Raising Hel | a Stranger Things fanfiction

Epilogue

May 1986

Hellen stands by the sofa bed in the living room of her apartment, reflecting on the last weeks as she watches Eddie sleeping. After Nancy secured a deal with the FBI that he would be cleared of all charges, Hellen was confident she and her med school student roommate would be able to take care of Eddie. She wasn't completely wrong, and it was still better than going back to Hawkins where things had escalated to a new level of crisis and was slowly coming back to normal, but it had been challenging. It still was.

Eddie was recovering, although he still needed crutches to walk and the scar on his face was yet to finish healing. The trickiest part was pain management for which she forbade he used drugs. She was also forcing him to stop smoking, which didn't help either. They had been fights, sleepless nights and heavy moods...

But today is Eddie's twentieth birthday, it ought to be of good omen. She will take him out for breakfast and make sure he had a good day, even if it means skipping class. Today is also the day she will find the courage to tell him... Because no matter how bad the fights, she never wants him to leave.

*

Eddie winces as Hel apply some cream on the scar on his cheek. She apologizes and goes on more gently. She's dressed up very pretty today and he wonders if she's meeting with someone before class this morning. He should be happy for her – she spent the 2 months taking care of him, she deserves some good times – but all he feels is jealousy and anger.

Ever since they settled here, anger has been corroding him. He can't even tell why he's angry. It's just there, in his chest, boiling, waiting to snap. And Hel has been getting most of it, which makes Eddie even more angry at himself. And more confused as to why she hasn't kicked him out of her place yet.

– All done, she chants.

– You're very merry today. You have a date or something?

She looks surprised, then blushes as she replies.

– I guess you are my date, birthday boy!

If the fact that Eddie forgot about it was a shock, it was nothing compared to her next move.

*

This is not what she had carefully planned in her head for the last few days. Not at all. Eddie mentioned a date and she's panicking, feeling certain that she will fail to say what she wants to say once they'll be out, with other people around them. Or maybe it's because she has been waiting for too long already.

Whatever the reason, with her fingers greasy from the cream and Eddie sitting in his boxers, she dives in. It's almost like her body moves on its own, hands finding their way to Eddie's neck, lips pressing on his mouth. A firework explodes in her belly while her brain flashes doomed scenarios of Eddie rejecting her.

She pulls away too quickly, fells stupid about it. When she dares to meet Eddie's eyes, they're wide open. She panics again and hears herself mumbling:

– Happy birthday.

*

Eddie's mind is racing. He's been terrible to her some days, they had fights, spent days sulking at each other over a stupid pack of cigarettes she threw away. He's a freak, a creep, a waste. Disfigured, limping, useless! Yet, she kisses him?

It could be pity, but that's not what he sees on her very red face. And even if it was, it's his birthday, he can be self-indulgent, right? He thinks about his 14-year-old self who dreamt about this moment, about all the failed romances in his life, and figures it can't get any worse than that. So yes, he will indulge himself.

He blinks the shock away, cups her face and pulls her into another kiss. One he allows himself to fully enjoy. One that leaves him hopeful that life has more to offer to him than hiding away from the rest of the world.