@goldenboyrichards

𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙺𝙸𝙴 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙽𝙴𝙻 #𝟶𝟶𝟼: cole & max

MAX: ew

MAX: since when do you know religion freak?

MAX: oh.

MAX: well, you are an asshole, but not for this. was the situation a lapse in taste? definitely, but you didn't do anything wrong or whatever.

MAX: i'm guessing adam didn't take it well?

COLE: my grandparents dragged me to church like, once

COLE: yeah.

COLE: i mean, technically i didn't, but... it sucked.

COLE: i don't think he's like, mad. hurt, probably?

COLE: i don't know. we haven't talked and i'm trying not to freak out.

byersphotography​:

TW: FAMILY ABUSE MENTION

————————————————————————————————-

“I’m fiiiiine.” 

Cole’s assurance didn’t strike confidence. This guy needed help. He sighed, exasperated - the best course of action would be to drive him home. Where did this dude even live? While Jonathan had plans to go downtown and investigate Barb’s return, he couldn’t leave Cole stranded on this patio … even if it meant cleaning vomit from the carpet of his passenger seat. “Come on.” He shrugged towards the patio stairs. “I’ll take you home, man-”

“Lonnie, dude, he’s my daddy too,”

Cut off - the realization dawned on him. Lonnie. He hadn’t heard it aloud in a long time. Cole really couldn’t have come up with a more shocking way of saying – Surprise. Your dad fucked my mom. We’re all alcoholics in this family.

He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. This couldn’t happen here. Right now. Jonathan’s stomach sunk seeing Mike blast by the door. He did the only logical thing and sprung into action, calmly pulling Cole by the sleeve of his shirt to a corner of the patio, lowering his voice. “Are you fucking with me right now?” He knew Will was somewhere in the Wheeler house. Lonnie was virtually dead to him, but his mom and brother always seemed more affected by his antics. He wasn’t sure how they would react to this news. His own relationship with Lonnie was terrible. Fighting, yelling, neglect – it had all been tucked away in effort to keep the family afloat, but his dad had also been gone for a long time now. Things were good now. The Byers household didn’t need Lonnie’s legacy resurfaced for all of Hawkins to see – especially on his ex-girlfriend’s front porch, in one of the most pristine neighborhoods in town. “Who knows about this, Cole?” Jonathan remained calm but close to Cole, arm still on his shoulder, trying to decipher his drunken expression.

If only he could go back five minutes in time to the peace of Nancy’s bedroom.

xx.

Cole wasn’t sure how he’d gotten so tipsy-- were he thinking straight before the barbecue, perhaps he would’ve eaten something before playing several rounds of beer pong-- but he’d been so anxious about the conflict between he and Adam that he didn’t know the last time he’d had more than a few crackers. And unfortunately, Jonathan was experiencing the brunt of his thoughtlessness.  

At Jonathan’s offer to take him home, Cole shook his head furiously. “No, no, it’s okay, dude--” he paused, dizzy from the motion. “My boy... best... friend is taking me home,” he smiled at the thought of Adam. “Don’t worry, can’t drive anyway,” Cole murmured, picturing his mom’s wrecked car, a side effect from the last ‘party’ Cole had attended. 

There it was again, that look. Cole scrunched up his face, peering at Jonathan’s. Before he could ask if there was something on his face, Jonathan was pulling Cole away. In his less-than-coordinated state, Cole stumbled into a planter. “Fuck!” he exclaimed, as the snake plant toppled over. “Sorry, Karen,” he called over his shoulder, into the darkness. “’m not fucking with you, ‘m sorry... didn‘t mean to kick the plant,” he answered with a deep frown. Leaning down, Cole made a valiant attempt to right the planter, instead pushing too hard and sending it toppling to the other side. “Well, shit,” he stared at the feat of gravity. 

Jonathan repeated himself, causing Cole to raise on wobbly legs and look at him. “--the plant? I dunno, dude, there’s no one out here?” He scratched his head, nevermind the potting soil on his fingers. When Jonathan’s arm reached out to steady Cole, he stared at the other’s hand. Lonnie. Right. “Your mom,” he offered, leaning into Jonathan’s stability.  “Told her... a few days ago...” he struggled to remember what day it was, when he’d talked to Joyce. A warmth crept through his body at the memory of her acceptance. 

Suddenly insecure and unable to read Jonathan, Cole’s expression drooped. “Are you mad at me?”

Eyes of Timothée Chalamet

who: Cole & @drewcampbell​​

where: The Music Center

It was inventory day, which was easily Cole’s least favorite day of the month. Since he’d become manager of The Music Center a few years back, he’d been delegated the task of coming in on his day ‘off’ and checking the in-store inventory versus their log. Basically, to see what Max had stolen. Or anyone else, but usually Max.

Today, though, the new guy was working-- Cole hadn’t hired him or even met him yet, so he was curious as to what he was like. Cole stepped into the store and immediately spotted the employee over by the records. He smiled, walked over, and stuck out his hand. “Hey, man. I’m Cole, one of the managers here. You’re Drew?” 

