Tumblr staff: ten options is enough for polls, right? No one needs more than that on a regular basis. The average tumblr user: Hey guys which element of the periodic table do you think is the most fuckable?
Sprawled across Steve’s couch, apropos of nothing, Robin says, “They’d be good Halloween costumes. Like, there’s three of us.”
Eddie blinks at her.
Robin blinks back, as if she’s being perfectly reasonable, as if she’s just continuing an ongoing conversation—when in reality, she’s been silently staring into space for the past minute.
“Buckley. Y’know I can’t actually read your mind, right?”
“Uh, no excuse,” Robin says disapprovingly. “Steve can do it just fine.”
“That’s a completely different—you do see how that’s—”
“It’s ‘cause Molly Pritchard,” Steve begins, in his honestly, catch up, Munson tone, “kept annoying the shit out of Robin—”
“Excuse me, that’s a blatant mischaracterisation and you know—”
“Annoying the shit out of you,” Steve repeats, undeterred.
Robin scoffs. “She kept going on, like, okay, we get it, you saw a Broadway show, whoop-de-doo—”
“Do I detect a note of jealousy, Buckley?” Eddie says, and hurriedly avoids Robin kicking him in the shin.
“No, she’s just completely detached from real life! Like, yeah, I’m sure Singin’ in the Rain was just wonderful, and oh, at the Gershwin, you say? Lucky you. Not all of us were having a positively darling Spring Break in New York, some of us were—” Robin breaks off, gesturing uncertainly before settling on, “Busy.”
“That’s one word for it,” Eddie says.
“Anyway, that wasn’t the—Molly Pritchard rambling on was just the, like, catalyst for—she wasn’t the point. The point is—” Robin stops again, flounders, then whacks Steve on the shoulder. “Steve, I had a point, where is it?”
It was an undeniable fact that
Steve was lucky. He had been told it more times than he could count, from all
sorts of people, so it must be true. His friends at school told him he was
lucky that he had no one at home to give him a bedtime or make him eat
vegetables. The housekeeper that came to bring him groceries and to clean once
a week told him he was so lucky to live in such a nice house. Ever since he
could remember, his parents had told him that he was lucky to be born to an upper-class
family. And when others were around, Steve kept up the façade. He could pretend
that he agreed, with bright smiles and boastful words. But in the late hours of
the night, when he was all alone in that big house, lucky wasn’t the word he
thought about. No, what Steve really was, was lonely.
Even at twelve years old, Steve was
pretty sure it wasn’t normal for his parents to leave him alone for up to a
month at a time. When he was young, they had hired nannies to care for him
while they were away. That hadn’t been great either, but at least there had
been someone else in the house with him. Someone to talk to and watch TV with
and to make dinner. Then, on Steve’s twelfth birthday, his parents had told him
he was old enough to look after himself while they were away. They trusted him
to not burn down the house, at least. That had been six months ago.
Now, six months later, Steve sat
alone in his living room. His parents had left earlier in the week, promising
to be home before the end of the month and told him to call if he needed
anything. He never called. What would be the point? It wasn’t like they would
come home. No, if he needed something, he would figure it out on his own.
Steve pulled his knees up to tuck
against his chest as he sat on the couch, watching a rerun of Gilligan’s
Island. A half-eaten bowl of popcorn sat on the coffee table along with an
empty coke can. He had heated up a bowl of chicken noodle soup for dinner,
which he’d eaten with crushed up saltine crackers, but he always found himself
craving a snack before bed. It was almost ten o’clock, but he wasn’t yet tired.
When the episode ended, Steve stood
and began to make his way toward the kitchen. He could go for one more coke
before bed. But before he even made it out of the living room, a loud clatter
from the back yard made him freeze. He turned, creeping slowly toward the glass
door that overlooked the pool. It had sounded like it came from the shed, which
sat beyond the pool deck, nestled almost among the trees. His hand shook as he
reached up to flip on the back light. A part of him was convinced he would see
a horrible monster racing up his yard toward the house, ready to devour him.
But that was ridiculous. There was no such thing as monsters.
The yard was completely empty, the
pool glowing an eerie green in the night. Steve scanned the perimeter until his
eyes landed on the shed. Though it was dark, it looked as if the door was
slightly ajar. Now, Steve knew the sensible thing to do was to ignore it until
morning. But then he remembered that Kasie Jones, the girl who sat in front of
him in math class, had found an injured mother cat behind her house just one
month earlier. It was Springtime, she had said, which meant lots of animals
would be having babies. If she hadn’t found them, the mother cat and her
babies could have died. Steve couldn’t live with being responsible for that.
So, with only a mild amount of
fear, he grabbed a flashlight from the kitchen drawer and slid open the glass
door. It was early April, so while the days had grown warm, the nights still
held a bit of a chill. Steve slid on his outdoor sandals and began to make his
way across the yard. Everything was quiet now, except for the crickets. He
approached the shed, tilting his head to see if he could hear any meowing.
There was nothing.
It wasn’t until he was directly
outside the shed that real fear began to prickle at the back of his neck once
more. He was far enough from the house that if anything burst out and took
chase, he likely wouldn’t make it back without getting caught. Steve took a
deep breath and remembered what his dad was always telling him.
“Be a man. Real men don’t shake
like little babies.”
