October 31st, 1985
The leaves floated softly to the ground, the golden slivers of fall gleaming as the sun hit them slightly. It smelled just like that, a foggy fall evening. Lorraine took a deep breath in, exhaling sharply through her mouth. A city can have better Halloween parties, but nothing can beat the crisp air that Hawkins gave you around this time of year.
She tugged at the edges of her sweater with her fingers, gingerly, trying to fight off the cold chill of fall that had recently started to roll in. There were already kids dressed in cute and not so scary costumes, running around with their siblings and parents. Their pillowcases full of candy dragging behind them, so eager to see what treats they would receive in the next house. Lorraine smiled, trying to remember the last time she went trick or treating, or the last time she got dressed up for Halloween.
Not paying attention, she accidentally bumped into something, immediately she started to apologize.
"Oh, I'm sorry," She said frantically, shaking her head. "I didn't see you."
She looked up at the person in front of her, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with a Jason mask. She gasped but quickly tried to cover her fright with a chuckle.
"Nice costume," she laughed lightly, raising a thumbs up at the person standing there. He wouldn't move, not even a nod of acknowledgement. She wearily looked around, it was as if no one else could see the man standing there in front of her.
Seeing he wasn't responding, she simply walked around the masked figure and continued walking. She glanced over her shoulder for a second, but the figure was gone.
"Just someone stupid trying to play tricks on me. It's Halloween, that's all." She whispered to herself, pushing her hair behind her ears nervously. She crossed her arms and continued walking to Nancy's house.
Robin swung the door open before Lorraine could even knock, she gleamed at the sight of her and grabbed her into a hug.
"You came!" She exclaimed, Lorraine wincing only slightly as Robin's mouth was right beside her ear. She returned the hug, not as tight as Robin though.
"Yeah, I'm here." She chuckled, Robin breaking away from the hug.
"Come in, come in." She gestured eagerly, turning away from Lorraine and rushing inside the house.
Lorraine slowly stepped into the huge home, almost like she was an intruder. She looked around curiously, she'd never been inside Nancy Wheeler's house. It was sort of exactly how she imagined. Well, she didn't know Nancy well enough to make an educated guess, but she did know she was a straight A student, always on brand with the latest trends, but she was also very independent. She was nice to her, she remembered, even though she could not for the life of herself remember any conversation they had together.
"Lorraine!" Nancy's voice came from the living room just off to the side of the entryway. "Wow, it's been so long."
She held out a hand with a drink, a dark liquid with ice. Lorraine took the drink to her nose and smelt it, the burning sensation wrung down her throat.
"Oh sorry, I assumed, you don't need to drink it or anything." Nancy panicked. Lorraine laughed.
"It's okay, I'm fine with rum and coke."
Nancy smiled softly and nodded, turning and gesturing to join the others in the living room. Robin had sat on the floor, leaning her back on the couch, with her legs sprawled out. Steve waved shyly from the couch as she entered. She gave him a nod, smiling awkwardly. Nancy took a seat beside Steve on the couch, while Lorraine hesitated on where to sit.
"Anywhere is okay," Nancy said sweetly.
Lorraine nodded and took a seat in the armchair by the couch. She took a sip of the drink, the rum burning as she felt it hit her stomach.
"We're gonna watch Friday the 13th, have you seen it?" Steve asked, popping his head over Nancy's face.
"Yeah," she smiled, nodding her head. She suddenly thought of the man that she had bumped into on the way. She sighed deeply and shook her head slightly, pulling at her sleeves. It's nothing, she thought.
Right as Nancy was going to play the movie, a commotion came from the stairs, three boys fighting for room. They all snapped their heads towards the boys, dressed in different types of clothing. Most of them looked like something from the Lord of the Rings, with cloaks and small daggers.
"Boys!" Nancy shouted. They quickly hushed, running out the door. "Home at nine!" she shouted once more, but the slam of the door cut her off. She rolled her eyes and sighed.
"They like to play Dungeons and Dragons, I guess they're doing something special tonight." She said, smiling sadly as her eyes wandered for a moment. Steve took his hand and squeezed her shoulder, looking at her with reassurance. She looked at him, sitting up straight and nodding, like it would push away whatever she had been thinking about. She grabbed the remote and pressed play, the title cards slowly fading onto the screen.
