Eddie Munson - A Collection of One-Shots!

021. Where Do We Go, From Here?

"Eddie! Eddie what are you doing?!"

"Eddie, hurry!"

I watched as he stepped down from the sheet ladder and I watched him helplessly as he hesitated.

As soon as I knew something was off, and he was taking too long, I started to climb the sheet ladder on the other side, my head peering once again through the hole.

I reached for him through the gaping hole in the trailer roof, holding onto the rope from the other side, willing him, imploring him with my eyes, not to do what I could see he was going to.

"Please Eddie, come on...." I begged.

"Don't you dare." I said, shaking my head.

"Climb up, climb up right now. Don't! Please!" I cried, as he stared up at me.

"I'm buying you more time." He said, with a fondness in his eyes.

"NO!" I yelled, as he cut the sheet ladder and he disappeared from my view, as I felt myself falling.

I landed on my back, and Dustin hurriedly helped me up onto my feet.

"What's he doing?!" Dustin cried.

"We have to get back through!" I said, frantic.

"We have to get him back!!" I cried, looking all around us for a way to get back.

Dustin looked all around him and I heard the trailer door shut.

"He's gone outside!" I cried, as Dustin dragged a chair over, lining it up with the hole.

"We run, jump and we go through the hole." He instructed, breathless.

"I'm gonna kill him...." I muttered, almost frantic.

*********
"Oh my god....." I whispered, as Dustin limped to my side.

We'd gotten through; his quick thinking plan had worked.

He'd inured his foot though and whilst I propped him up against me, his eyes followed mine and he recoiled in horror.

Eddie was in the centre of some kind of bat storm; he was fighting them off, but Dustin and I both knew that it wouldn't be for long.

There were too many.
It was logistically impossible for him to just take them all on by himself.

"No, no, no...." Dustin said, as I moved to stand in front of him, and I held him by the shoulders.

I peered into his eyes, and he was scared.
I was scared too.

"I want you to just stand in the trailer doorway, and if any of those things come at you, you shut the door. You got it?" I asked him.

"But, Eddie...." He started to say.

"I know, I'm going to help him. I'm gonna need your shield and your spear." I said.

"What about you?" He asked, his eyes welling with tears.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, I could get hurt too. But I'd rather it was me, than you." I explained.

He sighed softly and his face creased with sadness as he began to cry; he reluctantly handed over his shield and his spear and I took them from him.

I went to reassure him, before we both suddenly heard a loud scream.

I felt my blood run cold and a shiver of fear ran up my spine; Dustin followed my instruction, hurrying into the trailer doorway, and I broke off into a sprint, towards the storm, towards Eddie.

"I'm coming Eddie!" I cried.

"What are you doing back here?!!" He yelled.

"I'm not letting you do this!" I cried, as he tried to look back at me and protect himself.

His arm was injured and his spear was on the ground at his feet; he only had his shield, and he was struggling.

"You need to go back!" He cried, and I watched in horror as he was pulled down to the floor and they started to attack him.

I tried to get to him, as several broke from the storm, noticing me and they began to fly towards me.

I pushed the shield in my hand out in front of me, as numerous flew into it; I cried out, trying my best to hold out, trying to keep my feet steady.

I was trying to hold on, but his screams were loud and I knew he was in pain; I could hear it in his voice as it rang loudly in my ears, concurrently with my own pounding heart beat.

"I'm coming Eddie. I'm coming...." I said.

My arm started to hurt, and I could feel my strength dwindling, as I tried to continue to hold on.

"I won't let you down...." I whispered.

And just when they were about to best me, there was a crack of thunder and every single bat around us, fell to the ground in a horrifying unison.

I immediately broke off into a sprint, sinking to my knees mid run, before sliding along the floor, coming to a stop at his side.

"Eddie!" I cried, pulling the lifeless bats off him, hurriedly.

"Eddie...." I said, as his eyes slowly met mine.

"Am I a write off?" He whispered, as Dustin limped over to us. He sank to his knees, and held Eddie across his waist, as I held onto him too.

"You're gonna be okay...." I bleated, as we held him in our arms. I was cradling his head, and he was looking up at me with knowing eyes; he knew I was lying to him, out of the kindness of my heart.

"You're lying, Ziggy." He whispered, with a faint smile.

"We could try and move you..." Dustin said, as he lifted him. Eddie cried out and I fought back a large sob in my throat.

"Just give me a second, okay?" Eddie asked, as I leaned down, stroking his forehead.

His eyes met mine, and a tear fell from them, breaking my heart into pieces. The pain caused me to tremble slightly and I tried to hide it.

He noticed this though, and his bottom lip quivered in response.

"Why did you come back for me?" He whispered.

"You already know." I said, as Dustin whimpered.

"I think I do....If things had been different.... I'd have liked to have asked you on a date. I was going to...So we could have gone out together, when all of this was over...." He whispered.

"You should have asked me..." I said, tears pouring down my dirtied face, with grief.

"You could have. Any time." I added, hiccuping softly.

"I thought about it.... I hesitated.... Because I didn't think I was worthy of you...." He said, as he reached for me with a bloodstained, shaking hand.

I leaned down, letting his hand cradle my face and he smiled weakly at me.

"You were. You are." I whispered.

"I know it's too late, but I'm mad about you, you know?" He said, as I laughed despite my heart painfully breaking.

"I'm mad about you too, sweetheart." I said, trying to keep it together for him.

I didn't want the last face he saw, to be a sad one.
A scared, sad one.

I'd want this for myself. And Eddie and I had realised just how similar we were, in the midst of all of this.

"But it's not my year..." He said, struggling.

"Do you have to go?" Dustin asked, grief stricken.

"I didn't run this time, man." Eddie said, whimpering with pain.

I held him as tight as I could get away with, and soothed him, rocking him gently.

"Listen, we'll be okay. We'll look after each other." I assured him.

"Maybe in another lifetime, we'll be together." He whispered.

"I'd have liked it to have been in this one." He added.

"Me too. Me too." I said, nodding.

"You're kickass..... you.... You know that?" He asked, a small smile on his quivering lips.

"I do now." I said, pressing a kiss on his bloodied forehead.

He gripped my hand then, and his eyes grew scared.

"I'm scared.... I'm not ready." He whimpered, as my heart physically shattered in my chest.

It was like a canon had fired off.
It was loud in my ears and only pain followed.

"I know, but it's coming, Eddie." I whispered, the tears I was trying to keep back, falling down my face.

"We're here." Dustin reassured him.

"If I'd have asked.... Would you have said yes?" He asked me, his scared eyes searching mine desperately.

"I would. I'd have jumped at the chance. You're kickass too." I whispered.

I lowered my face to his again and his hand took it, as I closed my eyes and pressed my lips on his.

I felt him kiss me back, and his grip loosened on my hand suddenly.

When I opened my eyes again, he'd gone.

His eyes were vacant, and his chest had fallen still, from the deep, struggling last breaths he'd taken.

I lost all composure then, and completely fell apart.

Dustin clung to me, as we both cried heavily, cradling Eddie's lifeless body in our arms.

My kiss had carried him on.
It had carried him over.

Carried him to a place, I couldn't follow.

*******************************
Six months later.

It was over. It was over and we were all suddenly expected to pick up the pieces and move on.

Just like that.

Everyone around me had figured out a way to do that and I felt as though I was stuck in some kind of undeserved, vicious loop.

Eddie's death haunted my waking moments, and haunted my dreams at night. Everything felt so terribly empty, and I think I was grieving something in addition to him; something unvisited, unfulfilled, something we never got the chance to do.

To go on that date, and see what came of it.
I was grieving him and something that had never come to be, and both together were bad enough.

Grieving him as a single loss, was bad enough.
Combined with never having visited what we'd wanted to, just made the hole inside of me, that little bit bigger.

I had liked him; he'd liked me.
And now I'd never know if we'd have clicked and embarked on a meaningful relationship.

Oh I was grieving; I was grieving deeply.
And there was nothing anyone could do, for me to get the respite from it.

The respite I was seeking; I wasn't even sure what that respite would be or what it looked like.

I just felt empty.
Empty and a little lost.

His scared face kept me awake at night.
His terrified eyes, and his trembling mouth plagued my dreams and I couldn't get out of the rut I was in.

I wasn't sure if I ever would.

And as I dug a hole in the fresh soil I'd laid down in my backyard, as I laid pansies of reds and dark purples, in his honour and memory, I realised that this very action was doing nothing at all for me. It all came to an angry head when I accidentally decapitated a pansy I was trying to plant.

Angered, frustrated and upset, I launched the trowel down the lawn, and rose to my feet abruptly.

"I can't even do this. For gods sake!" I cried out into the universe.

"Why'd you have to go huh? Fucking leave me here with this fucking hole I can't fix. Jesus Eddie!! If you weren't dead already, I'd kill you for this!" I cried at the sky, before falling to my knees in angry sobs.

"Ziggy..... Let me help." A voice said, from behind me.

Harrington.

"You weren't supposed to hear that." I said, as his hand rubbed my back softly. He was crouched next to me, as he sighed softly.

"I know. I know I wasn't. And I know how much you miss him." He said, softly.

"Why don't I plant the flowers and you just take five?" He suggested, very kindly.

"Alright. Thanks." I mumbled as I let him lead me inside. He sat me down on the sofa, and I sighed deeply.

"You look exhausted. Perhaps you should try to sleep." He said.

"I can't sleep, Harrington." I said, as he smiled weakly.

"Try. I'm here. I'm just outside." He reassured me.

Sensing he wasn't going to relent, I slowly lay down and he covered me with a blanket, before gesturing to the outside.

"I'll make sure it looks nice for him." He promised, as I closed my eyes.

And when I awoke two hours later, Steve gently led me outside to the memorial, and I clasped a hand over my mouth.

Littered with purples and reds, the soil was tidy and the flowers were in a neat group.

Steve had taken the liberty of fashioning a cross, and had wrapped Eddie's guitar plectrum necklace around it. Nestled in between the flowers, was the Polaroid I'd had laminated, so that it wouldn't fall prey to the weather.

"Thank you... it's lovely, Harrington." I said.

"I did what I thought he'd like and appreciate. And I wanted it to be somewhere where you could come and sit, to remember him." Steve said, smiling weakly.

"You did what I couldn't." I said, sighing.

"Wanna tell me what started the outburst?" He asked.

"I decapitated one of them. Lost my shit." I admitted, as he chuckled softly.

"That would be pretty frustrating." He wagered.

"I just feel lost. I don't know how to fix it." I said.

"It takes time." Steve said.

"How's Henderson?" I asked.

"Misses his friend, naturally. He looked up to Eddie." Steve said.

"He did. God he did." I said.

"Your parents still on vacation?" He asked.

"Extended it by another two months. So I'm here, alone for longer than I wanted to be." I said.

"Jesus. You might be almost twenty one, but you're still a kid." Steve said.

"Yeah, I'm fine on my own, apparently. More than capable." I said.

"Well, we'd love to keep you company, if you ever wanted." Steve said.

"Thanks. I appreciate it." I said.

"We're having a pizza night tonight actually, you know... to mark six months to the day. I know it might seem a little morbid, but it'll be happy, promise. You wanna come?" Steve asked.

And after mentally refusing it immediately, I reconsidered and nodded slowly.

"Yeah that sounds great. What time and where?" I asked.

"My place, 7pm." He said, with a refreshing smile.

And I bade him goodbye for now, and watched him leave, before taking one final look at Eddie's memorial.

"I hope that wherever you are, you're at peace." I whispered, before heading inside.

****************
Pizza night had been exactly what I'd needed; and to think, I'd almost initially flat refused the invitation.

I was wholly glad I hadn't; it had been nice having company, and being a part of genuine laughter and friendship.

I'd came home with two beers; one to put on Eddie's memorial, and I settled it into the soil, next to his cross and his Polaroid.

"Six months today. I don't know about you, but I needed tonight more than I thought. I got you a beer, we bought your favourite.... To celebrate or commiserate....I don't really know, to be honest. I told Dustin he could come here, sit here whenever he wanted. I just hope it brings him a little comfort... I'm not sure what it's doing for me at the moment.... But I hope it does the same for me, eventually." I said, talking to his picture.

I sighed softly, and looked up at the night sky, as I sat on the grass. I opened the second beer and chinked it with the one on his memorial.

"Cheers, Munson." I whispered, before taking a swig.

And when I'd finished, I tossed my empty bottle in the trash can at the side of the house, before moving towards the back door.

And as I was wondering if I'd sleep better tonight, my eyes fell on something foreign, sticking out of the door knocker.

Slowly, I peered closer and my breath caught in my chest.

One of the pansies had been strategically placed in the knocker of my back door, and my heart lurched with nervousness and confusion.

It was a red one.

I'd watched Steve leave, so I knew it hadn't been him.

I'd seen him go.

So who'd been here? Who'd picked one of the flowers he'd planted, and placed it on my door?

I peeled it off the door, deciding to take it inside with me, and when I settled into bed a while later, I stared at it, as it sat on my bedside table.

It dawned on me after a few moments that it was the flower I'd accidentally decapitated.
I could see the split in one of the petals, where my trowel had caught it and had dealt the accidental blow.

The only question remained, as my eyes grew heavy and I slowly fell asleep.

Who'd put it on my door?

***********************************
More weird things happened, after the flower was left on my door.

The second thing had been some kind of shadow at the bottom of my garden; that had scared me quite a bit. But when I went out, armed with a flashlight, I'd seen that the shadow had been someone's silhouette. I'd disturbed them or it and so when I'd gotten closer, there'd suddenly been nothing or no one there.

The third thing, had been when I'd gone to our old hang out. I'd met Eddie there in the few months before Vecna, and I'd stumbled upon him accidentally, as he was in the middle of a sale with a couple of seniors.

And when I hadn't appeared to him as particularly affected by what I'd seen, with the exception of being a little intrigued, I'd sat down with him and we'd talked. Talked and smoked.

Talked and smoked and discovered we'd had a lot in common.

And as I'd sat remembering that, sitting on my side of the bench, reminiscing on the many conversations that had followed on, I'd smoked a cigarette, just like those times.

I'd sat at the bench long enough for it to have gotten dark, the stars were in the sky and the odd firefly flew around above my head, and I was engulfed in silence. I'd rested my head on my folded arms, and had accidentally fallen asleep.

And I'd woken with a start at the feel of someone touching my hair. Stroking it, softly, with a cool touch.

But when I'd looked around, there had been no one there.

"I'm losing my damn mind." I'd said.

Was I losing my mind though?

*******

"Harrington. You got a minute?" I asked, walking into Family Video.

"Sure, what is it Ziggy?" He asked, with a sincere smile.

"Weird things have been happening." I said.

"Upside down weird?" He asked.

"Not exactly. When I got home from pizza night, one of the flowers you planted was on my door. There was someone in my yard the other night.... And then last night I went to the woods where Eddie and I used to talk, and hang out..... I must have fallen asleep. I woke up to someone stroking my hair, Harrington. I swear to God, they were." I said.

"Oh I believe you. Did you see who it was?" Steve asked.

"No, I woke up and there was no one there. Just like there was no one there in my yard when I went to check. Am I just thinking it's him and making something out of this that's not?" I asked.

"I don't think you should go anywhere alone right now that's for sure." He said.

"I am alone." I remarked.

"You have us." He said, eyeing my carefully.

"I meant at home." I said.

"Sure you did. We're your friends. You think someone is following you or messing with you.... We can stay with you."  He said.

"If they're messing with me, why stroke my hair? Whoever did it, it was soft, and caring...." I said.

