[She glances at him sideways when he says his mom yelled a lot, too. She nods slightly, knowing he's signalling his understanding rather than a desire to deter the conversation.
His comment about her being able to take care of herself makes her smile faintly. But then they're back to the main problem.
Billy.]
He hates that his dad married my mom. Hates that I exist period. [She shrugs a little, gaze growing distant as she stares at the names on his wall.]
It's whatever. It's not like I don't hate him, too.
[He's certainly given her plenty of reasons to hate him. She shrugs, pressing her lips together.]
Sounds like he's a real cocksucker. (Eddie never understood people like this. People like Henry Bowers and Bill Hargrove who took all their anger out on the people around them. He sat back a little, staring hard at the floor as he thinks.)
He's a fucking coward. (Eddie says this at last with a surprising amount of aggression coming from someone so small and so soft spoken. Except Eddie was rougher than most people realized. Both in personality and tongue.)
People like him are fucking cowards. They're angry cause they can't do shit about the situation they're in, so they take it out on the people they know they can control. The people they know they can hurt. He can't fight your step-daddy, so he's gonna fight you instead like a fucking coward.
(His nostrils flare and his hands shake with genuine rage. Like Bev's daddy. Except sometimes Eddie was positive that that man was not a coward. Oh no. There was something rotted in his very soul that had him hitting a little girl so hard she went black and blue in the face. Eddie felt a rare sort of rage inside of him and he got to his feet and turned around, staring at Max with bright gray eyes.)
I can't fight but I swear to God, if he shows up here, he'll regret it. Okay?
[It's not like Eddie's wrong. She gets it, why Billy does what he does, even if he'd never voice it. She's smart enough that she's understood, almost from the beginning, why Billy takes his anger out on her. Because there's no one else around consistently to take it out on. If he tried to take it out on her mom, his dad would double down on him, but her mom and Neil aren't around enough to notice what's happening under their roof. And Max has gotten good at hiding things.
She nods her agreement, leaning into him almost unconsciously.]
He is a coward. He's just like his dad. [She hates Neil every bit as much as she hates Billy. Sometimes she even thinks she hates her mom for marrying him in the first place. For dragging them through all the screaming fights, all the broken dishes, the hateful words and the bruises. She doesn't understand why her mom is okay staying with a piece of shit like Neil Hargrove.]
I'm learning.
[Her voice is hushed and she looks at him sideways.] That guy I went to see in house 6 when I first got here. He's teaching me. I'm gonna learn so if Billy does end up here, I can handle it.
(Eddie quiets his anger for Max, and at her leaning, he moves an arm to wrap it around her shoulders and pull her snug against his side. Maybe it would be too much but he thinks maybe it'll be okay. Eddie didn't get why people like Bev's mom or Max's mom stayed with awful men either. He didn't get a whole lot about the world. He just knew a lot of it was ugly and twisted.
'Hot Dog'. The name resonates instantly and Eddie gives a slow nod. Frank and David....They seemed...Kind. Eddie was wary to think such a thing, but honestly, after the help Frank had given them already...He knew deep in the pit of his belly that it was okay to trust them. Even if only a little bit.)
You don't have to handle it alone.
(Eddie would do his best to keep her safe too. On top of that, he knew his friends would never tolerate that sort of thing. They didn't with Bev and they wouldn't with Max. They were strongest together, not scattered apart left to defend themselves on their own terms. He squeezes Max a little tighter.)
[She's only slightly surprised by the gesture at this point. It's been a long, shitty night for both of them. She exhales slowly, letting her eyes drift shut.
Max doesn't know Frank by anything except "Hot Dog" and she's never met or talked to David. She's still wary, but he didn't strike her as the kind to hurt kids, at least. She appreciates what Eddie is saying. If Billy shows up here, there'll be trouble one way or the other. She just hope it doesn't happen.
Odd as it is, this place is safer for her in a lot of ways that Hawkins isn't.]
Thanks, Eddie. [Her voice is hushed and she leans her head against his after a moment.]
Sure. Don't gotta thank me really. You just let me bawl like a baby on you.
(Granted, he hadn't cried that bad, but still. There was no coming out of this without being...tighter than they had been.
Similarly, this place was safer for Eddie too. Maybe the adults weren't perfect, but he had a feeling they wouldn't tolerate certain things. He half way thinks that if Henry Bowers showed up, Frank would put him in his place no problem.
At least he hoped so.
Eddie wraps his other arm around her and finally just gives her a small, harmless kiss on the top of her head before resting his cheek there.)
Anytime though. If you got shitty dreams, I'm always around, okay?
[She shrugs. She's pretty sure if she'd been having the kinds of nightmares Eddie's been having, she'd probably have woke up crying, too. She's cried over less, even though she hates crying.
