I groan as I start to wake up and finding myself lying on my stomach on my bed. I raise my head then look down at myself and noticed I don't have clothes on, so I looked next to me and see Steve sleeping next to me. The blanket covering most of him except for his bare chest. I smiled at this as the night's activities flood my mind.

I scoot closer to him then lay my head on his chest, cuddling up to him. I let out a sigh of content before running my fingers over the hairs on his chest as I hear him starting to stir. I raise my head to look at him as his eyes slowly open them. "Morning, sleepyhead." I teased, softly, and he lets out a small grunt. "Morning..." he mumbles as he rubs his eyes. "You feeling ok?" I asked him and Steve nodded. "What about you? You good?" He asked and I smiled. "Never better." I said.

I lean into him and give him a loving kiss to his lips and we share a kiss for a few moments before we break the kiss. I then turn over to look at the clock and see that it was almost seven in the morning. "We got a couple of hours til we go to work, you want me to make you some coffee before we head out?" I asked Steve and he nods and I start to get up, put some clothes on before I head to the kitchen.

After having our coffee, I went and got changed then rode with Steve to his house as he had to change out his clothes. Once he was done, we make our way to pick Robin up and head into work.

"Then Vicki laughed. And it wasn't like a cheap, fake laugh either. It was like...it was a real, genuine laugh." Robin said to us, excitedly, as Steve and I stocked the VHS tapes. "Of course. It's my Muppet joke. It's hilarious." Steve said, confidently, and I rolled my eyes.

"My point is that Vicki laughed and everything was just like....it was perfect." She said, happily, as she walks up to us. "But?" I asked, sensing she was gonna say something more. "But I'm having this problem where it's like, I should stop talking. I have said everything I need to say. But then I guess I get nervous, and the words keep spilling out, and it's like my...my brain is moving faster than my mouth, or...or rather my...my mouth is moving faster than my brain. And it's like I'm digging this hole for myself, and I want to stop digging, I'm trying to stop, but I can't." Robin explains, really fast, as Steve and I continue on with our job.

He and I share a knowing look as she continues then we stopped walking while she walked a few steps away from us. "And I'm doing it right now, aren't I?" She asked as she turns to us. "Yeah, you are." I said, smiling, and she exhales then leans against the wall. "I'm hopeless." She sighs, dramatically, and I shake my head as I walk up to her and place my right hand on her left shoulder.

"You're not hopeless, Robin." I assured her. She sighs as she looks at me. "I wish I was more like you guys. I mean, you two found each other and went for it when the time was right, meanwhile I'm a total train wreck." Robin said. "You're not a train wreck, Robin. You're perfect in your own special way." I assured her but she didn't look convinced.

She looks over my shoulder as I remove my hand off of her shoulder. "Ooh, I think I found our morning movie." She said as she runs past me and goes to a movie shelf then holds up a movie. "Doctor Zhivago." She said, excitedly, and I groan. "Ugh, you know I don't do double VHS." Steve grumbles. "But it's about doomed love." Robin said, with a pout.

"Oh, well, that's relatable." I muttered, sarcastically. "Precisely." She said and she runs over to the TV and VCR. "Also, Julie Christie is b-b-bonkers hot in this. Like, seriously, the most beautiful creature I have seen in my life." Robin said and she starts to turn on the TV, Steve and I share another look and I walk over to him and he pats me on the back when I hear a news reporter talking.

"We're in the Forest Hills trailer park in east Roane County." The reporter said and I froze and look up at the screen when she said that. Forest Hills is where Mom and Max are living. "We don't have a lot of details now, but we can confirm that the body of a Hawkins High student was discovered early this morning. Police have not released the name..." the reporter said as the three of us watch the screen.

"Holy shit." Steve mutters and I placed my hands over my mouth, fear rising in my chest. "...although we are told they're currently in the process of notifying the family." She continues on and I run over to our phone and start to dial up Mom's number. "She better not be drunk off her ass." I growled under my breath while Steve and Robin come up to me. But the phone kept ringing and I growled under my breath then slammed the phone down.

"Hey, hey...it's okay. I'm sure she's okay. She's a tough kid." Steve assures me as he places an arm around me while I run my hands over my face. "Everything will be okay." Robin assures me. For a few minutes, Steve and Robin try to assure me that Max was okay until we heard the door open.

