(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)
The Harrington house is big and it’s nice to look at, or it would be if Gareth was into the boring minimalist style, but there’s no warmth to it.
That’s all he could notice while he was pulling off his jeans and neatly folding them up to place on the top of a chest of draws in a guest bedroom. The walls are white and the accents a single shade of brown. Even Gareth’s oppressively suburban home had more character than this.
And it just didn’t seem to fit with Steve. Steve, in Gareth’s admittedly limited understanding of him, was more suited to a smaller but still nice house, with appliances that made funny noises if they weren’t used the right way, and was always full of people. A house that had character built into its very foundations.
He met Jeff and Grant back in the kitchen, trying his hardest not to stare too long at the single family portrait hung at the end of the hallway. Jeff was wearing red shorts and Grant was wearing blue ones. It seemed that only Gareth got the memo about wearing black and committing to the Not-Cult Cult aesthetic.
“What’s the plan then, Gare-Bear?” Jeff asked as Gareth sidled up next to them.
Gareth grabbed a can off the side, it was fresh out of the fridge and had condensation trickling down the sides. He assumed it was alright to take it. “I’m gonna talk to Buckley, feel out how to go about this.”
“And what should we do?” Grant asked.
“Make sure Eddie doesn’t do anything stupid?”
Grant scoffed. “Dude, you’ve met him, be serious.”
“I am!” Gareth replied. “I want this to work out for them and that means keeping Eddie’s foot out of his mouth.”
They all paused to remember the many, many times that Eddie’s inability to shut up had gotten them in trouble. He was great at talking himself out of trouble as well, but it was always preferable to not be in trouble in the first place.
“So make sure Eddie doesn’t say something stupid before he can confess his love and get a pass for all the stupid shit he says?”
Gareth allowed himself to chuckle. “Yeah, something like that.”
He led them all back out to the garden, cracking open the can as he went. The cold liquid felt good sliding down his throat; it wasn’t quite the peak of the summer and it was only going to get hotter, but Gareth didn’t think there was much point in not enjoying the smaller things in life.
Eddie was perched on the edge of the pool, kicking his feet gently where they were submerged in the water, as he spoke to Steve. Steve who was in the pool but had pulled himself out enough to rest his crossed arms on the poolside and use them as a pillow for his head. They looked like they belonged in a movie; so caught up in one another that they didn’t react to the screaming from the others playing chicken (Nancy on Jonathan’s shoulders and Robin on Argyle’s).
Gareth was shocked to see the way Steve was looking at him. He knew Steve was into Eddie, that much was obvious, but until that moment he had just thought it was a little crush.
This put a bit of a spanner in the works of his original plan of getting everyone to play enough party games until they could get Steve and Eddie together in seven minutes in heaven.
“Eddie!” Jeff shouted, “Did you smoke all the weed while we were getting changed?”
Eddie gasped dramatically, clutching at his heart. “Would I ever do that to you Jeffy?”
“Yes,” Jeff deadpanned.
Steve laughed delightedly, bumping Eddie in the knee with his elbow.
“Fine, fine,” Eddie threw his hands up in surrender. “Stevie said we aren’t allowed to smoke and swim so we didn’t light it.”
“I don’t want you to drown,” Steve said quietly, a haunted look crossing over his face that left as quickly as it came.
Eddie reached out to squeeze his shoulder, something unsaid passing between them. “I’m still here.”
Steve nodded, then shook his head with a small smile, as if he knew he was being silly.
Gareth shared a glance with his band mates, Eddie pointedly avoiding it. Another thing that would never be explained to them.
Luckily the game of chicken came to an end with Robin crashing down into the water, her legs pulling Argyle with her, to the tune of Nancy and Jonathan yelling in triumph to break Steve out of whatever spiral he’d fallen into.
Steve turned towards them with a smile. He patted Eddie’s hand where it was still on his shoulder then pushed off from the wall to join his friends, calling for his turn.
Eddie’s hand hovered in the air for a second before falling back down to his side.
Robin broke off from the group, stating her intention to grab another drink as she furiously tried to push her now wet hair out of her eyes. Argyle eagerly called for Steve to go against Nancy this time.
Gareth nodded to Jeff and Grant. “Go cheer him up. I hate it when he looks like a kicked puppy.”
“Guy doesn’t know what he has with those eyes, I swear,” Jeff mumbled as he and Grant moved to sit either side of Eddie, both bumping shoulders with him.
Gareth waited until Robin was digging through the cooler and muttering to herself to join her.
She jumped slightly as she turned away from the cooler and realised that Gareth was there, evidently having not heard him approach.
“Buckley,” He greeted.
“Emerson.”
Gareth winced. This wasn’t supposed to be some sort of Mexican standoff. So he changed angles.
“Eddie says you know about him.”
Robin’s features softened. “Yeah and I know you’re protecting your friend, but I promise I will never ever do anything to hurt him. None of us will.|”
Gareth smiled. “I wasn’t worried about that.”
“So what can I help you with?”
