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“Henderson?” Eddie asked, calling out to one of the newest members of Hellfire. An excitable freshman, Eddie was looking forward to see what he would bring to the party.
Dustin looked up from where he sat on the front steps of the school, long after most of the students had gone, reading what looked like the Earth and Space textbook Eddie remembered from ninth grade. Eddie had been meeting with his history teacher, negotiating an additional essay he could do to make up for the one he had failed just last week, though that didn’t explain what Dustin was doing there.
“Hey Eddie!” He waved at him with a genuine smile. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, just making the usual rounds to resuscitate my failing great point average.”
Dustin gave him a pointed look. “You’re failing already? It’s only a month into the school year.”
Rude . “Not all of us were gifted with the brains that could get us out of hustling for grades.” Eddie sat down next to him on the stone steps and nudged Dustin’s knee with his own. “I take it you weren’t groveling at the hands of teachers?”
“Nah, just waiting for Steve. I’m supposed to go home with him.”
Eddie thought back, but couldn’t recall a freshman named Steve. If he had been friends with Dustin, wouldn’t he have joined Hellfire?
“He drives me home most days, but sometimes work goes long. Which would be fine because I could ride my bike, but he forgets to tell me,” Dustin said, rolling his eyes. “He’s cool though.”
Someone older then, not a freshman. Maybe a brother? But Dustin would have mentioned. Already, Eddie couldn’t imagine any secrets Dustin was hiding, he was such an open-book.
“Don’t tell him, but I think he genuinely has minor brain damage. His organization is terrible, and it’s only gotten worse in the past two years,” Dustin continued on, taking on a very technical tone as he considered the state of his friend’s mind with obvious earnestness.
“Here he is,” Dustin said, standing and waving at the car pulling into the school parking lot, jumping to flag him down, as if they weren’t the only two people still outside the building. Though just expressing frustration at his friend’s communication and organization, he was absolutely beaming as Steve drove in front of the stairs.
Eddie laughed at the overdramatic antics of Dustin, but his smile wavered upon seeing who the driver was.
The Steve that Dustin was waiting for was none other than Steve Harrington. The party-hosting, basketball-playing, outcast-bashing, womanizing motherfucker who almost failed his senior year right alongside Eddie “the freak” Munson.
There was no way this was the cool older friend that gave Dustin rides everyday. The Steve Eddie remembered wouldn’t be caught dead hanging around some nerdy freshman part of the Hellfire club, and as far as Eddie knew, Dustin was more suited to the likes of, well, him! Certainly not the douchebag athlete Steve Harrington.
It must be a coincidence, Eddie thought. Steve was here for some other reason, and Dustin mixed up the cars.
Dustin, however, still walked right up to the car and slung his backpack into the backseat, before opening the passenger door.
“Before you say it, I know already, I should have told you this morning, but this time it’s not my fault,” the unfortunately familiar voice of Steve reached Eddie, standing now on the steps Dustin had just left.
Dustin scoffed, his door still open so Eddie could hear the inside of the car. “Oh really?”
“Yeah, really . Robin forgot to get someone to cover for her to leave for her grandma’s house right after school, so I agreed to. I just…kind of forgot it would go past the end of the school day when I said yes this morning.”
“And the truth comes out,” Dustin said, smiling cockily, “still your fault.” He was about to close the door when he caught sight of Eddie again. “Oh! Steve, this is Eddie. He’s the dungeon master for that new party I was telling you about. Eddie, this is Steve. He graduated last year.”
Eddie took the opportunity to step closer to the car. There was Steve, wearing a green vest with a name tag on it. Steve waved awkwardly at him. “Hi.”
The whole interaction had some underlying tension. Eddie didn’t trust him, which he made no effort at hiding, and Steve himself looked uncomfortable. Embarrassed maybe, but Eddie couldn’t place why. If it was of Dustin, that made him not only an asshole (which he already knew), but an idiot considering Dustin was obviously Eddie’s friend. Even Dustin looked a little apprehensive, like he was mixing two chemicals together and didn’t know how they would react.
Deciding to interrogate Dustin later, Eddie just smiled and said, “Don’t crash on your way home, we need Dustin for the next session. I’ve been feeling particularly malevolent recently,” winking at Dustin.
Dustin laughed and waved good-bye, as did Steve, before taking off from the parking lot.
Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson. What had Eddie just been thinking about knowing everything about Dustin? There had to be a story there.
Mike barely registered the shove to his back before his tray went clattering onto the floor with all his food, and his water spilled completely down the front of his shirt. He looked up in disgust at the one who pushed him. He was some upperclassmen Mike didn’t know, wearing a letterman jacket. He sneered down at Mike and shrugged.