It's weird, kind of, for anyone to hug her. But it's also kind of nice. She'll never say that out loud, though. She can't afford to get too soft. Still, she doesn't pull away when his other arm wraps around her.]
You, too.
[This. This is what friends are for, right? This is what she's been missing for such a long time now.
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chiming
no subject
Date: 2018-02-23 10:04 pm (UTC)From:His comment about her being able to take care of herself makes her smile faintly. But then they're back to the main problem.
Billy.]
He hates that his dad married my mom. Hates that I exist period. [She shrugs a little, gaze growing distant as she stares at the names on his wall.]
It's whatever. It's not like I don't hate him, too.
[He's certainly given her plenty of reasons to hate him. She shrugs, pressing her lips together.]
Yeah. That's the one. Hargrove is his last name.
no subject
Date: 2018-02-24 09:09 am (UTC)From:He's a fucking coward. (Eddie says this at last with a surprising amount of aggression coming from someone so small and so soft spoken. Except Eddie was rougher than most people realized. Both in personality and tongue.)
People like him are fucking cowards. They're angry cause they can't do shit about the situation they're in, so they take it out on the people they know they can control. The people they know they can hurt. He can't fight your step-daddy, so he's gonna fight you instead like a fucking coward.
(His nostrils flare and his hands shake with genuine rage. Like Bev's daddy. Except sometimes Eddie was positive that that man was not a coward. Oh no. There was something rotted in his very soul that had him hitting a little girl so hard she went black and blue in the face. Eddie felt a rare sort of rage inside of him and he got to his feet and turned around, staring at Max with bright gray eyes.)
I can't fight but I swear to God, if he shows up here, he'll regret it. Okay?
no subject
Date: 2018-02-24 09:13 pm (UTC)From:She nods her agreement, leaning into him almost unconsciously.]
He is a coward. He's just like his dad. [She hates Neil every bit as much as she hates Billy. Sometimes she even thinks she hates her mom for marrying him in the first place. For dragging them through all the screaming fights, all the broken dishes, the hateful words and the bruises. She doesn't understand why her mom is okay staying with a piece of shit like Neil Hargrove.]
I'm learning.
[Her voice is hushed and she looks at him sideways.] That guy I went to see in house 6 when I first got here. He's teaching me. I'm gonna learn so if Billy does end up here, I can handle it.
no subject
Date: 2018-02-25 02:38 am (UTC)From:'Hot Dog'. The name resonates instantly and Eddie gives a slow nod. Frank and David....They seemed...Kind. Eddie was wary to think such a thing, but honestly, after the help Frank had given them already...He knew deep in the pit of his belly that it was okay to trust them. Even if only a little bit.)
You don't have to handle it alone.
(Eddie would do his best to keep her safe too. On top of that, he knew his friends would never tolerate that sort of thing. They didn't with Bev and they wouldn't with Max. They were strongest together, not scattered apart left to defend themselves on their own terms. He squeezes Max a little tighter.)
You got us, okay?
no subject
Date: 2018-02-25 04:48 am (UTC)From:Max doesn't know Frank by anything except "Hot Dog" and she's never met or talked to David. She's still wary, but he didn't strike her as the kind to hurt kids, at least. She appreciates what Eddie is saying. If Billy shows up here, there'll be trouble one way or the other. She just hope it doesn't happen.
Odd as it is, this place is safer for her in a lot of ways that Hawkins isn't.]
Thanks, Eddie. [Her voice is hushed and she leans her head against his after a moment.]
no subject
Date: 2018-02-25 06:46 am (UTC)From:(Granted, he hadn't cried that bad, but still. There was no coming out of this without being...tighter than they had been.
Similarly, this place was safer for Eddie too. Maybe the adults weren't perfect, but he had a feeling they wouldn't tolerate certain things. He half way thinks that if Henry Bowers showed up, Frank would put him in his place no problem.
At least he hoped so.
Eddie wraps his other arm around her and finally just gives her a small, harmless kiss on the top of her head before resting his cheek there.)
Anytime though. If you got shitty dreams, I'm always around, okay?
no subject
Date: 2018-02-26 08:43 pm (UTC)From:[She shrugs. She's pretty sure if she'd been having the kinds of nightmares Eddie's been having, she'd probably have woke up crying, too. She's cried over less, even though she hates crying.
It's weird, kind of, for anyone to hug her. But it's also kind of nice. She'll never say that out loud, though. She can't afford to get too soft. Still, she doesn't pull away when his other arm wraps around her.]
You, too.
[This. This is what friends are for, right? This is what she's been missing for such a long time now.
Belonging.]