Blinded Me With Science: Chapter Four (Fred Benson x Reader)
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Word Count: 1.5k
Synopsis: You and Fred join the Hellfire Club for a game in exchange for their participation in your articles for The Weekly Streak.
A/N: Sorry for the long gap. I have a direction, but it's slow-going getting there. Also, I'm changing the name of this series to Blinded Me With Science. I feel like with reader being so science-based, it's a better fit.
CW: Dunkin on the D&D; Dustin being kind of a brat; disparaging remarks towards geeks/dorks/nerds
The auditorium had a distinct smell with its hints of paint, dust, and years of accumulated sweat; but it was vibrating with the energy of its inhabitants, both present and long-gone. “Y/L/N!” Eddie called out from beside his throne, placed at the end of a long table that was on top of the stage. “And look at this, you even brought us a gift. The bounty of another player can never be overestimated,” he nodded and gestured towards Fred, who immediately became red in the face, feeling the flush of embarrassment at all of the attention being directed towards him. “Weary traveler, please, join us.” Fred raised a wary eyebrow in response, but followed you steadfastly as you trekked towards the stage.
“I’m more of a casual observer,” Fred clarified when the two of you were close enough to Eddie that you didn’t have to shout. He removed his satchel strap from over his shoulder and set it down on one of the chairs around the table. “Y/N and I thought that I could do an article about the game for the club.” You eyed him for implicating that it was your idea too, even though Fred had more or less insisted upon being here.
“The more the merrier!” Eddie proclaimed before turning to you, “but you’re still here to play, right? Not just observe? I really need someone to fill in.”
“Yeah, yeah. I just mentioned to Fred that I would be playing and he wanted to see what it was all about.” Fred looked surprised that you’d turned it back on him, but began unloading his notebook and pencils anyway. Neither of you knew what to expect. Dungeons and Dragons was not well-known and often talked about in hushed tones, steeped in controversy. You knew it was a fantasy game and that you had to act as a character and there was dice involved…but that was pretty much it.
“Splendid!” Eddie declared, sliding a paper across the table toward you. “Here’s your character sheet. Since you said you didn’t have anything in mind, I went ahead and whipped one up for you,” he theatrically wiggled his fingers over the paper. “These numbers indicate your strength in different stats. Your number has to be high enough to choose to do certain actions, or to defeat enemies. But you don’t know that number going in,” he began to explain the concept and rules to you and you just nodded along hazily, not sure if you were actually retaining any of this information. “But don’t sweat it. If you get stuck or don’t remember, Gareth will be sitting next to you and he can help. He knows the rules better than anyone else, I promise. And I’m sure Henderson will be more than happy to help, too. You can’t get that kid to not explain things he likes, I swear. He never shuts up.”
“Oh, I wonder who I learned that from?” A voice mocked Eddie from beside you and you looked up to see a young boy with unruly curls and a smug smile marked with dimples on either cheek.
“Not me. I’m convinced you came out of the womb just blathering on.” Eddie rolled his eyes before introducing you. Soon, more members of Hellfire joined and introductory rounds were given again and again until the party was complete. Eddie had cast you in a healer role so you wouldn’t have to feel as though you needed to jump into every fray and battle. You could linger back and decide what to do with Gareth’s help without being in any ‘real’ danger. Fred remained mostly quiet beside you, taking notes. He didn’t question anything, surprisingly. Instead, he just let it be and drank it in. He truly was an observer tonight.
At the end of a particularly harrowing battle that you all scraped by on, Eddie drew the session to a close and indicated that it was time he and Hellfire held up their end of the bargain. As you arranged the swabs and plates, you heard Dustin complain, “I don’t think this will be a fair representation of a bacterial culture for each of us. I mean, we’ve been handling dice, pewter figures, and Funyuns all night. That’s going to show up, right?”
“Not exactly. I mean, it’s not going to categorize what it is you’ve been touching--” you started, trying to be polite.
“No, I know that, duh. But I’m saying that we’ve been messing with all of this stuff, so it’s going to impact your data.”
While you were less-than-amused at his tone, you still tried to be cordial, “I think it’s best to get an accurate reflection of someone in their day-to-day activities. This isn’t a one-off occasion for you, right?” He made a face, but nodded along anyway, “So it’s a good representation of what bacteria would typically be on your hands.”
“Palms up, Henderson.” Eddie commanded from behind you. Dustin met this with a grumble under his breath, but complied anyway, allowing you to run the swab across his palm. You spun its tip over the agar plate before sealing it as Eddie ruffled Dustin’s hair, berating him for being difficult.
“I won’t give you any grief,” Gareth said as he approached, palms up and at the ready.
“Thank you,” you acknowledged his helpfulness, “Actually, thanks for all your help tonight.”
“It’s a fun game, right?” He asked, eyes sparkling, and you thought you heard Fred snort from behind you, but ignored his input.
“Yeah, I could definitely see how you could get sucked into it,” you agreed, swabbing his hand.
“You should come back some time. We’d love to have you,” he kindly urged and now you knew you could hear Fred behind you, muttering something. You quickly glanced over your shoulder at him and he looked away, quickly walking to interview someone about their D&D experiences instead.
“Yeah, maybe. I guess if Eddie needs another person to fill-in, I could try it again sometime. Thanks again,” you snapped the plate shut over Gareth’s sample and looked back over at Fred. You weren’t sure if you’d imagined his haste or not. Now he was nonchalantly talking to one of the other boys and had his notepad up like every other interview you’d seen him do, and it was as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
You opened the school door out into the brisk night air as Fred walked beside you. “I was kind of nervous about Eddie, to be honest. You know, all the stuff you hear about him at school,” he said and you nodded along. Eddie did have a reputation, even if it was largely false. “But he’s not like that at all. I mean, I thought I was a geek!” He started to laugh.
“Fred Benson!” you feigned shock but were unable to keep the smile from creeping up your face.
“Oh, come on, Y/N. You’re going to tell me that that wasn’t one of the dorkiest things you’ve ever been witness to?” He gestured back at the building, indicating the auditorium you’d left only minutes prior and you shrugged in response.
“I mean, I guess, sure. But who am I to judge? Maybe everyone’s a dork for something.”
“Stop the presses, that’s going to be my headline: maybe everyone’s a dork for something.” Fred reiterated as a joke.
“Psh. You’re the pot calling the kettle black. You just admitted that you were a geek!”
“Yes, but I still don’t think I’m at that level. Shocking, I know.”
“What, you didn’t want to pretend to be a wizard or a giant and defeat some big bad monster? I think that sounds right up your alley.”
“I’m not sure what that’s supposed to mean. Is this your attempt at insulting me? If so, do better.” He grimaced, but there wasn’t real upset behind it.
“No, I’m being serious! You’ve never wanted to be someone else or just kinda play make believe, like when we were kids? It’s fun!” You tried to convince him, but he just gave you his straight, deadpan stare. “Better than reality sometimes.” You shrugged and he looked at you with a puzzled expression and you couldn’t quite place why.
“I guess…it’s not out of the realm of possibility to want to be someone else. Or to imagine some things to be different.” He looked off into the distance at a memory that you couldn’t see and he wasn’t willing to talk about, not now anyway. The sudden change in tone in the conversation made you uncomfortable and you shifted your weight from one foot to the other.
“Thanks for coming along tonight. It made it just a little less awkward,” you admitted and he smiled at you.
“Sure,” he shrugged, “whenever you want to go to suspected demonic clubs or Satanic cults, count me in!” You laughed and shook your head at his ridiculous sense of humor.
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