Work Text:
Jeff's bribery worked and now they got paid $50 for every performance they did at The Hideout. $10 for each one of them to keep, $10 to put into a piggy bank for the band to use later. Eddie and Jeff wanted to save it for studio time to record a demo, Frankie wanted to save it for new equipment for all of them, and Gareth thought they should save it for a new van that would actually hold them all comfortably.
$10 once a week wasn't really gonna get them to those goals anytime soon.
But that didn't stop them from trying. Some weeks, they'd put some of their own money from the gig into the piggy bank. Some weeks, they had to use it to buy new drumsticks or picks or strings. Eddie was using most of his on gas and snacks for the week, scared to ask his uncle for any extra help after he'd done so much already for him and the band.
That's what got him started selling weed.
He needed the extra cash for the band, sure, but he also knew his uncle was struggling to make payments on time for the water and electricity.
The Hideout was the perfect place to find customers, most of the people who attended their concert were happy to not have to go all the way to Rick just to get their shit. He didn't even have to do anything other than show up an hour before he needed to be on stage and stand by the bathroom door.
If he didn't manage to sell it all before the show, he always did after.
He started throwing his $10 into the band savings every week, plus a portion of his sales.
The rest went to Wayne.
Chris, the manager of the Hideout, turned a blind eye. He knew Eddie didn't want trouble, and it wasn't anything more than just selling product he got directly from the only guy in town who had connections. Sometimes he even bought the last of what Eddie had if it was a slow night.
The guys in the band didn't care, but they didn't encourage it, either. They were convinced he'd get caught selling to the wrong person and end up in jail and it would be the end of Corroded Coffin.
Until Rick decided Eddie was doing too good.
"He wants me to try selling to kids I know at school. Said he has more product I can get rid of for him. Probably start at the Harrington parties and see if I can get a client base from that," Eddie explained during a practice. "Most kids are too terrified to be caught buying to turn me in, so."
"Dude, that's too risky," Jeff shook his head. "Harrington's last party got broken up by Hopper. What if he caught you?"
"He'd let me off with a warning!" Eddie knew Hopper didn't wanna deal with the paperwork over a little weed. "And that was a one off. Harrington's usually way more careful about his parties."
"Why can't you just stick to The Hideout?" Gareth finally asked, nervous to speak up until now.
"Because I could put all the extra money into the band. Wayne doesn't want me working while I'm still in school. He insists I can graduate this time if I just stay focused." Eddie rolled his eyes, though he couldn't hide the fond smile on his face. "It'll be fine."
And it was for a while. Eddie still sold at The Hideout before shows, but never brought all of his weed so he would have plenty for whatever party was happening on Saturday night. Most parties were at Steve's house, but he never actually saw the dude. Kind of weird considering he had a reputation as the Kegstand King to uphold and was never anywhere near a keg.
He didn't exactly feel welcome as a guest, but no one was ever outright rude to him. Kind of seemed like a bad idea to be rude to the guy supplying you with illegal substances.
The money wasn't always great-- He learned quickly that teenagers rarely spent more than $20 on decent weed-- but it was enough.
But his efforts at school weren't quite enough to graduate and no amount of money would make the disappointment on Wayne's face worth it.
He stopped going to parties to sell, deciding to only sell to a handful of seniors after school. He only sold at The Hideout once a month, wanting to focus more on the band's performance.
The additions to savings slowed, but the passion they had didn't.
Maybe someday that would be enough.