I'm a long-time fic writer. I don’t do y/,n but I kept my Henderson!OFC as nameless as I could through the whole thing. Also, the whole semester organization in the USA is absolutely ridiculous. I hate it. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Why is the 2nd semester the first semester of the year? It makes no goddamn sense. I hate you all. Anyway… it is a bit of s4 au bc, y'know, the mc. It skips certain scenes bc I'm not gonna rewrite everything just to have this girl there, you can fill in the gaps, it's not that important.
Eddie is in thin of course, there's a bit of jealousy. Past relationship with Steve. Mostly talks with Steve and Eddie. Honestly, I think this shit barely passes the Bechdel test, I'm so sorry feminism. Also, now Dustin has a bipolar aunt who is institutionalized because I wanted this girl to babysit with Steve, sue me.
The lights at the grocery store were bright, the aisle smelled of chlorine, and the handle of the shopping cart felt kinda sticky on her palms as she was looking at the canned goods. Lisa heard squeaky footsteps against the floor from her right as Steve moved towards her. He stopped at her side and looked at the shelves she was looking at. She tried to pay no mind to it, but after a few seconds, she could feel him staring at her. Finally, he drew a breath and spoke, “Hey, so... what are you doing here anyway?”
“Looking for food that’s ready to eat?” she said, "Y'know, other than junk food and twinkies" She tried not to look at him; she always tried but failed, stealing a glance at his big brown eyes that reminded her why she tried not to look at him.
He smiled for a second, and she looked away instantly at the sight of his lips, trying to focus “No, I mean Hawkins. I thought I wasn’t gonna see you until summer break” he said, still looking at her “Dustin said you were staying at college for spring. Did you changed your mind and happened to choose the worst weekend in the year or-?” he said, proving for some insight. She pursed her lips and grabbed a canned soup. She didn’t even look at which one; she just grabbed two and started to walk away. “Hey!” Steve called up to her, catching up and walking beside her, “What happened?”
She stopped, not because she wanted to but because Steve’s hand was on her wrist. Not pulling, just gently holding it, just to get her attention. His skin on hers always made her body restart, like a weird factory setting, a small bolt of energy at the touch that made her circuits almost fry. He let go of her; she would’ve felt relieved if she hadn’t been so sad by the lack of his touch. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking in a breath before looking at him and saying, “I- uhm- I- dropped out,” he frowned, a confused look in his eyes as they darted between hers, “I came back a few weeks ago, Steve,”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”
She bit her lip, looking away. “I don't know- I didn’t want anyone to know. I asked Dustin not to tell,” there was a silence he wasn’t breaking, unlike what he usually did. He was just staring, waiting for her to say something, and she did after a short, heavy sigh, “I tried, you know? The first semester, after the whole Starcourt thing. I went to parties, I studied, made friends, like it was all done, and I thought it was. But then, I came back that winter and saw this place again. And it all came crashing down on me,” She looked back to him, eyes filled with dread. His stare softened at the sight; his worrisome look couldn’t be hidden. “Steve, I found you and Robin by pure chance that day. Dustin didn’t tell me, neither did you.”
Steve shook his head, brow furrowing with regret and guilt, “I know, I’m sorry, “ he said before looking at her. She looked away, “We tried when we were underground,”
“You could’ve tried me sooner, I was here. And- and he’s my brother, Steve,” she said, looking at him as she uttered his name. “I could’ve helped.”
“I know”
“And then there was that flesh monster, and people had died, and-” she shook her head, “Dustin could’ve died, Steve, you all could’ve, down in that fucking Russian base, or…” She let out a sigh, “You guys could’ve died, and I was on a date with goddanm Joey Gallagher, who is just terrible by the way.” Steve accidentally let a small breathy chuckle at her comment, and she smiled slightly with him. After a beat, she started walking again, slowly, wandering. He followed at her pace, “When I came back in winter, I just realized, what I was doing didn’t make any sense, y’know?” he hummed in concordance. She stopped and looked at him, “The only thing I could think of was this. What if it wasn’t over? What if it started again and I’m not there?”
“Afraid of missing out?”
She laughed a little before shooting him a playful but accusing glare, “Steve.”
He looked at the floor for a moment, a small lightly mischievous glance on his lips “I know, I’m sorry,” he said before his demeanor turned more serious, looking back at the shelves almost as if he couldn’t look her in the eye “But- I get it. I still look twice at any shadow, and my hands shake at any light flickering” he shared in agreement with her sentiment. His right hand started to hover the canned goods on the shelves as he spoke, she wasn’t sure if he was really looking at what he was absentmindedly grabbing, “And when I’m closing the video store sometimes I look at the shelves and the stacks of papers and- I don’t get it. When i do some grocery shopping and I grab the canned soup” he said, raising and looking at the can on his hand, as an example, but smiling with a certain irony as he nothed he had really just grawbbed soup, he softly let it fall into the cart. They slowly started walking, for a moment in silence and in tandem. He looked at her, “You know, when you go on a date, and they only care about what movie you saw lately, or what you think about the new album by whoever, and it feels- I don’t know.” he shrugged, out of words.
