chitona | for inhairently

for inhairently

( senior year, at last. eddie is one step closer to finally having an excuse to get the hell out of hawkins. outside of his band and hellfire club, eddie has felt so inescapably alone here, and while he prefers having no deep friendships over incessant bullying, it does get old, especially when his locker is often used as a prime makeout spot for those who don't really care about hiding their pda.

eddie is actually surprised when he walks into the halls and sees nobody in front of his locker for once. who would have thought that the major reason eddie has been tardy to most of his classes lately is trying to shoo underclassmen away from his locker so he can grab his books? his teachers sure as hell don't seem to care.

though while he is able to get to his locker no problem, he can't help but eavesdrop nancy and barb close by, keeping his gaze onto the contents of his locker lest he make his nosiness apparent.

it's steve harrington's name that really gets his attention. steve is a grade below him, and is known for making his way through the entire female population. but nancy wheeler never struck him as someone that steve would be particularly interested in.

not that eddie pays that close attention to the ladies steve ends up with. no, that would be ridiculous.

speaking of steve, while nancy and barb seem to have gone off to class, the aforementioned man has made his appearance. there's something different about him, though. it's in the way he carries himself, less pompous asshole and more...no, eddie's probably imagining things. maybe he's just not feeling well. )

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( steve is pretty sure he's lost his entire goddamn mind. one minute he'd been watching ash fall from the sky and the next? he was getting gently scolded for zoning out in first period english.

it’s the full alex p. keaton experience. he’s somehow gone back in time and he’s pretty sure he needs to get back to the future and… oh, yeah. okay. he gets the name now.

he’s already on a roll, too. he’d left a note for nancy to meet him in the bathroom between second and third period, but instead of quick makeouts he was there to rant to her like a madman about how they definitely needed to figure out what was going on, and definitely needed to get back to 1986, and she’d definitely looked at him like he had lost his mind. so she wasn’t in on this; it was just steve. he laughed it off as the monologue he’s practicing for his drama club tryout because he’s thinking about branching out from sports, you see. it was totally smooth. she definitely bought it.

he definitely resolved to avoid her at all costs.

almost immediately after that, he’d told tommy h. to go fuck himself over some shitty comment about the byers family, then told carol to get a goddamn life when she’d stuck up for tommy. needless to say neither of them would be attending his upcoming pool party.

now he’s waiting at the end of the hall, watching nancy and barb with an ache in his chest. he knows why he's here now. he has a chance to save barb's life, and bob newby's. and eddie's. he can fix things.

speaking of, he spots eddie and his first instinct is to have an emotional breakdown, right there in the hallway, but that would be weird, right? so he goes with the totally normal, totally not weird option and smiles. then does a goofy little wave.

like he and eddie are friends. like he hadn’t stood by and even laughed when tommy and carol used to talk shit about eddie and his friends.

he follows up by actually approaching eddie. )

Hey, man. So this is probably totally out of left field, ( he starts, dropping his voice to something barely above a whisper as he continues, ) but you feel like cutting class and hanging out? Like, you know. In the woods?

( he doesn’t actually have a plan here. it’s not like he can tell eddie anything about anything, and he doesn’t really want to buy any weed. he just needs to get out of the school building for a minute and… yeah, okay. he could have just ditched on his own but eddie was right there.

… and that’s a terrible reason but give him a break, he doesn’t have a doc brown to help him through this time travel experience. )

( as if this situation couldn't get any weirder, steve smiles at him. and waves. like they're friends. like tommy h hadn't slammed him into the lockers just last period. although if rumors are to be believed (and they usually are, unless they're coming from carol) steve is on tommy's shit list.

the only explanation eddie can come up with is that steve has hit his head and has gone completely mental.

this explanation seems even more possible when steve approaches him and is asking him to...hang out? to skip class and hang out? what the actual fuck?

eddie looks at steve like he has several more heads than he's supposed to have and takes a couple steps back, fully expecting this to be some kind of prank. maybe it's a long con and steve didn't actually cut ties with tommy h and carol. )

Um, what? You...want to cut class and hang out...with me?

( He looks around desperately, panicking as he waits for the rest of the jocks to jump out and harass him, but nobody is there. it's just the two of them in the middle of the hallway as everyone files into their respective classrooms. )

If you're serious, what the hell, I think I could really use a smoke right about now anyway.

