just have such an image of Steve keeping it together in the direct aftermath, being so calm because he has to be; if he thinks for one second more about Max and Eddie, he doesn’t know what he’ll do, but he knows it won’t be anything helpful. So he doesn’t. He doesn’t.
He forces himself to have a one-track mind: get out of The Upside Down. Get Dustin to hospital. Fix his leg. That’s easy, that’s only three steps, and sure Dustin isn’t talking anymore, just staring blankly ahead and following wherever Steve leads him, but that’s fine, Steve can do the talking for the both of them, this is easy, this is—
And then they get to the hospital, and it’s chaos, people running, crowding, and Steve murmurs low, urgent, “Stay close to me,” and he means I’m not leaving you.
But the intensity of people shoving just gets worse, and Steve reaches for Dustin too late, he’s already gone, how can he be, Steve promised—
Panic surges in Steve’s chest, and he’s fighting against the tide of the crowd—yelling frantically like he did in The Upside Down, in Nancy’s living room, “Dustin, Dustin!”
Except now he can’t hear Dustin, he can’t hear him, and Robin’s face flashes into view, eyes wide and wet, and all Steve can say desperately is, “I can’t leave him, I can’t leave him.”
“Steve,” comes Nancy’s voice, and there’s a knowing edge to the sound, like she gets it, and when Steve turns it’s to see her point, and—
It’s barely a glimpse, but it’s enough; Steve runs.
And Dustin’s there, swept up in another part of the crowd, and he’s fighting against it too, pain contorting his expression as he drags his bad foot, “Steve!”
His voice cracks, already hoarse from screaming. Someone strikes him in the shoulder, and he almost goes down.
Something inside Steve finally snaps.
“Don’t touch him,” he seethes, and he hits out at people, uncaring if it hurts, all that matters is—
“Dustin,” he says, and they’re suddenly on the ground, Dustin scrabbling into his arms—it seems as if the crowd has finally eased just a little, has parted around them. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
He doesn’t realise he’s crying until he hears Dustin sobbing his heart out, too.
“Shh,” Steve says, “it’s okay, it’s okay.”
“Don’t go,” Dustin says, constricted with tears. “Please don’t go, please don’t go.”
And Steve knows that he means something more than just staying here in this awful hospital corridor.
“I won’t,” he swears. Shudders and kisses the top of Dustin’s head fiercely. He can’t hold any of it back now: just clings to the kid still in his arms, and cries and cries. “I won’t, I won’t.”
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im in a stranger things character music mood so here are some artists each character for sure likes
will: super obvious but the clash, the cure, david bowie, billy idol, the police, talking heads, etc. (i feel like this is a very basic answer but its the truth)
mike: he is so 90s so weezer, oasis, radiohead, etc (i already made a post abt this)
dustin: hall&oats, tears for fears, wham!, KISS, TOTO, a-ha, michael jackson, duran duran, baltimora
lucas: idky the first thing i thought of was bananarama but he would so love bananarama. beegees, michael jackson, earth wind & fire, jackson 5, stevie wonder, george michael, prince, idk
el: i dont think she really has time to listen to music but she would like popular 80s pop. like cyndi lauper, madonna, wham!, electric light orchestra, kim wilde, stacey q, the gogos, tiffany, soft cell, reo speedwagon, abba, bonnie tyler
max: kate bush obviously, blondie, duran duran, bon jovi, pixies, soft cell, tears for fears, rick springfield, no doubt, billy idol, pat benatar, tiffany, joan jett, etc
max and el are similar but el's is more 'listening to music for the first ever time' vibes while max is more lived in
jonathan: talking heads, the ramones, the clash, bowie, duran duran but only girls on film, the cramps, depeche mode, R.E.M., phil collins, the kinks, the animals, billy idol, the cure, the cars, blue oyster cult, jimi hendrix, styx, pixies, pink floyd, cheap trick, genesis, ozzy osbourne, foreigner, etc. i could go on and on. i think there would be a little more 60s and 70s in here too.
