Chapter Text
Eddie stopped talking. Eddie Munson. Edward fucking Munson shut his mouth.
It was it. That was all. That fucking void in Dustin's chest. Tearing every single fucking part of his chest and letting all the tears out, giving permission to something he didn't have knowledge about.
Eddie is dead. And he could not prevent it. And he could not do anything to keep him alive. And he could not do anything to stop him when he run. But he didn't run away that time... right?
Dustin saw Eddie died. In his arms. The same arms that were around him just a few hours before. Hugging him and telling him to never change but that doesn't matter right now because Eddie is dead and Dustin could not prevent it. He let Eddie died in his arms saying "i love you, man" and then nothing. It was Dustin's fault. Eddie was dead. And Dustin could not do anything to stop it.
He cried. Louder than ever. The air in his lungs was just a passenger. Entering and leaving without a note. The blood in his body was tired of travelling so fast, heavy breathing, thick mucus. Dustin was hyperventilating in one of the most hard panick attacks he experimented in his life but it wasn't only his tears the ones that were making Eddie's face wet.
But the blood.
The cruel clue that let Dustin knew that Eddie was not gonna be able to get to the hospital in time and that he would never hear a word coming out of his mouth ever again.
He knew he could not do something more. He was too late and it was his fault.
Eddie was dead and it was his fault.
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Dusting didn't noticed Steve. He didn't hear him, nor Nancy nor Robin.
He just saw Steve on his knees in front of him screaming and crying like a baby and not being able to say a word and Dustin couldn't hold it and started crying again.
The rest of his memories are foggy. Somehow they could take Eddie to the Rightside Up and when Dustin recovered knowledge, he was laying in his bed with a cast in his arm. His mom explained that he broke his humerus, near to the shoulder so he would have that cast for twelve weeks. He remembered falling in the upside down looking for Eddie and he... well, he started crying again. By that time he was alone in his room.
Steve called. He said that they were searching for things at the Wheelers house to donate to the injured people and that then they were going to volunteer to help after the "earthquake". Steve's voice was broken. Deep voice like he was crying just ten minutes before. Dustin say he will be there in fifteen minutes. He couldn't ride the bike because of his arm and his limp.
Certainly he didn't say anything to Steve. He was sure that his voice was as deep as his if it wasn't deeper. He got dressed and a hard try to put those tenis on, he got out of his house and walked with his blue t shirt and a white shirt one as miserable as he felt.
He was sure. He didn't felt that bad since his father left him when he was eight years old. A small tear fell from his left eye but he quickly wiped it away. He was not going to cry in front of Nancy Wheeler, and definitely, he was not going to cry in front of Steve. He could no support his own sorrow at that point, couldn't even imagine how Steve was feeling.
Dustin looked to the sky and saw Eddie's face and though the long haired said in a lot of occasions that when he died he was going to march to hell and then become the devil's best friend, Dustin could swear to god that Eddie, the same Eddie was in heaven and he was the most beautiful angel he got the chance to met and he hoped that Eddie could finally rest in peace after all the shit he went through. Heaven was the most beautiful place Dustin's ever heard about and he could break his left arm again praying for Eddie to be there. In peace. Away from the real shitty world he was trapped in.
He felt those tears fall from his eyes and he put his hand in his pocket and Eddie's red pick collar was there. He wiped the tears away. Again. And didn't touch his pocket for a while.
He arrived at the Wheelers in about twenty-five minutes. Nobody asked anything. Steve had red eyes and he didn't look at himself but he was sure that he had a similar face.
Nancy came back with a box after talking to her mom when she asked:
"Someone order pizza?"
"Pizza?" He asked with a confused tone. And a yellow van just arrived at the Wheelers house with El, Jonathan, Will, Mike and a long straight black hair guy with weird clothes.
Dustin smiled like he didn't in about two days and hurry to hug El and Will. Mrs Wheeler said something to Mike but he didn't catch it.
