@goldenboyrichards

who: Cole & @rcbinbvckleys​

where: hate to say... the hospital

Since Cole and Adam had cleared the air and sort of discussed what happened at the carnival, Adam had refused to leave Cole’s side for more than a few minutes. It was the comfort he needed-- to know that every time he woke up, Adam would be there, holding his hand. Luckily, Cole hadn’t had any visitors who were out of the loop-- Max and his roommate(s) Steve and Eddie were well aware, and when Jack had stopped by it was clear that Adam had told him.

When Robin walked in, Cole instinctively pulled his hand away from Adam’s. With a slightly nervous smile, he greeted Robin. “Hey, Buckley,” he said, his voice notably hoarse. Maybe he was paranoid, but Cole could’ve sworn that her eyes lingered on Adam, his proximity to Cole, the intimate moment she’d walked in on. “You know Adam? We were really close in high school. I’m friends with his sister,” Cole’s cheeks flushed and he knew he was stumbling over his words.

He changed the topic, partially to divert her attention away from the Adam equation and partially because he had been worried about her, since Max mentioned they’d both been separated from the group. “Are you okay? Max mentioned... something.” 

@goldenboyrichards

PARKS AND RECREATION — 4.05 “Meet n Greet”

zccming​:

“yeah, and you were only able to fracture it because i saved your ass first.” max huffed. now she understood how dustin felt all the time, no credit paid where credit was due. it wasn’t like she was expecting to be met with high praises or anything, but she had been anticipating a few more thank yous and a few less lectures. cole, at least, wasn’t going to lecture her. he was only going to be whiny, like always. “i’m surprised it isn’t already healed.” max snickered, then condescendingly sympathized, “must be real bad.” then as he made fun of her request for him quiet down, she smiled mockingly at him, “it’ll be quiet enough when you shut the fuck up.” 

despite the hostile words tossed around, max shuffled over to her dresser, grabbed her baggie, and got to rolling. following the mall, she was relieved to find that things seemed to remain normal between them. there wouldn’t be anything weird from her end, but it made her quietly pleased to see cole stand by his choice to share his truth with her. in time, she’d produced a joint for them. moving mostly in silence, max laid staring at her ceiling as they passed the j back and forth until she was lost in her thoughts, the sounds of the radio, and the bugs chittering outside of her thin walls.

cole had shared with her about adam, and all max could think about was how she couldn’t stop relating it to her feelings about eleven. of course, they had skimmed the surface over the billy of it all, but this was a new, equally difficult, perspective. it was horrible of her, but that didn’t mean anything weird, did it? maybe cole would know… thoroughly baked, max distantly asked, “do you ever think about how el has like, the perfect face?” did he even know what she looked like? “or how she’s like, the perfect girl. or perfect person even. it’s… crazy.” it wasn’t exactly explicitly emotional, but in her altered state, max was holding out hope that cole might just read her mind about what she was trying to convey. “i really missed her.” with even less tact than usual thanks to the weed, max somehow brutal and awkward, prodded at cole, “how does it feel when you think about adam? like …what does missing someone…like that…feel like…to you?” then she rasped, “it’s different from…my experiences.”

xx.

“It is real bad, thanks for your sympathy,” Cole retorted sarcastically, cradling his finger in his other hand. “I can’t play the piano with this shit. What else am I supposed to do at work?” he sighed, though his eyes twinkling with laughter. Cole blew Max a kiss with his good hand, playing along. “What, did you invite me over here to sit quietly in the corner? You got a dunce cap I can wear while I’m at it?” he teased, though he wouldn’t put it past her to actually sit him in the corner with a dunce cap, for the bit.

Cole gratefully took the joint and lifted it to his lips. “Cheers,” he breathed out, releasing a cloud of smoke. He still couldn’t believe he’d come out to Max. He hadn’t regretted it-- the opposite, he felt an ongoing sense of relief-- but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a tad on edge, waiting for any sign that Max treated him differently. He passed the joint to her and turned onto his side, studying her face. She acted like something was on her mind.

