Take on Me

Chapter 9: I'll Be Gone In A Day Or Two

It had been about a week since Steve had finally seen Eddie again after their latest sleep over. It wasn't by hanging out alone like the two had most likely wanted; it was due to Eddie slamming through the doors of Family Video with blood dripping down his face. His nose looked broken, and his eye was already seeming to turn black.

"Eddie?" Steve choked out as he looked up from the store's computer to see Eddie looking beaten to a pulp.

"Steve." the boy hiccupped through his tears.

"What happened?" the jock asked as he rushed to the front of the store. Once he reached where Eddie stood, he gripped his leather jacket to hold the metalhead upright. He was swaying a little, looking like he could fall at anytime.

"Jason- Jason attacked-" Eddie tried, but he couldn't fully get out his sentence as his chest rose quickly through his panic. Steve understood, however, and turned so Eddie could rest his arm over Steve's shoulders. When the rocker was steady, the two began walking to Family Video's breakroom.

When the boys arrived at the breakroom's door, Steve unlocked it and got Eddie to sit on the sofa in the small room. Eddie leaned his head back as he sunk into the couch. Steve bit his lip as he looked over the boy with worry in his eyes. Eddie's right eye was swollen, his nose was twisted to the left, and his upper lip was split.

"Don't fall asleep, Eddie. I don't know if you have a concussion or not." Steve spoke as he walked over to the phone by the coffee machine in the back room. "I'm going to call Hopper. Just stay awake, okay?"

Eddie groaned in response.

"Hopper." Chief Hopper answered grumpily as Steve heard him crinkle something in the background, most likely the trash from his lunch, since it was 1:42 in the afternoon.

"Hopper, it's Steve Harrington." Steve spat out in his worried state.

"Hey, kid. What's going on?" the cop asked, his tone a bit off.

"It's Eddie Munson. He's been attacked." the jock stated as he looked over to Eddie, whose eyes fluttered shut. "Hey! Stay awake, Eddie! Don't fall asleep!"

"Where are you?" Steve heard the cop ask through the line in a rush.

"Family Video. We're in the break room right now."

"Alright, don't move. I'm on my way. Make sure you keep him awake."

"Okay." the scared boy nodded as the line went dead. He immediately dropped to his knees in front of Eddie, putting his hands on the metalhead's thighs. He gripped them tightly and shook them a little, causing Eddie's eyes to open and look into Steve's. "Stay awake," Steve demanded.

"But I'm tired, Steve," Eddie whispered. He looked drained and weak, something he hadn't looked like since he was attacked by the bats in the Upside Down. This caused Steve to shutter. He never wanted to see this boy that hurt again. It didn't even matter whether Eddie was his crush or not; the boy didn't deserve this kind of treatment, his soul was so pure, yet the world kept hurting him.

"I know you're tired." Steve sighed as his voice almost seemed to strain. "But you gotta keep your eyes open. Do it for me, Eddie. Keep em open for me."

Eddie smiled softly as he looked into Steve's eyes. The jock melted at the sight.

"You look so pretty, Stevie." Eddie grinned.

Steve chuckled as he brought his hand up to cup Eddie's cheek. "You have a concussion, Ed."

"So?" Eddie shrugged. "That means I can't think you're pretty?"

"Exactly." the jock nodded as the rocker leaned into his touch.

"That's not fair."

"What's not fair?"