#wanderingdifferentuniverses

"Oi!"

His hands were buried deep into the pockets of his coat as he walked nonchalantly. A crooked smirk tugs at his mouth.

▪ ♪ ♩ ♫ ♬ @wandering-different-universes indulged in my starter call

“I have too much going on to be swayed by a shitty rumor.” That entire whore label she'd been saddled with, even if it were true, hardly mattered to him. Funny how it was only women who enjoyed the presence of men who were labeled with anything negative, when men could get notch after notch on their belts without any trouble. “We all do, honestly. Anyone who has time for that crap should invest in a hobby, or get laid or something.”

“All that to say, I'm safe to talk to. If you ever find yourself in need of a slightly weird friend.”

✧ 𝄃 𝄃 𝄃 𝄃 𝄃 @wandering-different-universes sent » "sorry- am i crazy, or have we met before?"

Took a few moments to recognize her, but it was hard for him to completely forget anyone he'd done drawings for in the past. Perhaps that was overstating things; she'd never commissioned him for artwork herself, but he had done a little bit of artwork for that Dungeons & Dragons group she rolled with. Hellfire gave him a chance to break away from his usual work revolving around space and aliens to sketch something outside his comfort zone.

“Hellfire has gotten me to draw a few things for them in the past; I'm surprised you remember me from that. I was only around at the beginning of a handful of your sessions.” That vain part of him wanted to believe he was that memorable, but he wasn't that prideful. Guess anyone who was popular and willing to socialize with the Hellfire Club was someone who registered in their memories. He knew that quite a few saw them as freaks for one reason or another, especially Jason.

continued from x; @wandering-different-universes

It felt like the perfect opportunity to do something normal again, without having to be normal—or, at least, what so many people in this town expected his normal to be. With the music blaring, the lights low, and the band definitely not the genre a lot of Hawkins would be playing off their record players, it was an escape, really. It had been an easy yes when Steph had asked if he’d like to go, for all those reasons…and because it was her asking him. Loudness wasn’t anything that a few preventative ibuprofen couldn’t handle, not when it meant another chance to spend more time with her.

No, the most annoying thing about the volume was being unable to hear anything she was saying, his brows scrunching together as he focused on writing smaller, and smaller, and smaller on this napkin until not a single blank space was left on it. He felt torn, because it was her night off, and if she wanted to stay longer to hear the rest of the set, of course they would—but maybe a few minutes to dip outside to finish a conversation wouldn’t be a bad suggestion either—or to get some reprieve from how the place had the heat cranked up. It was still winter, fine, but did they have to give a guy who’d chosen a sweater heat stroke?

“Yeah, I might go outside for a few minutes, wanna join?”

Giving a small tug on his collar to get some reprieve as he asked the question before thinking through that she wouldn’t hear him, Steve noticed her leaning in, a closeness that, for the briefest moment, had his thoughts shift elsewhere—until he caught her concerned gaze. Tensing for some new horror that must have descended on their one night of normal, he would have shouted again to get a read for what she had seen—except for her gesture. His fingers curled, a swift pull of his collar up even as he shrugged.

“It’s whatever.” He mouthed, a dissuading smile sent before turning his gaze back to the band, desperately hoping that she’d take that as a sign he was totally okay with it. That he hadn’t been trying every scar or burn ointment he could get his hands on to help it fade, or that he hadn’t been exclusively wearing sweaters or buttoned-up collared shirts while waiting for it to heal. That he knew it was so—whatever of a thing to even worry about, let alone mention. Everyone was living on edge, losses and injuries weighing heavily on everyone’s minds, that the minor inconvenience of a scar taking longer to heal than he would like was the last priority.

continued from x; @wandering-different-universes

It was a risk, driving this late with the military increasingly cracking down on the town’s movements, the façade of safety just an excuse for control and cover up, but it was the tried-and-true method when he couldn’t sleep. The wind in his hair, radio low but never off, rubber gripping the asphalt all grounding in a way a bed just couldn’t be, at times. Steve had just gotten a semblance of calm, his heartrate back where it didn’t feel like his heart crept up his throat, when he noticed the baby blue Ford EXP along the roadside, headlights catching the license plate just enough for him to pull over himself.

Worry hurried each footstep, a balance between not trying to draw attention in case there were others out here beside Steph and getting to her before anyone…or anything could. There was no telling if things that were dormant now would remain that way, especially next to one of the gates; wouldn’t that be the first place things would start to go wrong? Please just be sitting there, nothing attacking you, just—please be safe.

