Tessacallovvay​:

As he began blinking awake, Cole’s memories from the fucking carnival from hell began to resurface. He saw Lucas crumped on the ground, Jack shoving him away, Adam yelling at him to leave him the fuck alone. But then he woke up and the first thing he saw was Adam, their arms intertwined, blonde head bobbing up and down as he snored. Cole squeezed his eyes shut. Was it a dream? Why did he remember a bomb? An explosion? It was all making his head hurt. 

Cole must’ve fallen back asleep, because the next time he opened his eyes, Max was there. She was holding his other hand and mumbling something. He shifted, trying to sit up, and instantly regretted it. Pain shot through his abdomen and he groaned. His movement caused a barely-cold icepack to shift off of his ribcage; had he broken a rib? 

With a weak smile, Cole turned his gaze to Max. “Tell me you’re not crying over me, asshole.” His throat was painfully brittle, and he attempted to swallow to make it easier to speak up. “The fuck did you do to me, Maxine?” he asked, a piss poor excuse for a joke, and squeezed his eyes shut again in an attempt to stop the pounding in his head. 

WHO: max mayfield & @loverboymontgomery​ WHAT: max checks on cole WHERE: hospital </3

max had been lingering in the hospital for around twelve hours now and had no intentions of leaving any time soon. herself, dustin, and max, worked in shifts, using steve’s room as base. she was in and out a lot, mostly to cry, but sometimes to check on the status of her other friends who had been admitted last night. it was nearing ten-thirty in the morning when max took a break. she went to cole’s room first, after a nurse told her he woke up between now and her last break. anything that stood between her and that door got shoved out of the way or fully knocked over until she was on her knees beside his bed. 

unfortunately, cole was out again when she entered his room. she clocked adam’s close proximity, who was also asleep. not wanting to disturb them too much, but at least see how cole was doing for herself, she took the hand of his that wasn’t occupied and grabbed it with both of hers, then set her forehead on top of it. she sat like that for a second, listening to the chorusing of the heart monitor. all good signs, all good, but still, she found herself wanting to cry again. max rubbed her lips together, then whispered, not intending for cole to hear her, “hey, fucking…stupid shithead…” she mumbled, “i leave for one night and you land yourself in the hospital? geez.” she laughed wryly, a tear slipping out. a life without cole flashed across her mind. it wasn’t one she was interested in seeing. this blows, she thought. sitting up, max wiped the couple of tears that snuck up on her, then rubbed her tired eyes, “i’m glad you’re okay…” she continued in her quiet tone, “and i’m so kicking your ass when you get out of here.” 

After the mall protest, Cole had been laying low. Partially because he had deliberately lied to the cops, partially because his mom made it very clear that he was on thin fucking ice after wrecking the car. When Max offered up her house for the night, he accepted without question. It was more low-key than their usual late-night rendezvous at the skatepark, and he definitely craved the company. So Cole stopped off at the 24-hour grocer, grabbed a six pack and a few bags of chips, and skated to Max’s trailer.

He thought he was plenty quiet, but Max’s expression showed he was wrong. Clicking the door behind him, Cole slung the backpack off his shoulder and unzipped it, revealing the beer and chips. He rolled his eyes, “I’ll kindly remind you that this fractured finger was an attempt to save your ass, Maxine. Here, I got beer and chips, wasn’t sure what you’d have,” he plopped down on her bed, holding his finger up to the light with a pout. “It’s not so bad, thanks for asking.” He was being purposely dramatic. In an exaggerated whisper, he responded: “Breakfast sounds nice. Is this quiet enough?” 

He chuckled and started towards the window. “Fancy a joint? It’ll be just like old times,” he suggested, remembering the mall. He turned away from her, a smile tugging at his mouth as he remembered what he’d said in the mall, and how she’d reacted with kindness. She wasn’t half bad. 

