#jay mocking

December 24th, 1985

Hawkins was a quiet town, always had been. This Christmas Eve followed the small towns protocol. Half the businesses were shut down, everything was covered in snow forcing everyone inside, and families were gathered together.

Typically one of few families excluded from these celebrations were the Munson’s. Wayne was usually working down at the plant and Eddie was mooching off a friend for weed. This wasn’t a particularly enjoyable time of year for either of them anyways. It always felt like a reminder of everything they’ve lost, the family they weren’t celebrating with, the money they didn’t have to buy presents. But not this Christmas Eve.

This once, just this once, the pair put aside their grinch-like attitudes to have at least one good Christmas. They actually got to put up a tree, stringing cheap tinsel and disintegrating ornaments on the thin branches. It was by all means horrendous looking, but they enjoyed the time together. They stood back to admire the tree, however lithe and cheap it was. Presents sat underneath it, terribly wrapped by Eddie or plainly stuffed into a bag by Wayne. But it was more than they’d usually do.

“Yeah, looks alright,” Wayne said gruffly.

Eddie was in the middle of placing the final touch on the tree, a star made out of tin foil, he’d just made ten minutes ago. He stood back and patted his uncle on the shoulder.

“Looks just fine to me.”

Wayne grabs a cigarette and lights it, shrugging as he turns on the TV.

“It’s alright. Maybe we can get a better tree next year.”

Eddie walks past, snagging a cigarette for himself before he strolls over to the window.

“Maybe. But the whole point of the season isn’t the glamour, right? It’s like… your heart… and stuff,” he mumbles with the cigarette in between his lips as he works to light it.

Wayne just hummed back, flicking through TV channels for the best Christmas special rerun. Eddie looked out the window to the cold night outside, the setting sun washed out by the overcast sky. He dug his hand into his pocket, turning something between his fingers multiple times. He made a purchase last month, saving up all his money from dealing through the fall, just to buy this one accessory from the local thrift store. He kept it in his pocket, not confident enough to wrap it. He learned from wrapping Wayne’s present that he wasn’t so good at that. And if he kept it in his pocket he’d ensure he didn’t lose it.

“You listening to me, boy?” Wayne called out gruffly.

Eddie snapped his head back to his uncle, blinking hard and focusing his gaze.

“Oh- what?”

“I said why don’t you pick out a tape for us to watch?” Wayne said slow and methodically, clearly repeating himself.

Eddie’s eyes wandered a bit and he reluctantly nodded. His fingers still turned the item in his pocket, a nervous habit Wayne was quick to notice.

“You made plans with your girl tonight?” He asked his nephew.

Eddie’s subconsciously tense shoulders relaxed, and he let out a breathless laugh.

“No, no not tonight. Actually I, uh, haven’t heard from her since winter break started. She hasn’t returned my calls.”

Wayne nodded, breathing in a thick cloud of smoke as he thought.

“You wanna go check on her?”

Eddie paused, clearly tempted but not trying to snub his Uncle. He looked outside, trying to gauge the snow outside and if it was even safe to drive.

“Uh… I don’t know.”

Wayne cleared his throat before standing up and slowly walking over to Eddie. “You’re gonna be worried about her all night if you don’t.” He grabbed the keys to the van and tossed them to Eddie. “Do us both a favor, drop by for five minutes.”

Eddie caught the keys with a steadily growing smirk. He rapidly slipped on a coat, a trench coat Wayne passed down to him a few years back. His exit was quick as he put on his rugged boots and soon climbed into his van. The drive to his girlfriend’s house was as brief as it could be as the scenery from his trashy trailer park faded into stable suburbia. The Mocking’s didn’t have the most expensive or biggest in Hawkins. But every time he approached the clean front door he felt the different tax bracket radiating off the walls.

That difference was especially felt now as he walked up and saw the Mocking house was covered in Christmas lights. From the bushes to the roof, a cohesive set of glistening bulbs and thick garlands hung in a strategic array. It made perfect sense for the best decorated house in the neighborhood to belong to the local Pastor’s, right down to the plastic glowing nativity scene right by the front door. He thought of backing out, of turning tail and going back home, but that thought was contested and beaten by the image of his precious cure-head greeting him.

So he knocked, and it didn’t take long for the door to swing open. There stood a pretty prep, a bright green blouse tucked into a plaid skirt, hair curled and stuck in place despite the gust of cold wind. It took him a moment of staring back into wide brown eyes to realize this prep wasn’t Mrs. Mocking or the oldest daughter Rowan. It was Janice. His Jay, only she wasn’t in her typical black clothes and stacks of accessories. Her eyes were framed with blue eyeshadow and nothing else, cheeks and lips pink, black hair bouncing like Farrah Fawcett’s hair, and a modest silver cross hung from her neck.

“Eddie-” Jay said in shock… and evident terror.

“… Jay?” Eddie replied, his lips slowly turning up and a laugh growing in his belly.

Jay’s chaste face twisted into a deep glare, which was more in character for her. She stepped out with him and closed the door, kitten heels landing softly on the doormat unlike her usual hefty boots. She pointed a finger at him as his laughter grew.

“Don’t. Say. Anything.” She threatened him.

“What- what is this?” Eddie asked before bursting into laughter. He couldn’t stop it, holding onto his stomach as he bent over in his hysterical fit.

Jay huffed and put her hands proudly on her hips, watching and waiting for Eddie to calm down. He didn’t. He actually started grabbing onto her and turning her around.

“You look all spiffy and cute, like a cheerleader or something.” He remarked as he slowly spun her.

“Eddie-“

“Oh god- the red and green is killing me,” he gasps and his eyes glimmer, “you look like a little Christmas present! Do I get to unwrap you?”

“Shove off!” Jay growls as she actually pushes him. “You can’t be here!”

Eddie stumbles back but catches himself, stepping closer to her and gently taking her arms.

“C’mon, you know I’m just joshing you baby.”

“You really can’t be here right now,” she insists, speaking low as she glances back to her front door.

Eddie puts on a pout, his dark eyes widening like a puppies pitiful gaze. “Bird… please? I came all this way to see you… it’s Christmas.”

Jay’s eye nearly twitched, but she wasn’t half as intimidating as usual without her thick smoky eye or sharp liner. But it was hard to resist Eddie’s warmth transferring to her, those puppy dog eyes, and the familiar scent of his cheap cologne and cigarettes.

“… go to my window.”

Eddie didn’t need any further instruction. Jay darted back inside while Eddie walked around the house to scale up the side, a journey he’d made plenty of times before. His feet slipped once, hands slipped twice, but the new icy texture didn’t erase how practiced this climb was for him. Soon enough Jay was opening up her window and he was tumbling into her room.

Their hands were grabbing one another within the instant, Jay’s lips smudging her bright lipstick over Eddie’s chapped lips. He held onto her waist, bending at the knees so their chests could press close before he dragged her onto the bed. Their feet shuffled together before they both fell back and bounced down onto her creaking mattress. Jay kept chasing his lips, not letting the bitter taste of tobacco escape her once she found it, not even as she crawled over him.

Eddie’s trench coat got stuck under the weight of their bodies, Jay’s slim skirt kept hiking up as she straddled his hips, the chilly night air pushed through the room making the hairs on their skin stand up. But they hadn’t seen each other in days, they usually didn’t spend more than four hours apart. Any amount of affection passed between them was seen as a gift, and appreciated as such.

Jay’s body was wracked with a strong shiver as a harsh gust of wind blew in, causing Eddie to pull back in case something was wrong. He looked up at her, faintly backlit by the streetlights outside. In the darkness it was hard to tell just how smudged her lipstick was, but he adored the messy halo her hair had become and the soft yearning evident in her eyes. His warm hands held her face, his fingers brushing the rough pads of his fingertips over her soft skin.

He couldn’t help but smile and laugh again. “You look so fucking preppy.”

Jay groaned and palmed his chest to sit up. His arms quickly wrapped around her waist and kept her firmly against him, now allowing any space between them.

“You kinda look like Brooke Shields. Your hair’s so soft and pretty like this,” he remarked with a low voice.

But his teasing didn’t have the effect on her that he thought. She got quiet, brows furrowing into a displeased glare.

“You like this better?”

“What-“ Eddie blinked before he scoffed and shook his head. “Fuck no, ew, you’re a fucking- uh- a sex symbol in black.”

Jay barked out a laugh at his remark, and Eddie’s chest felt lighter at the sound. His hand trailed up the side of her thigh, fingertips just barely sliding under her skirt.

“I just think this look is cute. I’m not used to you looking all soft and on trend.”

She scoffed back and let out a frustrated huff, “neither am I. Just trying not to rock the boat right now.”

She dipped her head down to kiss him again, lips moving a little slower and more methodically. Another moment passed as they continued their make out, but her comment hung uncomfortably in the air leaving a cloud they couldn’t ignore.

Eddie pulled away again, thumbs repeatedly swiping the sides of her face. “Hey, everything okay?”

Jay grew irritated again, her muscles tensing. “Bats, I don’t wanna talk about it right now.” She growled back before pushing her lips back on his once more, her body more tense than before.

He forced them apart once more, his body wiggling under hers as he inched his way further up on the bed. Once they were face to face his wide hands brushed down her sides.

“Hey, I just wanna make sure you’re alright. You know I wanna take care of you.”

She melted at his soft words and affirming touch. She huffed and sat back on his lap, back hunched and hands lazily dropped onto his stomach.

“Yeah… it’s just… it’s the first Christmas since my grandma died.”

Oh.

Jay even looked strained as she said that, face on the brink of an uncomfortable grimace. “My dad’s not taking it well. All month he keeps disappearing and pretending he forgot something. He’s just crying.”

Eddie was frozen for a second before he remembered his duty to comfort his girlfriend. His fingers dragged down her hips and drew light shapes on her thighs.

“Oh, baby, I’m sorry…”

“Yeah. But it’s his first Christmas without his mom, which sucks,” Jay mumbled. Her slim hands subtly fidgeted with his belt buckle. “The whole house is on edge trying not to make things worse for him. Hence the whole ‘girl next door’ look. I didn’t want to stress out my dad with my usual getup.”

He nodded softly, an old and familiar ache building up in his chest. It’s the usual ache he got around this time of year, the ache he hadn’t felt since he’d spent most of the month with Jay. He normally numbed it with drugs, but now he wasn’t sure what to do with it. But he saw the way Jay’s body relaxed on him, even if her sad expression remained, so pressing the issue was at least a little worth it.

“Sorry to bring the mood down-“ Jay huffed with a forced laugh.

Eddie hummed a refusal as he took her hands in his and started kissing her knuckles. “Moods not down. I still very much want to fuck you-“

“Oh I don’t have time-“ Jay whined.

“Damn, okay. Well I still want to be here with you regardless,” Eddie assures her. He pulls his arms to the side as he holds her hands, causing her chest to lower onto his. He holds her close, hands pressed flat against her back. “This is supposed to be a happy time of year, and I want to make sure my bird’s as happy as can be.”

Their lips met in a soft kiss, one peck turning into a few deliberately placed by the metalhead.

“Plus I missed you this week. I haven’t seen my little crow in a few days, missed you in your pretty black dresses.“

She rolled her eyes and groaned at the odd comment, but he continued.

“I had to buy an Elvira comic just to get a glimpse of you.” That earned a small laugh from her.

“Elvira still didn’t do it for me though,” he said between kisses. “She’s still too happy to be alive.”

She laughed again and again as Eddie just kept running his mouth until he couldn’t handle her brilliant smile anymore. He rolled them over and pinned her against her bed, his belt buckle snagging on her skirt and pulling it up as he was slotted between her legs. The light hearted kiss burned into another heated frenzy, encouraged by the lack of time they had left before someone in Jay’s family realized she was missing.

But all good things must come to an end, and all boyfriends must sneak out their girlfriend’s window and drive back to their homes like a thief in the night. So Eddie reluctantly left, climbing back into his van. He pushed his hand back into his pocket to feel the small metal trinket. He wanted to give it to her so bad, but it just wasn’t the right time. He wanted the exchange to be special, he’s hardly had anyone worth sharing Christmas with, he doesn’t want to mess this up.

December 25th

Christmas morning was brought in with the perfect chill, the sun finally crawling over the horizon into a clear blue sky, lighting up the snow covered Hawkins with a sparkling radiance. Eddie and Wayne spent a sluggish morning together, splitting a bland plate of eggs together and treating beer like mouthwash. Eddie made a big deal out of the cassette tape and sock bundle Wayne bought him, and Wayne pretended to act surprised when he received his favorite six pack and a baseball cap he’d seen at their local gas station all year. 

But Eddie couldn’t stop thinking about the one thing he bought for his girlfriend and how her family was grieving on what he knew was the most important day of the year for them. Even as Wayne happily donned his new hat, all he could think about was the Mocking’s. In his eyes, they had everything. But now they were just like everyone else, just like him and Wayne, spending Christmas thinking about what they didn’t have.

“Hey- uh- Wayne-” he muttered and turned to his Uncle, his mind already whipping up some sort of excuse to go back to Jay’s house.

But Wayne was one step ahead, a knowing frown and brow raised in anticipation. “You got gas left in the tank?”

“... yeah?” No.

The old man’s eyes looked over his nephew for a moment before he leaned side to side on the couch, digging his wallet deep out of his pocket. He handed Eddie the small amount of cash he had and gave a gruff, “Merry Christmas.”

Eddie leaped off the couch with cash in hand, snatching his keys and a few other items while getting stuck as he pulled his jacket on. “Merry fucking Christmas!”

With one last groan from his Uncle, he darted out of the trailer and into his van. He sped down every icy road regardless of safety. Once again he was at the Mocking’s doorstep, just like the day before. His arms were a little more full and he felt the cold against his face like he hadn’t yesterday, but maybe it was nerves. It was hard to tell when his arm weakly knocked on the door as another gust of frigid wind blew past.

The door opened and there stood the head of the household, Pastor Paul Mocking, and he looked nice. Like his shoes were freshly shined, like his pants cost more than Eddie’s tank of gas, like he hadn’t lost a single strand of hair on his head despite being older than Uncle Wayne. It was clear that Jay got her hair and her eyes from this affluent leader.

“Oh, hey Eddie,” Paul said surprised but giving a fleeting smile. “How’re you doing son?”

“Good, Paul- Pastor Paul. Sir. Mr. Mocking… Father?” Eddie stumbled through his formal greeting.

Paul caught his confusion and waved a hand in the air, “Sir’s fine, Eddie. I’m not catholic.”

Eddie sighed and nodded back. He’d only spoken briefly to the religious man when asking permission to date Jay, which he didn’t even realize was a requirement when their friendship blossomed into something more. He was pretty sure the Mocking’s were just rich stiffs, but he wanted Jay enough to abide by their odd traditions.

He cleared his throat and started, “I bought a present for Jay, I was hoping to give it to her.”

Paul let out a brief frustrated huff, another forced smile on his face. Sympathetic, but still forced.

“Listen son, now’s not a great time for-”

“Oh- uh- but I got something for you too,” Eddie added and pulled out the vinyl from under his arm. “I mean I didn’t buy it, but I wanted to share it.”

Paul stopped as he looked down at the record, B.B. King's smug smile looking back at him.

“Blues?” He asked confused, not sure why Eddie would think a Pastor would listen to that genre.

“Well yeah…” Eddie turned over the record, careful not to lift up the worn edges anymore. His boot scratched against the porch as he stared at the record for a long while it was easier to look at that than the man in front of him.

“This was my moms, she came from Tennessee so she was used to all the music in Memphis and Nashville and sh-stuff. All that stuff. Uh- but she loved blues, so she got me into blues, and from there I just made a left and took a very steep fall down the rock n roll pipeline-” Eddie took a deep breath when he realized he was rambling.

