𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄

walden "cole" montgomery / 21 / junior at indiana state / manager at the music center / the loverboy* penned by nikki

[loverboymontgomery]

[Timothée Chalamet, cismale, he/him] who’s that? oh it’s [walden cole montgomery]. i hear they’re [21] and are known as [the loverboy] around [the skate park]. they’re also a [junior] at [indiana state] and a [manager] at the [music center]. they’re known to be [artistic + intellectual] and [self-involved + elusive]. some people say they remind them of [poetry whispered during a rainstorm, snide remarks from the back of the classroom, the outline of a flask in his jean pocket].

STATISTICS

FULL  NAME: walden cole montgomery GENDER/PRONOUNS: cis male; he/him AGE: twenty-one FACECLAIM: timothée chalamet BIRTHDAY: april 23 STAR  SIGN: taurus HOMETOWN: albany, new york HEIGHT:  5′10″ OCCUPATION: manager at the music center; junior at Indiana state ORIENTATION: homosexual (but not officially out)

HEADCANONS

* Cole is the half-brother of Jonathan and Will Byers (Lonnie sure got around in high school); he only found out a few years ago, right around when Will went missing and, frankly, Cole didn’t say anything because he didn’t particularly want to be tied to “Zombie Boy.” Since then, he hasn’t known how or even if he should say something. * Cole has been in love once: with Adam, the star quarterback two years his senior. For two years, they shared clandestine meetings and quiet declarations of love and whispered promises that they’d move somewhere where things could be different, where everyone could know. But then Adam changed, seemingly overnight. He avoided Cole and acted cruel and empty; Cole still doesn’t know what happened, and never will, because Adam died in the mall fire. *note: Adam was one of The Flayed, and while Cole knows something was very off, he has no idea how to find answers * Cole hasn’t been the same since Adam died. He went away to college to study Literature, which should have made him happy, but he just felt like a ghost. He’s not sure if it’s worse to be away at college pretending like nothing happened, or back in Hawkins constantly reminded of him.

PINTEREST | BIOGRAPHY | CONNECTIONS | PLAYLIST

[goldenboyrichards]

adam jacob richards & walden cole montgomery

“he was my north, my south, my east and west, my working week and my sunday rest, my noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; i thought that love would last for ever: i was wrong.”

― w.h. auden, stop all the clocks

Keep reading

[inhvritance]

who:  joyce  &&  @loverboymontgomery​ what: momma  joyce  checking  up  on  those  she  loves  -  her  next  victim  being  cole. where: the  byers  house

  things  might  have  been  a  little  rough  for  joyce  lately      —    between  bob  returning,  all  of  the  stuff  that  happened  on  the  4th  of  july  and  the  chaos  that  was  work  and  the  simple  stress  that  came  along  with  having  a  job,  the  one  little  constant  in  her  life  was  her  kids.  biological  and  not.  of  course  she  had  made  it  a  point  to  invite  cole  over,  food  prepared  and  everything  -  he  was  just  as  much  her  kid  as  the  rest  of  jonathan,  will  and  eleven’s  friends  were.  and  his  existence  itself  hit  too  close  to  home  for  her  for  obvious  reasons.  she  meant  what  she  said  that  moment  she  found  out  about  cole  and  his  relation  to  her  children  -  he  always  had  her.  they  were  family.

      door  opens  with  a  smile  on  her  face,  arms  extending  out  for  the  boy  with  a  warm  smile.  “how  you  doing,  honey?”

[loverboymontgomery]

Cole didn’t know why Joyce had called him and invited him over for dinner. Instantly, he was afraid he would be reproached for telling Jonathan and Will his news... though, Joyce had told him he could. Maybe she’d changed her mind, or maybe it had gotten back to her that he’d been in varying states of intoxication when he delivered the news. Still, he felt he owed it to her-- for her kindness-- to show up on time, in a clean shirt, with a small bouquet he’d picked up at Melvald’s. He’d had a drink or two earlier in the day, to soothe his nerves, but by the time he was walking up the all-too-familiar porch, its effects were wearing thin.

Pasting a smile on his face, Cole knocked twice. She opened the door in record speed, and held out her arms for him. Cole obliged, giving her a loose hug, and then held out the arrangement of baby’s breath and peonies he’d picked up, like a peace offering. “Hi, thanks for having me--” he hesitated, unsure what to call her. Mrs. Byers felt too formal, Joyce felt too casual. “I’m doing a lot better,” Cole said, shaking his now cast-free arm. “Jonathan’s out. How is he?” Cole had seen him-- spoken to him, at The Hideaway the other day-- but they hadn’t exactly broached the topic of Jonathan’s physical health. 

[goldenboyrichards]

WHO: Adam Richards & @loverboymontgomery​

WHAT: What were Richgomery doing during town hall????

WHERE: A backroad of Hawkins, somewhere near Lover’s Lake

Adam had met Cole during his sophomore year, not long after being named starting quarterback. Cole was in his English class - a year ahead of others in his grade, and far better at understanding literature than Adam could ever hope to be. The second he’d seen the snarky brunette who always had something to say in class, Adam had been hooked. For a long time he thought that maybe he just saw the other guy as someone he really, really wanted to be friends with, but eventually, it clicked why he was so obsessed with Cole. And once Adam’s grade began to drop in English because he just didn’t understand why people used metaphors or similes or whatever ( why couldn’t everyone just say exactly what they meant all the time ? ), asking Cole to help him seemed like it would solve two problems for him. Suddenly, he could spend all the time he wanted alone with Cole, getting to know him and liking him more each day, and he could bring up his grade. 