nancy: madonna, heart, reo speedwagon, billy joel, roxy music, cyndi lauper, joan jett, pat benatar, hall & oats, blondie, kim wilde, whitney houston, kate bush, tiffany, wham!, soft cell, bananarama, bonnie tyler, stacey q, lita ford, the bangles, cher, pet shop boys, john mellencamp, paula abdul, u2, olivia newton john, etc
steve: bon jovi, survivor, journey, boston, yes, DEVO, dead or alive, eddie money, kansas, foreigner, scorpions, warrant, etc. basically just basic (but good) bands that make him feel like a badass LMAO
robin: idk, just a slightly dorkier version of nancys playlist if that makes sense. i can envision it in my head i just cant execute it
joyce: heart, fleetwood mac, the mamas & the papas, journey, foreigner, boston, tom petty, toto, guns n roses, janis joplin, the rolling stones, jimi hendrix, blue oyster cult, ELO, led zeppelin, grateful dead, pink floyd, jefferson airplane
hopper: bad company, joe cocker, bob seger, eagles, the cars, jefferson starship, bob dylan, journey, styx, johnny cash, bruce springsteen
i could probably add so many more artists but it would probably go off the rails so i just gave u the basic ones
also i was looking at character playlists on spotify and most of them sucked (steve harrington is not listening to mitski) so heres some inspo for actual music they would listen to if you want to make a more accurate playlist
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From Hell to Home To Back Again
Summary: At the talent show, Chrissy Cunningham is so hungry that she nearly collapses. When she's found by Hopper, her parents ended up losing custody of her. She ends up being placed in the care of the Hendersons, and she finally finds the family she so desperately needed. She also ends up falling in love. What other changes are made in this alternate universe?
@emen-98 @1lostsoul0fishbowl @vulpixsworld
Prologue . . . Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chrissy had been having a pleasant dream until a certain annoying little brother woke her up. Ready to yell at him, Dustin opened his mouth and said something that made her heart stop.
"Eddie's house blew up."
"What?!" Chrissy screamed as she sat up.
"Yeah, it's on the news," Dustin said.
"Is Eddie - is he - ?" She couldn't say the words.
"I don't know, they didn't say if they found a body. They did say a cop got shot, though," he replied.
Chrissy grabbed her robe and kicked off the covers. Mews landed on the other side of the bed with a loud meow.
"Sorry, Mews," Chrissy said.
She ran into the living room with Dustin, the news blaring on the TV. They watched with rapt attention as they waited for them to say whether or not there was a body. All they said was that a young man had been arrested. Once they said that, Chrissy immediately picked up the phone to call Hopper.
"Is he alive?" Were the words out of Chrissy's mouth as soon as Hopper answered the phone.
"Yeah, we got him. He's in our holding cells," Hopper said.
"What happened?" Chrissy asked.
"I don't know. He's not saying much. I think the kid is in shock," Hopper said. "All I know is that there were shots fired at his house. Officer Moore responded to the call. There were two guys holding Al and Eddie at gunpoint. One of them shot Officer Moore, and Al took off, leaving Eddie to help Moore by stopping the bleeding. It worked. The kid saved his life. Knowing Al, he probably conned his own kid into helping him."
"Jesus," Chrissy muttered and paused. "I'm glad he's okay. When you do go to talk to him again, make sure that you don't call him Junior. He hates that."
"I'll keep you updated," Hopper said. "Get some rest, you're going to school soon."
"Yeah, like that's going to happen," Chrissy said. "Thanks, Hop."
She hung up the phone and relayed the news to her brother.
"Chrissy. . .did Eddie's dad really con him?" Dustin asked.
"That's what Hop thinks, and judging from what I've heard about him, Hopper's probably right about that," Chrissy said.
"A lot of people say a lot of stuff about Eddie, but you still say that he's a good man," Dustin said.
Chrissy frowned as she thought about it. In one way, what Dustin said was true, but in another, he was wrong.
"Well, some rumors are true, and some aren't. Maybe there's good buried deep down inside of him, but considering that he abandoned his son yet again tells me that it must buried really deep," Chrissy replied and paused. "By the way, what were you doing up so early?"
"I had a nightmare, couldn't sleep," Dustin muttered.
