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The Hellfire Club: Eddie Munson

CHAPTER ONE: WELCOME TO HAWKINS

SERIES SUMMARY: After the death of her mother, Y/n Hargrove is forced to pack up, leave sunny California behind and relocate to the town where she witnessed her brother's death: Hawkins. On her first day at Hawkins High, Y/n is recruited to the 'Hellfire Club', where she creates an unlikely friendship with the leader - Eddie 'The Freak' Munson.

Just when Y/n's life seems to be straightening out and she begins developing feelings for Eddie, Hawkins is terrorised by a series of brutal killings that her new friend is wrongly accused of committing. Can Y/n and her friends find a way to defeat the new threat before it's too late?

SERIES WARNINGS: Canon-typical horror/death, fluff, slowburn, mutual pining, eventual smut, season 4 spoilers.

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1 YEAR AGO:

June 1985.

Golden evening beams flickered over the Californian hills as a blue Chevrolet Camero rumbled down an empty road. Music boomed through the open windows, masking the sound of the roaring engine. Warm air flowed between your fingers as you stuck your arm out the window, twirling and flicking your hand against the push of the wind. You squinted against the setting sun as your eyes landed on a bright blue sign that stood out from the sandy hillside.

LEAVING CALIFORNIA: COME BACK SOON

“Been ages since I left this place,” You said, glancing at your brother, who was tapping his ring clad fingers on the steering wheel. “Been ages since I last saw you.”

The memory of an uncomfortable reunion at a local Pizzeria two summers prior flashed across your mind. You and your mother had arranged to meet your brother for a meal, but your dad, his new girlfriend and her daughter tagged along, against your mother's wishes. Needless to say, your mum bailed out and you had to endure the awkward dinner on your own. How long ago had that been? Two years?

“Yeah, you can thank dad for that.” Billy’s jaw clenched. “Wouldn’t let me leave that shit-hole of a town to visit you.”

“Is Hawkins really that bad?” You raised an eyebrow. Billy had mentioned his dislike of Hawkins over the infrequent phone calls you shared, but he had never said why.

“Oh yeah. It stinks of shit, for starters. It’s filled with old people, there is absolutely nothing to do and it’s always fucking raining.” Billy probably could have listed dozens more reasons as to why he hated Hawkins, but he restrained himself.

“Jeez,” You shook your head and laughed. “Don’t make me regret saying yes to visiting you guys for the summer or I might have to ask you to turn the car around.”

“Please, I’d prefer to spend the summer in Cali with you and mum.” Billy let out a bitter chuckle as he stepped on the gas. “But she didn’t even bother to say ‘hi’ when I picked you up.”

“She wanted to see you. She really did, but I think she was scared that you wouldn’t want to talk to her and...she was really sick this morning. Probably didn’t want to infect you too.” You guessed she just felt too overwhelmed - it has been years since she had last seen him after all. You could hear Billy mumble something, but it was drowned out by Ozzy Osbourne’s (in your opinion) horrendous singing. “How’s dad? Does he still…you know… is he any better?”

“Worse.”

“Oh.” Your brows knitted together as you fiddled with the miniature yellow polaroid camera in your lap."Is that how you got that bruise?" You said, referring to the yellowish-purple bruise that graced Billy's cheekbone.

Billy nodded but stayed silent. Throughout their relationship, your mum and dad would get into bad verbal fights, but it was only at the end of their marriage when they got physical. Each night would end the exact same way: you and Billy huddled in your shared room, trying to distract each other by whatever means necessary from the screaming and crashing downstairs.

When your mum wasn’t home, your dad would instead take his anger out on Billy, to make him into ‘more of a man’ or some other bullshit excuse he used to make himself feel better about beating his kid. You were the lucky one - he never hit you. You never understood why Billy chose to live with your dad after the divorce, though you never dared to ask.

“I’m sorry, Billy.” You whispered as a pit of guilt began to burrow in your stomach. “I really thought that he would have sto-”

“Doesn't matter.” Billy cut you off. “Just under a year left of school and then I can leave for good.”

“Where will you go?” A smile formed on your lips as you changed the subject. “Do you still want to be an astronaut?”

“Ha-ha, very funny.” Billy flicked the side of your head.

“That hurt!” You glared at him as you rubbed your temple. “Anyway, I was being serious. You were always obsessed with space.”

You remembered your shared bedroom: Billy’s half of the room was painted a deep blue and had white paint splattered over the walls to mimic the constellations and the milky way, there wasn’t a clothing item or toy out of place and his bed was covered in E.T themed sheets. Your side of the room, on the other hand, was a mess of clothes, stuffed toys and Lord of the Rings posters - something you never really grew out of.

