𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝙶𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝙷𝚞𝚛𝚝

𝟶𝟹𝟺

The group sat inside the Family Video. Robin, Dustin, and Max were all on different phones, trying to find someone who could locate the missing Munson teen. Steve was tending to the customers that wandered in, and Stephanie was trying not to look in his direction. She thought it would be easy not to look at her ex, but with the others doing something else, she found it hard to keep her mind busy.

"Have you seen or heard from Eddie recently?" Dustin spoke into the phone as he paced back and forth, a tendency he had picked up recently. "When was the last time you talked to him?" Stephanie watched her brother talk to what had to be the fifth person on his list. "Okay. Sorry to bother you." And they were no closer to finding Eddie.

"Nothing?" Stephanie asked as Dustin hung up the phone.

"Nada," Dustin huffed out.

"Shit," Stephanie complained. How hard could it be to find one guy in Hawkins? Stephanie watched as Max and Robin continued to talk to various people, then her eyes drifted to Steve, who was 'attending to the babes' as Robin coined it.

"Really?" Stephanie looked back at Dustin, who was giving a knowing look to the girl.

"What?" She asked innocently, smiling at the boy.

"I mean, come on, Steph. You broke up with him, for fucks sake." Dustin could do nothing but shake his head at his sister. Stephanie truly believed that breaking up with Steve was the best thing for both of them when in reality, the teen could not have been more wrong. Even Dustin saw the way Steve looked at her when she walked into the Family Video; it was as if he believed that he would never see her again, and yet, there she was.

"What are you trying to say?" Stephanie eyed Dustin. The last thing she needed was dating advice from her little brother.

"Nevermind," Dustin groaned, thinking that his sister was hopeless.

"Hey, guys, I might have a lead," Max spoke up, causing Dustin, Stephanie, and Robin to turn toward her.

"Seriously?" Stephanie marveled, impressed by the redhead.

"Yeah. Apparently, Eddie gets his drugs from some guy named Reefer Rick, and sometimes Eddie crashes there," Max relayed the information to the group.

"That sounds promising. Where does this Reefer Rick live?" Robin questioned.

"See, that's the thing. No one knows. He's more of a... legend than someone that people know." Max stated, taking in the slightly disappointed faces around her.

"What about a last name?" Stephanie spoke up, thinking of something they could use.

"I don't have that either,"

"I bet the cops know the last name," Steve spoke without looking away from the pile of VHSs he was organizing.

"What?" Dustin wondered where he was going with the idea.

"The cops. I mean, if this Reefer Rick is a drug dealer, I guarantee you he's been busted at some point," Steve turned to the group, locked eyes with Stephanie for a moment, and leaned on the counter to talk to the group. "Means he's in the system."

"The cops?" Dustin scoffed, "That's your suggestion?"

"I mean, I just think they should be filled in on what we know, what's going on," Steve argued, looking around at the judgment on his friends' faces.

"You think Eddie's guilty, don't you?" Dustin asked, taking Steve aback.

"Woah. I believe in innocent until proven guilty, all of that constitutional shit. I just don't think that we should rule it out just yet," Steve stumbled over his words, trying to find the ones that were least likely to piss Dustin off.