veda hendeson

      Eddie Munson continued to give me drugs anytime I asked. Unfortunately, he kept true to his word and I now had to pay for those drugs. I wasn't too mad about it considering they were cheap and good shit.

   For the past two and a half weeks, I've taken Dustin to every dungeons and dragons game, always sneaking out to Eddie's trailer afterwards. Lucky for me, their games were quite frequent considering they had some sort of championship game or some shit coming up soon so they were practising. Since I didn't have Eddie's landline number, the games were a perfect opportunity for me to ask him about coming to get me. 

   Dustin didn't seem too happy about me talking to him during their games, I think he thought I was stealing his friend from him. He'd flip his shit if he knew I was sneaking out every other night to see him. I guess Dustin should consider himself lucky that Eddie was nothing more than my supplier. 

   The bell of the video store door chimes loudly, alerting anyone in the room that someone was in fact walking in. Since Munson was going out of his way to provide me with whatever my little addict heart could desire, I wanted to contribute in some way by borrowing a movie from the video store and watching it with him.

   I felt kind of bad for using him considering how generous he's been, but he knew from the first night that I only wanted to 'hang out' for one reason. He didn't seem to mind, I think Eddie is just a charismatic person and shows that with everyone he meets.

   "Someone seems chipper," I hear a raspy voice from behind the counter in the middle of the store. I look over, meeting the eyes of Robin Buckley as she leans against the counter of her workplace. I forget she worked here.

   Robin is a beautiful girl, her light brown hair ending just below her jaw, newly cut thin bangs covering her forehead, small nose, full lips and blue eyes. She's everything a man could want, I always wondered how Steve didn't fall for her charm and vice versa. They look better as friends anyway.

   "Why wouldn't I be? It's a beautiful day," I gush, gesturing to the bright sky behind me. Robin leans to the side slightly, looking behind me at the glass doors with her eyebrows furrowed. 

   "Since when were you so optimistic, Veda?" Robin laughs, moving to lean against the cold bench on her elbows as I near her. "I haven't seen you this happy since before star court,"

   That's because my drug dealer died and I couldn't get my hands on anything for almost two weeks.

   Of course, I couldn't say that.

   My smile falters slightly at the mention of that battle that went down there, but I quickly cover it up with an even bigger smile and an innocent tilt of my head. "Aren't you glad I'm back to my old cheery self?"

   "If you say so," She commented sarcastically, turning around once a noise erupts from one of the storage rooms behind her. The door quickly bursts open, Steve Harrington waltzing out as if it didn't sound like a whole war went down in there. 

   "Is that Steve 'The Hair' Harrington?" I comment with fake shock, seeing Robins's shoulders shake with a laugh as she watched him walk like some sort of cool guy model. He nears the bench I was currently leaning on, joining Robin and I as he also places his elbows on the brown material. 

   "Hello, Veda. Staying out of trouble?" Steve asked me, sounding a lot like an old man trying to catch up with his granddaughter who he lost touch with. I snort, nodding my head.

   "Of course," I lie, keeping an innocent look on my face. I liked Steve and Robin, they seemed so secure in themselves and each other. I used to want so badly to fit in with them but I could never really find a place for myself to squeeze in. After the battle at star court, I just kinda stopped trying altogether. Not just with them, with everything. I think they noticed. 

   "What were you after, V?" Robin asked, simultaneously reminding us that we were in a video store. 

   "Something.... hardcore," I hesitate, trying to think of something Eddie might like. I don't actually know anything about him besides the fact that he's kind of a nerd and is into metal music. Most metalheads like gorey shit right?

   Steve and Robin both glance at each other, raising an eyebrow as if having a conversation with each other just by maintaining eye contact. It felt like I was being judged by them.

   I slide my elbows off of the counter, holding each elbow in the opposite palm. Shortly, both of them break eye contact as Robin presses her palms against the table and swings her legs over, sitting on the front desk of her workplace while Steve walks around the desk and over to me, gesturing for me to follow him. 

