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Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship

June 5th

"And this is Chris," the manager said, pointing to the shift's cook.

"Hey!" Beck said, holding her hand out to the teen guy by the grill top.

He grinned at her knowingly which was confusing because Beck knew she did not know this kid. One of the things about being obviously different was the way people could recognize you without you knowing why.

"I'll leave him to explain things to you as you need to know them. I'll be back at end of shift and you can give me a ring if anything comes up. Number's in the office!" her manager said and she waved as he left.

"Soooo… you seem to know me…" Beck said to Chris, keeping an eye on the front door and the few teens nursing cheap coffees and shakes.

"Oh yeah," he chuckled. "I saw your rather peak performance with Billy Hargrove."

Beck sighed, instantly annoyed.

"Get all your jokes out now," she huffed. "I'm not listening to them all summer."

"No jokes," Chris said, holding up his hands in defense. "I hate that fucker. Would throw up on him myself."

"I guess I'll believe you," she said with a smile, reassured.

"So what brings you to the graveyard?" he asked.

"Need something I can keep into the school year that's more than weekends," she said before leaving him to go refill the cheap coffees and take the shake glasses before they disappeared or slowly filled with bits of trash.

Chris watched one of the guys at the table lean in to say something coy to her and Beck blushed and laughed him off.

"What'd he say?" Chris asked as she carried the glasses to the back.

"Said I look like Mia Sara," Beck scoffed.

Chris titled his head, overdramatically inspecting her face. "Okay but he's not wrong. You definitely have a resemblance."

Beck rolled her eyes, rinsing the glasses and stacking them for washing later. "Every girl with a square face is suddenly Mia Sara."

"Oh but it's definitely the cheekbones too," Chris said. "I wouldn't complain if I were you. Better than what I get."

"And what's that?"

"Judd fucking Nelson," he said, grinning appreciatvely as she snorted trying to hold back a laugh.

"It's the eyes though," she said. "Like I wouldn't say you look like Bender but Alec definitely."

"Well with that incredible amount of hedging, I'll take it as a compliment," he said, holding the door open for her and following her out to the main counter. "Brat Pack fan?"

"Sir, if you are looking to talk movies, you will be here for a while," Beck said with a smile.

"I have literally all night."

June 9th

"Apparently Chris is the one who started the shop class fire those few weeks before end of school," Beck said to Eddie's back.

He was bent deep into the engine of a convertible Cavalier while she talked to him from the workbench nearby. He had for all the summers he had been in high school worked at Jay's Auto both for the cash and because Wayne had insisted on a summer job from the moment he had moved in.

He stood up and watched Beck's eyes rake over him appreciatively. His white tank was oli streaked and the sleeves of the mechanic's jumpsuit were tied around his waist. But what she always seemed to like most was that he pulled his hair back into a low ponytail or a bun when he was working.

And then she burst his little bubble by continuing to talk about Chris.

"Apparently, he put his sketchbook by the welding he was working on and the whole thing went up."

"This being the same guy who said you look like Mia Sara?"

Beck rolled her eyes. She didn't know why he seemed so fixated on that. When she told him about it for sheer amusement factor, Eddie had seemed annoyed that someone else had said it, insisting he had thought this for a while.

"And the same guy who talked you into push mop sledding?" he pressed on, poking a large bruise on her exposed thigh. "And who's going to IU for psychology?"

Beck could feel herself blushing. She hadn't realized how much she was talking about Chris to Eddie.

"There's not a ton to do at 1:30 in the morning," she explained, as Eddie grabbed a tool from the bench she was on and turned back to the car.

He didn't respond and that irritated her.

"I'm not cheating on you," she snapped, crossing her arms.

"I never said you were," he snapped back without looking over at her. But he did stop working to sigh into the engine. "I'm sorry. Pick up where we left off?"

Beck was grateful for the olive branch and dug the book out of her purse, settling in and starting to read aloud.

"Another thing that got forgotten was the fact that against all probability a sperm whale had suddenly been called into existence several miles above the surface of an alien planet. And since this is not a naturally tenable position for a whale, this poor innocent creature had very little time to come to terms with its identity as a whale before it then had to come to terms with not being a whale any more."

