𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐈𝐒𝐇// 𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐗𝐎𝐂

𝐱𝐢𝐯. ✭ 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐈'𝐌 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐀 𝐃𝐄𝐄

JANUARY, 1978; EDDIE

Background Music
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-Take A Chance On Me by ABBA-
⇆ㅤ ||◁ㅤ❚❚ㅤ▷||ㅤ ↻

"If you change your mind,
I'm first in line!"

A melody that would never unlatch itself from Chance Stargrove blasted through the corner store's music speakers. My friend, who was holding a can of lentil soup at the time, dropped the can.

"Honey I'm still free,
Take a chance on me"

A sweet gasp left her mouth. She had been bewitched and ensnared by the magic spell ABBA put her under.

"Hey, what are you doing dropping soup everywhere!" The teenage clerk behind the store's counter groused. "Fucking little kids." He scowled, setting aside the Play Boy he had been flipping through to snatch up the soup.

"If you need me, let me know,
I'm gonna be around"

"That's my name, Eddie." Chance breathed, a fog coming out from her lips. The winter coat wrapped around her didn't keep her voice from freezing. "They're singin' my name!"

She set her hands on my shoulders, doing a few happy jumps to get her excitement out. Her face was adorably flushed from the snow.

"If you've got no place to go,
When you're feeling down"

When I felt her skin, it was ice cold. Snowflakes had collected on her lashes from the snow day we had been having.

"Hey, what's this song?" I asked the pimple-faced teen, setting the hot chocolate packets I planned to purchase on the counter.

"It's by ABBA, Dipshit." He scoffed, tapping numbers into the cash register. "It's their new fucking song, 'Take A Chance On Me'." A price rang up on the screen. "Eighty cents." I pulled out the coins I had and carefully counted them out, sliding them towards the older kid "Thanks, now take your clumsy girlfriend and get the hell out of here."

Following his order, I grabbed Chance's hand and led her out of the store. She was still dazzled by the music, glowing face falling when we could no longer hear it.

"That was the best song ever." She exclaimed as we trudged through the snow on our way back to the trailer park. "Like the best. In the world!" Chance babbled relentlessly about the song, knocking the plastic bag she carried against my knee as we walked. "It's too bad I spent all my money on Christmas presents." The bag rustled in the winter breeze, crinkling up in the cold.

I had an idea. A stupid idea, but it was an idea. My idea. It planted itself in my brain like a tumor, all-consuming until I was able to act it out as a release.

"Hey, you go ahead." Patting Chance's back, my gaze wandered across Hawkins dusted with snow. The record store wasn't too far of a walk from here. "I gotta deal with something, just make me some hot chocolate while I'm gone, okay?"

"But the cold...What if I find you frozen in the snow tomorrow?" Chance worried, stopping in her tracks.

"You won't. I promise I'll be back." Reaching out my mittened hand, I tangled my pinky with hers. "I triple promise."