CHAPTER ONE:
HEY, JUDE.

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MORNINGS WITH MUSIC was a need for the Musso family.

There weren't too many positive things Carter Musso's kids could say about their father who up and abandoned them right when things got tough, but one thing they would admit that their father did right: introducing them to music.

Jude and his siblings all had their own preferences as to what kind of music they enjoyed the most, but if it weren't for their father, none of them would've learned what real music sounded like, or even how to play any of the instruments that were scattered throughout their house. Now, the definition of what could be considered real music depended on which Musso was asked, but Jude was very certain that his taste in music was superior to his brother and his twin sister's.

Jude let out a quiet sigh, running a hand through his blond hair as he stood in front of his closet. His eyes scanned over his shirts which consisted mostly of band tees and hand-me-downs from River, pursing his lips as he decided on what he wanted to wear. He didn't have a whole lot of options as Jude nor his family ever had a whole lot of money, yet it was still a challenge to decide. He reached forward and grabbed two shirts in the middle and turned them around to look at the front━━━Bon Jovi or Metallica. Jude raised a brow, making a face as he tossed the Metallica shirt back into the bottom of his closet; he had no idea how that ended up in his closet. He took the other shirt off the hangar and slipped it on over his head. He moved towards his dresser and opened one of the drawers to grab a pair of jeans, groaning when he saw it was completely empty.

He slammed the drawer shut with a huff, shaking his head in frustration at the fact he forgot to do laundry━━━again. He stood there for a few moments, furrowing his brows together when he suddenly began to hear music coming from downstairs.

"Rising up to the challenge of our rival, and the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night━━━"

Jude immediately rolled his eyes, tossing his head back when he realized what song it was.

He knew exactly who had claimed the radio that morning.

The floorboards in the hallway creaked under someone's footsteps and Jude opened his eyes, knitting his brows together when he saw Phoenix starting to walk past. Her blonde hair was neatly brushed back over her shoulders with some hair pinned to the side with a clip. She wore denim jeans and a colorfully striped, button-up shirt that was tucked into her pants. A jean jacket dangled over one of her arms, her book bag clutched in her hand while her other arm held two large textbooks. Some light pink eyeshadow was smeared over her eyelids, a matching shade of lipgloss glistening on her lips━━━something she hadn't started doing until their freshman year. She glanced into Jude's room, halting in her steps when she saw him already staring at her. She scrunched up her nose in absolute disgust a couple of seconds later, gagging as she looked at Jude's appearance.

Jude mimicked his sister's expression, glancing down at himself to see what could've been so wrong. He wore plaid boxers and a shirt━━━he didn't see anything wrong with that. He lifted his head, throwing his hands out at his sides as he raised his brows. "What?" he sharply asked.

Phoenix just scoffed, rolling her eyes before she continued walking down the hall. Jude turned around and glanced over by his bed, sighing as his gaze fell on his book bag. He had so many assignments yet to complete that were just sitting inside his bag━━━almost all of which were due soon with the start of spring break finally coming upon them in just a couple of days. He walked over and picked it up, slinging it over his shoulder. Then he grabbed his headphones and walkman off his cluttered desk in the corner near his guitar, exiting his bedroom. He headed down the hall, the tune of Eye of the Tiger growing louder as he neared the stairs. He let out a quiet sigh and walked down the spiral staircase, immediately stopping when he reached the last step.

He raised his brows, blinking as he watched his older brother sing along to the radio as he cooked breakfast. He wore an apron over his police uniform, a few old grease stains near the front pocket of the tattered apron. There were plates and silverware already out and put off to the side for them to use, other plates of food cooling down until all of the food was done. Jude turned his head towards the living room, spotting Phoenix now seated on the couch. She had a notebook in her lap, a history textbook open in front of her on the coffee table with multiple sticky notes sticking out of the pages. She didn't pay any attention to Jude, muttering to herself as she wrote something down. The TV in the corner was on with Charlie's Angels playing on the ABC Channel, though it wasn't exactly easy to hear since the sound went out a few weeks ago and River hadn't had time to fix it.

"If it's attention you want, Jude, you'll certainly get it wearin' that."