Although she had seen the movie before, she didn't remember some of the jump scares. Lorraine shreaked a few times, the other in unison, laughing nervously as they tried to play it cool. Once the final scene had shown and the credits began to scroll across the screen, Robin peaked her head up and turned to look at the three.
"Okay so let's go!" She smiled.
"Go where?" Lorraine asked confused.
"To the Halloween party, of course."
"We're going to get dressed up and swing by for a bit." Nancy said, sitting up from her position on the couch.
"Oh, I- I didn't know we were going." She said awkwardly. "I don't have a costume."
"Nancy probably has something you could throw on, she's always wearing weird clothes" Steve said, raising his eyebrows. Nancy playfully slapped his arm.
"I'm sure we can get you looking scary," Robin said, immediately getting up and grabbing Lorraine's hand, dragging her up the stairs rather quickly.
The boys sat quietly in the dimly lit room, waiting for the Dungeon Master to arrive. There were candles riddled around the room. Gareth and Jeff both wearing black hooded sweaters, waiting quietly. Mike tugged at his cloak, feeling a bit foolish for dressing up like his character. Dustin, on the other hand, couldn't stop bouncing his legs in excitement.
The door slammed open, the shadowy figure emerging from the darkness around them. The man's hoodie was pulled up over his head, only showing a few strands of hair escaping from the sides. The man walked slowly around the table, grabbing Dustin and Mike's head in his hands.
"Are you ready for the fright of your life?" He said, deepening his voice more than normal.
The boys frantically nodded their heads, Jeff and Gareth smirking at each other. The Dungeon Master dramatically released the boy's head from his hands, dancing on his heels as he swayed towards the front of the table.
"Remember", he said, placing his boot on the chair, slowly taking off his hood. His face painted with what looked like dirt, dark circles around his eyes, lines painted along his smile to make it seem even wider than usual. Crossing his arms, he leaned over the table slightly, flashing his eyes like a mad man.
"The freaks come out at night." Eddie whispered.
"I think that will do!" Nancy said, finishing the makeup that she had been applying on Lorraine's face. She had no idea what she was doing, she didn't know what her costume was going to be. Even though she'd typically be excited for something like this, she felt a little uncomfortable. They were all very nice, no doubt, but she didn't feel like she could openly just be… herself. She was still hesitant to say something, before Nancy's eyes popped and her eyebrows raised.
"I know!" She pointed her finger in the air, running out of the room immediately.
Robin was sitting on the floor, looking through some mixtapes that Nancy had, trying to choose what song to put on next. She had red devil horns placed on her head, wearing a black blazer with red beads that made flame like shapes up her sleeves.
"It's okay if you're nervous, or something." Robin spoke, calmly. Lorraine tilted her head towards her. "We're not exactly your typical group of friends, you could say." She continued chuckling.
"Oh, I'm not nervous," Lorraine lied through her teeth, reaching her hands down her legs.
"You left when you graduated right?" She asked Lorraine, taking her eyes off the cassettes that littered the floor.
"Um, yeah. I moved to the city. Just came back." She nodded, she was slowly feeling more relaxed now, leaning her hands on the bed that she sat on. "It wasn't for me though."
"Just too different than everyone else, right?" Robin smirked, taking her gaze off Lorraine and continuing to look through the music.
Lorraine took a moment to respond, surprised at how accurate she could explain something she's been trying to grasp for the past month. Before she could respond, Nancy returned, holding a black and red cape in her hands.
"Now we need to give you a change of clothes…" She rambled on, Lorraine lifting an eyebrow to Robin. She instantly returned the gesture with a smirk.
"What will you do?" Eddie grinned, resting his boot on the arm of the chair he sat in. He leaned his elbow on the opposite arm, rubbing his fingers together.
"We can always cast Scorching Ray," Lucas said, nervously.
"No, we can't, we're almost critical." Mike exclaimed, gesturing his hands towards the board.
"The Soul-Reaping Gourd is fire immune!" Dustin yelled, increasingly impatient.
Eddie smiled widely as he saw the frustration in their eyes. He didn't want to make the campaign too easy, but it's always fun to watch them struggle.
"Freezing Cloud could work!" Mike stood up, excited.
"No, you dumbass." Dustin slapped his arm, "That wouldn't even bring down his recurring fire bolt attack."
Eddie readjusted himself in his seat, now kneeling on the chair. He grabbed his knees tightly and stuck out his tongue, waving his head back and forth.
