"Uhm, Honey...I Can Explain."

STWG daily prompt 5/10/23

prompt: quiet

pairing/character(s): steddie

CW: autistic sensory overload? ish?

-

Sometimes, Steve just needs quiet.

The party can be so loud, and overwhelming sometimes. But he's always just dealt with it; he lets his fingernails dig into his thighs, looks at the ground, and makes himself as small as possible. And when they leave, he lets himself go into his room and curl up in a ball on the floor, and exist in the quiet (and sometimes hit his head against the wall until everything inside his brain shuts up).

No one's ever noticed before. Not until today.

Dustin, Mike and Lucas are all yelling about something. Steve's not quite sure what, but it's making it hard for him to focus on what Robin's saying. The sound of Dustin's shrieking laughter feels like it digs into his skull, and Lucas snorting in return feels like too much. He manages (he hugs himself and curls up a little, rhythmically tapping each finger to his thumb).

And then Robin gets excited in the middle of her talking and starts excitedly tapping his shoulder, which is usually fine (usually he finds it makes him feel quite fond), but today it feels like the gentle taps are painful zaps of electricity that reverberate through his entire being. The tapping of his fingers get harsher, and he finds it harder to keep eye contact with Robin.

He doesn't even realise he's curled up more and his finger tapping has turned into digging his pointer finger's nail into the pad of his thumb, until Eddie (who's next to him on the couch) reaches out to hold his hand. He wants to pull away immediately, but Eddie doesn't let go until he's looking at his face.

Suddenly the panic and overwhelm isn't so ignorable. Not without the rhythmic tap tap tap, or the sting of pain from his nails.

"You wanna go up to your room?" Eddie asks, quietly enough that Robin can continue talking to the other teens without feeling interrupted.

Steve just nods simply, and when Eddie lets go of his hand he finds himself shaking it out to get rid of the lingering touch he can feel. He refuses to meet anyone's eyes, keeping his gaze on the back of Eddie's t-shirt as he follows him out of the room and up the stairs to Steve's room.

Distantly, he feels bad for abandoning his house guests.

"Hey, hey hey." Eddie says, voice still so soft and gentle, when they close the door of his room behind them and his breathing starts to speed up, "What's happening?"

Steve shakes his head and swallows harshly as he starts to pace back and forth, still shaking his hand out. No one's ever been here for this part before.

"Quiet." He requests in a whisper, and sees Eddie nod a few times as he sits on the bed.

Eventually, Steve just lays on the floor, like usual. Lets the feeling of the cold, hard floor against his back ground him, and thanks all the gods he doesn't believe in that his parents' house is relatively soundproof. Finally, it's quiet.

After a minute, he feels the shift in weight as Eddie gets up from the bed and walks over to him. He tenses up at first, worried Eddie's going to start to talk. Because he's not ready.

But Eddie never does what he's expecting.

Instead, he feels his presence as Eddie sits and then lays down next to him on the floor. And now the gentle sound of Eddie's in-breaths and out-breaths are all Steve can hear. And it helps his own breaths calm down, until they're just deep breathing together, hands close but not touching.

Steve never though he could have someone else here when he's like this, but somehow, it's still quiet enough.

Chapter one - An opportunity

A continuation of my previous Bryce graduation post.

(uploading here before ao3 (@Arloooh), I suggest not looking at my other bryce graduation post if you don't want to be spoilt!!)

-

You see, it all happened almost ten years ago to the day. It was like any normal summers day in school, bright uniforms and freah air, until unique monique and her stupid boyfriend exchanged vows (a fart machine) and became official. Boyfriend and girlfriend. And boy was it a sight to see, no longer was Bryce the main act, but these two losers who hugged like they were happy. /happy/. Something Bryce hasn't felt in years, not since she ripped her own heart out for Bobby only for the boy to empty his lunch all over it. She stormed away that day, stabbing Bobby's dad and stomping on what was left of her now broken heart, in two with glitter spilling out like some stupid analogy she'll get later in life. 

But that was then, and now is now. And today's graduation day. 

