'86, Baby 〡Eddie Munson

t h r e e

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Juliet couldn't properly concentrate on the cheer performance she was giving. Her body was moving all the right ways, performing the tricks and moves accurately and with great precision, but her mind was a million miles away. She couldn't stop thinking about what was happening that night. About where they were going and what they were going to do.

"Do you have anything stronger?"

How had she not noticed her best friend had been struggling so much that she thought drugs were the only answer? Sure, she had known about the nightmares and the headaches. About the anxiety that enclosed around her almost every single moment. But had she been oblivious to how much this had all affected Chrissy?

She supposed she had chosen to focus on the times when Chrissy was fine. When they were joking around or cheering. She felt stupid for that now.

Of course, she had try to think of all the ways she could stop this. She could tell the police or Chrissy's parents, but she didn't want to get her into trouble and telling her parents would certainly cause more harm than good.

She had even searched the entire school for Eddie, planning to demand he not sell to her, but she hadn't been able to find him anywhere.

It seemed the best course of action was to not let Chrissy go through this alone. If she was going to do drugs, then Juliet was too. Whatever it took to make sure she was safe.

Even as they cheered on from the sidelines, she looked over at Chrissy and couldn't believe it was the same girl who was so desperate and so sad. She was cheering for Jason, the biggest of smiles on her face and she looked genuinely happy. In the moment, she probably was, but knew later it would all pass.

The ball was getting tossed about, Juliet barely keeping up with where it was and where it was meant to go. Though her mind was in cheerleader mode, as it so often was, and she's chanting and cheering with the rest of her team for the players on the court.

"Let's go, Tigers!"

"Push 'em back, defense! Push 'em back!"

There was only a minute left on the clock and the team were down. They didn't have enough points to win, they needed more. The coach dismissed them, the players spreading out across the court, but the next shot they took, they missed. The ball bounced off the rim of the hoop and landed in the hands of the opposing team.

Then out of nowhere, the member of the team who had never even made it onto the court before, Lucas Sinclair, was tackling the ball from the hands of a red jersey.

He spun on his heel, the ball leaving his hands and flying towards the hoop. It hit the metal, spinning around the edge agonisingly slowly until it finally fell through the net.

The crowd went wild, roaring in happiness as they hugged and applauded. Juliet, ever the perfect cheerleader, waved her pom poms in the air and cheered. She joined the rest of her squad as they ran over to the players, helping lift the Sinclair boy into the air as his name was yelled throughout the gym.

After the celebrations died down the students poured out of the gym. Juliet, who thought Chrissy was next to her, went to grab to her hand to see she had already gone.

"Crap," She muttered, dropping her pom poms to the floor and running out into the carpark outside.

"Hey, Juliet!" A voice called and Juliet turned to see Steve Harrington practically running out the school to speak to her. "How are you?" He panted as he finally reached her.

When Steve had been at Hawkins High the two of them had run in the same social circles. Both popular. Steve on the basketball team, Juliet a cheerleader.