Julia shuffled through the issues sweeping trash, listening to Robin word vomit about her crush.
"And then Vicki laughed. And it wasn't like a cheap, fake laugh either. It was like… it was a real, genuine laugh." She gushed, meeting the couple in the aisle next to her.
"Of course, it's my muppet joke, it's hilarious." Steve muttered as he reorganized thrown around VHS tapes.
"My point is that Vicki laughed and everything was just like it was perfect."
"But?" Julia interrupted as Steve handed her tapes to stock. "But I'm having this problem where it's like, I should stop talking. I have said everything I need to say but then I guess I get nervous, and the words they just, keep spilling out, and it's like my brain is moving faster than my mouth, or rather my mouth is moving faster than my brain and it's like I'm digging this hole for myself, and I want to stop digging, I'm trying to stop but I can't and i'm doing it right now aren't I?" Julia walked up to her best friend, her hands reached up and pressed her cheeks together squishing her face.
The blonde quickly took a deep breath, "Yeah, honey you are."
"Yeah, you are." Steve confirmed to his best friend.
Robin exhaled, backing into the wall behind her. "I'm hopeless."
"Eh, we all are." Steve and Julia joined her side, one on each side of the girl. "You guys are hopelessly in love with each other, there's a difference." She rubbed her face with her hands before turning her attention to the movies displayed.
Robin gasped as her eyes landed on a tape across the store, "ooh, I think I found our morning movie." She grinned before running over to grab it, "Doctor Zhivago."
"Ugh, you know I don't do double VHS." Steve waved his arms, "but it's about doomed love. Also, Julia Christie is b-b-bonkers hot in this. Like seriously the most beautiful creature I have ever seen in my life." Robin's thoughts were cut off after turning on the TV to see 'breaking news' in red.
"We're in Forest Hills trailer park in East Roane County, we don't have a lot of details now but we can confirm that the body of a Hawkins High student was discovered early this morning. Police have not released the name although we are told they're currently in the process of notifying the family."
"Holy shit." Steve whispered softly as his hands found their way to Julia's waist, gently pulling her back to stand against his chest.
Her hands rested on his as she sighed, "this town can never catch a break can it? We just need to move and just travel or something. Just get us out of here."
The trio stood there as they listened to the news, their focus on the TV broken by the sound of the store doors opening. Everyone turned their heads to see Dustin and Max,"Julia, how many phones do you have?"
"you guys see this?" Steve asked as the teens approached them. "How many phones do you have?" Dustin asked, "someone was murdered."
"How many phones do you have?" Dustin raised his voice.
"Two. Why?"
"Technically three, if you count Keith's in the back." Robin added. "Three works." Max said.
"what are you doing?" Steve asked before Dustin threw his backpack over the counter, "woah Dustin! What are you doing?" Julia backed away as her brother not so gracefully jumped over the counter, knocking down the trio's stacked piles of organized tapes. "No, no, no! Our tapes!" Steve cried out.
Dustin sat down at the computer as Julia's hand quickly smacked him on the back of the head, "I know I deserved that but I need to do this."
"What are you doing?" Steve's agitated voice asked from Dustin's side.
"Setting up base of operations here."
"Base of operations?" Robin asked as she went around picking up the tapes on the ground.
Julia bent down to help collect the tapes as Steve looked at her brother, "stop get off of that."
"No, I need it." Dustin immediately shut the demand down. "Need it for what?" Dustin's fingers typed on the keyboard, "Looking up Eddie's friends' phone numbers."
"Oh Eddie, your new best friend, Eddie you think is cooler because he plays your nerdy game?" Julia's head popped up for a second as she heard the hint of annoyance in his tone. Dustin rolled his eyes, "Ed, yes. I never said that."
Julia walked the cluster of tapes she had in her arms over to Robin, the blonde turning around quickly almost knocking into the brunette.
"Sorry Julia, but seriously you guys, maybe on a Monday you can play around in here like toddlers, but it's a Saturday. It's our busiest day."
"Alright look Robin, I totally empathize, but this cannot wait until monday."
"What, cause calling Eddie's friends is an emergency?" Julia asked her brother as her boyfriend and best friend looked at her to try to get an answer for this.
