The Boys of Summer - Don Henley
Beck was not the least bit surprised that Eddie was sick through the weekend and into the next week. What did surprise her was how depressing and annoying taking care of him could be because even though he spent most of the time listless or sleeping, when he was awake… If Beck never heard him whine her name like that again, she would die happy.
She started out tired and stressed when school picked up on Monday because her brain had fixated on her next problem to solve now that he was mostly better: she needed to start job hunting. Supporting herself and paying rent was part of her emancipation ruling but Hawkins was not a huge place and every teen in school was also out looking for a summer job. Finals were also rolling toward her and she had two final papers to finish.
Beck rubbed her tired eyes as she walked into school when familiar red braids caught her eye. The asshole senior who had showed up out of nowhere and taken over the basketball team had pulled in with the usual skid of gravel and the red-headed girl was in the passenger seat, looking miserable. Beck caught her eye and gave her a small smile and a wave before disappearing into the school.
Max saw this happened and immediately clocked Billy's reaction. As he slid his aviators down his nose to better stare, she knew his assumption was that Beck had decided she was interested in him. Max's stomach clenched because she could correct him but then she would have to explain how she knew this junior in high school.
"Get out of the damn car or you'll be late," Billy snapped at her, grabbing his things from the backseat.
Max left, hoping that since Billy knew full well - everyone knew since the spray paint incident - that she was with Eddie he would back down. But Billy liked unavailable and while Beck was not "his type" she was unarguably one of a kind which piqued his curiosity as well.
And just like that, Beck's day was inexplicably haunted by this senior she didn't really know and didn't want to know. He ran up against her in the hallways, pretending that it was an accident as his hand would linger on her arm or waist. He rearranged books when his English class was in the library and then watch her re-shelve them from his table. And he somehow learned her name was Rebecca and made it his mission to call her that in greeting as often as he could.
"Why's Billy being so damn weird with you?" Sarah asked as she waited for Beck after the final bell had rung.
"Hell if I know," Beck sighed. "Realized he hasn't fucked an albino yet, probably."
Sarah clicked her tongue in disgust. "Well, hopefully Eddie's back tomorrow and Billy moves on. Ready?"
Beck nodded and shouldered her backpack, exhaustion already weighing on her. The two of them spent that afternoon and evening driving around Hawkins and asking about jobs, which yielded pitiful returns.
Benny's needed someone but it was far enough out that it would require a car that Beck couldn't afford. Radio Shack also needed someone but only in the afternoons so she wouldn't make enough money for it to be worthwhile. Family Video only needed weekend workers, so same problem. The mall was an option but the glaring linoleum already gave her blinding headaches when she was just there to shop so that was already a last resort.
After Sarah dropped her off, Beck stomped into the trailer with a dramatic groan, threw her backpack down, and lay facedown on the living room floor. Eddie watched this from the couch where he had spent his day before getting up and laying down next to her. He poked her in the ribs, tickling her until she rolled on her side to face him.
"That bad?" he asked, running his fingers through her long hair. He knew she found it soothing and he loved doing it.
"I'm going to have to try again tomorrow and I'm just so tired," she said, her eyes starting to sting with tears. "What if I don't find anything?"
"Then we load up the van and we move to Chicago," he said and she knew from his expression that he was completely serious. "Good music scene and jobs on jobs there."
Eddie rolled onto his back and patted his chest so she curled up tight against him, head resting over his heart and his demon tattoo, laying on the floor like that until Eddie felt her head get heavy and heard her breathing slow. A plan occurred to him as he lay there and he helped get her to bed before going to the kitchen and grabbing the phone book.
The next day, Beck's annoyance at being woken with Eddie's usual amount of "pep" was softened by the news he had for her. Eddie was returning to school which would spare her from Billy's attention and he had called local businesses until he found a diner that was hiring. If she was fast they could swing by before school and chat with the manager.
Beck launched herself at him in a tight hug that almost knocked him to the ground before darting off to shower as quickly as she could. They made it with time to spare and as she talked to the manager there was an obvious reason this hadn't been snatched up by the other high schoolers.
The Over Easy Diner needed someone for the late night shift which would let her go to school, do homework and D&D, and still be able to work at least six hours a day. It was an incredibly undesirable work shift that was exactly what she needed. The manager agreed to let her start after school ended, and she had to stop herself from crying in relief.
In the van, Beck tried to work up the energetic reaction that Eddie expected but it was a struggle. She told herself she would feel better by the end of the day, after she had handed in her final papers in English and History. That would leave only her math and science final exams so she could let down a little.
But even after the school day ended, the lethargy was still there. Eddie was trying to negotiate a passing grade in History with his teacher, so Beck had decided to wait outside for him, enjoying the sun on her skin. She had been chilled all day and the close heat of Indiana summer was a relief for once.
