Chancecunningham​:

Cole didn’t know why Joyce had called him and invited him over for dinner. Instantly, he was afraid he would be reproached for telling Jonathan and Will his news... though, Joyce had told him he could. Maybe she’d changed her mind, or maybe it had gotten back to her that he’d been in varying states of intoxication when he delivered the news. Still, he felt he owed it to her-- for her kindness-- to show up on time, in a clean shirt, with a small bouquet he’d picked up at Melvald’s. He’d had a drink or two earlier in the day, to soothe his nerves, but by the time he was walking up the all-too-familiar porch, its effects were wearing thin.

Pasting a smile on his face, Cole knocked twice. She opened the door in record speed, and held out her arms for him. Cole obliged, giving her a loose hug, and then held out the arrangement of baby’s breath and peonies he’d picked up, like a peace offering. “Hi, thanks for having me--” he hesitated, unsure what to call her. Mrs. Byers felt too formal, Joyce felt too casual. “I’m doing a lot better,” Cole said, shaking his now cast-free arm. “Jonathan’s out. How is he?” Cole had seen him-- spoken to him, at The Hideaway the other day-- but they hadn’t exactly broached the topic of Jonathan’s physical health. 

who:  joyce  &&  @loverboymontgomery​ what: momma  joyce  checking  up  on  those  she  loves  -  her  next  victim  being  cole. where: the  byers  house

  things  might  have  been  a  little  rough  for  joyce  lately      —    between  bob  returning,  all  of  the  stuff  that  happened  on  the  4th  of  july  and  the  chaos  that  was  work  and  the  simple  stress  that  came  along  with  having  a  job,  the  one  little  constant  in  her  life  was  her  kids.  biological  and  not.  of  course  she  had  made  it  a  point  to  invite  cole  over,  food  prepared  and  everything  -  he  was  just  as  much  her  kid  as  the  rest  of  jonathan,  will  and  eleven’s  friends  were.  and  his  existence  itself  hit  too  close  to  home  for  her  for  obvious  reasons.  she  meant  what  she  said  that  moment  she  found  out  about  cole  and  his  relation  to  her  children  -  he  always  had  her.  they  were  family.

      door  opens  with  a  smile  on  her  face,  arms  extending  out  for  the  boy  with  a  warm  smile.  “how  you  doing,  honey?”

zccming​:

.

“you take a hit like a dude.” max countered, feeling a momentary wave of relief as he returned the hug. his arm was warm, and heavy, and very much alive. he was alive. she pulled back, wincing herself when he pressed the ice pack against his torso. no way that felt good, but again, at least cole was there and breathing. max couldn’t be too upset with that outcome. she was sure it would hit her later, but she’d already shed a few silent tears in front of cole, she didn’t want to shed anymore. 

at his next comment, max’s brows rose as she looked at adam beside him, “what? you’re telling me you didn’t know he was here?” she rolled her eyes, relishing in the fact that this almost felt normal as she teased, “you’re fine. big baby. at least pretend you’re grateful i stole an ambulance for you.” she moved from the floor to a chair while cole reached for his water. she pulled her legs up into the chair with her and when cole asked if she was hurt, she flashed him her nasty looking hands. it hadn’t been related to the explosion, but it was an unavoidable truth. she had gotten hurt, a little. “i’m thinking about getting some boxing tape, i’ll look real tough.” max said dryly, then dropping her hands. cole’s next question left max mute. she shrugged, wanting to melt into the chair, “i didn’t see it all go down.” she admitted, “but, dustin said something about a bomb? and explosive fireworks? unbelievable.” sighing, she felt like she had to ask, “does that ring a bell to you?”

xx.

“It’s all those years of football,” Cole flexed the arm closes to her, pathetically. “I was a varsity athlete, you know... Technically,” he added before she could correct him. He took another sip of water, his throat burning at how much talking he was doing all of the sudden. But Cole didn’t care; he craved this sense of normalcy, even if it was just a distraction. He figured they were both owed that. Following her gaze to Adam asleep in the chair next to his bed, Cole’s expression softened. “Well, you were the one sobbing over me. Hard to notice anything else,” he joked. 

