ic inbox.

[heatmetal]

[ his voicemail greeting is just a guitar riff ]

Comments

[retromix]

Nope, not playing.

[ Steve eyes him in the mirror as he drives. ]

Listen, there's not a lot I wouldn't do for you but sitting down at a table for hours and rolling dice for fun does not appeal.

[heatmetal]

Have those little shits seriously not explained the game to you in all these years?

[retromix]

Uh huh, I'm selectively deaf.

[ He rolls down his window and ruffles his hair, enjoying the fresh breeze. ]

Look, I love you but no. [ Whoa, hold on, ] Y'know? Like, yeah, I ... I just don't wanna play.

[ Jesus sweet Christ. ]

[heatmetal]

[ uuhhh.

Eddies suddenly going Red, worrying his teeth between his lips to try to suppress the smile. ]

I'm just saying, Stevie. It's all the shit you clearly love about fighting monsters with none of the actual mortal peril.

[retromix]

Mortal peril's my favorite part!

[ HAHA. Ha. ]

[heatmetal]

It absolutely is not.

[ his smile spreads slowly
]

Protecting the people you love is.

[retromix]

Alright, things are getting a little schmoopy in here. I'm putting it down to the ball of fur and fleas in your lap.

[ He gives the carrier a look. ]

Is he asleep?

[heatmetal]

You sure it's not your big bleeding heart?

[ hee hee ]

Yeah. He came a long way to find a home.

[retromix]

[ Not even gonna respond to the first bit! ]

Let's get him checked out, find some food, and hole up for the night. What do you say?

[heatmetal]

Sounds good to me.

[ he glanced down at the sleeping cat. ]

Pretty sure you just cost me a bunch of nerd shit, buddy.

[retromix]

He's a tiny little guy. [ Glancing over because now he cares about a dumb cat, darn it. ] Is he looking a little emaciated to you? I heard somewhere you have to feed sick animals in small amounts, we should try that after the vet's checked him out.

[heatmetal]

Scrawny but not deaths door scrawny. [ he's got a finger through the bars, petting his snoot. ] Probably full of worms and shit. Can't imagine the water around here is clean.

[ he's pretty sure this cat is going to be his familiar. ]

[retromix]

Eugh. [ Speeding a little faster: he doesn't want a cat with worms inside it, gotta fix that. ] Does this mean Hargrove gets to be the fun uncle? His every goal in life will be checked off his list.

[heatmetal]

Hargrove is the uncle we adore who is absolutely not allowed to babysit unsupervised. Leave them alone for five minutes and they'll be on the run from the law.

[retromix]

[ God, he barks out a laugh at that because it's so true. ]

I've only been on the run from Russians, my experience is limited.

[heatmetal]

Right? Me, I'm just as bad as Hargrove - but I know how to outrun pigs.

[ he links for good measure. ]

[retromix]

And how to almost starve in the process, sure. Very metal, sweetheart.

[ This faux-impressed pout! ]

[heatmetal]

Did you, or did you not fall for me as soon as I held that bottle to your throat and immediately start feeding me? I rest my case.

[retromix]

At the time, no? You looked like you were going to gut me. In retrospect?

[ He spares a moment to let his smile take over, sliding Eddie a flicker of lashes in a once-over. ]

You were freakishly strong, I remember that.

[heatmetal]

[ boops the lil nose, glancing over appreciatively. ]

I think one of your old dipshit friends was the last guy to try to get one-up on me... I wanna say nineth grade? [ before he got better about letting the cruel insults roll off of him. ] There's a reason nobody fucks with Hellfire.

[retromix]

[ Steve's going to be feeling guilty about his old crowd for a long time. ]

I remember being a senior and Jason hanging around, he was a sophmore. He used to laugh at the shit that was pulled, we all did, but he was ... It seemed more personal to him. Me and Tommy H would be laughing because we'd tripped one of your guys up but Jason would be laughing because of who it was. Sometimes it was way funnier to him, depending on the person getting bullied.

[ Steve wrinkles his nose. ]

That guy was always waiting for an excuse to let rip on anyone different. Barely held himself in check.

[heatmetal]

[ ah. hell. He glances over at Steve. It had been intended to be light hearted, but this...

Well its probably still a wound. ]

... Yeah.

[ because his kind makes everyone around him.. worse. ]

When he said "freak" I knew what word he really wanted to say.
[ it never bothered him much. But... ] Wasn't just him. Dunno. I used to think you were an insufferable prick, but the guys who came after you... They were a different breed. Really wanted to hurt people just because they could.

[retromix]

I'm not defending what we did but I think you're right, they were kinda vicious. Even Tommy didn't want to do more than throw a couple of punches to feel better ...

Did I ever tell you about when I started a fight with Jonathan Byers and he kicked my ass?

[heatmetal]

Steve, [ Eddie laughs. ] I heard every telling of that story but yours.

[ he considers briefly and then laughs again. ]

... Preeeeetty sure I wrote a song about it.

[retromix]

Jeez, of course you did.

[ Traitor! ]

Yeah, we uhhh. Tommy wrote a slur across the movie theater's titleboard and then when Nance and Jonathan came running into the backalley they found us all there. I was furious because I'd seen them in her bedroom the night before when I wanted to surprise her with a late-night visit. Long story short, Jonathan beat my face in.

Me and the others were sitting around on my car, Tommy got me a coke for my swelling eye, and they started talking about how they were going to get Jonathan back. I remember thinking That's so goddamn stupid, you started this. You painted the sign! I let you! Jonathan had every right to beat me up. It wasn't like I suddenly gained some perspective out of nowhere, I just got tired of all the pretending.

Anyway, I almost got beaten up by Tommy so I left. He shouted after me to run ... because up until that point, it was all I ever did.