Rock Steady (Steddie)

Calm Down, Honey, Daddy's Joking

Eddie opened his eyes and carefully slipped out of Steve's embrace. Steve stirred but didn't wake up. He slid onto the floor in front of the couch and lit a cigarette. Steve had been asleep for hours, but he just couldn't fall asleep. Telling Steve about his dreams hadn't made him fear them any less. He had tried though. He wanted to sleep; he was so damned tired. Getting black out drunk and passing out may be good for not remembering your dreams, but it didn't do much as far as rest goes.

Eddie picked up his now cold cup of coffee and gulped it down as quickly as he could. It tasted awful, even worse when it was cold. He then took Steve's untouched cup of coffee and gulped that down as well. He finished his cigarette then pulled himself off the floor and began to clean up the crushed remnants of the syringe Steve had broken. After disposing of the broken glass, Eddie stood there, staring at it on top of the other garbage in the bin.

He couldn't believe Steve had done that. It had been a waste of perfectly good drugs. Eddie glanced towards the bedroom door, remembering that there was plenty more where that had come from. But the syringe had been destroyed. He looked back down at it. The bent needle glinted in the moonlight. He was actually glad Steve had done it. Eddie didn't really want to stick a needle into his arm. He just wanted to fall asleep without dreaming.

He looked back towards the bedroom and after only a moment of hesitation, he made his way back to Rick's closet, peeled back the carpet, and removed the floor panel. Eddie stared at the baggie of balloons for a long time, glancing up towards the living room every couple of seconds, listening to make sure Steve was still asleep. Finally, he reached into the bag and grabbed a handful of balloons, then stuffed them into the inside pocket of his jacket. He replaced the panel, and the carpet then went to make more coffee.

A couple of hours later, as the sun was coming up, Steve woke up and wondered where Eddie was. He checked the bedroom and bathroom with no luck. When he looked outside to see if his van was still there, he saw Eddie sitting on the front steps, a cup of coffee on the steps next to him, smoking a cigarette. He went outside and sat next to him.

"Did you get any sleep?" Eddie shook his head. "You going to school today?"

"Yeah," he lied. "I'll go. Probably ditch first period though." He planned to ditch the whole day, but he knew if he told Steve that, he'd probably get a lecture or Steve would offer to stay with him. He wasn't in the mood for a lecture or company today.

"Are you okay?" Steve reached over and slipped his hand behind Eddie's neck as he nodded. "Where can I find you later?"

"I don't know," Eddie told him. "I'll call you, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Steve tugged him closer and pressed his lips to Eddie's. Eddie returned his kiss eagerly. "Remind me not to ever kiss you first thing in the morning when you've been drinking crappy coffee all night and smoking." He made a face and Eddie laughed. "I'll see you later."

"Later, big boy."

Eddie watched Steve drive away then waited another fifteen minutes to make sure he didn't come back unexpectedly. Finally, he went back inside. He made himself another cup of coffee then grabbed his lunchbox and sat down at the kitchen table to roll a joint. He had several in his cigarette pack already rolled, but this one would be different. He filled the rolling paper with weed, then sat it on the table in front of him and fished one of the balloons out of his jacket pocket. He tore it open and poured the powder in an even line inside the joint. He then picked it up carefully and tightly rolled it. He licked the edge to seal it, twisting the ends to keep the contents inside.

Eddie put the joint between his lips and picked up his lighter but hesitated a moment. He remembered watching Rick nod off and almost fall out of his chair when he shot up. He wasn't sure what would happen with smoking it, but he didn't want to fall over or pass out at the kitchen table, so he took the joint and sat back on the couch before lighting it.