It was too quiet. It was too quiet at school, at home, everywhere. Kat couldn't tell if it was just her anxiety, but she could feel that something wasn't right. She just had no idea what it was.
It was a balmy evening. The sun had set early and Kat was sitting at the island in her aunt's kitchen just pushing food around her plate.
Alright, fine, so she was in fact bored. She's only been in Hawkins for a month, but it was starting to get at her. She told herself she wasn't necessarily lonely, yet there were only so many nights she could watch movies or tv or do homework. What she really missed was going out, nightlife, having something to do.
When she returned back to her bedroom, she threw open her closet door hoping she would find some inspiration of what to do with her night. It dawned on her that it was Tuesday. Eddie had said The Hideout was the place to be that night, or something to that effect. There's no way he would be there every Tuesday, right? She felt like if he was going to be there, he would have made some stupid comment about it. It was worth a shot to find out. No matter if she had to deal with him tonight or not, that felt like a better alternative than sitting at home alone.
After picking out her outfit, making her hair as big as she could get it, and doing her makeup, it was almost 8:00. She figured if there was live music, hopefully it would still be playing and this humdrum town didn't completely shut down that early. The outfit of choice for her outing was a big oversized black sweater and a black miniskirt adorned with safety pins and her fishnet tights along with her Doc Martens. Before leaving her room, she thumbed through her cassettes needing to listen to something different on tonight's drive. Eventually, she settled for the Sisters of Mercy album First and Last and Always.
Even if tonight is a total wash out, Kat at least had fun on the drive. The Hideout was a far cry from any club or even bar she had been to back home. There were a handful of cars scattered in the parking lot. Did any of these people here have fun past 9PM? She grabbed her wallet, making sure she had her fake Indiana ID just in case they cared enough to card here.
Getting out of the car, she could hear guitars blaring from the inside. From far away, the band didn't sound all that bad. Kat made her way inside, trying to avoid people from seeing her. Just because she didn't want to be home alone didn't mean she wanted to mingle with bar flies.
She made a beeline for the bar, taking a chance by ordering a whisky on the rocks. The bartender gave her a funny look, but shrugged it off and just handed her the drink. That earned him an extra good tip. Maybe it was the lighting, her Siouxsie Sioux inspired makeup look, or both that made her look old enough. Whatever the reason, she was grateful for it. Drink in hand, she wandered over to a table in the back. She could still see the stage perfectly, but was hidden in case anyone spotted her.
The band that was on when she arrived ended their set when she was making her way to her table. A new band was setting up. She noticed the drummer looked awfully familiar.
"Hey, uh, we're Corroded Coffin and we would start if our guit–" The lead singer started, who also looked too familiar.
"SHIT. Sorry, sorry. I'm here. God dammit!" Eddie's voice was easy to hear as he tried to simultaneously save his balance and not trip over pedals. Kat controlled herself from slamming her head down on the table. Of course this was why he mentioned Tuesdays. She was going to need another drink for this one. Quickly downing her first one, she tried to make her way unseen to get a second.
As far as she was concerned, it had worked. She made her way back to her little spot in the corner, second drink in hand. Maybe it was the whisky, but, as much as she hated to admit it, they were actually good. The more she listened the more she felt bad they all lived in the middle of nowhere. They might have had a shot if they were in a city like LA. Kat almost wanted to go over to the soundboard to help fix the bar's awful set up. Then again, by the looks of this place, it was probably pointless to attempt.
She couldn't help herself from bobbing her head to the fast beat of the drums. Her eyes barely strayed from Eddie. He was like a completely different person on stage. Clearly the most talented out of the band, he threw himself into the performance, taking center stage during his guitar solos. Kat watched as his ringed fingers danced delicately over the frets. His hair flying around him as headbanged and thrashed around the small stage. It surprised her how someone with that kind of presence seemed to fade into the background at school. Not that she could blame him for that. He did seem to be quite the target for those that deemed themselves better.