( Steve is ready to take it back and apologize when he sees how Eddie reacts to the suggestion. Not that he can blame him. Steve rarely participated in bullying himself but he can't count the number of times he was passive bystander as Tommy and Carol did their best to make high school hell for any number of other kids. Sometimes he even laughed, as if it was all a big joke everyone was in on and they weren't, like, actively ruining people's teenage lives.

Before he can so much as begin to backpedal, though, Eddie's agreeing to go. Steve blinks in surprise, then relaxes and offers an easy smile in return. )

Cool.

( As they make their way outside and head across the parking lot towards the infamous woods with the Picnic Table of Class Skippage and Various Drug Deals, Steve considers that maybe he ought to be encouraging Eddie to go to class, not skip it. If Eddie manages to graduate this year then with luck he won't even be around when Vecna rears his ugly head.

Still weird as hell to even think about it like that. Steve's still not entirely sure this isn't a really, really detailed hallucination. )

You're a senior this year, right? I guess it's kind of a douchebag move to talk you into cutting class, huh? ( Why did he bring this up? It's stupid. It's not like he can go full-on Schoolhouse Rock or something. It's great to learn, 'cause knowledge is power? Yeah. No. ) You should probably be, like. I don't know. Studying.

( He finishes the sentence lamely and stuffs his hands in his pockets. Whatever. Let Eddie think he's a total weirdo. )

( Eddie isn't sure what it is that has him perfectly fine with cutting class with Steve, but everything has been overwhelming him lately. It's almost like the teachers are all ganging up on him to make sure he isn't going to graduate this year, when the past three years they had been perfectly fine with letting him pass.

Hell, Eddie's grades had been just fine and he can't figure out what the hell changed. It isn't like he hasn't been making lunchroom speeches since sophomore year when he was slightly less on the bottom of the totem pole.

All things that Steve wouldn't care about, and when they make it to the picnic table, Eddie suddenly realizes they have nothing in common to talk about. So when Steve brings that up, Eddie almost chokes on his own spit, because what the hell, is he a mind reader now? )

Yeah, it's, uh. It's fine, it's just Spanish, I'll get the notes from Jeff.

( He ogles Steve, because he can't help it. Why is he suddenly being so nice to Eddie when just a few days ago he called him a freak to his face? )

Just...you know, be careful, man. You think you're doing okay and next thing you know you're up shit creek with no future. ( P a u s e. ) That's what I've heard, anyway.

( Steve shrugs as he hops up to sit on top of the picnic table. He rests his feet on the bench, leaning forward to prop his elbows on his knees. He knows he isn't acting normal, but nothing about this is normal. He just wishes he could tell Eddie what's going on without sounding completely insane.

Now that they're out here, he's beginning to regret asking Eddie to ditch class with him. It's not just that he doesn't know what to talk about without sounding like he's been stalking Eddie or something. It's worse than that. When he looks at Eddie, he sees sightless eyes and gaping wounds. He hears Dustin wailing for help. He remembers how heavy Eddie was as Steve dragged his body across the trailer park.

Maybe this is Vecna. Maybe Steve's curse is watching everything unfold again, powerless to stop it. )

Hey, uh, ( he says after a moment, eyes fixed on his own hands — hands that don't yet know the weight of a baseball bat with nails driven through it or a Molotov cocktail. ) Can I bum a smoke? ( He drags his gaze back to Eddie and offers a sheepish half-smile. ) I'll pay you back. Promise.

( This is the weirdest fucking thing to happen to Eddie today. He can't say for sure what's going on with Harrington, but this sudden change of heart feels suspect. He shouldn't be trusting him, he should be giving Steve a taste of his medicine.

Which, okay, Steve never actually did anything to hurt him and his friends, but he certainly stood by and watched them be bullied.

He looked at Steve with the fiercest skepticism. There's something weird in the way Steve looks at him. Like he's known Eddie before, like he knows Eddie, period. He doesn't know what to do with that knowledge. )

Serious question: which kind we talking about? I mean. Sounds like the less legal kind, but I don't want to assume.

( Steve perks up a little at that. )

Uh. I mean. If you're willing to share? Could totally go for the less legal kind.

( He really had just meant a cigarette. He doesn't smoke regularly — most he ever really does is bum a few of Carol's filtered smokes to look cool, enduring a lot of teasing from Tommy for smoking "girly" cigarettes in the process.

Meaning if Eddie's really offering weed, Steve would take that over a cigarette every single time. )

Probably won't be heading back to class if we do that, though.

