March 22nd, 1986

Somewhere in America

Destination: Hawkins, Indiana

"It'll be our little secret-"

Groaning softly to myself, I cupped a hand around my temple as the plane shook making my skull hit the window unexpectedly.

It took a moment for me to realize where I was, confused as to why I had been leaning against the wall of a plane until the events of my rushed morning washed over me. Stretching my arms out in front of me, mindful of the occupied seat.

Turning my head, my eyes instantly locked on the man who sat beside me. Flinching slightly in my place once I found that his blue eyes had already been trained on me. Offering the man an awkward smile, I slowly shifted my gaze away from the stranger.

"Welcome back, sleepyhead." The softness of his voice caught me by surprise and the fact that something about it was oddly familiar. "I was worried that I was going to have to wake you." He elaborated with a thin-lipped smile.

Shotting him a glance, I slowly nodded in response before laughing off my nerves, running my fingers through my hair. "Shit... Sorry, man." I offered half-heartedly with a small grin, something he was quick to return. "No need... Is everything all right? If I may ask." He questioned mindfully, a frown now playing on the edge of his lips.

"Yeah... No, yeah. My relationship with sleep these days has just..." I dragged off as I tried to find the proper wording, "Well, it's practically been nonexistent." I mumbled finally, watching as the blonde nodded in agreement, "Thank God for Spring break, huh?" He questioned jokingly.

His sarcastic yet teasing tone caused me to squint my eyes slightly up at him, he hadn't done anything wrong, it's just that... There was something oddly familiar about him.

"Something wrong?" He questioned his tone now strangely tense as I moved to quickly shake my head in response. "No, I'm sorry... It's just that you look familiar." I stumbled over my words trying to look for an explanation. "Are you from Hawkins?" I questioned.

I couldn't tell how I could possibly know him, he was older than I was. Not quite the same age as Mom but too old to have been in school with me. Hawkins was a small town, so usually, it wasn't this hard to place a name with a face, much less when I felt like I had already spoken to this man before.

"Mhm... Ran away as soon as I got the chance. Coming back to take care of a few things." His answer was simple enough and my mind could make enough sense of it, I'd probably seen him in passing years ago.

Nodding, I relaxed in my place as I turned to face him with a small smirk. "I can definitely understand that." I stated, pulling a small laugh from the blonde. "If you don't mind me saying, it looks like you're running back." His comment was oddly serious. How had his mood shifted so quickly?

Humming softly, I awkwardly looked down at my hands as I began to pull at my fingers and twist the metal band on my pointer finger. "Just for the break... Visiting a few friends." I mumbled out, quickly growing uncomfortable. "I feel like one would only endure such a long flight for someone special." He pushed, this time pulling a gentle chuckle from me.

"Saw right through me, huh?" I questioned, quirking a brow at the man. "Long-distance has been rough... On both of us, so I figured that a surprise was in order." I finished carefully with a shy grin.

"A lovely surprise, if I may say." His tone was soft as he smiled down at me. "So, who's the special someone?" He questioned teasingly, helping me to relax and grow comfortable talking to him. "His name's Steve... We were friends for a while before we started dating. And I don't know... Something has been telling me to come home."

The man stayed silent, nodding along with my words as I spoke, giving me more time to study his features. "I- I'm sorry, usually I'm good with placing faces with names but you're... You're slipping my mind." My tone was apologetic as my eyes locked with his.

The plane abruptly jolted, causing me to hit my head against the window once again. Clenching my eyes shut, I held onto the side of my head as I released a pained scoff under my breath.

"Everything all right, miss?" A woman's voice called out, causing me to quickly snap my head up and look at the flight attendant that stood in the aisle.

With a furrowed brow my eyes wandered away from the woman and onto the unoccupied seat that rested beside me. "Yeah... Yeah, I'm sorry." I rushed out awkwardly, hoping that I hadn't made a complete fool of myself.