“Fake? Useless?”
Steve nodded, “Yeah, a bit.”
“That was what I felt, too. I just kept trying to study, trying to remember the business jargon and follow along with the stupid drama at the dorms. But I kept thinking of what’s out there, out here. Why would anything else matter in the face of what we saw, what we know?”
Steve nodded, “I know, but you can’t stop your life in its tracks because you’re afraid of this,”
“I guess. But I was right to do so, wasn’t I?”
He stopped, and so did she. Looking at him, a bit concerned. Steve got nearer and looked at her with a sincere feeling behind those big brown eyes that traced her face a bit too slowly, as they had done times before; she remembered it was another way Steve could reboot her system. He licked his lips before opening his mouth. He looked at her straight in the eye.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he gave a quick sigh and looked at her lips in a stolen glance before looking back into her eyes, “But I hope you go back,” he said, shaking his head softly, “you’re too good for this town.”
She stared for a moment, unsure of what to say, head slightly tilted up to look at him, as she had to do when he was so close, body only about a dozen inches away from her. She felt the urge to do what they had done so many times before, in a summer that felt like it had taken place ages ago. Her breath hitched for a second, and he seemed to notice. His stare slowly transformed from a sincere and intimate look into an open and hungrier demeanor, one she had seen many times before. His right hand slowly raised from his side to inch closer to her waist, but it only reached to hover over ir it before they got interrupted by Robin. "Let's go, lovebirds, we need the cart!" In the snap of a moment, they pulled away. Lisa quickly walked away with the cart. "They're on the third aisle," Robin told her as she walked past her. Steve put his hands on his hips and stared at Robin with annoyance. She raised her hands, feigning obliviousness. "What?"
After a grocery check out and a drive, they were all standing in the entrance of Reffer Rick's shack. Eddie tried to shake off the fright his new gang of allies had given him before she saw Lisa; he smiled. “Still stuck in Hawkins, Munson?” she said.
“More than ever,” he joked back, big showman smile on his face, “How ‘bout you, Henderson? Couldn’t stay away from this hell-hole?”
She laughed, “You bet.” Eddie smiled a little, but it quickly faded as he looked away, remembering the reality of his situation. He walked to grab the bag of chips Dustin was giving him.
Softly, Steve got closer to her. “You know him?” he asked her without thinking twice, taken hold by some impulse and sensation he didn't dare name. She looked back at him, seeing a strange look on his face that she couldn’t quite figure out, or was too cautious to define.
“Yeah,” she shrugged, “from school.”
“Just from school?” Eddie interjected as he opened the bag and stepped into the boat. “I’m hurt, sweetheart, thought we really had something going.”
Lisa shot Eddie a glare, “Bite me, Munson.” Steve stared at the two of them, dumbfounded and with a simmering feeling of jealousy that he reprimanded himself for feeling
Eddie gave her that same cheeky showman smile again, which she knew could only mean he had a witty retort for her that he spoke triumphantly as he sat down, “Oh, you know I’ve tried.”
Dustin gave him a look, “Dude. Gross.” No one noticed Steve's face as it transformed into a twisted knot of confusion with little threads of mixed feelings.
Slowly, they all walked towards where Eddie was sitting, as he grabbed a handful of chips, looking at the water in a solemn state. “So,” Eddie said to the room with a fake smile that he couldn't manage to keep for long, “How fucked am I?”
Nancy and Robin came down the stairs with a plan, and soon, both of them, plus Steve and Lisa, were climbing up the stairs to Nancy's bedroom, Steve complaining about his given duty, Robin just tagging along to see Nancy's bedroom, and Lisa trying to say something. After hurting Steve's pride, explaining they needed to pass as very educated scholars, Nancy extended to her the ugliest pink shirt she had ever seen. "Take this."
"I can't go," she stated.
Nancy frowned at her, "What? Why?"
"I can't."
Steve opened his mouth in realization, "Shit, your aunt," Nancy looked at him, confused, then back at her. Steve winced at his own words while looking at her, "Sorry."
Lisa shook her head, "It's okay," she said, even though she wasn't sure about it, but she figured she would've eventually had to say it, Nancy probably wouldn't take a simple 'I can't' as a satisfying anwser "I have an aunt that's institutionalized there," she said and the room fell silent, accentuated by Robin's closing of the little ballerina music box, "Most nurses know me there, hard to go undercover," she said, surely and sternly.
