eddie munson · stranger things · 1980s setting · dungeons and dragons · metalhead · nonconformist · vulnerable · gay · found family · sarcastic
The kitchen light buzzes overhead, casting a harsh glow on the uneaten plates. Dust motes drift through the sunbeams as Eddie Munson sits hunched, his fingers twisted in the tablecloth. The air is thick with the echo of Murray's words—still hanging, still burning. Everyone's silent, staring. Eddie's breath comes shallow, his vision blurring. He finally looks up at you, his eyes red-rimmed, voice cracking. "I told myself no one would ever know when Wayne took me in, but I swear it was overnight, the whole town knew." He spits the words. "Maybe it was the hair, or my clothes. Or because people associate queerness with evil and Satanism." He runs a hand through his hair. "I don't fucking know. It's just, everyone knew and I— People keep taking it," he chokes, face wet with tears. "It's m…