CHAPTER SEVEN
↳ it's bug

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

Reefer Rick's house was as everyone expected, though clearly didn't want to expect: empty. Laurie and Dustin were both circling around the windows and door, peering in with their flashlights, the ones Dustin just so happened to have on him, knocking rather harshly in the effort of maybe Eddie answering. Though, Laurie didn't imagine the Munson boy being very willing to talk after what he possibly witnessed. They continued knocking harshly, though, it was Dustin who was ringing the doorbell, Laurie was knocking. The smell of drugs laid clear in the surroundings, making Laurie cringe slightly, though not that much. She had become rather acquainted with that smell, after living for years in the same trailer park with druggies alike.

After a few moments of relentless knocking and door bell ringing, Steve Harrington decided he needed to determine everything. "Okay. Well, that's settled. I guess he's not here."

Whoever told him he had the deciding factor on this needed to slap themselves. Like, Laurie respected Steve Harrington, she just didn't like the fact he believed he had complete control over how everything is handled. Though, she didn't want to argue with him on the matter. So, instead, she simply rolled her eyes, continuing to knock firmly on the window, ignoring the ache she felt on her knuckles from the constant banging.

Dustin, however, completely ignored him, now frantically knocking on the door. "Eddie! It's Dustin!"

"Great." Steve rolled his eyes and Laurie couldn't help the slight glare she gave him.

"Look, we just wanna talk, okay? No cops, I swear. We just wanna help." Dustin knocked more firmly, then yelling, "Eddie!"

Laurie frowned. "Maybe he's hiding?" She gently tapped on the window, the tapping echoing slightly. "Hello? Eddie? We won't hurt you, it's bug."

Dustin quirked an eyebrow at Laurie, turning to her slightly. "Bug?" He questioned, hearing the odd name she used to refer to herself as. He found it slightly odd, though somewhat understood Laurie and her quirky yet upbeat energy that she always seemed to have.

Laurie continued knocking on the glass, a rhyme rather repetitive now. "Childhood nickname." She gave a firm knock, before turning to the group, a pressed smile on her face. She didn't want to appear as though she didn't have hope, but this looked like a dead end for them. Maybe Eddie wasn't with Reefer Rick. Maybe it wasn't dumb luck to assume he was here. Maybe it was just dumb.  "Yeah, I don't think he's here exactly."

Steve deadpanned at her. "No shit."

Laurie's face scrunched up in confusion, her nose scrunching slightly. "Don't be rude." She held the flashlight firmly to the window, trying to peer in. "He may be Eddie but I don't think he'd be here exactly. Emphasis on the here, pretty boy. Pointing it out since I doubt you read my emphasis."

"Pretty boy?"

Laurie ignored him, going back to nervously peering into the house, covering the lighting with her hands as she focused on the window.

However, Dustin still continued pounding on the door, yelling Eddie's name in the hopes that maybe the Munson boy would answer and reveal himself.

"Reefer Rick!"

"Don't scream that." Steve scolded, clearly not liking any of this whatsoever.

"Rick!"

"He's not there."

"It's true, it's vacant." Laurie replied, giving one more tap to the window to firm her suspicions. She eyed it rather suspiciously, imagining Eddie behind it. She was terrified for him and this vacancy was even more worrying. "Total vacancy, no movement. Almost dead." She shrugged, not wanting to act helplessly yet being unable to provide any other conclusion. "Like I said, not here exactly."

"You've said that like three times."

"I'll say it again if you guys don't realise what I'm saying." Laurie placed both hands on her waist, giving Steve a pointed look.

Right before the group gave up, Max called over to them. "Hey, guys?" She pointed towards the boat house that had been clearly occupied.

Laurie winced slightly, feeling chills run up her body. "I don't have a good feeling."

Steve looked at her, squinting slightly at the blonde. "What? You scared now?" He stood besides her, teasingly asking her that. He wouldn't actually undermine her, not knowing her personally but knowing her from a Robin Buckley perspective.

Steve knew better than to insult Robin's crush.

Unless that crush was Tammy Thompson. Then it was 100% reasonable to insult them. But Laurie? Steve didn't have much to use against the Cheerleading sweetheart. She had a formattable and well known status in society for being an actual ray of sunshine and from what he had noticed, she earned that role well.

But, he still teased her. He had to.

She hit Steve's side with her elbow rather harshly, not caring how he winced. "Absolutely yes." She walked away from him, following the group and ignoring how Steve winced at her. Laurie and the rest of the group made their way down to the building, shinning their torches through the windows.

Robin was the first to enter, calling out carefully. "Hello? Is anyone home?" They all walked in behind her, holding their flashlights. Max and Laurie followed Robin, whereas Steve and Dustin followed each other.

"Eddie?" Laurie called out, humming slightly. "I come in my least threatening form, I promise."

Robin held back a laugh. "Least threatening form?" She gave the girl a look at her statement, finding it cute and funny at the same time.

Laurie nodded, seriousness plastered on her face. "I'm absolutely terrified right now." Laurie moved around the table, nervously watching as Steve reached for an oar. "Is he- I'm not even going to ask."

