Here's chapter 21, hope you enjoy it! Sorry for the long wait, life's been a little busy and unpleasant. That in addition to writer's block kicking my butt, but I promise I haven't forgotten this story. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up before too long since it's already half done.

I do not own Stranger Things!

Eddie

He swung the door open to reveal Steve laying on the couch with his head in Robin's lap and Odette was standing at the stove with a kettle set to boil. Steve had his nose stuck in a heavy leather bound book with Robin peering over his shoulder. When the door had opened, revealing the strange woman and Eddie Steve looked up from his book "Chrissy? What are you doing here?" Steve didn't move from his seat but he quickly shut the book as though he'd been looking at something forbidden.

Chrissy stepped up into the trailer shyly, obviously uncomfortable with the three new sets of eyes set on her. Odette was the first to break the silence that had settled over the trailer. "Come in, I was just making some tea if you'd like some?"

Chrissy stepped in shyly, her hands clasped nervously in front of her, her eyes scanning the room and taking it all in.

"She's just here to hang for a while Detta, no need to mother her" Eddie mutters looking a little more pink than usual. He shuts the door behind him and moves to walk past his sister to his room with an awkward look to Chrissy. "I'll just uh...I'll grab some and we can sit outside for a bit?"

Chrissy nods and stands awkwardly in the middle of the room, the soounds of Eddie shuffling things around his bedroom filling the empty air. She suddenly turns to look at Steve "So...I was sorry to hear about your house...my mom wanted to send over cookies but we didn't know where you and your parents are staying."

Steve grimaces a little "Yeah uh...my parents are still outta town and...and I've been crashing here. Eddie and Odette's uncle is pretty great." Steve's sat up now, the leather book tucked behind a pillow by Robin not so inconspicuously. "But tell your mom thanks for the thought I guess."

"I think that's best...mom wouldn't be great about dropping things off here..." She looks around the trailer "So do you sleep on the couch or something?"

"Normally he sleeps in my bed with me" Odette stops the squealing of the kettle on the stove and pours the hot water into the mugs on the small table behind her. Chrissy bit her lip and began to twirl the golden purity ring on her left ring finger. "But tonight he's riding the couch since Robin's staying over." She smiles slightly at the new girl but there was a soft twinkle of something...off. She added sugar to each of the three mugs that were sitting on the table and removed the triangular teabags after a minute. As she did, Eddie came sprinting out of his room with his hands shoved in his pockets and his mouth set in a thin line. "Let's go" He muttered quietly only for Steve to pipe up, "Everything ok?"

"Everything's all good Harrington, some things just aren't for an audience." Eddie quipped tightly as he swung the door back open. Chrissy turned to follow but then before she stepped out the door after Eddie she turned back to Steve "It's nice seeing you again Steve, I'm glad you're alright." She stepped out with the heels of her white flats thudding softly against the tin of the steps. When the door shut behind her Steve sat up straight "Does Eddie normally bring home cheerleaders?"

Odette shook her head, setting down the tea on the side table and peaking out a side window beside the door. "He went to a party tonight...he doesn't bring people from parties home." She didn't catch sight of the pair as they'd walked outside of the small window's field of vision. She turned back to Steve "How do you know her?"

Steve shrugged and pulled the poorly hidden book out from it's hiding place. Robin rolled her eyes "What were you thinking? We can't give her that stuff" She nods to the three mugs sitting innocently on the side table, the steam curling into a slight sparkling mist just above the rims. Odette scoffed quietly "I wouldn't have given her this!" She shoves the small bag of triangular teabags into Robin's backpack before grabbing her own mug and slamming herself into an armchair.

Steve handed one over to Robin before grabbing his own and taking an experimental sniff. The bitter notes of valerian coming through and sending a burn through his nostrils. "What is this anyway Rob?" he coughs

Robin took a small sip and grimaced "Sugar doesn't help it." Odette groans but nods "It was worth a shot"

"Hello-" Steve started but Robin cut him off "Alright Dingus, it's a soul cleansing tea. It's meant to release any anxieties, bring you to terms with issues if you feel the need, and it makes the world seem a little sweeter."

