Thequeenofhawkins​:

WHO: Adam Richards & @loverboymontgomery​

WHAT: What were Richgomery doing during town hall????

WHERE: A backroad of Hawkins, somewhere near Lover’s Lake

Adam had met Cole during his sophomore year, not long after being named starting quarterback. Cole was in his English class - a year ahead of others in his grade, and far better at understanding literature than Adam could ever hope to be. The second he’d seen the snarky brunette who always had something to say in class, Adam had been hooked. For a long time he thought that maybe he just saw the other guy as someone he really, really wanted to be friends with, but eventually, it clicked why he was so obsessed with Cole. And once Adam’s grade began to drop in English because he just didn’t understand why people used metaphors or similes or whatever ( why couldn’t everyone just say exactly what they meant all the time ? ), asking Cole to help him seemed like it would solve two problems for him. Suddenly, he could spend all the time he wanted alone with Cole, getting to know him and liking him more each day, and he could bring up his grade. 

It hadn’t taken long before something had shifted between them, and Adam had made the first move. Kissing Cole without knowing how the other felt about him was scary - historically speaking, kissing another boy without asking typically didn’t end well for guys. But, Cole had kissed him back. He had been so kind and sweet and patient while Adam figured out how to tell Chrissy about it all, which had thankfully gone well. Then, Adam and Cole had gotten three beautiful years together in high school, full of them slipping love notes into the other’s locker, hanging out in Adam’s car together after football games, saying I love you for the first time, riding together on the bus to away games, studying together, and even slow dancing together at Prom in one of the empty classrooms. It had been perfect. Every single thing about their relationship in high school had been beautiful, untainted by any of the complicated feelings that existed there now because of Adam’s death and the grief it had caused. So Adam hadn’t been surprised when Cole had sadly admitted to wanting to go back to that - to get to experience how happy they’d been. How simple it had felt. And Adam had decided to rise to the challenge and do his best to plan a night for them where they could feel like that again. 

They had each planned plenty of dates for the other in high school, but there was always a trick to it. It had to still feel like a date - not just two friends hanging out - without drawing too much attention to themselves. They weren’t like Chrissy and Jason or Chance and Bev; they couldn’t share a kiss or hold hands across the table. Being openly affectionate in public wouldn’t end well for them, so they’d always had to get creative. Tonight, Adam had ordered them takeout from Benny’s, getting their usual order as well as a milkshake to split. He’d loaded his truck with blankets and pillows, and driven them out to a field on the edge of town. The farmer who owned the land was older, he wouldn’t even notice them parked back here off the main road. After they’d eaten and gotten everything set up, Adam sat back against the pillows, looking up at the stars. “Remember when we did this for the first time?” He asked Cole, leaning closer to him. “The summer after we’d gotten together.” Adam had gotten his truck around then, and had taken Cole out on drives all the time. “Oh, or that time you freaked out and swore a snake had gotten back here, but it was just my jumper cables?” Adam laughed, grinning at Cole. Shuffling closer to Cole, Adam laid down, resting his head on Cole’s shoulder. There had been so much weird tension between them lately, and Adam had felt like he had no idea how to even address it, let alone fix it. But right now, he wasn’t worried about it. He just wanted to enjoy a date with Cole, not caring about bomb or the Doppelganger or the Mindflayer or anything else. Just the two of them, here, together. “I love you,” He said softly, leaning up to kiss Cole’s cheek. 

honestly? Im sincere and so full of love and no one can ever take that away from me

sinclairss​:

who: lucas & @goldenboyrichards​ where: the hospital cafeteria what: comparing notes

hospital food sucked, but he hadn’t eaten yet today and while he’d snagged a bag of skittles from the vending machine near steve’s room earlier in the day, the rainbow candies weren’t sustaining him hours later. lucas wasn’t even really all that hungry, but he thought maybe some of his sluggishness was because all he’d consumed in the last 12 hours was that pack of skittles and three cups of coffee. he paid for a cardboard-looking slice of pizza and some rubbery french fries and turned around. 

