st. james 1988!

who’s that? oh it’s [SPENCER ST. JAMES]. i hear they’re [THIRTY-SEVEN] and are known as [THE POLITICIAN] around [HAWKINS] they’re also a [MAYOR] at [HAWKINS’ CITY HALL],. they’re known to be [PERSISTANT & PRECISE] and [CONCEITED & CYNICAL]. some people say they remind them of [EXPENSIVE SUITS, FAKE SMILES DURING CAMPAIGNS, YELLING, FANCY PENS, ADJUSTING HIS WATCH OCCASIONALLY]

when spencer flashed him a smile, a small yet genuine one, gone before he could quite register it, rick felt his mouth suddenly go awfully dry. he could hear his blood rushing in his ears, felt his heart skip a couple of beats, as if to was tripping up - and he hadn’t even smoked that much today, not that he remembered it, anyhow. and rick couldn’t help but mirror that smile, though it was more of a lopsided grin on his part.

he shivered under spencers touch, eyes darting down to where a strong yet soft hand rested on his cheek. sending shocks through his entire body. the air between them was static, practically crackling with electricity, heavily charged. rick gulped, his eyes found spencer’s again. a breathy exhale as he muttered the last confirmation rick needed - ‘im sure’ - and the grin that was tugging at his lips - because what a spencer thing to say right before they kissed, telling him to shut up - was quickly interrupted by the soft press of spencers lips on his own.

and, man - if he could go back in time and tell little richard lipton that one day, he’d be here locking lips with 'mr. spencer’ from summer camp…. well, he probably wouldn’t do that, so as to not spoil the surprise.

rick sighed into the kiss as his hands came up to wrap around spencer’s waist, effectively pulling him into his lap. part of him still believed that this was too good to be true, just another drug induced hallucination, maybe a dream. part of him followed the lipton doctrine of living in the moment, simply enjoying whatever came next.

another pleased sigh, rick pulled back, cheeks flushed, a glossy look in his eyes. “should we…. do you want to, uh, move this to, like, the bedroom, or - like, I can leave, man, if you want me to. whatever you want, man. like, anything for you.”

.

the last thing he had been expecting from this interaction was to end up kissing rick lipton on his couch. spencer tried not to think about the consequences of this kiss - mostly because his mind was too busy thinking about how this felt right. why did this feel right? he would have never expected for this to happen, especially not with rick - a guy that he had made sure to keep arrested for so long and now he was kissing him. and he didn’t plan on stopping anytime soon, his hand moving behind the other’s neck as he pulled him closer to the kiss, deepening the kiss by the second.

what happened next was also unexpected, when rick pulled him into his lap, where he sat comfortably. he pulled away from the kiss to take a breath, but didn’t waste another second as he pulled the man into a kiss again, until they finally pulled away and stared at each other for a couple of more moments. spencer could feel his cheeks flushed, his hair was probably a mess right now and he wondered what someone would think if they were to walk in on them right now, spencer on the other’s lap and their lips puffy from the kissing. spencer felt like he was a teenager again, he didn’t know what else to think anymore. he just focused on the two of them.

at the other’s suggestion of going to his room, spencer nodded his head slowly as he let his hand rest on rick’s shoulder. he felt like he needed this, like the two of them needed this. “don’t leave...” he said quietly. for the first time in probably forever, spencer didn’t want rick to leave. in fact, he wanted him to stay, like he had never wanted anyone to say. “the bedroom... yeah...” he said before pressing another kiss into rick’s lips, then standing up from the other’s lap and holding out a hand. “let’s go.” he told the other quietly.

From the moment he saw Spencer give a roll of his eyes upon his entrance, Alex knew this conversation had the potential to ruin the rest of his day. Thankfully, the two hadn’t run into each other all too often despite working in the same building, being on opposite sides. It was for the best, as Alex would hate for Spencer to somehow find out that he’d been plotting against him during his lunch hour, after work, and any free time in between. It probably would’ve gotten him fired, using the files available in Town Hall for what at the moment was a personal vendetta, but if he could find something, anything to pin on the mayor, especially before the election, it would all be worth it.

Though his words were understanding, Alex could hear the ice in Spencer’s cold voice. “Thank you for understanding,” he replied in the same tone, stepping to take the pot of coffee as the last few drops rounded out the top. “I was going to reach out about adding you to the witness list, though. The jury would respect whatever you say, you’re reputable.” Alex tried to sound objective, not too complimentary, but it was true. Some people in Hawkins would believe any word that came out of the mayor’s mouth. “I’d assumed you’d be there the whole time, anyway. Not that you can really say no, but … a heads up,” he added, turning back to Spencer with a full coffee and a tight smile.

.

spencer looked over at alex and raised an eyebrow slightly, nodding his head as the other spoke. spencer didn’t necessarily like him, he would much rather spend time literally anywhere else than in a room with alex young, the district attorney that he was supposed to get along with. but there was nothing he could do about it and there was no way that he could just ignore him. plus, it seemed like the man was always everywhere he went. and that annoyed him. spencer hated his interns more than anything now, because if he had some good interns, he wouldn’t need to go to the break room and get the coffee by himself. but it didn’t matter, it wasn’t like he could go back in time to stop it. he let out a sigh as he looked over at alex.