Steve nodded along to her explanation of the brew, eying it carefully as she did. When she'd finished he smirked slightly "So...it's cathartic weed tea?"

Robin's cheeks flushed a little but she shrugged "I guess? Will that make you drink it Mr. Uptight?" Steve took a sip, the bitter aroma was nothing to the intense bitterness now coating his tongue. The valerian was there but with a heavy note of cardamum and ginger. He choked slightly, pulling a laugh from the two of them. "Oh like you're so used to it Rob." He grunted after a moment, setting the cub sourly onto the side table. Rob took a large gulp with a wince "You're just being a baby Harrington" Odette giggled slightly and took a knock of her own only to gag.

"Ha!" Steve went to take the little mug from her hands but she held fast "I can handle it!" She takes another swig, only making a face this time as it burns its way down her throat. Steve chuckles at the look on her face "You hate it!"

"But if it does me good is it really all that bad?" Robin sets her cup down on the floor with a soft clack and smiles in a self satisfied way. "If you don't want to drink it Steve I could get you an apple juice." She bats her eyelashes innocently but Steve's cheeks color slightly "Peer pressure Buckley?"

She nods with a giddy laugh "Yeah Harrington, you've been a tightass since..." Her face fell slightly as she thought back to the week before but shook her head. "We can't be all doom and gloom forever."

Steve pressed his lips into a line "You two go ahead, someone has to take care of you chuckleheads." He presses a kiss to Odette's temple and gets up, mug in hand to dump it in the sink. Odette catches his hand "Are you ok Stevie?"

He gives her hand a squeeze and nods "Course." He slips his fingers out from her grasp and makes his way to the small kitchenette. Odette's blue eyes followed him with her bottom lip caught between her teeth. Robin nudges her with her foot "He'll be alright" She mouths at her.

Eddie

Smoke billowed out slowly from his mouth, a smirk curling on his lips as Chrissy proceeded to cough her lungs out beside him. "I did tell you to take it slow princess."

"Don't call me that" She chokes after a moment, her eyes were filled with tears from her coughing fit but she determinedly stuck the lit roach back between her lips. The second try wasn't as bad although she still coughed like she'd caught an aggressive cold. Her eyes were beginning to tinge red, hardly noticeable beneath the dim light of the streetlamp and the glowing red of the lit blunts. Chrissy slowly but surely got more used to it, only coughing occasionally.

"Doin ok?" Eddie asked as the silent night air wrapped around them like a cool blanket. Chrissy nodded slowly, she runs her hand up and down the wood of the picnic table they're sitting on. Suddenly she jumped with a sharp gasp leaving her lips. She pulled up her finger to find a large splinter lodged in the pad of her pointer finger.

Eddie screws the dubie between his teeth and pulls her hand into both of his, gingerly he pulls out the splinter, letting blood bubble up from the small hole left there. She whined softly in pain but didn't pull away. Eddie sighed "May wanna clean that, we've got some stuff in the castle there. Gimme a sec-"

He hopped off the table and perched his still smoldering blunt onto the edge and trotted inside, he ignored the curious looks from the three other teens and made his way to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Scowling slightly when he found it had been rearranged. "Detta! Where's the peroxide?!"

"I threw it out! We don't need that stuff, my recipes work better!" Came her slightly affronted tone from the living room where she'd perched her feet on Steve's lap.

Eddie groaned and rolled his eyes "So you want me to casually heal the cheerleader with your witchy shit? She'll probably run to mommy at the church bake sale!"

There's a loud shuffling and Odette appears in the doorway scowling. "What did she do?" Her voice is resigned as she pushes him away from the small cabinet space. she pulls out a few jars as he mutters that she'd gotten a nasty splinter.