( The thing is, Eddie isn't used to people just wanting to bum a cigarette off of him. It's easy to assume that this is what Steve wants, that it's all he wants with Eddie. It would just be par for the course, really, and would explain why he's being so nice to him all of a sudden.

He snorts at Steve's comment, giving him a pointed look. ) Uh huh. Spoken like someone who has never suffered through Mrs. Click's classes while stoned before. ( He shakes his head, pulling out his metal lunchbox where he keeps his rolling papers and other paraphernalia. ) 'Course I'm also no stranger to skipping class.

( He's also barely skating by this year, but with everything that's been going on with his dad's arraignment and with Eddie potentially being called as a witness, he can't really find himself to care all that much about whether or not he passes all of his classes. He'd much rather get stoned with Steve Harrington if it meant forgetting about everything going on in the background for just a little while longer. )

( Steve can't help but scoff as he rolls his eyes. He struggled enough in Click's class sober. There's no way in hell he'd ever attempt it stoned, and besides — ) Some of us have an image to uphold, Munson. I get caught stoned in class and I can kiss basketball goodbye.

( Swimming, too. Not that it matters. Not that any of it matters — it's not like he's on the road to a sports scholarship to some esteemed university or something.

Though if he's honest with himself, getting stoned with Eddie Munson in the woods is the last thing he needs to be doing right now. He should be out there, in town, looking for Joyce Byers because God knows she's one person who might believe his story.

Maybe.

At least if nothing else he could give them a lead, maybe even go into the Upside Down himself to find Will Byers and save the kid a hell of a lot of suffering. Maybe he could even go after Vecna. End this whole thing before it even has a chance to start.

Maybe...

He realizes suddenly that he's sitting with his hands balled into fists and his jaw clenched and he's probably painting a very strange image for a kid who's skipping class to smoke pot for no-reason-at-all-ha-ha-nothing-to-see-here-thanks, so he tries to relax, forcing what's meant to be an easy smile. ) I dunno, though, man — maybe being stoned's what I need to understand some of these classes, you know? Open my mind, or whatever.

( There's a rant on the tip of his tongue, but usually it's one he has more of an audience for. When it's just Steve here, it doesn't feel quite as important, and there's no one around who would agree with him, so what' the point? Besides, he can't deny the fact that while he personally hates sports and everything it stands for, it does give him an excuse to sneak into games without anyone noticing and spy on some of the guys in their tight shorts and -- )

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. Can't have that, the Tigers needs you. Rawr. ( He makes a gesture with his hand, fingers curled to look like a claw as he swiped at the air. )

Well, if you want an open mind, you've come to the right place. Looks more like you need to just take a few minutes to chill out though more than anything else. The look he gives Steve is one of concern as he flicks his eyes up and down the guy. ( This is nothing like the carefree asshole he's gotten used to roaming the halls like he owned the place. What could have possibly happened to make this change seemingly overnight? ) Anyway, I'm not about to leave you hanging, so you skip, I skip.

( Steve's dull amusement at Eddie's impression of a tiger turns to thinly-veiled surprise as Eddie vows to stick with him. Steve may never have been a ringleader in the bullying attempts towards Eddie and his friends, but he'd definitely never tried to stop any of it. More often than not he'd been a willing spectator, laughing as Tommy or Carol or whoever else did their worst. Hell, it was only in the past week (or...uh, a few years from now, he guesses. time travel is weird.) that he'd started seeing Eddie as Eddie and not just "the Freak."

Long story short, he'd figured he'd used up all his luck successfully inviting Eddie out here in the first place. He didn't expect Eddie to stick around any longer than he had to.)

You don't have to do that. ( He doubts Eddie would hang out with Steve Harrington, Resident Douchebag unless he wanted to, for whatever reason, but Steve doesn't want him to feel like he has some kind of obligation or something. ) Seriously. I mean, I know you have an image of your own, man. Don't screw it up on my account.

