"Rain's just in the bathroom, come in dude, so where are we going tonight?" I could hear Robin greeting Gareth at the door as I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, tugging at the dress I was wearing and mentally preparing myself for the party at Annie's place. "Annie Leonards house - blonde girl from the tattoo shop - spilled her drink on me at the field party, remember?" I said as I jogged down the stairs. Gareth's face was a picture of distaste when Robin said 'we' and he was looking at Steve, Nancy, and Vicky with annoyance. Then he saw me and I instinctively wrapped my arms around myself as he very obviously eyed me up and down in my red PVC halter necked mini-dress, accessorised with a thick bullet belt, fingerless black leather gloves, black denim jacket, and my scruffed calf high biker boots. "I remember her..." Nancy said bitterly, "lets hope someone doesn't return the favour to her tonight." I smiled at Gareth awkwardly, "So uhhh we all going in one car?" Gareth's jaw twitched as he grabbed his car keys from his pocked, then Steve said, "Nah I'll drive too - who's coming with me?" Robin and Vicky stuck their hands in the air and the three of them headed to his car. Nancy looped her arm through mine, "you ready?" she asked Gareth, he collected himself and sighed, "Yup, lets go." When I slid into the backseat with Nancy I could see Gareth's disappointment through the mirror, I could also see him still checking me out, so I made conversation with Nancy for most of the drive there. Did Gareth think this was a date? He never asked me like it was a date - and I certainly wasn't ready to date anyone right now, especially not him. As we walked up to Annie's impressively large house, Vicky whistled, "Wow this place is...something...how many people live here?" Before any of us could answer, a flurry of Blonde hair appeared in our faces, Annie was wearing fishnets under a school-girl style checkered skirt and cropped pink top. "Six, well technically five now that Emme is leaving. Come get a drink. Hi steve..." Annie flickered her fingers at Steve flirtatiously, making him gulp, then I saw her briefly make eye contact with Gareth. The moment was strange, as if they were having a telepathic conversation or something. We headed into the house, which was quickly filling with people from Hawkins and outta town.

By 8pm I was starting to warm up a little to the party; Steve was his usual chatty and sociable self so he took charge of introducing us to the new faces around us, there were plenty of drinks and two of Annie's housemates were bar tenders who were wowing the crowd with their cocktail making skills. There were six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a couple random small utility rooms, a huge open plan lounge/dining area, and a professional-looking kitchen. There was also a huge yard that backed onto woods - the same woods that would eventually take you to Skull Rock if you wanted a long walk. Since we arrived, Gareth hadn't left my side. Even when I needed to pee he sauntered behind me like a lost puppy. He was practically glued to me. As the night went on though, I minded less and less because he seemed to ease into the party and became pretty pleasant to talk to about music and guitars. He didn't know as much about either subject as Eddie, and I kept mentally wondering what kinds of things Eddie would be saying right now. The lounge/dining area was the official dance floor; another of her housemates was a DJ and had a whole professional set up right in the centre of the room, playing a mixture of different genres so there was something everyone could dance to. During a short break between songs, I heard Annie screeching, "YOU'RE HERE! I KNEW YOU WOULD COME!" and I saw Eddie Munson walk through the door, followed by Chrissy Cunningham. I stopped laughing and dancing immediately, as did the rest of the gang. Seeing Eddie and Chrissy here together made me feel like a tiny insignificant ball of nothing; the fact they were clearly here on an official date made my stomach churn so I ran off to the 'bar' area and downed two cups of whatever alcohol was closest. "I'm so sorry Rain - why is he even here?" Robin was biting her lip anxiously when she found me. "They work together, duh." I mumbled, trying not to watch Eddie stalk into the lounge. As always he looked incredible without even putting in the effort. His black ripped jeans were being held up by a thick brown belt, a slim fitting white Anthrax tee tucked messily into them underneath his double jackets.