She had started toward the van when Billy's car pulled up and cut off her path. She knew people were stopping to watch as he climbed out because in theory he was deemed very desirable. She again saw the red-head junior higher in the passenger seat, so the poor girl had to be some relation of his.
"What are you doing tonight?" Billy asked, leaning with one arm between her and where she wanted to go.
Beck rolled her eyes at him. "Nothing with you," she sighed, lacking the energy to fight.
"Come on now," he murmured. "I saw how you looked at me. No reason to be coy."
Beck's mind spun for when the hell that could have been and came up empty but he was already pressing on.
"You are one of a kind and you deserve more than he," he half spat the word at her, "can give you."
"If you're the option for more, I'm good with less," she quipped, crossing her arms.
"I just don't think you know what you're saying no to yet," he said, grinning wolfishly and moving in so she had to lean against the car to not touch him
"She said no, Billy!" Max yelled at him. It disgusted her to watch him harassing this girl, but immediately she knew trying to intervene had been a mistake.
Billy turned and lunged through the open window to grab Max's shirt, snarling in her face, "I didn't ask you."
"Get the fuck off of her!" Beck shouted.
Her pulse was slamming in her ears and she barely resisted grabbing on to him to get him off Max. They were now drawing a different kind of attention and out of the corner of her eye Beck saw Jeff running.
Billy uncoiled from the car and fixed Beck in what was meant to be a terrifying gaze but she had gotten away from one asshole like this already and was not about to back down.
"I'm not afraid to hit a girl," he said so only the three of them could hear him. Max's eyes were huge and Beck hated seeing her like that. But she was also sweating bullets and just wanted to sit down in the dirt for a second as her head spun.
Billy misread why Beck now looked so unsettled and moved in so they were almost touching noses. Beck's stomach rolled and she looked down, breaking from his gaze.
In response to what seemed to be a girl caving to his intimidation, he grinned, but then she grabbed his shoulder hard. She swayed, trying to stay upright, and he started to realize something was wrong but was only able to take a single step back before Beck threw up violently, hitting him squarely in the chest.
There were shrieks and a few cheers as he jumped back, screaming obscenities. Behind her, Beck heard Eddie running up and felt his familiar hands take her shoulders and pull her hair back as she heaved again onto the ground. She was incredibly grateful Jeff had found him though she was in no state to say that right now.
When her stomach was finally empty, Beck stood back up, blocking Billy's path to the driver's door, and spit on the ground between them. He had pulled the soiled shirt off but that wasn't going to help his jeans or shoes.
"And I'm not afraid of a little bitch who beats on kids," she snarled at him in response to his earlier threat. Then louder she said, "Maybe you'll leave me the fuck alone now, asshole."
Eddie planted a kiss on her sweaty forehead, keeping his eyes on the shorter guy who had been harassing his girlfriend. She had defended herself perfectly, and he didn't want to lessen the impact of her having the final word, even though he deeply wanted to destroy everything Billy had ever even remotely cared about. So instead he scooped up Beck in his arms and carried her away.
Once Beck was sure that she could make it through the ride home, Eddie started up the van and Beck rested her head on the window. She had started to doze off when seemingly out of nowhere Eddie burst into delighted cackles, startling her awake.
"It's not that funny," Beck griped once he had finished wiping away tears of mirth.
"Oh that was perfect and not at all funny," he agreed darkly. "But that jackass deserved everything he got. I wish you could have seen it. Just perfection."
Beck couldn't help but smile. "Well if you hadn't gotten me sick it wouldn't have happened at all."
"Poetic justice indeed," he said, reaching over to squeeze her clammy hand. "And now it's my turn to take care of you."
He watched a sharklike grin spread across her lips before she said, "EeEeEeDddddIiIiIiEeeEeEe!" in a high whining voice.
"I immediately regret my earlier decisions," he snarked and she laughed weakly.
The last, the very final, bell rang and every kid in her class rushed to their feet. It was the last day of school and she again felt that sense of excitement and blind fear as she left the classroom.
The day after tomorrow she started her new job, and soon enough she would move out. The thought made her heart hurt but she was also ready. There was no privacy with three grown people in a trailer and she was getting tired of having no space to herself.
Eddie caught up to her, running in fast and grabbing her around the waist from behind. She laughed as he buried his face in her neck and shoulder, a current of students forming around them.
After he had passed his stomach bug to her, Eddie had proven to be a better nurse than patient and Beck had definitely taken full advantage of that. Thanks to his over attentive care, she had been back at school in time for her finals and her chemistry score would allow her to take more advanced science the following year. There wasn't a lot she needed for special effects makeup other than experience but chemistry was one area she did need to nail down.
The two walked outside and Beck threw her arms in the air, spinning around.
"I want to do something stupid with my one day of freedom," she declared.
"I'm stupid! Do me!" Eddie chirped and she pulled him into a burning kiss.
