#an empty space

[chaptersleftunwritten]

An Empty Space | A Dead Man’s Memories | E.M.

Pairing: Kas!Vampire!Eddie Munson x Henderson!Reader. (Lovers to strangers to enemies…. It’s complicated.)

Description: Dustin Henderson loves to read, especially books by the novel super star, Stephen King. After reading ‘Pet Cemetery’ by the author, Dustin turns to fantasy when his best friend, Eddie Munson, is staring into the jaws of death in the Upside Down. Hoping that he can save him. That he can bring him back… Dustin buries him there.

⚠️ Warnings: Mentions of death, character death, Dark!Eddie, swearing/cursing, angst, murder, attempted murder, manipulation, kissing, implied sexual encounters, bodily harm, grief, menstrual blood, blood, gore, injury, stalking, trauma, night terrors, dead dove. This isn’t a fairytale.

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A/N: Lots of Kas inaccuracy I bet (not sorry!!) Word count unknown… I should really start keeping track. Also not proofread after a certain point xx

- 6 Months Prior -

Dustin’s cold and trembling hands warm with the spillage of fresh blood. Appearing maroon in the darkened light of the Upside Down, the blood has turned Eddie’s t-shirt from white to brown. The fluid feverishly and sinisterly splutters from Eddie’s mouth and splits his bony prominent chin in half.

Eddie bleeds from his stomach, the tears of his flesh ripped by the bats are oozing and hacking away at his precious time. His eyes flood with pain stricken tears bloated with terror and knowing. An ominous knowing that he wasn’t going to survive this attack. Despite his fear and the feeling of Death’s cold grip on his shoulder, he was beaming with joy that Dustin Henderson would be the last person he saw in this life.

“Stay with me, please stay with me, Eddie!” Dustin’s shoulders tremble with each swallowed sob he tries to fight. The palms of his soaked hands press firmly at one of the wounds however leaving the others seeping with crimson and unattended.

“Eddie!! Stay awake, Eddie!! Don’t— please don’t leave me, please…” Frustrated with Eddie’s growing stillness, Dustin resorts to tapping his face, slapping the skin of his cheek to keep Eddie conscious.

“Henderson…” A strained cough lunges from Eddie’s throat, shooting blood across the whole of his face, “Re… remember me… please. Don’t... forget.” Eddie is shivering with gentle sobs.

“No, Eddie, never! I’ll never forget. C’mon, you— you have to stay awake— stay with me. We.. we have to get you back— Steeeeeeve!!! Help me!!” Dustin’s confidence wavers and a gaping hole forms like a sucker punch to his gut as he realises that this is it. His best friend, the one person who he felt truly seen by, a mentor and an idol, was going to die. He was going to leave him stranded and alone in this God forsaken ‘normie’ world.

“I… I didn’t run… away… tell… tell her I didn’t… I didn’t run..” For the first time in hours Dustin remembers his older sister waiting at home for them. How could he possibly tell you, someone he adores and cherishes, that the love of her life is gone? How would he look you in the eye and tell you that Eddie is dead but you can’t know how or why?

He couldn’t. He couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t. He’d bring Eddie home to you.

But then, fate decided for him, and he had no choice. The apartment you and Eddie had planned together would sit vacant. Never occupied by you or him. No spilled paint on the carpet or questionable stains on the kitchen floor. There would be no laughter, no tears and no children…

Nothing but emptiness.

Raw and agonised wails of loss could be heard from miles off in the distance and they hit Steve’s ears like a clash of thunder as Dustin’s desperate attempts to keep Eddie alive had failed. Dustin’s heart breaks like glass in his chest, sharp and painful as it collapses to the pit of his stomach and splinters into a million pieces. Forever broken.

Eddie Munson died in his arms.

And only Steve could pry him away.

But they couldn’t leave until Dustin had done one last frantic good deed. He buried Eddie there, in the radioactive and somewhat alive soil of the Upside Down. Marking his grave with his guitar stuck wrong side up into the dirt and his bandana wrapped as a flag around its neck.

Dustin never told anyone why he did that. Why he buried Eddie Munson there.

But he knew why… and all he could do was hope that someday soon he’ll see his best friend again.

As himself or otherwise.

-

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- Present -

The hum of the refrigerator grumbles gently in the nightly silence and Dustin’s swollen eyes are set staring vacantly into the darkness. The kitchen table has rubbed the skin of his elbows raw and his legs feel numb against the chair below him. He stifles a sniffle and resorts to holding the weight of his exhausted head in the palms of his hands.

Too frightened to sleep. Too sleep deprived to stay awake.

Nights like this have become the ordinary routine for Dustin, and you, his sister. He knows exactly when to expect the creek of your bedroom door opening just enough to listen for him in the kitchen. The struggle of you finding your fuzzy slippers and dressing gown so you don’t catch a chill when you go to find him.

And it’s always the same. Dustin will be at the kitchen table, blanketed in shadow, and you’ll always pretend to be thirsty for a glass of water or rummaging through the refrigerator for an early morning snack.

Neither of you talk about it too much. The comedy of it all. But both of you know that Henderson’s are far from stupid.

“Hey.” Your low voice is clear and soft as it splits the space, a dead giveaway that you haven’t been to sleep tonight either.

Dustin doesn’t bother to raise his head, “Hi.”

Compared to you, it sounds like he had swallowed razor blades moments prior to opening his mouth. When it fills the space it’s like the crackle of burning wood in a blazing fire.

Your stature stalls at the refrigerator door, your hand lingering over the smooth silver handle for a moment too long as you ponder what to say next. What do you say to someone who is hurting just as much as you are? What could you say?

“Nightmare?” The question is asked flamboyantly. A throw-away question that you already knew the answer to. You ask it every night. You just had to confirm it.

Finding nothing satisfactory in the refrigerator your next pit stop is the freezer.

“Mhm,” His vocalisation makes you frown into the 2Litre tub of Neapolitan ice-cream, “Couldn’t sleep?” Dustin fires back as he sits up right and folds his arms across his stomach.

Your jaw ticks and you grimace as you steady yourself, moving on to locate a soup bowl in the dark, “Something like that.” Your voice is meeker now. A lot more reserved.

The honest truth was, you hadn’t slept right for 6 months. Something always stirred you awake and when you awoke, you’d always reach for him.

But he wasn’t there anymore.

“You want some?” You hold up a spoon in gesture to the ice-cream thawing on the counter. Dustin scoffs and your eyebrows furrow in surprise.

“Do I want ice-cream? It’s 3 o’clock in the morning—“

“Okay, jeez! God, what happened to my kid brother, huh?” You slam the ice-cream closed and nearly catapult it back into the freezer, “Y’know, you’re so lucky that mom is a deep sleeper because she would freak if she knew you weren’t sleeping—“

“Okay, yeah, I get it! Forgive me if I’m no in the mood for chit chat and ice-cream but I’m missing my best friend, okay?” Your heart wrings in your chest.

“I miss him too but you aren’t the only person hurting, Dustin. Eddie’s gone. He left us and you need to move on and find other friends—“

Dustin’s body turns rigid, his bones seizing until they’re mistakable as concrete. You didn’t know the truth. The week after Eddie had died that’s when Dustin gathered enough courage and composure to spin the tale that Eddie had fled town. That he had met some other new girl. And through this lie came the guilt ridden night terrors. The haunting ghoulish face that bullied him nightly when he slept. Eddie’s soulless eyes seared into the backs of his eyelids.

He had to hide his grief. He had to choke it down like it didn’t exist and every night it visited him in his dreams.

“How can you say that? You’re supposed to love him!—“

“Yeah, I did!” Your voice betrays you with a whiny crack, “I did love him. I still love him and some stupid part of me thought that— that he loved me too but he left me, Dustin. He left you! Why are you not mad at him?” Suddenly the melting bowl of soupy ice-cream no longer appealed to you, “Why do you sulk around all day like a— a fucking sad little puppy waiting for him to show up? He’s Not. Coming. Back!—“

“He might!—“ Total desperation.

“No. He won’t.” You ignore the intense burn of your tears against the lash line of your eyes as you drop your bowl into the kitchen sink with a careless clatter. An eerily calm demeanour falling over you. With your back still to Dustin you welcome the fall of fiery tears down your cheeks.

“It’s been 6 months. If I catch you up again like this I’m telling mom. You need to sleep.” Your tone is cold. Frostbitten.

Before Dustin has any time to protest you are scurrying out of the kitchen like a wounded animal and back to the safety of your bedroom on the ground floor.

Leaving Dustin stranded.

And alone.

-

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- 2 Weeks Later -

For the last 14 days you and Dustin had tiptoed around one another. Barely uttering so much as a full sentence when it came to sitting down for a family meal each evening. Of course, your mom took notice, but she had learned from many years of sibling rivalry experience that it’s best to let the both of you wait it out until it all cools off.

“So, Dusty Bun! How’s your new little club doing at school? Hellscape… or.. Hell… something—“ Your mom’s bumbling is genuine and her honest cluelessness nearly elicits a laugh from you.

“Hellfire,” Dustin stabs his fork into a roast potato with intent to harm the poor vegetable, “It’s.. doing fine.”

Lips purse in annoyance and you gnaw the inside of your cheek. A futile effort to keep your opinions to yourself.

You knew that Dustin was lying. He had gotten pretty decent at it the last year or so. Maybe you felt like this towards him because you two had already been arguing, or maybe it was because you had always been protective of your mom and you didn’t appreciate his dorky little angsty tone that he was taking with her.

“It’s not her fault, Dustin.” Your tone remains calm and still like a sheet of frozen water. Unwavering. You didn’t want to spark a flame with Dustin, you just wanted to remind him of who he was speaking to. The atmosphere at the dinner table seizes up like cramp in a stiff muscle. Your mom very evidently afraid to breathe.

Your eyes meet across the table and for an intense moment you ready yourself for fire to spit from his mouth, but to your surprise, Dustin only sighs and offers your mom a thin curve of the lips.

“Sorry, mom. Long day today…” His gaze flickers to you and his eyebrows jump up discreetly on his forehead. An unspoken way of him saying, ‘Satisfactory? Okay. You’re right. Let’s stop fighting.’

You accept this peace offering with a respectful bow of your head before filling your mouth with a forkful of food. Your mom’s rigidness melts away like butter but that doesn’t stop her from excusing herself from the table to empty the drying rack to make room for the incoming dishes.

After a few long moments of heavy silence you decide it’s better for you to start acting your age as opposed to your shoe size, “Truce?” You ask with the faintest of smiles.

Dustin ponders it for a second, trying to analyse the outcome of this before gently nodding his head and requiting your small smile, “Truce.”

