#funnyseeingyouhere

Synopsis

Long time in-patient y/n was looking forward to her upcoming discharge date from the Hawkins Memorial Hospital. That is, until she became acquainted with an unlikely familiar face, Eddie Munson.

Author’s Note

This is a fix it fic following Stranger Things season 4, volume 2. In this fic, we’re going to forget the fact that the Duffer Brothers decided to delete Eddie from the series. :-) These events take place after the battle in the upside down. I’m also choosing to change the ending of season 4 by having the issue with the upside down resolved, therefore, Hawkins is not plagued by the massive earthquake that resulted in new portals being opened.

What To Expect

Slow burn, angst with a happy ending, fluff, smut in later chapters. ♡

Series Warnings

Mentions of mental health struggles, SMUT (in the later chapters, 18+ to read this story), angst with a happy ending, canon-typical violence.

Chapter 1

It’s hard to remember how much time has passed since y/n was initially admitted to Hawkins Memorial Hospital as part of an inpatient program. 38 days? Maybe closer to 58. She wasn’t sure.

The days tend to blend into this repetitive and forgettable cycle of wake up, take your medication, do group activities and talk to councillors, have your meals, then go to sleep. Part of the confusion was probably since this wasn’t the first-time y/n had been through this tiring process.

Being from a small town and not always conforming to the social standards had at times, made her feel quite vulnerable and a bit of an outcast. This wasn’t to say that she didn’t have any friends. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Y/n was a very friendly and outgoing person, she just had a tendency of doubting herself which led to isolation. She had established a somewhat solid friend group while in high school, but since graduating in 84, most of her friends had moved away to college. Her struggles with her mental health definitely took a toll on her remaining friendships, and although she initially had visitors, they became less frequent as time passed on.

Y/n had gotten pretty familiar with the order of operations over time and was well acquainted with most of the staff from her unit. It probably helped that she took pride in knowing that she always made an effort to be kind, no matter how she was feeling inside. One of her favourite nurses was a man named Wayne. He had been working at the hospital for well over 16 years at this point but his passion for his career never faded.

Wayne was a large burly man; he was quite tall too. Y/n always referred to him as a gentle giant, because although he looked a little intimidating if you ever caught him in a daze, with that serious face he made whenever he would space out, he was very soft spoken and so caring. He was typically the nurse assigned to make sure the patients were up and out of bed in the mornings and would always do so with a wonderfully positive attitude. If Wayne was having a bad day, you would never know.

Although the inpatient program was quite long and grueling, there were some perks to it. Sometimes…

As previously mentioned, y/n had made some friendships with the staff during her stay, and with those friendships came some benefits. Over time, she was able to modify her daily schedule, with the help and approval of her doctors. This usually entailed more time outside in the courtyard, later bedtimes and preferred meal plans. You know what they say about hospital food… It’s not always the best.

The thing y/n loved most however was the freedom to roam. Whether it was outside or indoors, she just liked the freedom of walking. Given that she had been there for quite some time, the staff were very trusting of her and after a few initially supervised strolls, she was granted the privilege of roaming alone: how exciting.

The town of Hawkins wasn’t exactly the liveliest place to live, nor did it provide much excitement or scandals, so you can imagine y/n’s intrigue when, on one of her daily strolls around the hospital, she encountered an array of cops escorting paramedics, rushing to get to the nearest elevator while pushing a gurney with a patient on it.

Y/n’s eyesight isn’t exactly the best, and given that this all happened so fast, she barely had time to process what had just unfolded before her eyes, let alone who was on that gurney. Perhaps finding out the identity of this person and the story behind their grand entry could be something to keep her occupied for the day.

_

Chapter 2

Synopsis

Long time in-patient y/n was looking forward to her upcoming discharge date from the Hawkins Memorial Hospital. That is, until she became acquainted with an unlikely familiar face, Eddie Munson.

Author’s Note

This is a fix it fic following Stranger Things season 4, volume 2. In this fic, we’re going to forget the fact that the Duffer Brothers decided to delete Eddie from the series. :-) These events take place after the battle in the upside down. I’m also choosing to change the ending of season 4 by having the issue with the upside down resolved, therefore, Hawkins is not plagued by the massive earthquake that resulted in new portals being opened.

What To Expect

Slow burn, angst with a happy ending, fluff, smut in later chapters. ♡

Series Warnings

Mentions of mental health struggles, SMUT (in the later chapters, 18+ to read this story), angst with a happy ending, canon-typical violence.

