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Here For A Reason

Chapter 4: Always Nice To Have Visitors

Summary:

Steve smiled at Eddie, who smiled back brightly. Steve’s stomach somersaulted at the sight. He’d gone from wanting to punch Eddie, to holding him while he cried, to now smiling at each other like lunatics. What a fucking day. Steve shook his head and jingled the keys he pulled out of his pocket. ‘Shall we?’

Chapter Text

STEVE

Steve wasn’t sure what weird quirk of the universe led to this coincidence, not registering the drive to the diner, or Dustin chattering animatedly – the happiest Steve had seen him in so long – in the passenger seat. He viewed Dustin and Eddie’s reunion at the diner through a fog, eyes boring into Eddie’s every movement, how his mouth smiled when he talked but turned down otherwise, how his formerly animated hands clenched when not in use. Steve heard Dustin talking to him and played along but he was only half there.

Was this all it took? Should he have cornered Eddie in that trailer a few days ago and forced him to a diner for a burger? Not by the way his jaw tightened, and panic entered his eyes at the idea of going to the movies with Dustin.

‘…Movie starts soon, we got to go,’ Steve heard himself say, pulling Dustin away from Eddie. But the boy wouldn’t leave Eddie’s side. It seemed like only Steve could see that Eddie was a ticking time bomb; he wasn’t sure what would happen if he exploded. And then they were moving out the door, Dustin bouncing on his feet.

It took Steve a second to register Eddie’s promise to call, and fucking hell. If that call didn’t come… for all the jokes Steve made, he prided himself on being a great babysitter, and just generally a great friend, a good guy, a decent fucking human. And he’d be damned if he could see someone about to get hurt and not stop it; especially Dustin, and especially if that hurt was caused by Eddie. Again.

That protective rage caused Steve to turn back, taking those quick steps, that repressed urge to kick Eddie’s ass and wake him, scream at him returned; but he restrained himself to an angry whisper: ‘Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep.’

***

It gnawed at Steve all day, all night, into the next day… he couldn’t concentrate on the movie, at dinner with his parents, at work. After shelving the returns a little too aggressively and barely grunting out a hello to Robin as she started her shift and a quick goodbye as he balled up his vest on the way to the car, he’d decided. He needed to figure out this Eddie situation. Ass-kicking long overdue.

With a determination that had eluded him on his last visit, Steve strode up to Eddie’s window and banged hard three times: ‘Munson! Get your ass out here!’

No response.

Three more, with a little more force: ‘I know you’re in there, Munson! Come out and face me!’

He heard a snort and Eddie’s face popped up, eyeing Steve thru a gap in the boards. ‘Come out and face you? Are you challenging me to a duel, Harrington?’

‘Get your ass out here, Eddie,’ Steve sighed, forcing himself to swallow back a retort and banging on the window one last time in frustration before heading to the front door.

‘Always nice to have visitors,’ Eddie drawled, opening up the door, arms overhead, hanging off the doorframe, ‘but the maid hasn’t come by yet today and the state of this place…’

‘Yeah, I’ve seen it, we’re not talking in there. Outside.’ Steve stepped back and turned away, forcing Eddie to follow, barely catching Eddie’s confusion register in his drawn eyebrows.

The confusion took the wind out of Eddie’s sails, it seemed, as he took a few steps closer to Steve, lighting up a cigarette and leaning on the hood of Steve’s car. ‘You’ve seen, huh? And when was that exactly?’ he asked quietly, not making eye contact, focusing his attention on a spot on the ground in front of him, flicking the end of his cigarette rhythmically.

‘A few days ago,’ Steve started, Eddie’s head snapping up and finally meeting his eyes, ‘I saw… I thought I saw you… somewhere, so I wanted to come check on you. Sue me!’

‘You saw me somewhere…’ Eddie repeated slowly, ‘…and you wanted to check on me.’ The way he ended the sentence was somewhere between a question and a statement.

‘Is that a question, Eddie? Why wouldn’t we want to check on you? The last time we saw you, you were… fucking clutching at your chest, dying in a hospital bed! After we dragged your ass out of the Upside Down and signed our fucking lives away on the condition that you go free? I think we earned the right to check on you!’ Steve was firmly in his anger now, having stomped closer to Eddie during his rant, registering his own heavy breathing and closing his eyes quickly to calm himself.