The mystery only lasted a few seconds more, until she started going on about El. Chuckling, Cole took the joint back from her, “I hadn’t really thought about her face. She’s nice enough, but not really my type.” The two grew quiet and Cole dared not vocalize his thoughts, his suspicion that Max maybe liked El as more than a friend. Maybe he was projecting, hoping that she could relate to him in that way. Then, to his surprise, her questions all but confirmed it. He took a drag of the joint, and then another, turning his response over in his head. “Not to be dramatic, but I think it felt like... I was missing part of myself. The part that only he knew, you know?” he looked down at his hands. “It still feels like that. Like I’m a fraud, like everything I do without him is just pretending.” Cole looked back up at Max, wondering, but not wanting to pressure her. “Maybe I need a shrink.”

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?"

eddiemcnson​:

+++

pursed lips, eddie took another drag, buried one hand in the pocket of his jeans. he huffed. oh, he’d known about this stuff for a while, alright. the mere thought of it made his stomach drop, he squeezed his eyes shut for a second, softly, almost unnoticeably, shook his head. trying to shake the image of red skies and black lightning, swarming bats from his mind. 

eddie clicked his tongue, absent-mindedly kicked some gravel. “’easier’.”, he echoed, musing. wondering if he should shield cole from the truth. but he’d been roped into it, too, now. so what good it denial do him. and how cruel would it be of eddie, not letting him in on all the crazy. “remember….remember spring break ‘86? the.. ‘earthquake’ - it wasn’t an earthquake. anyway.”, another drag, eddie quickly exhaled. “anyway. anyway, shit …. went down, basically. like, supernatural shit. and i, well. i almost died.” eddie shrugged, resigned. it seemed so far away now, unreal. though it became frighteningly present again, every other night when eddie woke up in a cold sweat, heaving and panting and clutching at his chest to remind himself that he was alive and breathing. “it’s not …. it’s serious stuff, cole. but it - well, in a way, it sort of gets better. when you get outta here, it gets better.”

he glanced at cole, a small smile tugging at his lips, he nodded. “yeah. friends, i’d like that. that’d be cool. you’re not half bad yourself, montgomery.”truly, eddie hadn’t expected to make any new friends during his summer back in hawkins. and this was a pleasant surprise. 

quirked brows, eddie watched with an amused expression on his face as cole went on about adam, gushing about him, and he felt a warmth swelling in his chest. he was genuinely happy for cole, even more so since they were both so alike. which made eddie hopeful that maybe he could be just as happy as cole one day. “yeah, he seems pretty cool. great catch, cole. well done.”

eddie quickly looked away, flustered chuckle, the mention of steve brought a blush to his cheeks. “it’s… ah, it’s nothng, not really. it’s - “he was cut off by his own incredulous laugh, eddie ran a hand through his hair, then rested his palm on his forehead, he turned to look at cole. “i just can’t wrap my head around the fact that i, like….i made out with steve harrington. king steve. that’s - that’s not real, you know? like, guys like him don’t… they don’t go for guys like me. it’s mental.”

xx.

Cole searched Eddie’s face, noting how viscerally uncomfortable talking about this made him. Clearly, Eddie had seen some shit. If Cole couldn’t sleep because of a vision of Adam’s death, how much worse would he be feeling if he had really experienced any of that shit? 

With a frown, Cole watched the gravel scatter under Eddie’s foot. He nodded, trying to wrap his mind around another tragedy that was actually supernatural in origin. “What the fuck,” he said, incredulously. He almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity, because... why Hawkins? Lifting his eyes to Eddie’s face, Cole nodded at his hopeful conclusion. He patted the other’s shoulder in a slightly awkward display of affection. “I’m sorry... I know that was... fucked up,” he said, at a loss for something more substantial to say. He took a puff of the cigarette and turned it over in his mind. When you get outta here, it gets better. Cole hoped that much was true, and hoped that he and Adam could get out sooner rather than later.

