Written for @munson-blurbs and @corroded-hellfire’s excellent Flip Flopped summer writing event, challenging writers to explore what might’ve happened to their story if a plot point had taken a different direction.
WC: ~1k
CW: Not much in this part, but overall the series is 18+ so minors DNI. Post-S4, dark themes, hurt/no comfort, canon-typical distressing images, canon-typical brandishing of weapons but no actual violence, mentions of someone vomiting but it’s not described.
Summary and A/N: Thanks so much to Bug and Red for creating this event! I decided to revisit Knock At The Cabin, and see how Part One might have played out if the gang had a very different reaction to their surprise visitor.
NB: Spoilers below the cut - if you want to catch up on the story before reading this, read the Prologue, the original Part One and Part Two
There, hunched, shivering, soaked and covered in mud, is your friend. The one who’d died saving the town. The one they’d buried only a few days ago, after he’d been lying on a slab in a lab somewhere for weeks.
Eddie.
The increasingly noisy wind blows leaves and rain horizontally across the stoop. Inside the hallway, there’s silence. You all crowd at the door, mouths agape, and initially, none of you move.
You take in your visitor’s appearance. His hair is lank, wet, muddy and full of twigs and leaves. He stands, shoulders sagging, in filthy, soaking clothes, the wet material dragging his frame down further. He’s barefoot, his feet muddy and bloody.
His cheeks are gaunt, his lips grey, not the plush, rosy pink that they once were. He looks thinner than you remember, and his skin was always pale, but it seems lighter now, almost translucent.
Eddie finally lifts his eyes to you all. They’re sunken, red-rimmed, and have lost their usual sparkle.
None of you consider what events or twists of fate might have brought Eddie to you, only caring in this moment that he’s here, standing in front of you. He should be dead, but somehow he's here!
Dustin shoulders his way between you and Steve and takes his first good look at the strange visitor. At first he’s confused, incredulous, but this rapidly gives way to pure terror, as he lets out a high pitched screech over the sound of the rain. He abruptly turns on the spot and runs down the hallway, yelling,
“Zombie? ZOMBIE!”
Robin screams, hands coming to cover her mouth as she backs away from the doorway a couple of paces.
Steve reacts defensively, raising his nail bat as he steps outside, placing himself between Eddie and the party. Lucas takes Steve’s lead and grabs an old walking stick from a stand by the door, moving to join him and brandishing it like a weapon.
Steve yells towards Eddie over the noise of the rain,
“What are you? One of Vecna’s foot soldiers?”
Lucas continues, jabbing the stick at the air in front of him,
“A demon? A lab-grown demogorgon? Get back!”
Will is swaying, rubbing at the nape of his neck. Robin and Jane try to comfort him, the three of them clinging to each other in tears.
You hear quick footsteps behind you and glance back to see Mike rushing to the kitchen, followed by the distinctive sound of someone throwing up.
Steve spreads one arm out and signals for Lucas to get behind him, hustling him back through the opening, slowly retreating as he yells over his shoulder,
“Everyone get inside. Now!”
You watch as Eddie stumbles backwards, eventually stepping off the stoop.
You seem to be the only one who’s concerned rather than terrified. You try to shoulder your way through them all to get outside, see Eddie properly, but the movement of their combined retreating bodies pushes you back into the hallway, and you’re unable to get a proper look at him, let alone go out to him.
As soon as everyone’s inside Steve slams the door, locking and bolting it and scanning for something heavy to brace it with.
Without looking around, he barks,
“Robin, get the satellite phone.”
Robin, wide-eyed, stammers,
“B-but we’re only supposed to use that in an emergency.”
Steve continues, his voice becoming more high-pitched,
“Well, I’d say that someone coming back from the dead qualifies as a fucking emergency, wouldn’t you? Call Owens. Now!”
Everyone scatters into the cabin. Robin tries to find the equipment Owens gave you when you moved here. Will and Jane comfort each other on the sofa and Jane wraps a blanket around her friend's shoulders. Lucas and Steve find bookcases and tables to put against various windows and doors. Dustin sits rocking near the back door, holding his knees to his chest, whilst Mike cleans himself up in the kitchen.
You’re the only one who moves to the living room window to look upon your friend.
He raises his head, initially simply staring at the closed door with a blank, stunned expression.
You place a palm against the glass, feeling like it’ll get you closer to him somehow. It’s enough to draw his attention, and as your eyes connect his brows draw up and you see a look of rejection and fear pass across his features.
You breathe his name quietly against the glass, and it fogs up a little.
His expression briefly turns to sadness, before he drops your gaze and runs a hand down his filthy cheek. Shuffling backwards for a few steps, he turns and shambles off into the rainy night.
He takes a few longer steps before pausing to look over his shoulder at the door again, and that defeated expression turns into a scowl as his brows furrow and his lips slowly curl up into a snarl. The softness in his eyes is completely gone, and is replaced with a steely black glare.