“Great, because you’re on dishes tonight—“ Your face cranes over your shoulder and Dustin’s mouth opens to speak but nothing comes out, “Mom, don’t touch those!! Dustin just volunteered!”

Dustin’s face contorts as he gurgles a scoff, “Remember when we used to get along? Yeah, me neither.”

Then you leave the table.

-

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- Present -

In the dead of night images flash up in his mind like a flickering film reel. Memories of his life worn and full of noise and disturbance. So far away yet so close he could touch them. Taste them.

The trailer sits unmoving and sleepy in the indigo blue nightfall. Against his pale and Hell tormented skin the quickening Spring wind is mild and welcomed. He hadn’t experienced this in a long time.

This aliveness wouldn’t slip through his taloned fingers. Not this time.

The taste of metal coats his forked tongue still as traces of blood weave themselves around each of his teeth. His lips are messily stained from the concentration of the bodily fluid. Kas pays no mind to the fact that by morning break that dismembered body lying by the side road with its throat ripped out will be undoubtably found by someone passing by.

Authorities will be distraught. Where, Kas believes, they should be thankful that he has fed and satiated himself. For now.

Kas could inhabit a host with ease but he could only access so many of their memories. He could only bury himself so deep into their psyche and Eddie seemed to be doing a good job of guarding his most cherished memories and keeping them tucked away and out of Kas’s reach.

Time would allow him to burrow further, only he had to reinsert himself into Eddie’s world first. Starting with this tiny trailer home. Located at 53 Forest Hill Trailer Park. Hawkins, Indiana. The outside of the trailer resembled a decaying tin can that had been left out in the rain. From the rusted seams of the trailer weeps streaks of burnt orange and the windows appear so wind struck with dirt and grime that he can’t even peer through to the inside of the home. The metal joints and bolts whine in the breeze uneasily and he is left to wonder how long this has been inhabited by the Munson’s.

Inside, Kas could hear the gentle thrum of a resting heartbeat and he was certain that it must belong to Eddie’s relative, Wayne, sleeping soundly inside.

The keys in Eddie’s pocket chimed softly as all the metal clinked against each other and the front door clicked open with knowing: Welcoming him home.

Stealthy with eyes like a hawk, Kas takes in the scene like a detective to a crime. Everything remained solid, just as he had seen from Eddie’s memory of the place. Even the smell that lingered in the living room felt familiar. Enough to cause Eddie to stir against Kas’s command. Eddie was proving to be more of a nuisance than he had hoped for. Strong and passionate.

Now, Kas isn’t one to commit to the mundane daily routines of the human’s that he hosts, but if he were to blend in here then he had to scrub the drying blood from his face and hands before he gave Wayne a heart attack.

Each step toward the bathroom elicited more findings. More recognition and more fight from Eddie. Trying to fight him was like being strangled with barbed wire; annoying and worrisome. Luckily, Kas was able to suppress him. Ignoring his plead for his humanity and his cries of bitter loneliness.

The bathroom light buzzes to life with a satisfying ‘clonk’ of the light switch and Eddie’s weak human eyes wince as he is engulfed in warm beams. The small ceiling fan in the corner gurgles to a gentle whir and Kas closes the bathroom door behind him before inspecting his ghoulish reflection in the nearby mirror.

Just as expected, he looked horrifying. Too gruesome for immediate introductions.

Cheekbones protrude like cliff side rocks being bashed against by the ocean. Eye sockets are sunk in toward Eddie’s skull and his eyes… his eyes were like wine spilled over snow. Intense enough to make you flinch.

It smelt clinical in the bathroom, like bleach from the cleaning supplies under the sink but also damp from the nearby bath towels folded on the outdated radiator. Not bad or unpleasant but lived in and recently used.

The walls are coated in a thin layer of cheap light blue paint, almost white with the loss of pigment over the years. Toward the ceiling the paint has began to peel from the steam from the shower, revealing underneath the paper brown of the plaster board that lines the foundations of the space.

Eddie’s body is stripped limb for limb of clothes and jewellery before the shower water has time to warm up. Humid steam is fast to fill the small room and each breath feels thicker and thicker with each inhale and lasts twice as long.

The pads of his feet are cold against the cream coloured vinyl floor as he treads toward and into the shower cubicle. Warmth instantly finds his skin and it’s like soft kisses to his tired flesh.

As the shower stream thunders down onto his head and soap meets skin and hair the plug hole swirls with crusty old blood, both Eddie’s and otherwise, dirt and debris. The darkened water drains away whatever it was that happened to Eddie Munson in the Upside down and he steps out of the shower cubicle a new man but also a scarred man.

Kas is many things, but he is not a healer. He cannot mend the events of the past. So, Eddie’s scars on his abdomen, arms and neck remain just as they would have if Eddie had survived himself. They helped Kas puzzle together his final moments.

The mirror squeaks as Eddie’s damp palm swipes away some of the condensation from the glass. Revealing to Kas a much more tame and gentle appearance. He truly saw Eddie for the first time then.

Something otherworldly happened in that moment, when Kas’s voided gaze met Eddie’s. Something that used to be human stirred within him and an empty aloneness pierced his chest like a thin hot rod. His eyebrows flickered with surprise and he could hear the pounding of Eddie’s heart in his ears. It was as though he could feel his blood coursing through his entire body, thrumming in his veins like the strings of an electric guitar.

However, the tender moment is short lived as passiveness is injected back into Kas’s bones and he slings a graphite grey towel low around his hips which is clearly five years old or older.

The door knob whines with a small twist and as the door pans open Kas is then met with a Browning BSS double barrelled shotgun rifle to the face with Wayne standing poised on the other side dressed in nothing but pinstriped sleep shorts, a faded white vest and brown socks up to his knees.

The human thing for him to do would be retreat and cower with his hands raised in surrender. Instead, he stands there. Heart pumping. Staring down the abyss of the barrel. Total acceptance.

The gun’s safety remains on and Wayne’s iron clad grip on the machine loosens and then drops to reveal his wrinkled and stubbly face wide and ghastly blown with surprise and mild horror.

“Eds…? “ His voice is hoarse and bed ridden, “Eddie?” Wayne’s jaw wobbles with the words and his tired eyes slick over with salt. The palm of his free hand paws at his droopy eyes as if he thought he were mistaken by the sight. It felt like a dream to see Eddie standing there bathed in light and mist and glowing around the edges. He had to be sure. He had to be sure this was real.

Eddie’s face contorts into a wicked grin that pinches his cheeks and slits his menacing eyes devilishly.

“Hi, Wayne.”

-

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Small orange wheels churn and tremble against the rough gravelled concrete leading up toward Hawkin High’s busy entrance. The morning sun burns bright in the clear seaglass sky and students of all heights and ages crowd the parking lot in squashed groups. The dots of their colourful backpacks merging together to form some sort of distorted Andy Warhol painting.

Max’s faded black converse clad foot kicks up the edge of her treasured skateboard until the palm of her hand catches it. A skill she has practiced a thousand times and can do from muscle memory. She knows exactly where to find the party that morning— she also knows exactly what they’ll be arguing about, too.

Lucas’s hand slaps against his locker, frustrated, “I’m telling you guys, it was Eddie! Max freakin’ saw him!” Will and Mike share a look of apprehension before Will’s eyes soften to concern.

“And what about Dustin? He’ll be crushed if you’re wrong about this.” Will crosses his arms over his chest defensively, his shoulders soft and shy.

“I’m not wrong!” Lucas fires back, explosive and passionate. His deep eyes find Max skating toward them in the background behind Mike. She swerves multiple Freshmen and Lucas grabs Mike’s shoulders to turn him toward her, “Here she comes! Ask her! Max, over here!”

The redhead rolls her eyes with a faint smile etched on her lips at her boyfriend’s arm waving her over, as if she weren’t already on her way toward him.

“Hey guys—“

“You saw Eddie?” Mike interjects with a squwack, his voice whiny and slightly annoying.

“Yeah, did you really see him?” Will chimes, his voice softer but edged with alarm.

“Tell them, Max. Tell them—“ Lucas’s voice is clipped surgically when Dustin joins the group. He wears a fluffy grin but his eyes look fatigue ridden and a shade of salmon red.

“Tell us what?” Dustin asks, attentive and curious.

The party swells with a pregnant silence and all eyes dart around in a circle from Dustin to the other members. They contemplate the weight of this with severity. One wrong move and Dustin could break.

Again.

Dustin’s impatience grows until he become irritable, “Well?” He snips in a very Eddie tone of voice.

“Uh… Max… Max saw Eddie.” Mike is the one to warily break the news and Dustin fixates his gaze on Mike’s face, suddenly wide awake.

“What?” Dustin’s voice comes out in panted breath. His throat croaks lowly, barely audible, “It worked…” and Mike nods toward Max who stands waiting for Dustin’s immediate interrogation.

“Is… is that true? Did you see him?” He takes a step closer toward her, his sneakers squeaking across the newly polished floor as he does. Max treads carefully, her eyes as steady as a sniper’s as she takes in Dustin’s every move.

“Yeah. I did—“

“This should be impossible, right?” Will argues timidly, unsure and beyond confused, “Eddie… Eddie died.”

The whole group feel that pain in their chest. The nightmarish memory being the cause of the hollow ache.

“Yeah, he did. He is…” Doubt riddles his mind, “Right?” Mike’s throat bobs as he gulps thickly.

After momentary silence Dustin finally pipes up after some tense solo thinking, “It isn’t necessarily impossible,” He pauses, a small smile brushing his face, “But it is fucking insane.”

Max and Dustin meet once more, “Where did you see him?” He continues.

“Walking toward the outskirts. He was alone but I’d recognise that wild hair cut anywhere. It was him.”

Complete conviction.

“Take me to him.”

-

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The air is foreboding and misgiving. A protective and gentle tug on the sleeve of your sweater whispering, ‘no, don’t go.’ Silence fills your head with an ominous ringing and each click of your bike chain feels like the ticking of a bomb about to explode. As the road stretches out in front of you and the surrounding trees begin to shroud you in inescapable darkness you feel the watchful eyes of the forest piercing your skin like syringes. The overwhelming aloneness that captivates you from head to toe is nearly enough to strike you from your bike. You wobble against gravity and reality hits you in the form of beaming headlights blinding you from the bend in the road up ahead. A cargo truck barrels past you and its shrieking horn stops you still. The erratic rhythm of your heart against your ribs makes you battle the rancid urge to vomit right there and then.

Anxiety lingers in the background of each of your thoughts. Fighting rationality. Welcoming dread.

Just when you thought you might implode from panic you reach Skull Rock and your ears are met with wailing laughter. The tyres of your bike grumble against the forest floor, nearly knocking your chain off the bottom bracket with each stick and stone as you edge closer and closer toward the smoking ball of orange in the distance. A teenage made camp fire, no doubt. The Spring time chill drags goosebumps from your skin and a shiver snakes down your spine. The sensation is specific, comparable to a melting ice cube on warm flesh.