Jude scoffed under his breath, turning around to give River a glare. He walked towards the kitchen after setting his bag by the front door, taking a seat at the counter. He caught River's eye again, raising a brow when he saw the look on River's expression. "Why're you lookin' at me like that?" Jude wondered.

"You are gonna put some pants on, right?"

"No," Jude replied, a blank expression on his face as he rested his arms in front of him. "I'm gonna go to school just like this."

"Alright, smartass," River huffed, turning off the stove. He untied the apron, taking a few steps to the side to hang it up on the hook by their cluttered pantry. "Just. . .get dressed and eat your breakfast. I don't want you guys to be late for school."

Jude snickered, taking a plate when River handed it to him. His eyes skimmed over the food off to the side━━━crunchy hash browns, buttered toast, scrambled eggs, and crispy bacon━━━which were all of their breakfast favorites. River quickly made himself a plate, glancing into the living room as he walked towards the dining table. "Nix, breakfast," he called out, nudging his head towards the food when Phoenix turned her head. Jude stood up from the stool, glancing over his shoulder when he saw Phoenix walking over.

"Can you at least put some pants on first?" she asked, walking around him to get to the food first.

Jude rolled his eyes, trailing behind her with his eyes narrowed. River shook his head with a small smile, taking a seat at the table. "Can you mind your business?" Jude retorted, raising his brows when Phoenix sharply turned her head towards him.

Phoenix picked up the last plate, huffing in response as she started to pick out what food she wanted. Jude snickered under his breath and grabbed some toast, muttering a faint thank you to Phoenix when she handed him a spatula to scoop some scrambled eggs onto his plate. "Hey Nix," River said, swallowing his bite of toast, "You finish that history report?"

"Yeah," Phoenix answered. She grabbed a few pieces of bacon and set them beside her hash browns, glancing over at the oldest Musso. "A few minutes ago."

Jude blinked, furrowing his brows together. "Wait. Didn't-didn't Ms. Summit just assign that?" he asked. "It's not even due until next month."

Phoenix nonchalantly shrugged with a nod when she spared her twin a glance. "Yeah. And?" Jude let out a puff, simply shaking his head. He piled the remaining hash browns and scrambled eggs onto his plate, knowing River and Phoenix wouldn't want the rest of them. "What, Jude?"

"Nothing," Jude muttered. He grabbed a fork from the pile, just barely giving Phoenix a glance. He carried his plate over to the table, missing the subtle looks River and Phoenix shared with each other. Jude was often very vocal about what he was thinking, and even when he chose to say nothing, River and Phoenix still heard it in their brother's silence. River shook his head at Phoenix as Jude plopped down into the chair across from River, silently telling her not to get him riled up first thing in the morning. She reluctantly sighed, grumbling to herself.

Phoenix got herself a glass of water and walked over to the table a couple of moments later, sinking into the chair beside Jude. River took a few bites of his bacon, his eyes flickering between his younger brother and sister.

He was pretty much used to taking care of the twins━━━making sure they ate enough each day, that they went to school and didn't skip, kept their grades up, and went to bed at a semi-decent time━━━which was something their father used to do before he up and completely abandoned his children without so much as a warning.

Thankfully, River had been working for the Hawkins Police Department since he was seventeen years old, working harder and harder to make his way up the ranks and prove himself. He'd just been made an Officer under the watchful eye of Chief Jim Hopper when River discovered his father was suddenly gone, but his job is what helped to grant him sole custody of Jude and Phoenix.

No one knew where Carter had gone, and with him not around to sign over custody rights or put the house in River's name, it made the entire process a tad bit complicated. But, with no sign of Carter after months and Jim's persistence, River was given custody of his siblings and found a way to get their house in his name so that he was the owner instead of their father. He worked hard to make sure he could provide for his family without Carter around, his dedication paying off when he was promoted to Detective a few years ago━━━a job he'd wanted since he was a little boy. Now it was ten years later since Carter disappeared and River had parenting perfectly figured out. . .sometimes.

"Can we listen to something else?" Jude asked, leaning back in the chair. Eye of the Tiger had ended and Wango Tango had started to play━━━a song Jude used to like but now despised because of how much River had played it the last four months. River made a sour face as soon as he heard Jude's question, looking across at his younger brother with a greatly offended expression.