( High schoolers are jerks. Like, universally. He can guess Eddie's friends would be about as understanding of Eddie hanging out with the Hair as Tommy and Carol would be about Steve hanging out with the Freak. )

Edited (i cant handle a parenthesis hanging off the end) 2023-07-16 23:56 (UTC)

( On the one hand, Steve would be preoccupied with things like image. But why would he care about Eddie's image? This is all too weird, and if anything, it makes Eddie want to stick around longer and see if Steve just hit his head or something. )

Uh, not that I don't appreciate the concern, but you feeling alright Harrington? I mean, I half-expected to be shoved into a locker. Not to mention, I'm not used to Tweedledum and Tweedledee not hanging off your every word. ( It's weird, but not altogether unwelcome. )

I mean, I feel like I should stick around just to, you know, make sure you aren't having an aneurysm or something. Wouldn't want something like that somehow traced back to me. ( Which really is an argument to not hang around Steve, but Eddie is too curious for his own good. )

( Steve scoffs at the mention of Tommy and Carol, shaking his head. )

Yeeeah, no, I don't think you'll be seeing either of them hanging around me anytime soon. I tell 'em off for talking shit about Byers and I'm the asshole.

( He shrugs, as if to say what can you do? Back then, when he'd had his original falling out with them, he'd felt like shit about it for a while. Like, he knew they were major jerks and all but he'd been friends with Tommy since first grade. It really sucked losing a friend like that, even if the friend was a total dickhead. Now enough time has passed and Steve's mature enough to understand that he really, truly is better off without them. The wound has long since healed.

He's staring at his own hands again as Eddie keeps talking, and Steve mutters a grumbled not an aneurysm before he suddenly realizes what he needs to do. This is going to get weirder and weirder unless he tells Eddie the truth.

And, uh. He normally wouldn't be so forthcoming with details about the Upside Down, and Eleven, and all the bullshit they've been wading through for the past few years, but he doesn't think he can do this on his own. Maybe Eddie isn't the right person to tell, but he's the person Steve's ended up in these woods with, so... you can't really ask for better than that, right? )

If I told you something crazy, like really crazy, would you, uh... ( He huffs out a breath that almost counts as a laugh. Maybe this is stupid. Maybe this isn't the right call.

But he's going to try, because he sure as hell doesn't know what else to do. )

Would you at least promise not to sic the loony bin on me?

( That catches Eddie's interest -- Steve told Tommy and Carol off for talking shit about Byers? That...doesn't sound like Steve at all. He's usually the one giving a judgmental look without saying anything, but that's still saying something.

So naturally when Steve says he's got something crazy to tell Eddie, he immediately feels a pit grow in the middle of his stomach. He can't even fathom what it is Steve has to tell him, but if he's worried about being thrown into the loony bin, it can't be all that good. )

Uh. Yeah, of course. I won't -- ( he winces at that even being presented as a possibility. If there's anyone who knows the dangers of being taken in by any kind of authority, it's Eddie. ) I'm the last person to make that kind of call, man. What's up?

( He has no idea what he's about to hear, but he feels like he should probably not be sober for this conversation. Maybe that's why he starts readying a joint for the both of them. To soften the blow, or make it a little more palatable. )

( Steve hadn't really thought this far ahead, and he doesn't say anything at first. The withering look he shoots Eddie almost makes it seem as if Eddie's punishing him by being so open, rather than helping. Because, like, the way Steve sees it? One of two things is about to happen:

A. He'll sound like he's making a really shitty joke in extremely poor taste, and Steve Harrington, Douchebag King of Hawkins, will reign supreme.

B. He'll sound so genuinely like he's lost it that Eddie will walk back his promise not to report him to the correct authorities so he can get the help he clearly so desperately needs.

There is, of course, a third option in which Eddie somehow believes whatever words are about to come out of Steve's mouth (he still hasn't decided on what those words will be just yet) but the odds of that happening? Pretty goddamn slim.

Steve exhales slowly, running a nervous hand through his hair, and his face scrunches as if preparing to speak is causing him actual physical pain. But then something occurs to him — he thinks about the kids and how they've always been able to make this whole mess a little easier to understand by relating it to their stupid game, however they can. Demogorgons, the Mind Flayer, Vecna — those all came from D&D, right? )

Dungeons and Dragons, ( Steve says intelligently. ) Is there anything about, um. Time Travel? In that game?

( Out of anything to come out of Steve's mouth, the last thing he expects is time travel. Eddie stares blankly at Steve. He thinks about asking Steve if he's joking and asking him to get to the actual reason he wants to talk to Eddie. With the way Steve has been acting, though, and the fact that he knows what Dungeons and Dragons is?