"And you think it's him?" Steve asked.

"I know it's not him. It can't be him. But it also feels like it's him." I said.

"He's not haunting you." Steve said.

"Then I'm losing it." I deduced.

"I think that you're just navigating through your grief. Except for the creep guy in your yard, that's not okay." Steve said.

"So I'm navigating through my grief and there's a creepy guy stalking me?" I asked.

"When you say it like that.... It sounds bad." Steve said.

"I preferred the losing my mind theory." I said.

"You want me to stay with you?" He asked.

"Would you?" I asked.

"Of course I would. I'll be there for around nine." He said, with a reassuring smile.

*****************************************
Steve didn't show at nine.

And when he didn't show at 10:30, I was both worried and annoyed.

Annoyed enough, that I drove to his house and strode inside, wanting an explanation.

"What happened to nine o'clock Harrington?" I asked, hands on my hips.

"Shit..." He said, realising.

"I got caught up. I'm sorry." He said.

"Caught up in what? I tell you I think I'm being stalked.... You offer to crash at mine incase something else happens, you don't show so I think somethings happened to you. And yet you're home, and it's now ten forty five." I said, unforgiving.

"I can explain." He said.

"You already did. You got caught up." I said, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Something came up... I called him." Dustin interjected, emerging from Steve's kitchen.

"He tell you I'm being stalked?" I asked.

"We can explain that." Dustin said.

"How?" I asked.

"You're gonna be shocked, and you're gonna be scared... okay?" Dustin said.

"Why?" I asked.

"There's someone here, someone we know. He's scared too, terrified." Dustin said.

"Who?!" I asked.

"I need you to be a little bit calmer." Dustin said, grimacing slightly.

"Maybe you should sit down." Steve suggested.

"Maybe you should tell me what the hell is going on." I retorted.

"It's Eddie, Dannie. He's back." Dustin said, putting me out of my misery.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I asked, half livid, half shocked.

"We don't know how, but he's back." Steve said.

"This is clearly a cruel joke, and it's really not funny." I argued, insulted.

"We wouldn't do that to you. It's true." Dustin said.

And before Steve or Dustin could say anything further, a figure stepped out from the kitchen, with familiar brown eyes and chiseled jaw; painfully, my legs suddenly became weak and unable to hold me upright, and I fell down infront of all three of them.

Steve, Dustin and Eddie.

I was wishing all too late that I had sat down after all. My ass hit the laminate and I watched in sheer shock as the three of them stared at me.

Eddie was the first to rush over to me and I held a hand out, firm and adamant, stopping him in his tracks.

"Don't you come anywhere near me. This isn't right. It's some kind of trick." I spat, both angered and devastated.

Eddie remained a few feet away from me, maintaining the distance between us at my request, and raised his hands in surrender.

"Please just let me help you, so you can sit down over here." He urged as I shook my head.

"No... no I'm good." I said, stubbornly.

I looked over at Dustin and Steve, who were both imploring me with sad eyes and as I glanced over at Eddie once more, I narrowed mine, slowly and unsteadily rising to my feet.

"It was you, wasn't it? You left the flower on my door." I said.

"You were in the garden too, weren't you? And it was you that was stroking my hair at our old hangout. I thought I was going crazy!!" I cried.

"I just wanted you to know I was here." He said, feebly.

He was wary of me now, and I wasn't sure what hurt more.

Him actually being here, risen from the dead like Lazarus, or him actually being afraid of me.

"If I'd have knocked on, I knew that would have just distressed you. I was trying to keep my distance. I saw you struggling to make that memorial for me.... I saw you throw the trowel across the yard.... and I could see you'd not been coping." He continued.

"I saw you trying to navigate your way through your life, and I could just see you were hurting." He finished.

"How are you even here?! You fucking DIED!" I cried.

"I don't know.... But I'm different than I was." He said.

"No kidding. You died in our arms, and yet you're here and alive suddenly again? That doesn't happen!" I said.

"I can't explain it..." He whispered, sadly.

"I think it's best if I leave." He said, to Dustin and Steve, sounding devastated.

"And go where?" Steve asked, as Eddie turned into the far wall, almost hiding from me.

"Listen, I don't know how you thought I'd take this, I don't know how you pictured me reacting to you suddenly showing up here, six months after I watched and felt you die in my arms. I'm having a real hard time trying to figure out if this is even real.... I feel like I've lost my mind. You died.... You died and I have just stumbled through these last six months, with no idea where I'm headed, or what I'm doing." I said.

"Dannie.... He died in my arms too." Dustin bleated as I faltered, feeling selfish.

"I know... I'm sorry... I know that. I'm sorry Henderson..." I whispered, as he hugged me.

"Don't make him leave." He begged.

"Dannie, please don't make him leave." He continued, imploringly.

I released him, and glanced over at Eddie, facing away from me as he held himself.

He was nervous, and seemed scared.

"You might be okay with this...... scarily okay with this, but I don't know if I can be. Two weeks ago, I was toasting to six months of him being gone, to a bunch of fucking Pansies in my backyard. I toasted a fucking photo, because he was gone. And now he's walking around here like he never left and you want me to not ask him to leave? Am I dreaming? Am I mentally insane?" I asked.

"He's really here." Steve urged.

"I am, Danzig.....I am." Eddie implored, as I gasped, at the use of the nickname he'd coined for me.

Dustin called me Dannie, which was short for Dannielle.

Harrington, always called me Zig or Ziggy, which he'd taken from Eddie's loving moniker for me, that he'd given me in the months we were all together, fighting the upside down.

Because my name was Dannie, and because I loved the Misfits, namely, Glenn Danzig, Eddie had decided to call me Danzig. Harrington had keenly adopted Ziggy from then on, like the remainder of our friends, Dustin preferring to stick with Dannie. I remembered Eddie being quite pleased when the nickname had stuck.

He was already walking away, before he stopped and turned back to look at me, with glassy eyes.

"I'm so sorry.... I didn't mean to scare you." He whispered, hesitantly.

"Ziggy, please...." Steve implored.

My heart clenched painfully but I couldn't offer any form of comfort in this moment.

But I could offer him the chance to perhaps explain.

And as he crossed the room to the door, my heart betrayed me.

"Eddie, Eddie wait!" I called.

Steve and Dustin suddenly looked hopeful.

And as Eddie turned towards me, I saw the familiar brown of his eyes, as they too stared at me with a glimmer of hope.

"You need to explain. And you're gonna do that, and we're gonna listen. Or I am, at least. I want you to tell me exactly what happened and why you're back here." I demanded.

*****************************************
"How?" I asked.

He'd barely sat down on the sofa, as I stood leaning against the mantelpiece, chewing my fingernails nervously.

He seemed to overlook it, but he did eye me carefully.

"I don't know. I just woke up." He insisted.

"I got back here, and it took me a couple of days to work up the courage.... I reached out to Dustin first." Eddie said.

"No, you died. You didn't just go to sleep. There was no pulse, no heart beat, no breathing. You were cold." I insisted.

"You bled to death." I continued.

"The bats did something." Dustin interjected.

"I gathered that." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Does everyone else know?" I added.

"They do. They're on their way here." Steve said, as I suddenly felt even more betrayed.

Steve, realised then what he'd actually said.

And in total silence, I swiped my car keys from where I'd set them down on the mantelpiece, laughing slightly in disbelief.

"Ziggy..." Steve started to say.

"Nuh-uh. No." I said, shaking my head.

"Enjoy your little reunion." I added, with a small sneer, walking towards the door.

"It wasn't like that." Dustin said.

"Did you call them?" I asked, as I flung the front door open, seeing them as they all walked down the driveway.

It was just getting better.

"Yeah." Dustin said, unable to deny it.

"All of them?" I asked.

"Yes." Steve said.

"Zig..." Eddie started to say.

And as they all approached the door, I shook my head, before turning to Steve and Dustin.

"You called every single one of them, except for me. I wasn't supposed to have come here tonight. This little get together didn't include me. Wow." I said.

"Because I asked them not to call you." Eddie said hurriedly.

I was sure the air left both my lungs and the room as everyone fell painfully silent.

"Danzig.... Dannie, please wait. Let me explain!" Eddie cried.

"I get asked not to make you leave... but you asked them not to call me?" I asked, my voice hushed.

"Just let me explain." Eddie urged.

And I turned, incensed and hurt, and shook my head, my eyes burning into his. I could feel the venom and the rage ascending the walls of my throat and I wanted him to hear me.

Loud and clear.

"Fuck you." I spat, venomously.

With an index finger pointed straight towards him.

Him, and nobody else.
Just him.

"Ziggy.... Wait!" Nancy cried.

"Not a fucking chance, Wheeler." I hissed.

And I left.

I walked out on them all.

***********************************
Eddie's POV.

"Why didn't you want to call her?" Nancy asked me, a little pissed off herself.

"I knew she'd have a harder time accepting it." I admitted.

"And that justified not calling her, but inviting all of us here?" She asked.

"At the time, yeah." I said.

"Even I could see what that might have looked like to her. If she hadn't have come here, this would have been done behind her back." Nancy argued.

"I'd see it like that." Robin added.

"We were trying to respect Eddie's wishes." Steve said.

"Why did she come here?" Robin asked.

"She felt like someone was stalking her. I offered to crash there with her tonight." Steve said.

"Steve...." Nancy said, in a motherly tone.

"I know. I bailed on her." He said, sighing.

"Your dying words were personal to her, Eddie." Nancy warned.

"I know." I said.

"Just then, I could see it in her face and in her eyes. I'd be feeling the exact same way. There's one question in her head right now." Nancy said.

"What?" I asked, as Dustin rubbed his face and he sighed sadly.

"Were they just words." He confirmed, understanding.

"We screwed up." He added, sadly.

"Exactly." Robin said.

"Were they?" Nancy asked me.

"Of course they weren't. They were the truth." I said.

"I feel so shitty." Robin said, uncomfortable.

"We've gone about this, all wrong." Steve said.

"No kidding." Nancy said.

"But seriously, after the initial shock, I'm glad you're back with us." She added, smiling at me.

"We all are." Mike said.

Relieved, I hugged them all in turn as we all became reacquainted.

And for the rest of the night and into the early hours of the morning, my eyes were on the door.

I should have let them call.
I should have let them call her.

*****************************************
The following morning, a very tired Nancy and Robin knocked on my door, and having no issue with either of them directly, I happily let them in.

They seemed relieved that I'd let them in, but my issue wasn't with them. They had looked as shocked as me when I'd found out from the man of the hour that he'd asked our friends not to call me.

The girl he'd said he was mad about, as he lay dying in my arms.

Were they just words?

I was starting to think so.

"We had no idea." Robin blurted as soon as she sat down.

"I know." I said, as Nancy looked saddened.

"I don't know why he wouldn't have wanted to call you. Well I do, he told me. But I don't entirely understand it." She said, rambling.

"What was his excuse?" I asked.

"He felt you'd have a harder time accepting it. I get the feeling he perhaps wanted to meet you alone after we maybe gave you the heads up." Nancy said.

"Did he have much to say after I'd gone?" I asked, sniffing back tears.

"Hun, his eyes never moved from the door, after you left." She said, leaning forward to clasp my hand reassuringly.

"Had we arranged last night, it would have gone differently. Boys, they screw up sometimes. They don't think, not like us girls do." She added, with a reassuring smile.

"He thought I was going to come back?" I asked.

"More like he was hoping you would." Robin said.

"I don't even think I have anything to say to him." I said, shaking my head.

"I understand why he perhaps wanted to wait to see you..... but at the same time, Steve promised to crash at yours because you thought someone was stalking you and he should have followed through with that. But I guess it didn't turn out that way." Nancy said.

"I wasn't angry at any of you, I hope you know that." I said.

"We knew. We know." Robin confirmed.

"I'm relieved he's alive. I am. I'm shocked more than anything and I can't wrap my head around if. But I'm so mad at him too. I'm mad at fucking everything." I said, unable to explain it.

"You've been grieving." Nancy said.

"Go easy on yourself." Robin said.

There was another knock on my door then, and I tensed immediately.

"It's okay, I'll answer it." Robin offered, and she rounded the corner to the front door.

"Uhm, I don't think now is a good time." I heard her say.

"Who is it?" I asked, as three remorseful, sheepish looking faces entered the living room, having pushed past Robin.

"By all means, come on in." I said, sarcastically.
But I was surprised and deterred, which saw me rise clumsily to my feet, retreating from them.

"We wanted to apologise. And also explain." Dustin said, his hands raised in surrender.

"I wanted to explain." Eddie chimed in, as Steve squoze his shoulder reassuringly.

"Quite the trio already I see? Thick as thieves, who'd have thought it." I said, already annoyed.

"I know you feel left out.... Excluded. And that's my fault, Dannie, not theirs." Eddie said, as I chuckled in disbelief.

"Oh sweetheart, I know it is." I said, as Robin fell by my side and squoze my arm.

"Gently." She whispered.

"He comes back from the literal fucking dead, asks to have a little get together, but specifically asks for me not to attend.... And you're asking me to be gentle about this?" I asked, incredulously.

"Dannie, shut the fuck up and let me explain. Let us explain." Eddie demanded impatiently, as I stiffened.

I stepped forward, immediately defensive and he stepped towards me, meeting me in the middle of the room, with the exact same resolve as me.

His eyes were dark; a sign I'd come to understand meant he was annoyed, and trying to keep it together.

"Just give me a minute." He demanded through a clenched jaw.

"You didn't want my time yesterday." I retorted, and he gripped me roughly by my shoulders; just when he was about to shake me, the two of us nose to nose, Steve prised us apart.

"Enough!" He shouted.

"I'm calling a truce for the both of you." He added.

"Ziggy, sit down and calm down. Eddie, when she's calmed down, you can talk." He instructed.

**************
Eddie's POV.

"I know this is weird, this should be impossible and I cannot explain why I'm here. But I am. I didn't expect you to be so angry towards me. I don't understand why you were..... before I told them not to call you. I get why you're angry now, but why were you before you found out I was somehow back?" I asked her.

"I've been sad too. I've been a lot of things in the time you were gone. I've been pretty pissed off with the world and I haven't known exactly what to do with that. So I've just had all of these emotions and nowhere to put them. I've had to just carry them." She explained.

"Are you glad I'm back?" I asked, as the air in the room fell still; everyone was apprehensive of her answer.

"I'm still processing the fact that you are back." She said.

"You haven't really allowed me the time to do that though. I find out that you are, at the same time I found out that you didn't want me to know at the same time as everyone else. That, and you were technically stalking me." She added, with a raised eyebrow.

"Before I went to Dustin.... I came to your house. You were the first person I came to see... came to check on." I said, as she pressed her lips together to prevent the momentary surprise from leaving them as a gasp.

"You didn't make yourself known though." She said.

"If I'd have knocked on, god knows how you'd have reacted? I was trying not to scare you. So for the time being, I just kept my distance. Checked on you, and tried to show you gently that I was here." I explained.

"And then eased me in right? Eased me in by leaving me about of the reunion you all had last night? That's gently showing me you're back is it?" She asked, agitated.

"It was an attempt to. A wrong attempt, but it was an attempt all the same." I said, trying to conceal the mild irritation I was feeling.

The problem I was having was that when her temper had started to flare, mine had too.

I wanted to shake her as much as I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to get her to understand, just as much as I wanted to bundle her up in my arms and never let her go.

I couldn't explain why I was back, and that was what I was angry about. I wanted to be able to, but I couldn't.

Her anger was aimed at how I'd excluded her.
Even though that hadn't intentionally been what it was.

"Are you hearing yourself right now?" She asked me.