Eddie didn’t say anything for a moment, looking down ashamedly as Steve composed himself. His voice was so small that Steve almost missed it: ‘We?’

‘What?!’ Steve asked, more forcefully than he intended. Eddie winced and looked back up at him.

‘You said we… was Henderson here? Did he see?’ Eddie asked, gesturing to the trailer with his cigarette.

‘What? Oh. No, no it was just me.’

‘Ah, the royal we,’ Eddie quirked his lip at Steve, taking another drag.

‘What the hell are you talking about, Munson? Royal who?’

Eddie let out a small chuckle. ‘Never mind.’ And softer under his breath, ‘King Steve.’

‘What the fuck are you doing, man? And what’d you do to your hair?’ Steve finally registered the new cut, shorter, shaggy around his face. His hair looked lighter, curlier than it had been when long.

‘Wow, I really can’t win with you guys!’ Eddie took a last pull of his cigarette, tossing the butt on the ground and grinding it out. ‘First, it’s ‘your hair looks like roadkill, Eddie’, now it’s ‘what’d you to do your hair, Eddie’, sheesh.’ Eddie let out a huff that Steve could tell was a little more serious than maybe he meant to show.

‘No, it’s – it’s nice. You look good.’

Eddie glanced up at Steve quickly, a curious look in his eyes, and Steve felt embarrassed all of a sudden, not sure why. He cleared his throat quickly and refocused his energy on why he’s here in the first place.

‘That’s not why I’m here, obviously! The question, Munson, is what – the – fuck – are – you – doing?’ Steve punctuated his question with what he hoped were threatening points of his finger and was a little disappointed when it seemed like guilt overtook Eddie, more than fear of a possible threat from Steve. ‘You know that I drove Dustin out here almost every day after we heard you got out? No answer any of the times we knocked and I… I had to stop bringing him. It was… he was too… just too fucking sad.’

‘So, Henderson was here?’ Eddie asked slowly.

‘I mean, he was out here, we just, like, knocked and tried to look inside. Looked empty and no answer so… we left.’

‘Oh. Yeah, I, um, I just relocated back here recently, you know. New digs weren’t quite up to the Munson standards.’

‘Eddie, if that’s above the Munson standard, the bar is in hell,’ Steve pointed to the trailer, eyes never leaving Eddie’s.

‘Hm,’ Eddie started to grin, ‘what time’s happy hour?’

This fucker.

‘Oh my god!’ Steve grabbed his hair in frustration. ‘Trying to have a real conversation with you is like…trying to get Dustin to admit he’s wrong.’ Steve sighed angrily. ‘Fucking impossible.’ Steve’s shocked eyes met Eddie’s as the other boy finished the sentence with him. Steve’s stomach jolted slightly, the reminder of what he and Eddie shared in Dustin; what they’d shared fighting Vecna.

Eddie smiled softly, eyes filled with a gentleness Steve hadn’t seen before.

‘Man, I love that kid,’ Eddie whispered, the gentleness finding its way to his voice.

Steve sighed. ‘Me, too, man. That’s why… how can you do this to him?’

‘What exactly am I doing, Harrington?’

‘You’re breaking his heart, Eddie,’ Steve didn’t mean for his voice to crack at that. ‘Every day we came to that hospital and got turned away, every time he was yelled out of that shitty half prison, he just… he keeps getting sadder and sadder. Every time. But he puts on a happy face, and he tries. Again, and again. I mean, it’s Dustin. You know what he’s like.’

Eddie nodded shortly, his arms now wrapped tightly around him, his fingers worrying the edge of his t-shirt, eyes back on the ground.

‘And then I see you, fucking sauntering out of a gas station, all ‘la di da’, not a care in the world! When you’d been out for weeks?’ Steve’s head started shaking, side to side, his disbelief and disgust leaking out with each movement. ‘And I could see it in your eyes yesterday, that fake promise to call him. You don’t want to call him, do you, Eddie? So, what do you want, huh? You want us to leave you to rot in this shithole? Just forget about you? After we dragged your practically dead ass back here after killing a fucking magical mind monster? Is that what we should be doing, Eddie?’

Eddie had gone still and silent, barely breathing. Steve realized he could notice this because he had gotten very close to Eddie during his rant, now looming over him, Eddie hunched over, leaning back against the car hood. Steve’s breath was coming fast, and his nerves were on edge, so it took him another moment to notice the tears gathering in the corners of Eddie’s eyes. Eddie sniffed slightly, so gently that if Steve had been standing even a foot away, he wouldn’t have heard it.

