Eyes Of Timothée Chalamet

𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙺𝙸𝙴 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙽𝙴𝙻 #𝟶𝟶𝟼: cole & max

MAX: ew

MAX: since when do you know religion freak?

MAX: oh.

MAX: well, you are an asshole, but not for this. was the situation a lapse in taste? definitely, but you didn't do anything wrong or whatever.

MAX: i'm guessing adam didn't take it well?

COLE: my grandparents dragged me to church like, once

COLE: yeah.

COLE: i mean, technically i didn't, but... it sucked.

COLE: i don't think he's like, mad. hurt, probably?

COLE: i don't know. we haven't talked and i'm trying not to freak out.

In an attempt to stay out of the house and out of his mother’s sight until the car was fixed, Cole had been skating new routes all over Hawkins. Normally, he wouldn’t be caught in the park, as the lake was much more his speed, but it was paved and that was an easier terrain for skating. He’d tucked a book in his back pocket-- the new Stephen King novel-- just in case he found the perfectly shady spot to lounge in.

He was absentmindedly humming a Steely Dan song when he heard his name. Cole looked up to see Nancy waving at him. Picking up his skateboard, he made his way over to her and smiled at her spread. Classic Nancy, always prepared. “Hey Nance!” he said, sitting down on the edge of her blanket. He lifted his finger for inspection, “Honestly, it’s fine. I think the doctor was just being dramatic with his two-weeks-in-the-cast orders. The car on the other hand...” He sighed, leaning back on his good hand. With a smile, he took the extra sandwich from her; now that he thought about it, he hadn’t eaten today. “Thanks. Hey, were you a girl scout or something? Seems like you’re always prepared,” he mused, peeling back the cling wrap and taking a bite. “It’s really good,” he said, mouth full. 

𝐖𝐇𝐎: Nancy Wheeler & @colemontgomeryx​​​​​

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓: Benny’s might be closed but at least Nancy makes a mean chicken salad sammy!

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄: Hawkins Community Park

Nancy’s-No-Good-Summer had been going off on a… decent start. Hawkins wasn’t some beach town, they weren’t known for anything other than weird happenings, but at least they had warm weather. That was something to look forward to. Maybe she wouldn’t have sand between her toes, but at least she’d have the sun on her skin. Nancy laid out a blanket underneath her and relaxed on it, keeping an eye on Holly as she played on the nearby playground. 

Holding onto her new copy of The Silence of the Lambs, a book that had practically just hit shelves, she spotted someone out of the corner of her peripheral. “Cole!” She announced, waving him over to her sanctuary. She closed her book and sat it on the blanket. “How’s your finger?” Nancy asked, pointing at his hand. The night at the mall had been an eventful one, namely Max’s arrest and Cole’s wrecked car and finger. “Are you hungry? I packed extra chicken salad. I was going to try and rope Mike into coming with me but he’s…” she glanced around, reaching into the lunchbox she brought. “Anywhere but here.”

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. 

After several days too long stuck to the hospital bed, Cole was thrilled to be home, to have a change of scenery. He was still bedridden for the most part; the three broken ribs made it difficult to walk still, but his daily trek downstairs to the family room and then back upstairs to the bedroom felt better than sharing a 4x4 room with Steve Harrington. No offense to Steve, but he snored. Or maybe it was Eddie. Either way, being home alone and lounging on the living room couch was ideal. Adam had left an hour ago, promising to be back soon, and Cole was half sleeping half watching whatever stupid Western was on at 1p.m.

When Beth walked in, Cole smiled up at her. It was funny, the ways all the people closest to him entered his house: Adam and Chrissy with a polite knock, Beth breezing through the door, Max scaling the side of the house. “Thought you were my mom,” he remarked before studying the options she’d brought over. “I don’t know... should we try something new?” Cole grabbed the tape from Beth’s hand and held it up with a teasing smile. “Yeah. Hairspray. He’s hot, remind me of Adam,” he winked. It was fun to be able to tease Beth about him and Adam again, like he used to before. And it was nice to hang out without one or both of them breaking down into tears. “I think we need popcorn, though. There’s some in the pantry, if you don’t mind,” he asked, giving her his best pleading eyes. 

