Peanut Butter Without the Crust -

Ch.8 Pop Bottle Top

Saturday the call was made from the Harrington house to the police station, Sunday Steve listened to the entirety of the Hobbit be read to him till he fell asleep on the couch with Eddie. Now as Monday morning rolled around he held no idea what the day held for him. 

The alarm on the upturned crate of a nightstand was now screeching over the David Bowie still humming away from the cassette player. Steve was the first awake at the noise, startled by the abrupt noise at only six thirty in the morning. 

A very groggy Eddie stumbled his way from the floor mattress to the nightstand, pounding on the clock harder than necessary to turn the alarm off. Grumbling about five more minutes he laid next to the still scared Omega who seemed to calm once he realized it wasn't a threat. Curling into the side of his pack mate he let himself start to drift back to sleep as well. 

The escape back to sleep felt short lived for them both, soon a knock was on the door along with the desk lamp flicking on. "C'mon pup, you got school today can't let you sleep for another half hour" 

"I don't wanna go" With a sleep thick accent Eddie rolled over to face the door, arm still wrapped tight around the smaller boy "'Sides I think I should stay home with Stevie" 

"Don't think so, you've missed 'nough school already. 'Sides he'll be fine, I'll be with him. You can't be glued to his side" Chuckling the old Alpha crossed his arms as he leaned against the door frame. Bargaining with his nephew was always an occurance on school days now they're were just more chips into play. 

Grumbling as if he'd just lost at cards Eddie pulled himself from the bed, half heartfully glaring as his uncle left the doorway. Gathering clothes that were strew around the room he let out groggy groans of disapproval all while Steve sat watching. Tiredly rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he followed the other with his gaze. 

Quickly changing clothes like the other wasn't in the room. Off came the sleep sweats and into skinny jeans that were tight as hell but were somehow comfortable. Out with the faded falling apart Metallica shirt and on was the Judas Priest shirt. Leather jacket, battle vest over top. Hair pulled from its sleep ruffled bun and hands run through it in lou of a brush.

Grabbing his beaten up school bag and dumping a few notebooks into it before nodding in self approval the older boy looked at the clock with a curse. Blaming his impeccable sense of style for him being late. "Pretty boy, I got to get to school. Feel free to anything in the room, music, desk, books don't matter to me I just ask please don't touch my guitar she's my baby" 

Running his hand through the others hair quickly he rushes out the door and too his van cursing like a sailor the entire way. Left sitting in the room in the sleep rushed haze Steve tilted his head, whining at the time of being only seven thirty. 

Standing in the doorway again with a crooked smile and a cup of coffee was Wayne, dressed in sweats and an old stained t-shirt which had a breast pocket just barely hanging on by a thread which held a pack of cigarettes. "You can go back to sleep pup, it's early and you ain't in school yet" 

Walking over to the cassette player he hummed an old song while he rewinded the tape back to the beginning, laughing to himself about how it's a wonder the tape isn't ran ragged with how much it's been played and rewinded in the last two days. Exiting the room without another word, keepin the bedroom door cracked as he made his way to the living room T.V. to spend his day in front of it till he had to go to work that evening. 

The next time Steve woke it was closer to noon, the desk lamp was still on and so was the nightstand lamp they used as a night light. Rubbing his eyes to rid them of the excess sleep he sat up, chewing on his lip in decision. Landing on one he nodded to himself in self approval before he began the slow drag of pulling himself out of bed and onto shaky legs. Ones that had become more stable with use after so many years of being forced to stay on his bed with no movement. 

Stumbling around the room he gathered jeans from his supply box, the acid wash color of them intriguing the brunette. Searching around in the almost permanent mess the room was in he found one of Eddie's shirt, specifically a Motley Crue t-shirt. Dressing himself with the help of the bed he leaned against he smiled proud. Running some of Eddie's praise through his head as he made his slow way out of the room to the living room where he heard the tv. 

Looking up at the noise in the hall Wayne smiled to himself and waited for Steve to make his own way to him. Both the Munsons having very different ways of helping the teen gain back some of the abilities he'd lost after all those years in captivity. Smiling as he sat on the couch he nodded in approval "Good job pup, I'm bout to get up and get somethin' to drink you want anythin'?"

"W-water, water please?" Steve looked at the older man as he nodded and stood up, empty soda bottle in hand as he made his way to the kitchen. 

Shifting his gaze across the living room he took in details he never noticed before in his short time in here, the old cracked records nailed to the wall behind the hat collection. The mugs that hung just right of the dining table which looked more like a catch all than a place to eat even though they'd eaten there just the other night. Focus caught by something on the coffee table he looked to it to find an old glass bottle top. 

Reaching for it he ran his thumb of the aluminum cap, interested by the red color of it. The name of a soda he'd never heard of before. Holding it in his palm he jumped slightly when Wayne sat back down in the armchair and spoke to him. "That there is a rarity up this way, ain't no one really heard of that soda" 

"W-what, is it?" Going to set the bottle cap down he stopped when the other shook his head at him. 

Handing over the glass of water he open his beer can with a pop "You can hold it, it's for a soda called Cheerwine. It's a Carolina thin', got family down that way that I used to get it from when I lived in Tennessee" 

"C-Cheerwine, Cheerwine?" Receiving a nod he smiled and continues "Is it good?"

"Me and Eds thinks so, hell I might still have some let me look" Pulling himself up from the old arm chair he walked over to the fridge and pulled out a glass bottle filled with red liquid from the back. Handing over the bottle after Steve had set the water glass and other bottle cap down. "I'll open it for ya let me grab my keys" 

Pulling his keys from the hooks by the front door Wayne popped off the top and handed both the cap and bottle back to Steve. "There you are pup, it's okay if in ya don't like it" 

Holding the bottle in both hands Steve brought it up to his lips, the bubbles from the carbonation tickling his lips as he drank down the red liquid, the oddly cherry yet not quite cherry flavor washing over his tongue. Looking at the old Alpha with a quick almost missable smile he nodded "V-very good, good"

"Glad you like it Steve, you wanna know how to turn that bottle cap into a pin you can wear?" Receiving an eager nod he pulled the tab off his beer can before going to find other things. Returning with a pair of pliers, a singular safety pin and an old jean vest that looked beaten up but loved. 

Sitting next to the Omega he explained every step from bending the tap, placing it on the back of the bottle cap before clamping down the edges real tight around its ends before putting the safety pin through it and pinning it to the vest. Bending the metal of the pin so it couldn't fall off the jacket. He wasn't as close to the older man as he was Eddie but him and Uncle Wayne did have this pop bottle top as a start.