“Sorry freak,” he said, before leaving with his friends, all laughing mindlessly.
Mike huffed angrily before gathering up his food. At least he was close to Eddie’s table and didn’t have to walk across the whole cafeteria after that display. Small mercies.
Eddie frowned. “You good Wheeler?”
“Yeah,” Mike mumbled. He really did not feel like dwelling and making a big deal out of a minor occurrence.
Eddie, however, was never one to let an opportunity to fuel his righteous anger pass, and declared for the table, “I’d walk over and punch that man in his brainless head if I wasn’t this close to actually graduating and leaving this place. Alas, he walks free.”
“Yeah, you’d do it if you actually stood a chance in a fistfight,” Jeff laughed.
“Steve would do great in a fistfight,” Dustin said from across the table.
Eddie stared at Dustin, not necessarily thrilled at the mention of Steve, but Dustin continued. “He once got in a fight with Billy Hargrove! It was the coolest thing. Billy just went right up and punched him, but Steve didn’t hesitate for a second. He was doing really well too.”
“Until he got a plate smashed on the side of his head,” Mike interrupted.
“He still totally saved Lucas!” Dustin argued.
Lucas looked like he wanted to stay out of it, but he did nod thoughtfully, saying, “That’s true. No telling what Billy would have done.”
Eddie shook his head. Billy Hargrove was another one of those dicks with an overinflated ego that lined the halls of the school. Dicks like Jason Carver, Tommy Hagan, and Steve Harrington.
“Well, I may not be a fighter, but I could definitely defeat Christopher Davidson, who’s apparently taken to shoving freshman in the cafeteria, or Billy Hargrove,” Eddie said, defending his capabilities.
“No, Billy was serious. I really thought Steve might die when they kept fighting after the plate,” Dustin said, looking to Lucas and Mike for confirmation.
Lucas nodded, looking serious. Mike grumbled, “if you could even call it a fight at that point,” but also appeared solemn in thought.
“Still,” Dustin said, breaking the tension, “he’s a good fighter.”
Eddie frowned, somewhat upset Dustin seemed to have such little faith in him, especially compared to Steve. Mostly, though, Eddie was confused. How did Steve find himself in a position where he had to actually fight to protect these kids from Billy Hargrove? Eddie never claimed to be the most informed on social politics, choosing to stick to his group within Hellfire, but as far as he was concerned, Billy and Steve were in the same circles, and should have been friends. What could have led to some nerdy children relying on Steve, of all people? It just didn’t add up.
There weren’t any more details revealed from the freshman boys about the incident with Billy, though Dustin still insisted Steve would be the best person to have in a fight as the other Hellfire members pointed out people at the school they thought deserved a wake up call in the form of physical retaliation. Eddie participated, pushing down the uncomfortable feeling at the boys’ utter faith in Steve compared to their decidedly lack of it in him.
“Roll for athletics,” Eddie said, staring at Dustin who looked nervous. They were at the school, well into their dnd session, the party currently traveling between towns.
“No!” The cry came from the whole group as Dustin rolled a 2. Eddie smiled.
“Though you attempt to save yourself, you’re so startled by the drop that you fall straight into the tunnel. With your darkvision, you can see you’re about ten feet down from the entrance.”
Dustin groaned. The last thing they needed was more delays to their travel.
“And what’s that you hear?” Eddie continued, letting anticipation and dread build. He made some kind of growling sound. “Somewhere further down the tunnels, there sounds like some kind of creature.”
“Son of a bitch,” Dustin cursed.
“Get out of there fast, we don’t have time for this,” Mike said.
“Where’s the dnd-world Steve when you need him?” Dustin said.
Eddie rolled his eyes. Dustin could hardly go a full day without mentioning Steve - whose friendship Eddie still didn’t understand. Eddie should have expected a Steve mention, but his campaign felt sacred, not to be sullied by mentions of the real world, let alone Steve Harrington, the antithesis of everything Hellfire stood for.
“We were stuck in these tunnels-”
“Shut up!” Lucas said, looking insistent. Dustin stopped mid-sentence, looking a little embarrassed and startled. Lucas seemed to indicate something with his eyes, and Dustin looked down.
Eddie couldn’t deny he was intrigued though. Fighting Billy, giving rides, those were scenarios Eddie could imagine. Where could there be tunnels in Hawkins that these kids would get stuck in and Steve Harrington would be there to help them?
“No, no, go on. What were you doing in tunnels?” Eddie pressed. If they were going to halt the campaign, he might as well hear the story.
“Uh, we were…” Dustin trailed off, looking to Lucas and Mike for support.
“A few years ago,” Lucas started.
“Our friend was trapped in tunnels dug by some farmers!” Mike said.
