Pushing down on me

Pushing down on you, no man ask for

Under pressure

That burns a building down

Splits a family in two

Puts people on streets

Under Pressure ~ Queen

September 27th, 1985 - Hawkins, Indiana

I nearly jumped out of my skin when Claudia touched my shoulder.
"You sleep like the dead, kid. Wanna come inside and choose some pizza for yourself or want me to just order?" I groggily rubbed my eyes, slowly realizing we already arrived in Hawkins.
"Give me a minute to wake up," I mumbled, peeling myself off the window and willing my brain to function. Slowly I stepped out of the car, feeling a little stiff from the awkward position I had slept in.
"What happened to Marko's?" I didn't recognize my aunt had parked in front of, usually we got our pizza somewhere else and not at Tony, at least that was what the sign said.
"Oh, they closed. Went back to Italy after Marko's mother was diagnosed with dementia. He said his sister couldn't take care of her all by herself," Claudia explained without a care in the world and held the door open for me. I nodded and got in. It really wasn't much, only six tables and a few bar stools at the counter. I was glad when we left with four big pizzas, the place gave me the creeps and I wasn't all that sure if the food was really the best choice.
Around 20:30 we finally arrived at home. Weird how a house I only spent summers and a few other vacations at can already feel like home.
"Dusty?!'' We are home!" Claudia called down the hall which caused some shuffling, followed by a dull thud, a string of curses and my cousin hopping into the hallway while holding his shin.
"Rachel, you're here!" He exclaimed and I was glad I had half a mind to let my aunt take the pizza before we entered the house. Before I could prepare myself for the impact, he had engulfed me in another bone crushing hug and I just couldn't help laughing at his enthusiasm. Over his shoulder I could see Mike and Lucas standing in the doorway to the living space, where they had apparently set up their game.
"Okay, Dusty. I need to breathe," I deadpanned.
"Right. Sorry." He let go of me and I wrinkled my nose. He was now almost as tall as I with my 5'4. Looking back to the door I shook my head and made my way over.
"You boys just don't stop growing, do you?" Both looked at each other and gave me a sheepish grin. I smirked and motioned for them to give me a hug.
"Shit, you two really have outgrown me…" I mumbled when they let go of me.

"You can have pizza after you boys help unload the car," I heard my aunt from the kitchen and some male voices. I rolled my eyes and started my way back outside, there was nothing to be done. Better to get everything inside sooner than later, I wouldn't unpack anything today though. I popped open the trunk and grabbed the box that held mostly all of my music. My cousin and his friends had learned the hard way not to touch my cassettes and records a few years back, so it was clear I would carry those boxes.
I made my way down the hall towards the room I always occupied when I was here when I collided with the person stepping out of the kitchen. The impact made me lose my balance and sent me straight on my butt. The box with my cassettes landed next to me and spilled its contents all over the floor.
"Ah, shit. Sorry, princess." I looked up and was taken a little aback. The guy looking down on me was the embodiment of every rockstar I had ever had a crush on. Long and wild hair, leather jacket and a denim battle jacket loaded with various patches and pins. He gave me a lopsided grin and held out his hand to help me up. I needed a second to gather myself and quickly took his hand before the situation could get any more awkward.
"Didn't expect someone to come out of that door. Normally everyone goes through the living room," I mumbled and felt my cheeks turn hot. I avoided his eyes and crouched down to pick up my music. After a few seconds he crouched down next to me and started to put everything back into the box I held.
"Mötley Crüe, Alice Cooper, Misfits… That's some pretty heavy stuff for a girl," he grinned and gathered more tapes.
"I don't know what kind of girls you are used to, but that's actual music you are holding there," I deadpanned and grabbed my favorite Metallica tape from him.
"Will you marry me?" I blinked at him in confusion, not sure if he was making fun of me, but before I could come back with an answer my cousin intervened.
"No flirting with my cousin!" Leave it to Dustin to play the role of the overprotective brother, I thought. On the other hand he had always been very protective of me despite being younger. One summer he had told Steve "The hair" Harrington to back off when he had tried to flirt with me.
"Hold your horses, Dusty-bun. Nobody is flirting here." He shot me a glare while I got back to my feet with my tapes safely in my arms and out of reach of a certain someone.
"I should have never told you that." If looks could kill, I would have had a dislocated shoulder at least. I rolled my eyes and followed him to my room.
"Your fault, not mine." I ruffled his hair and set the box down on the table in the corner and let myself fall on the bed for a moment.