“But when my mom passed, I got all her music. Before I moved in with my Uncle, there were a lot of Birthdays and Christmases I spent alone, waiting for my dad to come home. So I’d put on some of my mom’s music, remember those good times with her… and then I was a little less alone… losing your mom sucks. I didn’t really understand what was going on when I was a kid but growing up without her made a difference.”

Eddie stuck out the vinyl to Paul, who took it from him with a surprisingly gentle touch.

“So I brought this over cause… I mean even though blues is not your thing, you’re not alone.”

Paul turned the vinyl over in his hands, his eyes growing glossy with tears once again. But that smile he painted on for the sake of his congregation’s confidence, for the sake of his privacy, molded into a more real grin.

“Eddie, do you prefer hot chocolate or apple cider?” The Pastor asked as his hand clasped Eddie’s shoulder and he invited him inside.

Eddie smiled back at him, “I’m not picky sir!”

He walked into the Mocking home, legitimately this time, and he was taken aback by how warm and inviting it was. The two story home was covered in greenery, bows and lights strung from every corner, it was even more brilliant inside than it was outside. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of the tree, a real pine tree from the smell of pine wafting in the living room. It was so tall the glowing star was tickling the ceiling, and it was stuffed full of ornaments from the thin top to the thick bottom.

Right at the bottom, surrounded by scraps of wrapping paper, was Jay. She was sitting in a dress, the top made of black velvet with puffed shoulders that ended at her waist and transitioned into a green paid skirt. Her hair was still curled and her face was painted with faint makeup. An equally unnatural yet endearing sight as it was yesterday.

She was in the midst of admiring a present her older sister gave her when she noticed the rugged boots approaching her. She looked up and lost her breath for a second. How was Eddie in her house? Did he sneak in? Was he invited? Who the hell would’ve invited her boyfriend?

“Maeve, my love,” Paul called to his wife as he started to put the record on his turn table. “Can you fix Eddie up a cup of hot chocolate?”

Jay’s mom moved into the kitchen, and her red headed sister smirked as she stood up. The glamrocker also dressed uncomfortably conservative.

“Hey Eddie,” she said knowingly.

“Rowan,” Eddie gave a goofy overly formal bow as she walked past, purposely leaving the young couple alone.

Jay stood up and took small steps towards him, crossing her arms and tilting her head at him.

“I thought I told you, no boyfriends allowed.”

Eddie shrugged, digging his hands into his pocket. “Yeah, well that rule wasn’t too hard to work around. I told you I wanted to make sure my bird was happy this Christmas.”

“And maybe,” his voice grew soft as he pulled his hand up and revealed a silver necklace, the charm of a bird taking flight on it, “Santa forgot to drop off one last present.”

Jay gasped and snatched the necklace out of his hand. She held the charm up towards the light, admiring the jewelry. “Bats this is beautiful, where’d you get this?”

He shrugged once more and took the necklace back, starting to put it on her without a word. “Just in town. I actually wanted to get you a real bird skull, but it turns out there’s a ton of laws against that? Buncha bullshit if you ask me.”

She laughed back and turned around to face him once the bird rested on her collar. Her eyes gleaming with joy as her fingers toyed with the silver hanging off her neck. Eddie hummed happily, gently brushing her hair out of the way to admire her fully.

“A little less morbid, but it looks perfect on you, Jay.” His tone was soft and reverent, his eyes were lost in hers. His hand remained hovered by her face, knuckles grazing her delicate pink cheeks, he was so close to snatching her up and tasting her pretty pink lips again, but he shouldn’t kiss her. Not when her family was right there-

“Ow!” Jay suddenly hissed as a bright red ornament bounced off her head and clattered onto the wood floor.

She looked up with a glare as her sister's curly red hair burned in the lamp light above her, Rowan suddenly standing on a ladder and adjusting the tree.

“Sorry, this spot is too empty, it's driving me crazy. Can you hand me that back?”

Jay huffed and snatched up the fallen ornament, standing on her tip toes to hand it back to her sister. Eddie grabbed it and stretched his arm longer, his height helping him reach Rowan’s hand faster. Right as the exchange happened, they noticed a bundle of slim green leaves and small white berries, tied to a branch with a perfect little red ribbon.

“Thanks,” Rowan said smugly, carelessly shoving the ornament into a random spot before climbing back down. She walked out of the living room, not before smacking Jay’s hip and brushing out her dress.

Jay scoffed at her sister's sly move, but failed to bite back her smile any longer. She looked up at Eddie, who looked back at her with a shit eating grin.

“I think there’s a law about this.” He muttered happily.

“Stop,” she laughed and shook her head.

Eddie didn’t wait to snatch her up, one hand snaking around her waist while the other held the back of her neck. Her frame fit right into his, her hands gently holding his face as the space between them grew as small as it could.

“Merry Christmas, bird,” Eddie whispered.

“Merry Christmas, bats,” Jay replied.

They kissed softly, patiently, lips moving in perfect time with one another. It didn’t matter that Jay’s lipstick tasted a little different, or that Eddie broke a cardinal rule in the Mocking house, all that mattered were the sweet touches and shared breaths between them. This, time with the one they love, the warmth of their touch in the coldest month, was truly all that mattered.

They could dwell on everything they lost, they could mourn and rage about everything that’s changed in the past. But how does that one saying go? Today is a gift, that’s why they call it a present. 

Bonus..

December 26th, 1985

Eddie was half awake when he heard a knock on his trailer door. With a rough yawn he swung it open, greeting a dark hooded finger. It quickly lifted a thin pointed finger to him.

“Ebenezer Scrooge,” Jay growled at him, her black coat billowing in the winter wind.

He let out a hearty laugh, snatching her wrist and tugging her inside. He lifted off the hood and was faced with her familiar goth look, thick liner and eyeshadow, dark red lipstick lined with black.

“There’s my girl,” he hums appreciatively.

Jay suddenly grabs him by the collar of his sweater and snags it down. Her lips crash against his and Jay guides his hips back until she can push him right down onto his couch. Eddie barely processed her entrance before he surrendered to her commanding touch.

She straddles his lap as her lips move down his jaw, exploring the expanse of his neck. She bites and sucks right over his pulse, feeling how it rushes to life despite his lax sleepy demeanor. Eddie groans and gasps under her, head dropping back on the couch and hips bucking up into hers, his hands grabbing her thighs to keep her planted above him.

She pulls back, both of them breathing heavily, and looks down at his face. His lips are smeared with her deep lipstick, shades of red and black barely hiding the popped blood vessels on his neck.

“That’s better,” she remarks.

Jay finally lifts up her hand and reveals a gift bag that’s been hanging from her fingers all along. Eddie has to blink himself back into his body a few times before he takes the bag.

“Baby you- fuck- you didn’t have to.” He reached into the bag and pulled out… handcuffs. Leather handcuffs.

She smirked back down at him, “I couldn’t give you those in front of my parents… I noticed the ones you have are getting a little flimsy.”

Eddie gawked at them for a moment, the cuffs dangling from his hand. Jay smirked down at him, sliding off his lap and backing up slowly towards his room.

“You wanna know what I have under this coat?” She teased as she started unbuttoning it.

“What?” Eddie gasped, stumbling to his knees and struggling to stand up again.

“C’mon baby, come see what’s in your Christmas Future,” she flirts with a cheeky smile.

Eddie laughs loudly, following after her and snatching her up in his arms. “There’s no way you’re trying to seduce me with Dickens' Christmas Carol. You’re so weird.”

“Is it working?”

(Listen to “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival)

The deep blue of the Doritos bag reflected onto the white bag of Pizzarias right next to it. The two different snacks sat snuggly on the rack of various chips, the narrow aisles of the gas station stocked with anything from Twinkies to antifreeze for cars. Jay shifted while staring at the two chips, her thick boots scratching against the light layer of dirt on the off white tile floor.

On one hand the chip bowl logo of cool ranch Doritos looked promising, on the other hand you could never go wrong with cheese pizza flavored Pizzerias. The decision couldn’t be made lightly, it was still another three hours until Jay and Allie made it to Point Pleasant. Another three hours of jolting around in Eddie’s van, Eddie’s van that they borrowed, Eddie’s van that they borrowed without telling him, Eddie’s van that they stole. They already spent an hour and a half that morning clearing out every accumulated piece of trash, vacuuming the dusty leather seats, and generally making as decent a vehicle as they could out of the rickety Chevrolet. And with three hours left in their trip trapped in a box that smelled like tobacco and sweat, Jay had to make their snack choices very carefully for the sake of their senses.

Meanwhile Allie was misplaced in the gas station, standing still as a statue with her head tilted to the side. Her eyes narrowed behind her glasses to a glistening plastic bag. The thin prison of a small green alien figurine that couldn’t have been any larger than your thumb. She felt uncomfortable standing in the gas station, foul smells of hot dogs and sewage wafting in the air along with the faint humidity from the delicate rain outside. How uncomfortable did the alien feel? Not only trapped in the gas station but also living as a plastic packaged prisoner, watching as life passes you by from the balcony of a $0.50 price tag. Was there any comfort in life in a plastic bag?

“Allie,” Jay suddenly called to her.

She snapped her head to look at her friend, who from the impatient look on her face had called Allie more than once yet went unheard.

Jay lifted the two chip bags in her hands, “Dorito’s or Pizzerias?”

“Get Dorito’s.”

“… I’m getting pizzerias.” Jay made up her mind while she walked over to the register.

Allie scoffed and rolled her eyes at her friend, leaning out of the aisle to watch Jay drop the chips and a few candies on the counter.

“Why do you always do that?”

“Do what?”

“Ask for my opinion and then do the opposite.”

Jay paused for a moment before looking at Allie with furrowed brows, “I guess hearing someone’s opinion just helps me figure out what I don’t want.”

Allie pursed her lips, scratching at the cuffs of her thick jacket while she searched for the courage to protest.

“Well what about what I want?”

“… Do you want Doritos?”

“… Yeah.”

Without another word Jay shoved both chips into the pile and pulled out a wad of cash. It was more than she needed, but she didn’t have much time to coordinate her belongings when her friend ripped her out of bed that morning. In truth she had no plans to leave her house when she went to bed the night prior, but come sunrise Allie called her with specific plans in mind. Jay didn’t pick up the phone and after four calls and three voicemails, she eventually plugged the damn thing out of her wall. So the only logical solution was to show up at her door, politely greet her parents, and rudely awaken her friend in her vampiric sleeping chamber.

Jay was less than excited to be woken up, but became enthused at the prospect that this impromptu road trip would be searching for cryptids, monsters, and aliens alike. They couldn’t take Jay’s car, she wouldn’t allow it. While her second hand hearse had great storage space, she was not about to take Elvira through winding hills and bumpy roads. So that’s when an exchange was made in the rundown trailer park just outside of town while their favorite metalhead was still sleeping. They left him the hearse so if he truly needed to travel he could, but they knew he wouldn’t since he feared Jay’s wrath if Elvira was damaged.

So hours later and one cassette mixtape in, Jay and Allie climbed back into the van while the sun shined through the cracked windshield. Jay handed the blue bag of Doritos to her friend in the passenger seat without a thought, only turning her head when she noticed a speck of bright green in her peripherals and following the motion with a double take. Allie held a little alien figure in her hands while she pulled the chip bag open.

Jay looked up and down between the Alien and Allie, “who is this?”

Allie glanced at Jay and noticed her pointed stare, so she casually shook the figure in the air. “This is our son.”

“Awesome…” as Jay looked at the alien her brows started to furrow with confusion. 

“When did you pay for him?”

“… we should drive away right now…” Allie accentuated the threat by crunching loudly on a chip.

“… Awesome,” Jay nodded before promptly reigniting the engine of the van.

(Listen to “Ventura Highway” by America)

The road was a deep cut through the mountains, twisting with every sweet curve of the impressive coupling of rock and tree. You could look out into the valleys and catch the round slope of the forest cap, like an ocean painted in approaching death that rivaled the angry blush of the sun. Clouds misted across the light blue sky while the moon made a guest appearance between the crowds of cumulous.

The traveling pair battled the crisp chill in the rainy air every time they jumped out of the van on some random off road, blasting the AC to resurrect the warmth in their icy fingertips. Every stop was as pretty as a painting, every Polaroid they snapped was a picture worth framing. Tall trees toppled over mossy creaks, rusty bridges held hands with the cracking concrete roads over quick rivers, and a quaint brick town would peak out of the autumn brush at just the right angles. So they captured every moment they could, climbing on branches or stacking themselves on boulders.

This trip was dedicated to finding cryptids, of which there were few, mostly the local raccoon or fox making a quiet trip across the road. But that’s when their son, the little green alien named Pepito, came in handy. The figurine would debut in snap shots of the rivers or be poised over one of their heads in a poorly angled group photo. Allie even had the grand idea of positioning Jay far from the camera while she held Pepito close to the lens so the tiny alien would appear as hulking as Bigfoot.

Who knows how many cassette tapes they turned over and ejected again and again as they fought over the radio, who knows how many Polaroid’s were stashed away in Allie’s book bag, they weren’t even aware of how many hours they spent in Point Pleasant until the setting sun poured gold into a pink sky. They enjoyed every moment, climbing back into the van with bellies full of local cuisine and another argument over the radio ready to start. While they hadn’t caught the Moth Man or the Flatwoods monster, they still captured fresh joy in their upturned cheeks.

“I just don’t want to turn in that fucking essay” Allie grumbled to end a long winded rant about their current academic adventures.

“Shit, I hear you,” Jay sympathized while reaching back behind her seat, right hand waving wildly to search for her bag while her left hand turned the wheel slightly too far to this side and that side.

“Bird, Jesus- careful!” Allie shouted as she grabbed the wheel and forced the van back into the correct lane.

Jay groaned back at her, finally sitting up with a whole can of hairspray in her hand. “I am careful, leave me alone.”

She proceeded to blast the hairspray into her hair, squinting as the air filled with the bitter smell of alcohol and other unmentionable chemicals. After spraying a generous lather onto her bats nest she would poke and prod to correct the shape, fluffing her hair into the air.

Allie was left to choke on the fumes, first closing her eyes and waving her hand in the air to dispel the bitter cloud. But when her lungs constricted with the desperate demand to breathe she swallowed a mouth full of hairspray. The bitter taste shot straight to the back of her throat, forcing her to hack and wheeze all the while Jay laughed at her friend's suffering. Allie finally rolled down the window, as quickly as the wheel would allow her, and stuck her head out to catch a fresh gust of air.

“Hey roll that back up!” Jay scolded, “the humidity is ruining my hair!”

Still gasping desperately to gather a clean breath, Allie shouted from the window, “why would you do your hair if you knew you were gonna be outside today?”

“Well you didn’t exactly get me at a good time this morning so I just kinda threw everything into a bag, my comb and hairspray were already in it, plus when I asked you if I should do my hair you said-“

“No. So you had to do your hair,” Allie rolled her eyes, catching that theme for the second time today.

“And that’s what made me realize how much I wanted to do my hair,” Jay affirmed Allie’s conclusion by tossing her hairspray somewhere behind her and letting the metal canister clank against some loose items.

“You’re ridiculous,” Allie laughed and slightly shook her head. Just at that moment the music they had been listening to ran dry, the cassette tape popping out of the radio with little grace

“Aw shit, what haven’t we listened to yet?”

“Ummm- oh, I should have my Rumors tape in my bag! Pop it in!” Jay hit the wheel in a quick rhythm of anticipation.

Allie took no time in rummaging through Jay’s bag, which she tossed her every cassette into before stealing the van. Popping the black square into the radio between them she sat back with a contented sigh, the drama filled acoustic sound of Fleetwood Mac somehow making the chill in the late fall air all that much crisper.

“God I love this album,” Jay sighed as she shook her head in reverence.

“… I kinda wish I was high for it though.”

Allie laughed slightly before a curious smile curled her lips, “what are the chances Eddie left some of his stash in here?”

“Oh shit, check the glove box.” Jay tried not to let her eager eyes wander off the road as Allie searched.