Gareth rubbed his hands over his face. He was suddenly faced with no idea how to word his questions.
“Have you noticed that Eddie has a crush?”
Robin laughed loudly, waving away the bemused glances thrown her way from the pool. “Yeah, I have. I’ve noticed Steve’s too because I know that’s going to be your next question. They’re kinda unbearable to be around sometimes.”
“Oh,” Gareth chuckled, a weight lifted off his shoulders. “Good.”
“Why? Are you planning something?” She sat forward, a manic smile on her face and clutching her can so hard there were small dents in the aluminium from her fingers.
“I was thinking seven minutes in heaven but...” he sighed. “They’re too into each other to have their moment be during a stupid game.”
“You really care about Eddie, don’t you?” Robin asked gently.
Gareth narrowed his eyes on her. “Of course I do, he’s my best friend.”
Robin held her hands up in surrender. “I’m not judging you. I feel the same way about Steve.”
“Good. That’s good”
They both fell quiet as they watched their friends. Steve, on Argyle’s shoulders, laughing at Nancy and Jonathan arguing as they strategised. Eddie was squashed between Jeff and Grant, batting on their chests to release him. If it weren’t for his hair not being tied back, Gareth knew he would have thrown himself into the pool to escape. He knew Jeff and Grant knew that as well.
“So what are we going to do?” Gareth asked.
“I don’t know,” Robin said. “But we’ll figure something out.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool. Gareth and Eddie made a great team for the chicken tournament, but Argyle won the biggest splash competition they got going. It was funny to just act like teenagers, no school to worry about or crazy religious types out on witch hunts.
Steve handed them all towels as the sun began to go down. Their fingertips wrinkled and dry as Eddie finally got to light the joints to pass around. They laughed and shared stories; Gareth even got to share his favourite about Eddie calling him from a phone booth in the middle of the night so Gareth could steal his mom’s car to go get him since his plan to hitchhike his way home failed.
At some point, pizza was ordered while they lazed around. The joints had long since been smoked down to their cherry and discarded on the floor to clean up later when they were less drunk or high. Steve had told them not to worry about it.
Gareth spent his time watching Steve and Eddie pass tapes back and forth, heads leant close as they discussed the music on them, occasionally stopping the tape playing so they could switch it out for whatever song they were agreeing or disagreeing about. He made eye contact with Robin who just smiled gently, so fond of her friends. If he was able to see himself, her look was probably reflected on his own face.
The doorbell rang, heard out in the yard only because Steve’s parents had a device installed that rang a bell outside in case they weren’t inside to be able to hear the actual doorbell.
Steve jumped up to get it.
“Eddie go help him,” Robin said, pushing her toes into Eddie’s arm in a half hearted shove.
“Stevie’s got it,” Eddie moaned, clearly not wanting to move from his spot.
Robin shared a conspiratorial grin with Nancy, then both chorused, “Don’t ya, big boy.”
Jonathan and Argyle looked just as confused as Gareth felt. He never got the full story from Eddie about what happened over spring break, Eddie was alive and that was enough for him, but sometimes he wished he could know just so he understood what the fuck was going on.
Eddie flushed bright red all over his body. “Shut up,” he hissed. But it was evidently enough to get him to jump and follow Steve into the house.
Before Gareth could even attempt to ask about it, Nancy swung her legs around off the sun lounger and clasped her hands together.
“So,” She said as she pushed her sunglasses up into her hair. “We all saw that right?”
“Saw what?” Robin squeaked.
Gareth didn’t bury his face in his hands at her lack of subtlety.
“Steve and Eddie are very obviously flirting with each other,” Nancy said slowly, deliberately.
Jonathan hummed in agreement. “Yeah, it’s not the first time either.”
Robin opened and closed her mouth like a fish as she tried to come up with something to say. Obviously she couldn’t say anything that would out her best friend, but if she denied being able to see it then she ran the risk of being committed to a mental institution. She looked scared.
“And is that a problem, Wheeler?”
Gareth couldn’t be sure where the venom in his voice came from, he was sure that Nancy Wheeler was a nicer girl than her pinched features sometimes made her appear, but seeing Robin flounder and the thought of Eddie facing even more bullshit than he already had made something protective flare to life inside of him.
Nancy sniffed disdainfully. “Obviously not. I would die for those two, I just want them to be happy.”
A tense silence fell over them.
“They don’t know that we know,” Robin said quietly.
“So we can’t be obvious,” Jonathan replied. “Doesn’t mean we can’t encourage them in the right direction.”
Argyle, his eyes trained on the stereo still playing a Queen song, a thoughtful look on his face that looked completely alien. He turned to where Gareth, Jeff and Grant were all sitting together on the same sun lounger. “You’re in a band right?”
Shit. Argyle was right. Gareth mentally cursed himself for not thinking of it sooner. Eddie had learnt Steve’s favourite song, they were going to play Steve’s favourite song as soon as they got it down; the drunks that usually watch them would probably appreciate something more country-rock than metal.
“Argyle, you’re a genius.”
(Part 5 (final))
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