I look up and see it was Max and Dustin. "Oh thank God." I said, relieved, and I go over to Max and hug her. "I thought something happened to you." I said to her. "Yeah, we saw someone was murdered at the trailer park." Steve said. "I'm fine." Max mutters to me after I remove my arms off of her.

"How many phones do you guys have?" Dustin asked Steve. "Two. Why?" Steve asked. "Technically three, if you count Keith's in the back." Robin corrects then Dustin and Max share a look. "Yeah, three works." Max said to him and Dustin shrugs off his backpack and lays it in the counter. "What are you doing?" Steve asked as Dustin shoves his bag over the counter and it slides off onto the ground, making Robin and Steve jump. "My pile!" Robin exclaims. "What are you—" I asked as Dustin jumps over and knocks down some tapes.

"No, no, no! My tapes! Dude!" Steve exclaims as Dustin goes over to the computer. "What the hell are you doing, Dustin?" I asked as I lead Max around the counter. "Setting up base of operations here." Dustin said. "Base of operations?" Robin asked as Dustin types away and Robin and I come up behind him.

"Get off!" Steve ordered Dustin but he kept on typing. "I need it." Dustin said. "Need it for what?" I asked him. "Looking up Eddie's friends' phone numbers." Dustin said as he types away and names come up on the screen. "Oh, Eddie. Your new best friend you think is cooler because he plays your nerdy game?" Steve asked, sarcastically, and Dustin rolls his head. "I never said that." Dustin said, defensively.

"Seriously, you guys, maybe on a Monday you can play around here like toddlers, but it's Saturday. It's our busiest day." Robin said, frustrated, as she fixes up her pile and sets up the signs. "Look, Robin, I totally empathize, but this cannot wait til Monday." Dustin tells her. "Why is calling Eddie's friends such an emergency, Dustin?" I asked him and Dustin turns to Max.

"Can you fill them in while I do this." Dustin said and he turns back to the computer. "Fill us in on what?" I asked and Max gives me a look of fear and I start to feel concerned. "Max, what happened?" I asked.

Max explained that the student that was killed was a girl named Chrissy, who was a cheerleader, and Max saw her with Eddie at his place but then the electricity at her house was flickering on and off. She just shrugged it off but then she noticed Eddie running out of his home, looking scared. Next morning is when Chrissy was found dead, so of course the only person that knows what happened to her was Eddie

So her and Dustin thought that if anyone would know where Eddie had run off to, they could find him and ask him his side of the story. Dustin, Robin and Max used all three phones to call all of Eddie's friends while Steve and I ran the rental store as normal as we could. "All right, Doctor Zhivago. It's a double VHS. It's long. But that's because it's filled with action and romance, and a little bit of suspense." Steve said to a girl and I chuckled then fold my arms across my chest as I watch him basically getting rid of the movie so we don't have to watch it today.

"So, my boyfriend won't, like, totally puke when I bring it home?" She asked Steve "Oh no. No. He's gonna...He's gonna love it." Steve said and the girl smiles then Steve goes to help check the movie out.

Once she left, I go up to him. "So, if you think her boyfriend's gonna love that movie, you think my boyfriend would love it too?" I asked him and Steve scoffs. "I don't think so." He said. "Oh? And why is that?" I asked and Steve runs his eyes over me. "Because he'd be too distracted looking at you." He flirts and I blush and scoff out a small laugh. "You're such a cheeseball." I remarked as he walks up to me. "That's not what you said last night." He whispers to me with a wink. "Shut up!" I said as I slap his shoulder and he laughs.

"Hey, guys, I might have a lead." Max said and we all turn to her. "Seriously?" Dustin asked. "Yeah. Apparently, Eddie gets drugs from some guy named Reefer Rick, and sometimes Eddie crashes there." Max said. "That sounds promising. Where does this Reefer Rick guy live?" Robin asked. "See, that's the thing. No one knows. He's more of a...a legend than someone that people actually know." Max said.

"What about a last name?" Dustin asked her. "I don't know that either." Max said. "Bet the cops know the last name." Steve speaks up and everyone turns to him. "What?" Max asked. "Cops. I mean, listen, if this Reefer Rick is actually a drug dealer, I guarantee you he's been busted at some point." Steve points out. "Means he's in the system."