Tucked under a hidden stash of trash they failed to find earlier was a mint box with two pre-rolled joints, likely left from the last time Eddie hot boxed. Allie dug through the glove box for a lighter but was met with the same pieces of trash she encountered her first search. Jay caught Allie’s persistence and pulled up her bag from the car floor, shoving it into Allie’s chest since she couldn’t perfectly see where she stuck out her arm. Allie took the bag and promptly pulled out her friend’s lighter. She stuck a joint between her lips and ignited the end, sucking in short breaths to send embers up the roll of sweet green. Finally content with the smoke billowing from the end she took a long drag, holding the earthy musk in her lungs until gravity grew lighter, and she finally let out her breath and watched the haze disperse through the van.

Watching her take a second drag Jay felt an itch on her tongue, the pungent smell recalling memories of the taste which promised her peace. She leaned over the center console with parted lips, her eyes darted between the road and Allie as she silently pressured her friend to pass the joint. Allie rolled her eyes slightly but yielded the joint to her eager friend, sticking the joint between her lips.

Just as the roll was secured, Allie turned her head to catch a dark mass on four limbs slinking on the road ahead. She gasped before shouting, “Look out!”

Jay snapped her head to the road but barely had any time to assess the situation, the figure just a few feet away from the car. Jay’s muscles clenched, her teeth clamping down on the joint in her mouth, and without thinking she spun the wheel and forced the van to swerve off the road. The wheels screamed against the damp concrete as they slid onto the sloping hill beside their path. The van practically nose dived down the hill, narrowly avoiding a few trees. Jay tugged at the emergency break with all her might, the tension in the wheels seeming to have no effect on the speed of their descent. Just as the ground below them leveled, the van came to a sudden halt, the metal grunting as it teetered side to side.

The van filled with the sound of heavy breathing, each girl gasped for breath while adrenaline shocked them like a cold shower. Their hearts pounded in their ears as their pulses ran quickly.

Jay raised a shaky hand up to the joint in her mouth, huffing on the joint before removing its chewed butt from her teeth.

“… are you okay?” She finally asked.

Allie’s hands had clasped around her seatbelt across her chest, and it took all the strength in her trembling body to remove her vice grip.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she muttered while nodding.

“Okay… where’s Pepito?” Jay gasped and sharply turned her head.

Allie’s eyes flickered around the van, landing on the ashtray in the dashboard and sighing with relief.

“He’s here,” she lifted him out and held him tightly to her chest.

Jay firmly placed the car in park, releasing the emergency break and letting her foot up off the brake pedal.

“What was that? Was that-… like a bear?”

Allie shook her head, trying to enhance the shape in her memories but being unable to discern features beyond its size. “It was too skinny to be a bear… I think it was a dog.”

“No, fuck!” Jay slammed her head into the steering wheel, the horn beeping in response.

“I really hope I didn’t just kill a dog.”

While anxiety crawled its way into the shared silence they climbed out of the van, giving it a quick glance to confirm that it wasn’t damaged. In truth they couldn’t tell, the rust bucket was already so scratched up they’d never know if they added to the collection. The ground beneath them was marked by the spinning motion of the van with a trail of kicked up soil exposing moist earth all the way up the hill and to the main road.

“Jesus,” Allie shook her head before clearing her glasses of newly formed fog.

“I’m shocked we didn’t roll over.”

“Yeah, talk about plot protection.” Jay laughed to herself as they trekked further up the hill.

(Listen to “A Nightmare Far Worse” by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein)

As they came up around the steep hill they saw what they nearly hit, its shape indistinguishable at first. It could’ve been a hairless cat if it weren’t for the frog-like quality of its clammy skin, it might’ve been a starved dog save for the terrible appendages that should’ve been paws. Still, without a close look it was hard to discern. The two took careful steps closer to the mass of flesh in the road, squinting their eyes and craning their heads side to side to make more sense of the bony creature.

Jay got cold feet very quickly, teetering on the edge of the yellow line as if it were a shield while her mouth opened and closed like a fish while she struggled to describe what was laid out before them. Allie on the other hand had fully invested herself in the investigative process, settling on her hands and knees, her palms catching dirt and chunks of concrete that threatened to slice open her skin. Despite the stinging sensation her sole focus was the creature. Her heart was pounding in her ears, with every quick breath of anticipation she got a putrid whiff of its musty scent. Her terror was twinned with excitement, every ounce of fear met with equal fascination, her blood boiling just beneath her skin as she took in every detail up close.

It had no face. No eyes. No mouth. Whatever orifice you could’ve called a face was nothing but a smooth mound of flesh. It wasn’t just unfamiliar, it was damn near other worldly! Could this be some terrible malformed mutt? Or was this something else entirely? Could this be a brother to the monsters they had so carelessly been mocking all day?

“What the fuck is it?” Jay called out and ripped Allie away from the glamor of her discovery.

“It’s not a dog,” she answered as her elation seeped through her frustration.

“Oh thank god-“ Jay clutched her chest and folded in half.

Allie continued to look over the monster slowly, reaching out a tentative hand to turn its “head” and truly understand it. As it limped to the side she noticed it did have a mouth, or some equivalent to a mouth. Large slits were carved up its head, the petal-like flaps hanging open to expose a cluster of blisters. The red and white almost made it look like the top of a toadstool mushroom. She pulled back one of the flaps and gasped in realization. Those weren’t blisters, those were teeth. Tiny misshapen canines crowded together in a slack jaw that no doubt would be a Venus fly death trap for its prey.

“Ugh,” Jay gagged from her safe distance, “don’t touch it bug, that’s disgusting!”

“I think it’s an alien!” Allie called back with both consternation and glee.

“Well then definitely don’t touch it!”

“You gotta check this out,” Allie finally stood up and brushed her hands on her jeans. “It’s sick! Like genuinely horrid I could piss my pants, it looks like a fucked up sand worm! Not Shai Hulud but something smaller-”

“What?”

Allie let out a small scoff before continuing, “It’s Dune- okay, anyways, I don’t know what the hell we just found but I’m really hoping it’s my destiny or some shit. I mean this thing is like it came right out of my brain, like it’s a living breathing piece of all the books and movies I like, and all the stories my dad used to tell me to scare me at night- oh my god I have to take this thing back!”

Jay listened to Allie ramble with a feigned smile whilst her patience ran thin. At Allie’s final eager declaration Jay gave her a slow deliberate blink of disbelief.

“… I’m gonna give you a chance to not say what I think you just said.”

“Oh come on, this is like my dream!”

“What the fuck do you want an alien carcass for?”

“I don’t know.” Allie shrugged while muttering under a mischievous smile, but as her excitement rose so did her volume. “Dissect it and study it, resurrect it and keep it as a pet? The details don’t matter when the possibilities are this endless!”

Jay waved her hands in the air as she desperately longed to berate her friend for such an outrageous idea, but she knew her anger was never received well by those she cared for. So with a deep breath she placed shaky hands on Allie’s shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes.

“Allie. I love you. You know I love you. But I am not going to lug that thing down a hill.”

“What? Why not?”

“Why not- we don’t know what it is! It might be an alien, it might be a cryptid, it might be some failed science experiment that the government’s looking for, we don’t know! And as much as I want to support your dreams, bug, the real thing is never as good as the fantasy. Like I think Michael Myers is sooo hot, but I’d avoid a real serial killer at all costs. Cause I know I’d be disappointed, and I don’t want you to be disappointed when we find out the truth about-… well whatever that is.”

Allie’s shoulders slumped, her head dipped, and she let out a sad sigh. But then she tilted her head up ever so slightly and pouted at Jay, her brown eyes somehow glossy with tears as she looked just beyond her thick glasses.

“Please bird? Please?”

“…”

Mud smeared down along the hill as it barreled down the slick grass, its pale skin collecting dirt all the way down until it made a loud ‘thud’ against the wheel of Eddie’s van still sitting patiently at the bottom of the hill. Allie smiled at Jay who refused to look back, just rigorously wiped her hands on her jacket in an attempt to rid the feeling of its cold skin. It didn’t work.

They weren’t sure what to do at that point, neither of them wanted to load the alien into their trunk so it sat against the van in a small pile of mud. The sun was just barely peeking up over the horizon, the sky above them adopting a deep blue shade and calling to action every nocturnal creature burrowing in the surrounding forest. They had no idea where to go, so they walked down the hill in search of a path they could drive onto since there was no way they’d be able to drive up onto the highway again. The light grew more scarce as they weaved through trees, flinching when water droplets would drip down onto their frigid faces.

A crisp snap rang through the woods, both girls immediately coming to a halt. Jay’s hand subconsciously searched for Allie’s and wrapped around her forearm while her eyes darted around for any further movement.

Allie spoke in a raspy whisper, “what was that?”

“Shhhhhh!” Jay insisted, hissing louder than Allie’s original volume.

The forest around them remained still, every breath they took felt like a risk, the hallowed howling of the breeze through the trees tricking their fight or flight with every shaking branch above them.

A round entity scuttled across the ground before them, Jay and Allie screaming and jumping into each other as their arms and legs frantically tangled into a confusing hug. Jay’s bug eyed gaze finally fell onto the possum before them after a moment of screaming. It’s pink nose digging under a sheet of fallen fall leaves in search of delicious grub.

“Oh my god, bug, it’s just a possum,” Jay explained as her vice grip on her friend turned into a lax hug of relief.

Allie caught the sweet dark eyes of the possum and the band of babies latched onto its back, sighing and following it up with a long drawn “awww! She’s a mom!”

With a new found focus they eventually discovered the road at the bottom of the hill, and made a hasty retreat back up the hill as the last legs of sunlight died. Jay practically sprinted to the passenger seat, her legs sticking out of the door as she grabbed the remaining joint from the glovebox. Sliding out and leaning against the van she took a long satisfied drag to calm her nerves. After a brief pause she huffed happily and walked around the van to get back to driving.

She stopped, realizing she shouldn’t have been able to walk around the van that easily. She slowly turned, looking down at the ground to where she swore they left the alien, and found an empty spot with a few marks of dragged mud leading into the darkness.

“… oh no…” she muttered.

“What?” Allie asked as she caught up with Jay by the side of the van, then noticed the absence of the alien as well.

“… oh no… we should go.”

“Yeah, yeah that’s a good idea.”

They both scrambled to pile back into the van, trembling hands securing their seatbelts as they shimmied into their seats. Allie adjusted her jacket under the seat belt and pulled meticulously at the thick folded fabric. When she realized her once full pocket was empty she searched her other pocket, then patted down her whole body and looked around for what she lost.

“… shit… Pepito’s gone.”

Jay snapped her head to Allie, “What?”

Allie frowned at herself and held the edges of her jacket in a tight fist, “I think I dropped him when we saw the possum.”

“… fuck.” Jay hissed before she snapped off her seatbelt and shuffled out of the van.

Allie watched her with eyes growing wide in quick rising horror, “what are you doing?”

“I’m going to get our son back,” Jay huffed back.

Allie zipped out of the passenger seat in a flash to catch Jay. Just before she could open the trunk, Allie blocked the way, slamming her back against the doors and spreading her arms wide against the cold metal.

“Look it’s- it’s fine, he’s probably like a dollar store toy we could get back in town.”

Despite Allie’s attempt to be reasonable, the underlying disappointment in her voice was clear. As ill fated as Jay’s ambitions were, she couldn’t stand the thought of Allie leaving this adventure without an alien. Flower faced or plastic based.

“Do you want to go or do you want a souvenir?”

“I want to go.”

Jay took a long drag from the joint in her fingers, giving Allie a cold stare back. Neither of them budged for a long while as they stared each other down.

“… Allie, grab my crowbar.”

Allie’s shoulders slumped, and she shook her head as she reluctantly opened the back of the van. She leaned over to dig through heaps of trash and long forgotten jackets, trying to swim through deep layers of junk to find the singular practical tool they brought on this road trip. Jay had brought it along in case of creeps and predators, not necessarily for defending against monsters while searching for a gas station figurine. But hey, she’d get her use out of it.

“Let me re-tie my boots before we go,” Allie requested with her head buried deep in the trunk, toes starting to lift off the ground as she felt the cold metal of the crow bar graze her fingertips.

“No it’s fine.” Jay took a nervous drag out of her blunt. “You can just stay put, probably safer to hang by the van-“

The leaves beneath them crunched, the ground behind Allie vibrating with a heavy thump before Jay gave a loud shrill scream. Allie’s breath caught in her throat and anxiety shot down to the very marrow of her bones. Her body clamped up, hands instinctively clinging onto the crowbar as she whipped her head around to face whatever threat lingered.

By the time she turned, all she could see was the faint frame of her friend dragging on the ground. Her screams fading from distance and braking between gasps and blood curdling groans of pain. Whatever the creature was doing to her added unseen insult to Jay’s presumed injuries. Her cries were terrible, but short lived, as they fell into silence either by a rapidly increasing distance or by Jay’s lack of effort.

Then Allie was alone… So much for the van being safe.

(Listen to “Rats” by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein)

The crow bar was pressed into her clammy hands, arms pulled tight to her heaving chest, her veins flooding with adrenaline. Her whole body was frozen, half trying to run away and half trying to follow after her friend. Reason was screaming loud and clear through the uncomfortable silence, Jay was gone and she needed to leave. It was freezing, if the monster didn’t attack her she’d probably get lost in the woods and die of hypothermia. The best thing would be to get in the van, drive back to town, and call for help.

But even in her fear, there was a small voice whispering to her in her head. Whispering reminders of her father, of the last day she saw him, of the good days they’d never have again. What she wouldn’t give to have helped her dad. What she wouldn’t do to have kept him in her life just a little bit longer. That whisper sliced through every fraction of reason inside her and conquered her fear quickly. For a brief moment the chill of the crowbar as it steadily absorbed the winter air felt more like the metal of a sword in her hands. For a brief moment in that endless darkness, as her every shaky breath stung her lungs and dried her throat, Allie imagined she could be a hero. And she wasn’t going to lose anyone else.

Allie bolted back to the trunk, scrambling for a flashlight she could’ve sworn Eddie had used to tell scary stories when they were hot boxing last Halloween. She found it, the light stuttering as it awoke from a long sleep, and without further thought she darted out into the woods. Her feet dragged through the damp ground once again. Fear attempting to hold her back but instinctual bravery pushing her forward. She tried to keep quiet, struggling to keep her gasps of breath to a minimum while the thin air felt like pins and needles through her nose. She darted her head side to side, the flashlight illuminating everything within a few feet of her as she looked for any possible signs of her friend.

It seemed hopeless at first, every damp tree indistinguishable from the last. The light rain that had been following them solidified into a gentle snowfall, creating a haze in every direction her flashlight pointed. She walked the path they took before the sun had set, assuming for some reason a monster would take the same path a person would. Her assumption led her nowhere, her friend far out of sight while a terrible silence settled over the forest.

Then a hiss sounded in her ear, far but familiar. She pointed her flashlight in every which way, searching for the humanoid sound. And she heard it again, louder, more clear than before.

“Allie-“ Jay’s broken cry echoed again, her position in the woods more clear than before.

Allie scurried in her direction, her flashlight finally illuminating something worthwhile. Jay was sitting up against a tree, hair full of leaves and a thick layer of mud and dirt covering her. She was holding her leg, trying and failing to make herself stand as deep crimson spilled from… well, it was hard to discern exactly where on her leg she was bleeding. Even as Allie rushed to her side and inspected her friend's leg, her pale flesh rouged and mangled, there were too many deep gashes tearing apart her flesh to decide on just one culprit for the stream of red trailing across the forest floor.

Jay was crying, face gaunt from fear but blushed from her tears. Before she said anything she held up her dirt covered hand, a familiar green alien clutched in her fist. Allie gasped, looking at the plastic toy like they had just found a living breathing unicorn.

“Holy fuck how did you do that?”

