more idiots falling in love

[wordoflyss]

We Belong

Chapter 4: Uptown Girls And East End Boys

Rating: M No warnings apply Eddie Munson x Henderson!OC

It’d been a shit week so far. He’d ridden the high of the successful finale over the weekend, but now he felt the down after the end of a campaign even harder.

With the campaign over, Hellfire was on pause until spring break was over. At the end of the week, Mike would go off to California, and Dustin had rambled on about doing a project with his totally not imaginary girlfriend that conveniently lived somewhere in Utah. Cal would go off with his dad, which meant no rehearsals for Corroded Coffin either, Gareth would work at his uncle’s store again, leaving only Jeff and Eddie with nothing to do. With most people leaving town over spring break there wasn’t even much money to be made. He was already bored out of his mind.

School was hell as always as he struggled to focus on class, and the E the Click doled out in chemistry earlier today hadn’t helped his mood either. There were a trillion things he’d rather do than sit here and watch Mrs. O’Donnell drone on monotonously. Eddie figured nobody with less vocal range than at least an octave should be allowed to teach anybody anything. This was torture.

It was the last lesson of his day, which didn’t help at all and was one of the major reasons he was failing the class yet again. Okay, first time he just didn’t care. But last year, he had the major misfortune of it being last class as well, and honestly, at this point he was convinced it was higher powers conspiring against him. In the end, it didn’t matter though. Failing to graduate twice was embarrassing, but also rebellious if he framed it right. Failing a third time was just pathetic.

He just needed to figure a way out to get all of it in his head. Just a lousy D, and he’d be free. He’d be lying if staying in school didn’t also have his perks, but Eddie was slowly losing his mind. He didn’t pretend to be the most mature person, but constantly being surrounded by people at least two years younger— three, if he failed again— was pushing even his limits. He should be out of school, out of Hawkins, doing anything but sitting here, listening to O’Donnell’s mind-numbing drone and wondering what sort of gunk was stuck to her chin now. Suppressing a groan, he looked up to the clock.

2:41.

A flash outside caught his eye and he looked out the window. A BMW was pulling up across the parking lot, the shiny paint job reflecting the sun.

Probably one of the uptown dads picking up one of their little brats.

The head that climbed out was, to Eddie’s surprise, unexpectedly still full of hair though. He knew it pretty well, because he’d shot spitballs at it several times over the last years. What the hell was Harrington doing at the school parking lot on a Wednesday afternoon? As far as Eddie knew, he had no siblings— although, admittedly, he’d recently learned that he apparently had no clue about who people were related to in this town. His confusion only deepened when the exact proof of his ignorance climbed out of the passenger side as well.

Danielle shook out her hair, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jeans, laughing about something Harrington said as he strutted around his car and leaned against the passenger door.

O’Donnell cleared her throat then, not bothering anymore to call him out specifically— she’d given up on that over a year ago— more to the simple purpose of annoying him, Eddie was sure. He dragged his eyes away from the window, irritated and gave her a serene smile as he placed his chin on his folded hands and batted his eyes at her with baited breath; the class room equivalent of a cordially raised middle finger. She frowned and continued with her sermon, voice finally tinged with disapproval instead of total apathy.

At least we agree on something O’Donnell, eh?

After a couple moments, when she returned to reading from her text book, Eddie turned his attention back outside. They were still there, obviously waiting for Dustin, together, and obviously very comfortable with each other. Eddie was weirdly disappointed. It wasn’t the first time he’d noticed Dani come around to pick Dustin up this week, but she’d been alone the last time. She was wearing the same black sweater again, gold threads catching the light, and she was obviously having a great time. He was all cool, leaned against his stupid shiny car, one foot resting back on the tire, hands in his pockets, telling something funny, running his hands through his hair like he was in a damned shampoo commercial. Eddie knew peacocking when he saw it, and Harrington was laying it on thick. Worse, Dani seemed to be buying it. She was rocking on her heels a little, grinning at the ground and back up at him. They were just talking, and he realized he could be massively misinterpreting the situation, but why else would Harrington join her to pick up her little brother?

O’Donnell cleared her throat again and Eddie pretended to care, irritation buzzing under his skin.

It wasn’t like he could begrudge Harrington for being interested— hell, in his place, Eddie probably would be too. What irritated him was that Dani seemed to return the interest, not because he was jealous, but because she’d actually seemed … cool, and this was Steve Harrington. What the hell did a girl that played D&D, played it like that and seemed funny and smart and obviously cared for her weird little brother, want with a shallow prick like Harrington? Eddie had been so relieved Dustin’s sister turned out to be like… well, her, that now he worried he’d been actually right before. There were already too few interesting people in this place, and to few good people in Dustin’s life, it would majorly suck if she now turned out to be just like the others.

Of course, the tiny rational part of his brain argued, there was still the chance that Harrington wasn’t as much of a douche as he seemed to be.

Yeah, fat chance of that.

As far as Eddie was aware, he had seemed to lose some of his assholery since Better-Than-Thou Nancy Wheeler had deigned to date and very publicly dump him— his image certainly had— but people didn’t really change that much, even though Dustin clearly seemed to think so. He was talking about Harrington all the goddamned time, and Eddie never got why— now it made a whole lotta more sense. He was probably over all the time, spending time with him and Dani. Eddie had to admit he’d been jealous of Dustin’s worship of him before, but now the thought actually made him mad. It was easy to see Harrington seemed to like Dani a lot, and it was just as easy to see that Dani and Dustin were close. What if Harrington was just using Dustin to get close to her? Neither of them deserved that.

Suddenly the bell rang out, ripping him out of his thoughts. His irritation and staring had carried him straight to the end of class. In a hasty swoop he shoved all his things in his backpack and was out of the room within moments, as always one of the first, aided by his seat at the very back of the room. The halls were unusually frenzied, everybody egged on by the sunshine and the palpably close break. Eddie weaved his way towards the parking lot. Somewhere before him, he saw Dustin’s Thinking Cap push through the crowd. As he stepped out, his eyes instantly followed him, blatantly interested in the scene playing out.

Dustin rushed over and Harrington’s face annoyingly lit up in a grin. He raised his hand for a complicated handshake that seemed familiar between them. Dani didn’t greet Dustin, but she tried to trip him as he walked past her, laughing as he shoved her in retaliation. Harrington hefted his fists on his hips and seemed to scold them, probably worried of them ruining his expensive paint job.

They all got into the car, and Eddie started heading towards his van, thoughts still preoccupied with figuring out what he should make of all of that.

Because he was deep in thought, it took him a moment to notice her. She’d parked right next to his van, where she normally wouldn’t be caught dead, and she was leaning against her car, looking straight at him across the lot. She wasn’t sneering, but rather staring intently, and Eddie knew the look well. Once she’d seen him meet her eyes, she turned away and started loading her back onto her backseat, using her passenger side. It took him a minute to make his way over, and when he unlocked the door, she straightened up and turned halfway to him. Eddie refrained from rolling his eyes over her theatrics. She probably didn’t realize this was way more suspicious than just talking to him after class. He tipped his imaginary hat towards her and gave her a nod.

“Rachel.”

She didn’t waste time with greetings. “I’m throwing a party at my place on Saturday. We could use some… help with the entertainment.”

Eddie grinned. Spending his Saturday evening at Rachel Malone’s party definitely wasn’t his idea of a good time, but she and her little uptown friends got a loooot of money from their parents who compensated missing effort and affection with a hefty allowance. All of them were pretentious pricks, but once they got wasted they were good customers, and Eddie was never against making bank.

“Well, you know how I do love helping out my classmates.”

Now Rachel couldn’t help but roll her eyes, the usual sneer back in place. “Oh my god… Here’s the address,” she said and handed him a folded slip of paper, “be there at nine. Go around the back, you can stay on the back porch. This is not a party invitation, are we clear?”

Eddie’s grin froze as his stomach slightly dropped. All charm gone, he replied: “ Oh don’t worry, dear, I wouldn’t ever dream of attending a party of yours, even if you paid for it.”

Rachel just scoffed and got into her car. Eddie watched her drive off, anger pooling in his stomach.

Bad news Rach… Prices just rose 20%.

Rust fell to the floor as Eddie slammed the door of his van shut.

What an absolute shit week.

“Ouch,” Robin yelled from inside her shirt as Dani accidentally elbowed her in the ribs, trying to angle herself so she she could slip her arm underneath the passenger seat. Her sorry was muffled since her cheek was pressed against the leather, her fingers blindly feeling along the carpet there. Between crumbs and whatever else, she reached into something sticky and yanked her hand back, accidentally getting Robin again, this time in the head that promptly popped out of her shirt and scowled at her. “Now you’re doing it on purpose.”

“Sorry! I reached into something disgusting,” she explained as Robin rubbed her forehead.

“What do you mean, something disgusting? I swear to god, Robin, you said you found the gum you dropped— ” Steve complained, head turning sideways to look at them.

“Don’t look, I’m still in my bra!” Dani yelled and smacked him on the side of his head, shoving it back forward, “and you’re driving, idiot, look at the road!”

Steve scoffed, clearly exasperated. “Couldn’t you two have changed at work? You know, like normal people?”

“We could’ve if a certain someone hadn’t been to adamant about not helping us lock up!” Robin complained as she tried to reshape her hair into something that didn’t look like it was the product of a quick change in the back of a BMW.

“I already worked the morning shift, okay?”

