March 22nd, 1986

Brandon had gone to work early that day like every day. He woke up in a mood as he had caught his little sister sneak in last night. She went to Jason's party and had two drinks, which pissed Brandon off. He promised not to tell their parents though as long as Beth promised to do all the chores in the house. And also to not tell their parents about Brandon sneaking out a week ago to hang out with Steve and Robin. Beth agreed.

So, here he was at work a little pissed off at his sister but he tried his best not to show it. Him, Steve, and Robin had been putting up movies on the shelves that had been returned or had just been delivered to the Family Video store. Steve and Brandon listened to Robin as she talked about Vickie. Brandon thought it was cute.

"Then Vickie laughed. And it wasn't like a cheap, fake laugh either. It was like...It was a real, genuine laugh." Robin explained to her two friends.

"Of course. It's my Muppet joke. It's hilarious." Steve replied and Brandon coughed up a laugh.

"My point is that Vickie laughed and everything was just like...it was perfect." Robin said in a dreamy way.

"This is the part where she tells us there's an issue." Brandon whispered to Steve.

"But I'm having this problem, where it's like, I should stop talking." Robin explained and Brandon mouthed an "I told you" to Steve making him chuckle. Brandon smiled slightly when he saw that.

"I have said everything I need to say. But then I guess I get nervous, and the words keep spilling out, and it's like my...my brain is moving faster than my mouth, or...or rather my...my mouth is moving faster than my brain. I'm digging this hole for myself, and I want to stop digging, I'm trying to stop, but I can't. And I'm doing it right now, aren't I?" Robin ranted on and on making Brandon and Steve share looks.

"Yeah, you are." Steve told her while Brandon nodded.

Robin exhaled, "Oh, I'm hopeless."

"Eh, we both are." Steve said making Brandon scoff.

"Make that all three of us." Brandon sighed.

"If only we could just, like, combine."

"Combine?"

"No, think about it."

"I know exactly what I want, and I've found the girl of my dreams, but I can't get the courage to ask her out. Meanwhile, you go on a million dates. And you have no idea what you want. And Brandon, you're attractive I guess and almost all the girls at school talk about you and say how you reject all them cause you want to find the right person, but you still get girls even though you don't want them." Robin explained making Brandon look at her confused.

"Mm-hm." Steve hummed.

"Huh?" Brandon questioned.

"So, if we just all combined, all our problems would be solved. Because I mean alone, let's face it. We totally suck." Robin said making Steve and Brandon look at each other.

"Totally." Brandon replied.

Robin gasped before picking up a movie, "Ooh, I think I found our morning movie."

"Doctor Zhivago?" Brandon questioned with a laugh.

"Ugh, you know I don't do double VHS." Steve scoffed.

"But it's about doomed love." Robin replied.

"Oh, well that's relatable. Especially for Steve." Brandon chuckled making Steve give him a look.

"Precisely. Also, Julie Christine is b-b-bonkers hot in this. Like, seriously the most beautiful creature I have seen in my life." Robin explained before turning on the tv.

When she did turn it on, the news showed up. A reporter stood in Forest Hills Trailer Park.

"We're in the Forest Hills Trailer Park in east Roane County. We don't have a lot of details now, but we can confirm that the body of a Hawkins High student was discovered early this morning. Police have not released the name..." The reporter explained.

"Holy shit."

"...although we are told they're currently in the process of notifying the family." The reported finished.

Brandon looked at Robin and Steve in shock. He then looked back at the tv. He knew that trailer park. Beth went there all the time. She went there to see Max. Max lived there. He prayed to God hoping that the body wasn't Max or else his sister will be heartbroken.

€€€€€€€€€€€€€

Beth woke up with a splitting headache. She only had two drinks at that party last night but it still was awful. Her brother caught her coming back in the house and got mad at her. But he promised not to tell their parents if she agreed on some things. She did.

Beth walked down the stairs of her house heading towards the kitchen. Her brother had already went off to work and her parents weren't there which was weird. Benjamin had taken off after having a long business trip over the summer and winter time. Beverly didn't work during breaks so it was super weird to Beth as to why they weren't there.

The brunette walked into the kitchen to make herself some waffles when she saw a note on the kitchen counter.

Hey Beth! Brandon went off to work already and me and your dad have something to take care of. Joyce needs us over in California for something super important that I can't get into now but I promise we'll be back soon! Definitely before break is over! I made some food for you and Brandon to eat while we're gone and bought some stuff in case you run out of things! Stay safe! We love you!

-Mom

Beth looked at the note in confusion. What could Joyce possibly need them in California for? She shrugged it off before going to the freezer and grabbing some waffles. She popped them into the toaster and waited for them to heat up. As she went to get a cup for water, she heard the doorbell rang.

The girl sighed before going over to the door. When she opened it, she was met with Max. Beth smiled slightly, "Hey babe. What's up?"