He turns away then, and you see him break into a jog. He’s bouncing his shoulders and flinging his hands out to the sides as if he’s building himself up for something.
He runs so far down the lane he almost reaches the highway. You nearly lose sight of him, and he appears only as a dark silhouette.
Suddenly the shape shortens as he drops to his knees, raising his face to the swirling grey sky and spreading his arms wide as brief flashes of lightning begin to light up the clouds.
The wind buffeting the trees increases, and starts to send larger branches, twigs and more leaves to smack against the roof and windows of the cabin
It’s almost enough to drown out the inhuman bellow Eddie emits.
But you hear it…
If you’d like to read the original series that this comes from, it starts here 😊
Thanks so much for reading!
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As always, comments and reblogs make my world spin - I’d love to know what you think of this.
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Have you ever wondered how a different plot point would have altered the trajectory of your series? Thought about how a simple conversation could have changed your one-shot from angst to smut? Imagined how characters might have reacted if a canon event never happened?
@corroded-hellfire and I are partnering up to host Flip Flopped: a summer event to explore all of the avenues that writing takes us.
Here's how it works:
Choose a moment from a series or one-shot you've written OR a canon event that's occurred in the Stranger Things universe
Consider the what-ifs that would change the course of the story
Write a blurb exploring that AU (or AU of an AU!)
Rules:
You may submit as many entries as you'd like
Each entry should be 3k words or less
For fics involving relationships, any pairing (canon, fanon, reader-insert, OC) is fine, but keep smut between characters who are 18+
Use appropriate tags
If using another writer's work as inspiration, you must get permission from them first
If basing your blurb off of a series or one-shot, be sure to link it so readers can easily find the original work
Tag both Bug (munson-blurbs) and Red (corroded-hellfire) in your entry to ensure it is posted to the event master list!
We will be accepting submissions all summer long ☀️ feel free to reach out with any questions!
So I had this idea where an accident in the lab causes the Chipmunks and Chipettes to swap superpowers….
Not sure when I’ll get a chance to use it, but it’s too good not to share.
ALVIN 2.0: So how was your day, Theo?
THEODORE: Well, I tried really hard to learn a little bit more about that physics stuff so that I can connect with you and Simon better, but I still didn’t understand it. I just can’t wrap my head around it. So, then I gave up and memorized 5 cookbooks.
SIMON: (half bitter and half sweet) At least you’re putting my memory to good use.
ALVIN 2.0: How was your day, Si? Did ya break anything?
SIMON: No…..
ALVIN 2.0: Really?
SIMON: Fine. I broke a door….and a window and made several dents in the wall. Also cracked 3 beakers. I don’t know how Brittany handles this!
ALVIN 2.0: Maybe she gets less angry than you.
THEODORE: Yeeeeah. I doubt that. How about you, Alvin? What did you do today?
ALVIN 2.0: I yelled at some crows, convinced Ms. Croner’s cats to chase Miss. Smith, and then had a 2 hour argument with Lilly over whether or not she could chew my sneakers. Jeanette’s powers are weird, man.
THEODORE: I think it’s sweet that you got Jeanette’s powers. It shows how close you are.
ALVIN 2.0: Yeah, it’s alright, but I miss my imagination. I haven’t daydreamed vividly all day. It’s HORRIBLE! I hate daydreaming without visuals and hallucinations!
SIMON: It could be worse.
THEODORE: Poor Jeanette is all hypersensitive to the max because of my powers. I feel so bad for her.
SIMON: And Brittany is….wait, have any of you seen Brittany?
BRITTANY: I AM STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO YOU! GRRRRR! NO WONDER ELEANOR IS GOING INSANE!
JEANETTE: AH….AHCHOOO!
ELEANOR: Hey, everyone!
ALVIN 2.0: Eleanor, PLEASE! I need my powers back! I’ll trade with you! You can command an army of forest creatures to do your bidding! How cool is that?
ELEANOR: Nah, I’m not done making nightmares yet.
SIMON: I have to get us switched back soon. We can’t live like this. I flunked THREE tests today. I know the material, but I can’t REMEMBER it! My memory is as terrible as Alvin’s! ALVIN’S!
ALVIN 2.0: Yeeeah. I highly doubt THAT. But, cheer up, dude. At least you’re still popular….unlike Bridget.
BRITTANY: I KNOW YOU SAID THAT ON PURPOSE! You know MY NAME!
ALVIN 2.0: Okay, yeah. You got me. I sort of notice you. Sort of.
Alvin has Jeanette’s ability to communicate with non-mutant animals.
Simon has Britt’s superstrength
Theodore has Simon’s super memory
Eleanor has Alvin’s dreamwalking/dreambombing and vivid imagination
Jeanette has Theodore’s supersenses…which suck because of her allergies.
Brittany has Eleanor’s stealth powers and suddenly everyone can’t notice her until she MAKES them notice her.
There’s nothing I want more than a gay dating reality show called “In the Closet,” with the twist being that one of the contestants is secretly straight but must remain hidden in the house until the very end to win money.