“How are you settling in?” he asked, as he pulled out his inventory sheet and skimmed the list. “I heard you were new in town, and all.” 

joycefm​:

  lonnie  byers  had  been  everything  that  joyce  had  been  looking  for  as  a  teenager  -  the  pair  got  along  and  had  for  years,  he  was  the  bad  boy..  the  guy  that  all  the  girls  wanted.  and  he  had  picked  joyce  of  all  people.  they  had  something  special  in  the  beginning  and  then  things  started  to  crumble  pretty  quickly.  whilst  joyce  loved  her  little  family  and  loved  being  a  mother,  lonnie  didn’t  seem  to  enjoy  his  role  so  much.  “i’m  sorry  i  put  my  kids  through  dealing  with  him.”  that  was  truly  her  only  regret.  "i  should  have  kicked  him  out  sooner.  he  wasn’t  good  for  anybody.”  she  couldn’t  really  describe  how  happy  she  was  that  cole  didn’t  have  to  experience  that.  the  less?  the  better.

    hand  reaches  up  to  touch  his  shoulder,  giving  it  a  small  squeeze.  she  didn’t  know  why  he  was  crying  either  -  but  she  did  understand  it  to  an  extent.  he  was  clearly  worried  about  what  she  might  think.  “you’ve  always  got  us,  cole.”  and  she  meant  it  to.  he  might  not  have  been  related  to  her..  but  he  was  family.  he  would  always  be  family  now.  “i  mean  it.  come  here  whenever  you  need  it.“

      and  yet,  a  small  smile  crosses  over  her  lips  at  his  words,  amused  that  he  was  panicking  ever  so  slightly.  “you  don’t  need  to  ask  for  permission.”  head  shakes.  “they  deserve  to  hear  it  from  you.”  they  knew  that  their  father  was  an  asshole.  joyce  sounded  like  a  broken  record  ranting  about  lonnie  at  times.  “so  whenever  you’re  ready  -  whenever  you  want.  i’ll  leave  that  all  up  to  you.  they’re  good  kids,  i  don’t  think  it’ll  take  them  long  to  get  used  to  it.”  or  believe  it,  for  that  matter.

If Cole knew one thing about the Byers family, it was that Joyce’s boys adored her. And for good reason, obviously. Admittedly he didn’t know much about marriage and even less about raising kids with someone, but he did know that Lonnie being an asshole wasn’t Joyce’s fault as much as it wasn’t Maggie’s. “I don’t think they’d want you to be so hard on yourself,” Cole offered, gently.

With watery eyes, he smiled at her shoulder squeeze. It was weird, how familiar and comforting she felt to him. “Thank you,” he repeated. “And, for what it’s worth, um... same here.” He wasn’t sure exactly what he could offer to their familial unit-- maybe a discount at The Music Center-- but he wanted to contribute if he could. “I mean, they don’t really need another brother, but whatever I can do, you know.”

He smiled, nodding as Joyce spoke. He knew they would be cool about it, but he also worried about like... ruining whatever view of their dad Will and Jonathan had. But, he trusted Joyce. “Okay... yeah. Thank you.” He knew he should stop thanking her, but he really was so relieved to have it out in the open. “I’ll tell them,” he confirmed, growing confident as he got used to the idea. “I’m glad you’re okay with it,” he admitted, sheepishly. “I always wanted a big family.”

𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙺𝙸𝙴 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙽𝙴𝙻 #𝟶𝟶𝟼: cole & max

MAX: do you have windows? i'm pretty good with windows.

MAX: what are you talking about? you know im useless with science.

MAX: yeah i can tell.

MAX: well, you have like, fifteen minutes to tell me about it now, or you can wait until i get there.

COLE: it's not science, maxine. it's religion

COLE: or something...

COLE: i told adam...

COLE: we were going to that keg thing and Thad was going to be there and

COLE: i panicked and told him right before

COLE: i'm an asshole

rcbinbvckleys​:

⚢

the best friend… that had to be the jock she’d seen cole with once upon a time. robin was all too aware of the fact that the jock in question had been one of the flayed, it only made logical sense. which somehow made cole’s vision feel a lot worse than it already was. “holy shit, that sounds horrible. i’m really sorry.” in that moment, robin felt worse than ever considering what actually happened at the mall that night.

cole being honest only gave her the incentive to do the same in return. “do you um- remember barbara holland? it’s not an important detail but she was kind of my best friend in middle school.” a pause, willing herself to continue and explain what she saw. “i saw her, that night. i was standing by someone’s pool, and barb, she-“ voice breaking, robin stopped and took a deep breath. “she was in the water and she just… grabbed on to my leg and started begging for me to help her! like something was trying to pull her down and there was no escape.”

blue eyes met cole’s own, attempting to gauge his reaction and hoping that she hadn’t over shared. “then she was sucked back under and pulled me right in with her.” robin gave a shudder, all of the details still clear in her mind — it was just everything else that was foggy. “and like you said, it felt so real. i seriously haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”

xx.

