Chapter Text
Summer '86
Eddie lazed on his narrow bed, watching dust particles swirl in the light piercing through the gap in his curtains. Slowly, he raised a hand, watching as the dust swirls in the new air currents, drifting around his fingers, sunlight catching on the rings there. Its Graduation Day at Hawkins High, and he was hiding away in his room, wallowing in his own foul mood.
Somewhere a couple miles down the road, Robin would be walking across the stage, Steve and his army of kids cheering for her. Maybe she'd trip a little, nervous about being the centre of attention. Maybe she'd grin and wave madly at her friends. Maybe she'd scan the crowd and notice Eddie isn't there, but he doubts it.
He's been to school once or twice since being discharged from the hospital, barely stayed past the first lesson, wary of all the stares, the way people edged away from him, skirted around him in the halls. Any hope of graduating died with Chrissy, as soon as he went on the run. If he'd had any hope to begin with. For all his boasting about getting out of Hawkins High in '86, he had to admit that he'd never held out much hope of getting by in half of his classes.
In recent weeks, he’d stayed in more and more. Hawkins felt hostile, and he felt the stares when he bought beer or went into town. Nobody was interested in buying drugs from a murder suspect, so his dealing sideline had dried up.
Even the the Hellfire Club had slowly dissolved. After Jason and his gang had terrorised his fellow band members, they’d drifted away, clinging onto other social groups for the end of the year, keen to get away from the rumours. Dustin, Mike and Lucas had been more persistent, calling to invite him to play DND or hang out at the arcade, but he’d started making excuses. Dustin had even roped Steve into driving him to the trailer park to try and drag Eddie out. Eddie had answered the door to see the kid firmly planted on his doorstep, Steve leaning against his car in the distance offering a small wave. Dustin had all but demanded Eddie come out, but he’d feigned a headache and made his excuses. And if he’d peeked out the window once he’d closed the door, seeing Steve still staring at the trailer contemplatively, then that was nobody’s business but his own.
The record player in the corner of his room clicked as it reached the end of the last track, leaving silence in its wake. Reluctantly, Eddie sat up to flip the disc. He groaned as he levered himself off of the bed, the healing skin along his abdomen stretching and pulling.
Healing had been agony for the first couple of weeks, the bites raw and angry, skin almost purple as his body fought the venom from the Upside Down. He'd felt like a lab rat, being pumped full of antibiotics and pills while being monitored in the isolation ward of the hospital. His memories of the fight and escape from the Upside Down were hazy, but Dustin had given him a dramatic retelling of Steve, Nancy and Robin arriving back at the trailer to find Dustin huddled under an upturned boat he'd managed to haul over Eddie's body and crawl under. According to Dustin, Steve had managed to sling Eddie's prone body over his shoulders and together they'd managed to hoist him back through the portal, and had been met with several of Owen's agents waiting to whisk them away for debriefing and treatment.
Nearly being killed in an alternate dimension had a couple of benefits. The hush money from the organisation that Eddie tried not to spend too much time thinking about had helped him and his uncle move to a new trailer, and some words in the right ears had cleared his name, but the stain of the witch hunt that had taken place over Spring Break still followed Eddie around the town more than he'd like.
A knock on the door brought his thoughts back to the present, and he looked up to see Wayne nudge the door open a little, leaning in the doorway.
"Hey kiddo, I'm heading out. Want anything?“
Eddie shook his head, forcing a weak smile.
Wayne moved a little further into the room, lowering himself down until he was squatting in front of Eddie where he sat on the bed.
"Eds?"
Eddie slumped forward, head pressing into his uncle's shoulder. Wayne patted him gently on the back.
"I just, I can't stand it. I thought this year-"
Eddie's voice cracked a little.
Wayne hummed.
"I know, son. None of this is your fault."
Eddie sniffed a little, straightened up. He scrubbed a hand over his face, feeling 10 years old again with Wayne comforting him when he'd first moved in with him, passed on to him after a brief stint in foster care while his dad was on trial.
"I just can't fucking stand it, you know. This fucking town."
Wayne nodded, silent, as Eddie fumbled for the words.
"I think, maybe-I don't know. Maybe I need to get out? Start fresh, you know? Let's be honest, I'm never gonna be welcome here-no, don't-"
Wayne was opening his mouth to interrupt, but Eddie held up a hand.
