#there's a new level of chemistry between them I've never noticed in the previous two seasons

[fortes-fortuna-iogurtum]

I was just about to make a post that said something like 'Eliza Scarlet and Inspector Wellington wish they had what Bobby Jones and Lady Frances Derwent have,' but the truth is they still have a looooonnnggg ways to go before they're actually to the point of actively desiring to work as an effective a team, instead of turning very single one of their interactions into either a competition or an opportunity to pointlessly take offense at the other (and most often, both at once).

[moonchildreads]

small town

Chapter 5 - I've Got a Rock 'n' Roll Heart

IN THIS CHAPTER: A private metal show, talks about college, and Dottie writes a lot of lists [3.2k]

WARNINGS: none

masterlist - prev - next | playlist

Before we go crazy, before we explode There's something about me, baby, you got to know

Wednesday, April 16th - 1986

As the days progressed, Dottie found herself getting into a new yet pleasant routine: saying hi to Mike and Dustin when she got off the bus and saw them parking their bikes outside, waving to her new friends in the hallways, discovering all the classes she was sharing with them and had never noticed until now, switching seats to sit together, having lunch with them, free periods with them. She shared Political Science and Chemistry with Gareth, English Literature and Calculus with Eddie, World History with Jeff, and Home Economics with Donny. Her AP Spanish classroom was next door to Donny’s Italian class, and from her seat in Psychology she could look out the window and see Eddie always running late for his Music Theory class. When she’d get out of AP Research, Gareth would be waiting outside, fresh from his Environmental Studies class, a million complaints on his tongue about how utterly boring and useless every lesson was.

It was strange to think how empty her life at Hawkins had been up until that point, and when the week before her 18th birthday rolled in, she found herself contemplating seriously, for the first time in a long time, that maybe she really wanted to do something to commemorate it. Maybe this time on her birthday she could be surrounded with people her own age, and maybe she’d try her first beer, and maybe, just maybe, she’d finally have pictures with friends to stick to her corkboard instead of only photos with her makeshift family. She was sitting alone at their usual lunch table waiting for everyone to arrive when she glanced at the cold, foggy field through the big cafeteria windows, her eyes settling on the picnic table where Dustin had found her that fateful Friday. Dottie felt the panic build in her stomach at the thought of inviting people to a party and them not showing up. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to handle that level of disappointment. Not again, at least.

Taking a big breath, Dottie ripped a page from the back of her notebook and began making a list.

Looking around at the students milling about in the cafeteria, she tapped her favorite black pen on her lower lip and thought about plans and ideas and the people she wanted to invite. Gareth, of course, he was easily the one person she felt the closest to at the moment. Donny, who she was now regularly trading mixes and cassette tapes with. Dustin, the one who started it all. Would it be weird to invite Erica? Oh, but the younger girl was so much fun to be around, and she put the boys in their place with such an ease. Under the previous list, she workshopped another one.

“Whatchu working on?” Donny asked, dropping into the seat next to hers, startling her from her thoughts.

“It’s nothing,” she hurried to put the paper back in her notebook. “Just- list of chores I gotta get done this week.”

“Boring,” Jeff said, dropping himself alongside Gareth on the chair opposite of hers.

“What are you guys up to today?” she asked, trying to change the topic as Eddie theatrically pushed her chair to the side with a bump of his hip, boxing her between himself and Donny.

“Band practice!” Gareth exclaimed.

“Wait, today?” Dottie was extremely confused.

“Every Wednesday and Saturday, why?”

“You were gonna come over to my house today, dumbass,” his brow furrowed. “The presidential campaign ads report we are supposed to be writing for next week?”

“Fuck, I forgot.”

“Yeah, no shit!”

“Sorry, maybe we can work on it tomorrow?”

“Hold on,” Eddie interrupted, a thought spreading in his brain. “Why don’t you come to band practice? You get a free show and when we’re done, you two can work on your homework and we,” he pointed to Jeff. “-can knock off that bullshit Sociology paper off our backs.”