“I think it was fate’s compensation for my leg, he got caught up in my hands when that thing was dragging me,” Jay whispered to Allie, a small smile on her face that slowly faded as painful tears continued to fall. “You were right, you were absolutely fucking right-“

“Shh,” Allie tried to soothe her, “it’s okay, it’s okay-“

“I should’ve listened to you,” Jay continued while snot ran down her nose, wincing in pain as Allie tried to help her up. “Ahh-, fuck, I always should’ve listened to you.”

Allie did what she could to help her friend to her feet, holding her waist while throwing Jay’s arm over her shoulder. They hobbled together through the woods, Jay groaning in pain with every step her wounded leg had to make.

“You can say your peace later,” Allie said as firmly as she could, “we have to get back to the van.”

Jay nodded, trying to carry her weight in Allie’s arms as best she could. “It’s still out here, I managed to get it off me but I doubt that thing’s done with us.”

“Shit, okay what did you do?”

“I tried hitting it but its skin is pretty damn durable, I used my blunt to burn it and the fucker ran away crying. So less susceptible to bludgeoning, prone to fire damage.”

The two spoke in low voices, the same cadence they used when trying to come up with a battle tactic for Hellfire. Odd that the situational awareness they gained from a fantasy roleplaying game might be the difference between life and death.

“It’s gotta have a weak spot,” Allie added. “Every monster has-“

“A weak spot,” Jay joined in to finish the sentence. “Dragons underbelly, beholder’s eyes, Eddie’s insecurities-“

“And for that Alien I’d guess we target its mouth. If it’s got durable skin then its insides are probably soft as hell. Aim for a blow right in the gullet, gives us time to escape,” Allie plotted out loud.

“Sure, but that means we either have to take this thing on in a close range melee fight or get a flamethrower-“ Jay’s skeptical comment was interrupted by a terrible screeching sound.

Both the girls' breaths caught in their throat and anxiety shot down to the very marrow of their bones. It was a terrible grading screech one might attribute to a hulking prehistoric reptile rather than a midwestern forest dweller.

“… Bird, can you walk?” Allie whispered.

“… I don’t think so…”

“… can you run?”

“… I’m gonna have to.”

(Listen to “What Did You Do To Him?” by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein)

Still moving as one singular mass they picked up speed. Jay’s lame leg dragging against the ground, painting the path below in bright wet red they had no doubt was leading that monster to their direction. The cries grew louder, mixed with shrill hisses and unholy clicking sounds.

These girls spent their free time imagining fighting magical monsters, and yet they hardly felt magical being chased by one.

As they jogged back to the van they could hear it, the awful cries growing louder, twigs snapping and leaves crackling. Its pace matched that of a dog eager to fetch a toy while its terrible clawed hands kicked up the earth beneath it. It was getting closer. But in the same vein, so was the van. They just had to run fast enough or fight quick enough for one of them to make it into the driver's seat.

Now Jay, did the one thing you should never do when being chased. She looked back. Her eyes, freshly adjusted to the darkness, could make out its four legged mass charging at them, its face peeling open to screech proudly at catching up to the girls.

“It’s here!” Jay shouted in terror.

Allie cursed under her breath, letting go of Jay and pushing the girl towards the van a few feet away. “Go!”

She spun around, pulling the crowbar in her hands back and around her head. She turned just in time to catch fiend’s the terrible clammy grey skin suspended in the air. Allie pulled her arms into a steady circle just as the alien was about to tear her face apart and decked it to the ground. Its lily-like expression met with the wet dirt beneath it as it struggled to scramble to its feet.

She swung again, the wet dirt beneath her sliding her body to the side and skewing her perfect shot. Then a full set of sharp teeth pierced through her jacket and dug into her skin. Allie screamed at the sharp sting, her feet continuously slipping on mud while the petal-like maws were tugging at her arm. As she was being dragged she caught a large tree close by, and dug her feet into the wet ground to charge into it. The alien was slammed against the bark and growled as its mouth was forced open.

She slammed the side of her face against the tree in the process, so she took a moment to shake some sense into her. She tightened her grip on the crowbar and backed up just enough to crack her weapon into its head, its skull bouncing as it slammed against the tree and slid to the ground. As much as she deserved to stand there and gloat like a proud gladiator, her victory was probably just luck. So she darted back to the van.

Jay was slow as she cried the whole way back to the van, her legs bouncing and jolting like her pain was a puppeteer tugging at the strings on her knees. She thought to hop into the driver's seat and get the van started, but she’d never make it. She could make it to the trunk at least.

Finally hopping up to the iron doors she opened one side, crawling in with the strength she had left in her body. As she sat up she noticed Allie dashing back to her, and the pale foreign figure finally getting back on its feet. It shook its head, the slits of its face opening so it could roar before sprinting towards Allie. They were cutting it close, she wasn’t sure what she could do to slow down the alien any longer.

Until she remembers the missing pieces of their puzzle. Fire.

When Allie was close enough she tossed the keys to her friend, “drive!”

Allie obeyed, taking no time to leap into the driver's seat. Jay pulled her lighter out of her pocket, taking a brief moment to look back at the junk piled into the trunk. Old towels, broken guitar strings, a guitar pedal, hair spray, so many fucking bear cans- wait, yes, her hair spray!

The van rumbled beneath her and jolted to a start, her finger tips nearly missing the spray can as Allie started to drive around the side of the cliff. Chasing after like a desperate dog was the alien, all fours digging into the ground while it pursued with reckless abandon.

It leaped up once more, jaws stretched wide open and claws dangling in the air. Jay sparked her lighter, aimed her hairspray, and rained glorious hellfire right down the monster's throat. It’s terrible rows of teeth shining bright orange in the beam of fire.

It recoiled, losing its momentum while it fell to the ground, its flaming jaw slamming against the vans bumper. Jay didn’t listen to its screeches of pain, just closing the door of the trunk before Allie sped off into the woods.

“Holy shit- that’s what I call a fireball mother fucker!” Jay shouted victoriously, finally deflating on the van’s floor as her pain took over her body. The cassette player in the front of the van finally comes back to life and picks up where they left off on the tape.

(Listen to “Never Going Back Again” by Fleetwood Mac)

“You okay bird?” Allie called out in a shaky voice.

“Yeah bug.”

“Is Pepito okay?”

“Right here bug,” Jay affirmed as she felt the small figure in her pocket.

They were heaving for a long while, breathless and weak as the adrenaline slowly seeped out of their bodies. It was a miracle Allie managed to get back on the road, finally breaking the tree line to greet the paths that curved around tall mountains.  The altered path was enough of a detour to extend the trip a few more hours than necessary.

They visited the topic of the alien in spurts, throwing theories back and forth with wavering levels of certainty. Every hypothesis had too many loose ends, every theory didn’t have enough application, and the implication of every concept was too terrifying to face. Whatever that creature was, wherever it came from, it carried truth’s neither were ready to face. So after much debate heated with freshly sown trauma, they decided to never speak of the alien again.

The sun had just risen past dawn, a soft light basked the labyrinth like trailer park in wide square shadows over fields of dead grass. A mop headed brunette was accumulating a thick cloud of smoke around himself while he anxiously huffed on his third cigarette that morning. He barely got a lick of sleep. The bags under his eyes were almost as dark as his doe like irises. His foot tapped relentlessly on the concrete steps leading up to his front door.

It was one thing to wake up to Eddie’s van being stolen, it was another to go an entire day without seeing the thieves. And the ordeal was only made remarkably worse by the pair not returning even into the next morning. His steadily increasing worry kept him up all night. He burned through blunts like nobody's business until his supply was short and he had to crack into one of his uncles six packs. Every time he heard a car in the distance his heart would race and his head would crane frantically to see if it was his van coming down the dirt path, but it never was.

The latest car to drive down the road was his Uncle Wayne as he was coming back from his graveyard shift. The older man took his time to park in their driveway, aka a dead patch of grass, lining up his car to make sure he didn’t bump into the hearse already parked there. He knew this vehicle well, it usually meant a raven haired teen wasn’t far, but in this instance it meant Jay hadn’t returned with Eddie’s van. And he made a damn good guess that Allie was with her since Eddie called her house and her brother said she left the previous morning in a rush.

Wayne climbed out with a resigned look on his wrinkled face, pressing his lips together as he approached his nephew on the steps.

“… still no sign of ‘em?” He asked in his gruff but well meaning voice.

“Take a fucking guess,” Eddie grumbled back. He chucked his cigarette butt onto the ground, putting it out with his foot as he stood and stretched.

Wayne hummed back, he stepped inside and started clunking around before he walked back out with two cans of beer in his hands. “Those girls almost get into more trouble than you do.”

“I’ll say,” Eddie scoffed back as he eagerly took a beer. “I swear when they get back I’m gonna kill them.”

“Oh you don’t wanna kill ‘em,” Wayne replied while shaking his head.

“No I do, I seriously do.”

“Nah, you don’t.” The older man took a quick swig of his own beverage, growling low at the satisfying sensation. “Just be real sweet, who knows what’s kept ‘em held up for so long.”

Eddie opened his beer and chugged nearly half the can, wiping his mouth and letting out a similar low rumble as the carbonation hit his stomach. The beer kept his head light so his troubled thoughts grew quiet, but it swam around with the gnawing fear in his gut so it really didn’t help much at all.

After a moment of staring off into space he muttered, “what if they don’t come back?”

Wayne looked down at Eddie with a growing frown. “… well, we’d go to the police and tell ‘em about your van.”

“Yeah but how would they know where to look for it? They didn’t leave a fucking note or anything so I don’t even know where they’d be if they-“ Eddie cut himself off by shoving his head into his hand and rubbing his face roughly. His friend’s mortality was a subject he had to face, as much as it pained him to imagine that either of the girls could be hurt.

His uncle sighed and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, “it’ll work out, kid. You oughta get some sleep though, you look like the dead risen again.”

Eddie let out a half assed laugh, keeping his eyes on the road while Wayne staggered back into their trailer, the rotting iron door slamming behind him. Eddie just couldn’t look away, not yet. He didn’t want to believe that Allie and Jay might never come back, that he’d lose his van and the two people he cared about more than anything in a single day without any control over it. He fucked up a lot of things, he was used to getting hurt because of it. He couldn’t accept that he might endure an exponential loss without any input. Without any chance to stop it

The sound of gravel pressing harshly into dirt grew louder, and Eddie’s hard trained eyes were rewarded by the incoming view of his van. Thank god. He got up on his feet, shifting his weight while adrenaline kept him from relaxing any longer. Now that he didn’t have to worry, he had time to be livid. He threw his hands in the air, pressing his lips together in a disapproving glare as he stalked towards the parked van.

“Guess the peanut gallery decided to come home,” Eddie shouted. “It’s still grand theft auto if the auto is a hunk of-…”

He trailed off when Allie slumped out of the driver's seat, her thick glasses failing to hide the deep bruise on her cheek, and even her signature jacket couldn’t hide the trace of blood seeping through the fabric.

Without much time to think Eddie’s heart stopped and he rushed to Allie. His calloused hands grasped her face and kept her close while his eyes did a frantic dance over her form. He gasped and stuttered, one hand twitching to grab her arm but remembering it’s probably not good to grab someone’s still bleeding injury.

“Holy shit, Bug, are you okay? What hap- who did this?” He rambled as his worry grew.

Allie had half a mind to turn into a blubbering mess at his intense attention, but after the last few hours she only had the energy to brush her hands up his forearms to reassure him.

“I’m fine, Eddie, seriously.”

“You don’t look fine!” Eddie squawked back, “What the hell happened?”

Her mouth hung open for a second, her breath stuck in her chest before she released a sharp dumbfounded sigh. The van behind her made a familiar cry of the passenger door opening, in desperate need of wd40, then followed by a whimper. A series of groans and hisses sounded around the van as Jay slammed the door shut, one hand on the hood of the vehicle as she limped towards the other two. 

Eddie was already shocked to see Allie disheveled, but when he spotted Jay coated in dirt and blood like a zombie freshly crawled out of the ground, he was floored.

“Oh fuck-“ he whispered as he scrambled to Jay.

He snatched her arm and threw it over his shoulder, keeping a firm hand around her ribs while leaning her against him. He tried taking slow steps for her, quietly coaching her how to best walk and not put strain on her leg. But he could only take so many of her small cries before he just couldn’t take it anymore.

“Allie, get the door,” he said low and serious as he scooped up Jay in his arms, deciding to carry her bridal style.

Allie shuffled up to the door as quickly as she could, holding the door open as Eddie whisked past her. Wayne was lounging back on the couch before he sprung up at the sight of the trembling trio.

Eddie rushed Jay to the couch, “Wayne get the-”

“Yep,” his Uncle called out, already exasperated as he went to fetch their modest med kit.

Eddie was as gentle as possible as he placed the filth ridden goth on his couch, pulling his Uncle’s armchair halfway across the room and pulling her injured leg up to rest on it. He snatched Allie by her hip and pushed on her shoulder until she plopped down on the couch next to Jay. Propping her bleeding arm on a pillow on the armrest.

Wayne hobbled out of the bathroom with the small medical box in hand, not really getting to hand it to Eddie before he grabbed it and darted back to the girls. Wayne’s hand hovered in the air before he let out a rough sigh and made himself at home in their small kitchen.

“You girls might be better off going to a hospital.”

Jay’s hand shot up in the air to give a dismissive wave, “later. It’s been a fucking day.”

“And I can’t afford the medical bills,” Allie muttered next to her, eyes glossed over and voice weary.

“And she- that’s-... that’s right. She can’t.” Jay agreed with a slightly embarrassed tone. Her flash of awkward remembrance was interrupted by an alcohol wipe gliding up her bite marks and forcing a surprised groan from her.

“Sorry,” Eddie apologized fast and breathless, eyes wide like he was about to pass out.

“... now what the hell happened? I’m fucking serious, if I have to throw together some molotov cocktails for some ass-whipes house I’ll do it.”

Jay groaned, “no one’s house is getting burned down-”

“Can I help?” Allie piped up. Her suggestion caused Eddie’s hands to spasm in the medical box he was reaching into and sending bandaids flying all around him.

Jay whipped her head towards Allie, “no one is making molotov cocktails!”

Allie deflated and settled in her seat, snaking a strand of hair through her fingers before nervously chewing on it. Jay sighed and sat back, closing her eyes and trying to come up with a convincing lie. She was an actress, she could do that.

“... it was a dog,” she huffed. “Some guy’s guard dog got let off his leash and he went ballistic.”

“Jesus H…” Eddie tied some gauze around her leg, making sure it was secure. “Where the fuck did you go?”

“Point Pleasant,” Allie slurred as her hair slipped out of her mouth, “Virginia.”

Wayne leaned over the kitchen counter, his wrinkles made deeper by his frown, “you took Ed’s van all the way out there?”

Jay and Allie hesitantly nodded, equal looks of guilt on their faces. Wayne just shook his head before he pointed to Eddie, “I told you we’re not tradin’ it in.”

Eddie rolled his eyes, finishing up Jay’s leg and giving it a once over. It would do till she could get better medical attention. Then he stood up and leaned over Allie, gently wrapping his hand around her wrist to tilt her arm and slowly pull down her jacket sleeve to look over her similar bite marks.

“... a dog really did this?” He asked low, his eyes scanning up to meet Allie’s.

Flashes of the creature bombarded her mind. Its unnatural face. Its terrible teeth. Its wet grey skin. That terrible screech she’d probably be hearing in her mind for months. Her breath shook at every hellish memory, her eyes wide but stern as she pushed down her fear. And she nodded.

Eddie sighed, his eyebrows twitching up as he decided to trust her. He went to work, giving her injured arm the same tender treatment he gave Jay’s leg.

“... just… warn me next time? Or fucking- take me with you?”

“No,” Allie said firmly, her head shooting up to look at Eddie with a more desperate expression than he was used to seeing. “We’re not going back there… none of us, ever.”