Odette takes out a bandage and plops a miniscule droplet of white paste. She holds it out to him "If she asks it's antibiotic ointment. It won't speed up the healing but it'll clean it and dull the pain. Be more careful with your lady friends." She huffs and returns to her friend and boyfriend, hardly hearing the splutters of her older brother, only catching that Chrissy was not his lady friend. He went out and bandaged up her cut, muttering about how Odette was getting on his nerves. "I didn't know you had a sister..."

"Most people don't ask about the big scary freak about his family." He takes another drag and puffs the air out. "I thought you would be...scary I mean" She says, playing with the edge of her bandaid.

Eddie raises a brow "...I thought you would be."

Chrissy giggles slightly "Me?!"

He smirks "Terrifying" He leans back on his hands with his eyes looking up to the night sky "What could be scarier than the epitome of popularity when you're on the edge like me?" His smirk has switched to an ironic smile.

"Am I?" She asks, finally taking a drag without any coughing

"...Depends on if your boyfriend knocks my teeth out tomorrow" He looks to her, thinking she'd laugh but his confidence leaves him as she rolls her eyes with a sour look taking her over. "I'll be lucky if he noticed I'm gone at all." She glares at the stars, as if daring them to challenge her over it.

"And here I thought all the jocks were Prince Charmings" Eddie muttered, eyeing the girl beside him curiously "Thinking of dumping him or something?"

She scoffs lightly "My mother would be more upset than I would be. And he'd have no one to cheat his purity ring with." She flicks ash from the end of her blunt with the practiced hand of a pro, he smirked slightly "So why don't you?"

She takes another drag with a glare at the stars "My mother wouldn't let me hear the end of it. She'd whine over how I'd let go of a good christian boy that treated me better than a heavy girl deserves." She took another drag and finally snuffed the butt of it out, ignoring the look of shock from the man beside her. "She calls you heavy?"

She shrugs "She's always telling me to watch what I eat and...I'm lazy" She flicks away the no longer smoldering blunt "I don't know why I'm telling you all this."

Eddie finishes off his own with a sigh "Who am I going to tell about your problems?...If you tell the freak your secrets, did you really tell them at all?" He flashes her a grin that causes her to giggle. "But seriously...you're a twig. My uncle would probably say you were underfed. He'd try to give you second helpings at everything if he had a say"

She leans back on her hands, eyes still on the stars "You know...this isn't our first time meeting." Eddie says quietly, pocketing his lighter.

"Really?" She rests her cheek on her shoulder "I don't think I remember you" Eddie stayed still for a long moment, then he suddenly collapsed onto his back; clutching his heart. Chrissy gasped at the sudden movement, leaning over to look at him in panic as he spoke "You wound me dear lady!"

"Oh for goodness sakes" She huffs with a giggle "You're ridiculous"

"Talent show...I looked pretty different" He shrugged "Buzzed head, our band was playing" Eddie doesn't look at her but after she nudges his shoulder with her small hand "I...I remember you" Eddie's sat up now shaking his hair back in place with a lopsided grin. "Yeah?"

"Yeah! Your band was pretty good"

"Good enough to headbang to?" Eddie leans on his elbow, letting his legs hang off the edge of the table freely.

"I wouldn't know how" Chrissy admits sheepishly "I'm not allowed to listen to that stuff. My mother thinks it'll turn me against god" She looks at her pink painted nails "But...I liked it" Her voice was almost hushed as she admitted it, Eddie gaining a shit eating grin at the words. "I can't let someone not know how to headbang!"

He suddenly pulled the keys to his van out of his pocket and runs over to it and plunges the keys into the ignition and turns the music up so Ozzy is blaring through the night air.

Chrissy laughs a little awkwardly "What about your neighbors?!"

He gestures around the nearly abandoned trailer park "No neighbors that care m'lady!" She almost cackles as he starts to headbang along to the beat, throwing up a devil's horns gesture as he did. He lasted about a minute solid and came back up from his mass of hair a little red in the face but still grinning maniacally "Your turn princess."