"Shit," said Robin, the little music box still in her hand, "Wait, does that mean-?" She saw Nancy extending the dress to her, "Oh, please tell me that you're joking."
Soon enough, Robin was walking out the door and into Nancy's car in the most ill-fitted outfit for her. Steve waved at them from the Wheelers' front porch, mocking Robin in a way. They walked back into the house the moment the car started moving. He looked at her, "I'm sorry about spilling the beans about your aunt," he said.
"It's fine, Nancy would've gotten it out of me anyway," she said as they walked towards the basement's stair. She stopped him before he could open the stairs door. She looked at him, almost defeated, "Do you really think they'll find something that could help Max?"
"I hope so."
She shook her head, disgruntled. "Why did it have to be her?" she woefully pondered. Steve grabbed her upper arm, and she looked up to him.
He shook his head slowly, "I don't know," he said, "But we'll help her. We'll stop this."
Not long after, she was sitting on the floor, pretending not to look at Max, just like Steve, Lucas, and Dustin were. She was stupidly trying to study a little knick-knack of Mike's when she gave each of them their letter. She shared a worrisome look with Steve as Max basically told them she had little to no hope of making it out alive. Before anyone could say anything, she got the idea of going somewhere in East Hawkings, and even with Steve's protest and reluctance, she walked to the car and managed to persuade him to take her to her house.
There was nothing but silence and the soft spring breeze coursing through the trees as they sat and waited for Max to return from her house. "She's taking too long."
"She's leaving a goodbye note for her family, Steve," she said, "It might take her a minute."
"We shouldn't have let her out of our sight," Lucas chimed in. "What if she's in a trance now?"
There was an uneasy silence. She checked her watch, "One more minute and I'm going in. Alright?" They all nodded, but before the minute could pass, Max emerged from the door looking visibly distressed. She dismissed all questions, and they were back on the road again.
It felt stupid, incredibly stupid given the dire circumstances, but she couldn't help but stare at Steve as he drove. For a moment, she could almost pretend they were back in summer, after the mall burned down, at the start of their little fling, when things were simpler. She remembered the way he would put his hand on her knee as they drove to Lovers' Lake, how he would hum along at some song on the radio, and occasionally tap his fingers to the beat on the steering wheel, or maybe her leg, relaxed as he looked at her, bruises and some cuts on his face still healing but he smiled all the same. Right then, it felt like a whole other world, another reality. Now both his hands were tightly gripping the steering wheel, eyes focused on the road except for when he looked at Max through the rearview mirror, a somber and tense silence ruling the car. She looked away at the trees passing by.
After an awful day, fearing the worst, and an awful night taking turns to make sure it wouldn't happen, Dustin and Nancy, shouting about a plan to go to an abandoned house, is how most of the gang woke up that day. Shortly after, they were all readily walking towards the cars, but Lisa stopped. “Someone needs to check up on Eddie,” she said.
“We’ll go after the creel house,” Steve said, “C’mon.”
Lisa started walking again and got into Steve’s front seat as she said, “Yeah, because that’s gonna be a quick pop-up.” She closed the door and looked at Steve, “Just drop me at my place, it’s on the way. I’ll bike there,”
“Alright, sure, bike to the wanted man's hiding place alone, great plan,” Steve said, “No way, we’ll go after.”
“Steve,” she stared at him with a grave seriousness. “Drop me off at my house,” she said in a dry, stern voice. Steve stared back, a small and quiet battle was unfolding between them, all for Dustin, and Lucas to see.
“She’s right, you know, someone should check up on him,” Dustin intervened from the back seat. His sister nodded, looking back at Steve.
Steve looked at Dustin and then back at Lisa. He clenched his jaw for a moment, “Okay, but why does it have to be you?” he asked. Lisa wasn’t sure why that was an issue for him.
“It doesn’t have to be,” she said, “But neither you, Nancy, or Robin know him; I do.” Steve hesitated.
In the silence, Dustin said, “I could go,” with a shrug.
“No,” Lisa and Steve said in unison, looking at Dustin before returning to their staring contest. Slowly, her face relaxed into a more pleading look, and Steve’s remained with concern. After a moment, she simply sighed and said, “Steve, please.”
He tightened his jaw and looked away before he softly started to shake his head in annoyance, almost as if he was arguing with himself. “Godammit,” he said, “Alright.” and he turned on the car. “But be careful. The slightness sings of trouble you run.”
Shortly after Steve had dropped her off at her house. She was tired, her neck hurt from sleeping on the floor, her hair was dirty and tangled since the hot water had run out at the Wheelers’ house, and she was very hungry, but still, she didn’t let herself get distracted. Lisa discreetly raided her mother’s pantry, changed her shirt, grabbed her backpack, and some things from her bedroom, and took a bike ride over to Reefer Rick’s house. Not long after, she was with Eddie in the shack. They had eaten the noodle soup she had brought and decided to go to the deck since it was a better hiding place than the house. Lisa said it had more exits, and it smelled better, too. “You didn’t get beers by any chance, did you?” Eddie asked.