Phoenix playfully rolled her eyes, sipping on her water. "You had the radio yesterday," she said, glancing aside at Jude with a smug smile. "It's River's turn."

"Come on," Jude groaned, slightly tilting his head to the side as his gaze fell on River. "You have Survivor or Ted Nugent on literally every time it's your turn."

"So?" River asked, raising a brow. He didn't see a problem with that. "Just be thankful it's not Cyndi Lauper."

Phoenix loudly gasped, dropping her hand down on the table as she gaped at River. "Hey, I was on your side, asshole," she huffed. "Don't insult Cyndi like that."

River snickered, nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders. "Sorry, but. . .there's better music out there than Lauper, Phoenix. Trust me."

Phoenix raised her brows, pointing her fork at River with a stern look. "I'm gonna pretend like you didn't just say that because no brother of mine would say that."

"Yeah he would," Jude replied, firmly nodding his head. He took another bite of his eggs, chuckling to himself when Phoenix shot him a nasty glare. "Glare at me all you want, Nix. It's not gonna make a difference."

River took a sip of his coffee with a small smile, clearing his throat as he set the mug back down. Jude and Phoenix looked over in his direction, the twins sharing a subtle glance when they saw the familiar look in River's eyes. His friendly attitude had disappeared and a more serious one had taken hold of him. "Wait, I know that look," Jude said, suspiciously narrowing his eyes. "What's wrong this time?"

"I got a call this mornin' from Chief Powell," River said, his focus mainly on Jude, "If we get another noise complaint━━━"

"Oh, did that old b━━━"

"Jude, just take it down a notch when it's after dark or━━━"

"Mrs. Midler just needs to take a chill pill━━━"

"Dammit, Jude," River snapped, his eyes growing wide with anger. Jude's lips smacked shut, clenching his jaw as his grip on his fork tightened. River let out a heavy breath, keeping his gaze on Jude. "This shit is serious. If we get another complaint, that's the end of your music, alright? I've done as much as I can to try and talk Mrs. Midler down, but she's tired of it, Jude. It can't happen again."

Jude let out a heavy breath, his eyes glancing over the table. He loosened his grip on his fork, scooping up some hash browns. He'd been going back and forth with the next-door neighbor, Marissa Midler who, in Jude's opinion, should've already been living in a nursing home, or a history museum. She could hardly hear over the phone or the person standing directly in front of her, but she somehow always managed to hear Jude's music from the garage when she was inside her home. A few of their other neighbors had found it annoying, but Jude had stopped playing it as loud as he used to and made his practices three nights a week instead of five. But, Jude would swear Mrs. Midler was just out to get him and she wouldn't stop until Hawkins outlawed music completely.

Jude finally looked back at River, shaking his head. "Fine, whatever, man," he grumbled, taking a large bite of hash browns.

River shifted in his seat, sighing to himself. He understood Jude's frustrations, but he was tired of having the same conversations with their neighbor over and over again. Usually, he managed to sway her into thinking there wouldn't be another time, but last time River had been working late and was on patrol when Mrs. Midler drove to the police to make the complaint in person. If there was another one, that would bring serious trouble. That was the last thing Jude needed with all the trouble he'd already gotten into the last few years. "Jude━━━"

"I get it, River," Jude snapped, his eyes momentarily growing wide.

"Good," River firmly said. He picked up his plate and stood up, setting it in the sink to be washed later. Phoenix swallowed her last bite of food, turning in her chair to look back at River. He grabbed his jacket from off the counter, slipping it on over his broad shoulders as he prepared to leave for work. "Are you taking us to school again?" she wondered.

River quietly sighed, glancing at Jude when he turned in his chair to look at the oldest Musso, too. "No, I think Jude's learned his lesson, right?" he asked, cocking a brow at Jude.

Jude rolled his eyes, throwing his hand out. "That idiot swung first. It was self-defense."

