Dear Billy

[the_freak]

It was risky, hanging around the hospital like this when pretty much all of Hawkins was still convinced he was to blame for all of this, but Eddie felt like he owed it to Max to visit. It was rough seeing her like that. And he couldn't help the gnawing guilt that if any of them should have lost to this thing it was him. Each of them meant so much to so many people, and here he was, bruised and bandaged, but alive. And the only person who might have cared to know it had to think he was dead. It didn't seem fair.

He ducked outside for a smoke, keeping his head down, but people were too preoccupied with the mess that had opened up under them to be worried about hunting the Freak. As far as they were concerned the Munson boy was dead, and good riddance.

Trying to get the damn smoke to light, Eddie grew still, eyes suddenly catching a familiar set of piercing blue ones, and seeing that moment of recognition in them he paled. He abruptly turned tail, walking aimlessly around the side of the building and praying silently he'd only imagined that look of recognition.

Comments

[playingtough]

"My life back might be a good one," and he follows Eddie into the kitchen. He grabs his own bit of bread to munch into for the moment. Filling, and it settled into his stomach well enough that he wouldn't see it a second time. "This'll be fine. We should get something on the way back though. Bread is not going to cut it for too much longer."

And to add to the point, his stomach growled its agreement. He heads out of the house and to Eddie's heisted vehicle of choice.

[the_freak]

"Be a hell of a wish. You'll have to hope the world's really pulling for you," he teases.

Climbing into the car, Eddie has to work his magic to get it started again and off the go.

[playingtough]

"It was apparently pulling for me to stay alive," he points out with his own little smile back.

The drive back to the former Hargrove house is quiet aside from the music. Once they're there, he leads them back inside once again after checking to make sure that no one was really watching. Billy leads them to the kitchen and starts hunting through the drawers.

"Should be some little birthday candles somewhere in here. And maybe some lighters and maybe matches. You can go through anything, I don't fucking care."

[the_freak]

"That's a big one. If it's not pulling for that one you're pretty much boned," Eddie agrees with a laugh.

Back at the house, Eddie ponders at the odds and ends left behind, wondering which things made the cut for the move and why. "Not like anyone else is using any of it, we might as well take anything that could come in handy."

[playingtough]

While the house was empty of furniture, it was clear that the rest of the family was quick to move out. Maybe Neil went back to California. Did he and Eddie talk about it already? He can't remember. Being out in the open is weird again.

The kitchen has some little trinkets and knick-knacks left about. Magnets on the fridge (the bank Neil and Susan worked at; a magnet for the zoo), some slightly rusty scissors, and a drawer filled with odds and ends. Batteries that may or may not have charge; some phone little twistie ties; unused birthday candles. Only the numbers 5 and 2 were left though for those, and an assortment of stick ones around them. It was something at least.

"Take whatever you want."

Billy heads into his room. It's empty, with rectangles on the wall where his posters had once been up. There's a lingering smell of cigarettes and cologne despite how long he's been gone. He wastes no time going over to the back corner that his bed covered up, and pried up a board to get into the hole underneath. A shoebox covered in duct-tape to protect it was removed and he opened it--

And let out a relieved sigh. The deed hadn't been touched. Phew. "I got it, Eddie. The deed is still in here."

[the_freak]

Eddie starts grabbing everything. Never know when it might come in handy and it's not like anyone's going to miss it. It feels a bit like the old days working with his Old Man, but he pushes that thought aside and finds a worn bag to shovel the odds and ends into.

He hears Billy's voice and wanders in after it, looking around the room and trying to picture it as it had been. "Any other fun secrets in there?" he asks with a teasing voice, trying to sneak a peek at the box.

[playingtough]

The board gets put back into place, and when he gets up, Eddie's at the door trying to look at the box. "Nah, not much. A gay porn magazine from California, the deed, and some pictures." The magazine is easily seen on top of the pictures, covering up Polaroids his mom had taken of him surfing and the two of them together.

Those were pictures he couldn't risk his dad ever finding.

He walks over, lid still off of the box. "What did you find in the house? Anything good? Fun secrets?"

[the_freak]

The magazine gets a curious lift of his brow, and Eddie shakes his head. "Nah, nothing too exciting. A few old polaroids of your dad and a very kinky looking gentleman," he teases. "Nothing really, just some old junk not worth taking with them. But we'll take what we can get."

[playingtough]

Eyes widen, then he laughs at the remark. "Yeah right, like my dad is going to hang out with people that don't button the last two on their shirts." Neil was one of those super-conservative fuckwads with a power complex. But the thought of his dad hanging out with a kinky guy is pretty fucking funny. He reaches up and gives a playful-not-hurting smack against the back of Eddie's head.

"C'mon, lets go get my baby back and see how she looks. I'll talk to the people there, see if I can't get a job." Billy looks at Eddie with that sunshine grin again, leading the way back to the front door.

[the_freak]

"Oh they weren't wearing any shirts," Eddie assures sarcastically, waggling his eyebrows.

"Good, it'll nice not to have to hotwire this thing every time we wanna go," he says, climbing into the car and fiddling with the wires to get her going again.

[playingtough]

"Get outta here!" Billy laughs again, getting comfortable in the seat as Eddie hotwires it up. "You can drop it off wherever you got it and I'll pick you back up in the Camaro."

As the car bumps along, he wonders how any of this happened. How he ended up in Eddie's company of all people, and why he was hanging out in some stranger's house like he was a criminal. There's a vague memory of the tv before he fell asleep.

He looks over at Eddie. "We've got cupcakes, but what else do you do for your birthday? I doubt either of us have enough money for blackjack and hookers."

Though that'd be pretty nice for his birthday.