Take Me Home Again (Eddie Munson X OC)

Chapter 1 - Home Again

Phoenix opened their lazy eyes, seeing the sign welcoming you into Hawkins, Indiana whiz by the window of the bus they were currently on. They sluggishly grabbed their bag from the floor and pulled it into the, now empty, seat beside them. They had been on the same bus for close to twenty hours, barely getting three hours of sleep the whole time. They were relieved to see the bus station growing closer, standing as the driver parked next to a few other busses. Stepping onto the dusty ground beneath the bus, Phoenix scanned the small groups of people there to pick up the few other passengers that were left with them.

Phoenix's cold demeanor gave way as their eyes landed on their Godmother, Claudia Henderson, and her son, Dustin. They nearly took off in a run to reach them, throwing their arms around the two as soon as they were close enough. Claudia laughed and hugged them back. Phoenix sniffed back tears as they released the two from their grip. 

They all stood there for a moment in silence before Dustin spoke up. "It's good to have you back Cousin."

Phoenix smiled back down at him and ruffled his curly brown locks, earning a small dissatisfied grunt from the munchkin. "Good to be back Beaver."

Dustin proudly smiled, showing off his more recent accomplishment of his front teeth, "Not anymore."

"Hey! You have teeth!" Phoenix burst out laughing as Claudia ushered them into the car.

Dustin wouldn't shut up almost  entire drive back, going on about all the things that they just had to try and see and do while they were together. Claudia could be heard chuckling periodically throughout the conversation. "Don't overwhelm the poor thing, Dusty. They just got here, and they'll be here for at least a year. You'll have plenty of time to show them all of that."

Dustin nodded and that notion seemed to calm him down slightly, his legs still bouncing as he tried his best to contain the excitement he clearly felt.

The rest of the semi-long drive was spent in a comfortable blanket of silence, Phoenix watching the buildings and tree pass by the car as they drove closer and closer to their home. Gods, it had been so long since they had been here. They continued to notice new buildings or new things in old buildings that weren't there when they were young. It excited them to see how much it had changed and comforted them to know that it hadn't changed all that much. 

When the trio had finally made it home, Phoenix was the first to jump out of the car, stretching their legs as they pulled their backpack out of the seat and closed the door. They took a look around and smiled, "Home again, at last." They whispered mostly to themself, but Claudia smiled over at them.

When the door swung quietly open, Claudia turned back to Phoenix as they stepped into the house. Nothing had changed all that much, a few updates here and there, but it truly felt the same as when they had left. "Your old room is still there." Claudia broke through Phoenix's thoughts and brought them back to the present. "Thank you." They smiled and nodded as they made their way to the old bedroom they used to sleep away in every summer and almost every weekend.

The door swung open, Phoenix expecting an empty and dusty room with only their few boxes and their mattress on the floor, but gasped when they saw all those things and so much more. "Tell me you didn't, Auntie." Tears were threatening to spill as Claudia and Dustin stood behind them.  

"Do you truly think I was going to just let you sleep on the floor? Dustin helped me pick the clothes out and he's already volunteered to help you move it around. It's yours, Phoenix, do what you like." She smiled and pat Phoenix on the shoulder before leaving the two kids to begin their task.

The two started by moving the boxes into the hallway to keep them out of the way while moving the furniture. Thankfully, Phoenix's room was on the end of the hallway right across from Dustin's, stacking the boxes against the wall. They then began to move the furniture around, stopping only to allow Phoenix to brainstorm their vision for the room. The bed in the corner across from the door, right beneath the window. They had enjoyed watching the moon and sitting in the window when they were younger so that was a must. They quickly pushed the mattress onto the frame and Dustin dug out the sheets they had bought for Phoenix. Sliding the fitted sheet over the plush fabric of the slightly worn mattress made Phoenix giddy. They stacked the pillows on top after putting the cases on them and pulled Phoenix's favorite blankets over it, a plush star wars blanket underneath a plain white blanket.