"Where's Lucas?" Will asked.
"He's at the hospital" Dustin answered.
"Was he hurt?" Now was El the one asking.
"No..., no he's" A look of realization was shown in his eyes and the look of Eddie in the Upside Down's floor. "Oh God... you don't know."
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Dustin was sure that probably Nancy told them about Eddie and he was not ready for that conversation yet. Not even with Steve. Steve, the one person that had always been easy to talk to. He still isn't sure if he didn't want to or he couldn't. He guesses that some part of it is shame about Steve blaming him for killing his boyfriend. A tear, a wiped away. He really had to stop it. He didn't kill Eddie but Steve... No, he wasn't going to say anything. What if it was real? What if Steve was really blaming him? He couldn't handle that so... he shut up. He run away that time. What has Eddie to say about it anyway?
He helped Steve and Robin with the boxes. He was still limping. The people in there... he wanted to puke. It looked like everything was just a bad joke. A joke your older brother makes to you and you want to scream so much... except, this time is not a joke. And the brother... seriously man, you really have to stop.
They left the boxes and while Robin was making sandwiches and Steve was ordering clothes, Dustin was serving water when he saw him. Wayne. Oh boy, his eyes were wet and he didn't even said a word. He just saw him.
Talking about dads, Eddie once told him that Wayne was his uncle, but also his dad because, there weren't a chance that the fucking Alan was still some parent of his. Dustin told him about his dad and both of them cried a little bit. Eddie said that Wayne was his dad and it didn't matter what some fucking paper said. Wayne Munson was Eddie's dad until the bones and now...
Wayne was changing Eddie's poster. Wayne Munson. Changing Eddie's poster. Eddie's poster. But Eddie was no longer a poster. He wasn't even Eddie anymore. And Wayne didn't know. Eddie's dad didn't know that his boy was dead.
"Mr. Munson?" Dustin asked. He turnen around to look at him. The kid left the water and walked closer with his cast and his limp. "I'm Dustin Henderson, can we talk?"
"I can't imagine we got anything to talk about" said the old man with an accent and a broken voice. "My nephew is innocent, he's still missing. I'll put up as many posters as i need until he's found." He grabbed his big bad, his folder and he started leaving. "Good day to you".
"I was with him." The fucking tears. Those fucking tears. He couldn't hate them. They were part of him now. Wayne turned around. "I was with him when the earthquake hit". That face stupid. So stupid. Had he to be that goddam stupid to let Eddie died like that? Had he? He felt more useless than ever.
Wayne hesitated "And... where is Eddie now?" Dustin couldn't tell him. He couldn't. He was so damn miserable. His boy was dead and he did nothing to save him.
His eyes were wet, his neck was a snot, his lips were the earthquake and his tears a tsunami. Dustin was not okay, suddenly his left arm hurted but with his right hand he pull out the red pick collar of his pocket and extended it to Wayne.
"I'm..." Wayne throw his bag. "... I'm so sorry" And he limped to Wayne. Wayne. Eddie's dad. Eddie's dad who took the collar with his hand and started crying. Feeling everything for a second time. He took a deep breath and started walking to the closest bed. He sat on it. Dustin did too.
"I wish everyone had gotten to know him, really know him" The tear, baby. He didn't wiped it away. "Because they would've loved him, Mr. Munson." Just like I did.
Wayne broked down. "They would've loved him" he repeated. "Even in the end... he never stopped being Eddie. Despite everything... I never even saw him get mad. He could've run..." I didn't run away this time, right? "...he could've saved himself..." you're gonna have to look after those little sheep for me, okay? "...but he fought..." I'm buying more time "...he fought and died to protect this town..." Wayne kisses the collar. "This town that...hated him" I think it's my year, Henderson. Wayne was sobbing. "He isn't just innocent... Mr. Munson he's... he's a hero".
And after watching the crack in the floor Steve drove Dustin to his house and he cried like a baby for hours while hugging his mom.
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