Chapter 13

The air was thick with tension in the elevator, y/n waiting anxiously for Wayne to break the silence. He was breathing heavily, eyes glued to the illuminating numbers indicating which floor they were on. The silence was becoming unbearable and she began to wonder if she should be the first to speak. Before she could come up with anything to say, they had reached their destination, Wayne exiting before the doors were opened all the way. Like a shameful puppy, she trailed close behind him, nearly stepping on the back of his shoe a few times. Once in her unit, he led the way to her room and motioned towards the sole chair. "Sit." he said sternly.

She hurried over to the chair tucking her knees to her chest once seated; a pose she frequently adopted whenever she sought comfort. To her surprise, Wayne exited her room without a word, his whereabouts remained unknown for the next few hours. Y/n's schedule was free for the rest of the day, leaving her with far too much time to worry about the outcome of her mishap.

-

When Wayne finally returned to her room, the clock read 4:15pm. Fearing further reprimanding, she hadn't dared leave her room, let alone the seat she was assigned hours ago. Upon his return, y/n noted with slight relief that his demeanor was much more relaxed. He sat on the edge of her bed and crossed his arms, a sigh escaping his nostrils.

"You know, when i told you to sit, i didn't mean forever." he teased, attempting to lighten to mood.

She met his gaze with a worried look, unsure if she should laugh or remain serious.

He sighed once again, this time with his whole chest and uncrossed his arms attempting to look less intimidating. "Do you wanna talk about what happened down there?" he began.

"I don't know" she said gently, her voice muffled from her face being tucked into her knees.

"Alright, well I would like to talk about it. What happened, kid? I mean seriously, i don't wanna come down on ya too hard but i just spent the last 3 hours covering for you." he said, his tone stern but gentle.

Wayne was always hyperaware of the way he spoke to her, never raising his voice. Prior to his disappearance, he felt it was best to collect himself before confronting her to ensure he wouldn't snap. A wise decision on his part given how angry he was at the time.

"Im so sorry Wayne, i didn't mean to be late." she offered, trying her best to hold back tears. She could feel the familiar lump in her throat, a sign her emotions were about to get the best of her.

"I know you didn't mean to, and that's not the issue at hand here. What were you doing down in the ER? You know your access was limited to the 3rd and 2nd floor. Some nurse spotted you down there and you're lucky it was my friend Stephanie. If it had been anyone else, they would have ratted you out to the administration. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal but this isn't the first time we've run into issues like this, and you know who gets in trouble?" he asked rhetorically, pointing his index finger to his chest, pursing his lips.

A few moments passed and he noticed her eyes becoming glossy. He quickly worked to lighten her mood, not wanting her to shed tears over this minor incident. "Lucky for you, the old man is skilled in the art of sweet talkin'," he began, not wanting to dwell on the issue for too long. She knew she made a mistake and clearly felt remorse. His goal was never to make her feel bad or prolong her sorrow. "no one's in trouble for now, but we're gonna have to lay low for a while, if you know what i mean."

She gave him a perplexed look, not wanting to assume what he meant in case she was met with disappointment. He met her gaze and elaborated on his prior choice of words. "We're gonna stick to the unit's floor for the time being on our walks."

It was bittersweet, but she was in no position to complain. Especially since she expected her privilege to be revoked completely. She gave Wayne an understanding nod, her eyes quickly finding the floor once more. Wayne stood up carefully and made his way towards the door, stopping to pat her gently on the shoulder. "Now do me a favor, take a lap around the unit, will ya? Your knees are gonna be locked in that position forever if you keep sitting like that." he quipped.

She gave him a light smile before getting up from the chair to execute his request.

-

The next morning, y/n woke up to the gentle sounds of rain tapping against her window. It was a stormy day, something she had grown to enjoy over time. Days like this always seemed calmer and she would often sit by the nearest window to admire the droplets, sometimes bringing a book to read to pass the time.

She was hoping to hear from Dustin soon, given that she had forgotten to grab his phone number during their previous interaction. It had been three days since she had last spoken to or seen Eddie, his absence becoming more prevalent as the days went on. With her access to his floor now revoked, she could only hope that Dustin would reach out soon.

Her train of thought was abruptly interrupted by the overhead intercom blaring, a nurses voice could be heard calling for her to come to the front desk. 'Crap, what now.' she thought.

She marched over to reception and was greeted by a livelier than usual Margot wearing bright pink lipstick, perhaps she had a date tonight? "Phone's for you, dear. Line 1."

Y/n's heart skipped a beat, her mood instantly bettering as she headed over to the hanged telephone and snatched it from the receiver. She plopped down on the adjacent chair tucking one foot under her opposing thigh and excitedly greeted the caller, who she presumed to be her brother.

"Hey stranger" a familiar voice spoke sweetly.

It took her a couple of seconds to recognize his voice, it sounded slightly deeper on the phone. Or perhaps he was gaining some strength back and didn't sound as winded as he had previously.

"Eddie! Hi!!" she exclaimed, caught off guard.

