OPEN.

[babysitters]

text • voice • video • action

Comments

otherbitches. tfln.

[babysitters]

x

Wow, good for you. Should I get you a fucking medal, asshole? ( he means fucking as in expletive, not fucking as in sex, but it kinda works either way. also funny but like a shameful funny. why are dad jokes so funny to him now? depressing. he's gonna blame the joint.

he can blame the weed for the rest of this conversation, too. ) It's fine if I'm on top but, you know, riding? Ouch, man, jesus.

I'm not an old ass man, I'm not wearing jeans with buttons to my ribcage. And what's wrong with drying jeans? How are they gonna get dry if you don't?

thefreak. tfln.

[babysitters]

x

Yeah. Painkillers. I need those all the time. Okay. Okay.

( no. sober, Steve would realize there's no way that would fly. Eddie Munson left a baggie of unmarked pills in his car and Steve assumed they were tylenol? sure. not even he is that big of a bimbo. but since he's flying this seems like a reasonable excuse. )

I don't need your eye. One hour. ONE HOUR. Remember? ( he's not cool to drive but maybe he can be cool to stand behind the counter. right??? ) Backseat. The front seat was too fast.

keenely. tfln.

[babysitters]

x

It was the bulletin board at the gas station, so.

( he paid for his gas and then he came back and paid for something cold for his face, how is she not impressed by his responsible ingenuity??? )

I didn't start a fight. I started a lecture, on how not to be a fucking asshole.
He just needed extra convincing, that's all.

[thefreak]

You're going to be fine. We'll get you out of this.

[ it was Eddie's dumb idiot carelessness that got Steve in this situation in the first place, so of course he was going to make sure nothing happened to him. and maybe he could pull a little sympathy out of Robin somehow and lessen the blow that way. only one way to find out? ]

Yeah, yeah, one hour. [ press X to doubt. ] I'm going to pretend that made sense. I'm leaving now, just stay put. [ and after a moment passes, another text comes through that's just -- ] Please?

[otherbitches]

yeah, man. finally.
ill put it up with my other fucking medals

[ yeah, no, that was funny Steve, and he doesn't even have a joint to blame. he'll just give Steve that one. the idea of a bunch of pretty medals and trophies lined up on his dresser from all the Hawkins girls he's moved through sounds really fun. and classy. ]

christ, youre so fucking lame
they make um with buttons, like, three of them, grandpa
its stylish
or you just get nicer jeans and the zipper isnt
wait ok wait

you air dry jeans, man. otherwise they shrink. its bad for the fiber
youre not even supposed to wash denim that much
unless you get um real filthy
buy better jeans and take care of them, its an INVESTMENT [ has he ever written or said this much at once? ]

dnds. tfln.

[babysitters]

x

( right. he said what he said. his everything. his everything, really. and since bisexuality is really hard in small town Indiana, Steve is equally incapable of pushing the issue. because Eddie is just, like this. he calls dudes big boy and is always leaning too close in the midst of his dramatic monologuing. doesn't mean anything!

without the heart holding and bambi eyes to sell it, it does seem a little sarcastic. and it's not a nerve Steve wants to admit he has. so, better to just drop it. )

Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Munson.

( maybe Steve would have sulked a little longer, if it weren't for the intense amount of energy Eddie put into texting ... tabs? he's calling them tabs. they honestly look like the neck of a guitar, almost.

until the letters and numbers come in and his head swims a bit, even if Eddie makes it sound easy. )

Chords. Right? ( when you play notes together. he isn't entirely brand new, he's heard enough guitar and music in general to know some of the basics. ) I dunno. Look, I don't... Mrs. Neilson probably had a point, all right? I'm not sure I'll be any good at it.

( it's cool that Eddie thinks he can. it'll be less cool when Eddie realizes he can't figure it out. he can't fail if he doesn't ever try, right? flawless plan. )

[babysitters]

Forgot I was talking to the grand fucking champion.

( yup, still funny. he's not thinking about what a fucking trophy would look like. you are! )

No, I'm not lame, jeans are lame. What do we do it for, anyway? It's like a trash compactor on your dick if you sit wrong. God, and then the bunching? Total nightmare. So what if tight jeans look good on your ass. Fuck it, man, fuck it.

( was that your pointed, as in Billy's ass, or collective, as in everyone's ass? no comment )

Whatever, I'll stop washing my jeans because I'm done with goddamn jeans. ( .................. without any segue whatsoever: ) Hey, you got like... some twinkies, or something?

