Chapter Text
March 27th, 1985. Hawkins, Indiana. Winter’s chill was sticking around longer than usual this year as Eddie pushed the door to Everyday Music open. There was immediate relief from the cold winds outside.
“John, my guy. I know I’m late, but I just got the money to be able to-” Eddie’s words die in his throat when the owner wasn’t sitting behind the counter like usual.
Instead, a girl was sitting behind the counter, putting price stickers on a stack of vinyls. She paused what she was doing and looked up.
“John isn’t in today. Can I help you with something?” She asks.
She had that polite customer service smile people used with strangers. Eddie didn’t say anything for probably a beat too long. He was too distracted by her appearance. He was sure he had never seen her at Hawkins High, or he would have remembered her. She wore acid-washed jeans with what looked like a pair of neon yellow shorts sticking out around the waistline. She wore a matching neon yellow sports bra under a Joan Jett t-shirt that was cut into a crop top. Over that was a matching acid-washed jacket covered in pins. Her black hair was half tied up and curly. This new employee looked as if she had been perfectly crafted for him.
“Excuse me?” She asks with a confused look.
"Oh - uh… Yeah. Sorry," he fumbled as he approached the counter. He tried his best to keep his gaze on the counter, fighting the urge to look up to gawk at her again. “I wanted to preorder the new Slayer album that’s coming out in a couple of weeks. John said I could come in past the preorder cut-off as long as I had the money.”
Eddie sets the cash on the counter. She leans over to the register and grabs a small notebook. She opens it up to a page with names on it and the words ‘Hell Awaits’ at the top.
“What was your name?” She asks, looking at the page.
“Eddie Munson.”
She's quiet as she skims the page. Her eyebrows scrunch slightly, and she looks up at him.
“Edward?” She asks.
“Uh- yeah.”
She smiles and nods. She puts a little check mark next to his name and picks up the cash. Eddie couldn't help but grin as he watched her check the list and find his name. He thought about clarifying that he didn't like being called Edward, but the mention of his name coming from her mouth was different. Special. She counts the cash as she jumps off the stool she was sitting on. Once the money was secure in the register, she grabbed the receipt for him.
“All set,” she hums out with a smile. “There will be a cassette with your name on it April 8th.”
He stuffed his hands in his pockets awkwardly as he took the receipt.
"Thanks, princess." Princess? Really, Munson? He internally groaned, cursing his nervousness for making him sound like a dork.
She chuckles lightly and nods before speaking, “Yeah, no problem. Let me know if I can help you with anything else.”
Eddie couldn't help the nervous laugh that escaped him at her brief chuckle. He glanced back down at her crop top, barely visible under her open jacket, and quickly looked away before he was caught staring again by the pretty employee from hell. He cleared his throat, hoping he could pull himself together. She goes back to pricing the rest of the stack of vinyls in front of her.
"Uh, yeah. I'll… keep that in mind. Thanks," he muttered awkwardly as he walked away, making his way to the door.
Eddie could feel his cheeks still burning with embarrassment as he pushed the door open and stepped back out into the cold. It wasn’t until he was halfway home that he realized he had forgotten to ask for her name. He felt like an idiot.
---
It was the day of the album release, and of course, it was a Tuesday. Eddie considered skipping class for it, but he was still hanging onto the unfounded hope that if he crammed a whole year's worth of school in the last couple of months of Senior year, he’d be able to graduate on time. As soon as the final bell rang, he was out of the door and practically sprinting to his old van. The old, rusted piece of junk wouldn’t move fast enough as he drove down the streets of Hawkins. He jumped out of the van once he parked and rushed into Everyday Music.
Any rush he was in leaves his body when he sees her again. She was behind the counter, smiling and talking to a customer as she bagged up a few vinyls. She glances at the door, at him, then back to the customer she was currently working with. The customer walks past Eddie, out the door. He mustered up every ounce of courage he had as he walked up to the counter. She turned, looking through a pile of cassettes on the counter behind her. She grabbed one and turned around. She was already holding out the Slayer cassette to him. His palms were practically sweating as she handed him the cassette.
“One Hell Awaits cassette for Edward Munson.” She says with a friendly smile.
He gulped nervously as he spoke. "It's uh - it's actually just Eddie," he managed to say, trying not to sound like too much of a stuttering mess.
“Oh, my bad.” She says simply. “You’re all set since you prepaid.”
Eddie nods dumbly again as he tries to come up with something, anything, to say. He wanted to compliment her, but he was worried about sounding like an awkward creep. He fidgeted with the cassette in his hands nervously as he tried to think. His eyes flicked from her eyes up to the pins on her jacket, trying to come up with some way to compliment her.
"Cool pins,” he finally managed to say, cringing internally at how lame he sounded.
She looked down at her jacket, pulling the fabric taut so she could see her own pins more clearly. There were a few with band names, mostly rock and alt bands. Most of them were activist slogans; things like ‘Pro Fucking Choice’ and ‘if she says NO it’s rape’.
“Thanks. I made most of them. One of the few good skills I got out of Girl Scouts.” She responds with a bright laugh as she looks back up at him.
Eddie was relieved when his comment was welcomed, rather than met with an eye roll. His cheeks still burned red with nervousness, but he couldn't help but smile at her laughter.
"You made them? That's pretty badass," he remarked, impressed that she had enough artistic skill to craft her own pins.
“Yours are pretty cool too. My name's Erin, by the way.” She says, sitting back down on the stool behind the counter.
Eddie's heart skipped a beat at the mention of her name.
"Erin." He said with a nervous grin, hoping he didn't sound too stalker-ish. He glanced down at the pins on his own leather jacket - a mix of band references and D&D-related ones. He always had a soft spot for the game and, by extension, the Hellfire club. "Yeah, mine are cool. Not as badass as yours, though."
“Which one of mine is your favorite?” She asks, looking at her pins again.
Eddie’s eyes roamed over the various pins on her jacket, each one holding its own significance. He considered her question for a moment before his eyes settled on one particular pin.
"I reckon that one there," he replied, nodding towards a pin that read 'Punk is Not Dead'. It matched her outfit perfectly. "It suits you."
She reaches up and unpins it from her jacket.
“Well, now it suits you,” she says simply, holding the pin out to him.
Eddie looks at her outstretched hand, then back up to her. He hesitantly reaches out, taking the pin. His fingers brush against her palm as he pulls away.
Eddie's heart felt like it stopped in that moment. He couldn't believe she had willingly given him one of her pins - a pin that was probably important to her. He looked down at the pin clasped between his fingers, feeling inexplicably special. He gulped nervously as he glanced back up at her.
"T-thanks," he stuttered out, his cheeks burning even hotter now.
“No problem.” She hums.
The bell to the front door jingles. She looks up at greets the person casually. She looks back at Eddie.
“I have to focus on work. But it was nice to properly meet you, Eddie.” Her smile as she spoke made his chest tighten.
Eddie nodded nervously, feeling a combination of disappointment and relief that their conversation was ending. He couldn't deny that he wanted to stay and talk with her endlessly, but he knew she had work to do.
"Yeah, nice meeting you too, Erin," he replied, trying to sound casual despite the fluttering in his stomach. "I'll see you 'round."
With that, he reluctantly turned to leave the shop, holding the cassette and the pin tightly in his hands.