(MENTIONS OF SUICIDE!!!!)
"She's in. Move on to phase three," Robin ordered, her voice carrying softly through the supercom.
"Copy, initiating phase three," you replied, putting down the com before you plugged in the amp.
"Let's hope they hear this," Dustin sighed, turning the volume all the way up, causing feedback to crackle out from the amp. Dustin sent Eddie a nod as a signal to begin playing.
You looked down at your wrist to glance at your matching friendship bracelet that you and Chrissy once shared. You looked back up to meet eyes with Eddie, a determined look in your eyes as you spoke, "For Chrissy."
Eddie removed his guitar pick necklace from off of his neck, "For Chrissy," he repeated. He let out a yelp as he began to strum out the chords to some heavy metal song. You thought back to that conversation you had in the boat house, and you remembered Eddie mentioning a Metallica song, Master of Puppets, or something like that. You assumed that this must've been the song Eddie was beginning to rock out to.
As Eddie got into the performance, you and Dustin began to jump up and down. You hoped that you all would make it out of this so you could see Eddie play with his band. But you were sure there was no topping this. After all, this was the performance of a lifetime.
The sound of the bats' shrieking pulled you out of your thoughts, "Eddie!" you and Dustin shouted out at the same time.
"We gotta lock down in T-minus 30 seconds!" Dustin shouted, making a 3-0 with his hands. Eddie sent the two of you a nod of understanding as he continued to play.
"T-minus 20!" Dustin continued. Eddie sent an acknowledging glance before returning to shredding what you assumed was a guitar solo.
"T-minus 10!" Dustin yelled out, "Five! One!" he counted down. Eddie ended the solo, the sound of the final note reverberating around the area.
"Move! Move! Move!" Eddie shouted as the three of you jumped down onto the roof of a truck and then onto the ground. You all quickly sprinted to the trailer, shutting the fence just as the bats reached it. Once you were all inside the trailer, Eddie slammed the door shut. The sounds of the bats shrieking echoed around the trailer.
"Dude! Most metal ever!" Dustin's panting quickly turned into a shout as he praised Eddie.
"Oh my... Oh my God!" Eddie hollered, the three of you jumping up and down in excitement. Eddie patted Dustin on the head and gave you a one-armed hug.
The brief joy of the moment was cut short when everyone remembered the current danger that was thrashing around just on the other side of the trailer. The three of you got into a defensive stance, standing back to back. The sound of the bats banging on the trailer left you no comfort as sweat began to build up on your palms, causing your grip to loosen on your weapons.
All of a sudden, the slamming stopped. "Hey, dipshits! Give up that easy, huh?" Dustin shouted.
"Is that really necessary?" Eddie shushed in a quiet tone. After he finished talking, clanging began to sound out on the roof. "They're on the roof," Eddie mumbled out, putting your thoughts into words.
"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit," Dustin whispered. The three of you left your back-to-back position and moved into a tip-toe as you all walked over to a vent on the ceiling.
"They can't get in through there, can they?" you asked. And if it were on cue, one of the little bat fuckers burst through, letting out a shrill screech as it did so.
The three of you all let out a yell as you took turns stabbing the little bastard.
"Die! Die!" Dustin screamed.
Out of the corner of your eye, you watched as Eddie stopped backed away. "Eddie, we need you!" you shouted, practically begging for him to get back into position and to stab away.
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" he ordered. Both you and Dustin moved out of the way and watched as he placed a chair down beneath the hole. He stood up on it and slammed the trash lid covered in nails into the ceiling, properly blocking the bat from getting in. "Holy shit. Holy shit," he let out breathily, looking down at you and Dustin.
"Nice," Dustin panted, earning a nod from you.
"Thanks," Eddie sighed, high-fiving the two of you.
"Are there any other vents?" you questioned.
"Oh, shit," Eddie sighed, jumping off of the chair. He grabbed his spear and ran into his room, you and Dustin repeating his actions. As soon as you made it in, the bats burst through the vent. Eddie shoved you and Dustin out of the room, he followed you out, slamming the door behind him. The swarm was making quick work of the door as Eddie backed up, forcing you and Dustin to do the same. Eddie picked up one of the trash lids that was on the ground.
"It's not gonna hold!" you screamed, a sense of urgency and desperation in your voice.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Eddie shouted.
At his words, Dustin began to climb up the sheets to the other side. "Come on, quickly!" Eddie urged.