"Your hair is shorter." I propped myself up on my elbows and looked at Dustin. He was right, it was a little longer than shoulder length now, where it used to touch back down to my mid back when we last saw each other.
"It was even shorter five months ago. Shorter hair means less to grab for…" I felt the mood turn sour instantly and before I knew it, my cousin crossed the room and engulfed me in another hug. I could feel how hard he fought the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes and closed mine in order not to cry right then and there. I had missed him so much, he had always been more like my little brother than my cousin.
"And where is my hug?" I opened my eyes to the boy from before standing in my doorway. The box with my records in his hand.
"You're cute. But you're not that irresistible," I bit and walked over to take my music from him.
"Nobody touches her music, Eddie." Dustin snickered and I turned back around.
"So you are Eddie? Should have figured that one out." Eddie looked at me for another moment before he grinned. He bowed in an exaggerated way, with his arms wide open and looked up at me from under his wild hair.
"Eddie the Banished. At your service, m'lady."
"Yeah, whatever…" He gripped his heart in mock hurt and stumbled back against my dresser. I rolled my eyes as more boys around my age filed into the small room, all carrying my stuff. I told them to just put everything against the free wall next to the window for me to sort through later and gave them a smile that had most of them blush a deep red. Not used to girls talking to them, huh? I mused and shook my head with a grin.
"I know that look. Don't you dare mess with my boys, princess." I flinched at the husky voice in my right ear and turned in anger.
"Ever heard of something called personal space, Munson? Back off, dude!" With more force than necessary I shoved the metalhead back and out of my room.
"She doesn't mean it like that," I heard my cousin telling the flabbergasted older boy.
"Oh yes, she does!" For good measure I threw the door in their face and sank to the floor with my back against it. I buried my face in my hands, feeling guilty already, but it was better to keep him at a distance. Dusty's new friends didn't know me and it was better for everyone, especially myself, to keep it that way. Once you let them too close, you're an easy target for hurt.

"Okay, what just happened?" Eddie still stared at the closed door, not entirely sure what he did for the mood to take such a dramatic turn in mere seconds. Yeah, he had tried to get under her skin, just a little to test how far he could go, but it hasn't been that bad. Or has it?
"Pretty sure she just threw you out in the hall," Gareth snickered and Dean cackled behind him. He rolled his eyes and trugged back towards the kitchen where Ms. Henderson was cutting the pizza, which the restaurant had clearly forgotten to do.
"Where is Rachel?" She asked and looked behind Jeff who was the last to enter.
"Room," Dustin pressed out between stuffing his face full. He made a face when his mother took his plate from him.
"Go get her, Dusty."
"Mom…"
"Now." The boy huffed and shambled back towards his cousin's room.
"Ahm, thanks for the pizza, Ms. Henderson." The other boys followed suit when Eddie thanked her.
"Oh, please. I told you how many times to call me Claudia now, Eddie?" She lightly patted his cheek and he gave her an embarrassed smile. "Despite what everyone in this town might think, you're a good boy. You take care of my Dusty and that earns you the right to call me by my first name. You three as well.," she added and pointed at Gareth, Jeff and Dean, who all nodded and smiled. Dustin's mother was one of only a few people in town that actually gave Eddie and his band of misfits a chance to prove their first impression wrong. It hadn't taken very long for the single mom to open up her heart to the older boys, always making sure everyone was well fed before they left her house or providing snacks for their meetings after school.

Eddie looked up when Dustin came back to the kitchen, dragging his cousin behind him. Now that she had taken off her boots, she wasn't that much taller than her cousin, he noticed. She had changed clothes as well. Her dark skirt and black neckholder top had been replaced by piyama pants and a fading Black Sabbath shirt, her dirty blond hair thrown into a messy bun. She was still pretty, the metalhead mused and shook his head. Since when did he actually look at a girl and think of her as pretty? Last time was Chrissy Cunningham in 6th grade.
"Are you okay, honey?" Rachel looked at her concerned aunt before she continued piling food on her plate.
"Yeah. Just exhausted. I think I'm gonna call it a night early… Oh, Nancy will pick me up tomorrow. She's giving me a ride to look for a job since I don't have my car anymore," the blonde responded, looking straight at her aunt and making it a point to ignore Eddie's presence next to her. Since she ignored him, he could look at her without being caught. She had dark circles under her eyes, like she didn't get enough sleep for weeks and she seemed kind of drained.
"Have fun, kiddo." She ruffled Dustin's hair and left the kitchen. Silence hung in the room like a deafening blanket.
"Is she alright? She seems… different." Mike bit his lip as soon as the question was out. The look Dustin and his mother shared didn't go unnoticed by anyone in the room before the boy answered.
"She's a girl. They are always weird. Can we get back to playing now?"
"Alright, let's get this show back on the road," Eddie clapped his hands and smiled at the others. There was something nobody wanted to talk about and he had no intention to let it ruin his awesome campaign. Apart from that, it hurt him to see Dustin so deflated. He clapped his hand on the younger boy's shoulder and stirred him towards the living space. "If I remember correctly, it was your turn, little sheep."