CHAPTER TWO:
ROCKY'S RINK.

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IF EILEEN WASN'T working down at the diner or relaxing at her house (despite her sister and her friends constantly shouting from the basement that often made it difficult to relax), then she was at Rocky's Rink.

Located down the street from Hawkins movie theater, The Hawk, a medium sized building in the shape of a peculiar oval stood tall with a bright blue neon sign strung up out front that welcomed everyone of all ages to come inside and give ice skating a try. It was built long before Eileen's father was born, being passed down from generation to generation with Rocky Strope being the current owner. Eileen vaguely remembered meeting the former owner, Randall Strope, Rocky's father, but that was when she was still a little girl and many of those memories had faded away over time. When Randall died, Rocky took over the ice skating rink at the ripe age of eighteen after Randall left it to her. Many townspeople doubted that the young woman would be able to properly manage it, but eleven years later, she was doing a fantastic job.

Rocky's Rink was doing better than it ever had thanks to Rocky's sometimes unorthodox leadership skills.

"I swear to god, if I hear one more negative comment outta you, I'm takin' away your skating privileges for the rest of the year." Dean Murdock gaped, eyes growing wide as he threw his arms out at his sides for emphasis. Rocky Strope just pointed a finger at him, shaking her head when the teenager went to speak. "I mean it, Dean. Your negative attitude is really bringing this place down━━━it's the reason we don't have any customers yet."

Eileen blinked, sharply turning her attention to Rocky. "Ouch."

Rocky scoffed, rolling her eyes with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Oh, come on, Eileen. You don't count."

Eileen only became even more offended, giving the older woman a glare. "Double ouch."

"Stop that. You know you're one of my favorite humans," Rocky said, giving Eileen a small smile. Eileen shook her head and returned the woman's smile. Then she turned her head towards Dean who was sitting next to her, snickering at the offense that was still blatantly obvious on his features. Rocky noticed as well. "You, not so much. Now get back to work or I'll fire you and replace you with Eileen."

"You always say that but then you never do," Dean replied, tilting his head as if challenging Rocky.

Rocky leaned her elbows against the counter, narrowing her eyes on Dean. "Maybe this time I'll stick to my word."

Dean softly chuckled, but his smile started to fade when Rocky's stern expression didn't deter in the slightest. Eileen shifted on the stool, resting one of her elbows on the counter. Her hand partially covered her mouth, shielding her growing grin from Dean. If anyone else was inside the ice skating rink, they would've thought Rocky and Dean were actually fighting. But, Eileen had been going there long enough and knew Rocky and Dean well enough to know that this was just normal banter between them; they weren't actually fighting.

"Rocky, come on, give him a break," Eileen sighed, dropping her hand onto the counter. Rocky turned her head, raising a brow at Eileen. "His mom's bustin' his ass since he failed our history test and he's failing algebra."

"What? How?" Rocky wondered, gaze darting back to Dean. "You're one of the smartest kids that come in here."

"I. . .I don't know. It's whatever, though," Dean said, nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders. Eileen partially frowned at that, noticing the distant look in Dean's eyes as pushed some of his curls out of his face. Ever since Will Byers disappeared last year and all the strangeness that went around their supposedly safe town, Dean's parents━━━specifically his mother━━━had been extremely hard on him about doing excellent in school and staying out of as much trouble as possible. They wanted him to do well and be able to get out of Hawkins unlike them, but the pressure was starting to weigh more and more on Dean. He just couldn't make his parents happy no matter what he did.

Rocky shared a silent look with Eileen and Eileen just shook her head. If Dean didn't want to talk about something, there was no way of getting him to do it unless he wanted to. This was one of the many times he didn't. "Alright, well, I'm gonna get back to work," Rocky said. She stood up straight, adjusting her sparkly green jacket━━━which actually matched the ponytail in her hair and the dress she wore. It wasn't what many would wear in the town, but Rocky always liked to make herself stand out. Eileen admired the woman for not caring what others thought about her, always doing what she wanted whenever she wanted without thinking twice if someone else would think she was nuts for it. Eileen liked to think she didn't care what people thought of her, but deep down, she had a feeling she did to an extent━━━it's why she always tried to play by the rules and not draw too much attention to herself (even before the events of last year that rocked the town and her family). The last thing Hawkins and her family needed was for more unwanted attention to be brought on them; her standing out as much as Rocky wouldn't be such a good thing.

Maybe it was better this way.

"Uh, by the way Dean, Natalie's sick today, so Frankie's comin' in for her━━━"

"Nooooo," Eileen and Dean groaned in sync, faces scrunched with annoyance and frustration. Eileen slouched in her chair, leaning her head back slightly with her face still contorted.

"Not Frankie," Dean frowned. "She's a total bitch, Rock."

Rocky heavily sighed, taking a glance at the front door. She could partially see a pale yellow car parked out front near the main entrance━━━Frankie Armand's. It was too late to find someone else. "Yeah, but she's my cousin, alright?" Rocky said. "I don't really want her here either━━━"

"So just come up with some bullshit lie that you don't have enough cash for her to work here or somethin'," Dean suggested, throwing his hands up for emphasis as he spoke.