"Obviously I am." I said, rolling my eyes with impatience.

"Why is your guard up so much with me? It never used to be this way. There was a time when you could talk to me, you could tell me anything, we were close. We were so fucking close. We were thick as thieves. Everyone here remembers that." I added, vehemently.

"You're so cold." I continued, devastated.

"What do you want from me? You didn't want me there last night, but so fucking quick to get over here today and tell me why you didn't want anyone here to call me. You say I'm cold.....? What you did to me last night was cold. Real fucking cold." She snapped.

"Because I still care about you. I care about your feelings. I cared enough that I wanted you to know I was back, in the easiest and gentlest way possible. I was trying to do that for you, because I care about you. I cared about you up to when I died. I closed my eyes caring about you, and I cared about you just the same, when I opened them again. You've changed..... you've changed so much since I've been gone...." I said, my voice hushed with devastation.

I could feel tears of pain and anger stinging my eyes.

Her expression grew stony, and I didn't recognise her, at all.

"I don't know what you want from me." She said, clearing her throat.

And I just couldn't take it anymore.

"Jesus Christ, when are you gonna thaw out towards me?" I asked her, suddenly enraged.

My temper had sadly, peaked.

"What did you just say to me?" She hissed, scarily calm and angry at the same time.

I immediately regretted it.

"I want you to repeat what you just said." She demanded, as I eyed all of our friends carefully.

"It was in the heat of the moment, I'm sorry." I said, unable to meet her eyes.

"Can I just maybe, make a slight point here? As a mediation party, nothing more." Dustin interjected, as she eyed him carefully.

He turned to me first.

"I know that me and Steve accepted this, pretty much straight away.... Nothing is impossible anymore, I think we all know that. We were your friends. Everyone else is accepting that you're back, with some minor changes sure.....But when I remember exactly what your last conversation was, it wasn't with me. It was with Dannie. And it was about your feelings towards each other. It was personal. Dannie never thought she'd see you again, and I think she not only felt your loss, she felt the loss of whatever didn't happen between either of you, too. The loss of what never came to be. Double whammy, so to speak." He said.

And then he turned to her.

"And you? You're angry. Grief affects everyone differently, and when you're not sad, you have this rage that just burns away inside of you. That's your grief process. Anger. You think the universe screwed you over. You're not seeing this for what it could be..... that the universe is maybe giving you another chance. I heard what you said. You both said you had feelings for each other, and you'd both wished you'd done something with that. I saw you kiss him and I watched him kiss you back, before he died. He said he wanted to ask you out on a date, but he didn't get the chance to. He just wants you to accept him. Accept him again, like you so effortlessly did the first time around." Dustin said, as I watched her shoulders sag.

"You were always the first to defend him, to support him. You were the first to say we needed to go back for him, we needed to go and get him back." Dustin continued.

"And we tried. We went back, because of you. We couldn't save him, but we went back. That was you, Dannie." Dustin finished, with urging.

She met my eyes, my eyes that were imploring her to not be so angry towards me, and she seemed at a loss of what to do.

"Can we please talk?" I begged, hyper aware of our friends all watching us.

"Please." I urged.

"Alright, alright!" She said, impatiently.

"Let's give them some space." Dustin said, ushering everyone out of the room.

************
"I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to come back. I had no say in whatever happened for me to wake up." I said.

I'd moved to sit next to her, in the hopes that would deter further argument or shouting.

"I know that." She said, flatly.

"So why do you keep acting like this towards me?" I asked, imploringly.

"Like what?" She asked.

"Distant. Cold." I said.

"I'm afraid that if I get close to you again, and I lose you, I won't cope with that. The second time would be too much for me." She said.

"Who said anything about you losing me again?" I asked.

"Who said anything about you dying and coming back?" She asked, cockily.

"Hey." I warned, frowning.

"I'm just scared of getting close to you and something bad happening to you again. I really don't want that." She said, backing down.

"I'm scared of something happening too. But you're worth the risk. You're so worth getting close to, that it's a risk I'm willing to take." I said.

"I thought at one point.... That the only way I'd not feel the pain or the rage.... Would be to..." she started to say, looking away from me.

"Please don't say it." I urged, hurriedly.

I closed my eyes, wanting to block out what she was trying to say. It was hurting me knowing that she'd been considered it.

"In the interest of being honest and actually talking, I should say it." She said, her voice momentarily devoid of any emotion.

I braced myself, and she came right out with it.

"I thought about un-aliving myself." She said.

"Yeah." She added, when I opened my eyes again and stared at her incredulously.

"I cared about you that much." She said.

"I spent alot of time feeling like I'd potentially lost something good, and I'd never had the chance to pursue it to be sure...." She continued.

I rose to my feet wordlessly, and courageously reached for her hand, tugging her stubborn ass onto her feet, towards me, before pulling her into a roughly executed embrace.

An embrace she didn't initially pull away from.
She was surprised, a little stiff but it was still progress.

"Of all the things you are, you stubborn little asshole....." I said, holding her tightly.

"Don't ever think about doing that again. Not for me or anyone." I added, before swallowing a sob.

And by some sheer miracle, her arms wound around me and she hugged me back, burying her face into my chest.

"I just missed you." She said, her voice muffled.

"I missed you too." I whispered, relieved.

I buried my face into her hair, and felt like I was home.

"You're a complete dick head, you know that?" I asked her, hearing her laugh for the first time, into my chest.

I sighed at the sound, the sound of her laughter and rubbed her back softly.

"Yeah." She answered.

"You are too." She added, as I chuckled softly.

"Yeah... I know." I said, unable to argue.

"Can we please call a truce?" I begged, as she pulled away to look at me.

She nodded, in response and I found myself smiling down at her, for the first time in a long time.

"Okay." I said, feeling relieved and happy.

Finally.

********************************************
The days rolled by and whilst she wasn't so cold and distant with me, and whilst she would hold a conversation with me, the walls were still very much up.

She'd accepted the truce I'd offered, that much could definitely be said, but she wasn't back to the Dannie I remembered; the Dannielle I knew.

However, she was less hostile, and I was taking whatever small mercies I could.

I was staying at Hopper's shack and he was aware I was back; everyone knew now. Well, everyone involved in the war with the upside down, anyway.

Wayne didn't know.

And there was still something I hadn't shared with Dannie; the changes, the differences in me.

Which I'd noticed a week into being officially back.

Normal foods? Couldn't keep them down.

And it was only when Dustin had shared and executed a bizarre theory, that I was actually able to both eat and drink something.

Blood.
Raw meat.

Normal foods no longer sustained me.
And if I tried, a strange sickness and sensation would come over me, and it would feel a little too close to dying again. It was as though I'd suddenly randomly deteriorate, until I'd drank blood or eaten raw meat.

The minute I did, I was fine again.

Dannie had called around today, and I was happy to see her. She'd taken some leave from work, to keep me company whilst everyone else was off doing their thing; work, school, college, etc.

It seemed that she needed this time, as much as I did.

Even if she didn't want to admit it.

"I appreciate you coming here today." I told her as she nodded.

She eyed the cards in her hand, before placing four eights down onto the table.

"I know." She answered, waiting patiently for me to take my turn at the card game we were in the midst of.

Instead of taking my turn, I looked at her with a keen fondness and tilted my head to one side, curiously.

"Did you move on?" I asked her, referring to if she'd met someone else.

"What kind of a question is that?" She asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"Just a curious one, between two friends." I said, simply.

"Does it seem like I've moved on?" She asked, a little feisty.

"No." I answered, chuckling softly.

"Then there's the answer to your question." She replied.

"Unless you were hoping I had?" She added.

"I just want you to be happy. Whatever form that comes in." I said, explaining.

"You saw me in my garden that day. You saw me making that memorial for you. And you saw the sheer frustration when I'd decapitated one of the flowers. I lost my shit. I told you I'd considered un-aliving myself because the anger was eating me up inside. That's not the actions of someone who's moved on and met someone new, Eddie." She remarked, with a pointed look.

"Apparently, I'm still just as fucking nosey. I was just curious, I'm sorry." I said, regretful.

I'd been asking for entirely selfish reasons too, and it wasn't fair. Her behaviour over the last six months was enough of a prompt to understand that she was struggling to move on full stop, never mind with someone else.

"We had a funeral for you. Buried an empty coffin." She said, her voice tinged with sadness.

"I know. It was a lovely service from what I was told. Had quite the turn out too, which I wasn't expecting." I said.

"You read my eulogy." I added.

"Yeah, I did. Wayne asked me." She said.

"Do you still speak to him?" I asked.

"I go for dinner every Thursday. Have done since you were gone. He's needed the company, and he's a nice man." She said.

"He cooks for you?" I asked, in awe.

"We alternate." She answered, with a raised eyebrow.

"He's home a little more these days." She added.

"Explains why he cooks." I said.

"He prefers to be home more. To feel close to you, Eddie." She said.

"Oh." I answered, a wave of sadness washing over me.

"Do you not realise how much he loved you, Eddie? He misses you terribly." She said.

"No I always knew he loved me. He raised me." I said.

"I was with you, when you died. For some reason, that comforts him. And it's a day in the week where I'm not so alone either." She said.

"You don't meet with the others?" I asked.

"I didn't, for a long while. I'm trying to phase back into it, or I was.... And then you appeared." She said.

"And now here you are, keeping me company." I said playfully, trying to lighten the tone.

"Playing cards with your dead boyfriend." I added, as she tensed.

"You weren't my boyfriend." She argued.

"Oh but I wanted to be." I said, undeterred.

"And please don't be so casual about the fact that you did die." She said, tossing her hand of cards down onto the coffee table.

"Not all of us have the stomach or the heart to be so flippant about it." She added, with a huff.

"I'm sorry.... That was in poor taste." I said, regretfully.

"You might have changed in some ways... well you say you have. But you're the same in a lot of ways too." She said.

"I am?" I asked.

"Yeah. You still don't know how to read a god damn room." She answered.

And that same frosty edge she'd had, that had softened as of late, suddenly returned before my eyes.

I definitely hadn't read the room.
I'd put my foot in it too.

*******************************************
One week later.

"Can we talk for a sec?"

I groaned loudly, as I stood in the butchers, and turned to face Steve.

Looking very sheepish.

"What?" I asked, as the butcher handed me a bag of meat.

I took it, muttered a thanks and turned to Steve.

"I'm sorry for bailing on you. We should have called you no matter how much he protested. I feel like a prize jerk." He said.

"Because you are." I answered.

"You're alright with Dustin." He argued.

"He's a kid, Steve. You're my age, we're adults." I argued back.

He relented then, and shifted uncomfortably.

"I know. You're right, I know. I'm really sorry, Ziggy." Steve said, as I sighed.

"I had dinner with Wayne last Thursday. It was hard not telling him his nephew is alive. And that I've taken time off work to keep him company in that god awful shack." I said.

"I know. How's that been going though?" He asked, hope in his eyes.

"He's said a few off the cuff things recently, like he always did.... Does, even. Still can't quite get used to that." I said, unsure of what tense to use.

"Like what?" Steve asked, as we walked out of the shop and slowly strolled down the sidewalk.

"He referred to himself as my dead boyfriend." I said, as Steve winced.

"Yeah, that's not good." He said, as I shrugged.

"You're gonna say you shut down again aren't you?" He added.

"What was I supposed to have done?" I asked.

"I'm not disagreeing with you. He put his size tens in it, massively." He said, hurriedly.

"I'd better go anyway." I said, with a sigh.

Steve looked at me, and I rolled my eyes.

"We're good, Harrington. Jesus." I said, impatiently as he beamed and threw his arms around me.

"You know I love you, Ziggy." He said, as I laughed.

"Funny way of showing it." I remarked, as he feigned offense.

"Did I or did I not just agree that Munson put his foot in it?" He asked, as I rolled my eyes again.

"You did. Now fuck off, I have to go." I said, as he waved at me as I climbed into my car.

"See you tomorrow!" He called.

"What's tomorrow?" I asked, confused.

"Pasta night, 7 o'clock!" He called back.

Since when did he cook these days?

*******************************************
Eddie's POV.

I wasn't feeling well, and when Danzig walked through the door, I was at the window, sweating and paranoid.

"Someone's outside." I said, the minute she set the grocery bag onto the kitchen counter.

"Who?" She asked, approaching me.
She stared out of the window, and I nodded to the bottom of the yard.

"They've scoped the area around the shack. They're wearing a hazmat, and they've talked into their radio a few times." I said.

"You can see pretty good." She said, impressed.

"I heard him." I corrected.

"From here?" She asked, incredulously.

"Bat hearing." I said, pointing to my ears.

"What did he say?" She asked.

"The subject was inside, and after scoping the perimeter, he'd follow his orders." I said.

"And what were those orders?" She asked, suddenly very tense.

"To bring the subject in. To bring me in." I said.

"Upstairs. Go." She ordered, softly.

"What about you?" I asked, worried.

"I'm coming up there with you." She said, before pushing me towards the stairs.

We clambered up them, and heard the front door open, and she pushed me towards my room.

She hung in the doorway, keeping an eye out and I saw her back inside the room, a gasp of surprise leaving her mouth.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"Orders are to bring him in, for observations." He said.

"Who's orders?" She asked.

"Classified." He answered.

"You guys always say that. It's either Brenner or Owens." She said, defiant.

"How do you even..." He started to say.

"You're one of the kids who helped... who fought..." He said, suddenly realising.

"Yeah, that's me." She said.

"I need you to move." He said.

"Nope, sorry." She answered.

"I don't want to have to remove you by force." He said.

"Try it." She said, invitingly.

He took her up on it and tried to force his way inside, and to give her credit, she wasn't taking any prisoners or chances.

She shoved the hazmat suit back, and he pushed forward again, but she kept fighting him.

"You're not taking him..." She said, through gritted teeth.

She was protecting me.

And I could feel bile and rage thundering up from my stomach and I growled loudly, barring my elongated teeth.

"Leave her alone." I demanded, as he stared at me in fear.

She turned to glance at me, and her eyes grew sad for a moment, before she turned back to the suit.

"Back off." I demanded, leaning over her, snarling.

And in one swift movement, as he was distracted and caught off guard, she reached behind me as I stood by the bedside table, a second warning growl leaving my curled lips, and she withdrew a shotgun, that Hopper or she had apparently stashed here.

She swung it around in her hands, cocked it and aimed it straight at him.

"Leave." She demanded.

He bravely or stupidly pushed forward again, pushing his fear for me down, approaching us and she turned the gun slightly to her right, and fired.

She shot him in the shoulder and he staggered back, crying out in pain.

"Next one goes between your eyes. Now leave." She ordered, her voice loud and steely.

"I have orders." He whimpered.

"Fuck your orders. Leave." She said, stubbornly, and with resolve.

"More will come." He warned.

She answered him by cocking the shotgun again.
It loaded loudly, the sound ringing off the walls and he stepped back then.

He clearly didn't want the bullet between his eyes; the bullet she'd promised.

"Okay, okay." He said, backing up.

"LEAVE." She snarled, backing us both away from him.

I stumbled back and landed on my bed, and she guarded both me and the door, until he'd gone.

And when I heard her sigh with relief, I rose to my feet as her shoulders sagged, and gently took the shotgun from her hands. I set it down on the bed, my eyes briefly on the door.

She turned to face me at the gesture, and I stared into her eyes, closing the gap between us, a hand reaching to gently cradle her cheek.

This time, she let me.

"I'm supposed to protect you." I whispered.

"Yeah, well we asked for equality didn't we." She said, as I chuckled softly.

"You did, you're right about that. I guess it's more than I want to protect you." I said.