"The Gourd can feel the soul getting closer and closer…" He screeched in a high-pitched voice, letting out a gurgle of noise from his throat, trying his best to imitate what he thought the monster sounded like.
"Damn it Dustin!" Lucas shrieked. The older boys started chuckling heavily. Eddie leaned back in the chair, clasping his hands together with a satisfied grin.
"A vampire?" Lorraine laughed, genuinely, looking at herself in the mirror. Her hair was curled and pinned up in a bun, like she popped out of a renaissance painting. Her face was painted a faint white color, with a tint of black under her eyes. A gleaming red rested on her lips, with a trail of red paint falling from the corner.
"Yeah, you can never beat the classics." Robin laughed, ordering Lorraine to spin around. She did immediately, twirling on her red converse, the cape Nancy had found whipping around her as she did.
"That dress looks amazing on you, too," Nancy said, "You can keep it if you want! I never wear it anymore."
"Oh," Lorraine blushed, instinctively brushing strands of hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Nancy."
"Ladies, let's go!" Steve hollered from the bottom of the stairs, groaning. "We'll never even get to dance!"
The three girls ran down the stairs, seeing Steve dressed in all black, his hair slicked under what seemed like three gallons of hair gel, wearing some sunglasses.
"Oh wow," He gestured in approval "A vampire, the devil and…" He looked at Nancy, dressed in a witch's hat and dress. "Oh, just Nancy." He laughed, Robin and Lorraine snickering behind Nancy.
"At least I actually wore a costume." She playfully said back.
"Hey!" Steve said, raising his hands and showing off his costume. "I'm John Travolta, okay."
The house seemed to overflow with people, almost like the entire population of Hawkin's was there. Lorraine was still a little nervous, going to a party in the city implies certain things that she would like to forget, and not repeat. Robin sensed Lorraine's nerves and grabbed her hand, giving a tight squeeze. Lorraine looked at her smiling back, Robin's nose crunching up as she nodded her head in reassurance. She smiled, squeezing her hand back and smiling.
Inside, the party seemed even crazier. Steve and Nancy immediately headed to the kitchen in the back to grab some drinks, leaving Robin and Lorraine in the living room. They both decided to sit on the free space on the couch, trying to speak over the music.
"I don't usually go to parties." Robin shouted. "But I like hanging out with these buttheads" She laughed as she pointed towards Steve and Nancy in the kitchen, the two laughing together.
"I like having an excuse to wear a costume." Lorraine said smiling.
"That is an absolutely good point!" She cackled, pointing at her red horns.
Nancy and Steve returned with some drinks before disappearing into the party once more. Lorraine clinked her plastic cup against Robin's, giving her a wide smile before taking a few gulps. She started laughing, feeling the warmth of the alcohol in her system settling.
"I love this song!" Robin abruptly stood up when she heard Take On Me starting to play over the speakers, Lorraine also gaping her mouth in surprise.
"Me too!" She shouted. Robin took her hand and took her closer to where the music was playing, and began to jump up and down, waving her arms above her head. Lorraine laughed hysterically, taking another few gulps of the drink in her hand and began to dance with Robin.
She hadn't felt like this since that horrible night, she felt gleeful and genuinely enjoying her time here. Maybe she was exactly where she needed to be, Eddie be damned.
Eddie took his hands to his hands to his throat, both hands slightly squeezing. He rolled his eyes back, croaking out a moan. He shook heavily, finally fainting into his chair. The boys burst into a roar of celebration, standing up and high-fiving one another.
"Take that Soul-Reaper!" Dustin said, throwing a punch in the air, excited by their win.
Eddie's left eye opened, sticking out his tongue. He started laughing menacingly, rolling his head in circles before finally raising his head to look at the party members.
"You might have defeated The Soul-Reaper Gourd," He growled "But you have one more quest to complete."
Eddie took a cloth bag from the floor next to him, tossing it on top of the table. The figurines crashed around, falling to the floor, their dice and pencils flying in different directions. The members winced out of confusion, not knowing what exactly Eddie was planning. They all crept closer to the table, afraid of taking a peak at the contents. Dustin reached his hand to the table, taking what looked like an old hockey mask from the bag.
"The only way to completely rid the Earth of this Evil," Eddie said, placing the mask on his head "Is to ruin the annual ritual of Nerull" He winked, giving the boys a grin before pulling the hockey mask over his face and raising his black hood over his head.