it gave him a little sense of déjà vu, actually. suddenly, he was fourteen years old, scanning the hawkins high cafeteria for mike and dustin and wondering if things might be different for him this year. he was fifteen and anxious about splitting his time between the basketball team’s table and hellfire’s. he was sixteen and figured out he didn’t care and sat at a different table almost every day. and then he was eighteen, holding a tray of food after visiting his injured friend in the hospital. shaking off the thought, lucas found the first empty table he could and took a seat. he was halfway through the pizza when he glanced up and noticed someone he knew. well, knew of, more like. adam richards was the kind of jock lucas had idolized as a kid…and then he was gone. he’d come back recently and all lucas knew about him now was that he’d been at the forest commune and that he’d almost had to get between him and cole montgomery during the carnival fiasco…until that thing had attacked him. he lifted his hand in what he hoped was a welcoming kind of wave. “hey. need some company?” 

Cole was alive. He was going to be okay. Things would eventually go back to normal, right? So why did Adam still feel so fucking shitty?

Probably because Cole had told him about everything that he’d done. Only... it wasn’t Adam, was it? He had blacked out. He couldn’t remember any of it, and that was terrifying. To not be in control of your own body, making your own decisions and being made into a weapon? It horrified Adam. It devastated him. To think that he was responsible for so much death and destruction made him feel sick.

So sick that he had no appetite. He’d finally been forced to leave the room in order to eat something, but Adam couldn’t. He’d been playing with his Jello, scooping it up and letting it slide off of his fork back into the container. It was soothing, in a weird way, and Adam just had to waste enough time that it wouldn’t be suspicious when he returned. 

At the sound of a voice, he looked up with a confused expression. Oh, it was one of those kids from the carnival, Nancy’s brother’s friend. Adam offered him a small nod, kicking the chair across from him out for Lucas to take. “Uh, thanks,” He tried for a smile, but it felt fake even to him. “Lucas, right?” He asked, only vaguely aware of him. “You were.... you were there, right?” Adam asked, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. “Were you hurt?” Did I hurt you? Adam was asking, begging for the answer to be no. 

jackforeman​:

WHO: jack foreman & @goldenboyrichards​ WHERE: the foreman household

Jack hadn’t seen Adam since the night that everyone had decided to go to Lover’s Lake. The two had split up, mostly because Jo was on the side of going to the cabin, and Jack swore to himself that he would never leave her to deal with shit on her own, not as long as he could help it. It was the right decision, this much he knew, because they’d wound up in some weird ass portal, or something. He wasn’t entirely sure still. 

They sat in the Foreman family’s basement, where Jack had seen Jo for the first time since coming back, and the image of the shock on her face still replayed in his head on loop. “Alright, dude, be real with me. Did I miss anything crazy at the lake while Jo insisted on going into the cabin?” he asked, turning to his friend. “I wanted to stay with you guys, I really did, but Jo wanted to go, and I couldn’t really tell her I wouldn’t go with her after, you know … going missing for a few years. I feel like I shouldn’t really leave her when I have the chance to stay with her.” Jack was sure he didn’t have to explain, not to Adam, but felt the need to after doing a lot of explaining in the past week. “Sorry, I’m so used to having to defend every single choice I’ve been making to everyone I know since we’ve been back.”

Adam still had zero clue what had actually happened at Lovers’ Lake, especially with the other group. He’d heard bits and pieces of their adventure in the cabin that night from people as they’d partied afterwards, but nothing concrete really. All Adam knew was that this town was seriously weird, weirder than it had been a few years ago, apparently. He was just glad he’d been with Cole and had been able to make sure he was okay after whatever had happened to them in the water. 

It was good to catch up with Jack, though. They’d been teammates and friends for years, and Adam wanted to make sure he was handling everything okay now that they were back here in Hawkins. “Yeah, man,” He nodded, setting his can of Coke down on the coffee table. “Okay, so it was pretty normal at first. We were drinking a bit, we decided to go for a swim, and then the waves picked up. Cole and I were having trouble making it back, and then something grabbed out legs...” Adam said, biting his lip at the memory. It had been a terrifying few minutes - part of him had been worried he wasn’t going to make it back to shore. “Whatever it was didn’t leave any mark on me or anything, though. Cole’s ankle looked kind of fucked for a minute, but then it was gone? I have no clue what that means.” He admitted with a shrug. “Something weird happened to one of the kids too, but I wasn’t really paying attention during that part. What about the cabin?” 