“No, but I got us this,” she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a pack of cigarettes before throwing it to Eddie.
When he caught it and saw what it was, his mouth turned into a satisfied smile, “I could just kiss you right about now.”
“What makes you think I'd let you?”
“Right,” Eddie sat down on top of a box that seemed old but sturdy enough and opened the pack, “I forgot about your boyfriend,” he said, looking at her as she sat down on the floor near him.
“I think too much hanging out with Rick fried your brain,” she teased. “What the hell are you on about?”
“Oh, you know what I'm talking about,” he taunted in a singsong way, mocking her lovey-dovey eyes at her. She tried to hide it, but she blushed a little, and he noticed, which only made the mocking worse. "I expected more from you, Henderson."
“Shut the fuck up,” she said, kicking his leg playfully, and he finally stopped.
He took a cig for himself and extended the packet for her to grab one; she did. The cigarette already in his mouth, he searched his jacket for a lighter, as Lisa took one out of her pants. “I do gotta ask, sweetheart,” he took the lighter she was offering and lit up his cigarette, “when did the Henderson clan become such avid fans of King Steve?”
“That isn’t King Steve, y’know?” She said as she grabbed the lighter Eddie was returning to her and lit up her own smoke, “He might still have the hair, but he lost the crown some time ago now.”
“Yeah, right,” he scoffed.
“I’m serious.”
Eddie held his silence for a moment, which was a novelty, and stared at her for a moment, head turning slightly askew. She stared back until he said, “Still.”
She nodded, “I know,” she laughed, “But he’s a good guy.” Eddie gave her a doubtful and accusing look. She sighed, “Some time ago, he helped Dustin with something of this sort.” She explained, “I got involved halfway through, I guess, and Dustin already adored him; it didn’t take me long to get it.” She shrugged, “And if shit goes south, you’ll get it too.”
Eddie laughed shortly, “So he’s our knight in shining armor, then?”
“Sometimes,” she said, “but he’s more than just that.” She smiled absentmindedly at the floor for a moment, but stopped the secondshe felt Eddie’s eyes on her,
“I saw that,” he chirped, excited to have something to tease her about.
“What?”
“The smile, baby.”
“What smile?” She tried to feign ignorance, but she knew Eddie wasn’t gonna buy it; he knew her well enough.
He smiled, it was so mocking it almost seemed mean, “Your smile, about Steve. Don’t play dumb.”
“Eddie, I think you’re going insane.”
He smiled widely, shaking his head, “Oh, abso-fucking-lutely, but I know what I saw,” he laughed teasingly for a second, then got closer to her with a taunting smile, “Little Miss Independent Henderson having a school-girl crush on King Steve. Very cliche if you ask me.”
She shook her head, “Y’know, the rest of us are out of school.”
“Hurtful,” he said, “But this is-” he stopped, his amused smile fading quickly, his whole demeanor changing into something more somber, “This was gonna be my year," he recalled, and sarcastically added after a low scuff, "Eighty-six, baby.”
“It will be, Eddie," she tried not to sound too pityful "We’re gonna get you out of this, alright?”
He nodded, “Sure.” There was a silence neither of them knew how to fill, but the sound of wheels advancing and coming to a halt on the dirt snapped them out of the lull of despair. “Was the rest of the Scooby-Doo gang supposed to come back?”
“What?” she asked, before quickly glancing through the window. She looked back at Eddie, “We gotta hide.”
“Jesus Christ," He said as he stood up, "Can’t catch a fucking brake!”
After a horrible night fleeing bloodthirsty high schoolers, witnessing the gruesome death of one of them, the involuntary swimming trip through Lovers' Lake, a failed attempt to sleep comfortable and warm on the forest floor, the small burglary of a walkie in a construction site, and a short walk to Skull Rock, Eddie and Lisa were both sitting under it's shadow. Eddie cut off the communication with Dustin and looked at her, “They’re coming.”
“Good.” She said, they went back to their silence. Eddie was fighting something between his hands, and she just stared with concern for a while. Finally, she gathered the courage to speak about it. “Eddie,” he looked up to her and hummed, “What happened to that kid,” she said, her face twisting with pain at the memory, “was that what happened to Chrissy?” He nodded, eyes darting away absentmindedly, “Shit, Max,” she said under her breath before focusing back on him, “I’m so sorry. That was fucked up.”