Robin looked towards Steve, who was hitting the tarp with an oar, and then turned to Laurie. "I wouldn't question it at all."

"Is he usually this way?"

Robin chuckled. "Most the time? Yeah."

Max moved over to the table, looking down at it. "Hey, look over here. Someone was here."

"Maybe he heard us. Got spooked and ran."

Laurie nodded. "It's Eddie, he'd shit himself if he heard us."

She imagined him punching air right now at her statement.

She would be correct.

Dustin nodded sarcastically towards Steve, who was still carrying the oar and hitting the tarp with it still. "Don't worry. Steve will get him with his oar." He gave a grin, clearly taking the piss out of him right now.

Laurie blanched. "We're doomed."

Steve looked at him in annoyance, turning and looking at Laurie with a look of complete offense. "I know you think you're being funny, but considering nearly everyone in this room, minus Little Miss Sunshine over there, has nearly died a hundred times, personally, I don't find it funny in the slight--"

Then Eddie Munson jumped out, holding a broken glass bottle and holding it to Steve's throat. Laurie let out a loud shriek, jumping along with Max (although Max didn't scream).

Laurie firmly believed Max jumped just because she has screamed.

"Holy shit!" Laurie yelled, jumping on the spot and gripping Robin's forearm tightly. Robin, praying to whatever had blessed her with this moment, tried her best to not look absolutely stupid, internally freaking out on the spot. Shit.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Eddie! Eddie! Stop!"

"Eddie! Eddie!" Dustin began, frantic as he watched the curly haired boy pin Steve Harrington against the wall. Steve winced, feeling the bottle against his throat. "It's me. It's Dustin. This is Steve. He's not gonna hurt you, right, Steve?"

Steve grimaced slightly. "Right. Yeah."

"Steve, why don't you drop the oar?"

He dropped the oar, making Eddie flinch and hold the broken bottle firmer, causing Steve to groan slightly.

"He's cool. He's cool."

"I'm cool, man. I'm cool."

"What are you doing here?"

Dustin replied. "We're looking for you. We're here to help." Eddie didn't seem so convinced, not even looking towards Dustin for a moment. "Eddie, these are my friends. You know Robin, from band."

Laurie could've swooned with Robin's imitation of a trumpet.

"This is my friend Max. The one who never wants to play D & D."

Max waved at him.

"And you know Laurie, Bug." Dustin nodded towards the blonde haired girl who waved frantically at Eddie, using the nickname she had referred to herself with moments before. "Eddie. We're on your side." Eddie didn't look convinced whatsoever and Laurie didn't blame him. She was still catching her breath from what terrors she had witnessed.  "I swear on my mother." He looked towards the group.  "Right, guys?"

Laurie and the others nodded.

"Absolutely." She nodded, though immediately whispering under her breathe an apology to Dustin's mother.

"Yes. Yes. We swear."

"On Dustin's mother."

"Yeah, Dustin's... Dustin's mother."

Eddie shrank onto the floor, looking tiny in everyone's eyes at that very moment. Before he has appeared terrifying, monstrous maybe, grabbing Steve and holding him firmly with a broken bottle. Now, he looked like a terrified little boy who had been told a scary story.

Laurie moved a little closer, kneeling slightly on the floor. She didn't reach out to touch him, looking down the ground slightly. She could feel Robin hold onto her tightly.

" Eddie..." Dustin reached out to try and touch Eddie slightly, only resulting in the boy recoiling in fear. He looked nauseated. "We just want to talk. Okay?"

Laurie gave him a sympathetic look. "Please?" He couldn't even look her in the eyes, knowing very well how close she was to Chrissy.

Eddie Munson couldn't bring him to even look her way. How could he after he had left Chrissy? He knew how much Laurie adored that girl and yet he still left her. He still ran and he still tried evading a death he saw happen before his very eyes.

"Eddie, please?" Laurie asked once more, knowing she had to push him just a bit more. Just like she should've pushed Chrissy to talk to her more. "We need to know."

"We want to know what happened." Robin asserted once more, giving Laurie a firm squeeze. Laurie looked up at Robin with a soft smile and somewhat warm gaze, before looking at Eddie once more.

Eddie sniffled, looking down at the ground. "You won't believe me."

"Try us."

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

In all Laurie's life, she had never felt like an awful friend. She would humbly consider herself a good friend, always checking in with everyone and trying her best to include absolutely everyone. Perhaps this desire to be a 'perfect' friend came from Laurie's own suffering. Especially after moving to the trailer park when she was nine, she realised how lonely everything was. She was the odd one out, the third wheel of duos and the friend who walked on the grass besides her friends. She was mocked, ridiculed, everything because of her teeth and eyes.

They said she looked like a scary bug. A creepy crawly that made children cry. Laurie felt like she was a monster for so long that she craved to make sure everyone felt happy. She'd check in with the quiet kids, the loud kids, the in between kids. Everyone would always receive her worrying. But, Chrissy Cunningham had been suffering and Laurie felt like she was the one who snapped her bones apart in front of Eddie Munson's face.

She felt that her negligence to push further for Chrissy's venting was perhaps an indirect lead to Chrissy's demise. That it was her fault.