As Jack explained his decision, Adam nodded. If his own sisters had been there, he probably would have followed them too. It was hard to come back and face people who you’d left behind, especially family. “I get it, dude,” Adam told Jack, giving him a small smile. “You don’t owe me anything.” Adam understood that feeling all too well, too. Everyone wanted to know why he’d left three years ago, now that he was back. It was a question that he kept doing his best to avoid, when he could. “Are you doing okay? With everything?” Adam asked cautiously, dipping into feelings territory. They weren’t known for being vulnerable around each other, but they’d had one hell of a shared traumatic experience. Talking about everything with the forest commune probably wouldn’t hurt. 

sinclairss​:

basketball had been an opportunity for lucas in high school, aa doorway into the popular crowd he so envied in middle school. he’d tried out for the team after his freshman year peer mentor, one of a handful of black boys in the entire school, took him under his wing and asked him to join the team. lucas probably only made the team because he had some natural athleticism…and because he was one of a handful of black boys in the entire school, too, and everyone assumed kids like him were just going to be automatically good at basketball. it had taken a lot of time and practice, but with the help of jay, patrick, and steve, lucas had become a pretty decent point guard.

more importantly, though? lucas found something he loved doing. he felt the same rush making the game-winning shot as he did when he and the rest of the party teamed up to take down eddie’s latest final monster or when he beat dustin or max’s high scores at the arcade. after freshman year, it went from something he did because it helped him gain popularity to something he did because he had fun doing it. sure, the teammates, friends, and attention from cheerleaders helped, but it was nothing compared to seeking out his friends in the crowd after a big win and seeing all of them screaming their heads off for him. 

but even without the crowds and the team, lucas had fun playing. he spent many a free afternoon at the neighborhood court, practicing his layups and free throws, sometimes trying trick shots just for the hell of it. occasionally, he could drag one of his friends along and it was fun, too, but in a different sort of way than it was with one of the guys from the team. now that he’d graduated, lucas didn’t get to practice with the guys anymore, so when adam asked if he’d like to play, he’d leaped at the chance. adam was athletic even if he’d never played on the school’s basketball team, so he figured he’d put up a little bit more of a fight than max, dustin, or mike would in a pickup match.

he stood at the free throw line dribbling the ball between his legs and behind his back, testing his weight on his bad knee every now and then. “can’t make any promises, man,” he replied with a smile as he pulled up to take a fadeaway shot from the line. it sailed through, rattling the chain in the basket. lucas went to retrieve the ball and tossed it to adam once he was on his feet. “you know HORSE, right?” lucas said, folding his hand behind his head. “you take a shot from anywhere and if you make it, i have to make the same shot or i get a letter. if you miss, i get to pick where to shoot and if i make it, you have to duplicate it. first person to spell HORSE loses.” he bit the inside of his cheek to bite back a smirk. “unless you’re chicken?” 

Adam had never tried out for a sport besides football in high school, though he often thought about it now. Back then, it just seemed like he was The Quarterback. That was his brand, what he was known for - trying something new had seemed a little scary. What if he wasn’t good at it? What if he showed up and everyone expected him to be the star of that sport too, and he’d let them down? It had been easier sticking to what he was sure he was good at, and spending the rest of his time with Cole. Now a days, it seemed like a good idea to branch out and try all of the things he’d been too scared of before. Life wasn’t guaranteed - that was a lesson he’d obviously learned the hard way. Now that he had a second change? Well, Adam was starting to think that maybe it was time to stop giving as many fucks about what people expected of him. 

Lucas seemed nice, and a lot less stressful to be around than some of the other jocks Adam knew. He wasn’t sure if that was just who Lucas was, or if it was because they didn’t have any sort of history with one another. As much as Adam loved Chance and Jack, there were complicated feelings now attached with both of them. Lucas was a blank slate - someone who seemed kind, and who hadn’t been upset with him or blamed him for what had happened at the carnival. That already made him an appealing person to goof off and practice shooting hoops with. 