Jesus. He really was an asshole.

‘Hey, man, I didn’t mean –’

‘You’re right.’ Eddie whispered it almost into Steve’s chest, his head still low, Steve still close. ‘I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.’

And with that, a few tears escaped. Eddie looked up at Steve, his big brown eyes glistening, tears streaking slowly down his face. His nose had turned slightly red, lips quivering, short brown curls framing his face, which crumpled completely only a moment later. Eddie snapped his head back down so Steve could no longer see.

The sight was so jarring from everything Steve knew about Eddie (thought he knew about Eddie), that all his anger disappeared almost instantly. Eddie, who’d attacked Steve that first time, in the boathouse, when he’d felt threatened; who’d decided to walk into the Upside Down again after a first narrow escape; who’d gotten Dustin through the portal to safety and then turned around to fight, knowing how hopeless it would have been. Eddie, who’d fought for his life in that hospital, and again in that prison, and again in that courtroom.

‘Oh, Eddie,’ Steve whispered, wrapping his arm around Eddie’s back and pulling him into his chest; it was barely a change from their existing position but that small movement broke whatever dam Eddie had had up in him. Steve could feel Eddie’s tears soaking through his shirt, his sobs still silent, knowable only by the small tremor in his shoulders. Steve rubbed a hand up and down Eddie’s back, feeling his ribs and spine with each motion.

Steve couldn’t tell if it had been one minute or five when he felt Eddie pull away, his hands that had come up to rest gently on Steve’s middle now pushing him away.

‘Fuck, man,’ Eddie breathed out, lifting his head to the sky and wiping under his eyes. No rings, Steve noticed. No long hair. No smirk. Was this even Eddie Munson? ‘This keeps happening.’

‘What?’

‘This,’ Eddie gestured to his face, fingers waggling around his eyes. ‘Bawling like a baby. I don’t know what’s wrong with me,’ he grimaced.

‘Nothing, Eddie, nothing’s wrong with you. I’m an asshole, coming here, yelling at you. I’m sorry, man.’

‘No, Harrington. This is 100% is not your fault. I’m… fuck, I am sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I couldn’t think. About Dustin. Or you. Or like, anything else, really.’

‘I believe it.’

‘After –,’ Eddie’s voice broke, he took a breath and tried again. ‘I thought I was dead.’ Eddie glanced up, catching Steve’s eye.

‘So did we.’

‘Yeah, I remember. You said that to me, back in the hospital.’

‘Did I?’

‘Yeah. Not like it was a surprise, right? Eddie the Delusional, thinking he would defeat a hoard of vicious bat monsters and save the day. Shocking, I didn’t have the upper hand there.’

Steve huffed out a reluctant laugh, leaning back against the car next to Eddie. ‘If you were delusional, then we all were. We marched through a portal to defeat, like, a psychic, unkillable monster with a sawed-off shotgun and a Molotov cocktail.’

Eddie laughed, ‘The balls on us.’

‘Seriously.’

‘But you did it, though.’

Yeah.

‘Yeah, we did.’

They both fell silent, Steve assuming Eddie was thinking back to that day, those moments, just like he was.

‘It felt like a nightmare in there,’ Eddie’s voice was small. ‘A nightmare where I died. It felt so real. Hah, probably because it was real,’ Eddie looked up to the sky again, seeming to blink back more tears. ‘I was ready, you know.’ He looked over at Steve, certainty in his eyes. ‘I made the choice. The one we agreed to. You know the one.’

‘I know.’

It had gone unsaid, both because Steve knew it didn’t need to be and because he knew he wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if he’d said it out loud, if he’d asked Eddie the impossible: that if it came down to it, Eddie would save Dustin. Whatever it took.

And it had come down to it.

And it had taken everything.  

‘I don’t blame you, if that’s what you’re thinking,’ Eddie said, nudging Steve’s shoulder with his own. ‘I would have done that, with or without you.’

‘I know.’