"You did protect me." She said.

"But I don't need it right now. You do." She added.

"More will come for you." She continued.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"Our fight isn't over." She said, sounding distant.

"This is our fight?" I asked, noticing that the ice was breaking slowly again, between us.

It had been a hard transition, a hard adjustment for her, to see me here, and to see me alive again.

"Your fight is my fight." She said.

And I knew it.
She was slowly coming back to me again.

We met in a loose embrace and I breathed her in, her perfume, the shampoo in her hair, as her hands rubbed my back softly.

And instead of parting, the embrace seemed to become firmer, closer and longer.

Neither wanted to let go of the other.

She sighed, and it mixed with my own, as I rubbed her back softly and buried my face into her hair.

I'd missed her smell, and I'd missed her touch.

"I'm still me." I whispered, as a choked sob left her lips. Her face buried into my shoulder and I tightened my hold on her, as she cried softly.

"Come back to me." I whispered in her ear, desperately.

"I never left...." She whispered, her voice thick with tears.

"I know, I know.... I know I left. I didn't mean to. I was trying to prove to you, to myself, that I didn't always run away. I wanted to prove that it was just sometimes. I wanted to be able to say just once, that I didn't run. And I wanted to save you. I wanted to make sure you got out. I paid that price with my life..... but I'm back, I'm here. I'm still me. I'm still Eddie." I said, with urging and with desperation.

I just wanted her to believe me.

She moved away slightly to look at me, and I peered into her crying eyes, wanting her to understand just one thing, out of everything.

"I still want that date." I added, as a whisper.

She smiled through her tears, and I wiped some of them away with my thumbs, as I held her face.

"You do?" She asked, surprised.

"I've been awful to you. I've been angry, I've been cold towards you... I've been frosty again lately..." She added, unable to understand it.

"Yeah, but I asked for that, I said some pretty stupid things. You know I've always digged your sternness and your resolve. You know I've always liked that you're vocal when you don't agree with something. You know just how much I've always liked that you'll stand up for what you believe in, for what you think is right or wrong." I said.

"Danzig.... I'm still mad about you." I added, sighing deeply.

"I didn't expect to be so angry..... I thought that when you grieved someone, you were sad and upset. But I've just raged on or been cold and distant for six months." She said.

"And I'm flattered, trust me." I said, playfully.

"Even when I've raged at you?" She asked, when a raised eyebrow.

"Even when you've raged at me." I confirmed, with a smile.

A smile she returned.

"It's not flattering though, is it?" She asked, not entirely convinced.

"When I can see through it, yeah it is." I said, with a shrug.

"And you can see through it?" She asked, curiously.

"You were hurting, you still are. And you've been scared. Which is totally okay. But I would just ask that you maybe dial that down and perhaps be nice to me?" I asked, a little playful.

She smiled coyly then, as I wiped the fresh tears rolling down her face.

"Great. Now I can't stop crying." She said, annoyed at herself.

"Good thing you look beautiful, even when you're crying." I said, as she scoffed.

"No one does." She argued.

"Danzig?" I asked.

"Yeah?" She inquired, curiously.

"Take the fucking compliment." I said, with a smile, pulling her into another embrace.

She held me tighter this time, and she seemed more relaxed, more relieved; less angry and hurt.

It was as though she was hugging me for the first time again, and the sigh that left her mouth was one of contentment this time, which was music to my ears.

"I don't want you staying here on your own." She whispered.

"I have nowhere else to go. Wayne... he doesn't know about me." I said.

"My parents are out of the country, and have extended their vacation for another two months. I want you to come and stay with me." She said.

"You want me to stay with you?" I asked, pulling away from her to search her eyes.

"I don't think I stuttered, Eddie." She said, chuckling softly.

"Okay." I said, without hesitation.

"I don't have to convince you?" She asked, her eyebrow arched with surprise.

"Not one bit, Dannie." I said, shaking my head.

"Good. We should go now, before any more of those fucking Hazmats come back." She said, as I remembered the gun.

"Okay, quick question. Did you stash that or did Hopper?" I asked, as she walked to the doorway.

"I did." She said, simply.

***********************************
Eddie's POV.

"It's occurred to me that I may have left out one minor detail." I said, as she looked at me curiously.

"What?" She asked.

"I was telling the truth when I said that I am still me.... But..." I started to say, as she crossed the kitchen to the fridge and wordlessly opened it.

Showing me packets of meat and blood, stocked to the top of the fridge.

"But you just have the diet of a mountain lion now?" She asked, calmly.

"Oh." I said, surprised.

"You're covered. Dustin told me." She said.

I couldn't deny that I was relieved; she seemed to be fine with it.

"The least I can do, is let you stay here. The shacks okay, but it was more the thought of you being there alone. I'm not saying you can't handle yourself, you can. You've always been able to. It's probably more selfish on my part really; it eases my conscience and my sanity, if you're not alone there should they come back." She said.

"And I think they might." She added.

"I really am a freak now, I guess." I said, as she slammed the fridge shut.

"Don't ever say that again, Munson." She said, tersely.

There was an index finger pointed towards me, too.

"You've never been a freak. Just misunderstood by most people. Most of those don't have a brain cell between them, and I can say that safely. But you? You're not a freak. You're a person. And your only crime is that you've always liked different things to everyone else. It doesn't make you a freak. You like what you like. They can't understand that? That's a them problem." She said.

And she watched as I started to say something, but my stomach growled loudly and I started to sweat a little, self conscious.

"You've gone a little.... Grey." She said.

"This is what happens. It's like this weird, weak feeling. I feel sick, my mouth goes dry and then it's like I can't function." I said, as she wordlessly opened the fridge for a second time, before sliding a pack of raw mincemeat across the breakfast island towards me. She slid a fork towards me, seconds later.

And she leaned on the countertop, staring at me before nodding, encouragingly.

Deciding to accept the challenge, I opened it and she watched carefully as I started to eat the raw mince in front of her.

Fucker didn't even flinch, I thought to myself before immediately regretting it.

"You know when you think something in your head?" She said, as I looked up through my lashes and nodded cautiously.

"Maybe try and not show it directly on your face." She suggested, as I swallowed a mouthful and looked at her incredulously.

"I know what you were thinking." She warned.

"Actually you don't, not necessarily." I said.

"Humour me then." She said, casually.

"The thought was quite literally, was that you were standing there and I thought... the fucker didn't even flinch." I said, as she leaned forward on the countertop, narrowing her eyes.

"Fucker, huh?" She asked.

I couldn't tell if she was offended or not; she was a closed book right now.

"Yeah, but I regret it already. You're not." I said, just as she grinned broadly.

"But you're mad I didn't flinch?" She asked.

"I wouldn't say mad. More like, of course she didn't flinch." I explained.

"So just mildly annoyed then? You were expecting me to have an issue with it?" She asked.

"No, not at you per say. I'm... self conscious of this, but I accepted your challenge too." I said, finally admitting it.

"We got there then. You don't have to be. Especially not around me." She said.

"You told me to come back to you." She continued, as I swallowed another mouthful.

"I did." I confirmed.

"That works both ways, Munson." She said.

"I know." I said, sighing.

"How did you get back here? She asked, suddenly.

"It's hazy. Almost as if it was an out of body experience. I just remember suddenly being back in Hawkins." I said.

"And how did you know that you needed to eat things like this? Drink blood?" She asked.

"That was Dustin's theory, when I couldn't seem to keep anything normal down." I said.

"Clever kid." She mused, as I spooned the last portion into my mouth and sat back, sighing with satisfaction.

"Good?" She asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Very." I said.

"You look better." She observed.

"I mean, you're paler than you used to be.... And your eyes are a darker shade of brown, but as opposed to the sickly grey colour you were earlier, you look better." She added.

"I feel it." I answered.

"Do you stay up all night and sleep all day?" She asked.

"I'm not a Lost Boy." I remarked, impatiently.

"I wasn't making fun of you, I was actually asking out of genuine curiosity. And also so I know what to expect, or so I know if there's anything specific you need here. So, at ease." She said, issuing a mild warning.

"But that is a good film." She added, as I rolled my eyes.

"Since when did you become such a joker?" I asked.

"It's new." She answered.

"How new?" I asked her, narrowing my eyes.

"The anger..... it's still there. I guess I'm trying to make light of it, so that whilst you're here, and whilst we figure all of this out.... I don't lash out." She said.

"And because you seem to be making a few flippant jokes of your own just lately." She added.

Touché.

"Dan.... If you feel angry, you need to work through it. You don't need to change it." I answered.

"How is that gonna help you though?" She asked.

"By talking to me. Whatever you feel, talk to me. And you are helping me." I said.

"I just want you to be comfortable staying here." She said.

"I am already, because I'm with you." I reasoned.

She smiled slightly, and nodded.

"You maybe wanna watch a movie or something?" She asked, as I found myself smiling.

"Will there be popcorn?" I asked, a little dramatically.

As though my decision depended entirely on it.

"Can you eat popcorn?" She asked.

"No." I said, as she laughed.

"Oh my god.... Go into the living room, I'll be there in a minute." She said, shaking her head.

*********************************************
When I emerged from the kitchen, I sat down next to him on the sofa, and handed him a mug.

"What's this?" He asked.

"You know what it is." I said, as he cautiously sipped it, before forgetting himself.

He gulped it down, realised what he'd done after swallowing the last mouthful and then turned to face me with wide eyes, suddenly nervous.

"Good?" I asked him, unfazed, as his shoulders sagged with relief.

"So good." He said, with a sigh.

"You're okay with this?" He asked, as I shrugged.

"It's not a deal breaker Eddie. We all have to eat." I said, as he settled into the sofa, getting comfortable.

"I don't wanna wig you out." He explained, as he pressed play on the remote.

"Shut up." I said, softly.

"Alright." He answered, just as soft.

"What did you pick?" I asked, resting my feet on the foot rest.

"The Lost Boys." He said, with a grin, his eyes on the TV.

I found myself smiling broadly and I chuckled softly.

"Nice choice." I said, my inner self squealing loudly in my head for the first time in a long time.

And as the intro played, his eyes left the TV and he observed me for a moment, before shifting across the sofa, moving closer towards me, finally working up the courage to nestle in next to me, our shoulders touching.

"Is that okay?" He asked, as I met his gaze.

Wordlessly, I leaned off the back of the sofa, lifted his arm so it rest along the edge and moved under it, settling there, my head on his shoulder, and my back against his chest.

"No, but that is now." I whispered.

He settled into it, and his head turned to look down at me; my eyes met his, and his body instinctively turned in towards me, like it always used to.

I held him to me, his head coming to rest against mine, and he sighed softly.

I leaned up off his chest, turning to face him fully, my hand reaching to trace a line across his lips with my thumb.

He let me, relishing my touch, his lips parting and the tip of my thumb brushed along his bottom teeth. It was only when I leaned in, about to plant a small kiss on the corner on his mouth, that he hesitated.

"No...." He said, hurriedly, stopping me, his breath on my face.

"I've just drank blood. I don't want to kiss you and that's all you taste." He added, explaining.

"Well I can't smell it on you, so I don't think I'd taste it." I wagered.

"You can't?" He whispered, surprised.

"No, so are you gonna kiss me, or just continue to ruin the moment?" I asked him, with a raised eyebrow.

He padded the pockets of his jeans and I rolled my eyes then, moving away from him.

"I wonder if I have a mint." He said, more to himself.

"The moments gone, Ed." I said, stubbornly.

He found one, looking like he'd struck gold and popped one in his mouth, chewing it hurriedly.

"Forget it." I said, suppressing a laugh, as he shook his head, swallowing the mint.

"Ed, the moments really gone." I warned, as he narrowed his eyes at me.

"The fuck it has." He said, adamantly.

And he suddenly pounced on me playfully, pinning me down to the sofa, lying on top of me.

"Come here." He said, as I turned my head away from him.

He started to tickle my sides and I turned my head towards him, issuing a warning look.

"Stop." I said, squirming, as I laughed uncontrollably.

"All you have to do is look at me." He said, as he his hands fell still.

"I am looking at you." I said.

"Good. The moment hasn't gone." He whispered.

His hands pressed flat against me, curling around my waist either side, as he shifted over me, bringing his face down to mine.

He smirked and I searched his eyes, knowing we were the closest we'd been in a long time.

The last time I'd stared into his eyes this way, was when he was in my arms, and he was slipping away from me. He was going to a place I couldn't follow.

Not this time.
This time we were in this moment together, and neither of us were going anywhere.

My hand reached up to gently stroke his hair, and his eyes closed at my touch. A sigh left his lips and he nuzzled his nose against mine.

"It hasn't gone." He whispered, reassuringly, as I shook my head.

"It hasn't." I whispered, as his lips brushed against mine.

I tilted my head up to try and meet them, and he smiled against my lips.

"I'm just enjoying this." He said, chuckling softly.

"You're such a tease." I said, as he laughed loudly.

"Fine. Have it your way." He said, playfully rolling his eyes.

And in a split second his lips crushed against mine, and it was as though my body and mind woke up from some kind of dormancy or emotional hiatus. It was vibrating with emotion.

He pulled away to gauge my reaction and I pulled him back down immediately, to meet me again and he confidently plucked my lips into his, kissing me softly and deeply.

I was drunk on him already; I was drunk on the way his lips felt against mine, the way he was expertly kissing me, his hands moving to weave into my hair.

Our first ever proper kiss.

And what a first kiss it was.
I hadn't anticipated that it would feel this way.

Electric, perfect, soft but deep.

It was obvious we'd both kissed other people, and for a moment I wondered if any other girl he'd kissed had felt like this, having his lips on hers this way. I was practically floating; he was gentle, attentive and his lips felt as soft as those wispy clouds on a summers day.

My hands hungrily weaved into his hair and without meaning too, I accidentally tugged, coaxing a small groan from him.

His eyes snapped open and he broke from me, surprised at himself.

"Okay, I apparently have a kink." He said, as the laugh that was threatening to burst out of me, slipped past my lips and his face broke into a wild, surprised smile as he laughed in mild shock with me.

"You do." I said, just as surprised.

"What's yours?" He asked, as I tapped the side of my nose, silent with secrecy.

"You'll just have to find out." I offered, as he shook his head.

"No, I need to know." He said.

"Where's the fun in me just telling you?" I asked as he smiled.

"Can I try and find out now?" He asked.

I nodded, and he eyed me for a moment, watching me as I swallowed hard, lying underneath him.

I propped myself up on my elbows, my torso inches from his and he seemed to just watch me, staring into my eyes.

"Are you trying to read my mind?" I asked, with a grin.

"I might be abit vampiry, but I can't do that, sweetheart." He said, with a coy smile.

And in a flash, his hand instinctively reached out, his five fingers curling around my neck and he tightened his grip ever so slightly.

He brought me closer to him by my throat, seemingly testing a potential idea or theory, and a soft moan escaped my lips.

His broke to form a coy, satisfied grin.

"There it is." He whispered.

"That's your kink." He added, apparently in undeniable approval of it.

"How did you...?" I started to ask, as he brought his face level with mine.

"Sssshhhh....." He whispered.

And when our noses were touching, his head tilted and his lips plucked mine into his and he kissed me again, deeper and softer.

His hand still curled around my throat.

Fuck, did I like it.

I pushed myself off the sofa, coming to settle into his lap and his free hand held me against him, our mouths rocking together as though they were always destined to.

And just for good measure, and because he was still keeping me well within the realms of my own kink, I dove my eager fingers into his hair and pulled gently, hearing him moan into my mouth.