Right. Be a man. He stepped forward
and grabbed the edge of the door, which had been swaying slightly in the wind,
and yanked it open. There wasn’t much inside the shed, just pool equipment and a
few yard tools. Steve leaned inside, casting his light around for any sign of
an injured cat. He took a step inside, letting the door swing partially shut
behind him. The light caught on random items as he scanned. An old broken truck
from when he was little, the pool noodles he liked to use when the weather was
warm enough, a leaf blower, a pair of human eyes.
Steve screamed, his heart slamming
up into his throat as he stumbled backward and dropped the flashlight. His back
hit the wall and he fell, his legs giving out with the sheer force of terror he
felt in that moment. There was someone else in the shed with him, someone
curled up beneath the work bench on the far wall. The flashlight had rolled
away from him, its beam pointed in the wrong direction for him to see. Steve
glanced at the door, wondering how quickly he’d be grabbed if he made any
sudden movements. A quiet voice spoke from the shadows.
“H-hey. It’s alright. You don’t
have to be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you.”
That made Steve pause. Whoever it
was sounded young, probably close to his age, and they also sound afraid. But
what was another kid doing in his shed at night? Steve took a moment to let his
heart rate slow before speaking again.
“Who are you? What are you doing
here?”
For a few seconds it was silent,
but then he spoke again. “Eddie. My name is Eddie. I was… I was just looking
for a safe place to sleep.”
“To sleep?” Steve asked, furrowing
his brow. “Why would you want to sleep in this dingy old shed? There are like,
a hundred spiders in here, I’m pretty sure.”
He heard the other boy shift around
a bit. “It’s better than outside.”
Well, maybe that was true, but it
still didn’t explain much. Slowly, Steve moved onto his knees and crawled
forward to grab his flashlight. This put him closer to the other boy, with
Steve knelt in the middle of the small room. He raised the light until it fell
on the other’s face.
Steve had been right that he seemed
to be around his age. With dark curls that fell around his ears and big, pretty
brown eyes, Eddie didn’t look like much of a threat at all. In fact, he seemed
to be in bad shape. There were dark circles beneath his eyes and his cheeks
looked a bit sunken in, as if he hadn’t eaten in a while. His knees were tucked
up against his chest, but Steve could tell the jeans he wore were dirty and
tattered.
“Are you homeless?” Which, okay, maybe
that was a rude thing to ask, but Steve thought it was a fair question.
Eddie looked away, his brows
lowering slightly. “I’m- I mean… Yeah, I guess so.”
Steve tilted his head. “Where are
your parents?”
Something in Eddie’s expression
became tight, before crumbling. “They’re dead. My mother died a year ago, my
father just last month.”
“Shit,” Steve mumbled. That really
sucked. He had never met someone who had lost both their parents. “Do you not
have any other family?”
Eddie shook his head. “It’s just
me.”
“Oh.” Steve shifted off his knees
so he could cross his legs. “But, there are places you can go, aren’t there?
Like, an orphanage or something? I could probably call the police and they
could—”
“No!” Eddie snapped, his eyes
darting up to Steve’s. “No, please, nobody can know about me.”
Steve frowned. That was definitely
an odd reaction. “Why? Are you some sort of criminal?”
Eddie snorted, the corner of his
lips twitching, as if he found that amusing. “No, not really.”
“Not really? Either you are or you
aren’t.”
“I’m not,” Eddie insisted. “I’ve
never hurt anybody that wasn’t trying to hurt me. But… There are people. Bad
people, who would hurt me if they ever found me. So, I’ll leave if you
want me to, but you can’t tell anyone about me.”
Steve stared at the other boy. His
eyes were wide and serious, his mouth set into a hard line that told Steve he
wasn’t joking. Whatever this kid was mixed up in was dangerous, he could tell
that much. It would be smart for Steve to tell him to get lost, to find
somewhere else to hide out. But, still. He didn’t want him to just leave.
“Where would you go? If I told you
to leave, I mean.”
Eddie let out a breath, his
shoulders dropping. “I don’t know. Maybe someone else’s shed. Maybe try and
make my way to Indianapolis.”
Steve fiddled with his hands. “That
sounds dangerous. You can’t go off to the city all by yourself. You’re just a
kid, like me.”
A small smile tugged at the corner
of Eddie’s lips. “Not just like you. I can take care of myself.”
That struck Steve somewhere in his
chest, the sentiment all too familiar. “Yeah, so can I, but that doesn’t mean
you should have to. You should have someone to look after you.”
Eddie tilted his head, his eyes
searching Steve’s face. “Are you always alone?”
“What? How- how do you know that?”
“Oh, um,” Eddie averted his eyes,
suddenly looking a little bit guilty. “I’ve been here for a few days. I wasn’t trying
to spy on you, but I saw that it’s just you in the house. Nobody else ever
came or went, but you must have parents, right?”
Steve huffed and rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, I have parents. They just… they go out of town a lot for business. And I
can’t go with them, because they don’t need a kid running around while they do
work. But, it’s like, fine. I have the house all to myself, and I don’t have a
bedtime, and I can eat whatever I want.”
Unlike all the other times Steve had
told another kid this, Eddie didn’t look all that impressed. If anything, he
looked sad. Which… was stupid. So stupid. Steve was lucky. He had
everything he could ever want. He didn’t need some orphan, who clearly didn’t
have anything this nice, feeling sorry for him.
Eddie rested his chin on his knees.
“That sounds really lonely.”
A heavy pit settled in Steve
stomach. Nobody else had ever acknowledged that before, and he didn’t really
know what to do with it. His first instinct was to defend his parents, to tell
Eddie that it was fine, and he didn’t know what he was talking about. But
another part of Steve, a stronger part, felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
It settled something inside Steve, hearing someone else say the words he’d been
keeping locked inside for so long. It was validating.