It hadn’t taken long before something had shifted between them, and Adam had made the first move. Kissing Cole without knowing how the other felt about him was scary - historically speaking, kissing another boy without asking typically didn’t end well for guys. But, Cole had kissed him back. He had been so kind and sweet and patient while Adam figured out how to tell Chrissy about it all, which had thankfully gone well. Then, Adam and Cole had gotten three beautiful years together in high school, full of them slipping love notes into the other’s locker, hanging out in Adam’s car together after football games, saying I love you for the first time, riding together on the bus to away games, studying together, and even slow dancing together at Prom in one of the empty classrooms. It had been perfect. Every single thing about their relationship in high school had been beautiful, untainted by any of the complicated feelings that existed there now because of Adam’s death and the grief it had caused. So Adam hadn’t been surprised when Cole had sadly admitted to wanting to go back to that - to get to experience how happy they’d been. How simple it had felt. And Adam had decided to rise to the challenge and do his best to plan a night for them where they could feel like that again. 

They had each planned plenty of dates for the other in high school, but there was always a trick to it. It had to still feel like a date - not just two friends hanging out - without drawing too much attention to themselves. They weren’t like Chrissy and Jason or Chance and Bev; they couldn’t share a kiss or hold hands across the table. Being openly affectionate in public wouldn’t end well for them, so they’d always had to get creative. Tonight, Adam had ordered them takeout from Benny’s, getting their usual order as well as a milkshake to split. He’d loaded his truck with blankets and pillows, and driven them out to a field on the edge of town. The farmer who owned the land was older, he wouldn’t even notice them parked back here off the main road. After they’d eaten and gotten everything set up, Adam sat back against the pillows, looking up at the stars. “Remember when we did this for the first time?” He asked Cole, leaning closer to him. “The summer after we’d gotten together.” Adam had gotten his truck around then, and had taken Cole out on drives all the time. “Oh, or that time you freaked out and swore a snake had gotten back here, but it was just my jumper cables?” Adam laughed, grinning at Cole. Shuffling closer to Cole, Adam laid down, resting his head on Cole’s shoulder. There had been so much weird tension between them lately, and Adam had felt like he had no idea how to even address it, let alone fix it. But right now, he wasn’t worried about it. He just wanted to enjoy a date with Cole, not caring about bomb or the Doppelganger or the Mindflayer or anything else. Just the two of them, here, together. “I love you,” He said softly, leaning up to kiss Cole’s cheek. 

[loverboymontgomery]

xx.

Cole never could’ve imagined this-- any of this-- when Adam Richards had approached him to be his English tutor freshman year. He’d known who Adam was, of course, because everyone did. It was normal to have a crush on the hot and funny and sweet quarterback, as evidenced by the conversations he had with the cheerleaders, except for the fact that Cole was a boy, too. He’d made peace with it, figured it would pass when Adam graduated and Cole would hear about his engagement to Chrissy Cunningham one day from some nosy mom in the Melvald’s checkout line. That was how things were supposed to be. But then, one night in February after a few hours of studying for an English test, Adam had kissed Cole.

Everything changed that day, and Adam quickly became the subject of all of Cole’s thoughts. They were inseparable for three years, and those were easily the best three years of Cole’s life. In every way, Adam was Cole’s balance: where Cole was shut off and withdrawn, Adam was open and giving, where Cole was book smart, Adam was emotionally intelligent, where Cole was cautious, Adam was trusting. Cole wasn’t religious at all, but he truly believed they were meant to find each other, and he never hesitated to tell Adam as much. So when Adam died in the ‘freak accident’ just before they were going to run away together, Cole’s life halted. Since then, he’d felt like he was a ghost, moving through the motions of life despite being completely detached. He didn’t really care what happened to him, not if it was without Adam. And when Adam came back? It was supposed to be good, and easy, and they were supposed to move on. It was still good, Adam was still Adam, but it was impossible to ignore the reality of the situation: that Adam had died and come back, and there were side effects.

Still, it was worth it to try-- to push it to the side for a few hours at least. When Adam offered to plan a date, Cole was elated. When he showed up at Cole’s door with their usual from Benny’s, Cole had wanted to cry. He had longed for this for so long. He’d gathered a few things in a bag of his own-- his dusty copy of The Odyssey, a chapstick, his house key, a few rogue pens and highlighters, and at the very bottom of the bag, his flask. Just in case things went South, not that they would, he just didn’t really go anywhere without it these days. Cole left the bag on the floorboards of the passenger seat and climbed into the truck bed with Adam. Like it was the most natural thing in the world, Cole scooted closer to him and nestled into his chest, angling his face to the sky to look at the stars like they’d done dozens of times before. “Mhmm,” he hummed contentedly, smiling at the memory. “We were so worried someone would find us,” he chuckled. “Worth the risk.” All of it was worth the risk-- Cole would always choose Adam, always. Cole shoved Adam away jokingly, “In my defense, what the fuck are jumper cables?” He laughed, though, unable to resist Adam with that grin. As they shifted and Adam leaned against Cole, he ran his fingers through the other’s hair gently. Everything about this felt so right, and Cole felt completely at peace. As Adam kissed his cheek, Cole caught his chin and lifted it so their lips met. “I love you,” he responded, feeling pressure building behind his eyelids. Not tonight, surely he could go one night without crying. “Thank you for this,” he said, kissing Adam’s forehead with a smile. 