“I already worked the morning shift, okay?” Dani mocked under her breath as she contorted again to reach for her top and the make-up bag that had disappeared under the seat when Steve had braked.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” she answered sweetly as she finally grabbed ahold of her prize and sat up, rubbing the red marks the band of her jeans had left on her stomach as she’d bent. “I’m already regretting these,” she said to no-one in particular as she pulled the band away from her sore skin. She slipped into her long-sleeve and pulled it into shape, the sleeves immediately slipping back up over her shoulders where they weren’t supposed to go. “Already regret this one as well,” she groaned. At least her boots were comfortable. “Where’s the green kayal?”

“Anyone we know coming?” Robin asked as she handed Dani the pencil she’d fished out from under her thigh and held up the pocket mirror. Steve started listing some names as she did her make up, but there wasn’t really anyone Dani was interested in seeing included in the list. After graduation, she’d lost touch with most of them.

“Anyone you’re interested in?” Robin asked as Dani applied the last bit of her mascara.

“Why do you always assume there is someone I’m interested in? I’m not always about that,” Steve spluttered.

“Liar,” Dani and Robin replied in unison.

“There isn’t!” he protested, and when they started arguing again, he grinned into the rear-view mirror. “Well, at least not for me— I heard a rumor one of Rachel’s friends is bringing her friends, and apparently, she’s been friends with Vickie since kindergarten.”

The shriek Robin let out was just barely on this side of human. “And you’re telling me that NOW?!”

“If I’d told you sooner we would’ve never left cause you’d still be raiding your closet, or sitting in front of it paralyzed because you’re overthinking again!” Robin reached around the seat to shake him, and he lifted one hand up in surrender. “Besides, I don’t know if she’s coming, I just heard it’s a possibility! No need to freak you out over nothing.”

Robin didn’t deign that with an answer, instead she turned to Dani, wide-eyed and a little pale. “Help.”

Dani laughed and reached for the make-up bag.

By the time they made it to Rachel’s, it was already half past nine. Steve led the way, both of them following him into the house. The party was already going, music booming across the front lawn as they approached. The hall, and living room were already pretty packed. Robin scanned the room, seemingly equally disappointed and relieved when she couldn’t find Vickie anywhere.

“How long do you think we have to wait before it’s socially acceptable to raid the kitchen?” Robin whispered in her ear a Steve greeted people and shook hands.

“I’m assuming we have to at least make it past the introductions,” Dani whispered back, and Robin pulled a face.

“I hate it when you’re reasonable.”

Dani sighed and wrapped her arm around hers. “Me too.”

Eddie slammed the door of his van shut, lunch box in hand. He’d parked a ways down, still close enough to book it if the cops shoved, but far enough away to look like plausible deniability if anyone wanted to connect him to the party. As he headed for the house he glanced at his watch.

Quarter to ten.

His thumb rubbed along the familiar scratches on the handle as he made his way down to the house. Luckily for him, there were already half a dozen people hanging out outside, some on the front porch, some on the lawn, the front door half open, Blondie blasting from inside, which would make it less suspicious for him to just walk around to the back. Last thing he’d need was getting the cops called cause some vigilante neighbor thought he was up for a little B&E.

As he made his way across the lawn he got some looks, but nobody said anything— people knew what he was here for, and even those dumbasses wouldn’t risk it to have him walk out of here backwards by pissing him off- at least not as long as his box was still loaded.

The back porch was as expected; wide, white, with wicker chairs and a swing seat at the far end. Beautifully devoid of any personality. A couple was making out in the corner, leaned against the banister. He cleared his throat. Both scattered apart, the guy giving him an angry stare- Eddie vaguely remembered him from a year above him, before he failed, and her from school a year below him, now.

Classy.

He grabbed her hand and dragged her inside, probably searching for another corner. Eddie debated saying something, but decided against it. Not like she’d listen to him anyways. At least now he didn’t need to knock and announce himself, the idiot would do that for him. Eddie leaned against the banister of the porch, waiting.

It didn’t take a minute for Rachel to rush out to him.

“It is ten.”

Eddie gave her a serene smile. “You can read the clock, that’s amazing.”

“Well, that seem to make one of us, since you apparently can’t. I told you to be here at nine.”

“Ah, there must’ve been a misunderstanding, sweetheart,” Eddie answered as he pushed himself of the railing and sauntered over to her, deliberately slow. She was pretty small, and he towered slightly over her. Normally he wouldn’t use his size like that, but she was seriously pissing him off. “ You asked me to come here, and I graciously complied when I could.” He was still smiling, but she paled a little and took a step back, so Eddie righted himself. He wanted to take her down a peg, not outright scare her, or worse, be accused of whatever bullshit she and her little bougie friends came up with now. He grinned and spun away, raising both hands in a nonchalant shrug. “Of course, if you want half your guests zoned out half an hour after your party started, next time I’ll be earlier. What would I know about that, right?” He sank back on the stairs, giving her his best wide-eyed grin. “Now hush, back to your little party. Unless you want something?”

That did the job, and she turned around with a scoff, slamming the door behind her. Eddie flipped her off with a pleasant grin and sat down on the three steps leading to the garden, forgoing the furniture, settling in to wait.

Steve took charge, greeting people and introducing them. Thankfully they were already late enough for most people to be satisfied with the pleasant slow nod in their direction, all with raised eyebrows and an overblown smile that showed mutual acknowledgment at an introduction. This was Steve’s world, not theirs, that much was painfully obvious. Two years ago, she would’ve felt like a fish out of water, having to prove herself, prove that she belonged. Two years ago, Dani would have minded, but after all that had happened, and especially with Robin at her side, she felt at ease. Today, most of it felt a little surreal. Like she was a visitor from far away, almost like she assumed she’d feel if she had moved away and gone to college and then returned to join friends she’d lost touch with, relationships she’d grown out of. None of that had happened, she was very much still here. She hadn’t grown, but her world had. Robin was right— none of it mattered, so she could just enjoy out of it what she wanted.

As they made their round, a constant stream of people filtered in. Apparently Rachel really intended to wreck her parents house. Before long, the living room was crowded, and somebody turned the music up and the lights down. At some point, Steve got stuck talking to some girl he seemed to know and Dani vaguely remembered from the summer before, giving him the cold shoulder at Scoops. Dani tried not to blame her too much for it— it was pretty hard to take anybody seriously wearing that uniform— and the way she leaned into him seemed to indicate that had been part of the problem. Robin was watching them too, and the critical wrinkle on her forehead clearly stating she wasn’t as forgiving as Dani was. When she caught Dani looking at her, she rolled her eyes and started pulling her towards the kitchen.

“Time to get drunk.”

The kitchen wasn’t as crowded, but they still had to push through a couple of people. Robin grabbed two cups and surveyed the options. She saw the punch bowl at the same time as Dani.

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes,” Dani cheered, and began scooping fruits into their cups.

“This is gonna end so badly,” Robin groaned, but Dani could see her trying not to laugh.

“You wanted to come. What was that about not having to care if we embarrass ourselves? Or was that bs? Now, less talking, more snacking,” she commanded and handed her a goopy strawberry. Robin looked a little disgusted, but took the offering.

“Okay, but I’m not holding your hair when you inevitably have to throw up.” Robin answered as she toasted her with the strawberry before popping it into her mouth.

Dani scoffed in shock and clutched her heart. “Can’t believe you call yourself my friend when you have less loyalty than a scrunchie.”

“I did hold your hair the first time when it was an honest mistake- at this point it’s just reckless endangerment, and you’re on your own.”

Dani looked past Robin’s shoulder into the living room then, surprise crossing over her face followed by pleasant surprise. “Oh. Hi Vickie!”

Robin spun around faster than the speed of light, then spun back just as fast to punch her in the shoulder when no one was standing behind her and Dani started cackling.

“You’re the worst.”

As pissed as he was, his gut feeling proved right, and it didn’t take long for the first people to poke their heads out the door. Most of them were already at least buzzed, and made his job pretty easy.

Within the hour he’d sold half his stock, and he’d been carrying double of what he usually got from Reef, knowing full well this would be a golden opportunity.

The door opened and another couple stumbled out, laughing and not paying attention to him as they brushed past him, right down into the garden, giggling all the way. Behind them, the door remained open, Belinda Carlisle blasting over the sound system, proclaiming that Heaven was, indeed, a place on earth. Eddie suppressed a slight shudder at the choice of music. Apparently he was the only one on the premise with a shred of taste, considering everyone inside seemed to be dancing and singing along, having a grand old time.

That was when he saw the hair again, whipping in the crowd, moving to the music. Of course Harrington would be here. Unconsciously his eyes started searching, and it took him only a second to find her. She was dancing close to him, but not with him. The crowd was moving around them like the sea, obscuring and revealing them as they all moved together. The weird feeling from the parking lot settled back in his stomach.

Eddie had really hoped to be wrong, but if she was here, dancing and laughing with these people… He really should’ve known better, he supposed.

He forcefully dragged his eyes away, took the wad of cash out of his pocket and started counting, focusing on what was important.

268 good reasons to spend his evening in this hell, and a third of the stash still left to go.

He briefly considered lighting one up himself— he was certainly in the mood for it now— but any gram he had was worth triple of what he’d paid Reef before. Besides, it was his ground rule to stay sober while dealing, because business was business, and he needed his brain working so he wouldn’t get screwed over, so he opted for a cigarette instead, unable to help himself from looking inside again and again.