Slowly, he nodded. “Yeah, it can
be. But, that’s just the way it is.”
Eddie didn’t look convinced. He
opened his mouth, as if to say something, but before he could, a violent
shudder shook his whole body. Steve’s eyes wide at the look of pain that
crossed Eddie’s face and he hesitantly reached out a hand. Only, that seemed to
make it worse, as Eddie flinched away from his touch.
“No, don’t come closer!” Eddie
warned. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Steve furrowed his brow. “Hurt me?
Why would you hurt me?”
“No, I don’t want to, but… I
haven’t eaten in a week. I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself.”
A week? What the hell? That was way
too long for a person to go without food! No wonder Eddie looked so sickly. He
was starving to death.
“Hey, if you’re hungry, come inside
with me. I can get you something to eat, no problem!”
But Eddie only shook his head, his
face still pained. “No, Steve, it’s not… It’s not that simple. There’s nothing
in your house I can eat. Well, nothing that I’ll allow myself to have.”
“What are you talking about?”
A look of resignation came over
Eddie’s face. “Steve… I’m not- I’m not normal. You should leave. You don’t want
me to come into your house with you.”
He really wasn’t making any sense
now. Did Eddie think that just because he was homeless and without parents, he
was undeserving of kindness? That was ridiculous. If anything, it made Steve
want to help him even more. “Uh, yeah, I do. That’s why I invited you.”
His arms tightened around his legs,
as if he were protecting himself. “You shouldn’t do that.”
“Do what?”
Eddie’s eyes flashed up to meet
Steve’s. “Invite random strangers into your home. It’s dangerous.”
Steve snorted. “I don’t think
you’re dangerous, Eddie. You look one minute from keeling over.”
“Yeah,” he said, letting out a
humorless laugh. “And that makes it even worse.”
Alright, Steve was starting to grow
tired of arguing about this. “Dude, come on. You have to eat something.”
Eddie made a little sound, like a
whimper in the back of his throat, and closed his eyes. “If you knew the truth
about me, you wouldn’t say that. If you knew the truth, you would run away. Or
maybe even try to hurt me.”
“Whoa, hey, no. Eddie, I promise I
won’t hurt you. I’m just trying to help.”
Outside the shed, it sounded like
the wind began to pick up as the structure creaked ominously. Steve pulled his
jacket more firmly around himself and couldn’t help but think that Eddie’s thin
hoodie didn’t seem warm enough. Maybe Steve could give him some of his clothes.
It’s not like his parents would ever notice. The look Eddie gave him when he
opened his eyes was filled with sorrow.
“Yeah, I know. You seem really
nice, Steve. And I’m afraid that if I come with you, I’ll hurt you without
meaning to, and then I’ll be a monster, which I don’t want to be.”
Steve was trying to understand, he
really was. People called him stupid sometimes, which he didn’t really agree
with, but now he was struggling to follow what Eddie was saying. How could
Eddie hurt him without meaning to?
“Eddie, I don’t understand. Please,
you can tell me the truth. I won’t run away, I promise.”
Eddie shook his head, casting his
big eyes down. “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“Hey, look at me.” He waited until
Eddie did, then scooted forward on his knees. Slowly, without making any sudden
movement, he held up his pinky. “I pinky promise I won’t leave you. And I
always keep my pinky promises.”
A hesitant smile grew on Eddie’s
face, though he still seemed extremely uncertain. Finally, after what felt like
forever, Eddie brought his pinky up and wrapped it around Steve’s. It was
slightly shocking, just how cold Eddie was. Like his skin was just a thin layer
of ice, molded around bones. That couldn’t be good. Steve really needed to get
him inside. Before he could pull away, Eddie spoke.
“And I promise to do my very best
not to hurt you.”
Steve grinned. “Well, there you go.
So, go on then. Tell me what the problem is.”
Eddie sighed, tucking his bottom
lip between his teeth. “Okay, I guess I might as well. I don’t have anything
else to lose. Um, have you… have you heard of vampires?”
“Vampires?” Steve asked, scrunching
up his nose. “What, like Dracula? Or The Count on Sesame Street?”
Eddie snorted and rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, I mean sort of. But also, no. What if… what if vampires were real?”
Steve narrowed his eyes. “I don’t understand.
Vampires aren’t real, so what does that have to do with anything?”
A look of frustration crossed
Eddie’s face. “Steve. I’m trying to tell you. Vampires are real. I know,
because I am one.”
For several seconds, Steve didn’t
speak. The only sound to be heard was the shifting of trees outside and the
quiet breathing of the two boys. Finally, Steve let out a laugh.
“Yeah, right, okay. Look, I don’t
know why you don’t want to tell me—”
“Steve—”
“But it’s fine, I guess. You don’t
have to trust me, I guess.”
“Steve, I am telling you the
truth! See, this is another reason I didn’t want to tell you. Humans never
believe in anything beyond what they see in the daylight.”
“Oh, come on,” Steve said, dropping
back off his knees to sit on his butt. “I get it, you’re trying to prank me,
for whatever reason. But I can’t help you unless I know the truth. Or at least
until you tell me what the real problem is. You’re not a vampire.”
“I am!” Eddie insisted, the corners
of his lips turning down in a frown. “Do you want me to prove it to you?”
