Cassieconrads​:

sinclairss​:

lucas caught cole’s eye in the rearview mirror. he hadn’t really thought about it, but steve had been acting a little bit off, now that he did pause to look back on it. he shrugged it off. “maybe he was just freaked out too?” he didn’t think any of them had been acting particularly normally, but given the circumstances, who could blame them? 

hawkins had exactly one hospital and it was all the way on the opposite edge of town. luckily, everything in town closed by nine, so they were nearly there as cole answered his question. lucas’ good hand tightened on the steering wheel, just slightly. he wasn’t sure who cole’s best friend was, but he had a bad feeling about it. people didn’t just die in the fire…they were involved with the mind flayer. he pressed his tongue against his teeth and debated keeping it to himself but…well, falling into a grave together kind of made it easier to want to share. besides, he had to tell someone or he was going to explode. 

“yeah, uh, nothing like that.” he offered cole a wince, maneuvered the car into the parking lot closest to the emergency room and threw it into park before turning to look at him properly. “just somebody from my past who didn’t like me very much. he’s not even around anymore.” that was putting it mildly. “he was going to run me over with his car, i think. and i couldn’t move. it was….” fucked up. that’s what it was. 

xx.

Cole nodded slowly, careful of further exacerbating his head pain. Of course Steve was freaked out-- everyone was. He still wondered, though, if Steve was a little... cold. But, whatever, that was by far not the weirdest thing to happen, so it was easy to put out of his head.

So Lucas had a dream-- or vision, whatever they were calling it-- too. Cole wondered what it meant that whoever he was isn’t around anymore. With a frown, Cole shook his head, “That’s horrifying.” He paused, looking for similarities between their visions. “Did it feel... like, super real to you? I don’t know about hallucinations, but I don’t think they usually feel that real.” 

Cole couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t just a hallucination, though that’s likely what the ‘reasonable’ explanation should be. He touched Adam, he heard Adam, he even smelled Adam’s fucking cologne. How could that be explained? And if Lucas had one too, then... “Do you think everyone had one? A different vision?” 

The Wheeler family barbecue wasn't exactly Cole's first choice as far as Memorial Day festivities go. He would much rather be by the lake, pretending to read a book-- away from all the prying eyes of Hawkins' very own helicopter parents. But one chance run-in with Steve Harrington can derail even the strongest man's plans for the day. And Cole didn't mind, he sort of liked the twitch Karen Wheeler got when he was around.

See, Karen and Cole's mom used to be friends-- best friends, as Cole understood it. But best friends in the girl way, where they secretly hate each other and are always competing to be the prettiest, smartest, funniest, whatever. And then Maggie Montgomery got shipped off to New York and Karen won prom queen and that was supposed to be that. Until Maggie came back with a son, born around the same time as Karen's oldest, and suddenly the competition began again. Whose kid would be the smartest? The most athletic? The prettiest? It was amusing to Cole, especially in the last few years since he and Nancy have become friends.

So, he matched Karen's polite smile when he greeted her and raided her kitchen, making a plate of every feasible kind of chip and dip he could find. Karen watched him the whole time, peppering him with faux-questions used to assert Nancy's superiority. Are you still at Indiana State? Meaning: you aren't at a real college like Emory. How are you liking the Music Center? Meaning: Nancy has a real job running a newspaper, etc etc. After no less than twenty questions, Cole escaped to the front yard and to a cold beer. Glancing sideways, he noticed that Nancy had the same idea. "Prized pony, huh?" He grinned, clinking his beer to her plastic cup. "What would Mrs. Wheeler think if she knew Secretariat was defiling her body with alcohol?" he whispered, raising his eyebrows. "Hey, say the word and we can get outta here. You know I love to see Karen squirm."

𝐖𝐇𝐎: Nancy Wheeler & OPEN

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓: Nancy escapes the confines of Karen Wheeler, spots your muse, and forces them to talk to her.

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄: Memorial Day aka Nancy’s Day!