Upon your handle bars your bike light begins to flicker and glitch until finally completely shutting off. Allowing darkness to captivate you. Something it has never done before until now. Luckily, you were near enough to the fire to be granted some light. Enough to see who is surrounding that fire.

“Dustin…” The name leaves your throat in a swallowed plea. Barely excusable and yet it grabs everyone’s attention.

“You came! Didn’t think you’d wanna—“

“Hey!” Beams Max, offering you a small jolt of her hand.

“Come, sit.” Steve chimes in a relaxed manner which pulls your blown gaze over to him. At first glance you hadn’t initially registered the shadow perched next to him on the fallen log. His shape similar to that of a cloaked raven occupying a tree branch.

After taking notice of him, something powerful shifts the group. A stiffness that seizes their lungs from breathing and their muscles from moving. The warning tug on your sleeve was now heavy fists pounding on your back begging and screaming for you to flee. Run and never stop running.

“What the fuck…”

Instead, you stand there. Tethered to the spot.

“You didn’t tell her?” Max hisses in a hushed tone but you still hear her over your pulse clanging in your ears.

Dustin scoffs, “Well no, I guess she— I thought it’d be a surprise— I thought it was nice!”

Your stare is unwavering. Stuck on his silhouette like a deer in headlights. A moth to a disastrous flame. Still, he hasn’t looked at you. Not yet.

“Can’t even look at me.” A scornful thought that wasn’t supposed to hit anyone’s ears except your own and yet the party fall notably silent.

Charcoaling wood snaps and crackles in the rising flames, punctuating the very moment that Eddie’s eyes search your own. His iris’s welcome the smouldering orange of the fire, tainting his otherwise black iris to a Hellish red hue.

There is challenge in his glower and the grin that stretches his cheeks is unanticipated. It shocks you, even.

“There. Now I’m looking.”

Your clenched fists slacken at the grumbling vibration of his voice dominating your mind. Eddie’s voice had changed since he’d abandoned you months ago. Opposite of his once delicate and smoother tone. It was guttural with a jagged and sharp edge. Grittier and more resonate in his chest cavity. Grounded and animalistic. A threat that was able to strike terror with horrific flamboyant ease and it wasn’t just the sound of his voice that appeared heavier and forever shifted. He looked so…

“Let’s talk. Privately…” Evidently, it wasn’t a request.

The soles of your Reebok sneakers remain planted in the dry earth of the forest and you observe Eddie’s slow rise to his feet. It appeared fluid in a way that could’ve only been rehearsed.

Shadows swirl across his frame with each small gust of wind that dances with the flame separating the two of you. He stood taller with a quiet confidence and your face warms at the sharpness of his jaw and the sunken definition of his cheeks. His hair is freshly washed, you could tell, and there was something obscure stretched on the side of his neck. A large dark spider web of skin that almost looked like a scar and was hidden by his dark ringlets.

Noting your rigid frame, Eddie smiles warmly at you and this time, for the first time since arriving, you recognise him, “Please? Only take a sec.”

A second too long, you thought to yourself.

Thankfully for Kas, Dustin had spilled his guts to Eddie a few hours prior. Bringing him up to speed about every intricate event that had spanned over the last 6 months. The tales and the deceit. Including your avoidance and detest of the topic of everything Munson related.

Kas wasn’t fond of the complexities of human emotions and he didn’t care enough to learn how to navigate them in their entirety but he did like to think of himself as a mass manipulator and that’s what he intended to do. Become the ventriloquist to your puppet.

Sensing your stubbornness, Eddie breaks away from the camp light toward a darker area of the forest beckoning you to follow. Close enough to the group to seem ‘safe’ but far enough for his lies to paint the exact picture he wanted them too. Uninterrupted.

Morbid curiosity brings your feet forward one cautious step at a time and it doesn’t take much time before the group begin to mingle together again at your absence.

“Save it.”

“What— I’ve not even— just listen—“ Your eyes strain to adjust to the darkness and Eddie’s shape seems faceless in the shaded moonlight except for those reflective button eyes blinking back at you.

“No—“ A click of your tongue punctuates your eye roll.

“Yes.” You seem to blink and somehow Eddie is right in front of you. Intense eyes searching yours and his leather clad arms caging you in against a tree trunk, “Five minutes. S’ all I ask.”

A shiver flickers down Eddie’s spine at the scent of you. Such a delicate aroma cursed with memories that make Kas’s head spin hazily. Dreamlike. The way your laugh always had you clutching at your chest and how you looked when you were in deep sleep. The droplets of water on your skin lingering after you’d showered and your happy dance after Eddie would supply your favourite snacks on a gloomy day. For a moment, Kas’s control slips. Eddie’s consciousness wrapping its tight fists around his throat.

At this proximity you take notice of his eyes— how much they have changed. Somehow. No longer heavy with warmth and oozing with brown, but flecked and pierced with a cold red and black. Almost shimmering in the darkness. Those weren’t the eyes you fell in love with.

Distracted by the charred smell of bark and the fresh mint that captivate your senses, you are transported back to the hallway at school when you first began dating Eddie. The sneaky make-out sessions between classes against the lockers that left you panting and yearning for more. The brushed knuckles as you passed one another in the canteen. You remembered everything good. Every moment bathed in warmth and love. Such a stark contrast to what is in front of you now.

“I’m taking your silence as compliance so this is it. The whole truth—“ Eddie uses the soft pad of his index finger against your jaw to shift your face back toward the fire, “Your brother lied to you.”

“Shut up—“ A snorted laugh.

“He did. Henderson covered for me,” As much as you didn’t want to believe a word he said, it would explain Dustin’s restlessness. His reckless behaviour and his inability to sleep since Eddie vanished some months ago. Only you couldn’t understand why. What was so bad that Dustin couldn’t spare you the truth? Anything other than the basketball sized hole punched into your chest when you thought Eddie fled with another woman, “You remember Reefer Rick, don’t cha’?”

Slowly you nod your head.

“Well, you know that he is- was, my supplier, right?” His eyebrows perk, searching for confirmation, “For drugs?”

“Yes, for drugs. Jeez— I know that I’m not dumb—“

“And since you’re not dumb you’ll know that he isn’t the supplier,” Eddie paces slowly, his hand movements like liquid, “He’s the middle man. Basically what I’m saying is— I had to go, I needed to go but I, well, I obviously didn’t want to.”

No sound leaves you.

“Reefer Rick fucked me over,” Eddie’s feet still as he stops dead in his tracks, his body facing yours. You hadn’t noticed up until this point that your back is still flush against the tree trunk from earlier and now, pinned under his gaze, you begin to feel trapped, “I paid him and he robbed me— fucking snake, month after month!” He drags a frustrated his palm down his face, “People from the top came looking for me… that’s why I hid. It’s why I— I ran. I owed them too much and— and I didn’t even know that I did!” He chuckles solemnly to himself and your jaw unhinges with utter disbelief.

Money. This was about fucking money. As if he could read your mind…

“Before you tear me apart just know that I love yo— it killed me to leave, okay? For the last 6 months I have been fucking dead inside but I had to look out for you. I couldn’t live with myself if some macho drug dealing asshat came looking for you because of me.” Eddie respects the space you need right now, judging from your crossed arms and deeply furrowed eyebrows.

“So, instead of telling me you owed someone money you left without a word and let my little brother pick up your pieces?” Eddie’s shoulders square as he braces himself. You laugh pitifully, “That’s ridiculous, y’know that? Fucking pathetic.”

“I almost told you— Woooah hey!” Purposefully you wall your shoulder into his, unfortunately this meant getting close enough to him for him to grab your upper arm with a vice like grip, “Don’t be like that—“

“Let go. Now.”

“No—“

“Eddie, I swear to God—“

“I can’t let you go,” His voice swells in your ears like a whimpering pup, “Not again— you don’t understa— I can’t lose you—“ He is breathless.

Puckered lips open and shut like a fish in water as you track your mind for a response but instead you say nothing. Only you both stand there in one another’s presence for a prolonged moment.

“Let’s start over… please?” Gently, Eddie’s hands slide down your arms until they clasp your fingers, “Please. I just, I want you to trust me again.”

He hides his amusement well, gnawing on the inside of his fleshy cheek to bite back a knowing smile. One feathery touch and he can already see your facade faltering. This ‘I hate you’ and ‘I’m so cool and tough’ act that you have going on is no match for the muscle memory stored in your bones. Melting into Eddie’s touch is what you’re used to and it’s what you’ve longed for every waking moment of every night for the last 24 weeks.

“I need you in my life… I do. And I know I’ve been selfish and— and I know you hate my fucking guts but please… please just let me show you how sorry I am— let me show you I’m better now. Better than before.”

Kas contemplates a dramatic finale of dropping to Eddie’s bony knees and clasping his begging hands up at you as if you were a God. He knows that human’s thrive off of power and domination. They live and breathe control and when starved of it they try to create chaos to find it. Maybe he just had to feed you… make you believe that this was your idea. That you are the puppeteer and he the wooden boy.

Your heart wages war against your brain. Your wide eyes linger on Eddie’s for a second too long before they cowardly flit away and down toward your shoes that now appear all the more interesting. Of course, Kas notices this.

What you think you want to say to him is;

No, you hurt me, fuck you, stay away from me, I hate you, fuck off and eat shit.

Instead you whisper, “There was no other woman?”

“No, no! I promise—” He explains.

“Then okay.” The nail in the coffin.

“Okay?” He beams, bearing all teeth and the space between you begins to shrink. He cranes his neck to try and catch your gaze and he successfully does.

“Okay.” You barely manage to repeat the word.

His hands squeeze the balls of your shoulders a tad too tight, “Oh, Sweetheart… you won’t regret this.” A flirty purr that ruins your stomach.

That settled it. Its about time you two got to know one another… all over again.

-

━━━━━━━━┛ ✠ ┗━━━━━━━━

Krrrrrk!

The walkie-talkie on his belt hisses to life.

‘Come in, Hopper. Chief Hopper, come in.’

“Yep.” Hopper croaks with pinched eyes and a thundering headache. Beer for breakfast wasn’t his brightest idea but there was no damn coffee in the house.

‘We have a situation down on—“

“Already there, Linda.” The fog fallen arable field sits idle and vast. Contaminated with a desecrated corpse that appeared drained in its entirety. Skin sagged, wrinkled and dry with undertones of bruise blues and purples. Veins as black as coal and finger tips and toes the same inhuman colour. Unlike the last few that have been showing up all over Hawkins under similar circumstances, this one appeared to be female. Judging from her headless body.

