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If you asked Steve when he started hanging out with Eddie Munson, he probably would say he didn't know, And that's mostly true. BUT Steve can tell you who he had to thank for his newfound friendship.
Dustin Henderson is an awesome kid, but he is certainly a lot to handle when you have essentially become his older teenage sibling parent thing. That is something Eddie and Steve have in common.
It started about a week after the kids went back to school. Eddie had found himself dragged to the tape store with Dustin, Erica, and Mike. He wasn't mad about it per se, just tired. The school was a lot after everything. Even if he wasn't a psycho, satanic murderer, he was even more of an outcast and Martyr than before. And Being with these kids so often was exhausting on top of everything. But they were the only people he could really talk to, and he liked that it felt like they needed him. Even though he probably needed them more.
While the kids raided the store's shelves for whatever they were looking for, Eddie sat himself on the checkout counter, where Steve yelled at the kids from a distance.
"Eddie, get your ass off the counter." Steve spat, clearly having a bad day.
"Sorry Harrington, no can do. These brats have tired me out, and my ass needs a break. I can only listen to them talk about their good pal Will's spectacular art skills for so long."
"Hey!" Mike yelled suddenly, "don't you even dare undermine his abilities! You haven't even seen the painting he gave me!" Eddie laughed at Mike's outburst. Eddie had heard Mike talk about Will before, but he had started coming up in conversation much more often since Mike got back from California. It was like a passionate relationship had Been rekindled.
"So, King Steve? What's gotten your panties in a twist?" Eddie asked, trying to get on his nerves.
"Oh nothing, just DUSTIN CALLING ME AT LIKE THREE IN THE FUCKING MORNING!" Steve yelled, directing it in Dustin's general direction.
"Ah, I see, Dustin, problems." Eddie swung his legs over the counter to meet Steve's eyes with a knowing glance.
"Yeah, he's been getting on my nerves recently," Steve whispered.
"I gotcha. He got that one song stuck in my head. I don't know what it is, but damn, it's annoying."
"Seriously, and his ego, man. Sometimes he just acts like he's sooo smart."
"I mean to be fair, he is smart, but I totally get what you mean! It's almost demeaning."
Time slipped by as Eddie and Steve vented about Dustin and the other kids. Eventually, Steve realized he had to close shop, not noticing how long they talked or that the kids were long gone.
"Hey Ed, do you need a ride?" He asked us to close the doors.
"Yeah, if you're offering, I could totally use one. Do you mind, though?" Eddie asked, gesturing to the pack of cigarettes in his hand.
"Uh… not in the car, but if you give me one, I'll smoke with you and then give ya a ride."
Eddie agreed to the deal, handing Steve a cigarette. He fumbled in his pockets, trying to find his lighter. Once he located it, he moved closer to Steve, lighting their cigarettes with the lighter. Steve watched Patiently, admiring the light dashing of freckles over Eddie's face. You'd never notice it if you weren't up close, but it was there, dusting over his rosy cheeks. As Eddie stepped back, Steve drew in a deep breath of the smoke letting the nicotine burn and ache in his lungs. It felt like forever since he had a smoke, and it probably was. Steve had been too busy to do trivial things like taking smoke breaks, plus Steve never bought them for himself. He had always stolen a pack from his friends.
The two of them enjoy the warmth in the air as the sun sets over Hawkins. Sky shifting colors of blue and pink. Eddie was risky, fidgeting with his cigarette twirling it in his fingers as it burned, occasionally lifting it to his lips to take a deep breath. They just stood in silence, smoking. It was a pleasant silence, not awkward or stressful, just a moment of calm.
That's how they started to hang out. Eddie would stop by the shop after school (okay, let's be honest, he usually was ditching) and pester the fuck out of Steve and occasionally robin on her shifts. Then they would talk about the kids or, more specifically, whatever bullshit Dustin was up to. But slowly, their meetings evolved past the occasional smoke and drive home. Sometimes Steve would stop at Eddie's new trailer and get high.