Nancy had been home from Emerson for approximately five days and eight hours. In that time, she had barely seen the sunlight let alone escape from the grasp that was Karen Wheeler’s perfectly manicured hand. It was thing after thing with her mom. First, they went to the nail salon, then grocery shopping, then to The Gap, and then to her nana’s house for a visit. There had barely been time for her to even sit down and breathe for the last week. Then Karen began talking about how they should throw a BBQ for Nancy! It made perfect sense, in Karen’s mind. The Wheeler’s knew so many people and a cook out on Memorial Day was the perfect kickstarter to reintroduce Nancy to people who she had actively been avoiding since leaving Hawkins. Nancy would protest, looking over at her dad who’s glued to his Lay-Z Boy for some help, only for Ted to grumble and ask, “Do I have to cook?”

There was no use and come Memorial Day, the Wheeler’s backyard had been decorated. Her dad was on the grill and her mom was pushing Nancy along to talk to all of Karen’s friends. Nancy goes to Emerson! She’s a part of Alpha Epsilon Phi! And she’s dating the president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon! Oh, and she’s editor-in-chief at The Berkeley Beacon! Karen was bragging and bragging about all of Nancy’s accolades. It seemed to give Karen a leg up against all of her other friends who’s kids were still stuck in Hawkins. “Hey, I’ll be right back,” she said, excusing herself from the gaggle of moms.

Grabbing a red solo cup, she snuck off with one of the beers she spotted in the cooler, and poured it in the cup. There was no way she could tackle this sober. Taking a long drink, she spotted a familiar face, and booked it towards them. She needed some kind of distraction away from the clutches of Karen Wheeler. “Hey, do you think you could distract me for like… five minutes before I have to go back to being trotted around like a prized pony?”

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET as HARRY STYLES on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

thequeenofhawkins​:

— ♔ —

Chrissy never considered herself as someone who had close friends. She always kept fellow jocks and cheerleaders at arms length, but there were two people who she kept at elbow’s length. Cole Montgomery and Adam Richards. Maybe it was because they never wanted anything from her, other than a little bit of trust. “It’s totally crazy. I was like, in this forest commune?” Chrissy tried to explain, but she came up rather vague. She had two years ripped away from her and she couldn’t even remember what it was like on the commune. “Kinda gives me the heebie jeebies if I think about it for too long.” 

So, instead of thinking about it, she was more than content to move the conversation to a more pressing topic. Adam. “Yeah, yeah, I have. I think we were like, together the entire time? I don’t know, it’s all fuzzy,” and she left it at that. It sounded like a bitchy move, so she didn’t want to linger on how she had allegedly been with Adam the entire time. It was like they deliberately left Cole out, but that just didn’t make sense to Chrissy because she knew that she’d invite him, and the same could probably be said to Adam.

“So… where does that leave you and Adam?” She asked, resting a hand on one of the racks. Chrissy had a habit of holing herself into Adam and Cole’s relationship business, whether she did it on purpose or not. Either with one of them coming to her for advice or Chrissy seeking it out herself whenever she noticed something was up. “You’re not like, mad at him or anything, right?” 

xx.

Cole frowned ever so slightly when Chrissy mentioned that she was in the forest commune, too. He knew she’d been out of town, but if he really thought about it, he couldn’t remember any details or any goodbye. It was strange; he and Chrissy were close enough that he definitely would’ve wanted to say goodbye to her if she was leaving for a long time. But everyone wrapped up in the forest commune business had hazy memories attached to them. Maybe the drugs, if he were to guess. “Right. I totally get it if you don’t want to talk about it,” he offered, a genuine look of concern in his eyes.

While the forest commune was fuzzy for everyone else, Cole knew what had happened to Adam. He’d gone to the funeral, he’d checked in on Adam’s sisters every week for the past three years. Adam had died. And now he was back, and Chrissy claimed she was with him this whole time? None of it made sense... but maybe it didn’t need to. Maybe he was tempting fate by asking questions and should just shut up and accept it. “Yeah... it’s fuzzy for him, too. I guess we just hadn’t really talked details, yet,” Cole lied. “But, you’re here now. Why not pretend everything is normal for a while?” Cole asked with the biggest smile he could muster.

