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 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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