Eddiemcnson​:

Cole had just gotten off his shift at The Music Center and had nowhere to go; he had already gone by the skatepark looking for Max, but he figured she was still under her mom’s lock and key ever since the whole mall incident. So, Cole had taken to skating around town, looking for someone to kill some time with. His mom had been particularly icy since he came home in a wrecked car, so he was trying to avoid home as much as possible. God, he felt like a teenager again.

Cole’s thoughts were interrupted by a girl he didn’t recognize, but even still, he obliged. Pulling his headphones down around his neck, he planted a foot on the ground and stopped the roll of his skateboard. “Oh,” it dawned on him who she was. Nancy had mentioned a friend from college coming to stay for a while. Who else would be contributing to the booming tourist economy of Hawkins? “Yeah, no, not quite. But you’re close, it’s just around the other side of the strip.” He started to motion and then decided against it. “I’ll take you, it’s a little confusing. I’m Cole,” he smiled, deciding that any friend of Nancy’s was a friend of his. 

WHO: cassie conrad & you!

WHERE: the strip mall, outside the video store

Cassie wasn’t used to small-town. Even the suburb she’d grown up in had more people in a square mile than Hawkins did in the entire town. Boston was even more of a monstrosity, but it was where Cassie felt most at home. Despite the less than logical layout of the city, she knew her way around every corner, every nook and cranny. It somehow became easy after being there for three years. What she couldn’t understand, though, was how the hell to get around Hawkins, Indiana. It shouldn’t have been so hard, with how little there was to memorize, but everything just looked the same. 

So, here she was, standing with her map outside the strip mall where she thought the Radio Shack was, looking and feeling quite lost. She’d stupidly left her Walkman in Boston, and Cassie couldn’t get around very far without ABBA in her ears. “Excuse me,” she asked the person walking toward her, looking like they were making their way into the video store. “This might be a weird question, but I’m kind of not from here, and I’m looking for the Radio Shack. I’m not … in the right place, am I?” she asked, flashing a pained smile. “I promise I’m not usually this directionally challenged, I just think this map is severely outdated.”

adam jacob richards & walden cole montgomery

“he was my north, my south, my east and west, my working week and my sunday rest, my noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; i thought that love would last for ever: i was wrong.”

― w.h. auden, stop all the clocks

Keep reading

stevehharringtcns​:

.

steve smiled once cole accepted his beer, nodding his head as he took the bottle to his mouth and took a sip, looking at cole as he talked about the lake. letting out a chuckle, steve shrugged his shoulders slightly. “yeah, i haven’t exactly had the best experience with lover’s lake… trust me.” he said, his eyes widening a bit at the memory of being pulled down all the way to watergate and the demo-bats. the simple thought sending shivers down his spine, but he thought it probably wouldn’t be for the best if he shared that with cole. he didn’t want to sound crazy at that hour. “is adam okay?” he asked, remembering that the other had been with cole when something had grabbed them in the water, raising an eyebrow at cole for a few moments and then nodding his head.

once cole gave him the green light to ask the question, steve nodded his head slowly. cole would definitely know what to say, after all, he had been his first… experience with another guy. and steve trusted the other. after all, he had never told anyone, so there wasn’t a reason not to trust him. “oh, uh… we’re not together.” he said, closing his eyes momentarily as he tilted his head down and sighed. “it’s not even really a question, it’s just… i think eddie likes me. and i… kind of like him too. but i don’t know, i don’t know what to do. i’ve never been with… a guy. you know, besides you.” he said almost in a whisper. he really didn’t want people to listen to his trouble in his love life. “do you have any advice for that? i mean, you were… are together with adam, right?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

xx.

Cole wasn’t surprised at Steve’s comment. Max had mentioned that Steve was one of the people who knew about the... spooky shit going on in Hawkins. Cole gave him a grim nod: “So I’ve heard.” Shrugging, he answered Steve’s question. “That’s the weird thing... he didn’t have any kind of mark. Just me. I think he’s shaken up, but we’ll be okay.” But he didn’t really want to talk about it. For some reason, Cole didn’t want answers anymore. He was afraid of what the answers would mean for him, for Adam, for Max, for... everyone. Wouldn’t it just be easier to stay out of its way and move on? Or was it wishful thinking? 