[loverboymontgomery]

willthewize​:

     Will looked up from his sketchbook as a familiar figure approached, a surprised smile forming on his face to see him out of the blue. Cole hadn’t called to let him know he was stopping by, but it wasn’t an unwelcome visit by any means. But then something about the nervous tone the other guy spoke with—or just the words themselves, there’s something I wanna talk to you about, which were never usually the opener to a pleasant conversation—clued him into the fact that this was maybe more serious than a friendly little hang-out, and his easy grin faltered.

     “Sure, wanna…?” He motioned to the bench, the space next to him, offering a seat before Cole continued on to say that he had talked to Jonathan, and…why would he feel the need to tell him that, anyway? What was this all abo…Lonnie’s my dad, too. Oh. Oh. That wasn’t the last thing Will had expected to hear: it wasn’t even on the list.  His gaze suddenly focused on the sling Cole wore, the loose threads he fiddled with and he replied, “How is your arm doing?” It was almost funny that he would rather talk about the aftermath of the carnival, with its explosions and casualties, than his—their—father.

     He had to answer the massive revelation that was just dropped. Paradigm-altering information. His dad was Cole’s dad, too. But what was he supposed to say—my condolences? This shouldn’t be quite as much of a rug-pull as all that had been happening this summer with the border and the doppelganger and the cabin and who knew what else. Was it really surprising that Lonnie Byers had had another son with someone out there (even one whose age made it clear that the man had had an affair?) Not really. But Will couldn’t help the feeling that in all of this, he was the butt of some cosmic joke right now.

     It was like he was always the last to know anything, like he was always the one who walked into a room right after something cool happened, always just missing the moment. Or in cases like this—like nobody thought he could handle the truth; he was just too fragile, too sensitive, or at least that was how everyone viewed him. Jonathan knew? Will didn’t even think he and Cole were friends. How long was ‘a while back,’ anyway: a couple weeks or even longer? When the hell would Will become an active participant in his own life, instead of stuff just…happening and him learning to deal with it. Not today, evidently.

     Rather than allowing himself to get upset, Will had to remember that this wasn’t just a big deal to him, in fact it wasn’t about him. It was Cole’s news to share when he felt ready—the fact that they were…they were brothers. They were half-brothers. They were related. They have been this whole time. Well, obviously. Cole has known it, the whole time…? Will forced himself to look up and meet his eyes. “That must have been really difficult for you,” he said. “Thanks for telling me.” That wasn’t what he wanted to say. He had so many questions and no way to verbalize them, because the moment he started, he just stuttered, “So, when did…I mean, have you always…Did you…What?”

xx.

Too nervous to sit down, Cole leaned against the porch rail instead, his nervous fingers moving between picking at the cast to tapping on the splintering wood  Cole’s expression betrayed his bewilderment at Will’s question. Had he heard what he’d said? Had he said it aloud at all? But, autopilot kicked in and he answered with a shrug, “It’s fine, I guess. Just a fracture. Should be off in a few more weeks.” 

He studied Will’s face, trying to read any emotion he could detect, and also trying to find any similarities, any features they shared. Growing up, Cole had always been told he was the spitting image of his mother-- he had her dark curls and her eyes and her cheekbones. Maybe he hoped he had her temperament too-- her easygoing spirit, her openness. But lately he’s wondered what all he’d inherited from the other side: the drinking? The standoffishness? The thought itself made him want to reach for the flask in his back pocket, but he could investigate that urge later. 

Will seemed upset, which was understandable. It was a lot to take in, and Cole’s lingering feeling of being exposed intensified. Maybe Will and Jonathan were upset at him-- maybe he was right in thinking that his very existence was a scandal. It certainly made sense, even his own grandparents had wanted to hide him away, to let his mother and aunt raise him in New York. For a brief moment, Cole entertained the question: what would his life look like now if he’d stayed in New York? Who would he be? Would it be better for everyone in Hawkins if he’d simply stayed gone?

When Will finally spoke, Cole’s shoulders relaxed in relief. Whatever it was, it was better than the silence. But he certainly hadn’t expected this. Cole opened his mouth to respond, then clamped it shut again. Will was... thanking him? He couldn’t make sense of that. Will was a sweet kid, he’d always known that, but this level of empathy felt like too much to ask for. “No, don’t... I mean... I’m sorry,” he managed. He was lost, wondering how Will was being so nice about it all. Maybe it wasn’t a huge deal to him, but... wouldn’t it be to Cole if the roles were reversed? He’d probably be furious, but maybe Will hadn’t inherited the rage gene from Lonnie. 

Then, when Will tried asking for more information, Cole clicked into gear. That he could do. The minefield of what each of them were thinking and feeling, not so much in his lane. “Right. I found out five years ago,” Cole admitted, with an apologetic smile. “There was sort of... a lot going on for you guys. I didn’t want to, like, make it worse.” Cole shrugged, not sure if Max had told Will that Cole knew, but not sure it even mattered at the moment. “Then, I... guess I thought it wasn’t a big deal for a while. But, with everything...” he gestured vaguely, hoping to communicate that he meant the bigger picture in town.

“I wanted you to hear it from me,” he settled on. Not that Cole’s life was in any immediate danger, other than the way that everyone’s was all the time. Still, it felt like an urgent enough need to come here today. 

