#hargrove reader

Part Two! - Part Three!

eddie munson x male!hargrove!reader

SPOILERS FOR STRANGER THINGS SEASON FOUR

plot summary - im planning for this to be a 3-parter! first part is about how reader and eddie met, second is how they got together, third is the reader being infected with vecna’s curse !

warnings - mention of death, mention of unaliving, attempted unaliving, talking someone down from unaliving, mention of homophobia, censored f slur, cursing, mentions of abuse, mentions of drinking/alcohol

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Right now, being Eddie Munson’s boyfriend and the dead kid’s brother really wasn’t the greatest position ever for you. You would really rather be at home with your step-sister and step-mother instead of hiding at Skull Rock with Eddie after watching Patrick McKinney get his bones broken like someone was cracking a glow-stick.

Ever since you and Eddie had watched Chrissy Cunningham die in his trailer, things had just taken a turn for the worst. You had heard Chrissy’s bones cracking from Eddie’s bedroom along with his screaming, and when you got in the living room, you saw something you could never imagine, despite having seen a huge monster at the Starcourt mall. Chrissy had been suspended in the air, her limbs bent in several directions that NO limbs should ever go. You came in right as her eyeballs popped out of their sockets and she crashed into the floor. You had no time to get over the shock that Chrissy was the one buying from your boyfriend, and just had to deal with the fact she was dead on the floor.

You and Eddie had a sort of agreement. It was pretty much common courtesy that he didn’t tell anybody who his customers were, and you accepted that. So when he told you somebody was coming over for a deal, you nodded and said you’d stay in his room until the person was gone. Of course, that didn’t last very long.

Eddie was of course freaking out. Some girl had just fucking died in his living room. As he yelled and cried you had stared at Chrissy’s body, trying to figure out what had even happened. Was it something with the upside down? If it was, fuck that shit. Not after what had happened to your brother.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh?!” Eddie sputtered, almost forgetting you were there.

“We can’t report this to the cops. They’re…” You hesitated, knowing that Eddie wasn’t going to want to hear this. “They’re…gonna think either me or you did it.”

“What?!”

“Think about it, Ed!” You grabbed his shoulders to stop him from pacing. “Chrissy Cunningham is fucking dead in your living room! What is that gonna look like?! My sister knew I was going here! We live right across the street!”

Good god, what was Max going to think?

“We have to get the hell out.” You said, trying to stay calm for Eddie’s sake.

“Shit, shit, you’re right.” He breathed out shakily. “Come on, I-I know somewhere!” Eddie grabbed one of your hands that was on his shoulders and dragged you out, audibly freaking out as he did so. You jumped in the passenger seat and he got in the driver’s. He quickly sped off, leaving you to just stare at where you lived with Max and Susan.

This was just going to crush them. After what had happened with Billy and then Neil leaving? You had picked up a job at a gas station in order to help Susan provide for everybody. After your brother had passed away, everything had just gone south. She and Neil had started fighting, he left, she picked up multiple jobs, and now she was drinking like no tomorrow. You had tried hard to be there for Max, but she had almost shut off completely. Nobody except you was exactly close to Billy, but you knew she had some caring for him. You couldn’t imagine how it must feel grieving for someone who hurt you.

As Eddie had ranted about wherever you were going, all you could think about was Billy. What would he do? You were a little sad to say you didn’t know. The two of you were relatively close when you were kids and your mother was around. But Neil ruined everything. He had driven Mom away and only caused you and Billy so much more pain. You remembered the nights when Billy would come to you with black eyes, fighting back tears and trying to be strong. You were just a little older than him, but that didn’t make the fact you were his big brother any different.

That being said, you couldn’t handle the fact that you had failed him once moving to Hawkins. You had forgotten what being a big brother had meant. He had seemed so independent and was pushing you away, so you figured he didn’t need you anymore. He had grown up. You stopped staying at the house as often. You went out with some of the jock friends you had made. You didn’t want to deal with Neil yelling at you and hurting you and calling you slurs. You realized too late that really had needed you. He was dead by the time you had realized how royally you’d fucked up. You had left him alone in a house. But not a home.

Ever since he died the guilt was starting to eat you alive.

But that’s how you met Eddie Munson.

It had all started when your dad left. He made you stay with Susan and Max. He told you it was your fault that Billy had died. Everything had been your fault, according to him. Your fault that your mother had left. Your fault Max was getting into trouble. You were to blame for all of it. You remember Susan begging him to take it back, that you didn’t do anything. But his words still rang clear in your head.

“The f*g only has himself to blame.”

Now you realized he just said that because he didn’t want to admit it was his fault. But then? You were still grieving over your little brother who you failed to save.

So, that night after Neil had left, you decided you didn’t want anything to be your fault ever again. Standing on the edge of that quarry that one middle schooler got his arms broken at by some girl, apparently, you were ready to just relieve everybody. But before you could do what you had planned, someone had called out.