Well, Eddie is finding himself, considering that he might not be trying to make fun of Eddie. )

Time travel? ( Eddie repeats, almost as a delay tactic while he tries to genuinely rack his brain for any instances in which time travel might be a thing. He doesn't remember seeing any spells or anything resembling traveling through time. Still, it isn't as if he has every single manual memorized. ) I mean...none that I've come across, but theoretically, you could homebrew something? Or, with something like the Fae realm? It's another plane of existence, but instead of traveling to another dimension, it's traveling to a different time. But honestly? It's up to the Dungeon Master, er, the person writing the story, to come up with something.

( Steve just stares blankly. Apparently Eddie didn't get the memo that he was supposed to say "oh yeah time travel is totally a thing, it's called [weird name] and it would be super easy to apply to a real world scenario if someone needed to!" )

Okay, ( he finally says after a moment. ) Uh... yeah, let's say the person writing the story added time travel to the game, and everyone playing the game knew a lot about time travel. And people who don't play the game don't know anything about time travel but they just, like, I don't know, have to go along with the crazy stuff the people playing the game say, and uh —

( He can feel his patience with himself and this stupid metaphor growing thinner and thinner, like a rubber band ready to snap. )

If something happened in real life that was like time travel then the people who play the game would say "Oh, yeah, that's totally like Dungeons and Dragons" and —

( It snaps.

He lets out an exasperated huff and throws his hands in the air, fully frustrated by his own inability to navigate this stupid situation with any sort of grace. )

Look, I think I time-traveled, alright?

( To Eddie's credit, he tries to follow along with Steve. It's just that the poor guy is struggling with this metaphor, and Eddie figured out pretty quickly that his completely hypothetical scenario is maybe not so hypothetical.

But time travel? That's not...that can't be possible.

Only it would make the weird stuff happening with Steve make a lot more sense. The expression on his face is a combination of awe and skepticism like he wants to be impressed with this bomb that Steve has dropped but also thinks that maybe he shouldn't be giving him pot to smoke after all. )

Okay, uh. Let's say you did time travel. When did you time travel from?

( Seeing as how Back To The Future hasn't come out yet, Eddie can't even make a pop culture reference to a movie Steve even saw. There are other time machine stories, though... )

How did you time travel anyway? Don't you need some kind of machine? Shit, you didn't go all the way back to the dinosaurs and fuck things up, did you?

( Steve's face scrunches and he pinches the bridge of his nose as if to ward off an impending headache. )

No! ( Eddie doesn't deserve any kind of vitriol, but Steve can't help but snap anyway. Once he's frustrated, even just with himself, it's hard to rein in the attitude.

But he'll try again, a little less intense this time — ) No. I didn't mess with any dinosaurs. All I know is one minute I was in 1986, the next I'm here. In high school. ( He says those two words as if they're something disgusting, because they are. High school. Gross.

He looks at Eddie, silent, mouth forming a tight line as he thinks. Even after all the crazy stuff he's seen, Steve would find this story hard to believe. He can't imagine how it must sound to Eddie, who doesn't even have a clue yet just how weird Hawkins actually is. ) So do you think I'm crazy?

( Eddie, to his credit, tries not to laugh. It's just...this is completely ridiculous. Time travel! And the way Steve is acting...

Well, okay the way that Steve is acting isn't all that out of character for someone who might have been dropped into the past. He softens as he thinks about the implications, about what it would mean for Steve. In 1986 he would have graduated, wouldn't he? Unless he, like Eddie, managed to get held back a year, but they would never do that for Hawkins's very own star basketball player. And the way he talks, he almost certainly didn't expect to be back here. )

Not any crazier than I am, ( he admits, his lips pressed together in a thin line. )

Okay, let's say you did travel through time. Why me then? Why not, like. Wheeler or something? Aren't you two an item? Not that...I don't pay attention to the rumor mill or anything, that would be ridiculous.

( As soon as Eddie mentions Nancy, Steve shakes his head, waving his hands in a "no way" sort of gesture. )

Not happening. Best case scenario she'd think I'm trying to pull some kind of stupid prank. ( It's not that Steve's got any kind of reputation as a jokester but, really, what else would Nancy think? And that's if she doesn't think he's totally off his rocker. Nope. Barb's disappearance pushed Nancy into investigating, and her discovery that monsters are real. He doesn't think there's any way she would believe him now if he came to her with stories of time travel and alternate dimensions. )

I figured there were three people, tops, who might believe me. ( He counts off on his fingers as he begins to list each one. ) The first one's a kid in middle school so, uh. Yeah. The second's Jonathan Byers' mom, which would be way too weird, so... that leaves you. ( He shrugs. ) Something weird's going on in Hawkins, and it only gets worse from here. Trust me.