“you do what you must and what’s necessary for a fair trial.” he said with a small nod. he wanted to escape that room more than anything, but something told him that running out of there wouldn’t be polite. “and you’re right, i’ll be there the whole time. it’s an important trial, not just for town hall, but for hawkins. i’m sure that people will be there to witness what seems to be a great trial.” spencer finished off with a small nod of his head, taking a sip of his coffee before it got cold.

where: jack’s place

the town hall meeting had been pretty much a fiasco, now that spencer looked back at it. he hadn’t spoken much through it, mostly because he knew that he would be criticized for anything that he did, even if spencer was only doing what he was doing for the town’s sake. that’s what he defended and that’s what he would keep defending. he didn’t care that much about other people’s opinions about him, but even he had to admit that somehow it was getting to him. however, during the town hall meeting, spencer had noticed someone that he hadn’t seen around town before. spencer made sure that he knew everyone that lived in hawkins, even if he didn’t know their names, he recognized faces and the face hadn’t seen wasn’t familiar around hawkins.

spencer was still the mayor and he still intended to be the mayor in his next mandate. he knew that he could do a good job if he was given the chance and there was no way that he was just giving up his mayor title. let’s say that he had gotten a little used to having it. finding the name of the man and his address was a pretty easy task, considering he pretty much had access to everyone’s files. he didn’t waste time after work as he drove down there, knocking on the door and waiting for an answer. once the door was opened, spencer gave the other a smile, the one he used on campagins and gave a firm nod. “hello! i’m the mayor, spencer st. james and i’m here to welcome you to hawkins! you’re new around here, correct?” spencer asked, in his best mayor tone.

.

a relieved sort of smile appeared upon bob’s face as spencer said he believed him. bob wasn’t sure if that was true, but at least he wasn’t questioning him about tree communes. that was part of the story the authorities had fed him when they’d picked him up from the gas station along route 40, but no matter how hard bob tried, he couldn’t remember anything about a forest commune. in fact, it was like…time just stopped after that day in the lab and picked up the day he walked out of the trees. it didn’t make sense, but the doctor had told him that everyone responded to trauma differently, and who was bob newby to question a man with a medical degree? his smile softened around his cup. “it’s good to be back. i missed hawkins.” it wasn’t much, but it was home.

“i’m not really sure,” bob admitted with a shrug. he sipped at his cocoa and then drummed his fingers against the tabletop. “when i wandered into a convenience store on the highway, the clerk called the cops. they took me there. i guess i looked a little…rough?” his shoulders raised and fell again. he nearly choked on his next sip of cocoa. “cult?” he echoed lamely, eyebrows darting back towards his hairline. “i mean, maybe? there were supposed to be a bunch of people out there, but i just don’t remember it. i was…” bob hesitated as he looked across the table at spencer. he wasn’t sure what the mayor knew about the supernatural things that happened in town. heck, bob didn’t even know much at all! he’d barely scratched the surface before he’d…left town. “…i was in an accident before the commune. some kind of animal or something got me. in the old hawkins lab? the doctor thought i’d put up some kind of amnesia as a…coping mechanism or something. i don’t know.” he chuckled halfheartedly as he added “i’m not a doctor.” a little bit of heat rushed to bob’s cheeks. he cleared his throat and said “well, i was seeing someone before i left, and i suppose i wanted to check up on her and the kids but…yeah, no, mostly for scott.” 

.

spencer thought that he would never actually get answers for all of this. there was just too much going on, but at the same time, nothing at all. bob seemed to be the most normal person that had returned from the woods, but then again, he could never be sure. everyone seemed normal until something strange happened and spencer was concerned with the state of the town. but then again, this was bob. he had never hurt a fly when he was around hawkins all those years before, surely he wouldn’t do anything to hurt the town or anyone that was part of it. that’s what he thought and if bob newby was still the same person he was all of those years before, then spencer had nothing to worry about.

his brows furrowed as the other kept telling his story. it didn’t make much sense in spencer’s head, but then again, nothing about a cult seemed to make sense in his head. he just hoped that whatever this threat was, they could get rid of it before anyone could actually get hurt. maybe it was a little too late for that, now that he thought about it. people had gotten hurt. “a little rough? what do you mean?” he asked. spencer would have thought that he had heard about this, but it wasn’t like he could have eyes everywhere in town, although that wouldn’t be a bad plan. then he definitely wouldn’t have questions about what was going on in hawkins. “so, you were with a bunch of people but you don’t remember them. that sounds... well, let’s just say a little suspicious.” he said, although he wouldn’t actually say that as a threat to bob. at least he hoped he didn’t take it that way. “what kind of animal? do you remember any of it? i don’t remember any reports of animals in hawkins’ lab.” he told the other. maybe it had been the rabid dogs that had had been wandering the woods a few years prior, but why would they be in hawkins’ lab? “who were you seeing? anyone i know?” he asked, suddenly curious about bob’s love life.

