It was the morning, the light filtered through the old, moth-eaten curtains and Ellie could not be bothered with getting up. She rolled around the sheets, understanding that maybe having a downer followed by another downer was not good for one's circadian rhythm.
Eventually she got up around noon. She had a week until she would have to begin going to work again and the house was nowhere near as ready as she wanted it to be. Luckily before her car had broken down she had driven past a hardware store and loaded up on brushes and paint trays.
The notion of going to town did not appeal to her in the slightest, especially while she only had a bike. She knew there wouldn't always be someone there if some nutcase with a red corvette was intent on mowing her down.
There were times that even in this house that she was trying to call home something lingered in the background. The odd shadow darting in her peripheral vision, the record player starting up. Sometimes she would call out to her long-lost family, thinking they must have been restless; this house had been empty for so long.
On the other hand, in the East Village she had always had roommates so the encompassing loneliness that Hawkins gave her was something she was still coming to terms with. She missed the nightlife, the commotion on the piers as everyone vogued for change; she just missed the thrill of feeling alive.
Eddie had given her a taste of it and for that she was feeling tingles up her spine again, adrenaline racing against good reason and common sense.
She took a slice of cold pizza out of the fridge and folded it, in her other hand she grabbed a dark green paint swatch and wandered throughout the halls. Her footsteps echoed.
"Alice! Virginia! I need a second opinion!" She called out through a mouthful of pizza. Ellie wanted to lie to herself about the situation but if she was being honest with herself-
She felt pretty pathetic.
She threw the swatch to the ground.
Green it fucking was.
Eddie paced at work in his battle jacket, he wanted his shift to end. All he thought about was grabbing the nearest phone and calling Ellie. Everything from the night before was a complete fuckin' haze. He had jammed, got buzzed, and felt his heart jump around in his rib cage.
He had liked other girls, tiny crushes on Christy Cunningham but it was never something he thought he could have in Hawkins. Occasionally she had bought drugs from him; to escape what he didn't know.
His last memory of her was her leaving his trailer after asking for the hardest stuff he had. They found her a few miles into the woods from the trailer park, Christy had mixed over-the-counter medications with prescription medications then her parent's vodka with the dope he had given her. The police called every search dog in the county to Smalltown, U.S.A.
'Cheerleader Missing' had danced across the evening news. Jason blamed everything but himself.
He blamed Edward Munson most of all.
Eddie had blamed himself too. He stopped dealing for Reefer Rick and went straight, or as straight as he could muster. He still partook to relieve his own stress but other than that he was a changed man.
Christy might have been gone but she haunted this town. Jason was her vengeful champion, patrolling the streets in Daddy's newest car and going after anyone who didn't shop at the goddamn Gap.
Ellie didn't know any of that though. She had allied herself with public enemy #1. Everyone who hated him assumed he had done it but with no actual evidence and a long file with the school counselor had absolved him.
He flung his head back and ran his hands down his face.
He hated this town.
Soon he hoped he'd be able to drive away in his rusted up van, blaring the most obnoxious metal he could find. Fuck, the town might throw a parade in his honor. The banners would read "So long Eddie the Freak Munson".
Mr. Ackley came in a little before closing, inspecting each box and checking the cash register. He was a kind man, and one of the few people who treated Eddie like a human being.
He had been a beatnik in his youth and the town weirdo; it made them kindred spirits. "When are you getting out of town?" He'd ask Eddie once a week and he'd shrug.
"I wish I had left when I was young, Munson. Take your shit and every penny you can get and get out."
That was the plan. His bandmates would be off to college in a little over a month then he would be alone. Hellfire Club has been passed down to Dustin and Mike. Everything mildly enjoyable in his life was wrapping up.
"Could I use your phone for a sec?" Eddie asked.
"Make it quick- these joints are not what they used to be." He went to the back and pulled out the Post-It from his back pocket. The phone was old, attached to the wooden walls, he spun the dial to each number and took a deep breath.
The phone rang, he felt like he was waiting a lifetime for her to pick up.
"Hello, Eloise Oliver here," she said, his heart fluttering.
"Eloise?" He chuckled, "it's me, from the other day, Eddie Munson. Never would have expected a cool chick like you to have an old lady name." He scratched at his nose.
"Named after Meemaw," she said. "What's up?" She twisted a piece of her around her finger, oblivious to the dark green paint on her fingers.
"Well," he sniffled, his nose itchy," I was wondering if you'd wanna hang out soon-I don't know if you'd bother with the little fair on the 4th but I'll take you. You wouldn't believe how good I am at knocking pins over-"
He heard a small giggle.
"And the funnel cakes, Ellie, best thing you'll ever have. If we're good at anything in Indiana it's deep frying."