[loverboymontgomery]

bethkrichards​:

With a piece of popcorn in hand, Beth chucked it lightly in the direction of Cole in response to his commentary about her brother. It was almost sickening, how much in love the two were, and while she teased Cole and Adam about how much they said about each other in front of her, Beth had missed it. “Okay, Walden. To be fair, he could have, and I would have had no idea unless you two weren’t being messy in the driveway,” she reminded him, raising a brow. She’d thought about how Adam’s sexuality might’ve died with him if it weren’t for Cole, but Beth was glad to know that she knew everything about her brother before he’d left them. 

Beth nodded her head wordlessly, sadly. She knew exactly what Cole meant–even if Adam hadn’t been entirely himself at the carnival, there was no way he was ever going to entirely forgive himself for what his body had done. “I know. I’m worried about him, too. I mean, you were there … was he like he was, you know, in that last week or so?” To think that the Adam that he’d been back then could come back was terrifying, but at least now the three of them could work together this time to try and prepare. “I wish I could’ve been there. For you, and for him. I know I couldn’t have done much, but still.”

xx.

Cole caught Beth’s smile, and he returned it easily. Since he’d graduated from tutor to boyfriend, Beth had been like a little sister to him. And with that came its fair amount of tormenting. Adam was such an angel, someone had to torture Beth and Cindy every once in a while! “Woah, not the government name!” he feigned surprise, pressing his good arm to his chest. Cole smirked at the memory, at how new and urgent it felt to kiss Adam right there and right then, even if it was in his driveway. “I’ll never apologize for kissing him. And besides, you got me out of it-- your extra big brother.” Cole nudged her shoulder affectionately, hoping it communicated how glad he was to be in her life without having to get sappy and gross.

His stomach squeezed as Beth’s expression dropped; Cole hated seeing her upset, and he almost wished he hadn’t brought it up. Not that she wouldn’t have asked, but Cole wanted Beth and Cindy to be able to just enjoy Adam being back, without all of the baggage attached. But, Cole could never lie to any member of the Richards family. “Yeah, he was,” he admitted, wrapping his good arm around Beth’s shoulders and pulling her into him for a hug. It hurt his ribs, but he didn’t care. “No, I’m glad you weren’t,” he said, quickly. “Not that he would...” do anything, “I just don’t think he’d want you to see him that way.”

[maxmayfieldlaw]

WHO: max mayfield & @loverboymontgomery​ WHAT: vibe check! WHERE: the skate park (where else)

although it seemed like neither one of them wanted to say it, things had been weird since they went to the weapons store with chance and adam. there weren’t any lines drawn in the sand that night, but max hadn’t been the most stoked to find them with such differing opinions of what was going on. she also hadn’t gone out of her way to talk to cole between then and now. but since she kind of got her shit rocked? rocked her own shit? at the junkyard, max was maybe able to chalk up that whole experience to tensions being high after a funeral. she didn’t fully buy into her own narrative though, so, she supposed she would have a more clear picture of where they stood after today. 

max finally swallowed her pride about the whole scene cole had made in adam’s name and called him up to meet her at the skatepark, after hours, of course. she was skating in and out of the empty bowl and blaring tina turner from her headphones when she spotted cole approaching. she stopped at the top of the bowl, paused her music, and slid her headphones off. “yo, walden.” she met him, trying to be as normal as possible. gently as possible, max scratched the side of her broken nose and asked him, “notice anything different?” she didn’t wait long for an answer before pulling cole into an uncomfortable side hug. did they hug often now? “what’s happening with you?” max asked, sitting down on the concrete. 

[loverboymontgomery]

xx.

Cole had always been a loner. It never bothered him, really-- in school he was content to sit by himself at lunch with a book and in the back of every classroom to share the occasional snarky comment. But because of that, he really didn’t know how to handle conflict. He’d never really cared enough before to be bothered if he happened to piss someone off. But now, after everything he’d shared with Max and she’d shared with him, he felt pretty shitty about the way things had been left.

Not shitty enough to apologize-- he didn’t think he was wrong for sticking up for Adam-- but shitty enough to jump at the chance to talk to her. When Max called, he closed out his tab at The Hideaway and thanked his lucky stars that he’d skated instead of driven. An easy smile slid onto Cole’s lips at the familiar sight of Max skating in the dark. “Hey, Maxine,” he greeted, tucking his skateboard under his arm. His expression darkened as he got closer, immediately clocking the state of her face. “What the fuck?” he exclaimed, wrapping an uncertain arm around her in the half-hug. “Shut up. What happened?” he asked, ignoring her question. Things were weird, but he was still concerned about her. He’d always worry, probably. 

[last-standing-byers]

Who: Jonnie & @loverboymontgomery​​

Where: The Hideaway

Why: Nuclear War

TW: Alcohol/Alcoholism.

——————————————————————————————

Jonathan entered The Hideaway and immediately recognized the mop of curls sitting at the bar.

Cole.

He drove over to this pub half expecting to see nothing but a few old geezers enjoying an afternoon pitcher of beer. It was, after all, 3pm on a weekday but finding him here was almost poetic after their discussion on the Wheeler patio. Clearly, the tip he gathered earlier about Cole spending an atrocious amount at this place hadn’t been wrong.

Jonathan had given himself a few days to gather his thoughts after Will approached him about Cole’s second patio reveal. The entire conversation threw him completely off-guard. Will didn’t seem particularly affected by the newfound family dynamic but he wondered why Cole hadn’t approached him before dropping the bomb. Between struggling to keep his head above water at work, running around town and Hawkins Lab like a rat for information, grasping at straws to mend his already precarious friendship with Nancy … He didn’t want to deal with this right now but replaying the whole Wheeler patio conversation in his head left one question hanging heavy in his chest: what happened to Cole’s whole - “Don’t worry, it can be our little secret?”