Adam laughed at Lucas’ words, rolling his eyes at the lack of a promise. Alright, fair enough. Adam could handle some friendly joking on the court; it wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to after four years of being part of the Tigers’ football team. “I think I can handle that, yeah,” Adam replied, snorting at the idea of being too chicken for a game of HORSE. “So I have a fighting chance, mind if I go first?” He asked, grabbing the ball from Lucas and picking a spot towards the left side of the court, near the three point line, Adam dribbled a few times. He picked up the ball, tucked his elbows in and shot it at the hoop, pleased to see it go in. Not the greatest shot in the world, but he’d take it. “Alright, dude. Show me how it’s done.” He wasn’t kidding himself - he knew Lucas could make it easily. 

jackforeman​:

As the door closed behind them, Jack felt himself suck in an anxious breath, as though all of the air in Adam’s room filled his lungs. It hung still between them for a moment until Adam spoke, letting out the first apology of what was bound to be many. Jack felt sorry, too, even though he was the one who had died at the hands of his best friend, the same ones that were shoved in the pockets of the familiar sweatshirt. In a flash, they could have been coming toward him again, locking his wrists behind his back, leading him toward whatever that thing was in the warehouse. 

But that wasn’t the Adam he knew. It wasn’t the same person that stood before him in his childhood bedroom, where they used to play cards and talk about the girls Jack now knew Adam was never into. It was another secret, piled onto the heap that people had been keeping from him. Like the others, it wasn’t one he could blame Adam for. If he had shown up at his own doorstep, he would’ve lied to himself, too, like Steve and Julie had when they’d omitted the part where he had come back from the dead. He didn’t blame Jo, either, for claiming that the board in the basement wasn’t hers until they needed it. The culmination of being kept in such darkness after losing years of his life, though? Jack was coming close to breaking.

If his memory was correct, it was Adam who had been the one who took those years away from him. Maybe it wasn’t Adam at the wheel of his own free will, but deep down, there was a piece of his friend in there, in the dream. He wanted to be mad, to blame everything on Adam: it would’ve been easier that way. After the carnival, though, and recognizing the feeling of having no autonomy over his own body, Jack simply couldn’t. It looked like Adam was ready for him to kick the shit out of him, like he’d done to Steve, but this was his Adam, his best friend, and there was nothing inside of him that would let him willingly hurt him.

“I have a feeling I’m not safe to be around, either,” he said finally, his teeth digging into his bottom lip. “That’s what you were going to tell me, before the carnival, wasn’t it? That you–that I died.” The word still stung on his tongue; he couldn’t come to say it without wincing. “I know, it couldn’t have been you, if that wasn’t us at the carnival, either.” Jack paused, taking a small step forward, slow, so as to not scare Adam. “I don’t hate you. I could never.” Another step, before his arm was wrapped around Adam’s, the other coming around his shoulder, bringing Adam into his embrace. “I promise.” 

Adam was trying to keep his distance from Jack, not for his own safety, but in case it was true. In case he had killed his best friend. After what Jo had said, and what Adam knew from talking to Cole, it made sense. As much as Adam didn’t want to believe that he could be capable of that - even in the worst circumstances - he knew he wasn’t in control of his own body when he blacked out. Whatever he had done, he hadn’t decided to do it.

That didn’t fully absolve him of guilt, though. Adam knew he hadn’t chosen to hurt Jack, but that didn’t mean his body hadn’t been used as a weapon to kill. And no matter how much Adam wished he could, he couldn’t fix the damage he’d done three years ago. The worst part was, Adam didn’t even remember it. He didn’t remember doing whatever he had done to Jack - but Jack did. Jack had to live with that visual now, and all of the pain and terror that came with it. 

No part of Adam would have blamed Jack for showing up to kick his ass. He wouldn’t fight back at all, afraid of hurting Jack again in the process. Adam frowned at Jack’s confession, wanting to argue but he couldn’t. If what he’d heard about the carnival was true, maybe none of them ever would be safe to be around. Not while they were having the blackouts. “You didn’t kill anyone, though,” Adam said, pausing on the word kill. It still felt wrong to say, like the action itself. 