If he had any doubt about this really being Chrissy Cunningham standing in front of him, the glint in her eye when she asked about Adam confirmed it. Cole had seen that same look in her eye every time she asked about Adam; some cross between fondness and amusement and concern. Honestly, Chrissy was as much a part of their relationship as they were-- besides the obvious bits, anyways. Cole shook his head at her question, a content smile smoothing out his features. “You know I’m shit at being mad at him,” he said. “It wasn’t his fault, you know? Like, he didn’t want to leave... so how can I be upset?”

“Everything’s just... weird right now. Not because of him. Because of me, I think,” he sighed. Cole knew Chrissy would never let him get away with such a vague answer, so he continued speaking and absentmindedly picking through the same t-shirt in ten different colors. “I just mean... I feel like I’m bracing myself. Like I’ll lose him again? And he’s obviously fucked up about it all, the leaving thing. So we’re good-- like, sometimes it feels like nothing has changed-- but it’s like this thing is lurking.” He threw up his hands in mock surrender. “Stop me if I sound insane, please.” 

Will and Cole weren't exactly close, despite being half-brothers. Not that Will was aware of that... yet. Every time Will came into the Music Center and chatted with Cole, guilt crept its way into Cole's chest and settled there. He's sure nothing would change once Will knew, it's not like either of them talked to their dad anyway, but the longer Cole put it off, the weirder it became to bring up in casual conversation.

So, when Will came in today looking for a model, Cole volunteered. He always thought he had an artistic form anyway, and the Music Center was always dead this time of day. But now, his nervousness and guilt caused him to fidget-- which was less than ideal for the artist. "Right, right, sorry," he straightened his spine. "So... how's your family? Everyone home?" Cole had to force himself not to wince at the awkwardness of his phrasing.

WHO: will byers + open

WHERE: you decide

     His drawing skills have only improved since those childhood days scribbling with crayons and colored pencils, but it still requires practice, a constant honing of his abilities to stay sharp. And anatomy, realistic human portraiture, is one of the hardest things to get right, because when it’s just a little off…well, it can get creepy fast. People have always been one of Will’s favorite subjects to draw, probably stemming from his interest in visualizing his and the party’s childhood DnD characters. It would just be a lot easier if…

     “Could you try not to move so much? Sorry, it just helps if you stay still.” He didn’t want to come across as impatient, but if his model was already fidgety, then sitting longer to finish the sketch wasn’t going to help matters.

who: Cole & @drewcampbell​​

where: The Music Center

It had been a week and a half since Cole had gotten out of the hospital, and he’d run a few errands by himself despite his mother’s and Adam’s protests. Truly, Cole was sick of being stuck in the house, like he had been sick of the hospital room. He was restless. Though the owner of the Music Center had told him to take all the time he needed, Cole wanted to go back in to work, if only to get out of the house for a while. Plus, he hadn’t taught the new guy how to do inventory, and Cole hated when the owner attempted it. He’d once come back to find Joni Mitchell in the heavy metal section, and promptly banned anyone else from the job. 

The drive over was a spectacle, from Cole having to carefully lower himself into the driver’s seat and avoid moving too much or too quickly and inflame the pain in his broken ribs, to him driving with one hand and adjusting the radio with his arm in the sling. But, he pulled into his usual parking spot and let himself into the Music Center from the back door. Smiling at Drew, Cole waved with his good arm. “Hey, man. How’s it going? Holding everything down here?” he asked, eyes skimming over piles of undone inventory. Cole tucked a stack of records under his arm and busied himself immediately.