"Thought i'd try calling since you've been MIA, you free for a chat?" he asked in a playful tone.

"I'm so glad you called." she blurted out, wincing instantly after hearing the words spill out. She heard him chuckle lightly on the other end, hoping it wasn't in malice. It was far from it. Eddie was thrilled to hear hear voice and was just as excited to talk, if not more.

"So, how you been?" he asked, thinking pleasantries were most likely the best way to start their conversation.

"Good, i was actually expecting it to be Dustin on the other end!"

"Ahh, so the cat's out of the bag?" he quipped.

"If the cat is my estranged brother reaching out to tell me he found me through his much older friend who, i met a few weeks ago, then yes. It is out of the bag."

"Alright, that was a run on sentence. And i am not MUCH older, you're making it sound like i'm an old man or something!"

"You ARE an old man" she teased.

"We're the same age!!!" he loudly enunciated each word. Y/n broke out into laughter, nothing made her laugh as hard as Eddie getting frustrated during their playful banter. Despite knowing he wasn't actually offended, she wanted to ensure it.

"I'm just kidding" she said slightly out of breath from laughing.

"I know, don't get soft on me now, y/n." he assured.

"Oh i'm not, just making sure you're not secretly crying over there."

"Jeeeez, you're mean! I like it." he exclaimed, wildly grinning.

"Am not!" she replied, tone slightly raised.

"Are too!"

"Hey, don't change the subject, we can talk about Star Wars later." she said, keeping the banter alive.

Her eardrums almost burst from the cackle Eddie let out. This was a side of him she hadn't gotten the pleasure of seeing, or rather hearing, yet. His laugh was infectious and adorable, she couldn't help but giggle every time she heard it. He seemed to be getting better every time they interacted, something that was slightly bittersweet for y/n. As he composed himself, she thought of a way to steer the conversation a different direction. As much as she enjoyed kidding around with him, she wanted to get deeper.

"How are you feeling? Getting any better?" she offered, her tone coated with care.

"Pretty good, it's not set in stone yet, but they're thinking i might be able to walk outta here early next week!" he said cheerfully, as most people would hearing they could go home soon.

A knot formed in her stomach at the thought of him not being around anymore. It was selfish, she knew that but she couldn't help feeling sorrow. "That's great!" she feigned excitement.

Eddie detected the somberness in her voice and was quick to respond. "I hope you know, that doesn't mean you're getting rid of me. Not that easily! I'm like gum, once it's on your shoe, it's there for life!"

She sighed in relief, a feeling of warmth spreading through her.

"Besides," he continued, "Dustin's been hounding me nonstop to hangout all three of us and he's quite persistent."

"He gets it from our mother" she replied, matter-of-factly.

Eddie chuckled lightly. "You know, i still haven't quite registered that you two are related. It's kind of weird, in a good way."

"Oh?" she inquired.

"Yeah, i mean, don't get me wrong the kid drives me nuts, but he's like family to me. I'd do anything for him."

Oh. Dread washed over her at the possibility of Eddie seeing her the same way he saw Dustin. Simultaneously, he seemed to pick up on his unintentional insinuation and quickly attempted to fix it.

"I don't mean!... Uh.. Sorry," he blurted out flustered, searching for the right words to say. "Not that i see you like i see him, i mean he's like a brother and you're..." he trailed off once again. "It's just nice is all, to know someone as great as him." he finally managed, letting out a soft giggle.

Of their time spent together, she had never seen him struggle so much finding his words. Maybe she wasn't reading too much into what Dustin had confessed. Maybe Eddie did like her in that way.

_

Chapter 14

Let me know what you think & if you’re interested in being on my tag list ♡

Synopsis

Long time in-patient y/n was looking forward to her upcoming discharge date from the Hawkins Memorial Hospital. That is, until she became acquainted with an unlikely familiar face, Eddie Munson.

Author’s Note

This is a fix it fic following Stranger Things season 4, volume 2. In this fic, we’re going to forget the fact that the Duffer Brothers decided to delete Eddie from the series. :-) These events take place after the battle in the upside down. I’m also choosing to change the ending of season 4 by having the issue with the upside down resolved, therefore, Hawkins is not plagued by the massive earthquake that resulted in new portals being opened.

What To Expect

Slow burn, angst with a happy ending, fluff, smut in later chapters. ♡

Series Warnings

Mentions of mental health struggles, SMUT (in the later chapters, 18+ to read this story), angst with a happy ending, canon-typical violence.

Chapter 2

It wasn’t long after witnessing the police and paramedics storming through the hallways that y/n was ushered away to her scheduled afternoon group therapy session. She normally participated a lot and contributed to the conversations, but today was different. She was so intrigued by the earlier events that had unfolded before her that she was really struggling to focus on the mundane discourse that her daily discussions entailed. It’s safe to say, today’s session was a write off.

