Eddiemcnson​:

zccming​:

.

if max hadn’t been so pleased with cole’s vow towards safety, there was a one hundred percent chance she would have wacked him across the chest for touching her. but this go around, just this once, she welcomed it. she closed her eyes, simply grateful to have him near. after taking a moment to convince herself that he would make good on that promise and be careful she flashed him a small smile and clapped her hand over his, “thanks.” and that was that. 

it was much easier to throw herself into teasing conversations. it wasn’t difficult for max to find a good time, but it did take some concentration to force herself to stay in the moment now and again. that being said, the information that cole dropped into her lap fully grabbed her attention. she had been expecting cole to stumble to come up with a full five people, so when he not only did that, but also name dropped steve and eddie, max’s jaw dropped, “shut the fuck up!” the back of her hand came into harsh contact with cole’s chest, “you’re joking.” she levelled with him. when it became abundantly clear that cole was being honest, she turned her head and curiously leaned in a little closer, “what the fuck? when?” screw adam and luke from college and also nancy’s boyfriend? there was no judgement to be found in max’s expression or in her tone, merely shock from apparently being severely out of the loop. regardless, she was fully invested now and swore her own secrecy with a zipping motion over her lips, “it will. i can keep quiet.” 

the reveal had been a nice reprieve, but matters circled back to billy, as they always seemed to these days, and max’s expression darkened. she hunched over, slightly more protective of her body as she divulged cole with details from her own life. “it’s cool, you didn’t force the asshole to come back.” she shrugged, picking up a pebble from the ground and fixing her eyes on it while she rolled it between her thumb and index finger. max sighed, shaking her head, then throwing the pebble into the distance, “he’s staying in the living room.” she looked back to cole. did she really need to say more than that? max didn’t seem to think so. 

cole’s unspoken offer to not talk about what happened with el was snatched up by max in record time and replaced with the sharp and giddy jabbing of her elbow into his ribs, “really good? like, you’re dating good? or what? i wanna know!” she’d been moody enough for one conversation and she’d caught a sudden wave of energy that she was finding to be extremely helpful in her enthusiastic efforts. 

the suggestion of breaking into melvald’s left max scoffing, “yeah, right. not my brightest moment.” she rolled her eyes and ashed her cigarette. despite the criticism of her past idea, max offered an equally as bad, but much more fresh one, “do you think we could get away with spray painting the police station? like what are the odds we pull it off?”

xx.

“Ow,” Cole groaned, rubbing his chest where Max had hit him. It wasn’t that hard, he just liked to make a point. He wondered for a moment if he should be offended that Max was so shocked, but the question passed when she asked for details. He knew she wasn’t judging him-- that had never been a factor in their friendship-- so he allowed himself to crack a smile. It was pretty ridiculous, after all.

“Steve was a while ago-- couple months, maybe. At some party; well, in his car outside of some party,” he admitted. “Eddie was... at the Blue Quarry Mall party, thing. Before your arrest, obviously,” Cole noted. “And Thad was a few weeks ago. That was weird,” his brow furrowed. He still didn’t know what to make of it, and he’d taken to pushing it out of his mind now that Adam was back. Cole nodded, relief passing over him at her promise to keep it secret. Obviously, he needed to tell Adam, but... it hadn’t come up. Truthfully, he was afraid it would change things, or change the way Adam viewed him. Cole really couldn’t take that. He couldn’t even entertain the thought.

He watched as Max’s body language shifted dramatically. Cole had never gotten details on what her and Billy’s relationship was like, other than he was an asshole, but how she was acting now was all he needed to know. “Goes without saying, but if you need to crash, my house is open. My mom loves you anyways,” he said, hoping she would take the offer. Or any offer really, just something that would put distance between her and Billy. Cole got a bad feeling in his gut when he thought about them staying together in the already-cramped trailer. It felt like playing with fire. 

At Max’s sudden change, Cole quirked an eyebrow. But whatever, maybe it was her way of signaling that she’d had too much of the heavy stuff, so he went along with it. A laugh escaped Cole’s lips, “Yeah? I mean, yes. We haven’t like explicitly talked about it, but...” Cole shrugged. “Not to be gross, but he’s my future. He’s it.” It was a funny question, he realized in retrospect, because Cole wouldn’t call Adam his ‘boyfriend’-- that felt too high school. Adam meant more to him than that, but he didn’t know how to put it into words. Hopefully Max got the gist.