He welcomed the change of topic to something lighter. Well, maybe it wasn’t lighter for Steve, but it wasn’t sea monsters and ghosts. Cole nodded at Steve’s explanation. The hint of a smile played on Cole’s lips at the mention of their hookup in the back of Steve’s car. He wondered if Eddie had told Steve about the mall. It didn’t matter. “I’ll be honest, the way you two were looking at each other by the beach? It definitely seems like he likes you. But I think I’m more sensitive to that... since I know you both, you know.” He paused for a moment, chewing on his lip. “I think you have options, but you’ll have to decide that with him. Like... if you want to be together, then do it. There’s a way, and there are plenty of people who won’t think a thing about it.”

Cole nodded, confirming Steve’s question. “Adam and I dated in high school. Secretly, obviously, except for a few people we really trusted. And then... well, he died. Or disappeared. Whatever. So that was that, which is why I... sort of, was with a few other people. Yourself included. But now that he’s back, yeah, we’re together.” He looked over at Steve, giving him a tender smile. “It’s worth whatever risk I was afraid of to be with the person I love. I know you and Eddie might not be there yet, but... to me, it’s worth the risk.” 

rcbinbvckleys​:

⚢

the best friend… that had to be the jock she’d seen cole with once upon a time. robin was all too aware of the fact that the jock in question had been one of the flayed, it only made logical sense. which somehow made cole’s vision feel a lot worse than it already was. “holy shit, that sounds horrible. i’m really sorry.” in that moment, robin felt worse than ever considering what actually happened at the mall that night.

cole being honest only gave her the incentive to do the same in return. “do you um- remember barbara holland? it’s not an important detail but she was kind of my best friend in middle school.” a pause, willing herself to continue and explain what she saw. “i saw her, that night. i was standing by someone’s pool, and barb, she-“ voice breaking, robin stopped and took a deep breath. “she was in the water and she just… grabbed on to my leg and started begging for me to help her! like something was trying to pull her down and there was no escape.”

blue eyes met cole’s own, attempting to gauge his reaction and hoping that she hadn’t over shared. “then she was sucked back under and pulled me right in with her.” robin gave a shudder, all of the details still clear in her mind — it was just everything else that was foggy. “and like you said, it felt so real. i seriously haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”

xx.

“Thanks,” he said, weak smile not quite meeting his eyes. The worst part, he thought, was that it felt like a fantasy first; he and Adam laying in bed, talking about the future, and then out of nowhere... Adam’s eyes changing, his body ablaze. It wasn’t a memory, so what was it? “I don’t think I made it up? But I don’t know.”

Cole let a breath go, shaking his head and watching Robin’s eyes. When her voice cracked, he put a hand on her knee, trying to reassure her. “I’m sorry, too. That’s... fucked,” he shook his head. 

He’d thought his ‘vision’ was bad enough, but he couldn’t imagine someone trying to pull him down-- kill him, presumably. If Robin was anything like him, she was hearing Barb’s cry for help over and over again in her mind. “I don’t know what happened to Barb, but... I’m sure there was nothing you could do,” he said. Cole paused, searching his hands for something to say. “Why do you think... we saw that?” 

jackforeman​:

It pained Jack to see Cole seem so on edge when he’d sat down beside the bed. Not that he could blame him, though, for what he’d apparently done at the carnival that he couldn’t even remember. He knew that Adam had been acting the same way, or so Jo had told him, and if he had explained to Cole that he had no idea what had happened, then maybe he would believe Jack, too. “I’m so sorry, seriously, if I–had anything to do with you feeling like shit.” He gave a pained smile; even if he hadn’t directly hurt Cole, he was somehow a part of setting up the fireworks that had led to this disaster. That much was made clear to him.

