#metxledd

                                            BEING  BACK  IN  HIS  PARENTS  HOUSE  BROUGHT  BACK  MORE  MEMORIES  AND  EMOTIONS  THAN  HE  CARED  TO  HAVE.  Swallowing  roughly  as  he  set  his  duffel  bag  on  to  his  bed,  he  could  hear  the  familiar  steps  of  his  father’s  footsteps  across  the  landing  and  heading  back  downstairs,  a  soft  sigh  leaving  his  lips  as  he  felt  some  of  the  tension  leaving  his  body.  

He  had  somehow  managed  to  lose  his  job,  his  wife  and  his  car  all  in  one  day  and  so  of  course  his  father  had  to  come  and  intervene  even  after  Steve  had  refused  to  come  back  home.  The  day  his  mom  left  them  was  the  last  day  that  the  young  male  had  felt  truly  happy  in  this  house  but  not  because  of  his  mother,  because  of  the  loss  of  his  childhood  best  friend.  His  imaginary  childhood  best  friend.  

Opening  in  the  wardrobe  in  the  room  that  had  not  changed  since  he  had  last  lived  there,  he  took  out  some  hangers  and  began  to  unpack.  Pausing  as  he  hooked  a  hanger  on  the  rail,  he  spotted  a  small  box  that  seemed  to  be  shoved  to  the  side,  hand  reaching  up  to  pick  it  up.  Bringing  it  down  to  eye  level,  he  couldn’t  help  the  small  smile  that  broke  out  across  his  features,  blowing  the  dust  off  of  it  and  moving  to  sit  on  the  bed  with  the  box  in  his  lap.  

❝ There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being proven right. ❞

                                        HAND  GRASPING  THE  HANDLE  ON  THE  TRAILER  DOOR,  HE  YANKED  IT  OPEN  AND  QUICKLY  CLAMBERED  IN.    A  sigh  of  relief  began  to  leave  his  lips,  they  had  made  it  back,  they  were  gonna  be  okay,  they  were—  No.  A  string  of  no's  fell  from  Steve's  mouth  as  he  hurried  towards  the  portal,  watching  the  last  remaining  centimetres  of  the  real  version  of  Eddie's  trailer  disappear  from  their  view.    

A  look  of  disbelief  crossing  his  features  as  he  tore  his  gaze  away  from  the  portal  above  him  to  look  round  the  trailer  as  if  there  was  something  there  that  was  going  to  help  him  bring  their  escape  exit  back  somehow.  

This  wasn't  supposed  to  be  the  plan,  they  were  supposed  to  be  back  in  Eddie's  trailer  by  now,  laughing  about  how  they  survived  so  that  they  didn't  break  down.  

Letting  out  a  frustrated  sigh,  he  kicked  at  a  stool  nearby  and  grimaced  at  the  sound  it  made  as  it  clattered  against  it's  partner  and  cascaded  to  the  floor.  His  breathing  almost  turning  irregular  as  he  tried  to  keep  himself  calm,  to  keep  a  clear  head,  for  Eddie's  sake  more  than  anything.  Eddie.  Who  was  now  trapped  down  here  with  him,  because  Steve  had  needed  to  rewrap  his  bandages  and  told  the  others  to  go  ahead,  and  of  course,  the  metalhead  had  stayed  back  with  him  to  help.  

Steve  couldn't  have  been  more  grateful  to  have  argued  his  case  about  the  pit  stop  to  his  car  before  they  came  down  here,  bat  gripped  tightly  in  his  hand  as  he  turned  to  look  over  the  other.  “We  need  to  get  to  the  portal  on  the  road,  see  if  that's  the  same.  If  it  is...”  A  frown  graced  his  features  before  he  shook  his  head  slowly  and  glanced  back  at  the  portal  momentarily.  

                                                            A  GRUNT  ESCAPED  HIS  LIPS  AS  HE  PRESSED  THE  BLADE  INTO  THE  CREATURE’S  CHEST  AND  TWISTED.  Breathing  heavily  as  he  stood  back  up,  he  wiped  his  blade  on  his  pants,  his  face  stoic  as  the  creature  let  out  a  final  cry  before  falling  limp.  Slipping  the  knife  back  into  his  boot,  he  froze  upon  hearing  another  sound  further  back  and  knew  it  could  be  his  potential  target.  

See,  he  had  been  following  this  specific  guy  for  the  past  few  days,  trying  to  learn  patterns  and  gain  intel  and  it  hadn’t  gone  the  greatest  to  say  the  least.  He  had  been  sloppy  almost,  partly  because  he  didn’t  agree  with  the  hit  on  him,  that  he  didn’t  seem  to  be  doing  anything  wrong  but  of  course  his  parents  believed  the  hunters  code  to  a  T.  Anything  not  human,  is  a  threat  and  must  be  dealt  with.

Steve  believed  in  morals,  that  if  a  creature  had  the  ability  to  choose  right  from  wrong  and  showed  that  they  were  willing  to  co-exist,  he  believed  they  deserved  a  chance.  

                                                                PULLING  UP  MORE  AGGRESSIVELY  THAN  PLANNED,  HE  CUT  THE  ENGINE  AND  CLIMBED  OUT  THE  CAR.  Maybe  he  didn’t  have  the  exclusive  rights  to  be  angry  but  he  was  hurt,  hurt  that  Eddie  was  planning  on  leaving  Hawkins  and  he  had  found  out  from  Nancy  of  all  people.  Max  had  told  Lucas  who  told  Mike  who  had  told  Nancy,  and  so  Steve  was  the  last  to  know.  

But  it  had  taken  him  mere  seconds  to  make  his  decision  to  pack  a  bag  and  ditch  town  to  join  him.

The  more  he  thought  about  it  on  the  ride  over,  the  more  he  realised  how  unfair  he  was  being.  This  town  had  been  nothing  short  of  awful  towards  Eddie,  even  after  everything  had  been  cleared  and  he  was  a  free  man  again,  yet  Hawkins  folk  seemed  to  still  cling  to  the  idea  of  The  Freak  was  the  one  who  was  behind  the  murderers.  

~~📷~~ Jonathan had heard from Nancy what had happened to all of them when he came back to Hawkins with Will, Mike, El and Argyle. So he knew about Eddie's near death experience. Out of all of them he probably knew Eddie the best. They were both outcasts---both f r e a k s in high school. Somehow that forges a bond.

When he knew, he thought he should visit his old friend. He couldn't even imagine all the things that went through the boy's mind. He just wanted to lend him an ear. Be his friend again.

Even when Eddie opened the door, Jonathan could tell how much that experience had worn the boy down. It made something twist inside him. Then he'd started talking over some drinks and a few smokes and Jonathan had listened.

"I totally understand, man", he wants to reach out, give him some kind of physical comfort, but pulls his hand back again. He doesn't know how Eddie would react to it. "You've been traumatized", yeah---no shit. "Maybe you should try to find a distraction?" Easier said then done--- "and maybe you shouldn' be alone..."

“When’s the last time you ate?”

Waves of red flew around her as she whipped her head in his direction. Max wasn’t expecting company, and yes his trailer was right next door, but... he didn’t visit often. To say she was surprised was an understatement. Normally she didn’t miss a meal, but lately she hadn’t been hungry. Fingers running through her now unruly hair, as she tilted her head curiously. “Eddie...” Was the only word that left her lips for the time being. Why was he asking about her eating habits? “..uh, breakfast?” Was it breakfast, or dinner last night? Either way, it wasn’t that long ago... Well-- it was worst than normal, but still not bad.