Cole openly scoffed at Max’s new-and-improved suggestion. “Christ, Mayfield. Are you trying to get arrested again so soon?” Not that he had a better idea. “Why don’t we, like, break into Harrington’s pool or something else that won’t get us handcuffed.”

zccming​:

“cole.” max said flatly as he rounded the corner. while her glare was cold as steel, the gradually growing grin on her face said that she was happy to see him. “it’s an emergency.” that was certainly a dramatization, but she’d say whatever to make this look … less bad. it’s not that she cared what cole thought of her, but she refused to submit to the idea she was perpetuating any negative stereotypes. as he drew closer and provided the suggestions she had asked for, she rolled her eyes and mocked him “did you try to pick the lock? the fuck would i pick the lock with?” max held up her hand, “my fingernails?” 

she approached the front door anyhow, then levelled with the lock. “i have a better idea.” max once again found a rock, picked it up, but this time smashed it into the lock. bingo. the lock fell off. while max wasn’t expecting the door to only have an exterior lock and chain, she was happily surprised to find that the physical door itself hadn’t been locked. she pulled it open, ushered cole inside, then closed the door behind them, “i just need some groceries.” max shrugged her lie then grabbed a basket as if she were actually shopping, “happy memorial day.” she snickered, turning down an aisle, “have any not-totally-lame plans for today?”

xx

Cole paused for a moment, but refused to give Max enough dead air to think she'd bested him. "I don't know, don't girls always have, like, bobby pins?" he threw his hands into the air with a faux exasperated sigh. He hid a grin behind an eyeroll. Though he'd never admit it out loud, Cole liked the bickering relationship he had with Max; it was like she was the little sister he never had. And, though she would never admit it, he knew she liked it too.

"Jesus, Max!" Cole glanced around to make sure no one had heard the crash. At Max's nonverbal invitation, Cole slipped inside, shaking his head in amused disapproval. He wasn't exactly pro-breaking and entering, but it was one lock and a few groceries? Who would it really hurt? "Well, get something fun at least. To celebrate," he chuckled, motioning towards the shitty grocery store beer. Meanwhile, he made a beeline to the soda aisle. There it was: a sparkling 2 liter of Wild Cherry Pepsi. He grabbed two, and craned his neck out into the aisle, "Are you calling me lame? Why would I share my plans with you when I'm at risk to be insulted again?"

To say Cole was having a really fucking bad day was the understatement of the century. He’d started his morning being yelled at by a woman at work who was positively incensed that The Music Center of Hawkins, Indiana didn’t carry some brand new Yamaha keyboard. As if Hawkins was the epicenter for all trends and expensive brands? Then, he’d taken his mom’s car to the shop to assess the damage, and those crooks were claiming he’d have to pay $3,000. Who in Hawkins had that kind of cash laying around and what the hell did they need it for? So, yeah, he’d left the shop in a bit of a flurry and maybe wasn’t paying the best attention to his surroundings-- but it was not his fault that his car slid into the one in front of him. He’d slammed on the brakes, but the damn thing reacted so slowly. Could you damage your brakes in a crash?

Cole groaned when the prick got out of the car. This was going to be fun. The guy started yelling and, truthfully, Cole was barely listening. He was distracted by the guy’s antics... and maybe a little by his face. Cole unclicked his seatbelt and slid out of the car, wishing he had a cigarette right now. He had barely even hit the car, it wasn’t even dented-- something that could easily buff out, which Cole knew because he’d buffed out plenty of scratches on his mom’s old station wagon before. “Calm the fuck down, guy,” Cole said, rolling his eyes. “I happen to like driving my car around like this, unsure if the brakes will give out or if it’ll all just go up in flames at any minute. Keeps me awake,” he articulated every syllable, leaning into the guy’s personal space. Then, because he couldn’t help it: “If you wanted my number, you could’ve just asked without all the fuss.” He paused and, when the guy prompted him again, Cole threw his hands out in a shrugging motion. “The fuck do you want me to write my information on? Your car?” he dangled his keys in front of the guy, as if he would key his home address into the bumper. 