Jonathan opted not to take a seat as he approached the bar and instead planted his hands down on the counter. “Hey.” He said, rocking himself forward to take a breath before turning his head to study Cole. Maybe his message at the barbecue hadn’t been clear. “I heard …  that you showed up at my mom’s place-” He paused, eyes flickering towards the bartender who was now looking at him. “I’m okay. Thanks.” He confirmed, pursing his lips into a small smile that read -  I don’t need a drink right now.

Returning to the issue at hand, he kept his voice calm but serious, “What … what were you thinking, man? I thought we-” he eyed condensation pooling between the glass and coaster in front of Cole, one heel bouncing into the sticky pub floor, “I thought we agreed to be careful.”

[loverboymontgomery]

xx.

Things were weird and tense and off in most areas of Cole’s life lately-- with Adam, with Max, and in town. Though, he wasn’t exactly predisposed to care all that much about whatever was going on unless it directly affected him. He didn’t know why, but the only place Cole felt like he could escape from everything for a while was The Hideaway-- the old, wooden bar with familiar scrapes and carvings from hundreds of sad sacks just like him. He bet if he looked hard enough, he could even find evidence that dear old dad had spent hours here, too.

He was just finishing his third vodka cran when someone planted two hands on the counter next to him. Cole glanced up at the stranger and instantly wished he hadn’t. A myriad of feelings twisted together in his gut-- embarrassment, guilt, and even jealousy, for some reason. Cole wasn’t the most emotionally intelligent person, but he could tell Jonathan was tense... more than usual. The way he gripped the bar as if it was the only thing keeping him on his feet was evidence enough. “Hey,” he echoed, decidedly not turning to face Jonathan. Decidedly not turning to face much of anything, lately. 

As he continued, Cole’s brow furrowed and he hurriedly took another sip of the drink in front of him, setting it on the bar and grasping the glass tightly between two hands. Truthfully, he didn’t get what Jonathan was angry about, or why he felt so guilty. He remembered the conversation at the Wheeler’s-- of course he did-- but he thought they’d left on good terms. Better terms than this, at least. 

I thought we agreed to be careful. Cole’s grip on the slick glass tightened again, so much so that the glass went careening forward and the sticky liquid pooled onto the bar. “Fuck,” he muttered, grabbing it up and mopping up the spill with the thinnest paper napkin he’d ever been given. He used it as a ploy to buy time, wiping up every streak and stuffing the napkin into his now-empty glass with an apologetic smile at the bartender. 

If they’d agreed to be careful, Cole didn’t remember. Maybe he’d been more drunk than he realized; but it was a party, anyway, who wasn’t drunk? Maybe Jonathan had been, too, and they’d both come away with different ideas about the conversation. “I just thought...” he started, angling his shoulders in Jonathan’s direction and shrugging as he trailed off. He didn’t know what he was thinking, telling Will without so much as a heads-up. He doesn’t quite remember what the urgency was all about, either. “I mean, I guess I thought he should know.”

As the bartender brought another drink to Cole, he relished the opportunity to look at someone other than Jonathan. “Thanks, man,” he muttered, taking a sip and scanning the other occupants. “Joyce was fine with it, so I figured I should just, like... rip off the band-aid,” Cole said, nonchalant glance in Jonathan’s direction.

[loverboymontgomery]

sinclairss​:

the hideaway wasn’t usually at the top of lucas’ list of places to hang out, but after the carnival, he was looking for just about anything that might take the edge off. he’d been attacked by the doppelganger. max had been taken by the monster. the older kids had nearly gotten blown up. any of those things would be traumatic enough on its own, but add on the fact that five people -including mr. clarke- had died, and it left lucas with a lot to think about. according to his therapist, he’d gotten to the anger portion of his grieving process when he’d vandalized his middle school. showing up at the hideaway when he was supposed to be at physical therapy? that was squarely in the depression part. it wasn’t that he didn’t drink, but lucas didn’t usually drink alone. 

which was probably why lucas’ first instinct upon walking into the dimly lit bar was to find a drinking buddy. relief loosened his shoulders when he spotted cole montgomery sitting at the bar. ever since the guy had fallen into an open grave trying to help lucas out of one, he’d felt a strange sort of camaraderie with the other. he wondered if cole’s doctors knew he was spending his time drinking at the bar before realizing he probably didn’t care if they did. “same as you,” he answered with a humorless smile. “needed a drink.” he nodded as he slid into the seat to cole’s left and ordered a beer. 

the good thing about this bar was that they rarely ever carded, especially not after tragedy struck town. again. he remembered that his dad came here the night will’s ‘body’ had been found. and he and the basketball team had spent time tucked into a corner after…something had happened to jason’s girlfriend, right? lucas couldn’t remember. either way, the bartender passed over a glass and lucas thanked her with a smile, lifting the beer in cole’s direction in a mock toast. “thanks.” he took a long sip and wrapped both hands around the cool glass as he turned in his seat to look at cole properly. “so…” his eyes flicked back to cole, one side of his mouth quirking in the shadow of a grin. “what’s new? seen any good movies lately?”

xx.

Needed a drink. Cole certainly couldn’t argue with Lucas’ logic, enough had happened to warrant everyone in town taking a load off, especially Lucas. Cole absentmindedly wondered if Max knew Lucas was here. He hadn’t exactly gotten an update from her in a while, so he didn’t know what was going on between the two of them, except that there was something. There had always been something. “Well, cheers.” Cole raised his glass to Lucas’ and took a long drink, barely stopping himself from downing the whole glass in one gulp. Best to reign it in, in case Lucas relayed anything to Max.