At this point, Steve was getting a
little bit annoyed. The joke wasn’t that funny. He was cold, and the dirt on
the cement floor was digging into his backside, and he really just wanted to
get back inside. So, with a jeering smirk, he leaned forward.
“Yeah, sure, go ahead. Prove that
you’re a vampire.”
Eddie didn’t move at first, just
continued to stare at Steve with his too big eyes. It was a little unnerving,
to be honest, the way he didn’t seem to blink or even move. And then, in a
flash of movement too fast to be humanly possible, Eddie shot forward. Steve
flinched at the unexpected movement, falling back onto his elbows with a small
shout of surprise. He half expected to be attacked, to maybe feel Eddie’s hand
around his throat or a fist against his cheek. But it never came.
Slowly, Steve opened his eyes.
Only, Eddie was nowhere to be seen. The spot beneath the bench was empty, and
when Steve looked around, he didn’t see Eddie anywhere. Had he slipped out the
door and run away? Why? Steve didn’t understand. But then, Eddie spoke.
“Steve. I’m up here.”
A chill ran down Steve’s back, some
primal part of him that had been dormant waking up at hearing the voice from
above. Slowly, Steve tilted his head back. What he saw defied all explanation. Eddie
was on the ceiling. He was crouched upside down, his hands gripping the
wood beam and his feet planted flat on the roof. Eddie blinked down at him, his
hair dangling away from his face.
Steve opened his mouth to scream, a
natural response he thought. But before he could utter a sound, Eddie was off
the ceiling. He landed on top of Steve, his hand pressed firm to his mouth to
stop any sound from escaping and his other hand holding Steve to the ground.
For a wiry looking kid, he was sure strong.
“Please, Steve, don’t scream,”
Eddie begged, his wide eyes earnest. “I promised not to hurt you, and I won’t. You’re
safe with me, okay?”
For a few seconds, all Steve could
do was stare up at him. He shouldn’t believe him, logically he knew that.
Vampires drank blood, human blood, which Steve had. But if Eddie had
wanted to hurt him, surely, he would have already. He could even do it right
now. Steve was trapped beneath him, his movement completely restricted. So,
slowly, Steve nodded. Eddie chewed his lip, before removing his hand. Steve
took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart.
“Holy crap. You’re like, a real
vampire?”
Eddie nodded, still looking concerned.
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Wow. How long have you been a
vampire for?”
“Uh, my whole life?” Eddie said
with a chuckle.
Steve frowned. “Wait, what? But I
thought vampires were made by being bitten.”
Eddie finally climbed off Steve,
sitting cross legged in front of him while Steve sat up and matched his
position. “Yeah, some. Some vampires are humans who were turned. But others,
like me, were born as vampires. Both of my parents were vampires, and they had
me.”
Huh. Steve had never heard of
anything like that before. “But what about, like, mirrors and blood drinking
and stuff?”
“Eh, I mean, most of the stuff
humans know about vampires was made up by them. Except for the blood drinking,
that’s true.”
“What about sunlight?”
Eddie scrunched up his nose. “Well,
I won’t burst into flames if I’m exposed to it. But it does sting my
skin and hurt my eyes, so I avoid it if possible.”
Steve nodded, taking that it. “So,
that’s why you’re hiding out here in my shed?”
Eddie nodded.
“Hmm, ok. Well, you know, you might
be more comfortable inside the house.”
“You… would invite me into your
house? Even knowing what I am?”
Steve shrugged. “Yeah, why not? I
believe that you won’t hurt me, and it doesn’t sound like you have anywhere
else to go. Plus, I’m getting pretty cold.”
He pushed himself to his feet and
held his hand out for Eddie, who hesitated. He looked unsure, and maybe a
little bit afraid, though Steve couldn’t imagine of what. It wasn’t like he was
going to hurt Eddie. When Eddie didn’t immediately take his hand, Steve gave it
a shake.
“Come on. It’s okay.”
Finally, Eddie reached up and took
it. Steve hoisted him up, then still holding his hand, led him out of the shed.
Eddie looked around as they crossed the yard, as if afraid someone was going to
pop out and do a sneak attack. They got to the sliding glass door and Steve
pushed it open, stepping into the wonderfully warm living room. He tried to
pull Eddie in after him, but the other boy hesitated on the threshold.
“What’s wrong?”
“Are you sure? Are you sure you
want to invite me in? Once you do, you can’t take it back.”
Steve sighed. “Eddie, I don’t
understand. You promised you won’t hurt me, and I’m not going to hurt you, so
what’s the problem?”
Eddie chewed on his bottom lip. “I’m
afraid I won’t be able to help myself. It’s just… I’m so hungry. I
haven’t eaten anything in almost a week, and you… you smell really good. And I
don’t want to hurt you, I promise. But what if I lose control?”
Steve blinked a few times. Oh. He
hadn’t really considered that. “And… you need to drink blood? That’s all you
eat?”
Timidly, Eddie nodded.
“Right. Okay. Well, maybe I could
give you a little bit of my blood, just to hold you over, and then—”
“No!” Eddie shouted, ripping his
hand out of Steve’s. “No, Steve, please don’t offer me that. I’m too hungry, I
know I won’t be able to stop once I’ve started. I’ll kill you, and then… then I
really will be a monster.”
Steve chewed his lip, wavering in
the doorway. “What do you normally do when you’re hungry?”
“I hunt animals, usually. But… I
waited too long. I’m too weak to catch anything on my own now.”
Right. That made sense. Steve was a
little relieved to hear that Eddie usually hunted animals. If he could only
drink human blood, they would definitely be in a bit of a pickle.