Cole choked out a laugh, “You stole an ambulance? Christ, Max. You’re compiling quite the record.” Concern flooded his face at the sight of her hands. “Max,” his tone was intentionally stern. “You need to get them looked at.” He motioned to the button by his bed, “We can call for a nurse. Then you can have your boxing tape.” The apprehension on Cole’s face only grew at Max’s mention of a bomb and fireworks. Admittedly, he didn’t remember much after the Tunnel of Love. He was preoccupied thinking Adam was going to die again; if he thought hard enough about it, he was sure he remembered Steve and Dustin arguing over something, mentioning ‘bomb’. 

“What the fuck,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Kind of...,” then he dropped his voice, not wanting Adam to hear his next words. “He was acting weird. Like before. He was fighting with me... physically. Telling me to leave him alone,” he confessed, hoping Max knew what it meant. Hoping more than anything that it was an easy fix, though the heaviness in his gut told him he knew better. 

mmuscles​:

thad refused to meet cole’s eyes as they got into boyfriend talk. sure, cool, they were a couple or whatever, but he didn’t want to hear about it. it had been so deeply conditioned within him that what cole was…boasting about was wrong. maybe it was right for other people, but not for thad, not in this lifetime. the whole conversation confused thad to the point he regretted even asking, so he put on his best sour expression and stared at the car. his hands were numb and he had to take another large gulp of beer before he got back to work on this piece of shit car.  “whatever man,” he shook his head, “i’m not gonna go tattle to the first person i see, don’t flatter yourself.” thad huffed, insisting cole and now adam didn’t take up nearly as much space in his mind as they did. 

“everyone keeps talking about being gone…” thad started, no acutely aware that he couldn’t stand to talk about cole or adam any longer, otherwise this job wasn’t getting done. “but where did they go, like, study abroad? vacation? i don’t get it.” he didn’t read the papers or keep up with the times. as far as thad was concerned, he kind of lived in his own little bubble amidst the chaos that descended upon hawkins. it was one of many things he remained blissfully unaware of. 

xx.

Thad clearly didn’t want to talk about it. And that was fine, it’s not like Cole wanted to get into details... but he felt a sense of relief that Thad knew, if only so that what had happened before wouldn’t happen again. It was easier, anyways, to fall into the bickering back-and-forth with Thad; avoid the real stuff. “Whatever,” he echoed Thad’s tone. “I know you’re obsessed with me,” he laughed, to make it obvious he was joking.

Cole felt his stomach sink at Thad’s question. Of course Thad Bradshaw didn’t know what was going on in Hawkins, if Cole barely knew himself. “They were... off in this... group. In the forest. Like, a commune?” Cole said, trying and failing to infuse certainty into his tone. “It’s weird, but a bunch of them did it. Guess they had enough of the bullshit. Anyway, you can read about it in the paper. Assuming you can read,” he tacked on the end, hoping to piss Thad off enough to distract him from the ‘commune’ nonsense. 

Timothée Chalamet

who: Cole & @mmuscles​​

where: the Montgomery residence

Cole had thought about calling off the repair about a hundred times, given everything that happened at the impromptu keg party in the woods. The last thing he wanted was to give Adam another reason to be upset. Not upset, but more confused. But, he didn’t have a phone number for Thad, and... his mom’s car was borderline undriveable, so he was stuck.

He’d been a bundle of nerves all morning: worried about what Adam thought of him, worried that maybe Adam wasn’t thinking of him at all, worried about what Thad would do or say. It was all unreasonable, he knew that, but if Cole had a talent for anything, it was catastrophizing. 