"Correct!" Julia bit her tongue as Steve walked up to the girls, "Jules, who do we suggest strangle him?" Her glance moved between the two before answering,"we can take turns."
"Can you just fill them in while I do this?" Dustin begged Max, "fill us in on what?"
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Robin, Max, and Dustin all hopped onto the 3 available phones in the store and started calling around if anyone has seen Eddie Munson, while Steve and Julia manned the register and any customer questions. Julia's foot tapped against the tile floor as she organized the returned pile of tapes.
Steve went behind Julia and let his arms encase his girl in a hug as she eased into his touch. She admitted as her eyes fell shut, "I'm worried about this one Steve. What if it's another one… another version of a demogorgon or the mind flayer?"
His arms wrapped around her torso as her arms laid on top of his about to speak, however both of their attention was grabbed as Max spoke up, "Hey guys, I think I have a lead."
Dustin's eyes lit up, "seriously?" "Yeah. Apparently Eddie gets his drugs from some guy named Reefer Rick, and sometimes Eddie crashes there."
"That sounds promising. Where does this Reefer Rick guy live?" Robin asked.
"See that's the thing. No one knows. He's more of a… a legend than someone that people actually know." "What about a last name?" Dustin pitched in. "I don't know that either."
"Bet the cops know the last name." Steve said before walking around the counter to organize some tapes. Julia furrowed her eyebrows as Max spoke up, "what?"
"Cops," he repeated himself without turning to look at the group, "I mean, listen, if this Reefer Rick is actually a drug dealer, I guarantee you he's been busted at some point. Means he's in the system." He finished as he finally turned to them and rested his elbows on the counter.
"The cops? Really, Steve? That's your suggestion?" Dustin emphasized the word 'that'.
"I think they should be filled in on what we know, what's going on." "You think Eddie's guilty, don't you?" Dustin accused. "Woah, I believe in innocent until proven guilty, all that constitutional shit. I just, you know, don't think that we can rule it out."
"That's precisely what we're trying to do here, Steve." Max said. "Mmh" Robin and Julia hummed as Dustin lifted his hand over his shoulder as if to say , 'exactly'.
"And maybe we'd have a little bit more luck if you spent less time not liking Eddie because you think I like him more than you and more time trying to find him."
"Somebody has to attend to the customers. We've got a very big selection here. It can be super overwhelming for people." Steve defended, both hands on his hips as he watched Dustin and Max roll their eyes. Robin thought for a second before a grin was on her face, "Yeah, it can be."
She turned around to the store computer and began typing, "what are you thinking in that head of yours." Julia asked, walking up to the blonde and resting her hand on the chair.
"Maybe we don't need a last name." Everyone else gathered around her as she pulled up a list of tapes rented out by men named Rick. Steve's hand subtly reached over and grabbed Julia's, linking their fingers together as he rubbed her knuckles.
"Twelve Rick's have accounts here. So let's narrow it down." The group went through the list, narrowing it down by
looking at their latest video rentals.
Robin went through the account, "Sixteen Candles, Teen Wolf, Romancing the Stone." "No." The group agreed.
Robin went through 3 more accounts before she got to Rick Lipton. "We got Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Cheech and Chong's Next Movie. Cheech and Chong's Nice Dreams. Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke." The group let out a small laugh, the movies speaking for themselves that this was the Rick they were looking for.
"Lipton?" "Spelled like the tea. 2121 Holland Road." Robin confirmed on the screen.
"That's out by Lovers Lake," Dustin said looking at his sister, "in the middle of nowhere." She finished. "It's the perfect place to hide."
Everyone scattered from the computer as Max and Dustin started to collect their things while the trio started to shut things in the store down. Within 2 minutes of finding the right Rick, the crew was up and out of the store.
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Dustin rang the doorbell as everyone stood behind him, shining their flashlights towards the door. After the first ring, Dustin left his hand on the doorbell as his thumb hit the button repeatedly.
"Okay well that's settled. I guess he's not here." Julia lightly elbowed Steve who paid no attention as Dustin began to shout, identifying himself and that they just wanted to help him.
The group began trying to peer into the windows, trying to get any glance of Eddie. Julia stepped towards the side of the house, her eyes caught sight of a shed with the front light turned on.
