As the days and weeks passed since the record-setting 7.4 magnitude earthquake rocked the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, slowly the residents who stayed behind started to gather some sense of normalcy. With the high school still set up as a shelter for those displaced by the natural phenomenon, and repairs starting to retrieve and rebuild belongings lost to families, one by one businesses began to reopen, as the town united to start moving forward.

As for Lily, whose hand shot out quickly to hit the button on the alarm clock sitting on her nightstand so as not to wake up the Eddie who slept soundly next to her, she climbed out of bed, anxious to get ready for the Palace Arcade's grand reopening in town. Her old work t-shirt still hung in the back of her closet, and she quickly pulled it on along with a pair of jeans and a zip-up jacket, ready to face the early morning April chill.

To her surprise, her mother sat at the kitchen table when she emerged from her bedroom, nursing a cup of coffee while reading the local paper. Susan looked up at the sight of Lily walking into the room, and she smiled softly, nodding in greeting.

"Morning," Susan greeted as Lily opened the refrigerator, reaching for the bottle of apple juice and two eggs from the container.

"Morning, Mom," Lily returned the greeting, busying herself with making breakfast. "Are you off today?"

"By some miracle," Susan chuckled, but Lily noticed it didn't quite meet her eyes. "Thought I'd go visit Maxine today for a little bit." She glanced back in the direction of the closed bedroom door. "Edward still sleeping?"

Lily smirked. "You know Eddie, Mom. He's never up before the sun is."

While Lily knew it wasn't a secret that her mother had always harbored a distaste for Eddie and Cameron, to her credit, Susan had tried her hardest to make an effort while the Munson siblings were staying in their trailer, Eddie full time and Cameron still moving back and forth between their home and Steve's. While they still hadn't gone much past small talk, chatting about the weather or the new re-openings in town, Lily was grateful that her mom had managed to move past her distrust of Eddie after everything in the news over spring break, and they were able to start off on a somewhat new page.

"I'm glad he has you." Susan spoke up, causing Lily to turn back to the eggs scrambling in the pan to hide her shocked expression from her mother. "I know his recovery hasn't been easy, and losing their home like that..." she let out a deep breath. "Well, we know what that's like."

"Yeah," Lily agreed, nodding as she tried to find the words to respond to her mother's revelation. "Yeah, we do."

"I can tell he's good to you." she continued, and Lily bit her lower lip, staring out the kitchen window as her eyes threatened to glass over. "I know I haven't always trusted that boy, especially after everything with your dad and Neil..."

Susan trailed off, and Lily shook her head, turning to face her mother. "He's nothing like Dad and Neil." Lily assured her. "Sure, he's different, and people look at him like he's scary, but he's kind, Mom. He's good to me, good to Max. He's not what those people say about him, he never was."

Susan nodded as Lily finished making her breakfast, taking a seat at the table next to her. "I know that now." she assured her. "I know I may not always show it, but I'm trying, Lily."

"I know you are, Mom." Lily said, nodding encouragingly as Susan reached out, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.

"I know I haven't been around much for your senior year, but I'm proud of you." Susan said. "You girls have both had a tough last few months, and I know these past few weeks have been even harder." her mom's voice faltered for a moment. "When did you get so strong?"

Lily shrugged, her eyes once more welling up with tears. "I get it from my mom, I guess."

A comfortable silence spread between the two, along with a newfound sort of understanding as Lily finished her breakfast, cleaning up the mess before pulling her shoes on. She bid her mother goodbye as she grabbed her purse and the keys to Eddie's van, pulling the door open and starting the engine, instantly being met with the loud chords of Iron Maiden spilling through the speakers from the tape left in there from their drive home the day before.

Lily drove through the streets leading towards Hawkins, the ruin and devastation of the gates ripping through the earth becoming more evident the closer she got to the rubble of the town square, but as the Palace Arcade and Family Video came into view at the end of the street, it almost felt like coming home. Already, the neon lights were lit up bright, bathing the arcade in a colorful atmosphere, along with the familiar sounds of the game machines as they powered up for the day.

"Mayfield," Keith greeted as she entered the arcade, the bell jangling on the door overhead to announce her arrival. "Good to have you back,"

"Yeah," she returned the greeting, heading towards the back room to leave her belongings in her locker. "You too, Keith."

Despite the hundreds of Hawkins residents fleeing the town after the earthquake struck, the crowd showing up to celebrate the arcade and video rental building's reopening was one for the records, in one of the busiest crowds of children and teenagers Lily had seen since her first day on the job two years prior. The sounds of tickets dispensing from the game machines was constant, coupled with the theme music for each game in a symphony of chaos that Lily knew like the back of her own hand.