WHO: max mayfield & @colemontgomeryx

WHERE: mayfield residence 

sleepovers were sacred rituals in the eyes of max mayfield. although usually reserved for the likes of el or on accident in the wheeler’s basement, after what cole shared with her at the blue quarry mall, he could be looped into one of her favorite past times. while it may have been more difficult to swing because she was grounded, she still made a way. her instructions to cole had been clear. wait until midnight, she’d leave the door unlocked, he could come in, lock it and make a clean break for her room. susan mayfield would have long been passed out on the couch or tucked into her room

the clocks eventually ticked 12 : 00 and max waited to hear her trailer go bump in the night. by the time cole was securely inside her room her eyes were narrowed pointedly at him, “you and that stupid fractured finger couldn’t make it inside anymore quietly?” she asked, but still stood to drag him onto her bed, “come on, sit.” she urged, then crossed to her stereo and flicked it on. the chances of her mom coming to check on her were slim, but in case she did, she wanted something to drown out the noise of her and cole’s chatter. Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car blasted throughout her room as she jumped onto the bed and joined cole. “anyhow, if you can manage to quiet down, i figured we could sneak out early and go get breakfast or something. i know the diner is closed but, we could find somewhere. if you want.” she snatched a magazine from her bedside table and began flipping through it as she explained to cole, “cigarettes are in my bedside table, weed is in the top dresser drawer. help yourself, just open a window when you do.”  

Cole had a lot on his mind. Despite the glaringly obvious-- being pushed into open graves, having horrific visions, and his boyfriend coming back to life-- now they were fighting. Kind of. It wasn’t a fight, really, but things were tense in a way they never had been before. And Cole really didn’t know how to handle himself in a fight-- he could give great advice to people like Steve, sure, but when it came to him? He was miserable and whiny and terrified to say too much or not enough.

He’d been going over the whole night all morning-- everything he said, every look they exchanged, looking for anything to find comfort in. And it was driving him crazy. So crazy that he decided to go into work on a day he wasn’t scheduled. He had leftover inventory to do, anyway. Cole clicked ‘The Queen is Dead’ into his Walkman and skated over to the Music Center. The Smiths were, objectively, the perfect music for wallowing in self-pity.

A few hours passed of Cole listening to the album on repeat and getting a surprising amount of work done. It was nice to drown out his brain for a while, uninterrupted except for when the clerk told him that he was singing out loud again. As he finished up cataloguing the folk section, Cole looked up to see Jo walking in. His cheeks flushed involuntarily-- this Keith guy’s paper had been pushed to the back of Cole’s mind, but not forgotten. 

Stepping through the aisles, Cole approached her and lowered his headphones. “Good album,” he commented, always a little relieved when someone with taste came into the store. He offered an awkward smile-- it looked more like a grimace-- as she commented on his state. “Not quite, I just have naturally dewy skin,” he joked. His hangover was certainly still with him, as per the pressure behind his eyes. “You feeling okay?”

He laughed, relief evident in his tone. Thank God she had brought it up. “No, no, yeah, I didn’t think you... I mean, even if you did...” Cole groaned at how awkward he was making this. “Jo, you’re great. I’m just... not... I don’t feel that way! So, I’m glad we’re on the same page.” He said, finding his words at last. 

Cole knew better than to listen to anything published in that shitty paper when Keith suggested that Cassie Conrad go for Thad or Adam. Talk about misreading the room. But still, he didn’t want to give anyone the wrong idea, or completely ignore it and come off like an asshole.  

“Anyways,” he said, dragging out the syllables. “Can I ask you something? About the keg party?” Cole knew that Jack and Adam were close, and thought that maybe, if Adam had said something to Jack, maybe Jack had said something to Jo. Worth a shot, at least. 

where: the music center

what: jo’s browsing through some new sweet tunes !

who: @loverboymontgomery​​ + jo

truly, it felt like her first day off in weeks, and jo intended to spend it as follows: lounging in bed as long as possible ( until her mother started passive aggressively vaccuming up and down the hallways, seeing as this was her day off, too ), driving down to the music centre to browse through their latest releases and then straight back home to work on the board. a perfect day, in her humble opinion. or as perfect as it got in hawkins, indiana.

with the first part of her day off concluded, jo had wasted no time grabbing her walkman, pulling her headphones over her ears before she’d even left the house to drown out her mother’s incessant sighing. not even half of side a was finished when she’d reached the music center - a new personal best - and she quickly locked her bike, rushing into the store, straight to the aisle with the new releases.

humming happily to herself, a content smile on her face as she inspected a copy of the new cocteau twins album, jo jumped sligthly as a figure came into view. she looked up, pulled her headphones down around her neck. “oh - hi, montgomery.” said somewhat awkwardly, she gave him a smile. it felt a bit silly, calling him by his last name with how often jo came into the store. “i see you’ve recovered from the keg party.”

a couple of beats passed, jo hesitated, drew in a breath - no, it wouldn’t leave her mind. she had to say something. “listen - keith is an ass.” a bold yet true statement, another beat passed before jo continued. “like… i don’t know if you’ve seen his stupid little paper, but.. .i don’t know, he’s spreading rumors that i, like, have a thing for you? and i just wanted to make clear that i don’t. i’m not into you, cole, i promise!”