“Hey, woah, bud! That’s the wrong place you wanna jump off if you’re going for a swim.”

You had whipped around and saw a strange boy your age with a shirt that read ‘Hellfire’. He was obviously cautious, knowing what your plan was.

“Go away!” You shouted. “Just- get out of here!”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“Yeah, you fucking can! Just go, please! I dunno who you are, but nothing you have to say is gonna make me fuckin’ feel better!”

The boy sighed, and you thought he had left, but suddenly he was right there next to you.

“Well, you at least gonna tell me your name so I can tell people who I saw jump off at the quarry?”

“What? What do you care?”

“You gonna answer the question?” He asked, perfectly calm as opposed to your loud, shaky voice and puffy eyes. “What’s your name?”

“…(Y/n)…”

“(Y/n)…?”

“…Hargrove.” You uttered the last name like it was delicate glass.

It seemed to click in his head immediately. Hargrove. The dead kid. You were related to the dead kid.

“Shit…well, I’m Eddie. Nice to meetcha.” He offered you a smile and held out his hand. Your eyebrows furrowed as you nervously took his hand. “Now, if you’re gonna jump, just know it’s not gonna solve anything.” He said, gripping your hand in his as if to try and ground you. You just glared and ripped your hand away.

“I guess I’ll have to be the judge of that.” You gave him no further explanation and that’s when you stepped off the edge.

Instantly, you regretted it. The feeling of falling really wasn’t fun, and in that moment you remembered Susan and Max. Luckily, that feeling didn’t last too long.

A strong hand had grasped your arm. Eddie had knelt down on the edge and grabbed you. All he did was smile at you.

“You really think I was gonna let you fall, Hargrove?” He quickly yanked you up. This man had strength.

You scrambled up and scooted away from the cliff, trying to fight back the tears that were coming on but miserably failing. You’d always been shamed for crying. It wasn’t manly, according to…like, everybody you knew. You remembered hiding your tears during Billy’s funeral, only to go out by this same quarry and scream out your frustrations in private. But…Eddie didn’t say anything. He just went and sat next to you, crossing his legs. You tried stopping, worried he would eventually make some backhanded comment.

But he didn’t. He laid his hand on your back, being cautious in case you didn’t want to be touched.

“I know this is kinda weird considering we just met, but…do you wanna hug?”

You stared at him for a few seconds. When was the last time someone had hugged you? You couldn’t remember. Eddie seemed to sense your uneasiness, and he held out his arms, almost like he knew you basically forgot how to initiate one. You bit your lip and eventually just said fuck it and leaned forward and hugged the boy. As soon as he wrapped his arms around you, it was all over. The tears gushed out of your eyes like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube. Your throat tightened and you started shaking like a baby rattle. You were a mess. You felt pathetic as you cried like a baby in this stranger’s arms.

“Shit- f-fuck- ‘m sorry…” You stammered out, your words barely comprehensible due to your onslaught of tears. “You shouldn’t have to deal with a total stranger’s problems, man…”

“Well…yeah, so?” Eddie hummed. “I wasn’t about to let a pretty boy like you jump off and die a painful death on those rocks.”

Pretty boy? Your face was already red from crying, but it just got a little redder. That’s when you spotted the black handkerchief/bandana in his back pocket.

“I-I hope you didn’t stop me just because you wanted a fuck.” You mumbled, and now it was his turn to be surprised.

“I- well, no, that’s not what I meant-” he started stammering, not sure if he should reassure you or be surprised you knew what that meant. “You’re- I mean, shit-”

You couldn’t help but just laugh a little, sniffling as you pulled away. He looked a little scary, but he was actually pretty sweet. “It’s okay…I just joking. You’re…y’know?”

Eddie seemed to relax. “Yeah, I am. Are you?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded in understanding. “Well, nice to know you aren’t gonna call me a slur or anything.” He chuckled lightheartedly.

“Same.” You breathed out shakily. It wasn’t often you met another gay person. You knew Robin Buckley was, but that’s about it.

“So…do you wanna talk about anything? I mean if not, that’s whatever.” Eddie hummed. “If you want a distraction or anything, that’s cool too.”

“A distraction?”

Request:  Hargrove! Reader, protecting Steve, Max, and the rest of the kids from the Mind Flayer after finally tracking her brother down? Then Steve comforts her after the fight is over? Warnings: language, violence, blood, dissociation This will be angsty at first but I promise it will end fluffy and sweet. Because that’s what we all deserve.

SPOILERS SEASON 3

Sample:  “Billy!” Your scream echoed through the mostly empty mall. A feeling of dread sunk to your stomach as your feet began to move without conscious thought. You were running, running towards the giant monster that was towering over your brother.

“Billy!”

{DISCLAIMER: I’m writing about dissociation through my own experiences, which probably differ from other people. Do not read this and take it as an instruction on how to stop dissociation! This is just fanfiction friends.}