That heartrate he had just gotten to calm spiked all over again, blood pounding in his ears as he’d increased his speed to the fastest jog he could risk without snapping every twig and rustling every leaf on his way to the shore. Yet, when he finally could discern the result he’d been repeating to himself as a mantra of what he’d hoped to find, relief was only an initial, fleeting sensation. Instead, the way she’d pulled her knees to her chest, staring out at the dark water that no longer felt welcoming to anyone, let alone lovers, only evoked guilt.

This is your fault. All your fault.

“No... no, you really don’t need anymore of that.” He kept his voice low, gazing along the shore and the water for any threats from either front. “It’s just, the military or the cops are getting more and more ready to check anything and everyone’s movements, so…I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Even that last sentence felt wrong for him to say, as if he had that right when the whole reason she likely wasn’t okay was him. Him asking her to ride into all this mess, even if he hadn’t planned on her hearing about the Upside Down, let alone going there, was exactly why she was sitting here in the godforsaken hours of the morning. Once it had swept over every possible area it could, his gaze lowered, staring intently at the pebbled shore as that building guilt infected every word.

"are you sure we're invited to this party?" - @wandering-different-universes from x

“Oh, I’m sure you’re invited to this party.” He leaned over the counter to hold her gaze, a grin, mischievous look appearing. “Isn’t that how it works when your birthday is Halloween? Everyone’s holding a party for you too! Now for me?”

continued from x; @wandering-different-universes

I swear, I could start a taxi service on the side with how many rides I give these guys. Or start charging in Gatorade or Boppers, beer for some. Then my fridge wouldn’t be as empty as my wallet after going to the gas station five hundred times a month.

His internal bitching complaining stilled as he noticed a figure walking along the road, slowing to safely pass and not give them a jump scare on the chance they were walking home to avoid drinking and driving. It’s gotta be that, with how cold it is. His brows furrowed as he drew closer, eyes squinting to get a better look, then widening, brightening with recognition. Slowing the car even further, he rolled down the window, a call to get her attention that morphed into some concern at the sharp turn of her head.

Had something happened, some party gone wrong…something he was intimately familiar with…

But as soon as she focused on him, that tension disappeared, prompting his own smile in response to hers. “You sure? It’s pretty damn cold out, and I’m passing that way anyway to get to my place. Plus you never know what drunk asshole could be out joyriding and swerving everywhere.” He had the passing hope he didn’t sound like a buzzkill, an over-worrier, but it still was a valid concern. It wasn’t like Hawkins hadn’t ever had that happen; hell, it had even had someone doing it intentionally at one point.

That line of thought shifted, however, as soon as he noticed the jacket draped over her. A small tilt of his head, a rapid fire of questions, rationalizations to keep firmly to himself. Hey, it is cold out—of course someone leant her a jacket. Good for them. Would’ve done the same thing, if I’d been there. Why they didn’t drive her back is kinda odd, but—maybe they didn’t because that’d be sayin’ something combined more than just lending her a jacket. Yeah, totally—and it’s none of your goddamn business if it is something else. And totally good for her if it is too, yeah, right. Awesome.

He blinked, a turn of his head back to the road ahead for the very good excuse of driver safety he’d just been on other drivers about. He couldn’t help the small, wry chuckle as he heard The Cars come on the radio, a quip as he glanced back at her.

The surprise revelations were coming rapidly at this point, another incredulous expression at the fact she’d only had one relationship. Not that there was anything wrong with only having one, everyone’s different, but it didn’t sound like that had really been her choice. It just felt—wrong, that someone who easily connected with people, made them feel more at ease by meeting them where they were, wouldn’t be someone’s main priority. Someone’s person that they didn’t want to live without.

“Couldn’t even make someone want to stay…One day you’re enough and then the next…”

He could just make out the record jacket of Regatta de Blanc behind the one that’d given him pause, that familiar chord of loneliness, self-doubt he heard in her voice enough to pull him past his own inner turmoil to say something—something he wished he’d heard ages ago.

“Hey, you never stopped being enough, okay? They took off before they even knew a bit about you an’ all they’re missing—that’s on them. It was never on you.”

That was the silver lining even as he scrambled up the ladder, dreading how he just might have blown one of the few friendships he had, let alone friends his age—at least that wouldn’t be something he regretted saying. Not when she deserved to hear it…and he really believed it. If that was the last ‘not the dumbest possible thing you could think or say’ comment he had left in him, well, it wasn’t a bad thing to go out on.