Eddie frowned in surprise at the weight of her outburst but nodded slightly and went back to her arm. It was quiet for a moment… oddly quiet.

“...Bird?” he called, not taking his eyes off Allie’s arm, “you’re not gonna protest?”

Jay was in her own world for a moment when Eddie called to her and she looked back at him, a blank but slightly confused look on her face. Her eyes darted between him and Allie before she shrugged quickly. “Why would I disagree? She’s right… don’t wanna go back if they’re dogs are fucked up.”

And that was the story. They got jumped by a rabid dog in Virginia. Jay eventually drove them both to the hospital, they got a few stitches, and Jay’s parents paid for the both of them… after, of course, lecturing them both on how dangerous it was to run off like that. But it was better to hear it from the Mocking’s than the Perea’s, who thought Allie was having a casual sleepover and didn’t care what happened to her otherwise.

The pact was set in stone, the alien never brought up again, Point Pleasant forever scarred by the horrors of that impromptu road trip. But they left with their lives, and that’s what mattered in the end.

(Listen to “Rio”, Duran Duran)

There wasn’t anything to do in Hawkins Indiana. Sure there were record stores and vintage diners along the main strip downtown, but those industries were carried on by traditional residents alone. There wasn’t anything charming about Hawkins, it was just your run of the mill middle of nowhere Midwestern town. Until the Starcourt mall.

The newest edition to the smallest town in the Midwest was a hit amongst locals. Normally your selections for an evening out were slim to none, you’d have to drive hours away for the best date nights. But the Starcourt Mall was a shining beacon to the people of Hawkins, a tower of neon lights that sang a song of genuine entertainment. Shaky escalators, iconic chain clothing stores, a food court fumigating with grease, and a cozy movie theater to boot Hawk theater out of business.

It had everything to appeal to anyone from a rambunctious teen to a generous grandparent, the glow of the sun coming in from the glass ceiling more than just a natural light source. It was the light of hope for social lives all across town. Not to mention the impact it had on the economy. Hundreds of new jobs opened up to the ambitious folks in Hawkins with the promise of decent salary. Many people left their jobs at their local mom-and-pop-shops, so the town lost some of its historic charm with the modern mall, but with all the beloved structure had to offer it was difficult to find real fault in Starcourt. There was a Jazzercise studio, a gaming arcade, Sears. With no competition for miles, Starcourt Mall ruled Hawkins Indiana the summer of ’85.

(Listen to “Walk This Way”, Aerosmith)

“Where’d you get that record?” Allie asked.

She lounged casually in the plush seats in Scoops A’hoy, the slightly sticky leather clinging to the dense fabric of her brown carhartt jacket. Select patches adorned the piece, their rough texture matching with the slightly worn out graphic of her Van Halen shirt. Allie’s stare was buffered by square glasses, her round brown eyes flickering across the table with growing judgment. Full cheeks which would look lovely in a smile only adding to her youthful appearance while her full lips pulled into an unamused frown. A hint of pink in her tawny skin accented by the dark birthmarks under her eye. Her brown hair tickled her shoulders with a volume brought on by messy waves.

Allie Perea was rarely seen without a displeased stare, could’ve been caused by her tumultuous family or could’ve been caused by her fresh seeded hatred for Hawkins. She’d moved in less than a year ago, yet within her first day she had marked herself as a basket case amongst her fellow classmates. The bucket of insults she had collected filtered out to one title she did her best to wear proudly, “The Bitch of Hawkins High.” She possessed an off-putting attitude ready for someone to have a problem with her and an unwillingness to be social, which made her seat in a social setting like Starcourt Mall unusual. In truth Allie stared at the girl across the sugar stained table, a shadow looming in the bright colored shop.

Brown hooded eyes stared back at her framed by thick black eye makeup, black hair teased to high heaven like a rain cloud around her head. Her upturned nose sported a septum ring and her tall cheekbones were painted with unnaturally sharp black contour, it washed out her pale skin to a sickly ivory. A Siouxsie and the Banshees shirt cut off her shoulders while fishnet gloves crawled up her arms to meet the short sleeves. She had thin lips painted in a deep red with an oval birthmark dotted just under the left of her lip.

Janice, Jay, Mocking had practically grown up in Hawkins. She memorized every store to street corner, remembered all the awkward stages of the preps and jocks that mocked her, and knew every hypocrite that attended Sunday service in the church her parents pastored. In middle school her odd tendencies were mostly glossed over thanks to the authority her parents had in the community, but she lost her safety when her childhood sketches of graveyards and growing taxidermy collections got out. Her outcast shift was welcomed by her peers with a series of rude and ironic insults, and despite all the bird puns made from her name “The Hawkins Witch” was the name that stuck the most.

So it was appropriate for the bitch and the witch to grow a relationship that benefited the both of them. Allie had someone to help her navigate and Jay could be weird without being alone. Getting to know Starcourt mall had become their pastime, so despite their antisocial tendencies the two enjoyed getting complimented by strangers or berated by their school nemesis in a building with more escape routes.

Jay had let Allie’s question hang in the air, the two giving matching deadpanned stares while Scoops A’hoy bustled around them. After a slow deliberate blink Jay eventually answered, “Sam Goody’s.”

A lick of shame twisted her tongue, and Allie caught it.

“Sam Goody’s? Isn’t that a chain store? Weren’t you bashing chain stores last week?.” Allie accused.

Jay rolled her eyes back and pulled the vinyl into her lap, “look, Tears for Fears came out with a new album and I’ve been dying to-“

“Tears for Fears?” Allie interrupted.

Jay stifled just for a moment, unsure if she misspoke, “yes? Tears for Fears, Songs from the Big Chair?”

The girl across from her adjusted her glasses and brushed her hair back.

“What happened to all the punk ideologies you were preaching last week? Not going to chain stores or feeding the industry and shit?”

“The album came out months ago and Music Mania downtown still doesn’t have any copies, one little Sam Goody’s run isn’t gonna hurt anyone,” Jay defended herself with a near perfect cadence. Like this was an argument she had rehearsed in her head.

“I’m just surprised you’re breaking your ‘goth principles’ over Tears For Fears.”

“Bitch, you listen to Phil Collins.”

“I do, oh I do, proudly in fact. But I’m not busting my balls adhering to rules of my subculture, and then breaking said rules for a pop group.”

“They’re pop-rock! You know what- forget it, I’m not taking shit from a ‘metalhead’ that listens to Prince.”

Allie slowly shook her head while maintaining eye contact, “... says the hypocrite.”

“Yeah?” Jay answered while raising her brows and cocking her head to the side.

“Well you’re a try hard.”

Allie crossed her arms, “you’re a poser-”

“You’re a virgin,” Jay interjected while slightly lunging over the table. The two were locked in a stare down for a long passage of silence.

“… do you wanna split a sundae?” Allie asked suddenly.

Jay’s eyes flickered to the table as she contemplated with a hum before she looked back up at Allie with a shrug, “butterscotch?”

She grimaced and groaned to disagree, “grody.”

Jay sighed in disappointment, turning her head to look back at the menu and consider their options. Just as she did so she was hit with a whiff of sweet perfume and a flash of baby blue in her vision. She felt her stomach drop just for a moment as she recognized the form walking up to the register.

(Listen to “Cheri Cheri Lady”, Modern Talking)

If mermaids were real she would be a siren. Warm skin shining rose gold in the light, plump round lips painted with delicate gloss, and deep doe eyes with lushes lashes fluttering with mischief. Her maple brown hair was long and rich in volume, curled to perfection while her bangs floated gently over her forehead. One birthmark kissed her left side just under her lip and another sat comfortably under her right eyebrow. She was dressed simply but with perfect measure, her blue dress hugging her slim waist and chest tightly while swaying around her wide hips and along her thick thighs.

Aknova James was borderline Hawkins royalty. Her parents were loaded so she was afforded every luxury the average resident of Hawkins would have to go out of their way for. While growing up under the influence of the Hippie movement from the prior decade, Nova grew into an incredibly classy young woman. At least she appeared classy. Just underneath her elegantly trimmed smile was a carefree attitude and an iron resolve, few people’s opinions could deter her predetermined perspective. And should someone cross her, she had a few choice words which would knock the wind out of anyone’s sails. Thankfully the shining star used her power wisely… more or less.

“Ohhh fuck,” Jay muttered as she watched the new customer pass by their table.

Allie’s brows furrowed and she twisted to try to match Jay’s gaze, “What?”

The second she spotted the cheerleader her own jaw became slack, “Ohhh mierda.”

Both the odd balls were familiar with Nova, mostly from the captivating atmosphere she carried through the halls, and long winded rumors of her privileged position. Being on the cheer team also granted her revered social status, and the outcasts clocked her high school social class from miles away. She was in a different league from the two entirely; when she entered a room, things shook. They could only hope things would shake away from them.

“That’s Nova James,” Allie commented with surprise.

“Yeah I know that’s Nova fucking James, her giant ass is ten feet away from my face,” Jay hissed. Curling her fingers together and resting her elbows on the table, her chin sat atop her intertwined gloved hands. Narrowing her eyes at the girl who had approached the desk, she grumbled under her breath just loud enough for her friend to hear.

“Shit, she looks hot. Really hot.”

“Good, she’ll take some of the attention off of you and your rats nest,” Allie teased while pulling at the wispy strands of Jay’s teased hair.

“It’s a bat's nest, god, and you know what, maybe I want a little attention! I’m hot! And when Madonna wannabe’s aren’t walking around like they’re god's greatest gift to the mall, I actually get compliments!”

Allie opened her mouth to reply to her friend’s banter but was left without any silence to fill.

“God she really pisses me off. Every time she comes in here she asks for a sample, dislikes the sample, and orders two scoops of strawberry in a waffle cone. But like three bites into the ice cream she sticks the whole thing into a bowl. You’d think she’d start cutting to the chase and getting strawberry in a bowl, but no, she goes through the whole process every time.”

The brunette stared at the rambling goth across from her with concern. “… are you stalking her?”

Jay looked back at her with a face still perplexed in frustration at the girl currently ordering, “I’m here a lot, and I like to people-watch, okay? Look- just look-“

As she insisted and subtly pointed to Nova, the girl already had a small spoon between her lips. Chewing slightly and nodding in response she tossed the spoon into a small trash bin. She pursed her lips while thinking for a moment, the dirty blonde currently working the desk sighing with an empty stare as Nova contemplated. She finally spoke up and pointed to a flavor sitting deep in the display. Allie and Jay watched intently while the employee leaned to grab a waffle cone, and after digging her scooper into the tub she lifted a perfect scoop of pink and red, followed by a second scoop to raise the height of the treat.

“Yeah, she got strawberry,” Allie nodded absentmindedly at the scene in front of her only to be immediately shushed by Jay who was still watching like a hawk.

Nova received the ice cream with a smile, licking a stripe while rummaging through her purse. She took a second bite while pulling out cash and dropped it casually by the register. Her motions stilled as she waited for her change to be rung up, and only once the receipt was handed to her did she take a third bite of the ice cream. After a brief conversation with the current employee the girl was handed a small bowl, and Nova dumped her ice cream down into the cup quickly while the waffle cone peaked out like a tall tower.

“Boom!” Jay slammed her hands against the table. “Just like I said. She literally has a pattern!”

Allie flinched, startled from the noise but nodded back.

“Yep, yeah, wow,” she began in a sarcastic voice. “She literally did exactly what you said she would do. That was crazy. I’m so- so enraged by her behavior. Good catch Jay.”

“… can you at least pretend to care?”

“I was pretending.”

“Well then do it better-“

“Hey Jay,” a new voice chimed into their conversation.

The two girls turned their gazes to the opposite side of their table to find a pretty brunette in a blue dress staring at them patiently while chewing on a spoonful of ice cream. A smirk tugged at her lips and she batted her lashes with feigned innocence. The once previously hunched over goth straightened in her seat and smiled politely.

“Hey- hi, Nova. Good to see you.” She slurred in slight panic.

“You know I thought Elvira was sitting here for a second, I was about to ask for an autograph! How are you?” Nova asked as she shifted her weight to one hip, eyes flickering between the two girls sitting side by side in the booth.

Jay let out a breathless laugh while her flattered face grew pink.

“I’m good, uhm, have you met Allie?” Jay asked as she motioned to her friend next to her, Nova’s eyes quickly followed like she had been waiting for the stranger to be brought up.

“No, not formally, I’m Nova James,” she said with an award winning grin. Her hair falling delicately to one shoulder as if it was commanded to.

Allie was struggling to respond, staring wide-eyed while her mouth hung open and a hum rang out, like she was a robot in the middle of saying hi before someone hijacked her programming. Jay gently kicked Allie under the table to silence her droning, their thick boots creating a dull ‘thwack’ against each other.

“Hi! Nice to meet you finally, formally, properly, uhm- I’m Allie Perea, I moved here a few months ago- New Mexico.” Allie came to life and spoke quickly.

“No way,” Nova’s voice peaked with intrigue, “that’s so cool! I went there for a music festival with my parents when I was younger.”

Allie was wide eyed behind her square glasses, “Oh wow, you’ve really traveled- uh, yeah we get really good groups out there. My dad took me to see Van Halen last year.” She said and after a beat tugged on her tour t-shirt.

“Those are the guys that did that one song-” Nova hummed the opening melody to Jump while squinting her eyes to place the group in her mind.

“Yeah! Yeah that’s them!” Allie answered with a grin

“Gnarly, they seem fun to hear live.” She complimented while watching the bundled up girl continue to gawk. Allie’s soft features slowly started to curl into an impressed smile, eyes shining with excitement at the mention of the band. Although the transfer student was a fresh face, the cheerleader couldn’t help but find Allie endearing and sweet.

Allie’s mind on the other hand was a whirlwind, this casual interaction defied everything she knew about the social hierarchy in Hawkins. Cheerleaders didn’t talk to basket cases and when they did they certainly weren’t nice about it. Yet the wealthy girl was currently on equal footing as the outcasts, enjoying the same atmosphere and the same sweet treat. The concept helped to soothe Allie’s rampant anxiety.

Jay looked between the two for a moment as the conversation halted, so she interrupted the awkward silence with as charming a smile as she could muster, “Well what brings you to the mall? Running some errands? Meeting up with a hot date?”

Nova laughed and waved her hand in the air, “not today, I’m just meeting up with a friend.”

Nova glanced between the two girls, her foxy eyes glimmering with cunning as her freehand pressed on the table. Leaning over the table to get closer to them she tilted her head.

“Actually, you guys are friends with Eddie Munson right?”

The question punctuated a pause in the banter, Jay and Allie flickering their eyes to meet as their faces twinned in confusion.

“Yeah? We are.” Jay answered uncertain.

“Does he have a job right now?”

It was then Allie barked a harsh laugh, a mocking smile stretching her lips.

“I think Eddie’s allergic to work! Guys been slacking off all summer, super bummed about being held back… I shouldn’t have said that last part.”

“It’s fine, I suspected as much.” Nova pulled out a small paper from her purse and slid it onto the table.

“My dad’s looking for someone to keep our pool clean for the summer, pay’s pretty good. If you guys could let him know I’d really appreciate it, have him give me a call if he wants the job.”

As the paper rested between the pair they both moved to inspect it, and sure enough it was Nova’s phone number. Written plainly but perfectly nonetheless. Jay ran the paper between her hands for a moment while she glanced back and forth between the paper, her friend, and the cheerleader.

“Uh, yeah, yeah, we will let him know of the opportunity.”

“Great, you guys are the best! I’ve gotta go but I’ll catch you later,” Nova gave them a playful wink and walked off, her hips swaying side to side as she waved to someone beyond Scoops A’hoy. “Isa! Over here!”

Jay scrambled to lean on the table and watch the swaying of her skirt, “hate to see her leave, love to watch her walk away-“

“Holy shit what was that?” Allie exclaimed as she grabbed Jay’s arm and shook her harshly. “How did she know your name?”

