Characters:
Eddie Munson
Steve Harrington
Wayne Munson
Robin Buckley
Nancy Wheeler
The Party
Hellfire Club
Corroded Coffin
...
Relevant Tags/ Info:
Gay Eddie Munson
Bisexual Steve Harrington
Canon Divergence
Pre-Series 4
Everybody Lives
Getting Together
Slow Burn
Eventual Romance
Eventual Sex
Pining
Flirting
Oblivious Eddie Munson
Background Ronance
Rating May Change
Period Typical Homophobia
Steve Harrington Has Bad Parents
Steve Harrington and Maxine Mayfield Have a Sibling Relationship
...
A/N:
So this thing has been knocking around in my head since... August? After what feels like forever, it's finally time to start posting it!
The story will eventually be rated 'E' when the time comes for all that good stuff and I'll also put warnings at the beginning of any chapters that include it. As of now, there will be 34 chapters, maybe a couple more if my brain decides to add to it.
This, this has definitely been a labour of love, a passion project, the thing that keeps me up because I can't stop writing it at two in the morning because a goddamn line comes to me and I have to write it down before *poof!* So hopefully you guys love it too!
I think we can all agree, Eddie and Steve are just *chefs kiss* The brain rot is real.
...
Chapter 1: Groundhog Day
Eddie Munson woke to the sound of his alarm at some ungodly hour of the morning. Without opening his eyes he fumbled for the clock and switched off the annoying beeping. Sighing heavily, he buried his face in the pillow and tried not to scream.
Fucking high school.
He should be done, should've been out of that hellhole two years ago but nope, he'd gotten complacent and distracted. Now he was starting his third Senior year, today.
Groaning, he got out of bed and changed. His jeans from yesterday were still clean and the shirt hanging on the back of his chair didn't smell too bad. He was trying to be quiet as he left his room, his uncle worked night shifts and had probably just gone to bed. But to his surprise when he left the bathroom he found Wayne was still up and sat at the kitchen table. Eddie sent him a questioning look as he filled a glass with water.
"Wanted to make sure you got up for your first day back," Wayne explained before yawning.
Eddie's shoulders slumped with the weight of guilt. His uncle was trying his best and here he was, failing to graduate twice. "I set the alarm, you didn't have to stay up."
"Alright kid, I wanted to wish you good luck." Wayne scrutinised him as he drank and Eddie tried not to fidget. "Did you brush your hair?"
"Yes," He lied. He had done it after showering the previous night. Nobody would be able to tell since it was so curly. "Don't worry about me, Wayne. It's not like I don't know what I'm doing."
He didn't smile but his expression relaxed slightly. "You'll have better luck this year. Just keep your head down and focus, yeah?"
"Gotcha." Eddie grabbed his bag at the door and saluted his uncle farewell. "I'll behave."
"As long as you don't come home with a warning on your first day again I'll be happy." Wayne gave him a tired wave back and stood. "Have a good day, Eddie."
"Will do."
The morning was overcast and a little chilly, nothing that couldn't be solved by his leather jacket though. It was quiet as he walked through the trailer park, too early for most of the residents to be out and about. Eddie winced as he accidentally kicked a can and it clattered away, hoping it wouldn't bring some angry hick down on him. But it didn't. He got to the main road without any hassle.
Living in a trailer park wasn't always so safe. Hearing gunshots weren't so uncommon, even if it always freaked him out. Eddie mock saluted the 'Welcome to Forest Hills Trailer Park - Enjoy Your Stay' as he passed. As if anyone who lived there had any other choice, the ass end of Hawkins.
Putting on his headphones, the familiar sound of King of Rock & Roll from Dio's new album started. It had only been released a couple of weeks ago but Eddie already had it memorised and was even learning how to play the songs. Now if he could use that same focus on his schoolwork, he might finally graduate.
Too caught up in the music, he didn't hear the crunching of gravel under wheels until the kid streaked passed him, almost knocking him over. Eddie stumbled, tripping up but managed to stay upright. He glared at the flash of streaming red hair as the kid skated away, only offering him the middle finger as an apology. Eddie bit back his own caustic remark, she wouldn't hear him anyway with her headphones on. Aggressively blowing out air, he shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked a stone instead.
He wasn't sure of her name, she'd only just moved to the trailer park but Eddie had seen her hanging around outside a few times. Maxine, his mind supplied. Whatever, she wasn't his problem anyway but if he noticed her coming he might just stick his leg out. Okay, he wouldn't but the thought assuaged his bitter thoughts on that early morning.
The school was crowded when Eddie finally got there. The parking lot was full of cars and students as everyone hurried about. He looked around, hoping to spot one of his friends before going inside but it didn't look like any of them were around. His eyes landed on Robin Buckley, a Senior herself now and someone Eddie got along its fairly well when he used to be in Band. To his surprise and slight disappointment, he saw she was getting out of Steve Harrington's car. Not even the geeks were immune to his charms it seemed. But then he remembered they worked together over the summer.