If I was to remain in mine, he was to fall into his own too. All at my own hand.

He broke from me, and he shook his head.

"If I carry on..... I'm scared I won't stop." He whispered.

And my silence confirmed one thing.
He could continue if he wanted, but I was aware that this was the first time we'd ever kissed, and I appreciated that he was trying to tell me that he wanted to take his time; he wanted us both to take our time.

"Slow." I whispered, in agreement.

"Slow." He whispered back.

"Can we still kiss though?" I asked, as he chuckled softly.

"We can still kiss." He confirmed, with a smile.

"Mainly because I've tasted the long anticipated, long thought about forbidden fruit now and I absolutely want more." He added, as I grinned.

"Not so forbidden now, am I?" I asked.

"Call it forward if you want to, but you're mine now." He whispered, his voice husky and daring.

"Every single inch of you." He added, bravely.

And as he pecked me softly on the mouth, I watched as he eased me off his lap, settling back into the sofa, inviting me to sit with him again to watch the film, and I understood one thing.

It was a brave statement, but he wasn't wrong.

*******************************************
Eddie's POV.

We'd just suddenly come together; and I felt that I could possibly be the happiest man alive.

After her unwavering loyalty to me appeared when the lab rat had broken in to take me in and she'd fiercely, selflessly protected me, I knew that something had changed between us.

And the ice had officially broken.
So much so, that everyone around us was quick to notice.

"So...." Steve said, as he stood in Ziggy's kitchen opposite me, watching me sip from the mug in my hands.

"So..." I said, looking at him in question.

"Okay, I'll just come right out with it. What's going on?" He asked.

"With what?" I asked, innocently.

"You know." He said.

"I may have been very vocal at school, Harrington but those vocal lunchtimes were never about my personal life." I warned him.

"Ziggy's different lately." He mused.

"In what way?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"She's not as brash, or angry. She's calmer and well.... Relaxed." Steve said, as I looked down at the countertop, smiling.

"You've sorted things out?" He asked, excitedly.

"Yeah." I answered, not giving him any more than that.

"You've been here since the lab rat showed up at the shack?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, she asked me to stay here." I said.

"Nicely done, Zig." Steve said, impressed.

"What, Harrington?" She asked, wandering effortlessly into the kitchen, acknowledging him.

He smiled widely at her and she rolled her eyes.

"You're like a proud dad." She noted, as I snorted.

"Well you did take your damn time sorting things out with Munson." He said, as she shrugged.

"Lot of ground to cover, Harrington." She argued,  as she walked around to my side of the counter, settling next to me.

I gazed down at her for a moment and I could feel myself smiling.

"God I already feel like a third wheel." Steve said, as she laughed.

"I mean you could go and just sort things out with Nancy." She suggested.

"That's history, Ziggy." He said, dismissively.

She turned to me then and narrowed her eyes.

"When he went to check out water gate and he got pulled under.... Just remind me again who was the first to dive in?" Dannie asked.

"Pretty sure it was Wheeler." I said, playing along.

"And then you, then Robin and then me." I added.

"Yeah, she dove right in there. No hesitation, no question. Just straight after him." She said.

"We all looked out for each other." Steve argued.

"We did. But you're missing the point." Dannie said.

"More like, deliberately skirting around it." I corrected.

"I was trying to be polite." She said.

"You know something Ziggy, I preferred it when you two weren't speaking." Steve said, evidently feeling a little ganged up on.

"Honestly." He added, with emphasis.

"No you don't." I said, as he huffed slightly.

Dannie leaned over the counter then and her face creased with sympathy.

"You love her, Harrington. So just tell her." She urged.

"I dunno, Zig...." He said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"You have nothing to lose. She either feels the same way, or you'll just be our third wheel." I said, with a grin.

"I've been out of the game for a while. I wouldn't even know where to start." Steve said, seemingly coming around to the idea.

"Just be honest, and be you." Dannie said, with a shrug.

"Oh it's just that simple." Steve said, sarcastically.

"It really is." Dannie confirmed, with a stern stare.

"If this all goes wrong, I'm coming for you." Steve said, his hands on his hips, as he huffed.

"You have to tell me how it goes." Dannie said, excitedly.

"Promise you'll call and tell me?" She added, as he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, alright." He said, giving in.
He sighed softly as she jogged around the counter and held him by the shoulders; it was a nice gesture, and it was nice to see.

They were good friends.

"Who wouldn't wanna date the worlds best babysitter huh?" She asked him, as he chuckled softly.

"You?" He suggested as she shrugged.

"I have a thing for undead guys, what can I say?" She said, casually as my jaw fell open, with surprise.

"Danzig, that was bad form." I said, as she grinned.

"Okay.... Maybe it was... but I meant it in the most endearing way." She explained, as I rolled my eyes.

I softened though, and pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her; I kissed her temple softly and she smiled up at me.

"Okay, I'm out of here." Steve said, rolling his eyes.

"Good luck!" Dannie called over her shoulder, with a breathtaking smile.

******************************************
One month later.

Eddie's POV.

We'd hit a rather rough patch over the course of the last week.

Cabin Fever would be how I'd have described it.

That and Dannie had caught me trying to sneak out for a walk, just to have a cigarette and to clear my busy head.

If anything, I was trying to cleave a little freedom, so I wasn't irritated or agitated towards her.

Because I was irritated, and I was agitated.

Dr Owens had recently been spotted, and he'd been asking people questions. Blanket questions, to find out if they knew where I'd be.

So far, no one had turned up here.
But Dannie wasn't willing to take any risks.

And apparently, when I'd tried to sneak out, that had been a risk, and I'd been mildly berated for it.

Which I hadn't taken well.
And so all week, resentment for her words of warning had grown, and they'd been festering inside of me.

Festering so much, it had spilled out into everything I'd said to her over the last few days.

If anything, she'd had the patience of a saint.
But I knew deep down that patience would soon run out, no matter what her feelings towards me were.

"You need these." She said, appearing in the living room, armed with a plate, and a mug, one in each of her hands.

"No." I said, almost immediately.

"Eddie, you're pale and you're sweating." She observed.

"Gee, you're observant." I said, sarcastically.

"You need to keep on top of this. Otherwise, this happens." She said, motioning to the sweat covering me, the mild shakes and the grey tone to my skin.

"I said, no." I answered.

"I know, and I'm telling you that you need these. You always end up feeling like this, and the longer you leave it, the worse you feel." She said.

"Well maybe I don't care about that." I snapped.

"You should. You might not like it, but you can't have anything else." She said, setting both the plate and the mug down on the coffee table in front of me, defiant.

"Dannie, I just said I didn't want them." I said, agitated.

"Alright, what's the matter with you?" She asked, as I rolled my eyes.

"I'm so sick of this." I barked, as she frowned.

"Sick of what?" She asked.

"This. All of this. Being cooped up here like some caged fucking animal. I'm sick of drinking B positive and eating raw fucking beef, like it's normal. It's messing with my mojo, man. Seriously." I snapped.

"Man?" She asked, in disbelief.

"You heard me." I said, sternly.

"Oh I heard you alright. If you have a problem with this, the doors there. But the minute you leave, they'll find you." She said, evidently not entertaining me.

"I don't give a single flying fuck if they do. I am so fucking SICK of being held here like some kind of prisoner." I spat.

"Apparently you don't. That's why I caught you trying to sneak out into the woods. You know you can't do that right now." She said, with emphasis.

"They're looking for you." She added, with the same emphasis.

"How could I fucking forget?" I asked her, sarcastically.

"I'm suffocating in here. God dammit!" I cried.

"I'm really trying here. I really am. I'm trying to make sure you're okay and comfortable here." She said, a little insulted and annoyed.

"Are you kidding me?! You're not doing enough!!" I yelled, frustrated.

"Okay, stop. Tell him to go back in." She spat, angrily.

"I just know that wasn't you talking." She added, offended.

"Maybe it is. Maybe this is the real me. Maybe he is. The me that came back." I snapped back.

I growled loudly at her, and she laughed in disbelief as I barred my teeth at her.

"Maybe you're right." She observed, with an arched eyebrow.

"Don't fucking look at me like that, Danzig. Like you're my fucking mother. In case you forgot, she hasn't been around for some fucking time." I snapped.

"Then don't fucking growl at me. I've done nothing but help you these last few weeks. I've tried to be there for you, when you've been tired, irritable, moody.... Miserable. Yeah, you've been real fucking miserable. I know this is hard for you, not being able to go anywhere, but the minute we do, and they see us.... They're gonna take you in, and god knows if they'll ever let you go. So you'll forgive me, if I try and make sure that doesn't happen! You wanna be a test subject?" She yelled, as I paced the living room.

"You know I don't want that." I snapped.

"You just said you didn't care." She said, shrugging.

"Of course I care!" I shouted.

"Growl at me again, Eddie. Go on, do it." She threatened.

"And what?" I asked, cockily.

"And I walk. I walk for good, and you're on your own. You can find someone else to help and support you. You can find someone else who'll accept you, care about you. And see how long they last. Cause heaven knows why, but anything I'm doing isn't good enough for you.... I know you have cabin fever, I know you want to be doing everything you were doing before any of this, but here's the fucking crux of it Eddie, you CAN'T. You died, you came back, and you're a little more interesting than you were. You're interesting to the wrong kinds of people." She spat.

"I DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS!" I roared, loudly.

"AND I DIDN'T DO THIS TO YOU!!" She roared back.

Blind with rage, I lunged for her and I wasn't sure if it was me, or the monster inside of me.

When I'd secured a tight hold on her, I shoved her backwards, incensed.

Her back hit the wall behind her hard, and I was both angry and suddenly aroused.

She whimpered, and through wide, angry eyes, she watched as I gripped her throat roughly, bringing her face to mine.

"Do your fucking worst, Eddie." She said through gritted teeth, apparently spurring me on.

She too was angry, and also aroused.
And if I decided to, I knew she'd let me.

That was what she was coaxing me to do.
But I couldn't.

"No.... Not like this. It's wrong." I said, shaking my head.

I didn't want to do this, knowing we were both a little revved up. I didn't want the crescendo of this apparent episode, to be mindless, angry sex.

We hadn't got to that point but I knew that when we eventually did, I wanted it to mean more.

I wanted it to mean everything.

Regretful and remorseful, I released her from my grip and she gasped for breath, clutching her throat, gingerly as she slid down the wall until her feet were firmly on the floor.

I realised that in my sheer temper and rage, I'd lifted her off the ground by her neck, and I was overcome with guilt and regret.

I sank to the floor, unable to meet her eyes as she looked over at me.

"That's not happening. Not like this." I said.

"I'm not sure it's even safe to be around you, or anyone." I continued, my eyes on the floor.

Wordlessly, she moved towards the stairs, and it was as though she could barely look at me, either.

Naturally, I understood why.

"I'm going to bed. Do what the fuck you want. I don't fucking care Eddie. I really fucking don't." She said, sounding tired.

I watched as she ascended the stairs and watched until she walked into her bedroom, and closed the door.

I heard her footsteps and I knew when they fell silent that she'd climbed into her bed.

What she didn't realise was that with the heightened hearing I had, and no matter how quiet she tried to be, I could hear her crying, none the less.

I remained where I was, torn and it felt like I stared at the floor, for forever.

Making a decision, I rose to my feet and approached the front door, before pausing, straining my ears.

I heard a thud, and both curious and concerned, I climbed the stairs, my feet making zero sound, and came to a standstill outside of her bedroom door.

Her bedroom door was ajar, and as I peered in, she was lying on her bed, facing away from me.

But that wasn't initially what surprised me.
It was the lack of clothes on her top half, that caused my heart to beat loudly and hard, once.

I could see the snug denim of the jeans she was wearing, as she lay with her arms folded across her naked chest, listening to music through the headphones in her ears.

They were plugged into her stereo, and I could hear the soft sounds of Kate Bush.

The way she was just lying there, lost in her own little world, dressed so casually and in so little, told me that she'd believed I'd already left.

Her slender legs too were crossed, as I walked into her room, my body moving before I could think about it, and I lay down on the bed in-front of her, her eyes closed as she listened to the music.

I saw a tear run down the bridge of her nose and down onto the opposite cheek, and I wiped it away softly, with my thumb.

Her eyes opened when my hand ran up her thigh, and she stared deep into mine.

I propped myself up on an elbow, and when I reached her waist, I moved her arms gently away from her body with my hand, until they revealed her naked breasts and I bit down on my bottom lip, a satisfied sigh slipping through.

I leaned forwards to leave a trail of kisses from her petite waist, up to her breast and she willingly rolled onto her back then, opening her slender legs, granting me full access.

I slipped in between them, kissed the skin of her navel and kissed the skin on both of her hips and her back arched slightly, her head tilting back at my touch.

I drew level with her face, plucking her lips gently, and she instinctively pushed her body up against mine, as I pulled away from her exquisite mouth, to move one of her earphones, away from her ear.

"I'm sorry princess.... I'm sorry...." I whispered, nuzzling my nose against hers.

"Please be nice to me...." She whispered back, imploringly.

"I don't wanna fight with you...." She continued, her voice hushed with sadness.

"I know.... I don't wanna fight with you either." I whispered, as one of my hands ran across her stomach.

My thumb brushed the hem of her jeans and she trembled slightly, as I watched her with a keen eye.

My lips found her neck, and she moaned softly, the sweet sound mingling with Kate Bush's Cloudbusting and I felt myself harden.

The gentle tug on my hair from her hand told me that she was responding to the soft kisses I was leaving against her skin, and I glanced up at her as she went to pull the headphones fully from her ears.

I shook my head, kissing the corner of her mouth gently.

"Keep them on.... Any sound you make will be exclusively mine.... Mine to hear." I urged, as she wordlessly slipped them back over her ears, obeying me.

This was also a kink of mine; slight dominance.

I leaned back on my knees, admiring her as she lay underneath me, Running up that Hill playing in her ears; I ran a hand gently up the inside of her leg, up to her thigh and to the hem of her jeans.

I pressed my hand palm outwards, flat against the fleshy mound underneath the denim and rubbed against it, watching her writhe slightly.

I unbottomed them wordlessly, and tugged them off her hips; she pushed them upwards from the bed, allowing me to gently slide them down her legs.

I leaned forwards, noticing the lime green underwear she was wearing, and pressed my palm flat against her again, rubbing her through the lace.

I moved my hand to the side slightly, my fingers just brushing the fleshy skin underneath.

Unable to hold back a moment longer, I parted my knees, leaning down, coming to rest my head between hers, sliding her underwear over to one side.

It was pink, fleshy, neat, free of hair.... And it glistened slightly, with her arousal.

And I wasted no time pressing my tongue against it, wanting to explore, wanting to taste her.

It doesn't hurt me........

Do you wanna feel, how it feels?

Her moans bounced off the walls, over the music, which I could still hear intermittently.

Do you wanna hear about the deal I'm making?

You, it's you and me......

I kissed her small bud deeply and her back arched upwards sharply, her legs fidgeting underneath me.

And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God.
And I'd get him to swap our places.....

Be running up that road, be running up that hill,
Be running up that building.....

The moan that time was louder, more strangled from the arched angle of her neck, and it just spurred me on. I wasn't taking this to the final level after, this moment was singularly and only about her. This was just for her.

And if I only could, oh.......

I could hear the beat faintly, and I blindly inched a hand up to her chest, coming to clasp one of her petite, naked breasts and I knead it softly to the beat of the song. I traced a circle around her hardened nipple and an all over tremble caused her body to shudder.

She was close now.

I paid attention to her other breast, kneading it in the exact same way, my tongue tracing small circles over the small bundle of nerves and the taste of her suddenly changed.