Now that he’d noticed her, it was hard not to; she was wearing the same bright green again as she had on that day, only this time it was a longsleeve that left her shoulders bare. She was by far not the only person in the crowd wearing bright colors, but this one stuck out to him.

Inside the crowd was drowning out Billy Joel as they sang along to Uptown Girl. What a fucking joke. Eddie was leaning against the banister of the pristine back porch, looking through the window in at all of them dancing and singing their hearts out, exactly like they’ve never had a care in their world. Now and then he saw Harrington’s in the crowd, who was now dancing with Dani, apparently trying to teach her steps, and she was laughing the whole time. He tried to swallow the bitterness, out here on his own, in the cold. It wasn’t like he wanted to be in there, but the knowledge of not being allowed in still settled in his stomach like acid. He’d thought after all these years, it’d stop stinging- at some point it had to burn through to the bottom, he’d figured- but today it was back with a force. In his mind he saw Rachel’s face again as she told him to go around the back, making it clear he didn’t belong here.

No place for East End Boys at Uptown Girl parties.

He flicked the cigarette away with more force than necessary. And he’d thought his week couldn’t get worse.

When the song ended, Harrington leaned over and said something in her ear. Probably asking her if she wanted to find a quiet corner…Eddie bit down the thought. But Dani shook her head, and turned away from him, grabbing Robin Buckley instead. With a frown, he stood up straighter.

Robin Buckley?

Eddie didn’t exactly know her well, but he knew she definitely didn’t belong in this crowd. Obviously he knew her from school, but also from half the dozen jobs she’d had over the last years. He knew her family wasn’t too well off— she wasn’t from East Hawkins, but close. One of the band kids, a little weird. Not Hellfire caliber, but certainly not a person he would’ve expected to see tonight.

It was obvious she and Dani were there together, because Dani took her hand and started spinning her, apparently trying to do it as fast as she could, both giggling, obviously drunk.

Now he was more confused than before. People were supposed to be easy to figure out. Eddie was good at it. Had to be. For his money and his safety. But he had such a hard time figuring out what to think of her that it was seriously starting to bother him. He wanted to walk in there and ask her what her deal was.

Luckily for him, another girl stumbled out of the door and walked over to him before he could storm in there and yell Are you cool or not?! at Danielle.

He turned his attention to her, grateful for once to be saved from one of his bouts of insanity, when he recognized her as the girl from the porch earlier. She was clearly already super drunk and one look told Eddie that she wasn’t used to alcohol or dope. This was a disaster waiting to happen, and while Eddie usually operated under the code “live and let live”, he wasn’t totally irresponsible, so he turned her away. She tried to argue, but he insisted he wasn’t going to sell to her, which promptly made her start crying, and run inside.

Great.

He turned his back to the door, leaning his elbows on the railing, waiting for what’s-his-face to show up and blow up at him for making his girl cry. He didn’t show. After a minute or two, Eddie turned back around and looked inside, hoping that she’d simply gotten over it as quick as she’d gotten into it, finding immediately that she had, in fact, not gotten over it, and was instead crying into a bare shoulder, two lime green arms wrapped losely around her. His stomach sank and he quickly whirled around and backed the three steps down into the garden, hoping the darkness would obscure him before Dani spotted him out here.

Shit shit shit.

Eddie cursed out his bad luck as he pulled out another cigarette. Of course she had to run into her. Giant house full of people and the one shoulder she ends up crying on has to be that one.

When Dani didn’t come out immediately, he sat down on the lowest step, rubbing his forehead, smoke biting in his eyes. In the grand scheme of things it shouldn’t really matter to him, because he still wasn’t sure if she was worth the worry, but regardless, he didn’t want her to think he was an asshole— especially not when he wasn’t even being one. What if she warned Dustin about him?

He glanced at his clock — ten past eleven— and pulled his jacket a little closer, suddenly feeling the chill of the night. Maybe he should just go home. He’d already made plenty. If only his third amp hadn’t blown out last week, he’d already be in his van, but the extra bucks could make the difference between a repair and an upgrade. Not even speaking of the foreboding sound his uncles car had started making recently. God, it fucking sucked to have no money.

“That doesn’t look very comfortable.”

He nearly choked on the smoke, but managed to keep it down. With a curse in his head he slapped a smile on his face and turned to her.

[wordoflyss]

We Belong

Chapter 3: The Hallway Conundrum

Rating: M No warnings apply Eddie Munson x Henderson!OC

After a jubilant group hug with Dustin and Mike unable to stop jumping around, clutching each other, it quickly dissolved into the typically frenzied post-session discussion paired with celebration. Eddie, uncharacteristically, hung back, preferring to watch from a distance, sprawled over his throne, as they replayed favorite moments. He told himself that he did it to keep up the superiority of the DM, but if he was honest, he was exhausted. The session had been unusually long and intense.

Totally worth it. Jeff and Gareth were slapping each other’s shoulders repeatedly, and Dani was standing to the side chatting with Caleb, grinning at Dustin still yelling his head off. Eventually he stopped the jumping and tried to tackle her, ending up in a headlock as both wrestled with each other. The way they moved with each other made it clear they did this regularly. Eddie watched them and couldn’t help but grin. He was really glad Dustin had a good relationship with her. He had it harder than most of them. At first, after Dustin had told him she was his sister, Eddie had felt a little bad for him, because Dustin was … special. A freak too, totally, authentically and unapologetically himself. Eddie hadn’t known him long, but he’d been lying if he said he hadn’t developed a soft spot for him. From what he’d thought of her, he’d imagined her a little embarrassed of him maybe, the weirdo little brother she couldn’t relate too. He could easily admit with great relief that he’d been fundamentally wrong.

It had taken him a while to pick up on what she was doing because, well, he was dm’ing and that took a whole lot of focus on three dozen things at the same time. She’d tried to be subtle about it too, and it worked mostly because she was just playing what her class was made for, but about 45 minutes in he noticed her always moving to shield the boys, healing and buffing as well as she could. He’d watched her closely then, because he’d worried that she was going to throw the session, just not in the way he’d expected. It was kind of cute she was protecting her brother, but he wasn’t going to let her take away from the others opportunities, even if he wouldn’t have begrudged Dustin the success. But she’d pretty quickly noticed him watching her, and at one point even looked away with an embarrassed smile, and after that, she’d eased up on it for most of the session. In the end it wasn’t her fault the others went down— in fact, she was the reason they weren’t outright dead, since she was the one running across the field and stabilizing them. So, when in the end she did what she did, Eddie didn’t mind. He’d felt bad killing her off, worried she might take it personal, but when she’d met his eyes, he could very clearly see what she wanted. There wasn’t anything he could do about it, anyways, she’d made the choice, but he could make sure she got a good send-off, so that’s what he did. Dustin and Mike weren’t the only ones she’d been helping, either. That part he’d picked up on early, because it directly affected him — she’d been making sure to reign in side-talk, she’d helped keep track of turn order, notifying the others to prepare when their turn came up. She’d even helped him get them back on track after the Vecna reveal, firmly pulling them back into his story with her. He knew she’d done it on purpose cause she’d looked at him right before she jumped up and gave her little speech, fully risking to make a fool of herself. Instead, she roped Dustin in and pulled the others with her. To say this was not what he’d been expecting would be the understatement of the century. It was weird. He’d been worried she’d be difficult, but then, in the end, they’d wordlessly worked together to make sure the session was a success.

“Oh shit, it’s super late. I was supposed to get you home half an hour ago!” Dani looked up from her watch and grabbed Mike by the shoulder, shoving him towards his backpack. “Pack up. I gotta dip to the bathroom real quick, but then we gotta go.” She didn’t wait for their answers, and left the room, slipping back into her cardigan that she had discarded somewhen earlier.

“I still can’t believe she did that,” Dustin said as he grabbed his things, then looked up and pointed to Eddie with his stupid, smug grin: “I told you she could play!”

Before Eddie could respond, Gareth shoved him lightly and said: “Yeah, but you never said your sister is hot!”

The face Dustin pulled was comically disgusted. “Yes, because that would be extremely weird for me to say. Seriously, what is wrong with you?!”

“I’m just saying.”

“Yeah, well, stop.” “Could’ve brought her over sooner. You know I don’t have a girlfriend.” “Yes, I’m sure Dustin not bringing her along is the only reason for that, Gareth the Great”, Eddie called over, earning a couple laughs. Gareth wasn’t wrong per se — she was … alluring, maybe. She had the same liveliness as Dustin, just in a very different package. Gareth’s comment still rubbed him the wrong way, though. She’d spent the afternoon playing not just with them, but for them, and to write her off as hot just seemed… disrespectful.

Their bickering was cut short as Dani skittered back into the room and hurried to the table. “Alright, we gotta run,” she ordered as she quickly shoved her stuff back into her bag while heading for the door, pushing the boys in front of her. When she reached it, she hovered indecisively for a second. “Thanks for letting me play,” she said into the round with a slightly awkward smile, meeting his eyes with a nod for the briefest of seconds before turning and leaving.

“Well, that was… something,” Cal said into the silence. Eddie gave him a sideways glance.

“It sure was.”