With a teasing smile, Cole flicked his cigarette. “Not half bad,” he echoed, his eyes lingering on the water in front of them. It was nice, something glaringly normal in the midst of everything else. A reminder, almost, that things could be simple and easy. “Don’t let it go to your head,” he warned, with a chuckle.

“Thank you, really... it’s nice to get to talk about it,” Cole said, Eddie’s congratulations causing a swell in his chest. In another world, where they didn’t have to sneak around, Cole would parade Adam around, would wear his name ever on Cole’s lips, because he could never get tired of the feeling that Adam loved him. Despite everything, Adam chose him.

Clearly, Eddie could relate to the feeling. He nodded his understanding, smile still pushing on his lips. “But why shouldn’t he? You’re a catch too.” With a hint of mischief in his eyes, Cole shrugged, “I mean, we already established that I have good taste.”

stevehharringtcns​:

steve had to admit that being at the hospital quickly stopped being interesting pretty fast. he was hoping that it would at least be a little like general hospital, a show that he had been forced to watch with his mom when he was younger. and speaking of his parents, they had only visited him twice and then left for work, but he was used to being it like that. he rested his head back on his pillow and let out a long yawn, closing his eyes for a couple of moments until he heard someone calling out his name. he opened his eyes and turned to look at his new roommate, looking at a sleeping adam. eddie had just gone to the bathroom after steve had convinced him that he would be okay for a couple of minutes.

“what?” he asked cole, turning his head to look at him. never in his life had he thought about this happening to the two of them, but he was happy that they were alright and that things hadn’t been worse. he remembered the way adam had acted during the carnival and he wondered how cole was dealing with that. “i’m good… you know, as good as i can be.” he said, remembering all the bruises and broken ribs he had. the broken wrist didn’t help either, he thought to himself.

he let out a small chuckle, which was enough to make his broken ribs ache as he flinched slightly, when cole asked about his jello. the two had been in an explosion but often found themselves fighting over this. “oh, yeah… sorry, i was hungry. and there weren’t any nurses around. they told me i can’t use the emergency button unless it’s actually for emergencies.” he said with a weak smile. “how are you doing? and… how’s he doing?” he asked, as he looked over at adam for a couple of moments, then back at cole.

xx.

Cole definitely hadn’t gotten it as bad as Steve, just a few broken ribs from the impact of the explosion compared to Steve’s broken ribs and broken wrist and general injuries from fighting Adam and Jack. Frowning at the memory, Cole’s hand tightened around Adam’s. As relieved as he was that the blackout has passed, he couldn’t ignore the pit of fear in his stomach. Fear about what would happen to Adam if that happened again. 

People were mad, and they were blaming Billy for now, but what happened when they realized that a whole group of people-- Adam included-- had been part of the scheme? What would they do to him? Cole couldn’t think about it-- he was already grasping at the threads of sanity, trying to remain strong for Adam’s sake, so he pushed the thoughts aside.

“Good enough to steal my fucking jello,” Cole teased, looking enviously at the empty cups of the most appealing hospital food on Steve’s bedside table. “I’m glad you’re okay, man. And Eddie? Is it true that they... arrested him?” Cole asked, concern written on his face. He knew Eddie had since gotten out, as he’d seen him visiting Steve, but he worried about what that meant for Eddie’s record. “I’ll be okay,” Cole moved to shrug, then winced at the movement. He tacked on, “Eventually.” 

