Take Me Home Again (Eddie Munson X OC)

Chapter 5 - The Beginning of the End

The rest of the summer went by in a blur, the group making the most of the free time they had. Phoenix hadn't had but a few nightmares, believing they were really settling back into themself. It was hard to do that when they didn't really know who they were, but having new friends and reconnecting with their boys helped them figure it out. 

They had stayed true to their word and taken probably a hundred pictured before school even started. They had kept up with them by hanging them on the wall with the other pictures and drawings. They admired them from time to time, remembering every moment when they snapped the shot. A few from a couple of the days they spent in the arcade with Lucas, Mike, Dustin, and sometimes Max when she could be convinced. There were a few from the multiple movie nights they and Robin had together, Steve joining a few times. There was a small series of just Steve failing to flirt with customers from the days that Phoenix bothered them at work. They had quite a number from the day they all decided to pack up and go down to the lake, those were Phoenix's favorites. So many smiling, and sunburnt, faces. They could still hear the faint echo of Mike and Dustin groaning and complaining, Steve rubbing it in their faces that he told them so. The memories brought a smile to Phoenix's face whenever they looked upon the glossy papers. 

Phoenix could hear Dustin from their room, the afternoon after the lake, telling Will everything that happened and that they would do it all again when he came down. Sadly, Joyce couldn't take the last week of summer off as they had intended so their next visit would be postponed until the next holiday. Those boys brighten their day a lot, they would never tell them that though. They knew it would go straight to their heads, but hearing them all together laughing and joking around like old times, not skipping a beat when Phoenix joins in, as if there had never been the almost decade of time between them. 

An alarm sounded, violently rocking Phoenix from their decent slumber. They sat up with a glare to their brand new alarm clock. It was screaming at them to get their ass out of bed, they wanted to scream back but knew it wouldn't do anything to help. So they slammed their fist onto the machine and it shut up. They dragged their heavy limbs off the soft sheets and over to their door, peeking out to see Dustin walking out completely dressed. "What day is it?" 

"The first day of school?" Dustin looked over at them, eyebrows stitched together as he watched a panic grow on their tired face.

"Oh shit!" They yelled before slamming the door shut. They looked around the room and saw the outfit they had planned out with Robin sitting on their dresser. Thank the Gods for Robin, they would've been running late if it weren't for her. They struggled to pull on the outfit made up of a simple pair of ripped jeans, a long sleeve tee shirt, and a blue and black striped sweater layered on top of that. Lacing up their converse and running a brush very quickly through their hair, tying it up in a ponytail as they met their aunt in the kitchen. They took out the two slices of toast she held out to them, a quick thank you, and they practically swallowed them down. They raced back to their room to finish getting ready.

They stood, peering very intently, in front of their mirror as they dragged the liquid eyeliner pen over their eyelid. They had opted for a small wing with another, smaller, wing underneath that one. It almost resembled butterfly wings, in a way. They shook the odd thought from their mind as they slipped on the jewelry Robin had laid out on their desk for them. They quietly admired the way the ends of their hair stuck out of the ponytail, giving them a messy and put together look all at once. A walking hypocrisy. They chuckled to themself as they grabbed their chapstick, layering on their lips before stuffing it into their front pocket. 

They picked up their backpack, checking to make sure everything was there that they needed, rushing to grab their lunch out of the fridge and stuff it into the big pocket. They and their cousin had agreed to ride to school, him on his bike and them on their board, so they rearranged the books in their bag to accommodate the size. They dropped the bag on their bed and rushed to brush their teeth,finding Dustin doing the same. They finished and gave each other a look over before nodding. They were finally ready. They both grabbed their bags and headed for the door, yelling goodbye to their caretaker who was standing getting her keys. Dustin rushed to the side of the house and peddled after Phoenix, who was already skating down towards the school.