Just twenty minutes before Thad was scheduled to arrive, Cole had finally peeled himself out of bed to move from wallowing in the dark to wallowing in the shower; drama was another one of his talents. He trudged down the stairs and opened the garage door. Two beers in hand, he plopped down in a lawn chair with sunglasses hiding the remnants of his nasty hangover.

And waited, for thirty extra minutes, in the heat. By the time he heard Thad pull up, Cole had gone through both beers. “You’re late, guy,” Cole called, gruffly. Though, he supposed he couldn’t be too upset-- free labor and all. He stood up, pushing the lawn chair with a loud screech-- and gestured for Thad to step inside the garage. “’m gonna get some more beers, but, uh... make yourself at home, I guess.” 

Cole slipped inside and exchanged the two empty bottles for two fresh ones. Shutting the door behind him, Cole stretched his arm out to offer Thad the bottle. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, he kicked some leaves to the side. “So, you met my boyfriend.”

goldenboyrichards​:

Adam wasn’t ready to process something like that. How could anyone ever be? Being faced with your own mortality - knowing that you’d died - it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t possible. Adam couldn’t believe it because it just couldn’t be real. Dying and coming back three years later wasn’t something that could just happen. 

He knew it had been summer, the last time he really remembered anything. Adam had been working at the pool with Billy Hargrove and Heather Holloway. He remembered talking to Billy after work one night, something he wouldn’t usually do, and then… then mostly nothing, until he woke up in the woods a few days ago. A brief flash of a fight with someone, maybe. Adam didn’t remember. 

It was the not remembering that scared him the most, besides the thought that he could have died. How did someone forget three years of their life? 

Before he could spiral too far, Cole was grounding him back to reality. Whatever had happened had happened years ago. Right now, in this moment, he was safe because he was here with Cole. And Cole wanted him to stop apologizing for leaving him. Adam leaned into his touch, choking back a sob when Cole forgave him. I know it wasn’t your fault. It didn’t fully relieve Adam of all of his guilt, but it did make him feel a bit better. “I wouldn’t have left you.” He agreed, slumping against Cole. “I don’t know what happened, but I didn’t mean for it to.” Adam pulled him close again, needing to know that this was real just as much as Cole. “I love you too. I always have.” 

They could talk about it when Adam was ready. But… what if he was never ready? He hoped to be at some point, but right now, he just wasn’t. He had never been the sharpest knife in the drawer - his teachers had never accused him of being smart. But this just wasn’t something Adam could rationalize. He couldn’t understand it. Maybe Cole knew people who could, and maybe they should talk to them. Just… maybe later. Adam squeezed Cole’s hand, nodding his head. “Let me tell Mom,” He replied, pulling Cole with him to the front door. 

“I’m heading over to Cole’s. I’ll be back,” Adam promised as he ducked his head back inside the house, ignoring the panicked look on his mother’s face at the mention of him going anywhere. She was so scared he’d run away to the woods again, Adam knew. He hated that he’d ever made her worry that much. 

xx.

Cole hated seeing Adam this upset. Before, it was rare for Adam to be upset about anything. He can’t recall a time when Adam was angry, and he can’t recall a time when Adam was this sad. The Mindflayer had broken part of him, and while Cole was confident that he could and would heal, he was still angry. He kept caressing Adam’s cheek, though his hands were shaking. Why Adam? Of course, it wasn’t just Adam, but... why not Cole? He would rather it be him coming back, dealing with all of this, than Adam-- Adam who was always the first to crack a joke or include an outsider or show kindness to the most unlikely people.

Cole had never been like that, he’d never been like him: naturally kind, easily trusting. From birth, it seemed Cole had a chip on his shoulder-- and that was okay with Adam. It was okay that they were different, it worked. And it still worked, it would always work. But Adam was never supposed to hurt like this. As Adam choked back a sob and slumped against Cole, Cole wrapped his arms around him and buried fingers in Adam’s hair. 

I love you too. I always have.

