Stranger Things Imagines

Weekend Away

Inspired by the disastrous car ride to where I've just been on holiday.

For a while now Eddie, Robin, Steve, Nancy and I have been wanting to do something - go somewhere without having to babysit for a while. We decided on taking a road trip to a caravan park a few hours away - just somewhere to stay for a weekend. May not be much of a difference for Eddie but we'd be with him, so that's a big enough difference. What we didn't plan was to go on a hot day - perhaps even the start of a heatwave.

"Let's get this show on the road." Steve signals us to enter the car.

"Eddie, what the hell did you pack, man?" I ask him as I help to place his final bag - an oddly heavy one - into the trunk.

"The essentials." He replies as we place the bag beside his guitar case. Myself and the girls share glances and the odd eye roll before we are rushed.

"Come on! Let's go!" Steve yells from the driver's seat.

We all rush to our seats to finally start the drive. Nancy is lucky enough to get shotgun. That means that I'm stuck, squashed, between Robin and Eddie in the backseat. It's too hot to keep the windows up yet Eddie and I were foolish enough not to tie up our hair.

Throughout roughly the first hour and a half, the radio blasts. Despite the lack of metal, Eddie finds himself humming and singing along - much to Robin's amusement. The drive should take about 3 hours but you never know with traffic. We must deal with any changes. All the sharp turns, speed-bumps and general jolting makes my head spin and the heat doesn't help the sickly feeling in my stomach. Though we slow down, we soon come to a halt.

"What's going on?" Robin asks after we don't move for a matter of minutes.

"I'm not sure." Steve replies.

"I'll go check it out." Nancy announces as people from other cars start walking past.

She exits the car and follows the sea of pedestrians. More people pass as we wait. A few moments later, she finally returns.

"What's the situation, Nance?" I ask as she gets back into the car.

"Someone's car break down?" Eddie suggests.

"Worse. There's been a crash. I'm not sure how bad it is though. We could be here for a while."

"Great..."

Being stuck in traffic is one thing, but on a motorway in this heat in a packed car is insane. I'm right in the sun - just my luck. Getting out of the car doesn't do much with only a minimal breeze. About 15 minutes after the halt, there's a sneeze.

"Bless you." A few of us say.

"Thank you." A muffled voice replies.

"Who said that?" Nancy questions as we all exchange confused glances.

Eddie, however, looks guilty. After sharing one more look with Robin - one of suspicion - I turn to the trunk behind us. To test my theory, I decide to open the heavy bag I helped Eddie load in.

"What the hell, dude?" I don't look away as I see the truth.

"Uh, Eddie, why is Dustin in your bag?" Robin asks.

"I told you I brought the essentials."

"Eddie!" Nancy scolds him.

"I'm surprised it took this long for anyone to notice." Steve states.

"You were in on this?" I look at him like the idiot he is.

"Of course I was. He's our emotional support child." Steve throws his hands up in defence.