Once the discussion concluded, she didn’t waste a second getting out of the there to rush back to her unit, in search of Wayne. She was hoping he could provide more details on the mysterious patient her mind was consumed by. Despite the strict privacy policy the hospital enforced, Wayne and y/n we’re close and would often discuss the latest hospital gossip together. Although they did enjoy discussing the events that would take place, whenever y/n would inquire about an incident, Wayne would always refrain from using names, not wanting to leak sensitive information. She admired that about him and thought it was quite respectful. He showed more discretion than most of the staff did.

While making her rounds around the unit, she finally caught up to him in the hallway.

“Wayne! Hi!” She blurted out at the first sight of him.

“Good afternoon, y/n. Quite the energy you’ve got today!” He replied, a bit wide-eyed. “How was your group session?” He asked, somewhat perplexed by her eagerness.

“Good, we uh… It was good!”

He gave her a bit of a smirk, accompanied by a side eye. “That’s good to hear!”

As Wayne started to turn away, redirecting his attention to the clipboard he was holding, probably wanting to complete some forms he would often be working on, y/n interjected again.

“So uh, apparently there was some commotion over in the emergency department earlier today!” Dang… That came off more abruptly than she had hoped it would.

“Oh?” Wayne responded, his curiosity getting the best of him as he set down the clipboard on the nearest table.

“You didn’t hear?” y/n continued “Apparently a ton of police officers rushed into the ER with paramedics and a patient!”

Wayne looked perplexed, which wasn’t a good sign. Usually he would entertain y/n with additional information he had on the matter, but this time, he didn’t seem to know anything about this incident.

Crap. She was really hoping to learn more.

“That is interesting, you’ll have to fill me in when you hear more about it!” He said, picking the clipboard up from the table and smiling before redirecting his attention to the paper.

A dead end. Maybe y/n would have better luck hearing about what happened through the grapevine.

_

The next few days were rather uneventful. Same routine, different day. Y/n was starting to lose interest and forget about the incident, until she overheard a couple of nurses quietly talking by the water fountain near her room.

“I can’t believe they finally caught him!”

“Well, it’s about time, could you imagine what more he could have done had he still been on the run!”

Her eyes shot up from the book she was reading and she froze, focusing all her attention on the conversation that was being held no less than 10 feet from her room.

“I just don’t feel safe with him here, did you hear what he did to that poor cheerleader? It’s only a matter of time before he does that to one of us.”

Suddenly, it clicked.

Eddie Munson.

She remembered initially hearing about this story.

Although there weren’t any televisions in her unit, Wayne was pretty good at keeping her up to date on the latest news around town. The most recent buzz worthy story she had been informed on was that of Eddie Munson; the suspected cult leader of Hawkins, wanted for the murder of Chrissy Cunningham.

She was genuinely at a loss for words. I mean, it’s not everyday you hear about a crime of this caliber happening in your hometown, especially involving a suspect you know. From what she had heard from Wayne, the media was in a frenzy, perpetuating so many narratives on Eddie Munson and this so-called cult he was running.

Y/n had gone to school with Eddie, in fact, they were the same age. She first became familiar with him in their history class where he was sitting across from her.

Sure, Eddie was eccentric, but he was certainly no murderer. At least, as far as she could tell. She couldn’t remember what was said, but they had exchanged a few words from time to time, most likely regarding homework assignments, to which he was always very kind and forthright. She couldn’t help but think that these rumors of him being affiliated with satanism were most likely due to his interest in playing Dungeons and Dragons, as well as his fondness of metal music.

Now, it had been a long time since y/n had played D&D, and her memory of the rules were rather hazy, but she did remember what pleasure and fun she had playing the game at the time. She was also a metal enthusiast, having quite the cassette tape collection. This allowed her to empathize with Eddie, as she had experienced firsthand the judgment and disapproval that came with listening to this kind of music. Despite this, she had to admit, she couldn’t truly put herself in Eddie’s shoes as her interest in metal music was more of a well-kept secret, only discovered by her parents overhearing the tunes coming from her bedroom speakers, or her friends spotting the Iron Maiden cassette tape playing on her Walkman.

Through her similar experiences and brief encounters with him, she had a hard time believing Eddie was capable of such atrocities and instead, wrote it off as a product of the Satanic Panic. He was, after all, the perfect candidate for such accusations. From his bold, provocative appearance and personality to his non-conforming interests, it was no surprise he was the target of such hate.

Her ears were peeled more than ever as she started getting up from her bed to carefully walk towards the door, hoping to get more information from the conversation going on regarding Eddie.