She scrunches her nose playfully "I told you not to call me that"

"Show that you're not one then, Princess" She throws him a mock glare and pulls her scrunchie from her hair and slides it onto her wrist. "Well of course you can't headbang with a ponytail" he laughs, the track switched to the next song as Chrissy hopped off the table. She swayed a little on her feet at first and then gave her first attempt, she nearly fell with a giggle "Yeah maybe right now wasn't such a-" Eddie starts, going forward to help her up but she slaps his hands away with another giggle. "I've got this Munson!"

He holds his hands up in surrender but readies himself to go and catch her should she try face planting into the gravel. She tried again, this time her hair fanning up and down like a fiery wave in front of him, he felt his heart falter in his chest as she fell into a good rhythm for herself. After a few moments she stopped, swaying again and her face very red as she laughed at herself. "That makes me a little dizzy!"

He chuckles, ignoring the pounding of his heart against his ribs. "It takes practice to get to a pro level...but you'll get there." She takes a seat, crossing her legs and leaning against the table again. "This..." She lets out a satisfied puff of air before turning her head loosely to look at him "This is the best I've felt in forever"

Eddie fiddles with his lighter in his pocket "The quakes hit you and your folks hard?"

"Nope. Felt the tremors, my mother's favorite china fell and shattered...but no one hurt, no damage to the house. Nothing." She leaned back tiredly "Can I tell you something awful?"

Eddie freezes "Sure"

"My mother was out the next morning, looking at all the damage. She'd dragged me with her...and she saw-" Chrissy swallowed and looked at him nervously "She saw three or four trailers being towed out of town...and she said that's a start" She put her chin in her left hand, her manicured nails scratching at her skin absentmindedly. "She was disappointed when we drove by again that there were still some here." She looked out over the expanse of empty gravel plots and along the huge crack now surrounded by bright orange traffic cones on either side. "How can my mother be so cruel?" She whispers, she swayed a little where she sat and Eddie nudged her gently with his shoulder.

"My dad's in prison for car theft and carrying drugs...he's been in since I was 8. Our parents being cruel or criminals...doesn't mean we have to be...I mean I sold you bud...so I'm not the best example" He cracks a smile, hoping she'd return it. When she didn't he dropped his own. "I don't think you should beat yourself up over her."

Chrissy sniffed once...twice, then spoke in a voice thick with suppressed emotion. "It get's worse." Eddie stiffened again "My dad works in the city office...somebody bought Forest Hills trailer park from your landlord. Paid double what it was worth to get it." Her voice is halted every so often by a hiccup.

Eddie straightened up a little "You know who?"

She shook her head "Dad said it was private, he didn't even know who." Eddie swallowed "Well...glad we smoked the good shit..." He ran a hand through his hair. Through the thin tin walls of the trailer behind them he could hear Odette, Robin, and Steve talking softly, if he tried he would have sworn he could hear Uncle Wayne snoring away in the other room too. He scanned his dark eyes over the darkened trailer park, a lump forming in his throat. For years he'd wanted little else than to leave Forest Hills. He'd wanted it so bad...now he was terrified. Wayne owned the trailer...so they could drive it somewhere else...He looked back at the trailer, held up on blocks, you could see at the corners there were screws loose or missing, pieces of metal that were rusting away to nothing. His heart dropped to his stomach, if they tried to drag it somewhere it'd fall apart...not that they could afford to move it anyhow.

"Sorry I ruined the...buzz?" She looked at him for confirmation, a somber smile lifted to his lips "That's alcohol sweetheart. And you didn't marsh the mellow...I'm glad for the heads up really...better than a nasty surprise."

Chrissy nodded and pulled her knees up to her chest. "Are you coming back this year?"

Eddie eyed her through his peripheral vision for a moment before nodding "Thought I'd skip out?"