She was close, alright.
Very close.

Come on baby, come on darling, let me steal this moment from you now.....

Come on angel, come on, come on darling,
Let's exchange the experience.....

"Fuck...." She whispered, a whiny edge to her voice and I smiled against her.

Her head lifted just in time for me to meet her eyes, my tongue working overtime and her chest heaved; her body lurched half upright as she fell sweetly over the edge and she came, loudly and unabashedly.

I held her hips down, helping her ride it out, and when it was perhaps too sensitive for me to continue, she gently moved my head, signifying she was done.

Her back fell against the floor and she lay staring up at the ceiling, breathless and recovering.

And if I only could, be running up that hill....

She pulled the headphones from her ears then, and I lay my body along the length of hers, my face inches from hers, and gently wiped my mouth, before nuzzling my nose against hers.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart....." I whispered, as she wound her shaky arms around me, pulling me closer.

"I'm sorry too..." She whispered back, her hands weaving into my hair.

"Was that okay for you?" I asked her, as she stared into my eyes.

"Absolutely." She answered, her voice heavy with breaths.

My mouth curved into a smirk, and she smiled, her perfect white teeth peering through her upturned lips, and we both laughed.

"You'll stay?" She asked.

"I promise to try and remember that I'm staying here because I can't afford for them to find me. It won't be forever..... my time will come where I can perhaps go anywhere I want and not have to worry. I just feel a little stir crazy right now.... But that's not your fault." I whispered.

"I don't want to lose you again. I let you back in, Eddie." She said.

"I know, you've done so much for me." I said, unable to deny it.

"Promise me one thing?" She asked.

"Anything, sweetheart." I whispered.

"Don't make me regret it." She said, with certainty.

*******************************************
Eddie stopped refusing food after that conversation, and I was relieved.

He was working on his temperament and when he could feel it peaking, he'd excuse himself to calm down and so from that, there had been no further arguments.

Just one reminder from me.

"We do this, and we get to stay together. You do what you need to, and make sure you stay with me."

There hadn't been any other intimacy of that level since that day, and I was treating it for exactly what it was.

Apologising to each other, coming back to each other. Reminding each other of how we felt.

How we felt about each other.

Until today, when everything felt different.
He seemed different.

I felt different.

My body moved before my mind had caught up, and I'd walked up the stairs, and into my room, where I knew he'd been taking a shower.

And when he emerged, naked, rubbing a towel through his wet hair, he glanced over to find me, and stopped dead in his tracks.

I was as naked as he was, my newly discarded clothes pooled around my feet.

He lowered the towel from his hair, his mouth parted with slight shock, his eyes slowly drinking me in.

Even though he'd seen me practically naked before, he was looking at me as though it was the first time.

"Dannie.... Danzig..." he whispered, seemingly unable to find words other than my name.

I hadn't seen him naked before though, and I knew my eyes were scaling every inch of him.

Liking everything that I was seeing.

He dropped the towel completely from his hand, and it landed on the floor with a soft thud.

He approached me, and his hand curled around to hold my face, his eyes searching mine.

"You want this?" He asked, wanting to be sure.

Wordlessly I walked him back towards my bed, coaxing him to sit down on the ottoman that was at the foot of it, confirming my decision, my want.

He sat without question, staring up at me in both awe and curiosity.

He understood further when I came to straddle his lap, and one of his hands inched upwards to knead one of my breasts softly.

His free hand, reached down in between us; he aligned himself with me and with no effort at all, I inched myself down along his generous length.

He gasped slightly, and a moan escaped my lips as I started to move my hips, rolling them against him.

"Shit...." He whispered, leaning back on an elbow on my bed. This pushed his hips further against mine and his length further inside, earning him a satisfied groan from me.

His free hand held my waist, and I felt his dominance slowly kick in.

His hand gripped my waist, encouraging me to grind deeper against him, his eager fingers kneading my skin as he rolled my hips against his.

"You look so good up there...." He said, his voice husky. There was a breathy laugh and a smile that followed from him, as he watched me bite down on my bottom lip.

"Don't keep them from me.... I wanna hear them again...." He continued, as though his life depended on hearing my moans of pleasure.

I gave him what he wanted, as I released my bottom lip, and he groaned loudly with satisfaction.

He leaned all the way back on the bed, his head tilting back, his hands falling to grip my thighs.

And as though he suddenly had an idea, or wanted to finally exert some dominance over me, which I fully welcomed, he leaned fully upright, to reach for me and pull me down over him.

His muscular arms wound tightly around him and he held me there, bringing his legs up to thrust against me. One hand held my head above his, the other held me down, pressed flat against the middle of my back.

So he could watch me; so he could watch my pleasure unfold.

He maintained firm eye contact with me, our faces close, the both of us breathing moans into our open mouths. My raven hair fell around our faces like a cloak, and for a moment he turned to press his face into my locks, breathing me in.

The friction and the sound of the crude slapping of our bodies caused me to shudder, and he smiled up at me.

"You know what's coming...." He whispered, shakily, as he clenched his chiseled jaw, pounding further as I held onto him for what felt like dear life.

I nodded wordlessly, breathless and he brought my face fully down to his, pressing a series of urgent kisses on my mouth.

And as my own climax ripped through me, he followed with his own and there were a series of mingled moans and cries from us both.

He rolled me underneath him, withdrew himself from inside of me, and resting on an elbow, he peered down at me.

Breathing heavily, he stroked my forehead gently and for a moment, I was reminded of him being in my arms, bloodied and scared, as he was dying.

I blinked the thought back, and he nuzzled his nose against mine, understanding.

"Stay here with me.... Don't go back there." He urged, softly.

"I'm here." I answered, as he held me to him.

"I'm here too." He said, as I nodded.

"I have to say though, I wasn't expecting that." He said, with a smile.

"Neither was I." I said, chuckling softly.

"Was it okay?" He whispered, kissing me softly.

"It was everything, Eddie." I whispered back, with a heavy, satisfied sigh.

"Yeah, it really was, baby girl." He said.

******************************************
Eddie's POV.

We lay together in her bed, later that night and there was a new sense of calm between us; we'd gone to the final stage and I believed in my heart that she was unequivocally mine.

As much as I was unequivocally hers.

And as I was curled around her, I whispered into the darkness.

"Are you my girl?"

I heard a soft chuckle leave her lips, and I held her to me, chuckling in the same way, giddy and excited.

"You know I am." She whispered back.

"Good, cause I can safely say that I'm your guy, if you'd have me." I said, as she turned over in my arms.

"I would." She confirmed.

She suddenly smiled seductively at me, the light from the moon creeping through hun the curtain and across her face; it caught me off guard, as she slithered under the covers and coaxed me to roll onto my back.

"Danzig....?" I asked, as I felt her breath on my navel.

"Yes?" She asked, from under the covers.

"What's goin' on?" I asked her.

She didn't initially answer me.
Not with words, anyway.

She took me into her mouth and that ultimately answered my question.

"Jesus H Christ...." I whispered, with a groan.

When I wasn't sure I could take any more, I tugged her out from under the covers and rolled her under me, pulling her towards me by her exquisitely, petite hips. She yelped in mild surprise and I spanked her lightly on her ass.

I pushed her down onto the bed, keeping her hips up against me, and pushed gently inside of her, lying over her. I pinned her hands above her head, lacing my fingers with hers, grinding deeply against her.

She turned her head to the side, trying to find me as I kissed her neck and shoulder gently, hearing her moan and respond to my touch.

Wanting to fledge her kink, I rolled us onto our sides, and my hand reached around to grip her throat and I pulled her head back to mine.

I nibbled her ear lobe and she moaned loudly.

"You're loving.... You're loving this aren't you?" She asked, her voice strained.

"You can fucking bet I am." I whispered gruffly.

Her hand reached above her head, as she was apparently rising to the challenge, and her fingers found my hair.

She tugged and with a gruff moan of satisfaction, it just encouraged me to thrust faster; the sounds she made following, told me she didn't mind one bit.

I slowed eventually, finding a rhythm she liked equally, and by the end, we'd both reached our individual peaks, and we lay together, wrapped hopelessly in her sheets, both staring up at the ceiling as we toyed with each others fingers, our heads resting together.

"Can I just say something?" I whispered as she smiled broadly.

"Go right ahead." She said, encouragingly.

"Did you know just how pretty your cum face is?" I asked, with a wild grin.

She laughed loudly and covered her face with both hands, a little embarrassed.

"I mean it." I said, laughing.

"Don't be embarrassed...." I continued as she lowered her hands and turned to face me.

The blush was still there on her cheeks, as she smiled at me, still apparently a little unsure.

"Really?" She asked, as I turned my head to meet her eyes and gave her a knowing look.

"The prettiest." I said, with emphasis.

"No one has ever said that to me before." She said.

"I got that." I said, playfully, referencing her blushing face.

"They clearly didn't appreciate it. But I can tell you, that I do. And I'm the happiest man alive, because I've been a witness to it. Twice." I said.

"My favourite would be the first time." I added, with a grin.

"Why?" She asked.

"I don't think you realise just how beautiful you are. And I also don't think you fully understand when I say that you looked so good sitting up there on me, using me like a throne. Because you did." I said.

"And I want you to do it again." I added.

"You do?" She asked.

"Absolutely." I answered with a grin.

********************************************
When I awoke the following morning, Eddie wasn't next to me. I sat up, hopelessly entwined in my bed sheets, looking around me.

His clothes weren't here, and his jacket wasn't hanging on the back of my dresser chair as it had been for several weeks.

There was a note on my pillow, and I reached for it, my heart already racing.

Something felt really off.

I unfolded it, and read it carefully.

'Dani,

I've just nipped over to Steve's - don't worry, I've made sure it was safe to leave. I'll be back later.

Eddie.'

I hastily dressed and headed downstairs, rushing over to the phone.

I dialled Steve's number and he answered after three rings.

"Hello?"

"Steve... it's Ziggy. Something is really wrong." I said, hurriedly into the receiver.

"How wrong?" He asked, immediately wary.

"I can explain better if you come over here. Now." I said.

"Bring the others." I added, before hanging up.

Something was completely off.
And I was worried.

*********
"He knows I don't spell my name like that, for one. He knows it's Dannie. We had a massive conversation once about how I thought I was being individual and spelt it differently. He'd remember that." I said, as Steve and Nancy peered down at the note.

"Two, he knows he can't leave here, and if he was stupid enough, he never made it to yours. If he was going to, I feel like he'd have told me. He'd have woken me, I'm sure of it." I continued.

"Is this his handwriting?" Steve asked.

"I don't know. I've never seen his handwriting." I said.

"I have." Dustin said, as a lightbulb went off in my head.

"D&D." I said, as Steve handed Dustin the note to inspect.

"Is it?" I asked.

"Yeah, it is." Dustin said.

I hadn't expected to hear that.

"So he did write it?" I asked, sadness washing over me.

"He did.... But there's a slight difference. This seems.... Rushed. He might have hated school and writing and anything remotely academic.... But I've seen his campaign book. It always surprised me how neat his handwriting was.... It's usually neater than this, and he's actually quite meticulous. This seems rushed to me, as if he wrote it in haste." Dustin said, as I felt the worry start to eat at me.

"Dannie, did you know that the lock has been forced on the back door?" Mike asked, emerging from the kitchen.

"As if he was forced to write it?" Steve asked, his face grave.

"The locks forced open on the back door, he scribbles a note down and there's a difference between this handwriting and his usual. Did you hear anything last night Ziggy?" Nancy asked, understanding Steve.

"Are you saying someone broke in here, made him dress and take everything with him and write me a bullshit note to throw me off?" I asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Nancy said.

"That's exactly where my mind was going too." Steve said.

"They've found him." I said, in horror.

"Found him, and taken him." Dustin said.

"More will come...." I said, trailing off.

I remembered the Hazmats words and panic surged through me like wild fire.

Mike sat me down, and my eyes were wide with panic.

"I can find him." Eleven said.

"We have to go and get him back." I said, frantic.

Robin sat next to me, putting an arm around me and she held me to her.

"And we will. We'll find him and we'll go and get him." She reassured me.

"I can't lose him again...." I whispered, as Nancy rose to her feet, holding out her hand to me.

"Come with me for a sec." She said, with a weak smile.

Robin released me and I took Nancy's hand, as Steve watched us.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Girl talk, Harrington." She said, shooting him a glare.

"You too, Robin." Nancy said, as Robin immediately stood to attention, and followed.

**********
"Okay, I saw your face when you thought he'd left. I feel like you thought he'd left without saying goodbye. Did something maybe, happen?" Nancy asked.

"We slept together. Twice. I woke up and he'd gone and there was just a short note saying he'd took off. For a moment, I thought that he really had gone..... I thought he'd ditched me. But then I remembered that this hasn't been an ordinary situation and there's no way he'd leave the house. He knows he can't. It just made me nervous for a moment." I explained.

"Aww that's great.... That's really good. But listen, even if this was a normal situation, I don't think Eddie would be the kind of person who'd cut and run on you. He'd never do that." Robin said.

"He's totally mad about you, there's no way. I can understand why you thought that..... but I agree. If this was a normal every day situation, I don't believe that he'd spend the night with you, be that close to you... and bail without saying goodbye the next morning." Nancy said.

"He wouldn't, he'd have been there the next morning." Robin said.

"I know. I know that someone has taken him. I knew that deep down. It just threw me when Dustin said it was his handwriting." I said.

"We all know him." Nancy said.

"And we're gonna get him back." Robin said, with determination.

"Hey guys? I don't mean to interrupt girl talk, but Eleven has some news. She found something." Steve called, through the closed door.

"Just tell me one thing, and tell me to mind my own business...." Nancy said.

"It was wonderful, Nancy." I answered, understanding.

"He was wonderful." I added, as she smiled coyly.

**********
"He's in the old lab." El said.

"Is he alive?" I asked.

"He's alive..... but he's in pain." She said, sadly.

"We have to go, I can't sit here for a moment longer." I said, pacing.

"We have to think about this. Plan." Steve said.

"They're hurting him Steve. Can we just go there and figure out the plan on the way?" I asked, frantic.

"It's not guarded. There's no security on the outside, just a few inside. We'd be able to slip inside." El interjected, as I eyed her in surprise.

"I checked. So we could leave as soon as possible." She said, as I smiled weakly.

"Thank you." I said, as she nodded.

"That sounds like a trap." Dustin chimed in.

"It's not. They're not meant to be working on anything, the projects were shut down. No one knows about it, so they don't feel they need as many guards." Eleven corrected.

"We have to go." I urged.

"Alright Ziggy, you win. We're going and we plan on the way." Steve said, giving in.

************
Eddie's POV.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, tugging on the chains holding me to the wall.

Dr Brenner was calmly seated opposite me, in a crisp suit, and he smiled slightly.

"You got me to write her a shitty note, and she'll think I've bailed on her. Why can't I talk to her or see her?" I asked, when he didn't answer.

"We needed you to write that note, so she didn't suspect." He said, calmly.

"Well that's where there's a problem, she'll already know it's suspect." I argued.

"Oh? And why's that?" He asked.

"I deliberately spelt her name wrong. She doesn't spell it like that. She'll know I didn't leave, she knows that I know I can't. So it's suss because it's not something I'd do." I said.

"She won't be coming for you." He said.

"You're underestimating her character, massively." I warned.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

"You're afflicted. By a creature from the upside down. You died, and you reanimated, but you're different. You require different means of sustenance, you can't digest normal foods. You're here, because there are certain tests I have, that I wish to conduct." He said.