"Don't be. I'm just going to have to ask you to put on your seat belt, we're expected to be landing shortly." She informed me with a customer-friendly grin before continuing down the aisle while my gaze stayed locked on the vacant seat beside me.

~~~

I don't know why I expected things to be different. The ride back into town was strange, really it was the only downside to this surprise. It's strange having no one to greet you at the airport and drive you home.

I debated on calling home once I got off the plane and say happy birthday to Will instead of just the note I had left him, but I figured they wouldn't be home since Mike's flight was identical to mine.

Hawkins was slowly going back to normal. With Starcourt shut down, family-owned shops and businesses reopened. With that and the first weekend of Spring break, the traffic into downtown Hawkins was back to normal. Meaning exceptionally busy and packed.

A smile quickly grew on my face as my eyes landed on a certain BMW that was parked outside Family Video. Steve and Robin luckily landed jobs at the store since Scoops was no longer an option.

I was impressed by how much Steve had gotten into the job, calls between him and Robin made it seem like he could barely pull himself away from the shop and used his free time to learn about the movies they sold. It made me happy to think that he was finally content with himself.

Pulling my duffle bag over my shoulder, I pushed open the door to the Family Video to find the shop empty, aside from Steve and Robin who stood behind the counter. Though, their eyes were trained on the tv that displayed today's news report.

"We're in Forest Hills trailer park in east Roane County. We don't have a lot of details right now, but we can confirm that the body of a Hawkins High student was discovered early this morning. Police have not yet released the victim's name although we are told they're currently in the process of notifying the family. We also don't yet know if foul play was involved. What has occurred here is sure to touch a nerve across the community of Hawkins, which is still reeling from last year's devastating mall fire."

"There's just no saving this town, huh?" I questioned awkwardly from my place at the door while the three of us continued to watch the news. "No shit..." Robin mumbled before turning to face me. "Can we help- Holy shit!" Robin's tone caused me to jump in my place as she circled the counter to give me a bone-crushing hug. "Jesus... Talk about bad timing." She mumbled as I locked eyes with Steve over her shoulder.

Pulling away from the girl, I awkwardly approached the boy that stayed frozen behind the counter. "You wouldn't happen to have any good horror recommendations, would you? Trying to convert my boyfriend away from cheesy Rom-Coms." I questioned, trying my best to keep a straight face as he stared down at me.

And just when I was beginning to worry that he wasn't thrilled to see me, Steve had slid over the counter to pull me into his chest. "You should have told me you were coming! I could have picked you up..." He spoke quickly as I buried my face in the crook of his neck. "Yeah but then it wouldn't be a surprise." I mumbled happily as the voice of a bystander at the trailer park drifted through the speakers and into the quiet shop.

"Ever since that girl, Barb, died a few years ago, it has been one thing after another. I'll tell ya, you start to believe all those things they say, that this town is cursed, that the devil lives here in Hawkins."

~~~

Mornings at Family Video tended to be slow and with the death of a Hawkins high student made public, Steve and Robin doubted they'd be getting a rush of customers any time soon. The three of us figured it was safe for me to stick around until they hit a rush, it was after all Saturday, also known as the busiest day.

The pair paid little focus to their tasks for the day, their attention constantly being pulled away by the news that continued to deliver information on the tragedy in Forest Hills.

The sound of the bell above the door chiming pulled our attention away from the tv. "Hey, Steve." Dustin called out as he and Max walked in, quickly approaching the counter before pulling his bookbag off. "How many phones do you have?" He questioned before Steve had the chance to greet them.

"Do you just not see Nell?" He questioned, pointing a finger in my direction as I awkwardly waved at the two. "How many phones do you have?" Dustin practically yelled. "Jesus, two. Why?" Steve's brow furrowed before Robin quickly corrected him, "Technically three, if you count Keith's." She stated, gesturing to the back of the store.

Dustin nodded quickly before turning to face Max. "Yeah, three works..." He mumbled before sliding his bag over the counter. "What are you doing?" Steve scoffed as the bag pushed down his stack of tapes.

Ignoring the question, Dustin jumped over the counter followed closely by Max. "What are you doing!" Steve yelled as they knocked over the tapes that Robin had finished sorting. "My pile!" She groaned, throwing her hands up at the boy before moving to reorganize the tapes.