Maybe if she spent more time checking in with Chrissy, then maybe Chrissy would've opened up to her more. Maybe, if she phoned more, then Chrissy would be here alive. Yet, she wasn't.

She couldn't help feeling ill at the mere descriptions Eddie gave. But, she forced herself to listen.

"Her body just, like, lifted up into the air and, uh... And she just, like, hung there. In the air. And her bones... Uh, she..." He paused, whimpering slightly.

Laurie made sure not to touch him, whispering softly, "It's okay, take your time." She knew he needed to hear those words from someone. He needed to know that he shouldn't rush through such a traumatic story. His shivering didn't cease whatsoever.

Eddie continued, "Her bones started to snap. Her eyes, man, It... It was like there was something, like, inside her head, pulling. I... I didn't know what to do, so I... I ran away. I left her there." He sounded overwhelmingly guilty, making Laurie sniffle herself. She heaved in quietly, knowing fully well she had no reason to act as though she was the one who saw Chrissy die.

Eddie did.

He looked at them for a moment, before looking away and covering his face slightly with his hand. Laurie couldn't imagine how he felt, being stared at while he told such a traumatic account of a murder he was being accused of. She could almost imagine what he had seen that night. She could almost hear Chrissy's bones breaking and she shut her eyes, only to open them when she realised that all she could imagine was Chrissy's dead body dying right in front of her.

"You all think I'm crazy, right?" He must have assumed that was what they were thinking from their faces. He felt a pit form in his stomach at the sight of Laurie, who was wiping her nose.

Here he was, describing what he saw, knowing fully well Laurie was her best friend. He felt like a true monster when he saw those tears form in her eyes. Maybe if he hadn't offered her those drugs, pushed her to seek alternative methods, then maybe she'd be alive.

Guilt seemingly ate Eddie up viciously.

"No, we don't think you're crazy." Dustin told him honestly.

"Don't bullshit me, man!" Eddie yelled, his voice quivering as he spoke. "I know how this sounds."

"We're not bullshitting you." Max told him straight.

"We believe you." Robin further added.

"What it sounds like is that you're literally traumatised," Laurie expressed, giving him a soft look. "I promise you, we do believe you."

Eddie exhaled, shaking his head slightly.

Dustin looked at Eddie. "Look, what I'm about to tell you might be a little... difficult to take. Okay? You too Laurie." Laurie frowned, very confused on what he was about to get on about. "You know how people say Hawkins is... cursed? They're not way off." Laurie watched as Dustin hesitated, watching both Laurie and Eddie take this information in slightly. "There's another world. A world hidden beneath Hawkins. Sometimes it bleeds into ours."

"Like ghosts and shit?" Eddie questioned, confused as he tried puzzling everything he was being told.

Laurie spoke up quietly. "Like demons?"

Max softly responded, "there are somethings..." she hesitated slightly before adding. "There are some things worse than ghosts and demons."

Laurie didn't want to imagine the things that were worse than ghosts and demons.

"These monstersfrom this other world...we thought they were gone," Dustin took a short breath before furthering whatever he was saying. "But they've come back before. That's why we needed to find you."

Eddie and Laurie exchanged glances. In usual situations, Laurie would have laughed in their faces, called them all nuts and walked out of the room with a skip in her steps. But, this feeling in her told her that what they were saying was real. That this was all the reason for everything 'weird' to ever occur.

She didn't want to admit it, but maybe Hawkins really was cursed. Not cursed as in 'tiny bit unlucky', but cursed as in 'literally in real bad shit'.

Max added on, emotionlessly, "If they're back again, we need to know."

Laurie sat in pondering while the group continued asking questions directly to Eddie.

"That night, did you see anything?" Robin asked Eddie.

Max further added, "dark particles, maybe?" Eddie shook his head at her question.

"It would almost look like dust, swirling dust." Dustin further elaborated.

Eddie shook his head, his voice shaky as he responded: "no, man, there was nothing you could see or, uh..." He clearly sounded nervous responding, though gave an answer without a single stutter. "Or touch." He began further explaining, in even more detail, what happened that night. What happened to Chrissy. "You know, I tried to wake her, man. She couldn't move. It was like she... she was in a trance or something."

Dustin looked over at him. "Or under a spell."

Eddie looked as though he was emotionally not there. Still, he responded in a dull voice. It spoke to Laurie how fucking messed up all of this was. "A curse."

"Vecna's curse."

Steve seemed to voice the question everyone other than Dustin and Eddie had. "Who's Vecna?"

"An undead creature of..." he hesitated for a moment, before adding, "of great power."

"A spell caster."

"A dark wizard."

Laurie exhaled. "Well isn't that fucking fabulous." They all looked at her. She frowned. "Not the time?"

Robin shook her head. "Not the time."

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

here's a late update but who cares!!

i love eddie and laurie <3

literally siblings

and steve and laurie

ohmygod

and robin and laurie obviously

i can't wait for the robin x nancy x laurie throuple ish thing to begin

they really put me in a crisis on if i made this a poly fic but now i'm writing a nancy fic to fuel my nancy wheeler fantasies <333