“Right! And we convinced Steve to drive us there so we could help,” Dustin said, picking up the story with confidence. “He was lifting us out of the tunnel when there were a bunch of dogs that rushed me and him, but he tried to hold me out of the way, then got us out. It was super cool!”
Lucas and Mike nodded.
This only raised more questions, if Eddie was being honest. And Eddie had to admit that it annoyed him that although he was the dungeon master creating sadistic campaigns for his players, Steve was the one Dustin thought of when it came to his adventures, and who he would trust to rescue him. He wasn’t jealous, though. He just knew how Steve was, and how wrong Dustin must be, because the picture he painted of Steve was incompatible with what Eddie knew. Eddie had hoped the constant hero-worship out of Dustin at school would not extend to his game, but apparently that was too much to ask for.
Deciding not to dwell on this annoying bought of insecurity, Eddie shrugged and told the party to think of an escape quickly. If the kids wanted to explore tunnels with Steve, that was fine, but they were on Eddie’s time now.
The boys had taken to walking to the diner near school right after the day ended, and would eat there before their dnd session. Typically Eddie demanded they play in the cover of night, but the school had other, “more important” uses for their classrooms at night as the spring semester of night courses began, and no one had been willing to host at their house.
Thus, the Hellfire club found themselves walking along the road when three police cars rushed past them.
Eddie stopped in his tracks - sue him for being aware and realistic of what risks he took with certain activities - but Dustin pointed down the road where two cars lay in a pile with smoke pillowing up.
“It looks like someone didn’t wait and tried to turn left while the other car was going straight,” Lucas said, analyzing the wreck.
“Steve is a much better driver than that, even so concussed he could barely see,” Dustin chimed in.
“That doesn’t mean anything, even Max managed not to get into a crash,” Mike said, rolling his eyes.
Eddie was glad someone else was over the constant mentions of Steve. King Steve who had been something of a terror since middle school, but apparently was the closest thing to perfection, at least according to Dustin. Eddie didn’t know what Steve had done to fool these kids, but he would not be swayed that easily.
Something else struck Eddie. “What were you hooligans doing driving with another middle schooler, and someone concussed?”
Because of course Steve would drive recklessly, even with the kids.
“It was kind of an emergency,” Dustin said.
“I said we should just let Max drive, considering Steve had passed out an hour earlier,” Mike said.
Dustin rolled his eyes. Clearly this was an old argument. “We needed him, and he was fine eventually. Mostly.”
Eddie hated to admit that he also would not want the middle schooler driving, but compared to Steve? Maybe that would have been the better option. What had Steve done to get to drive all his new Hellfire members anyway?
“Anyways, the point is that Steve is the best driver I know, and if he ever got in a car crash, I doubt it would be his fault.”
Eddie decided not to belabor the point. He’d given up on arguing about Steve to Dustin.
According to Mike, the two argued all the time, yet around Eddie it was pretty much nothing but praise. Even the occasional gripe was underpinned with admiration, which made Eddie feel…something. He couldn’t quite say, he just didn’t like it. Didn’t like how Steve could waltz in and infect the only part of high school that wasn’t miserable for him.
Eddie tried to shove this feeling down as they continued their walk past the car crash.
Dustin was with Eddie right now, not Steve. That had to count for something, right?
“Jesus Christ Henderson!”
Eddie saw Dustin stiffen and hastily wipe away tears before turning around to Eddie. He had been sprawled a few feet away from the bike rack at school, facing away from Eddie.
The initial worry Eddie felt only grew as he took in Dustin. His lip was bleeding, and bruises were already forming along his jaw. His arms looked scraped, and his palms were starting to bleed. More concerning was his bleeding temple and a piece of glass from a broken bottle stuck in his leg, a little below the knee.
“What happened?” He asked, kneeling by Dustin, not sure what to do as his hands flitted around the piece of glass. If he was being honest, he wanted to run away from this whole situation, seeing Dustin so hurt and helpless.
“Just some other freshmen. They’ve always bothered me, but I think they were drinking today, and they had a broken bottle.” His voice sounded shaky as he stared at his bleeding leg and the blood on his hands.
“Okay, just, uh, what should I do?” Eddie asked, still feeling completely out of his element.
“Can, can you get Steve?” Dustin whispered, sniffling a little.
“Are you serious? Concussed maybe?”
“Please. He can help.”
Eddie still hated that option. Steve was not who he’d want in a crisis, and even if Dustin worshipped him now, he was going to let him down. That’s just the type of guy Eddie knew Steve to be. On the other hand, he really didn’t know what else to do other than listen to Dustin. He wrote down the number, and ran to the phone to call Steve at work.
“You’ve reached Family Video, how may I help you today?” Steve’s voice came through the phone.