+++

“i don’t see how anyone could like, talk to you and not compliment you, man.” and he stared at spencer for a second too long, lost in multiple coexisting strings of thought, until he realised he’d just said it out loud. a sheepish smile on his face, he shrugged his shoulders, giving him an  ‘ah, well, what can you do?’ sort of look. it was whatever.

rick wasn’t even flirting per se, well, at least not intentionally. at least not initially. he’d started the conversation off with perfectly innocent intentions - despite the fact that spencer had been his first ever crush, a feeling that hadn’t subsided over the years, rick felt he’d always carry a torch for the older man.

now that spencer was chuckling to himself, relaxing visibly, rick wished he’d started the conversation off with a flirtatious comment here and there. it was still wishful thinking, though, and he mightve lost a couple of braincells over the years but he wasn’t as delusional as to think he actually stood a chance with mayor spencer st. james. “orange juice is like, nature’s syrup, my guy. keep it in your pantry, always good to keep some on hand.” a wide grin, he smacked his lips. “like, when the local shady guy pops round for a visit.” and he pointed his thumbs at himself, mouthing a silent ’it’s me!’ as he wiggled his brows suggestively.

spencer pursed his lips and rick’s gaze immediately stuck to them for a moment, hands dropping to lay lazily at his sides as he resisted the urge to fold them over his stomach because only really old people did that (rick thought he might have seen ted wheeler sitting just like that in his la-z-boy at the bbq recently, but his memory wasn’t as spot on as it used to be).

their shoulders brushed and rick was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that he hadn’t taken off his jacket when he’d stepped into the st. james residence. had spencer turned up the ac when they’d walked in? he couldn’t remember, but he thought he might have. with how hot it was getting all of a sudden. absentmindedly one hand pulled at his collar to expose a bit of skin, cool down. it didn’t help, of course.

time seemed to slow down for a second and all rick could do was stare and gape at spencer as he leaned forward, watch as his eyes fell to ricks lips, listen with blown pupils as he voiced his - question? no, more of a demand, really. as to be expected from a figure of authority. rick gulped.

“are-are you like, sure, man?” voice even quieter than spencer’s, if that was even possible, he cleared his throat, wet his lips. why was he even voicing his concerns? shouldn’t he just go ahead and grab this once chance to release years of unresolved and possibly until this moment unrequited tension? before it slipped away again, before they went back to being nothing more than the felon and the mayor to one another.

his breath had hitched in the back of his throat, rick realised, and he exhaled shakily, moved a little closer, side pressed into spencer’s. another beat passed, he nodded weakly. when he spoke his voice was low and soft, velvety, still hushed and quiet. “if you really wanna then… then yes, ill kiss you, spence. i really want to.”

.

spencer didn’t remember when this conversation had gotten to this point, but if there was something he was sure about was that it had taken a turn. at this very moment, spencer couldn’t tell if it was good or bad, but he decided not to overthink about it like he did with everything. “well, you can ask that to the rest of the town, because i’m pretty sure you’re the only one who actually compliments me.” he said, looking over at rick’s face for a couple of moments, before speaking up again and shaking his head. “don’t actually ask them that. i have some pretty good reasons on why they don’t like me.” he said with a firm nod. he knew that even if he did try to change people’s minds now, even if he wanted to, it probably wouldn’t work. he decided to shut off his thoughts for once in a life as he looked over at rick.

“nature’s syrup? you really like orange juice, it’s... surprising to say the least. but noted, i’ll keep it in my pantry.” spencer told the other, flashing him a smile for a few seconds before looking away from rick. he didn’t know why he was being nice to him, why he was talking to him like this. he felt his cheeks turning hot and he wondered if the other could tell that at all. he wasn’t sure what to do next, but he was enjoying rick’s company maybe a little too much for his liking. he let his thoughts overcome him as he thought about what people would think about if they knew about this. about his reputation and about his campaign. but then again, he forgot about all of it when their shoulders brushed together, looking over at rick again.

spencer didn’t remember the last time he had been this close to anyone, but it felt nice. he wasn’t sure if it was just because he had been so lonely this whole time or if it was because rick was actually a good person (despite the business he was in), maybe even too good for him. he watched the other’s movements carefully as they sat in silence after spencer had asked him to kiss him. was that the right thing to do in that very moment? he didn’t know, but he knew that he didn’t care. it wasn’t like anyone was there to see it.

“i’m...” he said, a moment of silence in between as he thought if he should back away from this and walk to the kitchen and wait until rick inevitably left. he had the chance to do that. they were close now, closer than they had ever been and spencer couldn’t help but to let his eyes wander to rick’s lips, licking his own as he watched the other talk. “i’m sure.” he said, giving the other a firm nod as he leaned forward slowly as the other kept talking. he talked too much, spencer thought to himself as he let his hand rest on the other’s cheek for a few moments.

