Eᴘɪsᴏᴅᴇ: Pʀᴇ Sᴇᴀsᴏɴ 4
Marcie woke with the sunrise the next day. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying, cheeks red and swollen. She estimated that she had managed maybe a couple of hours of sleep and could stand to stare at her ceiling no longer. With a sigh, she accepted that she would not be able to return to sleep.
Sitting up in her bed, she dragged her lazy gaze across the room. Large posters covered a majority of the walls, only broken up by a collage of Polaroids and a cork board filled with ticket stubs from the many Corroded Coffin gigs that she'd attended. Most of the furniture was mismatched, having been gathered from thrift shops or garage sales, and they hadn't been able to afford to do much in the way of decorating.
In the corner of the room laid the broken skateboard from when her and Eddie had decided that they needed to be a bit more athletic. The scar on her left elbow remained a permanent reminder of how bad an idea this had been, though she doubted she would ever forget the discomfort of wearing a cast for an entire summer.
The pride and joy of her room however was her tape deck. It was almost entirely covered in band stickers and had been repaired so many times that it was hardly even the same piece of equipment anymore, but she loved it. The entire top of her dresser was dominated by her extensive tape collection, most of which were mixes that she'd been gifted by Eddie in a bid to better educate her. Regardless of what life threw at her, music was a comfort that she could always count on.
Digging through the piles of clothes on her floor for something to wear, she discounted any of the numerous band t-shirts that she had stolen from Eddie over the years. In a mad scramble to make the first bus of the day that could get her to school before Eddie would arrive to collect her, she grabbed a green and black striped jumper, a pair of old baggy jeans and her doc martens to run into the bathroom. After splashing her face with water and throwing her hair into a scruffy braid, she practically fell out of the door to the trailer.
She arrived at school before most and was pleased to find that Robin was also already on campus for band practice. Placing herself outside the practice room, she settled on the floor to read. Despite being at least her third time reading the Hobbit, she found a strange comfort in repeating the experience. There was something about already knowing the events that was soothing for her anxiety.
Once Robin emerged from the room, they grabbed a couple cans of soda from the cafeteria and walked the halls as Marcie caught her up on the events of the previous evening.
"Ew. That sounds like an actual nightmare." Robin grimaced as she strolled at her best friend's side. "I mean, at least you got the chance to catch up with Beck."
"Yeah, that was nice. Really it was the only good part of the evening." Marcie sighed. "Which is strange, because at the start it all seemed to be going so well." She continued and noticed that Robin flashed her a sympathetic expression.
"I don't know what's gotten into Eddie." She breathed, seeming to grow frustrated with him on her behalf. "It always seems so obvious to me that he's into you. I don't get how the night derailed so fast. I was thinking about it all evening and just hoping that you were going to come into school with a big loved up grin."
"Please. He's so into me that he just fell and his tongue landed in the other girl's mouth, is that it?" Marcie suggested.
"What an asshole." Robin cursed under her breath.
For a few moments they were quiet as more people began to populate the halls and Marcie allowed herself to be lost to her thoughts. The more people around her insisted that the mutual attraction between them was obvious, the more confused she became. Despite promising to distance herself barely twelve hours ago, a small shred of her still clung to hope and she struggled to bury it.
"You know, maybe it would be different if Eddie realised that you were an option?" Robin suggested as they reached their lockers and Marcie tilted her head in silent question. "Maybe he's just an idiot. It's entirely possible. You might have to spell it out for him that you're open to more than friendship."
"Seriously?" She scoffed as she swapped around books to ensure she was prepared for the day. "What should I do, ask him to meet a secret admirer on the field at recess?"
"Well, Valentine's Day is coming up. You could send an anonymous gift." She offered as she stored away her band gear, leaving Marcie to chuckle.
"Come on, Robin. We're not in 4th grade anymore." She teased, before leaning around the locker door to speak in a hushed tone. "Plus, don't you think that's a little hypocritical coming from the girl who still can't tell Vickie that she's an option?"
"That's different and you know it." She pouted, slamming the locker door shut.
Though it was difficult to convince Marcie to talk earnestly about her feelings for Eddie, it was nothing compared to the challenge of prying anything from Robin about her love life. Despite coming out to her best friend in middle school, she had been surprisingly tight lipped when it came to discussing her options.