WHO: beth richards & @loverboymontgomery​ WHERE: the montgomery house

There was nothing more that Beth hated than feeling useless. It was exactly how she felt for most of the time when Cole was in the hospital: Adam was there to hold his hand, and she was left to provide not much more than moral support and the occasional errand. She hadn’t even been with Cole and Adam when the explosion went off; she was with Cindy and their parents, distracting them while her favorite couple in the world spent some much-needed what was supposed to be care-free time together. Now that Cole was home, though, Beth had ordered Adam to sleep, something that he hadn’t done in days, while she ran over to Family Video and then the Montgomery household to keep Cole company. 

After three years of just Beth and Cole, Cole and Beth, it was strange to not just spend time the two of them anymore. She wasn’t complaining: having Adam back was all they’d wished for and more since he died. What she missed now, though, were the late nights that she and Cole spent up watching the latest movie on tape, early mornings at the diner when they simply hadn’t slept at all. Now, at any opportunity to try and relive just that, she jumped at it. Beth let herself into the house, Maggie more of a surrogate mother to her now than Ms. Montgomery, and headed toward the family room, where Cole had been set up with the television on loop. “Alright, I’ve got lots of options. Dirty Dancing, which, I know we’ve seen a bunch since it came out, but I think it’s becoming a comfort of mine. Or, hear me out, Hairspray. Just came out on tape, Steve Harrington said I came by just as Karen Wheeler dropped it off.”

xx.

Things were weird and tense and off in most areas of Cole’s life lately-- with Adam, with Max, and in town. Though, he wasn’t exactly predisposed to care all that much about whatever was going on unless it directly affected him. He didn’t know why, but the only place Cole felt like he could escape from everything for a while was The Hideaway-- the old, wooden bar with familiar scrapes and carvings from hundreds of sad sacks just like him. He bet if he looked hard enough, he could even find evidence that dear old dad had spent hours here, too.

He was just finishing his third vodka cran when someone planted two hands on the counter next to him. Cole glanced up at the stranger and instantly wished he hadn’t. A myriad of feelings twisted together in his gut-- embarrassment, guilt, and even jealousy, for some reason. Cole wasn’t the most emotionally intelligent person, but he could tell Jonathan was tense... more than usual. The way he gripped the bar as if it was the only thing keeping him on his feet was evidence enough. “Hey,” he echoed, decidedly not turning to face Jonathan. Decidedly not turning to face much of anything, lately. 

As he continued, Cole’s brow furrowed and he hurriedly took another sip of the drink in front of him, setting it on the bar and grasping the glass tightly between two hands. Truthfully, he didn’t get what Jonathan was angry about, or why he felt so guilty. He remembered the conversation at the Wheeler’s-- of course he did-- but he thought they’d left on good terms. Better terms than this, at least. 

I thought we agreed to be careful. Cole’s grip on the slick glass tightened again, so much so that the glass went careening forward and the sticky liquid pooled onto the bar. “Fuck,” he muttered, grabbing it up and mopping up the spill with the thinnest paper napkin he’d ever been given. He used it as a ploy to buy time, wiping up every streak and stuffing the napkin into his now-empty glass with an apologetic smile at the bartender. 

If they’d agreed to be careful, Cole didn’t remember. Maybe he’d been more drunk than he realized; but it was a party, anyway, who wasn’t drunk? Maybe Jonathan had been, too, and they’d both come away with different ideas about the conversation. “I just thought...” he started, angling his shoulders in Jonathan’s direction and shrugging as he trailed off. He didn’t know what he was thinking, telling Will without so much as a heads-up. He doesn’t quite remember what the urgency was all about, either. “I mean, I guess I thought he should know.”

As the bartender brought another drink to Cole, he relished the opportunity to look at someone other than Jonathan. “Thanks, man,” he muttered, taking a sip and scanning the other occupants. “Joyce was fine with it, so I figured I should just, like... rip off the band-aid,” Cole said, nonchalant glance in Jonathan’s direction.

Who: Jonnie & @loverboymontgomery​​

Where: The Hideaway

Why: Nuclear War

TW: Alcohol/Alcoholism.

——————————————————————————————

Jonathan entered The Hideaway and immediately recognized the mop of curls sitting at the bar.

Cole.

He drove over to this pub half expecting to see nothing but a few old geezers enjoying an afternoon pitcher of beer. It was, after all, 3pm on a weekday but finding him here was almost poetic after their discussion on the Wheeler patio. Clearly, the tip he gathered earlier about Cole spending an atrocious amount at this place hadn’t been wrong.