“Thanks for driving me, Dani. I’ll call you later!” Mike pointed at Dustin before he slammed the door and sprinted for his house. They’d made a pretty hasty exit after the initial celebration, when Dani had noticed they were running super late. She’d forgotten how quickly time passed while playing. Hopefully Mrs. Wheeler wasn’t too mad at her for dropping Mike off late. Mom wouldn’t mind, as long as Dustin was with her. She pulled back onto the road and felt Dustin staring at her. “So. Had fun? You got the big kill!” Keeping her eyes on the road, she tried to aim for his head, missing it and shaking his shoulder instead. “Oh no no no,” Dustin scoffed as he fought her off, “You’re not getting away that easy. Played a couple times my ass!” Dani rolled her eyes. “I did only play a couple of times. Summer camp isn’t that long. It was never like what you guys do,” she justified as she took a turn. “Could’ve warned me,” he grumbled, and Dani patted his arm. He shook his head, then looked at her with his head tilted the way he always did when he wanted to tease her. “So. Did you have fun?” Dani checked the rear-view mirror. “Did it look like I wasn’t?” “No, but I want to hear you say it so I can tell you I told you so.” That made her laugh, and she finally looked over to meet his eyes. “You were right. I did have fun.” He pumped his fist into the air and then did a drum-solo on her head. “Bada- Bada -Boom!” “I’m driving, bonehead! Want me to kill us?” He did it again. “The chances you’ll die twice in a day are close to zero,” he answered in that know-it-all voice that ground her gears, before sobering up. “And don’t think we’re not gonna talk about that.” She sighed deeply; having known full well this was coming. “We were fighting against Vecna. It’s honestly amazing only one of us died.” “You didn’t have to.” She gave him the side-eye. The only way to get him to accept it, she knew, was logic. “No, but then you’d likely have died, and neither Mike nor I had anything left to kill him with in one swoop. We would’ve had to survive at least two more rounds and not miss one attack. We didn’t have a lot of options there. Everything would’ve been a gamble, I just figured you were our best bet.” He chewed on that a little, but since he didn’t immediately object, Dani figured she’d pacified him somewhat. “Listen, I haven’t played her in years, and I wasn’t going to play her again anyhow. That was a really great end, and I’m happy with that.I mean, I’m practically a tragic hero now. If you think about it, my moment was way cooler than yours.” Dani pulled into their driveway, and Dustin didn't take her bait,instead he waited until she met his eyes. The look he gave her made her chest tight— it reminded her too much of when he was little. Big eyed, a little vulnerable, wondering. “You didn’t just do it to make sure I would get the winning shot, right?” Of course, idiot. “No,” she said, “Of course not.” Dani unfastened her seatbelt and turned to him. “If Mike would've had the best chance, I’d have saved him. Or any of the others.” Which was true, if she discounted the fact that she’d spent the whole game making sure he and Mike would make it to the end. But he didn’t need to know that. “You earned that.” Dustin studied her for a moment. “Promise?” “Pinky,” she said, and held it out. He took it, then nodded and got out of the car. Dani sighed inwardly and followed him. “So, gotten over your dislike for Hellfire?” he asked her over the car. “I told you Eddie wouldn’t give you a hard time.” Dani pulled her bag onto her shoulder and shut the door, rolling her eyes again. “I never disliked them. I’ve just seen them be pretty rude to people.” “Yeah well, people are pretty rude to them, too.” “I suppose so,” she said, and opened the front door for them. “No, he was very welcoming. After the initial grilling.” Before he could question her further, Mom called them from the living room. They headed over, apologizing for being late, chit-chatting a little about the game. She wasn’t mad at them— she rarely was— if at all, she’d been worried, but then again, that was all she ever was. It didn’t take long for her to head to bed after they’d come home, telling them she’d kept dinner warm in the oven for them. Once they were settled at the table, Dani was relieved the conversation drifted to the actual game, and not the implications behind it. Dustin carried most of the conversation, now fully enthusiastic again. Half an hour later, after their food was gone and their favorite moments discussed, Dani stretched languidly as she got up and pushed her plate over the table with a grin. “Oh, I would hate if I had to do the dishes now.” “You’re the worst,” Dustin groaned and collected the plates. She opened her mouth in mock outrage. “Hey, a bit more gratitude, okay? I died for you today.” “Oh great, you’re gonna abuse that for years, aren’t you?” “You can bet your ass.” She pulled his cap down over his eyes as she passed him on the way to her room. “Oh and Dustin? Give Lucas a call. Ask how his game went.” A stubborn look flitted across his face as he righted his cap. “They won, didn’t you notice the celebrating crowd when we left? He won’t be at home to answer anyways.” Dani leaned against the door frame and gave him her best patient look. “No, but his mom or Erica will, and they’ll tell him you called. That’s enough. I know you’re annoyed, but don’t be an idiot cause he’s trying something else. It’s not worth it. Believe me.” “Fine,” he mumbled, and she turned around with a satisfied nod. “I’m gonna take a shower,” she said over her shoulder as she headed down the hallway. “Don’t use up all the hot water again!” “I can’t hear you!”, she sing-songed, shutting the door behind her before he could say anything else.

Dani was lying on her bed, legs perched up against the wall. She was staring up at her feet, studying the chips in the iridescent, metallic purple polish on her nails while Robin was talking at a hundred miles an hour about the game and Vicky. “Oh and you won’t believe who was there to sing the national anthem. Tammy Thompson!” “Oh no, I bet Steve had a lot of fun with that,” Dani laughed. “Well, more fun than he had with his date, for sure. I really don’t know why he doesn’t listen to us, we both told him it was a bad idea.” “Stubbornness,” Dani said and sat up, “It’s why he gets along with Dustin.” “Ugh, tell me about it,” Robin groaned. “So, how was Hellfire? Are you going to sacrifice me the next time I see you?” “I’m still thinking about it,” Dani answered cheerfully, “They gave me some pretty good ideas. Something about rats, a glass and a lighter…” “Hilarious.” “You started it.” “Alright, alright, fine. I’m sorry I insulted Dustin’s little club. So, how was it?” Dani switched the phone to her other hand and tucked her legs under her as she thought about it. She’d been thinking about it since she’d stepped into the shower, but found it hard to pinpoint why she was feeling so weird. “It was good. I mean, I died, but it was still good. We won, Dustin got the killing blow.” Robin hesitated a moment before asking: “And how were… they?” Dani brushed her fingers through her wet hair, studying a strand. “Nice, actually. They took it seriously, but they were pretty welcoming once they got over the initial suspicion. Nothing like what I’ve expected. … I actually had a lot of fun.” “Hm, I guess we all behave a little differently in school hallways,” Robin mused, “I know I’ve said a lot of harsh things in those hallowed halls. We all grow a little harder there, I suppose. You know: The Hallway Conundrum.” “Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I know the stories from Dustin— he gets bullied all the time, just walking down the hall.” Dani thought about the stories he’d told her about Hellfire, and more specifically, Eddie, and remembered how he and each member had treated him the entire afternoon. They hadn’t acted like he was freak, like a lot of people at school did, and they hadn’t treated him with kid gloves either, like Mom did. He’d just been one of them, and that was something he got to be way too rarely. “I’m actually pretty glad I went. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about him spending time there, but, from what I’ve seen, most of their asshole behavior seems to be in retaliation.” Her personal experience spoke against that, but Dani had been replaying the situation in her head since she’d left the school earlier, and had come to two conclusions: Either, there was something to it she didn’t know — because admittedly, she’d walked into the situation when Amy and Eddie were already yelling at each other— or it was exactly what she thought it’d had been, and he’d simply changed. She’d never considered that, because nothing else seemed to have changed about him, but Dani also had to admit that the Eddie Munson she’d witnessed this afternoon had a lot more in common with the guy Dustin kept talking about than the one she’d went to class with. “Well, that’s good,” Robin said, “Steve’s already bad enough of an influence.”

Dani laughed. “Tell me about it.” “Oh actually, while we’re talking about Steve — he’s been invited to Rachel Malone’s Spring Break party next Saturday, and she told him to bring people.” Dani stretched with a yawn. “How many people are we talking?” “I don’t know, but apparently her parents are out of town and she wants to get back at them because they didn’t buy her a new car.” “Classy. So it’s gonna escalate.” Robin groaned on the other end of the line. “Come on, we deserve a little fun! Don’t you think we deserve a little fun? Specifically, a little fun, in house full of alcohol, with people that we don’t know one half of, and don’t like the other one! That’s the best parties to go to, because you don’t have to care if you do something embarrassing! If you don’t go, I’m gonna start calling you Mom.” “And break Steve’s heart? I wouldn’t dare,” Dani answered with a grin. “Alright, alright. I guess it’s been a while since we’ve let loose. We just gotta figure out how to get home.” “You know, that’s the best part. Steve’s got the early shift on Sunday, so he’s driving.” Dani grinned and stretched back on the bed. “Of course he’s driving us. He’s our mom.”