Max looked at the girl. She looked worried making Beth look confused. "Have you seen the news?" Max asked.

"No, but I heard it when my parents woke up. My mom put it up super loud. I'm glad it wasn't you. But whoever that kid was, I feel so bad for them." Beth replied.

Max walked into Beth's house before closing the door. Right then the waffles popped out the toaster and Beth walked over to grab them.

"Beth..." Max said and Beth turned to her girlfriend before taking a bite of one of the waffles. She didn't bother to put syrup because it took too much work to get a plate.

"Yeah?" Beth asked with her mouth kinda full.

"That kid....it was Chrissy. Chrissy Cunningham." Max told Beth and the girl looked in shocked.

"What? No, there's no way. Are you sure it was her?" Beth put the waffles down on a napkin.

"Yes. I'm sure. She was wearing her cheer outfit and everything." Max replied. "She was in Eddie's  trailer. I'm guessing they were toge-"

"Wait, wait. Eddie Munson? As in Eddie "The Freak" Munson?" Beth questioned.

"Yeah. She was with him and this morning I saw her dead. Her bones were all broken and her eyes were gone, like they were plucked out." Max explained and Beth looked in shock.

Chrissy told her she was going home because she didn't feel like partying. She was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Chrissy was Beth's friend and if what Max is saying it's true, that means Beth lost one of her best friends.

"You're positive it was Chrissy?" Beth asked and Max nodded. Beth took another bite of her waffle and looked at Max. "Okay. I'm going to get dressed and then we're going to go to Ally's house and grab her. Then we're going to Dustin and tell them both everything."

Max nodded and Beth ran up her room to get dressed. Once she got dressed, she grabbed the last waffle and took a bite out of it. Her and Max then walked out the house and left to tell the others. Beth had a feeling this would lead to something bad.

€€€€€€€€€€€€€

The couple arrived at Dustin's house with Ally who they basically dragged out the house. They filled her in a little bit on what happened but said they'll explain everything when they get to Dustin.

Max rang the doorbell and they were greeted by Dustin. A few minutes later they were in Dustin's bedroom and explained everything on what Max saw.

"Chrissy Cunningham?" Dustin shook his head. "You sure it was Chrissy?"

Max nodded. "Yes, in her cheerleader outfit. "Same thing she was in when I saw her with Eddie."

"Did you tell all this to the cops?" Dustin quizzed.

"Oh yeah. I didn't ask that, did you?" Beth looked at her girlfriend.

"No." Max shook her head. "No, but I-I can't be the only one who saw them together. They stood out."

"But why were they together?" Ally questioned as she sat on Dustin's bed. "I mean I don't want to assume anything but I doubt Chrissy Cunningham would want to drug deal with Eddie."

"Eddie the freak with Chrissy the cheerleader?" Dustin agreed with her.

"Exactly." Max said. "You know, his name's not in the news yet or anything, but I guarantee you Eddie is suspect one now."

"That's crazy." Dustin scoffed. "Eddie didn't do this. No way."

"He would never." Ally agreed. "Eddie is too sweet to do murder."

"Max is right though. We can't rule it out." Beth told them.

"Yes we can."

"Dustin!"

"You don't know him like we do, guys." Dustin cut her off. "Okay? When we got to high school, Lucas made all his sports friends. Beth is super popular now and is in cheer. But us three? I mean, no one was nice to us."

"No one except Eddie." Ally finished.

"I wouldn't say I'm popular." Beth raised a brow.

"You're in cheer and friends with Chrissy. The Queen of Hawkins. You're also friends with Jason. You're popular Beth." Ally explained and Beth titled her head.

"Anyways Eddie is nice." Dustin said.

"Okay. Well, they said the same shit about Ted Bundy." Max pointed out. "Yeah, he's a super nice guy, but then he's murdering women on the weekend."

"So you're saying Eddie is like Ted Bundy?" Dustin raised his brow.

Ally also raised a brow. "Ted Bundy was a sociopathic murderer. Eddie is just an outcast who likes fantasy games. That's not even similar, Max."

"Look, Al, I'm sorry." Max sighed. "I'm not saying ...I'm saying that we can't presume anything, okay? But it doesn't look good for Eddie."

"Why haven't you told the cops this?" Dustin asked sitting on his bed.

"I-I don't know."

"You don't know?" Dustin raised his eyebrows.

Max sighed before she sat next to Ally. "After I saw Eddie and Chrissy go in the trailer...something else happened."

"Wait. You didn't say anything else happened." Beth tilted her head.

"What happened exactly?" Ally questioned.

Max had then explained to them what happened.

"Nothing that weird or anything. I mean Eddie always drives like a maniac, and the power goes off at my place all the time." Max stated. "It's a piece of shit, but...this morning, I started to think back, and I don't know the look on his face. He was scared, guys. Really scared."

The three's faces fell.

"Maybe he was scared because, you know, he-he just killed someone or maybe, um maybe be-because I don't-I don't know, maybe-"

"Something else killed her." Dustin suggested.