River just nodded his head, momentarily raising his brows. He adjusted the collar of his jacket, the Hawkins Police logo embroidered in the front right above River's bolded name. "Yeah, sure he did," he said, walking towards the door to the garage with a small smile. He took his holster off one of the coat hooks, securing it around his waist. "Just like that basketball player gave himself a black eye━━━"

"He did━━━"

"Enough, enough. I shouldn't've even brought it up," River said, shaking his hand as a gesture for Jude to stop talking. Jude pursed his lips together, picking up his toast. "I'll see you kids tonight when I get home. And Jude━━━"

"I know, I know," he said around his bite of food. "No trouble, and only me and Nix in the car for two weeks. I got it."

Phoenix playfully shook her head, standing up with her plate in hand. She gave River a small smile, chuckling to herself. "Don't worry, Riv," she said, casually leaning against the counter after she set her plate on top of River's. "I'll keep him in line."

"Thanks," River softly chuckled, removing his keys from his pocket. He opened the door to the garage, looking between his siblings one last time. "Have a good day at school."

"I highly doubt it," Jude mumbled.

"Bye, Riv," Phoenix said.

"Bye!"

River stepped into the garage, shutting the door behind him. Jude stood up from the table and held his plate close to his mouth, shoveling the rest of his scrambled eggs into his mouth as he walked towards the sink. Phoenix scrunched up her nose in disgust, quickly brushing past her twin. "Watch it," Phoenix huffed, making her way toward the living room.

Jude placed his plate in the sink, licking at his lips as he rounded the counter. "You ready to go?"

"I am," Phoenix replied, turning around to face Jude with her arms folded over her chest. "But you're not."

"All I gotta do is put pants on and then━━━"

The sound of the doorbell interrupted Jude, causing the twins to share a confused look. "I'm not expecting anyone," Jude said, figuring it was one of Phoenix's friends there to offer her a ride so she wouldn't have to ride with Jude. Phoenix furrowed her brows together and walked towards the door with a slight bounce in her step. Jude walked further into the living room, curiously watching Phoenix open the front door.

"No, go away━━━"

"Oh, bite me, Phoenix." Elliot Riggs quickly brushed past Phoenix with ease, already making his way into the Musso home just like he'd done hundreds of times over the years with a growing grin spreading across his lips. He wore a Hawkins Wrestling Team shirt, tattered blue jeans, and sneakers that were beginning to show some wear on them. A book bag was slung over his shoulders, but River highly doubted there was anything inside it besides a walkman, headphones, and possibly some clean clothes for gym class. He was a little over two months older than Jude and Phoenix and had been a normal part of their lives since he moved in across the street when they were four years old.

Jude folded his arms over his chest, tilting his head in confusion. "I thought you still had wrestling practice before school?"

"Uh, I do," Elliot said, nodding his head. Phoenix shook her head as she shut the front door, walking back into the living room. She took a seat on the couch, mimicking Jude's posture as her eyes focused on Elliot. "But, uh, this morning. . .I accidentally overslept and my parents were already gone so. . ."

"So. . ." Jude dragged off, raising his brows. "You need a ride?"

Elliot smiled. "Yeah, thanks for offering, man━━━"

"No, River said━━━"

"River's not here right now," Jude said, smirking as he looked over at Phoenix.

"I'm not?"

Jude's eyes instantly widened and he quickly turned his head, spotting River standing in the kitchen once again.

River held up his badge, a smug smile on his face as he looked at the three teenagers. "Forgot my badge," he said, lowering his hand at his side. Elliot nervously shifted, wincing as his eyes flickered over to Jude.

After Jude's fight from a few weeks ago, he'd had to give up his keys while River also grounded him for two whole months. River drove the twins to school and then they would ride the bus home if he couldn't pick them up in time. When Jude's grounding was meant to end, he was only going to be allowed to drive him and Phoenix to and from school and work━━━no one else could ride with them and Jude couldn't go anywhere else.

"Elliot's the only exception, alright?" River said. "But no one else can hitch a ride."

"Thank you, River," Elliot grinned, pointing a finger at the man, "You're the big brother I've always wanted."

"You have a big brother," Phoenix said, tilting her head.

Elliot huffed, glancing over his shoulder at Phoenix. "Yeah, but he's a dick."