He turned, feeling Drew’s eyes on his back, and supposed he should explain his more-ghostly-than normal appearance, the still-healing cuts and bruises, the sling. “From the carnival. Wrong place, wrong time,” he grimaced. Then, lifting a brow, he asked the other: “Were you there? I don’t remember much. You didn’t get hurt, did you?” He didn’t know much about Drew, so he wasn’t necessarily worried about him, but Cole winced at the thought that they’d forced him to work because Cole had been hospitalized.

stevehharringtcns​:

.

everything had been such a blur and happened so fast that steve wasn’t sure what had happened anymore. he thought if some parts of it had been his imagination, but… he had definitely gotten into a fight with both jack and adam, but only he had come out injured. which was weird to think about, because he had definitely thrown around a couple of punches and he remembered quite well hitting jack in the face and then immediately feeling the pain in his face. he wasn’t sure how that had worked, but he wouldn’t be the one to figure out either. not while he was recovering, he thought to himself.

he looked over at adam for a couple of moments, pursing his lips as he did. he knew that he wouldn’t do anything like he had done at the carnival, he was hoping that whatever had happened had been a one time thing, which he doubted. but he wasn’t about to go around doubting everything that adam did. it just wouldn’t be cool of him to do so, and adam was a good friend to him when he wasn’t puking out some black goo and attacking him.

letting out yet another chuckle, immediately wincing at the pain that it caused, steve shook his head. “listen, i’ll ask the nurses to bring some more for you.” he said, nodding his head slowly when he heard cole talking about eddie. sighing, steve nodded again. “yeah, they… they arrested him. which was stupid because eddie would never do anything to hurt anyone. they were just trying to find a way to get him arrested for… the shit that happened two years ago.” he said, shaking his head, clearly still angry that someone would just do that for fun. he hated everyone who had been part of arresting eddie. “we’ll all be okay… eventually.” he nodded, letting out a sigh. at least he hoped that they would be.

at the question, steve just shrugged his shoulders. he hoped that he would have all of the answers to give to cole. he hated that he had been dragged into this, just like everyone he knew had been dragged. he hated that something was back and that they couldn’t do anything about it. “i don’t know… i really don’t know. i would try asking nancy, she’s… she’s the whole brains of the group. i’m sure she knows something by now.” he said, not knowing if it was true or not, but considering their last encounters with something supernatural, nancy was always the one to figure it out.

xx.

Cole tried, desperately, to read Steve’s expression when the others’ eyes fell on  Adam. Right now, in the hospital room, Adam was the least threatening presence-- his arm snaked around Cole’s fingers, intertwined, dirty blond hair rising and falling with his breaths. But Cole and Steve both knew what he was capable of when he wasn’t in control, and it was something Cole had begun to fear. What would others say or do to Adam now? And could Cole protect him? From others, from whatever was causing the blackouts? 

He trusted Steve to be fair and kind, he had no reason not to. Since Steve had stopped hanging out with Tommy H and Carol, Cole had seen another side of him-- from afar-- a more sensitive and caring Steve Harrington. And after everything that had happened between the two of them, Cole hoped that Steve’s goodwill could extend to Adam, too. 

Cole smiled, relieved that Steve’s comment pulled him out of his head, at least for the time being. “Yeah, bat your pretty eyes at them and get them to bring extra, while you’re at it,” he joked. It felt nice, even normal for a minute, until Steve told him about Eddie. Cole’s frown pulled his eyebrows together. “No, he wouldn’t. That’s bullshit,” his voice raised, which hurt his throat. “I can’t believe they’re holding onto that, with... Chrissy back.” Steve’s sigh seemed more hopeful than it was convincing, but Cole decided to let it slide. Positivity, however forced, wasn’t bad for them at the moment.