“You’re really suggesting we form a fucking study group after band practice? You? Who are you and what have you done with Eddie Munson?” Jeff looked at him like he had grown two heads.

“I don’t know about you, man, but this Eddie Munson doesn’t wanna do senior year one more time, okay? I’ll blow my brains out if I have to be here next year after you guys leave.”

The table was silent for a few seconds while everyone considered the idea. It wasn’t that it was a bad plan, but Eddie suggesting a study group wasn’t something anyone had been expecting. It wasn’t that he was stupid, he was just… incredibly lazy and there was little in the world that motivated him to actually put in the work needed for graduation. Apparently things had come to a boiling point for him because this time he was actually not far behind from where he needed to be to get that coveted diploma and finally get the hell out of Hawkins High.

Gareth and Dottie looked at each other, having a silent conversation with their eyes that frankly put Eddie very on edge for a variety of reasons he was not willing to explore at the moment, and finally shrugged at the same time.

“I gotta call my Dad and explain but I don’t think he’ll be too concerned,” she said, and Eddie threw his arm over her shoulders to pull her into a one-sided hug.

“Great! Now that that’s settled, any song requests for us, princess?”

Gareth’s house was a quaint little thing in a lovely cul-de-sac not very far from where Dottie lived. As the pair walked up the street after getting off the school bus, she noticed that he seemed oddly nervous, which in her experience was very unlike him. Trying to get him out of his funk, she bumped her shoulder with his; he gave her a shy smile in return.

“What’s got you so worried?” she asked, hugging her pretty pastel striped folder to her chest.

“Nothing, it’s just… It’s really dumb.”

“I won’t laugh.”

The boy sighed, realizing she wasn’t gonna let it go until she had pried him open like a can as she so often did. These days it seemed no one could keep their secrets from her - just last Friday she’d gotten Mike to admit that he’d had his first serious fight with his girlfriend during Spring break, and she’d given him advice about how to make things right too at the younger boy’s request. There was something about Dottie that felt comfortable, like you could trust her with your problems and she’d try to solve them for you, and when she couldn’t, she would hold your hand while you went through them anyways. He wondered if she had anyone holding hers, or if she’d even let anyone offer to do so.

“Classmates don’t really come over, y’know?” Gareth admitted. “The guys come for band practice twice a week ‘cause I can’t move my drums around but… I’ve never done the whole study group thing. Not since middle school group projects, I guess.”

“To tell you the truth, I’ve never really done it either,” it was his turn to be surprised. “I didn’t have a lot of friends my age growing up, and I was always busy babysitting my cousins while they got together so this study group thing is new to me too. But that’s okay,” she smiled warmly at him. “We can figure it out together. Have the quintessential high school experience and all that.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled lightly. “It’ll be interesting, for sure. Weird that Eddie suggested it. I don’t think I’ve seen him do anything school related in all the years that I’ve known him.”

“Well, maybe we can be a good influence on him. It’d be really cool if we could graduate and go to prom together, right?”

“You wanna go to prom with Eddie?” he teased, the image of the older boy in a formal suit ridiculous to him.

“No, stupid,” she hit him in the arm with her folder, her cheeks a little red. “All of us together, as a group. Hellfire Class of ‘86 or something. It’d be fun.”

“Yeah, good luck convincing him to go. He’s had two senior proms already and only showed up to sell weed in the parking lot.”

“Is that a challenge, Gareth the Great?”

“Not with your odds, Dottie the Darling. He always does what you tell him to do. I’m pretty sure he’d jump off Sattler Quarry if you asked him.”

“Oh, are you saying you wouldn’t? Thought you trusted me, some friend you are,” she joked back, following him up the garage entrance at the back of the house.