[dnds]

chords!!! that's right
look at you, harrington

[ okay, so chords are like - universal knowledge when it comes to music composition, maybe not anything to get excited over, but - fuck that, honestly!! eddie's proud of this little knowledge nugget steve's tentatively tossed his way. ]

cmon man
you tried the drums for a few days and quit and like
nothing against mrs. neilson
but spend three days with me and a guitar
and people will be saying 'ozzy who?'

[ those are some... steep goals, and eddie will honestly be satisfied if by the end of three days steve can only play a handful of scales, but listen. he believes in steve. he wants steve to succeed. mostly for selfish reasons but that's not... important. ]

if you don't want to, you just gotta say the word and i'll back off
but if you do...
you just gotta trust me, man

[babysitters]

( eddie is SO IMPRESSED by the most basic of knowledge, but positive reinforcement does work on Steve, so, maybe it's not the worst thing. and it's not like he's got a hell of a lot else going on, between work, and........ hoping that the world won't spontaneously end. )

It's not... whatever. I don't know.
Okay, fine. Three days, why not.
I trust you. Guitar is cool, worth a shot, even if it's a shot in the dark at best.

( maybe it'd even help with his lacking dating life, huh? chicks dig guitar. that said: )

But for real, who is this Ozzy guy? ( should he understand that reference??? not the "Ozzy who" Eddie was looking for. )

[dnds]

psh, shot in the dark
let good ol' eddie light the way for you

[ god, it's like fucking whiplash with this guy!!! one second eddie is impressed by him and pumped for three days of teaching harrington how to play guitar, and then next minute he just wants to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. ]

oh, stevie
you were doing so well
we talked about this!!
black sabbath, dude who bit off a bat's head

[ ... ]

he's more of a vocals/songwriting kinda guy and less of a guitar guy though
or... any instrument, really
so at least you'll have that on him

flatteryworks. tfln.

[babysitters]

Yeah, yeah. So how toked are you right now, scale of 1-10?

( is it weird that he Just Knows how Eddie is when he's high? no, right? they smoke together enough, and Eddie is just blazed around him enough, it's hard not to notice the signs. like, asking weird questions. such as, hitting cheese with a bat.

it's cute. it's fine if Steve thinks that, just in his head. )

The whole idea about having safe conversation topics is that I don't have to talk about it, you know? ( maybe he'll talk about it eventually. frankly it is unavoidable. his parents wanting to sell the house he still lives in is pretty hard to dodge forever. Steve is just delaying the inevitable, for a little bit longer. ) I'll tell you when I'm not still wrapping my head around it, all right? I promise.

Boring can be good sometimes, man. Like, you know how it'll go, you don't have to get stressed or overthink it. Baseball is the best kind of boring. Someone hits the ball, someone runs, maybe someone makes it home and everyone cheers.

[keenely]

Did you really think someone like that was going to hear you out?

[ just taking a second to slowly drag both of her hands down her face like stitch in that one gif ]

Nevermind
Just
You're texting me, so obviously you didn't break your hand.
But is your vision okay? No floaters or anything, right? Spots?
You really should try to ice it properly. For an hour or two, at the very least.
It can help lessen the extent of how badly it bruises, if you haven't already waited too long. And it'll definitely help with any pain or swelling, either way.
But obviously don't just leave the ice on your face for an hour straight, that won't help.
Fifteen minutes on, twenty minutes off.
Or... maybe it's ten minutes on, fifteen off?
You know what? That part probably doesn't even matter as much as just doing it.

[babysitters]

( ........ did Eddie tell him this? probably. or at least they've listened to it, probably with Steve looking a little confused for most of it.

but the dots, he's connected them. he's on to you, Eddie!!! )

Wait, is that what this is about? I bit off a bat head so I should play guitar?

( like Arthur, and the sword in the stone, only metal and decapitated bats. )

[babysitters]

Well that's what the tough guy thing was for. I know that crowd, you know? ( he was that asshole, once! he learned, didn't he? ) He definitely won't hear me out if I don't say anything.

( ............ well, at first he thought she was pissed, but now Nancy just seems... worried. that was exactly the vibe he was trying to avoid! that's practically a paragraph on how to put ice on his face. where could he have gone wrong?? )

Nance, I'm fine. Really. You didn't like it when I said I've had worse. But I have had worse. Okay? He had a shitty hook, it's just an eye goes purple if you look at it funny.