“...yes,” Adam admitted quietly, thinking back to that day in the Foreman’s basement. It felt like a lifetime ago - back when his biggest issue was whether or not he had really died. Adam knew the truth now; he knew that he had. He knew that Jack had. “Cole told me I’d died the first time I saw him after we got back. I didn’t... I didn’t believe him, at first. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want you to have to know that either, unless you wanted to.” Adam hadn’t wanted to force that truth on Jack. It had been impossible for Adam to process himself at first. “Not because of what I did to you. I wasn’t trying to hide that, because I don’t remember it. I just didn’t want to fuck up your life with news like that.” Because while Adam didn’t blame Cole for telling him... it had caused so much grief. So many nights lying awake, wondering why he hadn’t gone to Heaven or Hell. Wondering what he had done to deserve dying at nineteen years old, right in the prime of his life. Wondering how he had died, if he had died. Jack didn’t deserve to have those same thoughts. 

As Jack approached him, Adam wanted to take a step back. The more distance, the less likely it was that something bad could happen to either of them. But he stood his ground, taking in the words of forgiveness he didn’t feel he deserved. Not entirely, at least. I don’t hate you. I could never. The words made Adam’s eyes tear up, and he returned Jack’s embrace tightly. “I’m so sorry, Jack. I’m sorry.”

stevehharringtcns​:

it was hard falling asleep now, something that had always been so easy for steve. he mostly blamed the pain he was going through it, whether it was his ribs or his wrist or whatever it was that was aching at this point, but he couldn’t seem to be able to fall asleep. he was sure that he could just ask the nurses for some sleeping pills, but he decided not to as he stared up at the ceiling, letting out a sigh in another failed attempt of trying to fall asleep. he knew that cole was right next to him falling asleep and he would have thought adam was too if he didn’t see him standing up and stretching, his eyes drifting towards the other with a small smile on his face as he looked at him.

“yeah, it’s kind of hard to sleep when you’re in an hospital bed… especially when i’ve been here all day.” he said, shrugging his shoulders as he shook his head at adam’s suggestion for him to call the nurse. he appreciated it. “nah, thanks, i’ll be fine. i just… i’ll fall asleep soon enough.” he said with a small nod, looking over at cole for a couple of moments and then back at adam. steve had finally convinced eddie to go back to his trailer for the night at least. the other needed to rest too and steve wasn’t going to let him stay there and not sleep. but he did miss the company now, although adam wasn’t bad company at all. but he understood that the other was very much focused on cole right now. “he’ll be fine, it’s… cole. he always is fine.” he said with a small shrug of his shoulders.

as they started talking about what had happened during the carnival, steve let out a small sigh. he remembered adam acting weird, he still wasn’t sure what had happened, but he wasn’t himself in that moment. “it’s… fine. you guys clearly didn’t know what you were doing. there was just something strange going on.” he said as he bit his lower lip, looking away from adam for a couple of moments. “me? oh, i’m just fine. nothing i can’t handle.” he said - he thought it couldn’t get worse than this, but then again, he thought that every time he had been injured in the past. “are you okay?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

No one had ever said hospital beds were comfortable. But the chairs they kept in there for visitors? Absolute torture. Adam was stiff just from sitting there and then laying down with Cole, he couldn’t imagine how much pain Cole and Steve were in from their injuries on top of that. It was amazing to him that Cole was able to sleep at all, but Adam was grateful for it. To get better, all of them would have to rest up, but that would probably be easier once they were allowed to go home. Adam shot Steve a cautious, sympathetic smile after asking him about whether or not he needed a nurse. 

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Adam nodded, frowning slightly. “I can get more pillows or something, if you want that?” He had always been the type to want to help people, and that was even more true now that he’d been part of the group who’s put Steve and Cole in here in the first place. He felt guilty about the part he’d played, and he wanted to try to help Steve as much as he could. “Okay,” Adam agreed, dropping the idea of going to ask for sleeping pills. He’d do it if Steve changed his mind, but he wasn’t going to push him. 

