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It had been a month since everything happened. A month since Max had been in her coma and a month since Eddie died. Everyone was still reeling from the whole ordeal.
Dustin still walked with a limp despite his doctor telling him he was completely fine from his fall. To an outsider he was still the same person as always but anyone who really knew him could tell he no longer had his regular light in his eyes. They were dull and lifeless, almost like some part of him also died on that unfortunate night.
Lucas and Erica visited Max everyday, a new book with them now that Lucas finished The Talisman about 3 days ago. Lucas still has nightmares, can't close his eyes without seeing Max in the air, hearing her bones cracking and remembering her scared whimpers after she realized she couldn't see or feel anything anymore.
Robin was slowly growing closer with Vickie, and she found that helping out at the school was a good way to get everything off her mind. Sometimes that wouldn't help, and she would find herself on Steve's front porch, tears streaming down her cheeks and a faraway look in her eyes. Those nights are long, but she appreciates everything Steve does for her.
Eleven and Hopper were finally done with the cabin, it looked just as it had before the Mind Flayer attacked. If you look over the discolored wood used for the patches of course. Sometimes Eleven could be seen in the hospital after Lucas and Erica have left, cloth over her eyes, tear stained cheeks, and a stream of blood coming down from her nose.
The Byers had no place to go so Steve offered his house as their sanctuary. His parents left after the "earthquake" and left the house for him after he refused to leave Hawkins. Not like it made much of a difference with how much they were away but waking up to constant noise was becoming a new normal for him.
Joyce at first refused Steve's help, not wanting to impose on his family, but one look at Steve's home life was all it took for her to change her mind.
Will was constantly on edge, any type of chill had him racing to find the nearest person who knew what was up. It wasn't much but to him he could find some stability in his otherwise unstable world.
Jonathan took up a room in Steve's house too, the second largest because Steve had a slight inkling that Nancy was going to be needing Jonathan and anything that could comfort her for as long as possible.
Nancy had gone along with Jonathan just like Steve thought, her stuff cluttering about half of everything in their shared room, but it was their space and they were happy with it. She had very sporadic moments in her day where she just couldn't function, flashback after flashback of everything Vecna showed her clogging up her mind so much she couldn't do anything but sit there and cry.
The Wheelers had packed up and left, Ms. Wheeler no longer felt her family was safe in Hawkins. Mike had made a big deal about it and after about 2 weeks of talking, and a lot of promises on Steve's side, Mike had his own room in the Harrington-Byers-Wheeler household. He visited Eleven about as much as he visited Max, a gnawing feeling of guilt tearing through him everytime he looked at her. No matter how much everyone told Mike there wasn't anything he could've done, he still feels like he let her down.
Steve though, Steve still had yet to find something to return his life back to normal. He had gone back to the RV they stole from the trailer park just on a whim one day. It was the closest thing he had to a safe space from everyone and it was quiet. When he walked into the RV a flash of blue caught his attention, as he walked towards it he couldn't help but to feel the tears pool in his eyes.
When he finally reached the item he realized it was a vest. Eddie's vest. He couldn't hold it in anymore, clutching the fabric close to him he collapsed on the ground and started sobbing, tears flowing out of him with no signs of stopping. It still smelled like Eddie, despite it having been sitting in the RV for a month now.
It had to have been hours later, but Steve finally got up off the ground. Bones aching from being hunched on the floor, he left the RV, vest still clutched in his arms.
When he got home he went straight to his room, thankfully no one stopped him on his way there. Feeling too exhausted to do anything he slumped on his bed, still clutching Eddie's vest tightly in his arms.
When he woke up the next morning the first thing he realized was that he hadn't woken up in a cold sweat from another one of his nightmares. Even from beyond the grave Eddie was still managing to affect him. That thought brought out a bitter chuckle from Steve.
A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts, getting up to answer it he found Eleven on the other side of his door. Letting her in they sat down on his bed, Eddie's vest still wrapped up tightly in Steve's arms.
"What is that?" She asked motioning towards the vest. "It's um… it's Eddie's. You didn't get to meet him before he… before the bats got to him" Steve was staring at the vest whilst he talked to Eleven, fresh tears springing back up in his eyes.
Looking down at the vest Eleven hesitantly reached for it, Steve let her take it from him. Turning it over to inspect it fully, the Dio patch on the back caught her attention. "Who is this?" Her eyes were scanning the whole patch taking in any details she could find, "I'm pretty sure they're a band or something Eddie used to listen to, real music as he would say" a small sad smile adorns Steve's face as he thinks back to Eddie.
"Was he cool?" Eleven finally turns away from the vest, handing it back to Steve. "Very. Using his own words against him I would say he was pretty metal, and about the greatest guy I've ever met. I think if I had the chance we would have really been great friends, Robin and him would've had a field day making my life as insufferable as they could."
While Steve was talking Eleven could see that Steve was very broken up about Eddie, maybe more so than Dustin, and Dustin barely ever was himself anymore.
