EDDIE MUNSON ~ Before I learned The Truth.

The Wheeler clan

I had to be at Mike's house in an hour for family dinner night. "So, Hellraiser on Friday at the Harrington mansion?" Robin asked, winking at Steve as he locked up the store. "Sure, my parent's are away again, why not have four 16 yearolds and two 19 yearolds eat all the food in the fridge" he replied. Steve loved playing the age card, as if being a year older than Robin and I, and still hanging round with the kids was the worst thing in the world.

"honestly a day hasn't gone by since seeing that in the movies where i haven't thought about the effects in that film! The make up, the props, costumes, they're genius!" I started babbling, there was nothing i appreciated more than amazing horror effects. Robin and Steve laughed, before turning right whilst i turned left. 

I'd grown up in Hawkins with my mom - my dad left when i was too young to remember - until she met my stepdad during my last year of middle school and we moved to Arizona. He was a decent guy for a few years and i was glad to have a dad who took care of us. Then he started coming home really late from work, hiding things from my mom. It wasn't long after when he ran out on us, rinsing their joint account and the savings account my mom had - leaving her with nothing at all.
My mom couldn't afford the bills, we barely ate most days, so she reached out to her brother Ted and asked for help. I knew this was hard for her to do, Ted was a successful guy who raked in a good salary, and my mom hated being charity.

I changed into baggy faded jeans and an Alice Cooper shirt I got when I saw him on tour, with my stepdad. Before I headed out i grabbed the bottle of cheap wine that my mom told me to take for family dinner - we couldn't contribute much but she would never go without taking something. "Hey you, how was work today?" my aunt Karen gave me her dazzling smile as I walked through the door, she was such a sweetheart.

"It was quiet, not many people come by on Wednesdays since the movie theatre started doing midweek discounts" I told her. Karen's smile faltered slightly as she took in my 'scruffy' appearance, and she tried her best to sound chill when she said, "wow that...skull...tattoo sure looks good now it's healed up". The thing about Karen was as much as she loved and supported me, I knew she definitely did not want either of her kids following in my footsteps of getting tattooed. 

My uncle Ted was sitting in his recliner, as usual, barely looked up from the TV to say Hi. The thing about Ted is he loves his family so much, but he's one lazy son of a bitch. When my mom called for help he immediately had us on a flight and let us move in with them for a few months; he even paid the first 6 months of rent on the house we live in now. Yet every Wednesday he barely said a word to anyone, too interested in the TV rather than family dinner.

My mom arrived late - she works two jobs so is barely on time for anything. "Sorry, got stuck in the office! Lovely dress Nance, i may have to borrow that and wrestle Rain into it" my mom gave Nancy a wink as i stuck my tongue out at her. The dress looked nice on Nancy, it was very her...but i would rather die than wear frills. Most days i stuck to simple outfits with my own twist; but I enjoyed wearing dresses and skirts when i felt feminine, which wasn't that often. I came out to the family as non-binary during Senior year, they had no clue what it meant of course, but they accepted it just as they accepted me being Bisexual. 

"So, anybody got any gossip this week?" Karen looked around the table as she poured gravy on her plate - this is why we had family dinner night, so my mom and Karen could catch each other up on the Hawkins gossip. "Nancy screamed at a kid yesterday in class" Mike piped up, Nancy glared at him for it. We all looked to her, shocked because she never raised her voice at work. Unlike me, Nancy went away to college immediately after graduating, but she hated it there and ended up moving home halfway through the year.

She had gotten a part time job working at the highschool in the english department, supporting teachers. But she was waiting to go to another college in the fall, maybe with Jonathan. "The kid was sticking gum in a girl's new perm, he deserved detention" Nancy responded, twirling her finger in her own curly hair. She permed hers, i had no need to since mine was already a mess of waves.

Nancy's life was complicated right now. After the Byers moved to California she and Jonathan grew apart, but never broke up. Two months ago she agreed to let me do some special effects make up on her and take pictures for my portfolio, Steve had come bursting through the unlocked front door, drunk and chatty.  Clearly, he never noticed Nancy sitting there with latex on her face, as he slumped against me and moaned how his life sucked balls. "My life is going nowhere, the last time anything made sense was when i was with Nancy and i thought we would get married and have dozens of kids together" he had slurred.

Family dinner ended, then my mom and aunt karen sat at the table drinking the cheap wine and gossiping together. All i wanted was to go home, but i was too afraid to be there alone, so i zoned out watching TV with Ted. Nancy was in her room preparing things for school tomorrow, and Mike was in the Basement planning a dnd campaign for Hellfire Club. The Wheeler clan, a family so close that we spend most of our time in separate rooms...