#amourinvente

a toothy smile looked quite out of place as eddie look up at the other, blood staining his skin. he'd managed to protect alexis at the cost of his own life -- a pretty rad way to go in his mind. but, now really wasn't the time to justify his actions to the other, especially with how upset he was. "hey, that's not really fair," he croaked out, his wet hair sticking to his skin as he attempted to tilt his head to the side. "you gotta admit that was pretty badass. does that mean you're finally falling for me? i knew i could convince you to love me," he continued to tease, a wet cough interrupting him. he pulled one of his rings off before pushing the dirtied accessory into the boy's hand. "there. you keep that for me, won't you? i'm going nowhere without that -- so make it hard for me to get it back," he bartered, trying to find a way to comfort the other.

an amused snort left nancy's lips as she shook her head. "for the taxes? i'm sorry to say, alexis, but you're going to be finding someone well within that time frame. you're going to be the one leaving me to hang dry while you're off filing jointly," she teased, shooting him a look. she always held hope for the other finding someone again one day -- someone more permanent and less fickle than alexis' past love. "but, if by some ill-fated miracle you don't, i will accept such an offer. and just because did accept, you're going to happen to find your one true love evn faster now. so, ha! i win, you lose," she proclaimed, sticking her tongue out at the other. while nancy liked to believe that all her childish tendencies had died in hawkins, alexis had a way of making her feel like her old self again.

viktor felt anticipation grip at him from how close the two were, sure his heart was pumping a million beats a minute. but, just as he expected alexis' lips to finally meet his, he was stunned by the touch of their foreheads instead. he was left reeling and questioning himself -- wondering it he had been too eager or if he'd made the interaction into something it wasn't. he took in a deep breath, hoping any colour in his cheeks didn't show through. "alexis, are you trying to mess with me?" he asked softly before he could stop himself. "i mean, you're making me all sorts of confused," he finally admitted, swallowing thickly at he looked at the other through his lashes.

nancy bit down on her lip, the words resonating with her. she’d always felt she was meant for something big, but was far too small. maybe it had always been wishful thinking that she would have been more than some girl from some small town in a state no one cared for. “i don’t think we’re ever meant to feel like we fit,” she finally said, looking down at her hands before glancing back up at alex. “if we felt like we fit, why would we bother doing anything? when a puzzle is finished, what do we do? we take it apart and put it away. we might not ever touch it again. it’ll be left there, forgotten,” she said. “a loose piece… it has potential. it could fit anywhere, be a part of anything. you don’t stop thinking about that little piece. so, maybe it’s not so bad to be a misplaced piece in a big world.”

a shaky breath escaped scho as he climbed through the other’s window. he should have just called ahead of time, or left alexis to sleep peacefully. but, he needed to see the other and alexis’ window was open – unfortunate in the sense he couldn’t throw a rock at it, fortunate that it was almost an invitation to come through. he carefully curled into the other’s too small bed, arms possessively and desperately wrapping around alexis’ smaller body. he buried his face into the crook of alexis’ neck, trying to force himself to relax. “i’m sorry,” he whispered against soft flesh. “it’s been the first night i haven’t had a dream about him. instead, it was of you. i was holding you, and you were leaving me,” he explain, his voice breaking. his eyes stung, but he refused to allow himself to cry. “i had to see that you were okay.”

“i saw you talking to some of the tourists,” david said, trying to put on an air of indifference as he placed a cigarette between his lips. however, the way he refused to look directly at alexis said exactly what he wouldn’t admit – that he was jealous. “are you going to meet up with them later? people who go to that club usually hook up a lot,” he noted, flicking the ash from his cigarette aggressively. “hook up culture isn’t really for you – you’re too sentimental. but, maybe it will be good for you to mess around with someone who isn’t me.” david’s jaw clenched. he didn’t want alex to be with anyone else but him. but, david had himself to protect. if he could wean himself off of his dependency for alex by convincing the other to go out with others, then letting go of alex would be easier. 

ever since eddie woke up from the upside down, things had been different. all he knew was that he’d once lived in this place, and that he was unendingly thirsty. he’d been responsible for various disappearances and attacks around hawkins, but no one had been able to pinpoint it. they all thought eddie was dead – that any sighting of him was either his ghost or a story made up to scare everyone. it was better that way, for eddie at least. it meant no one would go looking for him as he hid away in a small shack during the day, crawling out only at nightfall. he stalked the mostly empty streets – the curfew making it difficult to find his next victim. but, then he caught the scent of something – someone – nearby. he was quick and silent, approaching the the blond from behind before dragging him into the space between two buildings. eddie didn’t think twice as he bit into the boy’s neck, the other’s blood tasting sweeter than any he’d ever had before.

scho pursed his lips, a sad smile showing through. he understood the fear of possibly losing someone too dear to you to let go -- he'd already lived through that. but, it didn't make him want to feel that love again any less. in fact, it only made him yearn for it even more, his entire soul aching at the thought of never feeling it again. and, alexis was the only one who could come close to that tender, guarded spot in his heart. "i would never leave you -- this i can promise you with all the certainty i can muster. i would fight tooth and nail to stay with you for as long as fate would allow," he said softly, hands gently squeezing the other's. "we both know what that sort of loss feels like. but, we also both know what that time together feels like as well. and, even if the ending hurts, the entire story leading up to it is too wonderful to simply throw away. i love you. i love you so very much. if i have to chase you, i will."