“just... shut up.” he said, as he pulled the other into a kiss, their lips crashing as they kissed. this hadn’t been the way that he was expecting for his night to end, but here they were. the mayor kissing the felon on the mayor’s couch. and spencer was okay with it. he didn’t care about what people would think now, he didn’t even care if people were to walk in that very moment, he just wanted to kiss rick and that’s what he had done. he let out a big breath as he kissed him, never breaking the kiss as he brought the other closer, his hand still on rick’s cheek as he deepened the kiss. he wondered if this was all some game that rick was playing, but he had been so hesitant in kissing him that he thought he wouldn’t be cruel to him. he just couldn’t be. and he wouldn’t be, spencer thought to himself. at least he hoped he wouldn’t.

.

when the teenager behind the counter rang him up, bob handed over a ten dollar bill and told him to keep the change with a thumbs-up. he knew what working in customer service was like. any little bit helped. he accepted his cup of hot coca with a smile and took a sip before responding to spencer, effectively burning the top of his mouth a little bit in the process. “son of a biscuit,” he whined, pressing his tongue to the roof of his mouth and popping the lid off of his to-go cup to let some of the steam escape. “yes. my cousin john lives out there. did you want me to give you his number? he can vouch for me if you’re worried i’m lying to you.” bob’s tone was innocent. he said it with a smile. but he had been in chicago…he just wasn’t entirely sure where he’d been before that. 

when the employee handed over spencer’s coffee, bob replaced the lid on his cup and headed for one of the empty tables in the ship, sitting down and carefully taking another sip of his drink. this time, it went down smoothly and he smiled into the warmth. his shoulder raised and fell in a shrug as he cupped his mug in both hands. “not much. went to the hospital and talked to the cops, but no one could really explain what happened to me. i don’t remember much of it, either.” maybe he shouldn’t have been telling spencer st. james any of this, but bob was nothing if not honest. “honestly? i did a lot of cooking. johnny lives on takeout and i figured it was the least i could do since i was mooching off of him. and when i heard about scott…” he trailed off lamely, looking at a spot over spencer’s left shoulder and taking a second to gather himself. “it just seemed like it was time to come home.”

.

spencer looked at bob, holding back his chuckle when the other burned his mouth. not that he thought that it was funny, but because in essence, bob seemed pretty much the same as he was before. that’s why spencer thought it was so weird that he had returned and wasn’t sure what had happened to him. like he hadn’t just left town. it was weird to think that the small town had felt so empty with bob and that now he was just back like that. “no, you don’t... you don’t need to give me his number, i believe you.” he said, but even he had his doubts about what was happening in that town. but bob wouldn’t lie to him, he was just too honest and too good to be actually lying. at least he hoped that he wasn’t. “it’s good to have you back, bob, really.” he said with a small nod.

he followed bob with his coffee, sitting down on the table that he had found for them and watched him carefully. he was so confused at his story. “why were you at the hospital?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. it was weird that he had been in the hospital but not sure why he had been there. there were holes in his story and spencer would be damned if he didn’t figure it out. he had to figure it out, if not for bob, for the sake of the town. “you didn’t happen to meet... any kids while you were out in the woods? because... there has been reports of plenty of kids returning and apparently they were in some sort of... cult.” he said, lowering his voice so any of the bystanders wouldn’t hear. “you only came back because of scott? no other reason? nothing at all?” he asked.

.

with a sad smile, bob accepted spencer’s…condolences? with a soft thank you that was barely above a whisper. being back in town was…weird. he felt like no time had passed at all, but at the same time, it felt like more than a few years had gone by. they’d even rearranged the store a little bit so it’d taken him much longer than usual to find his batteries. speaking of, he reached over to replace the AAAs he’d been searching for and slipped his hands into his jacket pockets as he watched spencer with his head tipped slightly. “my cousin lives there. when i came to and wandered out of the woods, i guess i came out on that side of the highway, not the one towards hawkins…” he shrugged, not realizing what he was sharing would probably be very interesting to spencer. 

“say, spence, did you want to go grab a coffee or something? catch up?” without even waiting for an answer, bob led the way out of the store and to the little cafe next door where he ordered himself a hot chocolate. so what if it was july? hot chocolate always hit the spot! he glanced over his shoulder. “what’ll you have? it’s on me.”

.

spencer raised his eyebrows in confusion when he heard bob talk about wandering out of the woods, he shook his head slightly. “what do you mean? you wandered out of the woods?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. now bob’s return definitely seemed more odd. he hadn’t seen the other in years now and now he returned, saying that he had gotten out of the woods? there was something odd about it. he thought he remembered some of the kids that had returned saying the exact same thing and now he was worrying. if bob had returned at the same time as the other kids, then he would probably be a suspect for the disappearances. why else would a grown adult disappear like that? “are you sure you were in chicago, bob?” he asked, deciding not to accuse him directly. but he needed to know what this was about. it was part of his job anyway.

at the question, spencer thought about declining, but it was bob. and if he was lucky enough, maybe he would find out what was happening. “sure, that sounds like a good idea.” spencer said as he followed bob out of melvald’s and into the small cafe next to it. he watched the other carefully to see if anything seemed off, but it just seemed like bob. nothing else. “i’ll just have a coffee… thank you.” he told the other. “what did you do in chicago?” he asked, deciding to continue the conversation.