While the two tried to fix the mess Dustin had made, the boy only ignored the two and continued on his path to the computer that lingered behind the counter. "What exactly are you doing?" I questioned, leaning over his shoulder as he clicked away at the keyboard. "Setting up base of operations here." His answer was short and caused Steve to scoff. "Base of operations?" He questioned, standing on the other side of Dustin.

Watching as Dustin logged into the Customer Database, Steve tried to move Dustin away. "Get off." He groaned. "I need it." Dustin shrugged him off, continuing on his mission as Robin and Max joined us. "For what?" I questioned, not understanding what was so important.

"Eddie's friends' phone numbers." Dustin answered, never pulling his attention away from the computer screen. "Eddie as in Eddie Munson?" I questioned with a quirked brow. "Yeah, Eddie the Freak Munson is his new best friend. You think he's cooler because he plays your nerdy game?" Steve's question was directed at Dustin but I quickly stopped the boy from answering. "Steve you don't even know him." I scoffed, gaining both their attention.

"And you do?" Steve asked with an arched brow. But his question remained unanswered as Robin put an end to the conversation. "Seriously, you guys, maybe on Monday you can play around, but it's Saturday. Our busiest day." She reminded him before moving to fix the state of the counter.

"Robin, I empathize, but this cannot wait." Dustin responded as he pulled out a pen and paper. "Oh my God..." Steve groaned, finally giving up on pulling Dustin away. "Calling Eddie's friends is an emergency?" Robin questioned while Steve came to a stop beside her. "Want me to strangle him or you want to?" He offered, "We can take turns." She quirked.

Throwing down the pen and paper, Dustin turned to face Max. "Can you fill them in while I do this?" His irritation was obvious in his tone. "Fill us in on what?" Robin pushed as the three of us turned to face a slightly nervous Max.

~~~

Talk about shit timing.

The dead body found in the trailer park was Chrissy Cunningham. And it wasn't just any trailer that her body had been found in, it was the Munson's trailer.

On the surface, it was simple enough to put together. Eddie "The Freak" Munson had dragged Chrissy Cunningham, a cheerleader and one of the sweetest popular girls at Hawkins high, to his trailer to murder her. But like I said, on the surface.

Eddie was a little dark sure but only to the extent of the strategy game known as Dungeons and Dragons, but most people started viewing the game as satanic. But he'd never hurt anyone, much less Chrissy.

Max, having moved into the trailer park months ago, noticed the pair enter his trailer last night. Less than an hour later, the lights in her home went crazy, and then she heard a scream, Eddie's scream. Max said that Chrissy wasn't with him when he fled in his van and that he looked scared. If Eddie didn't kill Chrissy... Then something else did. But only one person could tell us what happened in that trailer.

No one had heard from Eddie and all roads seemed to lead to some drug dealer known by the name of Reefer Rick. An alias, no one knew his real name or where he lived but apparently, Eddie would hide out at his place sometimes.

We had all the pieces, but they didn't exactly help in leading us to what we needed. An address.

That is until Robin had a stroke of genius and used the Customer Database, narrowing down our search to all the Ricks that the Family Video had in their system. And bingo, a few too many rentals of Cheech and Chong led us to the address of one Rick Lipton; out near Lover's Lake, the perfect place to hide.

~~~

The drive to Reefer Ricks was quick, with the sun now setting, however, it was hard to see anything out by the lake. If Eddie was hiding inside the house, I can't imagine that the flashlights we used to light our path, would make him feel any less spooked.

Dropping his flashlight to his side, Dustin quickly knocked on the front door before ringing the doorbell repeatedly. "Okay. Well, that's settled. I guess he's not here." Steve stated, his voice sounding tired but that didn't stop the boy from calling out to wherever his friend was hiding. "Eddie! It's Dustin!"

"Great..." Steve mumbled as Dustin waved his flashlight through the glass pane of the door while Max and Robin moved to peer inside the house through the windows. "Look, we just wanna talk, okay? No cops, I swear. We just wanna help. Eddie!" Dustin yelled as he slammed his hand against the door.

