Head Over Heels for Eddie Munson

Ch25: The Hero this Time

"Okay I wanna run through it one more time," Nancy turned to the group left in the trailer, "Phase one." Eddie looked down onto me sitting on the trailer's bench, I picked at the dried scabs on my scratched hands. The truth was that I hadn't been listening, how could I. As I sat minutes away from destruction with my friends separated and left to fend for themselves, I wondered how I could make time stop. How can I pause and soak in this moment for a while? I look around towards my family, people I had grown so close to, people that took me in from an abusive and horrific childhood. I look into the eyes of a girl that was almost like a sister as she plans out our slow demise. What was I supposed to do now? I can't repeat the year before, I have to be stronger. "I'm scared," I thought to myself. Crying was never something I liked to do in front of people, showing any sad emotion at all was too much for me. It felt harder, though, to hold such heavy tears as Vecna's vision kept replaying. He seemed so close to me, like he was with me. The hair on my neck stood up as a cold sweat possessed me. "Four?....Phase four? Lori?" Nancy shook me and I jumped, wiping the sheer fear off my face. "We go into Vecna's, hopefully, bat-free lair and flambé," I shook the bottle of gas in my hands as I said the last phase of our plan for the 10th time. Nancy began talking about deviating from the plan and how we should always stick to the phases, but I was never the type of person to follow the rules.

We headed out of the trailer and into Eddie's house, the sound of hearts thumping flooded my mind with its utter strength and volume. Everyone felt uneasy and nauseated, a new level of fear had finally hit them. "Here goes nothing," Steve said as he climbed up the rope into the upside down. We watched in anticipation as he landed on his feet, flaunting his perfect landing. "Whoaaaa. What does he want us to do, applaud?" Robin said with a smile as Steve went to grab the mattress. Nancy went in next, I helped her up as she climbed the rope, then came the weapons and Eddie. "Come on, Williams. The water's fine," Eddie's voice echoed from the alternate universe as I hesitated on the rope. Flashes of my time at the lab came to me, flashes of something unfamiliar came too. I could see the children dead on the floor, blood smeared on the walls, bones peaking through their delicate skin and torn by what could only be a monster. I snapped out of it and pulled myself into the upside down, landing in a way that triggered a headache. A hand popped up over me as I opened my eyes, it was Eddie's. "M'lady," He said as he pulled me up and into him, making way for Robin and Dustin. For a split second, our eyes were glued onto each other, we both grabbed the other and took a moment to bask in that warmth of our faces so incredibly close. It was possibly one of the last times I got to hold Eddie Munson, a truth I have not yet come to realize or accept in the very slightest. We all walked outside, into the cold and damp surroundings that set a pit into the bottom of my stomach. Steve turned to us, looking directly at me, as if he knew what I was up to. "Hey, guys, listen. If things here start to go south. I mean, at all, you abort. Okay? Draw the attention of the bats. Keep 'em busy for a minute or two. Lori, get to us safely and then...only then, will we, us....Nancy, Robin, Lori and I...take care of Vecna. Don't try to be cute or be a hero or something, okay? You guys are just-"

Dustin interrupted him, "Decoys. Don't worry. You can be the hero, Steve." I knew Steve just didn't want anyone to get hurt, but I felt a sudden rage, a need to redeem myself. I didn't know how just yet, but I would be the hero this time because I should've been last time and I couldn't. "Absolutely. I mean," Eddie turned to us and held my hand, squeezing it behind me so nobody could see, "look at us...we are not heroes. Hey Steve? Make him pay." Then they just walked away, as if it were nothing. I stared into the darkness surrounding me, a numb feeling lingered over me and I no longer knew what to do. I was lost. A hand pulled my arm and dragged me towards Eddie's trailer. "Y'a know how to use one of these?" Eddie's voice spoke, sounding like music to my ears. I had known how to use one, actually, but there's no fun in that. I shook my head no as Dustin sighed and drilled sheets of metal onto the trailer. "Hold onto this," Eddie grabbed my hands and stood behind me, fixing my form, "and hold this button down...there y'a go!" I had successfully drilled metal onto a wall, how difficult.

"Not bad," Eddie said as he looked at our creation. His house had become fully equipped for the bat attack, metal and wood covering the windows while metal fencing lined the entry. "Not bad at all," Dustin said standing in between us. I thought it looked terrible, but they worked too hard and I didn't want to discourage them. Thunder cracked in the background, red flashing on the surroundings and lighting up our faces. Again, fear was forced into the back of our minds as we continued through the plan. Eddie grabbed my arm and yanked me around Dustin to place me next to him, "Now for the fun part." He led us into his room, looking around at what the upsidedown had done to it, vines creeping up the walls and particles flying in the air. Eddie, however, was only marveling over one thing, his guitar. It shone in the light cracking through the window, I finally understood why he found it so beautiful. "Jesus Christ..." Eddie whimpered as he approached it, "It's like...she was destined for an alternate dimension. What do you say, freaks? Are you ready for the most metal concert in the history of the world?" He grabbed it and turned towards us, it looked so natural in his hands, so comfortable with him. One thing I know for sure, I have never wanted to see someone play a guitar more than right now, I have never been more excited for a concert. "That a rhetorical question?" Dustin asked as he got closer to the instrument. It was like we were all naturally attracted to it, almost mesmerizing us in anticipation to hear it being played. "Let's do it," Eddie whipped the guitar over his shoulder and pushed us out of his room, getting the proper machines needed to amplify the sound and keep the bats interested. I picked up a few chords and made my way outside and to the ladder that led to the roof. "Hey Eddie?" I said, stopping mid way, "What song are you going to play?" He never actually answered my question but I sensed his excitement when I asked. It drove me crazy thinking of everything that he could play, all the songs he showed me at the boathouse, and the ones he claimed he would play until his dying breath. But then it hit me.
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A/N: omg hope y'all enjoyedddd. I will cry we are so close to the end, im thinking 3-4 more chapters? Idk yet I need to see how things go. Anyway, I've been wracking my brain over coming up with the perfect ending to make it amazing for y'all and I like where it's going rn so hopefully it satisfies u guysss. Leave any comments you want, I love reading them and I'll see y'all very soooonnn. Love u guys sm. XOXOXO<3