+++

he opened his mouth, ready to go on a rant about howthe television had been invented to keep the masses under control and willing and manipulated and so on and so forth, but upon taking in spencer’s state again he decided against it. rick could go on that rant another day, right now spencer looked like he felt like crap - and rick, well, he sometimes rather thought he didn’t have an un-empathetic bone in his body. so he shut up, just nodded idly to himself as he let his fingertips trace across the edge of a table, taking it all in.

“y’know, i always sorta admire you, spence.”, rick mused, more to himself, still letting his gaze wander around the room. “ever since back at camp. you were always - i don’t know, man. so sure of yourself? being mayor, that’s, like, that’s gotta be hard, right? and i mean you’re still the mayor so i guess you’re not doing half bad.” and with that he had turned back around to face spencer, finished with mentally mapping every last detail of the room. a smile playing on his lips. “i think you’re doing a pretty good job, man. don’t be so hard on yourself. people suck. and they need scapegoats, people to blame bad stuff on. you just happened to be there.”

and his thoughts briefly drifted off to eddie munson, how he’d sought refuge in his boat shed some two years ago. if rick hadn’t been in prison he’d have offered him the guest room. back then, people had tried to pin all sorts of stuff on eddie. how the tables had turned. 

rick gladly took the orange juice, downing it in one big gulp, a proud grin on his face as he plopped down on the couch next to spencer. “thanks, man. i needed that.” juice was great. rick made a note to go out and get some more orange juice at the store tomorrow. he also made a note that, for whatever reason, the image of spencer taking off his watch after a hard day’s work and putting it on the table caused a funny, fuzzy feeling in rick’s stomach. he shrugged, put the glass down next to the watch. his face felt a little hot. 

“trouble always seems to find me somehow, man. but it’s been quiet ‘round here lately.” meaning rick hadn’t gotten many customers lately, seeing as exam season was over and most people chose to spend their holidays anywhere but hawkins. “you got a nice pad, spencer.” rick hummed, letting himself sink further into the couch. it really was a very comfortable couch. “and you’re being nice today. why are you being nice to me today? did i do something incriminating?”

.

spencer watched as rick opened his mouth to say something. he looked at him for a couple of moments, waiting for him to speak up, but when the other said nothing, spencer looked away from him, trying to focus on something else in the living room. he looked at his walls, thinking on how he should probably get a new wallpaper. he didn’t know why he had invited rick into his house, but he didn’t regret it. at least he wasn’t putting all of the blames on him like everyone seemed to be doing. maybe he had been too harsh on judging without knowing him that well – not since camp anyway. not that they had been close, but they were kids and they knew each other. better than they know each other now, anyway.

his eyes drifted towards the other’s direction when he said he admired him, feeling his cheeks suddenly turning red. he felt like a stupid kid – only kids got flustered like that when someone complimented him, but maybe it was because he wasn’t used to it. it had been a while, after all. when the other was done complimenting him, spencer nodded his head slowly. “thank… thank you, rick. that’s… really nice of you. “ he told the other, nodding his head again. he wasn’t expecting for his night to end up like this, but there they were. “it’s good to hear some compliments every once in a while… you know, after only listening to harsh insults.” he told the other, shrugging his shoulders slightly. he watched the other as he took a big gulp of his orange juice, shaking his head as he let out a chuckle at it.

“no problem… i didn’t know you were such a fan of orange juice.” he said. he didn’t know anything about rick if he was being honest. it’s not like he had made sure that he knew stuff about him. maybe that was something he regretted, but he knew that their lives were different. what would people think if they knew that rick was at his house in that very moment? it wouldn’t look good for the campaign. but at the same time, it felt good to have some company. real company. other than peter, spencer didn’t have a ton of friends in hawkins. sure, he was partially to blame for that, but he took his job seriously. maybe a little too bit serious. “i have a carton in the pantry if you want to take some… i don’t drink it that much.” he told him.

spencer pursed his lips when rick mentioned that trouble used to find him. he wasn’t sure if that was completely true, but he decided to let it slide just that one time. “thanks… gets pretty lonely around here, but it’s a nice place. i can’t complain.” he said, as he leaned back on the couch, his shoulder brushing against rick’s for a couple of moments. he felt his face turning red at the touch. he wasn’t sure what he felt about this, but he couldn’t think of a time where he had been this close to rick. he was good looking, he thought to himself. “you didn’t do anything… i think we both need a break from… everything. even if you don’t know what’s going on.” he said to the other, looking at him and then down at his lips. he let a couple of moments of silence pass. he felt his mouth getting dry by the second and that’s when he spoke again. “kiss me.” he said, almost in a whisper.