"The cops? Really, Steve? That's your suggestion?" Dustin asked Steve, exasperated. "I think they should be filled in on what we know, what's going on." Steve said. "You think Eddie's guilty, don't you?" Dustin asked him. "Whoa. I believe in innocent until proven guilty, all that constitutional shit. I just, you know, don't think we can rule it out." Steve said, defensively.

"That's precisely what we're trying to do here, Steve." Max said. "And maybe we'd have a little bit more luck if you spent less time flirting with your girlfriend and more time trying to find Eddie." Dustin said, annoyed. "Okay, okay, everyone calm down!" I exclaimed and then sighed. "Look, it's not that we'd love to help find Eddie, it's just we have a job to do. You know, like what adults do?! Somebody has to attend to the customers. We've got a very big selection in here. It can be super overwhelming for people." I tell Dustin and then Robin's eyes brighten as if she got an idea.

"Yeah, it can be." She said then she goes over to the computer and types away. "What are you doing?" Max asked her as we all go over to Robin. "Maybe we don't need a last name." She replied as she types away and the computer beeps. We stand next to her and see several names appear on the screen.

"Twelve Ricks have accounts here." Robin said. "Lot of Ricks." Max said. "So, let's narrow it down." Robin said as she clicks in a name. "Rick Alderman's latest rentals are Annie and Dumbo." She said. "What are our chances our drug dealer has a family?" Robin asked Max and Dustin. "Not likely." Max said.

"All right." Robin said and she goes to click on another name. "Rick Conroy. Sixteen Candles, Teen Wolf, Romancing the Stone." She lists. "No." We all said, in unison. "Okay." Robin said and clicks on another name. "Rick Joiner. Mask, Footloose, and Grease." She said. "Nah." We all said then another click. "Rick Kimbrough. The Blue Lagoon and Splash." She said and we all laugh. "Definitely not." I said. "No way." Steve mutters and Robin clicks another name.

"Okay. Rick Lipton. Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Cheech & Chong's Next Movie. Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams. Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke." She lists off and Dustin laughs. "Bingo." He said. "Lipton?" Max asked. "Spelled like the tea. Holland Road." Robin said. "That's out by Lovers Lake." Dustin points out. "Middle of nowhere." I added. "It's a perfect place to hide." Robin said.

Minutes later, we all run out of the store and Robin switches the sign over to close as we get into Steve's car.

It was dark by the time we get to the address and we get out and head to the front door. But the place looked empty and dark. Dustin rings the doorbell but nobody came so he presses it several times. "Okay. Well, that's settled. I guess he's not here." Steve said as Dustin knocks on the door. "Eddie! It's Dustin!" Dustin shouts. "Look we just wanna talk, okay? No cops, I swear. We just wanna help."

Dustin then knocks on the door and yells out for Eddie while Robin and Max try to look into the building. "Rick! Reefer Rick!" Dustin shouts as he knocks them rings the bell. "Don't scream that!" Steve warns him and I start to walk around the building, Max follows me.

As we went around, I raised my flashlight and see a large shack behind this house. "Hey, guys!" I called out and everyone comes over to me as we see the shack.

We walk towards the shack and Robin goes to the front door and opens it. "Hello? Is anyone home?" She asked and we all enter the building and look around for any sign of Eddie. "What a dump." Steve grumbles as we look around, the floor creaking under our feet. Steve then grabs an oar and goes over to a boat, that had several bags inside of it. He takes the oar and starts to poke at the bags.

"What are you doing?" Dustin asked Steve but Steve ignored him as he looks over the tarp. "What are you doing?" Dustin asked him again. "He might be in here." Steve said as he hits it with the oar again. "So take the tarp off." Dustin exclaims, annoyed. "If you're so brave, you take the tarp off." Steve argued and he continues to use the oar.

"Hey, look over here." Max said and I go over to her as she looks over some food wrappers. "Someone was here." I said. "Maybe he heard us. Got spooked and ran." Robin said. "Don't worry. Steve will get him with his oar." Dustin said, sarcastically. "I know you think you're being funny, but considering everyone in this room has nearly died a hundred times, personally, I don't find it funny in the slight..." Steve said when Eddie jumps out from under the tarp, grabs Steve and pushes him up against the wall, holding a knife against his throat.

