Mmuscles​:

goldenboyrichards​:

Being co-host of the camping trip, Adam had had to spend awhile checking in on everyone else when they got back. A lot of theories were being thrown around, as well as stories from the cabin, but he wasn’t paying much attention to them. They sort of went over his head. He didn’t know what grabbed him and Cole, but it had felt stronger than algae. He couldn’t be sure, though. 

Cole drifting away from the others wasn’t surprising to Adam. He understood needing a minute after all of that, and it was starting to get a bit cold out here now that the sun had gone down. Without asking, he passed Cole one of the hoodies he’d brought with him in his duffle bag. If anyone noticed that Cole was wearing his clothes, Adam was kind of beyond caring. He’d do anything that Cole needed him to do right now. 

“You didn’t make it up,” Adam assured with sad eyes, hating that what had happened to them was real. If only it could have been some fucked up nightmare or something. “I’m fine,” He assured, giving Cole a small smile. Honestly, he was worried. But there were no physical marks on him, and he and Cole had both eventually made it to shore. Adam would be okay - this was just another weird thing to add to the list of awful stuff happening around him lately. “I’m not going anywhere.” Adam glanced around, checking to make sure no one was paying too much attention to them. Once he was sure they were safe, he squeezed Cole’s knee in reassurance. 

As Cole began begging him to leave with him, Adam’s heart ached. That had always been the plan, hadn’t it? But Adam had fucked it up somehow three years ago, leaving Cole alone to pick up the pieces. And as much as Adam wanted to go now, he thought about his mother. His dad. Beth, Cindy. He couldn’t just leave them again. He couldn’t run away this time. When he and Cole left, they deserved to know in advance. “Cole,” Adam began sadly, squeezing his hand. “Cole, I want that so bad. I want us to go to California like we planned. I want that.” He assured him, voice steady because someone had to be. “But I can’t leave my family right now. My mom…I don’t think she’s sleeping much, these days. My dad calls home to check and make sure I’m still here every few hours when he’s at work. My sisters didn’t stop crying for hours when I finally came back,” Adam rambled, running a hand through his hair. “I just can’t go right now. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” 

xx.

When Adam passed Cole his hoodie, he smiled. Though it was a cliche, he loved wearing Adam’s clothes-- so much so that he’d periodically stolen dozens of shirts, hoodies, and jackets over the years. He brushed his hand against Adam’s and tugged the hoodie on, trying to act cool, calm, and collected when he was anything but. Both because he was freaking out about whatever had grabbed them in the lake and because Adam was here, looking at him with those eyes, and he wasn’t allowed to hold him.

“Kind of wish I did,” Cole said, with a sigh. He wished he had answers for Adam-- or rather, that his answers made any fucking sense. When Max had told him about the Upside Down and the Mindflayer and the fucked up shit happening in Hawkins, it had actually made him feel better, for a while. He finally knew that Adam hadn’t died hating him, that he was... possessed. But when Adam showed back up with a completely different story, any comfort Cole took in the truth was long gone. 

I’m not going anywhere. Cole closed his eyes for a moment and willed himself to believe it. Only, Adam couldn’t guarantee that. Cole couldn’t guarantee that either. Adam coming back both gave Cole a future again and threatened his utter demise. Losing Adam once had already destroyed him, but the thought of losing him twice felt like a death sentence. He did his best to muster up a smile, so as not to worry his boyfriend, but Cole knew better. Adam was always able to tell when something was up. 

Cole knew Adam’s answer before he elaborated, just based on the way he said his name. He nodded profusely along as Adam spoke, as guilt settled into his stomach. Of course Adam couldn’t leave his family now. He’d just gotten caught up in the moment, in his own fears, and was desperately trying to find something to cling to. “Of course, love. Of course,” he murmured, squeezing Adam’s hand back. “I’m sorry, that was... I was being emotional. I don’t want you to leave your family.” If anything, Cole wanted to bring Adam’s family with them. “I understand how they feel. I’m so scared of losing you again,” he finally admitted, rubbing circles on Adam’s hand with his thumb. 

rcbinbvckleys​:

⚢

opening up her own soda, a multitude of bubbles escaped over top. quickly she lowered her mouth to the can and just about managed to avoid them spilling over. robin gingerly moved to take a seat on the edge of her bed, leaving room for cole in case he wanted to join her. in fact, she motioned for him to do so as an invitation. they would probably be here a little while and it was best to have what would likely be an uncomfortable conversation in actual comfort.

“i think i might have seen something. maybe. it’s just all a bit fuzzy, i can’t really make any sense of it.” like cole, robin remembered the fire going out and cole and lucas both getting injured. then everything went dark. there had been the pool, and barb grabbing her ankle and pulling robin down into the watery depths with her. in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t a lot to go off of. “and- correct me if i’m wrong, but judging by your face right about now i’d be willing to bet that you saw something too.”

xx.

At Robin’s bidding, Cole sat next to her on her bed. It was comfy, he noted absentmindedly. Adjusting his position so he could face Robin, Cole tried (and failed) to read her expression. At her vague response, Cole’s face fell. Maybe he really had imagined what he’d seen-- head trauma to blame, or something. Taking another sip of the soda, Cole weighed his options: tell her what he saw and risk being institutionalized, or not tell her and have to deal with it alone.