"There's nothing here for me, not really. And I sure as hell don’t want to stay here forever. No offence, Uncle Wayne."
Wayne smiled slightly, watching Eddie calmly as he took a few deep breaths, steadying himself, then spoke quietly.
"I think you're right, son. Not that I'm trying to get rid of you, you know you're always welcome here, but it might be good for you to get out of this shitty town for a while. You know, I have a friend who owns a bar in Indiana. I can call him and see if he'd take you on?"
One week later
Eddie stared at the boxes and duffel bags loaded into the back of his van. It had taken surprisingly little time to condense over ten years of his life into a few boxes, once he’d started going through his belongings.
He’d sorted his favourite records, his guitar, clothes and sundries to take, and everything else he’d boxed up for Wayne to donate. A couple of labelled crates sat next to the van and he looked down at them. Amongst a stack of DND books, dice and comics were a couple of notebooks, filled with his sketches and notes, and on impulse he grabbed them and stuffed them into the nearest box on the back of his van, along with a plastic box full of pencils and pens. If he got some time to draw when he wasn’t working, maybe he’d use them.
Closing the trunk of his van, he grabbed one of the boxes, full of records, and headed over to the Mayfields’ trailer. He knew Mrs Mayfield was out, as her car wasn’t in the driveway, and when he knocked Max answered, still pale and tired-looking.
“Eddie, what’s up? I haven’t seen you about much.”
Eddie offered her a small smile.
“Hey Max, look, I need a favour.”
He didn’t wait for her to reply, barrelling on immediately.
“Look, I’m getting the hell out of dodge. I don’t want everyone to make a big deal, really. I just have to get out. I want you guys to have these, get some real music in your lives. Not that Kate Bush isn’t fantastic-“
Max’s lips twitched a little.
“Honestly? I kind of hate that song now. Some crappy memories come along with it, y’know?”
“Yeah, I don’t blame you. But look, I need to do this on my own, I just don’t know if I can deal with Dustin and his kicked puppy look when I tell him. So I’m just going to go, OK. I’ve got some DND books, I’ll bring them over now.”
“Hold up, Eddie!”
Max dashed back into the house and hopped back into view, shoving her feet into some sneakers. She followed him over to his van, helping him with the crates he’d loaded up.
“So when are you leaving?”
“About five minutes time.”
“Eddie!”
Eddie grinned a little sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Might as well get it over with, right? Find out if there’s more to life than Hawkins High.”
Max looked at him for a moment, and he felt laid bare as she gazed at him. Then she darted forward, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.
“We’re gonna miss you, you asshole. You’d better write, or call, or something. Dustin is going to go spare.”
“I’ll call. Hey, I might be back in a week. Maybe the world isn’t ready for me.”
“No, you’re not coming back. You’ve decided.”
“Yeah, Max, I think I have. Gotta get out there and see some stuff, right?”
She stepped back, blinking a little quickly.
“Are you sure you aren’t going to say goodbye?”
“I think it’s better if I don’t. You be good, kid.”
“I’m not a kid, asshole.”
“Miss you already, neighbour.”
Eddie raised his hand in a wave and walked back around to the driver’s side of his van, hopping in. He’d said goodbye to Wayne that morning before he went to work, both men a little teary-eyed as they’d embraced, and he’d promised to call every Sunday.
As he backed his van out and turned to leave the trailer park, he saw Max still standing in the doorway of her home, watching him drive away.
Eddie turned onto the road heading to the edge of Hawkins and the freeway, but a couple hundred metres along the road he slowed his van and swung around, heading back into the centre of town.
He’d be the first to admit he’d always been one to embrace his vices, and he couldn’t bring himself to leave without indulging one of them.
He slowed the van down a little as he passed the parade of shops where Family Video stood, grateful that no cars were behind him to lean on their horns. Through the glass front he could see Steve and Robin, Robin sat up on the counter, laughing at some shared joke. Steve was turned a little away from the front door, but as if he felt Eddie’s stare, he turned to look out. They locked eyes across the street, and for a moment Eddie couldn’t help but wonder if he could stay, if he could worm his way into Steve’s life and dig his heels in and maybe everything would be OK. Then a truck roared past between the van and the store on the other side of the road and he tore his gaze away, fixing his eyes back on the road and heading out of town.