The real twist is that all of them are straight men.
Boys Are Idiots Redux: The Pain In Your Ass
Pairing: Eddie Munson x You
Summary: Once upon a time, Evil Woman got partnered up with Billy Hargrove for a science project. A jealous and insecure Eddie Munson acted out. What if... (This is an alternate version of Boys Are Idiots.)
Contains: Jealous Eddie, Charming Billy, Annoyed Evil Woman... and a simple question that could change the fate of everyone involved.
Words: 2.5k
This was written for the Flip Flopped event by @munson-blurbs and @corroded-hellfire, and is an alternate version of Boys Are Idiots. That story was originally meant to star Billy Hargrove anyway, but as soon as I started writing it, a vile wave of Billy hate flooded my dash and I didn't feel like being lectured by preachy anons, so I turned it into a Steve story instead. But I hate that fic, because it means nothing. Steve Harrington poses no threat whatsoever. Billy Hargrove, however…
"Alright, see ya," you say with an awkward smile, going the opposite direction of your new project partner outside the classroom door.
You head for your locker, spin the dial, and pop it open. A Polaroid of you and Eddie falls out. You scramble to pick it up off the floor before someone can step on it and ruin his pretty face. When you stand upright, the boy himself is in front of you… but he's not looking as happy as he is in the picture you've just rescued.
"Why were you talking to Billy Hargrove?"
"And hello to you too, Edward," you say brightly. "Hold this." You hand him the picture and start searching your backpack for tape. "We're doing a science project together."
"Why?"
"You know I have a thing for bad boys," you wink.
You take the picture from Eddie and tape it back where it belongs, on the inside of your locker door, and glance at the life-sized version standing under the black cloud beside you.
"Or because we got randomly paired up, take your pick."
Eddie crosses his arms and leans against the wall of lockers as you swap out books for your next class. You can feel a storm brewing.
"We're just partners in a high school science class, we're not engaged, calm down."
He rolls his eyes, and you slam the door.
"K, gotta go, see you at lunch," you say quickly while leaning in for a peck. Your lips meet his, and the issue is forgotten.
Until the next morning, in the parking lot where you always loiter by Eddie's van until the bell, when Billy Hargrove gives you a nod on his way inside. You return his greeting with wave and a half-hearted smile, and Eddie turns to see who you're waving at. His body tenses.
"Relax," you grumble, giving him a playful shove. It catches him off-guard, and he bounces against the side of his van before stabilizing himself.
"He's an asshole," he says simply.
"He's nice to me," you counter.
"Because he wants to get in your pants," Eddie scoffs.
"You know you're the only one allowed in there," you grin. "Unless Chief Hopper changes his mind about the age difference."
"Oh, fuck off," Eddie laughs.
The bell rings. You peck Eddie's cheek and drag him into the building, and that's that.
Until you're spotted talking to Billy on your way out of science class a few hours later. Eddie is waiting at your locker when you get there, glowering in Billy's direction.
You roll your eyes and spin the combination dial. This is getting old.
"Can you not be a dick, please?"
"How am I being a dick?"
"You know exactly how you're being a dick." You trade out your books with a little more force than necessary. "Now quit. It's not cute."
"It's not cute that Hargrove's trying to make a move on somebody that doesn't belong to him."
You turn to him with raised eyebrows and bubbling rage.
"Oh, I belong to you now? Am I your property? Do you have papers confirming your alleged ownership?"
Eddie doesn't respond, so you slam your locker door and head to your next class without looking back.
You can still feel the tension at lunch, but he didn't hide out in the woods to avoid you, so he must not be too upset.
Until you have to break it to him that you and Billy need to hit the library this evening. It's Friday. Your project is due on Monday. If you finish it tonight, you'll have the whole weekend to spend with Eddie. And then maybe he'll stop acting like an ass.
"Wanna stop by Family Video on the way home?" Eddie asks, sliding his bag of pretzels toward you. A peace offering.
"Uh… can't today," you smile apologetically as you take a pretzel. "I have to go to the public library."
"Okay," he crunches… suspiciously. "Want me to drive you?"
The boys start to protest, because this will surely impact their afternoon plans, but Eddie silences them with a wave of his hand and awaits your answer.
"Uh…" you nibble a side off the pretzel. "I'm going with Billy, actually."
His face hardens.
"Don't start," you ask of him. "It's just a stupid science project. I would much rather be watching movies with you, than fact-checking and cutting construction paper with him."
"Bet that's not what he wants," Eddie scoffs.
"Seriously?" you ask. Are you really doing this? Eddie fixes you with his best glare, and you instinctively match it. You're doing this. "He's fooling around with half the school. I'm practically married to you. And up until very recently, I was quite happy with that arrangement."
Eddie seethes. You finally break eye contact and turn back to your lunch, although you've lost your appetite. Is this about Billy making a move, or Eddie not trusting you?
"What are you even doing with him in the public library that can't be done here?" The way he says it makes your fists clench.