   Following him through the rows of movies, I rub up and down my left elbow in an attempt to soothe myself. The feeling of judgement--false or not--was enough to put me on edge. In an effort to distract myself from my dramatic reaction, I watch all the passing genre signs on the video store, noticing as we turn into one with the title 'Horror'

   "Your brother came in yesterday," Steve announces, keeping his back to me as he flicks through the movies stacked neatly on the shelves. A sigh almost escapes my lips at the mention of my brother knowing how unpredictable his rants are, that compared with his imagination and god knows what he's said. "He mentioned something about you 'stealing' his friend,"

   I scoff, rolling my eyes and holding my arms closer to my body. I'm so sick of hearing that phrase when all I got from Eddie was artificial happiness in pill form. It almost makes me tempted to really steal his friend from him just to prove a point. "Y'know how Dustin gets. I only talk to Eddie a few times at his hellfire club meetings because he talks to me first. I'm not stealing anything,"

   "Hey, I never said I agreed with him," Steve defends, turning his head briefly to look at me before turning back around and continuing his search through the videos for the one he was looking for. "But, I am concerned. I've heard a few things about that Munson kid and what he does,"

   I look away from him, not wanting to hear his concern or judgement. The bell on the door chimes once more, a little girl and her father walk inside as the girl laughed and clapped. "Daddy, I want the care bears movie!"

   "Anything you want, sweetheart," The dad agreed, the little girl squealing as he grabbed her and lifted her up into his arms. 

   I frown, looking down to the floor which was covered in freaky patterned carpet. Steve's words as well as the chatter of the father and daughter drown out as I stare at the swirling patterns, deep in thought. 

   "Dad, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies together or something?" My twelve-year-old self asked timidly, fiddling with the tips of my fingers as I stood at the entry to the living room. He sat seated on the couch, staring deeply at the TV as it blared some sort of preaching from some church. 

   "Veda, how many times do I have to tell you, those places play devil movies in the dark. There are spirits there," He warns as if his delusions were totally normal, taking a sip from his beer bottle without moving his eyes from the TV once. 

   "Spirits aren't real!" I exclaim, taking a step forward with my hands out in frustration. Quickly, he drops the bottle down onto his pull-out table, standing up and staring at me with stern eyes. I flinched, pulling my arms back to my stomach. 

   "Don't," He warns, pointing a stern, solid finger at me. I wanted to lower my head and look away from his angry eyes, but he wouldn't stop until he felt like he had gotten his point across. "Don't anger them."

   "I just wanted to do something with you-"

   "Enough, Veda. Go to your room and pray that the spirits forgive you for your doubt," He demands, sitting down on his armchair and picking his beer bottle up from the pull out table. 

   "Hello? Henderson?" I hear Steve's voice, making me snap out of my memory and turn to him quickly. He looked concerned for me, sorrow filling his dark brown eyes. He always seemed like such a parent to the younger kids. "Did you hear anything I said?"

   "You mean the part about believing rumours about some kid who's a little different?" I ask with a sarcastic smile, guilt instantly filling my stomach at the condescending tone. "What are you worried about, Harrington?"

   "I'm... concerned.. yes, concerned that you might be talking to Eddie Munson for different more... recreational purposes," He hesitates, trying to find the right words to get his theory across without outright saying it. He held a video in his hand, tapping the pad of his index finger on the cover as he spoke. 

   "Not this drug thing again, Harrington. I thought we got past this," I sigh, pressing my fingers to the bridge of my nose. 

   "I wouldn't call you physically running away from me as moving on. In fact, I think that might even be a confession," He states, making me laugh at the memory of me hightailing it away from him when he brought it up. 

   "Moving on.. moving away. All so technical," I wave my hands around, stepping closer to him before grabbing the video out of his hands, not bothering to look down at it before turning my back to him and waving over my shoulder. "Thanks, Steve!"

   "You're doing it again, Veda,"

   "Not having this conversation with you, Harrington!" 

   With that, I quickly pay Robin for the movie before I'm on my way home to sleep for the rest of the day. Steve has always had a motherly sense that I was on the edge of a drug-filled canyon, but he never had the proof to back it up and therefore couldn't do anything about it. So, I wasn't worried.

   Not one bit.