A couple minutes later, after they’d hung up, Dani was detangling her wet hair when her eyes fell on the old, torn-up character sheet that was still on top of one of the many piles on her desk. She waited for the old pang, but it didn’t come. This time, she was dead for good, but this time, it had been a good death, a death for a reason, and Dani found she could live well with that. Her death may not yet be in vain, as she died giving her comrades the chance for the final blow…

That was the part that confused her the most. It was widely known that Eddie Munson didn’t give a shit about anything. Not about school, or likeability, manners, or people. Sure, he was leading Hellfire and it was hard to miss he was into music, and she’d known he took that seriously, but in the end, he always made sure that everybody knew that he did not care. That everything in the world was just a big fucking joke, and he just along for the ride. But what she’d seen today didn’t fit that at all. She knew he’d caught onto her plan at some point, she’d seen it in his face, but he didn’t stop her. Instead, he went along with it. In general, despite obviously being absolutely prepared to kill them all, Dani noticed he went to great lengths to take care of his players. He spared Cal twice, and she was pretty sure she’d caught him fudging rolls in their favor a couple of times. When somebody was struggling with what to do, needing more time to figure it out, he’d jumped in with over-the-top descriptions or monologues to buy time for whoever was struggling. When he could’ve easily leaned into slaughter to be dramatic— which she had been prepared for— he gave her a dignified death instead. When Dustin had hit and ended the campaign, he’d bowed with a indisputably proud grin. All the stuff people say about him is complete bullshit. Suddenly, she knew exactly why she was feeling so weird; because while her head wanted to tell her that she was right, that she knew what a person he was, all the evidence was showing her that she’d very likely judged him entirely too harshly. Dani liked to think of herself as a fair person, and someone that didn’t care about appearances and stereotypes, and from the looks of it, she was full of bullshit. That was an unpleasant discovery, but there was nothing she could do except accept that she’d been close-minded and try to do better. She felt pretty ashamed about it, but it wasn’t like she’d be around him much, or have a chance to make it up. In the end, she was just glad that from the way it seemed, Dustin had a good friend to count on, and she didn’t need to worry he was going to corrupt him. When she finally lay in bed, she found herself replaying the session in her mind still. If she was honest, she was a bit sad she wouldn’t get to play again, because she’d honestly had a lot of fun, and it had been a long time since she’d gotten to spend time with Dustin that wasn’t tied to danger and monster hunting. Ultimately, she wanted him to have fun, and even if she had time between jobs to play regularly, she wanted Dustin to have something for himself. She’d already accidentally inserted herself into his relationship with Steve, so she didn’t want to take more. And if she was honest, most of the fun she had came down to Eddie’s playstyle, and while it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, Dani didn’t think he would fail to graduate a third time. No, once the year was over, he’d leave Hawkins for sure- he didn’t seem like the type to stick around in this small town, unlike her. Dani could never leave. The others were older, too, and would graduate soon, leaving only Mike and Dustin, and whoever they could recruit. She decided to keep her ears open during her shifts to see if she could find any more kids they could potentially get into D&D. Maybe she’d call up Mrs. Sinclair and see if she needed a babysitter soon, make some extra money and convince Erica that Hellfire was cool… Eventually, she drifted off into sleep. In her dreams, she stumbled through a dark hall with colored lights, Eddie’s voice echoing somewhere in the darkness. When he appeared, he was smiling, laughing, twisting, spinning a tale, beckoning her to follow. The dream changed, and Dustin and Mike were there, armed and staring into the darkness, laughing and joking, fighting against silhouetted figures with her. Dani was laughing too, feeling strong and heroic, but then the shadows coalesced into a bigger form, twisted, veiny, dark, with a horrible voice, raising a scarred hand. Suddenly, the dream shifted, and Dani’s heart started pounding frantically. She shoved Dustin behind her and stumbled over a body at her feet, wearing a russian uniform, face twisted in a horrified grimace. His eyes were looking at her, until they started to melt, taking the face with them, it all turning into black sludge, slithering away towards the figure floating in front of them, molding into it, growing. The terrible voice called out for her, and with her heart pounding in her throat, she looked up. It’s face was shrouded in darkness, closing in on her, and in the second before she could see features, with a horrifying, familiar growl that shot through her like lightening, it split open in the middle, like a flower with five teeth-laden petals. It lunged. Dani woke up with a silent scream, gasping back so much air that she nearly choked on it. When she finally stopped coughing, her heart was still pounding in her chest. It took her a minute to calm down, and when she did, she turned on her bedside lamp and walked over to her stereo, putting on her sleep mixtape on a low volume. Roughly half an hour later, she finally fell asleep again, music still playing, lights still on.

[wordoflyss]

We Belong

Chapter 2: Dungeons & Dragons

Rating: M No warnings apply Eddie Munson x Henderson!OC

Eddie circled back around the table as he watched the group catch itself from whatever the fuck it was that had just happened. Dustin was still repeating Who are you to Danielle’s back, who was ignoring him in favor of asking Jeff and Cal for their names. Good question, Dustin.

Admittedly, he’d never paid her much attention, and it’d been a year since he’d last seen her, but Eddie was pretty sure if he’d crossed her on the street yesterday, he wouldn’t have recognized her. Her hair was bottle-blonde now, only the roots the dark blonde he remembered, and instead of hitting her shoulders, now down to her back. Pretty, at least he’d remembered that right. She dressed more out there, too, which was, again, only something he recognized because he remembered never noticing any of her clothes before. She’d blended right in with the crowd. Nothing special, kind of boring. Now she wore ripped jeans and a bright, lime green, ribbed shirt that clung much tighter than anything he would definitely remember. Not that he could see much of it as she was wearing a pretty loose black cardigan on top of it, cinched with a belt at her waist, but the color alone was definitely a hell of a lot more daring than anything he’d have ever associated with her. He remembered her as pretty beige. The look she’d given him when she’d entered the room had been familiar, though. Caution, the expectation to get annoyed, maybe a little nerves— but then again, he knew what people said about him and Hellfire, and from her perspective, she was just walking into uncharted territory, so he’d been willing— hoping, if he was honest— to not take that one personally. When he’d asked her her class and level he could immediately see her get a little defensive, but there was also defiance, and after she’d hit him with her character bio, definitely a hell of a lot of smugness. She’d probably expected a grilling. Don’t give her a hard time, okay? Yeah, she’d definitely been expecting him to give her shit, and he couldn’t even blame her— he could be a real asshole if he wanted to. How was she supposed to know he didn’t want to?

He had made up his mind beforehand to be on his mostly best behavior to get them back on neutral ground so they could play in peace. But when she’d finished her little monologue, he didn’t even need to pretend. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but he felt that as soon as he’d smiled at her, her palpable tension had melted away. At least she seemed way more comfortable as she now threw her bag on a chair and started pulling out a dice bag and a notebook. Some hidden gold threads in her sweater caught in the light as she moved. Then she suddenly looked up to meet his eyes, catching him full on staring at her. She seemed more amused about it then surprised, but didn’t comment on it, instead just lifting a sheet of paper towards him.

“Uh, do you wanna take a look at my character sheet beforehand?” Eddie nodded, wriggling his fingers dramatically with a grin to mask the feint embarrassment at being caught. Then again, under these circumstances, he figured he was allowed to stare a little. He was still trying to figure out what he’d gotten himself into here.

She handed him the sheet and immediately turned back to Mike, asking him where she could sit. While the others got their things ready, Eddie leaned on the table with one hand as he studied the paper. It was fresh, that much was clear, and not one of the pre-printed ones. Instead, it was very clearly hand-written, with little flourishes drawn here and there. He skimmed over the sheer amount of info, equally relieved and totally confused as her notes proved what she’d said earlier: The magic items, the story-tied, enchanted gauntlets, the brief notes on backstory and even note of sentimental items that she- and that was truly a rare sight- had even accounted for in her carry capacity. This character had seen some life that could only be achieved through hours of playtime. Shockingly, she was actually good on her word. The stat block was balanced, but not optimized, leaning more towards defense than offense, which was good, since she was the second paladin in the party. Mike already rushed in plenty, and from what Eddie could see, she’d balance that out well. That’d make his life a lot easier. From what the sheet told him, she wasn’t a min-maxer, but rather roleplay oriented, since she’d dumped some stats into charisma instead of maxing out strength. That might be a minor problem, depending on how vocally she was going to play, since his table usually didn’t go heavy into roleplay, but really, out of everything he expected, this was still a jackpot. He cleared his throat to get her attention, and handed the sheet back. “Solid stats,” he said with a smile, that she miraculously returned. “Anything you want me to take out?” That question alone proved her mettle and value as a player. This wasn’t gonna be a disaster. Eddie grinned. “Nah, I can handle it.” That made her raise an eyebrow, but he could see she was trying not to grin. “If you say so…”