“Thanks,” he said, weak smile not quite meeting his eyes. The worst part, he thought, was that it felt like a fantasy first; he and Adam laying in bed, talking about the future, and then out of nowhere... Adam’s eyes changing, his body ablaze. It wasn’t a memory, so what was it? “I don’t think I made it up? But I don’t know.”

Cole let a breath go, shaking his head and watching Robin’s eyes. When her voice cracked, he put a hand on her knee, trying to reassure her. “I’m sorry, too. That’s... fucked,” he shook his head. 

He’d thought his ‘vision’ was bad enough, but he couldn’t imagine someone trying to pull him down-- kill him, presumably. If Robin was anything like him, she was hearing Barb’s cry for help over and over again in her mind. “I don’t know what happened to Barb, but... I’m sure there was nothing you could do,” he said. Cole paused, searching his hands for something to say. “Why do you think... we saw that?” 

Will and Cole weren't exactly close, despite being half-brothers. Not that Will was aware of that... yet. Every time Will came into the Music Center and chatted with Cole, guilt crept its way into Cole's chest and settled there. He's sure nothing would change once Will knew, it's not like either of them talked to their dad anyway, but the longer Cole put it off, the weirder it became to bring up in casual conversation.

So, when Will came in today looking for a model, Cole volunteered. He always thought he had an artistic form anyway, and the Music Center was always dead this time of day. But now, his nervousness and guilt caused him to fidget-- which was less than ideal for the artist. "Right, right, sorry," he straightened his spine. "So... how's your family? Everyone home?" Cole had to force himself not to wince at the awkwardness of his phrasing.

WHO: will byers + open

WHERE: you decide

     His drawing skills have only improved since those childhood days scribbling with crayons and colored pencils, but it still requires practice, a constant honing of his abilities to stay sharp. And anatomy, realistic human portraiture, is one of the hardest things to get right, because when it’s just a little off…well, it can get creepy fast. People have always been one of Will’s favorite subjects to draw, probably stemming from his interest in visualizing his and the party’s childhood DnD characters. It would just be a lot easier if…

     “Could you try not to move so much? Sorry, it just helps if you stay still.” He didn’t want to come across as impatient, but if his model was already fidgety, then sitting longer to finish the sketch wasn’t going to help matters.

Cole Through the Years (And the Songs He Listened To)

zccming​:

it wasn’t uncommon to find max mayfield skating the streets of hawkins at night. whether she be getting off work late, or needing to clear her head, there was a high chance she’d be lurking around somewhere once the sun had set. tonight, it had been the latter. her supernatural past had been weighing on her mind more than usual and something that always seemed to clear it up was taking to the streets while they were still. she could zip by on her board without judgement from onlookers. it was the best in summer and there wasn’t a trace of a chill. and now, with billy back, it was a nice place to escape from his…well, everything. 

her peace had been rudely disturbed when she neared the skatepark and could hear kate bush echoing through the streets. max instantly came to a stop. fuck. she couldn’t spot a clock anywhere, so she was clear on that front. other than the goosebumps on her skin, nothing seemed to be wrong. since when was she so skittish? mostly irritated, but still slightly scared, she followed the sound of the music, holding her board in her hands as a weapon. when she pulled up on the park and saw cole, she dropped her guard and yelled at him, “fucking asshole! you couldn’t have stopped by my trailer or something?” 

but it wasn’t his fault. he didn’t know. max had only disclosed so much. prior to her lashing out, he actually looked kind of excited. “hey…” she breathed out, setting her board down, then sitting on it. while she might’ve been a wreck in billy’s wake, at least cole looked good. healthier than she’d ever seen him, like someone had straight up injected a shot of life into his veins. slightly bitter, she rolled her eyes, “wipe that smile off your face, you look dumb.” max made quick work to pull out a lighter and held out her two fingers for cole to place a cigarette between them, “what’s up with you, montgomery?” 

xx.

Cole shook his head when Max yelled at him, throwing his hands up in faux exasperation. “Everytime I come by your trailer, you yell at me for being too loud or waking up your mom,” he countered, though he turned the volume on his boombox down. “You’re the asshole,” he corrected, the hint of a smile still on his face. As she got closer, Cole studied her face. Max looked irritated, beyond her normal homeostasis of annoyance. He didn’t dare ask what was wrong and risk having his head bit off, but Cole shot her a concerned glance. 

Following Max’s lead, Cole sat next to her on his board. Rolling his eyes, he placed a cigarette in her hand, taking a puff of his own. “Not true. I have it on good authority that my smile is irresistible,” he quipped. Cole glanced upwards at the stars, mulling over her question. He knew Max, of all people, wouldn’t be freaked out by the news that Adam was back... but he worried that she might ask too many questions, try to figure it out. Head still tilted upwards, Cole spoke: “It’s Adam. He’s back.” 

Blowing out a cloud of smoke, Cole diverted his gaze to his hands. “And I don’t know why or how, but I don’t exactly want to go poking around into it.” His words were hurried, his fear of losing Adam again apparent in his tone. “But I figured you would get it.” Cole shrugged, stretching his arm out in front of him so he could study the lit end of the cigarette. A beat passed in silence before he finally asked, “What’s up with you, Mayfield?”