‘But to do that and then wake up… here.’ An angry laugh. ‘Here, in Hawkins, Indiana. Wanted, for three murders.’ Eddie’s leg started to twitch, bouncing up and down, vibrating into Steve, hand tapping in an off-beat rhythm on this thigh. ‘I went from one nightmare to another. At least, in that other one, that was my choice,’ a proud glance over at Steve. Eddie started shaking his head, the pride fading. ‘Here… I don’t know how to be here. Not anymore.’

What was he saying? ‘What are you saying?’ Steve asked.

‘I’m not suicidal, Harrington,’ a wry smile, ‘you don’t have to look so freaked. I’m saying, I’m figuring it out. And not doing so hot at it, if your angry tirade is anything to go by.’

‘I didn’t –’

‘You did,’ Eddie reached over and patted Steve’s knee, his own still bouncing. ‘It’s cool. You’re a really good friend. To Dustin.’ He scoffed, smiling, ‘Steve Harrington: cool guy, good friend, all around American hero. Who’d have thunk?’

‘Well, I mean… hopefully, my friends. And now you.’

‘And now, me.’ Eddie’s smiling again, some of the brightness returned to his eyes. ‘But you’ve got to help me out here, Harrington.’

Steve returned the smile. ‘How can I help you, Eddie?’

Eddie’s smile cracked a bit. ‘You’ve got to help me… be me. The old me.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘I saw it yesterday, with Dustin. God, that kid has got a ton of energy,’ (don’t I know it, Steve thought), ‘but the way he was looking at me? Like I’m supposed to be happy Eddie Munson, who eats burgers and goes to movies, and calls him to chat on the phone? I can’t, man. I just… I can’t.’

‘Yeah, that… I, um, I understand.’

‘But you said it yourself, I’m breaking his heart and I can’t…’ Eddie paused, fingers now tapping a rhythm that Steve recognized by couldn’t place. ‘I remember his face, you know? He was holding me, and I thought I was gone, and he looked so fucking sad. I can’t keep doing that to him. You’re right. But I don’t know how to not do that, not right now.’ Eddie sounded genuinely frustrated, that he hadn’t figured out how to fix it. A soft sigh. ‘How am I supposed to be around him, when I can barely be around myself?’

Steve stared at Eddie as he was talking, Eddie’s knee still going, thumbs running over his knuckles, his tongue coming out to run over his upper lip, his eyes unfocused in front of him. He tried putting himself into Eddie’s shoes; and just thinking that stopped him cold. He’d been so selfish. They’d all been so selfish. Wondering where Eddie was, why they couldn’t find him. He’d been here this whole time: trying to put himself back together again. Steve’s heart twisted at the thought.

Eddie didn’t need a kick in the ass. He didn’t need a celebration and to be called a hero. He needed some space. Time and space, to find a way back to himself.

Steve reached out a hand, reassuringly squeezing Eddie’s shoulder.

‘Yeah, man. Whatever you need…’

Eddie’s eyes lit up; his brows creased; Steve could feel the gratitude radiating off him. Unfortunately, Steve knew he was about to pop that balloon.

‘… but you’ve got to talk to Dustin first.’

The light in Eddie didn’t dim as much as Steve had thought. Instead, Eddie nodded, a gentle smile on his face.

‘I know.’

‘If only so he can tease you about your haircut.’

‘Hey, you said I looked good!’ Eddie smirked at Steve.

‘I don’t think I said that,’ Steve replied, feeling an unwanted blush starting to spread. He shook his head to break it before it formed.

‘Oh, you did, Harrington,’ Eddie pushed himself off the car, turning around to face Steve. ‘I’ll never forget it. Have it up here,’ he tapped his forehead, ‘locked up tight forever.’ His short curls bounced around at the motion, framing his eyes.

‘May it keep you warm on a lonely night. Come on, let’s go.’

‘Go where?’

‘Dustin’s. It’s…’ Steve glanced at his watch, ‘Yeah, we might be able to catch him.’

‘For what?’

‘We’re going to go for a nice family dinner,’ Steve smiled. ‘Get some meat on your bones.’

‘Oh, you’d like that?’ Eddie asked with a twinkle.

‘Keep it in your pants, Munson, I’m trying to keep you alive. As usual.’

Eddie barked a quick laugh, then an unnamed emotion entered to his face, drawing his brows together. ‘Thanks for that, by the way. Don’t know if I said.’