They had begun the tradition of Beck reading Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to him while he worked after she had mentioned Zaphod Beeblebrox and was met with a completely blank stare. How Eddie had not read this already was beyond her and she had dug up her copy immediately.

He loved the sound of her voice as she read and the thoughts of the doomed whale made him laugh aloud as she acted them out. He missed her in some intangible way and it nagged at him. Beck was moving out at the end of the month and he was trying to grieve that privately since he didn't want to pile on. But now he also felt her sharing more and more with someone he didn't know and that wasn't him, but these possessive feelings made him feel like a creep so he tried to bite his tongue.

"Curiously enough," Beck was reading, "the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was Oh no, not again. Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why the bowl of petunias had thought that we would know a lot more about the nature of the universe than we do now."

June 12th

Eddie had decided that since he had never visited Beck at work in the two weeks she had worked at Over Easy he would surprise her in more than one way. The streets were oddly empty and silent and Eddie suddenly understood the appeal of this late night life Beck was now privy to.

He pushed open the door and a bell chimed over his head. He didn't see a single soul, but it was nearly the end of her shift so it wasn't a particular surprise. Laughter echoed from the back and he watched Beck push her way out of the swinging door, another guy close on her heels.

Eddie felt his hands clench as recognition settled on him and he tried to take a calming breath. Chris Bower was in the top five students of what should have been Eddie's graduating class. He was a generally liked guy, and Chris distinguished himself as one of the brightest students in every class Eddie had with him. He remembered that Chris had accepted a pretty significant scholarship and everyone saw him as a "member of Hawkins" who would go on to make the little town look good.

Beck's face lit up when she saw Eddie and she rushed over, pulling him into a kiss. Eddie did not resist the urge to make sure Chris knew she wasn't available, letting his hand slide down over her ass and pulling her close to him.

"Missed you," she teased since they had parted ways only hours earlier. "What do you have?"

"A present," he said, handing her the gift bag he had carried in.

She unwrapped a box set of the Hitchhiker's Guide books and squealed with delight.

"You said you had only read the first," he said, proud he had surprised her.

"Only the first?" Chris teased, clicking his tongue at her. "No Restaurant at the End of the Universe?"

"Not yet," she said, waving the set at him.

"I can't believe you've missed the cow!" he announced, beaming at her.

"No spoilers!" she shrieked, covering her ears dramatically.

Watching the two of them, Eddie felt incredibly small. He didn't worry about Beck or his relationship with her but he didn't see her interact like this with anyone but … well but him. It was hard knowing this clever, successful, actual-high-school-graduate was seeing everything he liked best about her night after night.

"You ok if I take off?" Beck asked Chris, taking Eddie's hand and leading him out the door as Chris answered in the affirmative.

They drove in silence until Beck couldn't take it anymore and gently hit him in the shoulder.

"What's up? You're being weird."

"No I'm not," he grumbled but even he knew it was unconvincing even before she scowled at him. "I just… I trust you. But I don't know this guy. I don't know who he is or what he wants from you and you're alone with him for hours every day."

"Fair," she said. "But you're way more his type than I am. Like he was actively jealous we're together. If I were to tragically die, you know who to hit up next."

Eddie rolled his eyes, mildly regretting telling her about his bisexuality.

"That's morbid as fuck and he's not my type."

"Well you are definitely his," she said. "I didn't say anything because it's not your business but… I don't want you to worry."

He kissed her knuckles as she drove but she knew that wasn't an answer. She cruised by the trailer park as Eddie made a noise of protest.

"What else? You're not getting out of this van until you tell me what's wrong," she pressed.

"Kidnapping? Really?"

"You're a legal adult. Answer me."

Eddie felt his stomach drop. He hadn't even thought this feeling through enough to verbalize it until tonight. Beck watched him pull at his hair before shifting to face her.

"I don't want you to regret being with me."

Beck cut a glance at him that showed complete confusion.