“If that Manson kid even steps foot near me, I swear I’ll-“

“Munson” y/n blurted out. As the words left her lips, she realized that she had intended for his name to remain an internal thought.

The nurses turned over quickly; eyes as wide as can be.

“What was that, dear?” One asked, trying to play it off as if they hadn't just been caught gossiping about a patient.

“His name is Munson I’m pretty sure, not Manson…” She sheepishly said, cursing her tongue for betraying her in a moment that was meant to be strictly observatory.

The nurses quickly exchanged glances before parting ways, leaving y/n alone to wonder what the full story was, and how this so-called “murderer” ended up here in such a battered state.

_

Chapter 3

Synopsis

Long time in-patient y/n was looking forward to her upcoming discharge date from the Hawkins Memorial Hospital. That is, until she became acquainted with an unlikely familiar face, Eddie Munson.

Author’s Note

This is a fix it fic following Stranger Things season 4, volume 2. In this fic, we’re going to forget the fact that the Duffer Brothers decided to delete Eddie from the series. :-) These events take place after the battle in the upside down. I’m also choosing to change the ending of season 4 by having the issue with the upside down resolved, therefore, Hawkins is not plagued by the massive earthquake that resulted in new portals being opened.

What To Expect

Slow burn, angst with a happy ending, fluff, smut in later chapters. ♡

Series Warnings

Mentions of mental health struggles, SMUT (in the later chapters, 18+ to read this story), angst with a happy ending, canon-typical violence.

Chapter 3

The next day started off like any other, y/n was getting ready to embark on her daily walk following lunch when she was stopped by one of the nurses on her unit, Margot. Y/n wouldn’t go as far as saying she disliked Margot, but she certainly wasn’t fond of the way she spoke to her sometimes. Margot was an older woman who had recently been transferred to this hospital from her old position in a nearby town. She meant well on most days, but came off abrupt at times and wasn’t a fan of rule breaking or inconsistencies in the daily operations.

“Sorry dear, no more walks until further notice.” She said, dryly from her desk.

Y/n paused, she wasn’t one to challenge authority, but she couldn’t help but question this sudden wrench that was thrown into her plan.

“Did I do something wrong?” She asked.

Margot’s eye shot up from her desk “There will be no more unsupervised dilly-dallying around the hospital. There is a safety risk in effect, and I have no interest in filling out more paperwork than I’ve already got on my hands. Now please, I’m sure you can find something else to do to keep you busy.”

Y/n frowned, ‘safety hazard?’ she thought. ‘Were they referring to Eddie?’

Not wanting to further upset Margot, she redirected her path to the common room within her unit and took a seat on a sofa.

‘Okay… Now I really need to figure out what’s going on…’

-

Over the next few days, y/n was able to gather more information on what had presumably happened to Eddie. Most of the information was from the staff gossiping, which, if she was honest with herself, probably wasn’t the most reliable source. But regardless, it was information, and it brought her one step closer to figuring out what had happened: Suspected killer Eddie Munson had finally been apprehended and was in serious but stable condition. No one knew how he had sustained such injuries, but from what she had heard, he had gone through extensive surgeries and was in a medically induced coma.

It had been quite some time now since y/n had been allowed to leave her unit, but she could see from her bedroom window the commotion that was constantly occurring outside. She had never seen so many reporter vans and police cars crammed into one space, and she could only imagine the chaos unfolding on the lower levels of the hospital. The media was in a frenzy, clinging onto any new details they could get their greedy hands on.

Y/n hated the mob mentality that came with news reporting. She especially hated The Hawkins Post and how low they would stoop to fulfill their daily quota for what they considered ‘news’.  

Despite the reporters not giving up, camping out everyday, the public slowly started to lose interest over time due to the lack of pertinent new information. Y/n was hearing less and less people talking about it and soon, she had accepted the fact that she may very well never know the full story. At least not while she was stuck in her unit.

God, she hated feeling trapped. She hadn’t realized up until this point just how much she cherished her daily strolls. It wasn’t just the freedom of roaming that brought her joy, but also the warm feeling she would get in her heart whenever she would walk past a new face and exchange smiles. Y/n was a fairly outgoing person and really enjoyed human interaction. This was a characteristic most of the patients in her unit did not share, which made for her time there quite lonesome. Sure, she got along with the staff, but she didn’t want to take up too much of their time. They were on the clock after all…

The unit’s scheduled daily activities kept her busy, but they felt more like homework than pastimes. The feeling of restlessness was starting to overcome her, and she knew she had to do something about it. Perhaps she could pick up a new hobby? That was easier said than done. The hospital was quite strict on what they allowed patients to bring in with them, limiting everyone to essential items only. At this point she had read most of the books provided by her unit and visiting hours had been put on hold due to the current events unfolding.

