December 1986
There was a problem that followed all small-town parties, or at least the ones that Andy had been through over the years. The word goes around. The poor host who thought he'd have to handle ten people, max, ends up in a situation where each of those ten decided to bring a friend or two. One by one, people, both strangers, and old friends, trickle into the house and the next thing one knows, every single young adult in Hawkins was in their house.
Andy knew that something similar would happen with Steve's party, but not even she could have expected the crowd the size of the one that was dancing around their living room. Frankly, she hadn't even realized that these many people were even left in Hawkins. Just a few years ago, she'd be shitting bricks, afraid of the mess that might await their parents upon their return, but she no longer felt that way. They've gone as far as to stop visiting, and the only way they'd care about the state of the house would be if someone had set it on fire.
And hopefully, it won't get to that. Andy really hoped that it wouldn't get to that.
For the past hour, she had been mingling around, greeting people who assumed that she was the party planner, too - a common misconception, given the location. She urged herself to socialize and try and catch up with the people she once shared classes with, exchanged notes, or even sat in the cafeteria with. It was all surface level; none of them really cared how she was doing, nor what her plans were. And in their defense, she didn't care about any of them either. Every person who showed up was once a stand-in in the set that was her life and vice versa. They've all just outgrown each other. The party almost served as a reminder of a life they once had. To some more than to others, too.
Despite not seeing him in actual months, Andy ended up being in the same room as Jared.
It was funny then, to remember how much she once cared about him, even going as far as to call it love. And in a way, it was love; the innocent one, the brand new kind of love that felt like so much more but once you stepped away from it, you realized how weak it was. She didn't know it then, but the amount of love she held for Jared wouldn't be able to hold a candle to the amount of love she now knew she could feel and was saving for someone else.
It's been years since he was anything more than a nuisance, and his being in her house didn't make much of a difference to her. It did make him act differently though, as Andy could sense his eyes on her wherever she went. And she went around a lot, realizing that if there's a chance to not provide an opening for him, she should take it. It's one thing to be okay with him being there, and another to actually want to socialize with him.
In the back of her mind, Andy knew that she wouldn't be able to escape him for too long - the chances were against her, and despite there being a lot more people than she originally expected, it wasn't crowded enough for a quick and inconspicuous escape.
She was cornered in the kitchen, whilst trying to make herself a gin and tonic; it was a stupid mistake on her part, to go where there was the most traffic. She was ready to make an escape, drink in hand, when she turned, only to face Jared who was smiling down at her.
"As I live and breathe - Andy Harrington."
Why he pretended to be surprised, Andy couldn't understand; it was clear as day that he had spent a long time staring at her, and he knew damn well she noticed.
It didn't take more than a second for Andy to remember one of the many things she never liked about him; his height. Being fairly taller than her, Jared would always talk down at her. Even if his tone was on point and his remarks polite, the position he'd put them in was always the one of him looking down at her. When they were together, Andy pushed that into the back of her mind, but once single, she could see the red flags she had ignored before.
"Shocker, I know! Me, in my own home? Who would have thought?" Andy pretended to be surprised, her fake smile dropping the moment his did, too. It would seem as if she was not the only one that suddenly remembered something she hated about someone she once loved. "Last I heard, you were down in Texas. What gives?"
"Home for the break," he told her. That… actually explained a lot. Most of those from her class or a year or two above had gotten home for the holidays. Unfortunately, that meant that Jared would likely be around in the next few weeks, too. "What about you? Last I heard, you were ready to pack up and leave for an Ivy League school or something?"
Andy laughed at that. "Well, no one's been keeping you up-to-date, I'd say. Anyway, I'll see you around," she announced, trying to make her exit. She wasn't surprised at all when he moved to the side to get in her way.
"Oh come on Andy, we haven't talked in ages," he whined. The sound of his whines always would cause a chill to run down her spine, and not in a good way. It was really fascinating to her to be reminded of just how annoying he always was. She truly wasn't thinking straight when she decided that dating him was a logical choice. "Let's spend some time together, catch up, remember the old days. Why not?"
"To be frank, I don't really wanna do that, Jared," she shrugged. "I don't miss the old days."
"Come on Andy," he chuckled, not showing any signs of letting up. "We were good!"
"When, exactly? When I was with you because I wasn't sure how to dump you, when you were with me 'cause you thought that dating Steve's sister would help you climb the social ladder, or when I found you balls deep in Katie Harris? You need to be more specific."