Jude snickered at that, playfully rolling his eyes. River just shook his head, opening the door again. "I'll see you dweebs later." He stepped into the garage again, not waiting for a response as he shut the door behind him; hopefully, he didn't forget anything else.

Jude dropped his hands down at his sides, running a hand through his curls to push them off his forehead. "We leave in fifteen," he said, his eyes flickering between Elliot and Phoenix. He walked up a few of the stairs, pausing to give Phoenix a stern look. "And not a minute later. So, make sure you don't have to redo your makeup again or━━━"

"Oh, please," Phoenix scoffed, slamming her textbook shut as she matched Jude's expression. "I can get dressed faster than you can do your hair."

Elliot snickered, but it quickly disappeared when he saw the sharp glare Jude sent him. He cleared his throat, twisting his lips as he turned his head and pretended to be interested in Phoenix's show. Jude puffed out a breath and jogged up the rest of the stairs, heading straight for River's room. He stepped in front of River's dresser and pulled open one of his drawers, smirking when he saw a few pairs of light jeans neatly folded inside. He pulled out the top pair, shrugging to himself as he looked them over━━━they would work for school. He slipped them on over his legs, quickly buttoning them up. He was only just a tad bit shorter than River, but thankfully his jeans fit Jude, too. He walked out River's room and into his own, cocking a brow at Elliot who was casually laying on Jude's bed with his arms behind his head.

"You didn't hear this from me, but," Elliot started, turning his head towards Jude to make sure he was paying attention, "I think Chrissy's gonna break up with Jason."

"What?" Jude asked, his eyes slightly widening in surprise. He hadn't been around Chrissy too much despite her being Elliot's cousin, however, she was always nice to him no matter what. Elliot and Chrissy become close after Elliot's parents adopted him and his older brother, but as they got older they drifted apart. However, he always seemed to have the inside scoop on Chrissy and her family. "But I thought━━━"

"You've met Jason," Elliot said, sitting up on his shoulders. "He's a dick."

"Well, yeah, I know that, but. . .I just didn't expect that."

"Me either," Elliot shrugged. He sat up straight, hanging his legs over the side of the bed. "I say good riddance. The guy's an airhead━━━you should hear some of the things he says at our family picnics, talking about how some weird game that's about devil worship or something. It's mental, man."

"Sounds like it," Jude said, shaking his head. Thankfully, Jason Carver very rarely crossed paths with Jude━━━which may or may not have been on purpose, but Jude didn't care either way. He saw how Jason treated those that were different from him and it was the same way the rest of Hawkins treated Jude and his siblings.

No one deserved that.

Elliot quietly sighed and stood up, stretching his arms high above his head. "You ready, Hey Jude?" Jude scoffed at the nickname, shooting Elliot a playful glare. Elliot just loudly laughed and patted Jude's arm, walking out of Jude's bedroom. Jude stole a quick look at himself in his mirror by his dresser, shrugging his shoulders. He wasn't the most stylish individual, but he was only going to school. He didn't see the point in trying to impress anyone━━━there was no point in it anymore.

He exited his bedroom and jogged down the stairs, snatching his keys off the kitchen counter. He grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, waiting as Phoenix and Elliot did the same. He let out a sigh and walked out of the house, making sure Phoenix locked the door before she walked out last. Jude's eyes scanned the neighboring houses as he walked towards his vehicle━━━a light blue Volkswagen van that had started to rust a couple of years ago. It was meant to be his and Phoenix's, but the youngest Musso had yet to manage to pass her driver's test despite Rivers best efforts to teach her.

Jude walked towards the hood of the van, pausing when he saw their neighbor, Mrs. Midler, outside getting her mail in a fuzzy, polka-dot robe with matching slippers on her feet. She turned on her heel and walked up her driveway as she slowly shuffled through the mail, stopping in her tracks when she locked eyes with Jude.

"Good morning, Mrs. Midler!" Phoenix called out, waving at the older woman with an overly enthusiastic smile etched on her shiny lips. Jude stole a subtle look at his sister with his face slightly scrunched, but Phoenix simply ignored him.