Jonathan had given himself a few days to gather his thoughts after Will approached him about Cole’s second patio reveal. The entire conversation threw him completely off-guard. Will didn’t seem particularly affected by the newfound family dynamic but he wondered why Cole hadn’t approached him before dropping the bomb. Between struggling to keep his head above water at work, running around town and Hawkins Lab like a rat for information, grasping at straws to mend his already precarious friendship with Nancy … He didn’t want to deal with this right now but replaying the whole Wheeler patio conversation in his head left one question hanging heavy in his chest: what happened to Cole’s whole - “Don’t worry, it can be our little secret?”

Jonathan opted not to take a seat as he approached the bar and instead planted his hands down on the counter. “Hey.” He said, rocking himself forward to take a breath before turning his head to study Cole. Maybe his message at the barbecue hadn’t been clear. “I heard …  that you showed up at my mom’s place-” He paused, eyes flickering towards the bartender who was now looking at him. “I’m okay. Thanks.” He confirmed, pursing his lips into a small smile that read -  I don’t need a drink right now.

Returning to the issue at hand, he kept his voice calm but serious, “What … what were you thinking, man? I thought we-” he eyed condensation pooling between the glass and coaster in front of Cole, one heel bouncing into the sticky pub floor, “I thought we agreed to be careful.”

Cole hadn’t retained anything that anyone in the last... ten minutes? Thirty minutes? Hour? since the vision. He vaguely understood that Officer Callahan wanted them gone, and that Tessa had agreed, and that now they were going. So, he shuffled towards the front gate like a zombie, falling behind everyone else. His mind was a loop of Adam bursting into flames. 

When Lucas clapped him on the back, Cole jumped. Embarrassed, he swiped at his still-wet eyes and turned to Lucas. “Hey, man,” he flashed a pathetic smile. Something about being stuck in an empty grave together made Cole feel like he could trust Lucas, even if they’d never spoken much before tonight. With a nod, he walked with Lucas towards his car. “Probably should. And your shoulder, too.”

Casting a sidelong glance at Sinclair, Cole tried to read his expression. “So, that was...” he paused throwing his hands out in an I-don’t-fucking-know gesture. Cole knew that Lucas was friends with Will, and that Lucas was at Starcourt when it caught on fire, so he wondered if Lucas was somehow better equipped to handle these things. Or at least, maybe he had some answers. Worth a shot, anyways. “What the hell was that?”

who: lucas sinclair & @colemontgomeryx​​​ where: outside the cemetery when: 5 minutes after escaping a grave💙

lucas’ shoulder throbbed. it was strange how he hadn’t really noticed it during the night, but as soon as all of the excitement died down -and the group was safely out of the cemetery gates- it hit him like…well, like falling into an open grave. he’d left his bag behind, but callahan was probably still hanging around. that was definitely the reason he’d left it behind. 

at least he still had his car keys stuffed in his pocket. lucas tugged them free and spun them on his keyring. he was sober enough to drive. something about being scared out of your mind did that to you. he couldn’t even feel the shot he’d taken ten minutes ago. the group began to disperse, back to their own little worlds, and lucas felt panic creeping up his spine and making his lungs feel like they couldn’t get enough air. he didn’t really feel like being alone right now. not after what he’d seen. and besides that-

“hey,” lucas said, relieved to find that cole hadn’t wandered off too far and jogging over, lightly clapping him on the back with his good arm. “don’t you think maybe you should go get that checked out?” he pointed to his own head and gestured to his beat-up honda, parked edge of the grass. 

For the first time in his life, Cole was thankful for the mundanity of his job. Usually, by 11 a.m. he'd be bored out of his mind, hoping that anyone would walk through the doors; but after what happened at the cemetery, he'd rather not speak to anyone. His mind was too busy playing the 'vision' over and over again. As he plucked the string of an acoustic guitar, he wondered if he was going insane... and if he was, if anyone would notice.

Hearing the door jangle, Cole stifled a groan and was at the counter in two long strides. Pasting on a smile, Cole surveyed the customer. Tessa. He'd known her in high school, of course, but they'd never really spoken... until Robin's 'kickback.' A pit formed in his gut as he wondered if that's why she was here; or, worse, if she hadn't experienced anything at all and needed help finding a guitar pic, or something.

"You got lucky, we're usually slammed this time of day," he said, dryly. "What can I do for you?"