When the overhead bell chimed in the early afternoon, revealing two heads of dark hair standing in the doorway, Lily's smile brightened at the sight of Eddie and Cameron making a beeline for the front counter. Despite the stares in their direction from the parents milling about with their children at the young man formerly wanted for serial murder, Eddie's eyes only found Lily, moving towards his girlfriend with an excited grin.

"Welcome to the Palace Arcade," Lily greeted the Munson siblings with a bright customer service smile. "My name is Lily, how can I help you today?"

"Actually, I think you might be just the person to help me." Eddie said, leaning in closer so she could hear him over the noisy arcade. "I'm hoping to get the number of this really cute redhead who works here. Do you think you can help me out?"

"Mmm, sorry," she hummed, feigning an apologetic look. "I hear she has a boyfriend,"

"Dammit," Eddie muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "Worth a shot. In that case, I'm just here to beat the high score in Arkanoid."

Lily giggled in response as Eddie left the counter, moving on his crutches in search of the Arkanoid machine. As he walked, Lily couldn't help but notice the uneasy glances of those he passed, and even though Eddie kept his head high, not letting it bother him, she couldn't help the way her blood heated in her veins.

"They reveal Hawkins's golden boy as the real killer, and this town still can't let go of the local freak." Cameron sighed, shaking her head as she looked back over at Lily. "They know he's innocent, they just don't care."

"How does he do it?" Lily asked, watching as Eddie slipped a quarter into the machine, booting up the game as he started to play. "Be so unbothered by it all?"

"The same way we all do," Cam shrugged, chuckling humorlessly. "We pretend."

Lily busied herself with restocking tickets in a few of the machines as Cameron found a game to play of her own, eventually moving into a heated game of air hockey with Robin once the girl came over from next door on her lunch break. As for Eddie, once he made his rounds, Lily found a chair for him on the other side of the counter, where he made quick work of unpacking his backpack with the D&D manual he was rarely found without, instantly beginning to scribble notes down onto a piece of notebook paper.

"Whatcha working on?" Lily asked as she finished restocking the tickets, taking her place back behind the counter and attempting to peer over his shoulder at the page, but Eddie quickly moved it out of place, looking back up at his girlfriend with a mischievous grin.

"Just a little campaign I'm putting together for an end of the school year Hellfire party, one last hurrah before Eddie Munson's long awaited graduation, O'Donnell's grade pending." Eddie explained, giving her a wink. "Lillian will learn all about it in due time, I promise."

"In due time," Lily echoed thoughtfully, reaching into the pocket of her jeans to where a small pile of quarters rested, grabbing one and holding it up with a smirk. "Think another round of Dig Dug on me will loosen your lips a little, Munson?"

Eddie smiled softly at the old memory, at the hundreds of other times she'd tried to bribe him for his D&D notes during her junior year. "Sorry babe, these lips are sealed." he said dramatically, placing a hand on his chest. "I am a closed book, even for the woman I love."

"Damn," Lily sighed, slipping the quarter back into her pocket. "Worth a shot."

"So are you telling me where we're going tonight?" he asked, changing the subject, but Lily shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sorry babe, these lips are sealed." Lily echoed, causing Eddie to shake his head, fighting the smirk that threatened to turn up the corners of his mouth.

It was only after Lily's shift ended around dinnertime that they made their way to where Eddie's van was still parked in the lot, Cameron long gone with Steve after his own shift was up at Family Video. They piled into the van with Lily behind the wheel, where she made a quick pitstop back at their trailer to change out of her work clothes and grab the food she had waiting in the refrigerator, piling them into the picnic basket sitting atop the counter.

Eddie watched her with an amused grin as she passed him the basket to hold, peeking inside to catch a glimpse of its contents. "Ham and cheese?" he asked, glancing over at where Lily was maneuvering the van back onto the road, this time headed in the direction of Sattler's Quarry.

"The superior sandwich," Lily confirmed.

Lily turned the van onto the road leading to the quarry, coming to a stop near the water's edge and killing the engine. While the last time she'd been there, the place had been swarming with teenagers after a football game, catching one last autumn night before winter had taken over the state of Indiana, it was oddly peaceful that evening, quiet except for the sound of the small waves lapping against the shore.

"You planned this all for me?" Eddie asked as she reached in the back for the picnic blanket, opening up the door and laying it on a patch of grass before taking the basket from him and setting it down on top.