With a laugh and an immense sense of relief, Eddie took a deep breath to ground himself. Then he jumped backwards up on his throne, settling there in a crouch. “Alright, settle down children! Settle down…. Let’s get started, shall we?” “He’s not only missing his left arm…,” Eddie said and rose from his throne, the tension palpably rising around the table along with him. Dani heard Mike suck in a gasp next to her and Dustin’s chair scrape across the floor as he was slowly rising, muttering No No No under his breath. Eddie drew the moment out a second longer, before he snapped his arm back and wrapped it around his head like a contortionist, covering his eye as he yelled: “…but his left eye!” The table erupted in shouts and protests as Eddie laughed and yelled into the fray: “VECNA LIVES !” Mike was shaking her and Dani had to keep from laughing as she saw the desperation across her fellow players faces, as if they hadn’t seen this coming from a mile away. Dustin was standing now, shouting obscenities across the table, making Eddie grin even wider. Obviously pleased with himself he sank back down onto his throne, leaning back and enjoying the chaos over maniacally steepled fingers. His antics were so over the top she should find them silly. She couldn’t deny he was excellent at this, and really, who would’ve thought? From the minute he started his game he was so intensely present, honing in on the players, weaving scenes and embodying villains, antagonizing them one minute, then slipping out of the role to guide them as Game Master again. She was still on the fence about him as a person, but she was reasonable enough to admit that he was fucking amazing at this. If she was honest, there hadn’t been a dull moment, not even during a seemingly endless round of combat during a road encounter that was — she heavily assumed— only there to knock them down a couple hp and spellslots to make the last fight a bit more challenging. “Are you trying to kill us?!” Mike was shouting next to her, still somehow clutching her arm. The guys were still yelling, frantically shouting plans at each other, disagreeing whether they should fight or run. She could see Eddie trying to calm them down to resume the game once, then twice, but they were too busy throwing insults his way to care. Dani took pity on him, not wanting him to lose the momentum she’d seen him work so hard for by having to put his foot down. As a player, she had a much easier way to reign all the chaos in. She stood and slammed her hands on the table in a loud bang, making them all stop and turn to her. Taking a page from Eddie’s book of dramatics and refusing to be embarrassed, she furrowed her brow and looked at them each before finally settling on Dustin. Dani could be dramatic too, but Dustin took the cake, and she knew he would bite. This was their big night. No way in hell they were going to run. “He’s here. If we don’t fight, we die anyways. I say: We die with honor, and we take him down with us!” For a second, they all were silently staring at her, almost long enough for her to actually get embarrassed, when Dustin finally pulled his weight and jumped from his chair. “To the death!” “To the death!”, they echoed immediately, smacking each other on the shoulders to hype themselves up. Dani couldn’t help but look over, to gauge Eddie’s reaction. He was watching her with the strangest look on his face, before he broke out into the same smile again, giving her a small, slow nod of appreciation. Since he didn’t make her roll for charisma, she assumed he realized her intention behind it, and she gave him the slightest nod back. “Tactical break!”, Dustin yelled and pointed at Eddie, who bowed in compliance and lowered two of three fingers. “Three minutes, mighty heroes. Only one left.” God, he was ridiculous— but she also couldn’t deny he made it work. “Huddle!” Dustin turned his back to the table, waving them all over to him.

Eddie watched Dani juggle three different character sheets that she’d snatched from Dustin, Cal and Mike. Her brow was furrowed as she frantically looked across the battlefield. Behind her, Dustin and Gareth and Jeff were yelling at each other. They’d been fighting for over an hour, Jeff and Gareth were already down, and if Eddie’s estimates were correct, only Dustin and Mike had more than fifteen hit points left, which was mainly due to Dani very deliberately playing favorites with her healing spells and tanking. He wasn’t set on killing them, despite what Mike was still repeatedly accusing him of— he’d never liked forcing the story, but if the dice and their decisions lead to a party kill, Eddie was prepared to go there. And from the looks of it, they were heading that way, fast. They were on their last tactical break of the session, and they’d done a decent amount of damage, but Vecna still had some tricks up his sleeve. They could still win, if the dice were on their side, but they’d have to be insanely lucky to pull it off. He wasn’t going to pull punches— he wanted them to earn this victory. “He can’t have more than fifteen hit points left! Don’t be pussies!” They were trying to whisper, but Eddie could still hear Dustin clearly. “Pussies? Really?” Gareth hissed, “Cause we’re not delusional?” They continued bickering, and Eddie realized they’d just get stuck in their argument, wasting their last time out. Of course they could do what they wanted, but Eddie didn’t want them to run. This was the grand finale— this ought to end in death. Theirs, or Vecna’s. Running wasn’t an option. And because he knew Dustin wouldn’t back down, the best way to stop them from running, was to tell them running was the only option. “Hey!”, he yelled to get their attention, and when they turned, he leaned forward, face serious: “ If I may interject, gentlemen… Lady Dawnguard. Whilst I respect the passion, you’d be wise to take Gareth the Great’s concern to heart.” He wriggled his fingers conspiratorially and smiled at Dustin. “There is no shame in running. Don’t try to be heroes. Not today, ‘kay?” The look on Dustin’s face almost made him laugh out loud, but he kept it to a smug grin. The little shithead raised his finger and said: “ Once sec,” before turning back to the team. Dani said something to him and nodded, before pointing at her sheet. That caused a little discussion, until he heard Mike say: “It’s your call,” to Dustin. Dustin looked at his sister, and she nodded again. “I’ve got this.” A moment of silence, and then Dustin turned around, giving Eddie his best fight stance and shouting: “Let’s kill that son of a bitch!”

 Twenty minutes later Cal was on the ground, but stabilized, and Mike and Dani badly wounded. Mike made his turn and killed the last cultist, trying to get closer, but not able to get into range, not able to do much else. Eddie was studying the board, mapping out potential moves. Dustin was the only one left with any offensive capabilities besides just hitting him. The only other threat was Dani, who would be able to cross into melee range. If she hit and did max damage, it’d be over. She was a direct threat, and he considered killing her first, but the chances off success were slim. Dustin had higher chances of dealing a killing blow with a spell. If he killed Dustin first and moved away, chances were a lot higher he’d survive another round to mop up the last two. “Your turn,” he told Dani. She was studying the board, nodding absentmindedly. “What are you waiting for? Go kill him!” Gareth yelled, but Mike shook his head. “Don’t do it, you’ve rolled like shit the whole time!” “Gee, thanks for pointing it out. Wouldn’t have noticed,” she said and rolled her eyes. Then she looked at Dustin, contemplating, and they stared at each other for a moment. “How far away am I from Dustin?” “Uh- about 75 feet,” Eddie said. Dani nodded slowly. “I’m wanna get within 60 feet of him.” Dustin’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait what- that wasn’t the plan!” “Change of plans,” she shrugged, then gave Eddie a nod of confirmation. “Before I go, I use my fifth level on my bonus action to heal myself.” “That wasn’t the plan!” “Shut up Dustin.”

Now Eddie’s eyebrows were up as well, because the move was so out of the blue, he’d never have expected it. “Sure. Go ahead and roll.” Dani was already rolling as he spoke, counting numbers. She looked to Mike with a smug smile.

“Hey, 14 points, that’s not so bad!” Mike’s whole face scrunched up. “For a fifth level spell? That sucks ass!” “Eh, I can work with that,” she shrugged, then pointed to the map. “I’ll head over here.” “If you leave, he’ll get an attack of opportunity,” Eddie pointed it out, but Dani didn’t seem bothered. “Bring it.” Eddie took the dice and rolled. Unlike her, he’d been rolling well, and took her down 7 more points. She didn’t seem to mind. Eddie wondered what she was up to. “Alright. For my action, I ready my last third level spellslot. That’s my turn.” Eddie watched her a moment, but her poker face seemed to be a lot better within the game than outside of it. “Alright… that means it is Vecna’s turn.” He heard gulps, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Jeff cross himself. Eddie stood, slowly dragging the figurine across the board. “He’s floating closer, right on your heels… As you feel the shiver of his undead presence drawing near, your life starts flashing before your eyes, Brianna….But you aren’t the one he wants right now. Vecna raises his clawed hand, dark energy erupts from his finger and arches for Galad. I need you to make a dexterity saving throw, Dustin.” “As soon as I see him reach for him, I release the spell I held and cast Warding Bond through my gauntlets,” Dani interjected, and Eddie stopped as he suddenly realized what she was doing. He’d read of the item on her sheet but totally forgotten about it, and now it came back to bite him in the ass cause she just pulled his plan right out from under him. “What’s that do?” Mike asked. “Damage he takes carries over to me instead. If it goes over my hp, he takes whatever is left.” That’s why she’d healed herself up. Dustin started to object but Dani ignored him and looked at Eddie expectantly. Even though this afternoon had made him realise that he knew next to nothing about her, and the things he thought he knew were clearly wrong, he understood perfectly what she wanted from him in that moment. Eddie cleared his throat, turned his face serious and wrapped himself in his Dungeon Master persona. “Too late, my friend. The spell is cast, the choice is made. Roll to see if you can halve the damage.” It was clear Dustin still wanted to argue, but when Eddie raised his eyebrows at him, he groaned and rubbed his face. “This is bullshit! You roll,” he pointed at Danielle,” if this kills you I don’t wanna be responsible.” “As Mike so helpfully pointed out, I’ve been rolling like shit the whole time. If I roll I’m a lot more likely to die.” “No, that means it’s statistically more likely you’ll succeed this time,” Dustin said, in that annoying know-it-all voice of his. Dani scoffed. “Yeah I’m pretty sure that’s not how that works.” Dustin opened his mouth again and she raised her hands to stop him. “Alright, god, I’ll do it.” She held her hand out and Mike dropped the D20 on her open palm. “Well,” she said, and looked in the round,” Gentlemen, it’s been an honor fighting with you.” She shook three times and released the die. It hopped over the table, once, twice, then wobbled one last time and stopped. 2. The guys erupted in groans, Dustin jumped from his seat again, but Eddie was watching Dani. She stared at the number for a second, before smiling the tiniest bit to herself. Then she looked up and met his eyes steadily and nodded. Eddie gave her the slightest bow and picked up his dice to roll damage. “You take… 41 points of damage.” Dani nodded, stood, and knocked over her mini. “That kills me instantly. 4 points carry over.” Eddie nodded and hesitated only for a moment before he announced: “As the dark magic rips through your chest and steals your last breath, you feel the light fading a last time. Brianna Dawnguard, Paladin Lathrandir, has lost in her last stand against the darkness. But her death may not yet be in vain, as she died giving her comrades the chance for the final blow…” “That’s bullshit!” Dustin yelled again. Dani looked at Dustin, clearly exasperated. “What are you waiting for? Make it count!” They stared at each other in the stubborn way only siblings could, before Dustin threw up his hands. “I cast Shatter at his ugly head at 4th level.” And because Dani had taken his attack of opportunity, he couldn’t counterspell it with a reaction. There was nothing he could do. This was it. Eddie nodded. “Roll to hit.” Dustin reached for the D20, the others all standing now, tension so thick in the room you could cut it with a knife.