"Fuck him. We'll dance and drink and forget he even exists, c'mon." Robin tugged me back to the group; Gareth was scowling into the crowd, as if looking for Eddie. "You're free to go hang out with them if you want." I leaned into Gareth's ear so he could hear me over the thumping music. Gareth immediately replied, his hand on the small of my back, "No - I don't wanna be anywhere else other than here." The six of us danced in a circle together, laughing and goofing around, but I could always feel eyes on me from multiple directions at all times. Whilst we danced, Gareth often got closer to me and stroked his hands across my waist or down my arm. I was beginning to warm to the idea of being desired though; for the last couple weeks I had felt worthless, depressed, and like used garbage. Having someone so clearly trying to flirt with me brought back the memories of how Eddie made me feel, and how we lusted for each other in the beginning, so I thought 'Fuck it' and let Gareth continue...though in the back of my mind I was secretly hoping Eddie was watching. As we manoeuvred around the rooms downstairs, I did catch Eddie's gaze a few times, he wasn't with Chrissy much anymore since she was flitting between groups of people from school who all vied for her attention. Eddie would march over towards us and my stomach would flutter, torn between wanting to be near him and never wanting him near me again. Each time Steve, Nancy, and Robin would act as bouncers, creating a line of defence between Eddie and I. "I really need to talk to Rain, stop acting like dicks, its important!" Eddie yelled this time, I tried to ignore what was going on by continuing to dance with Vicky and Gareth, but I could sense Gareth staring over at Eddie. "Fuck off freak, they don't want you near them, and neither do we." Steve pushed Eddie backwards, I snapped my head to them when I heard Steve call him a freak, offended on behalf of him. I saw the flash of darkness across Eddie's eyes and his mouth opened, before being cut off by Annie plastering herself to his side. "Eddieeee no scenes at my party please...Or I won't be a happy bunny! C'mon big boy, lets get a drink." From then on, every time I scanned the crowd for Eddie, I saw Annie glued to him and it didn't take a genius to recognise her flirting techniques.

"Have I told you how fucking fire you look tonight?" Gareth leaned up to me, his big boots would've made him my height if my own boots didn't add an extra couple of inches. There was alcohol on his breath, and he stared at my chest as he spoke. "You hadn't...but thank you." I laughed back, my own breath also smelling of alcohol. I'd not planned to get wasted tonight when we arrived, but Eddie's presence put me on edge and I needed something to numb me, if I kept drinking at this rate, I'd end up paralytic by midnight. "You should wear PVC more often, sugar, I like the way it clings to your body..." I felt Gareth's hand trail down my spine and land on my ass. I closed my eyes and swayed to the music, trying to block out thoughts of how Eddie used to touch me, the alcohol in my bloodstream telling me to flirt back with Gareth. "Maybe I'll buy some more then, if you think I should..." Gareth's other hand came to rest on my hip as we danced close against each other; Steve was over by the bar chatting to some Hawkins High alumni, Nancy was in the bathroom, and Robin and Vicky were holding each other by the staircase as they made out. "Invite me over for a fashion show when you do, I'll take some pictures." Gareth licked his lips, sliding his body against my back, and I swore I felt something pressing against me in his jeans. "I'll uh be right back, gonna get another drink." I jumped away from him and started weaving through the dense crowd, as Gareth called for me to bring him a beer. When I reached the kitchen island that was doubling as the bar, one of Annie's housemates with blue dreadlocks and a similar eyebrow piercing to mine gave me a flirty smile, "Hey sweet thing - want a zombie?" I nodded and asked for two, watching in amazement as she started throwing bottles in the air and catching them effortlessly, catching glimpses of intricate white-lined tattoos on her bare arms, the ink popping against her dark skin. Don't have a bisexual crisis now, I told myself as I waited for the drinks.

"Heyyy Chrissy - long time no see - where you been?" I heard a slurring male voice shout, turning my head I saw Chrissy leaning against the other side of the bar, pouring herself a drink. "Hey Patrick - Uhh I haven't been anywhere really - mostly at home." Chrissy's perfect voice was bubbling as she smiled at one of Jason's friends. Patrick propped his chin on his elbow, looking at her hungrily, "Jason's not here by the way," I heard him say, totally not watching them from beneath my lashes. "You still single then? Sounded like you and him broke up for real this time." Chrissy nodded and ran a hand through her hair, "Yeah I am...gonna stay that way for a while." she answered, grabbing her drink and scurrying away. huh - the magic must've worn off for her and Eddie when the thrill of fucking in secret was destroyed. Why would they still come here together though? "Thanks babe" Gareth hooked his arm around my waist when I handed him the drink, and I internally recoiled at the word 'babe'. "Just overheard Chrissy at the bar - she says she's single - weird right?" Gareth coughed a little, choking on his drink, then shoved his hand through his messy hair. He shrugged his shoulders, replacing his hand back on my hip as he finished his drink. "Must've gotten bored of each other," I nodded slightly and hissed when he jabbed his finger into my ribs, pointing towards the staircase with this other hand, "Munson's already on the prowl though, man can't help himself jumping into bed with the first available person he sees." A hard lump formed in my throat when I saw Annie on tiptoes, speaking into Eddie's ear with her hand on his arm, before he nodded and followed her upstairs. I caught Steve and Nancy's gazes too, they both saw what I did and were smiling at me sadly as the people around them shook them back into their conversation. Fuck this. "I love this song!" I said, looping my arms around Gareth's neck when Guns N Roses 'Welcome to the jungle' started playing. He gripped my hair and pulled my head down, lifting his face up and planting a hard kiss on my lips. My eyes were wide open with surprise, catching one last glimpse of Eddie as he turned at the top of the staircase and saw us, then I closed my eyes and kissed Gareth whilst thinking how good it used to feel kissing Eddie.