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.

sinclairss​:

his car was kind of aa junker, but since he’d helped get the thing up and running again, he was kind of proud of it, even if lucas had to loop around the vehicle to unlock cole’s door manually with the key because the passenger side’s internal lock stuck. “oh yeah. probably.” he lifted his shoulder experimentally and tried not to wince at the white-hot surge of pain through him. he put on a brave face because that’s what he did, climbed into the driver’s seat and started up the car. hiphop crackled over the speakers and he reached over to turn down the volume, waiting until cole was safely in the car before backing up and out of there. 

at a stoplight, lucas looked over at cole and shook his head, a silent i-have-no-idea. he cleared his throat and focused back on the road as the light changed, thumb tapping out a rhythm against the steering wheel as they rolled through downtown hawkins. “all i know,” he said as the song changed on the radio. “is that one second i was over by you guys and the next i’m at the bottom of a grave.” he shrugged with his one good shoulder. a hollow chuckle followed. 

the headlights across the road were playing tricks on him. he kept seeing bill hargrove behind the wheel which was…that didn’t make any sense. right? he didn’t know what made him ask. maybe it was because he wanted to feel less insane. or maybe he just wanted to feel less alone. “did you…see anything while we were out there?”  

xx.

Cole climbed into the car, his movements slow due to the pounding of his head. He tried to watch Lucas’ face for a hint of pain, but there was nothing. Cole knew he’d fallen on his shoulder-- hard-- but he was showing no signs of pain now. In the back of his mind, Cole wondered if Lucas should even be driving, but it’s not like he was in any better condition, and given his track record with cars, Lucas probably wouldn’t want to hand over the keys.

Leaning his head back, Cole’s eyes fixed on Lucas’ hand, tapping out a beat to whatever song was in his head. How was Lucas so nonchalant right now? “It happened so fast,” Cole confirmed, unable to even remember how Lucas fell into the grave. He remembered trying to help him out and then being below himself. “Steve was being super weird, right?” Cole asked, unable to remember details of what Steve had said. 

Turning towards the driver, Cole felt a twisted sense of relief at Lucas’ question. Finally, Lucas wasn’t acting casual or unaffected. Finally, Cole knew that maybe he wasn’t crazy. He wasn’t quite ready to make a definitive statement. “Actually... yeah. It felt like a nightmare, but like, really real. My best friend died in the mall fire and I just... kept seeing what would’ve been his last moments.” Cole tried to force the image of Adam out of his mind. “Did you? See something?” 

who: Cole & @elevcnhops​​

where: by the fire

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

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

jackforeman​:

Jack knew he should’ve stayed quiet, but it was too late now. He had been answering enough of his family’s questions about his whereabouts the past few years, and he didn’t really need anyone else judging the shit out of him for skipping town to go live in the woods, but Col never seemed one to be judgmental, at a least from what Jack could remember. He dropped a stick of deodorant in his basket, then a razor and shaving cream before turning back to Cole, giving a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, I, uh—“ he started, letting out a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. “Hard to explain. I guess we both decided it was a good idea to run off to the woods for a few years?” It certainly didn’t get any less embarrassing the more times he said it. “I don’t know, honestly, I think I was high the whole time, because it’s a bit of a blur, but yeah. All I know is that Adam was with me when I left the woods.” It was one of the only things keeping him sane, knowing that at a lets he must’ve joined because his friend had, too.

xx.

Cole’s expression froze at Jack’s comment, and he quickly turned to pluck something, anything, off the shelf to hide his concern. Of course, he knew that Adam thought he had been off in a commune, and he’d heard that there were others who’d returned, too. Jack’s story checked out, at least with what Adam had said. But he knew Adam had died-- there had been a funeral and everything. 