"Dean, that's one of the stupidest ideas you've ever come up with," Rocky said, giving him a glare as she folded her arms over her chest. "And you have a shit ton of those."

"It's true. You do," Eileen said, nodding in agreement.

Dean gaped, looking between the two women. Eileen snickered and stepped down from the stool, picking up her skates she had placed by her bag on the ground. She slung her bag over her shoulder, pushing her hair back over her shoulders. Rocky chuckled, playfully rolling her eyes as she climbed over the counter instead of lifting up the counter like everyone else who worked there. "See? It's not just me that thinks that," Rocky said as she placed her hands on her hips. "But seriously, please, get to work. The candy needs to be restocked at the concessions."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it."

"I mean it, Dean."

"I know, I know."

Rocky just pointed a finger at Dean one last time as she backed away, a small appearing on her lips. "Have fun, Eileen!" Rocky shouted. "Make sure you spend a lot of money! You're the one that's keeping this place afloat!"

Eileen chuckled along with Dean, watching the older woman make her way towards her office.

"You would if Rocky actually charged you for anything."

Dean and Eileen turned at the sound of the voice, spotting Frankie Armand standing behind them with her arms folded over her chest and head partially tilted to the side. Her blond hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, a red headband keeping more of her hair pushed back out of her face. She wore a red shirt with Rocky's Rink plastered on the front of it, light blue jeans and red sneakers. Her makeup was neatly done━━━as per usual━━━not a single smudge or color that didn't match Frankie's skin tone or her clothes. She was the same age as Dean and Eileen, part of the cheerleading team and one of the most popular girls at Hawkins High. She never would've talked to Dean if they didn't have to work together, and if she had a choice, she wouldn't talk to Eileen either. But, with Rocky being the owner and her closeness to Eileen, Frankie was required to talk to Eileen.

Eileen wished she hadn't heard it either, but now Frankie knew that Eileen and Dean had heard her just like she'd wanted. Eileen let out a sigh, glancing over at Dean. "I'm gonna go get some skating in. Have fun."

"Oh, I'll certainly try my very best, Leen," Dean sarcastically replied.

Eileen offered him a small smile and then let out a sigh, just briefly glancing at Frankie as she walked past Frankie to make her way towards the skating area. Frankie hatefully narrowed her eyes, closely watching Eileen for a few seconds before she expectantly turned towards Dean. "Let me guess━━━another free session?"

Dean scoffed, rolling his eyes at the girl. "If you already know the answer, I guess you don't have to really ask then, do you?"

Frankie clenched her jaw, eyes following Dean as he turned away to get back to work. She let out an annoyed huff, stealing a glance towards the skating area. The doors were shut to keep the room colder than the rest of the building, but through the windows in the doors Frankie could see Eileen skating along the smooth ice.

Music loudly played over the speakers, a smile on Eileen's lips as she made her way round and round the ice. She unzipped her jacket up a little more, enjoying the cold temperature that surrounded her. Most people usually brought gloves, hats, scarves, and their heaviest coats or sweaters to wear so they were still warm (or had more cushion for themselves if they happened to fall), but that wasn't for Eileen. After years of practicing on her skates and getting used to the cold, she simply opted for light jackets, jeans, and sometimes a beanie whenever she went ice skating. She preferred going by herself as it often helped her to clear her head, but she did enjoy it when Dean was with her or her sister and the kids━━━though, sometimes she ended up regretting bringing them along in the first place.

Eileen quietly sighed to herself, faintly smiling as "California Dreamin'" started to play after Toto's "Africa" ended. Her blonde hair fluttered behind her as she fastened her pace, skillfully gliding across the ice with ease. She could already feel all of her troubles rolling off her shoulders like raindrops on a window, the weight of her advanced classes, work, Eleven━━━everything left her mind as she focused on skating. It helped that there wasn't anyone else in there, allowing her to have the entire rink all to herself for the time being and enjoy the sound of the music and her skates cutting into the ice with each move. She doubted it would last much longer since the evenings were usually the most popular times for people to come in, but she was going to enjoy the peacefulness while she still could.

When she first started skating, she quickly learned to stop counting how many laps she did, finding that it was much more enjoyable if she just went at her own pace and didn't try to keep track, or think a lot in general. The world outside simply didn't exist anymore when she was there, all of her troubles left outside in the real world where she could worry about them out there. There were a few times being on the ice didn't completely distract her, but it made it easier. It made everything easier.

Maybe that's why she's gone there twice as much as before since Eleven went missing.

Eileen sighed to herself, shaking her head to clear her mind. Her smile widened on her lips as she did a quick spin, giggling to herself as she held her arms out at her sides and felt the air flow by her. She did another spin before she turned, beginning to skate backwards. Her father hated it when she would skate backwards because he was afraid she'd fall and seriously injure herself, but she had enough practice that she rarely ever fell while skating. Penny, on the other hand, could still use more practice despite her claims that she was almost as good as Eileen was.