"You're not stupid and that won't take all day. What else should we do?"
"Remember when we talked about camping?"
Eddie was delighted this plan was greeted with enthusiasm so they headed off to pack and hit up the store for what they would need.
As the sun began to lower on the horizon, Beck watched Eddie start a fire and then set up their shelter by Lake Jordan. She listened with interest as he explained why the C-fly wedge was better than a tent because they would be sheltered but could also enjoy the fire through the night and again felt that sensation from the Punk Flea Market. Here was a guy who refused to participate in anything physical at school setting up a campsite expertly in less than an hour.
As they roasted hot dogs, Eddie asked when she had first noticed him all those months ago and what she had thought. Neither would have guessed that Beck moving to Hawkins would have so totally changed both their lives, but nine months later they couldn't imagine their lives without one another.
They zipped their sleeping bags together and continued to talk, sharing intimate memories as the fire turned into warm coals. They each took longer and longer to finish their sentences until both drifted off.
While this had been a nearly perfect evening, staying asleep in the great outdoors proved much harder for Beck. Eddie had curled up behind her so that she would be closer to the embers but every rustle and crack of a stick woke her. She had never felt so exposed in her life and was amazed that he slept like the dead.
She had finally drifted off when she felt puffs of air on her face. She opened her eyes and stared directly into a huge brown muzzle, so close it blocked her vision. Eddie's hand clamped around her mouth as she screamed; her violently jerking awake had woken him up and he had a better view of things than she did.
"Shhhh!" he soothed as the doe darted away from them. "Look!"
With his free hand he pointed and Beck saw two baby deer waiting by the water. Their graham crackers had been scattered by the water and the babies were munching on them contentedly. Their mother watched Beck and Eddie for a moment before leaping away into the trees, the two babies following quickly.
He released his grip on her mouth and she fell back onto her pillow.
"My heart," she said. "I thought it was going to explode."
"Can try to go back to sleep," he said groggily while he checked his watch. "It's like five in the morning."
"There's no way," she sighed. "Not after a deer tried to eat my head."
Eddie couldn't help but laugh at that and she glowered.
"I'm sorry," he said, trying to straighten up. "You're just usually so… unphased by everything."
She turned away from him, annoyed at herself for flipping out about something so silly, and felt him move close to her. As his legs entwined with hers, Beck felt his morning wood pressing into her ass.
"Come on," he murmured, kissing the tip of her ear. "Let me make it up to you."
"Not sure how you'll fix a near death by deer experience," she said, but he was placing open mouthed kisses on her neck and shoulder which was definitely wearing her down.
"Maybe you need something to do with all that adrenaline," he purred, slipping a hand beneath her sleep shorts. She hissed and ground her ass back into his hips. "And if you let me wear you out, you'll at least be able to go back to sleep."
His stupidly deft fingertips found her clit and she moved his other hand to squeeze her breast under her shirt. Eddie pushed against her, establishing a rhythm between the movements of his fingers and his hips. Beck turned her head as much as she could to meet his lips with sloppy kisses, groaning into his mouth as his fingers bore down.
The limited range of movement in the confines of their sleeping bags intensified every point of contact as they rocked together. Eddie pulled his shirt off before pulling hers off as well, and he had worked off his boxers when he felt Beck roll over to face him and take hold of his erection.
"F-fuck," he gasped as her slick hand started to work his length. After a minute of this, he pulled her hand away, not sure how much more he could stand and wanting more at the same time.
"Do you have a–" Beck started to ask before watching him shove his hand into his pillow case and pull out a goil foil square. "You should have been a boy scout," she teased as she kicked off her sleep shorts. "Always prepared."
"For you, always," he breathed, pulling her so close their bodies touched from forehead to toes.
She guided him inside of her and the rocking resumed, their motions slow and different than usual as they faced one another laying on their sides. Eddie moaned loudly as she sucked at his throat and latched his hands onto her ass, pushing himself deeper and harder.
This angled him upward against her sensitive core and Beck whimpered in response as her breath became labored before turning into a full on cry of pleasure.
When she could see straight again, she planted kisses and nips across his jaw, shoulders, and chest and running her nails down his back until he was panting her name in gasping pleas. He felt her clench around him and he swore loudly as his body was racked with wave upon wave of intense pleasure.
They stopped, gasping and still tightly clinging to one another.
"You were right," Beck finally managed. "Definitely tired now."
He couldn't even respond, trying to gather his thoughts as every cell of his skin prickled. He pulled out and disposed of the condom before climbing back into the sleeping bag.
"Look," he murmured, eyes closing heavily as he spooned her. "Sunrise."
And before Beck nodded off, she watched thin rays of pink and gold start to break over the pine covered horizon, mirrored perfectly in the stillness of the lake.
Its that time of year for my line of work so apologies in advance for more sporadic posting! We're now at the mid point in my master outline so we're definitely continuing!