"But that's impossible." Beth shook her head. "Right?"

"I don't know." Dustin mumbled.

"It should be." Ally chimed in. "Only one person knows what actually happened last night though."

"Eddie."

Dustin quickly grabbed his backpack and led the three out his room. "Have you talked to anyone else?"

"No. I can't find Lucas or Nancy, and Mike's in California-" Max stated.

"Shit, shit, shit." Dustin cursed as he rushed towards the door.

"Where you going?" Claudia Henderson questioned, watching the four walk to the door.

"To see a friend."

"You heard the news. It's not safe." Miss Henderson called.

"We'll be careful." Dustin reassured his mom.

"Bye, Miss Henderson! We'll see you later." Beth waved. Ally waved as well.

"Girls-"

"Thanks. I love you, bye." Dustin slammed the door shut.

€€€€€€€€€€€€€

"Hey Steve." Dustin greeted the boy after he pushed the door open to the family video store.

"Hey Robin."

"Hey Brandon."

"You see this?" Steve asked the four teens. He pointed towards the tv, which showed the news.

Dustin was in the mood for games, "How many phones do you have?"

"Someone was murdered." Steve continued.

"How many phones do you have?" Dustin repeated sternly.

"Two." Steve informed. "Why?"

"Technically three, if you count Keith's in the back." Robin added.

"What you need phones for?" Brandon asked but the younger teens ignored him.

"Yeah, three should work." Ally nodded.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked his young friend as he threw his backpack over the counter. "What are you-"

They all watched as Dustin pushed himself and slid over the counter.

"My pile!" Robin exclaimed as Dustin cleared the items off with his body.

"No, no, no!" Steve put his hands on his head, stressing out. "My tapes! Dude."

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Brandon exclaimed.

"What are you doing, man?" Steve whined.

"Setting up base of operations here."

"Base of operations?" Steve scoffed at him. "Stop, get off of that."

"No, I need it."

"Need it for what?"

"Important things." Ally replied.

"What important things?" Steve questioned.

"I'm looking up Eddie's friends' phone numbers." Dustin told them.

"Oh, Eddie." Steve hummed. "Your guy's new best friend Eddie, who you think is cooler than me because he plays your nerdy game?"

"Eddie, yes."Dustin nodded.

"We never said Eddie was cooler than you." Ally tilted her head.

"Wait, are you jealous of Eddie?" Beth laughed.

The boy just scoffed, "Yeah, right."

"Ha! Little Stevie is jealous of freaky Eddie Munson!" Brandon mocked.

"You're a horrible person." Steve told him.

"I know it keeps me awake at night." Brandon replied with a smirk.

"Seriously, you guys, maybe on Monday you can play around like the toddlers you are, but it's Saturday." Robin rambled on as she cleaned the mess Dustin had made. "It's our busiest day."

"All right, look Robin, I totally empathize, but this cannot wait until Monday."

"Oh my God." Steve groaned.

"What cause, calling all of Eddie's friends is an emergency?" Robin rolled her eyes.

"Correct!"

"Now you're getting it!" Ally exclaimed. "We'll explain everything soon, I promise."

"Want me to strangle them or you both want to do that?" Steve muttered to his two best friends.

"We could take turns." Robin suggested. "Or I could take Dustin and one of you can get Ally."

"I volunteer getting Ally." Brandon muttered.

"I like that idea."

"Can you guys just fill them in while I do this?" Dustin asked.

Robin turned around, "Fill us in on what?"

Max turned around with a sigh just as Beth and Ally looked at each other and then back at the older teens.

Hey guys!!! I'm so so sorry about the long freaking wait!! I've been super unmotivated to write lately and have been super stressed with school. I started a new semester and have been trying to get on top of things since it's my last year of high school! I've been also trying to deal with my mental health and focus on myself more by reading and doing other things. So, I want to apologize about not publishing but I'm definitely back now and will definitely finish this!!

I also will be updating my Marvel story (Iron Man's Daughter) as well because I want to finish it and move onto the sequel. I also want to publish a new story soon, so stay tuned for that!!

This chapter took a while to write but I got it and it was insane!! I want to throw in scenes with Brandon more because I want you all to see more of his story. Even though this is focused more on Beth, I want you all to see more about Brandon and Ally as well. I don't think I will write about Bev and Ben with Joyce and Murray in California/Russia because that's a lot of writing but...I'll think about it.

Also, did anyone catch the Teen Wolf  reference...the Stiles quote. I had to do it and it's even perfect that Brandon said it since his face claim is Dylan O'Brien. I told you there was going to be lots of Teen Wolf references, so prepare for more!

Also I always proofread my stories but there always seems to be a mistake anyways all the time, which is super annoying. So, if there was I'm super sorry.

Anyways, I've been talking for too long now!! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and more is coming soon!! Have a wonderful day!! Love you all!!

-Mary💗