Stranger Things Short Stories

Eddie - The Guy In the Store

There was a guy, well for you there is always a guy, that you like. No matter where you were you'd have someone you'd have a sneaky crush on , not that you ever knew them or really wanted to date them, it was the idea of dating them that gave you the thrill. The guy in biology class, the boy in gym and the freak that lurked in the record store. 

You'd been working at the record shack in Hawkins for a few months now. It wasn't the best job but it was easy and you needed the cash. It was repetitive. Everyday the same like clockwork. 10am stock shelves. 11am work the till. 12.30 lunch. Blah Blah Blah. The same tasks, the same records, the same people. 

You see with a place like Hawkins, you find that its the same few people who come into the store and with the same people came the same tastes in music. It was actually at the point where you could predict what the person was going to get. Whether Barry the mechanic was going to pick up some Journey or some Bon Jovi.

The first time the freak came in it was a warm summers day nearing the end of July. You remember this well because you couldn't help but admire the commitment he had to wearing a leather jacket on such a warm day, seriously the dude was dressing like it was November not the middle of the summer. Of course when you noticed the jacket you noticed the appearance and by god he was gorgeous. The hair, the rings was really doing it for you.

You recognised him from school, the freak, not that you had any reason to view him as such. To you he seemed relatively normal for a guy with his music tastes. Or so that's what you thought at first. 

His first few visits all occurred in the same week and each time he would be in an out in ten minutes, picking up something along the lines of Black Sabbath or Metallica. He would walk up to you behind the till, give you a warm smile as he handed you the cash, his hand brushing yours every single time. 

Then things got weird, he would come back every other day and buy whatever record was in the sale section. To clarify the sale section consisted of old records that they hadn't been able to sell in a while. Every time he approached the till it would a mystery to see what he would come up with. Again, he would try and stick with his clear metal interests however soon he was producing Madonna's old single or a bit of Whitney Houston. There was no telling what this man would by next. Not only that but he'd linger in the store longer, not that you minded. You cherished the half hour he spent in that shop with you.

Each time there was the same smile.

The same mindless chatter.

The same brushing of hands.

And the same sneaky discount you would give him. Afterall he was a loyal customer.  Like he must think you're so bad at maths because you always give him way too much change.

One day when he came in, you weren't behind the till for once. For whatever reason this morning you had twice the number of customers than usual and so you were now having to restock the practically bare shelves. The bell above the door gave its signature ring as some walked in. The sound caused your head to perk up like meerkats and you saw it was him, the Munson guy.

Smiling at him, you returned to your work as he did his usual tour around the store where he'd 'browse' what you had to offer. You weren't going to lie it was quite awkward. You were the only two in the store which meant it was pretty quiet without the occasional noise of you sliding a record into place or the undistinctive rumbling of the radio in the background.

It was a trying task, putting out these records in the right order. Your boss kept nagging at you because you had a habit of just firing them in any old order. You were balancing several items in your hands when you dropped them on the floor. About 20 different records scattered across the hard wooden floor causing a not so discrete clattering sound. 

Embarrassed that you had done that in front of the guy you liked, you immediately crouched down and focused on gathering up the discs as quickly as possible and hoping that there was no damage. That's when another pair of ring-clad hands appeared.

Together you and the Munson guy managed to correct the mess you made to which you apologised gratefully. You even engaged in a conversation that lasted longer than 3 minutes.

"I'm Eddie by the way." He finally introduced, sticking out his hand for you to shake.

"y/n." 

"I know." He tells you as he sheepishly scratches his neck, "We go to school together, I sit behind you in English."

"Yeah I recognise you, a bit weird how its only now taht we've actually spoken." You say as you finish the task you were doing, turning to him and smiling you inform him that you should get back to work and awkwardly scuttle back over to the till where you can hide and die slowly.

You quickly become absorbed in reorganising the change in the till just so you can try and mentally recuperate from that conversation. That was unbearably awkward and that conversation seemed entirely scripted. It felt like two robots talking to each other rather than human beings. You're once again so focused on you work that you don't notice Eddie approaching the till, or him skidding a record over to you with $20 crumpled up on top. In fact you only bother to look up when he clears his throat, indicating his presence. Jumping up you quickly turn to him, looking at the record he's decided to buy today.

"You know I don't own a record player." He says, clearing his throat. Well this was confusing seems a bit odd to be buying records without the device to play them. Maybe he just likes them as decorations or maybe its some sort of art project. 

Almost reading my mind he turns and says, "All those records I buy from you are just stacked up in my room."

"Well why buy them then, that just seems a bit stupid." You say as you place his purchase into a bag.

"I buy the records because I like seeing you here." He says, his eyes that were once solely focused on the floor look up to meet yours in an intense sort of gaze. "I like you, I think you're pretty hot and you like music and shit so that's cool too."

You blush furiously. Eddie likes you? Eddie wasted a whole lot of money on useless hit because he likes you? Gathering some sort of confidence from somewhere you press the change for his $20 into his hand. Reaching up to him you gently press a kiss to his cheek, whispering "I'm not bad at math, y'know. I just like you too."

As you pulled away, Eddie looked kinda shocked with a wide grin spread across his face. Smiling at his reaction you tell him you finish work in an hour and that you should go out somewhere after. Agreeing on the plan, Eddie finally leaves the door, his record safely tucked away in a paper bag that dangles from his wrist. As he walked sown the street he couldn't help but do a little dance of excitement. Turns out spending $200 on records can convince a girl to date you.