𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐈𝐃 [steddie]

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓞𝓷𝓮

(TW: ptsd, also drug use)

It had been a few days since the kiss. Eddie and Steve had shared a kiss in the darkness of the local movie theater's parking lot. Illuminated by the stars and the moon shining bright. Steve had kissed Eddie. He had kissed him and Eddie had felt like he was about to pass out. Steve's lips had felt so perfect on his. It was magical. It was electric. It was the best thing he had ever experienced.

It wasn't the first time Eddie had kissed someone, but it was the first time it had felt that good. Steve's lips had melted into those of Eddie and Eddie's hands had almost automatically found the back of Steve's neck, tangling his fingers into the other boys hair. Steve's hands had cupped Eddie's face, pressing their lips together as if their lives depended it on.

If only Robin would have been there with her Polaroid camera, taking a picture, Eddie thought. It was a silly thought, but he would have loved to have a picture to remember it by. At the thought of that his eyes darted over to the one picture of him and Steve that he did own. It had easily become his most priced possession, alongside his beloved guitar. Eddie flopped down onto his bed, his eyes fixated on the small Polaroid taped to the wall above it.

He hadn't seen Steve since that night. Their kissing had been interrupted by rapid footsteps coming towards the car. Dustin had been back from his bathroom break and Steve had said goodnight to the two boys, squeezing Eddie's hand tightly without the younger boy noticing before he walked off to his own car. Eddie had watched Steve as he disappeared into the darkness.

Eddie needed to talk to Steve. He didn't know what to say. Did Steve actually like him? Or had it all been a fluke? Was Steve just experimenting? Eddie's heart ached at the thought. Steve wouldn't do that to him, would he? The trailer walls were rattled by heavy rain pouring down over the town. It was only early afternoon, yet it was already almost dark out. Thick, heavy rainclouds hanging in the sky.

When would Eddie talk to Steve? He had half expected Steve to show up one day unexpectedly. Eddie would hear a knock on his trailer door and he'd raise an eyebrow in surprise. Wondering, who it is. Not many people visited Eddie these days. Not many people ever visited him. Sometimes Dustin would come over. Sometimes his neighbor Max would check in on him. The little girl had been through so much, he was impressed at how well she had recovered. Besides a slight limb in her right leg where her bones had never healed properly you could barely tell anymore in what bad shape she had been right after Vecna's attack.

Eddie's train of thoughts had completely gone off the rails. He had been trying to imagine what it would be like if Steve just randomly showed up one day, when his mind wandered back to his other friends and back to the worst time of his life. Eddie lifted his hand and placed it on the small Polaroid, gently running his finger over it. It gave him peace of mind. It grounded him to look at it, to think back of that moment. The moment he had realized Steve was the person he had wanted to be with.

The town of Hawkins was shaken by thunder. Lighting illuminating the darkened sky. Rain pouring down in big drops, making so much noise on the metal exterior of Eddie's trailer. He sighed. It had been almost a week since him and Steve had kissed. Since Steve had kissed him. He still couldn't believe that it even happned. Eddie let himself fall back on his bed, his arms crossing under his head as he looked at the ceiling and listened to the dampened sound of the rain hitting the roof of his trailer.

The continous splashing of the water on the metal, the loud rumbling of the thunder, it made him nervous. Some people found peace in the sound of rain, but to Eddie it felt nerve-wracking. Seeing Hawkins so dark and grey reminded him too much of the Upside Down and with that came the memories of how he had almost died. Small bat-like creatures attacking him from every angle, biting into his flesh. Eddie flinched. Then he shook his head.