"You caught me, Eddie. We're actually going to his house to test the effectiveness of various condom brands. Wanna come watch?"
A hush falls over the Hellfire table. You and Eddie glare at each other. And then, in the blink of an eye, he's out of his chair and storming through the cafeteria doors. You close your eyes and breathe out heavily, trying to calm yourself. When you open them again, the whole table is staring at you.
"Shut up," you snap at no one in particular, and begin cramming your stuff into your backpack. You're done with this bullshit.
The rest of the day passes in a blur. You go through the motions and silently fume about Eddie being an ass until the final bell rings. Part of you wants to tell Billy that you're not feeling up to working on your project today. But the other part tells you to go; if Eddie doesn't trust you to be in the presence of another male, that's his problem.
"Hey," Billy grins from across the hallway as you exit the door of your final class of the day.
"Hi," you smile, taken aback. You didn't know he knew you existed outside of science class, but there he is, leaning against the lockers like he belongs there. Waiting for you with a smile on his face.
"Ready to go?"
Your eyes scan the hallway, instinctively searching for Eddie. Right. Mad at you. He's probably in the woods, or speeding toward home.
"Yup," you answer.
Billy gestures for you to go ahead, and quickly falls into step with you. He stops as soon as he gets outside, letting the rest of the students clamoring out of the building flow around him while he lights his cigarette. He offers it to you once it's lit, but you decline. He shrugs and saunters toward his car. You adjust your stride to match his pace.
"How was your day?" he asks.
You look at him in surprise. Of all the things you expected to come out of Billy Hargrove's mouth, that wasn't one of them.
"Uh," you stumble, "okay, I guess?"
"Just okay?"
You glance toward Eddie's parking spot, and see that the van is already gone. You can feel yourself deflate, and clench your jaw in annoyance, mostly at yourself.
"Trouble in paradise?" Billy asks, taking a drag from his cigarette.
"Nope," you say quickly, facing forward and focusing on walking up the hill to Billy's car. If Eddie Munson wants to act like an insecure little jackass, he can do it alone. "School's over, sun's out, things are looking up," you smile.
"An optimist," Billy grins. "Not usually my type, but today, I'll take it." That dumb dangly earring of his catches the sun and lights his whole face up.
"And how was your day, Hargrove?" you ask, hoping he doesn't notice your cheeks heating up.
"Let's see… my step-sister is staying after school, so I don't have to put up with her attitude or drive her highness home. I get to work on some science thing with the smartest, prettiest girl in class. I'd say things are looking up for me, too."
He opens the passenger door of his car for you, and you slide in. No food wrappers or beer cans in the floorboard. No sweaty clothes strewn about. Everything is neat and polished and looks like new. It's nothing like Eddie's van. Billy slides into the driver's seat.
"I knew this was a nice car from the outside, but damn," you remark. "It looks like it just came off the assembly line."
"I take care of the things I care about," Billy smiles, smashing his cigarette in the ash tray and flashing you that mega-watt smile. "Ready for a thrilling evening at our local library?"
"Let's roll, Hargrove," you grin. Billy turns his key, and the car roars to life. Metal blares through the speakers; you can't place the band, but you're fairly certain the singer is wearing spandex and a lot of hair spray. Billy backs up carefully, then revs his engine and peels out of the parking lot. Everyone knows better than to get in his way. You feel eyes on you through the windows of Billy Hargrove's meticulously maintained car. You're the envy of every single girl in Hawkins High.
But you're not single… right?
Friday evening at the library flies by. You skip Hellfire, knowing you'll catch hell for it, but you've got work to do. And honestly, Billy's not bad company. What's Eddie going to do, get double mad at you?
Saturday's band practice is cancelled. Eddie calls Jeff and says to spread the word that he's going on a fishing trip with Uncle Wayne. A fishing trip in the winter, you wonder? You go back to the library and finish your project with Billy. You even go out for milkshakes after, to celebrate what is surely an A. You talk and nurse your shakes for an hour, feeling like neither of you really wants to go home.
Sunday is a bore. You watch the glue on your poster board dry.
Eddie doesn't come to school on Monday.
You and Billy get an A+ on your presentation. You suspect that this concludes your brief foray into friendship, but he offers you a ride home when he sees you heading toward the bus that afternoon.
"When did he start going out with her?" someone hisses nearby, catching you off-guard.
Billy Hargrove is not a bad guy. He's handsome. He's funny. He has decent taste in music. He takes care of his tapes and his car and his hair. He's easy to get along with, and you wouldn't mind getting to know the person behind the persona better.
But he's not your Eddie.
So you ask if he'll drop you off at the entrance to Forest Hills instead. He does, and even offers to wait, in case Eddie's not there. You thank him, but decline. You trudge through the snowy, slushy trailer park alone, wondering what to say to the idiot your heart belongs to.
The van is in the driveway. You hear the music blaring though the walls as you approach. He's home.