"Katie was a mistake," Jared had the balls to look irritated with the mention of the girl he cheated on Andy with, as if she was an asshole for reminding him of it.
"Funny you should say that, 'cause that's how I refer to you," Andy gave him her best fake smile, feeling pretty proud of herself as she watched him visibly deflate. Honestly, it served him right. He had some gall, coming up to her after all these years, probably trying to get some as if the years that passed would erase the humiliation she went through.
"Andy!" the voice of her savior boomed. "There you are!"
At that point, Andy would have accepted rescue from just about anyone. Hell, she'd even take it from Katie Harris herself; as long as she didn't have to spend a second longer in Jared's presence, she was happy. But hearing and seeing Eddie coming to her rescue… well, it just made the whole thing ten times better. Not only will she now get to spend time with someone she actually liked, not only was he smiling at her, but Jared was genuinely shocked by that development.
"Thank fuck," she didn't even bother hiding her exasperation. "I started to worry that you'll bail on me," she admitted once he finally joined the two of them, beaming at Andy.
"And leave you to the hounds? Never," he laughed, finally turning to Andy's temporary companion as if he was surprised to see him that close. "Oh. Jared. What's up?"
It took Jared a moment or two to collect himself. "Um. Nothing. Hi, Munson. Um… Are you-" Andy could guess what his next question would be and she wasn't about to let it happen.
"Eddie, wanna grab a drink and go back to my room?" Andy turned toward Eddie, completely ignoring Jared and his unfinished remark. "The party hasn't even started and it's dead already, let's just get away from here."
Eddie laughed, reaching toward the counter and grabbing a bottle of beer. "There, sorted. Now, lead the way, my lady," he told her, holding up his hand for it to be interpreted in one of two ways. One, he was showing her to lead the way, just as he said. Two, he was holding it up for her to take it. Andy wasn't sure which one of the two he was aiming for, but she didn't bat an eye before grabbing a hold of his hand. "See you around, Jared."
If he said something in response to Eddie's quip, they hadn't heard it. Her hand keeping a firm grip on Eddie's, Andy made her way through the house, avoiding a few people here and there. They got to the stairs quickly, and once they started making their way upstairs, she knew that they were safe. Steve always enforced a strict no-going-upstairs policy, and it was usually respected, but she also knew that all the rooms were locked, and she was one of the two people with all the keys.
Eddie said nothing, still letting her hold his hand as he followed her all the way to the end of the upstairs hallway, waiting patiently for her to unlock the door. Andy turned to him, grimacing before opening the door. "Remember, I haven't re-decorated since like… junior year," she reminded him. Eddie had no idea what she meant by that, but the moment he stepped foot into her room, he knew he saw the mind of the 17-year-old Andy in full glory.
Everything was so… light. Andy winced visibly when realizing just how different she was only a couple of years ago. The room was clean and decently organized, but it was also full of all the things she'd outgrown since. The current Andy would definitely not have a gigantic Footloose poster hanging on her wall, but the 17-year-old… yeah, she did that.
"Kevin Bacon," Eddie's laughter filled the room. "Should have known you'd go for him."
"Yeah, well, the dude you saved me from downstairs is a prime example of younger Andy having bad taste in men. Sorry Kev," she pretended to apologize to the poster. "And thank you for that rescue, by the way. It was much needed."
"I've never met anyone who needed less saving than you, Andy Harrington," Eddie told her. For a moment, Andy thought that he was joking but when she turned to look at him, she could see he was dead serious. "But, you did look like you were about to rip his head off. And I figure, who better to annoy him with than with yours truly?" he spread his arms, a beaming smile on his face. He even did a little twirl to "present" himself.
"Make yourself comfortable," Andy pointed towards her bed, feeling awkward with the both of them just standing there. He took her advice, sitting down on the edge of the bed as she went to lock the door. "You do know you're not my… rebellious phase, or something like that, right?" she asked, still under the impression of him thinking he'd be the perfect choice to annoy Jared. Any guy would have done the job nicely, and while she did see plenty of benefits for it being Eddie, they were all personal and in no way affected by Jared. "'Cause, you're not. I grew out of my rebellious phase years ago," she reminded him as she sat down on her bed, leaving enough space between them.