Not that they were exactly talking right now, anyway. Things had been weird ever since Tessa Calloway’s funeral, which Cole only attended because Adam wanted to, for the record. He’d been torn up about the whole thing since then-- partially because he’d fought with Max, but also because he couldn’t help but wonder: How many others were afraid of Adam? How many others wouldn’t hesitate to restrain him or hurt him, even though none of this was his fault? Cole took a long look at Lucas, the other’s words processing somewhere behind the alcohol-induced haze of Cole’s mind. Was Lucas one of them, too?

The side of Cole’s mouth quirked over the glass at Lucas’ joke. “Hmm... Dirty Dancing? I’ve watched that like, six times with Adam’s youngest sister now. Or Hairspray,” he added, laughing at his movie choices. He knew Lucas wasn’t the type to make fun of him, but still, couldn’t he have at least seen a Star Wars movie or something? Then, it clicked. “The Lost Boys. Max really liked that one,” he smiled fondly, but his smile faltered after a second. “Is she... doing okay? It’s been a minute.” 

[gayzing-away]

Timothée Chalamet in ‘The King’ (2019)

[loverboymontgomery]

who: Cole & @sinclairss​​

where: The Hideaway 🍻 

Since he’d been admitted to the hospital, Cole had rarely had a moment alone. He didn’t mind it, when the people surrounding him were Adam or Max or Chrissy or Beth, not at all! But he had so many questions and was exhausted to his core with worry, and around them? Cole wouldn’t express that. Everyone else was scared enough, the last thing he wanted to do was add to that. Even still, Cole hadn’t been able to get the carnival out of his head-- the way Adam had reverted back to whatever happened before he died-- the way Max wasn’t even there-- the way Tommy H had acted more animal than human. 

So he’d found himself at The Hideaway a few times this week, somewhere he doubted any of his friends and certainly not his boyfriend would willingly go. It was a nice excuse to wallow for a while, allow himself to drown the fear in a few jack and cokes. At the moment, Cole was on his third, desperately trying to numb the ache in his chest, the uncertainty about whether or not Adam would live to the end of the week. Cole finished the glass, setting it down on the bar with a rattle, and motioned to the bar tender that he’d take another. With his eyes lifted, Cole saw the last person he’d expected to see: Lucas Sinclair. When it was clear that the other had seen him, Cole lifted a hand in greeting and pasted a smile on his face. 

“Hey, man. What... uh, what are you doing here?” Cole asked, ignoring the twinge of embarrassment in his gut. Drinking alone was so uncharacteristically uncool. “Can I buy you a drink?” he offered, figuring Lucas had some shit to air out, too. He’d been attacked by Tommy H, after all, and that was the last Cole remembered seeing of him before the explosion. Though, admittedly, he’d been a little busy. 

[loverboymontgomery]

Cole Through the Years (And the Songs He Listened To)

[loverboymontgomery]

who: Cole & @willthewize​

where: the Byers’ porch!

what: brother reveal (2.0) (semi-sober version)

The day after the Wheeler’s Fourth of July barbecue Cole woke up with a pounding headache and a faint memory of a conversation with Jonathan Byers. But, he’d also woken up in Adam’s arms, and that took precedence. Still, the memory haunted him; Cole couldn’t escape the embarrassment he felt knowing that he’d been noticeably drunk when he told Jonathan they were related. Not his brightest moment. 

In truth, he’d wanted to tell Will first-- he’d even tried before, after the camping trip at the lake, but he was too nervous. Cole figured that it might be an easier pill for Will to swallow, since they weren’t close in age like he and Jonathan. He’d fully intended to tell Will right away, Jonathan’s warning to ‘be careful’ ringing in his ears and convincing him that he needed to tell Will before someone else did. But, then the explosion happened and Cole was in the hospital. 

At this point, he didn’t know what to expect, and he was certainly worse for for the wear: bruises and cuts still healing, arm in a sling, bursts of pain in his torso from the broken ribs, and the ever-present fear that something worse was going to happen. That something worse might cause him to lose Adam again. And if something worse happened and Cole died (physically or otherwise) before he got to talk to Will, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. 

So, he filled up his flask-- only for a few bursts of liquid courage-- and drove over to the Byers’ neighborhood. Only, he couldn’t stop in front of the house. Nervous fingers tapping on the steering wheel, Cole looped around the neighborhood once. Twice. Three times. God, he didn’t have the gas money for that, so he parked about five houses down and got out, careful not to bang his ribs or his arm on the car, and began pacing. 

About a half hour passed, accompanied by a few more swigs of the stinging liquid, and the dread didn’t go away. So Cole took a deep breath and approached the house... only to see Will sitting on the porch, sketchbook in hand. Had he seen him the whole time? An embarrassed flush gathered on Cole’s cheeks, and he wiped his good hand on his jeans to dispel the sweat that had gathered.

“Hey, man,” Cole greeted, attempting to put on a casual smile. “Got a minute? There’s something I wanna talk to you about,” the words fell out in a jumbled heap, but he was glad he’d said it. That he couldn’t escape from it this time. “I talked to Jonathan a while back and, I just... I thought I should tell you.” Cole studied his sling, picking at the fabric fraying on the edge. “Lonnie’s my dad, too.” Saying it out loud, without copious amounts of beer to numb the feeling, left Cole feeling like he’d ripped a bandaid off. He was exposed, bare, vulnerable to whatever Will’s response would be. He wished desperately that he remembered what Jonathan had said, if only to have some litmus for how this would go.