“It sure was,” he said before drawing back into silence. He was sitting opposite her under the rock. He was sitting like a terrified child, knees close to his torso, arms resting on them. He seemed so unlike what he normally was, a guy with panache, a guy who wanted to commandeer every room and usually managed to do it. She felt it too, his fear; it was in his every move, his frenzied looks, and the way his voice seemed smaller and shakier than ever. It wasn't always there; there were times he seemed to forget, seemingly escaping his mind as he talked shit with her. After a long moment of silence, he took a breath and stood up, a little bit of his swagger back, he then looked down at her. “Wanna make out?”
She stared, flabbergasted, and let out a small laugh, “Eddie, what the fuck?”
“I don’t know, man, I saw two fucked up deaths just days from each other, apparently there's a weird telekinetic killer somewhere near, I’m being hunted for sport, we’re at skull rock, and I haven’t made out with anyone in like weeks.” He listed “So I just thought, for old time’s sake.”
“Gee, I’m flattered,” she said with painfully obvious sarcasm, “None of those are good reasons, y’know?” She thought about it for a second, “Well, maybe the being hunted one,” she pondered with a mocking smile, and he laughed lightly. “Anyway, you’re making it sound like we hooked up all the time.”
“We so did.”
“We made out twice, Eddie.”
“Third time’s the charm,” he smiled like a salesman. Lisa shook her head, both amused, and as a response, he kicked away a rock that was near his foot, “Well, your loss, I'm a great kisser.”
“I pity the girl you practiced on.”
“It was you.”
Lisa smiled fondly, “I know.” he smiled at her before looking back at the ground and throwing whatever he was fidgeting with at the ground. He looked around to the woods, clearly on edge and trying not to fret about it, whether it was to keep his own sanity or to keep up front she wasn't sure, but she tried to go along, to try and distract him as much as he seemed to want to be distracted, “Under other circumstances,” he looked at her again, “I would make out with you. For old time’s sake," he smiled at her with fondness, "And skull rock,”
He walked away a few steps and slowly came back to where he was before. “Are you really with Steve?” she shot him a distrustful look, and he shrugged. “I’m curious,” he said, “I mean, you’re not making out with me, so that’s the only logical explanation.”
“It is not the only logical explanation,” he stared at her, waiting. She rolled her eyes at him before finally answering, “No, I’m not with Steve.”
“Ever?”
“I mean, we had a thing over the summer,” she said.
“Tell me more, tell me more,” he teased in a deadpan manner, “like did he have a car?” She laughed, he did too, and it felt weird after the night they had gone through, but it was nice to laugh all the same. “I mean, of course he did. Who can forget King Steve’s precious Beamer?”
“Can you please stop calling him that?” Eddie smiled, amused to have gotten a rise out of her because of the subject at hand, “He’s a good guy. And I don’t mean like, not a dick, but like an actual good guy,” she said. “He picks Dustin up every other weekend. He tried to get him into some sport, but it didn’t pan out, and now they just hang out. He gave the kids free ice cream all summer. He had made this cassette tape for me that he'd keep in his car; it had all my favorite songs in it.” She smiled, “And when we hung out to watch a movie, he would always pick something I’d like.” She stopped for a second, looking at the back of her hands. “And then, one night, it just happened.” She looked away, “But then I went off to college, he said we would be better off. And that was that.” There was a small silence. “I can barely bear to look at him now without thinking about it," she sighed and looked back at Eddie with a playful smile, "But, you know, the whole interdimensional murders kinda help.”
Eddie nodded, “Good to know my suffering isn’t in vain, then.” She smiled at his snarky comment.
The soft noise of chatter and footsteps became clearer to the ear, and they both snapped back into survival mode. Lisa felt her blood start running faster and into her legs, a small rush of much-needed adrenaline, “Hide.”
“Isn’t it them?”
“I don’t know, just hide,” Eddie climbed the rock, just under where a tree branch met the rock, almost completely hidden. Slowly, Steve’s voice became recognizable, and she relaxed. She gave an ‘all clear’ signal to Eddie, and he started to climb down towards where the gang was. Lisa stood up, and the pang of pain reminded her of the earlier hit to the stomach with the boat’s side when she and Eddie fell into the water. She started to walk around the rock when she heard her brother’s voice.
“Thought you were a goner.”
“Yeah, me too, man. Me, too.”
“Where’s-?” Dustin asked.
“Behind the rock,” Eddie replied “Sweetheart, your band of misfits is here!” as he said that she emerged from the other side of the rock.