Eddie remembered fondly the first time he walked into Scoop's Ahoy at Starcourt Mall Before it burned down. Steve was bent over cleaning a table in those ridiculous shorts and Eddie's brain had short-circuited. That outfit should've been illegal. He would never admit out loud how many times he visited that stupid ice cream shop to catch a glimpse of Steve in his uniform. But alas, Scoops Ahoy existed only in memory now, along with the image of Steve Harrington's ass in those shorts.
"Eddie?" He jumped, realised he was staring at the two and Robin was calling to him. Steve was leaning over the roof of the car, frowning at him. It wasn't hostile but it still made Eddie uncomfortable.
"M'lady," He called back and ran over, doing a low bow and he caught her hand as he straightened up, kissing the back of it. "Had a good summer?"
"Interesting," She replied, glancing back at Steve. The two shared a smile and she started to snigger. "How was yours?"
"Boring after Starcourt burned down."
"Trust me, we're better off," Steve muttered.
Robin rolled her eyes and tugged Eddie towards the school. "See you later!"
And because Eddie couldn't resist, he turned and called, "Shame we can't set sail on that ocean of flavour anymore, Harrington!" He laughed as Steve blushed and quickly got back in his car.
Robin elbowed him playfully. "Seriously, don't remind me!"
"You loved that uniform."
"You loved it more." Robin stopped at a locker, presumably her own as she opened it. "Don't think I didn't notice you checking Steve out."
Eddie held up his hands in defence as he walked away. "I will not apologise for admiring perfection, Buckley. Don't worry, I won't make the moves on your man."
He heard her gagging as he turned and moved to his own locker to pick up his timetable. He groaned when he saw he had double History that morning with Mrs Click. Teachers weren't supposed to have favourites but Eddie was sure she hated him ever since his sophomore year when he was caught smoking in her room. The bell rang and he shoved the timetable into his bag and hurried to class, eager to not give her a reason to criticise him.
When lunchtime finally rolled around, Eddie was quick to commandeer their usual table and it wasn't long until Gareth and Jeff joined him. They shared fist bumps before Jeff spoke up. "So you planning to graduate this year or you waiting for Gareth?"
Eddie didn't bother responding with words. He flipped Jeff off as he continued to eat. Michael fell into the seat opposite and grinned, leaning forward. "So when do you guys wanna get together for band practice? I was thinking Mondays were good, gets us ready for Tuesdays at The Hangout."
"Have you wrote out schedules for us already?" Gareth laughed. "Man, we gonna have any days off between band, Hellfire and studying?"
"Least you're not a Senior, shit gets serious on day one. You should see the amount of homework I've got and it's only been four periods!"
Eddie rolled his eyes and stopped listening to the conversation. The last thing he wanted to be thinking about right then was homework.
Instead, his eyes wandered around the cafeteria. Nothing had changed really, the cliques were around their usual tables, some new faces, some familiar. He caught the eye of the new basketball captain, Jason Carver who sneered at him. Eddie chose not to respond and instead saw two smaller kids behind him leaving the lunch line, freshmen by the look of them. One of them was wearing a Weird-Al t-shirt which made him smile, the kid had guts. The other one was wearing shit typical of the nuclear families around Hawkins.
"Eddie, man, so you cool with Mondays?" Gareth nudged him. "Band practise?"
"Sure, Mondays sound great."
"Great because the soon we start the better. Man, I haven't touched my guitar in weeks I can't wait to get my hands on that baby and tune her-" Jeff was cut off as Eddie slammed into him. Not on purpose of course but someone had rammed into the back of his chair and he'd fallen forward. "Whoa!"
"Sorry." They looked up to see it was Jason. "Wasn't watching where I was going."
"Careful, don't wanna catch freak." Eddie tilted his head back and waggled his eyebrows with a grin. "I'm contagious you know." There was a moment of silence as Jason took him in. Eddie could see he was sizing him up. The new King on the block. With Harrington and Hargrove gone, someone had to fill the void. But Eddie remembered his promise to his uncle and sat up again. "It's cool, Carver. No harm, no foul."
Jason sneered. "Whatever, freak."
Eddie ignored him and continued with his lunch. Slowly, the conversations rose around them again. "What an asshole," Gareth muttered. "Why does someone always have to be King? Man, I kinda miss the days of King Steve, least he wasn't as bad as Billy."
King Steve. Eddie thought back to the Steve he'd seen that morning, friends with Robin Buckley from Band and working a dead-end job. But yes, he'd been the lesser of two evils when it came to Billy Hargrove. The worst he got from Steve was glares and the occasional muttered insult. With Billy, only the weed stood between Eddie and broken bones.