“Okay, here’s the plan,” he said,
“Tonight, you’ll come in and sleep somewhere cozy. You won’t kill me or
try to drink my blood. Tomorrow I’ll skip school and go to the butcher in town.
I know they stock cow blood, because my nana bought some a few years ago to
make this really gross pudding.”
Eddie’s eyes went wide, his mouth
falling open slightly. “You’d do that? You’d really go out of your way to help
me?”
Steve grinned wide, taking his hand
once more. “Of course! We’re both on our own right now, so we should look after
each other, shouldn’t we? And my parents left me plenty of money for snacks and
stuff, so they won’t even notice if I use it for something else.”
There was something warring in
Eddie’s big brown eyes, a well of emotion that Steve couldn’t guess at. All he
knew was that he wanted to help Eddie, and so he was going to. When Eddie still
didn’t make any move to come inside, Steve tugged gently on his hand.
“Come on. I’m inviting you inside. You’ll
be okay.”
Eddie took a deep breath, then
nodded, as though coming to a decision. Hesitantly, he stepped forward,
bringing one foot over the threshold. He stared down at his foot, as if half
expecting it to burst into flames. Could that happen? Steve really hoped not.
Finally, Eddie brought his other foot inside. Steve smiled, nodding
encouragingly.
“See, that wasn’t so hard.”
He slid the glass door shut behind
them and locked it before closing the curtains. Eddie had wandered a few more
paces in, standing awkwardly in the middle of the living room. His baggy
sweatshirt hung loosely from his limbs, and in the light, Steve could see
smudges of dirt on the other boys face. It must have been a long time since
he’d had a bath.
“Do you want to use my shower
before bed?”
Eddie glanced at him over his
shoulder, his brow furrowing. “Are you saying I stink?”
“What? No! No, I wouldn’t say that,
I promise! It’s just—”
He stopped when he saw Eddie
chuckling. “I’m only joking. I do smell. That’s what happens when you
live in the woods for a couple weeks.”
Steve huffed and rolled his eyes.
“Ha ha, very funny. Come on, follow me.”
He shut off the tv as they passed
it by before switching off the lights and leading Eddie to the stairs. The
other boy followed close behind, and when Steve turned to look at him, saw he
was taking everything in.
“This place is like a castle,”
Eddie murmured.
“Eh, not really. Castle’s have a
lot more people in them. It’s just me here.”
“Why don’t your parents want to
live here?”
“They do!” Steve said, defensive.
“They do live here. They just… go on a lot of business trips. They’re super
busy.”
Eddie hummed, not commenting on it
any further, which Steve was grateful for. He didn’t want to talk about his
parents. All that ever did was make him sad, and he wasn’t in the mood to feel
sad. He had a vampire in his house. A vampire who might want to be his
friend. He couldn’t entirely wrap his head around it.
They reached the second landing and
Steve led Eddie down the hall to his room. He flicked on the light and moved to
sit on the bed, watching Eddie as he looked around the room. For some reason,
the corners of Eddie’s mouth turned down in a frown.
“What, you don’t like my room?”
Eddie shrugged, walking to stand
beside his dresser with the ribbons he’d won at his school’s field day. “It’s
not very… you, is it?”
“What do you mean.”
“I don’t know. Where are the
pictures? The posters of your favorite bands and movies? Where’s the mess?”
Steve looked around, forcing
himself to see his room from someone else’s perspective. “My mom doesn’t like
messes. And I just, I don’t know, haven’t really thought about adding anything
to the walls.
Eddie hummed again. “Well, you
should. Give this checkered monstrosity a little life.”
“Hey, it’s not that bad.”
“It sort of is. Let me guess, your
mom picked it out?”
Steve rolled his eyes. Eddie sure
was a lot sassier now that he’d come inside. Hopefully that meant he felt
comfortable. “Yeah, so? I don’t mind it, so why does it matter?”
Eddie held up his hands. “Hey, as
long as you like it.”
“Right. Well, if you want to take a
shower, it’s right through that door,” he said, motioning to his on-suite. “I’ll
put a towel and some pajamas you can borrow on the counter for when you get
out.”
“Yeah, ok, cool.”
Eddie stepped into the bathroom and
closed the door behind him, leaving Steve alone to sit on his bed. Right, this
was totally normal and okay. He had a vampire in his house, one that was
apparently his age and who had nowhere else to go. If his parents found out,
they’d flip. Luckily, they weren’t home, so there was no need to worry about
that. Unless… well, unless Eddie decided he wanted to stay. Surely being here
would be better than going to the city alone, to ask a bunch of creepy older
vampires if he could live with them. That sounded pretty terrifying, if you
asked Steve.
Because really, what could they
have that Steve didn’t? Did they have a twenty-seven-inch screen tv? No, he
doubted it. Would they have a pool, or a whole forest behind their house for
privacy? In the city? Yeah, he didn’t think so. Which, okay, maybe he was
getting ahead of himself. He had just met Eddie, he couldn’t ask him to stay
with him. Even if he wanted to.
It would be pretty cool to have
someone else his age who lived in his house, though. Someone who wouldn’t leave
on trips for most of the month. Someone he could watch tv with and play games
with and stay up talking to. It would be like having a live in friend. That
sounded… that sounded really nice.
Steve was jolted from his thoughts
at the sound of something clattering in the shower.
“Sorry!” Eddie shouted. “Dropped
the shampoo.”