Thank God , Eddie thought, which was probably the first and last time he’d be glad to hear Steve Harrington’s voice.
“Steve, it’s Dustin. He’s hurt and I have no clue what to do.”
“Eddie? How hurt? Where are you?”
Steve’s previously easygoing tone when he thought this was just a normal call became worried and tense. But, Eddie allowed himself to think, he at least sounded a little more in control than Eddie was feeling.
“We’re at the school. He’s awake and stuff, but bleeding a lot.” Eddie wished he could give more information, but could he really be blamed for not being prepared to do a first aid assessment?
“Like you need an ambulance?”
“I don’t think so. He asked me to call you.” Should he have called an ambulance? Isn’t that the first thing you learn in an emergency, 9-1-1?
“Okay, I’m on my way. If it’s bad, try to stop the bleeding. It’s good he’s awake, keep it that way.”
Steve hung up, and Eddie hurried back to Dustin, who was laying back on the ground.
The whole right side of his face was covered in blood, which made Eddie want to throw up, but he realized it was all coming from the one cut down the side of his face.
Dustin’s eyes were starting to droop, though the rest of his face was screwed up in pain.
Realizing this, Eddie yelled “Dustin!” perhaps louder than necessary. Sue him, it was a stressful time.
Dustin’s eyes snapped open, and he looked at Eddie.
“Just stay awake, okay?” Eddie felt hysterical. He took out the bandana from his pocket and tried to wipe up the blood on Dustin’s face and hands. He was at it for a minute before he heard the familiar car pull right up to them, and out jumped Steve. He rushed over to them, sliding next to Dustin. He was holding a zipped-up bag that looked vaguely like a lunchbox with the Family Video logo on it, and the words “First Aid” written in sharpie.
“How many traffic laws did you break Harrington?”
“Don’t ask. Hey buddy,” Steve said, eyes sweeping over Dustin’s body, his voice more caring than Eddie thought possible out of someone like him. Dustin lurched forward and squeezed Steve in a hug, letting out a shuddering breath.
“It’s okay, you’re gonna be fine, I’m right here,” Steve whispered, rubbing his back slightly before pulling back with his hands on Dustin’s shoulders to inspect the injuries more closely.
Eddie felt a twinge of jealousy. The differences were clear; when he had showed up, Dustin asked to get someone else, and when Steve had showed up, Dustin had allowed himself to relax.
Eddie shook his head slightly. It’s not about you, he reminded himself. And besides, he was very happy to pass off the reins to Steve, who, he would never admit out loud, was seeming much more capable than him.
Steve grabbed a gauze pad out of the Family Video First Aid kit, and pushed it on Dustin’s head. Dustin whimpered, shutting his eyes, and Steve frowned, like it pained him too.
“Sorry, sorry, I have to.”
Dustin nodded a little, but kept his eyes shut.
“Hey, you’re starting to look like me, huh? Maybe they were Russians.”
Eddie definitely did not understand, besides the reference to Steve’s multiple facial injuries that one would have to be blind not to see at the high school, but it made Dustin laugh a little, which made Eddie’s heart unclench just a bit.
Steve looked over at Eddie. “Hold this,” he said, indicating the bandage with his head. Eddie dutifully reached over to hold the gauze to Dustin’s face, and Steve moved towards Dustin’s leg.
“Pretty sure we’re not supposed to remove that, but let’s just try to stop the bleeding a bit, okay?” Steve looked up at Dustin.
Dustin nodded, clearly out of it. Steve took out some water and poured slowly overtop of the glass. He then took out a wipe that was wet with some kind of solution.
“This might sting a little,” he warned in a gentle voice, before carefully swiping at the edges of the cut.
Dustin yelped, and Eddie took to rubbing his back, like Steve had earlier.
Steve kept working, taping down some gauze where Dustin’s leg was bleeding around the glass.
Steve helped Dustin to his feet, putting his arm around his waist to keep weight off the hurt leg. “Keep holding that,” he said to Eddie, and Eddie marveled at how steady his voice was.
They made their way to the car, Steve depositing Dustin in the front so he could stretch out his leg more.
The whole way to the hospital, Eddie stared at the two. Dustin made no noises besides grunts of pain every once in a while, and Steve was keeping up whispered reassurances, occasionally offering his hand to Dustin.
Eddie still didn’t understand where this relationship came from. He still stood by his learned truth of Steve being a horrible person through and through. But, he had to admit, he was good with Dustin and had been a god-send throughout the whole affair.
Eddie was mature enough to realize when he was being jealous, and when he was being rational. Did he trust Steve? No. But if he could do this for Dustin, then maybe Eddie could fit it into his own doctrine how Steve could be a dick in high school, Dustin could look up to him so much, and Eddie could be friends with Dustin.