"Don't worry Harrington," he shot her a smile. "I've been part of a rebellious phase for enough people to know what that feels like. I can recognize it; I know you're not doing it."
Andy was annoyed in his stead, frustrated that he had to go through something like that; multiple times, by the sound of it. "Well, I'm glad you know it. Because you're not a phase; you're a person I genuinely enjoy spending my time with."
"You'd pick me over a party?!" he asked, in a fake surprised voice.
"Every time, you ass," she laughed at his antics, giving him a nudge with her elbow. "Since you're the guest of honor now, I give you full control of my record player," she announced, nodding towards the old record player that now just collected dust on her shelf. "Though I'll warn you, the music selection isn't the best - I took most of the good stuff with me."
"I'm sure I'll be able to find something," he groaned as he got up, bee-lining towards the music. Andy realized, as he did so, that he was actually the only guy to ever spend time in her room. Well, Steve did, but it wasn't as if she had much of a say in that. Not even Jared, with whom she was together entirely too long, despite her having an empty house almost every single weekend. Her bedroom was where she drew a line and knowing that she completely erased it now, for Eddie, without even batting an eye… It was a realization that reminded her of her feelings being a lot stronger than she wanted to admit.
"You know," Andy started, pausing to debate if this was a road she wanted to take or not. Eddie was slowly but surely becoming better at reading her, and she genuinely worried about saying too much, too soon. Or ever, really. "Those who used you… they had no idea what they were missing. Just saying."
Eddie stayed silent, but something about the situation told Andy that she didn't take it too far. He was still going through her records, apparently finding something he deemed decent. Andy couldn't see which record it was, not from where she sat on the bed, but the moment music filled the room, she smiled. "I Melt With You" was a favorite that she had forgotten about - it will definitely be in her backpack when she heads back to her apartment.
"Neither did Jared," Eddie spoke up, joining her on the bed. Andy noticed, and she wasn't sure if it was by accident or not, that he sat just a little bit closer. "Knew what he was missing, I mean," he elaborated when she didn't respond immediately.
"Oh, he knew," Andy laughed, pausing to take a swig of her drink, watching as Eddie did the same. "He just preferred Katie Harris."
God, she didn't care about any of it, any of it at all! Not Jared, not Katie, not anything other than Eddie. Eddie, who was lounging on the bed of her childhood bedroom, wearing his ripped jeans and leather jacket, his hair as wild and untamed as his personality. Andy didn't have two shits to give to anyone that wasn't him. Tunnel vision for Eddie Munson, that was her mindset, and she hated that she couldn't just… say it.
"I mean," Eddie pretended to think, leaning back until he was laying down on her bed, turning around to look at her. "She had a nice rack, if I remember correctly?"
"Eddie!" Andy was shocked by his words, but she couldn't stop laughter from escaping her. "Jesus Christ, ever heard of a filter?! Dude!"
"I mean, I'm saying it like it is!" he laughed, not looking the least bit guilty. "Then again, a decent rack was all she had. We had several classes together. I don't know what lived in that head of hers, but it sure wasn't a brain."
"Not helping," Andy glared at him, before plopping herself down so that she was laying on the bed, too, again with a decent amount of space between them. "Now you're making me second guess the state of my own rack," she admitted, shocked at how little this conversation was embarrassing her. She was talking to a dude she liked, about her boobs. It wasn't something she had ever done before, but it wasn't that uncomfortable, either.
Eddie started laughing. "Please don't make me say it."
"Say what?"
"You know what!"
"I don't!" Andy insisted, and although she was laughing too, she had no idea what he was going on about.
"Your rack is more than satisfactory, Andy," Eddie laughed.
"Okay, yeah, I wish you hadn't said that," she joked.
"Sorry."
"No, I'm joking!" she insisted, and once he realized that she wasn't serious, the two got lost in another fit of laughter. Andy was amazed that this was the closest they'd ever gotten to actually flirting. She wondered if Eddie realized that, too. Did he notice? Was he going to do something about it? Should she do something about it, after all?
"Ugh, how I wish I hadn't wasted some of my best teenage years on that asshole. I could have been… I don't know. Alone? With someone more worthy of my time?" she sighed.
"Hate to break it to you, Harrington, but I don't think there were many people worthy of your time in our year," Eddie admitted. "Maybe a year or two above? But not much of a choice."
"I don't know about that; I'm pretty sure I must have missed someone obvious."