"No...but I heard you say you were thinking about it last year." She cocked her head to the side "Is that a star or a plane?" He chuckled at the change in subject, her eyes were pretty bloodshot by now, and she had an easy smile on her lips. He tried to push the nasty news aside, focusing instead on the conversation with the pretty girl beside him.

Sunday morning

Morning came, the sun streaming in through the small window of Odette's bedroom. She lay on her bed beside Robin who'd promptly passed out upon returning to the room, and on the floor with only a blanket and a teddy bear for his pillow lay Steve. Odette sat up blearily, peering down at her sleeping boyfriend who looked disgruntled even in sleep. She giggled at his thick brows, furrowed in discomfort as he rolled over on the hard floor and shoved his face into the over stuffed stomach of the teddy bear. "Stevie?" She calls out a little groggily. He only grunts and pulls his too small blanket up to his chin, exposing his sock covered feet to the open air. She sighs and throws an extra blanket over him before venturing out into the quiet of the trailer. Her bare feet pad quietly along the cheap linoleum flooring through the kitchen to the living area where she could see her older brother sprawled over the couch, snoring loudly. She snorted and straightened the blanket over him with a roll of her eyes. "Why couldn't you sleep in your own bed dummy?"

She turns to the little kitchenette and puts on the kettle to make some tea. As she's milling around she hears a door open and close quietly, Odette didn't bother looking up, assuming it would be Robin getting up. "One or two sugars?" She calls out quietly

"Is that coffee?" Chrissy's voice startled her, Odette pulled on a shy smile and suddenly regretted not changing out of Steve's t-shirt. "Oh hi, it's tea...just tea. I um...I didn't realize you'd stayed over." Chrissy blushed and pulled at the oversized Van Halen shirt that was most certainly Eddie's. Her red hair stuck up at odd angles and her face was cleared of the make up she'd worn the night before. "...My mother wouldn't approve of me smoking."

Odette nodded "Neither would my grandmother, you're among the disappointments now. We meet on saturdays for poor decisions and pizza." She snorts at her own joke, while Chrissy took a seat awkwardly at the tiny table. "I'll take some tea with no sugar please" She all but whispers, her eyes landing on the sleeping metalhead.

"Don't worry about him." Odette chuckled as she poured the hot water over the tea bags in the mismatching chipped mugs "He could sleep through a hurricane."

Chrissy stifled a giggle and took the mug from Odette gratefully. "So do you go to Hawkins High? I don't think I've seen you there...I didn't even know he had a sibling"

Odette smiles weakly "We had a rough start...he grew up here with Uncle Wayne, and our grandmother took me with her to New York." Odette busied herself with mixing in some sugar and a splash of milk to her tea.

"I'm sorry, may...may I ask where your mother is?" Chrissy looked uncomfortable, fidgeting in her seat and pulling at the string of her tea bag as she spoke.

"Our mother died when I was pretty small. I was only three or four. Eds remembers her better than I do..."

Chrissy nodded soberly "How'd she die?"

Odette shrugged "I don't know...Eds won't talk about it and my grandmother never said a word...I was too young to know...One day she was there, the next we were burying her." She sniffled softly before smiling slightly "Enough sadness. I'm here now and that's all that matters."

Chrissy smiled back and took a sip of her tea with a grimace at it. "Not a fan of tea?" Odette asks with a laugh

"Only when it's sweet...I don't normally drink anything but water." Chrissy pulls the bag out of the mug and tosses it into the nearby trash can. Odette slides a little pot of sugar her way with a sly grin "Nothing wrong with sweet tea now and then. I think it can be pretty soothing...healing even."

Chrissy seemed to battle internally for a while before finally spooning some sugar into her mug and stirring. "So are you here permanently or just for the summer?" She blew on her tea gingerly before taking an experimental sip and smiling.

"I'm doing my senior year here, may be here longer...but at least for the year. Maybe we'll have some courses together."