"Can I look for him?" She thought that letting Steve have closure would benefit him, it helped Nancy a bit after a while. Steve turned his head towards her, "No it's alright, I don't want you to have to see another one of our friends dead, even if you didn't know him that well." Steve sent an actual smile her way, appreciating her wanting to help him.
"No I want to, if it can help you even a little bit I want to do it." Guess she was feeling persistent today, getting up to find a radio Steve turned to her. "I don't have a picture of him though, how are you going to find him?" Eleven had to think a bit before she stood up, racing downstairs to go get something while Steve finds a particular static filled station.
Returning with a picture of Eddie in his Hellfire shirt, Steve reaches for it just to see him again. "Where did you…" Steve asks before the answer is clear, Mike was in Hellfire with Eddie, he probably has a picture of the whole club together. "Took it from Mike's room" nodding along to what she said he handed it to her, pointing the radio towards her and letting her work her magic.
After a moment of silence Eleven speaks up "I can see a boat in the distance" A boat? But didn't Dustin say Eddie had died in the trailer park?
"It's on water, floating but tied down. There's a blue tarp on it." That sounds like Rick's place, but why would she see that?
"There's something moving near the boat, like a person pacing." Pacing? No… there's no way.
All of the sudden Steve hears it, a voice flowing through the radio next to him.
"Oh god how do I tell them, I mean they're gonna hate me, it's been a month. A whole month! What if they forgot about me, what if they don't want to look at me? No c'mon Munson you got this, just go out into the real world and find one of them…"
Eleven comes out of her trance space thing after that, staring at Steve like he just grew two heads, Steve looking at her the same way. "Did you hear that too?" Steve asks her, not quite believing it just yet. Eleven nods and Steve bolts for the door, stopping right before he opens it.
Turning around he takes the vest with him, just as something to ground him. "If I'm not back in an hour, tell everyone that I'm at Reefer Rick's place." Steve waits until Eleven nods to leave, her voice fading out as she asks him who Rick is.
Driving towards Rick's place Steve wonders what he'll say. Although he thinks it won't matter what he says anyways when he gets there. It only takes about 30 minutes for him to get there but it's 30 minutes too long. Steve gets out of his car, keys still in the ignition, and heads to the little boathouse shed on the edge of the water.
As Steve nears the door he hears a slightly muffled voice still arguing with himself, he holds back a sob at the voice, one hand on the door handle. Preparing himself he pushes open the door and comes face to face with Eddie.
Shock was on Eddie's face, but double that was on Steve's. Even after Eleven did her finding thing he still couldn't believe Eddie was alive, but seeing her there right in front of him was all it took for him to break down again.
Collapsing to his knees and falling fast, the last thing Steve sees is Eddie rushing to catch him before his whole world turns black.
It couldn't have been more than 10 minutes before Steve woke up again, still in Eddie's arms while the man of the hour loudly wondered what to do.
Slightly looking up he sees Eddie, sunken eyes and ratty hair, but it's still Eddie. He reaches up and cups Eddie's face, stopping Eddie's rambling and causing him to look down at Steve, a smile on his face.
"Steve, are you okay man. You kind of just dropped on me." Eddie speaks to him but he really doesn't understand most of what he says, still just looking at Eddie and wondering if it's all a dream.
Shooting up out of Eddie's arms Steve holds Eddie by his shoulders, scanning every inch of him as he talks. "You're real, you're really real. You're alive, how? I mean Dustin watched you die, he said you didn't make it, we all thought you were gone!." Steve was in hysterics, this whole time Eddie was alive and he just kept it hidden from them.
"Steve, Steve! Listen to me man, I don't know how I'm alive. I thought I was dead too, the bats got to me, ripped me up good, and when Dustin got to me I really truly thought that was the end of me. I had no clue how long I was asleep for but when I came too I was back in the trailer park, but not in the Upside Down or whatever you call it, I was in Hawkins. I was hurt, real bad, but I managed to bandage myself with my shirt, it was enough for me to find shelter. I must have been walking for hours but I found Rick's place and thought it was my best bet."
Throughout Eddie's whole explanation Steve still held on to Eddie, but his hands dropped from his shoulders to his hands just needing something to stabilize him.
"I only woke up I think a week ago, I mean I just realized I've been gone for a month, I promise you I was going to go tell you guys but I wasn't sure if you would want to see me again. I mean I was dead to you guys, I was a goner. But I mean if seeing you and your reaction was proof enough that you all still are thinking of me then I don't know what is."
Eddie's smile was still as radiant as it was before all of this, still something Steve could look at when he felt his worse. Pulling Eddie into a hug Steve wouldn't let go, he only pulled away when the door to the shed was flung open and everyone came in.
Stepping away from Eddie he turned to see everyone there, Eleven at the front smiling at Steve. He moved away from Eddie, letting everyone have their own talk with him, most of them filled with countless tears and a lot of comments on his appearance.
Eddie's eyes flickered over to Steve's during his reunion with Dustin, a content smile on both of their faces.
Whatever happens after this, Steve was ready for it. Just as long as he could forever have Eddie Munson on his side through it all.