"Your turn, Eddie. What'll you do?"

Munson fumbled with the die. He was looking much better; the bruises on his face had faded to a sickly greenish-brownish-yellow, and his stitches had come out. He still walked with a slight limp, and was protective of his healing ribs, but for the most part was getting back to the same old Eddie. His fingers, though, were still bandaged tightly. He had pins in the middle one, apparently, and was worried it wouldn't heal straight.

It was good to see him out and about, and even better to see Rosie now most Wednesdays and Thursdays. She had quit her job at the Megamart - something about them not giving her the time to care for him when he got out of hospital - so spent most of her days either at the trailer or Ricks. Wherever Eddie was, really. She and Dustin's mom had made amends, but part of him still thought she begrudged her the way she had treated Eddie.

"Dustin!" She ran up to hug him as they came out.

"Hey, Rosie. How're you doing?"

"Good." She turned to include Eddie. "Wayne was talking to one of the guys - his wife works at the Hawkins Post. Says they're looking for someone to run reception on Mondays and Fridays."

"Sounds great." Munson encouraged. "You're taking it, right?"

"Yeah. Who knows, maybe they'll ask me full time if I do well enough."

He gave her a loud smooch on the cheek. "That's my girl."

Dustin gagged. Then remembered.

"Oh! Thiiis came for you yesterday." He pulled a white envelope out of his backpack. "Looked official, so mom told me to bring it."

Rosie inspected it. "Thanks, Dust."

"Good news, I hope."

"Hope so."

The letter played on her mind the whole ride home. She had almost forgotten about it, what with all that happened to Eddie. Hadn't had time to think about what she was going to do. Or what she could say to him.

"Everything alright?" Eddie's battered hand waved into sight.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah."

"Really? What did I ask you?"

Rosie faltered. "Erm."

"I asked what you wanted for dinner."

"Right. I made lasagna." She answered. "It's in the oven."

He sighed as he took her in. "You really are the best."

She focused on the road. Kept her expression neutral. Inside, she was a roiling storm of emotions.

How could she do this to him?

Rosie read it again, again. How could good news feel so awful? She huffed, biting her nail. Eddie hobbled in, fresh from the shower. She didn't try to hide the letter, now. She had to tell him. When he sat down, he noticed the crest at the top.

"That your college?"

"It sure is."

He rested his chin on her shoulder. Damp hair brushing against her. "What's it say?"

She passed it back to him. "It's…offering me my place back."

Joy came first. "Babe, that's great!" Kiss. "That means you…" His tone dropped. "You can go back to college."

Rosie looked at her hands, not at the pain in his eyes. "Yeah."

Nothing was said for the longest time. Eddie folded the paper back up.

"What are you going to study?" His voice broke.

Ouch. "It's to finish my Masters. In Paleontology."

"That's like…dinosaurs and shit?"

"Sort of."

"Cool."

This was painful. "It's just an offer. I don't have to go?"

"What?" Eddie shot back, suddenly angry. "Rosie, you're going!"

Getting hard to form words. "I d-don't want to leave."

"Yes. You do. Rosie, this is an opportunity to get out of this dump. If you don't take it -"

"I'll get to stay."

"You'll be stuck here." Eddie waved his arm across the room. "You really want to waste your life in this trailer."

"It's not so bad."

"Are you FUCKING INSANE!"

She recoiled.

"I'm sorry." He took a deep breath and continued: "It is bad. This isn't the life you want. And it's definitely not the life I want for you."

"If I go, I'll be in Boston."

"And I'll be here. Don't throw this away because of me."

He pushed the letter into her lap. Buried his face into his hands. They were both crying, a million miles apart. Rosie couldn't stand it. The idea came to her mind again. She wanted it so badly, but was afraid to ask. If she didn't, though, she was afraid for them.

She eased Eddie's arms down, bending to make him look at her. "Come with me."

"What?"

"Boston. Come with me." She said with more dedication. "You hate this town. You're always talking about how you want out."

"Rosie -"

"You could come out after, if you still have things here to finish."

"It's a nice idea."

"I could find an apartment...we both would need jobs."

"You're not listening."

"And the music scene there is much better, I'm sure you'll find a gig in no time!"

"Rosie!" Eddie held her hands. She didn't like the way he was looking at her. Like he was sorry about something. Like he was about to say something to hurt her. "I can't go."

There it was. She thought maybe if she kept talking she could deter him. Convince him. "Why not?"

"I have things I need to do in Hawkins."

"Like what?"

"I need to get my shit together, for one thing."

"So get your shit together." She demanded. "I just said you can come out later. I'll wait"

"I'm not talking like a month or two. These are things that...take time. Months. Maybe years. I don't know" He looked down at her hands. Like he was avoiding something.

"What things?"

"I-I can't explain right now..."

She couldn't help it. She had to ask: "Is there someone else?"

Eddie jumped like she had struck him. "What? No! Never!"

"Then what, Eddie?" Rosie was raising her voice now, no matter how hard she tried to keep it down.

He closed his eyes against it. "Just...personal stuff."

"Tell me! It doesn't have to be all of it, but give me something!"

"My uncle…"

"Will be fine."

"The band."

She paused. The band. "I don't know."

"I can't just bail on them." He looked miserable. She felt worse. Her best shot, and it wasn't good enough. Eddie sniveled openly next to her. Rosie just stared at his guitar. Numb. There was more to it, she could tell. But she was getting far too angry and far too close to saying something she would regret.

"What are we going to do?"

"You're going to go to Boston." He answered. "You're going to smash that degree. All I can hope is you'll want to come back at some stage, and Corroded Coffin will have taken off."

"I can call you." She suggested. "I can write."

"I can try to scrape the money together to get up there. You're always welcome here."

Another long, empty silence. Eddie dried his eyes in his towel. Rosie just sat there, unable to say or do anything. Eventually, he held her, letting their mouths drift together. Comfort only; neither of them wanted more. They were both too raw.

Eventually, he queried: "Did you say 'Masters'?"

"I did."

"Wait…how old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

"And you're finishing your Masters?"

Rosie waved dismissively. "I skipped a few years."

"I got held back from graduating high school." Eddie claimed. "Twice. And you're with me?"

"It's not that impressive."

"Yes it is! I'm dumb as a box of rocks!"

"You are not dumb!"

"I'm not fucking smart!"

"You're sweet."

Eddie guffawed. "A certified genius and you want to stay in Hawkins."

"I'm not certified."

"Well you're gonna be." He shook her. "And I'm not letting you stop til you are."