"Morning, Phoenix," Mrs. Midler replied, nodding her head as she started to walk towards her house again. Her eyes raked over Phoenix and the boys, unaware that her judgment was obvious on her wrinkled features. Phoenix's expression faltered slightly, but she didn't comment on it. Jude narrowed his eyes, folding his arms over his chest when Mrs. Midler came to a stop and faced them. "Do you kids plan on playing any music again tonight?"

"No, we━━━"

"Just the usual stuff, Mrs. Midler," Jude said, leaning against the van as he smugly folded his arms over his chest. "We know all your favorites!"

Phoenix rolled her eyes, pushing her elbow into Jude's side after she walked over to stand next to him. Jude winced, quietly hissing. "Shut the fuck up," Phoenix harshly whispered. "Did you already forget what Riv said?"

"I have tried to be civil with you, young man, but you've given me no other chance," Mrs. Midler said, placing her hands on her hips. Jude assumed she was glaring, but with the sun partially peeking out and shining in his eyes, he wasn't exactly sure. "I will get the police involved, and I'll make sure your brother can't brush it off this time."

"I don't━━━"

"We're very sorry, Mrs. Midler," Phoenix apologized, pushing Jude towards the driver's side door as best as she could. She yanked it open, trying to shove him inside while Elliot watched with wide eyes. "It won't happen again! I promise!"

Jude shoved Phoenix's hands off of him and huffed, shooting his sister a sharp glare. But, he climbed inside the van, muttering to himself. Elliot flashed Mrs. Midler a toothy smile and waved, but the old woman just huffed and rolled her eyes. She dropped her hands down at her sides and turned on her heel, continuing up the sidewalk that led right up to her plant-covered front porch. Phoenix opened the back door and clambered inside as Elliot claimed the front seat, letting out a content sigh as Jude started up the van.

"Why do you have to make everything so fucking difficult?" Phoenix harshly snapped, moving to kneel in between Jude and Elliot's seats, her dark eyes pinned to Jude.

He turned his head, perfectly matching her glare. "Why do you care what everyone thinks about us?"

"I don't," Phoenix quickly denied, but Jude knew that was far from true. Just about everything Phoenix did was to please those around her in hopes they would see her potential. "But I do care about you, believe it or not, and I don't want you gettin' in any more trouble because you can't keep your big ass mouth shut."

"It's not my fault━━━"

"It's never your fault━━━"

"Guys! Can we please do this when we're at school?" Elliot interjected, glancing between the twins with his brows raised. "I'm sorry, but I really can't be late after missing practice."

Jude sucked in a heavy breath, silently nodding his head in agreement. He didn't respond, instead putting the van in drive so they could finally hit the road. He turned out of the driveway and began driving down the narrow street, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. He reached forward and switched on the radio, clicking on a few buttons to get his cassette tape to play.

Phoenix leaned back into her seat, a small frown still prominent on her lips. Elliot silently glanced between the twins, pursing his lips together as he faced forward again. A small part of him felt bad about how much fighting Jude and Phoenix had been doing because he could clearly see they cared about each other. Yet, he didn't know what to actually say to try and make it better; if anything, he thought he might make matters worse if he opened his mouth. Jude, however, was thankful for the silence, feeling himself begin to relax as his music began to fill the van. His grip on the steering wheel loosened and he readjusted his posture, focusing on the road ahead as he relaxed back into his seat.

He could feel the dread of what would come from school beginning to claw at him like it was trying to prepare him for what might come, but little did he know there was something much bigger in store for him that he couldn't possibly prepare for.

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Wow, this took a lot longer than I thought it would, I'm so sorry! But, chapter one is finally done and here! I think I have a better idea of how I want the next few chapters + story to go overall, so hopefully, it'll be a little easier to write and it won't take as long for me to update again!!

I know this chapter was kinda short and didn't show too much. It was more of an introduction to Jude and his siblings and how they all interact and such! And, Jude's best friend, Elliot, also showed up which I wasn't originally expecting to do until the next chapter, but this might actually work better! And yes, Elliot is Chrissy's cousin━━━their moms are sisters 👀

I still have a lot more in store for Jude (+ his family and friends) and Eddie, and hopefully, you all will like it!

Anyways, please don't forget to leave your feedback in the comments and I hope y'all enjoyed! 🤍