‘Don’t mention it.’ Steve smiled at Eddie, who smiled back brightly. Steve’s stomach somersaulted at the sight. He’d gone from wanting to punch Eddie, to holding him while he cried, to now smiling at each other like lunatics. What a fucking day. Steve shook his head and jingled the keys he pulled out of his pocket. ‘Shall we?’

***

They caught Dustin just in time. But Eddie wasn’t able to escape Mrs. Henderson as quickly.

‘Oh, you poor boy,’ she cooed, pinching Eddie’s cheeks. ‘Look what they did to you! Oh, those dark circles!’

‘Mom!’ Dustin hissed. ‘Be cool.’

‘I knew you weren’t guilty,’ she continued, hands now massaging the red spots on Eddie’s cheeks from her pinch. (‘Did you?’ Steve heard Dustin sass under his breath). ‘My Dusty is such a good judge of character,’ (Steve thought back to Dart and held back a snort), ‘I knew, if he believed in you, so should I.’

‘Thanks, Mrs. Henderson,’ Eddie managed to grind out through clenched teeth, seemingly in pain whether from the conversation or her continued ministrations. ‘That means a lot.’

‘I have an extra frozen hot dish in the freezer, let me give it to you!’ She started towards the kitchen, but Eddie, Dustin, and Steve all moved quickly to stop her.

‘Oh, I couldn’t –,’ ‘Mom, geez!’, ‘There’s no need, Mrs. Henderson,’ Steve somehow broke through the chaos. ‘We’re taking him out for a nice burger and fries, isn’t that right, Eddie?’

‘Oh, yes, yeah, I’ve got a huge craving.’ Eddie mimed rubbing his stomach like he was playing a game of charades.

‘Huge craving,’ Dustin echoed.

‘But it’s already made, it’ll take one second –,’ she continued, Steve realizing where Dustin got his determination from.

‘There’s really no need, Mrs. Henderson,’ Eddie repeated Steve’s plea. ‘My new place doesn’t have an oven, so I really wouldn’t have anywhere to cook it.’

Steve’s brow quirked at this. New place?

‘Oh, well, that’s just…’ Mrs. Henderson finally paused. ‘Oh, well, that just means you have to come over for dinner some night. Or we can have it tonight? I can heat up the oven!’

Again, all three boys voiced their protests and lurched forward to stop her.

A few minutes later, and they’d finally extricated themselves, heading the same diner that had hosted their reunion the day before, Eddie silently and determinedly leading them back to the same large corner booth that he’d sat in with Hopper and his family.

‘You’re a doll,’ Eddie winked at the waitress as she passed around menus. He still hadn’t really made eye contact with either Steve or Dustin since they’d sat down, a nervous energy radiating off him, his eyes roaming the menu. Steve caught a glance from Dustin, their quirked eyebrows matching.

‘So, um, what’ll you have, Eddie?’ Dustin broke the silence.

‘Oh, um…’ Eddie started, Steve clocked him quickly feeling at his side, a reluctant look on his face. Steve jumped in quickly, guessing what the problem was: ‘My treat, remember?’

‘Oh, shit, Harrington, you don’t have to do that,’ Eddie sent him a sharp, apologetic look.

‘Yeah, Steve, I thought you weren’t made of money?’ Dustin teased, echoing his words from yesterday.

‘Well, this is a special occasion, right boys?’ Steve smiled at them. ‘Eddie’s welcome home dinner! He can’t pay at his own welcome home dinner!’ Maybe he was trying too hard? Eddie seemed to be wrestling with himself, then caught sight of something the waitress was carrying to another table, his eyes going wide.

‘I guess you’re right, Harrington,’ Eddie said with a crooked grin. ‘In that case… waitress!’ Eddie motioned the waitress over: ‘I’ll start with the waffles, extra butter, extra syrup. Can I get that with a side of bacon? Then I’ll do the double cheeseburger, double order of fries, chocolate shake. Do you guys have apple pie? A slice of whatever pie you’ve got, ice cream on the side. Oh, and maybe…. Yeah, let’s also do an order of onion rings. For the table.’ Eddie winked up at her.

‘Hah!’ Dustin snorted at Eddie’s order, looking at the waitress. ‘I’ll have what he’s having.’

‘No, you won’t!’ Steve jumped in. ‘This one and I’ll just have two cheeseburgers, fries, cokes. Thanks so much,’ Steve smiled apologetically at the waitress as she finished scribbling out their order. ‘It’s not your welcome home dinner,’ Steve mumbled at Dustin, who only flashed him a big smile and a wink.