‘How do they expect us to live like this’ She thought to herself.

Suddenly, it clicked. ‘Maybe if I talk to Wayne, I can convince him to accompany me on my walks’

It was worth a shot, wasn’t it? The worse he would say was no, but she felt that she had a good chance at winning him over.

She hopped out of bed making her way towards the hallway, but before she could execute her plan, an announcement could be heard overhead. “Lights out”.

‘Huh…’ time had escaped her, and she hadn’t realized how late it was.

She reluctantly got back into bed after turning off the light in her room; her plan will have to wait until morning.

_

Chapter 4

Author's Note: This chapter was annoying as hell to write for some reason and I really struggled getting my ideas to form into one coherent thought, I'm sorry if it's a little choppy!!

Synopsis

Long time in-patient y/n was looking forward to her upcoming discharge date from the Hawkins Memorial Hospital. That is, until she became acquainted with an unlikely familiar face, Eddie Munson.

Author’s Note

This is a fix it fic following Stranger Things season 4, volume 2. In this fic, we’re going to forget the fact that the Duffer Brothers decided to delete Eddie from the series. :-) These events take place after the battle in the upside down. I’m also choosing to change the ending of season 4 by having the issue with the upside down resolved, therefore, Hawkins is not plagued by the massive earthquake that resulted in new portals being opened.

What To Expect

Slow burn, angst with a happy ending, fluff, smut in later chapters. ♡

Series Warnings

Mentions of mental health struggles, SMUT (in the later chapters, 18+ to read this story), angst with a happy ending, canon-typical violence.

Chapter 12

“Your what now??” Wayne exclaimed, eyes bulging out of his head, a confused expression painted across his face.

“My brother…?” she began. Exhausted from her prior panic attack, y/n forgot for a second that she had never told Wayne about Dustin. In fact, no one in her life knew she had a brother. Given the current state of their relationship, she had always felt it was best if she kept that fact to herself. It happened to work out in her favor that Dustin went to a different elementary school than her and by the time he reached Hawkins High, she had long graduated.

“Oh, you don’t know!” she softly stated, realizing the topic had never been brought up before.

“Do tell…”

-

By the time she finished explaining the whole story to Wayne, it was past 10pm. Wayne had waved off multiple nurses coming in to inspect why the curfew wasn’t being respected, growing more irritated with each half hour visit. It certainly didn’t help that the most persistent nurse coming around was Margot, who had garnered quite the reputation for being a bit of a… well, to put it lightly, she wasn’t the most patient nurse around. She was known for snapping at patients, y/n having been on the receiving end of her wrath a few times, and her coworkers alike. Wayne didn’t like that, in fact, he and Margot had developed quite the feud over the past few weeks. Wayne wasn’t one to tolerate rudeness, especially towards the patients, and he made Margot well aware of it. While staying (somewhat) professional, they were constantly bickering, Margot often being the one to instigate their conflicts.

Once y/n finished telling him the whole story, they were both quiet for some time. Wayne wanted to choose his next words carefully, understanding more than ever why she had been apprehensive about opening up. His train of thought was abruptly interrupted when Margot came rushing into the room.

“How many times do I have to come in here to tell you two to be quiet!” she yelled, flailing her arms angrily.

“Margot! Would you just… Give us a minute!” Wayne snapped back, losing his temper. “I’m sorry,” he began, pressing his fingers to his temple trying to collect himself. “Just give us a few minutes, please.” His plea was in no way a genuine request, more so a stern demand.

With a huff, Margot crossed her arms and stormed off, this would not be the last he heard from her.

The tension in the room lifted a bit following that interaction, y/n unable to hold back a snicker. She knew Wayne would be paying for that later. Her giggle was infectious, Wayne letting out a roar of laughter.

“Well kid, I’m sorry you had to go through all that crap. But your brother reaching out is a good thing. Maybe you guys can patch things up!” he suggested with a warm smile.

Y/n paused, smiling sheepishly. “Yeah, maybe… What if he hates me?”

“Have you ever gone out of your way to make plans with someone you hate?” he asked, amusement painted on his face. Over time, Wayne had gotten pretty good at deconstructing her anxieties and helping her see how silly they were.

“No… I guess you’re right” she said with a weak laugh.

“Always am,” he winked and stood up, “now, I better get going before little miss attitude comes back around. You get some sleep; I’ll see you in the morning with breakfast.”

“Goodnight, thanks Wayne.”

With a nod and smile, he reluctantly headed towards the front desk, presumably in an attempt to patch things up with Margot. The last thing he needed was another complaint to their boss on her part.