You don't bother knocking. He wouldn't be able to hear you anyway. You step inside the unlocked door, take your boots and jacket off, and find Eddie lying face-down on his bed. You're not sure if he's asleep or not. The covers are around his waist. A notebook filled with D&D ideas and sketches lies abandoned at his side.
You sit on the edge of the bed and place a hand on his back.
He yelps and rolls away, pulling the blankets up to his chest protectively. You lean over and turn off his stereo.
"How was your fishing trip?" you ask.
His brow furrows, having already forgotten the lie he told. Realization dawns on his face, and his eyes widen.
"What are you doing here?" he asks.
"Missed you," you shrug.
"Hargrove too busy admiring himself in the mirror to pay attention to you?"
You snort.
"Project's over," you smile. "He's back to chasin' skirts, and I'm wondering when you're coming back to school. It's boring without you. Like, really boring. You know you can hear Higgins' nose whistle over the intercom during the morning announcements? Is that why we never listen?"
Eddie wants to smile. You can see him fighting it. Instead, he rolls his eyes and heaves a sigh.
"C'mere," he orders, throwing the covers off himself to reveal plaid pajama pants. You crawl into bed next to him, and he flips the covers over you both. "Jesus, you're frozen."
"Oh, are my hands too cold for you?" you ask, sticking them under his shirt and directly on his skin. He flails and squawks and tries to push you away, but you don't let go. When your hands warm enough to lose their power, you lie on your sides and face each other.
"I missed you," you whisper.
"Missed you more," he mumbles.
"I didn't go anywhere, Eddie. I was right here, waiting for you to get your shit together. Guess I've gotta do everything my damn self."
He activates the dreaded puppy eyes, and you reach for his hand under the covers.
"You've gotta stop acting like I'm gonna leave you for the first pretty-boy that learns my name," you whisper.
"Everybody else would," he grumbles.
"Everybody else is a cunt."
He smirks a tiny smirk.
"I need you to stop worrying, and trust me when I tell you that you've got nothing to worry about," you assure him as you move closer. "Not with him, or with anybody else. You're the one that I want." You wrap an arm around his middle and nuzzle your face into his warmth. "Why would I want a Billy Hargrove, when I've got an Eddie Munson?"
"Tax reasons?" he guesses.
You snort.
"I love you," you laugh. "Even when you're being a pain in my ass."
"I love you, too," he whispers, kissing the top of your head. "Sorry for being a dick."
"Sorry for skipping out on Hellfire," you mumble. You feel his mood shift into DM Mode and cringe internally.
"Your character will be punished severely during our next session."
"She's tough," you smile. "She can take it."
"I know," he whispers. "What'd you do this weekend?"
"Finished that project. Listened to Hargrove bitch and moan about his step-sister. Who sounds awesome, by the way. I'm gonna have to adopt a freshman next year." Eddie chuckles. "Oh. Hargrove likes metal. I told him that the best metal band in Hawkins plays at The Hideout on Tuesday nights. Be nice to him if he shows, and you might add another drunk fan to your ranks. Maybe even make a sale."
"Always lookin' out for me, huh?" he asks quietly.
"It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it," you grin.
Summary: Spring Break 1986, the way it should have gone.
Word Count: 3.2k
Characters: Eddie Munson, Corroded Coffin (Jeff, Gareth, Dave - Unnamed Freak), Dustin Henderson, Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Will Byers, Wayne Munson
Themes/Warnings: No Upside-Down AU, Road Trip, Lighthearted, Boys Will Be Boys in the purest way possible, Nerd, Pop Culture References, one or two sneaky little references to Store Manager Verse (I had to)
Note: So a LONG TIME AGO I dropped a fun head canon that got lost to the cutthroat nature of the tags. It's not necessarily coming back to life per se but and now that I've promised @br0ck-eddie and @somnambulic-thing that I would do more Gen fics, I'm sort of giving it some more juice.
Gonna also use this for @munson-blurbs and @corroded-hellfire and their Flip Flopped Summer Writing event. (I cheated on the length, sue me.)
Enjoy!
You can find my masterlist here.
Please do not interact if you are not 18+.
---
When one thought of words to describe Edward J. Munson, there were plenty to choose from.
Daring, dashing, brilliant, handsome--
"Douchebag," Gareth muttered under his breath.
"Can it, asshole," Eddie snapped from the driver's seat of the van, angling the rearview mirror so he could pin the younger boy with a scathing look. "Or I'll leave you behind."
"He's got a point though," Dave offered. The rearview mirror shifted again, revealing dark brown eyes that narrowed angrily.
"Sorry," Dave sunk in his seat.
--adventurous, non-conformist, a music legend...
But carpool mom had never been a contender.
Until now.
For Eddie, Spring Breaks were never exciting.
A lot of families in Hawkins took the days off school to go out of town. Vacation to someplace interesting or warm, trips up to the beach, or to a distant grandparent's house for a visit.