"I mean," he tried to explain, "there are guys like Chris who graduate on time and go in to jobs in… fuck, like middle management shit. And maybe they could take care of you better or give you something fucking normal or stable or…"

He trailed off as she pulled over on the side of the road.

"I don't want that," she said, staring at him in bewilderment. "I want to be with a guy who will follow me to Hollywood or Atlanta so I can work on special effects makeup for horror movies. I want to be with the DM I'm still overwhelmingly into and now because of you I have to be with someone who can appreciate Iron Maiden. I want you and yeah things could be different and maybe that would be good but I only want them if they're with you. I only talk about Chris because there is nothing else to talk about. It's six hours of almost nothing and I want to have something to tell you about. Okay?"

He nodded, finally meeting her eyes.

"You need to tell me when you feel this way. I love you and I don't want you worrying about things like this."

"And you should've told me you were bored," Eddie laughed roughly. " That's a problem I know I can solve."

June 20th

"Bad luck again, Chris," Jeff said consolingly.

Chris combed his hands through his hair. "Beck, you gave me a cursed die!"

"Go buy your own then!" she said, elbowing him in the ribs. "But if you give us all frigid woe I will absolutely kill you before you infect anyone else."

"Is she always this vicious?" Chris asked, leaning over so he could see Eddie further down the counter.

"Sometimes worse," Eddie grinned back. "She gave you a warning this time."

Eddie had decided to solve his insecurity and her boredom the best way he knew how: with D&D. None of the guys worked nights or had early obligations so one shots a few nights a week were perfect. They had taught Chris as well and while he had terrible luck he took to the game quickly.

The owner of Over Easy had concerns but when he saw how the sales jumped, he stopped protesting. Shockingly, bringing in a bunch of teen guys who liked to snack regularly meant more sales.

"Didn't think I'd be trying to save an otter named Spritzel at one in the morning," Chris murmured to Beck as Gareth rolled an AC check.

"And how do you feel about that?" she asked.

"Like we should have done this weeks ago! Plus..." he nodded toward Eddie, "I never say no to a nice view."

Beck laughed as Gareth successfully killed one direwolf with fireball and Jeff slapped Eddie's hand away from his plate of fries.

July 4th

Summer had settled on Hawkins like a hot wet towel and while Beck's garage apartment had a long list of pros - it was new, clean, had cheap rent and was located within walking distance of school and Over Easy - it also felt like a pizza oven.

"I didn't think this would be how I would die," Eddie dramatized into the couch cushion, where he lay facedown.

"No one is forcing you to wear denim jeans and black shirts with a denim vest," she said fanning herself with a magazine from where she lay on the floor.

"That's nonsense. The look is a commitment."

"Stupid committment," she teased, "if you're going to be halfway to heatstroke at all times. Do you even own shorts?"

He pulled a face that was answer enough and she laughed.

"So what do you normally do when it's this hot?" Beck asked. She watched him pop up, excited for the first time since the heatwave had descended.

"Swimming!"

"I don't have a suit," she mumbled, suddenly finding the carpet very interesting.

"Doesn't matter," he said. "It's like eight now? No one else will see us and the less you wear the better you look."

"Don't laugh at me," she sighed and he couldn't figure out why it felt like some huge confession or bad news was coming.

"Of course not. What is it?"

"I can't swim and I'm afraid that if I go into a lake or something I'll drown."

Beck watched him pop up to his feet and pull her in close, pressing her against his sweat-damp band shirt.

"Then get ready for late night swim lessons with your oh so hot master swim instructor."

She rolled her eyes at him as he pulled his shoes on.

"I don't care how many times you say it," she teased. "I'm not calling you master."

It turned out that Eddie was not an incredible swim teacher but he was able to hold her up in the water while she tried freestyle and backstroke. He loved watching her naked body almost reflect the moonlight in the inky black water, long white hair fanning around her like a water nymph.

When she finally got tired of swimming lessons and distracted him by spitting water into his face until he swept a huge amount of water onto her, kicking off a fit of splashing. But Eddie quickly realized she was now struggling to touch bottom so he waded over and pulled her to him. Exhausted, she clung to him as fireworks started going off overhead.

