𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲

v. need someone.

IN THE morning, James once again woke up from another painful dream, except this time, it wasn't only Steve, he also saw El, Hopper and Dustin all die the same way. He groaned and covered his face, sighing softly. "James! James! Get up! Steve and the others got here like an hour ago and we've been waiting for you to get up so we can go!" Dustin rushed in but stopped by the boy's bed. "God, why do you smell like--" He covered his nose and gasped softly.

"Did you drink?" He asked and James just sat up, turning to look at Dustin. "Are... are you okay?" Dustin is taken back by the sight of James who just wrapped his arms around Dustin tightly, holding him close. "Yeah, yeah, I love you too, bud, but you gotta get dressed." Dustin said, patting James' back gently.

"I'll be ready in a bit."

James was ready in twenty minutes while Dustin and the others waited outside, discussing what they heard on the Cerebro. Then there he was, Steve immediately looked over and God, did he hate the outfit James went with today. It made him look... hot. A pair of tightly fit jeans and a black button up shirt with an army green jacket over it.

He's also wearing sunglasses which made Steve make a weird noise which Robin caught onto. "What the hell was that?" She whispers. "Nothing. Don't worry about it. Chop, chop, you guys." He slaps his hands together before hopping into the vehicle.

"James," Robin smiled widely then gestured to the passenger side door. "Good morning to you too, Rob." James smiles and Robin giggles, getting into the back with Dustin and Max. "Good morning..." James mumbled, getting into the passenger seat and all Steve did was nod, didn't even look his way for a second.

On the drive to Reefer Rick's, they're all quiet as Dustin once again kept glancing back and forth between Steve and James as if they were obligated to stay together just because they're both one of his closest friends. "Dustin. Stop." Robin whispered quietly.

"I just--" "I know but you're making everyone uncomfortable." Robin mumbled quietly. "I will jump out of this vehicle." James says, looking back at them and Dustin leans closer. "No, you wouldn't." He whispered and James sighs, turning back around. "Yeah, I wouldn't..." He said then noticed the plastic bag on the floor of the front seat. "What's this?"

"It's for you to give to Eddie..." Dustin said, smiling widely and he couldn't be even more transparent. He wants James to get along with Eddie so that Steve could get jealous and want James back. "Okay." James sighs.

At the boat garage/shed, James walked up to the door and opened it loudly which frightened Eddie who raised his broken glass bottle at them before sighing. "Jesus. You know how to greet a man in the morning." James says as he took off his sunglasses before holding out the bag towards Eddie. "For you," he bows a bit.

"Thank you." Eddie bows back, taking the plastic bag before walking over to the boat. "So, uh, we got some good news and some bad news. How do you prefer it?" Dustin asked the boy now sitting in the boat, stuffing his mouth with Honeycomb cereal like he hasn't eaten in decades. James figures it's because he's been on the run since two nights ago. "Bad news first, always." Eddie answers, before he takes a swing of his chocolate milk.

"Alright, bad news. We tapped into Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro, and they're definitely looking for you. Also, they're, uh, pretty convinced you killed Chrissy." Dustin said and James notices the look on Eddie's face as he glanced down. "Like, 100% kind of convinced." Max says making James glance at her then look back at Eddie worriedly.

"And the good news?" Eddie asked. "Your name hasn't gone public yet." Robin tells him and James sighs. "But if we found you, it's only a matter of time before others do, Eddie." He says, crossing his arms. "And once that gets out, everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you." Robin added and James sighs. "Hunt the freak, right?" Eddie says and James stared in worry.