Eddie always stayed home. He enjoyed the silence of the town and the freedom to go anywhere and do anything he'd like. Wayne picked up some overtime while some of his coworkers were away, so there were a handful of extra hours for Eddie to play his music as loudly as he wanted, and some extra cash to splurge on a few nights of takeout.
This year was different though.
This year, Eddie had the misfortune of being friend, older brother figure, and role model to Dustin Henderson and his band of merry nerds.
The four of whom decided to enter into the All-State Science Fair in May with a project so ambitious and convoluted, they were either going to crash and burn, or get some kind of scholarship long before they needed to think of college.
And of course, when the time came to gather supplies for such an...extensive endeavor, the lowly freshman came to their good pal Eddie to help them procure some interesting items.
That was the thing with Eddie, though. He was sort of known for being the guy that could find things. Yeah, weed and other drugs from Reefer Rick, sure. But the phrases "I know a guy" and "I can try and cash in a favor" and "you owe me one" often passed through his lips, followed by a glint in his eye and a quirk of his lips.
For weeks he got the little idiots various items for their project, but when things on the list began to seem impossible to find--Rick had practically thrown him out when he had asked where to get liquid nitrogen--things started to get a little tricky.
Eddie, not one to let his friends down, complained about the whole ordeal to a friend he had unexpectedly made working at StarCourt over the past Summer--the Claire's store manager--and she had an interesting suggestion.
"Why don't you just go to the Science Surplus store in Chicago?" Eddie looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "What? Don't let the Cool Mall Girl facade fool you. I'd been known to dabble in science fairs and stuff when I was still in school."
"Nerd," he snorted before he waved for her to continue.
She told him about lab coats and machine parts and mystery boxes.
"It might be fun for you and your friends to drive up there and see it."
Thus, the Great Spring Break Roadtrip of '86 was born.
---
Well, more accurately, it was the Great Secret Spring Break Roadtrip of '86.
Because what parent--specifically Claudia Henderson--was going to let their kid spend a few days with no parental supervision? Where the only adult, technically, was Eddie.
She liked him, of course. Shit, most of the kids' parents liked him. But trust him to drive their kids hundreds of miles in a van that looked like it probably wasn't gonna make it 10 miles up the road?
That was another story.
But he was a schmoozer, a sweet-talker, a charmer, and in the end he got them all to agree to a few days up at the Dunes hiking and swimming and grilling hot dogs over an open fire.
If only the parents had been his harshest critics.
"When was the last time you had your brakes checked?"
"And your oil changed?"
"I heard some squeaking when you drove us home from Hellfire. I think there's something going on with your suspension."
"When did you become my pit crew?" Eddie snapped as he leaned against the front of the van and smoked the last cigarette he would have until they stopped for gas along the way.
Dustin, Mike, Will, and Lucas all froze in place. The older members of Hellfire Club leaned their heads out of the van to watch the interaction like the relentless busybodies that they were. Eddie flicked the butt of his cigarette to the ground before approaching the kids with his hands on his hips.
"We just wanna make sure it's safe," Mike was the first to speak up.
"It's safe," Eddie insisted. "I checked everything myself; Wayne wouldn't let me cross state lines if I hadn't."
Mike considered it for a second, then jumped into the van.
Dustin hummed doubtfully and kicked at one of the rear tires.
"Do you have a spare tire?" he questioned. "Just in case?"
Eddie nodded and even offered how to show everyone how to change a tire if the need ever rose.
"Gotta earn your keep somehow."
He mashed his hand on the top of Dustin's head as he passed.
Lucas and Will were last; they had their backs to him, heads leant together as they whispered conspiratorially. Eddie wondered for a moment if they even wanted to go--it was ok if they were scared--until they pivoted on their heels and began a barrage of questions about handling and off-roading and how prepared he was for any emergencies.
He was about to snap at them, tell them to shut up, when he saw a rolled up copy of Car and Driver in Lucas' hand and his brief annoyance faded.
He took a deep breath and stared up into the clear blue sky, begging whatever gods or devils there were to give him the patience to survive this trip.
"Listen," he huffed, "you either trust me and we go, or you don't and we stay. Even if I didn't have a stocked first aid kit--which, I don't, by the way...best you're gonna get are some crumpled band-aids in my glove box--it's not like we have all the time in the world to put one together.
"I promise. Everything will be fine. You trust me right?"
Lucas and Will turned away from him and whispered furiously once more. Before they stood up straight, looked him dead in the eye, and asked something that made Eddie let out a bark of laughter,
"What about Second Breakfast?"
---
They stopped for gas an hour in.
What should have been a ten minute stop turned into an hour. Bathroom breaks all around and then debates over which snacks to get.
"Don't waste all your money," Eddie fussed over them, pulling bags of candies and chips from their hands and stuffing them back onto shelves. "You're not gonna eat it all for one thing. And I'm not gonna clean puke out of my van if you try and end up making yourselves sick."