No floaters, no ringing in my ears, the room's not spinning. My face just hurts.

I'll ice it, all right? I promise.

[guitarpicks]

Would you believe me if I said I'm stone cold sober? Ready to cross a river of firey lava to rescue some Kua-toan Blibdoolpoolp worshippers from certain death. [ lying through his teeth, actually. ] And all the other times I've been flying high as a bird in the sky?

[ there's a significant pause after this where eddie stares at his phone, trying to craft a more sober follow up to a very fair call out here. ]

Yeah. Sorry. [ steve did say he didn't to think about it but eddie's-- eddie's worried. and definitely blazed, it's harder to filter. it's also that he's more comfortable with steve than pretty much anyone at this point, doesn't always actively filter out what's top of mind. ] Sorry. You don't have to tell me at all, if you don't want to. No pressure, man. [ he's not sure how to convey that genuinely and baseball is their out. right? ]

Plenty of people stress out. Like if their team misses a home run or strikes out. [ he actually does remember from his little league summer. a lifetime ago before a spiral downhill toward troubles that inevitably lead to more trouble. ] Talk to the local bookies. They'll tell you some shit. No one can guarantee cheering.

You can guarantee hotdogs though. I haven't had a quality hotdog in ages. Do you think anywhere that sells them is open right now???

[dnds]

[ for christ’s sake, steve. pay attention!! ]

no

[ yes. partially. ]

i mean sort of
but really you should play guitar because it’s badass for one
two i think you could pick it up easy with the right teacher
me, i’m the right teacher
three, everybody loves a guitarist
guitarists are hot, dude

[ do not ask him why he’s single then if that’s so true, it is not anyone’s business!! ]

[keenely]

I know you know that crowd, which is why you should definitely know better than to think

Ugh, wait, not "know better" that is so shitty, I don't mean it like that.
I just mean
Those guys aren't like you, Steve. I've never seen even a tiny glimmer of good in any of them, and without Jason around, it's somehow only gotten worse.
And okay technically, yes, you're right, and I'm the last person to tell you to just stay quiet and ignore something that you know isn't right.
But was it really some... "tough guy thing" that actually got through to you back then?

[ she types it, and sends it, and then realizes she kind of already knows the answer to it. and that is not! a topic! she wanted to accidentally stumble into! anytime soon! ]

I'm not trying to lecture you, or baby you, I swear. I know you've dealt with worse. ( Although now that you promised to ice it, you need to actually do it. )
But...
Those assholes might just be idiot bullies from school with rich parents and literally zero concept of personal responsibility, but they somehow found a way to villainize Eddie even more than the news reports about Chrissy already did. I mean, he went from being a potential suspect to being a fully convicted satanic cult leader trying to summon the devil to Hawkins, overnight. And things are even more tense now than they were then.
So yeah, maybe I'm acting a little uppity about you picking fights with one of his fledgelings. But can you really blame me??

[otherbitches]

[ he is thinking about it. it probably looks like a big dick. hahahAHAHA. very funny, very mature. ]

oh my fucking god
i am giving you step by step instructions
if you dont fuck with them they mold to fit YOU
so yes, my ass looks great, and a girl can climb on and my dick doesnt get ri

wait

are you stoned? [ Houston: We have contact. But wait, whose ass were they talking about? Billy scrolls up to re-read. ]

[babysitters]

( god billy you misogynistic twat!!! why wouldn't it look like a really elaborate sex position??? this is why you don't really have any sex trophies )

What? No! No.
I mean. Maybe. Like a little.

( texting is so hard. he can't indicate how barely high he is with a hand gesture. damn. )

Not that bad, don't be a goddamn narc, all right? It's just a little grass.
So do you have some or not? I'm dying, man. All I got in this entire house is olives and Coors. And I already ate the olives.

[otherbitches]

[ ok? a vagina? tits? what do you want, Steve?? what kinda elaborate positions is he thinking of? loving missionary cast in nickle? respectable cowgirl while holding hands? ]

lol
im not going to narc on you
i might have twinkies or the car to get them

do you have more weed?