Adam wanted to argue that Cole was not always fine - not even close. While they didn’t really talk about it, he knew Cole had struggled a lot during the three years Adam hadn’t been around. Cole was great at hiding his pain behind sarcastic comments, but if you were looking closely, you could see the cracks in his façade. And Adam was always paying that much attention to Cole. “....um, how’s Eddie handling stuff?” Adam asked awkwardly after a moment, unsure if Steve knew that Adam knew about them. Cole had mentioned it at Skull Rock, when he’d also told Adam that he’d kissed Thad. Adam didn’t want to make Steve talk about it all if he didn’t want to, but he got what it was like having to hide a relationship. 

“It’s not fine,” Adam shook his head. “But yeah, I wasn’t... in control, really. I don’t know what happened.” He wished he had a better explanation for it all, but he only knew what Cole had told him about whatever the Mindflayer was. Adam didn’t know if Steve knew about that stuff or not, and it didn’t seem like the time to ask. He nodded at Steve saying he could handle it. Hopefully he could. “Good. I mean, this entire situation is fucked, dude.” That felt like an understatement, but Adam really didn’t know what else to say about it all. It was such a messed up situation, and Adam wished he could help to fix it. “Um, yeah,” Adam nodded, shrugging. No, he really wasn’t okay, but he wasn’t going to unload all of that on Steve and make it his problem. Not when he’d helped put Steve in the hospital in the first place. 

kvrenwheeler​:

recently karen had been feeling like she had more mouths to feed right now than she did when all of her children were living at home permanently. with nancy having a friend over for the summer, and that boyfriend of hers in tow as well. then there was michael and his friends who often stayed for dinner too, and obviously ted and holly as well. it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but overwhelming since the majority she had to do herself. 

so the grocery shop was currently a lot more draining than usual, given the sheer amount of groceries was almost twice as much as usual. but it did give her time to herself, however short. 

abandoning the cart on the other side of the aisle, she moved over to grab a specific box of cereal at mike’s request of course. it was only when a loud crashing sound came from behind her, that the box fell from her hand and clattered to the ground as well. 

turning on her heel to locate the noise, she was met with a young man who had pushed his cart into hers. ah, that must have been it. “it’s no problem.” karen couldn’t help but notice that he seemed a little on edge. then came the brief recognition, which caused her to frown. “are you a friend of my son’s?” technically speaking he could also be a friend of nancy’s, she just couldn’t put her finger on it. 

Adam was thankful that he’d only crashed into the woman’s cart, at least. If he’d actually hurt her or knocked over a display or something, that would have been so embarrassing. He moved quickly around their carts to help grab the item she’d dropped, handing it back to her before returning. “Sorry, I need to pay more attention,” He apologized again, offering her a small, sheepish smile. 

At her question about her son, Adam frowned, trying to figure out who she was talking about. After a second, he realized she was Mrs. Wheeler, so she must have been talking about the nerdy kid who had a little friend group that he spent so much time with. Adam didn’t really know them, but he’d seen them a few times at the pool, he thought. “Oh, no,” He shook his head, smiling slightly. Adam did know that kid’s older sister, though. She’d been a year or two behind him in school, but she’d saved his science grade when he retook the class. “But Nancy used to be my lab partner! I think I came over once to study.” It wasn’t like they had been close or anything, and honestly ‘studying’ had been him staring at his textbook in confusion for two hours while Nancy made flash cards. Still, he remembered Mrs. Wheeler being nice when he’d come over, and he sort of remembered her coming to the pool a lot back when he’d been a lifeguard with Billy and Heather. “I’m Adam Richards, ma’am.” He told her with a small smile, holding a hand out for her to shake. 

CHRISTOPHER BRINEY, CIS MALE, HE/HIM | who’s that? oh it’s ADAM RICHARDS. i hear they’re 22 and are known as THE GOLDEN BOY around THE FOOTBALL FIELD. they’re known to be COMPASSIONATE AND SELFLESS and CLOSED OFF AND GULLIBLE. some people say they remind them of THE SMELL OF FRESHLY CUT GRASS MIXED WITH DRYING PAINT, THE ROAR OF A CROWD AT THE FINAL WHISTLE, SNEAKING KISSES AT A RED LIGHT AT THREE IN THE MORNING, A SHEEP IN WOLF’S CLOTHING, EVERYONE IN TOWN KNOWING YOUR NAME. they DO NOT believe they died.