Steve looked at Eddie with a confused frown and then looked away. “Sweetheart?” he wondered to himself. He quickly got a glimpse of Lisa, and whatever thought he had in mind flew away. She looked in bad shape, walking a little off, noticeably tired with bloodshot eyes. He walked towards her as if he couldn’t help it, because he couldn’t. He wanted to tell her off for her stupid plan to go check on Eddie alone. How stupidly jealous he had felt. He wanted to hug her, tightly and unrelentingly, keep her close until any danger was over. He wanted to call her insane, tell her how easily she could've died or gotten hurt, how she had gotten herself in harm's way for no reason. He wanted to kiss her and tell her he had been so scared. To tell her how his mind went to the darkest place he could imagine when he saw the police tape at Rick's house that morning, how his heart had stopped and only started beating again when he saw her, alive, all in one piece. But all he could say was, “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yeah, just a bit sleep deprived,” before Steve could get to her or say anything else, Dustin practically ran past him and into the arms of his sister. “Hey, Dusty,” she said before he got to hug her. She smiled but huffed in pain as he wrapped his arms around her.
The second he heard her complain, he stepped away. “Sorry,” he said, with concern, “Did you get hurt?”
“It’s okay”
Steve came closer, a concerned look on his face. He said, “What happened?” at the very same time Dustin asked the same to Eddie.
"They came looking for me, man," Eddie replied, "Chrissy's boyfriend and his gang of dickheads." Dustin got nearer to Eddie as he looked around the gang, hand on his hips and a defeated look on his face, "I guess I'm officially a wanted man now."
"Yeah," said Dustin, walking towards Eddie, "The police put you as the main suspect, publicly now," he told him, sorrowfully, taking a step to tap his arm, in a sense of camaraderie.
Steve face shot up to look at Lisa, "Did they see you?" Steve asked, and she stared at him for a moment, a little confused as to what he was talking about, so he clarified, "The guys that were chasing Eddie, did they see you?" his concern was clear, turning completely to look at her, taking a step in her direction. His big brown eyes were filled with fear. Lisa thought about it and nodded, Steve sighed with frustration, one hand rubbing his eye before quickly looking at the group and then turning back to her. "Did they catch you or something? Why are you hurt?"
"We were rowing away, and then one of them started floating."
"Like Chrissy did," Eddie added. "Bones breaking and all."
"Eddie lost his balance, and we fell." She said, as Nancy put down the shopping bag on the floor and Eddie hunched over to grab some food.
"So, what happened then?" Robin asked Eddie as she grabbed a Twinkie. Everyone stared at her for a moment. "What? I'm hungry, too,"
Nancy rolled her eyes at her, but the small incident was quickly ignored as Eddie started recapitulating the events of the evening. But even as everyone's attention was on Eddie, Steve was looking at Lisa. She felt his stare and tried to ignore it for a moment, pretending not to notice, as they always did, but his glare became too ineluctable, so she stared back. He didn't say anything; the look in his eyes was enough. “I just hit the side of the boat on the fall." She said, trying to reassure him, but Steve's eyes, which were still filled with concern, were slowly overwhelmed with fear, "It’s fine, Steve," she insisted, voice calm and soft, "just a bit of bruising.”
Steve's jaw clenched as he nodded, but he couldn't just accept that answer; he had to make sure she was actually fine. “Can I look?” he asked softly, "Just to make sure everything's okay." She hesitated but nodded nonetheless, just to bring them both some peace of mind. Steve took the hem of her shirt and raised it slowly. Her breath got caught between her lungs, but she wasn't sure if it was because of the pain or the memory that action brought back; she convinced herself it was the bruising. Steve winced at the sight under her shirt, a splatter of yellow, green, and purple expanding over half her torso, mostly on the side of it, with some scrachs on the lower part of her stomach, probably from the wood or some metal part of the boat, “Jesus,” he said under his breath as two fingers slowly and soflly traced over the bruising, her body shivered, and she returned to the excuse that it was beacause of the pain.
“I bet it looks worse than it is,” she said.
“Well, it looks pretty terrible,” he noted before looking up at her. The sight of him made her look away, his eyes filled with worry and care, looking wider than ever, almost kneeling in front of her, “Can you breathe fine? is like- does your ribcage feel okay?”
“I don't know. It hurts when I move too fast,” she admitted, looking down to see him still staring.
“Can I feel it out?” his voice sounded softer than ever. She nodded, "It's gonna hurt," he warned. After a short moment he touched her ribs, starting at the top, just under her bra, slowly he decended over her ribs on the right side of her torso, slowly crossing the boundary of the bruise, she winced at the touch as it came closer to the point where her body had slammed against the boat, he frowned as he reached the last rib bone, still, he let her shirt fall back into place "The last one doesn't feel right," he said as he rose back up, ending up much closer than before. She looked up at him as his eyes darted from her eyes to her lips and back all over again.
