After the Vecna fiasco, the Byers family - with their new family of El, Hopper and Argyle - found themselves back in Hawkins. They've decided to stay here this time. Problem is that everything they own was left in California. Luckily, the special agents that were assigned to us because of El went to retrieve their belongings. Unfortunately, most of it needs replacing because of all the bullet holes.
They've salvaged what they can but that's not much. So, we've been trying to help them get back on their feet. There's a lot that needs buying, building and moving - which is why we're getting all the help we can get. Eddie is letting us use his truck to move stuff faster. However, Steve is taking it because I wanted Eddie to properly meet Joyce. He's pretty nervous as we pull up to the Byers house.
"Joyce!" I call out to her as we exit the car and see her checking some boxes on the porch.
"Oh, hi!" She sighs with relief as we approach her. "Thank you so much for coming. I really appreciate all your help."
"Of course. You've done so much for us all - it's the least we can do."
"Who's this?" She asks as Eddie appears behind me.
"Oh, this is Eddie. He's a close friend who helped us with Vecna."
"Hi, Mrs Byers. I hope I'm okay to be here." Eddie tries to calm his nerves.
"Oh, call me Joyce - everyone else does. And don't be silly, you're welcome here anytime. I'm just sorry we don't have furniture set up so you can come in and have lunch with us."
"Well, that's why we're here." I chime in with a smile.
"What do you need us to do?"
"You could help move and unload these boxes and I'll tell you where stuff goes."
"Can do." We roll up our sleeves and get to work.
As we transport items between rooms, Joyce takes the opportunity to ask Eddie some questions. He soon becomes more comfortable in his rambling. In a short amount of time, Joyce finds out about Wayne, Corroded Coffin and Hellfire. It becomes clearer and clearer that he's never really had a mother figure. As much as that breaks my heart, I'm happy to know that Joyce will gladly take that role. After a good chunk of stuff has been put in place, Will walks in to ask a favour.
"I know it's not exactly the house but can someone help me rebuild castle Byers at some point?"
"What's castle Byers?" Eddie is interested.
"It's, uh, kinda like my own hideout." Will briefly explains through embarrassment.
"That sounds awesome. I'll help. When do you wanna do it?"
"You can start now if you want to. Y/N and I can handle the rest of this." Joyce speaks up.
"Let's do it." Eddie springs up and follows Will out of the house.
"I like him." Joyce turns to me with a warm smile. "He's different but something about him reminds me of Will."
Third person at castle Byers...
As they approach the ruins of castle Byers, Eddie and Will briefly introduce themselves. Things are a little awkward as they figure out where to start. Both boys are slightly nervous because they don't know each other. Picking up the pieces, Eddie gets a feeling that Will could be one of his new sheep - he is a friend of the party after all. So, Eddie tries to get to him better.
"So, uh, what do you do for fun?"
"I paint a lot. I get As in art class, so I guess I'm good at it." He shrugs, doubting his skills.
"Cool. I'd love to see some of your art if that's cool with you."
"Uh, yeah, sure. It's all inside, so I'll show you later."
"Nice. So, what else do you like?" Eddie hammers away.
"My brother got me into music."
"Favourite song?" Eddie stops what he's doing to ask the all important question.
"Should I Stay Or Should I Go by The Clash." Will doesn't hesitate to answer.
"I prefer heavier stuff myself but that's an acceptable answer." Both boys start feeling comfortable around each other as they bond over music despite not having identical music taste. After a while, castle Byers is almost fully restored, Eddie reverts to the original question. "So, do you do anything else or is it just art and music?"
"Before we moved, I played D&D with Mike, Dustin and Lucas."
"No kidding? I love D&D! You should join Hellfire club." He immediately suggests adding a new member.
"Hellfire club?"
"They never mentioned it?" Eddie's heart sinks a little as Will shakes his head. "It's the D&D club I DM for and run at the high school. We even make shirts for our members. I'd happily take you on if you want to." Eddie offers.
"Uh, yeah. That'd be awesome. Thanks."
Eventually, they head back to the house. There Will shows Eddie some of his art. As soon as he lays eyes on the painting done for Mike, Eddie is stunned by the sheer talent displayed.
"Holy-" He quickly censors himself. "You did this?"
"Yeah."
"This is amazing. You open to commissions?"
"I can be."
"This is the perfect kind of thing we could put up in the Hellfire room - so a bunch of campaign specific stuff would be epic."
"Sure. It could take a while though."
Y/N's pov...
I knew Eddie and Will would get along - so there's a sense of fulfilment in finally seeing them in the same room. We've all decided to go out for dinner to catch up and unwind from a tiring day. Joyce was kind enough to invite Eddie along. Since I picked him up, I'm driving him to the restaurant (the others are going with Jonathan and Argyle).
"So, what did you think of Joyce?" I ask as I follow the other car.
"She's amazing - I love her already. I can't believe how fast she accepted me - I mean she didn't even question it when I mentioned everything that makes me a freak. I could cry - she is too precious for this godforsaken planet."
"Yeah, that's Joyce for you." I laugh. "You're one of her kids now."
"Good. And that kid, Will... He's gonna join Hellfire. Will the Wise is the perfect addition - he's exactly what we've been looking for. And he said he's gonna do a collection of campaign specific paintings for us. That kid is awesome." I just smile.
I have a feeling that Eddie is gonna be spending a lot more time at the Byers house from now on.