He nodded, then frowned when he remembered that Nancy was in the hospital, too. He wasn’t surprised, really, that she was the brains. It made him feel even a little confident that whatever this was could be stopped, with Nancy at the helm. “Is she doing okay? Have you heard?” Cole asked, worry creasing his brow. He leaned back in his bed for a minute and studied his and Adam’s hands, how they’d always fit together so naturally. Cautiously, he glanced back up at Steve. “You know that that wasn’t him, right? He would never... he doesn’t hurt people.” Cole’s eyes betrayed his desperation for someone to believe it, for someone to be on their side.

cassieconrads​:

It was almost a relief to hear that Cole had been experiencing the same kind of insomnia that Cassie had. She wasn’t sure what that meant for the group that had been at the cemetery overall, if they were doomed to be repeating the same dream-like vision over again and again. At least she didn’t have to worry about any physical injuries, like Cole and Lucas had sustained. Cassie wasn’t known for being the most careful person, and she was honestly shocked that she hadn’t wound up falling herself.

Cassie shook her head at his question, beginning to flip through the catalog on the counter as they spoke. “Me neither. Every time I close my eyes, it’s like I’m seeing the same dream all over again.” Maybe it was more than she should’ve admitted, but she somehow she felt more comfortable telling Cole about what she’d seen than Nancy, who hadn’t been there.

xx.

Cole busied himself, re-sorting the metal section. Why was it always the metal section that got ransacked? He glanced up at her, alarm in his eyes when she mentioned a dream haunting her. Was that a coincidence? Was that even possible? “Dream? What kind of dream?” he asked, dropping the record he was holding into its rightful place.

Until now, Cole had chalked his recurring vision up to the head injury, thinking that maybe hitting his head that hard had brought up some sort of unprocessed trauma. It made sense, or rather it was the explanation that was the least terrifying to think about. 

zccming​:

“cole.” max said flatly as he rounded the corner. while her glare was cold as steel, the gradually growing grin on her face said that she was happy to see him. “it’s an emergency.” that was certainly a dramatization, but she’d say whatever to make this look … less bad. it’s not that she cared what cole thought of her, but she refused to submit to the idea she was perpetuating any negative stereotypes. as he drew closer and provided the suggestions she had asked for, she rolled her eyes and mocked him “did you try to pick the lock? the fuck would i pick the lock with?” max held up her hand, “my fingernails?” 

she approached the front door anyhow, then levelled with the lock. “i have a better idea.” max once again found a rock, picked it up, but this time smashed it into the lock. bingo. the lock fell off. while max wasn’t expecting the door to only have an exterior lock and chain, she was happily surprised to find that the physical door itself hadn’t been locked. she pulled it open, ushered cole inside, then closed the door behind them, “i just need some groceries.” max shrugged her lie then grabbed a basket as if she were actually shopping, “happy memorial day.” she snickered, turning down an aisle, “have any not-totally-lame plans for today?”

xx

Cole paused for a moment, but refused to give Max enough dead air to think she'd bested him. "I don't know, don't girls always have, like, bobby pins?" he threw his hands into the air with a faux exasperated sigh. He hid a grin behind an eyeroll. Though he'd never admit it out loud, Cole liked the bickering relationship he had with Max; it was like she was the little sister he never had. And, though she would never admit it, he knew she liked it too.

"Jesus, Max!" Cole glanced around to make sure no one had heard the crash. At Max's nonverbal invitation, Cole slipped inside, shaking his head in amused disapproval. He wasn't exactly pro-breaking and entering, but it was one lock and a few groceries? Who would it really hurt? "Well, get something fun at least. To celebrate," he chuckled, motioning towards the shitty grocery store beer. Meanwhile, he made a beeline to the soda aisle. There it was: a sparkling 2 liter of Wild Cherry Pepsi. He grabbed two, and craned his neck out into the aisle, "Are you calling me lame? Why would I share my plans with you when I'm at risk to be insulted again?"

zccming​:

“something like that…” max stared at her shoes for a moment. she couldn’t recall precisely what the report had said, she merely knew that she was pulled out of the fire along with her friends and what her lines were for when she couldn’t quite place herself in the fabricated story, “–it, it happened really fast.” then, she divulged, “i don’t remember what they even said and i don’t read those stupid articles about the fire.” max huffed, getting more agitated the more she spoke off book. she didn’t take well to personal questions, even from cole. not because she was mad at him, but she was still so mad at everything, and that was an unnerving beast to let roam around outside her mind. yet, max had still managed to share something with him. some real frustration about the cover up, even if he didn’t know.

