Stranger Things Imagines

Forgotten Song

Like Eddie, I like metal music and play guitar. In fact, I'm in Corroded Coffin with him. Whereas he takes the lead, I'm predominantly rhythm guitar. That doesn't mean that I can't take his place at a moments notice. I've actually come up with some of our best riffs and solos. Though reluctant at first, Eddie started letting me take the lead on a few songs.

I spend a lot of my free time sat in my room playing my guitar. Whether it's covering something or making new material, I'll be doing both. There's some big social event going on which means I'm not there. It's not exactly welcoming of us freaks. So, I thought I'd take this opportunity to try and come up with something new for the band.

Trying to play something that hasn't already been done before is a difficult task. Sometimes you stumble into an existing song and play that instead. If I figure out part of a song the world already knows, I go on a tangent trying to figure out the next section. Like ear-worms, it can be a curse for days on end. Unfortunately, today is one of those days.

Sat in my room with the amp plugged in, I've played every note and chord I can think of. For the life of me I can't seem to come up with anything original. I repeat the cycle of chords in different arrangements in hopes of any originality. That's when it happens. Finally, something that sounds worthy of being thrown into the world. After a few playthroughs, I realise the truth. The world already knows this intro. Why can't I remember what song it is?

I repeat the song over and over again trying to remember. Anger fills me as my clouded mind shuts off my memory. I force my guitar onto my bed before rushing to the phone in need of help.

"Hello?"

"Gareth, I'm having a crisis."

"When aren't you?"

"Okay. First of all, fuck you. Secondly, I was trying to create a new riff or something and accidentally played an existing song. Problem is I can't think what the hell it is."

"How does it go?" Knowing that the guitar won't translate well through the phone, I try to articulate the tune. "Yeah, I can't make any sense of that. Sorry."

"It's fine." I sigh. "It's just pissing me off because I know I know it but I can't think what it is."

"If it's a guitar thing then why don't you just call Eddie?"

"Because I don't want him to get all cocky all because I slipped up. You know he would." I remind him of our competitive and sibling-like relationship.

"Maybe try Jeff?" He suggests.

"Yeah... You were no help - bye!" I rush the last part and hang up. Attempt 2 - call Jeff.

"Hello?" A different voice answers.

"Hi, sir. It's Y/N."

"Are you the girl who plays bass in my son's band?"

"I play guitar but yes, I'm the girl in the band." I confirm my identity. "Is Jeff home?"

"Just a moment. I'll get him." I hear him shout for Jeff as he moves away from the phone.

"Hey, Y/N. What's up?" I repeat the process I did with Gareth. He also has no idea what I'm on about. "I gotta go to that social thing in a minute - but good luck with that."

"Wait, you're going to that thing? Why?" I question.

"People from my dad's work are gonna be there so he wants us all to go. Some networking thing, I guess."

"Gross... If you manage to sneak away, you know where I live. I'm home alone, so you won't have to deal with my dad's hostility."

"Noted. Gotta go. See you later."

As the other end goes dead, I realise that I only have 2 options. Call Eddie or continue trying to figure it out alone. I spend the next half hour an hour playing, humming and tapping to the tune of this mystery song. Eventually, I give in and swallow my pride. With a sigh, I dial the number of the one person I didn't want to go to.

"Eddie, I need your help."

"You need me to replace another string? I told you - you gotta anticipate the break."

"What, no. I was messing around trying to figure out something new for Corroded Coffin. I did but-"

"Sounds cool but I'm a little busy right now, so show me at practice." He cuts me off.

"No, you don't understand. It's not original. This is a musical emergency. Come to my place."

"I can't, I'm hanging out with Buckley."

"Eddie, I said musical emergency. Robin will understand. Please."

"Fine." He reluctantly agrees before hanging up to apologise to Robin.

As I wait for him to arrive, I go back to this struggle. This whole situation is eating me alive. About 25 minutes later, I'm slightly startled by Eddie climbing through my window.

"I have a door, you know."

"Yeah, but I assumed that you wouldn't be able to hear me over your inner screaming, so I took the liberty of letting myself in."

"Are you here to help me or to mock me?"

"What's the problem?" I proceed to tell him what I told the others. "Seriously?" He laughs at me. "I had to cancel with Robin for this."

"Hey, you had the same issue last week!" I wasn't there but Gareth told me.

"You're full of shit. Play it."

Unlike the others, I'm able to play the intro on the guitar for him instead of trying to vocalise it. Once I've played the final chord, I look up at him expectantly.

"So, smartass, what song is it?" I ask the cocky bastard.

He's about to answer but his mind goes blank. His smile fades as he retracts his unspoken answer. Confusion is plastered on his face. I can see the cogs turning in his mind
He doesn't know either. He starts pacing around my room, fixated on finding the answer. Humming the tune, he requests that I keep playing it. Soon enough, both of us are confused and frustrated. After a few minutes, I break the cycle.

"We need to listen to every tape we own!"

"I'll go get mine - be back soon."

"Grab a fuck ton of Dr Pepper. This is gonna take a while."

"Good call." He quickly exits through the window.

I unlock the door so he can bring all his stuff in - it's basically all he owns. When he gets back, we don't hesitate to start the first tape. Between songs I refresh our memory by playing what we need. 3 hours later, we finally find it.

"Holy Diver! It's fucking Holy Diver!" I scream as it continues playing.

"Holy Diver - holy shit! How did it take so long?"

After hours and hours of this forgotten song festering, it's finally over. That was exhausting - I think we both need a nap now. Who cares? It's finally over!