Dustin quickly focused his attention back on Eddie, seemingly not knowing where to start. ‘It’s so great to see you, Eddie.’

‘Yeah, Henderson,’ Eddie smiled gently, ‘you, too.’

‘What have you been up to? How are you feeling? How was your doctor’s appointment?’

‘Ah, you know, just trying to take it easy this summer, you know how it is. Save the world, I’ve earned a break, right?’

‘Yeah, yeah, of course, right,’ Dustin beamed, nodding at Eddie, Steve wasn’t sure if Dustin was even registering what Eddie was saying, he seemed so thrilled to just be in Eddie’s presence. ‘It’s so great to see you, Eddie.’

‘You said that already, Henderson,’ Steve added, but Dustin didn’t register it.

‘You wanna join our new campaign? Gareth and Jeff joined us for our last one, but it wasn’t the same without you. Will’s the DM, but we could definitely use you, whenever you want to join, just say the word. It’s a cool campaign, nothing as cool as the curse of Vecna but –,’ Dustin’s flow halted with a sharp swallow. ‘Sorry, Eddie, I didn’t mean –’

‘No worries, Henderson,’ Eddie smiled reassuringly, ‘it’s not a swear word, right?’

Dustin glanced worriedly at Steve, before looking back to Eddie. ‘Yeah, but I thought maybe… you didn’t want the reminder?’

Eddie huffed a small laugh. ‘Oh, Henderson. I’m a walking reminder, so don’t worry that gorgeous big brain about that, okay? Besides, we actually kicked Vecna’s ass so, there goes his curse, right?’ Eddie smiled big, trying to reassure Dustin.

‘Right!’ Dustin’s smile slowly returned. ‘Crit hit from Steve, with an assist from Eddie the Banished.’

‘Why don’t I get a cool nickname?’ Steve interjected. They both stared at him. He continued, trying to explain himself, not knowing if they got what he was asking (they did): ‘Like Eddie the Banished. I’m just Steve? I could be Steve the… you know, something cool.’

‘Steve the Something sounds about right,’ Dustin said, as Eddie snorted.

‘We’ll keep an eye out for a good one, okay Harrington?’ Eddie puffed out at the end of his laugh, moving aside to let the waitress start filling up their table with Eddie’s many plates. He immediately descended, drowning his waffles (and bacon) with syrup (gross, Steve thought).

‘So, you want to join the campaign?’ Dustin asked Eddie. ‘We’re going to meet at Mike’s on Saturday!’

Steve noticed Eddie’s slight pause in his pour, a trickle of syrup making its way down his wrist at the stutter in his movements. Eddie leaned forward, licking the syrup of his wrist, eyes darting up to meet Steve’s. Steve wasn’t sure to make of it, curious eyes looking at Eddie’s tongue on his wrist, before noting the helpless look in the other boy’s eyes. Oh, right. Help. To be his old self. Steve’s distraction and confusion were taking a little too long, he couldn’t form a good excuse to get Eddie out of it. He was about to jump in with a question about Nancy (taking one for the team), when Eddie apparently tired of Steve’s confusion and jumped in himself.

‘I’d really love to, Henderson, but I’ve got big plans this week. Catching up on some homework.’ Eddie didn’t seem to anticipate the dropped jaws this statement would cause in Dustin and Steve, because he returned his attentions to his plates, starting to pour ketchup on his fries.

‘Eddie, are you saying you’d rather do homework than play DnD?’ Steve asked slowly. Even Steve would have come up with a better bullshit excuse than that, if Eddie had just given him another few seconds.

Eddie looked back up at Steve’s question, stuffing an onion ring in his mouth before answering. ‘I’m not doing this for fun, Harrington. This is the definitive homework assignment, the pinnacle at the top of the mountain that is Eddie Munson’s scholastic journey, the homework of all homeworks,’ Eddie paused for dramatic effect. ‘Graduation homework.’

Steve saw Dustin’s eyebrow quirk and could only respond: ‘What the fuck is graduation homework?’

‘That, my dear friend Steve, is homework that, if completed to the Roane County School District and Ms. O’Donnell’s satisfaction will result in the ultimate W, as I’ll be crowned Eddie Munson, high school graduate, class of 1986,’ he finished with a flourish, taking a big bite of his burger.