[loverboymontgomery]

who: Cole & @drewcampbell​​

where: The Music Center

It had been a week and a half since Cole had gotten out of the hospital, and he’d run a few errands by himself despite his mother’s and Adam’s protests. Truly, Cole was sick of being stuck in the house, like he had been sick of the hospital room. He was restless. Though the owner of the Music Center had told him to take all the time he needed, Cole wanted to go back in to work, if only to get out of the house for a while. Plus, he hadn’t taught the new guy how to do inventory, and Cole hated when the owner attempted it. He’d once come back to find Joni Mitchell in the heavy metal section, and promptly banned anyone else from the job. 

The drive over was a spectacle, from Cole having to carefully lower himself into the driver’s seat and avoid moving too much or too quickly and inflame the pain in his broken ribs, to him driving with one hand and adjusting the radio with his arm in the sling. But, he pulled into his usual parking spot and let himself into the Music Center from the back door. Smiling at Drew, Cole waved with his good arm. “Hey, man. How’s it going? Holding everything down here?” he asked, eyes skimming over piles of undone inventory. Cole tucked a stack of records under his arm and busied himself immediately.

He turned, feeling Drew’s eyes on his back, and supposed he should explain his more-ghostly-than normal appearance, the still-healing cuts and bruises, the sling. “From the carnival. Wrong place, wrong time,” he grimaced. Then, lifting a brow, he asked the other: “Were you there? I don’t remember much. You didn’t get hurt, did you?” He didn’t know much about Drew, so he wasn’t necessarily worried about him, but Cole winced at the thought that they’d forced him to work because Cole had been hospitalized.

[loverboymontgomery]

stevehharringtcns​:

.

everything had been such a blur and happened so fast that steve wasn’t sure what had happened anymore. he thought if some parts of it had been his imagination, but… he had definitely gotten into a fight with both jack and adam, but only he had come out injured. which was weird to think about, because he had definitely thrown around a couple of punches and he remembered quite well hitting jack in the face and then immediately feeling the pain in his face. he wasn’t sure how that had worked, but he wouldn’t be the one to figure out either. not while he was recovering, he thought to himself.

he looked over at adam for a couple of moments, pursing his lips as he did. he knew that he wouldn’t do anything like he had done at the carnival, he was hoping that whatever had happened had been a one time thing, which he doubted. but he wasn’t about to go around doubting everything that adam did. it just wouldn’t be cool of him to do so, and adam was a good friend to him when he wasn’t puking out some black goo and attacking him.

letting out yet another chuckle, immediately wincing at the pain that it caused, steve shook his head. “listen, i’ll ask the nurses to bring some more for you.” he said, nodding his head slowly when he heard cole talking about eddie. sighing, steve nodded again. “yeah, they… they arrested him. which was stupid because eddie would never do anything to hurt anyone. they were just trying to find a way to get him arrested for… the shit that happened two years ago.” he said, shaking his head, clearly still angry that someone would just do that for fun. he hated everyone who had been part of arresting eddie. “we’ll all be okay… eventually.” he nodded, letting out a sigh. at least he hoped that they would be.

at the question, steve just shrugged his shoulders. he hoped that he would have all of the answers to give to cole. he hated that he had been dragged into this, just like everyone he knew had been dragged. he hated that something was back and that they couldn’t do anything about it. “i don’t know… i really don’t know. i would try asking nancy, she’s… she’s the whole brains of the group. i’m sure she knows something by now.” he said, not knowing if it was true or not, but considering their last encounters with something supernatural, nancy was always the one to figure it out.

xx.

Cole tried, desperately, to read Steve’s expression when the others’ eyes fell on  Adam. Right now, in the hospital room, Adam was the least threatening presence-- his arm snaked around Cole’s fingers, intertwined, dirty blond hair rising and falling with his breaths. But Cole and Steve both knew what he was capable of when he wasn’t in control, and it was something Cole had begun to fear. What would others say or do to Adam now? And could Cole protect him? From others, from whatever was causing the blackouts? 

He trusted Steve to be fair and kind, he had no reason not to. Since Steve had stopped hanging out with Tommy H and Carol, Cole had seen another side of him-- from afar-- a more sensitive and caring Steve Harrington. And after everything that had happened between the two of them, Cole hoped that Steve’s goodwill could extend to Adam, too. 

Cole smiled, relieved that Steve’s comment pulled him out of his head, at least for the time being. “Yeah, bat your pretty eyes at them and get them to bring extra, while you’re at it,” he joked. It felt nice, even normal for a minute, until Steve told him about Eddie. Cole’s frown pulled his eyebrows together. “No, he wouldn’t. That’s bullshit,” his voice raised, which hurt his throat. “I can’t believe they’re holding onto that, with... Chrissy back.” Steve’s sigh seemed more hopeful than it was convincing, but Cole decided to let it slide. Positivity, however forced, wasn’t bad for them at the moment.

He nodded, then frowned when he remembered that Nancy was in the hospital, too. He wasn’t surprised, really, that she was the brains. It made him feel even a little confident that whatever this was could be stopped, with Nancy at the helm. “Is she doing okay? Have you heard?” Cole asked, worry creasing his brow. He leaned back in his bed for a minute and studied his and Adam’s hands, how they’d always fit together so naturally. Cautiously, he glanced back up at Steve. “You know that that wasn’t him, right? He would never... he doesn’t hurt people.” Cole’s eyes betrayed his desperation for someone to believe it, for someone to be on their side.