Who: @tessacallovvay & @colemontgomeryx

Where: the music center

Locking her car, Tessa's heels clicked against the sidewalk as she made her way towards the grimy looking Music Center. Some cross between a music store and a record store, Tessa didn't really know much about it other than the fact you could hear it down the block. And the fact that one Cole Montgomery worked there. The know-it-all boy from high school. And one of the five other people who'd been there at Robin's disastrous attempt at a party. One of the people who'd... seen something.

Memory of blood running down her back, covering the frills of her dress, slipping over her face and streaming down her eyes-- Tessa paused at the door, shaking the visions away. Mm, no. No, thank you. Pushing through the grimy door, Tessa scanned the rows of guitars and other instruments before spotting an unfortunately familiar face. Walking to the main desk, she smiled wide at him, "Cole. Have a minute to talk, hon?"

who: Cole & @stevehharringtcns​

where: the gayest hospital room in Hawkins <3

Cole had been in and out of sleep for... he wasn’t sure how long, exactly. A few hours, a few days? Not a few months-- if it had been a few months, he’s sure he’d have at least a little bit of stubble gathering on his jaw. Brushing a hand over his still-smooth skin, he looked at the bed across from him. The last time he remembered being awake, when Max was here, she’d opened the curtain so he could see his temporary roommate: Steve Harrington.

“Psst, Steve,” Cole whispered, careful not to wake Adam up. The one good thing about being hospitalized was that Adam hadn’t left his side for more than a few hours, and he’d been sleeping with their arms tangled together. He wasn’t sure if Adam moved every time a nurse walked in or if he was just past the point of caring. 

When he’d successfully gotten Steve’s attention, Cole shot him a brave smile. First order of business: “How are you doing?” Then: “Did you eat my fucking jell-o?” 

who: Cole & @byersphotography​​

where: Outside the Wheeler barbecue 

when: the end of the BBQ!

Cole had been hitting the beer pretty heavy throughout the night, not unintentionally, but that didn’t mean he wanted anyone else to notice. So, he slipped to the front lawn somewhere between beer pong games to catch some fresh air and have a smoke; maybe the nicotine would help him hide the fact that by now he was properly tipsy. 

He was standing on the front porch, propped up by the railing, when the door opened. Turning too quickly for how dizzy he was, Cole’s eyes landed on none other than Jonathan Byers. “Jonathan!” he said, with enthusiasm that could only be described as drunken. “Hey, brother,” Cole grinned, clapping the other on the shoulder and giving him a squeeze. “That shit you brought to Skull Rock? Fuckin’ great, dude,” he explained. 

Furrowing his brow, Cole studied Jonathan’s face, as if he was looking for something. Looking for any similarities between his own face and his half-brother’s. “You know, back in high school, I thought-- no way we’re brothers. We’re soooo different. But now-” a hiccup interrupted his thought, “I get it!”

jackforeman​:

Jack matched Cole’s laugh, and it was almost a relief to be able to just laugh about the whole thing, about going missing for years. It wasn’t funny, no, but there wasn’t much more he could do than laugh about it when there weren’t answers lying around waiting for him to find.·“Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t think I would really know how to react if one of my sisters went missing for that long, either.”

He nodded at Cole’s question.·“I walked out of the woods with Adam, we woke up together, and it was so weird. I figured if we had just woken up after a party or something that someone’s car would be there, or that it would be more than just the two of us, but it wasn’t. So, we walked here, actually,” he said with a chuckle, gesturing around the store,·“and used the phone, because we didn’t want to go to the police, in case it was because we were partying in the woods or something. I need to catch up with him again, though, you know, just make sure he’s adjusting okay. I’m glad you’ve been keeping an eye on him.”

xx.

Cole was taken aback at Jack’s statement. They had walked out of the woods together? Cole wasn’t sure how it worked-- dying and coming back to life-- but how was Jack there? Adam had died, that he was sure of... but everything else made no sense. Less than no sense. “Oh....” he started, brows coming together in confusion. “I didn’t realize you were together. That’s strange.” 

Realizing he was probably acting super weird, Cole pasted on a smile at Jack’s story. It was nice, actually, to know that Adam had a friend in his first few moments back in town. A pang in his chest said that he was sad Adam hadn’t called him from the store phone, but he understood why. “I’m glad he had you,” Cole said, with a genuine smile. He nodded, “Yeah. It would be nice if you did, just because you, like, get it more than I do. Plus, his parents are starting to get sick of me, I’m sure.”