Eileen glanced over her shoulder when she thought she was nearing one of the walls, just slightly turning her feet. Her hair whipped around her face, but she didn't mind it as the cool air continued to nip at her skin.

"Eileen!" Eileen turned her legs and abruptly stopped, facing the doors across the room. She spotted Rocky coming over and she skated across the ice towards the door with a faint frown on her lips.

"What's up?" Eileen wondered, seeing the sad smile on Rocky's lips.

"Your dad's on the phone," Rocky answered.

Eileen heavily sighed, shaking her head. "It's Penny, isn't it?"

"I don't know, he never tells me anything anymore."

Eileen rolled her eyes and stepped off the ice with a reluctant sigh. She reached down and undid the ties of her skates, not wanting to walk across the floor with the skates still on. Then she slipped her feet out of them and walked towards the bleachers off to the side, sitting down to put her sneakers back on. Rocky followed her, folding her arms over her chest. "I swear, if she's run off again I'm gonna duct tape her to her door," Eileen said.

She hadn't been able to skate much in the last few weeks, and she wasn't happy that she was having to cut her time there short.

Rocky snickered at that, the corners of her eyes crinkled. "Come on, maybe this time something good's happened."

Eileen abruptly paused, giving Rocky an incredulous look. "Rocky, this is Hawkins, and my family we're talking about."

"Well nothing good's gonna happen with that kinda attitude," Rocky said, giving her a stern stare.

Eileen just sighed, offering the woman a brief smile as she stood up. She grabbed her bag and her skates, beginning to follow Rocky towards the door. She stepped to the side and the door opened, a group of high school freshmen almost plowing right into her as they hurried towards the ice with their laughter echoing in the room. Rocky let out an annoyed huff, rolling her eyes. "It's always the freshmen," Rocky said, holding the door open for Eileen.

Eileen chuckled under her breath, walking towards the front counter where Frankie was currently working. Rocky walked ahead of her and ducked under the lift up counter, not sparing Frankie a glance when she glanced over. Rocky grabbed the phone from the wall and handed it to Eileen as she came over. Frankie rolled her eyes and scooted towards the opposite end of the counter, placing her chin on her hand as she tried to focus on the music she could hear playing overhead. Eileen stole a look at Rocky, but she just shook her head. "She's in a mood again," Rocky whispered just loud enough for Eileen to hear her. "Maybe I will fire."

Eileen scoffed under her breath, placing her phone to her ear. "Hey, Dad."

"Hey, Eileen. Uh, how's-how's skating going?"

"Good. . .why?"

"What, I can't ask my oldest daughter how her day is going?"

"Uh, you can, but the tone in your voice is very strange. What's wrong?"

Andy heavily sighed, a faint bell sound echoing behind him; an indication that he was calling from the diner. "Your sister. . .she was supposed to get home an hour ago and then Joel was gonna watch her when he got off work until one of us got home, but he just called and said he can't find her and it's getting late."

"What do you want me to do about it? She's probably just at Will's or Dustin's again."

"I know, but we are slammed right now, Eileen. Can you please just go there and see if she's there? Or-or call them?"

Eileen heavily sighed, twisting her lips as she leaned against the wall next to her. She really didn't want to leave, but Penny needed to come home. Eileen was sure that Penny was okay wherever she was, but Eileen just couldn't shake the thought that maybe it was one of those "what if's" scenarios finally playing out just like she'd feared. It was just her paranoia getting to her, the events of last year replaying fresh in her mind and taunting her just like the first few months after Will was found.

Eileen knew━━━she knew━━━things were back to normal, but she needed to be sure.

She had to find Penny.

"I'll find her."

"Thank you. Call me as soon as you find her━━━as soon as you find her, Eileen."

"Yeah, Dad, I know, I know."

"Alright. I'll talk to you in a little bit. I love you."

"Love you, too."

Andy hung up first and Eileen sighed, handing the phone back over to Rocky as she popped in front of her again. "Penny again?"

"Who else?" Eileen softly asked.

Rocky offered Eileen a small smile, leaning against the counter with her chin resting on her hand after she put the phone back. "I'm sure she's fine. Tell her and your dad I said hi."

"I will," Eileen said. She readjusted the straps of her bag, giving Rocky one last smile. "Tell Dean I said bye."

Rocky falsely saluted Eileen, firmly nodding her head. "Aye, aye, captain."

Eileen breathed out a laugh and waved goodbye to the woman, jogging towards the exit. She slipped out of the double doors, feeling the wind brush against her as a brewing storm started to almost reach Hawkins.

Eileen looked from her left to her right, shaking her head. "Penny, if you're not in trouble, I'm gonna freakin' kill you."

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When I first posted this fic, I believed I would finish it before season 4 came out. I should've known better 🤡

BUT AYE, at least I finally finished this chapter! I've already finished vol 1 and I got a lot of inspiration for this fic so hopefully it won't take me like a year again to write the next chapter lmao. I kinda want this to go into season 4, but I'm not entirely sure, so I'm gonna wait until I can watch the rest of the season before deciding!

Anyways, please don't forget to leave your feedback in the comments and I hope y'all enjoyed! 🤍