Fortunately, Marcie had always found her as transparent as glass when it came to figuring out her crushes, but no matter how much she strained to build her confidence, she never seemed to be able to encourage her to take a chance on anyone.
In an effort to avoid Marcie's scrutiny, Robin turned to storm down the hall. Her best friend rushed to close her locker before jogging to catch up to her.
"Sure, I guess it's more complicated, but I think you're in with a shot too." Marcie pointed out not for the first time, but Robin refused to meet her eyes. "I still can't believe you came out to Steve 'the hair' Harrington before any girl. I mean, really?! Of all people he seems like a really strange choice."
"Will you keep your voice down?!" She hissed as her friend grew sheepish at her scolding. "Besides, I know he totally seems like a douche, but Steve's actually not so bad."
Marcie couldn't argue with this, recalling how easily he had come to her rescue the night before. As much as it killed her to admit it, he had already succeeded in earning at least some of her approval. It seemed that no matter how much she tried to keep her distance from him, each time that they interacted left her steadily more impressed with him.
"You might be right about that." She admitted reluctantly as she paused at the door to their classroom. "He did take me home without insisting on knowing why. He was a little nosy, but considering that he helped me out of a sticky situation, I'm willing to overlook that for now. I will reserve judgement for a little longer."
Robin smiled at this revelation, but just as she opened her mouth to celebrate her victory, an abrupt sound sent a chill down Marcie's spine.
"Marcie!" Eddie's voice echoed throughout the hall. "Marce!"
"Oh, shit. I think someone is looking for you." Robin breathed nervously, turning to glance over her shoulder in the direction of the voice.
Unable to stop her gut reaction to turn toward her name being called, Marcie looked up to find Eddie rushing through the crowded halls with a frantic expression. Their eyes met for a moment between the other students and she felt her stomach drop. No matter how much she tried to convince herself that she could be strong, she knew that she was not at all prepared for whatever questions he might have.
Sensing her distress, Robin grabbed her wrist and began to pull her into the classroom before he could reach her. Catching his eyes again as he attempted to push through the students, Marcie held up her wrist and tapped an imaginary watch as if she was running late, then allowed herself to be dragged into where he would be unable to follow her.
For the first time this year, she was relieved to be in a different math class to Eddie. She settled in her usual desk beside Robin with a knot in her stomach and tried to bury the anxiety that she felt. As the other students gathered in groups to chat, or busied themselves with getting their books ready, she couldn't help staring at the door.
When their teacher arrived, she caught sight of Eddie in the gap of the closing door shrugging at her and was able to quickly lipread "what the fuck" before he disappeared from view.
"It won't do him any harm to sweat it out a bit." Robin leaned over to whisper as the teacher called the class to attention. "It's the least he deserves."
As usual, Marcie couldn't concentrate throughout her class thanks to Eddie. She already regretted lashing out at him the night before, worrying that she might have said too much in her temper and wondered what she could say when she saw him to cover her tracks. His frantic expression at the door caused knots of anxiety in her chest that lasted until the bell rang.
The moment that she stepped out into the hall and found him absent, she released a long sigh of relief. Robin quickly caught up to her, looping her arm through hers.
"So, I was thinking that you could do with a change of scenery." She breezed and Marcie turned to view her with interest. "I think part of the reason that you can't get over Eddie is that you're almost never apart. Even when you've been trying to distance yourself, you're always accessible to him. We need to keep you busy."
"Robs, if you suggest joining marching band again I will strangle you." She quipped, receiving a swift jab to the ribs.
"No! We've already established that you're not cool enough." She teased. "However, I heard from Keith that they are hiring for the record store and I know that there is no-one with as much musical knowledge as you."
Marcie's face lit up at this suggestion and she squeezed her friend closer in a token of appreciation, despite her best efforts to pull away from her.
"You are a genius!" She breathed as Robin batted her away.
"I know, I know. You really don't deserve me." She chuckled, before pausing in the hall in preparation to separate from her. "Come along to the store with me today after school and I'll put in a good word for you. Until then, stay strong and don't talk to Eddie."
