PAIN KILLER [DISCONTINUED]

006. THE TACTICS OF FATE

006.

――― CHAPTER SIX ―――

THE TACTICS OF FATE 

JANUARY 26TH, 1986

📍THE MADISON HOUSE

10:10 AM

"FIRST HANGOVERS ALWAYS SUCK," Robin says as she hands me chilled soup. "I know."

"For the love of God," I say. "I wasn't drunk! I was drugged. There's a huge difference there, Robin."

She shrugs. "The after-effects are the same."

A few seconds of silence go by. Then Robin's face lights up again. "But...did you hook up with any cute guys last night? I mean, technically, you were drugged, so you have to have hooked up with someone, but then at the same time, you were drugged, so technically someone must've been trying to hit on you..." She pauses and sighs at my amused face. "I'm doing it again. I'm rambling again, aren't I?" 

I nod bluntly. "Yeah, you are. You've got to stop." 

She buries her face in her hands. "I know! But I can't! It's constant, and I just can't keep focusing, and it just gets to be too much― and I just cant stop." 

I sigh, staring at her blankly, completely unsure of what to tell her. "Something strange did happen last night, though." 

Robin's disappointed face lights up. "What? What happened? Tell me everything!" 

"Okay," I say, giving her an unsure grin. "You know Eddie? The Freak?" 

"Eddie Munson? Are you really asking me if I know Eddie The Freak Munson?" She answers her own question. "Who doesn't know that guy? I mean, he stands out. A lot." 

"Yeah," I say, nodding to myself. "Anyway, you know how everybody like...hates him? He's supposed to be mean and scary?" 

She nods. "He's probably mean. Definitely scary. I mean, have you seen the guy? He's a prime example of why I despise men." 

I raise her eyebrows in question at her. "Yeah, well, you won't believe this. So I'm puking in the bathroom, trying to get all the drugs out of my system, yeah?" 

Robin nods, signaling that she's following. 

"And Eddie just walks in on me, and for some reason, we actually begin to talk. For almost half an hour." I widen my eyes for impact, and Robin's widen involuntarily. 

"Turns out," I continue. "He's actually a pretty nice dude. I don't know if it was because he was high or something, but I'd think that you would get more reckless when you're high. He's probably like― one of those people who has like a super stony exterior, but is a teddy-bear at heart." 

Robin struts her head closer to me with wide eyes. She waves her hands around. "Wait wait wait. Go back. Go slower. You're telling me," she's wincing, like she doesn't believe what she's about to say. "That Eddie Munson, the Freak of Hawkins, who is feared by almost everyone, is actually a nice teddy-bear dude? Please tell me you're joking or that I heard you wrong."