“I don’t know!”

“I thought I was gonna die! Pinche madre, she knows my name now!” Allie deflated in her seat and slapped her hand against her chest.

Jay was too busy examining the slip of paper in her hands, bouncing slightly in her seat while relishing over the dark ink, “and we have her phone number! She gave us her number!”

“… yeah, for Eddie…” Allie corrected with a studious cadence.

Jay turned to look at her, both staring deadpanned as they had earlier.

“… and? She handed it to me.”

“I don’t think she wants you as her poolboy.”

“Hey, I could make a great pool boy. I’m fit, I’m handy-“

“Jay, she wants to fuck Eddie.”

“Ew!” Jay’s face scrunched up like she had tasted a fresh lemon and she dropped the number on the table.

“Gag me with a spoon, don’t put that image in my head!”

“It’s obvious! If her family was really just looking for someone to clean their pool they’d get some average Joe off the street, but Nova’s looking for someone specific to take it. I mean she went out of her way to talk to us just to get to Eddie!”

Allie waved her hands in the air for emphasis and finally slapped them back down in her lap, her friend watching with her lips pressed thinly together and a stare that suggested denial. With a groan Jay dropped her head into her hands and rubbed her face harshly.

“Oh god, she’s gonna fuck Eddie…”

Allie nodded back, the thought that they were accidental accomplice’s in an aspiring hookup was awkward enough. But when factoring in that one of the most popular girls in Hawkins High was making a pass at their loser Dungeon Master, a guy so different from her, a whole new cloud of shame hung over their heads in response’.

Considering Eddie’s romantic track record, Nova’s chances with him were shaky; his last relationship ended in a felony and his crush turned out to be a lesbian. Whatever the result, Allie and Jay had to endure bearing witness. The two girls sat in quiet contemplation, imagining what kind of dumpster fire Eddie would make out of Nova’s advances while also reeling that they encountered a wild cheerleader and survived unscathed.

“… do you wanna split a sundae?” Allie asked with disdain still present in her attitude.

Jay raised her head, humming in contemplation, “butterscotch?”

Here is the og photo for y’all that wanna reference it for your own memes💕

(Listen to “West End Girls” by The Pet Shop Boys)

“For Christ's sake stop telling me to put a tarrasque under the city,” Eddie murmured with a hoarse rattle to his voice. His messy waves formed a small curtain over his face while he whispered to the girl sitting close to him, the denim of his dark jeans scratching against her black leather skirt to create a hum of friction that hid their conversation.

Jay hunched close to Eddie with her arms crossed, her teased black hair making the perfect shield while the rest of their party conversed around them. It was the best privacy they could afford in the busy cafeteria surrounded by their fellow freaks in Hellfire Club. The symphony of high schoolers around them already helped to keep their party in the dark, but they couldn’t be too certain. So they kept close to one another and spoke low, huddling together while they overwhelmed the end of the table with the smell of cigarettes and hair spray.

“Don’t be a pussy,” Jay rolled her eyes and whispered back.

“It’d be hilarious! Drop them off in a city full of magic, and since Gareth has so many anti magic spells-”

“I got it, I got it,” Eddie ended her thought before it could continue. Eddie didn’t tell anyone his plans for his games, but he was never opposed to suggestions when he needed to stretch out a session. Jay was someone he turned to for brainstorming, but this specific idea she came back to frequently.

“Listen, sadist,” he scolded, “you might find the idea of a TPK intriguing, but I planned the end of this campaign before I even had players. And I would sell my soul to satan himself and be damned for all eternity before I would let this party die before that.” With a harsh bite into a pretzel he affirmed his certainty.

Jay blinked slowly at him, otherwise not emoting.

“… you know you shouldn’t say that shit, I know people who would believe you.”

Eddie didn’t exert the energy it would take to roll his eyes, but he leaned back and averted his gaze to mark the end of the conversation. Just as he glazed over the party, still distracted with their own mindless bickering, he spotted a hazy figure at the table across from them. Her familiar outline, a magnet that pulled his focus away from Planet Outcast to a whole new glowing galaxy where Nova was the shining star.

Leaned over the table, a vision in the signature green and white uniform for Hawkins cheerleaders, even without the sun beaming over her she still shined like an angel. Nova James was laughing along with her cheer team, entertaining her clique with a comment that seemed clever enough to sweep the group into a fit of laughter. Eddie was staring at her perfectly curled hair and well arranged appearance, subconsciously mesmerized by her stature. He didn’t realize how long he had been staring until her eyes suddenly locked with his from across the cafeteria. When the surprise left Nova’s eyes a pleasant joy glimmered in its place, she smiled at him and waved gracefully. Eddie was frozen for a moment, jolting up his hand in the air like an afterthought and waving back a bit too eagerly. Even after hanging out all summer he was still shocked whenever she would acknowledge him in school.

Jay wasn’t paying attention to anything other than a small sandwich with which she was meticulously peeling off the crust of a small sandwich with disgust. But when Eddie’s arm shot up in the air she turned her head frantically. Darting her head to where Eddie was beaming she finally noticed Nova’s attention had turned to the metalhead. She gave Eddie a sly smirk, nodding with approval as she folded up the mutilated meal in front of her.

“I still can’t believe you’re all buddy-buddy with Nova fucking James.” She shook her head.

Eddie slowly brought his hand back down to his side, “yeah I’m still pinching myself awake over here.”

Just when they thought the moment was over and Nova would go back to her group, Nova made a hasty comment to the other cheerleaders before bounding across the room. Even though the space was swallowed by teenagers' conversations, the two watching her strides swore the squeaking of her sneakers resounded through the crowded cafeteria. Jay grabbed Eddie’s arm harshly and began a rapid slapping motion against his leather jacket as Nova grew closer.

“Oh god- oh my god is she coming over here? Is she coming over here?” Her voice got progressively higher and quieter.

“Act cool, Jesus act cool- hey Nova.” Eddie gave Nova his best charming smile.

The group of young Hellfire boys had barely paid attention to the encroaching presence until it was too late, and the sweet smell of Nova’s perfume all snapped them out of their conversations to watch in paralyzed awe as the socialite made a casual descent into their atmosphere.

“Hi Eddie,” she said in a sweet voice, she took a long pause to slide her gaze over to the companion nearest to him. “Hi Jay.”

“Hi,” Jay replied with her mouth agape in a pathetic smile.

Eddie stood up from his seat slightly and gave a dramatic bow, “Gracing us peasants with your esteemed presence? It’s gotta be someone’s birthday, hopefully mine.”

There was a brief pause between them as Eddie’s toothed smile started to turn down in awkward realization, then Jay suddenly tugged at his denim vest and pulled him back down in his chair. He huffed in surprise before glancing at Jay with confusion for her abrupt command of his space. Her eyes grew wide, her brows lifted, and she pressed her lips together in a threatening expression. A warning to stop talking before he made anything worse, and her round of charade made his face fall in dejection.

Then Nova laughed, and the two snapped their heads up to her in surprise. Her hair had gently fallen over her face as she lowered her head to giggle, running a gentle hand through her hair when she smiled back at Eddie.

“I’d get you an actual present if it was,” Nova said with a flutter of her lashes.

Eddie’s embarrassment turned back into smug confidence which he flaunted to Jay with a smirk. She in kind responded with a tired head shake.

Nova twirled her hair in her fingers for a brief moment before she placed her hand on her hip.

“You know me and my team were just talking about music and stuff, your band performs downtown right?”

“Yes ma’am, Corroded Coffin has frequent sets at the Hideout, usually Saturdays.” Eddie struggled to keep his cool.

“Are you guys performing this Saturday? I’d love to officially see you guys play.”

Eddie stuttered for a moment before he smiled widely and nodded with a pace oozing with his desperation to please, “yeah, hell yeah! I’ll let Bev know we’ll have a full house.”

Eddie's grin remained unaltered and Nova admired the sight, but there was a troublesome aura radiating from the end of the cafeteria table.

See, Janice never had a poker face. If ever she had an emotion pleasant or otherwise, a matching expression would be stapled on her face as quickly as the emotions arose. And ever observant Nova caught the goths flickering wide eyes, curled frown, and furrowed brows at lightning speed. The cheerleader just simply turned her attention to Jay and tilted her head softly in silent recognition. Jay, realizing she’d worn her judgment like a statement red lip, shrunk her frown despite the harm already being done.

“That’s a pretty big commitment for a bunch of kids who listen to, what, Wham?” Jay commented in a slightly playful tone trying to keep herself from seeming mean.

Nova didn’t entertain the thought and replied with a voice even sweeter, “I’m trying to keep the group’s taste fresh, plus we want to support local groups.”

“Metal.” Eddie gawked at her. He glanced back at Jay and did a double take when he noticed her skeptical undertone didn’t melt. Nudging her arm he spoke low.

“Hey, don’t scare away our audience bird.”

She looked back and forth between the girl standing before them and her friend warning her in a voice not as quiet as he thought.

“I wouldn’t call a bunch of preps our audience. I mean are they even gonna be able to find the Hideout? Are they gonna be able to withstand the Hideout?”

Nova not so subtly cleared her throat while keeping her eyes on Jay. She looked back up at the brunette giving her an expectant look and decided honesty was a better policy to adhere to.

“Pardon my doubt,” she began apologetically, “we’re just gearing ourselves for a particular audience. And I don’t see you as being a part of that.”

The girl currently standing on the opposite side of the table slowly adjusted her weight with a pointed pop of her hip and dropped her head to graze against her shoulder.

“I didn’t realize Corroded Coffin was so exclusive. Didn’t realize you were a member either.”

“Well I am.” Jay replied slightly defensively, seeing the feigned unassuming tone Nova used.

“Oh yeah,” Eddie butt in with a mouthful of pretzels. 

“Jay’s a great bass player. Whenever Grant is gone and Jeff can’t cover she takes the reins.”

Both the girls gave hard stares to Eddie for completely different reasons. He glanced up only to be caught between the excitement burning in Nova’s eyes and a sobering disdain in Jay’s, the hot and cold felt like whiplash.

“So you’re the sub… for the sub…” Nova commented while pressing her lips together to try and hide a satisfied smirk.

Eddie gawked for a moment, not sure what made Nova so cheerful but knowing he probably did something wrong since Jay stared into the side of his head like she  wanted to cut open his skull and swirl his brains around with a chopstick. So he swallowed his mouthful and tried to pick up the pieces of whatever he broke.

“Uh- well we- she usually plays with us during band practice so she still gets to use those skills.”

“Right. Just not in front of an audience?” Nova directed her question to Jay.

Jay simply let out a deep sigh, keeping her attention to the table in front of her and not the girl currently calling her out. So Nova took the silence as a resounding ‘yes’ and hummed pretending to be surprised.

“Bummer. You might not be the right person to dictate their audience then.” She added with a terribly casual shrug, a movement made as if without an air of thought behind it, like she hadn’t just taken the handful of pride Jay had and twisted it into knots that tied embarrassment into the goths gut.

“Thanks for the details though, I’ll be seeing you guys this weekend.” Nova went back to her cheery demeanor. Dragging her hand along the table as she gave a lingering look to the boy currently staring up at her with hopeful eyes.

“Bye Eddie.”

“Bye- see ya, see you… later…” he trailed off in a haze as she walked away. He watched her as she made her way back to her table carrying herself with the instinct of a model walking down a runway, or a Queen traveling down a path lined with her subjects.

The second he turned his head back he locked eyes with Jay, who was currently seething in place. Hot breath fled her nose and he swore he could see puffs of cartoonish steam emit from behind her septum ring. Her ill temperament was obvious enough, the cause of which was less so to the metalhead.

“… what?” He asked with a languid mutter.

“You know sometimes you open your mouth and I hate what comes out of it.” Jay answered quickly. Her words likely came off as accusatory but in truth she was just frustrated.

Of all times for Eddie’s tendency to overshare this was the moment it came out? To be fair she deserved it, she could’ve tried bottling up her judgmental feelings until after Nova walked away, or just tear her own face off entirely. But alas, she allowed her emotions to take the reins yet again and Eddie could only dig her grave deeper. There was just something in the smiles shared between Nova and Eddie that soured her supportive tendency. She was yet to put her finger on why, but that would have to wait till after Saturday to uncover. Her spot was about to be flooded with normies so she had a lot of pride to swallow for their visit.

(Listen to “Venus” by Bananarama)

The next day came quickly, and Eddie warned all of Corroded Coffin of their upcoming “concert”. He wanted everyone prepared for a grueling set where they fed the audience tunes all night. He expected the owner to have an immense problem with it since she’d only ever let them play two songs, three if she was feeling generous, but he’d rather ask for forgiveness than permission. So the group was gathered just outside the football field, all huddling over sheets of loose notebook paper as they wrote down and scratched out set list after set list. There was a back-and-forth discussion on whether or not to perform original pieces or to stick with tried and true cover songs, and it quickly picked up into a rapid argument between the band members.

The quick quips rose to a level that alerted the cheer team as they flooded the field for practice. While most of the cheerleaders could ignore the general yapping a few feet away from them, Nova was all too tuned in to the one voice ringing louder than his cohorts. She followed the passionate shouting to the small corner where the outcasts all hid, startling them all as she leaned against an iron pillar and said “what’s all this?”

Eddie hardly bat an eye, continuing his tangent with a more pleasant demeanor while the rest of the band clutched their hands over their rapidly beating hearts. Nova listened intently, interjecting before the group around him could combat anymore. She confessed that she’d been writing songs for a long time, and asked for an editor on her most recent piece as she shyly pulled out a small notebook from her bag and handed it to Eddie. He read it over carefully, mouthing along with a guessed rhythm as he inspected her lyrics. He eventually gave a pleased nod and smiled up at Nova.

“You wrote this?” He asked with a hint of surprise.

Nova nodded and clutched onto her bag hanging on her shoulder, “yeah, I’ve been working on it for a while. Just trying to get it perfect.”

“This is good, I’m honestly hurt that you didn’t tell me about this sooner,” Eddie added as he handed the notebook to the group for the rest of their friends to appreciate, they all gave the same surprised but impressed glances and compliments to Nova.

When the notebook finally made it to Jay she snapped her head up from a piece of paper pressed in her lap that her eyes had been glued to. Finally realizing the cheerleader gave her an expectant look she slowly dropped the paper and took the notebook to read it with eyes glazed over. She took her time to look over each line despite how clouded her interest seemed to be, then gave a small nod and muttered “yeah, it’s good” in an underwhelmed tone.

Glancing up and handing the notebook back to Nova, she received it with a slowly falling smile and eyes darkening in offense. Only then did Jay realize just how melancholic she behaved. She apologized and tried to reason her lack of excitement to distraction, the lost look in her eyes a tell tale sign to Eddie that she had written something of her own. He snatched the paper from her lap and read it quickly. Eddie’s face furrowed at the writing. His eyes widened and his head slowly started to shake, the rest of the group adjusting in their seats waiting for him to finish his initial reading.

“… how the fuck do you do that?” He quickly tossed the paper to the rest of the group. They all read through it with an enthusiastic pace and gave the same bewildered expressions of approval.

Nova looked between all of them and grew confused, “do what?”

“Bird’s got this, like, creative superpower. She comes up with songs on the spot, just improvises the heaviest shit in like five seconds.” Eddie explained with obvious pride for his friend’s skill.

Nova nodded along, looking back at Jay as she seemed unaffected by the group’s compliments.

“That’s… crazy, actually.” She admitted, even though she felt the wind taken out of her sails with the goth's sudden contribution. She worked very hard on her own lyrics, working up the courage to share them with people she knew could appreciate them, only for her hard work to be side lined by something freshly whipped up in the same breath.