"Alright, alright, you don't gotta sell me on it. I'm in." She half snorted. Half her hair was dark green from her playing with it.
"I'll pick you up at your spooky house at eight," he said, jokingly. "I'll even let you pick the music on the way there."
Mr. Ackley had begun walking behind him, he pointed to his watch. He said goodbye and hung up, sighing a little as he leaned against the wall.
"Man, I was doing so well," Eddie grumbled.
"Then you can pay the phone bill. If she likes you you're in; trust me I knew quite a few of the ladies at your age." He wiggled his eyebrows and Eddie did his bet to not look the picture of repulsion.
"Good for you , dude." Eddie went through the back door like he always did, pulled out a cigarette and went over to his van. He held it in his mouth and opened up the back doors. He needed to clean.
She hadn't said anything about the mess. The cans of Mountain Dew and bags of Doritos had been hidden by her bike so maybe she hadn't noticed but now she'd know.
There was a paper bag from the record shop crumpled up in the corner, he huffed, grabbing it, and began shoving a school year's worth of garbage into it. He found old notes, forgotten drug deals.
'Meet be by the table in the woods' they all said.
'Deal' or 'My normal discount?' They replied. There was one though, itt hit him and pulled him into deep dark waters. Places he did his best not to go to either with Granddaddy Purple or Afghan Kush.
'See you there,' a little glittery pink heart next to it. It was Chrissy's. He didn't regret much, he was normally shit out of options and took whatever appeared in front of him. Selling for Reefer Rick had appeared smack dab in front of him, Uncle Wayne was having trouble taking care of him so Eddie began making whatever money he could. No one would even trust him to mow their fucking lawn so he sold grass.
Chrissy was a regret though, she needed help and he supplied it. He didn't know she'd mix his Special K with her parent's medicine cabinet and then everything else she could find under the fucking sun.
It was ironic he had a crush on her since the middle school talent show, her glowing skin, perfect teeth and a smile that made angels weep. The excitement in her tiny face when she started her routine and the way the crowd cheered for her.
The way they booed him when he played, he knew isolation after that moment.
He flicked the ash off his cigarette.
The town never liked him but that solidified their hatred of him,especially when other kids with issues followed her lead. He needed to get out of this shit town and move to Salt Lake City or L.A. or anywhere else.
He wanted to move on from it. He took in a deep breath and took another puff of his cigarette, staring at the ripped up piece of notebook paper that held so much power over him.
He shoved it as far down in the bag as he could, then twisted the top and threw it out in the dumpster for the shop.
While Eddie didn't know Ellie well, she was the first person who had smiled at him in such a long time. He looked down at the bag as he closed the lid.
"Goodbye, Chrissy," he said, tapping the lid before heading back to his van.
When he got home, his uncle noticed his change in demeanor; Eddie was happy around his friends but when he got home it was time for the moody teenager to come out. It was all loud guitar solos in his room and somehow they had already run out of Kleenex.
When Eddie walked through the door he immediately started cleaning. Wayne had never seen Eddie clean once in his whole damn life. He grabbed the trash can with one hand and shoveled everything into it with the other.
He was smiling.
"Eddie, what's gotten you all in a tizzy? Don't tell me you tried Rick's new stuff." His uncle's voice had a slight drawl to it. He was a man in his 40's, bald with a short greying bit of stubble. He was in his work boots and an old dirty plaid shirt.
"Nope, still rockin' the oldies; staying chill." Eddie said, walking into the bathroom.
"You don't seem chill, boy," he chuckled. Eddie's head poked out the doorway. He had a mischievous grin.
"I'm chill, Uncle Wayne," he threw a few beer bottles out that sat by the sink. "I've got a date." Wayne's eyes widened.
"Oh,really? Who's the lucky lady?" He almost didn't believe it, maybe his nephew was back to the hard stuff.
"She's new in town, lives in the creepy old house in the boonies. You wouldn't know her."
"You mean that weird little girl with the strange cross earrings?" His uncle laughed while Eddie looked dumbfounded. Eventually he shook his head and gestured for him to go on.
"She interviewed for a job at the Plant. She's got some weird degree from some vocational school or somethin'. She does wielding," he went to the fridge and grabbed a frozen TV dinner. "Odd for a little thing but she's good at it."
"So you're telling me she's a metal head who actually does metal working?" Eddie asked, laughing. Wayne shook his head at his nephew's bad joke.
"Doesn't matter," Eddie shrugged, "I'm gonna blow her mind!" He looked down at his mattress with its map of stains. They were older than he was. He wondered if he'd be able to get to the Goodwill before work tomorrow.