the ghost of a smile on cole’s face told her that she had been successful in aiding his mood. “i’m always right.” she assured, a curve in her own lips appearing. max took the blunt and puffed on it, mirroring cole’s body position. “and you aren’t?” she deadpanned, “sometimes  i’d say you’re more than–” if he didn’t seem so urgent when cutting her off, she would have told him to shut the fuck up. and once cole fully asked his questions? max was wishing she had. her mouth dried and her jaw clenched. was billy like, different, right before? that didn’t even begin to describe it. lost in the terror in her chest, max didn’t speak until she felt a stinging on her knee. looking down she clocked the source; burning ash on her skin. she had forgotten about the joint. “shit.” she winced, brushing it off, then immediately passed it back to cole. he might have needed it for what she was about to say.

the cover up infuriated her at times, but simultaneously, max understood why it existed. it existed for people like cole, where the lie would hurt less than the truth. the lie would still hurt, greatly, but she wouldn’t wish knowledge of that supernatural can of worms on anyone. ears burning, she prepped the fib on the tip of her tongue, “he wasn’t.” i totally didn’t like, lock him in a sauna or watch him nearly kill my friends. max fought back the urge to pick at her nails, “but then again, billy was always weird.” she rolled her eyes, wishing it was that simple and shook her head, “i don’t know.” 

she left it at that. 

in some kind of miracle though, max’s mind was torn away from billy, and her attention was averted somewhere rapidly different. she looked at cole, brows knitted deeply in thought. so many puzzle pieces clicked together all at once. adam wasn’t a best friend, he was a boyfriend. there was a stray inkling about it, once, a heart-to-heart ago when max was equating his feelings about adam being gone to hers about her best friend el ‘moving away’. but she never followed up on that with cole. she should have. while there were so many things she wanted to say, and a dozen more questions she wanted to ask, max plucked a four leaf clover and went with the unexpected option. tenderness. “oh cole.” a hug, “i’m so sorry.” what a horrible realization of what he’d been going through. 

suddenly, max felt very guilty about lying. 

xx.

I don't remember what they even said. Something about that stood out in his mind, almost like "they" had been feeding Max lines. He felt, deep down, like she was lying. But he dismissed it with the next drag he took. Hadn't the shrink his mom forced him to see said that it wasn't unusual to make up stories to explain away tragedy? Maybe that's what he was trying to do. "Yeah. I guess no one really knows what happened. And we just have to... be okay with that. Move on, or try to," he said, his flat tone evidence of his unbelief.

Though he barreled through her sarcastic comment, her meaning wasn't lost on her. And she wasn't wrong. God, what he wouldn't do to make fun of the selfish prick one more time without feeling the sting of loss. He watched as Max inadvertently burned herself, and he raised an eyebrow at her sudden nervousness. Signs of lying again. But his heart sank all the same at her response. There he was again, trying to explain away the tragedy. "Oh," he nodded, taking the joint back again.

He felt himself leaning away, afraid of her response if she even had one. Maybe it would be best if she didn't, then they could get sober and pretend he hadn't said what he did. That would be better than losing a friend because of a stupid need to overshare. He was surprised at the feeling of her arms around him. The understanding in her voice. Even with the circumstances, Cole felt a lightness in his stomach. Finally, someone else knew. Finally, he wasn't alone with it. His blinks were rapid-fire and he silently willed the moisture to stay behind his eyelids. "Thanks," he spoke after a long pause, his voice barely above a whisper. He tilted his head slightly towards hers, relieved for the comfort, the acceptance. "And I'm sorry too. I know it's not the same thing, but... I get it, sort of."

Cole ventured a glance at Max and his eyes fell to the four-leaf clover. A sign of good luck, ironic. "And if you ever want to talk about it, any of it, or just... remember him. I'd like that," he met her eyes again. "Might make me feel less crazy."