#s5 rewrite

It was Steve Harrington who found you passed out on your living room floor. He had you in his lap, tapping your cheek lightly and calling your name. When you finally came to, you could see tears in his eyes.

“Jesus,” he sniffles. “Thought I fuckin’ lost you there for a minute.”

You hug him, squeezing him tight. “Something weird is going on, Steve.”

You remember the apparition you had seen just hours ago. The same one that came after the haunting dream of Eddie. What did this all mean? Were you finally just succumbing to the grief and guilt of losing your soulmate or was this a sick joke someone was playing on you?

And you began to wonder if maybe the noxious gasses in the air were finally getting to you. You wonder if maybe it was time to get the van packed and head the fuck out of Hawkins. You knew it was risky, but what else could you do.

“Hey, hey…” Steve tapped your cheek once more. “You there? You with me?”

You nod and finally dry your eyes. “Sorry, Steve. I’ve just been so–”

“You don’t have to say it. You’re okay.”

He helps you sit on the couch and you light a cigarette. Your hands are shaking. Steve wraps a blanket around your shoulders and he heads into the kitchen to grab you something to drink. He returns with a Gatorade and some Poptarts.

He smiles sheepishly as he hands them to you. “Sorry, I know it’s not much right now, but you need to eat.”

You return the smile and begin nibbling on the toaster pastry. It’s cold, but somehow it’s comforting. You realize that it’s Eddie’s favourite. You had them stocked up here just for him. Nobody else liked this type except for you and him. Something about this makes your heart squeeze in your chest.

The memories of him flash in your mind. You’ve been trying for months now to let it go. You’ve done everything you could to shake it all off like droplets of water from a swim in the lake. But it clung to you like a second skin. The guilt ate into you, like worms in a rotted apple core. You felt like you were just floating through life. After everything that’s happened in those months that passed since you lost your lover, you really didn’t know what to do with yourself.

And you wondered if maybe this was the grief finally catching up to you.

“You going to be alright?” Steve asks, sitting closer.

“I don’t know,” you reply.

He brings you closer, wrapping his arms around you. He knows that he needs to be here for you, but he’s not exactly sure how to truly do that. You had been in love with Eddie for so long, and even he knew that.

Despite being a giant douchebag and asshole to most people in high school, you and Steve still had some semblance of friendship once he got his head out of his ass. You two stuck together whenever trouble reared its ugly head. And it was you and Steve who always fought side by side whenever times were tough. 

But it was Eddie that you loved. It was Eddie that you admired. It was Eddie you needed right now, and Steve was cursing himself for not being the D&D playing metalhead. He wished he could just call the guy and get him to come over, but he was six feet under that ground.

“Listen to me,” Steve finally spoke up. “If you need anything, and I mean anything, be it day or night, you come to me. Okay?”

You wipe your eyes and nod. “Okay.”

He pushes some hair back from your face. “I mean it.”

You nod once more and settle into cuddling against his chest. He smells really good. He’s wearing that same cologne he’s been wearing since the tenth grade. There’s something so soothing about this scent. It’s musky and spicy.

“You’ve been wearing that same cologne since tenth grade,” you comment softly.

Steve laughs. “It works, doesn’t it?”

You both burst out laughing. Steve hasn’t really been on a solid date in a long time, and of course he was still somewhat crushing on Nancy. He knew that he couldn’t be with her, but his feelings still lingered at times. She was pretty happy with Jonathan, but it didn’t mean that Steve was just going to easily forget what he felt for her.

He begins to play with your hair, lulling you into a peaceful slumber. The birds are singing outside, or so you believe them to be. It almost feels like a picture perfect fall morning. As you try to fight off the slow descent into slumber, you hear the crackling of your walkie-talkie. On the other end was a very distressed Dustin Henderson. And you make out the words “....flying…near my…window…Eddie?!”

───  ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅  ───

He had spent the night chasing after the winged-creature. It was like it was taunting him. Dustin Henderson wondered if he also was being haunted by guilt and grief. He should have done more to save Eddie. He didn’t want his friend to die in his arms.

The visions of that night still play in his mind. The way Eddie struggled to speak. The words he had said, telling him to take care of the newer players of D&D and the members of Hellfire. And the way he struggled to tell you that he loved you. Dustin could never quite get any of that out of his mind.

And now, on his bike, chasing after this monster, he was wondering if maybe you and him had been wrong about Eddie. Had he really died in the Upside Down? Or was this actually the metalhead in question?

“Eddie?!” Dustin calls out, and the monster seems to respond somewhat to this.