I think I might be here to fix it.

( Why him? He wishes he knew. )

( Eddie looks stunned at first. He lets all of this sink in. First, Nancy Wheeler wouldn't believe Steve, though sure that probably makes sense. They haven't been together for that long, right? Then there's the fact that the Byers are apparently caught up in this.

But Eddie being involved somehow makes him feel strange. Not even a bad feeling of weirdness. He thinks the weirdness might be more connected by Steve knowing about Eddie enough to believe he would go along with this theory.

If Steve is here to fix this, though, Eddie feels quite strongly that he is the last person to go to for help. Unless there is nobody else he can turn to, of course. )

How do we fix it? ( he asks, finally. Because apparently, if Steve Harrington asks for your help with a crisis big enough to involve time travel, Eddie will go along with it. If this whole thing turns out to be a big elaborate ruse to embarrass the hell out of Eddie later, then...kudos to Steve for getting this creative, but he has a feeling that Steve is telling the truth about it. )

( Steve can't help but wonder if Eddie is only pretending to go along with all this, biding his time until he has a chance to escape. Steve certainly knows what he would be doing, were their roles reversed, and it sure as hell wouldn't be asking polite questions.

At this point he really doesn't have any other option than to believe that Eddie is being sincere, though. Not that it really matters. It's not like he has some grand plan cooked up. It's all he can do to shrug in response to the question, and offer a regretful: )

I don't know.

( Tonight would've been the night Barb disappeared. Steve thinks on that, running an idle hand through his hair as he does. )

If things go like last time, Barbara Holland disappears tonight. I think I've already changed enough stuff that it won't happen again, but –

( He shrugs again. How can he be sure? What if Barb is fated to die in the Upside Down, no matter where she is? Being a bit of a nerdy prude doesn't mean she deserves to die. (Despite what you might've heard people say lately.)

But neither does Eddie, and Steve's putting him at risk by even talking to him. )

You know what? Forget it. I shouldn't drag you into this shit. You should try to make your next class.

( The about face that Steve takes, changing his mind and giving Eddie an out, throws him for a loop. Especially when Steve mentions Barb disappearing. He knows the Byers kid went missing, but one boy going missing isn't much of a story. Adding a teenage girl into the mix makes this a lot more dangerous, and suddenly, Eddie doesn't want to let Steve do this alone.

Because what if he tries to take on whoever or whatever causes Barb to disappear? What if it takes Steve instead? Nope, abso-fucking-lutely not gonna happen. )

Well, it's a little too late for that now, pretty boy. Consider me already dragged in. Barb Holland disappearing is a little more important than the algebra test I was gonna fail anyway.

( Steve stares at Eddie for a second or two, quiet. He wonders whatever gave Eddie the idea that he was a coward prone to running away, what with how the guy seemed to meet each and every insane challenge they faced head on. )

Okay, well, if I did everything right she should be safe now. Last time I threw this stupid party and uh... let's just say I think I fixed that when I totally avoided Nance this morning and told Tommy H. where he can shove it.

( And now comes Eddie's true test, though if he hadn't bailed after the time travel thing, Steve seriously doubts he'll bail now. )

There's a monster in the woods behind my house, ( he says without a trace of humor. ) It took Will Byers. It would've taken Barb tonight. If we're not careful, it could take us, too. We call it the demogorgon.

( This is wild. Steve Harrington without Tommy H. in tow. Steve Harrington hanging out with Eddie "The Freak" Munson instead of Nancy Wheeler. And if that isn't enough -- )

Harrington. Since when do you know what the hell a demogorgon is? ( That's what gets Eddie to look at Steve like he's got three heads. Not that there's a monster in the woods by Steve's house or that it took Will Byers and would have taken Barb Holland. Steve shouldn't know these things. That's just not the way the world works. )

I'm starting to think maybe I should've been inviting you to Hellfire. ( It's mostly a joke. He doubts that Steve knows that word on his own. He did say we, after all. )

Okay, so. How do we be careful? How'd you guys defeat the demogorgon the last time?

Hey, now, don't get too excited. I never said I was into your Dungeons and Dragons sh-crap. ( He'd started to say "shit," decided that was a little too harsh halfway through and switched to "crap," ended up saying something that sounds more like "shcrap." Very smooth. Very cool. Good thing he's not actually here to try and impress Eddie. He just has to convince him that monsters, alternate dimensions, and time travel are all real, and that seems to be going just fine.