For a moment, she forgot where she was; all she knew was that Steve's body was close to hers, so close, but not as close as she wanted it to be. She wanted to kiss him, to drag her hand across his hair and rest it on the back of his neck. But most of all, she wanted him to hold her close and tight, to let her know that he would never let her go again. She wanted him, damned be the circumstances and the people nearby. But then, she remembered that last night of winter break, when the charade they both played at, the one that made them pretend like nothing had happened between them, almost broke, when under the snowflakes and stars, on the walk up to her house, as the tungsten light of her mother's porch fell softly upon his face, he stared at her. A look in his eyes unlike any before. A look that told her that was it, that all she had been longing for was finally coming back to her. She smiled ever so slightly, not in victory but with joy. But then he pulled away, stepping back and saying goodnight, not with a kiss but with a small wave of the hand. So she pulled away, too, under the trees and the shadow of Skull Rock; she pulled away. And so did he as she looked away towards the group, but only staring at the ground.
He felt a pain in his chest as she avoided his gaze, and it only got worse as he realized she wasn't gonna look back, so he stepped away and just said, “Let me know if it starts hurting too much.” She nodded before giving him a short glance with a polite smile and walking away towards the group. He tried to shake it off and participate in the conversation, tried to pay full attention, but she was still in the back of his mind and on the corner of his eye.
Shortly after, a plan was made, and they were following Dustin's whonky compass to a supposed mini gate and trekking through the woods to find it. Steve walked behind the entire group, letting Dustin and Nancy guide the party as he kept his eyes open to any movement around them. Although he wasn't as focused as he should be, his eyes stayed on Eddie and Lisa as they talked. He wanted to hear what they were talking about, but Robin's constant yapping in his ear didn't let him. "So what I'm saying is: we should have everyone's mixtapes here just in case anyone gets like cursed or something, right?"
"I brought some." He admitted, without much thought, Robin looked at him, surprised.
"Did you bring mine?" she asked. He nodded, still looking at Lisa and Eddie, "Aww, Stevie!" she mocked, but with real endearment in her voice, grabbing him in half a hug that he rolled his eyes at as soon as it was over, "Did you bring Nancy's?" She teased.
"What? No," he replied, confused, and quite annoyed everyone kept insisting on the same thing, "I don't have it anymore,"
Robin stared at him, a bit confused, "So whose did you bring?"
"Lisa's and Dustin's"
"Lisa's?" Robin asked perspicaciously, teasing. "I didn't know you had Lisa's mixtape," cheekily adding, "Still." Steve gave her a look. She smiled mischievously, and he couldn't do anything before she shouted in a sing-song way, almost like a child revealing someone else's crush, "Lisa! Stevie has something for you." She turned around and gave him a little wave as she scurried along towards the front of the group. Steve wanted to curse her off.
He saw Lisa say "Shut it," to Eddie and push his shoulder as he kept walking at the same pace, and she slowed down to get to Steve's side.
"I'm sorry about Robin," he said as soon as he was by her side, she gave a smile and looked away, "It's just" he got something out of his back pocket and showed her "I brought your mixtape, and Dustin's," she looked at them, reading the both titles of hers with fondness and a deep ache. A 'Lisa's mixtape' partly crossed out and with the added words for it to read 'the very best mixtape in this car', she almost laughed at it. "Just in case, you know." She looked up at him with fondness, but she quickly realized something as he said, "I don't know if he even still likes this crap. I don't really know what's going on with that kid lately, but-"
"Where's yours?" She stopped him, a plain, almost accusing look on her face. He put the tapes back in his pocket, an awkward look on his face.
"I guess I forgot," he quietly confessed before looking back at her, "But it's okay, I like Billy Joel, too." He said with a smile, knowing almost by heart what was on her mixtape, "Only The Good Die Young and all that."
She smiled, "Terrible choice given the circumstances."
He scratched the back of his neck with an embarrassed look on his face, "Yeah," he said, "I guess it is." he smiled at her, she quickly smiled back but looked away. They kept walking in tandem and in silence, and he kept stealing glances at her. Quietly, he observed her as she looked around at the trees, walking peacefully until she stepped on a root and winced as she grabbed her stomach. "Is it getting worse?"
"A bit" she said, "It's manageable."
A few hours later, it had all gone to shit. Steve, Robin, and Nancy had gone out into the water, she was left to take care of the kids, stranded ashore because of her injuries. Lisa was caught by the police along with the kids and taken to the Wheelers' house. After they finished grilling the younger set of suspects, it was Lisa's turn. She stuck with the story they had messily built, but said she had followed Dustin and his friends to look after them without them knowing. She was in the reading room as the new chief of police stared deeply into her eyes. "So why didn't you bring them home?" he asked her.