“i know. you look…taller.” that wasn’t quite right. spencer wasn’t the same little kid bob used to babysit. he’d probably been about the same height for years now. maybe it was the professional attire that had thrown him off. before bob had left town, spencer was just amping up for his mayoral campaign. he wondered how that went. if he had to guess? pretty well. he took a couple of steps towards spencer so they wouldn’t have to talk so loudly, hands tucked into his pockets. 

his smile faded slightly. bob offered a quick nod. “yeah.” that wasn’t really the right word for what he and scott had been to each other growing up. but more recently? “we were best friends growing up.” best friends…that was right, at least for what they’d been since bob had returned to hawkins. had there been something else there when they were young? did it matter now? he pointed his thumb over his shoulder, out the door and towards the street. “the motel on the edge of town, for now. and i came from chicago.” he wasn’t lying. why would he lie? he had nothing to lie about.

.

spencer looked over at bob, raising an eyebrow. last time he had seen bob, he was sure that he was still the same height. he didn’t know where this was coming from. spencer had no idea where bob had been for these past years, he hadn’t even heard from him. and now he was back, also at the same time that a lot of people were returning too. “thank... you? i suppose.” he said, shrugging his shoulders, unsure on what to say. talking to bob didn’t seem like the same as before. it felt like he was gone too long and that now that he had returned, the two didn’t have anything to talk about.

spencer pursed his lips at bob when he mentioned scott clarke and their friendship. it must have been hard for bob to go through that, to go back to hawkins to find out that his best friend had died. spencer couldn’t imagine what that was like, but then again, he wasn’t necessarily the type of person to have friends. “i’m sorry. i know it must be rough and what happened at the carnival is a tragedy. i can’t imagine what families are going through right now...” he said, shaking his head. he looked over at bob, raising an eyebrow. “chicago? you have family there?” he asked. he wanted to know more.

.

bob had been to and from melvald’s no less than five times since he’d arrived in town. the first time it had been because he’d almost been late for the funeral because he’d gotten a flat tire, so he’d had to stop by to grab a candy bar to keep his stomach from growling in the middle of the ceremony. since then, though? since bob was stuck in hawkins for the foreseeable future, he’d set himself up in the motel 6 on the edge of town. since he’d only been planning on being in town for two days, max, he kept finding things he needed but hadn’t thought to pack. today, that was batteries. 

he was standing in the middle of aisle two trying to decide between store brand and name brand AAs when somebody said his name. instinctively, bob glanced up from the package. “yeah?” the bemused expression on his face faded into an almost fond smile. “spencer st. james? long time, no see!” he set the batteries aside and tucked his hands into his jeans pockets, head tipped slightly to one side. “couple days ago. for the…funeral.” he bit his bottom lip and breathed out on a sigh. since there’d been a handful of those lately, he felt the need to clarify. “scott’s.” 

.

it was weird to see bob back in town. he wasn’t sure where the other had gone, but he just remembered him going away. he narrowed his eyes as he scanned the other, making sure that nothing seemed suspicious about him. in his eyes, he thought that bob was still the same as before, but that was just from the way he looked. he looked exactly the same as the last time spencer had seen him, which was a little weird, but who was he to question that? he decided to ignore it, and give the other a small nod once he finally noticed who he was talking to. he guessed that he probably hadn’t heard that he was the mayor, but that wasn’t importat right now.

“the one and only.” he nodded his head. “it’s been quite some time, bob.” he told the other. the truth was that spencer had a bit of a soft spot for bob, but who could blame him? everyone around town seemed to have one. he pursed his lips when he heard bob say that he was back in town for the funeral. “scott clarke? you guys knew each other, right? good friends, i’m guessing?” spencer asked, raising an eyebrow at the other. while spencer hadn’t known scott clarke that well, his death had been a tragedy, just among the other deaths that had occurred in the carnival. it was a lot to digest. “where are you staying? and... where have you been?” he asked

xx.

“Really?!” Murray roared at the mention of arresting whoever was responsible for the explosion. “Care to explain, then, why you arrested Eddie Munson? That was nothing but prejudice and witch-hunting, and you know it. That kid isn’t capable of hurting anyone!” Murray’s hands were shaking with rage, and he pressed them to his sides in an attempt to ‘center himself’, or whatever yuppie bullshit the yoga moms chastised him about. 

But the P.R. spiel put Murray on edge all over again; he hated the way officials acted like they weren’t human, gave the perfectly polished response at every turn. Just once, Murray would love to see a politician give a damn! “For everyone’s safety, trying to figure out what happened, stupid kids. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I listened to your little town hall address. I’ve heard the story,” he grumbled, his tone making it clear that he didn’t believe the ‘story’ whatsoever. 

Murray’s heart rate plummeted at a sign of life behind Spencer St. James’ eyes. He laughed humorlessly, “Well, I’ll be damned. That’s one thing we agree on– the boys in blue were negligent out there, St. James. Negligent. But you and I both know,” he moved in closer, intensity flashing in his eyes, “That it wasn’t some kids that did this. You’re not an idiot.” It hurt him to admit out loud. “Don’t rationalize this with stereotypes and stories. Actually investigate, for once.” He backed away, crossing his arms over his chest. “I know you don’t like it. Bad for the campaign, right?” he deadpanned. 