Time seemed to slow down as it rolled across the table, all of the last year of work culminating in this moment. It spun and stuttered, and then came to a sudden stop. 20. Cheers erupted across the table, all of them reaching for Dustin, trying to shake or hit him in triumph. Eddie jumped up, clasping his hands in mock surprise as he gave them their win.

[wordoflyss]

We Belong

After a clash in the hallways of Hawkins High years ago, Danielle Henderson hasn't held much sympathy for Eddie Munson, and he not much interest for her. She graduated- he didn't, and that was that. He was rude, and she was boring, that much had been decided. They'd never thought of each other again, and that's the way it would have continued, if Danielle didn't love her brother, and if Lucas hadn't developed a new ambition to be popular. Despite both of their doubts, they find each other sitting across at the Hellfire table, both surprised to be there, but more so to find that teenage judgements are quickly made. Maybe first impressions aren't as final as people say.

Rating: M No warnings apply

Stranger Things Eddie Munson x Henderson!OC Chapter I: The Substitute

“Come on Dani, this is a life and death situation!”

Dani threw the sponge down and her head back with an exasperated sigh. They’d been at this for ten minutes now. “Why don’t you just ask Erica? Didn’t you give her your books?”

“We did, but she said she wasn’t going to ruin her reputation like that,” Dustin admitted a little sullenly.

“And what about my reputation?”

“ Oh please,” he scoffed, and took half a step back when she turned her whole body away from the sink and towards him, a dangerous twinkle in her eye.

“Thanks, Dusty-bun. Anybody ever told you that flattery gets you places if you’re asking people for favors, not insults?”

He threw his hands up dramatically, one of his newer habits. “Oh come on , you know I didn’t mean it like that!” She rolled her eyes and picked the sponge back up, pretending to ignore him. Not that that had ever stopped him before, and it didn’t now either. “You’ve never cared about that! Besides, you’re out of school, it’s not like you’ll lose your place in the hierarchy there. And you hang out with Steve and Robin now, so what is there to lose?!”

“They’re your friends too, remember?!”

“Doesn’t mean I’m delusional.” That almost made her laugh. Almost.

“Wow, you really suck at this.”

“C’mon! It’s not like you had any other plans, you were gonna drive us anyways!” She didn’t, but he didn’t have to know that. “And you’re the only other person besides Erica that we know that knows the game!”

“I haven’t played in years, and even then, it was only a couple of times.” A lot of times, actually, but he didn’t need to know that either.

Mike jumped in valiantly. “That’s great! That’s really all we need!”

She eyed him, one eyebrow raised doubtfully. “I thought this was the final session of the campaign. Kinda important.”

Dark hair was flying everywhere as he vigorously shook his head, with all the energy of a newborn puppy. “That’s why a player with any experience is better than one with none! Please Dani!”

They stood there, hands clasped, eyes pleading, and Dani felt herself go soft. A little.

 It wasn’t like she wasn’t interested in playing again. She wasn’t worried about her reputation either — Dustin was right that she didn’t really care much about that anymore—, she didn’t care on how the company would reflect on her. It was the company itself that was the problem. Dani sighed. “Look— I’ve never been to a session, but I’ve experienced Hellfire plenty during school, plus you’ve practically chewed my ear off about it. I know this isn’t casual for you guys. I don’t wanna screw up and ruin your game, — and”, she quickly continued before they could interject, “ I definitely don’t want to be under scrutiny the whole evening. Besides, I know a lot of guys think girls shouldn’t play.” Which was one of the reasons she had stopped in the first place, and she really wasn’t in the mood for a rerun of that. “It’s not like I don’t wanna help you out, I know what this means to you, but, frankly, I can think of better ways to spend my evening than proving to Eddie Munson that I am worthy enough to sit at his table.”

Mike shook his head vehemently. “They’re not like that! All Eddie cares about is people taking the game seriously, he just wants another player.”

“Yeah, Eddie is totally cool. All the stuff people say about him is complete bullshit,” Dustin protested.

Dani fought hard to keep her eyebrow down. “I don’t care what people say about him, but I’ve witnessed his tirades myself. That guy takes D&D seriously.”

“He’s not gonna give you a hard time.” Dustin seemed confident, and Dani did her best not to argue. He saw her hesitation and doubled down. “I promise it’s going to be fun!”

She sighed as she felt herself cave, then fixed Dustin with a steely look. “Two weeks of chores.”

“Done!” With a triumphant yell they jumped around her, shaking her.

“You’re the best!” Dustin yelled as they ran off to his room.

“Only this one time! And I’m not wearing that shirt!” Dani yelled after them, pretty sure it hadn’t registered.

With a groan she turned back to the sink, already dreading what she’d gotten herself into.

She stared at her mangled reflection in the soapy water, berating herself for having a backbone with the density of fudge. With an exasperated moan, she picked up the next plate — then she remembered she didn’t need to do that anymore, and threw the sponge away. Instead she dried her hands, and headed back to her room to dig out her old character sheet.

As she headed down the hall, she heard Dustin’s impatient tone carrying through his door, clearly arguing over the phone.

Won’t give me a hard time my ass.

“Your sister?!” Eddie let his feet fall from where they’d been propped up on his drawer and sat up straight. It wasn’t like he’d expected them to find a good substitute— he’d spent enough time in the last five years trying to find people willing to play Dungeons & Dragons in this hellhole of a town— but if Dustin had to clearly bribe a sibling to come, it wasn’t looking good. “How old is she?”

“What do you mean how old ? You went to class with her last year!”

That made him grip the phone tighter and readjust. “What are you talking about?”

“Danielle?” Dustin asked, his tone clearly questioning Eddie’s intelligence.

“Danielle?,” he repeated, mentally running through names of classmates. Hawkins wasn’t huge, but still big enough to not mingle with everyone, and in all fairness, he’d had a ton of classmates over the last two years he’d lived in blissfull, mutual ignorance with.

“ Henderson? ” Dustin’s static-mangled voice supplied helpfully, and that was when the image hit him. Small, blonde, yelling at him in the hallway. Doing the devil-horns at her angry face.

“That’s your sister ?!”

“Who else would she be, we have the same last name!”

“Well, I didn’t know you back then and I haven’t had anything to do with her in over a year, sorry I didn’t immediately make the connection,” he shot back, getting a little annoyed with Dustin’s tone.

“Whatever. We found a substitute. Are we good?”

“How’d you even get her to agree to this?”, he asked, genuinely baffled that she had. Eddie was pretty sure she readily agreed to his branding of “freak”.

“I asked nicely,” Dustin lied blatantly.

“I’m sure you did, Henderson.”

He didn’t argue back, instead just repeated: “Are. We. Good?”

Eddie ran his hand through his hair and shifted the phone to his other ear, unsure. He needed a sixth player, and it wasn’t like there were many options, but he had to uphold a certain reputation, and that required standards. “I don’t know man. Does she even know the game?” He really didn’t want someone at his table bored out of their mind, or worse, sulking all evening or being bitchy. This session was too important, the culmination of a year of work.

“Yeah, that’s the best thing, she does!”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Not just from listening to your rants, man.”

“No!”, Dustin insisted, “She played a couple sessions back in summer camp when she was younger.”

Eddie pinched his nose. That could mean anything, really. He mulled it over.

Maybe it was the truth and she actually had some knowledge of the game, maybe even passable skills. Would explain why she agreed to join his table, despite her dislike for him.

Or maybe she doesn’t even remember that.

It wasn’t like he had much choice, so he sighed and replied: “Alright, bring her over. I’ll see if she’ll do.”

“That’s great!” Instead of the jubilant shout he expected, Dustin sounded hesitant. “ Just… don’t give her a hard time, alright?”

Yep, so much for that.

One after the other, Eddie flipped on the stage lights. As much as the space smelled like old dust and feet, getting to play backstage of the auditorium had it’s perks. Especially since it meant they didn’t have to play in someone’s basement, with hysteric parents hovering somewhere. Or worse, at his place.

He glanced down at his watch— forty minutes until they’d all show up. With nervous energy he bounded around the place, setting up maps, his screen, getting his dice and minis ready. Once he had everything arranged, he jumped back up and experimented with the lights, switching some off and back on, until the mood reflected what he wanted.

Finally satisfied with the atmosphere, he sat down and started to sort out his notes, foot constantly tapping on the floor. He put the stack of copied character sheets to the side, before he stopped to pull Lucas’ sheet out.

Goddamned Sinclair and his idiotic new obsession with stupid sports.

This session was important - his legacy, if everything went right. He’d give Hellfire a campaign to remember. Not that they wouldn’t keep playing, but Eddie planned on getting out of this place as fast as he could, and leaving an open campaign behind would be okay as long as he left with his name firmly stuck to the best fucking campaign there ever was. A grand exit, curtains, applause.

