the hanged man; eddie munson

Chapter 005

She parked her car in the foliage deep behind Rick's cabin. Stephanie picked up her sleeping bag and her backpack going into the boathouse.

Eddie shot up, still holding the broken beer bottle. She slammed it out of his hand glass going all over the floor.

"Jesus Christ!" Eddie screamed.

Stephanie put her finger to her lips, "Be quiet. Just use the knife I gave you already."

"W-what are you doing here Steph?"

She ignored him for a second laying the sleeping bag out on the wooden floor.

"Stephanie, I don't need a sleeping bag. I promise I will use the blanket and pillow you gave me."

"It isn't for you Eddie. It's for me."

"What are you guys taking shifts watching me?"

Stephanie scoffed. She took out her notebook and a flashlight. It lit up the bottom half of her face.

"Jesus, what the fuck happened to you?"

"Vecna."

He went silent.

"Don't worry it wasn't me who he was after. It was Max. I wouldn't make you watch something like that again."

"Thank you. Why are you here?"

"Looks like Steve 'the hair' Harrington still has a bit of King Steve streak in him. I never thought I would ever see that side of him."

"Oh ok." Eddie didn't want to press any more questions about their lovers' quarrel. "So you ran off?"

"It wasn't like I didn't tell anyone where I was going. I told Dustin."

He nodded.

Stephanie leaned against the wall in her sleeping bag writing in her notebook and flashlight.

"Are you going to keep that on all night?"

"After being inside Vecna's brain and seeing the walking zombie, yeah. If the light flickers, that's how we'll be if he is here. Or anything from the Upside Down."

"Another DnD term?"

"Listen, I didn't create the lingo for this mess. The kids stumbled onto this government mess and somehow...somehow we are always cleaning up after."

"Yeah, who would have thought the big government didn't have a handle on their messes." He joked.

Stephanie smirked, laughing a little. It hurt to laugh as she rubbed her throat.

"Easy there. Damn after a whole year of me cracking jokes this is when you laugh."

"I laugh at your jokes."

He looked at her.

"Ok, I laugh on the inside. Or I smirk and cover my face. You are funny."

"Then why didn't you let me see you laugh?"

Stephanie paused for a minute she thought because if you saw me laugh it would make me look weak.

"I don't know. Just didn't." Stephanie looked back down to her notebook scribbling things down in it.

Eddie's eyebrows furrowed. "Oh ok." He got up from the boat taking long strides hanging over Stephanie and reading what she wrote upside down.

"Favorite songs. What is NeverEnding story?"

"It's the My Little Pony theme song."

"That is Henderson's favorite song?"

"It's his girlfriend's favorite but he sings it to her. Like a lot. Suzie would definitely not like you."