She felt the timing was weird, but couldn’t hold a grudge seeing as Jay truly did seem swept in a creative whirlwind. And it was a cool skill to have, it just seemed poor timing that the second Nova wanted to show something she was proud of, Jay was also crafting something. But it wasn’t her fault, you can’t control inspiration. It was just a coincidence, right? Yet she couldn’t stifle the troubled feeling in her chest watching as Jay hardly reacted to the symphony of compliments about her improvised lyrics. If Eddie gave Nova the same proud look he gave Jay then she’d be over the moon and joining in the banter. But Jay was quiet, and Nova stood as an outlier.

Jay drove up to school the following day, her second hand hearse creaking and clanking as it slowly slid into her favorite parking spot. “Elvira” wasn’t a trash heap like Eddie’s esteemed chariot but she certainly wasn’t as sexy as her namesake. A few rust spots, a number of deep dents and unfortunate scratches, and well loved leather seats with frayed edges from years of supporting stoic chauffeurs. She slid out of the car and waved across the parking lot to Eddie and Gareth as they leaned against his van. The parking lot was busy that morning as students were rolling in and instantly trying to find their own friends amongst the growing crowd. Then a distinct engine purr could be heard from the distance.

The shiniest coat of paint you’d ever seen, a square face and long body, and light brown hair waving in the wind with the top dropped down. This Cadillac meant serious business, such a prized possession belonged to none other than icon Nova James, and would only make specific appearances throughout each semester. That was decided when Tommy Hagan’s Christmas corvette was rear ended in the parking lot by some poor freshman. Nova wanted to limit any chance of that happening, so she’d only take her Cadillac for a spin when she was feeling particularly revved up. Some girls in cheer would refer to it as the “goddess landing” since she would walk with enough confidence to rival Venus. All in all, if you had any qualms with Nova, you should wait till the Cadillac was back in the garage.

So the stunning vehicle with its even more stunning driver pulled into the packed parking lot as Nova’s foxy eyes scanned for a spot. She noticed the hearse sitting in one of the upper rows and the goth gathering her things from the passenger's seat, there just so happened to be an open spot right next to her. For a fraction of a second and no more than that she thought to find another spot. She knew the hearse would pale in comparison to her own car, and with so many people in the area Jay might feel humiliated. But then she figured she was overthinking it, it was just a coincidence, much like Jay’s improvised lyrics were a coincidence. So she pulled up right next to the hearse.

Jay heard the rumble of a car and felt warmth radiate behind her, closing her door and turning to catch Nova’s gaze peeking at her from above her sunglasses.

“Hey Jay.” She greeted sweetly.

She in turn squinted her eyes as the sun shining off the car bounced right into her eyes, “oh, yeah, hi Nova.”

The cheerleader stepped out of her vehicle, exposing her immensely classy outfit to match her immensely classy car as she made her immensely classy entrance. Every ounce of admiration was contested with feelings of irritation as Jay could hear snickers and comments made from their peers at the duality of the two cars next to one another. She wasn’t mad at Nova, she was mad at how shallow the student body around them was. She knew she’d be hearing about this all day from people she couldn’t care less about, and let’s be honest, would it have killed Nova to park a little further away? Whether she was situationally unaware or not the brunette proceeded to put the top back down as Jay walked over to her friends with eyes still blinded.

Eddie chuckled as he watched her approach then motioned back to Nova, “no competing with that, am I right?”

“We’re not competing,” Jay snapped back, “who the fuck said we’re competing?”

“Woah,” Eddie raised his hands in mock surrender.

“I’m making a joke, chill out.”

Jay visibly bit her bottom lip to silently ridicule herself for her obviously defensive tone. Why was she feeling defensive anyways?

“Sorry bats... but just to set the record straight, there is no competition. If you have a Cadillac you automatically win everything.”

Eddie and Gareth laughed in agreement, when Nova’s sweet voice rang out across the parking lot. One hand hanging off her bag while the other stuck up in the air waving at Eddie for him to join her. He stifled for a moment, wide eyes darting between the girl waiting for him and his friends looking just as surprised as he did. Gareth patted him on the back a few times before basically pushing Eddie over to Nova and watching him stumble to her side.

Jay watched quietly, and had to bite her tongue to suppress her face from morphing into something disastrous again. That awful irritating sensation grew in her chest again and scratched at her ribcage like a feral animal longing to be released from an unfamiliar cage. She hated it, she hated watching them, and she hated as she grew to understand that feeling in her chest. Maybe, after all, whatever was happening between her and Nova could be a competition.

After school the next day everyone flooded the courtyard to either climb a buss, scurry off in their cars, or wait for someone to pick them up. Nova was in a unique situation where she was without a vehicle, her dad insisted on taking the Cadillac in for a check up and their spare car was being borrowed, so he agreed to pick Nova up from school. She stood next to Chrissy Cunningham and some of their fellow cheerleaders chatting away as she waited.

Then Hellfire Club unloaded in a chaotic flurry and dispersed just as quickly as they appeared. Eddie and Jay decided to stay with Jeff as he waited for his parents to pick him up. The nerds exchanged their hopes and expectations for their upcoming gig, all the while Nova delivered smiles and coy glances to Eddie who shot back sly smirks to distract from the nervous wave of his hand.

Jay noticed the quiet greetings and simply rolled her eyes, until she caught the sharp whispers and ear splitting giggles passed back and forth between the blonde bimbos standing around Nova behind flat hands. As if their palms suddenly dampened the twisted sounds they made. So she grabbed Eddie’s arm and spun him back around, giving him a look of warning that pushed him to continue their conversation.

Nova’s smile dropped immediately into an aggravated frown, and when the quartet of laughs grew louder she had half the mind to ridicule them right then and there. But of course, her dad finally drove up to the school with the window rolled down allowing a short snout to stick out of the passenger seat. The closer the car got the more expressive the cheerleaders became as the sweet face of a Rottweiler smiled to every passing person. Tongue hanging clumsily out of his jaws before he caught the glimpse of Nova and barked eagerly to his owner. She praised him and opened the car door, the adolescent pup jumping out of the passenger seat and eagerly clawing at her legs. She gave a stern command and the dog was quick to obey.

The cheerleaders all oohed and ahhed at how well behaved the Rottweiler was, even Eddie and Jeff slowly walked over to investigate what all the sudden fuss was. So now with an audience, Nova entertained their viewers and commanded little Arche to do the best tricks he had learned. Sitting, jumping, rolling over, even more complex tricks for such a young dog like weaving between her legs. Arche was impressively well trained and eager to please, and the onlookers rightfully complimented the young dog.

Nova caught a glimpse of Jay watching with bitter eyes from a safe distance, so the star decided to remove some of that safety. She seemed so comfortable commanding those around her with her eyes, surely she would be dying to voice her judgments.

“Not impressed Jay?” She asked.

“No, I'm plenty impressed,” Jay responded in a sarcastic voice. She took a few steps closer to Nova and brushed their shoulders together as she gave a dramatic smile, “just not a dog person.”

She walked right past the oncoming cars and onto a far plane of grass that framed the sidewalk. Cupping her hands over her mouth she called into the sky in a tender voice, giving a few greetings to seemingly no one. There was a long pause as she continued to stand comfortably in the grass, then there was movement in the tree above her. A small dark figure fluttered down from a flourishing branch and onto the grass in front of her, then a second followed, then two more after that. Jay reached into the pocket of her long black coat and pulled out a bag of peanuts, sprinkling them onto the grass before her. That was the moment a mass of black swarmed the grass from beyond the school, a flock of at least 20 crows all digging at the ground for a midday snack. Some even took tentative sidesteps to Jay outstretched hand as they plucked the peanut out of her fingers.

“… she has feral crows… as pets…” Nova said dazed before she suddenly turned to Eddie, “is that why you call her bird?”

“No!” Eddie answered quickly. “I didn’t even know this was happening! Every time she said she was going to go see her murder I thought she was making a homicide joke!”

Nova shook her head at Jay, catching the goth’s eyes as she gave a self righteous wink from her position on the grass. That was definitely an action made to irritate her, a challenge to contest the attention her dog gave her. As much as she wanted to be insulted, she simply couldn’t find it in herself. Not when at least five crows were dropping stolen dollar bills into Jay’s hands as thanks for the meal, and she knew Arche probably wouldn’t be able to do the same. So she let it slide, for now, there was plenty of time to take Jay’s ego down a peg. She certainly seemed to need it.

(Listen to “One Way Or Another” by Blondie)

Saturday night finally arrived and the strip was bustling, probably for the first time in decades. Teams of teenagers parked their cars down the damp road crowding the narrow path into The Hideout. The crowd was so dense that no one had any time to question the quality of the dive bar before they were locked into a conversation with a newly arriving friend. If they could catch the questionable stains on the ceiling or the layer of sticky bacteria they might have decided to turn tail and avoid the building like the plague. Instead they brought their own kind of hormonal plague into the bar instead.

At first the owner Bev had done everything in her power in the days leading up to the weekend to keep Corroded Coffin off the rickety stage that Saturday. But by the time the young people started piling in and ordering up she could care less about what the rambunctious teens were doing as long as they dropped crisp dollar bills on the bar.

So Corroded Coffin played, and man did they play. Eddie wailed into the microphone and shredded on his guitar, Jeff was right behind him with a complementary harmony, Gareth was zoned into the bass, and Gareth was hammering on the drums right in the pocket for every song. Not every tune was a crowd pleaser, but more often than not there were at least a few young people singing along or popping their heads to the tune.

Right in the center of every fleeting speck of gossip or piss poor attempt at a mosh pit was Nova James, chugging beers faster than boys twice her size like a fully fledged frat boy. She was relentless, dressed down and ready to sweat her ass off dancing the second she no longer had a line of challengers, which was yet to happen. After slamming the empty can of one boy's pitiful drink of choice on the rickety bar table the enthusiastic crowd around her all hooped and hollered in celebration. Her toothed smile showed off her sharp canines as she accepted her third victory out of countless more she would make that night.

“Who’s next huh?” she shouted out into the crowd, eyes darting around for her next victim while Corroded Coffin continued to blast their music through the dingy bar.

While the nearest group of insecure guys all clamored to be next in line and prove something to themselves, Nova spotted a dark figure leering just beyond the mass surrounding her table. To be fair Jay looked more approachable than she usually did at school, she was dressed a bit more revealing like Nova was. But she couldn’t fully appreciate the look, not while her heavy lined eyes were scanning the crowd in discomfort. It seemed the goth didn’t have a populace preference for the foul looks she always pulled out of her back pocket.

“Hey Jay!” Nova called, eventually getting the girl's reluctant attention.

“What’d you have?”

Jay stepped closer and shouted back confused, “what?”

“What’d you drink?”

“Nothing, I don’t drink at this bar.”

“Oh, you just had this awful look on your face. I thought you couldn’t hold your alcohol.” Nova gestured with a wide hand to Jay’s resting bitch face. Just before she could answer, Nova continued.

“But it’s worse than that, you just don’t drink at all, my bad.”

Nova turned back around to go back to whichever jock was desperate for validation, only to catch Jay make a Beeline to the bar and swipe up a whole bottle of Tequila while Bev wasn’t looking. The crowd around them ignited when she slammed the full bottle on the table, looking at Nova with clear intent. Then between the murmurs of the group around them they started to toss money on the table and exchange it between themselves, the amused crowd instantly placing bets between the two girls.

Nova looked down at the bottle, feeling unnerved at the choice. Not for her sake of course, she knew she could handle it, but she had no idea what Jay’s relationship with drinking was. For all she knew this might be her first shot. So she carefully looked back up at Jay after a brief pause.

 “I was just teasing, okay? You don’t have to hurt yourself to prove a point.”

Jay in response looked at the steadily growing pile of cash on the table before shrugging at Nova.

“If I get a hangover, I’m getting it for free.”

There wasn’t much room for further argument before Jay stationed herself on the high top chair opposite of the cheerleader, both locked in a cold stare as if the table between them was an open plane in the wild west and the band’s music were the chimes of high noon. Shot glasses settled in front of them as members of their captivated audience poured shots to the two women. The first three shots were taken with grace, the next two tugged their faces into questionable frowns, the sixth shot was when Jay’s head tilted to the side and a long exasperated sigh escaped her lips.

Nova pressed on, maybe slightly squinting her eyes but recovering quickly. The seventh made Jay whine in discontent, frowning while an eighth shot was poured and Nova downed it without a second thought.

Slamming the shot glass down Nova laughed at Jay as she slowly hunched over more and more on the table, “are you done already?”

“Nonononono wait, hang on,” Jay slurred with a pointed finger waving, not specifically, but implied at Nova’s general direction. She took a few rapid sips of the shot instead of shooting it and let the glass clatter back down on the wooden table.

Nova matched her number and took the eight shot with no more than a rapid shake of her head and a smile following soon after. They both watched as another bystander poured the ninth shot, and the already sluggish momentum between them slowed to a snail's pace. Nova kept her eyes glued to Jay and waited with perfect patience for her competitor to pick up the shot and progress their formal competition. For all the bullshit the girl had put her through the entire week, she was owed one true and honest victory. So she watched like a predator stalking its prey in a foolish moment of comfort, subconsciously begging the goth to take the shot with full vigor.

Jay stared down at the shot in front of her, what were they drinking again? That’s right, tequila, god she loved tequila. It fucks you up right quick but it’s a fun ride to have. She took hold of her shot glass and couldn’t register it's cool surface connecting with her skin, only then did she realize that Corroded Coffin wasn’t playing anymore, someone was just talking into the microphone. What the fuck were they saying? Why the fuck couldn’t she understand that bitch? And where was Eddie? That bastard, good hair but a fucking asshole, cute but in like a pitiful puppy sort of way.

Her train of thought made about five left turns before it finally turned back to the task at hand, she was trying to outdrink Nova James. Well, at this point was that really her main motivator?

With a head full of air and a smile of satisfaction growing on her delirious face Jay looked back up at Nova to mutter “now would be a good time to tell you that I’m a lightweight.”

She slid the glass away from her and her head dipped back as she laughed at her own lax persona. The figures surrounding her all cheered for their still standing drinking Queen, all the while Nova laughed with Jay and shook her head at the poor girls fading psyche. Jay was still laughing in her spot, slowly slipping off the chair without realizing. Just before her clumsy feet could slip on the floor beneath her Eddie was right behind her to hold her up by her shoulders.

“Careful bird, Jesus,” he shook his head and looked her form up and down, growing both amused and concerned when he realized just how far gone she was.

Jay casually slipped out of his hold and muttered something he didn’t understand before sticking up a hand randomly in the air and walking off. As confused as he was, he only had a brief moment to collect water for his band before they had to be back on the stage, so he wanted to make the checkup brief.

“Nova, is she okay?” he asked, promptly noticing how much liquid the tequila bottle lost as well as several discarded beer cans on the table.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but it’s really sweet of you to care,” Nova complimented and smiled back up at him.

“And I’m sure she’ll be fine,” she dismissed his concern for Jay quickly, “don’t worry, you just keep playing. The crowd is killer tonight, right?”

Eddie nodded back, he couldn’t deny that the amount of eyes watching Corroded Coffin so intently fed a constant stream of adrenaline rushing through him, and he couldn’t get enough of it.

“Totally… look can you just keep an eye on her? And, if you can help it, please don’t go too crazy tonight.”

“I make no promises but I will keep all that in mind,” Nova smiled up at him and ruffled up his hair before pushing him away to go back onto the stage.

“Who’s next?” she called out and was met with a chorus of eager challengers.

Nova felt her insides churn suddenly, she wasn’t sure if she had a bad combination or just too much, but she knew that everything in her stomach needed to get out and fast. Holding onto her stomach she dashed around the hallway and looked left to right for anything that looked like a bathroom. She was starting to accept that The Hideout was just as hellish as Jay had warned as the nearest door she found was just a storage closet. The contracting in her abdomen was demanding and her whole body lurched forward as her throat filled with bile. She thought quickly, what was the nearest container? Her eyes landed on a mop bucket, that’ll have to do. Her feet slid clumsily against the ground as she slammed the closet door closed and knelt down over the bucket as quickly as possible, just barely catching her hair and scooping it out of her face as her body emptied every threatening substance in it. She could taste the terrible concoction of every drink she had consumed that night, and that only made her nausea worse.