WHO: thad bradshaw and @colemontgomeryx​ WHERE: the streets of hawkins 

thad could read a map, he really could! he’d even taken cartography lessons growing up, but nothing, nothing, could have prepared him for how to navigate hawkins. the roadways made no sense, the city planning was incomprehensible, and he was thoroughly irritated. as his road rage was about to peak, everything halted when some piece of shit came barreling into the back of his car. his baby. he had a lot of outlandish things in life, but none quite as important as his car. money was no object, and neither was the labor, thad would drop both gladly, but it was the principle. nice things, like his car, should be kept nice. and ugly things, like the clunker that hit him, should be driven off a bridge. 

stepping out of his car huffing and puffing, thad slammed the door closed, “hey, man.” he said, jaw clenched. “i don’t know if your brains are scrambled or you think driving that thing is street legal, but you just ruined my car!” it was a dramatization, really. he hadn’t even looked at his bumper, but right now it was more important that thad get the point across that he was upset. “it’s an engine combustion waiting to happen,” he placed his hands on his hips, “not only are you stupid, but you’re lazy. that would take me maybe…two…three afternoons worth of work.” he boasted, simultaneously insulting the other, “and god knows, there’s nothing to do around here, so maybe you should get your priorities in check, pal.” now that he had sufficiently ranted, thad thought clearly to demand, “give me your information, so i can contact you with a bill after i fix my car.” he looked back at his baby, all dented and scratched in the back. thad’s lip could’ve quivered. he turned back to the monster who did this, and more forcefully prompted, “well don’t just stand there, now.”

Eyes of Timothée Chalamet

Cole hadn’t realized what he’d gotten himself into by volunteering to bring a keg-- scratch that, multiple kegs-- to this shindig. It might not bother everyone, but the sticky beer dripping on the linoleum made Cole’s spine shiver, so he dug into his backpack for something to clean it up with. Digging to the very bottom, he found a black handkerchief. Perfect. Cole wiped down the side of the keg and the floor beneath it, and decided to perch nearby in order to nag people not to let it drip on the floor. Really, how hard was it?

In his bag, Cole caught a glimpse of his cigarettes and felt a familiar pang in his gut. Surely it wouldn’t be in bad taste to smoke inside, given the circumstances? Absentmindedly, he tucked the bandana in his back pocket and grabbed a cigarette. “Hope no one minds,” he mumbled, mostly to himself, and lit up.

Shutting his eyes, Cole allowed the blaring music to distract him from the fact that he was inside the mall where the love of his life died. Light stuff. He wasn’t mad at the music choice, surprisingly. Cole tried not to be pretentious about music, but he could only take so many days of people coming into the Music Center asking for the new Rick Astley or Whitney Houston. Thankfully, this music had some teeth. He wondered who’d been recruited to play it. 

When Cole opened his eyes to take another drag, he was shocked to see Eddie Munson running right at him. Cole leaned back instinctively, confusion written on his face, “Uh, sorry. What’d you call me?” He followed Eddie’s eyes to his pocket and pulled out the handkerchief. “Wait-- flagging? I’m cleaning up the keg because these goddamned kids can’t be bothered to catch their beer...” he paused, suddenly curious. “What did you think?”

where: blue quarry mall who: eddie + cole ! @colemontgomeryx​​

despite the inital apprehension, because he really didn’t need the hawkins police department all up in his business again, not when he’d been a murder suspect barely two years ago, eddie slowly felt himself relax, some of the tension slipping from his body. not all, ever since that upside down debacle he hadn’t been able to relax fully. but the beer helped - bless that kid who’d brought the keg - and the general air of…insanity that lingered amongst the party-goers and protesters.

the sounds of black sabbath filled the mall, eddie felt himself nodding along to the tune, and, hey, he really didn’t care that most of the people here had never heard of ozzy osbourne in their lives. they all seemed to have a great time, anyway. so he didn’t even need to whip out that tape of 1988′s top of the pops he’d recorded, just in case they’d want to burn him at the stake for seducing them with his evil satanic dnd music.

he leaned against a pillar, let his eyes wander among the crowed, took a sip of beer and - hey, there he was, that kid with the keg. definitely not a kid now that he got a proper look at him. eddie tilted his head, his mouth dropped open slightly and he craned his neck, pushed himself off the wall, because… wait a minute.

wait a damn minute. he narrowed his eyes, looked down and. holy shit. well, if his eyes weren’t deceiving him then that - yeah that - that was a bandana. dangling from his - cole’s - back pocket. on display. he nearly choked on his beer, coughed and, taking another sip to ease said cough, he booked it across the mall, tapped him on the shoulder.

