1991

Hawkins High School
Hawkins, Indiana

Although excited, Eddie was weary of entering his old high school gym. He had always avoided it - either it be for class, a pep rally or one of those stupid basketball games that people would fawn and woo over. He hated all of it. Well, at least at the time he did. It was so easy to hate things during your high school years, when you hadn't actually stepped into reality yet. In actuality, he missed the days of senior year. It was finally going to be the year he graduated. His year. At least he was excited to get out of that hell hole. And even though he loathed going to the gymnasium for any other reason other than cutting class, after that faithful night with the Queen of Hawkins High, sometimes he would sneak into the gym and hide under the bleachers just to be there. For her.

He pulled his hair into a bun, wiggling his knotted curls into soft twists and turns until they finally settled along the back of his neck. The spring sun may not have burned his skin so much as it would in summer, but he could already feel the drips of sweat trickle down his skin. Taking a deep breath, he adjusted himself on top of the beat up mountain bike, straddling the metal tightly between his legs as he began to clean off himself, banging the edges of his jean jacket with the flat side of his palm. Even then, the dirt was caked onto the denim.

About three months ago, he received a letter. Well, more like an invitation. Weirdly enough they had sent it to the scrap yard where he'd been working for the past four years. His co-workers joked and teased, assuming it was another love letter - even though previous letters were far from that. Just goes to show, even after five or ten years, guys will always be teenagers at heart. When he opened the teal envelope, a fruity scented perfume came off the thick, expensive paper that was contained inside. He almost instantly knew who had sent it, his heart fluttering briefly before he carefully took out the invitation.

Calling all Tigers!

We are glad to invite you to the class of '86 reunion.

Food and drink will be provided, all you need is to bring some school spirit!

March 25th at 3 P.M

Hawkins High Gym,

Hawkins, Indiana

Please R.S.V.P to the Returning Address.

Come and join us for a couple of cheers and beers!

The thought of high ponytails, green and white skirts, accompanied by a bright blue shimmery eye shadow made his knees weak momentarily. Slipping the invitation quickly back into place, he stuck it in his back pocket, seemingly acting like his heart wasn't racing at the thought of returning to that school. Interestingly enough, on the same date that Queen herself honored him with a private council.

Now that he was outside, however, the feeling of hope of seeing her again made his palms sweaty. He wasn't as confident about the encounter as he was when he had first imagined it whilst reading the invitation. Maybe they'd still call him the freak, maybe they'll still think he was the reason behind the so-called "Hellfire Killings", which was incredibly absurd. It still sent shivers down his spine to think of the classmates that had left them during his final year in high school - albeit at the time he thought they deserved it. Thankfully, and only somewhat, he had grown up to think otherwise.

Throwing a leg over the mountain bike, he kicked the stand and left the bike to slowly lean on its own weight. Was he really the only one that had arrived on time? Maybe he was too eager to see his fellow classmates. He would have loved to see Jeff once more, although his heart tore at the very thought of Corroded Coffin - without Gareth, it wasn't the same. Maybe Robin Buckley would be there, although she had been living in San Francisco the last time he had spoken to her. Momentarily, he thought about if she had kept contact with anyone, as he hadn't spoken to her much in the last few years. She probably still spoke to Steve. Hell, even seeing Steve Harrington would be a breath of fresh air, or hair in this case.

Glancing at his watch, he noticed that rather than on time he was absurdly late. His heels kicked up and he began to almost sprint towards the double doors of the entrance, quickly running down the dark halls lined with decorated lockers. The plastic underneath his black military boots made loud squeaking noises, announcing his arrival even before he could hear the music and see the lights just around the corner. Turning the corner of the hallway, he almost had to stop himself from running into the wall as he skipped on one foot. He was eager, maybe too eager, to get there already. He didn't want to be the late one, the weird one, the freak.

He could see the lights flashing against the glass of the double doors of the gym, as he slowly came to a stop right before the doors. Eddie needed a moment before he walked into that place again, he needed a moment before he would step back into what seemed like decades ago. Where a baby-faced Eddie Munson would stroll around the halls. Now, a leaner and stubble filled face would enter. Would they recognize him? Of course they would, he is who he is, after all. But the burning question that made him hesitate as he lent a hand on the cold metal bar of the door - would they even be glad to see him?

"You gotta grow a pair," He murmured to himself, pursing his lips and craning his neck slightly before shoving the double doors open.