Tears stung Cole’s eyes and relief flooded his body hearing Adam say it. He figured it was part of the Mindflayer’s possession, but the last fight still echoed in Cole’s mind. Leave me the fuck alone, Adam had yelled, and Cole was relieved to be able to dismiss his fears that Adam hated him once and for all. “I’m so glad to hear you say that,” he admitted, his breath hot against Adam’s neck. He hadn’t planned on telling Adam about the fight-- there was too much else going on-- but he couldn’t help the pent-up tears from years of heartbreak. 

Pulling away just far enough to lock eyes with Adam, Cole angled his chin upward and cupped Adam’s face. “We’ll never have to be apart again. I promise,” he paused, taking in the view of Adam’s face. He was really here. “We’ll go to San Francisco, like we always planned,” Cole’s face broke out into a nostalgic smile.

It was a small thing, but Cole was glad Adam hadn’t let go of his hand to go to the door. Cole needed the physical reassurance that this was real, and he fully intended to hang on to Adam’s arm for the next year, at least. “Wait!” he called, grabbing the VHS from its discarded position on the floor. Cole ducked his head inside, still holding Adam’s hand behind him, and placed the tape on the entryway table. “Could you give this to Cindy? Tell her I’ll come by and watch it with her tomorrow, if she wants,” Cole flashed Mrs. Richards a smile, more genuine than any he’d produced in the past six months. “I’ll watch out for Adam,” he stated, hoping to ease her nerves.

Shutting the door behind them, Cole turned to Adam once again. “I don’t really have a car right now, so.. you up for a walk?” He looked at the porch swing with Adam’s hat and sunglasses. “Want your disguise?” he teased, bumping Adam’s hip with his own. For a second, things felt simple like they used to be. Cole breathed in the feeling, giving Adam’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

backtowheeler​:

— ✎ —

“It’s pathetic, isn’t it?” Nancy smiled, knowing how idiotic she sounded. Even when her and Steve first broke up, she swore to herself that she wouldn’t jump into another relationship. It didn’t do her any good the first time… or the second time. Third time’s a charm though, right? “But he’s better than you’d think,” she lied. Thad was just as typical as anyone would expect a guy named Thad would be. Nancy wasn’t particularly fond of him, but for her senior year? She could put up with him. Or maybe she’d get hit with the Wheeler curse and marry him, pop out a few kids, and stay unhappy until death.

Nancy let out a sigh, finishing off her beer. “I’m tired of talking about me,” she groaned, turning to Cole. “Top me off and tell me all things Cole?” She wiggled her cup in front of him, a grin on her face. 

xx.

Suddenly Cole felt bad for his relentless teasing of Nancy. Certainly, she was an adult and could make her own decisions about who to date, even if Cole suspected he was an asswipe. “Hey, if you’re happy, don’t listen to me,” he offered her an apologetic smile. “And if you’re not... well, send me a postcard from the Hamptons.” 

Cole’s grin matched hers, and he took her cup with a bow. “As you wish, m’lady.” He turned on his heel and dutifully retrieved two new beers. Pouring one into the cup, he chewed on his cheek. All things Cole. “Hmm. What’s there to say? Still studying lit, still sure I’ll be unemployed come graduation,” he shrugged, taking a swig of his beer. “Tell me, how does one figure out what to do with their life?”

The only thing worse than the residual pounding in Cole’s head is the haunting thought of what he’d seen in the cemetery. Or what he thought he’d seen. He had desperately tried to convince himself it wasn’t real-- but to no avail. How could it not be, when it was so tangible? If it was a mind trick, he should be institutionalized. But something felt... off, like so many other things in Hawkins did. So, Cole smoked until he finally passed out, and woke up to his alarm two hours later.

All day at work, he’d kept his headphones around his neck, playing music loud enough to distract from thinking about what had happened. Maybe it was immature, but he didn’t know how to deal with it so he just avoided it. That is, until Cassie walked through his door. He knew from her expression what she wanted to talk about, and he dutifully paused the music. Dragging his fingers through his unruly curls, Cole shrugged. “Not feeling my best, to be honest. I didn’t sleep much,” he admitted. “What about you?” He vaguely remembered her being at the cemetery, but the more time passed, the less clear the memories became.