THE BASICS

FULL NAME: adam jacob richards

NICKNAME(S): richards, quarterback

AGE: twenty-two

DATE OF BIRTH: october 3rd

HOMETOWN: hawkins, indiana

CURRENT LOCATION: tree commune hawkins, indiana

GENDER: cis male

PRONOUNS: he / him

ORIENTATION: homosexual ( only known by cole and maybe a small amount of other people he trusted ? )

OCCUPATION: former lifeguard at the hawkins pool

THE FACTS

Adam has the most apple pie backstory you can imagine. The eldest of three, he’s always been the dependable golden child. His father is a dentist, a steady job that keeps them on the well-off side of town. His mother was originally his receptionist, but gave that up when she had Adam. For as long as Adam can remember, his mom had been around to take care of him and his little sisters. She was always there to pick him up when he fell, or hold him after a nightmare. He was closer to her than his father, although they had a fine relationship too. His memories of home are happy, filled with family dinners around the kitchen table, singing along to the radio as they drove to church on Sundays, and his family cheering him on every Friday night. Adam loved his family so much.

There’s only one thing that could make him want to leave them behind, and that’s the knowledge that he could never fully be himself in Hawkins. Adam didn’t realize that he was gay until he was in high school - he just thought that maybe the attraction guys described feeling for girls was overexaggerated. Once he met Cole Montgomery, though, everything changed. He pestered Cole to help him with English, relishing their weekly study sessions until things shifted and they began seeing one another romantically. Being with Cole made Adam feel more like himself than anything else in the world did. And while Adam adored his family, he needed to get out of Hawkins in order to be truly happy.

Cole wasn’t the only thing that made Adam want to leave, though. Hawkins itself came with a sort of pressure. Here, he was the Boy Next Door. The Hometown Hero. Every Friday night, Adam was expected to put on his jersey and play his part as the star quarterback, beloved by all who attended their games. And at times, Adam felt suffocated by that. There were so many rules and expectations he had to follow in order to just exist in Hawkins. In order to play sports and be accepted - which Adam wanted - he had to behave and act a certain way. Which is why Adam knew that once Cole graduated, he had to leave with him and go somewhere where no one expected anything from him.

And that was the plan, until the summer of 1985. Things were good, stable, until suddenly Adam was being controlled by the Mind Flayer and was killed at the Starcourt Mall. Adam doesn’t really remember this time; he doesn’t know that he died. It’s all really hazy, honestly. But now that he’s back and people are claiming that he joined a commune in the woods for three years…well, Adam doesn’t know what to think.

THE HEADCANONS

Adam’s always fully embraced his role as a big brother to his younger sisters. He loves them both dearly. While he’s closer to the middle sister just due to their ages (she’s around 18-20), he also loves Cindy, who’s 16 now. He feels bad that he missed out on their lives for the last three years for sure. 

He loves football and sports in general. The comradery of a team, the thrill of people depending on you - that’s so special to Adam. The only part of it he hated was the pressure and expectation to be someone that he wasn’t. He hated the toxicity that could exist in that world, especially the casual misogyny and homophobia. That’s why he always tried to rise above it while still working the system? Like, he couldn’t step too far out of line or call too many things out, but he always tried to stand up against bullying in his own way. 

Adam is just... a very genuine person. He’s absolutely a himbo who takes a lot at face value. He’s never understood why people can’t just mean what they say, or have good intentions. Like this man is a Lawful Good through and through. 

School wasn’t easy for this man. He did okay in some classes, but really struggled in others. In order to keep him on the football team, though, I imagine he had tutors in several of his classes. 

Literally he did not know he was gay until he was like 15-16 years old, he just thought that his friends were exaggerating when they talked about girls. Like, he was like “They’re nice. Fine, even. Pretty, I guess.” and then he met Cole and was like “Ohhhh I get it now.” 