Like you, for example, Andy wanted to say, but she closed her mouth at just the right time. It would have been too much. The only change between them then and them from that afternoon was that she knew he found her rack satisfactory. It wasn't nearly enough for her to convince herself that he was into her, in any capacity. Definitely not as she was into him.
"I don't know about any of the others, but that asshole sure as hell didn't deserve you."
"Eddie?"
"Yeah?"
She wanted to go for it, to say something, to tell him… but she couldn't. The best she could do was give a little hint, and hope that he'd pick up on it. But her experience with men told her that it would likely miss him completely.
"If, in a hypothetical situation, you were in Jared's place then," she started, pausing to think how she should phrase the question. "This is stupid but you… you wouldn't cheat on me with Katie Harris, would you?"
"Not in a million years, Andy," he answered in a heartbeat. "Not Katie, not anyone."
Oh. Well, maybe the hint didn't fly completely above his head, after all.
The song ended. They were silent, both staring at the ceiling, and at the glow-in-the-dark stars that Andy had glued there more than a decade ago. They were faded, but she couldn't be bothered to ever take them down.
If they were braver, if their feelings were clearer, it would have been romantic. Their own little night under the stars, as impromptu and fake as it was.
But they were friends. One with feelings that weren't out in the open, and the other… well, Andy had no idea where Eddie stood with his feelings. They were two confused friends, who would rather pick one another than anyone else at the party.
And by the time Eddie dropped her off at her place, Andy was sure that the two of them had a much better time than anyone attending the party that was, apparently, a rager.
March 1986
She knew that it was different that time.
Try as she might, she couldn't explain why. There were obvious reasons, like them missing El, who was the strongest one by far. Or even Chief Hopper, who, although not as capable as El, was the best protector they've ever had. The gang was mish-mashed, half of them in California, the other half in Hawkins, but that wasn't what made that time feel different.
There was something in the air, and it took Andy a bit to recognize it, but once she finally did, she was floored by the revelation. It was hopelessness.
They knew that it won't be the same. They knew that this one was different, and some, if not all of them, wondered by when will all of their luck run out.
Andy didn't like it, she didn't like it one bit, but she didn't see another choice for them. They've spent hours trying to find a solution, a way out of this mess, and as insane as their final plan was, it was by far their best chance. Packing up and leaving Hawkins might have worked too, but they'd all know that they were living on borrowed time.
Vecna didn't need Max to be in a particular geographic position to snatch her, and god knows she couldn't spend the rest of her life listening to nothing but Kate Bush. Besides, they all felt that Max being his next victim was now a point of pride for him. He could have easily found another lamb for slaughter, and if Max continues escaping, he likely will. Now, he's just playing cat and mouse. And once he does get his fourth victim, they could be at the other side of the goddamn country, and Hawkins would fall. And take god knows who and what with it. Like all of that wasn't enough, leaving Hawkins would make Eddie a proper fugitive. What was he supposed to do? Have a bunch of teenagers help him hide from the authorities for the rest of his life?
Borrowed time - that's all it would be, and that's all it was then. They had no choice but to stay and fight, and Andy had a horrible, sinking feeling that this time, they won't be victors.
They weren't victors the last time either, even though they pretended they were. Most of them had survived, so it wasn't a complete loss. But they lost Hopper. And she watched as the Mindflayer ripped through Billy's chest. She could still hear Max's screams in her nightmares. Most of them survived, but they definitely weren't victorious.
"Hey, Harrington?"
She turned around to see Eddie approaching her, somewhat sheepishly. They haven't really talked since stacking up with weapons at the army surplus store; they were all too busy getting ready. The only reason she was sat down, doing absolutely nothing except thinking about their pending doom, was because she snuck away to be alone.
"What's up?" she asked, hoping she doesn't sound annoyed at his interruption.
"Just wanted to check how your arm's doing.
Andy had managed to forget all about that.
"Oh," she chuckled in surprise. "Yeah, it's okay. Nance bandaged it as good as she could," she reassured him. While they were making plans that would lead them into deadly danger, they also took a chance to clean up their wounds at Max's place; Steve was a little worse for wear, but he insisted that he was okay, and the bandage on Andy's arm was a whole lot better at keeping her wound safe and clean than Eddie's bandana was. "It'll leave a nasty scar, though," she grimaced, remembering the state of her arm. When Nancy was cleaning it, Andy could no longer avert her eyes. It was really bad, but she'll live.