The highs Steve had with Eddie were what he would call his best highs. He wasn't sure if it was the weed he sold or just the mere presence of Eddie, the freak Munson but Steve always found himself in a good mood. Better than the time he spent smoking with Tommy H. and his other old friends.
They would lay shoulder to shoulder on Eddie's tiny bed, passing the joint while talking about the stupidest shit. Steve loved being able to feel Eddie's laughter through their touching shoulders. It made it feel real.
"Harrington?" Eddie passed the blunt to steve, who admired the chipped black nail polish on eddies hands.
"Yes, Munson?"
"Ass or tits?" Eddie seriously asked, a clear sign of him being utterly high off his ass.
Steve had to think about it for a moment taking another hit before responding. "Ass, I guess? To be honest, most girls I've dated didn't really have the best boobs. They were always tall, eloquent, and thin. I think I like a smart woman. I like a woman who will tell me what to do with clear instructions. but a nice ass never hurt."
"You know who had a great ass?" Eddie asked, laying on his side, staring at Steve under his long lashes.
"Who?" steve indulged in his curiosity. Eddie never expressed interest in romance or women if it wasn't somehow related to Steve or Robin's Disastrous love lives.
"Billy Hargrove. May he Rest In Peace with his hella nice hair and hella tight ass." Eddie smiled the goofy crooked smile he always made when fooling around.
"Bahaha!" Steve burst out laughing. "You can't fucking say shit like that! You're not wrong, but holy shit, dude, Max! oh my god, Max would flip." They both knew it was wrong to talk about Max's recently dead stepbrother's ass, but damn, was it true. "You know, robins always asked me if I were to bang a guy from our school, who it would be? And If it weren't for his assholery and multiple attempts on my life, Billy would be pretty high on that list."
"Ooh, you have a list of guys from our school you'd bang? Quite a whore aren't you, king Steve?" Eddie cooed in his ear, carefully taking the joint from Steve's fingers.
"Oh, shut up! You know what I mean. Don't put words in my mouth." Steve stared at Eddie's lips as he placed the blunt between his lips
"Me? Put words in your mouth? No, something else maybe." A sly grin slid on his lips as he blew smoke into Steve's face. "But pretty boys like you, king Steve, are to be seen, not heard." Eddie's words crawled over his skin, creating a pink flush on his cheeks.
"Oh really? What are you gonna punish me for talking out of turn?" Steve laughed to brush off the tight feeling in his chest.
"Well, there are handcuffs on my wall for a reason." Eddie winked at the wide-eyed expression on Steve's face.
"Good lord, your disgusting Eddie, you know that? Downright disgusting." Steve sat up from the bed, looking at Eddie over his shoulder.
"Awe, Harrington, I didn't mean to scare you off." Eddie moped
"You scare me? Pfft, no, I just need to be getting home. I assume I'll see you tomorrow?"
"I don't know, your highness, the freak Eddie is in pretty high demand these days." Slick sarcasm dripped from Eddie's voice as he looked at Steve from under his eyebrows.
"Mmhm, we'll see ya around, freak~."
Steve didn't sleep that night. He spent far too much time thinking about those handcuffs on Eddie's wall he had never thought about before.
—-
Early in the afternoon, Eddie came bursting into the video store. The door slammed against the wall, and the little bell above the fame rang aggressively. Steve was over restocking shelves in the rom-com section, surprised by Eddie's early visit. It wasn't often Eddie skipped class this early in the day. As far as Steve was aware, it was still A hour lunch.
"HOLY FUCK, HARRINGTON!" Eddie yelled, walking in circles with his hands clamped in his mess of hair. His hands slid down ward pulling at his face warping his expression. "I can't, with these kids. I can't, with this school, I just fucking can't."
Concern churned in Steve's gut as Eddie muttered a slew of words. He had never seen Eddie this worked up before.
