Ethan was now in Hawkins, heart broken and awaiting to see his friends as he sat in Steve's car, looking out the window as the radio played Corey Hart. He knew Mike wouldn't be there, going to California to see Eleven and Will. So that left him with Dustin, Lucas and Max. He didn't even know how Max was holding up, or what the three were even up to anymore.
It was night time, he got on his flight at 6:30pm, and it was now around 9:30pm. He sat in the passengers seat as Steve looks over at him. Steve had a sort of worry growing on his face, seeing Ethan looked sort of sad.
"Hey, kid. You okay?"
"Yeah. I haven't talked to anyone since I left and I'm scared they hate me now" Ethan mumbles
"Dude, are you kidding me? Those dorks love you! They don't shut up about you, honestly" Steve chuckles, turning onto another street, driving past Ethan's old house.
"I just can't help but, like, you know..."
"Implode and not have to deal with responsibilities ever again? Yeah, I get that"
Ethan looks back out the window, watching the trees pass by in the dark, "So, how's Hawkins?"
"Fine as ever" Steve smiles, a clear lie Ethan didn't pick up on.
"Max?"
"She's... she's distant. Hasn't been talking to anyone, step-dad left, her and her mom had to move into that trailer park of Curly."
"Oh, shit"
Steve hums, turning onto another street, headed towards the lake.
"Where are we going?" Ethan asks, slightly concerned
"Uhm- surprise party" Steve smiles
"Okay...?"
"Just act surprised, okay?"
"Yep" Ethan pops his lips, staring out the window again as Steve drives slower, pulling up next to one of the homes that overlooked the lake.
Ethan sighs, drumming his fingers on his thighs, anxious. He opens the car door, standing still as he looks out at the lake, missing coming here with Will during the summer before the world went to shit again.
Steve leads him up to the door, opening the screen door for him as he walks in, seeing Dustin, Max, Erica and Robin sat at the couch and matching chairs. Ethan, seeing some sort of worry be relived from the group's faces as they look up at him raises an eyebrow.
Dustin runs up to Ethan, engulfing the boy in a hug, welcoming him home. Max hugs Ethan as well, welcoming him home. Robin smiles as she does a little handshake with Ethan, pulling each other into a hug as Erica just watches.
"We have someone you need to meet" Dustin smiles widely
"Uh- okay" Ethan smiles, being dragged through the living room to another seat, where an older boy, as old as Steve, sat, now standing up.
The boy wore a Dio vest over a graphic shirt, reading 'Hellfire Club.' He had long, curly, black hair and wore a bunch of rings, clearly a rocker/metal head. Ethan liked it already, he thought this older boy was super cool and he didn't even know his name.
"Ethan, this is Eddie, Eddie this is Ethan" Dustin smiles widely as he introduces the two, "Ethan has super cool powers like Pyrokinetics and Teleportation and Eddie is the leader of Hellfire Club, a D&D club."
"Dude, you can't be telling people I'm a fucking lab rat" Ethan scolds
"I think I've heard weirder shit" Eddie laughs
"Which leads to a problem" Max starts, "It's back. Some form of the Upside Down, killing teens. Just one as of now, but.." Max drones out
Ethan turns back, looking over at Dustin, "Wait.. what? I-I thought we- I thought we ended it?"
"Apparently not" Steve answers
Dustin sits Ethan down on the couch, the group forming a circle around the brunette as they try to start from the beginning.
"Okay so, yesterday, Eddie was doing a drug deal with Chrissy Cunningham, a cheerleader. He came back from getting the stuff and she was.. like in a trance" Dustin starts, looking up at Eddie
Eddie looks back at Dustin, taking over, "Her eyes were like, glazed over and she wouldn't wake up. She started like- floating and her bones cracked like she turned into a human pretzel" He speaks quickly
"I saw Chrissy's body in his trailer this morning. I went to Dustin and we went to Robin and Steve to try and track him down" Max explains.
"Then I almost died because Freak Munson heald a knife to my neck and we had to swear on Dustin's mother" Steve rolls his eyes
"But, something is going on. It wasn't Eddie, then who was it? Upside Down bullshit right here" Robin finishes
Ethan, trying to process this, stays silent, mouth slightly agape.
"Okay... And you want me to do what? Just go to the Upside Down myself and burn everything to the ground? The gate is closed and again, that won't work" Ethan speaks
"Well, we need to figure out what it is first" Steve says, crossing his arms
"Get the D&D manual" Ethan groans
<•>
"So, this... Vecna weirdo. He's behind all this, I'm guessing?" Ethan questions
"Yeah" Dustin sighs
"Can.. can I call Jaeden and Hallow? I- I think this can be easier with them, right? They-they aren't snitches" Ethan speaks towards Eddie
Steve shrugs, "Yeah, I guess. If they can sneak out and hang with us all break"
"They can" Ethan shrugs, running over to the telephone
Eddie speaks up, "So, he's like that Eleven girl, right?"
"Yeah, except he's more like... destroying Upside Down material than accessing a mind void material" Dustin answers
"And he's funny, and swears a lot" Robin adds
Max stays silent, headphones pulled over her ears, listening to her favorite song, Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush. Meanwhile, Ethan rushes back to the group, announcing that Jaeden and Hallow could help their mission in two days time, being busy up until then.
"We have any plan?" Ethan asks
"Well first, we need Nancy. And Lucas. That's all the help we can get" Steve answers
"Was this broadcasted all over the news? Eddie's name?" Ethan asks
"Yes and no" Dustin answers
"Police made him a suspect, for sure. They just didn't announce it to scare the town" Robin adds
Ethan groans, "Every time we try and end this it comes back like a parasite feeding off our town. The Upside Down is like.. hell basically. It wants to overturn our world"
"And?"
"It will stop at nothing. Okay? We need all the help we can get. We need the guys and El in California. Joyce and Murray as well" Ethan says, standing up and walking outside, leaving the group confused
"That kid is weird, Dustin" Eddie comments
"Dude! He's so cool!" Dustin argues
Eddie shakes his head, turning to Robin, shrugging.
"Okay, look. We'll get a hold of Jonathan, Will, Mike and Eleven tomorrow morning, as well as Nancy. Dustin, you can get Lucas. Jaeden and Hallow are gonna be MIA so we'll drop by when we can" Steve shrugs
"We still don't have a plan" Dustin argues, "Gate is closed, remember?"
"We'll figure out a plan when we get one, Henderson!"
AN - shit chapter but eh. I'm trying to build up to next episode rn lol
published ; august 8 2022
edited ; june 27 2024
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Fanfiction"ᵏᵉᵉᵖ ʸᵒᵘʳ ʰᵉᵃᵈ ˢᵗᶦˡˡ, ᶦ'ˡˡ ᵇᵉ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵗʰʳᶦˡˡ..." 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 Will Byers x Male OC Stranger Things 1-5 Started ; August 13th 2021 Ended ;...
