𝚁𝚘𝚕𝚕 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚒𝚌𝚎| 𝓔𝓭𝓭𝓲𝓮 𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓸𝓷𝓼/ 𝓘𝓶𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓼

Don't Mind The Storm

I smile as I watch Eddie and his band practice for their upcoming show, a chilly breeze blows in from the open garage door, but the guys don't seem to mind it or notice. Immediately I feel on edge, as if something isn't right, seconds later there's a boom of thunder as rain plummets from the sky, so heavy that the band can barely hear themselves play.

My body begins to shake as memories of the Upside Down fill my mind. The blood red sky. That unpredictable lightening. The bats, screeching as they fly towards us.

"Hey, it's alright," Eddie softly says, I blink and realise he's crouched in front of me, his hands on either side of my face as tears run down my cheeks. The rest of the band watches us in confusion, they don't have any idea about what we went through. "You're safe."

I nod, clearing my throat and standing up. I feel embarrassed as my weak legs tremble, I'm in no state to be around people. Or at least people who don't get it. "Let's pick this up again tomorrow, same time?" Eddie calls out over the sound of the rain, the band all nod and mutter to themselves as Eddie wraps an arm around my shoulders and guides me to the van which luckily is parked just outside.

Even so, by time we both climb in we're drenched and on the verge of shivering. Hair is plastered to Eddie's face as he wipes it away, turning on the heater as he starts the van. "I didn't know." He mumbles more to himself as he reverses, squinting against the storm.

"I didn't want to say." I whisper, my hands shaking. I close my eyes and try to focus on my breathing, tracing Eddie's name on my thigh with my finger, it's a habit I picked up in the Upside Down and it seems to have stuck, it's a reminder that he's still alive and with me.

Eddie sighs as he runs a hand over his face, "I should've picked up on these things. The nightmares. The anxiety. The sudden fear of storms."

"It's okay, there's nothing you can do." I shrug, staring out of the window as trees whizz by. At first I tried to keep my trauma bottled up, refusing to appear weak and affected, but over time it's harder and I don't know how to cope anymore.

"There's always something I can do." Eddie says, sounding slightly annoyed but I think it's at himself. "That place still has some grip on me to." He softly says as we pull into my neighbourhood.

I turn to look at Eddie, his eyes lose their usual playful glint for a second as if he's reliving the memories too. "Do things remind you of it?" I hesitantly ask, feeling awkward, what if I'm the only one who's bothered.

"Yeah. Sometimes at night when I'm outside smoking I'll see something fly and freak, dropping my smoke and running back inside." Eddie chuckles, but it's fake. Eddie turns the van off outside my house and begins to toy with his rings.

"How do you deal with it?" I whisper, tears once again coating my eyes. Eddie's face is full of concern as he reaches out and grasps my hands in his.

"I remind myself I'm not there anymore, I take a deep breath and find something that's from our Hawkins, anything, and I stare at it. In my head I think about the details of it, you know, the feel or the look, how it smells and shit." Eddie murmurs, I nod, thinking that my coping mechanism is similar.

"We're a real pair, aren't we?" I huff with a smile, feeling slightly relieved I'm not alone in this. The harsh tension begins to dissipate as Eddie grins, nodding as he brings my hands up to his lips and presses a gentle kiss to them.

"Yeah, like two peas in a pod." He teases, but then his smile drops as he lets go of my hands, only to cup my cheek as his thumb gently brushes my cheekbone. "You're not alone, I'm here for you no matter what, I don't know if you were worried about me judging you or thinking any less of you, but I won't. Ever. You're a survivor and I admire you for that."

I smile, feeling much better as I lean forward and wrap my arms around Eddie. He hugs me back, squeezing tight as I let out a shuddery sigh. "Thank you, I'm here for you too of you want to talk."

Eddie smiles warmly as he pulls back, "I appreciate that." I nod and take a deep breath before opening the van door and stepping into the rain, seconds later Eddie grabs my hand as he smiles down at me, he quickly kisses the top of my head before picking me up and spinning me around, I laugh as we get soaked, but for the first time in a while, I don't mind the storm.