"Hey guys!" She called out, the footsteps from her friends approaching her as they all got sight of what she was looking at.
Julia led the group down to the shed, all of them following as she slowly opened the door. "Hello? Anyone home?"
The group walked in one by one as they observed the inside. "What a dump." Steve muttered as he turned his light off and grabbed an oar off the wall.
He slowly walked up to the boat that was in the middle of the shed, jabbing the blue tarp that covered it multiple times with the oar. "What are you doing?" Dustin turned his head from what he was looking at.
"He might be in here." Steve continued to send constant jabs at the tarps. "So take the tarp off!" Dustin bickered.
"If you're so brave, you take the tarp off." The younger Henderson remained quiet and still as he continued to watch Steve poke at it.
"Hey, look over here." Max called out as Robin and Julia joined her side. "Someone was here."
"Maybe he heard us. Got spooked and ran." Robin said, watching Max pan her flashlight on all the empty food wrappers and empty beer bottles.
"Don't worry, Steve will get him with his oar." Dustin spoke from the other room, pointing at Julia's boyfriend still jabbing.
"I know you think you're being funny Henderson but considering the fact that everyone in this room has nearly died about a hundred times personally, I don't find it funny in the slight- Whoa!" Steve was cut off as a figure lept out from under one of the tarps, scaring everyone as Steve screamed out, "Wait! Wait! Wait!"
It was too late as Eddie Munson had Steve against the wall with a broken beer bottle held up to his neck.
Dustin moved towards his friends, "woah, woah, woah! Eddie! Eddie! Stop!" He screamed out before the guy in the jean vest recognized the familiar voice.
He turned his glance to look at the curly haired boy and everyone behind him, terrified looks on their faces. "It's me! It's Dustin! This is Steve! He's not gonna hurt you, right Steve?" Eddie turned his harsh glance back at Steve. "Right. Yeah." Steve whispered.
"Steve, why don't you drop the oar?" Dustin said calmly. Steve released his grip on the oar and it fell to the ground. Eddie pressed the broken bottle closer to his neck as Steve grimaced and groaned.
"He's cool! He's cool!" Steve confirmed mini Hendersons words in a quiet voice again. "What are you doing here?" Eddie asked, eyes still trained on Steve.
"We're looking for you." Dustin reassured the paranoid boy. "We're here to help you." Julie said from behind him. "Eddie, you know Robin from band." Dustin pointed to the blonde headed girl who imitated playing her trumpet.
"This is my friend Max. The one who never wants to play D&D." She quickly raised her hand as a 'hi' to him with a small smile on her face.
"And this is my sister, Julia. Eddie, we're on your side. I swear on my mother! Right guys!" Dustin called out to his friend group.
"Yes!" "Yes we swear," " we swear on my mother." Eddie stared at Steve for a few seconds before finally releasing him.
"Jules don't tell mom I said that." Julia moved quickly towards Steve as everyone finally took deep breaths. He leaned into his girlfriend, wrapping his arms around her as she held him for a second.
He finally released her as she started checking his neck for any small cuts just in case.
Julia's head turned to her brother as he spoke Eddie's name, slowly sitting in front of him. "We just want to talk."
Dustin slowly put his hand out to Eddie, only to have him flinch and tighten his grip on the broken beer bottle. Julia got up from her spot and placed her hand on Steve's shoulder before walking towards her brother.
She wondered what happened that had the senior that would scream at the top of lungs just because he could, suddenly become so quiet and scared of the slightest noise and touch.
She slowly crouched down next to her brother, Robin and Max joining in moving towards him slightly as Steve stayed in his spot.
"We want to know what happened." Robin softly spoke to him. Eddie sniffled before he spoke, "you won't believe me." His voice was shaky as he turned his head to look at the group.
"Try us."
A/n:
God it's good to be back and post again. Not trynna trauma dump on here but I'm finally able to post more season 4 stuff. Thank you all again for the continuous support. My writing earlier on was definitely cringe some times (hell it still is cringe) but yall still read all the way through till now and I appreciate it so much. I will try to write whenever I get the time, I can wait to continue to post for you all <3