"And if you stay here long enough, without blood, or raw meat, you'll turn." He added.

"That's what you feel, when you need to feed. It's a weak feeling, similar to dying, and you feel like you're deteriorating." He continued.

"How do you know that?" I asked, immediately angered and suspicious.

"I have my means." He said.

"You bugged the house didn't you." I said, my temper flaring.

"We didn't bug the house. We bugged a perimeter around all of your residences. We've been listening in for weeks. Waiting for the opportune moment, should we say." He said.

"And when you thought you were alone, when you thought you were hiding from us. You weren't alone." He continued.

"You son of a bitch." I snarled.

"You were never alone, Edward. And when we found you, you were in an interesting situation." He said.

"Don't you dare talk about her or what we did. You don't get to talk about her!" I shouted, knowing what he was getting at.

"We don't know for certain, if you can reproduce. And if you could, there's no saying right now that you wouldn't pass on the mutation in your blood." He warned.

"That's where it's not so tricky. She's protected." I said.

"You know that, for sure?" He asked.

I didn't, and he'd seen straight through me.

"It's likely that we'd need to conduct tests on her too." He said.

"Something we're familiar with. Something we've done before." He added.

"Not happening!" I snarled.

"You're not in a position to object." He warned.

"The hell I am!" I said, before my mouth suddenly went dry.

Brenner rose from the chair in the middle of the room and smiled smugly down at me.

"You're not." He said, calmly.

It was starting.

**********
Eddie's POV.

Hours later, after tests and punishment in the form of shocks when I'd protested or put up a fight, I felt like I'd left my body, and a monster was in its place.

I felt feral, scared and ambushed, and I was lashing out at anyone who got near.

When Brenner had entered the room for a second time, I was crouched in the corner, protective of my space and when he approached, words didn't leave my mouth.

I'd lost the ability to speak.
All that came out in place of words, were growls.

Growls and snarls.

I sounded like an animal, and I couldn't stop it.

"When did his speech stop?" Brenner asked the lab coat with a clipboard in his hand.

"The last ten minutes." He confirmed.

I was still in here, grasping to get back, it felt like my body was no longer mine.

I could hear them, but I couldn't communicate anymore.

"And all we're starting to get now, is more primal, animal activity. His cognition is still intact, he understands everything we say, he understands tones, but his speech has now regressed to nil." The lab coat continued.

"How long as he gone without a feed?" Brenner asked.

"I'm still in here!!!" I roared, angrily.

But all that left my lips, were snarls.

"He's not fed since we brought him in." The lab coat confirmed.

"Bring him some meat." Brenner ordered.

"We don't have any in the stores." The lab coat said.

"I wasn't talking about the freezers. Bring him something live, see if he takes it." Brenner said.

The horror I felt at his words consumed me.
I didn't want to do this; I didn't want to do any of this.

I wanted to go home.
I wanted to go to Dannie.

I wanted to be in her arms, I wanted to be beside her as we slept. I wanted to be laughing with her, playing around, watching horror movies, goofing around.

I wanted to be wrapped around her under the covers, buried in her hair.

I wanted to be lost in her bright green eyes, I wanted to smell her perfume. I wanted to feel her warmth and her soft, peach skin.

But I was here.
In the mouth of Hell.

*********************
Eddie's POV.

They'd brought me a cat.

They'd put a live, very much living, purring cat in front of me. They wanted to see if I'd kill it and feed off of it.

And whilst I felt I was still inside myself, that wasn't going to happen.

I couldn't do it, no matter how much the monster wanted me to.

They wanted me to.

Brenner entered a further hour later, and seemed quite annoyed.

"Any signs?" He asked.

"None. He's resisting." The lab coat said.

"So Edward, you're still in there and you're still fighting. This is remarkable." Brenner said.

I was. I really was.

"You feed, and this will all go away." He urged.

"NO!" I cried and for the first time in hours, I heard my real voice.

There hadn't been snarls or growls.
I'd truly spoken.

"Truly remarkable." Brenner marvelled.

"I won't do this." I said, on my knees, sweating and in pain.

"Are you getting this down?" Brenner asked the lab coat, just as a loud siren rang out.

I covered my ears and Brenner seemed deterred.

"Send guards to the entrance. We have company." Brenner said.

"You do. Seems like you have a little security problem, Brenner."

I knew that voice.

And so did he.

************
"You do. It seems you have a little security problem, Brenner."

Brenner turned to me, and I tightened my grip on the shotgun in my hand.

"Despite your extensive efforts to go undetected, we're here. And we're here for Eddie. You're gonna let him go, and we're taking him home with us." I said.

"The guards?" He asked the lab coat, as he spoke into a radio.

Nothing but static answered him.

"The guards you have inside, are down. They're not answering you." I warned.

"You should have placed some security outside, Brenner. Not a smart move." Steve said, in agreement as he tightened the grip on his bat.

"Let him go." I demanded.

"I can't do that." Brenner said.

I cocked the shotgun, and despite his best efforts, he was nervous and it showed.

"You're gonna." I pressed, through gritted teeth.

"How?" He asked, as myself and Steve stepped aside, revealing an angry, Eleven.

"Eleven..." He gasped, as she raised her hand and didn't answer.

She lifted him off the ground, and held him there whilst she finally addressed him.

"All this time I thought I was some kind of a monster. I'm not a monster, Eddie isn't a monster. You are. And you lie." She said.

"It's.... It's just science." He said, his voice strained.

"Eddie comes home, with us." Eleven said, undeterred.

The lab coat lunged at Eleven, but she'd already seen it coming.

She threw them both at the wall, and I made my move towards Eddie.

Until he came into my view, and I stopped dead in my tracks, horrified.

*********
"Don't come any closer." He snapped.

"We've come to take you home, Eddie." I implored as he shook his head.

"You have to leave me here." He said.

"Don't say that." I urged.

"You get out of here, and you go home. Don't look back, don't turn back for me. Go." He shouted.

And we watched in horror as the Eddie we knew, disappeared, and primal sounds replaced his speech.

"Eddie..... Eddie, come back to me. This isn't you." I pleaded, crouching in front of him.

I'd never seen him like this; none of us had.
The darkness in him that had brought him back was in full swing, and we all felt powerless to stop it.

His skin was grey, mottled, and he was shaking all over. His eyes were black, his teeth were barred and he was snarling at us.

At all of us.

He lunged for me, getting close enough that he scratched me on the shoulder, and Steve pulled me back, as I cried out.

"Eddie, don't let it take over you. Come back to me, to us." I begged, breathing through the stinging pain.

Dr Owens burst through the door then, breathless and stumbled back when his eyes fell on Eddie.

"Jesus..." he said, as I rose to my feet and aimed the shotgun straight at him.

"You did this. You caged him in here, and you did this." I snarled.

"I'm not part of this project kiddo, I promise you." He said, raising his hands in surrender.

My eyes fell on a thin object in his hand and I frowned, automatically suspicious.

"What's that?" Steve asked, noticing it too.

"I think it can help." Dr Owens said.

"What is it?" I asked, anxiously.

"Potentially, a cure." He said, as my heart pinned loudly.

"How?" I asked, shocked.

"I told you. I'm not part of this project. I've been working on fixing this." He said.

"Will it work?" Steve asked.

"He could go back to normal?" Dustin asked, as Dr Owens shrugged.

"Potentially. It's untested." He said, before stepping forward.

"No." I said, cocking the gun.

"I want to help." Dr Owens said.

"You're not touching him." I said.

"I'll do it." I added, holding my free hand out to him.

He sighed, and he handed it to me, as I passed the shotgun to Steve.

Steve took it willingly and kept it aimed towards him.

"I'm one of the good guys kiddo." Dr Owens urged.

"None of you are good guys. You're still working here, Sam." I said.

"I'm only here because I've been working on that cure, in your hand. I wanted to put that right. The kid deserves his life back." Sam urged.

I went to speak, just as Eddie broke free of the chains holding him and he lunged towards us.

In a second, I'd deduced that the first person he'd reach, the first person in his path was Dustin.

Protectively, I surged forwards and when I felt Dustin's shirt under my fingers, I pushed him down and met Eddie in the middle of the room.

We connected and in the middle of the carnage, in the middle of his rage, his hands weaved into my hair, yanking my head to the side; his teeth sunk into the top of my shoulder, missing my jugular by inches, and the impact shoved me down to the floor. There was a sudden sharp pain in my side, and I felt hazy from the impact of my head hitting the floor.

I strained my eyes as Eddie stood over me, and the syringe I'd uncapped in the midst of the chaos, was sticking out of his chest.

I'd done it.

And upon that realisation, everything went dark.

****************************************
Eddie's POV.

I suddenly felt as though I was back in the room, and when that clarity hit me like a reversing dump truck, I realised that I was in the middle of the room, surrounding by several, shocked, terrified faces.

"Oh god...." Steve said, lowering Dannie's shotgun in his hand.

Dustin looked up from the floor, as he lay on his front and his face creased with fear.

"Dannie?" Dustin whispered, and as though in slow motion, they all rushed towards me, shouting her name.

I looked down and noticed a syringe sticking out of my chest; confused, I gingerly pulled it out before my eyes fell on a familiar face, lying at my feet.

"Danzig?" I whispered, unable to comprehend it.

She was bleeding from her neck, and her eyes were closed; her body was still and her chest wasn't moving.

She wasn't breathing.

"Dannie!" I cried, dropping to my knees, opposite  Dr Owens, looking down at her in panic.

"What happened?" I asked, as Steve looked up at me.

"That's not important right now. She's not breathing, Ed." Steve urged, an expression of concern and sadness on his face.

"What do we do?!" I asked, horrified.

"Broken ribs." Dr Owen said, his hands feeling her side.

"Yeah, as I thought. One's punctured her lung and it's filling with blood. I'm going to need to make an incision." He said, as he half turned to Dustin, at his side.

"I need you to grab me a scalpel, and something that can act as a tube." He instructed, hastily but softly.

"Okay..." Dustin said, a little shakily.

"Dannie...." I said, leaning over her, cradling her head in my trembling hands.

"I'm so sorry Dannie." I whispered.

"It wasn't you, Eddie." Nancy urged, as Robin nodded, her face panicked.

"It wasn't." Robin said.

"I did this, didn't I?" I asked.

"I did, didn't I?" I repeated, wanting someone to answer me.

And the person that did, was the doctor himself.

"You did, kid. You did. But we can save her. Like she's possibly just saved you. That syringe in your chest? That was hopefully a cure to the current condition you have. I'm hoping that it reverses it completely, and you can get back to your life as normal." Sam explained, as Dustin returned, holding out a scalpel and a straw.

"That'll work. Nicely done, kiddo." Sam said, mildly impressed.

I watched as he lifted her shirt, and leaned down, making a small incision.

"Okay, I need to just push inside the incision to open it, and there might be some pressure." He said, and we waited with baited breath.

He pushed a finger into the cut he'd made, and blood splattered across his face, and Dustin's.

"Hand me that straw." He instructed, as Robin shakily handed it to him.

And the moment he did, blood poured out onto the floor in a small pool, and I marvelled as her chest suddenly heaved and her eyes flew open as she gasped for breath.

"Take it easy Danielle." Sam said, as Dustin wiped his face, before glancing back at Dannie, sighing with relief.

"It's.... It's Ziggy." She corrected, her voice weak and quiet.

"We need to get her out of here." Sam said, but he was smiling down at her, apparently relieved.

"Eddie...." She whispered, before shifting uncomfortably.

"I'm here Danzig..." I said, leaning over her to meet her eyes.

"It hurts..." She whined, sounding pained.

"We have to go, now." Nancy urged.

"We need to get her to a hospital." Steve said, in agreement.

"We'll carry her." Robin said, as Dustin nodded.

"All of us." He said.

And one by one, we lifted her off of the ground, and Sam rushed to open the door.

"Go down this corridor, turn right and go through the back exit. I'll stay and stall them." Sam said.

I'd forgotten all about the cure, until he gripped my shoulder as I reached him.

"If this works, they won't come after you again. They won't have any need to." He said.

"How will I know if it does?" I asked.

"I'm not sure." He answered truthfully, with a weak smile.

"Eddie, we have to go." Steve urged.

"Go." Sam said, bundling us through the door.

******************************************
Eddie's POV.

We made it to the hospital, and by sheer team work from the numerous doctors and nurses, Dannie was finally stable, patched up and sleeping in a hospital bed.

I sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair by her bed, her limp hand in mine, and refused to take my eyes off her. I watched her sleep, my eyes trained on her chest, looking for any sign that she wasn't breathing.

Much like a parent does with their newborn child.

It was a new paranoia, and I couldn't stop it.

"Eddie, the machine is monitoring her heart rate. Try not to worry." Nancy said, softly.

She stood behind me, and squoze my shoulder reassuringly, and I released the breath I'd apparently been holding.

"I know. I just don't want to take my eyes off her right now." I said, as she sat down next to me.

"You didn't do this. You weren't with us. What we saw, was something else. You'd gone." She said.

"I wasn't strong enough to fight it, to push it back. They'd tortured me and pushed me for hours, and I couldn't stop it." I said, devastated.

"None of us would have been able to. They wanted to provoke it, they wanted you to let it out. So they could see. But you did fight. You did." Nancy urged.

"I hurt her. I bit her.... I broke her ribs." I said, bereft.

"It was an accident, Eddie." Nancy said.

"She pushed me out of the way." A voice said from the door.

Dustin.

"You would have got to me, if she hadn't." He continued.

"She protected you." I said, further devastated.

"She did." Dustin answered, sitting in a chair opposite us.

"God.... This is killing me. I'm so sorry..." I said, sadly.

"I would never intentionally hurt you, Henderson." I continued, as he nodded.

"I know that. We all do. It was an accident." He said.

"It wasn't you."

We all looked over at the newly awakened Dannie; her eyes were already on me.

"Danzig?" I said, unable to believe it.

"How are you?" I asked, as we all sighed with relief.

"Sore." She whispered, wincing slightly.

She reached for the bandage on her neck and I shook my head, squeezing her hand softly.

"You have to leave it, sweetheart." I said.

"It itches." She complained as I smiled weakly.

"Try to ignore it, if you can." I urged, softly.

"Are you alright?" She asked, shifting slightly in the bed, discomfort on her face.

Nancy rose to her feet and helped to prop the pillows behind her head, up, so she could try and get comfortable, and with Dustin's help, between them they helped her into a slight sitting up position.

"Don't worry about me." I said, when Nancy sat back down.

"Did it work?" She asked.

"What?" I asked.

"The cure." She said.

"I saw it.... I saw it in your chest. Did it work?" She continued.

"I'm not sure. I don't feel any different." I said, as she sighed.

"It doesn't matter to me, if it doesn't work. We got this far without it." She said, with a weak smile.

"I know that's selfish....." She added, as I shook my head.

"Any issue or problem I had with it, has gone. What's important to me, is that you're alive, you're okay and you're safe..... what I am worried about, is if you're okay and safe, around me." I said, as her face creased with sadness.

"I don't regret it. I don't regret it at all...... You've controlled it before, you can do it again." She urged.

"Zig.... I'm barely forgiving myself for this.... If it happened again, and I hurt you again.... Or worse.... I'd never be able to survive or come back from it." I said, shaking my head.

"Listen to me, Munson...." She started to say, before wincing.

"Take it easy." I said, as she shot me a glare.

"Listen to me." She said, through gritted teeth.

"I am with you. I spent days, weeks, months with you, and there wasn't a single time where anything like that happened. I was in the same room as you, the same house, the same...." She said, trailing off as she seemed to be aware of Dustin and Nancy's presence.