Suddenly the four freshman were all talking over each other with "mom never lets me have funyuns" and "what if we get the smaller bag?" Jeff, Gareth, and Dave all snickered and watched from afar as Eddie taught them The Art of Gas Station Snacks.
By hour two, the radio stations became unfamiliar, Eddie's mix tapes got boring, and slug bug was impossible. That's when everyone began fighting over the road map to play navigator, even though Eddie insisted that it was Jeff's job, since he called shotgun. But no one cared, especially not when--
"Hey I know our cover is camping at the beach," Mike piped up from the back. "But we're actually going to pass the Dunes. Can we go?"
Some of the others started to agree, mentioning how their moms packed their swim trunks.
"Hey!" Eddie snapped at them and then reached back to jam a finger into the map. "We passed the exit already. Better luck next time."
"But how about on the way back?" Dave suggested. "It's getting too crowded in here. A little fresh air would be nice."
And Eddie would have fought them, the thing was...he kind of agreed with Dave.
The members of Corroded Coffin were used to just the four of them and their band equipment. Now there were seven of them, on top of all their backpacks and sleeping bags, Eddie's guitar, and a cooler full of snacks and drinks. There was too much noise, too much arguing. One absolutely rancid fart had been tooted without admittance, which led to everyone just ripping one without a care in the world.
On the other hand, did he really want to have to clean sand out of the van once this trip was over?
"Alright," he finally shouted over the others, causing them to quiet down. "If everyone behaves the rest of the way, we'll see about making a stop at the Dunes on the way back."
---
Their accommodations that first night were less than ideal.
Rick had mentioned something once about forest preserves and camp sites once when he'd driven up to Chicago to meet up with some fishing buddies. So Eddie figured renting a campsite would be fun, not to mention cheaper than a motel. They'd sleep under the stars, just like he'd promised all of their parents, grill some hot dogs and roast marshmallows for s'mores.
It would be great.
But building a campfire was harder than it looked--especially when you had six sets of eyes on you--the ground was hard to sleep on, and then at some point in the night, a storm rolled in and they all had to pile into the van to stay dry.
Chalk it up to Murphy's Law.
"Should have sprung for a cabin instead," Jeff joked as they all struggled to fit in the back of the van after they all sought shelter inside.
Come morning, they were all tired and sore and grumpy, and Eddie drove through McDonalds for steaming hot hash browns and egg mcmuffins to shut them all up.
Then they finally reached their true destination.
The American Science and Surplus Center was an unassuming building in a busy suburb north of the city. Busier than Hawkins, at least. Eddie had to drive around the block several times before he realized the entrance was in the back of the building, gravel parking lot and all.
As soon as they set foot inside, it was a sensory overload, but it felt like home.
Colorful signs everywhere, aisles filled with bins of bottles and beakers and corks and machine parts. There was a man who looked like he stepped out of Doctor Who by the cash register, and about a dozen lab skeletons situated around the perimeter of the store dressed to look like famous scientists.
All of the boys scattered once they picked their jaws up off the floor and they, quite literally, spent hours scouring the store finding one amazing thing after another.
Dave and Jeff went to the back corner where there was a display of army surplus. Garerth found an entire aisle dedicated to models and kits. Eddie walked around picking up things at random. Things that just seemed interesting and weird, his imagination putting different bits and bobs together to create mini figures for mechanical foes for the next--and maybe last--campaign he created as the DM for Hellfire.
It was a bittersweet moment for him.
And the kids? Well, they were either the worst customers in the world or the best. They were running around, throwing things into baskets, trying to figure out how much of this or that they needed for their project.
This was a once in a lifetime trip so they were determined to get everything they needed now.
Of course, that ended up causing a problem. Because there was only one of a certain item on their shopping list and Dustin wasn't the only person to grab it.
Eddie heard the commotion before he saw it.
"I need this."
"So do I."
"I touched it first."
"Well I saw it first. Finders keepers."
The other freshman were quick to jump into the verbal tousle, disrupting everyone in the store, and Eddie was quick to abandon his own shopping to go and see what was wrong.
Only to find the dweebiest tug of war on the planet: His four little sheepies versus three equally dorky-looking boys. It was a flurry of gangly limbs, sweaty hands, mom-provided haircuts, and pressed khakis as they argued over the one thing all of the kids seemed to need for their respective projects.
Eddie figured it was better to intervene before someone got a nosebleed from stress.
"Hey guys, cut it out, what are we arguing for?"
"Who's this?" the apparent leader of the other kids snapped. "The barber shop is down the street if you need a haircut Bon Jovi."
"Alright Revenge of the Nerds, calm down," Eddie snapped. "Just trying to make sure this doesn't end in a bloodbath. What's going on here?"
"We need that air pump," Dustin nodded down to the box he was holding onto for dear life.
"Well so do we. And we saw it first."
The kids started talking over each other again until Eddie whistled sharply.
"How about," he suggested and dug into one of his pockets and pulled out a shiny quarter, "we flip a coin?"
"No way!"
"No chance!"