At that, Gareth laughed heartily, reaching down to lift the garage door and revealing his setup to her. While he went into the house to get something to drink, she took the opportunity to look around and find a place to watch comfortably; not too near the amplifiers or the drums. She settled her things on an upturned crate of milk lying next to an old lawn chair and looked at the posters and big flag hanging from the walls. Gareth returned with a few cans of soda for everyone and extended one to her.

“Thanks,” she said, watching him get ready to do his thing. “I don’t think I know that band.”

“Which one?” he turned his head, following her pointing finger. “Oh, that’s us. We’re Corroded Coffin.”

“Really,” she stifled a laugh.

“Look, we were kids. It sounded cool.”

“No, definitely. Super cool.”

“Ah, fuck off,” they both laughed.

Dottie sat on a lonely stool that was close to the drums and watched him curiously while he adjusted his seat. She couldn’t play an instrument to save her life, but she had tried to once. Her old cheap acoustic guitar was currently hiding somewhere inside her wardrobe; a sad leftover from a former life where she’d tried to fit in at a huge school by taking guitar lessons for a few months. The summer had come and her teacher had skipped town; she’d never tried to find another one and had never picked the guitar up again. Maybe one day, she kept telling herself, and deep down, some part of her thought she actually might go through with it.

Gareth settled into a comfy rhythm, stretching his fingers and getting into the proper mood, stealing a few glances at her to see if she was enjoying herself. He was pleased to know that she was - Dottie looked at him like this was the most entertaining thing that had happened to her all day, which, to be fair, it probably was. He added a few little flourishes to make her laugh, tapping into his jazz lessons from when he had been barely tall enough to reach the pedals. Soon enough, the rest of the boys arrived in Eddie’s van, blaring some metal song she had never heard before. She helped them unload their gear, making light conversation with Donny as he plugged in his bass and plucked a few notes to get his fingers warm.

“Alright, princess, ready for the show?” Eddie asked, taking his place at his mic to the left, Jeff to his right in the middle of the “stage” with his own mic in front of him.

“Woooo, go Coffin!” she cheered, swinging her legs in the air in front of her from her seat at the stool, now at the front.

The boys launched into a cover of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid and anything that Dottie had been expecting, had to be thrown out of a window immediately. They weren’t just good, they were legitimately great. Donny played his bass with surgical precision, like he had been doing it since the day he was born. Gareth repeatedly made her laugh, shaking his head like he was possessed, never once missing his beat. Jeff had a phenomenal voice; she was only half mad he hadn’t bothered to mention he was this gifted. He exuded a boyish charm she normally didn’t associate with the more reserved teen, but it was a lot of fun to see this side of him proudly displayed for everyone that walked by. And Eddie, Jesus Christ, Eddie. It was like he had been created for the sole purpose of standing on a stage someday. He exhaled music in every breath, he goofed around with Jeff, made faces at Gareth, closed his eyes and tilted his head to the sky while he shredded his six-string. He was a showman, that had been apparent in their D&D sessions but this, this was something else entirely.

As they rolled in and out of different songs, some that she knew, some that she didn’t, she found herself staring more and more at Eddie. Eddie’s hands plucking notes from the strings, Eddie’s hair swinging wildly, Eddie’s legs carrying him around the garage as he engaged in theatrics with the rest of the boys, Eddie’s neck when he threw his head back, Eddie’s voice as he sang backup vocals for Jeff. It was overwhelming, this feeling of seeing him as he truly was for the first time and yet recognizing so many little tics and mannerisms she’d seen every day by now in this incredible performer. Get your shit together, Dorothy, she forced herself to think when they stopped for a break, Gareth passing cans of Dr. Pepper around.

Donny and Eddie were smoking just outside the garage door and while they were distracted, she took the opportunity to praise Jeff copiously. The teen couldn’t stop scratching his neck in a mixture of embarrassment and pride. Gareth slid next to her when Jeff excused himself to go to the bathroom, barely contained energy noticeable by the way he was tapping on his can as he settled on the table next to her.

“So? What d’you think?” he asked, genuinely wanting to hear her opinion.