[loverboymontgomery]

chancecunningham​:

🍻

“in your dreams, player,” chance said with a light scoff as he plopped down into the visitor’s chair and loosely joined his hands in his lap. he took a second to inspect his classmate. cole looked pretty banged up…like aside from steve, he’d maybe gotten the worst  but still, despite being tattered and broken, cole maintained his attitude. “your sense of humor sucks. even on your…” death bed. his words trailed off before he delivered his own shitty punchline, figuring cole didn’t need to be verbally reminded of his injuries. 

chance waved off what he was going to say and quickly shifted gears to what he’d actually come to discuss once he got the okay from cole to talk. “i know you’re probably sick of hearing about this shit,” he began, clearing his throat as he leaned forward so he could be closer to cole and therefore keep his voice low, “but at the carnival…you said…something about adam dying…” a beat, “again.” 

out of all the people chance had spoken to since his sister and best friend came back from the dead, cole was the only one that had ever corroborated his reality. “did you mean like…literally?” chance asked, anxiously fidgeting with the bandage above his eye brow, “because….i….no one else remembers…except you.”

leaning back in his chair again, chance closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “i know i sound fucking crazy,” he breathed out as he shook his head slightly, “but i don’t know who else to talk to about this…my mom says it’s the devil in my fucking brain…nobody wants to hear it.” he opened his eyes slightly and peeked at cole through his lashes, “but i know this forest commune thing is bullshit…right?”

xx.

For a brief moment, Cole panicked at Chance’s use of the word ‘player.’ What did he know? Who had told him? But when the other moved on as if it was nothing, he figured it was just Chance being stupid. Cole traded grim smiles with his sort-of friend. “Death bed?” he finished for him. Truly, Cole knew he could’ve died, but it didn’t scare him like it probably should. The realization pulled his lips taut in a grim line and he felt a burning in his throat that only an ice-cold beer could soothe.

Cole wanted to flinch when Chance leaned towards him, an old habit, but he remained still, stoic. He remembered exactly what Chance was talking about-- the moment Adam’s eyes lost their shine, when he looked like he did before. For a moment, he entertained the thought of denying it, telling Chance he was being crazy. But, Chance was Adam’s best friend. He deserved to know, too.

Before he could explain, Chance’s nerves played out before him, and guilt settled within Cole’s chest at not having told him the truth before now. “Literally,” he confirmed, his voice barely louder than a whisper. “Yeah. He died, dude. And everyone knew that until... until he came back.” Cole remembered the funeral, remembered clasping Beth’s hand so tight she winced, remembered seeing Chance slip in the back with what he suspected was a flask in his suit jacket.

The cocktail of guilt and fear wrapped its fingers around Cole’s throat for a moment, forcing him into silence.  He lifted his eyes to Chance’s with a grimace and shook his head. “You’re not... crazy. I thought--” he paused, shaking his head at how stupid he’d been. “I thought if I didn’t ask questions about how he came back, it would be like before. I didn’t think... this would happen.” Running a hand through his matted curls, Cole sighed. “I’m sorry I never told you.”  He kept his head angled low, at his hands, to avoid Chance’s gaze.

[loverboymontgomery]

bethkrichards​:

“You know, just because you’re sick in bed, it doesn’t give you a free pass to talk about how attractive you think my brother is,” Beth teased, giving his shoulder a poke with her finger. “When I come back, I’ll be throwing popcorn at you the whole movie.” Cole wanted to try something new, and this was it. They’d never really talked about Adam in this same light in years. It was strange, getting used to talking about him in the present tense, leaving out the part about his death like it’d never happened. Ever since Adam had come back, they’d never discussed why or how his sudden reappearance came to be: it just was. That seemed to be more than enough for both of them.

Still, she sauntered off to the kitchen, throwing in a bowl of kernels to microwave, just as Cole had asked. Beth noticed that there was a photo of the three of them in there again, perched on a shelf, from Adam’s football days. One that made her smile now, instead of wanting to cry. “Here’s your snack, my liege,” she offered upon reappearance, sitting down on the couch beside him with a bowl full of warm popcorn. “Forgive me for a moment until I get up again and put the movie in, will you? I want to hear about how you’re doing without the voice, and face, of Link Larkin distracting us.”

xx.

“What, I need a pass now? Being the love of his life suddenly isn’t enough?” Cole pouted, leaning his head back dramatically. “Count your blessings, Elizabeth, because if he hadn’t met me do you have any idea how many guys he would’ve gone through looking like that?” He was intentionally laying it on thick, and the grin showing through his hand was evidence enough. As Beth stood up to get the popcorn, Cole couldn’t help the content smile on his face. Sure, things were complicated with what happened at the carnival and how Adam came back in the first place, but he couldn’t help how right this felt. How this was always what life was meant to be. 

Cole took the bowl, ignoring the pang in his ribs as he stretched his arm out to grab it. At this point, the pain was all the same, just a dull, nagging ache. “Woah, no need for formalities. I’m still the same old Cole,” he teased. He took a few pieces of popcorn and smiled agreeably at her proposition. They did have a lot to catch up on. “Link Larkin can wait.” Cole shifted his body so he could face Beth head-on. “I’m okay. I mean, I’m worried about him, you know? He’s gonna carry that shit-- the guilt-- no matter what I say.”