Chrissy sighed, knowing Dustin was probably having a nightmare about her again. She pulled him close her and kissed the top of his head. They fell asleep snuggled up together. Pretty soon, it was time for school. Ronnie wasn't waiting at her locker this time, which sometimes happened now when she chose to wait by Robin's. She didn't see Ronnie until lunchtime. Hellfire had officially joined their lunch table, and Chrissy could tell by the looks on their faces that they learned about what happened or what they thought happened.
"I hope Eddie's okay," Nancy said softly, looking sympathetically at Chrissy.
"I hope he's rotting in a jail cell," Gareth snorted. "He deserves it."
"Really?" Chrissy asked.
"He was an asshole who abandoned us, and it's his fault he got caught up in all of that shit, anyway," Jeff said.
"I'm not saying that that's not true, but do you really think he deserves to have his home destroyed?" Chrissy asked.
"He was leaving it anyway," Dougie said.
"Doesn't everyone leave home eventually? Doesn't mean that it's still not home," Steve said, and the boys gave him a look. "But I could be wrong."
"No, Steve’s right. Eddie's home has always been Hawkins, and he never felt welcome here. He saw a way out, and he grabbed it," Chrissy said. "Could there have been a better way to do it? Yeah, possibly. You have every right to be hurt, but Eddie learned the hard way in what it means to trust Al Munson. No one is harder on himself than Eddie is right now."
"Shouldn't you be more pissed than anyone? You two were - ," Gareth started to say.
"Of course, I'm pissed but I figured that could wait until later because right now, all I can feel is relief that Eddie is alive," Chrissy said. "As you should be. I was woken up this morning by my brother: "Eddie's house blew up." It scared the shit out of me because suddenly, I was picturing Eddie's body burnt to a crisp. So, no, he didn't deserve to learn the lesson that way."
Chrissy bit her lip, trying to stop the tears from falling.
"Shit, sorry, Chrissy," Gareth said.
"Okay, enough talk about Eddie," Ronnie said, glaring at Gareth. "At least for now."
After school, Chrissy found Hopper waiting outside, talking to Jason. She frowned. Gareth found her outside and walked up to her.
"What's going on?" Gareth asked.
"I don't know, but it's Jason, so it could be anything," Chrissy said.
"Did you know Jason stopped hanging out with Tommy Hayes and Connor?" Gareth asked.
"No," Chrissy said. "How do you know that?"
"I accidentally saw him arguing with them. I briefly heard them bringing up Eddie's name, but then Jason pushed him before mentioning something about Higgins and pills," Gareth said. "I moved on before they could notice me."
Hopper caught Chrissy's eyes and nodded at her for her to come over. Chrissy squeezed Gareth's arms and walked over to Hopper.
"Hey, Hop," Chrissy greeted him with a smile.
"Mr. Carver just told what really happened the day Eddie dropped out of school. Apparently, Higgins convinced the teachers not to let Eddie use their classrooms but neglected to inform him and then set them on Eddie when he tried to break into the classroom. He's been pressuring his players into messing with Hellfire and Eddie just so he could get him to drop out. Jason also let me know that Higgins has been giving some of the players drugs to help their performance," Hopper said.
"Why?" Chrissy asked Jason softly.
"I didn't like who I was when I was on them," Jason shrugged. "My parents are going to get me some help. I'm sorry about all of it. You didn't need me to protect you and to mess with Eddie like that. . . I just wanted to win. None of its an excuse for what I did."
"You here to arrest Higgins?" Chrissy asked.
"Yeah, I'm going to need a statement from you from what happened that day, if you don't mind talking about it," Hopper said.
"Whatever helps nail that asshole to the wall," Chrissy said cheerfully.
"I should probably get in there," Hopper said. "I'll be watching you, Carver."
Hopper walked away, storming into the school with Officer Powell. Jason turned to look at Chrissy, looking extremely guilty.
"It's going to take some time for me to forgive you because what you did was so fucked up," Chrissy said and looked at him softly. "But in the end, you did do the right thing, and I do understand that you were drugged by someone who was supposed to protect you. He took advantage of you, and that wasn't right. So, I'm going to get there a lot quicker because of it, but it doesn't mean you have a chance with me."
"Of course. I know that I blew that a long time ago. I'll still spend the rest of my life making it up to you and the others," Jason said.
He said goodbye and walked away. His shoulders slumped as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Chrissy wandered back over to Gareth, only to find that the rest of Hellfire had shown up.