He chose the former. “Yeah... I did.” Cole tried to smile, though it probably looked more like a grimace. “My best friend died in the mall fire, and... I saw him, like, on fire.” Then, since he was already telling her the truth: “It felt really real. Like I was actually there.” He met her eyes again, visibly uncomfortable. “What did you see? If you don’t mind saying.”

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET as HARRY STYLES on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

backtowheeler​:

Nancy was surprised to see Cole Montgomery show up at the little shindig put on by her mom. She knew this was mostly the time for Karen to shuffle her eldest and most successful child around (who knows? Maybe Holly will grow up to be a doctor!) for all her friends to see. It wasn’t so much about Nancy’s friends, and she especially didn’t expect to see Cole. Maybe Max, or Robin, but her and Cole’s family had such a convoluted past that she’d thought he’d sit this one out.

For all intensive purposes, Nancy and Cole should have hated each other. They were pitted against each other from the moment they were born. Nancy could recall early years when Karen would mutter to her that Cole had gotten a better score than her on a Social Studies test, pushing Nancy to try harder and be better, a mantra she would often hear until the day she left Hawkins and moved to Boston. Yet, she never had disdain for Cole. She learned early on that it wasn’t him doing anything, it was her mother perpetuating a different narrative, and while they weren’t close in high school, Nancy was glad they could grow closer in recent years.

“Probably drop dead,” she chuckled, knocking her cup against his. Nancy was legally able to drink (the National Minimum Drinking Age Act had never affected Indiana), but her parents weren’t heavy drinkers and assumed the same for their children. Or at least for Nancy. The booze was mostly there for guests and no one else. “I wish, but I’d like to try to keep her panic to a minimum,” she took a sip from her cup. “What brought you here? Surely it can’t be just because of me.”

Cole chuckled at the thought of Mrs. Wheeler spontaneously combusting; it’s not that he hated her, he didn’t dislike her at all, really, it’s just that he hated what she represented: the overbearing presence of a small town, the way everyone everywhere was ready to whisper about you behind your back. There’s a certain type of person who does well in this town: someone like Nancy, who is generally impressive and straight-edge (or so she seems). But Cole knows what that’s like, and he knows all-too-well the fear of bursting everyone’s bubble.

Maybe that’s what drew him to Nancy. He sensed there was more underneath the surface, that she could also understand the feeling of hiding from everyone. Maybe, together, they could escape from it all a while. Part of him was disappointed when she declined his offer to get out of there, but he knew it was for the best. “Keep her panic to a minimum,” he repeated, “probably best for your sanity, anyway.” 

A wry smile teased the edges of Cole’s mouth. “Funny you should ask, actually, I bummed a ride off Harrington,” he said, raising his beer to his lips and keeping his eyes trained on her face. He hoped he could deduce exactly what was going on between the once-hottest couple in town from her expression, but he guessed Nancy was sneakier than that. She wouldn’t reveal anything she didn’t want to... but Cole was never above prying. “So, you excited to see him? What’s the deal?” 

dvstybuns​:

If Lucas or Max ever found out about this, Dustin would simply die. Well, hopefully not. But he wasn’t exactly eager to go back to hearing Never Ending Story sung at him twenty times a day, thank you very much. You have to appease your genius girlfriend by duetting with her while the world is ending one time, and suddenly that’s all anyone wants to talk to you about. It was annoying. 

For that reason, Dustin had given up on singing outside the comfort and safety of his shower until recently. Somewhere along the way, Dustin had begun hanging out at The Music Center with Cole when he wanted to jam out and let loose a bit. He wasn’t sure what exactly made him feel comfortable enough around Cole to sing around him - probably the fact that he would never know about Dustin’s duet with Suzie. 

Grinning as he pushed open the shop door, Dustin waved to Cole. “Hey!” He leaned against the counter, glancing over at the piano. “What are you working on now?” Dustin was mostly a pop guy, minus the few metal bands he listened to for Eddie’s sake. 

xx.

He’d gotten used to Dustin’s drop-ins, and actually looked forward to them. He could count on Dustin coming by once a week, sometimes twice if there was no DnD campaign going on. Dustin was actually a really talented singer, but he never seemed to want to sing around anyone other than Cole. Cole hadn’t figured out why, yet, but he didn’t want to overstep.

Cole went back into the chorus of “Third World Man.” As it ended, he shrugged, not entirely impressed with it yet. He’d been trained in classical piano, and while the skills certainly transferred, he had a harder time converting rock and alternative music to keys. “Just messing around. You like Steely Dan?” he asked.

It was helpful practice for Cole to pick a song at random, listen to it, and recreate it on piano, which is one of the things he liked about Dustin’s visits. It was always a new challenge, and he got feedback from someone else. Plus, by the time they were winding down, it was usually closing time. “What have you been listening to lately?”

jackforeman​:

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

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

xx.

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

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

“I have done nothing all summer but wait for myself to be myself again —”

— Georgia O’Keeffe, in a letter to Russel Vernon Hunter, from Georgia O’Keeffe: Art and Letters (via luthienne)

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.