Eddie was close enough to watch the blooms of sparks reflected in her eyes, and again he had no idea how something this good had come to him. Unable to resist, he kissed the corner of her lips. Beck smiled at the unexpected kiss and wrapped her legs around him and pulled him to her for a fiery kiss.

His mind went almost blank as her naked breasts and hard nipples pressed against him and he deepened the kiss with his tongue. Lips bruised from the intense kisses, Beck broke away to work a sharp hickey into the base of his throat, feeling his rumbling groans under her lips and tongue as she did so.

The lack of anything to lean or push against was incredibly frustrating, so Eddie started to wade back to the lakeshore, hands grabbing desperately to her back and shoulders. He tried to set her in the grass gently but tripped and landed hard on his knees, still holding her.

"You okay?" she gasped as he sat on the grass beside her, inspecting the damage.

"Probably," he said, distracted until he felt her push him onto his back. She straddled the tops of his thighs and he knew he was staring stupidly but his wood elf was naked and on top of him with fireworks bursting behind her in the navy sky.

"Let's see if this helps," she murmured before bending over and slipping her mouth around his cock.

The hiss that came out of him made Beck smile and she swirled her tongue around the tip, feeling his legs squirming beneath her. His hands were tearing at the grass to not grab on to her head as she took more of him, opening her throat as he bucked into her. She watched him as he closed his eyes and threw his head back in complete abandonment, moonlight and fireworks glowing off the water still clinging to his pale stomach and chest.

"Oh C-christ," he stammered, "Beck, you're too–" he gasped and clawed at the ground again. "Too much!"

She pulled her mouth off of him and finished him off with her hand, reveling in the way he violently bucked now that he didn't have to worry about hurting her.

Eddie waited a minute for his breath to stop gasping out of him like he had run a mile before rolling over and shoving Beck's legs apart. He looked at her and when she nodded – pupils so blown that they dominated the usual lavender – he mercilessly began to work her clit with his tongue. She cried out almost immediately and he grinned before sucking on the sensitive nub. Her thighs started to press on his ears and he started to grow hard again at being pressed between her legs. Eddie stuck two of his fingers into her vagina and she dissolved into whimpers as he combined thrusts with working her clit.

When she came, it was with such volume and force that Eddie spent himself on the ground a second time. There was nothing hotter to him than hearing her scream of pleasure. Except maybe her moaning his name. It was maybe a tie between those two.

They lay beside one another, panting and watching the fireworks until a new sound joined the night.

"That sounds like a lot of sirens," Beck said, sitting up in alarm. "Was your uncle at the factory or home today?!"

"Shit… I don't… I don't remember."

The two of them dressed quickly and Beck let Eddie drive them out to the trailer park hoping his speed would allow them to outrun any disaster. Beck was the first in the door of the trailer so she saw the look on Wayne's face when he saw her.

"Oh thank god," he breathed, grabbing her in a tight hug. "You're okay." He saw Eddie follow her in and hugged his nephew tightly as well.

"I didn't know where you were," he snapped, clearly more worried than angry.

"What happened? We heard sirens and wanted to make sure you were okay," Beck soothed.

Wayne pointed behind him at the TV and they sat on the edge of the couch to watch the live coverage. Fire trucks were hosing down the burnt husk of the Starcourt Mall while ambulances pulled away with unknown passengers.

"There is no confirmation of exactly what started the fire, but locals say fireworks were being set off inside the mall. There have only been two confirmed deaths so far: Chief Jim Hopper and high school student Billy Hargrove."

"No…" Beck breathed, recognizing the yearbook picture of Billy that was now dominating the screen.

"You know that kid?" Wayne asked.

She shook her head. "I know his sister a little."

"Poor girl…" Wayne said, turning back to the coverage of the fire.

"Maybe," Beck said, so quietly only Eddie heard her. She knew all too well that this poor girl would now be facing the complicated and ugly reality of being free of someone who should have loved you but only caused you pain.

Eddie watched her and pulled her against his chest when her tears started to fall.