” - he did a double take – “baby pool and road salt?”

“Just a science experiment!” Dustin said. “For class!”

“Yeah, it’s, uh, extra credit,” Will said.

Eddie raised an eyebrow. “You guys need extra credit in science?” They were obviously lying. The funny thing was they couldn’t be doing something illegal, not if Will’s mom had given her approval.

If their parents knew about it, then it was something they specifically didn’t want Eddie to know. He tried not to let that bother him.

“Oh, that’s on me,” Mrs. Byers said breezily. “No one’s GPA was ever hurt by doing some extra credit, you know?”

Eddie nodded slowly. “Makes sense,” he agreed, lying through his teeth. He turned slightly to face Harrington.

“I didn’t know you knew The Great Steve Harrington,” he said.

Harrington smirked, and pushed his hair back from where it was drooping over his face. Eddie’s stomach swooped at the sight.

“Is that a problem?” Harrington asked coolly.

“Of course not,” Eddie said. “I’m a benevolent leader, after all, and the kids can be friends with who they want. Just surprised you don’t find it a bit beneath you, that’s all.”

Harrington’s face hardened. “Listen, you long-haired fr –”

“Okay!” Dustin cut in shrilly. “It was great seeing you, Eddie, Mrs. Byers, but we should be getting back to the others. Bye now!” He pushed Steve toward the door, leaving Lucas and Will to pick up their items.

Lucas ran ahead, but Will hesitated, turning back around. “He’s a really good guy,” he said. “You don’t know him like we do.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” Eddie said.

“Our lives are better with him in it,” Will insisted. “He’s been there for us when nobody else was. And he saved our –”

Mrs. Byers cleared her throat pointedly. Will glanced at her and pasted a fake looking smile on his face.

“Anyway, he’s grown a lot since he was King Steve,” he said. “You should give him a chance.”

Eddie sighed and nodded. “I’ll do my best.” Odds were they would never be in the same place again, so it was easy to promise. Sure it was a small town, but he made it through all of high school while avoiding King Steve and his cronies’ radar, so he could easily do it now.

Will smiled, and grabbed the kiddie pool off the counter. “See you on Monday, Eddie!”

Eddie waved and turned to the counter to checkout.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Mrs. Byers said. Eddie looked up, confused. She smiled kindly. “You’re thinking that they’re impressionable young boys, taken in by some surface charm and good hair.”

That was … disturbingly accurate.

“I thought the same once,” Mrs. Byers continued as she scanned Eddie’s items. “But I was wrong. It just took some time to realize it.”

“Hey, if they want to spend their free time worshiping at the altar of King Steve, it’s no skin off my nose,” Eddie shrugged.

Mrs. Byers sighed. “I think if you give him a chance, you’ll change your mind. That will be $8.79.”

Eddie handed over the money, and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Stranger things have happened, I guess.” But he didn’t think it was likely, he carefully didn’t add.

Mrs. Byers smiled, as if she were laughing at a private joke Eddie didn’t understand. “You have no idea.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“ – and you look around the dark cave, and hear the whispers of the souls who have tried to brave it before you,” Eddie said, leaning forward. “It’s dark as night, but in the distance you hear a sound. The sound of a rock being kicked. Someone is in the cave with you, sneaking around in the dark. You strain to hear something else, anything to indicate where they are. The hairs on the back of your neck prick up, as if someone is standing behind you. You gather your courage and turn around. Who – or what – is it? Where are they? You suddenly see –”

The door burst open, and everyone jumped. Dustin let out a small shriek.

“That’s it, shitheads, I’ve been waiting for twenty minutes,” Harrington said, striding in the room. “Leave now or get left behind.”

Mike glared at him. “We’re at a critical stage right now!”

Harrington rolled his eyes. “Yeah, tough shit, Wheeler. Your sister’s waiting outside, and she’s pissed.”

Mike folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not scared of Nancy.”

“Your funeral,” Harrington shrugged. He turned to Dustin. “Come on, Henderson, your mom’s waiting and she made pot roast.”