Without waiting for her to agree, she started walking backwards and gave her a salute, before disappearing down the hall. Marcie chuckled at her theatrics on the way to her next class, noticing that the rest of the day passed relatively easily now that she had something to look forward to. For whatever reason, Eddie didn't seek her out again and she began to feel hopeful that she might actually manage the whole day without him.
By the final bell, she was running late and practically jogged to her locker to collect her things. She rattled the contents with little awareness of her surroundings, completely preoccupied with worrying that she would make Robin late for work.
"You know, if I didn't know better I would think you were avoiding me."
For a split second, she thought she had imagined Eddie's voice as a result of her anxiety, but when she closed the locker door her stomach dropped. He was leaning against Robin's locker with his usual charming smile and Marcie had to steel herself to not immediately surrender to it.
"I didn't think you'd notice." She muttered as she struggled to cram all of her books into her bag in a bid to avoid meeting his eyes.
"I was worried about you, Marce." He admitted after a few seconds of silence and she couldn't resist glancing up at him. "When you weren't home this morning, I thought something might have happened. Harrington's got a reputation. I don't want you getting mixed up with him."
"Well it's a good thing that you're not in charge of me then, isn't it?" She answered, her jaw clenching in annoyance at the fact that he would even attempt to tell her what to do again.
At her cold attitude, Eddie straightened up slightly. It seemed as if it had only just occurred to him that something was actually amiss between them and he looked utterly bewildered by it. He opened his mouth to speak a few times, but never managed to find the words. Fortunately, Robin charged into Marcie's side before he had the chance to dig himself into any more trouble.
"Hey! We've gotta go, Steve's waiting." She blurted.
If Eddie's demeanour had been alarmed before, it was practically mortified now. He crossed his arms across his chest, thinning his eyes at Marcie in suspicion, until he was distracted by Robin. Having noticed who she was talking to, she planted her feet beside her best friend and gave him a look of thorough disdain.
"Wait-you're seeing him again?" Eddie spat as his gaze darted between the two girls.
In the distance, Marcie could just hear a car horn and Robin startled in place. She grasped her arm and attempted to yank her down the corridor. Relieved to have an escape from the interaction, Marcie simply shrugged and turned her back on Eddie, allowing herself to be hurried outside.
Fortunately, the journey was a worthwhile endeavour and she was able to finish the day with a part time job that was barely a couple of doors down from where Robin worked. Opting to avoid her mothers inevitable investigations if she accepted Steve's offer to take her home, she took the bus and by the time she made it to the trailer she was keen to have some time alone. However, it seemed that her mother had different ideas.
"Finally!" She announced the moment that Marcie entered, jumping up from the sofa to meet her by the door. "I was starting to think you'd forgotten where you lived."
"Hilarious, Mom." She droned, rubbing at her face with exhaustion.
"Well, do you have something you want to tell me?" Lori asked, her hands on her hips as she examined her.
"Yeah, actually." Marcie started, before she perched on the edge of the sofa to undo her docs. "I got a job today at the record store. No set hours just yet, but looks like it could be weekends and a couple evenings after school. Maybe we'll be able to get that heater fixed after all."
The tension in her mothers expression momentarily faded, instead replaced by surprise. She fidgeted on the spot, seeming as if she had lost her momentum and Marcie waited patiently in the hope that she would forget whatever lecture she'd had prepared.
"Well, that's great. Well done." Lori praised, pausing to stare into the distance for a few moments. "But, no! That's not what I meant. I thought you might want to tell me about last night?" She offered in an aggravated manner, causing Marcie to frown in confusion.
Her mother crossed her arms across her chest and levelled her with a glare that could rival that of professional interrogators. Although she was mostly the kind of parent who trusted her to make her own choices, she could be unrelenting when she thought that Marcie was keeping something from her.
After a few moments of failing to intimidate the information that she wanted out of her daughter, she let out a breath in exasperation.
"Eddie was here this morning, looking for you. He was pretty panicked when he couldn't find you." Lori started, quirking a single brow at her. "He wanted to know if you had come back last night at all."