If only he knew, if only they all had known, that the moment they stepped into that gymnasium they had set their fate. Now in the hands of a lunatic, they no longer had control of what was going to happen.

The inside of the janitor's closet smelled wretched. Eddie recalled the smell differently when he was younger, like the water that pooled at its corners was the same unchanged, brown sludge of dirt and grime. Wasting away in the same old metal bucket, with a moldy mop placed gingerly inside of it. Only did he ever hide out in the closet when he was a Freshman, steering clear of those who teased him for his shabby hair or his shoes with holes in them.

Just recently moving into the trailer park, most of his clothes were lost somewhere in his dad's old pick up truck, where they lived for the better half of 8th grade. Or his father had already sold off most of his stuff for his next fix. Who knew. His Uncle tried to convince him to let him buy new clothes, but Eddie denied him the chance again and again. He wanted to earn them, he wanted to choose something that represented him and not what those expected of him. Sadly, what he wanted was not the norm, and although he felt free to be and do what he wanted, in a small town you stick out like a sore thumb.

Bathroom stalls were the first place you'd think of when you wanted to hide from everyone else. Eddie knew that it was too predictable, too easy. The musty, humid air kept him company. Like the bleach and Windex were his best friends. Thank god, however, that Gareth moved into town just after Sophomore year started, he was able to slowly wean himself off the sweet smell of chemicals in exchange of a new developed friendship, someone else who also enjoyed his unique, or at least then you could consider it unique, taste of music and hobbies.

Now the smell made him nauseous. It didn't remind him of the nostalgic days of his old friends, of his younger self. Now it smelled like fear, like the corner of the world where a wounded animal runs to die peacefully.

Eddie's mind popped right back into the situation at hand - it wasn't the 1980s anymore. Those precious years, and memories, had long since passed. Hearing the pop and funk rhythms of Eddie Murphy's Party All the Time echoing through the empty halls made him shiver, shake in fear. He wondered if this his how Gareth felt, when it all happened, unable to think clearly or dip in and out of fear and sanity.

Who knew that Gareth the Great, would be the kind of guy that would study real knights and kings. Eddie always thought that it would increase the quality of lore in their campaigns, and at first it did help somewhat. But then, he had papers to write, he had exams to study for. Little by little, the only thing he had left of Gareth were some postcards from places he'd go to for Spring Break. The most memorable was a sticky postcard that had a picture of the Sunset Strip in California. He had taped the ticket stub of a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert that he had attended, with only a few words scribbled across the dashed lines.

Absolutely insane, check them out!

And he did, he enjoyed the mix of funk rhythms and heavy bass - of course Gareth would love them. After that, he hadn't heard from him. Not a single word. He'd later found out that, that same Spring Break in California, he had gotten into a car accident. Leaving a party, he drove with a guy he met that night, little did Gareth know that he had shot up only short moments before and steered them off the road. All five passengers died on impact. Eddie kept the postcard on his fridge, wanting to imagine that his last moments were at a concert rather than hurtling down the highway.

Chrissy's whimpers strung him back into reality, back into the disgusting humid broom closet. Her whimpers grew louder as she heard someone walk closer to the janitor's closet, quickly pulling her face into Eddie's chest. He placed a hand on her hair softly, pressing her head deeper into his chest so that her whimpers weren't heard from the other side. She continued to cry out, like she was in a nightmare, in a trance, unable to hold in any emotion that was running through her.

Eddie's jaw clenched tightly as he placed his lips on her forehead lightly, whispering calming words, like the ones he used to say to her whenever she seemed to fail to hold herself together, understandably. He lightly kissed her sweaty skin, allowing her to breathe deeply and calmly. For Chrissy, it felt like while Eddie was there, she would be okay. Like the other countless times Eddie seemed to be there for her when the world was about to end, when everyone else couldn't understand what she was going through. As always, it always led her to him. In her mind, as long as they stayed right where they were, together, they'd be alright.

Eddie wasn't so sure, as he wrapped his other arm around her back and pulled her in closer. His eyes wouldn't peel off the doorknob, that slowly began to turn right. Only to suddenly turn left. Eddie kept repeating in his head that whatever it was, it wouldn't be able to get in. Like he had some mystical mind powers, able to control the lead particles that made up the heavy knob. For a moment he almost thought he could, until the knob began to shake violently, the door swinging wide open