Jack gave a shrug, since it was really the only response he had. “I don’t know, I mean, I’m not injured or anything, which is kind of weird.” He thought about hearing that he’d fought Steve, who wasn’t by any means a weak person; he must have defended himself to some capacity. “I don’t remember any of it, either, which is … did Adam say that, too? I haven’t seen him since then.” Not when all Jack could think was that Adam might have been the one who killed him. 

xx.

At Jack’s second apology, Cole started to feel guilty, too. For what exactly, he wasn’t sure. But he wasn’t mad at Jack. Clearly what happened wasn’t in his control as much as it wasn’t in Adam’s control. So Cole motioned at the chair next to his bed that Adam had been occupying earlier in an invitation for Jack to sit. “It’s not your fault, man. Nothing I didn’t get in middle school, either,” he attempted a joke, then cringed as it came out more pathetic-sounding than he anticipated. “Seriously. I’m fine.”

That was weird-- Cole remembered Jack shoving him and Steve around, and Steve had definitely fought back. “I guess Harrington lost his touch,” he murmured, still mulling over how Jack had escaped unscathed. He bit his bottom lip, glancing up to the door as if Adam would walk in at any second. Then, refocusing on Jack, he sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, he doesn’t remember anything, except--” Cole frowned, stopped short. “Except, we got in this big fight before he... left. He was acting like he did at the carnival. And he didn’t remember it until now.”  He shook his head; none of this made any sense. “You didn’t suddenly recover any memories, right?” he asked, another feeble attempt at a joke.

who: Cole & @willthewize​

where: the Byers’ porch!

what: brother reveal (2.0) (semi-sober version)

The day after the Wheeler’s Fourth of July barbecue Cole woke up with a pounding headache and a faint memory of a conversation with Jonathan Byers. But, he’d also woken up in Adam’s arms, and that took precedence. Still, the memory haunted him; Cole couldn’t escape the embarrassment he felt knowing that he’d been noticeably drunk when he told Jonathan they were related. Not his brightest moment. 

In truth, he’d wanted to tell Will first-- he’d even tried before, after the camping trip at the lake, but he was too nervous. Cole figured that it might be an easier pill for Will to swallow, since they weren’t close in age like he and Jonathan. He’d fully intended to tell Will right away, Jonathan’s warning to ‘be careful’ ringing in his ears and convincing him that he needed to tell Will before someone else did. But, then the explosion happened and Cole was in the hospital. 

At this point, he didn’t know what to expect, and he was certainly worse for for the wear: bruises and cuts still healing, arm in a sling, bursts of pain in his torso from the broken ribs, and the ever-present fear that something worse was going to happen. That something worse might cause him to lose Adam again. And if something worse happened and Cole died (physically or otherwise) before he got to talk to Will, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. 

So, he filled up his flask-- only for a few bursts of liquid courage-- and drove over to the Byers’ neighborhood. Only, he couldn’t stop in front of the house. Nervous fingers tapping on the steering wheel, Cole looped around the neighborhood once. Twice. Three times. God, he didn’t have the gas money for that, so he parked about five houses down and got out, careful not to bang his ribs or his arm on the car, and began pacing. 

About a half hour passed, accompanied by a few more swigs of the stinging liquid, and the dread didn’t go away. So Cole took a deep breath and approached the house... only to see Will sitting on the porch, sketchbook in hand. Had he seen him the whole time? An embarrassed flush gathered on Cole’s cheeks, and he wiped his good hand on his jeans to dispel the sweat that had gathered.

“Hey, man,” Cole greeted, attempting to put on a casual smile. “Got a minute? There’s something I wanna talk to you about,” the words fell out in a jumbled heap, but he was glad he’d said it. That he couldn’t escape from it this time. “I talked to Jonathan a while back and, I just... I thought I should tell you.” Cole studied his sling, picking at the fabric fraying on the edge. “Lonnie’s my dad, too.” Saying it out loud, without copious amounts of beer to numb the feeling, left Cole feeling like he’d ripped a bandaid off. He was exposed, bare, vulnerable to whatever Will’s response would be. He wished desperately that he remembered what Jonathan had said, if only to have some litmus for how this would go.

xx.