She is the first of five to pop up. Each scene demanded Hopper’s authoritarian presence and he could stomach it. Until now. This one… this one churned his stomach and tied it in a wretched knot of bile and bubbles. He could only think of Jane. What if this were her? What if this were one of her friends? What would he do?

Could he cope?

“Awaiting the rest of the team, Chief. They’re ETA’d at 15 minutes.” Hawkins PD officer Calvin Powell asserts with clarity and strength which earns a silent nod from Hopper.

“Where were they?” Jim finally asks, his scowl unwavering from the scene in front of him.

Powell clears his throat, “Another scene, Hop. Supposedly more recent than her. Body is basically still warm.” He nods towards the girl in the grass.

“Oh, Jesus Christ.” Hopper pinches the bridge of his nose, his eyes crinkled as he shakes his head in disbelief, “Same pattern?”

“Yep.”

“Man or woman?”

“Teenager.”

“Shit!!” Instinctively Hopper’s hands momentarily cup his ears, trying to shield himself from the dark news. His hands then form fists as he shoves them into his coat pockets full of frustration, “Fuck this fucking job!” He screams into the sky, causing nearby birds to fly from their settled nests and flee.

Powell gulps thickly, “People are worried, Chief. What do we tell them?”

A palpable moment passes.

“Do we know her name?” He drags his palm down his face, both exhausted and plagued with confusion. The wheels churn in Hopper’s head, the pieces not quite fitting together in the way they’re supposed to. What was he missing? Who is the monster doing this to people?

He can’t be human. He just… can’t be.

“Chief, the town—“

“Do we have a name, Powell?!” Hopper breaks.

“No, Sir.”

“And why is that? Huh?” He is slow to walk interogatively closer to Calvin.

“Well, uh she— she uh doesn’t—“

“Doesn’t what?” Jim prods more, his agitation growing, “Doesn’t what?!”

“She doesn’t have a head, Sir!” Calvin shudders, maybe the weight of the situation has finally began to dawn on him. Maybe not.

“And that’s exactly why we can’t tell the fucking town!” Jim plunges his hand into his coat, pulling out a red deck of cigarettes and a lighter, “Now, get outta my sight. Radio me when the team arrive. Copy?”

“Copy.”

-

━━━━━━━━┛ ✠ ┗━━━━━━━━

The pursuit started small. Creeping in like haunting shadows across your bedroom floor. No matter where you were or who you were with, Eddie always managed to rev his head. You’d catch a glimpse of him at the corner of your eye, mistake him for someone else only to find his eyes already on you when you’d recognise him. Something in your head would always sound off an alarm. A warning siren ringing shrill and sharp as he casually waved his hand up at you and smiled a knowing grin.

Something felt off about him recently.

New.

Separate…

This Eddie was far different to your old one. Callous, cruelly sarcastic and intimidating. His personality seemed to tower over you, even suffocate you at times. Dustin, however, was star-struck by him. Dumbfounded and totally oblivious.

The day of Steve’s backyard barbecue was the day everything shifted. Summer was heavy in the air, the temperature seeming to have sky rocketed over night and the flowers of life were in full bloom. However, alongside the smell of flowers drying in the sun also came the thick stench of death that mortified the town. People were more than aware of the bodies appearing, they were outraged and they demanded answers. But Hopper couldn’t provide them anything, not once he knew where these attacks stemmed from.

Hopper is no stranger to the horrors of The Upside Down, and that’s why until further notice, these secrets would die with him.

In the meantime, a cold beer and a hamburger wouldn’t hurt anyone, right?

It’s his day off.

Hopper in charge of the grill and meat, Joyce on teenage surveillance and everyone else?

Sweltering in the sun.

“Fuck, it’s hot.” Steve groans, his palm pawing at his sweaty upper lip and brow.

“Too fucking hot.” You agree, squinting across the pool with the sun beaming off of the water and directly into your eyes.

Across the yard, the boys play with super soakers and water balloons. Pelting them off of one another and bellowing with hysterical laughter. Max and Jane are close by, as always, their eyes flickering to and from your lounging frame. There is no question that they looked up to you, Nancy and Robin, however it didn’t stop you from shifting uncomfortably every now and again under their watchful gaze.

“Steve?” You address the host soft and unsure. Slowly, you shift onto your side to face him, propped up with your weight leaning against your elbow.

“Hmm?” He hums lazily, his eyes closed beneath the shade of his sun glasses.

“Do you—“ You hesitate, the question tasting fuzzy on your tongue, “Do you… believe Eddie?”

Immediately, Steve’s muscles strain beneath his sun-kissed skin and though he hides his worry well you can instantly read that something isn’t right, “What’dya mean?”

“I mean do you buy all this crap about Rick? Did you know about it… the whole thing?” You’re hopeful that he didn’t, that he’d never watch you suffer the way that you did. But part of you remained doubtful of your friends. After all, Dustin was closest with Steve. You couldn’t imagine him hiding such a thing from him.

“No— What? Of course I didn’t know.”

“Honest?” The tenderness to your voice is sickening.

Flexed muscles soften like warm honey at your tone, “Swear. Cross my heart, Hendy.”

A loud breath exhales from your mouth, your jaw still tense with contemplation.

“So, you believe him?” Pensively you admire the ripple of the swimming pool.

“Sure, I believe him—“ All nonchalance with a confident puffed chest.

“Don’t do that—“

“Do what?” His voice pitches higher and you groan.

“Be dismissive. Defend him. If there’s something you know that I don’t then please just—“

Steve is quick to sit upright, matching your now rigid energy and slinging his sunglasses up to rest in his hair, “Listen, I don’t know what you think I know… but I’d never withhold anything from you, okay? Not if I knew it could help… settle you…”

Settle you. Like you were some sort of distressed wild animal being domesticated. The statement stung like sun burn scorching your skin.

“I have so many questions…”

Instead of retaliation and causing a scene; you let the conversation diminish. Allowing everyone to enjoy the start of a long and tireless Summer.

When Eddie finally arrives the majority of the company have gone home and people are beginning to cover up as the nightly chill creeps its way through Steve’s backyard.

You remain by the pool, allowing the soft wind to coat your skin in lulling kisses. Heavy eyelids fall closed and your shoulders slump with each slow and intentional breath you take. Almost asleep— Until a certain someone pipes up next to you.

“Hard day lounging in the sun?” You heard his grin before you saw it. Each and every one of your cells question if you can be bothered dealing with him right now.

Something about his voice swayed you, though. It quirked your lips up into a tiny curve.

“No, I’m just… thinking.” Your eyes remain closed and Eddie admires your bare frame without judgement.

“About?” Instantly he is inquisitive, his eyebrows raised up on his forehead and his lips pursed.

For a moment you linger, simply existing within the silence as you contemplate what to say. How could you tell him that you were thinking about him? The way his eyes used to smile at you from across the room and how each feathery touch lit your soul aflame. How could you share the dreaded despair of how much you miss him? How you still miss him… even though he is right there with you. Looking at you like that.

“Doesn’t matter.” The decision was clear. There wasn’t much point in enlightening him.

He hums a hum that reads suspicion and you find yourself now fixated on his neck. His hair, tied back in a low bun, cascaded loosely in soft wispy waves barely covering the fresh scars etched there on display. Your fingertips twitch with need, longing to trace the sharp pattern there and examine him further. What happened to him? Where did he go?

“Caught you,” He muses with a grin, snapping you back to the present and you stare at him with a gaping mouth, “You’re curious.”

“Sorry! I— You don’t have to— Shit I’m so sorry…” Blood pulses to your cheeks which causes a hearty chuckle to ripple from Eddie’s throat.

“S’ fine, Sweetheart…” Shaky digits tremble as he fidgets with the silver on his fingers, “Motorbike accident when I was in Florida.” Unruly eyebrows pinch close together as he recalls the scene in great detail.

Florida. That’s where he was…

“A motorbike did that?” The exclamation wasn’t intended but you were confused. Eddie on a motorcycle, it didn’t make any sense. And Florida? Of all places…

“Surprised me, too,” A laugh that read half heart and half sorrow. In an incredibly human way, Kas felt the weight and guilt of his lie. The closer he got to you, the stronger Eddie’s screams became. His thrashing was hard to ignore, “Parts of the accident are a total blur and other parts, well, they uh just don’t exist…”

“You don’t remember anything?” Intrigue and concern unknowingly pull you closer to him. Sitting with him now, Eddie appeared older. Mature but like a red wine gone sour.

“Remember wakin’ up in the hospital. Remember flashing blue lights,” He shrugs, “That’s it, really.”

The pause you take seems to last a lifetime, “Must’ve hurt,” Once neutral lips are now inched down into a soft frown, “You went through that alone…” The realisation knocks the air from your lungs and every suppressed measure of love and care for Eddie bubbles to the surface in the form of tear swelled eyes.

“Hey— it’s okay, I’m okay— Shhhh.” Within seconds a strong pair of arms envelope you in a close embrace and you sniffle softly into the buttery fabric of his white t-shirt. Being this close to him brought you both comfort and strain. Your muscles tight and howling; a confession warring grizzly against your insides.

“I missed you, Ed’s,” You sob from the relief that relaxes your entire body, “Missed you so much.” The words are broken by shaky breaths and Eddie only holds you tighter, afraid that if he let you go that you may shatter. Your fingernails claw at the back of his t-shirt like a rodent, trying to press yourself closer to him; if that were even possible.

The proximity submits Kas completely, and in those few seconds it is Eddie sniffing the top of your head and kissing your scalp. It’s Eddie’s hands that smooth down your spine and cradle the back of your neck. For the first time in months, that empty space within his chest starts to fill again and his memories are in total technicolour.

“Missed you more than you’ll ever know, Sweetheart.” His words are swallowed by the strands of your hair and for a long moment you rest there with your ear pressed to his chest.

“Why Florida?” The words are a mumbled mess into Eddie’s chest, but he hears you all the same.

“Went lookin’ for my old man…” He sighs, regretting the decision and you wrestle the urge to go rigid in his arms at the mention of his shitbag father, “Thought he’d be able to help me out, considering he’s had a few rodeos in his time, Y’know?”

Deciding it’s safer to remain neutral than comment on something you no longer have any say in, you nod your head and nudge your face closer to his chest. Judgement free.

“I found him… but uh… he had nothing nice to say.” A sombreness captivates Eddie’s voice and your teeth grind together as your jaw tightens. Tears threatening to spill.

Timidly, you pull away from him, your cheeks burning and your nose all sniffly, “I— uh— I should go freshen up before, y’know…”

“Totally. Definitely.” The dry skin of his palm finds the dampening skin of his neck and his shifty eyes swirl with greed as they watch you rise to your feet and flee toward the inside of Steve’s house where the rest of the flock were fleeting to as well.