God has she had waited years for this. Having her heart ripped out only to have a shittier one put back in by "Dr" Paul from down the street, the /mortician/. But looking across the crowd that was once her playing game, pawns to put into place, she can't help the inkling of pride she feels knowing she won't be just like her mom. That she isn't just anothet high school dropout who swindels cash for a living. She's a top grade student who may have finessed a thing or two to get here, but she's finally here and that's all that matters. Not caring for the people that are around her. Sure, Cindy's a nice girl, pretty hair and straight teeth, but she's just a freind. She's no Bobby. 

Fuck. Bobby. 

It's been almost ten years, and even without her own heart to feel, she still can't get over what she did. What she's done. To the boy who, for a short ammount of time, she truly loved. But she's not sure she can call it that anymore, not sure she deserves to yearn for him after doing something like that. No matter the sleepless nights she's had week after week, or the notebooks full of apologies and dreams she could have lived out with him. With bobby. With... her Bobby.

-

Putting on a practiced smile, she shakes her head and follows the crooked line of soon to be previous classmates. Not bothering to look out for dear ol ma'. She's probably off swindeling princaple Higgans for cash anyways, she can’t keep her eyes off a cash cow when she sees an opportunity like that appear dressed in tight suits. 

There's filtered out chatter and banter around her as she walks in line, the speakers going off shutting down her day dream real quick. "Five minutes till showtime everyone! I hope you've got your disposables ready! And no /flash/, thank you." God. As if that entitled old dustbag has even seen a camera, you can't turn off the flash, prick. Not even that fancy camera mom stole could turn off that damn flash. Whatever, I'm almost up anyways.

Just a couple more people and here I am, shit, that really is alot of people. 

Looking over the crowd of graduates and parents alike, Bryce smiles. Truly smiles. Shes proud of what shes done, dredging her way through school after falling off her high horse all those years ago, but still remaning the powerful women she is now. Scanning the crowd, she looks for her mom, for the sliver of hope that she'll find her looking up and smiling back at her, smiling back with pride. But as she looks across the vast crowd, she spots a fermilliar smile by the bleachers and oh my god- 

Who knew seeing him would cause this rickety old heart to finally fail, ten years did me good huh..

"What's wrong vanny?"

OH MY GOD. MY HEART😭

Finally have the confidence to post something dreamtheory/securitywaiter related

Whaaaaaaat, Ness is sick?? Noooo.....

What a creative idea I have for (Ness) accidentally not posting for a week, whew🤧

BUT. SECURITYWAITER VERY OBVIOUS HINT OHH??? SECURITYWAITER LIKE A SLAP IN THE FACE?? Oh do I wonder what happened over that week to lead to this, mhm, I do I do..

BUT! Ness will be back in full swing, aswell as Sparky's :D

I procrastinate even if it's over something I've got brain rot over (securitywaiter ✊😔)

Expect some new posts soon, I have so much planned for our boys (and sparkys) :D

(@nestortheory and @sparkysdinerhurricane Instas!)

Also, look at Ness go, 23 followers already :')

SHUT UP, THIS WAS ALMOST EXACTLY WHAT I WAS DOING WITH THE STORYLINE FOR NESS' INSTAGRAM BUT HE JUST ENDS UP GETTING SICK TOO😭

The world is healing 🤧

these were the progress photos I took for a drawing of Burnt out Ness. Mike basically puts him on house arrest because he will not stop overworking himself. But because he's so tired and everything is so much he keeps snapping at customers which makes him feel even worse so he's sitting watching star trek like the angriest cat in the whole world. the picture of matpat is a reference pic for the hair Final Product

So I did go ahead in my delusion and make Ness an instagram account. I have so much planned, and I've based it off of headcanons and fics I've read. Might want to check who he's following too:)

They are kids after all 😆

This takes place in an au I've drawn where fnaf 1 Bonnie brings Freddy and Chica to the Mega Pizzaplex and they meet their Glamrock counterparts:

Part 1

SecurityWaiter Prompt/Headcannon

Mike was really worried about working at Sparkys, since he's not a particularly smiley person and he finds it hard to fake it.

