The Devil Child || Eddie Munson

Making Friends

—— CHAP 2 ——
December 15th, 1985

Lillian parked her bike outside of the newer looking Family Video store, nervously dragging the toe of her boots in the salt that coated the sidewalks. Making sure her shirt was still tucked in and her hair wasn't a mess, she breezed through the doors, letting out a small contented sigh at the increase in temperature. There were two people that looked around her age at the counter, bickering over something. The two were the only ones in the store and hadn't yet seen Lillian.

Lillian shrugged and let her eyes wander over the shelves, spotting the Action section immediately, and scanning for any new releases she hadn't seen. She found a movie that had been released a few weeks ago, King Solomon's Mines, the font on the cover had striking similarities to one of her all time favorite movies, Indiana Jones. 'It looks interesting' she thought, trying to discern any differences based on the cover alone. She had yet to notice the silence in the store.

"You do know you can pick up the movies, right?" A girl's voice rang across the shelves. Jumping slightly, Lily turned to see both older teens looking her way, the girl leaning against the counter. With a nervous smile, Lillian stuttered out a reply.

"Oh,,yeah- sorry I didn't know where to go first, and the movie over there caught my eye- and- yeah. I'm Lillian" her nervous smile grew into a sheepish grin, mentally reprimanding herself for the sentence she just formed. The other person, a tall brown-haired man, moved forward to lean against the counter next to the girl that had spoken. He flashed a grin and his hands started moving animantly.

"Nice to meet you Lillian, I'm Steve, and this here is Robin" he gestured to Robin, his hand catching her brown hair as he failed to do jazz hands.

"Hey- Steve!" Robin whined, reaching over to smack the back of his head. "Sorry about him, he gets a little nervous around pretty girls" she said, her own smile widening. Lillian's eyebrows shot up and she let out a good hearted laugh, shaking her head slightly.

"He must get flustered all the time around you then" Lily gave an exaggerated wink and let her body language relax. She liked these two.

It was Robin's turn to have her eyebrows shoot up, seemingly at a loss for words, since most girls that came in here flirted with Steve and ignored her.

"I like you" Robin nodded, her grin never falling for a second. Steve only took a few seconds to comprehend what just happened before his smile grew to match Robin's. "Well, Lillian, it seems Robin has stolen you before my charm could kick in," He said with a mocking eye roll. Lillian Snorted.

"Ah, of course, your charm" she said while wiggling her eyebrows, pausing before adding, "And you can call me Lily if you'd like"

Robin drummed the countertop with her fingers, "Okay, So, Lily- what brings you in? Any particular movie you're interested in finding?" She asked, gesturing over towards the shelf Lily had been looking at earlier.

"Uh, well I'm not too sure, I originally thought you guys might be hiring, but I do want to find a few new movies" Lily spoke, shrugging her shoulders as she leaned against the movie shelf. Letting her eyes drift around a second time, she was able to spot the Rom-com, Horror, and Kids sections pretty easily, none of them really grabbing her interest. She did note a few titles that she absolutely loved, and cataloged them in her memory for later.

"Oh well, we would have to talk with Keith to see if we're still hiring" Robin frowned, knowing the answer Keith would give them. Next to her, Steve was absent-mindedly fixing his nametag before his head flew up.

"If you're looking for a job, I know a few parents that need babysitters" He said while side-eying Robin. Robin chuckled in response, nodding her head.

"Mhm, You good with kids Lily? Cause the ones we know are a bit of a handful" Robin hummed, the last few words coming out in a singsong tone. Steve wrote down some phone numbers on a piece of paper and slid it across the table towards where Lily was standing. Lily bounced forwards on the balls of her feet, swiping two movies on her way to the counter, the one she had seen earlier, and The Breakfast Club, her favorite movie released this year. She traded the movies for the piece of paper, shoving it in her Jeans pocket and pulling out her wallet.

Robin rang her up and smiled, "You want an account? We just need your name and address!" She exclaimed, taking the 5 Lily held out and sliding a few coins back for change.

"Sure" Lily replied, listing her new address off. She bit the inside of her cheek before adding, "Lillian Beckett". Robin typed that out quickly, hitting the last key dramatically and handing Lily a small card.

"All set" she grinned, Lily couldn't help but grin back. "Are you by chance going to Hawkins High?" Robin asked, receiving another nod from the girl.

"Yep, Senior year. Still hasn't hit me yet" Lily laughed nervously, Steve leant across the counter and chuckled at her nervousness.

"It'll fly by pretty fast, don't worry about it. Plus! Winter break is coming up, so you'll have time to make friends" he informed her. She seemed to be somewhat consoled by his words.

"Hey she's already made me as a friend!" Robin chimed in excitedly, returning to her spot on the counter. Steve rolled his eyes in a playful manner.

"You don't count Buckley" he teased, making her smack his shoulder and scoff.

"You're right dingus, I don't count as a friend, I count as TWO friends" she proclaimed, sticking two fingers in the air. Lily giggled profusely, eyes crinkling at the thought of these two, happily claiming to be her friends. She used to have a good circle of friends back in Vermont, but it took her a few years to solidify that group. These two wanted to be her friends willingly. After just meeting her. She shook her head slightly as if to shake away the dream she was in. But when she glanced back, the two were still bickering in front of her. She grinned and grabbed her movies, thanking them and telling them she will see them next Monday. Both stopped their friendly arguments to wish her well and wave goodbye.

Lily practically danced out the door, her feet moving as fast as her heartbeat. The cold outside barely phased her, she was too elated with herself for making TWO whole friends today. Three if you count Robin twice.

Grabbing her bike and securing the bag on one of the handlebars, she began the peddle home. It had started to lightly snow, most of the tree cover along the roads managing to lessen it. She kept peddling until she got to the trailer park, where it was wide open and you could really see it snow.

Walking just off the road and into the gate, she swung her leg over the bike to dismount it, holding the handlebars and just watching it snow. She had a small smile while the snow dusted her hair and clothes, surely going to soak through her Duran Duran shirt by the time she got home. But she didn't mind, it was too peaceful. She stood like that for a long while, losing track of time until the sky darkened.

Not far away, there was a curly-haired boy leaving his trailer to turn the porch light off for the night. He was in his boxers, leather jacket, and a certain Hellfire t-shirt. His gaze caught on a silhouette standing just inside the gate to the park, a girl, he realized, who was watching the snow. He couldn't help but stare, watching her as her features lit up when the street lamps flicked on to illuminate the snow further. His eyes softened, unable to recognize her, but empathizing with her nonetheless.

So the two teens stood like that for a while. One watching the snow, and one watching the other, both with expressions of wonder and curiosity.

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1421 words
This chapter has my heart :]
I wasn't originally going to have Eddie involved until chapter 4,,,,but I had to add a LITTLE bit of him.
-Liz