You were halfway up the rope, watching as Eddie began to make his way up, too. You didn't continue climbing, wanting to make sure Eddie got through with you. You had your hand reached out for him when you noticed that he had stopped climbing, his gaze distant as he stared at the door which was about to be demolished by the bats. You could hear Dustin shouting for the two of you to hurry up and climb over, but if Eddie was going to play the hero card, so were you. You knew the feeling of helplessness was eating Eddie alive. You didn't want him to feel that way anymore, but you weren't going to let him die trying to overcome it. There was a small sense of hope that Eddie would come to his senses and climb over with you, but when you watched him step off the rope, that spark of hope quickly simmered away.
"Y/n, you go. You keep climbing, you- you stay with Dustin. Keep him safe. Keep yourself safe," he demanded. You shook your head, tears threatening to spill from your eyes, looking up at Dustin's terrified face before looking down at Eddie. You climbed up the rope but you hadn't jumped down onto the matters yet. Your hands tightly grasped on to the rim of the gate. Everything but your fingertips were in the normal dimension. You watched as despite Dustin's pleads, Eddie jumped off of the rope. Eddie proceeded to pick up his spear and cut the rope, he then shoved the mattress out of the way.
He looked up at you, you knew in that moment that Eddie was positive you wouldn't be stupid enough to follow him. But what he didn't know is that over the past few weeks, you had truly and utterly fallen in love with him. You were willing to follow him to the ends of the earth, and that's just what you were planning on doing. You watched as he gave you a sympathetic look before running off.
You pulled yourself up and back into the Upside Down, the drop was painful, but it was nothing more than falling out of a pyramid, it certainly wasn't anything you couldn't handle. Dustin began shouting after you, and just like Eddie, you ignored his pleas.
There were no bats left in the trailer. And that's when you realized that they were all after Eddie. You quickly sped outside, sprinting towards him and the army of bats. Eddie was gaining speed as he rode on his bike, and for a moment, you thought there was a chance he would make it out spotless. That was, until he was knocked off of the bike.
Your heartbeat quickened in your chest as you heard him let out a faint grunt. Then, you heard Dustin let out a pained scream. You quickly shut your eyes, trying your best to not think about Dustin in pain in the trailer. You increased your speed as you ran towards Eddie and the bats, the grip on your spear tightening.
You watched in total confusion as you noticed Eddie had stopped running. He turned around, his expression was resolute, determined. He pulled the spear out from behind his back.
And as the bats began to charge, you did the only thing you could think of doing in that moment, protecting Eddie.
You ran up next to him, attacking all of the bats that he was missing. The bats were swirling around the two of you, appearing like a tornado. And there the both of you were, standing in the middle of the twister like you were in The Wizard of Oz.
One bat after the other came charging down at the pair of you, you and Eddie not missing a single one. You wouldn't let Vecna take anyone else from you. "Come on!" Eddie screamed.
You weren't sure if it was on purpose or just a sick, sick coincidence, but one of the bats had come down and bitten you where the engine had previously tore through your leg. You let out a shrill shriek as you crumbled to the ground, grasping your leg in pain. With a groan, you stood back up, determined to survive. You went to give Eddie a nod, letting him know you were okay, but that's when you saw him on the ground, being pinned down by several bats. His pained screams urged you on as you began to stab each bat that tried to get their fangs on Eddie.
You began to lose hope as the bats seemed to somehow increase in number. But apparently there was still hope left as all the bats simultaneously dropped to the ground, writhing in pain. It was pathetic, really. So pathetic you began to laugh.
"We won! Eddie, we won!" you exclaimed, collapsing to the ground next to him. You looked down to assess the damage. You weren't going to lie, it was bad. But, you had made it this far, you weren't giving up yet. You remembered you had snagged some real gauze from Eddie's bathroom earlier. You pulled it out of the pocket of the jacket Robin had purchased for you at the War Zone. You quickly made tourniquets around all of the wounds that were visible to you.
"I hate to skip to fourth base so fast but, uh, I have to take your shirt and pants off," you cringed at your words.
Eddie let out a choked laugh, "Go right ahead."
You were quick to remove his boots, pants, and shirt. As you applied more gauze to the wounds that were hidden underneath his clothes, you made sure to avoid every tattoo that wasn't usually visible to you. You wanted to save that for later, ideally when he wasn't on the precipice of death itself.
Once the gauze was properly applied, you rolled Eddie onto his side, allowing the blood that had trickled up to his mouth to drain out. "Don't want you to choke on your own blood, that's why I'm doing this," you explained to him, "I'm gonna have to put my fingers in your mouth, to sweep the excess blood out," you added. He nodded, allowing you to proceed. Hesitantly, you placed your index and middle finger in his mouth, making sure to avoid the back of his throat so he wouldn't throw up and make it even harder for him to breathe.