[babysitters]

( since Steve is only 🤏 high, he is mildly aware that confirming he has more weed means Billy will want some. Billy is the human, mulleted, extremely violent personification of the mouse that wants a cookie, only that one doesn't come out until '85. which, honestly would be fine, if he gets some goddamn munchies out of it, it's just that Steve doesn't have much of a stash left. and Tommy was his connect, so what the fuck is he gonna do if he lets Billy make off with some of his shit? he doesn't want to become a stoner, that's goddamn tragic, so, it's not like he smokes a ton. but when he's out he's out and it's nice to know he has an option not to feel like shit hidden in his sock drawer.

is that worth having a Twinkie? ......... actually, yeah, goddamn, he's this close to eating his couch cushion. )

Yeah, a little, fine. Get me the munchies and maybe I'll feel generous.

SWEET stuff, all right? If you show up with Doritos I'm not opening the door.

[babysitters]

The scary thing is I can't tell if you made that up or if it is real nerd shit that just sounds like you made it up.

( god, he really, REALLY has to try and crack down and read the D&D manuals. at least so he knows the references and when Eddie and Dustin are being full of it!!! )

Don't... look, don't be sorry, it's just... shit with my parents, is all. First time I see them since Christmas, and it's to tell me they wanna sell the house. So I gotta figure all that out, you know? Maybe it won't sell because there was just a goddamn earthquake in the middle of Indiana and that's hilariously unlucky from an outside perspective, but maybe it will and then what the hell am I gonna do?

( Steve doesn't make a ton, maybe his threats of taking all the part time work in Hawkins are genuine because how is he gonna afford living on his own? again, a problem Steve would like to worry about later, so, hopefully Eddie will let him be distracted. )

Yeah, whatever. A tomorrow problem. I'm not worrying about it today so you can't worry about it today, either.

We don't need other people to make us hot dogs, Munson, you boil them for ten minutes and then you eat them. Or grill them, even better. Are you too toked to drive? I could make you some, listening to your grass fueled ramblings would be better than talking about crackers and ramen. ( let him distract himself by being a mom friend, Eddie... he's begging u......... )

[otherbitches]

didnt say i was free, man

[ if you give a mouse a cookie, he'll take it, but he'll also still be a bit of a bitch on principle. Technically, could he get his own weed? Yeah. Of course. But that means engaging with Thomas during non-school hours and non-party hours. That or that weird forever-senior dealer. Jesus. ]

maybe in 30 min
that ok, princess?
jesus, what else you want?
pudding pies?

[ just two heterosexual men enjoying pudding pies on the pier in the 80s, like you do. ]

[babysitters]

Take all the time you want but if I get bored and walk to 7-11 you don't get shit.

( Billy it was a goddamn mistake to ask if he wants something else. apparently Steve is taking the princess criticism to heart, he might as well make Billy work for his second to last joint. plus, he's hungry. killing half a blunt with no food in his house was a pretty bad decision. )

What the hell are those, are they sweet? Sure, I don't care. ( and if Billy throws it in his pool he's not getting ANY weed!!! okay!!!!! !!! ) Maybe those, uh... those cupcakes, with the lace on them. Twinkies. Oreos too.

[guitarpicks]

That is... actually all real shit. They're like frog people. Kua-toans. Really good swimmers but I bet you could hold out against them. [ compliments about steve's jock sports abilities have to come coupled with cool d&d facts. clearly. ] I am pretty high though.

[ no shit.

except... wow that bomb. eddie's quiet for a long time, staring at the screen. he's kind of at odds with himself here because that's BIG shit. he has a lot of questions like what does this mean? is steve ok? is he moving? what is he going to do? what if this thing that they're doing is snow limited by a timeline and has an expiration date??? (why has he not considered an expiration date before??)

eddie spirals for a bit but that could just be the weed. totally just weed affecting sense of time here, man, nothing else to see.

he's torn because steve did say not to worry about it. which is asking for a lot when this shit affects his... friend. his not so platonic friend. shit. ] Shit. Sorry, man.

Okay, we won't talk about that very big bomb you just dropped today. [ apparently he can do that. asking not to get jizz in steve's hair is too much but not talking about serious shit? well, eddie's a pro. ] I don't have a grill, Harrington.

Wait. You do. [ which like. was said? so? ] Does the offer still stand, if I'm not too stoned to drive but can't guarantee I won't continue to talk to you about cheese? Or ramen. I can give up crackers though.

I can get beer and condiments on the way. [ guy can't show up to a hotdog date without condiments. ]