That fateful night in November when he'd had his first real encounter with the weird and terrifying seems like a lifetime ago now, but it's still as crystal clear in his mind as if it had happened yesterday. )

Anyway, we, uh... we forced it into a beartrap and set it on fire. ( Not that he had anything at all to do with that plan. ) To tell you the truth, it was all Nancy and Byers. They had this plan all laid out with the trap, gasoline, a gun, the whole nine yards. I just kind of stumbled into it, you know? A "wrong place, wrong time" kinda deal.

( Except it wasn't, not really. The only thing he would change if he could go back (ha) is his own shitty behavior. He wouldn't trade being there for Nancy and Jonathan in that moment for anything. There's no telling what might've happened if he hadn't gone back inside that house that night. )

( Too late, Eddie is definitely invested. Although he doubts that Steve would ever sit down for a game, the mere fact that he knows any terminology blows his mind. He laughs, covering his face with a strand of hair as if that will hide the massive blush starting to creep across his cheeks.

He's always been really shitty at hiding a crush. Thankfully, most guys were too oblivious to notice.

His grin fades when Steve describes what he had been through. What Nancy and Jonathan had been through. If Steve has altered the timeline enough that Nancy isn't invested... )

Okay...fire...gasoline, a bear trap, a gun. I mean, I've never done the whole hunting thing, but surely there's a place where we can get all that crap.

( He's trying very hard not to think about how his old man would probably know. Not so much for hunting, but for other definitely not legitimate reasons. )

So, we kind of know how to trap and kill it. Or weaken it or whatever. Do you think...is it safe? If we avoid your neighborhood, is it just gonna kill someone else instead of Barb?

No, Munson, it's not safe. Nothing about this whole thing is safe.

( There's no bite to his words. Just years-old exhaustion that's so settled into his bones he doesn't even remember what it's like to live without it. )

But if we play our cards right, we'll be the idiots the thing comes after, not someone else.

( They just need to ditch school for the afternoon, head to the army surplus store downtown, and pray for a miracle. It'll be a lot harder to set a trap at his place than it was the Byers', he thinks. There's too much space to have full control of the situation.

And another thing — )

Uh. Have you ever fired a gun before?

( Eddie can't believe he's actually considering this. There's a desperation in Steve's eyes and in his voice that has him considering putting his own damn life on the line. Something about the look in Steve's eyes has Eddie convinced that if he ignores everything and goes on with his life, letting Steve fend for himself, he will never hear from Steve again.

Because the damn guy's gonna be dead.

He doesn't think he can live with that. No matter how much of an asshole Steve's friends were, Eddie wouldn't be able to live with himself if there was a chance he might have been able to help.

Then Steve has to go and ruin it by asking him if he's ever fired a gun. The first thing he thinks about is the one time Al fucking Munson, his own flesh and blood, tried to teach him how to take care of a gun, how to hold it, how to aim it, how to fire it. Damn, he really needs more than one measly joint right now. )

Ah, yeah, I have. But not at a moving target.

( Steve nods, pursing his lips. His gaze shifts past Eddie, focusing on something (or nothing) in the distance. )

Okay. Yeah, okay. That'll do. It'll have to.

( He nods as he says it, a weak attempt at conveying a confidence his words don't carry, and that he certainly doesn't feel right now. His eyes snap back to Eddie as he pulls himself back out of his own head. )

I've got my dad's credit card. If he asks I'll just say Tommy H. and I wanted to go camping or something. He'll believe it. I mean, we're a couple of fucking idiots.

( Reluctantly, he pushes himself up from the picnic table and sighs, casting Eddie a look that's something like pity, something like concern. )

You're sure you want in? This is your last chance to back out, Munson.

( This is objectively a terrible idea. Eddie doesn't have to help. He knows that if Steve is telling him the truth, he could endanger his life. But if Steve is telling him the truth, then that means that Steve's life is in danger with or without Eddie's help.

And Eddie, well...he wouldn't be able to sit by and let Harrington put his life in danger. If he ignores this and Steve doesn't show up at school the next day? Eddie would never be able to forgive himself, even if there is likely nothing he can really do to help. He has to try. )

Yeah, I'm in. It sounds like you need someone with proficiency in traps, and while I'm not great with a gun, I -- okay, I haven't actually set up a bear trap, but...I'm pretty sure I have a transferable skill set.

( Yeah, he's really selling himself here. )

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