“hey, man - cole.”, he said, held eye contact with him for perhaps a tad longer than was appropriate. cleared his throat, gestured down towards his own back pocket. a quick look left and right, they weren’t in hearing distance of anyone else. still, he lowered his voice. “hey man, are you… are you flagging?”

tessacallovvay​:.

Mr. Sarcastic, as always. Good to know somethings hadn’t changed since high school. And, just like high school, he was doing his own… thing here, at this dingy little music store. Yawn. Tapping her nails on the counter, Tessa smiled, “Just wanted to chat, that’s all. About that little kickback you were at.” She said, glancing discretely around. She’d already talked to Sinclair about what had happened, but there was something that didn’t sit right with her about his answers. It made sense, but… it didn’t feel right.

“What sort of gross prank were you pulling that night, hm?” Tessa asked. She’d asked Lucas and he’d freely admitted to it, though he’d sworn he’d worked alone. She wanted to test a little theory of hers.

xx.

A humorless smile pushed up the corners of Cole’s mouth at her question. Well, at least he wasn’t completely crazy. The recurring nightmare he’d been having about Adam, though... that made him feel like his mind was splintering. Had he hit his head hard enough to cause hallucination? Or insomnia? He supposed both were possible, though the doctor Lucas had taken him to had assured him that the symptoms of the concussion would be gone in about a week. 

Cole’s eyes snapped up to Tessa’s face and offense crossed over his features. A prank? She couldn’t be serious. “You’re fucking with me, right?” Cole scoffed. “Tessa, why the hell would I throw myself into an open grave and give myself a concussion for a prank?” He wasn’t going to go so far as to say something pushed him into the grave, although that’s what it felt like, but he certainly hadn’t fallen in on purpose. 

Cole had a bad habit of skating with his headphones in and forgetting about traffic laws. Today, he was lost in his Bowie tape-- Diamond Dogs, to be exact-- and completely missed the fact that he'd crossed from sidewalk to road. "You've got your mother in a whirl / she's not sure if you're a boy or girl" he sang along, unsure of how loud he was being until the obnoxious honk of a car interrupted his zen state. Planting a foot on the ground, Cole halted his skateboard and pulled the headphones down around his neck.

Turning around, Cole immediately recognized Steve Harrington's car. A smirk danced on Cole's lips upon the memory of what they did in steve's backseat. Making out in the back of a car was a bit juvenile, sure, but for Harrington? Cole couldn't object. Cole laughed at Steve's misplaced concern. The Wheeler barbecue. He had heard about it in town, of course, but didn't think it was his scene, exactly. But still, free food was free food. "I was going to stop by, yes," Cole lied, taking a few steps closer to the car and daring to lean on its frame. "You offering a ride?"

who: steve harrington & open

where: middle of the road

what was he doing? was he really about to go to a barbecue that was being thrown at the wheeler’s house? he had been invited, of course, but something didn’t feel right on just showing up there. how was he going to react when he saw nancy? and worst of all, how was she going to react? all of these thoughts were going through his mind as he drove - he should have been paying the attention to the road, but luckily he snapped out of his own head just in time to spot someone crossing the road right in front of his car. without even thinking, steve hit the brakes as hard as he could, his body leaning forward with the abrupt stop and before he knew it, he was honking the horn in protest, before sticking his head out of the window to get a better look at the person who was standing in front of his car.

“what the hell are you doing, dingus? you can’t just… walk in front of my car like that, you could have damaged it! i mean, you could have gotten hurt.” steve said, shaking his head as he ran a hand through his hair - both of them had been lucky, he thought to himself as he took a deep breath. “you going to the wheeler barbecue or what?” he asked, once it got awkward enough - they couldn’t just be there forever and the person didn’t seem to move, and steve definitely couldn’t run over them.

elevcnhops​:

xx

A dark and secluded area, Eleven hiding within the darkness. This whole night had been nothing short than a disaster. Mike’s rejection stinging more than she cared to admit, it was the first time things felt.. aggressive between the childhood sweethearts. Now, she was alone and rethinking this stupid decision to come along. Maybe it was the normalcy of it all. Her first time camping and pitching a tent all on her own was somehow refreshing in a way. Sure, she inquired for help with the poles of the tent, but otherwise, she felt confident that Hop would be nothing short of proud.