Following Steve’s gaze to his sleeping boyfriend, Cole frowned. “I don’t know. It was all so... not him. And he doesn’t remember any of it. Do you know what that means?” Cole shot Steve a desperate glance; Steve certainly knew more about the Upside Down than he, maybe he had some more answers. 

cassieconrads​:

The name wasn’t one that Cassie had heard when Nancy had given her a rundown of the people she should know to avoid in Hawkins, so she figured the boy who had approached her was safe enough to trust. He stopped on his skateboard, which wasn’t the most popular form of transportation in California, but one that she’d seen among the rollerbladers near the water. Pulling off his headphones, Cassie was reminded of hers that she’d left behind, and how embarrassed she was to have to ask a stranger where to get new ones.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” she said with a wave of her hand as she began to fold the map up. The last thing Cassie wanted was for any of Nancy’s friends to think she was completely useless. “It looks like you were headed somewhere, I’m sure I could find it,” Cassie assured him, but there was a lack of confidence in her voice after she’d spent the past hour looking for the store. “I’m Cassie. I’m staying with the Wheelers, just visiting.”

Cole waved his hand, dismissing her comment. "It's no problem, really. I just got off of work and I'm trying to avoid the house for a little bit," he laughed to himself. "I kind of, um, wrecked my mom's car and she's not too happy with me." He shrugged, taking his skateboard in his hand so he could walk alongside Cassie.

"Right! Nancy mentioned she had a friend from college coming to stay. It's nice to meet you, Cassie," he stuck out his hand for a dramatic handshake. "Don't take this the wrong way, but Hawkins isn't exactly a vacation destination so... what brings you here?"

thequeenofhawkins​:

— ♔ —

“Easy, don’t hurt yourself for me,” Chrissy teased as Cole hissed in pain. He looked… good. Better than she had expected him to look, at least. Sure, he had a cast and was in clear pain, but after she heard of explosion followed by people dying followed by her friends being hospitalized, she expected Cole to look fully out of commission. “Sorry, I didn’t visit sooner. I just thought that your hospital room would be jam packed,” and I didn’t want to be a burden. “And you know how my mom is. I’m pretty sure she’s convinced that if I walk into a hospital, I’ll come out with some disease.”

But today wasn’t about her, it was about Cole. “I know I didn’t, but sugar will like, totally heal you,” it may have not been her most sound advice, but she had dealt with her fair share of torn ligaments and sprained ankles. Cheering was a dangerous sport at times, and nothing made her feel better than something a little indulgent when she felt bad. She grabbed her own tart, not caring about how there was the nagging voice of Laura Cunningham in her head telling her not to enjoy a dessert because it would go straight to her thighs or something equally as ridiculous. “Right? So much better than Jell-O and moldy sandwiches,” she agreed, sticking the lemon tart in her mouth, and reaching over to place the plate on Cole’s nightstand. 

She chewed up the tart before speaking again. Another Laura Cunningham ingrained thought? Never speak with an open mouth. Although that one sounded like decent advice. “You look better than I thought you would,” she admitted with a light laugh. “I really thought you were going to be in a full body cast,” then she peeked around the corner to make sure Maggie or Maude weren’t lurking. She glanced back at Cole. “How’s Adam taking it all? He’s not being a total maniac, is he?”

xx.

“I figured,” Cole said, unable to help the smile Chrissy brought out of him. To him, she was a reminder of a simpler time, the first person other than Adam who fully knew him and fully accepted him. “You’ll never guess who I shared a room with,” he paused a beat to build suspense. “Steve Harrington. I’m afraid most of the visitors were for him,” he joked. 

Taking another tart and plopping it in his mouth, Cole raise both his eyebrows. “I feel better already,” he declared. It was true, though he doubted it had much to do with the dessert and more to do with her company. “Fucking Steve Harrington took all my Jell-O,” he grumbled. “But I bet he doesn’t have a homemade lemon tart, so I win anyways.” He leaned back against his pillows, genuinely glad to be out of the hospital room, away from the constant alcohol smell, the too-bright lights, and the beeps and whirrs that kept him up all night.

Cole laughed at the image of him in a full body cast, then promptly winced. Laughter didn’t feel good yet, which hadn’t been a problem until now. Readjusting the ice pack on his rib cage, he sighed. “Helps to be naturally pretty, I guess. Distracts from the wounds,” he joked. At the mention of Adam, though, the smile melted off of Cole’s lips. Adam hadn’t been hurt physically, but mentally and emotionally? The carnival had done a number on him. ‘A total maniac’ was one way to describe his out-of-body experience. 