Cole had always been a loner. It never bothered him, really-- in school he was content to sit by himself at lunch with a book and in the back of every classroom to share the occasional snarky comment. But because of that, he really didn’t know how to handle conflict. He’d never really cared enough before to be bothered if he happened to piss someone off. But now, after everything he’d shared with Max and she’d shared with him, he felt pretty shitty about the way things had been left.

Not shitty enough to apologize-- he didn’t think he was wrong for sticking up for Adam-- but shitty enough to jump at the chance to talk to her. When Max called, he closed out his tab at The Hideaway and thanked his lucky stars that he’d skated instead of driven. An easy smile slid onto Cole’s lips at the familiar sight of Max skating in the dark. “Hey, Maxine,” he greeted, tucking his skateboard under his arm. His expression darkened as he got closer, immediately clocking the state of her face. “What the fuck?” he exclaimed, wrapping an uncertain arm around her in the half-hug. “Shut up. What happened?” he asked, ignoring her question. Things were weird, but he was still concerned about her. He’d always worry, probably. 

WHO: max mayfield & @loverboymontgomery​ WHAT: vibe check! WHERE: the skate park (where else)

although it seemed like neither one of them wanted to say it, things had been weird since they went to the weapons store with chance and adam. there weren’t any lines drawn in the sand that night, but max hadn’t been the most stoked to find them with such differing opinions of what was going on. she also hadn’t gone out of her way to talk to cole between then and now. but since she kind of got her shit rocked? rocked her own shit? at the junkyard, max was maybe able to chalk up that whole experience to tensions being high after a funeral. she didn’t fully buy into her own narrative though, so, she supposed she would have a more clear picture of where they stood after today. 

max finally swallowed her pride about the whole scene cole had made in adam’s name and called him up to meet her at the skatepark, after hours, of course. she was skating in and out of the empty bowl and blaring tina turner from her headphones when she spotted cole approaching. she stopped at the top of the bowl, paused her music, and slid her headphones off. “yo, walden.” she met him, trying to be as normal as possible. gently as possible, max scratched the side of her broken nose and asked him, “notice anything different?” she didn’t wait long for an answer before pulling cole into an uncomfortable side hug. did they hug often now? “what’s happening with you?” max asked, sitting down on the concrete. 

eddiemcnson​:

+++

see, cole could’ve hit eddie flat in the face with a giant metal sign that said ‘i’m into guys’ and he still wouldn’t have taken the hint. just…the thought of someone else in hawkins that was like him. surely not - or well, they just wouldn’t come right out the gate and say it. no, being…different, whatever kind of different, and living in that godforsaken town - for some people that was comparable to a death sentence.

still, his eyes widened, blinking at cole with that ‘deer caught in the headlights’ look as he hastily in- and exhaled the smoke. not that that did anything in terms of calming him down. on the contrary, eddie just started to fidget more. “as in….you like them or…like, like like them….” he felt like a fucking middle-schooler. but he just continued. “your boyfriend. you mean like when … wheeler and buckley or like, i dunno, girls call each other ‘girl-friends’ or like….like if…like, when wheeler called harrington her ‘boyfriend’ when they were still a thing?”

as confused as eddie was about the whole situation he apparently still had it in him to blush and get insanely flustered at cole’s….suggestion? if that’s what it was? lips parted, mouth dropped open slightly, he took another drag. his eyes never left cole’s, only once to go look around them, see if anyone was in earshot. negative. “h-how….”, his lips formed around words he didn’t say, a thousand scenarios flashes in his head. eddie blinked.”…how would - you, uh, prove….it?”

XX.