Marcie shifted in her seat, her mind whirring as she tried to decide how best to get her bloodhound of a mother off the scent of drama. It was one of the few ex head cheerleader traits that had remained with her over the years, to always be able to detect when there was something of interest happening. Most of the time, Marcie found it entertaining when she was able to sniff out anyone's dirty laundry, but today she found herself wishing that her mother would learn to respect boundaries.
"Oh, that?" She started, praying that her tone didn't give her away. "He was drinking last night. He must have forgotten that I told him I'd be going in early today."
The tension in the trailer was practically suffocating under the power of her mother's gaze and she had to concentrate to prevent herself from gulping. Any sign of weakness, however subconscious, would only lead to hours of questioning that she didn't have the energy for. She couldn't tell whether she had managed to convince her, but knew that she was studying her for any indications of deceit.
"Really, Marcie? I thought I'd raised a better liar than that." Lori scolded and Marcie felt her stomach drop. "If he didn't know what time you got back, that means he didn't bring you home. So, who did? Is there another boy that I don't know about?"
"Christ, Mom, no! There is no boy!" She groaned, dropping her face into her hands. "There's really nothing to it. One of Robin's friends gave me a ride so I could leave early because Eddie was being a dick. That's probably the only reason that he was weird this morning. He's not used to being on anything but my good side."
In a gesture of stress, she ran her hands up into her hair and released a sigh. A few years ago, she would have crumbled into her mothers comfort, but when it came to Eddie, she knew that the only reaction she could count on was disapproval. If anything, she had grown tired of discussing the events of the party by now and just wanted to sink into her bed.
"Oh." Lori breathed, her voice softening as she padded over to take a seat beside her. "Well, what was he doing? Did you two fall out?"
Although her manner was comforting as she placed a hand on her daughter's back, Marcie immediately raised her internal walls. She knew that if she didn't escape the situation soon, then her emotions would pour out of her and then she would have to deal with her mother attempting to give Eddie the cold shoulder on her behalf. Without hesitation, she jumped to her feet to place some distance between them.
"Seriously! There's nothing to talk about. Can you just leave it?" She requested, moving towards her room. "I'm really beat from this morning so I'm just going to have an early night."
"Well, what about dinner?" Her mother called as she followed her down the hall, seeming confused by her sudden change in demeanour.
"I ate with Robin already after the job stuff." Marcie answered from the doorway of her bedroom, sticking her head out one last time before she closed the door. "Night, Mom!"
For the next couple of hours, Marcie laid in bed with her headphones on and listened obsessively to love songs by Queen. She knew it would do her no good, but she couldn't simply launch herself into moving on without having a proper chance to mourn what she had lost. She missed the days where she could laugh with Eddie for hours, spending nights stargazing on the roof of the van and never having any secrets from each other. It seemed worlds away from how they were now, when she had to second guess everything that came out of her mouth around him to make sure that she wasn't giving herself away.
By the time that 9pm rolled around, she had completely forgotten her planned phone call with Jonathan. Fortunately, he took the initiative to call her and she was surprisingly pleased to chat about the mundane with him. It seemed easier to open up to someone who knew the person, but was too far removed to have any consequences.
"Well, at least we're both working now. I think it helps to have some kind of routine." He breezed, his voice slow and deeper than usual.
"You're right. I still can't believe you of all people ended up in cool kid central. Blows my mind." Marcie chuckled. "Is everyone baked all the time there, or did you just find a new way to stand out?" She added teasingly and was glad to hear Jonathan's laugh.
"Hey, we all have our vices." He remarked, leaving her to nod to herself in agreement. "You should come and visit. Maybe when Nancy next comes over, you could catch the same flight. I know the kids would love to see you. Will misses his favourite babysitter. Plus, a change of scenery could do you good."
"Robin said the exact same thing. If I can save enough from this job, maybe I will." She conceded, met with a satisfied hum at this outcome. "You should come back here, too. I know everyone misses you. School isn't the same without you. I bet Eddie could even get you some of the good shit if you let him know in advance."
Marcie caught herself, going silent at the realisation that she was mentioning him again. It felt as if Eddie was so intertwined with her life that it was almost impossible to tell where hers ended and his began. Sensing the tension even just through the phone, Jonathan cleared his throat.
