And She Was

The Beginning of the End

(Authors note: this chapter contains lines/scenes that come directly from the show and I do not claim them to be my original ideas)

The news of a high school students death spread like wildfire. Every channel was playing news clips, detailing that a body had been found at the Forest Hills Trailer Park. While exact details of who had been killed, how the body had been found, and who the prime suspect was were not released, in a small town like Hawkins it was only a matter of time before people came to their own conclusions.  Which was why Max Mayfield made her way to Dustin's home that morning. She had caught a glimpse of Chrissy's body that morning after seeing the police pull up outside of the Munson trailer. And she had seen Eddie flee the night before, terrified.

When Dustin opened the door, seeing Max on the other side out of breath and looking concerned, he led her to his room, asking her to confirm that she had seen Chrissy Cunningham. Pacing the room, he asked if she told any of this to the cops. The two of them discussed what had happened the night before, Dustin finding it hard to believe that Chrissy, the cheerleader, had been with Eddie, the freak. None of it seemed right. Knowing his friend couldn't have done this atrocious act, Dustin thought for a second. "Why haven't you told the cops this?" Max sighed, "I-I don't know." "You don't know?" Sitting next to Dustin, Max told him about what else had happened that night. About how the lights had flickered. About seeing Eddie leave his home in a panic, an absolute look of fear on his face. She had never seen him like that before. After discussing things a little more, Dustin and Max knew what they needed to do. They needed to find Eddie, to hear what had actually transpired that night. And in order to do that, they needed to find out if any of Eddie's other friends had heard from him.

As they rode up the the family video, Dustin and Max were unsurprised to find Steve and Robin watching the news. Again, it was everywhere. All of Hawkins had to have known what had happened. There was no doubt in their minds that time was of the essence. "How many phones do you have?" Dustin asked Steve. "Have you guys seen this? Someone was murdered.." Exasperated, Dustin asked again, "How many phones do you have?" "Uh two...why?" Chiming in, Robin confirmed there was a third phone in Keith's office. Looking at Max, agreeing three would work, Dustin tossed his bag into the front counter, hopping over it, going to the computer. Steve and Robin, confused as to what was going on, voiced their disbelief and irritation at the young man's actions. It was Saturday, a busy day for the video rental store. There was no time for whatever shenanigans the two younger teens were obviously up to. "What are you doing?" "Setting up a base of operations. We need to find Eddie's friends numbers."

Steve, still irritated, couldn't believe that's why Dustin was interrupting his work. For Eddie the Freak Munson. He couldn't lie, he had become a little jealous that Dustin had another older friend, one he had become extremely close to. Voicing his disdain, Steve said, "Oh Eddie. You're new best friend who you think is cooler than me because he plays that nerdy game." "Eddie, yes..." Realizing what Steve had just said, Dustin stopped and looked at Steve. "I never said that."  Picking up the video cassettes Dustin had knocked to the ground while climbing over the counter, Robin reminded them that while normally there wasn't a problem with them hanging around on a normal day, this was Saturday and it would be too busy for whatever was going on. That whatever it was could wait until Monday. "This is an emergency, Robin. While I sympathize, this can not wait until Monday." Dustin turned to Max, telling her to fill Steve and Robin in on what had happened.

Once they had been filled in, they started calling all of Eddie's friends. When it had been confirmed that no one had heard from him, Max spoke up. "Guys, I think I have a lead." Excited, Dustin asked, "Really?" Telling them about Reefer Rick, a guy from whom Eddie gets his drugs, she told them that she had been told he sometimes crashes at his place. Being the best lead so far, Robin asked where he lived. "That's the problem. I guess he's more of a legend than perhaps an actual person. So no one really knows where he lives." Coming up to the counter, Steve thought for a second. "Wait, we might have one other lead. Someone else who might know where he is." "What? Who?" Steve told the other three about how a while back, Eddie had come into the video store with a girl. One he hadn't really ever seen before. "He looked really happy with her though. Maybe she knows where he is." Giving pause, Dustin thought for a second. "Wait, was she wearing glasses? Brown hair, green eyes?" "Yeah, that's her." Dustin looked at Robin, who took a moment to process the information. "Wait," she said, "Do you mean Aileen?" Steve shrugged. "I don't know her name. But they were inseparable. Couldn't keep their hands off each other. Cute girl, a little on the bigger side but hey..." Dustin couldn't believe it. Why hadn't he thought to go straight to Aileen? Surely Eddie might have contacted her. Going through the computer, he found Aileen's information, giving her house a call.