She swallowed hard, and seemed to push whatever reservations she had, aside.

"The same bed. And you never hurt me. Whatever they did, they pushed you, provoked you, tortured you for hours.... And yeah... yeah, he did come out. All I was thinking about was that there was a chance that the cure could have worked, and I knew I had to try. I'd do it again." She said.

"You deserve better." I said, sadly.

"I love you, alright? I love you. Don't you dare think about leaving me again. You can't, alright?" She asked, quite upset.

The three of us stared at her, open mouthed and as I went to answer her, as I went to tell her that I irrevocably loved her too, there was a sharp pain in my chest, and I clutched it, grimacing.

My heart pounded painfully, once and I blinked rapidly, shocked.

"Eddie, are you okay?" Dustin asked, surprised.

"Eddie?" Dannie said, concerned.

"Oh my god.... There's colour in your cheeks..." Nancy said, in shock.

"My heart.... My heart it's... its... it's racing..." I said, shakily feeling it through my shirt.

"The cure...." Dustin said, trailing off.

"It's working, Eddie." Dannie said, equally as surprised.

And the more alarmed I seemed to be, the faster and louder my heart beat in my eyes; I could hear it pounding.

"Okay, try and breathe.... Try to stay calm." Nancy encouraged, as I tried to regulate my breathing.

"What do you feel? Talk to us." Dustin said, as Dannie watched me closely.

I tried to zone in on one feeling, frowning as I thought hard about what it was.

"Hungry." I said.

"Hungry for what?" Dustin asked.

"Cheeseburger." I said, as my eyes widened with surprise and realisation.

"I feel like I could eat a burger and fries." I said, as Dustin beamed.

"It's really worked!" He cried, happily.

It had been some time since I'd craved actual, normal food. But I was.

"Danzig...." I whispered, meeting her gaze as she smiled lovingly at me.

"It's worked, Eddie...." She confirmed, understanding.

"Danzig.... Oh baby girl, I love you." I said, rising from my chair to embrace her.

She smiled broadly, tears in her eyes as she welcomed me in her arms.

"This is your chance Eddie.... You can get your life back." She whispered, as I kissed her forehead softly.

"I get a life with you." I said, as she nodded.

"A life you deserve." Nancy said, as Dustin nodded.

"Everything's gonna be alright now, Eddie." He said, with a smile.

*******************************************
One week later.

They'd caught up with us a week later, and had taken to standing outside Dannie's house, with their intimidating, serious looking black cars, and we were on the driveway to greet them, meeting them happily.

I stood outside of the house, Dannie next to me with fierce resolve and I casually lifted the burger to my mouth, taking a generous bite out of it.

"So good...." I said, with feigned satisfaction.

"See this? Cooked to actual perfection." I continued, with a heart chefs kiss.

"Yeah. Back to normal." I finished, taking another bite.

Dr Brenner clenched his jaw, and Dannie stepped forward, eyeing him with a serious hard stare.

"You stay away from us. The cure worked." She ordered, as Brenner turned to Dr Owens.

"Cure?" He queried, calmly.

"Oh you heard him correctly, Brenner. While you were hunting this kid down, abducting him from this house, caging him in the lab and torturing him for hours, all in the same of your sadistic science, I was working on a cure. So that he could rightly go back to living the life he had. He can now reunite with his family, his Uncle, his friends. He deserves that. They all do." Sam said.

"That wasn't your call." Brenner said.

"And it wasn't yours. And he's of no use to you now, or to your projects." Sam said.

"The cure worked. He's standing in front of you, ingesting normal foods. He couldn't do that before. So there you have it. He's free of it." Sam continued.

"You realise you'll be suspended for this?" Brenner asked, as Sam waved him off dismissively.

"Oh you needn't worry about that. I officially resigned with the board yesterday, after I filed my report. You'll be suspended though." Sam said.

"What you did here, was barbaric and you tortured a kid. You persistently hunted him down, abducted him and locked him up. That's not science, that's madness. The board are aware and they're gonna investigate." Sam warned.

A black car rolled up then and Brenner suddenly looked unnerved.

"And here they are." Dannie said, as two men in formal looking black suits emerged, their eyes fixed on him.

"If you'd like to come with us, Dr Brenner." One said, calmly.

Reluctantly, Brenner approached the car and cast a glance back to me.

"It was just for science. It's always been for science." He urged, as I answered him by raising the burger in my hand.

"It didn't feel like just science to me, Doc." I said, casually, before waving him off.

*****************************************
Eddie was nervous and I understood why.

We'd felt that the time was right for him to finally reunite with his Uncle, the one other person he'd missed terribly.

We'd done our best to explain to Wayne, without him asking too many questions and in the end he'd said that he didn't want to know, but wanted to see Eddie, as soon as possible.

And we were here now, apprehensive and nervous for the reunion, unsure on how it would go.

"It's gonna be fine." I reassured a very nervous Eddie, as he waited on my driveway, biting his fingers. His rings caught the sun and the light shone across his face.

My eyes fell on the car that slowly rolled along the curb and came to a stop and Eddie's breath caught in his chest.

A man with a plaid shirt, and grey hair stepped out and his eyes fell on Eddie straight away.

"It's really you, boy?" He asked, the familiar gruffness to his voice.

Eddie took a step forward, before hesitating.

"Eddie?" Wayne called, and that was all he needed to hear.

Eddie sprinted up the drive and Wayne broke off into a relieved run, and I watched as they met each other in the middle and their arms flew around each other.

"Uncle Wayne." Eddie said, sounding relieved.

"My boy..... oh my god, my boy." Wayne said, unable to believe it.

They were both emotional, and I laughed through my own tears, happy for them both.

Wayne pulled away to take Eddie's face in his hands, and he smiled.

"I don't know how, and I don't want to know..... I only care that you're alive, and you're here." He urged, reassuringly.

Eddie nodded and they embraced again.

"I am. I'm here." Eddie said, breaking into relieved, happy tears.

Wayne clapped him on the back, and released him, peering into his eyes.

"You got a second chance, no one here cares how or why. Just that you did." He said, with certainty.

"You can come home." He added.

I felt my heart swell, because it was true.

He could go home.

He deserved to go home.

*********************************************
Eddie's POV.

Somehow, the town was fed a bullshit story about how I had been wrongly declared dead, similar to Will Byers.

I'd reconnected with my other little sheep and I'd started to get back to my old life.

My old life, with one new addition.

Danzig.

Tonight, we're at the Hideout, and I'd been rehearsing with Gareth, Grant and Jeff for weeks.

I could finally go wherever I wanted, and not have to look over my shoulder.

I wasn't nervous about anyone finding me, or anything like that.

I was nervous; Dannie had never seen me play.

"Man, you're gonna be great. Like always." Gareth said.

"Ziggy is gonna love it, she's gonna love you." Jeff said, smiling warmly.

"God I hope so." I said.

"Shes mad about you, and you know it." Gareth said.

"And you're crazy about her." Grant said, as I chuckled softly.

"You're in love aren't you?" Jeff asked, as I felt my face warm slightly.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked, laughing nervously.

"Yeah." Jeff said, laughing.

"Come on, it's showtime." Grant said, with a grin.

********
They'd been right; she'd loved it.

There had been numerous times when I'd met her eyes across the room, as she stood in the haze of the smoke machine and the house lights, in my leather jacket, a white corset and jeans.

Her loose, wavy raven hair cascading down her back, as she casually cradled a glass in one hand.

I saw Robin and Nancy flock to her side, and for a few songs, they talked in giggles and hushed voices and I smiled as I sang, unable to internally cope with how girlishly adorable Dannie could be sometimes.

It was something I hadn't seen in a long while.
I hadn't seen her relax and enjoy life for so long, until tonight.

"Okay, we're gonna do a little cover tonight, for a special woman, the special girl in my life. Danzig baby, this is for you." I announced, kissing the plectrum in my hand, as she stopped talking to peer around Nancy, her eyes falling on me.

She stepped forward, transfixed the moment she heard me start to play the familiar chords.

She was even more transfixed, when I started to sing.

We both knew this song.
And we knew the moment we'd been in, when it had last played for us.

'It doesn't hurt me, d'ya wanna feel how it feels,

D'ya wanna know, know that it doesn't hurt me,
D'ya wanna hear about the deal I'm making....'

She walked to the edge of the dance floor, watching me with a sincere smile on her face, tears of happiness in her eyes.

'It's you, it's you and me.....

And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,

Be running up that road, be running up that hill, be running up that building.....

Said if I only could, oh...'

And during the short instrumental, I made her a proposition.

"Wanna make me the happiest guy in Hawkins, maybe even the world, and get on up here and sing this with me?" I asked her over the mic, watching her automatically shake her head hurriedly.

Nancy and Robin had me covered though as I laughed, and they hooked each of her arms in theirs and ushered her towards the stage, the small crowd cheering her on.

They lifted her up clumsily and she stumbled onto the stage, as I stepped back, continuing to play.

"Go for it, baby girl." I said, encouragingly.

She closed her eyes, and nervously stepped in front of the mic.

'It doesn't hurt me, we'll see how deep the bullet lies,

Unaware, that I'm tearing you and us under,
There is thunder in our hearts....'

"Alright!" Someone cried, clapping loudly.

'Is there so much hate for the ones who love,
Tell me we both matter, don't we....

You, it's you and me.....
It's you and me, who won't be unhappy...'

I was still playing, but my jaw was on the floor.
Her voice was mesmerising.

And I wasn't the only one in this joint, who was thinking it.

'And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God, and I'd get him to swap our places,

Be running up that road, be running up that hill,
Be running up that building,

Said if I only could, oh....'

She'd found her confidence, and it was a pleasure to see; it was a pleasure and an honour to be witness to, and I leaned into her, to sing in the mic with her.

'You, it's you and me, it's you and me who won't be unhappy, come on baby, come on come on darling, let me steal this moment from you now.....

Come on angel, come on come on darling,
Let's exchange the experience....'

She stepped back, watching us play the instrumental, and Grant encouraged the crowd to clap along for Dannie, over his mic.

Our friends were the loudest.

"Go Dannie!" Nancy cried, as I watched Dannie smile broadly.

She sang the chorus and the song ended and we were met with the loudest applause we'd ever had here.

I swung my guitar around to my back, and pulled her to me, kissing her spontaneously, the crowd and our friends cheering.

"You're amazing, Danzig. I'm glad I got to come back to get a second chance with you." I said, as she leaned forward, melting in my arms as she kissed me deeply.

She didn't care now about the dozen pairs of eyes watching us; to her, it was only her and I in this moment.

She released me, and smiled broadly at me, as I stared into her bright, happy eyes.

"I'm the luckiest girl in the world." She said.

"I'd wager that I'm the luckiest." I said, as she smiled coyly.

"Wanna hash it out later?" She asked me, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Hash it out, naked maybe?" I asked, as she giggled.

She went to answer just as Nancy called my name.

"Eddie!"

We both turned to her, to see the crowd laughing and she waved to get our attention.

"What is it, Wheeler?" I called.

"Your mic is still on!" She called back, giggling.

Dannie and I turned to look at each other, and mildly embarrassed, we both laughed.

I soon recovered though, deciding ultimately to throw caution to the wind and pulled Dannie to me once more.

"Fuck it." I said, covering her mouth again with mine; she let me, and as my tongue danced with hers, I heard Jeff address the crowd in my behalf.

"So if you hadn't already heard, Munson here, is getting lucky tonight! Atta boy!" He announced, as I laughed against her lips.

I blindly gave the crowd a thumbs up, hearing them cheer and laugh, and it was Dannie's turn to giggle against my lips.

I held her closer and the kiss deepened, as we heard a slew of "Oooo's" in our favour.

"Anyway! We've been Corroded Coffin, thanks for having us. Goodnight!" Jeff announced, to a mighty applause.

We were still making out, as the boys left the stage.

Left the stage, and left us to it.

********************************************
Two weeks later.

Eddie's POV.

Dannie's parents returned from vacation and were met with something they didn't expect.

They arrived home to find her daughter packing up her things.

"Danielle, what are you doing?"

I was standing by her vanity, leaning causally against it, chewing on a fingernail as she zipped up one of three suitcases.

"I'm moving out." Dannie said, calmly as she turned to address her mother.

Her father was hanging behind her, his eyes on me.

"Why?" Her mother asked.

"Because I want to. Because I need to. You both left for vacation, extended it twice..... whilst I was here, grieving for someone I lost. I was mourning and you just left. I can cope with being an inconvenience, I have done for years, but what I can't quite stomach, is the coldness you gave me when you packed for a long cruise in the Caribbean and left your grieving daughter alone in this house, after that god awful quake happened." Dannie said.

"And who are you?" Her father asked me, as I leaned off the vanity, eyeing him sternly as I lowered my hand from my mouth.

"I'm her boyfriend. Eddie Munson." I said, simply.

I decided in that moment to forgo offering a handshake; I didn't and wouldn't have usually been impolite like this, but I didn't feel they deserved my respect.

"Wayne told us that you'd died." He said, horrified.

"Wrongly declared dead. Easy mistake to make given the bodies that hit the ground during the quake. I was actually missing. Just missing. But whilst you were away knocking back the margaritas without a single care in the world, your daughter was home alone, and she was mourning me." I said.

"Where will you go?" Her mother asked, as I reached for two of the suitcases, meeting Dannie's eye for a moment. I gave her a reassuring nod and she slid the third suitcase off of her bed, and turned to her mother.

"She's coming to live with me." I announced.

"The trailer park?" Her mother asked, with mild disgust.

"No, I have a place of my own. We're making a proper go of things, together." I said.

"You can be as disgusted as you want, but a park bench would feel more homely than here." Dannie interjected.

"How will you pay rent, bills?" Her father asked.

"That's simple. Whilst you were gone, I got a job, Eddie too. And Wayne kindly gave Eddie the compensation he received from the government, for loss of belongings, for loss of earnings and for his home.... He's got himself a new trailer and gifted us the rest. Our jobs will pay for everything we need." Dannie said.

"I don't need either of you, not anymore. You made sure of that, so I aren't sure why you're so surprised." She added.

"We're your parents...." Her mother said, shocked.

"And it's a full time job, but you took too much time off. So you can consider this, as informal emancipation, without the paperwork." Dannie said, with a shrug.

And without a single further word, we walked past them, armed with every possession Dannie had to her name, out of her childhood home and loaded my van that was parked outside.

"Any regrets, princess?" I asked her, as we settled in the seats. She fastened her seatbelt and smiled broadly.

"None whatsoever." She said, sighing with relief.

"So, let's get you moved in and then maybe later we can have a little housewarming?" I suggested, as she turned in her seat, practically beaming.

"Well, maybe a little housewarming of our own first, and then ask everyone to come over?" I added, as she giggled loudly.

"I'll need to put my things away first, my clothes." She said, as I smiled coyly at her.

"Baby, the housewarming I'm planning on us having the minute we get there, won't involve clothes, I can assure you." I said, as she bit down on her bottom lip.

A mild groan escaped her lips and I raised an eyebrow.

"You okay there, princess?" I asked her, pleased with myself.

She turned to me, and her face was creased with anticipation and arousal and I felt my own stir inside of me.

And with the utmost seriousness, she leaned forward and traced her bottom lip with her tongue.

With wetted lips and eyes glistening with anticipation, she gently gripped my face and planted a kiss on my lips.

She withdrew and issued a very firm instruction.
One that saw me wasting no time turning the key in the ignition, and pulling from the curb.

"Step on it, Munson."

And her wish, was my command.

******************************************

THE END.