Kat wasn't completely sure, moreso hopeful, that Eddie hadn't spotted her, but of course he had. He could recognize that mane of hair and brooding energy anywhere. He did a double take when he first noticed her, but played it off as part of his stage antics. Kat was none the wiser.
Already dreading being called out before math started tomorrow – or maybe even earlier if he made an appearance at her locker again – she made her way to the exit. Eddie got so lost in the music, when he looked up, she had gone. He decided he wouldn't make a mad dash immediately after their set ended, but would go about as he normally would. If he happened to catch her, great. If she had in fact hightailed it out of there, there was always the next day at school.
Kat hastily made her way to her car. She didn't trust herself if she actually had to interact with Eddie right now. There was no way she would give him the satisfaction of a compliment, not after how he acted earlier. She couldn't stop thinking about how talented he actually was. It took her completely by surprise. Her head rested on her steering wheel as she couldn't stand the thoughts swirling around in her mind. Instead of focusing on him, she honed in on her feeling of homesickness. That was easier to deal with, more familiar. She missed being around music constantly and around people who had dreams and ambitions. Something was sucking the life out of this town; she could feel it. Kat finally started the car and began singing along to A Rock and a Hard Place as made her way home. Meanwhile, Eddie had closed the doors to his van, having packed up his precious guitar. He turned to look just in time to see the taillights of Kat's mustang fade out of sight.
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The next morning Kat pulled into school and parked in her usual spot. Off in her own world, she was completely oblivious to the fact that Eddie had been standing outside his van smoking a cigarette, which he hastily put out to follow Kat inside.
When he caught up with her he sped around her, blocking her locker, causing her to jump at the sudden commotion. "Jesus. Christ! What is wrong with you?!" Kat exclaimed.
Eddie looked upwards as if he was searching for something. "Um, how much time do you have?" he asked, leaning back on her locker, crossing his arms over his jean vest.
Kat rolled her eyes. "What do you want? I need to get into my locker."
"I just wanted to hear about how your night went last night," he shrugged nonchalantly.
"What? Why? No. Can't you just. like, go away? Or leave me alone for once?" Kat knew this would happen, but she hoped she could hide in her irritation.
Eddie put his hands on Kat's shoulders, looking into her eyes. "Kat, it's okay to admit you enjoyed yourself doing something in Hawkins. No one will think any less of you."
This actually made Kat's nostrils flare in anger. She knocked his hands off her shoulders and glared at him. "First, don't fucking touch me. Second, if you knew where I was then why'd you bother to ask?"
Her temper igniting made him step to the side and bring his hands to his chest in a little shimmy. "Ooh, she's so angry today," he commented while Kat stepped up to her locker, angrily putting in her combination. "Don't I get some kind of credit for not bothering you last night? I could have, ya know. Almost did in fact." Kat just glared at him sideways and huffed. "What made you go?"
"Boredom."
He shook his head side to side, looking upwards again, as he mulled over her short response. "I'll accept that. What were you drinking?"
"How did you... Whiskey."
"That place is practically the size of a classroom and your mane of hair really isn't that discreet no matter the lighting," he laughed. "Interesting. I didn't think you'd be a hard liquor kind of girl. Good to know," he mused, nodding in approval.
Kat tapped the photo of her partying he noticed last time. "What else did you expect?"
"How could I forget! Of course. Kat the wild party animal. So...what'd you think of the show?"
Kat slammed her locker shut. "I've seen better," she shrugged, making her way to class. Eddie kept pace right at her side.
"No shit, of course you have, but it was the first time seeing or hearing anything from us."
Kat was about to give a mildly honest response, that was still nowhere near a compliment, but someone came up beside Eddie. "Munson. I, uh, need some advice on gardening," they said.
Eddie glanced down at Kat. "Sorry, m'lady. I gotta take this. It is business hours and all. We'll pick this up later," he said to her. "Follow me to my office," he said to the other student, ushering them to follow him.
Kat rolled her eyes, quickening her pace away from him. Dread seeped around her as she noted her irritation was now from their conversation being interrupted and how she felt little relief in its ending.