He could smell you… it was obscene. It left his mouth watering.

Steve’s bathroom smelt like a pungent fresh linen upholstery spray and the overhead light is warm as it washes over the magnolia walls that are covered in strange abstract art. On the ceiling there is a strange stain, evidentially a past water mark that you acknowledge quickly. Hurried fingertips dab at your reddened eyelids, patting away some of the smeared mascara there before you decide that a quick pee break is long overdue.

That’s when you see it. The monthly dread staining the lining of your bathing suit, “Oh shit!” You hiss, plucking a small bunch of toilet paper from your left and swiping at the blood hoping to blot some of it away.

It made a bit more sense now. The crying you had endured before hand. The unease at the pit of your stomach and the ache in your limbs. Fucking periods.

In a panic, you rummage through Steve’s cabinet below the sink, praying to find some form of menstrual products. A panty liner, a pad, a fucking tampon— anything! Anything would do. Unfortunately, you only find Steve’s electric manscaping razor and a bunch of loose toilet rolls.

“Ew…”

Screw it. A wad of toilet roll wrapped around your underwear would just have to suffice for now. Looks like this pool party is being cut short.

When you leave the bathroom you feel queasy and fatigued. A sudden drought finds your tongue and the interior lights of Steve’s home begin to poke and prod at your brain.

“Hey— Woah, you okay? Lookin’ a little pale there, Champ.” Steve’s round eyes search your face and you meet him with a graceful smile.

“M’ okay, just a lil’ tired. Gonna head home I think.” A dismissive flick of your wrist waves away Steve’s worry and a quick glance over his shoulder drags your eyes toward Eddie’s hard and sly stare. It read a look of pure penetration. Almost as though you were totally transparent.

As if he knew that you were bleeding.

No, he couldn’t. Surely…

“Need a ride? Pretty sure I’m still under the limit.” He gleefully grins down at the beer bottle in his grasp.

“Nah, should be fine. Fresh air will do me good. I’ll call when I’m home.” You’re already making your way toward the front door before anyone can protest further and the night air hits you like a dream where before you were struggling to sleep.

The gravity of the local news seemed to have slipped everyone’s slurred minds, it must have if they have allowed you to walk home alone without even batting an eyelid. Except, you recalled every gruesome detail from the trail of cases. The photographs. The desperate appeals for information. The entire walk home you were snatching hurried glances over your shoulders, sure that on one of the occasions you’d find someone lurking there in the shadows. A masked man beneath a street lamp with a deadly tool in his hand. Or maybe he’d lunge at you from behind a parked car, catching you off guard and grabbing you from behind.

Jagged steel keys wiggle their way messily between each of your fingers. The cold metal brings comfort to your warm skin but all you can concentrate on is the galloping of your heart in your chest and how it synced with each step you took. Left, right, left, right.

Realistically, the keys wouldn’t do much in defence. They’d slip, or fall or worse; they’d hurt you instead if you threw a punch at someone. You knew this and that’s what made it all the more pathetic. People were dying in unspeakable ways and here you were— believing that a set of house keys would save you from this butcher.

The reality is, if push came to shove, you’d be the next headline in that paper. No amount of wishful thinking could excuse that.

Your thoughts shift quickly as the lining of your stomach grumbles and you feel weak in the knees with hunger and exhaustion. All the poolside excitement left you without food for a good few hours and you were feeling it incredibly strongly now. A box of Mac n’ Cheese is the only motivation you have to keep pushing forward. To get home and change into some pyjamas with a film to fall asleep to.

Unbeknownst to you, you did have a chaperone that evening; only he kept a few paces behind you at all times and had razor sharp instincts. Sharp enough to predict each of your frantic movements. Even when you took drastically off route turns and diversions to throw him off, he could still smell you from a mile away. Taste you on the tip of his tongue. Your scent clinging to his nostrils like tarmac on concrete; teasing him.

The heavenly earthly perfume led him right to your front door and as he stood with his feet planted in the grass of your front yard, he contemplated forcing entry. He pictured the horror on your face and the contortion of your body as you try to flee from him. He really did.

But ultimately, he settled for watching you through the window pane. Glad that you had made it home safely and especially chuffed that he was the one to escort you there unharmed. He imagined the warmth radiating from your skin and heating his. Kas was encapsulated by a forever Winter, unable to hold onto any sort of body heat no matter the human host he inhabited. For a while his skin could prickle and redden with heat like stone in the sun but eventually he would cool again to something monstrous.

He fought to feel the familiar brush of your soft lips and recall every detail of your face and your body. Despite his efforts and the amount of struggle, he couldn’t force the recollection to be his own. These love sick affairs didn’t belong to him. They never would.

It conflicted Kas, the newfound protectiveness he felt for you, but he also knew that partly (or most of) those fond feelings came directly from the source; Eddie. With each passing day he was able to see more and more of Eddie’s past. Even more so, the moments he spent with you. Tender and passionate and it left him feeling fizzy all over. The downside was, the deeper he managed to burrow, the more intense Eddie’s presence became. Harder to ignore and difficult to swallow. The type of annoyance that would have Kas tangling his fingers into Eddie’s hair and tugging on the roots with frustration.

-

━━━━━━━━┛ ✠ ┗━━━━━━━━

A crooked family photo beams at you from the stairwell wall as you skip your way up to your mom’s room, prepared to rummage through her wardrobe and borrow -take- a few pieces of her jewellery. The mirror is shrouded lightly with dust as you put in some earrings and outside of the window you can hear the birds happily chirping in the nearby trees that stretch the whole way down the avenue. The sun is soft in the early morning sky, painting the clouds a hazy lilac and blue. Not too harsh but still smiling down on Hawkin’s with promise for a gorgeous day ahead.

There were plans for ice cream later in the day at the local gem hidden away beside the popular liquor store and the tiny green grocers; Matteo’s Delights. The shop has stood in the same spot for over 20 years and only the community truly cherishes the homemade goods inside. Outdoors, the exterior design has remained somewhat the same since the 1960’s; cherry red doors with bare dusty brick and white signage with black cursive lettering. Only a few structural modifications had been made for maintenance and a handful of sparse paint jobs here and there to keep things looking fresh. It was a place the group felt welcomed and a place that they adored.

Nancy was the first to introduce you to Matteo’s. Confessing it was the first Summer job she ever had. Scooping ice cream, making milkshakes and serving the community when she was just 14 years old and saving for a Donny Osmond concert. She had turned scarlet at the admission and you had giggled down into the horoscope pages of your weekly magazine.

Life was simpler back then. Care free and whimsical.

Now the once fruitful branches of life sit twisted and askew. Pointing in the one direction you wish they wouldn’t.

“Awh, yes! You made it!” Steve’s arms wrap around you tight and friendly but feverishly you pat his upperback.

“Hi, Stevie.” The words evaporate from your mouth in the form of a sigh.

“Been too long since it was just us adults around,” He addresses the group now, opening up the space with his hands on his hips and allowing you to settle on Eddie’s defensive posture. Arms crossed, legs stood ready and shoulders square. If you didn’t know him, you’d definitely mistake him as some sort of bouncer for a nightclub.

“Yeah, look at us; adulting.” Eddie’s voice grumbles with sarcasm and you gnaw on the inside of your cheek to bite back something equally as sarcastic and cheeky.

Thankfully, Steve was great at ignoring the obvious and all Eddie had to endure was a scornful look from Nancy and a vexed perked eyebrow from Robin. You, on the other hand, turned your gaze to your shoelaces which appeared all the more intriguing amongst the rising tension.

“You… you don’t like this place, then?” You ask with an unreadable tone and your eyes still glued to the ground.

The weighty air stills and as you await the answer your heart dares to plummet to the bottom of your stomach and explode on impact. This was an end-all moment, depending on what he replied. This was the place you and Eddie had gone on your first date and to hear him so unenthusiastic about it really fucking stung.

Did you mean so little to him? Your time together; was it worthless?

Eddie shrugs his shoulders, trying to catch your line of vision with a toothy smile, “S’ fine, Lovie. Was just being a dick.” You meet his smile with a sour expression and you take secret pleasure in the way the grin fades from his stupid face.

“Yeah, you are—“

“Are we gonna go in orrrr?” Jonathan croaks warily, his voice hoarse and you scuff the bottom of your shoe against the dusty concrete which looked feverishly thirsty for a drop of rain.

“Let’s.” You march ahead.

“Right, yeah— let’s uh, oh— Ladies first.” The palm of Steve’s hand rushes to open the parlour door and a wind chime sings above it, alerting the staff of your presence. In total, the booths occupied 2 other people who clearly had no business with one another. Evident from the rows of empty seats between them. Looked like business was booming.

“Nancy! Whatta lovely surprise, my dear!! Come, sit.” Matteo, now a rather elderly gentleman with a refreshing accent, rounds from behind the counter in a red, white and blue striped apron to usher the group toward a spacious red booth where the leather was beginning to crack and peel from wear and tear. The entire walk over you were conscious of the two rounded eyes stabbing into the back of your skull. Eddie hadn’t muttered much else and you hope the next thing out of his mouth is an apology.

“I’ll give you guys a moment to order, wave me over when you’re ready,” Matteo flashes you a quick wink and you meet him with a large smile; half humour and half disbelief.

“Whatta DILF...” You tease jokingly with a giggle and Robin erupts into hysterical laughter.

“More like a GILF!” She remarks with creased eyes an snort, “Grandpa I’d like to—“

“Jesus!—“ Eddie exclaims with furrowed brows.

“—Ok, we get it!!” Steve protests with raised hands which only makes you laugh more.

Eddie’s eyes roll so hard they nearly find the back of his skull and Jonathan plays with the edge of the paper menu, his eyes frantic to find some sort of dessert to focus on.

“Should we get something to share?” Nancy asks all too casually, like she is desensitised to yours and Robin’s antics together and you finally manage to calm the buzz in your chest.

“Yeah, Nance. What you thinking of?” You lean close to her, peeking over her shoulder and Robin sighs dramatically before collapsing back onto the booths pillowy walls.

The tip of one of Nancy’s rose painted fingernails taps on the picture of the banana split, her amused eyes flickering to you and awaiting confirmation with a small smile. You nod, lost to the background as the rest of the group chatter amongst themselves loudly. Steve teases Eddie about something that had occurred the night before and Robin plays a game of ‘who can wrestle the menu away from the other’ with Jonathan. She wins.

Orders are taken and brought promptly to the table. Strangely, Eddie hadn’t ordered anything. A quirked eyebrow elicits a response from him before anyone can ask him why.

“Ate with Wayne before I came, stuffed to the brim.”

