To Hell and Back Again

Chapter Eleven

It had been about three weeks since the road trip to see the Byers and hopefully find out something about Eddie's current situation. Eddie had been avoiding going back to the trailer to see his uncle. And Steve had problems of his own. Family Video was opening back up and decided to give Robin and Steve their jobs back. As much as Steve hated the work, he had to earn the money. Which meant he was waking up at 9am instead of his usual noon. Steve's alarm went off at exactly 9am. He reluctantly started to get out of bed. Eddie woke up a tad and grabbed Steve's waist, pulling him back into bed. "Don't leave." Eddie kissed the side of Steve's neck.
"I have to. First day back, I can't be late." Steve laid curled up next to Eddie. "Today is going to suck." Steve pushed his face against Eddie's chest.
"Oh my god. It's your birthday." He grabbed Steve's face and gave him repeated kisses.
"Oh, please. Don't make a big deal out of it. I don't like birthdays. We're just one year closer to death." He put his hand on Eddie's that was holding his face. Eddie pulled Steve on top of him. Steve ran his hands down Eddie's bare chest as they kissed.
"We'll celebrate when you get home. Okay?" He said grabbing Steve's ass.
"We better." Steve got out of bed and put on clothes for the day. He found a Corroded Coffin T-shirt on Eddie's side of the closet and put it on. He slipped on blue jeans and buttoned them. He grabbed his car keys off the dresser and bolted out the door. He was already late. Eddie knew Steve didn't want to celebrate, a little intel from Robin, so he had something small planned for Steve's 20th birthday. Eddie was 21 now which meant he could purchase alcohol... legally. And he had been working on his all too familiar Lover Boy Mixtape. He was way too excited to give it to Steve.

Steve ran into Family Video. Robin was already behind the counter looking at a stack of posters they were asked to hang up. Steve sighed and walked over to the familiar setting. "It's the end of the world, Harrington. People are watching movies again. At least we don't have to wear those stupid Scoops Ahoy hats." She looked at him and smiled. "I had specific instructions from Eddie to tell you, 'Happy birthday, lover boy.'"
"Thanks, Robin." Steve smiled sarcastically and grabbed a stack of the posters in front of Robin. He walked to the front windows and started sliding them into the window poster holders. "I told him I didn't want to do anything big. We're not doing anything big, right?" Steve confirmed with Robin. She smiled and tapped the counter.
"He has some stuff planned but it's just the two of you." She looked back down at the posters, "hey! Look!" She held up an old Fasttimes poster. Steve smiled and pointed at it.
"Heyyy!" He walked back over to the counter and leaned against it. "53 minutes, Robin... 53 minutes." She rolled her eyes.

Eddie carefully wrote on the cassette tape, 'Lover Boy Mixtape.' He smiled and admired his handwriting. He grabbed a small card and wrote down the track list.
1. Heat of the Moment by Asia
2. Talking in Your Sleep by The Romantics
3. Obsession by Animotion
4. Like a Virgin by Madonna
5. Shadows of The Night by Pat Benatar
6. Let's Get it On by Marvin Gaye
7. Here Comes the Rain Again by Eurythmics
8. Missing You by John Waite
9. True by Spandau Ballet
10. Foolish Heart by Steve Perry
11. Good Ol Fashioned Lover Boy by Queen
12. Love of my Life by Queen
13. Rock Me Amadeus by Falco
14. Died In your Arms by Cutting Crew
None of it was really Eddie's taste of music but all the songs some what spoke to him and made him think of Steve. They're songs they could dance to, kiss to, do other things to. They were songs specifically hand picked by Eddie to show Steve how he felt about him. He smiled and wrapped a small bow around the cassette tape with the track list. Eddie wandered over to the closet and went to grab a pair of jeans that had Steve's other present in them. He dug through the clothes. "Oh no."

Steve sprayed the counter with disinfectant then wiped it off with a grimy wash cloth he swears hasn't been washed in decades. "You missed a spot." Robin joked as she bumped Steve with her hip. "Ow. What's in your pocket dude?" She held her hip where it hit her. Steve looked down at the pair of ripped blue jeans he was wearing.
"I have no idea. I accidentally grabbed Eddie's pants this morning." He turned to Robin and unbuttoned his vest so Robin could see his shirt. "I also found this. Sick right?" Robin laughed and nodded as she headed over to the ringing phone. Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. "What the fuck?"