WHO: cassie & @colemontgomeryx​ WHERE: the music store

To say that Cassie didn’t sleep well the night after being at the cemetery was an understatement. She was up the entirety of the night, replaying the same scene in her head until she finally began to count sheep instead. She couldn’t quite shake the feeling of being lifted up in the air and the sound of her bones cracking, followed by the voice … the one that was telling her it would all be over soon. The most peculiar part was that she wasn’t herself, she was the cheerleader, whoever she was. Though she could’ve sworn that Lucas had mentioned her name when Cassie told the story, the details of the night before were so hazy that she couldn’t remember. Had they really drank that much?

Nancy had warned her about this, and she didn’t want to tell her first thing in the morning what had happened. Instead, she thought to see someone who had been there in the cemetery with her, someone who might have answers to the running list of questions that had been growing in her head since she left the graveyard. Cassie found herself at the music store, remembering from their first meeting that Cole worked there. She greeted him with a pained smile, approaching the counter. “Is it me, or was something weird in that beer last night, because I feel like I’m having the worst blackout of my life. But you … you hit your head, right? I just wanted to see how you were feeling.”

Keeping his head low so strangers (or worse, friends) wouldn’t see the dopey grin on his face, Cole ducked into Melvald’s. Since Adam had gotten back, he and Cole had been spending every waking minute together, switching from Cole’s room to Adam’s room every other day. It was bliss, and Cole truly believed he could stay there, in Adam’s arms, for the rest of his life. But, nature calls, and so do the Richards. They parted ways for a few hours, so Cole could stock up on snacks and beer and Adam could go to family dinner. 

Cole was a mix between stupidly happy and incredibly on edge. Happy for obvious reasons and on edge because he was afraid that if he wasn’t with Adam, something would happen or he would disappear again. As he fast-walked through the aisles, indiscriminately picking up cereal boxes and chip bags and beer, Cole stopped short when a vaguely familiar voice called out to him. Turning, Cole struggled to not spill the contents of his arms onto the floor. He really should’ve gotten a cart. “Foreman, yeah. Hey,” he smiled easily, remembering Jack as the football team captain. Cole quirked an eyebrow when he mentioned he’d been away with Adam. Had he been? Cole didn’t remember Jack leaving, but why would he make that up? “You were... uh, out of town? Or...?” his voice trailed off, the question hanging in the air. 

WHO: jack foreman & @colemontgomeryx​ WHERE: melvald’s 

After getting his greetings and affairs in order, Jack decided to head to Melvald’s to get some basic life things now that he had no toothbrush, deodorant, or anything essential, really, since his parents had rightfully thrown everything out upon his disappearance. His mother had offered to go do it for him, but Jack declined, thinking that it might be good to get out of the house. His parents had sworn to never let him leave Hawkins again, and he was certain that that was at least half true, but he’d promised to go straight to the store and back home. No going near the woods any longer, that was for sure.

He kept his head low as he entered the store, careful to not make eye contact with anyone who might recognize who he was. Jack was sure that his face had been in the newspapers back when everyone had apparently gone to this commune in the woods, and he wasn’t ready to start answering questions about any of that yet. He wasn’t sure he even knew why he would’ve gone in the first place. As he walked through the aisles, though, Jack recognized an unmistakable head of hair, and he brought down his hood from his head. “Cole?” he asked, dropping a tube of toothpaste from his hand into his basket. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to bother you, it’s just … I’m Jack. Foreman? You were on the football team, the manager, right? I don’t know if you remember, but I’m, um, back in town, I guess, with Adam Richards, he … you guys were friends, I think. Anyway, it’s, uh … nice to see you.”

Eyes of Timothée Chalamet