"How fucked up would it be if I tell you that if scars are the only thing you end up having after this is over, you're lucky?" Eddie frowned, and despite trying to be funny, he could tell that it didn't work. Perhaps Andy would have laughed if she wasn't as tired, or as worried.
"It would be incredibly fucked up, but I also have a feeling it would be absolutely true."
"Honestly Harrington, seeing as you're setting yourself up as Vecna bait, I'll be surprised if that's the only scar you end up with," he nodded towards her arm. It was pissing Andy off, the constant reminder of how easily she could end up dead, but something about his approach and the crease above his eyebrows, told her that he wasn't happy-go-lucky or just saying whatever came to his mind. He was worried.
"I'm not Vecna bait," she corrected him. "I'm Vecna bait watcher."
"Not much better," he rolled his eyes at her. "I don't like this. I don't like it one bit."
"No one does, Eddie," Andy reminded him, a little bit exasperated. His intentions might have been kind, but she could only take so much. "Max is our best chance and she's made her decision. And I'm not going to let her do this alone. She's a child, as are Lucas and Erica. I may not be much, but I'm an adult and I'll be the only adult they have on their side."
"The four of you are bait. Or bait watchers," he corrected himself before Andy could do it. "You're sitting ducks, Andy. I know there's no better option but holy shit, it's not a good option!"
"And you're bat bait!" she snapped in annoyance. "All of us are baits! It's the only way we can drag him out in a time and place where we might just be strong enough to take him on. I told you this before but it seems like you need a reminder: we're the best chance you have, the best chance any of us has, and by far the best chance Hawkins has of survival."
"How come you're not one of the big guns?" Eddie asked, likely realizing he wasn't going to change her mind about which team she will be on that day. "I saw you with that shotgun; you know how to handle that shit. Why aren't you on the firing squad?"
"Nancy is just as good as I am, if not better," she told him, still sure of her choice. "I can't leave three kids on their own as they bait Vecna. Besides, me and Steve being on the same team is never a good idea."
"Why, 'cause you bicker so much?" Eddie asked, and actually managed to make Andy laugh.
"No. Well, we do," she corrected herself immediately, realizing that she had never told a fatter lie in her entire existence. Of course they fucking bicker, it's how they communicate. "You were at the lake with us, Eddie. I didn't wait for a single second after Steve was pulled into the water before I jumped after him. He wouldn't have waited, either. If one of us was in danger, mortal danger, the other one wouldn't even think about it before interrupting the line of fire. If I'm there, we will be more focused on keeping the other one safe, which makes us a huge liability. And I'm not letting my brother die to save my ass."
Andy knows that there was a chance that Steve will not survive this. Just like she knows that there's a chance she won't be surviving this, either. And as painful as it was to come to that conclusion, if he thought with his head and not his heart if he thought of himself, Steve's chances for survival were much higher. If she was with him, yes, she could save him. Or, he could die trying to save her.
Risks were there, and they were horrible, and Andy really, really didn't want to go over them again, but she knew that as long as she has any say in it, Steve won't be dying to keep her safe. If he loses her in another way, if she loses him, it will be hell. The kind of hell she couldn't imagine if she was crazy enough to try. But at least this way, she knows that both of them will have a piece of mind, and if grief comes, it won't be with a side of guilt.
"You're making it sound like we're not going to survive this."
Andy wanted to stay positive, if for nothing else, then for Eddie's sake. It's painfully obvious that he was still coming to terms with all of this and frankly, he looked like he was half an inch away from a panic attack ever since they found him, hiding in that boat house. Andy was careful when making promises, but with him, she tried to make said promises a little more… promising, really. More real, more possible.
She doesn't think she can do that anymore.
"I truly hope that we will all survive this," she finally spoke up, looking away from Eddie, as she couldn't bare to see those eyes of his as she spoke her mind. "I'm just not sure that we will, Eddie. I can't promise that."
They remained silent for a long time. Once they were no longer talking, Andy didn't mind his company. If anything, she appreciated it. Somehow, he made silence less lonely.
They didn't say another word to each other before Steve gathered them all and they started loading everything up into the RV and getting ready to make the trip, first to the Creel House, then to the trailer park, and finally, through the portal into the Upside Down.
A trip they were not sure if they'll come back from.