Chrissy smiled again "Maybe...so I've always wondered..."

"Hmm?" Odette hummed in response, taking a sip from her mug. "Is Steve really a good kisser?" Odette snorts into her tea, instantly regretting it and coughing her lungs out. "He's a lovely kisser. Why?" She cackles as she cleans up her tea sodden face.

Chrissy blushes "Well...he was pretty popular...and he's very nice looking. A girl wonders"

Odette rolls her eyes playfully "He's lovely, but he's all mine now." Chrissy nods hurriedly "Oh I'd never-"

"I know hon...there's that air about you. I can just tell" The two of them dissolve into soft whispered conversation over Steve's many antics as the king of Hawkins high when Wayne exits his bedroom with a yawn when he freezes in the doorway as his eyes catch the newcomer in his trailer. "Ya'll need to quit multiplyin." He grunts, mussing up Odette's already wild hair and turning to make a pot of coffee.

That Afternoon

Chrissy had left the trailer shortly after noon with a promise to talk to Robin and Odette soon, their phone numbers in hand. Robin had been dropped off by Steve at her own place and that left the three teens and Wayne left in the little tin house. Wayne had picked up some extra shifts at the plant, filling in while they searched for replacements for their missing employees. This left the three of them on the couch with a wave only to return five moments later, cursing under his breath. "Fuckin hunk a junk. Eds, I need the van tonight. Truck's on the fritz again." Eddie tossed him the keys and grunted that he'd get to it. Heat slowly began to settle over the trailer park, even the birds decided it was too damned hot to do anything at all.

Odette and Steve snuggled onto the couch contentedly while Eddie was rummaging in his room, looking for a forgotten Zepplin tape that had slipped away from the cluster he kept on his dresser. The tv played softly, the news talking about the latest reports of the quake's toll on Hawkins. The woman on the screen was in the middle of showing some of the missing posters when there was a loud banging on the front door of the trailer. Steve shot up and shot a look down the hall to where Eddie had emerged looking nervous. Steve sighed and reached for the door tentatively, opening it wide to reveal two very familiar faces to him. His father's mustached face crinkled in disgust as he took in what he could see of the living room. "Steven. We thought we'd find you here." He straightened his tie and glowered coldly at the girl standing behind Steve. Steve himself was standing in the doorway, wearing a pair of old sweatpants and a metal t-shirt. His cast was on full display, causing his mother's eyes to flicker with worry if only for an instant.

"Yep. Nowhere else to go in Hawkins...So i'm staying with my girlfriend." He leans on the metal of the doorframe, doing his best to hide the shake in his voice. He'd not seen his father look this irate since he'd gotten all the rejection letters just a few months back. "Steven, get your things and get in the car." He grunted out. Steve chuckled wryly, dipping his head back as he did before returning his gaze back to his father. Their twin eyes in competition as he spoke next. "What things? I left the house with a pair of shoes, the clothes on my back, my wallet, and the car. And I'm lucky I had that much"

His father huffed and his mother's well manicured hand gripped his shoulder. "Take a deep breath dear, Steve honey-" Her voice was dripping in false sweetness, bringing back every moment she'd tried to sweet talk him into falling back into their laps again. "I know you've grown rather attached but we're home now. Your father's close to closing on a lovely three story-"

"Don't talk about her like she's not here." Steve suddenly snapped, his eyes piercing his mother's. "She's right there, and has done more for me in the past two months than you have in the past two years." His mother's face begins to grow pink, her lips drawn into a thin line on her face. Mr. Harrington's stare grows harder still if that were possible. "Steven, get your ass out here and in the car. Your mother will drive yours back to the hotel while we get you something...suitable to wear." His nose crinkles as he rakes his eyes over Steve's frame once more.

"I don't think so." Steve shoots a hopeful look back to Odette who's frozen on the couch behind him. "The car's in my name, I've got my own savings at the bank that I've moved my money to. I'm staying."

