To Hell and Back Again

Chapter Thirty-Six

Nancy drove quietly to Steve's house. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as she took a turn, rocking the car a tad. Quiet chatter filled the front of the car. Robin would occasionally laugh then look back to see if Steve was also laughing. Steve just stared out the window. A quiet breeze whistled through the cracked window next to Robin, blowing her hair around. Robin glanced back to where Steve was. Eddie laid in his lap, quietly breathing through the dirt and blood on his face. Nancy drove over a speed bump, sending the group flying up off their seats. "Woah, Nancy chill." Steve wrapped his arms around Eddie, ensuring he wouldn't fall off the seat. Steve pushed Eddie's hair out of his face.
"Sorry!" Nancy slowed the car at a red light. Her and Robin leaned forward to see the light. It kept switching between red, yellow and green, rapidly.
"Maybe the light is out?" Robin said quietly, her eyes focused on the flickering traffic light. Eddie's eyes opened, startling Steve.
"Hey you're awake." Steve watched as Eddie sat up and rubbed his eyes. The light was almost blinding.
"Where are we?" Eddie rubbed his head, an aching pulse filled his brain.
"On our way home." Steve answered as he watched Nancy yield at the light, treating it like a stop sign. Eddie sat quietly, staring out the window.
"Fuck! Nancy watch out!" A car screeched towards them, it's horn blaring for them to move out of the intersection. It wasn't going to stop. They all knew the car was too close to stop. Eddie threw his body over Steve's, holding his head to his chest to protect him. Nancy's first instinct was to close her eyes, her hand grabbing into Robin's. Robin threw her head down to her knees, her hand squeezing Nancy's in response. Steve opened his eyes, peering past Eddie's body.
"Holy shit." Robin opened her eyes. The car was inches away from hitting them. Although, it was stopped, floating in mid air. Steve stared from the backseat in amazement at what was happening in front of them. He had only seen this once before. Eleven. Steve looked up to Eddie, his body still covering Steve except for one hand extended in the air. It was Eddie. Steve grabbed Eddie's shoulder in shock. His heart felt like it was trembling in his rib cage. Eddie lowered his hand, making the car drop to the ground. His eyes darted over to Steve, a single drop of blood running from his nose. "Nance! Drive!" Robin grabbed the dashboard as Nancy hit on the gas, sending the car forward. As they drove by Steve looked out the window at the car's busted body. The windows were shattered out. The driver seemed fine except for they were in shock, their hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.
"What the fuck..." Eddie stared out the window at the car as they sped away.
Nancy parked in front of Robin's house. She turned to see Robin staring at her mom's grey Sedan in the driveway. "Do you want to go back to my house?" Nancy stared towards Robin, knowing she didn't want to be home if her mom was too. Robin looked to Nancy, wide eyed. "I can give you that book you wanted to borrow." Nancy covered her suggestion, trying not to get Steve and Eddie skeptical. Robin nodded and got out of the car. Steve and Eddie followed, moving to the front seats.
"Hey, Nance. If you ever almost wreck my car again then we'll have problems." Steve winked at Nancy, his words a bit sarcastic. Steve got into the drivers seat. Eddie took his place in the passenger side seat, waving towards Nancy and Robin as he closed the door. Steve leaned across Eddie, opening the glove box. He took a black pair of sunglasses out of the compartment and slid them onto his face. "And Rob," He talked out the open window over Eddie, "at least she doesn't sound like a muppet." A chill went down Robin's spine. She knew that meant Steve knew.
"What?" Nancy turned to Robin, her eyebrows pushed together.
"N-nothing." Robin waved to the boys as Steve's car pulled away from her house. "It's a... an inside joke." Steve glanced over to Eddie. He was silent, his eyes focused outside and his hair blowing gently in the open window's breeze. He felt nauseous, letting the wind hit his face helped a little bit. Steve glanced over a couple more times, making sure he was okay. Steve car rolled past his house. Eddie's head turned towards Steve.
"You passed the house." Eddie watched as Steve chose to ignore him. His fingers tapped along with the song on the radio on the steering wheel. His eyes glanced over to Eddie, dimmed by the dark sunglasses over them. Rock You Like A Hurricane played through the radio. Steve nodded his head along to it, humming along softly. He glanced to Eddie again.