Composing himself, Cole turned around with shampoo in his hand. He gave Jack a thin-lipped smile. “Yeah... that’s essentially what Adam is saying, too.” He shrugged, “It does seem... weird.” Cole desperately didn’t want to ask questions-- he didn’t even want an explanation, really, for fear that Adam would be ripped away from him again. “But, I guess, I’m glad you guys are all back. And relatively okay,” he said, with a sympathetic smile. “How’s your family holding up?”

byersphotography​:

TW: FAMILY ABUSE MENTION

————————————————————————————————-

“I’m fiiiiine.” 

Cole’s assurance didn’t strike confidence. This guy needed help. He sighed, exasperated - the best course of action would be to drive him home. Where did this dude even live? While Jonathan had plans to go downtown and investigate Barb’s return, he couldn’t leave Cole stranded on this patio … even if it meant cleaning vomit from the carpet of his passenger seat. “Come on.” He shrugged towards the patio stairs. “I’ll take you home, man-”

“Lonnie, dude, he’s my daddy too,”

Cut off - the realization dawned on him. Lonnie. He hadn’t heard it aloud in a long time. Cole really couldn’t have come up with a more shocking way of saying – Surprise. Your dad fucked my mom. We’re all alcoholics in this family.

He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. This couldn’t happen here. Right now. Jonathan’s stomach sunk seeing Mike blast by the door. He did the only logical thing and sprung into action, calmly pulling Cole by the sleeve of his shirt to a corner of the patio, lowering his voice. “Are you fucking with me right now?” He knew Will was somewhere in the Wheeler house. Lonnie was virtually dead to him, but his mom and brother always seemed more affected by his antics. He wasn’t sure how they would react to this news. His own relationship with Lonnie was terrible. Fighting, yelling, neglect – it had all been tucked away in effort to keep the family afloat, but his dad had also been gone for a long time now. Things were good now. The Byers household didn’t need Lonnie’s legacy resurfaced for all of Hawkins to see – especially on his ex-girlfriend’s front porch, in one of the most pristine neighborhoods in town. “Who knows about this, Cole?” Jonathan remained calm but close to Cole, arm still on his shoulder, trying to decipher his drunken expression.

If only he could go back five minutes in time to the peace of Nancy’s bedroom.

xx.

Cole wasn’t sure how he’d gotten so tipsy-- were he thinking straight before the barbecue, perhaps he would’ve eaten something before playing several rounds of beer pong-- but he’d been so anxious about the conflict between he and Adam that he didn’t know the last time he’d had more than a few crackers. And unfortunately, Jonathan was experiencing the brunt of his thoughtlessness.  

At Jonathan’s offer to take him home, Cole shook his head furiously. “No, no, it’s okay, dude--” he paused, dizzy from the motion. “My boy... best... friend is taking me home,” he smiled at the thought of Adam. “Don’t worry, can’t drive anyway,” Cole murmured, picturing his mom’s wrecked car, a side effect from the last ‘party’ Cole had attended. 

There it was again, that look. Cole scrunched up his face, peering at Jonathan’s. Before he could ask if there was something on his face, Jonathan was pulling Cole away. In his less-than-coordinated state, Cole stumbled into a planter. “Fuck!” he exclaimed, as the snake plant toppled over. “Sorry, Karen,” he called over his shoulder, into the darkness. “’m not fucking with you, ‘m sorry... didn‘t mean to kick the plant,” he answered with a deep frown. Leaning down, Cole made a valiant attempt to right the planter, instead pushing too hard and sending it toppling to the other side. “Well, shit,” he stared at the feat of gravity. 

Jonathan repeated himself, causing Cole to raise on wobbly legs and look at him. “--the plant? I dunno, dude, there’s no one out here?” He scratched his head, nevermind the potting soil on his fingers. When Jonathan’s arm reached out to steady Cole, he stared at the other’s hand. Lonnie. Right. “Your mom,” he offered, leaning into Jonathan’s stability.  “Told her... a few days ago...” he struggled to remember what day it was, when he’d talked to Joyce. A warmth crept through his body at the memory of her acceptance. 

Suddenly insecure and unable to read Jonathan, Cole’s expression drooped. “Are you mad at me?”

@goldenboyrichards

Sufjan Stevens | Fourth of July April Base Version