“Oh my god, G, that was… that was amazing, what the fuck. Why didn’t you tell me you guys were this good?” he shrugged. “And you! Wow, who knew you were hiding all of that under those curls. Remind me again why you don't have a girlfriend.”

“Okay, you’re definitely lying now,” he laughed, taking a sip of his soda. “You gotta come to The Hideout someday, you’d love it.”

“I will, just gotta convince my Dad to let me go out on a school night. After we all graduate and leave for college and shit, you guys gotta play for me when we come back during the breaks or I’ll be really sad.”

“I, um,” he began, a little embarrassed. “I’m not leaving, actually. I’m going to Hawkins Community.”

“Really? What are you gonna do there?”

“Music. Percussion,” he said, like it was obvious. “Money isn’t exactly great right now, y’know. Gretchen’s tuition is really expensive,” he shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot and my parents agree community college is a good fit for me, for now at least. I was a jazz drummer before all this metal stuff so…”

“Impressive. Try to remember us mortals when people call you the next Ringo Starr, okay?”

“Ah, shut up. I’ll probably end up being a teacher or something boring like that. What are you gonna do?”

“Teaching,” Dottie said with a straight face.

“...you’re fucking with me.”

“I’m not,” she smiled at him. “I’m thinking either Elementary or English. Haven’t really decided yet but I don’t gotta declare until like… my junior year, I think. I’ve got time.”

“Wow,” they sat in silence watching Jeff join Donny and Eddie outside. “Where are you going?”

“Michigan.”

“Michi…” he trailed off before snapping his head back in her direction. “You are the kid that got into UMich with a full ride?” he looked at her like she’d just told him she was a Russian spy.

“That’s me,” Dottie did jazz hands to illustrate. “I applied when I was still in New York, I was Early Admission.”

“Jesus. Talk about remembering us when you’re famous.”

“Yeah, a famous kinder teacher. I’ll be known for my finger painting skills.”

“What are we talking about?” Eddie asked, resting his back against the table Gareth was sitting on.

“College.”

“Ew, boring. Change of topic.”

“You’re the one who interrupted us,” Gareth told him, rolling his eyes.

“Actually…”

The boys looked at Dottie, waiting for her to finish her sentence. She felt a wave of nervousness roll through her entire body, her toes tensing inside her sneakers, her palms clammy. She cleaned them on the back of her jeans and laughed shakily, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

“So… I don’t know if I mentioned this but it’s my birthday on Monday,” she said. “I was thinking that maybe you guys would like to come over? Saturday night?”

“Party time?” Jeff asked, eyes glinting.

“Something like that,” she chuckled. “Just to hang out? Play some games, fun music, pizza, cake. I was thinking of asking everyone else too, even Erica. We can have like a little Hellfire birthday if you’re down. My Dad is super chill and he’s been saying for years now that I can drink my first beer on my 18th birthday so there will be booze. Just, y’know, behave?”

“I’m down!” Gareth declared, and she smiled, happy that she’d been correct in putting his name first under the Yes column on her list.

“Me too!” Donny said, stubbing his cig with his heel and hurrying inside.

“Sure, it’ll be fun,” Jeff said, and Dottie wasn’t entirely too sure if he was telling the truth or not. Probably column it is.

She turned to look at Eddie for his final answer; he was looking at her with an unreadable expression. In a split second, he grinned and raised his soda can above his head.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, darling,” he said, and winked at her from the top of his can as he downed what was left in it. He put it down on the table and looked at the rest of his band. “Come on, let’s get a few more songs in before Gareth’s mom gets home and we gotta hit the textbooks.”

By the time the weekend had started, she’d made Actual Real Solid Plans with her dad about the party and invited the rest of the Hellfire Club during Friday’s session. On Sunday night, basking in her last hours as a 17 year old, Dottie took out the crinkled sheet of paper she’d written her initial attendees list on and made a few changes. It now read: