-On The Road- (A Steddie and Ronance Story)

The Cheerleader

(TW for Desc. of Death and Light Gore, Trauma)

The night had become quiet, aside from the gentle sounds of the woods around the group and crickets chirping in the distance. And Robin's snoring. Robin's loud, loud snoring. Somehow though, the group had all managed to fall asleep, drifting to sleep under the watch of the stars and the night sky. The world seemed to still, as the group finally felt some semblance of peace. No Hawkins, No Vecna, nothing that could hurt them anymore. At least, nothing physical. The memories still haunted them. And with the memories, came the dreams.

-

Eddie shot up, gasping for air. He was.. In his trailer? He rubbed his eyes, as he seemed to regain focus on the environment around him. It was definitely his room, with his posters and Polaroids on the wall, and his guitar in the corner. And this was definitely his bed, with his thin bed sheets that he had used since he was little. Since he was dropped off here by his Dad all those years ago, shaved head and all.

He smelled a familiar scent, and stood shakily. It was most definitely weed. He looked around, and didn't see any sign of his own usage, so he opened the door and ventured into the main area of the trailer. Little fuzzies seemed to float in the air, and the trailer felt colder then normal, causing Eddie to shiver a bit. Walking into the main area, there she was. In her uniform and everything. Smoking a blunt, like nothing was wrong, like the world was as normal as it had always been.

"You look like you've seen a ghost, Eddie. Come on, relax a little, I don't bite."

Chrissy Cunningham. She was dead. And yet, she was also here.

"..Or don't, guess it doesn't matter to me. God, this shit is good, thanks for selling me some."

He stepped wordlessly towards her, sitting next to her and staring at the floor. This couldn't possibly be happening. She was gone, he had seen her die, so very brutally, and yet, here she was, as bubbly as ever. If not more, with her being quite high.

"So, Eddie, how's it been pretending you're a hero?"

What? That didn't sound like something Chrissy would say. Eddie turned to look at her, and realized he couldn't speak. He could only sit in silence, watching her blow puffs of smoke into the air.

"You know, I'm still dead. Jason is still dead. All of this death. Isn't it weird how easy it is for someone to go from bright and living and having so much potential, to just.. Gone. And yet you really think you've saved anyone? Hell, you didn't even kill the guy. So now what? You run away?" She said, giggling quietly and taking another hit.

Eddie put his head in his hand, rocking back and forth. He wanted it to stop, but she kept going.

"It's fine. You'll join us soon enough. Me and you, we aren't all that different. We're not like Steve or Nancy or Robin, we're just the people who live and die in the background of their adventure and their accomplishments. Don't worry, it's not that bad! Once your bones are all shattered, you lose feeling for the most part. Did you know that hearing is one of the last things to go when you die?" She asked, as she stood, her limbs contorting in unnatural ways, black liquid beginning to pour from her mouth. The sound of bones breaking echoed, getting louder and louder until eventually..

-

"Chrissy!"

He shot up, screaming. His mind was racing, as he began rocking once more, curling into a ball and shaking. He mumbled to himself, trying desperately to self soothe. If there was any chance of it, he wasn't going to wake any of the rest of the group up. He wasn't worth them losing sleep over. This was just another of his dumb episodes, and he would get over it. His shaking never seemed to stop though, as he continued to rock back and forth.

Closer to the fire pit, Steve had just woken up to the sound of a scream. Not just any scream though, he knew that voice. Groggily sitting up and looking around, he tried to listen for the sound of Eddie's voice. Instead, he heard quiet but rapid breathing and mumbling. Steve knew what that meant. Even though he had pretended to be brave, he remembered the dreams. He remembered waking up in a cold sweat, in his bed at home, by himself, spending hours trying to convince himself he was safe. No one would deal with this alone again, not while he had anything to say about it.

Standing shakily, he stumbled his way towards the sounds of panic, trying his best to be careful on the uneven ground. Eddie, too wrapped up in his panic and in his head, didn't notice anyone approaching in the dark, until he heard the sound of someone falling right next to him, and a lot of cursing.

"H-Harrington?" He whispered quietly, trying to keep his breath from giving away how utterly panicked he was.

"Ah fuck, my face... Eddie, what's going on? I heard you yell, and I was worried." Steve whispered back, bringing himself back to a sitting position and reaching to put a hand on Eddie's shoulder. Eddie flinched at the touch, and Steve immediately drew back, not wanting to mess up.

"Hey, I know, I had the dreams too, how can I help you? Do you wanna talk, do you need to distract yourself?" He asked. Eddie thought for a moment, trying to calm his breathing enough to talk at all.

"I know it's stupid, but can I hug you? You don't have to, I know it's dumb and weird and you don't like me and-"

Steve cut him off by pulling him in, wrapping his arms around the boy. The two sat in the moment, enjoying the presence of the other as they hugged. Eddie slowly regulated his breathing again, and his shaking reduced, while Steve rubbed his back.

"Hey.. it's okay. Don't feel bad, I want to help you, and if this is what helps, then don't even worry about it." He said quietly, hoping he was helping Eddie through this. After a couple minutes, Steve pulled away and put his hands on Eddie's shoulders, as Eddie remained curled in a ball.

"How are you feeling now?"

Instead of a response, a light snore came from him. Steve smiled to himself, glad that at the very least, he helped get him to a place where he could sleep once more. Gently, he eased Eddie into a somewhat more sleep-like position, and realized that Eddie didn't have any sort of blanket or anything. Without his jacket, he was just wearing his Hellfire shirt, and Steve wouldn't let that slide. He stumbled his way back to his own bag, pulled out a blanket he had brought (just in case) and stumbled over again, laying it over the sleeping boy.

"Goodnight, Munson." He whispered, a smile crossing his face as he made his way back once more. "Sweet dreams."