Light my fire. (Steddie)

Chapter 12

It was a Saturday just like any other. The tree's were turning green in preparation for summer but there was still a breeze drifting through the trailer park that morning, still fresh enough for the need of a jacket or jumper.
But for the man currently sat on the dusty steps to his trailer with a bent rolled cigarette in hand, it was perfect.
Today was the day he'd decided.

He'd phoned the whole group to tell them his plan of going to the movies before their already planned d&d session.
To say he was met with surprise to his sudden determination to see each other was an understatement especially Will when he explained that the kid would be hosting the session later but the most awkward was Steve.
The conversation was quick and to the point but he could hear the apprehension in Steve's voice coming through the phone. Jittery like he had been wanting to talk to Eddie and Eddie knew exactly what it was he wanted to talk about but he had spent too long working his nerves up to even ring the number to allow Steve to ruin it.
And so the request to come along to the meeting was short and sweet, hanging up as soon as he heard the unsure confirmation of his attendance.

Eddie rocked anxiously on the balls of his feet as he waited for Max to cross over to where he was stood by his van.

"Uhhh so you okay?" She asked, her brow raising in suspicion as they climbed into the vehicle.
"Yeah.. yeah I'm good! Today is good" his face was smiling but it wavered as his fingers drummed on the steering wheel to the music playing in the background.
"Soo.. we aren't going to talk about the sudden want to hang out all together?"
"What do you mean? You lot always hang out together?"
"Eddie you phoned us at like 9.30am on a Saturday!" She exclaimed. "Who is up before 10 on a weekend?"
He kept his eyes on the road only shrugging in response. He had in fact been awake the whole night pacing back and forth from one end of the trailer to the other, looking up every time he passed through the living room before making his decision.
"Today is good"

Everyone had already arrived, curtesy of mainly Steve, when Eddie and Max arrived.
"Right let's go!" He shouted as he strode into the theatre to buy the tickets, not looking behind at the group of bewildered faces watching him trying to figure out who this man is and what had he done to the Eddie they knew.

"Anyone else think this is strange?" Mike asked, looking from face to face for agreement.
They all nodded in unison.
"Was he okay on the drive here?" Robin asked, looking at Max for answers.
"He wasn't odd odd... he just kept saying today is good?" Her own eyes now glancing around in the hope that someone would make sense of it but to no avail.
"Hey what are you waiting around for? The movie's about to start let's goooo!" Eddie shouted in a hurry, waving his hands like a traffic warden, directing them towards the doors before walking towards them, leaving the group ever more stunned as they hurried to catch up with the man.

Steve had tried his best to avoid the man, allowing the kids to follow through into the cinema before him only to find they filled up the row starting from the isle onwards, leaving the only ticket remaining next to the certain man he was subconsciously avoiding and with nobody to his other side to save him.

"Hey Munson... so Um what are we watching?" He asked, nervously scratching the inside of his arm as he tried to make conversation.
"Little shop of horror's! I've been wanting to see it for ages and I felt like I gotta do it today or I won't..." his eyes gleamed but his voice trailed off towards the end only halting his smile for a second.
"Little shop of what? Ah man I'm not gunna get in trouble for letting the kids watch a horror movie again am I?" He groaned as he remembered last time.
"Nah man your good... kinda. I think. It's about a guy and a plant that's kinda big..." he explained.
"And eats people...."
Steve's eyes bulged as his head whipped round to stare at the curly haired man in disbelief, groaning at the thought of potentially having to apologise to everyone's mothers again.

Steve thought he was prepared for the film and maybe he would of been had he actually paid attention to it instead of the snippets he caught ,which only added to his confusion of the story, but instead the focus had been on the laughter radiating from the seat next to him.

His decision to allow the rest of the group to sit first, to create a barrier between the two men had backfired as he squinted through the dark to watch Eddie from the corner of his eye.

It had only taken 20 minutes for his impulse control to fail on him, creating an ever growing obsession to watch the man's every move.
But it had only taken 30 minutes though for a quick flash of silver to dart from Eddie's jacket to the waiting cup of soda, allowing Steve for a second to witness the clear liquid topping the drink up.
There wasn't enough alcohol to get the man remotely drunk, Steve knew that, but it didn't ease the worry in his gut.

"Hey you okay?" Steve whispered as they gathered outside at their original meeting point, stretching their limbs from being sat down.
The kids were chattering excitedly, high of the amount of sugar they'd shoved in their mouths throughout the film, leaving just Steve and Eddie at the back.
"Hmm? Yeah.. yeah I'm good!" His eyes were distantly staring into the distance.
Steve was entirely stumped.
He'd expected anger all day from their last conversation but was met with nothing.
"So I'm sorry for before.. at my house. I didn't mean it. " His fingers nervously fumbling together.
Eddies eyes whipped to look at him.
"You didn't mean it? Any of it?" His breath hitched as he waited for an answer.

'What does it mean he doesn't mean it? The whole night? Does he regret it? I knew I shouldn't of climbed in his bed! He hates me now. Thinks I'm disgusting' Eddie's thoughts tormented him.

"Well yeah course I didn't mean it... my dad-"
" Eddie! You're giving us a lift to the school correct?"
The interruption caught Steve off guard creating a mumbling string of words to come out of his mouth as he attempted to recenter his sentence but Eddie was gone by the time it happened.
The metal head was already striding across the parking lot with a trail of kids running after him by the time Steve looked up.

A soft hand rested on his shoulder, pulling him out of the spiral of worry that was spinning so violently out of control in Steve's mind.
"Go after him."
"Robin I.. I can't.."
The hand pulled on his shoulder, forcing him to stand face to face with her.
"I'm scared.."
Steve's eyes wondered around her face, taking in little details that he didn't remember being there before.
Worry lines that were just a little more deeper than he remembered.
Faded scars that were unnoticeable to the world except to the people who witnessed their creation.
Scars that matched his own.

"I'll ruin him.. i ruin everything"
There was a pause while Robin tried to think of the best way to phrase her thoughts that wouldn't distress him anymore than he already was but she couldn't. There was no other way to say it.
"I think.. and I may be wrong but I don't think I am and I don't think I'm the only one who has seen it.." her eyes darted to where Max was chatting before quickly darting back to Steve's.
" if you don't talk to him.. he's going to ruin himself probably already is"

His breath was raspy as steadied his breathing.
"Also don't you dare say that you've ruined anything or anyone...
I mean yeah you brought me along to literal hell but I can't imagine how boring my life would be if I hadn't met you, The Steve Harrington." She said proudly, her grip tightening on his shoulder.

"Ok.. ok I'll go, I'll go... I'll go"
At this point he wasn't sure if he was telling her or himself.