"Still don't want to spill any details about your next campaign?" she teased as they took a seat on the blanket, and Lily opened up the basket, pulling out the sandwiches and a container full of strawberries, along with a small bottle of apple juice for her and a beer for him. "I won't tell," she promised, batting her eyelashes at him playfully.

"Sorry Mayfield, lips are sealed." he reminded her as they clinked their glasses together in a toast.

However, as Lily took the first bite of her sandwich, she felt the first drop of rain hitting her wrist, just below the edge of her jacket sleeve. She looked up at the gray clouds that moved quickly, covering the sky and obscuring any view of the stars as the last traces of the sun faded from view, and mentally let loose a string of curses as the sky opened up above them, beginning to pour.

"Shit," Eddie hissed as the rain continued to fall, and Lily hurriedly packed the basket again as Eddie moved for the back doors of the van, opening them up as a place to hide from the pouring rain.

Eddie grabbed the blanket from the grass as Lily placed the basket inside the van, both of them climbing inside. Rain dripped from their already drenched bodies, pooling beneath them as Lily began to shiver from the breeze hitting her wet skin. She looked through the open doors of the van to the scene before them, the rain pelting down in sheets and already obscuring any visibility of the water in front of them.

"Dammit," Lily sighed as frustrated tears began to prick at the corners of her vision.

"What's wrong?" Eddie asked, following her gaze out towards the weather. "It's just a little rain, babe."

"I just-" her voice faltered as a tear escaped, falling down her cheek and mixing in with the rainwater, and she reached up to wipe it away. An image flashed in her mind of Eddie earlier in the arcade, and the way everyone stared at him as if they'd rather be anywhere else. All of the times in the Hawkins High cafeteria when he put on a show, only to be labelled a freak the town had no problem partaking in a manhunt in for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The man who nearly bled out before her on the street in the Upside Down, and was handcuffed to a hospital bed for nearly a week before his innocence was proclaimed. The one with the heart of gold, who would never dream of treating others the way they'd treated him. "I wanted it to be perfect for you. One night where we weren't still running from the things that happened over spring break. One night where we could just be..." she hiccuped softly. "Us."

"Are you kidding me?" Eddie asked, looking at her with an incredulous expression. "Honey, this is perfect."

"It's pouring rain," Lily pointed out. "Our picnic got rained out, we're soaked and shivering, and the clouds are covering the sky, so you can't see the stars."

"Actually, I have an incredible picnic spot with the most beautiful girl in Hawkins." Eddie pointed out. "As for the cold, I think I can help with that." he said, reaching for the picnic blanket and draping it over them, huddling together and wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she laid her head against his chest. "I get to hold my girl, and we're finally alone. What's not perfect about that?"

Lily smiled as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and she reached for the picnic basket, opening it again and pulling the sandwiches and drinks back out. A comfortable silence fell between the two as they ate, watching the rain fall over the quarry and listening to the sound of the raindrops against the van roof. While it wasn't at all how she'd imagined their evening, she knew Eddie had a good point: they were still enjoying their picnic, alone and away from any prying eyes. For the first time since spring break, hell, the first time since the night she went to go pick up Billy from the Hawkins Community Pool, Lily Mayfield finally felt as though she could breathe.

"See?" Eddie said, gesturing up towards the roof of the van, which surprisingly remained intact without any visible rain leaking through. "Can you think of a more romantic ambiance? Who needs the stars?"

Lily's smile grew as Eddie leaned down to kiss her, and she instantly kissed him back, holding onto the sides of his jacket under the blanket to pull him closer and savoring his warmth. She allowed herself to lose track of time, all sense of everything happening around them as he pulled her closer. However, as a cold breeze drifted in through the open doors of the van, she began to shiver, forcing her lips apart from his.

"Y'know," he mumbled matter-of-factly, hiding his face in her neck and planting a few kisses as she tangled her fingers in his hair. "Heat spreads faster if we're naked."

"Shut up," Lily chuckled, pulling back as Eddie watched her with an adoring grin, and as he opened his arms once more, she leaned back against him, pulling the picnic blanket up higher around them.

"I have an idea," Eddie said, reaching towards a pile of belongings he left in the back of the van, and pulling out a copy of a book, which he sat in his lap. Lily's gaze moved to the worn copy, though she could just make out the words The Fellowship of the Ring written on the front. "Just sit back and relax, Mayfield. You've had a long day."

Lily watched as Eddie reached for the book again, picking it up and holding it in front of them, his arms still wrapped around her as he opened the cover. He turned to the first page, nearly worn through from dozens of times rereading it, and as he began to read, his chest rumbled lightly beneath her with every word, already beginning to lull her asleep.

"When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of the Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton..."