"So, how long are you going to try to ignore him for this time?" He asked in a light tone, but she found it hard to laugh about it. "He's a tricky one to ignore. Took me a solid couple of months before he finally gave up on making friends with me."
"Yeah, I remember." She chuckled, shaking her head at how put out Eddie had been at failing to collect a fellow outcast for Hellfire. "I don't know. As long as it takes to stop feeling like I'm dying every time I see him."
"I know it sucks." Jonathan sighed. "When Nancy was with Steve, I just kept busy, involved myself with other people. It helps to give yourself something else to focus on."
She nodded along to his advice, but on the inside, she appreciated that he was trying. It helped to have someone who at least partially understood how this felt. At the time, she had struggled to watch him torture himself with Nancy, but it seemed to have been worth it in the end, even if he did now live too far away to fully enjoy the benefits.
"How are things with Nancy, anyway?" She enquired, shifting the attention to him with a much brighter tone.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Jonathan didn't share her enthusiasm for this topic. For a few moments, the line went silent and she wondered if they had been disconnected, but then she heard him sighing. As she had been thankful for his patience when she recapped all of the recent drama with Eddie, she didn't push him and instead simply waited for him to find the words.
"They're…not bad." He muttered eventually and Marcie silently grimaced. "I don't know, Marce. It's hard to judge when you're not even seeing each other."
"It's nearly Valentine's Day. Perfect time for a big gesture." She suggested. "You could make a surprise visit! Arrive at her doorstep with a bunch of roses. I haven't exactly spent time with her, but Nancy seems like the kind of girl that would be a sucker for romance."
Finally, the tension broke as Jonathan chuckled quietly at this image that she had painted for him. Marcie wished that she could say something more helpful, but with her lack of experience in relationships, she could offer little more than a listening ear. However, when he spoke next his voice was lighter and she hoped that she had managed to relieve some small amount of his stress.
"I don't think it's my style, but hey, maybe I'll pass the idea along. I'm sure Eddie would appreciate a nudge in the right direction." He quipped and Marcie gasped.
"Don't you dare!"
After a few more moments of shared laughter, she overheard a voice in the background and Jonathan sighed deeply.
"Sorry, but I have to go. Argyle wants me to help him out with the evening shift." He explained and glancing down at her watch, she calculated that it was only around 6pm there. "Will wants me to say hi before I go." He added awkwardly.
"Tell him I said hi back." She giggled, her heart aching with fondness for the family. "Send them all my love, actually. And don't work too hard!"
"No danger of that. Try not to give Eddie too hard a time, either. He really is just a dumbass."
- O - O - O - O - O -
A couple of days had passed, and between work and school, she'd been rather successful at avoiding Eddie. Probably more than in any previous attempt. For that, she could only thank Robin and her devious little mind. As usual, her best friend always had her back and was giving Eddie the equally cold shoulder any time that he dared to ask if Marcie was okay.
By Thursday afternoon, she was feeling rather proud of herself and looked forward to a weekend of hanging with Robin and Steve, who it turned out was really not so bad afterall. If anything, she was consistently surprised by how awkward Steve was after watching almost every girl at school falling at his feet for years. She found herself wondering how he'd managed to maintain such a reputation, but held the questions inside until she knew him well enough to ask.
Stopping at her locker before the last period of the day, she swapped out books to lighten her bag before the squeaking of trainers on the floor alerted her to a very energetic new arrival.
"Ah, Marcie! She'll know!"
Dustin, Steve and Lucas came hurtling towards her, bunched up together in their mania. They had already managed to cause quite a commotion in the hall, banging into other students and she turned to view them with apprehension.
"Marcie, do you have any idea where Eddie is?" Dustin spluttered as the trio bundled around her and she had to step back to gain some personal space.
"It's an emergency!" Mike added, before Lucas cut in at her raised brows.
"A DND emergency, not an ambulance emergency."
Glancing between each of them, she searched for any indication that they might have been put up to this, then leaned to check that there was no one watching from a distance to judge her reaction. Once content that this was a genuine mistake, she returned her attention to them impatiently.
"No, I have no idea where Eddie is." She remarked, attempting to return to her locker only for them to creep around the door to continue staring at her. "You'll just have to save the princess or whatever without him."