But luckily, he doesn't have to! Nearly every time he talks to a customer, he's straight off the bliss of talking to Ness. He doesn't even realise he's smiling half the time.

Chapter Two of my Bryce fic: Another Chance To Fuck Up

(@Arlooh on ao3)

June 17th, i've worked so fucking hard to get back into this grey ass state and not even her bitche of a mom will let me talk. It's, not, FAIR. I only know that shes graduating because unique fucking monique and her excuse of a boyfriend have been yelling at each other outside the milkshake mania. I'm trying to sit at the fucking bus stop, not see a whore yell about how she gave her heart to him. Fuck that.

- 

Looking into the mirror of the thrift store changing room, he scans himself up and down, looking for any signs of "hey, I'm fucking poor, mind kicking my ass back to the penitentiary please?" as he forces himself to stand still and stop bouncing on the balls of his feet.

 He's fucking nervous. 

Wiping his hands down his jeans, giving himself a stern and harsh "whispered" talking to (he's been yelling into the mirror for 10 minutes, some employee as been asking him to leave for the better part of that, he won't) and fixing what makeup he has on, he turns and leaves the changing room. Giving a polite "Screw off, asshole!" and middle finger to the worker and swifly walking out without paying for a thing, only after sliding a sick pair of sunglasses off some dude waiting in line. 

-

But all that worry leads him to now, jumping a fence into the graduation event at 'Whatever the fuck' high school, so what if the entery was free, this is cool. 

The first thing he sees is probably the last person he wants to see, Tacky Tammy in the fucking flesh. And god, she looks worse than the last he seen her. That fucking bitch. 

Quickly avoiding that mess, he runs off to the right where he can hear people chatting, yelling, the typical American slang, and to behind the bleachers where he can finally fucking breath. He's only been up a few hours and yet it feels like hes been up for days, all the while having the energy to fight the thing people call god. "Where ever that old bastard is, he sure had a shit plan for me" he hisses as he lights up the last cigarette he's got, stole it from some homeless guy lastnight and yet it doesn’t make him feel any better about it. 

But blasting speakers, which are WAY to fucking loud mind you, go off right by my fucking ear "Five minutes till showtime everyone! I hope you've got your disposables ready! And no /flash/ please, thank you" God. Fucker sound like an asshole to be around, fucks he got to be so stern for. And why the fuck would someone flash the crowd at a high school. This isn't the big bang, we don't need to see that you bleached your ass, Marissa. But shit, 5 minites till showtime. And I was calling it that before grandpa over he did anyways..

He can barely see through the crowd of green gowns and capes to even see the stage from here, it takes him all of 5 minutes to climb out of the prison that is bleachers pressed to a wire fence. Good thing he's scrawny of else he wouldn’t have been able to get out in time to see the show that is Bryce Tankthrust. Fuck. To think that he ever hated her for what happened. All the hate he'd ever bared for Bryce washes away in a second at seeing her up on that stage, when did she straighten her hair? Whatever.

She looks fucking /good/, greens definitely my favorite coulor. Fuck, she can take green if it means he can see her like she is now. Even in a graduation gown. 

And for the first time in a long time, he smiles. Bobby smiles because fuck is he happy. He didn’t /mean/ to look like a smug bastard, even if he is. He's just happy. But nothing ever goes right for him does it. Bryce looked at him, right in the eye, could you belive that? But he just smiled back, but not when her prideful smile turned down and into shock. He hasn't seen that face since.. since he threw up all over her heart, the one that she took out for him to profess her love. Fuck. Shit, SHIT. 

He hasn't ran that fast in, ever. The second he seen Bryce drop, clutching where her heart is (right?) fuck, did he really do that much damage? He didn’t think it was /that/ bad, he just wanted to surprise Bryce after escaping and... he just ran through that crowd. Over the people who were starting to pile up on the stage, he didn’t give a /fuck/ if he got sent back now or to some place worse for doing what he did and all but growling for security to get off her, Bryce was fucking hurt and it was all his fault.