.

spencer looked over at murray once he mentioned eddie munson, making him purse his lips at the other. in the confusion of things, spencer might have been the one to get edward munson arrested. “that whole arrest was a misunderstanding, and the kid has been released, has he not? you can’t blame... well, whoever put him in there. everyone knows what he did two years ago. it’s no lie that there was more than enough reason to get him arrested.” spencer said, crossing his arms over his chest. had any of that been proved? not really, but spencer believed in it. and he was still trying to stop the hellfire club.

he narrowed his eyes as he looked over at murray as he repeated what he had to say. spencer had been using the same speech over and over again, and while people hadn’t been exactly catching up that he was doing that, he should have known better that murray would have. “it’s no story, mr. bauman, it is the truth. you know that whatever i did, was for the people’s safety and nothing else. there’s not much i can say about it right now.” he said.

“yes, they were negligent. and they’re incompetent. and we would all be better off if jim hopper actually did anything for this town other than disappearing occasionally or look for kids who got lost in the woods and forget their way back home.” spencer said quietly, as he looked over at murray. he knew that he wouldn’t get his vote even if he tried his hardest, so now he felt like he could say anything that he was feeling. but he would hold his tongue, as there were people clearly watching. “get your head out of the gutter, murray. those kids that were gone for some commune have been terrorrizing the town ever since they returned. don’t try and tell me that some supernatural shit is going on. be real for once.” spencer said, shaking his head.

+++

that was a good question, actually. rick tilted his head to the side, lips pursed as he thought about it. “hm….i mean, like, the paper guys never come up to the door, sometimes they don’t deliver my paper at all. so that makes it sorta hard to keep up.”, he mused with a shrug. “but, like, i read a headline that some fucking, uh, disaster happened? that can mean a lot of things.” and sometimes these headlines were meaningless, all flashy and explicit to capture people’s attention. yeah, rick knew all about the media’s dirty tricks. still, he subscribed to the paper. he liked to keep up with what was going on around town, if there was a big yard sale anywhere, or a showing of a nice movie at the drive in. 

“holy shit, man. an explosion?” so ‘carnival disaster’ really hit the nail on the head, apparently. his shoulders slumped, brows dran together, he ran a hand through his hair. “but, like … you weren’t the one doing the exploding, right? so it’s not your fault, man.” not that he felt like that would reassure or help spencer much. but you never knew.

next thing he knew he was inside, a wide grin on his face. “my lips are sealed, man. don’t worry.” and who would believe him, anyway? what business did he have telling people he payed mayor st. james a visit? it was a nice pad, rick thought to himself, nodding appreciatively as he looked around. not as homey and familiar as his own house, of couse, which was filled with trinkets and posters and plants. but still nice. it was spencer, which rick liked. “uh…yeah, man, do you have like, orange juice or something? like, any juice is fine.”

.

sometimes he wondered if rick was a real person. sometimes he wondered if the other actually thought about the things he said before actually saying them, because he was pretty sure that he didn’t. “then... just buy the newspaper. there’s also news on the television, which you know, play other stuff than... whatever it is that you’re watching.” he said, shaking his head slightly at rick. but part of him had kind of wished that he hadn’t brought this up to table. maybe if he hadn’t said anything, then they wouldn’t have to talk about the explosion and everything that had happened at the carnival. it had been awful, the aftermath and still now, with everything being blamed on him. at least rick didn’t seem to be doing that, which he could appreciate. “it was an actual disaster. a real disaster, not like when... your tie doesn’t match with your shirt kind of disaster. a real one.” spencer said, shaking his head for a couple of moments.

he watched rick’s reaction to the explosion, and spencer let out a sigh and nodded. at least rick wasn’t putting the blame on him, which was the bare minimum, but spencer was pleased that he hadn’t. “people like to think that i did, but no, i didn’t do it. i’m trying to figure out who actually is to blame, but it’s not easy when you can’t even leave your house and have some concerned dad talking about how her daughter was hospitalized or worse... it hasn’t been easy.” spencer said with a shrug.

spencer wasn’t used to having people at his house and now that rick was there, it felt weird. but still, he decided not to say anything about it as he watched him carefully. “orange juice? yeah, i have some.” he said with a nod. he quickly went to the kitchen, opened the fridge and got the orange juice, pouring it in a glass before going back to the living room and handing it to rick. “go crazy.” he said with a nod, before taking a seat on his couch and rubbing his eyes yet again, taking off his watch then placing it on top of the coffee table. “you can sit down, rick, i’m not going to bite you. i know i’m not the nicest, but if anything, i’m a good host.” he said with a small nod. “you staying out of trouble?” he asked. he didn’t know why he was being so nice to rick, but it felt nice to have someone to talk to.

where: melvald’s

spencer had to be dreaming. he just had to be, there was no actual way that he was staring at bob newby in that very moment. spencer had walked by him two times now, making sure that it was him. the first time he thought that he was seeing things and that it couldn’t be him. the second time around, he definitely knew that it was him. there was no mistaking him. how did spencer know bob? well, some would find it hard to believe if they were to tell them that bob had babysat spencer when they were both younger. spencer was only eleven and whenever his parents needed time for themselves, they would ask eighteen year old bob newby to babysit him. was it weird to think about? definitely. but spencer had also grown a soft spot for the other. he wasn’t sure why it had been like that, but spencer had always found himself enjoying the other’s company.

