Living In A World On Fire (Steddie)

Corroded Coffin

NOTE: I apologize for the offensive slurs. I tried to keep them to a minimum.

1977

Today was Eddie's twelfth birthday. October seventeenth. He wished he had been born two weeks later, on Halloween. Not that it would change anything, but if he was going to be The Freak, he might as well have a birthday to live up to the reputation he was gaining. There was one other boy in his class, Jeff Franklin, who got teased and picked on as much as he did. His birthday was October thirty-first. Everyone called him a demon, mostly because he was the only black kid in the whole school. But having Halloween for his birthday just made it worse.

But Eddie liked Jeff. He was the only kid that Eddie had been able to get along with. He seemed to understand that Eddie didn't always want to talk, and he definitely didn't want to be touched. Jeff seemed to get that. He didn't push Eddie like the other kids did. Even though he was older than all of the other kids, they still bullied him because Eddie didn't stand up for himself. He'd rather just hide in a corner somewhere with a book. But the teachers thought he needed to socialize more, and they pushed him into social interactions that he wanted no part of. But once he made friends with Jeff, they started to back down. At least he wasn't sitting alone all the time. Even if he was with 'that colored boy' that everyone was so afraid of.

Eddie got more shit from the other kids than Jeff did. Mostly because they were scared of Jeff. He was bigger than Eddie, and the fact that he was black and born on Halloween didn't help. They called him names and talked behind his back, sure. But that was as far as it went. Unfortunately, Eddie took the brunt of the bullies wrath. Especially from Tommy Hagan and Steve Harrington. They were ruthless and mean and Eddie hated them with every fiber of his being. They seemed to delight in the fact that Eddie shied away from being touched.

No, not shied away. That wasn't quite right. Even though Uncle Wayne had been working with him to get past it, Eddie still flinched anytime someone came near him. He still had it in the back of his head that everyone was going to hurt him. He couldn't help it. Too many people, especially those bigger than him, always tried to hurt him. Wayne was the only one who ever touched him in a way that didn't hurt. Even his momma hurt him. She didn't want to. Daddy made her do it. Shut that bitch up, he'd yell at her when Eddie cried. Shut that little pussy up before I put something in his mouth and make him shut up. So, momma would hit him, beg him to stop. It was better if she hit him than to let daddy get his hands on him.

Eddie learned to stop crying when someone was hurting him. If he cried, they hurt him more. Daddy hurt him. Mostly daddy just watched. But if he cried, it made daddy mad, and daddy would shut him up. They didn't pay as much if Eddie cried or fought. So, he didn't cry. He didn't fight back. Now, when someone hurt him, Eddie took whatever was dished out and then he went home and hid in the closet. He hid and cried so that when Wayne came home and found him, he would be the only one who knew Eddie cried. Because Wayne wouldn't punish him for crying.

It was time for recess and while the other kids played sports or hung out with their friends on the playground, Eddie took his book and went to sit under the trees by the fence. When he got there, Jeff was already there. He had a purple velvet Crown Royal bag and a stack of books with him. Eddie smiled and sat down under the tree. He sat his own book, The Shining by Stephen King, aside and looked curiously at the books in front of Jeff. There were three of them and they each had dragons on the cover. Eddie liked dragons.

"What 'cha readin'." Jeff asked.

"The Shining," Eddie answered. He didn't have to say anymore. Jeff was used to Eddie's perfunctory way of speaking. He never said much, but he said enough. "What's that?" Eddie nodded towards the books and the velvet bag Jeff had.