"One more year." Eddie saluted Michael and Jeff before downing his coke. "Then we're done with this shit hole."
"You said that last year." He flipped Michael off.
"This year's different." Eddie looked around the cafeteria again and caught the kid in the Weird-Al shirt staring at him. As soon as their eyes met he blushed and looked away. "Hold up, I think we got some sheep."
The guys looked over too. "You think?" Jeff asked as he got up.
"Let me find out." Eddie winked and sauntered over to the younger teens who had been joined by another, dark-skinned kid. Not that he cared. Eddie didn't think skin colour made a person bad or good, just like sexuality. He'd seen his fair share of prejudice and wasn't about to spout any himself. "Nice shirt, kid."
"Thanks." Up close, the kid's hair was slicked back and for some stupid reason, it reminded him of Steve. "Cool music, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Hey, is that a D&D manual?" He grabbed it from the other kid's hands. It was the latest issue, one Eddie hadn't managed to get yet. "You guys play?"
"Sometimes." He snatched to manual back. "What's it to you?"
Eddie leaned against the table and dropped his voice to a low murmur. "Well I happen to run a club myself, every Thursday after school. We'd love some new players, my friends and I." He pointed to his table and the guys waved. "Four's kinda a pity party but seven, man, that would be awesome. So what do you say, wanna join Hellfire?"
"Hell yes!" The kid with styled hair shook his hand with a wide grin. "I'm Dustin by the way and this is Mike and Lucas."
"Alright, Dustin, Mike, Lucas," He pointed at each of them in turn and beckoned them to follow. "Come join the club."
Just like that, Hellfire gained three new members.
As they sat down and began discussing the game, Eddie caught Robin watching them. He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly but she just shook her head and smiled back before returning to her conversation with Nancy Wheeler. As in Steve's ex Nancy. So friends with the ex? Eddie wondered for a moment how the hell that worked out but was soon dragged back into the conversation at hand.
"So, great DM, what's the new campaign about?" Gareth asked and everyone looked at him eagerly.
"No spoilers, that would ruin all the fun."
"Dude come on!"
"Nope." And saved by the bell he got up. "Time for class kiddos. You'll find out on Thursday at five."
When the day finished Eddie was already wondering how he was going to make it through the year. It would take him hours to finish all the homework he had, even though he'd done the stupid thing twice already. Well, if he was being honest he didn't do homework the first time and gave up pretty quick last year too. But it was with a new resolve that he shouldered his backpack and left the school.
"Bye, Eddie!" Dustin called as he ran past.
Eddie waved back and to his utter confusion, the kid ran to Steve's car. He was leaning against the hood and nodded as Dustin threw his bag in the back and started talking. Robin joined them a moment later and to Eddie's surprise and dread, Steve turned to look at him. Again he was frowning, seeming to size him up but then Dustin shoved him and Eddie almost laughed as he slid off the car and onto the floor.
"Shotgun!" Dustin hollered and jumped in.
Eddie watched the car leave and sighed, again telling himself it was none of his business. But how in the hell was Steve Harrington not only friends with Robin but a thirteen-year-old too? Maybe he was still dreaming and his alarm was about to go off. Yeah, seemed the only reasonable explanation.
Wayne was awake when Eddie got home and quickly beat him to it. "No warnings or detentions but a whole load of homework I gotta start."
He looked stunned but then smiled. "Proud of ya, kiddo."
"I'm almost twenty."
"Still my baby nephew."
"Yeah, yeah. It's only been one day." Eddie smiled back and kicked off his shoes. "But I really should start on this homework before it piles up."
"Alright, I'm heading out in an hour for work. You want something putting on?"
"Nah, I'll get food in a bit when I'm hungry."
Eddie dropped his bag on his messy desk and sighed. As his eyes landed on the small metal tin he snorted. No weed tonight or any school night he supposed. If he didn't want to suffer the embarrassment of failing Senior year three times in a row then he better start trying now. So with a heavy heart, he kicked the tin under his bed and cleared a space on the desk to get to work.
It took hours.
He stared at the words until they became squiggly little lines and then stared some more. His reward was a headache. Pushing away from the desk he got up to make something to eat. He'd done one piece of homework so that was something at least. A new record for him anyway. He deserved a break.
Unfortunately, a break turned into watching TV until midnight.
Glancing at his watch and realising the time, Eddie only cursed and went back to his room. The cigarette carton sitting innocently on his bed was his undoing. Eddie watched the last tendrils of the smoke filter up to the ceiling and stain the already yellowed paint. Then he stubbed out the end in the ashtray next to his bed and sighed. "'86 baby, it's gonna be my year."
...
A/N:
Wayne is the best father figure to Eddie and no-one can convince me otherwise.
Now, I swore to myself I wouldn't start posting this until I had at least ten chapters wrote up and I'm proud to say I did it! Never been good at holding onto stuff and waiting 😅