“Yeah, you don’t want to keep mommy waiting,” teased Frankie. Eddie snorted.

Harrington turned an unimpressed glare towards them. Eddie told himself that the disdainful tilt to his face wasn’t attractive. “Mrs. Henderson is a nice lady,” he said. “And I don’t like dry pot roast, which it will be if she has to keep it in the oven waiting for Dustin to get off his ass and get home. So let’s go.” He tugged at Dustin’s shirt collar, pulling him out of his chair.

“Sorry, Eddie,” Dustin said sheepishly. “It is really good pot roast.”

“Hey, who am I to disrupt a dinner date,” Eddie said sarcastically, waving a hand in dismissal.

“Well, thank God we have his approval,” Harrington said. “Come on, dipshit, let’s go.” He pushed Dustin ahead of him as he strode out the door, Dustin ducking around him to wave goodbye.

Eddie watched them go, his skin tingling with unreleased anticipation. Steve’s obvious respect for Dustin’s mother combined with his blatant dismissal of Eddie and Hellfire made him itch with the desire for Harrington’s approval. He hated himself for it a little bit, but he couldn’t deny the thought that to have Steve Harrington’s admiration must be a heady thing. He wanted it in a different way from Harrington’s respect for Mrs. Henderson, but he wanted it all the same.

Also, who would have guessed that Steve Harrington was a regular dinner guest at the Henderson house?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Eddie walked through the doors of the Hawkins Public Library, shoulders hunched. He had loved the library as a child, going on Uncle Wayne’s days off to pour over the fantasy novels and check out as many as he could.

But the older he became and the longer his hair grew, the more he found he was greeted by suspicious stares and pursed lips as he browsed the shelves.

It didn’t keep him away, of course. Reading, when not required for school, was one of the best things ever, but they could hardly afford to constantly be buying new books for him. At the rate he went through them, they wouldn’t be able to afford food if they did that.

Today’s mission was less fun. He had a notebook under his arm and was prepared to do battle with the rough draft of a paper for World History. It was due tomorrow, so Eddie figured he had put it off as long as possible.

And like hell was he failing senior year again.

He had tried making an effort in his room, but it was too full of distractions. After the third time he found himself playing along to Black Sabbath, he had turned the music off. But then he remembered why he had turned it on to begin with - the neighbors next door were having a nasty argument, and the sounds of their furious yells were distracting.

Plus, he knew from many years of living next door that not long after the yelling stopped the make-up sex would begin. It was hard to say which was more distracting.

So he was doomed to sit in the library on the weekend and try to cobble together something suitable about Queen Victoria that he could turn in.

He was wandering the shelves of the nonfiction section, looking for a source book that wouldn’t put him to sleep when what sounded like a girl crying softly caught his attention.

He frowned. Most likely, it was some girl stressed about her grades and the last thing she wanted was the school freak to notice that she was crying in public.

But what if something was actually wrong? He sighed. Damn it, he had to check.

He poked his head around the end of the shelf and did a double take. In the back corner by the language books Max sat at a table with her headphones on and an arm wrapped comfortingly around El’s shoulders as the other girl cried, her face in her hands. Across from them sat Robin Buckley, of all people, and Steve Harrington.

“I can’t get it,” El cried. “I’m just stupid!”

“No, you’re not!” Max said fiercely. “You had so much to catch up on, and you’re doing so good!”

“She’s right,” Steve said encouragingly. “This shit is hard, and you’re only struggling in one class? That’s fucking awesome!”

“But I’m failing!”

Robin reached over and grabbed El’s arm. Eddie leaned against the bookshelf, transfixed by the drama unfolding in front of them. His heart went out to El. He knew how it was to watch yourself fail at something you were really trying to get.

“El, it’s only one class! And you have time to get your grade up before the final,” Robin said.

“But I won’t!” El said, her voice breaking. “I don’t understand any of it!”

“Hey, you can do anything,” Max said earnestly. “You can do this too. Algebra won’t defeat you!”

“Robin and Nancy will tutor you, and get you through it,” Steve said. “Nancy managed to help me pass, and you’re way smarter than me, so you’ve got this in the bag.”