"You want to live in a trailer for the rest of your life? Surrounded by trashy criminals-" Steve moves onto the first step, squaring his shoulders as he stands over his parents. He can hear the footsteps of Eddie approaching the door behind him. "Don't say a fucking word about them."

"Steven!" His mother hisses, pulling his father back by the shoulder. "Stop this nonsense-"

"It's not nonsense Mrs. Harrington. He's come over to the dark side." Eddie's snarky voice erupted from behind Steve, he could feel his breath pass over his shoulder as he spoke. Eddie's arm suddenly wound around his shoulders with a cackle that snapped through the air like a firecracker. "So go ahead and fuck off. We've got pentagrams to draw, goats to sacrifice, spirits to commune with!" Steve almost laughed at the shocked looks on his parents faces.

"Steven, you listen to me now boy-"

"I've listened enough." Steve turned, ducking under Eddie's arm and going back into the trailer. "Steven! You do this and it's the end of us. No trust fund. No job. Nothing. You'll be dead to us" Steve froze in the doorway, his eyes pinned to Odette as she gasped at the shouting from outside. He wondered briefly if his mother agreed with that. If she'd suddenly call out to her husband to calm down and that Steve was their son, but when he looked over his shoulder he saw no tears. No whispered pleas to spare her son. Not even flinching at the threat his father had just called out to him. Eddie was glaring out the door but nodded at him, silently handing him the decision, judgement free.

"See you then" Steve collapsed onto the couch with Odette who was now gaping like a fish at him. Eddie grinned wolfishly and waved them off, "We'll put in a good word with the man downstairs! Take care, send me a post card!" Mr. Harrington let out a scoff with such ferocity that his cheeks shook. He pulled the driver's side door to his shining car open and nearly threw himself inside. His door slamming echoed throughout the empty park. His mother much more delicately pulled her door open, turning her sharp gaze to the metal head still waving at her merrily. She straightened her shirt with her perfectly manicured hand and got into the car with her very irate husband." They pulled off just as Eddie took the opportunity to flip the pair of them off and slamming the door to the trailer shut. "Steve!" Odette whispered, smacking his shoulder. "They're your parents-"

"I don't care Detta. They didn't exactly care that I got hurt anyway" He waves his arm that was stuck in the cast before her eyes with a sour expression. "They didn't ask how I was or if I was in pain!"

"I'm sure they were-"

"You don't know them Detta" Steve's voice had turned cold "They only cared that I was here. I was here embarrassing them yet again. I was nothing more than a disappointing son again."

"Steve they're your family! What if this is something you regret?!" She whispers, Steve slips his hand into hers and smiles ruefully with her. "I meant everything I said...and if you dumped me right now...I wouldn't regret it if I tried..." She sniffles and looks around blearily, as if answers to her unasked questions would pop out of the little cracks in the linoleum floor. "Although...if you dumped me right now it'd be an awkward rooming situation while I found a place." She giggled through her tears and snuggled into his side "You're too sweet Stevie."

"And your brother is still in the room! No canoodling when I am in the room!"

Steve chuckled and squeezed her shoulders once more before turning back to the older teen. "You're not pissed about the new roomie?"

Eddie grinned again and pulled open the fridge "Well I'm not nuts about the ungodly number of products cluttering the bathroom...but his highness is welcome in the lowly Munson abode for as long as the crown requires" His dark eyes are glinting with mirth as he attempts not to laugh. Steve merely rolls his eyes and collapses back onto the couch. He turned to Eddie, that sour look fading a little "...And I swear I'm not just gonna be a bum around here. I'll help with the rent and-"

"Don't worry about that just now Harrington. Get a new job first...then we'll talk" Eddie grinned a little at him before turning back to the tv.

The room fell back into comfortable silence amongst the teens, the hum of the fridge and the low volume of the tv breaking it. It would be hours before any of them fell asleep, hours more still as they waited to tell the eldest Munson of his new permanent house mate.