"Why aren't you jamming? You love this song." He smiled, his smile lines making Eddie feel a little fluttery inside. Eddie couldn't take his eyes off Steve.
"How are you so chill after what just happened?" Eddie furrowed his eyebrows. Steve reached down and cranked up the radio. The music muffled out any outside noises. Steve's hum added on words, he was full on singing along now. "Steve, why won't you answer me?" Steve ignored him again. His foot fell heavy on the gas, the speed of the car increasing. Eddie grabbed the handle above the window as the air from his window got faster, blowing his hair straight behind him. Steve hit the breaks, parking them right in front of an empty Starcourt.
"Because I don't want things to change right now. I just want a normal life right now, Eddie." Steve opened the car door. Eddie's eyes followed him in the windows as he walked around the front of the car. He turned and waved Eddie on. He got out of the car and followed Steve into the abandoned building. "Did you come here when it was open?" Steve pulled open the door. The chain holding it closed was cut, someone had gotten the same idea as Steve before.
"Do I strike you as the type to go to shopping malls?" Eddie smiled as he followed Steve in. The lobby of the mall was empty. Chairs were knocked over, dirt and grime coated the walls and floors. There was a flipped car in the center of the room. Steve nodded knowing exactly what had gone on. Steve grabbed Eddie's hand and pulled him through the wreckage. Every single piece of evidence of what had happened was cleaned up, the remnants of the mall left behind.
"No, but it was huge so I didn't know if you checked it out." Steve kicked a empty cup laying in front of him. His eyes scanned the mall. "We could probably find some pretty cool shit here." Steve turned to Eddie. He slid the sunglasses off his face and put them in his jacket pocket.
"Yeah? Like what?" Eddie looked around. "Dirt? You gonna get me dirt?" He smiled, his face mirroring Steve's. Steve pulled him by the hand towards Scoops Ahoy. Eddie furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at the tacky decorations. The anchors and stripes still held strong.
"This is where I met Robin." Steve took a deep breath, not worrying about the asbestos or dirt he could be inhaling. "Well, not technically. We had classes together but I didn't remember her." Steve walked around the counter, leaving Eddie on the other side.
"Yeah, you worked here." Eddie leaned across the counter. "I know."
"Did you stalk me, Munson?" Steve leaned over the other side of the counter, his lips inches away from Eddie's.
"Yeah, I won't lie. I definitely did." His voice was sarcastic. Steve frowned, his eyes feeling heavy. The boys chatted over the counter, their laughs filling the abandoned ice cream store. Eddie sat on the counter while Steve explored the back. He watched through the window in the wall as Steve got frustrated with something.
"Damn it!" Steve shuffled things around in the back of the store.
"What are you looking for?" Eddie laughed through the sound of lockers slamming and things falling. Steve appeared out the door a couple minutes later wearing a Scoops Ahoy uniform that was way too small on him. The name tag said Leo and not Steve. "Oh my god." Eddie clapped his hands as he laughed towards Steve. Steve did a twirl, giving him the full affect of the uniform.
"Yeah, Leo quit after a week and left his uniform in his locker. It fits right?" Steve laughed as he flexed his muscles a bit, striking pose after pose for Eddie.
"You look stupid." Eddie smiled ear to ear at the ridiculously tight uniform Steve was wearing.
"And everyday I would stand back here," Steve went behind the door, closing it a tad so Eddie couldn't see him. "And I'd bust through the door and say," Steve pushed through the door aggressively, "Ahoy Ladies!" He put out his hands and shook them, giving Eddie jazz hands. "But now it would be, 'Ahoy Eddie!" Eddie rolled his eyes and laughed a bit. He smiled as he admired Steve's rambling. Steve disappeared into the back again, changing out of the uniform. He stood in front of the window in the wall, his bare back visible to Eddie. He slid on his shirt then put the uniform back in the locker. "Holy shit." Steve rummaged around the back of the store.
"What is it?" Eddie jumped off the counter and stood so he could see Steve through the window.
"Employee of the month." Steve held up a plaque. "They didn't give one out the month the mall got... destroyed." Steve let out a small laugh as he read his name in the gold inscription. "I'm so bad at every job I've had so I didn't expect to get it." Steve smiled and rubbed dust and dirt off the plaque.