At least, that was what he’d planned. Now a wildcard was on it’s way to his table in the form of a girl that disliked him, just because he’d made Amy Aldrin cry one and a half years ago. She hadn’t even witnessed the whole thing, but that wasn’t necessary— Eddie was The Freak, and that was always enough for people. She made her judgment, called him a dick and to fuck off. It hadn’t really bothered him, he was used to it, but if it now jeopardized his magnus opum, it did.

Now that he thought about it, apart from that incident he could barely remember her that much at all. Neither popular nor unpopular, good in class but not top, not really belonging in any circle or clique. Middle class. One of those people that were kind of just… there.

Never bought from him, that was for sure.

He remembered that she was vaguely pretty, but more by association than actual memory of her. He remembered deciding she was part of the social class of “pretty” more than he actually remembered how she looked. If he was honest, he couldn’t really recall her face.

What he did remember was that she was one of the artsy ones- not those that made it a big part of their personality, but he remembered that she was doodling a lot in class, and he remembered that because she’d actually lent him pens a couple of times, even after their dispute, which gave him hope they could do this.

Maybe she’d really moved past that. Or maybe she was just one of those goody-two-shoe’s that just liked to help. She kind of seemed the type, but Eddie was aware that was a very vague guess. They hadn’t really talked ever. It wasn’t like he really knew anything about her. He certainly wouldn’t have guessed she’d ever try something like D&D.

Briefly he wondered if he should just pull her outside under the guise of an interrogation before the session and try to smooth out any potential waves, but quickly discarded the idea. He needed to do the interrogation in front of the others, to keep up with decorum. A club was only a club if not everyone could simply join, otherwise all it was was pathetic. Eddie had a legacy to keep up.

In the end all he could hope for was that, if she held enough sympathy for her brother to help him out, she wouldn’t screw the game up on purpose. He decided that was the good scenario, the one he could live with. In the better version, Dustin wasn’t lying his face off, and she had actually played before — maybe even gotten over her animosity towards him. In the best one, she’d even enjoy herself.

He just need this to go right.

 Just one thing, just for once.

By the time Dani pulled up to the school, she’d gotten rid of any remaining nervousness that had followed her since she’d agreed to join in yesterday.

For a long time, she’d sat on the carpet at the bottom of her bed, where she’d pulled out her old scrapbook. A sad little cover of dust had accumulated on it, evidence of how long she hadn’t touched it. She took some time to look through it, a collage of her summer when she was fourteen, pressed flowers and cut papers, diary entries, thoughts, doodles and drawings, the occasional poem, song lyrics written in the margins. It felt like yesterday, all memories clear and fresh, and ages ago at the same time. Only when looking back did she feel how much she’d changed.

Tucked in the back, she’d found what she was looking for. She hadn’t touched it since then, even though avoiding it made her feel silly, especially the older she got. It shouldn’t bother her anymore, but something about it had hit her hard. Even then, as she had sat and fingered the crumpled and ripped character sheet, held together by tape and stubbornness, the sticky dread she’d felt after that last session crept back up.

Agreeing to play after so much time was stupid at best. Agreeing to play with Hellfire was plain idiotic. Agreeing to play with Hellfire on the final session of their campaign was plain moronic.

But this wasn’t like that last summer at camp. She’d been kicked out after Scott had killed her off unceremoniously for “annoying” him. That’d been five years ago now, but her throat had wanted to close just the same — but Dani had forced herself swallow the nervousness and get some perspective. She wasn’t fourteen anymore, and she’d never let herself be pushed around like that again. It were bad memories, but nothing more.

They needed her . He needed her there, if he wanted his game to run. Dani was pretty sure he could’ve run the session without a substitute player, but simply insisted to keep up the image of the Dungeon Master that was fully in control. Or maybe he’d planned something that required a certain number of players. It didn’t really matter, in the end she was doing them a favor. She had nothing to prove here, and if they found her lacking, so what? It wasn’t like she was going to see any of them again.

Despite her trepidation, her only real concern was embarrassing Dustin, but Dani felt confident she still recalled enough to not fuck up totally.

The yellowed paper had felt soft under her touch, where she’d smoothed it out a hundred times after she’d pieced it back together. After they were done, she had had to sneak back into the lodge during dinner to get all the pieces. She’d fled after Scott had ripped it up when he had declared her dead.

Technically she wasn’t allowed to play her again, she supposed, since she’d been killed. But then, nobody knew, and for her, that had never counted anyways. Never a proper death.

Still, she couldn’t show up with a ripped sheet. As she’d made to copy all info on a fresh sheet of paper, and then spent some time to read up on old game notes, Dani had managed to shift her perspective. She wasn’t going to worry. At worst, she’d get to shove it down Eddie Munson’s throat that he and his little club weren’t all that special, and at best, she’d get to play D&D and have a little fun. And no matter what, at least she wouldn’t have to do the dishes for the next two weeks.

“You’re late!” Dustin’s voice echoed across the parking lot as soon as she swung her legs out of her Camry. He and Mike where running up to her.

“Three minutes,” she answered with a glance to her watch, but before she could further protest, they each grabbed a sleeve of her jacket and started running, dragging her stumbling along. Dani dug in her heels. “Hey! Hey! I am not running through my old high school to get to a D&D game.”

“It’s supposed to start in seven minutes and we need to get set up, too!” Mike complained, still holding on to her sleeve, albeit a bit awkwardly.

“They won’t die if they have to wait a minute longer,” she scoffed, then twisted her arms out of their grasp by wrapping them around their heads instead, pulling them close with a conspiratorial grin. “You know, nobody has ever told you this I assume, but it’s not good to just jump up and start running when a boy calls for you. If you want them to respect you, you have to make them wait a bit, you know?”

They pushed off of her with a few ohmygod’s and protests, but stopped trying to rush her. Dani followed them down the halls until they made their way over to the auditorium. The door leading to the backstage and storage rooms was slightly cracked open, and she could already hear voices filter through. From the corner of her eye, she could see Dusting and Mike exchange a nervous glance, but Dani remembered her pep-talk from the night before and refused to be unnerved.

Dustin entered the room before her, holding the door for her— and despite her resolve, she did feel a little spike of anxiety in her stomach as all conversation stopped dead the second she entered the room.

“Hey guys, sorry for being late. This is my sister, Danielle, she’s here to jump in for Lukas,” Dustin said, but his voice rose at the end, making it sound like a question instead. Apparently she wasn’t the only one a little on edge.

Great.

Nobody said a word in acknowledgment, the three guys standing— one of them was called Gareth, if she remembered correctly, but the others she had no recollection of— clearly not expecting someone like her. Eddie was sat at the head of the table, behind his DM screen, his surprise far more subtle than that of his players. She knew Dustin had called him ahead, so she assumed it was about her actually showing up.

Guess that makes two of us.

Strangely, the dumbfounded looks the guys gave her set her at ease. She felt herself grin and touched her temple in a mock salute. While the others tried to shake themselves from their surprise, Eddie slowly rose from his chair — or rather, throne , good lord— and made his way around the table towards them, without a word. Taller than she remembered, hair a lot longer, but still as lanky and dramatic as she remembered, milking his performance for what it was worth. Dani refused to be intimidated, and met his eyes head on. Unlike the others, he was a lot better at hiding his surprise, but Dani could still see it, beneath the act of grandeur.

He stopped in front of her, arms crossed, head tilted slightly back to give him an inch more over her that he definitely did not need, and looked down at her. Dani had expected something like this, and she’d also expected to be extremely annoyed by it, but all of it felt so extremely like an act that it actually, weirdly, reassured her.

He made a show of pointedly looking her up and down, but strangely, Dani didn’t feel weird about it. It wasn’t like he wasn’t looking at her— but she didn’t feel ogled. Rather, he was measuring her up. What he didn’t realize was that she was measuring him just the same. She was set on making this a good experience for Dustin, but she couldn’t deny that whatever happened in the next minute would heavily dictate how the afternoon would go. When his eyes returned to her face, she met them calmly, her own poker face firm in place. Or at least, that was what she hoped.

“Dustin said you played before.” It wasn’t exactly a question, so Dani didn’t give him an exact answer.

“Who do you think gave him the books?” She wasn’t sure, but she almost thought she saw the right corner of his mouth twitch. His eyes remained distant though, so she decided if it was a smile, it was probably a mocking one.

“Class and level?”

Dani took a breath. She’d been expecting that question. Tilting her head to indicate she didn’t really care what he thought of it, she recited: “Brianna Dawnguard, human paladin of Lathandir, The Bringer of the Dawn. Level 14,  third templar of the Order of the Covenant of Damara. Neutral good, Oath of Devotion, Principle of Compassion. My biggest kill was a Beholder— I got on it’s back and wrangled one of its eyes down as it was casting Disintegrate , aiming it at its own skull. Then I drove my sword into its brain through the smoldering hole.”

Eddie’s eyebrows had continually risen through her little monologue, but it was Dustin’s incredulous voice that broke the thick silence. 

“What the- Who the hell are you?”

Dani rolled her eyes but didn’t turn away from Eddie. “So, are we playing now, or what?”

And then he did something that she hadn’t been expecting: he smiled. His critical frown slowly melted into a genuine, warm, almost delighted grin, that hit her square in the stomach by how unexpected it was. His hand shot out towards her, extended in welcome. She hesitated for half a second before she took it. His grip was firm, his hands were warm as he shook her hand.

“Hell yeah, we are. Welcome to Hellfire, Henderson.”