Cole felt bad, but he laughed at Eddie's inability to accept what he was told. It was a defense mechanism, he assumed, after many years of having to keep this part of him secret. For a moment, Cole was grateful for Adam-- grateful he had someone to share it with; in a way, it made this whole ordeal easier. More natural.

"He was my boyfriend-boyfriend," Cole explained. "As in, we fucked," he took a drag of his cigarette, granting Eddie time to take in what he said. "Sorry to be so explicit, but wasn't sure what else to say," Cole explained, though he wasn't really sorry. Part of him liked seeing Eddie squirm. He liked the effect his words had on the other.

Cole smirked, letting his eyes linger on Eddie's lips. He figured it would never happen, but he was open to all possibilities. Especially possibilities that looked like Eddie. "Well, I'm a gentleman. I'd take you out to dinner first," he winked, taking another drag of his cigarette.

mmuscles​:

thad refused to meet cole’s eyes as they got into boyfriend talk. sure, cool, they were a couple or whatever, but he didn’t want to hear about it. it had been so deeply conditioned within him that what cole was…boasting about was wrong. maybe it was right for other people, but not for thad, not in this lifetime. the whole conversation confused thad to the point he regretted even asking, so he put on his best sour expression and stared at the car. his hands were numb and he had to take another large gulp of beer before he got back to work on this piece of shit car.  “whatever man,” he shook his head, “i’m not gonna go tattle to the first person i see, don’t flatter yourself.” thad huffed, insisting cole and now adam didn’t take up nearly as much space in his mind as they did. 

“everyone keeps talking about being gone…” thad started, no acutely aware that he couldn’t stand to talk about cole or adam any longer, otherwise this job wasn’t getting done. “but where did they go, like, study abroad? vacation? i don’t get it.” he didn’t read the papers or keep up with the times. as far as thad was concerned, he kind of lived in his own little bubble amidst the chaos that descended upon hawkins. it was one of many things he remained blissfully unaware of. 

xx.

Thad clearly didn’t want to talk about it. And that was fine, it’s not like Cole wanted to get into details... but he felt a sense of relief that Thad knew, if only so that what had happened before wouldn’t happen again. It was easier, anyways, to fall into the bickering back-and-forth with Thad; avoid the real stuff. “Whatever,” he echoed Thad’s tone. “I know you’re obsessed with me,” he laughed, to make it obvious he was joking.

Cole felt his stomach sink at Thad’s question. Of course Thad Bradshaw didn’t know what was going on in Hawkins, if Cole barely knew himself. “They were... off in this... group. In the forest. Like, a commune?” Cole said, trying and failing to infuse certainty into his tone. “It’s weird, but a bunch of them did it. Guess they had enough of the bullshit. Anyway, you can read about it in the paper. Assuming you can read,” he tacked on the end, hoping to piss Thad off enough to distract him from the ‘commune’ nonsense. 

who: Cole & @elevcnhops​​

where: by the fire

He knew he had almost drowned and then had a mysterious.. burn? And then Dustin had disappeared. But all Cole could think about was finding ingredients to make S’more’s. He wondered if this was how he coped, by just ignoring the unexplainable. And he wondered if that was really a bad thing, given the circumstances. Cole rummaged around the cabin’s kitchen and, at last, found the stash. Graham crackers, chocolate, marshmallows, and even skewers. If he had to bet, he’d put money on these being the forethought of one Nancy Wheeler. With a satisfied hum, Cole shut the door behind him and made a beeline to the fire.

There were a few people scattered throughout the campsite talking and drinking, and Cole’s eyes immediately landed on Adam, who was currently occupied by Melissa. Damage control, maybe. As Cole looked at the fire, he noticed El sitting alone in the dark. Lifting a hand to her, Cole waved. “Hey El,” he raised up the package of graham crackers, “Want to make S’mores?” He sat down on the log near her and began unpacking everything. Handing her a skewer, he slipped a marshmallow on it. “Okay, good to toast it,” he pronounced. As he readied his own, Cole cast her a sidelong glance. “Everything okay?” She seemed... quieter than usual.