Furrowed brow, Cole studied his hands. He didn’t know how much to tell Chrissy; if she didn’t know anything, why should she be burdened with it? But on the other hand, what if she was in danger, too? He should’ve asked Chance about it when he visited the other day. “He’s... yeah, not great. Just, worried I think. He feels guilty. You know how he always finds a way to feel guilty,” Cole confided, knowing that even without all of the details, she would recognize this pattern. 

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET

© Carl Timpone for TimesTalks

stevehharringtcns​:

.

steve couldn’t blame cole for what he was saying. he would have probably done the same if he hadn’t been a swimmer during high school, knowing that he just couldn’t stop swimming. but even then, he preferred using the public pool rather than his own pool. “right… that makes sense. you know, i haven’t really been able to use my pool after…” he said, narrowing his eyes as he tried to remember. he didn’t remember, but he knew that he had associated a bad memory to his pool, even if he couldn’t remember exactly what it was. “you know what, i don’t even know… it’s just that my pool kind of gives me the creeps and i don’t like being near that much. but it’s kind of hard to ignore it.” he said with a small shrug of his shoulders, pursing his lips as he looked at cole.

steve couldn’t remember the last time he had liked someone this much. obviously, he had liked nancy a lot, but those feelings eventually had faded away. and there was always his crush he had on robin, but that had been cut short, obviously. he looked over at cole, nodding his head slowly, but frowning slightly when cole said that eddie didn’t like girls. “right, right… but, even if he doesn’t like nancy.” he said, letting out a sigh. “what if he liked… you know, chrissy? the two were seen together a lot before she… disappeared or whatever. you can’t tell me that they weren’t like… into each other, right?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at his own question. steve wondered if eddie would be dating chrissy if she hadn’t disappeared, but he decided to not think about it that much.

listening to cole talk made steve a little more relaxed. it didn’t fix how he was feeling, but it definitely gave him some more comfort, knowing that he wasn’t alone in this situation. he would never have thought that when they made out in the back of his car, that this is how they would end up - with steve asking cole for advice. “thank you, cole… that’s really cool of you.” he said, nodding his head with a smile. “i should talk to him about this, but i don’t want him to get scared or anything. plus, i’m not sure if the whole talk about… wanting a family and six kids will work on eddie.” he said, sighing.

xx.

Cole studied Steve’s face as he spoke, trying to determine whether or not Harrington was pulling his leg. But his confusion seemed genuine, which maybe... was worse. Cole finished off the beer Steve had originally handed him and slipped into the kitchen, grabbing two more from the fridge and presenting one to Steve. “Cheers to never swimming again,” he said with a smirk. Maybe this was his gift, making light of really terrifying shit.

He couldn’t hold back his laugh when Steve mentioned Chrissy. Quickly, he explained so Steve wouldn’t think he was laughing at him. “Sorry. I just... Chrissy covered for me and Adam a lot back in high school.” It was funny to think of her, perfect Christian Chrissy Cunningham, being part of yet another scheme to cover for two guys. “To be honest, Harrington? I’m sure Eddie likes you. You don’t just look at a guy like that unless you want to jump his bones.” Cole didn’t elaborate on how he knew that look from Eddie; it wasn’t relevant, especially with the state Steve was in. 

Cole took a sip of his beer to hide his smile. It was surreal; at first, Cole was sure what happened between him and Steve was a one-off, just a jock experimenting. And honestly, Cole hadn’t expected it to ever come up again, but he was sort of glad it did. At least so that they could be friends... or something. “No problem, seriously. I get it.” He chuckled at Steve’s thought process. “Don’t you both like... kind of already have six kids? With the DnD club and all?” he teased. Cole swirled the beer around in the bottle, giving Steve a one-shoulder shrug. “It’s a scary conversation, but maybe what’s scarier is not having it at all.” Jesus, he needed a blunt. If only he could take his own advice.