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Being a freak in a small town is a lonely role. That's why Jon and Eddie are friends.
It's a little bit weird, maybe, when Eddie's a senior for his first year and Jon's still a sophomore, but when no one talks to them, it only makes sense. They have a few freakish friends, now and again, but they are always the most freak, especially when it happens.
When Will disappears, Jonathan stops talking. When Will disappears, he starts fighting.
Eddie hears about it, like he always does, because freak draws freak and they must be linked. Nancy Wheeler is a slut, Steve Harrington got beat up, and Jon's baby brother came back from the dead.
Eddie doesn't know what happens, because he doesn't know them. Jon nods at him, and his bruises aren't hidden, and Nancy and Steve are pressed right beside him. Eddie thinks they're queer, for just a moment, before he reminds himself that they're not him. He's the queer. It's just him.
He catches Steve and Jon making out in the woods. Eddie stands there and he's quiet. He almost wants to get punched. They moan into each other's mouths and it should make him sick. Instead, he watches with eyes too wide. As far as anyone knows, Steve could never be a freak. Eddie almost feels safer knowing Jon's not alone.