Master of Puppets

Chapter 7

The time had finally come for everyone to leave the Byers residence, much to Hopper's relief. Having upwards of ten extra people crammed into the cabin did absolutely nothing for his patience. Now that Eddie had been - cautiously - deemed not a threat, there was no need to keep him locked up.

It was decided, however, that he couldn't return to Wayne's trailer. Not with what he'd become. The thought of Eddie putting his uncle into harm's way was simply out of the question. It was decided, then, that Eddie would stay with Steve. His parents were never home anyways and sometimes left for weeks or months at a time on business trips throughout the year. This didn't bother Harrington like it used to when he was little and constantly in the care of one babysitter after another. His relationship with his father had always been rough, so a little reprieve from him was always welcome. This solution would be easy enough until they found him a more permanent place to stay.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Eddie asked, messing with the rings on his fingers. He didn't love the idea that he was someone to be pitied, but he didn't have much of a choice.

Steve turned the ignition and looked over at him. "What? Yeah, of course." He smirked. "You having second thoughts or something?"

"No." Eddie scoffed. "King Eddie does not have second thoughts. I'm just making sure."

Steve chuckled and pulled off out of the driveway. "Well in that case, your highness. I don't mind."

-

The living room was spacious and filled with nice, expensive looking furniture. It was completely different from what Eddie was used to. He looked around in awe, but it occurred to him, strangely, that he didn't see a single family photo.

"You can stay in here." Steve dropped a pillow on the sofa.

Eddie raised an eyebrow, taking a blanket from him. "And your parents are cool with this?"

"They'll never know. They don't get back until the 13th. We should be able to find you a place by then."

Eddie frowned as Steve walked into the hallway. He followed after him. "That's a month from now. Do they usually leave for that long?"

"Yeah." Steve entered his room and started rifling through his closet. "Business trips. 'They'll sleep when they're dead' and all that."

Eddie nodded a bit in thought. He glanced around. "I guess that explains the nice house and fancy cars. You're lucky."

Steve paused a moment and chuckled lightly.

"'Lucky'." He muttered.

After a minute or two of searching, he turned around and held up a few options. "I think we're the same size. You can raid my closet if you need until we can grab your stuff from Wayne's."

"Access to all the polos and bell bottoms I could ever want?" Eddie placed a hand on his chest and pretended to swoon. "Still my beating heart."