‘Holy shit, Eddie, that’s awesome!’ Dustin exclaimed.

‘Hell yeah, man,’ Steve agreed, shaking his head slightly. ‘Congrats.’

‘Like I told you, Henderson. 86 is going to be my year,’ Eddie winked. ‘No matter what,’ he continued, a little more softly. ‘I survived death, prison, and soon, my biggest challenge: geometry.’

‘Geometry?’ Dustin scoffed, coughing slightly as he swallowed his mouthful of fries. ‘That’s what you need to pass? Geometry?’

‘You don’t have to say it like that,’ Eddie mumbled into a forkful of waffle.

Dustin couldn’t let it go: ‘So you were fine with algebra and all that fast math when we play but… geometry?’

‘My brain doesn’t like it, okay! I’ve tried,’ Eddie looked annoyed, with himself more than with Dustin. ‘It’s been my own personal curse. Now, I have to finish some assignments and take the finals I missed, but if I pass – then I’m good. At least… at least, a bit closer to good.’

Dustin was regarding Eddie seriously, nodding in thought. ‘Cool. I’ll tutor you.’

‘What?’ Eddie’s voice pitched up as he turned to Dustin, shocked.

‘You need to pass geometry, I can tutor you,’ Dustin shrugged.

‘I’m not sure how I feel having a freshman tutor me.’

‘Rising sophomore, if you please,’ Dustin pointed to himself. ‘And frankly, I’m not sure how I feel having to tutor a 20-year-old in a subject I tested out of, but here we are.’

Steve giggled as Eddie replied quietly: ‘Touché.’

‘When’s the test?’ Dustin continued.

‘Next week. Friday?’

‘Well, you should figure that out but great. We’ll study, it’s a date. A study date!’ Dustin smiled, a hint of reassuring condescension in his tone. ‘You’ll pass geometry, and your other tests, and then – we campaign!’

Like a dog with a bone, Steve thought. ‘Hey, maybe cool it with the board game stuff for a while, Dustin? Maybe Eddie’s got other stuff to do?’

‘It’s not a board game, you know that, Steve. And what could be more important?’

‘I got a job,’ Eddie chimed in.

‘Really?’ both Dustin and Steve asked, surprised.

‘Yeah, I’m helping Hopper fix up this busted old cabin he has.’

‘The Mind Flayer cabin?’ Dustin asked.

‘If that’s what you were calling whatever ripped off the roof, then yes. Hopper’s… helping me out,’ he was talking slowly, eyes focused on his food. Steve wasn’t sure why he would have been ashamed of this particular revelation. ‘He’s going to let me crash there while I fix it up.’

‘Where are you staying now?’

Dustin’s innocent, natural question caused Eddie’s eyes to bulge. Steve remembered how nervous he’d been of Dustin finding out he was squatting in his older trailer. And when Steve remembered how it had looked when he’d been inside, the sticky heat, whatever that smell was, rustles from the unnamed vermin crawling around… he shuddered at the memory. But despite Eddie’s reluctance, Steve thought Dustin would have understood. Even if it would have been a spotlight on just how bad things had been for Eddie; and maybe that would have broken Dustin’s heart a little bit more.

‘Couch surfing, isn’t that what you said, Eddie?’ Steve jumped in, hoping to help.

‘Yup, couch surfing, just making the rounds,’ Eddie picked up.

‘Oh, cool,’ Dustin nodded. ‘Whose couch?’

Again, Eddie looked like he was flailing, like it was impossible to come up with a single credible name.

‘Mine,’ Steve heard himself say, both Dustin and Eddie’s eyes landing on him in shock. ‘He’s going to stay with me for a while. Right, Munson?’

It took Eddie a minute to catch up with Steve’s offer.

‘Yup, right. I’m crashing with Harrington for a few days.’

‘That’s so awesome!’ Dustin started bouncing up and down in his seat. ‘Can I sleepover, too?’

Eddie’s panicked eyes met Steve’s, who just reached over and slapped Dustin on the back of the head. ‘You need to chill out, I’m serious. Finish your burger.’

And even though Dustin didn’t look like he wanted to, he returned his attention to his burger, continuing to bounce away, smiling up at Eddie and Steve. Steve couldn’t help but smile and shake his head in affection, returning to his own burger, missing the grateful glance Eddie threw his way.