"This air pump is ours," the rival nerd scoffed.
"What if we just beat you up and took it?" came a voice the next aisle over. Eddie glanced over his shoulder and shot daggers at his nosy friends.
"Not helping Jeff!" he hissed and turned back to the kids. "It's either a coin toss or nothing."
Eventually, both groups agreed, and Dustin was even gracious enough to let the other kids call it. Eddie flicked the coin into the air, the nerd called heads, and then time seemed to slow.
Eddie's thoughts raced through all of the possibilities. He really couldn't give a shit about these other nerds but...damn they deserved a fair shot at it. And his friends...he didn't want them to come all this way just for disappointment.
There was a clink as the coin hit the ground and bounced.
Then another clink.
Then a clatter as it landed.
Tails.
---
Another hour passed victoriously in the science surplus store and everyone's mood went up exponentially.
Eddie spent a little extra cash to get a soldering iron that he found in a clearance bin. Dustin and Lucas got to explain their whole project to the wannabe timelord, who was excited at the prospect of flash freezing ice cream. Not to mention Dave, who flirted with the evening manager as she came in for her shift; he even got her number, the lucky schmuck.
The sun was setting by the time they made it back outside, chattering happily about their finds, but they stopped in their tracks as they found the rival nerd standing near the van with a tall, polished boy in a letterman jacket beside him.
"This them?" the jock asked the younger boy.
"Yeah," he glared at them all and then pointed at Mike. "And that's the one who flipped me off."
Eddie could feel Mike tensing beside him--obviously regretting what he had done in the throes of victory--and he took a step forward, hands held in front of him to show he meant no harm.
"Hey guys listen," he started. "What are we doing here? What's fair is fair. We flipped a coin."
"My brother said it was rigged," the jock accused.
Eddie snorted, "how could I possibly rig a coin toss? Here I'll even show you the quarter."
The jock, curious, took a step forward, despite his brother whining for him to "just beat them up already."
Eddie shoved a hand in the pocket of his jacket and rooted around for a moment, before swiping his sneakered foot across the ground, sending gravel and sand and whatever else made up the parking lot into the two boys' faces.
"Go, go, get in the van," he hollered to his friends, who immediately crossed the lot and piled into the vehicle.
Once the doors were locked and the key was in the ignition, they all hollered in triumph, Gareth even yelling for Dave to "hit 'em with the pressed ham" as they pulled out of the parking lot.
And Eddie wondered if it was cowardly for them to have done what they did. For him to have done that.
He didn't want to be known as the guy who ran from trouble.
But hearing his friends' laughter, knowing their safety was ensured, he figured that sometimes running away was ok.
---
Dinner was reminiscent of something out of a heroic legend.
The IHOP off Route 64 had become a mead hall with drinks sloshing over the edges of cups and laughter and cheers in abundance as they regaled each other with more fantastical versions of the non-existent battle they'd just survived.
As though Eddie had been Beowulf and his foe the dastardly Grendel.
"He had to be 7 feet tall," Lucas awed. "And like...400 pounds."
"I'm never worrying about Jason Carver beating me up again if we survived that guy," Mike agreed.
"You're gonna have to fail again this year so you can stick around and protect us Ed. At least until I graduate," Gareth told Eddie, who protested that he didn't even do anything.
Then everyone erupted into a good-hearted merriment again.
Eddie felt a little bad for the waitress who would clean up after them, but he couldn't do anything to stop his friends joy and excitement.
Instead, he left a very generous tip once they left.
Their second night of camping was much more successful than the first. There were no attempts at a fire and no s'mores to be had, but Eddie broke out his guitar and strummed some familiar songs that had everyone asleep in no time.
Almost everyone.
He stayed up for a little longer though, smoking and staring up at the sky through the canopy of the trees. There was something special being out here, and he wondered if all of the heroes in his favorite stories felt like that, seeing all of their companions safe and asleep under their watch and the watch of the stars above.
There was a rustle of a sleeping bag and Dustin looked over at Eddie with bleary eyes.
"Why're you still up?" he asked. "Gotta take a dump or something?"
Eddie snorted and crushed the butt of his cigarette underfoot.
"Just thinking," he waved a hand dismissively. "Get back to sleep. Gotta drive back in the morning, and we need to hit the road early if you guys still wanna go to the beach."
He was about to take his own advice and settle into his sleeping bag when Dustin called his name again.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"I dunno," there was another rustle as Dustin shrugged. "For driving us out here, for getting all of the stuff we've been asking you to get, for protecting us...for being our friend."
"Don't mention it Henderson," Eddie smiled warmly. "What else was I gonna do? Let you guys lose the science fair."
"It's more than that."
"I'm sure that Harrington would've helped you if I hadn't."
"Steve's a cool guy but seriously," Dustin insisted. "He wouldn't have done all of this for us."
Eddie didn't know how to answer that, so he just hummed and closed his eyes.
The last thing he heard before he fell asleep, to dreams of guitar solos and bats and epic adventures...