We all shout and scream as Eddie shoved Steve up against the wall. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Eddie! Eddie! Stop!" Dustin shouts and Eddie looks at him and I could tell that he was freaking out. "Eddie! Eddie! It's me. It's Dustin. This is Steve. He's not gonna hurt you, right, Steve?" Dustin said, in a calm slow voice. "Right. Yeah." Steve whispers, a bit panicked.

"Steve, why don't you drop the oar?" Dustin asked and Steve drops it but Eddie holds his weapons closer to Steve's neck, making him groan. "He's cool. He's cool." Dustin assured Eddie. "I'm cool, man. I'm cool." Steve whispers, nervously.

"What are you doing here?" Eddie asked, still glaring at Steve. "We're looking for you." Dustin tells him. "We're here to help." I said and Eddie looks over at us, confused but I could see fear etched all over his face. Whatever he saw, really got to him.

"Eddie, these are my friends. You know Robin, from band." Dustin said and Robin imitates playing an instrument. "This is my friend Max. The one who never wants to play D&D." He said and Max waves. "And this is her sister, the cool nerdy one." Dustin said and I gave Eddie a small wave.

"Eddie. We're on your side. I swear on my mother. Right, guys?" Dustin said. "Yes. Yes. We swear." Max and I said, in unison. "On Dustin's mother." Robin said. "Yeah, Dustin's... Dustin's mother." Steve said, quickly. Eddie glares at Steve for a few moments but then lets go of him as he takes a few steps back.

"Jesus Ch..." Steve grumbles as I go over to him. "Hey, you okay?" I asked him, concerned, and he nods as Eddie leans against a wall then slides down to sit, still looking out of it. "Eddie...We just want to talk." Dustin said, calmly, and he tries to reach out to Eddie but he flinches. "Okay?" Dustin said as he raises his hands and Robin walks over to Eddie and Dustin and kneels down next to Dustin.

"We want to know what happened." Robin said and Eddie sniffles. "You won't believe me." He said, shakily. "Try us." I said and Eddie looks at us, surprised.

"Her body just, like, lifted up into the air and, uh...And she just, like, hung there. In the air. And her bones...Uh, she..." Eddie whimpers as he recounts what happened last night. "Her bones started to snap. Her eyes, man. It...It was like there was something, like, inside her head, pulling. I...I didn't know what to do, so I...I ran away. I left her there." He explained as we listened.

"You all think I'm crazy, right?" He scoffs as he runs his hand over his face. "No. We don't think you're crazy." Dustin said. "Don't bullshit me, man! I know how this sounds." Eddie exclaims. "We're not bullshitting you." Max said. "We believe you." I assured him and he exhales a heavy sigh.

"Look, what I'm about to tell you might be a little...difficult to take." Dustin said and Eddie gives him a confused look. "Okay." He said, unsure. "You know how people say Hawkins is...cursed? They're not way off. There's another world. A world hidden beneath Hawkins. Sometimes it bleeds into ours." Dustin explains.

"Like ghosts and shit?" Eddie asked. "There are some things worse than ghosts." Max said. "These monsters from this other world...we thought they were gone. But they've come back before. That's why we needed to find you." Dustin said. "If they're back again, we need to know." I said and Eddie looks between all of us.

"That night, did you see anything?" Robin asked him. "Dark particles, maybe?" Max asked and Eddie shakes his head. "It would almost look like dust, swirling dust." Dustin said and Eddie shakes his head. "No, man, there was nothing you could see or, uh...or touch." Eddie said, still shaking slightly. "You know, I tried to wake her, man. She couldn't move. It was like she...she was in a trance or something." Eddie said and Dustin sits up straight at this.

"Or under a spell." He said. "A curse." Eddie corrects as she looks at Dustin. "Vecna's curse." Dustin said, in realization. "Who's Vecna?" Steve asked. "An undead creature of great power." Dustin said, in an ominous voice. "A spell caster." Eddie mutters. "A dark wizard." Dustin said and something about this gave me chills as I really didn't like the sound of that.