-

While she normally gets woken up from the sun beaming through her window, this morning’s culprit was the harsh overhead lights shinning above her. Most likely exhausted from the night before, y/n had slept in much later than she usually does. 8 in the morning wasn’t exactly considered late, but to her standards it definitely felt like it. Y/n took the term ‘early riser’ to a whole new level, typically waking up around 6am each day. She barely got the chance to rub her eyes before Wayne came by with her breakfast tray. Despite her state the night before, she was unusually chipper today.

“What’s on the menu?” she asked energetically.

“Woah there, you beat me to it!” said Wayne, obviously startled by her pep. “Today we’ve got scrambled eggs, an orange and water!”

Y/n grabbed the tray from his extended arms and began eating. The eggs were always questionable, but today they weren’t so bad. Nevertheless, she gobbled them down quickly to avoid dwelling on any weird textures or flavours. A technique she adopted early on in her stay here. Wayne continued doing his rounds and upon his return, y/n already had the empty tray waiting for him to collect.

“You trying to win a race, kid?” he joked, noting how quickly she had finished her food.

“Guess I was hungrier than I thought.” She noted. “Last night took a lot out of me.”

“No kidding, glad it hit the spot!”

“Ehhh, I wouldn’t say that” she quipped.

Wayne snorted, knowing exactly what she meant by that. He was no stranger to the food provided here, having the misfortune of trying it a handful of times when he forgot his lunch at home. “How are you feeling today?”

“Honestly, good. It’s weird, I usually feel awful for a few days after having a panic attack.”

“That’s great to hear, when are you seeing your brother?” he asked.

“11am, he’s meeting me here.”

“Have you cleared that with reception yet,” he started, the question rather redundant given that she had just woken up. “I’m not sure that we’re allowing visitors at the moment.”

“Oh, I was hoping we could arrange our walk then and I could sneak away like I usually do.”

Wayne’s eyes widened and he motioned his head towards the hallway, a gentle reminder that this arrangement could easily get them both in trouble if overheard.

“By sneaking away, I mean going to the bathroom!” she said in a less than convincing tone.

“Nice save” Wayne said sarcastically. “But yes, that should be fine.” he concluded in a low tone, nearly whispering.

Y/n giggled. “Perfect, I’ll see you at 11!”

-

As luck would have it, y/n had a busy morning prior to her meet up with Dustin. Relief washed over her upon reviewing her schedule, knowing that her packed morning would leave her little time to worry and overanalyze the many possible outcomes of seeing her brother.

Her scheduled meet up with Wayne went according to plan, and she was able to scurry down to the lobby of the hospital without any issues, Wayne keeping an eye out for trouble while she was away. Once there, she found a seat near the entrance and kept to herself to avoid any suspicious glances from the staff. She thanked her lucky stars that she changed into her regular clothes instead of her normal inpatient attire, given the many nurses wandering around who could easily identify her.

She anxiously glanced at the clock, keeping her head down the rest of the time to avoid detection, growing more restless as the seconds passed. Despite being early, she worried that her allotted time would run out before she could speak with her estranged brother.

Those thoughts faded away when she spotted a pair of dirty white sneakers planted in front of her. She shot her eyes up, only to be met with her brother grinning wildly.

“Dustin!” she exclaimed; her tone coated in disbelief.

Before she could process what happened next, Dustin had already wrapped his arms around her seated body. A few moments passed before her stiff demeanor softened and she leaned into the hug. She was the first to pull away, giving him an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have a lot of time.” she began “How are you?”

“I’m great! Thanks for meeting me, I know it’s been-“

“14 years… I know. I… I didn’t think you remembered me.” She stated, eyes meeting the floor. There was a moment of silence before she continued. “I don’t mean to be abrupt but… Why did you call?”

“I would have sooner if I knew you were here! I should probably start by apologizing, really, but I know you don’t have time for that right now. I always wondered why you left...”

Her eyes started to tear, images of her long-lost childhood flashing back. Her mouth opened in an attempt to speak, but the lump in her throat prevented words from coming out. Dustin seemed to notice and took her silence as an opportunity to get everything off of his chest.

“You know, Mom still talks about you and the ‘good old days’, as she likes to call them. Not very often, but she still does sometimes. Usually when you get a little bit of wine in her.”

They both chuckled simultaneously at the thought, she remembered her mother’s fondness of wine. She never drank much anymore, likely due to y/n’s father often abusing the substance. With him being drunk more times than not, Claudia felt it was best if her daughter had at least one parent that wasn’t inebriated all the time. That didn’t stop her love of wine however, which she was able to rediscover once she met Dustin’s father; a stable man for the most part.

“Does she still drink white?” she asked, a small smile lighting up her face.

“That woman loves her Chardonnay” Dustin retorted meeting her gaze.

After a moment of slightly awkward silence, y/n mustered enough courage to speak.