When you were positive that Eddie was going to survive, you let out a breath of relief. You heard the sound of footsteps getting louder. You turned your head to the side to see Dustin limping his way towards the two of you.
"He's okay. I put some gauze on him to stop the bleeding the best I can. Steve made it, Eddie can, too," you assured Dustin.
Dustin was quiet for a moment before he fell to his knees, a strangled sob escaping his lips as tears fell from his eyes. You turned to Dustin, embracing him in a tight hug, trying your best to ignore the pain that was shooting up your leg.
"Everything's okay. Eddie's gonna be okay," you sniffled, the impact of the previous events finally taking a toll on you. Tears slowly rolled down your cheeks as you turned your head to look at Eddie. "He didn't run. He was a hero, you tell everyone in Hawkins that, got it?" you ordered, grabbing Dustin's head with your two hands and looking him in the eyes.
"He, he can tell them himself," Dustin hiccuped, turning his head to face Eddie before turning back to you.
You solemnly shook your head, "If you thought he was gonna die here, there's no chance he's making it out alive in Hawkins."
"What're you planning on doing? How's Eddie going to live in Hawkins if he's being hunted down?" Dustin questioned.
You sighed, turning to Eddie who gave a nod, understanding what you were implying. "Dustin... Eddie is, he's not alive," you said.
"What? Yes he is, he's right here next to us, breathing," Dustin scoffed, not picking up on what you meant.
"No, I know that. But, as far as the people of Hawkins know, Eddie is dead. Eddie didn't make it, got it? I don't care who it is you're talking to, no matter how close they are with you, or... or with Eddie. You tell them that Eddie didn't survive," you explain.
Dustin stayed silent until he understood, "Well, what about Eddie? Where's he gonna go?"
"I can't tell you right now, okay? I need you to follow my orders, Dustin. I need you to leave the Upside Down. Find Steve, Robin and Nancy. Tell them Eddie and I didn't make it, okay?" you replied sternly.
More tears fell from Dustin's face as the realization washed over him that he was probably never going to see Eddie again, "Okay," he croaked, wiping the tears from his face.
"I'll make him write to you, monthly. I promise," you gave Dustin a sympathetic smile as you helped him stand up. He nodded, embracing you in a tight hug once again.
He stepped away from the hug and looked down at Eddie, "I'll miss you, man."
Dustin was about to walk away when Eddie spoke up, "Hey, I love you. Will you, uh, will you give this to my uncle?"
Dustin nodded as Eddie handed him his guitar pick necklace. "Talk up a big game for me, will you?" Eddie smirked. Dustin let out a small, breathily chuckle as he placed the necklace in his pocket.
"When things are settled down, can I come visit you?" Dustin asked.
"I don't see why not. Till then, Dustin," Eddie smiled.
"Till then, Eddie the Banished," Dustin repeated, giving the two of you one last look before he made his way back to the trailer.
Once he was out of ears reach, Eddie turned to you, his expression serious, "How'd you know how to do all that? What, with the, turning me to my side and whatnot?"
"My dad. I know you knew something happened to my dad, and I never told you, so I guess I'll tell you now. Um, my dad... he killed himself. Stabbed himself in the chest a bunch of times, I dunno. I was the one who found him, it was scary. Um, I didn't know what to do. We took him to a coroner, thought maybe he was murdered... he wasn't. But, uh, the coroner said that he didn't even die from the stab wounds, he missed all of the super important organs. He died from choking, um, on his own blood," you croaked, the idea that Eddie might've had the same fate shook you to your core. "After that, I read up on how to stop all kinds of wounds. I guess I was paranoid. Didn't wanna lose anyone I cared about again, anyone I loved," at those words, you met Eddie's eyes.
Amongst the chaos, you managed to find a comfort in his eyes. They were full of kindness and compassion, if they were the only eyes you ever looked into again, you wouldn't complain.
"I care about you, Eddie," you admit. You loved him too, but you didn't want to say it, not yet.
"I care about you, too," Eddie smiled, almost as if he knew what you truly meant. "So, what's the plan here? Are we gonna find a domestic life in the Upside Down?" he teased.
"I've got a trust fund. Plus, money from my dad's will. I can take the money and we can go anywhere we want. Where would you want to live the rest of your life, Eddie Munson?" you asked.
A huge smirk grew on Eddie's face at your words, "Anywhere?" he asked, cheekily.