Eddie backed away slowly before turning and walking to another corner of the library to look for a table.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A tense silence filled the drama club room as everyone packed their bags after a mediocre meeting of Hellfire.

Eddie eyed his freshmen suspiciously. Normally they were full of enthusiasm, but today had been decidedly lackluster. Something was going on, and if he knew 15 year olds, he would bet it had something to do with the Valentine’s Dance tomorrow night.

“I just don’t understand why you won’t go!” Lucas snapped suddenly.

“Oh, like you care,” Mike rolled his eyes. “You’ll be too busy with Jason Carver and his meathead friends.”

“You can’t hate him just for being on the basketball team! Steve played basketball, remember?”

“No, I hate him because he’s a dick!”

Will sighed and walked over to Dustin, ignoring their bickering. “You wanna get out of here?”

“And you two!” Lucas said indignantly. “What’s your excuse?”

“Uh, my girlfriend lives in Utah, remember?” Dustin said. “Why would I go to a Valentine’s Dance without her?’

Lucas scoffed. “Whatever. You could go with Will.”

“Why would I do that when I could be on the phone with Suzie?”

Will stared at the floor. “Thanks, Dustin.”

“You know what I mean! It’s Valentine’s Day! I’m allowed to want to spend it with my girlfriend!”

“Yeah, and I would like to do the same, only Max won’t go to the dance without El going, and Mike won’t go with El, even though they’re attached at the hip!”

“El hasn’t been feeling well! She doesn’t want to go!”

“She does too! She just said that because she knew you didn’t want to go!”

Eddie couldn’t help but notice that Gareth had found a bag of chips and was passing it between him and Jeff as they watched in fascination. Frankie had fallen asleep on the couch in the corner.

“I just don’t want to! We were going to go to the movies and it was all going to be fine, until you changed your mind about the dance!”

Will looked betrayed. “You guys were all going out? Without me?”

“Hey, I wasn’t invited either,” Dustin said.

“Yeah,” Mike said, “but we knew you were going to use Cerebro to call Suzie, so we figured it wouldn’t be a big deal if we doubled.”

“Do you guys do this a lot?” Will asked, a fragile look on his face. “Go out just the four of you?”

Mike shrugged uncomfortably. “Sometimes. It’s just, you don’t have a girlfriend.”

“So that makes it okay?” Will’s eyes shined with unshed tears.

“Don’t be such a baby,” Mike said. “God! First Lucas is pissed that I won’t go to some dumb dance, now you’re mad -”

“Well, maybe because you’re being a jerk!” Will shouted. “But what else is new! Ever since you met El, you’ve been obsessed with her and you don’t give a crap about anyone else!”

The door to the drama club room opened and Steve Harrington stuck his head in. “Hey, what’s with all the shouting? Are you killing a dragon or something?”

Dustin stood up, grabbing his bag. “Let’s get out of here, Steve. Everyone’s annoying today.”

“I resent that,” Eddie said, lazily swinging a leg over the arm of his chair. “What did I do to offend, Sir Dustin?”

“You guys watched us have an argument like it was a TV show!”

“It did start right in front of us,” Gareth pointed out. “What were we supposed to do, leave?”

“You could have,” Mike muttered, crossing his arms.

Steve sighed, running a hand through his hair. Eddie watched as a strand flopped onto Steve’s forehead. He wanted to tug on it with his teeth.

Lusting after King Steve. What a cliche he was turning out to be.

“Why don’t we talk about it in the car?” Steve said. “Will, your mom asked me to take you home. She picked up an extra shift.”

Will nodded silently, picking up his bag and walking toward the door.

“Will!” Mike said.

Will turned and looked back at him, raising an eyebrow expectantly. It was an unexpectedly sassy move from Byers, and Eddie thought he saw Steve smile proudly.

“I’m sorry,” Mike said.

“Are you?” Will asked. “Or are you sorry that I’m upset? Which means El will be upset?”

Mike’s face dropped.

Will nodded, a sad smile on his face. “That’s what I thought.”