Cast in a deep shadow arose a sleeping figure the cheerleader wasn’t previously aware of. Slowly sitting up off the floor and slipping out from under her long coat, Jay’s head spun and her reality seemed distorted. For a second she thought the pitiful groaning was a figment of her tired imagination, until the terrible smell of acids and alcohol hit her nose and flooded her nostrils. Looking over at Nova with squinted eyes she hummed in pity.

“Ooo, yeah that’s no fun. Kinda surprised you can’t hold your liquor, James.” She remarked.

“Fuck you,” Nova grunted in the minimal time she had to catch her breath before another wave of nausea hit her and she dipped her head back into the bucket.

“A flattering concept, but I’m not into cheerleaders.” Jay answered with too much sarcasm for the amount of time she had spent knocked out in this back room.

Between hoarse coughs and spitting out mouthfuls of collected saliva, Nova let out a dry “ha” before wiping her mouth clean and resting her back on the door to catch her breath.

Jay’s eyes widened slightly, looking at the rickety door that was shut.

“… oh… oh you bitch…”

Nova’s deep breaths paused and she gave a look colder than the arctic, “the fuck did you just say?”

“Ohhh you dumb bitch,” Jay added with a desperate tone in her pouting as she practically ignored Nova’s obvious offense.

“Okay now that’s-“

“You closed the door! Fuck you closed the door!” Jay interrupted as she held her heavy head in her tingling hands.

Nova simply scoffed, her confusion not strong enough to still her rising anger.

“Yeah, I did, you have eyes, congratulations.”

“That door is busted Nova,” Jay explained in a stern voice. “It’s been busted for years and Bev’s been too cheap to fix it! Once it closes it’s near fucking impossible to get it open again!”

Nova rolled her eyes, not wanting to give in to Jay’s fear mongering after all the time the goth egged her on. Standing up with shaky legs she jolted the handle. It turned, it jiggled, but the door didn’t budge. She stopped for a moment before she continued trying to pry the door open with more force. That was when panic kicked out her nausea and settled into her body instead.

“... fuck.”

“Nice going James.”

Nova whipped around with fresh venom sitting on her tongue, “oh I’m so sorry I didn’t know this one specific closet had a broken door, but you were dumb enough to take a nap in the first place!”

“I put a giant fucking two by four in the crack as a door stopper!” Jay shouted back as she pointed to a hunk of wood that slid into the center of the room

“But I guess you just didn’t notice it ohhh this is great, this is just great! I was supposed to sing on the worship team tomorrow but I guess I’ll just spend my Sabbath day rotting in a dingy dive bar like some harlot, my parents are gonna be so proud of me!”

“Don’t be a pussy, we just need someone to let us out,” Nova scolded her, wanting to hold on to hope rather than succumb to Jay’s negative perspective.

“Yeah except no one’s going to know where we are!”

“Then we’ll just scream until someone does!”

“Be realistic, Corroded Coffin’s got the sound blasting! They never get an audience like this and Bev won’t stop them as long as money comes in so for all we know they’re gonna be playing till the damn sun comes up!”

Nova willingly ignored her and banged against the door, shouting and pleading with anyone that might be listening. She committed to the action for a few solid minutes, Jay progressively curling up into a ball and shielding her ears from the increasingly desperate shouts that failed to reach the inhabitants beyond the broken door. Her determination should’ve been admirable but with the slowly increasing headache pounding in Jay’s skull she grew all the more bitter.

“Okay I know shouting is like a cheerleader thing but maybe you could cut it out? I think my ears are bleeding.”

“Oh my god-” Nova dropped her head on the door with a resounding ‘thunk’ before she turned back around to ridicule Jay.

“I don’t know what kind of stick has been up your ass this past week but maybe you could pull it out so you can actually be useful!”

“I’m just being honest.”

“No, you’re being a coward.”

“Oof, harsh dig Martha Stewart, got any more sick burns for me?”

“Yeah, you’re a jealous bitch with a raging ego, it’s no wonder no one likes you since your resting bitch face scares everyone away, and I’d almost feel sorry for you except I can’t imagine anyone actually liking being around you.”

Jay gave a hearty laugh and a dramatic slow clap, “now that’s the level of creativity I was hoping for! Hitting me right where it hurts, that was good! Is it my turn now?”

“Fuck off.”

“Okay let's see, you’re a par-asocial parasite painting your disease in candy colored lip gloss so instead of questioning the cracks in your crystal cut smile people stop to admire the shine, but if they looked past your short skirts and curled hair they’d see why you leech onto them and pull you right off. Cause mommy and daddy can buy all the cool cars in the world but they’ll never give you their attention right?”

Nova swiped up the loose plank disregarded on the floor and chucked it right at Jay, she barely had any time to duck before the wood made harsh contact with the wall above her head with a “whoosh” that breezed through her black hair. It came crashing down on her forearms covering her head before the wood clattered onto the ground. Even the force of the wood falling on her arms was strong enough to bruise, she didn’t want to imagine how it would feel if she didn't shield herself.

Stillness passed between them. Only the muffled sound of the band’s performance in the main venue echoing through the supply closet. The silence between them was almost more terrifying than the narrowly avoided violence. Why wasn’t Nova screaming at her? Berating her? Jay’s hands trembled as she slowly uncovered her face, looking up at Nova with wide eyes while the girl standing above her looked back with a stare so cold she felt like a sinner facing judgment. But there was a stutter in Nova’s breath as her chest rose and fell, a sadness clawing its way out of her angered stare. Just beneath her righteous anger was a weakness she seemed terrified to reveal.

“… I didn’t know there was a line, but I see that I crossed it,” Jay confessed with a shaking voice.

Another beat passed between them as Jay slowly sat up to look at Nova more clearly, she caught the moment the cheerleaders slipping mask was secured once more. Nova scoffed, then let out a hoarse laugh, and slid down the door with her back pressed against the wood vibrating with the beat of the drums outside.

“You’re one to talk about attention,” Nova finally muttered, barely putting in the energy to sound snarky or crass. The jab was oddly enough the needle that popped the balloon of tension pressing down on the both of them, Jay even smiled and nodded in agreement.

“… Did I do something to you?” Nova finally asked.

“I mean it seems like everywhere I go you’re there to tear me down.”

“Tear you down? You’ve been trampling on me all week!” Jay protested with an air of amused disbelief rather than defensiveness.

“No, I’ve been reacting to your jealousy,” Nova began to look confused.

“… what am I jealous of?” Jay asked, equally confused.

“Me and Eddie?”

“Woah I am not-“ Just as Jay was about to outwardly refute Nova’s claim she felt her words get caught in her throat. She looked down at her hands, the sight of the girl across the room from her became far too painful. She let out a reluctant sigh as she accepted this was the moment she’d finally name the beast she kept chained in her chest. 

“... I’m not jealous of you and Eddie… I’m jealous of you and Chrissy.”

Nova simply stared back for a moment, her lips twitching to comment but she had no words to say and her brows furrowed to express her lack of understanding. What did Chrissy Cunningham have to do with Jay’s seemingly territorial nature?

Jay noticed the lost look Nova was giving her and internally relented at the necessity for elaboration. She sat up slightly, shoulders still slouching despite her aligned back, as if her arms would shield her vulnerability.

“We were friends growing up, best friends actually. But freshman year came around and she got a little… distant. Sophomore year was kinda the nail in the coffin. I was really getting into goth clothes and all that so some basketball douchebags started criticizing me. I told them off, but Chrissy… just watched.”

Nova nodded slightly, she could recall the rampant rumors that spread about Jay that day. With her behavior through the last week she was almost starting to believe the old news, but was glad she didn’t.

“… I remember hearing about that, everyone called you crazy.”

“I felt crazy. My best friend just stared all wide eyed like I was in the wrong for sticking up for myself. We didn’t talk again after that. Then I noticed you two getting closer, which I wasn’t mad about but it kinda hurt. Like why were you good enough to be Chrissy’s friend and not me? How could she so easily replace me with a girl she barely knew? So when you started getting closer to Eddie it just… I got scared that he’d do the same thing, I got worried I was still too weird to have friends. But I didn’t want to be scared, so I got mad… I’m really sorry I got mad. I should’ve reacted better but it was the only thing I knew how to do. I just didn’t like the thought that this one girl, who already has so many friends, kept getting the few people I love.”

Nova’s heart sank, she could see the box that Jay was putting her in, and it couldn’t be further from the truth.

“… you know… I actually don’t have friends.”

Jay immediately laughed and shook her head, “Oh shut up.”

“I’m serious. Half the people around me just like my status, they want to use me to get a leg up. But no one actually gives a shit about me. A lot of people are put off by my attitude so I don’t make a lot of connections, but that’s how I have to be since the only people interested in me are fake as fuck. Even in cheer I hear little whispers, insulting me from the same girls who compliment my hair or my clothes. They’re always making subtle judgments with a pageant girl smile. I can handle it, obviously, but it always puts me at odds with others. So I either scare people away and end up alone or surround myself with flaky people and still end up alone. Chrissy’s one of the only girls who actually cares, and it was just her for a long time until I met Eddie. And he was real. I felt like I could be a little more of myself around him… but he hasn’t talked to me very much since summer, so I wanted to come here. I wanted to show that I support him, get closer to him.”

Jay, clasped her head in her hands, elbows propped up on her knees as a groan of frustration left her, “But I alienated you when you tried, like everyone else has… I’m a bitch.”

“… just a little,” Nova agreed with a soft laugh.

“… but I get it… you know, Eddie always said he thought we would get along. I was kind of sad when that didn’t happen.”

“Yeah, my bad….” Jay responded under her breath. It was hard to confront the miscommunications that kept the two apart, to acknowledge that the great divide between them was just the cracks in their own perceptions rather than faults in the other person. But now that the two were finally talking, she was starting to see why her metalhead friend was so eager about Nova’s company.

“You know he likes you. Really likes you. He talks about you like you’re the coolest thing since John Sykes got his hands on a guitar. He won’t admit it but he’s scared to talk to you in school, I think he’s worried his reputation will rub off on you.”

Her words did soothe a sore spot in Nova’s heart that she had been ignoring, so she leveled with her.

“… well, he likes you too. Even when it was just the two of us he’d come up with reasons to talk about you… I’d like to have that with someone.”

Jay caught the brief descending tone in her voice, the disappointment from years of lost connections that calloused the cheerleader's heart without healing the wound. Against her better judgment, she felt a magnetic pull that lifted her onto her heavy feet. With her head still spinning she clumsily sat down next to Nova, banging the back of her head harshly against the door without reaction. 

She kept quiet until murmuring, “… I’m willing to give a shit if you are.”

Nova looked back at her, attempting a cheeky grin in the dark space.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m offering a boon, a peace treaty, or- a parle.”

“Friendship?”

Jay raised her hands in the air in surrender, “hey I’ll take whatever you can give me. If friendship is on the table, I’ll sit there.”

“As if you’d ever want to sit at my table,” Nova shook her head and laughed quietly, imagining the cloud of doom sitting with the lot of cheerleaders.

“Well not if you’re gonna give me all that attitude,” Jay added sarcastically.

“Just when I was thinking of inviting you to a d&d one-shot too.”

Nova let out some disgruntled hum of unwilling fear which sent Jay into a fit of laughter, pointing to the girl's wide eyes as she couldn’t hold back her amusement.

“What the hell was that?”

“I’m not there yet,” Nova was breaking out into her own fit of giggles as her nervous groan played back in her head.

“Not where yet? Where are you going?” Jay sent the two into a fervent fit of laughter as logic slipped away and coherent conversation was lost in the air of camaraderie between them. The tension and grudges between them dissolved faster than they formed, and just for a moment they forgot about the hurt they had dealt one another. They forgot about their social standings, the circles they belonged to, they were just two girls.

A ‘thump’ interrupted their laughter, their shoulders shaking as a heavy vibration rocked against the door. The girls were quick to quiet, looking at one another with confusion before another heavier ’thump’ forced them to crawl away from the door. With a few more violent rushes on the door and a rapid jiggling of the doors handle the closet door finally burst open.

Eddie came crashing in shoulder first, sweeping the door open with his other arm. He looked around frantically, relief flooding him when he found the two girls looking up at him from the floor.

“Oh thank fuck,” he sighed and leaned against the door, his hair a mess and clinging to his sweat covered face.

Jay threw her arms in the air and cheered like a toddler, “Eddie!”

“Shit, I’m so glad it was you guys in here- fuck that door was stuck,” he groaned as he rotated his arm and held his shoulder.

“Oh my god, Eddie, how did you find us?” Nova asked as she pushed herself up off her feet, subtly inspecting their savior for any major injuries and fortunately found him lacking.

“This was the only place I hadn’t checked, and Bev tries to keep this door closed on account of the broken-“

Nova waved him off, “yeah the broken door, we know.”

Just as Eddie was about to respond he closed his mouth, nodding back to agree before changing the topic.

“Well I’m glad you guys are okay… you guys are okay, right?”

“Why?” Jay asked as she moved off the floor to hang off of Eddie’s arm. “You miss me or something?”

“Uh, pretty much, you guys missed a huge chunk of the show.” Eddie said, trying to hide his disappointment.

Nova groaned and grabbed the sides of her head, reeling at how she spent this whole night in a supply closet when this was her idea in the first place.

“Shit, Eddie I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to miss it. God, I was looking forward to this all week too.”

“… I mean I’ll give you a show whenever you want-“ Eddie’s bashful attempt at flirting was abruptly stopped by Jay pushing him away and grabbing Nova by her hands.

“You should totally come to band practice! Half the time I host and the other half Gareth hosts and when I host we have good snacks and AC but when Gareth hosts we have beer- it’s a good time no matter what house we’re at.” Jay rambled, smiling at Nova with tired eyes.

“Uh- if the boss says I can join,” Nova looks at Eddie expectantly.

The sudden nickname already sent a flustered warmth to his cheeks that made him want to oblige, but when Jay turned around with the biggest pout and shining puppy dog eyes he had ever seen then he was doomed to say yes.

“Yeah, yeah that’d be cool,” he said as he cleared his throat, trying to appear more casual than he felt about the idea. After brushing his ringed hand through his damp waves he nodded to Jay.

“Welp, van’s all packed, let’s head out.”

He turned to leave, intending on driving his friend back home since he was the designated chauffeur within their group, but the distinct lack of her thick boots scuttling behind him was odd. Eddie looked back, confirming that Jay was indeed not following him, then made a brisk turn to poke his head back into the supply closet.

“Hey, are you coming?”

Jay looked back between Eddie and Nova for a moment, feeling her feet frozen in place as she tested the waters of familiar comfort and opportune friendship. Looking back at the cheerleader and her slightly tilted head, her jewelry catching in the dim light as she smirks back. Jay threw her arm over Nova’s shoulders and pulled her close to her side.

“Nah, don’t need to. I’m thinking of driving a Cadillac tonight.”

“Oh, no, you will not be test driving my baby. But you’ll look really pretty in the passenger seat.” Nova denies her sweetly as they walk past Eddie.

“Damn right I will,” Jay agreed with a boisterous voice full of confidence.

Eddie is left to watch the two girls walk off. He was largely unaware of their rivalry, but he could see as plainly as anyone that they weren’t friends. But now they were laughing and joking as they walked out of the Hideout, arm in arm, hips swaying in time with one another completely in sync. In a way it was perfectly appropriate, the girls who always believed they existed in two totally different worlds somehow discovered they were far more alike than they thought.

Jeff had just swung his bass over his shoulder as the pair passed by him, and he watched in equal bewilderment as Eddie as he took a step closer to his bandmate.

“… were they in the closet?”

“Yep.” Eddie replied bluntly.

“… what the hell happened in there?”