Ah, right, he needed to get Eddie a
towel and some clothes. He grabbed one of his fluffiest towels from the
cupboard and then took out his second favorite set of pajamas. He’d gotten them
from his grandma last Christmas, and they had Snoopy on them. Trying to be as
quiet as he could, he placed the items on the bathroom counter before scurrying
out again.
The water turned off a few minutes
later. Steve climbed into bed to wait, pulling the blankets up and leaving his
bedside lamp on. The door opened and Eddie stepped out. Despite being a year
older than Steve, the pajamas still hung a little loose on him. His dark curls
dripped on his shoulders as he looked around.
When he spoke, he sounded unsure. “So,
um, is there another bed I can take? Or I can lay on the floor if you want, I
don’t mind.”
Steve scrunched up his nose. “What?
I’m not going to make you sleep on the floor. My bed is plenty big, just sleep
with me.”
Eddie hesitated, but after it
became clear that Steve was serious, made his way to the other side of the bed.
“You really don’t mind sleeping next to me? Even knowing what I am?”
“I already told you I don’t. But, I
mean, if it’ll be a problem for you, you don’t have to.”
“No, it’s just, I probably won’t sleep.
I usually sleep during the day, so I’ll probably sit here until I feel
tired. Which, yeah, will probably be when you’re waking up.”
“Oh.” Steve hadn’t considered that.
“Right. Well, you can go downstairs and watch tv if you want. I’ve got lots of
movies.”
Eddie bit his lip, the unnatural
sharpness to his fangs all the more obvious in the lowlight of the bedroom.
“Actually, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll just lay here with you. I think I’ll
feel too weird, sitting downstairs by myself.”
Steve wouldn’t admit it out loud,
but that was secretly what he’d been hoping Eddie would do. He’d been to his
fair share of sleepovers, and while he loved a lot of different aspects of
them, his favorite was falling asleep next to another person. The feeling of
closeness, of safety, that being close to another person brought… there wasn’t
really anything else like it. So, Steve wasted no time in pulling back the
blanket on Eddie’s side of the bed and urging him to climb in. Only once they
were both laying down, with only a few inches between them, did Steve finally
shut off the light.
It was late, way later that Steve
normally went to bed on a school night. At least he’d already decided he
wouldn’t be going into school tomorrow. He would still wake up early, so that
he had enough time to bike down to the butcher and get back before Eddie woke
up. Despite all the excitement of having a new vampire friend, Steve felt the unavoidable
pull of sleep as he snuggled further into his blankets. Before he could drift
off, however, Eddie’s voice came from right beside his ear.
“Steve?”
He blinked an eye open, unable to
make out the shape of the other boy, having closed the curtains to protect
Eddie from the early morning sun. “Hmm?”
For a few seconds, it was quiet.
Steve almost wondered if he’d imagined Eddie’s voice, until the other boy spoke
again. “Thank you.”
“For what?” he murmured.
“For helping me. For letting me
into your house. For… for just being a good person. I don’t know very many off
those.”
Steve hummed, smiling sleepily. “Me
either. I guess we’ll just have to be good to each other.”
A puff of breath ghosted across
Steve’s cheek, leading him to believe Eddie was even closer than he’d thought.
He could probably see Steve perfectly, with his superior vampire vision. The
thought should scare him. It didn’t.
“Yeah,” Eddie said quietly. “I
guess we will.”
Steve wasn’t sure if he said
anything else after that, as he drifted off. But when he dreamed of a creature
hiding beneath his bed that night, it wasn’t a nightmare. Because he knew,
despite what the movies told him, that this monster wouldn’t hurt him.
Steve found it ridiculous, but he couldn’t help it. When he was forced to find a job after his parents disowned him, the museum was the last place he’d expected to fall in love. The museum gift shop had gladly taken him in as a thank you for his family’s namesake, though Steve didn’t try to pretend interested in the way. He took the job offer, anything to pay the bills.
His current living arrangement was his car until he could save enough money back to get an apartment. Sadly with his car payment and insurance, it hardly left anything to put back, not enough to pay his phone bill for the last few months. Most days it was a toss-up for gas or food, which was going to be a harder decision with the approaching winter. Since he had to drop out of college he’d been left sneaking into the community pool to even get a shower, but soon he’d have to find other options. They started to dwindle as his friends, or rather the people who acted as such, distanced themselves when he was kicked out. He came from money and that’s all that anyone ever wanted.
His first idea was to befriend or date, but he couldn’t use them as people did to him. So he asked for more work, playing it off as expanding his knowledge and role. This led him to partner with the elderly security, who was fondly nicknamed Grey, until they could get him a trainee. Steve happily accepted it. The old man was a storyteller, even his lectures were entertaining as he drifted into stories of his kids. He often let him wander around, and that’s how he found the newest addition to the royalty wing.
They had discovered an underground burial vault, hidden beneath the remains of a castle converted into a long abandoned church. It was above Steve’s pay grade how they ever managed to acquire permission to excavate the vault. One night on his explorations the young man found the exhibit and the statue of King Kas. He ruled in the 1200 c.e., a just ruler in a conflicted era. Sadly, he existed during a blip in history, and few records have been found of his rule.
Still, the statue was handsome and mesmerizing. It was carved from marble and well cared for regardless of facing time. Surprisingly for a cold material, the eyes were warm, inviting even. It’s what kept Steve returning, making him fall. Grey had found him sometimes just talking to Kas about his problems when he came to let him out for the night. He was kind enough to offer an invite to his home whenever he needed, fatherly. He’s what he’d wished his parents were like, he cared for a boy he didn’t even know and even fed him when he didn’t have food. It was nice but also painful.