“So what made you come looking for me? I mean, how did you know where to find me? Or that I was even in Hawkins?” she inquired, her initial plan of asking one question at a time failing from eagerness.

“Well, like I said, Mom doesn’t like to talk about the past much, she never told me why you left, or where you had gone. I stopped asking after a while and accepted the fact that you just weren’t around anymore. It wasn't until my friend mentioned you in conversation that I had to reach out.”

“Your friend?” she asked, perplexed.

Of all the people she knew in Hawkins, she couldn’t pinpoint a potential mutual friend they might have. Their age gape being the main factor, her lack of current contacts being the second. It had been months since she had a visitor, let alone a friend reach out.

“Yeah! Eddie, I mean, our friend now, technically!” he exclaimed excitedly. “I wish I had known you two we’re friends, I would have reached out way earlier!”

Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t help the confused look that was now painted across her face. Eddie was her age, and they hadn’t known one another for long. Why was Dustin hanging out with a 20-year-old? And why was Eddie talking to him about her?  

“You… Wait why…”

“I know, why am I hanging out with him, we’re in a club together at school, and well… With everything that’s been happening, we grew closer.”

“A club…?”

She couldn’t help her seemingly useless questions, her mind felt like it was on autopilot.

“Hellfire Club! You know, D&D? It’s a-”

“Fantasy game, yeah. I used to play as a kid. I think I left it at mom’s place when I moved away.”  

“That was yours???” he exclaimed “Oh you’re so much cooler than I remembered you being.”

“Well you were 7 so, i don't know how credible your accounts of events are” she teased.

“Hey, I’ll have you know, my earliest memory was from the age of 2 when you insisted on making me watch the entire Star Wars series.”

“Okay, those are good movies! Forgive me for trying to educate the youth on amazing cinema!” she retorted in a playful tone.

“I never said that was a bad thing.” he replied with a kind smile.

She returned the smile feeling warmth in her heart. Their interaction was going better than she had hoped. “So, are you still into all of that stuff?”

“What, you mean nerdy stuff?” he asked, amusement in his tone.

“Yeah, or was my attempt at corrupting you into a geeky lifestyle unsuccessful?”

Dustin chuckled, “It’s no wonder Eddie likes you. Yeah, I’m still into all that stuff” he confirmed, his last few words accompanied with air quotes.

She felt her heart skip a beat, replaying Dustin's words in her head. ‘Eddie likes me?’

Her thoughts were racing, Dustin’s admission, whether intentional or not, of Eddie’s feelings had her reeling. Did he really mean that in the way she thought he did? Was she getting ahead of herself in thinking that Eddie felt the same way about her as she did for him? She must have been lost in her thoughts longer than she noticed as she was interrupted by Dustin’s voice calling her back to reality.

“Y/n?” he asked tentatively.

“Yeah, sorry, uh... Yeah Eddie’s great. We just met not long ago. I had no idea you two were friends. I guess we never got on that topic.” She offered.

"Well, now that the cat's out of the bag, we should hangout sometime! Us three! You know, if you want to..." he trailed off not wanting to seem too eager.

"Yeah, i'd like that" she replied, still harping on her brother's previous sentence. Was she reading too much into it? He could have simply meant that in a casual way. The same way you "like" ice cream or cats. She was lost in her thoughts, so much so that time had escaped her. She was brought back to reality when, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Wayne marching his was over to her looking less than pleased. Crap.

The angry look on his face, accompanied by his sheer size must have been intimidating. This was evident in the look of terror displayed on Dustin's face. "Y/n......Y/n!" he whispered urgently with fear in his tone.

"It's okay! That's Wayne, he's cool." she responded attempting to reassure him.

"Is he?!" her brother exclaimed.

Before she could reply, Wayne was now hovering over her grinning wildly, a look he had only given her a couple of times previously. She was in big trouble, and she knew it.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news here, but." Rather than finishing his sentence, he gestured towards the clock. She read the time and froze in fear. She was about 15 minutes late to getting back to her unit.

"Oh, shit!!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry Dustin but i've gotta go!"

She quickly got up from her seat and began retreating to the elevator, Dustin following close behind her before Wayne gently stopped him by placing a hand on his chest and shaking his head, a motion advising him to stop right there.

"Ok, uh, i'll call you!" Dustin exclaimed as she got into the elevator. She gave him one last smile before the doors closed, and slowly turned to face Wayne. Her face contorted in fear and remorse as she braced herself for the lecture of the century.

_

Chapter 13

After a long awaited new chapter, here it is! Not proofread, i was too excited to post it lol :c

Let me know what you think & if you’re interested in being on my tag list ♡

I don't think you're ready for this next chapter, i'm proof reading it and am FOAMING AT THE MOUTH. ITS SO GOOD. (ɔ◔‿◔)ɔ ♥