He had a girlfriend when he met Cole, and once he realized he liked Cole and wanted to date him, he felt intense guilt at the thoughts of cheating on her. So, either 1) he broke up with her or 2) he kept dating her but told her everything, and she was willing to be his beard. If someone wants that connection, PLEASE lmk because I would love to see either option. 

Truly he always tries to see the best in people. Even those who don’t deserve it. 

He fully had plans with Cole to run away after Cole graduated and Adam 100% was going to follow through. He didn’t love the idea of leaving his family behind, but he needed to be himself and not the town’s Golden Boy. Unfortunately, Adam got flayed by Billy, who he used to work with.

He wasn’t himself the few days before he died. He was a lot meaner and angrier than anyone had seen him before, so that might have raised some red flags for people. Adam was eventually killed at the mall.

While Adam doesn’t think that he died, he does find the commune idea suspicious. After all, he did want to run away, but with Cole. He’s so confused by the idea that he would have left him behind, so part of him is worried that maybe he was brainwashed or kidnapped? He has no clue what to believe when it comes to that, honestly. 

jackforeman​:

WHO: jack foreman & @goldenboyrichards​ </33 WHERE: the richards’ residence

All that Jack could think about on his drive over to Adam’s house was that he had killed him. Probably with his bare hands, too, or whatever that black thing was that he saw in his head. He didn’t know what to think, or how to feel except betrayal and confusion. This was his best friend, someone he’d gone through hell and back with, and it was Adam’s fault that he had missed three years of his life. Three years of not being with his sisters, of being beside them while they mourned him, no matter where they thought he went. He gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were as white as the hood of his car, his breathing heavy but shaky as he made his way the few blocks to Adam’s house.

He’d waited to do this until Cole was out of the hospital, now knowing what he knew about the two. The past few days had been spent locked in his room with the occasional visit from Jo or Julie until he’d gotten the call from Adam’s sister that he was back at home. There were more important things than demanding answers about something that had happened years ago, especially when it concerned someone who Adam loved.

Jack’s heart was in his throat as he got out of the car, needing a moment to catch his breath before he rang the doorbell to see Adam’s face. It was a sight he hadn’t seen in the flesh since being in the Tunnel of Love despite replaying in his mind, plaguing his dreams since then. The look of determination before Adam had taken him into the warehouse was etched into his memory now, forever. As Adam opened the door, Jack took a step back, forcing a pained smile as he greeted him. “Hey, I heard you were home. Could I, uh … do you have a second? Can I come in?”

Some people were scared of spiders, some were scared of heights. Adam Richards was scared of letting down the people he loved the most. He always had been. Being a people pleaser was in his DNA, constructed out of the burden of being the only son and eldest child in the family. A duty to protect others, keep them safe, had long since been ingrained in him. Hurting someone? Hurting someone went against everything that Adam stood for. In his core, his very being, Adam was destroyed by the thought of hurting another person. It was unthinkable.

Killing Jack? He couldn’t fathom it.

After Jo had gone home a few days ago, Adam had barely left his room. He had known that the blackouts were bad, that they were something he should be scared of. His body wasn’t his when they happened - because Adam would never, ever hurt someone he cared about. But did that really matter? Because Adam had done it. It didn’t matter that it hadn’t been his decision; he had still killed his best friend. His body was more than capable of murder, even if it wasn’t Adam calling the shots. 

When his mom told him that Jack was here to see him, Adam felt nauseous, like he truly might throw up. How could Adam even look at Jack right now? But... how could he not? Jack had every fucking right to hate him - Adam hated himself for what he’d done while blacked out. And if Jack wanted to confront him, then Adam couldn’t and wouldn’t stop it. He shakily walked to the door, opening it and peering at Jack sadly. 

“Yeah, man. Of course,” Adam said, opening it wider and leading the way towards his bedroom. He didn’t want his parents to overhear what he had done. “Jack, I - I’m so sorry. I don’t remember... doing that. And you can say or do whatever you want to me,” He told him after he closed the door behind Jack, nervously stuffing his hands into the pocket of one of the few hoodies Cole and Beth hadn’t stolen from him. “I get it. I’m not really safe to be around right now.”