Steve spent every shift studying the statue. The king was adorned in jewelry; rings, a crown, necklaces, armlets, and bracelets filled with gemstones worth more than Steve’s parents. It only enhanced the beauty of the masterpiece, but it was truly the eyes that pulled him in. Maybe it was the dry spell in his current living situation, but he wanted to reach out and hold his face in his hands. His body was doing that on its own accord, his fingers nearly brushing its cheek when the hallway door was thrown open. Steve responded immediately, hiding behind the nearest pillar. His mind caught up with him once he was out of sight, that he and Grey were the only ones this late, still didn’t want to be caught with his hand on the exhibit.
Taking a calming breath, he stepped out and was going to give him a hard time about the scare. However, he froze when he heard more than one voice, harsh whispers echoing in the unoccupied room. Steve pressed up against the pillar, trying to be silent, trying to figure out how to alert Grey without his walkie.
So he stood there, listening to things being moved, metal clinging. “This is a goldmine. Can’t believe these idiots left it open like this, just ripe for the takin’.” A man cackled, the young man risking it to get a look at the thieves. Three of them, one stripping Kas while the other two robbed his riches.
“Shuddup. You want security up our asses?” Another snapped.
“What? That old guy probably ain’t got his hearing aid in.”
“He ain’t alone dipshit. He’s got that kid in here. Didn’t see him leave.” The last guy grumbled, sounding like he was struggling. “He’s not gonna be a problem. If he tries anything, I’ll show him mister pew pew.” That got Steve sweating. He needed a plan, a distraction to escape. From his vantage point, he noted the doors were close to the men, there were no windows, and the fire escape was a sprint away that gave the thieves an open shot. But the fire alarm was on the wall, parallel to him. Pulling it would alert firefighters and police, and hopefully scare the men enough to give him the opening that he needed. It was as solid as a plan he could make, but of course, he should know that life loved to make him struggle.
It came in the form of a, “Pull harder numb nuts.”, followed by a clatter. Peaking out he was met with the king’s bracelet skidding past him. That’s what gave away his safe spot, the men already yelling and sprinting towards him. Steve took off, snatching the bracelet on the way to the fire alarm. He pulled it as he passed, heading towards the nearest exhibit, Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. There were plenty of places to hide, Steve choosing the curtain that framed a standing sarcophagus.
an underrated “steve is oblivious of eddie’s feelings” scenario is steve thinking eddie’s just this Nice to everyone so he doesn’t read too much into eddie’s gestures of affection and everybody else not getting what the fuck steve is talking about, because they all love eddie - would die for eddie - but he’s not exactly nice to people.
steve sighing all lovesick and waving goodbye to eddie who’s walking out of family video after stopping by to drop off lunch for steve or doing something equally caring and mushy, and steve going “isn’t eddie just the sweetest guy?” and robin looks at him with the flattest expression imaginable, “wow. love really is blind.”
while nancy offers a tentative, “steve, he was in a verbal fight with an eleven year old not ten minutes ago.”
steve gets flustered but is still defensive, “oh c'mon, that doesn’t count! you know he’s passionate about his board game!”
robin then has to take steve by his shoulders and shake him a little before leaning in very close and saying, “stevie. yes it does count. he will bitch and squabble like a child over everything he strongly believes in. you get to call d&d a board game in his presence on a daily basis just to be a cute little shit and you get homemade lunch delivered to your workplace and an invitation to hangout later. i need you to feel the difference here.”
Steve has never seen his father as upset, as furious, as he was when he got home with his final exam results. He’d known- suspected- that his father would flip when his results came in…
His father got angry at small things. Hearing that he’d had a party while they were away, that a girl went missing at that party, had been the closest Steve thought he’d ever get to recieving a beating.
But when he came home with his grades… when his father realized that his son, his supposed prodigy, barely passed…
Steve has never ran as fast as he currently is.
As soon as he’d seen an openning, a clear line to the door, he’d stumbled to his feet and bolted. He’d picked a random direction and ran. He isn’t going to stop running until he physically has to stop, knowing that his father is most likely in his car, trying to find him.
He can’t stop. He has to keep running.
Eventually, he has to pause. He has to catch his breath.
He leans against a trailer, panting. He prays that no one thinks to look outside and spot him. He prays that no one will-
“Harrington?”
“Fuck.” He hisses, squinting up at- “Munson?”
“What the fuck happened to you?” He says, eyes widenning when he finally gets a look at his face. “Second round with Hargrove, or what?”
“Nothing happened, I’m fine.”
Munson eyes him for a moment, frowning. “Is someone after you?”
“What do you care?” Steve heaves a deep breath, forcing himself to stand up straight. He brings his knees up in a few knee highs, gearing up for another sprint.
“Ugh. Just- you can come into my trailer,” Munson says, sounding as though Steve is forcing him to make the suggestion. “No one would think to look for you there. You can, like… I don’t know. Drink some water? You jocks do that, right?”
“Wh- I don’t need your help!”
“I’m not waiting for you all day, come on, let’s go!” He makes a wide, exaggerated gesture for Steve to follow.
“You just assume I’m gonna follow?”
“Yeah.”
He sounds so confident, so sure, that Steve can’t think to do anything other thank blink and say, “fuck it, yeah, alright.”
Steve is a little surprised at how much space Eddies trailer has. It’s cramped, but in a nice way- the way a home gets when people actually live in it. When the people inside are actually happy and chase those joys.