She was about to answer when a small cruffule announced itself in the living room as the parents called their kids from the other room and left the house. Shortly thereafter, she was all alone, "Little shits," she cursed as she opened the window to get out into the chilly night, "Where the fuck did they go?" she asked herself before falling to the ground with a huff as air escaped her lungs. As she was lying there trying to catch her breath, she saw a note stuck with some duct tape under the windowsill. 'Go to the trailer park,' she huffed, "Alright then," she sneaked past the backyard and started walking towards the back road, the one that people who worked in the farms or the junkyard and lived in the trailer park took, one that police rarely went through. She would turn around quickly at the sight of a headlight and would stick a finger out if it wasn't the cops and it was going in her direction. After about an hour of walking, finally someone stopped. "Thank you," she told the driver before she could even see his face.
"Lisa?" the driver asked, and she was struck speechless at the sight of the old, familiar face.
"Mister Munson?" she finally spoke. He nodded. She raised her hand and gave him a small wave, "Hi."
"Get in, kid, it's cold out," she did as he said, opened the door, and climbed into the seat. He started driving again. They both stayed in silence until he spoke again, "Well, kid," he said, "You´re gon' have to explain yourself here."
"Yeah. Right," she said, unsure about what she could say. She grabbed the pack of smokes that were lying on top of the dashboard. "Can I take one?" he nodded. As she grabbed the cigarette and lit it up, she thought of what to say. "I fell off my bike," she managed to lie, blowing smoke right after she said it, unsure if it was a good story, but it seemed to suffice as he nodded. " It fell into a ditch or something."
"Can you pass me one?" he said, putting up his hand for a smoke. She lit it up and gave it to him. "Headed where?"
"Oh! Uhm-" she hesitated for a moment, "A friend's house," she finally declared, "Max Mayfield. Her mom works night shift now, and I didn't want her to be all alone." He nodded, probably not even thinking about what she was saying; his mind seemed to be somewhere else. "Mister Munson?" she asked, and he hummed in response. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "I don't think Eddie did it." He locked his jaw and cleared his throat. "I'm not sure what you think, sir, but that's not Eddie. He would never do something so heinous. He's kind, he cares. I hate what this town thinks of him."
"I know, kid," he calmly said before looking at her, "Do you know where's he hidin'?" She shook her head, wishing she could tell him the truth. He looked back out to the road, "If you see him, could you please tell him I miss him?" She was about to speak, but he stopped her with the gentle raise of his hand, "I know it's a long shot, but if you do, just- tell him that I miss him and I know he did nothing wrong."
"I will," she said, somnolently. The car stayed in silence except for the loud purr of the engine and the small squeaky sounds of the cabin surrounding them. "I'll do everything I can to clear his name, Mister Munson."
He nodded and looked at her for a moment as he said, "Y'know, I always liked ya best out of his friends." She smiled. Fifteen minutes later, they were pulling up to the trailer park. He stopped the car and got out; she did the same. "You know where your friend lives?"
"Yeah," she said. He nodded and was about to head away before she stopped him, "Mister Munson, if you don't mind me asking, where are you staying?"
"A friend couple of houses down let's me sleep on his couch," he said, "I don't know how long that's bound to last. His wife's scared of me."
"If you ever need any help," she said. He smiled and gave her a small nod before leaving.
he looks at the group “Holy shit, Steve, your neck” she tries to look at it, he takes her hands “I'm okay, love” a small moment, she was suprised. His hands holding hers so steadily and with such gentleness made it even harder to look into his soft brown eye and not give into the weight of the pull she felt from him, his body, his tender eyes. It made it so hard not to fall into his arms and ask to be held until daylight's out. He let go of her hands ever so slightly “Sorry. I didn’t mean to- it’s just- I mean, I guess Eddie keeps calling you sweetheart. And it kind of-?" "Why does Eddie call you sweetheart?” “Steve,” “Right, not now” it was soft, she could barely hear it but the look in his eyes made her feel a sudden calm, like a locked door when there’s shadows outside, like his arm, protective, keeping her behind him when the demodogs where right in front of them. a prolonged look tension and all that “Are you sure you're okay? what happened?” “I got attacked by these bat-things or whatever,” “They choked me and bit me” “They bit you?” she sees the bandages “Fuck. was it too deep” “I don't think so, I would've bled out if they were, right?”
“You can’t die, okay?” She smiles lightly as if it were a joke “I’ll try not to, Steve” “Hey. Please. Can’t die on me, alright?” quiet nod “Same goes for you” he nodded
"Fucking asshole!" She goes after Eddie tells Dustin to stay, but he doesn't listen, she gets attacked by some bats trying to protect eddie before they all die, she grabs eddie "You son of a bitch" "You fucking idiot" "I'm sorry, sweetheart" "Eddie!" "It was nice to see you again, Lisa" "You fucking asshole" "Yeah, I love you, too" Eddie!" she looks at Dustin, tears running down her face, washing away the blood and dirt with pain. She held her brother as he kneeled down with her.