Robin quickly shushed the boy from her place in front of a window. "Rick? Reefer Rick!" Dustin continued to holler. "Don't scream that!" Steve groaned, shoving Dustin to the side. "He could be high..." Dustin mumbled as Steve and I stood on either side of Robin. "Is that a foot?" He questioned, squinting his eyes to see in the dark. "It's a shoe." I mumbled, noticing that Max no longer stood next to Robin.

"Hey, guys?" She called out, now standing near the side of the house, her flashlight trained on something we couldn't see. Moving towards the side of the house, we quickly spotted what had caught her attention. "Maybe he's in there..." She mumbled.

On the edge of the lake rested a boat house, a beam of light cast over the door connected to it. Robin was the first to lead the way, our flashlight beams bouncing off the metal exterior as we drew near. "Hello?" She called out as she pushed open the door to the boat house. "Is anyone home?"

"What a dump..." Steve mumbled as we entered the house, our eyes lingering on the trash that littered the shed before landing on a small boat with multiple tarps thrown over and crumpled inside it.

Clicking off his flashlight, Steve grabbed an oar from off the wall before slowly approaching the boat. "What are you doing?" I questioned, watching as he stabbed the oar into one of the tarps, the loud noise grabbing Dustin, Robin, and Max's attention. "Steve." I scoffed as he continued to move down the boat.

"He might be in here." He stated, stabbing another piece of tarp. "So take the tarp off." Dustin scoffed, squinting his eyes at Steve. "If you're so brave, you take the tarp off." Steve countered before continuing to jab at the tarp.

"Hey... Look over here." Max called out, Robin and I quickly approached her to see what she had found. It was more trash; food wrappers and bottles of beer but this pile wasn't covered in dust. "Someone was here." She stated, nodding towards the garbage. "Maybe he heard us. Got spooked and ran." Robin assumed with a shrug.

"Don't worry. Steve will get him with his oar." Dustin called out sarcastically, still standing next to Steve as he continued to poke and prod at the boat. "I know you think you're being funny, Henderson, but considering everyone in this room has nearly died about a hundred times, personally, I don't find it funny in the slightest--"

Steve's rant was cut off by a figure suddenly leaping from the far end of the boat before he had a chance to jab it. Throwing Steve against the wall, the figure held a broken glass bottle to his throat, the sharp edges scratching against his skin as Steve tried to move away from the weapon.

"Eddie! Eddie! Stop!" Steve yelled out, still clutching the oar in his right hand while he raised the other in defense. "Eddie! Eddie!" Dustin screamed as the four of us stood on the other side of Eddie and Steve.

The teen shot a glare over his shoulder, still pushing the bottle into Steve's throat. His eyes darted between the four of us before resting on Dustin. "It's me... It's Dustin." He called out through ragged breaths. "This is Steve. He's not gonna hurt you, right, Steve?" Dustin questioned causing Eddie to point his glare back onto Steve.

"Right... Yeah." Steve whispered, eyes wide as he tried to tilt away from the sharp object. "Steve, why don't you drop the oar?" Dustin recommended and Steve quickly obliged, the wood dropping to the floor with a loud thump but the noise only caused Eddie to scratch the glass further into Steve's throat.

"He's cool! He's cool!" Dustin yelled, throwing an arm in front of me as I moved to take a step forward. "Yeah, I'm cool..." Steve whispered. "What are you doing here?" Eddie finally rasped.

"We're looking for you." Dustin pleaded while I pushed his arm away from me. "We're here to help." I stated, earning a quick glance from the teen. "Eddie, these are my friends. You know Robin, from band." Dustin pointed a finger at Robin who pretended to play the clarinet. "This is my friend Max. The one who never wants to play D&D." He continued, Max shooting the boy an awkward grin and wave. "And Nell, you remember Nell, right?" He questioned as Eddie looked between Dustin and me.

"Eddie... We're on your side." I called out, placing my hands together in the hopes that he would let Steve go. "I swear on my mother, we're on your side," Dustin stated before turning to the rest of us. "Right, guys?"

"Yeah, yeah. We swear!" Max agreed first, "On Dustin's mother..." Robin continued awkwardly. "Such a nice woman..." I mumbled in agreement. "Yeah, Dustin's... Dustin's mother." Steve whispered as Eddie continued to stare down at him.