Munson does get him a glass of water, mumbling at him to “sit anywhere”, before flopping onto the sofa himself. He turns the TV on, focusing on that.
“Thanks,” Steve eventually mutters, awkwardly sitting down.
“Wanna talk about it?”
“Nothing to talk about.”
“Sure.”
“There isn’t,” he insists, despite how casual and accepting Munson is acting. “It’s my fault, anyway. I deserved it.”
“Did you?” Munson turns to him, eyebrow raised. “All us freaks and losers can talk about these days is your change of heart. King of Hawkins High turned lame boytoy.”
“Thanks, that makes me feel so much better,” Steve sneers.
“Even Jeff thinks you’re alright now,” he barrels on. “Said he bumped into you, pretty hard, knocked all your shit down, and you apologized. Said his coffee ended up on an essay, or something. Thought he was about to get his ass kicked and you just…”
He waves his hand at him, as though that’s explination enough.
Steve doesn’t know a Jeff, but he’s pretty sure he knows who Munson is talking about, and; “I wasn’t looking where I was going. If anything, we were both at fault.”
“See?” Munson waves his hand at him again, a little more pointed. “Don’t doubt you’ve got a long way to go, but you’re not half-bad. You didn’t deserve whatever the fuck happened to your face.”
“Whatever.”
They fall quiet, both pretending to watch whatever is on the TV. Steve is so zoned out that, when someone clears their throat, he flinchs.
“Sorry to startle you boys,” the man chuckles. But the humor quickly teeters out, once he gets a good look at Steve. “You alright, kid?”
“I’m fine.”
“He’s not,” Munson grins wide when Steve glares at him.
“Staying the night?” The man continues, only looking at Eddie now.
“If I can convince him,” Munson shrugs.
“I can’t stay the night,” Steve tries.
“Good,” the man nods, as though Steve hadn’t said anything. “I’ll start making us all some dinner.” He finally looks to Steve. “You got any allergies?”
“I can’t stay,” Steve tries again, insisting.
“No,” Munson answers for him. “No problems with meat either.”
The man gives Munson a thumbs up, heading through to the kitchen.
“I can’t stay,” Steve repeats, turning to Munson. “Really. I have to go back or… I have to go back.”
“What will happen if you don’t go back?”
Steve grimaces. “Nothing. Just- I can’t stay here.”
“Why not? They gonna hit me too?”
“You know what, Munson? Yeah, probably. And your- your dad?”
“Uncle,” Munson snorts, standing, stretching. “No one messes with us though. We’re too scary.” He wiggles his fingers in Steves face as he passes by. “And call me Eddie.”
“Why?”
“It’s my name.”
Steve awkwardly follows him to the kitchen, hovering a good distance from the two of them, watch how they move around each other with so much comfort and ease. It makes something in Steves chest ache.
“Oh, hey, you like football right?” Eddie asks, pointing to him.
“Uh, yeah, kinda. Not enough to have, like, a team.” Steve shrugs.
Wayne turns around slowly, eyebrows raised. “You don’t got a team?”
Talking football with Wayne is so easy that, until he’s halfway through the dinner he cooked, Steve doesn’t notice how fast the time is going. He can’t bring himself to be bothered though. It’s too nice.
Plus, Eddie is almost bouncing with joy at how well Steve and Wayne are getting along.
Someone starts banging on the door, loud and aggressive, as they make their way to the kitchen.
“Alright!” Wayne calls, rolling his eyes. “Hold your horses.”
Steves stomach drops when the door opens and his father is on the other side. He smiles at Steve, sickly sweet and dangerously calm.
“Oh, thank God,” he sighs. “Steve, your mother and I have been looking all over for you. When you didn’t get home-”
Wayne blocks his way when he tries to step inside. “Who are you?”
“Robert Harrington,” Steves dad sniffs, leaning back so he can physically look down at Wayne. “I’m here for my son.”
“He ain’t here.”
Robert Harrington splutters, face tinting red with anger and frustration. He points to Steve, voice raising as he says, “he’s right there! And he’s coming with me.”
Wayne turns, slow and casual. “Huh. That’s odd. Don’t see him.”
“Steve,” he snaps his fingers at Steve, like he’s a dog. “Come on. We’re going home.”
Eddie shifts so he’s standing slightly in front of him.
It’s enough reassurance for him to finally snap back; “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Steven-”
“Get off my property,” Wayne snaps.
His father glares at them, waiting, as though he expects them to back down. When he doesn’t, he snarls; “this is kidnapping.”
“He’s 18,” Eddie drawls.
Grumbling, he stomps off.
“Asshole,” Wayne mutters. He shuts and locks the door, sliding on the chain too.
Steve has to sit down, with how much his legs are shaking.
“You alright?” Eddie asks, hesitantly sitting beside him.
“Yeah,” Steve says. He’s surprised to find he means it. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“You can stay here, long as you need,” Wayne offers. “You’ll have to bunk with Eds though. Not a lot of room.”
“Why can’t he use the sofa when you’re-”
“Nope,” Wayne cuts him off. There’s a glint of mischief in his eyes that has Steve squinting in suspicion. “And you’ll need those cuts looking at. Eddie, why don’t you go with him. Medkits in the bathroom.”
Steve goes ahead when Eddie points the way to the bathroom.
Eddie tries to give Wayne a warning look but he’s unbothered and, with Steves back turned, he gives Eddie an encouraging wink.