The winged-creature keeps turning around to make sure that Dustin is following. It’s leading him somewhere, but Dustin doesn’t seem to really understand where it’s leading him to. They pass by all kinds of places in Hawkins, and despite Dustin’s loud cries, there doesn’t seem to be anyone else up at this hour.

His legs burn as he peddles faster and faster. Before long, he needs to stop. Dustin tries to catch his breath. He thanks himself for grabbing his spare walkie-talkie and tries to get a hold of you. There’s nothing but radio silence.

Then he begins to bike again, but the monster seems to have hidden away. He curses himself for losing the sight of this monster. This monster that has big curly hair like Eddie. This monster that seems to almost recognize the fact that Dustin is calling out Eddie’s name.

Was this some sort of mirage? A hallucination? 

He was sure that by now his mother was gathering the help of either the local police or some neighbors to come after him. He settles down on a park bench and thinks about what he’ll do next. There was no way that creature was a hallucination.

He had followed it for a long while. He saw it clear as day in front of him. Dustin knew he wasn’t just seeing things. That creature existed, whether or not it was Eddie Munson. It was a real thing and he was going to get to the bottom of things.

“Shit…shit shit shit…”

Dustin was cursing himself for not being able to get ahold of you. Would this completely freak you out? Yes! But you’d also be the perfect person to confirm if this monster was Eddie Munson or not. He thought about asking some of the members of the Hellfire Club, but most of them tried to distance themselves from Dustin and the group itself to retain their innocence since Eddie had still been wanted for murder.

He tries the walkie again, but there’s no answer. Then he tries to get ahold of someone at the radio station. To his luck, Robin answers.

“This is Rockin’ Robin, what’s up?”

“Robin, it’s Dustin. Is Steve there or is…”

“Negatory. It’s just me tonight. Neither one of them showed up for their shift…can you believe the nerve of some people? I swear, I’d be better at disciplining them but—”

“Robin, this is important. Can you get ahold of her or Steve for me? Something weird is going on.”

Robin pauzes for a moment before coming back on the line. “She’s not picking up. It’s pretty late there, kiddo…”

“Robin, please! This is serious!”

She can hear the tone of his voice. “Alright, let me try King Steve.”

There’s a few moments of silence before Robin returns with a reply. “Steve is going to go check on her. He said she was acting weird lately and he was worried that you couldn’t contact her.”

“Oh okay…can you get either one of them to reach me on the walkie?”

“You got it. That’s a big ten-four.”

Dustin feels a bit more relieved now. He makes his way home, biking a little slower than before. But right before he turns on his street, that creature seems to be waiting for him. It’s perched on the highest bough of a tree, its eyes glowing red. It almost seems to be beckoning him closer.

Before he can think straight, Dustin skids and turns around. He begins to bike towards your place. There was no way he would be getting close to that creature without someone else confirming that it was real and not actually a hallucination.

───  ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅  ───

“Ronnie Ecker here,”

You hiccup softly. “Oh Ronnie…oh god, it’s so good to hear your voice.”

“What’s the matter?” she asks, fearing the worst.

“It’s…fuck…oh god…” you begin to sob again. It was hard for you to make this phone call. You hadn’t wanted to make it in the first place, but the rest of the Hellfire Club said you should be the one to tell Ronnie.

“Are you okay? I heard about the earthquakes in Hawkins! My granny called me just the other day, but I haven’t heard from anyone else.”

You sniffle and try to calm your breathing. “Ronnie, Eddie…Eddie’s…fuck—Eddie’s dead.”

The line goes silent for a long while. So silent, you could hear a pin drop. Ronnie’s heart pounds in her chest.

“What…what do you mean?” she asks in complete shock.

“Eddie’s fuckin’ dead. He fuckin’ died. I don’t know what to do, Ron. I’m fucking scared.”

She swallows hard on the other end. You can hear it. It’s grief that’s coming to eat you both up. It’s the sensation of losing someone so close to either one of you that seems to be bringing you both together. Yet you’re both completely apart from one another.

“H-how…was it…”

“The earthquakes.” You lie softly, but you know you’ll explain it to her better next time. “Oh god, so many people died…”

You hiccup again and Ronnie can hear the absolute heartbreak in your voice. She’s distraught right now, and you sound like you’re about to have a meltdown.

“Gonna have a funeral for him…but there’s no body…couldn’t get it from the wreckage.”

Something about this doesn’t sit right with Ronnie, but she doesn’t question it.

“I wish I could be there.” She finally replies.

“Me too, Ronnie…me too…”