After cleaning herself off in the lake, trying to scrub off the experience of having to kiss another. Another that was not Mike Wheeler. Shaking that thought with another sigh, desperate and planning an escape back into the woods. But she was so very welcome for Cole’s sudden appearance.  Gently lifting her hand to return his wave and greeting, “ Hello, Cole. “ the whisper light on her lips, masking the scowl that was recently a fixture for the night. The mention of ‘ s’mores ‘ causing her head to tilt to the side, a question now replacing her indifference. “ S’mores? “ echoing back to him, “ What is s’mores? “ without waiting for his answer, Eleven perked up. Forcefully shoving herself up into a standing position, nearing the fire and taking his offering with a hesitant grasp. Sitting next to him lightly, “ Now what? “ looking from him to the marshmallow that had been penetrated by the silver rod. Flipping it around in her grasp, prodding at the soft sugar treat with her fingers. 

“ Everything has changed. “ the whisper was so sudden upon her lips that she wasn’t sure Cole actually heard it. 

xx.

Grateful for something other than the ‘lake incident’ to focus on, Cole’s eyes lit up at El’s question. “Oh, you’re going to love S’more’s.” He enthusiastically stood up and took his own skewered marshmallow in one hand. “First, we have to melt the marshmallow. Some people like it extra burnt-- like me-- but it’s up to you.” Cole stuck his marshmallow into the middle of the fire, welcoming the warmth of the flames licking so close to his outstretched arm. 

He pulled the iron back suddenly when his marshmallow caught on fire. “I always do this,” he groaned as he blew it out. The half that wasn’t charcoal was the exact type of gooey he liked. “Then, once you’re satisfied, we take the graham cracker and chocolate like so,” he demonstrated, taking the graham cracker chocolate combination he’d prepped and using them to pull the marshmallow off of the iron’s end. “Et voila! C’est magnifique,” he exclaimed, taking a bite of the sticky dessert. 

At the least opportune time, she spoke up. Cole attempted to gulp down the comically large bite he’d taken to answer her. “What do you mean?” his words were slightly muffled, and he attempted to swipe the stickiness off of his face.

joycefm​:

    hand  freezes  on  the  refrigerator  handle  at  cole’s  words.  again,  she’s  not  surprised  at  all.  lonnie  had  always  tested  joyce’s  trust  -  she  wasn’t  stupid  nor  was  she  blind.  she  saw  how  people  looked  at  him  in  high  school  and  she  chose  to  ignore  it..  simply  because  she  thought  she  was  head  over  heels  in  love.  and  well…  she  definitely  was  at  the  time.  there  was  a  lot  of  love  there  at  one  point  but  the  idea  of  happily  ever  after  with  lonnie  didn’t  last  long  when  she  started  catching  him  out  on  lies,  multiple  fights..  she  could  go  on  and  on.  “i  mean..”  she  started,  a  small  shrugging  following  as  she  moved  back  towards  cole  to  take  a  seat  next  to  the  other.  “i  thought  there’d  be  more  of  you,  honestly.”  there  probably  was.  joyce  knew  well  that  lonnie  was  up  to  no  good  —  it  was  more  surprising  to  her  that  lonnie  had  been  cheating  on  her  way  before  she  picked  up  on  it.

    “it’s  fine,  cole.  you’re  fine.”  it  wasn’t  like  you  could  chose  your  parents  -  lonnie  byers  certainly  shouldn’t  have  been  anyone’s  first  choice.  “he  sucks  even  more  for  not  being  in  your  life..  you’re  a  good  kid.”  it  just  reminded  her  of  will  -  it  wasn’t  like  lonnie  was  around  much  for  him  either.  not  to  mention  the  name  calling  and  the  fights  that  came  along  with  all  that.  “either  way..  i’m  not  surprised  at  all  and  i  promise  you  that  you  aren’t  missing  out  on  anything  with  him.”  hand  reaches  out  towards  his  shoulder,  giving  it  a  small  squeeze.  “but  that  also  means  you’re  family  now.”  joyce  smiles  wide,  looking  for  the  positive  in  the  whole  situation.  “have  you  told  jonathan  and  will?”

Cole kept his eyes trained on Joyce, watching her hand freeze and looking for any indication of what was going on in her head. He’d imagined this moment dozens of time in the last hour, many more in the last five years. He knew he couldn’t expect her to welcome him with open arms; even if she didn’t love Lonnie anymore, Cole’s existence was evidence that Lonnie had been running out on her for a long time. That was enough of a reason to resent someone, in Cole’s mind. When she finally spoke, Cole let out an involuntary sigh of relief. If it weren’t so fucked up, Cole would’ve laughed at her comment-- I thought there’d be more of you. What a fucking asshole. “I know it wasn’t me, but... for what it’s worth, I’m sorry he was such an ass. Sorry that you all had to deal with him.” 