"Hey, chill out, man. Come on, just breathe." Steve talked Eddie down enough till he could form a proper sentence. "There we go," Steve praised, deep breaths pooling in and out of Eddie's lungs. Steve had some experience. Before Dustin became completely desensitized, Steve would talk him down from the intense nightmares he would have. He placed a firm hand on Eddie's neck, petting the soft, tangled hair. "Why don't we go to the back?"
Steve led Eddie to the back room in silence. The store had been empty for a while, so it shouldn't be an issue.
"Alright, what's up, Eddie? What happened?" Eddie didn't respond. He just slumped onto Steve, vaguely wrapping his arms around Steve. It wasn't even really a hug, just Eddie's front pressed against Steve's until Steve took the liberty of wrapping his arms around Eddie's midsection. His face pressed into the side of Eddie's head. He smelt of musk, something neutral and forest-ie like dirt and grass, but his hair had a sweet floral scent. The smell reminded him of waking up early, perfect hair, and school dances... Farrah Fawcett hairspray.
After a bit, Eddie pulled away awkwardly. "Ah, sorry, I- I just need that. Sorry."
"It's no problem, man. What's up? What happened?"
"It's uh, I don't know why I'm so worked up. honestly, It's really fucking stupid thinking about it." Eddie pulled out the black handkerchief he always kept In his left back pocket, wiping his face off with it to hide his watering eyes. "I don't know. It started this morning with the stupid fuckasses whispering about me as normal. I just kept hearing people. They don't even care whether I hear the shit they say about me. I don't know, but it just got to me today. It was bothering me a lot, and then I started thinking about the shit that had happened. I just kept seeing Crissy, and that other kid, the jock. it's horrifying, Steve."
Steve placed his hand at the base of Eddie's neck again. "I get it. I mean, you're definitely experiencing everything worse being an almost convicted murderer, but I dealt with the same thing. Always asking yourself, can this ever go back to normal. It took me forever to deal with the nightmares. Most nights, I just talked Dustin through his."
"You had nightmares?" Eddie looked up at Steve, his bangs faulting his view.
"I still do."
"You know. The thing that tipped me off was mike. He was just talking about Will, his best friend. It's idiotic, but god listening to Mike explain everything with Will and his girlfriend and what I've heard from max and Dustin. God, I love Mike, I really do, he's my kiddo, but damn I think he takes Will for granted. Mike talks about Will all the time now, and I still don't think he can tell what an impact he's had on Will's life. I haven't even met the kid Steve! And I know. I just don't understand how everyone can just act like this is fine, that everything is fine."
"Yeah, Mike was pretty important to Will. That summer, Mike, Will, Max, and Lucas would come to scoops every day and have me sneak them into the movies. I swear I've risked my Job for those brats so many times. It's really fucked up, but these kids act like everything is normal because this is their normal. Hell will have been a victim of the upside-down, so many times I think it's just become a part of him."
"What is he like? Will, can you tell me about him?"
Steve thought about what Eddie asked. Steve felt like he knew all of the kids pretty well. Steve could talk about all of them in great detail. But in all honesty, he never really spoke to Will much. He mostly knew the quiet kid from his older brother.
"I think you would get along with Will. I didn't really know him, and I think most people just know him as Mike's best friend or as that kid that went missing. He was distant and reserved from everyone, but damn sometimes he really had an attitude. I kinda wish I had spent time getting to know him better. He's probably the most fucked up after everything. He went missing, got possessed, then was basically used as a mind flayer detector. We owe a lot to that kid."
Eddie nodded, playing with his hair, pulling it in front of his face. "I wish I knew that kid. I wish I could have been here earlier and helped you with these brats more."
For some reason, Eddie had a gut feeling about will. A feeling that told him there is alot more about Will that no one knows. Eddie hates how Harrington and these kids have turned him into such a parent.