"It's serious, Marcie. He's always available before campaigns." Mike insisted. "He's never missed a pre game warm up."
"Could you pass him a message? You'll probably see him before us?" Lucas suggested, whilst the other two nodded in agreement.
"Alright. Listen up kiddos, because I'm not going to repeat myself." She started, slamming her locker door to face them. "I don't know where Eddie is. I can't get a message to him. I'm not his damn secretary. We both have our own lives and right now, I am too busy for them to intersect. I can't help you."
Pausing to zip up her bag she moved to leave, but Dustin jogged around her to block her path again.
"What? Why?" He blurted, a deep concern filling his young face. "You guys are pretty much inseparable. What's wrong?"
"Grown up stuff." She answered curtly, before crossing her arms in annoyance when Dustin tried to block her again. "If you want Eddie, you'll find him anywhere but with me. Shoo!" She insisted, waving him out of the way so that she could get to class.
The three boys watched her leave in a shared state of shock, hardly able to comprehend that anything could get between Marcie and their fearless leader. For as long as they had known him, the two of them had pretty much come as a set. If there was trouble in paradise, then this could explain Eddie behaving even more erratically than usual lately.
By the end of the day, they charged into their club room and simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief when they found Eddie surrounded by books in his usual state of planning.
"Hey! What are you nerds doing?" He barked, quickly covering his notes before they could gain any hints. "I'm trying to work here. What do you want?"
"We had some questions about adding a second class to my character." Lucas started. "We were thinking about how much we struggled in the last session, and before the next dungeon, we thought that I could take a side quest to-"
Eddie held up a hand to halt them, his expression heavy with impatience.
"You seriously interrupted me for that?" He questioned.
The three boys shifted awkwardly on the spot, their gaze simultaneously dropping to the floor as if they had been scolded. Though there was always an intimidating edge to the older boy, there was no question that he had been growing steadily more aggressive this past week. It was only when he cleared his throat to indicate that he was expecting an answer that they startled into attempting to explain themselves.
"Well, we didn't plan to actually interrupt you." Mike started as the others nodded at his side. "We tried to ask earlier, but we couldn't find you."
"Yeah, we even asked Marcie, but she basically told us to get lost." Dustin added, but before he could even finish his sentence, Eddie's entire demeanour changed.
"Woah, woah!" He blurted, leaping to his feet. "You spoke to Marcie?"
If they had been nervous around Eddie before, it was nothing compared to the intensity that he levied against each of them now. His arms crossed against his chest, brow furrowed with frustration and as each of them straightened their backs in discomfort, he waited for one of them to crack.
Unable to stand the silence for a moment longer, Dustin reluctantly nodded. Wasting not even a second, Eddie grabbed the boy and practically threw him into a chair. He dropped into a seat opposite, pulling it up close as if he was preparing for an interrogation.
"What did she say?" Eddie grilled, watching as Dustin strained to remember.
"Um-she-well-we-um-" Dustin spluttered, gazing around the room in an effort to avoid meeting the eyes of his captor.
"Hey! Attention here, Henderson!" Eddie pushed, clicking his fingers in front of his face. "Word for word. Tell me everything!"
"Um, okay so…she said she didn't know where you were, something about being busy?" Dustin stumbled over his words before turning to his friends for help, who each pointed to the other and contributed tidbits.
"Something about saving a princess-"
"-yeah, and being a secretary-"
"You're right. She did say that. That was weird."
"Focus, you little goblins!" Eddie exclaimed, growing impatient with their inefficiency. "You're not making any sense."
"Oh! She said that if we wanted to find you, then you'd be anywhere but with her!" Mike announced in an overly excited manner, as if overjoyed that he had been able to help but Dustin immediately gestured for him to stop.
Unfortunately for the boys, this warning came far too late. Eddie took a few moments to process this information, leaning back in his seat with his fist over his mouth. Somehow, the silence felt even more suffocating than his relentless questioning and the three boys waited nervously, unsure on whether to comfort him, or hightail it out of there before he blamed them for making things worse.
After what felt like a lifetime, Eddie finally dropped his head into his hands and sighed.
"I've really fucked up."