And then, Joyce offered the thing Cole hadn’t dared ask for: acceptance, permission to exist without guilt. He felt pressure behind his eyes and tried to blink it away; he so desperately didn’t want to make this a thing. “Thank you,” he breathed, glistening eyes meeting yours. Cole laughed at himself, swiping at his face, “I don’t know why I’m crying.” But he knew; he had never, in a million years, expected that he’d be welcomed into a family that, for all intents and purposes, wasn’t his. Should have never been his. He never even thought that anyone other than his mother would consider him family or look out for him, and in one single moment he was offered an entire family unit. 

Joyce’s remark shook Cole out of his thoughts. He nodded, readily agreeing that he wasn’t missing out on dad of the year. Eyes dropping to his hands, Cole shook his head. Then, lifting his gaze to meet Joyce’s eyes, he explained: “No.. I wanted to make sure you knew first. And, I guess, ask for your permission?” That sounded weird. “Like... if you didn’t want me to tell them, I don’t have to,” he shrugged. Cole didn’t want to give more detail if he didn’t have to; he knew he had a certain reputation around town, not a bad one, but one that everyone wouldn’t appreciate... and he wasn’t sure how Joyce would feel if he got close to Will and Jonathan and started bringing his ‘best friend’ around. But that felt like a conversation for another day; there was no need to spill every one of his secrets today. 

byersphotography​:

..

Jonathan pursed his lips as Cole knocked over the planter, resisting the urge to hush him.His heart raced. This was an overwhelming piece of news. Today had literally been an emotional roller coaster. He couldn’t think straight right now and the disorientation frustrated him.

“Okay.” He nodded, acknowledging Cole’s statement.His mom knew. Perfect. It was a good sign. Why hadn’t she said anything, though? This was a pretty sensitive family issue. Jonathan loved his mother - he’d lay down his life for her, but sometimes her choices really perplexed him. What were they going to do with this information? Sometimes it felt like he was the only one who feared instability.

“No – Cole.” He glanced over Cole’s shoulder, frowning to navigate his own thoughts.  “I’m not mad.” To be honest, Jonathan wasn’t sure what he felt. This whole situation was fucked up. “Can you just - be careful, okay?” He wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by careful. All he knew was that this patio conversation couldn’t continue with Cole like this, in this state. He swallowed, grappling with the reality that maybe he didn’t want people to know about this. Right now he couldn’t put his finger on why. “I don’t know … how my brother will react to this.” He used brother in the singular form. It wasn’t a malicious choice but Will was truly the only thing on his mind right now. And perhaps he just wanted to buy time for himself, to figure out how he should react to this news.

xx.

Now lost in thought about Joyce Byers, a pensive look overtook Cole’s features. He ran a hand through his hair, depositing soil on his forehead. “Your mom-- she’s really nice,” he said, nodding as if to affirm his own statement. “And so is my mom.”  Leaning against the porch railing, Cole rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “Why were they with such an asshole?” his tone was bordering on philosophical, and beer sloshing around in his gut defeated any attempts to read Jonathan’s expression-- or pick up on how much Jonathan really didn’t want to talk about this. 

Jonathan’s admission--I’m not mad-- was like balm to Cole’s soul, and a wide smile spread across his features. He reached out to pull Jonathan into a bear hug-- a brotherly love hug-- but once again his foot got caught on that damn snake plant. Dropping his arms, all thoughts of a warm embrace vanished at Jonathan’s chastisement. “I’m always careful....” Cole said, unconvincingly. At the mention of Jonathan’s brother-- singular-- Cole’s eyebrows knit together. “Oh, Will, right,” he slurred, then forced a smirk onto his lips. “Don’t worry. It can be our little secret,” Cole wiggled his eyebrows, though his stomach was churning and he felt like he might vomit.

“Get home safe--” bro, he was going to say. Cole’s tone was dismissive; If he were more clearheaded, maybe he would realize he was hurt. But, thankfully, the alcohol numbed it out and allowed Cole to twist on his heel and clamor down the stairs, deciding to wait for Adam further away from the house-- get some fresh air and finish his cigarette. Plus, if he was going to vomit, he’d rather it be away from any watchful eyes. 

END.