Foolin'

Part 5

It was too quiet. It was too quiet at school, at home, everywhere. Kat couldn't tell if it was just her anxiety, but she could feel that something wasn't right. She just had no idea what it was.

It was a balmy evening. The sun had set early and Kat was sitting at the island in her aunt's kitchen just pushing food around her plate.

Alright, fine, so she was in fact bored. She's only been in Hawkins for a month, but it was starting to get at her. She told herself she wasn't necessarily lonely, yet there were only so many nights she could watch movies or tv or do homework. What she really missed was going out, nightlife, having something to do.

When she returned back to her bedroom, she threw open her closet door hoping she would find some inspiration of what to do with her night. It dawned on her that it was Tuesday. Eddie had said The Hideout was the place to be that night, or something to that effect. There's no way he would be there every Tuesday, right? She felt like if he was going to be there, he would have made some stupid comment about it. It was worth a shot to find out. No matter if she had to deal with him tonight or not, that felt like a better alternative than sitting at home alone.

After picking out her outfit, making her hair as big as she could get it, and doing her makeup, it was almost 8:00. She figured if there was live music, hopefully it would still be playing and this humdrum town didn't completely shut down that early. The outfit of choice for her outing was a big oversized black sweater and a black miniskirt adorned with safety pins and her fishnet tights along with her Doc Martens. Before leaving her room, she thumbed through her cassettes needing to listen to something different on tonight's drive. Eventually, she settled for the Sisters of Mercy album First and Last and Always.

Even if tonight is a total wash out, Kat at least had fun on the drive. The Hideout was a far cry from any club or even bar she had been to back home. There were a handful of cars scattered in the parking lot. Did any of these people here have fun past 9PM? She grabbed her wallet, making sure she had her fake Indiana ID just in case they cared enough to card here.

Getting out of the car, she could hear guitars blaring from the inside. From far away, the band didn't sound all that bad. Kat made her way inside, trying to avoid people from seeing her. Just because she didn't want to be home alone didn't mean she wanted to mingle with bar flies.

She made a beeline for the bar, taking a chance by ordering a whisky on the rocks. The bartender gave her a funny look, but shrugged it off and just handed her the drink. That earned him an extra good tip. Maybe it was the lighting, her Siouxsie Sioux inspired makeup look, or both that made her look old enough. Whatever the reason, she was grateful for it. Drink in hand, she wandered over to a table in the back. She could still see the stage perfectly, but was hidden in case anyone spotted her.

The band that was on when she arrived ended their set when she was making her way to her table. A new band was setting up. She noticed the drummer looked awfully familiar.

"Hey, uh, we're Corroded Coffin and we would start if our guit–" The lead singer started, who also looked too familiar.

"SHIT. Sorry, sorry. I'm here. God dammit!" Eddie's voice was easy to hear as he tried to simultaneously save his balance and not trip over pedals. Kat controlled herself from slamming her head down on the table. Of course this was why he mentioned Tuesdays. She was going to need another drink for this one. Quickly downing her first one, she tried to make her way unseen to get a second.

As far as she was concerned, it had worked. She made her way back to her little spot in the corner, second drink in hand. Maybe it was the whisky, but, as much as she hated to admit it, they were actually good. The more she listened the more she felt bad they all lived in the middle of nowhere. They might have had a shot if they were in a city like LA. Kat almost wanted to go over to the soundboard to help fix the bar's awful set up. Then again, by the looks of this place, it was probably pointless to attempt.