BILLIE JEAN ( eddie munson.. ) ✔

008. A Shot in the Dark..

Tracking down Eddie through his supplier, Reefer Rick, was a bust.

At least, after driving back out to restart their investigation from the center of problems, the trailer park, they stumbled across a new crime scene and Nancy wearing her oh, too familiar look of "I know something that might change everything." It turned out, finding Rick's abandoned living quarters was going to do them well for as long as they still required a center of operations discreet enough to hold the entirety of their group in the last place anyone would look for them.

Because apart from her initial three kidnappers, Billie also met eyes with Robin, from Family Video, and Max Mayfield, the girl she usually sees have therapy sessions with the school counselor before her.

"Please," Billie sighed, continuing talking to this judgemental crowd even though she cooperated nevertheless with sitting down on her assigned chair in the middle of the room, in the focus of all their gazes. She didn't even bother fighting against Robin's attempt to tie her up to that chair, an on-going struggle which she acted like it was just about the most ridiculous task she was picked to do in this group.

Billie searched Nancy's gaze, because from all the people there, she heard the most about the Wheeler girl. Her impeccable rule over the school's newspaper made her the perfect young adult to trust with having a shred of reason. "If there's been a second murder," Billie trembled at the very implications of that, "you have to let me go warn my family. You have no idea what you're getting yourselves into here."

"Actually, we do know," Dustin argued with all his attitude making his tone seem superior. He was just as impressively filled with a colorful personality as Eddie had described him to her. Witty, too smart for his own good, but right now, terribly wrong.

Dustin was perfectly correct in his judgment, for all he cared. He had had a bad feeling about Billie Carter for a while now; that extra ounce of attention Eddie was giving this most random girl in the school was out of place so much it was hard for it not to stand out immediately. Clue after clue, everything pieces a puzzle that now made him certain Billie Carter was the embodiment of their troubles for the spring break.

"Really?" Billie answered his superiority with sarcasm. Two older brothers and a younger one made the house filled with one too many people who thought they always knew better. "Because your theory kinda sucks, kid."

"No, it doesn't," Dustin narrowed his eyes through his snarl. "It makes perfect sense." And he started counting with the first finger rising, "We never see you outside of school, because you're a satanic cult leader." The second finger raised, "You're always top of the class. No one scores that good in a streak. No one."

Steve nodded along while the girls' reactions varied from Max's uneasy neutrality to Nancy's cynicism and even to Robin's half-uncertainty. They've been against Russians and monsters... Why not take into consideration satanism?

Billie only blinked in disbelief. "Because if I score good in school, I've definitely sold my soul to the Devil."

"A sarcastic tone while telling the truth won't save you, Billie Carter, if that even is your real name," Dustin was high on playing cop with Billie so he didn't quit the excitement in his tone.

"That is my real name."

He ignored her boredom and continued, raising his third finger, "Eddie's crush on you never made sense to me. Because he's cool, while you... not so much. You share no interests either. But now that a second murder happened, stuff adds up. You have been using Eddie to start your satanic rituals as a revenge on the Hellfire Club giving you and your demons a bad name."