"What the hell was that about?" Ronnie asked, and Chrissy told them what happened.
"Isn't that going to ruin his basketball career?" Gareth asked.
"Probably," Chrissy said.
"Ugh, I'm feeling a little bit of respect for Jason Carver. Gross," Gareth said. "Still hate him."
"Well, I'm not leaving until I see Higgins come out in cuffs," Jeff said.
Apparently, word got around, too, because suddenly, most of the students were standing by the school doors. They opened, and Hopper came out with Principal Higgins in handcuffs. The school erupted into cheers. Apparently, most of the students didn't like him very much.
"Take that, you arrogant dick!" A student yelled out.
Higgins' eyes caught Chrissy's, and he glared at her.
"This is all your fault, you and your - ,"
"My meddling dog?" Chrissy asked cheerfully, and everyone laughed.
"One phone call and Miss Ecker's dream of going to New York is over!" Higgins exclaimed.
"Are you seriously blackmailing students in front of two cops?" Powell asked.
"I don't think anyone is going to take you seriously once they learned you've been arrested for giving drugs to your students," Hopper said. "Move and don't you say another word to Chrissy. You don't even fucking look at her."
Chrissy waved happily at him as he looked away. She turned to say something to the others, only to find them looking at her.
"Is that what happened in Higgins' office?" Ronnie asked softly. "He told Eddie that he would put the fight on my permanent record, and he would call New York? I lose my scholarship, or Eddie drops out?"
"Yeah," Chrissy said.
"That dumbass," Jeff said affectionately.
"I can't believe he did that," Gareth said.
"I can," Ronnie said. "And you knew?"
"Trust me, it killed me not to say anything, but I didn't want you to lose your scholarship. You mean a lot to Eddie, but you also mean a lot to me, too," Chrissy said.
Ronnie pulled her into a tight hug, sighing into her hair.
"You're both idiots," Ronnie laughed. "And you both deserve each other."
Of course, Chrissy didn't expect Eddie to start back to school right away, considering it was almost the end of the school year. With his grades being what they were, he still would have had to come back next year anyway. She gave it a few days before going to speak to him, giving him some time to settle in with Wayne. A little part of her kind of wanted him suffer a bit. It was petty, she knew, but she was also a little peeved about how he treated everyone even if she knew where he was coming from. Plus, she was a bit hesitant to learn what happened with Paige. She ended up showing up to Wayne's trailer on a Friday afternoon. She leaned her bike up against the trailer and walked up the porch steps to knock on his door.
"Hey," Eddie's voice came from her left and startling her. "Sorry."
Eddie was lounging on the couch that sat outside. Judging by the fact there were cigarettes in the ashtray, he had just got done smoking.
"I didn't see you," Chrissy said.
"Clearly," Eddie snorted.
Chrissy walked over to him and sat down next to him. He didn't look at her, just twirled one of his rings around his finger.
"Glad you're not dead," Chrissy said, and Eddie popped his head up.
"What?" Eddie said.
"I said I'm glad you're not dead. You know, the fire?" Chrissy asked.
"Right," Eddie said softly.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Chrissy asked and paused. "You know, if you want to."
Eddie sighed and leaned forward on his elbows, wiping his face with his hands. Chrissy pressed her cheek to his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist. She jutted her bottom lip out as she peered at him.
"Don't do that," Eddie said.
"Do what?" Chrissy asked.
"Do that with your lip," he said.
"I'm not doing anything with my lip," she said and poked it out further.
He glared at her and reached out with his finger to push her lip back in. She giggled.
"Fine, fine. I'll tell you what happened. Little witch," Eddie sighed and proceeded to tell her everything.
Chrissy sat back against the couch as she processed everything that he told her.
"So, let me get this straight. . . Your dad told you he lost a bunch of money at a casino, and a couple of guys were after him to pay up. He convinced you to rob a weed truck from a drug king pin to turn it around to sell said weed, but it turns out he was working for said drug king pin. So this Charlie Greene sent two men, the same two men who you robbed, to collect the money. They shot at you, shot Officer Moore, and then set your house on fire. Meanwhile, you managed to help Officer Moore while your dad left you to clean up your mess," Chrissy said. "Did I miss anything?"
"No, that's pretty much it," Eddie said. "Are you okay over there?"
Chrissy leaned her head back as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She sat there for a whole, not saying anything.
"I'm trying to figure out why I'm attracted to such an idiot," Chrissy said.
"I still don't get it either," Eddie replied.
"As much as you're an idiot, your dad's a bigger one," Chrissy said softly. "You're here, and you clearly want to fix things. Your dad ran away like a coward. I hate that this was how it woke you up. I wish it had been something else that hit you on the head."
"You wanting me to stay should have been enough, but I just thought I was doing the best thing for you, but I know now that running away from my problems isn't going to fix things," Eddie said.
"No, because it wasn't you who was the problem. It was your dad and the people in this town who hated him. People like principal Higgins, who coerced the jocks to go after you and your friends. If you had left and Jason hadn't turned Higgins into the police, they would have gone after the rest of Hellfire," Chrissy said.
"What?!" Eddie exclaimed.
"Yeah, apparently, he's been feeding some of the basketball players drugs. Jason told Hopper the whole thing. He arrested Higgins, and Higgins ended up spilling the beans about blackmailing you so that's no longer an issue," Chrissy said. "I think Jason is really coming around to realizing that there is more to life."
"Starting to make sense why he bailed me out, now," Eddie said. "Well, I guess none of us are perfect. Except for you."
"That's not true. I totally fell for this guy who had a hard time seeing what was right there in front of him," Chrissy said.
"Hm, well, I think he must have gotten his vision checked," Eddie said. "Because suddenly he can see better. Something must have shaken those rocks loose because he totally fell for this girl who is miles out of his league."
"Yeah?" Chrissy asked.
"Yeah," Eddie said, and he leaned to kiss her, but then she leaned back. "Woah, did I read this wrong? Oh, God, were you actually talking about someone else? Is it Jonathan?"
"No, you idiot!" Chrissy laughed.
"Is that my new name?" Eddie asked.
"You're still on probation," Chrissy said.
"No, they said they can't charge me with anything, or something like that. I wasn't really listening. I know they're looking for my dad," Eddie frowned. "No probation."
"No, with me, you freak," Chrissy said. "You're going to have reach a higher level to reach these lips, mister."
She kissed his nose before cuddling up to him and pressing her cheek into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing his nose into her hair.
"I'd fight all the monsters you'd throw at me to get to those lips of yours," Eddie sighed.
"Eddie. . . What happened with Paige?" Chrissy asked.
"I mean, she did try to kiss me, but I fell out of the van trying to stop her. She stopped when I told her I had feelings for someone else. Though I think she thought that I was playing hard to get. I don't think it helped when I said I didn't have a place to stay in Los Angeles, and when she offered her place to me, I said yes," Eddie said.
"Eddie!" Chrissy exclaimed, slapping his chest.
"Oh, God, did I just go back a level?" He asked.
"I can't keep calling you an idiot," Chrissy laughed. "The word is starting to sound weird."
"I'll just make it my second middle name," he replied.
"Oh, speaking of middle names. . .mine is Elizabeth," Chrissy said.
"Elizabeth?" Eddie asked in a choked voice.
Chrissy sat up, looking at him.
"Are you okay?" Chrissy asked.
"Elizabeth was my mom's name," Eddie said softly.
"Simple twist of fate, huh?" Chrissy asked.
"Oh! I forgot. . . I thought. . .not all of them burned," Eddie said. "I gave you my mom's Bob Dylan."
"Oh, your mom's records burned?" She asked softly. "I'm sorry."
"Don't worry, you still got Bob," Eddie said.
"I think at this point, it's our record," Chrissy said and laid down on his chest again, her hand over his heart. "Ours."
Chrissy sighed in contentment, feeling much lighter than she had before. She hadn't even realized that she had been carrying much weight. They enjoyed the silence and the fresh air, the smell of summer on the breeze. She could feel that Eddie was a lot less stressed, too. A form of entertainment soon came along to interrupt their quiet. Two neighborhood cats ran out in front, fighting over a piece of chicken. Pretty soon, Eddie was commentating on the fight and placing bets, leaving Chrissy giggling happily against his chest.
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