and then he disappeared. bob didn’t disappear at the same time as most people did however, he disappeared earlier. he was in town one day and the next thing spencer knew, he wasn’t there anymore. they had been neighbors for so long that spencer obviously noticed that he was gone, but he hadn’t noticed that he had returned. spencer looked away when he caught bob looking at his direction. he waited a couple of moments until the other was not looking at him again and then started walking towards his direction, almost cornering him as he approached him. “bob newby?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at him. he could just be mistaken, but he knew that it wasn’t. this was him. “what... where... when did you come back to town?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at the other.

It was clear from his impatience and the way he jumped to the conclusion that Jack’s drink had been spiked that the mayor wasn’t understanding what he was trying to tell him. He wouldn’t want to believe it, either, if he were the one on the other side of the conversation, listening to someone tell them that they didn’t remember hours at a time. Something had happened at the carnival. There was no way that he could vomit black, acidic shit along with the rest of the people who so happened to be in the forest without something weird going on. Jack hadn’t even touched any alcohol before getting there, and he was sure that there wasn’t something in the cotton candy that would cause that much damage.

Jack shook his head. “No, sir, I didn’t. I drove my sister to the carnival, and I don’t … do that. Drink and drive, I mean.” There had been some crazy shit Jack had done in high school, but drinking and operating a vehicle was never one of them. “My sister told me that we went into the Tunnel of Love ride and that everyone who had been in the commune, we threw up this black stuff, and it melted a fork, or something, and then after that … we were all acting weird. I don’t remember any of that, sir, and I know that this sounds crazy, but I couldn’t help but feel like something’s wrong. I couldn’t live with myself if anyone else got hurt and I didn’t say something.”

.

spencer’s impatience only kept growing, now starting to tap his foot as he looked over at jack. it was bad enough everything that had happened at the carnival, but now they were trying to convince him that it was something... supernatural. it was an idiot thought, and spencer had grown tired of hearing going around town for so long. plus, it had been two years ever since he heard about this nonsense, so why was this being brought up again. but he couldn’t just snap at the other and tell him that it was nonsense, even if it was. spencer let out a sigh as he rubbed his eyes with one of his hands and then looked back at jack, narrowing his eyes.

“listen, i don’t know what happened to your... commune friends, whatever it was. and if you threw up, then it’s definitely because you were drinking or consumed something that was bad, i don’t know. melting the fork was probably just an hallucination, however that had happened. and trust me, alcohol makes you forget things. that’s what happened. nothing else.” spencer said, shaking his head slightly. he couldn’t believe that he was having this conversation with this kid, but he needed to shut these ideas down before they were running around town. that was the last thing hawkins needed at that very moment. “listen, i’ve been a kid, i’ve done stupid things, we all go through it. just... don’t waste my time, next time. okay?” he asked, a stern look on his face.

❁

karen didn’t necessarily dislike the mayor of hawkins, she just often found herself disagreeing with some of his policies but that was only the inevitable with anyone who came in to power. spencer had always been nice to her face-to-face and by extension, her family as well. she just had to remind herself that what had happened at the carnival hadn’t been his fault, in fact it was supposed to be the safest one yet.  

“mayor st james, it’s an honor as usual.” a visibly tired smile replaced the winning one that she usually would have plastered on her face. the past few days had been a little too difficult to navigate to the best of anyone’s ability, let alone her own. “they’re all okay, thank god. we’re just all in a stare of shock, as you can imagine.” she supposed that it was nice of him to ask how they were holding up. “nancy just got out of the hospital. and i’m beginning to think she prefers the hospital food over my cooking.” a small joke to clear the air, before clearing her throat. “i suppose things have been going over too well with the governors?”

.

the wheelers were a good family in spencer’s eyes. other than one of the kids being part of the hellfire club, the club that supposedly satanic, they were all a good family. and that’s what spencer wanted for hawkins. he wanted families to be safe, to have a good life there, a good life in a small town. he knew that karen certainly wanted too, as did her husband. who wouldn’t want to live in a safe town? he had heard that her kid, nancy, had been hospitalized after the explosion and while he hadn’t been responsible for it, he still felt some sort of guilt in his gut.

he gave the other a smile when she mentioned that it was an honor, to which he responded with a small nod towards her, his smile never leaving his face. “that’s good to hear... and yes, what happened at the carnival was... unexpected. and a tragedy. my thoughts are definitely with the families that lost so much that night.” he let out a sigh, shaking his head slightly for a couple of moments as he was brought back to the tragedy. it had been terrible, all of it. “i’m glad to know nancy is alright. and i doubt that’s true, there’s nothing better a meal cooked by a mom, i’m sure nancy will come around.” he said with a smile, trying to comfort the other. at the question, spencer just shook his head. “things aren’t pretty, no... but i’m trying to make sure that everything will be fixed and that justice is made.” he said with a nod again.