Wayne. The name makes your heart sing.

“How is he?” You ask without thinking and four pairs of eyes scorch your face crimson, “I’ve… I’ve not seen him.” You add rather awkwardly.

Eddie holds your gaze and you feel like prey. Something squeezes around you tightly like a 12ft python snake and suddenly it’s as though you forget how to breathe like a normal human being.

“He’s good,” He replies plainly, “Sleepin’ a lot but night shift’ll do that to you.” Momentarily your mind flickers to the rusted and rickety old pull out bed in the living room that Wayne took upon himself to sleep on. Sacrificing his own comfort for the safety and security of Eddie. The thought dampens your mood and follow up questions die at the base of your throat. Part of you wonders if Wayne had the same questions as you did about Eddie’s disappearance.

Did he wonder where he went?

Or did he question if he were dead?

This makes you furious with Eddie all over again. Fuck it, you’ll endure the pain of his torment. But Wayne? His sweet as a cough drop Uncle? He didn’t deserve that.

Not one bit.

“Hope he’s doing well.” On the surface you sounded sincere, and you were for the most part, but your voice also read a subtext of passive aggression. ‘Hope he’s doing well… now that he knows his nephew is okay. You inconsiderate cunt.’

Thanks to years of bullying and psychoanalysing his peers, Eddie picked up on your attitude problem like that!

“Can I speak to you? Outside.” He shoos Jonathan out of his seat so he can slip out of the booth and you follow him quietly but not without an eye roll.

“Be back.” You mutter to Nancy.

Tucked in nice and cozy in a nearby corner is an old jukebox playing the 60’s hit, ‘Buttercup Baby’. It plays ever so gently, loud enough for your brain to register the lyrics but small enough to go unnoticed by many others. You hum along.

As soon as the sunlight hits your skin Eddie is rambling, “What the hell happened to us starting over? You’re acting like a— a little kiddy on the playground. Why— what have I done now—“

You stop him dead.

“You’re one to talk! In case you have forgotten, Edward, I don’t have anything to be apologetic for. You screwed up, not me, and I have to say that you’re doing a pretty shitty job at making up for it—“

“This again— you hate me, you fucking hate me and I knew it!” He clicks his fingers as if having a eureka moment and you scoff instinctively.

“I don’t hate you, Eddie. Not even a little bit.” Immediately, your throat begins to bloat, “You’d think I would, but I don’t. ” Breathe in. Breathe out. Keep your composure, “The worst of it all is; even after all that… after you hurt me… I still wouldn’t do that to you.”

“How long do I have to keep apologising for this? I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m fucking sorry, okay?!” He begins to pace, “Do you not think I feel bad enough already? This shit eats me alive at night.”

“Really?” You bite through clenched teeth, “It eats you alive? Does it? Because from where I’m standing it doesn’t seem like it. You’ve been a total jerk since we got here. Honestly, it’s like you’re a totally different person now. You didn’t even remember—“

Something stops you. A look in his eyes that seized your tongue from continuing.

“Remember what?” This wasn’t getting you anywhere. This carousel that kept you spinning around and around. Both of you were incredibly frustrated with the other. Furious…

And dizzy.

“I don’t think we can be friends.” Snap goes the elastic band against your heart and you almost grab at your chest to soothe the pain, “This clearly isn’t going to work out.”

“No, stop it—“

“It’s for the best, Eddie—”

“That’s the easy way out and you know it— The cowards way. Maybe it’s better for you to run away but not for me.” The crack in his voice squeezes your chest harder.

“But you did fucking run away,” Your somber soaked voice is laced with disappointment, “You ran away from me…”

Stunned, Eddie’s frantic feet stand still and his jaw hangs loose. His gaze is round and glazed and the sight is difficult to endure.

“You’re right. We can’t be friends.” His line of vision is quick to find the dry earth beneath him and his contentment cuts you deep.

Standing like a corroding Greek statue, beautiful on the outside while your insides begin to crumble away to dust. You thought he would’ve fought for you more. You believed he still had more time to give. More patience. It sickened you to admit but you had imagined a future with him. More memories to share and to be shared with others.

“We can’t be friends… because I love you. I never stopped...” His eye line is unwavering from the dusty spot on his shoe and more than anything you want him to look at you. To look you in the face and say it.

“What?” You heard what he said, you just wanted him to say it again.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Eddie’s face rises and his eyes meet yours. For a moment, oddly, you don’t recognise him.

“I love you.”

You longed for the same confession, but something halts you. Binds you to deflection.

“Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.” Eddie’s softness quickly transforms into irritated bouncing.

“Oh my God… You are impossible, y’know that? Of course I mean it, fuck me! You drive me crazy!” You shrink momentarily, feeling the weight of his scold but that shifts instantly when you see the stretched smile on his face, “What do I have to do to make you believe me?”

The pause between you seems to last a painstakingly long time and since Eddie had reappeared back in Hawkins… you had no response. Nothing to say to him. Totally speechless because you didn’t know the answer. You hadn’t the faintest clue on how to fix this mess of a relationship. Of course you wanted to, but you didn’t know how.

You watch with a sour tongue as Eddie’s smile fades to a thin tight line and you feel your eyebrows curve with sympathy, “I don’t know…” The admission feels right, “I’m sorry.”

“I could work harder—“

“You can’t rewrite what happened—“

“I know, I know but… I can try to… to—“

“Eddie—“

He releases an exasperated sigh which was mistakable as a groan, “I just… you have no idea how torturous it is to be around you when you look like that and not… hold you.” He gulps thickly, eyes flickering to the pulse in the your neck, “Taste you…” Travelling up to your lips, he disappears somewhere inward, “Kiss you.”

You witness his eyes water and transform into something silky and welcoming, “I’m starting to forget all the good things we had… I don’t wanna forget you. I don’t wanna lose us…”

Your limbs decide for you to pull him into an embrace before your mind can fully process what’s happening and Eddie is quick to accept your body flush against his. His hair fills your face and tickles your nose as you shakily breathe his scent. The familiar sweetness of his minty shampoo left you beaming against his shoulder and you let go of a sigh you had been holding.

“It’ll take time, Eddie,” Your voice sounds sleepy; intoxicated, “But I forgive you. I want you to know that.”

The man pressed to your chest remains remarkably still and quiet. As if afraid to move. You interpret it as emotional overwhelm, but that simply wasn’t the case.

Over your shoulder Eddie had locked eyes with the green vested cashier of the liquor store. A dark blonde boy of similar age, probably a previous bully of his, and when Eddie’s lips met yours you know that you should have stopped him. Pushed him away and called him out on taking advantage of your vulnerability.

How dare he kiss you so soon?

But you don’t. Instead, like butter, you melt. Because his tender fingers felt so nice running through your hair and your eyes couldn’t help themselves but to drift shut. The only thing your hands could do was grasp his jacket timidly. Holding him near and dear. It was a kiss you expected to take your breath away… but it felt like arriving home. Easy and warm.

All the while you were blissfully unaware of Eddie’s eyes that remained wide open, trained on the boy through the murky window pane. It was a challenging glare, one that pressed on the boys lungs and squeezed his heart with a tight fist. The blonde looked back, feeling hypnotised by Kas’s tormented eyes, horrified and curious all the same.

Kas had claimed you now. Officially. It was his duty to let every soul in Hawkins know that you were taken.

His.

Let the games begin.

—

━━━━━━━━┛ ✠ ┗━━━━━━━━

Things were better but they were never the same. Steve looked at you with caution and Dustin held his breath every time Eddie stayed over. Sometimes, during the darkest hour of the night, Dustin would meet Eddie in the hallway as he returned to your bedroom. He would smell like the fresh air and his eyes seemed to glow in the nightfall. On more than one occasion Dustin caught glimpses of crimson on his chin and fingers… he knew what had happened, but his grief kept him clinging onto this shell of Eddie’s being. Blindly hoping that his real best friend was still in there.

It took you forever to notice. Their shifty eyes and tense shoulders. Their clenched jaws and tight lipped smiles. Your friends, people who you thought cared about you, had been lying to you this entire time. Looking you dead in the face and lying to you. And you played the trusting fool so perfectly. You necked back every poisonous lie as if it were the freshest water on Earth and you hadn’t had a drop to drink in weeks.

What gave it away?

Nancy’s crooked eyebrow.

Steve’s teeth nibbling on his finger tip.

Dustin’s sudden avoidance.

If only you had seen it. If only you had used your brain instead of ignoring that squirm in your stomach. Your lack of scrupulousness ensured that you missed these important details. Maybe you could have prevented the inevitable. Maybe you could have moved on.

But you have never been so lucky.

The first rainfall of June swiftly drowned the brightness of Summer. Taking all the footprints left dusted on the sidewalks. All except for those sunken into a muddy puddle by Hopper and his team. Their dogs left paw prints but their noses sniffed out nothing. Evidence having been washed away also.

This time, it was two bodies at the same site. Found disregarded in an alleyway, left in plain sight, or on display, to be found and fawned over with utter repulsion behind a Quickie-Mart. A blonde young male and what appeared to be an elderly woman possibly in her late 60’s. Both were mutilated in ways Hopper didn’t think possible. Scratches deep enough to hit bone, muscle shredded to string and multiple bite marks across their limbs. The blonde had endured more than the woman. With him it seemed personal. This place… this town… it was turning into his perfect dumping ground. He kept coming back, for what?

The hope that he’d be caught? The thrill… or did he chase them here? Lure them?

Hopper had found himself in this exact place before. His mind full of questions and doubt. Doubt in his ability to conceal the truth. Doubt that he’ll be able to stop whatever is doing this to his community. What he was certain of, though, was that he was getting sloppy. Leaving more speckles of blood training behind him…

“Seems like an animal again, Chief.” A gruff voice speaks to his left.

“It’s not an animal, it’s that animal.” Hopper spits back, short fused and worried.

The sound of a heavy sigh is lost against the downpour of rain hitting a nearby dumpster lid, “We need to issue an immediate curfew. Starting tonight no one leaves home after dark. Kicks in at 8pm.”

The Chief is met with silent cooperation, little did Hopper know that this would cause momentary panic, uproar and some push back from the townsfolk.

—

━━━━━━━━┛ ✠ ┗━━━━━━━━

“A curfew? Why?” Porcelain clatters together as you load last nights dinner plates into the cupboard whilst Dustin scrubs the remaining dishes in the bubble covered sink.

With a bounce of his shoulders, “I dunno. Hop’s gone crazy, I guess. Probably that body they found earlier….”

For a moment you pause, your eyebrows fixing together in a microscopic way, “It’s the animal, isn’t it? The one that’s been… Y’know…”

“Killing people?”

“Yeah… I mean, surely they can just kill it, right? I doubt it’ll stop hunting just because they lock us up at nightfall like some scared locals evading a witch hunt.” You make a noise that is half laugh and half scoff and Dustin deadpans while he scrubs harder at a piece of silverware.

“You’d think it was a freakin’ werewolf or something. As if.” You expected your prod of a joke to at least tickle your little brother, but still, nothing leaves him. No sly remark, no equally as cheesy joke… nothing. Just the sound of scrubbing and sloshing water.

“Whatever. Talking to a wall,” A snarky comment meant only for your ears, “Imma invite Eddie over tonight, would hate for him to be alone during this stupid lockdown.”

“This isn’t a joke, okay?! People are dropping like flies out there and you should be more careful!” Caught off guard by Dustin’s expressiveness, you drop a green gingham printed tea towel from your grip.

“Woah, man! Chill out… I am being careful.” Trailing off you bend down to pick up the towel but Dustin swipes it away with his sneaker, “Hey!!”

“No! No you’re not, you’re being selfish and reckless— Eddie is always here! With you! Or you’re out galavanting around with him being all weird and shit! Come up for fucking air once in a while!” For the faintest fraction of a second you are absolutely gobsmacked.

“We are not being weird, Dustin. For your information, we go to the movies or we sit at a diner. We are always indoors… I don’t even know why I’m having to explain this to you? We like each other, okay? Soon enough you’ll have someone that you like too to spend every waking second with—“

“I do have someone!”

“Someone real!”

“She is real! God! I cannot keep having this conversation with people!”

You’re not sure how or why, but somehow, as you stood opposite your baby brother… that’s what you saw him as. Not the rebellious teen with chip on his shoulder but as the tiny gap toothed nuisance who would shoot you with silly string and leave your bedroom door open. The little shit that would blame you for everything to your mom and vice versa. In a moment you should have felt your blood boil you only could muster a knowing smile.

“Fine. You win… but if you wanted to spend time with me so bad you could’ve just said that, Dweeb.”

“What? That’s not—“ Dustin waves his hands dismissively.

“I’m picking the movie marathon, you get the snacks when I ask.” You conclude with a gleam in your eye.

“This isn’t what I meant!” Using his pointer finger he gestures rapidly between the both of you and the rest of the empty house.

“Whatever, Loser! Admit you love me!” You holler over your shoulder, galloping away toward the solitude of your bedroom. Time to rummage through your video tape collection.

Rummaging through the box of nostalgia like you’re trying to dig a hole in the ground with your bare hands, your eyes are drawn to the colourful tape cover of Richard Donner’s, Superman, starring Christopher Reeves as Clark Kent. The character who just so happened to be the dorky heartthrob to pave the path for your exquisite taste in even dorkier men.

“Okay, yes, definitely this.” Fluidly you tuck the tape beneath your armpit, rummaging through for another movie or two which you find rather quickly. None of the movies you had picked correlated with each other in any way, shape or form. But they were fun and uplifting with a singular spooky one to finish the night off right.

Back in the living room, Dustin sets the scene. Blankets, pillows, even a childhood stuffed toy or two. He could’ve argued against this all he wanted, threw a teenage fit, but beneath the surface he was secretly ecstatic to be spending time with his big sister. It felt nice to be your kid brother again… it was starting to feel like a distant memory.

Sinking into the sofa you hum gleefully into the bowl of popcorn on your lap before you’re tossing a kernel or three into your mouth, “Ewww, Dustin! Salted? Really?” Your tongue dries up at the magnitude of salt that just invaded your mouth and Dustin groans.

“Don’t like it then get your own, Sucker.” The time it takes you to blink Dustin has snatched the bowl from your grasp, the bowl that just so happened to also be the ‘Family Barf Bowl’ and Mom’s ‘Bleach Bowl’ for cleaning the cabinets.

“Oh you little shit.” You use the palm of your hand to nudge his hat from his scalp and you relish the distressful noise that follows the act, “Don’t ask me for a drink refill or nothin’ ya hear? Salted fucking popcorn… psycho.”

The smell of the stove heating up could lull you to sleep with the way it conjures up colourful memories from your childhood. School bake sales, your Mom showing you different recipes which she inherited from your Grandmother, the time Dustin nearly burnt the house down with a makeshift ‘Magical Potion’ he had created in D&D and wanted to try in real life. All of these things and more kissed a smile onto your lips.

Without fully realising, you had been staring out the kitchen window that looked out across the lawn and onto a stretch of trees. Hard to see in the fading light, you mostly could only make out your own reflection in the glass. But something stirred that image. A shadow passing by the side of the house. Like a pebble dropped into a lake.

At first, you blinked it away and decided it was a trick of the eye, but when your popcorn kernels began to pop and you near enough jumped out of your own skin, you reckoned that only real fear was able to do that to you.

A quick hand reaches for your chest in an attempt to slow your beating heart, “Jeez—“

“C’mon, you’re missing the best bits!” Dustin whines from the sofa with his mouth half full of candy and for the sake of tonight’s plans, you let go of the figure in the window. Maybe it really was just your reflection.

To your right Dustin had hit snooze before the end credits began to roll and you toss a blanket over him all whilst fighting back the urge to smother him with a pillow in the process, “Night, Kid. Love ya.” It was the first time Dustin was able to sleep at a reasonable time in months.

The walk to your room is slow and in passing you stop at the bottom of the staircase, contemplating going up to say goodnight to your Mom, but you knew she’d be reading or sleeping so ultimately you decide to leave her be, “Goodnight, Mom… I love you.” Words spoken softly into the darkness, only loud enough to settle yourself to sleep.

A sound from inside your bedroom stops your twitching fingers from grabbing your door knob, a small creak of the floorboards whispering a fair warning through the walls, but you knew. You knew someone was in there.

Or did you? Was this just your paranoia from earlier creeping its way back in?

Rationality takes over and you push your way inside even with your nerves still fizzling on end. Only you did not expect to be met with a pair of curtains blowing gently in the wind. Did you leave the window open…? You couldn’t remember. A guttural pull drags you to your bed side table where you switch on your lamp and then was followed with a frantic gallop toward your open window. You take a peek outside before slamming it closed, having not seen a soul. You rest there for a moment, your palms against the window sill before you’re spinning on your heels and gasping for air.

“I didn’t scare ya, did I, Sweetheart?” From a shadowy corner comes the voice of the man you love, however it doesn’t seem to soothe the rattling of your hands.

“Eddie!” You whisper shout, “What are you…? How did you—”

“Window,” He takes one careful step toward you, “I couldn’t stay in that trailer alone for another second. Bored out of my goddamn mind… come home with me?”

“Wayne isn’t home?” You ask absentmindedly as you take off your cardigan, suddenly now warm.

“Night shift,” He repeats the words you’ve heard over and over for the past few weeks. You hadn’t seen Wayne since Eddie’s arrival home. Not once. It should’ve alarmed you but you trusted Eddie wholeheartedly.

“Even with the curfew?”

Eddie replies with a hum.

Across your face a small grin formed, “Admit it, you missed me, Munson.”

In response to your tease Eddie chuckles lowly, “You caught me, Baby. Need you there with me…”

“But the Chief… if we’re caught—“

“We won’t get caught. Promise—“ He’s closer now and something about his presence has you feeling drunk.

Pouting your bottom lip you cross your arms over your tank top clad cleavage, “Why can’t you stay here with me? It’s probably safer than us going back out there…”

Kas could hear the rising beat of your heart. The excitement stirring within you at his growing proximity and the gloss glazing your gorgeous eyes, “Your family’s here, Honey, and what I wanna do to you… I need privacy.”

Instantly you were sold on the idea. Like a giddy school girl awaiting her first kiss, “Okay.. but I think I’m going to need a little more convincing.” Suddenly shy beneath the pin of his gaze you turn your attention toward your carpet.

However that doesn’t fly for long as Eddie’s slender fingers grip the plush of your cheeks and force your eye-line back to him, “None of that, Pretty girl… God, I wanna ruin you.”

His lips are all over you, pressing heavenly kisses to your neck and shoulders. He sucks on the sweet spot on your neck and you writhe against him, “Still needing convinced?” His unoccupied hand slides beneath your tank top where he squeezes the fullness of your chest through the security of your bra and you nearly buckle at the knees when his tongue wrestles sloppily with yours.

“Eddie…” Was it a plea for more? Or were you trying to dismiss his seduction? You weren’t certain. All you knew was that your body craved him. You were screaming to be touched and taken care of.

“Is that a yes?” He bites down gently on your neck and you flex into his touch, your head nodding profusely.

“Okay… okay.“

Filled to the brim with ego, “Atta girl. C’mon, out the window before I lose my mind.”

—

━━━━━━━━┛ ✠ ┗━━━━━━━━

Eddie hastily ushers you up the steps to the trailer as if he was sequestering his prized possession away for safe keeping. A pinch to your waist prompts a giggle from your throat and Eddie’s finger smushes gently against your lips to silence you, “Shhh, Wayne might be home now.”

His house key meets resistance as he slots it into the lock, forcing him to jam and shimmy the mechanism until the metal is fully submerged inside. Thankfully after that the door opens smoothly and Eddie is first to peer inside, craning his neck from left to right before signalling that the coast was clear. As the door closes behind you, you are then victim to a darkness that your eyes struggle to adjust to. Before a lamp could be switched on, or any light for that matter, Eddie is all over you like a hot rash in the Summer. His hands are everywhere and his lips are unfaltering from yours.

“Need you like I need air to breathe, Baby…” He moans into your mouth like he could combust from just this and you feel that all too familiar pulse between your thighs return, “Fucking perfection.” His voice is low and reverent like gospel praise and you succumb to his touch all the more.

You were on cloud nine with each tug and squeeze of your body and Eddie appeared to be right there with you, spurring you on every step of the way.

“Take me, Eds. However you want….” Feverish need outweighed the bashful crimson heating your face and Eddie released a strangled growl.

“You need me, hmm? Need my touch?” He softly pulls on your hair at the back of your head, “Need my cock?” He almost taunts you but you don’t retaliate. You nod in agreement, praying that he’d help you release this rising pressure foaming inside of you. The thought of his fullness stretching you out made your desperation spiral into downright anguish.

“Fuck, Ed’s, please…” Eddie laughs into the shell of your ear and like a volcanic eruption your skin prickles with intensity.

“Not even touched your pussy yet and you’re already begging for me. My pathetic pretty girl, eh?” He flicks a slap against your clothed cunt and you shudder at the tingle that shocks each of your nerves ends, “Room. Now.”

What Kas liked about you most was that he never had to tell you the same thing twice. Thanks to Eddie’s charm and his looks that you loved so much, you obeyed him like a dog on a short leash.

Yes, Baby.

Of course, Baby.

Anything for you, Baby.

It was a shame, really. That this relationship wasn’t built on solid ground. That it couldn’t last forever. Until death do you part…

All the more reason to relish in the here and now. Whilst Eddie still lived and breathed.

In Eddie’s room you fight against the fabric of your pants, wriggling the material down your thighs and calves before kicking the garment from your ankles. Like a disappearing act, your tank top vanishes and all else until you are left bare and waiting on the edge of Eddie’s unmade twin bed. Only your panties remain. However, something about your loud nudity made you slightly uneasy as you awaited closer inspection and in a millisecond of remorse you grab the first T-shirt that happened to be closest to you from Eddie’s haphazardly messy floor. Instantly you’re calmed as the T-shirt drapes across your frame and your nose is engulfed with Eddie’s scent. There’s no doubt the shirt was worn and probably on the floor awaiting laundry day but you just didn’t care. Anything that made you feel that much closer to him was worth it in your eyes.

“You ready for me, Sweetheart?” Like a siren song he calls from somewhere beyond the walls of his room and you wait for what feels like hours on his shadow appearing in the doorway. Part of you is convinced he’ll never reach you in time before you burn yourself up . And something sinister slithers up your spine like a snake. Slow and intentional. Goosebumps burst across your skin and it’s as if your body can predict something that your mind hasn’t caught up to yet.

Something primal.

For a long pause you do nothing and say nothing. Remaining as still as stone, partly afraid that he’d never show up. That you’d be left sitting there… waiting all alone all over again.

Until he does…

But there is a change in him. One that shrinks you.

“My princess, sitting all nice and patient just for me?” You feel pinned to the spot, despite your restless mind, and entranced to look at him and only him. The closer he got to you, the stronger it felt. The drowsiness and the inability to lift a finger. Almost as if you were a doll on a shelf watching the world go by. A puppet.

“So quiet… what happened, Babydoll? Don’t like what you see?” The moonlight slicing through the blinds illuminated the space just enough to reveal blurred snapshots of his face. His face that was unlike anything you had ever witnessed in your short human life and Kas gets high off of the emotion reflected in your eyes: Disbelief.

Not fear or horror, not yet, but doubt. An over saturation of it.

“You…” It’s all you can manage to stutter before your tongue gives up on its natural muscularity.

“Don’t try and comprehend it… you can’t possibly,” His shimmering eyes examine his knife like nails expertly and after viewing them you feel nauseous, “Maybe if they had told you at the beginning this could’ve all been stopped.” Registering the confusion pulling your eyebrows together he goes on to break your heart.

“Your so called friends? Your own baby brother? They’ve been lying to you. This whole time and you were the perfect wound that never stopped bleeding. Too fragile for the truth… too damaged.” He bows toward you theatrically with his head hung low, an actor concluding a grand show, “This is the outcome.”

To the side your head sways gently and your eyes settle on the open bedroom door, “Wayne…?” Your ears fill with a deafening silence as the lifeless home stares back at you and in that devastating moment you knew. You knew that…

“Wayne’s dead, Sweetheart.” He says it so casually. As if Wayne meant nothing, as if he was a nobody to you and to Eddie. Whoever this was standing in front of you, he was right. You couldn’t comprehend what was happening. You were beyond confused and angry and full of despair. How could he look like your Eddie but be something so wretched and cruel? Otherworldly?

With tear blurred vision you force yourself to meet his predatory stare. He wasn’t looking at you, he was trying to look through you, “How? How is this possible?” Your body shook with the growing adrenaline spiking through your bloodstream and Kas knelt in front of your perched frame, his hands coming to rest and steady your shoulders.

“You look at me and see your beloved, Eddie, don’t you?” You nod. Still hesitant.

“I’m not him. I’ve never been him. Your Eddie, the one you know and the one that ‘left’ you. He’s gone.” A question pushes up your throat but Kas already knows the answer, “He didn’t leave you like they say he did. He died and your brother resurrected him, in a way. Unfortunately, for you and everyone else, it was me who came back. Not him.”

This had to be some sort of practical joke. A prank you were sure to scold your friends for later. But you waited for the laughs and the giggles never came and your tear burnt cheeks remained on fire.

“You’re not my Eddie?” Kas shakes his head, watching your bottom lip quiver with a growing excitement, “And my Eddie is… gone?” The word splutters out of you. You couldn’t even bring yourself to say it. To think about it. But you had to work this all out aloud. Get these impossible equations out of your mind and into the realm of the living.

“Correct. Knew you were clever.” You bring a hand up to swipe the tears away from your cheek, now aware of your ability to move you contemplate bolting toward the door. Which would’ve been a fine idea if your legs were working.

Kas stands tall, looming over you with a beastly demeanour. You follow his face, the two red sparks shot into a faceless silhouette stare back at you and the only emotion you can make out is amusement.

“Eddie is still in here, y’know.” Every time he talks it’s like a blade to your body, gutting you and leaving you empty inside, “I can hear him sometimes… pleading to spare you. Sometimes he can overpower me, that’s how much he loves you— well, loved.” You want to slap him, hurt him, fight him but you can’t. Too drained. Too weak.

“Like right now he’s screaming to reach you. His fists are relentless against his prison walls. All because he can see you now… how stricken you are.” Unexpectedly and in one fluid motion Kas snatches your face between his clawed hand, his nails sharp against your smooth skin. You gasp at the outburst, suddenly shocked awake.

“Want him to see you this way. So petrified and helpless… and there’s nothing he can do about it. Nothing to stop it.” Up close his breath smelt like metal, undoubtedly blood, and his teeth had transformed into something you had only ever read about in fiction. You cry out when his nails pierce your cheek ever so slightly and you try to jerk away from his grasp, causing the pain to scratch across the surface further.

“What the fuck are you?” You spit, now livid and determined to get as far away from him as possible.

“The same as you, only I don’t hide it as well as you humans do,” He stands again, using such little power to push you violently back onto the bed, “What are we if not all monsters?” Your body thrashes against the mattress as he crawls on top of you. Savouring each flick of struggle from your otherwise paralysed muscles Kas chuckles low into the night air, “After tonight I’ll have all I need to return home. Every plan, every source, every name. They’ll find you in the morning… but don’t worry, and your funeral will be divine. All of your favourite flowers and songs. And stories…. You’ll be remembered just as the rest…. Taken too soon.”

Your mouth gapes open to scream but nothing comes out, a sharp inhale of breath stealing your voice away as Kas’s hand heavily weighs down on your right arm, snapping it clean in two, “Shhhh… don’t cry. You’ll only make this more memorable for me.” You sob to the sky, praying to whatever higher power that may exist up there to save you. But the torture persists.

Like a pig sniffing out truffles Kas buries his face into the crook of your neck, inhaling your scent like it is the most intoxicating substance on the planet, “Pains me to kill such a pretty thing…”

“Then don’t!” All you can do is tremble as if you are haemorrhaging.

“Oh but it’s not that simple, Honey.” Little by little the feeling returns to your body and you are so overwhelmed by the pain from your arm that you don’t pay mind to the way he sucks and licks at the pulse on your throat. Your brain has been taken over by a horde of bee’s and all you can manage is stifled groans as you attempt to kick your legs against him.

Eventually your knee collides with his stomach and he releases an animalistic moan into your ear, “Now, now… you’ll only rile me up more if you keep fighting me like that.” You hear the smile on his face ghost against your shoulder and collar bone before he decides to sink his teeth into the muscle there. He penetrates the skin so deep that you are at a loss for profanities, only gargled screams of agony leave you. Over and over you replay the sound of his fangs scraping and crunching against bone, your bones and bile instantly finds the base of your oesophagus.

“Nghaaaa!!!”

“Whoo!! That sound!! Gets me off!” He howls to the ceiling like a rabid animal running rampant and you sneak your hand up to clasp the bite mark, hoping to stop the blood from swelling and ease some of the pain. You roll slightly onto your side, your body wanting to retreat into the fetal position, “Let’s get you out of this shirt, hmm? Looks awfully bludgeoned to me.”

Down your exposed side he rakes his talons from your ribs to your waist, partly tearing the shirt whilst also etching the edge of the razors into your soft tissue. In that moment you hoped for death. You anticipated its sweet embrace. Accepted it.

But it never came.

What came was silence from your murderer. Until he began to convulse and roar like a caged lion. There was no denying that it pricked your heart beat up, like a defibrillator to the chest.

“RRR—“ you struggle to sit up, observing him closely as he propels across the room and away from you, his hands ripping at his hair, “RRRRUUUUU- NNN- NO!!” For a split second he appeared human. Someone you recognised.

“Eddie…” you whisper his name, too afraid to say much else.

“RRRUNN NNOOOW!!” His eyes grasp the door with both hands and you waste no further time, “GGOOOOO!!” He’s begging now but getting up from the blood soaked mattress was the worst pain you had ever endured and seeing this man wrestle with himself left you fearing for more than just your life.

With your legs unsteady you nearly collapse as you stand, your knees like jelly and your feet in sand. Thankfully you find your bearings just as Eddie collapses to the bedroom floor and you limp for the hallway, leaving smears of bloody handprints against the door frame and the walls as you lean on them for a much needed crutch.

The noise from behind you becomes angrier, more reckless and desperate, thuds against the walls and furniture being used and thrown. When you reach the front door you take a risky glimpse over your shoulder, only to be mortified at the sight. The body was following you, still shaking and uneasy, but it was coming after you nonetheless. Salivating and snarling like a starved bear.

“Come. Here. N… n..” He falters again, his head hanging between his hands as his knees crash the ground.

Within the second you are bursting out onto the front patio and wobbling down the uneven steps, your bare feet pricking against small jagged rocks and snapping dry twigs as you run as fast as your wounds would allow you towards town.

Through your difficult pursuit you hadn’t turned around once, because if you had you would have realised that Kas was following your blood curdling screams into the night.

And he lived for the chase…

—

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taglist: @ali-r3n @godcreatoreli @somethingvicked @im-julessssss @kellsck @your-nightmaredoll @kahoonie @dreamerjj @camille-the-chamaleon @kozume-ko @emxxblog @tlclick73 @saramelaniemoon

[hadeljoshi]

i’m dead fucking serious i have the entire fucking oneypebbles timeline in my head and i bet 99% im right about it all because like they’re just that obvious about each other .

[summerskies]

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Proof that I am still writing!!! Just taking my sweet time xox

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Another Sneak Peek! I promise I’m working on it! I just wanna have it be great for you guys xx ☺️

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A sneak peek! 🫶

An Empty Space | A Dead Man’s Memories E.M.

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This next fic may be my last reader insert 🥹 could be a horrible idea for my engagement but hey ho!!