“I’m not a nerd anymore, unlike you.” Billy grinned and began flicking through the radio channels. “And to answer your question, I have a life-guard job lined up in California once I graduate.”

“I am not a nerd, thank you very much.” You folded your arms across your chest. Just because you like fantasy books and had good grades did not mean you were a nerd, or at least that’s what you told yourself. “And that’s great!”

“Yeah, just can’t wait to get the hell out of Hawkins,” Billy said before glancing at you. “Max will like you.”

“Why?” You raised a brow at the sudden change in subject. The first and only time you had met Max was at the Pizzeria and the entire time she ignored you (and you could have sworn she stole a slice of your pizza when you weren’t looking).

“She's a freaky nerd, like you.”

"I am not a freaky nerd!” You groaned and slapped Billy’s arm, which only made his lips curl into a shit-eating grinning.

“Whatever.” Billy shook his blond head and cranked up the radio’s volume to the highest level. “You still like this song?”

You flinched from the sudden increase in volume, which you did not think was possible considering how loud the music was before. Despite the throbbing in your ears, you instantly recognised the song's opening chords: Separate Ways (Worlds Apart).

“Hell yeah, I do!” You grinned and pushed yourself upright in your seat. You’d never miss an opportunity to sing along to your favourite band.

“Please don’t sing-”

“Here we stand, worlds apart!” You soaked in every moment of pain on your brother's face as you purposely shouted the lyrics at the top of your lungs to annoy him. “Someday, love will find you, break those chains that bind you!”

By the time the song hit the second chorus, you had elbowed Billy enough times in the ribs to convince him to join in as well. You don’t didn’t know how long it had been since you had laughed so hard as you belted out the lyrics with your brother. From time to time you would snap photos of Billy with the yellow polaroid which would earn a smack from him and a laugh from you. By the time the song was over, the wind from the open windows had whipped your hair into a mess and your cheeks burned from smiling too hard as the sun flickered its last golden rays over your face before it sunk below the horizon.

If you had known that would be one of your last happy memories with your brother, you would have cherished those moments a little longer.

NOW:

August 1986.

The windshield wipers frantically swiped from side to side, but they made little difference to the downpour that was crashing against your car. Of all the days the weather decided to take a turn for the worst, it had to be the day that you were moving.

After around thirty more minutes and a gas stop, you finally spotted it, the sign you were searching for this entire time:

“Gonna need a damn arc at this rate.” You muttered, watching as the grates on either side of the road bubbled with floodwater. As you came to a red light, you took a sip of burning hot chocolate from your flask and glanced down at the map that lay crumpled on the passenger seat, trying to make sense of the scribbled directions you wrote for yourself before you left.

If your estimates were correct, you should be arriving in Hawkins within the next few miles. The road to Hawkins seemed a lot longer than you remembered. Despite trying to distract yourself with the radio, you couldn’t shake the feeling of loneliness as you turned each winding corner and highway.

WELCOME TO HAWKINS, INDIANA.

Your grip on the steering wheel tightened as you passed by the familiar sign. You remembered the excitement you felt when you first laid eyes on it. Now you could only feel a heavy sickness settle in your stomach. The events from last summer still haunted you, that monster still visited you in your dreams, your brother's body falling to the ground still flashed across your mind and Max’s screams still pierced your ears.

Welcome to Hawkins - more like Welcome to Hell.

At least you had friends there. That’s what you told yourself to keep yourself somewhat sane, though you had heard that some of them had moved to California. Ironic, you thought as you drove through the centre of the Hawkins. The town seemed so mundane, like nothing out of the ordinary would ever happen there. Like a massive flesh monster didn’t just terrorize the people only a year prior. Like everything was normal.

Hawkins seemed like a town stuck in time, it looked exactly the same as when you first visited. The diner that your dad and Susan took you on your first night had its large blue doors propped wide open, the swimming pool that Billy gave you lessons in had a massive flashing ‘OPEN’ sign stuck in the window and the theatre that Robin and Dustin had dragged you to watch The Breakfast Club had a massive queue lined up outside.

When you were about to give up all hope of locating Max and Susan’s house, you spotted a sign indicating towards the Helensburgh Caravan Estate. You relaxed a little as you turned the corner onto the caravan park. At least you had found the damn place. The crunching of gravel under the cars' tiers made you shudder - if that gravel wore down your tiers tread, you would be pissed. You slowed down a little to look at each number on every caravan’s door.

All you had to do now was find where Max and Susan lived, which was easier said than done. After your brother's death, your dad and Susan split up and sold their house. You tried contacting your father but he seemed to have just disappeared.

This meant that after your mother's death last month, you had no choice but to move in with your ex-relatives, Max and Susan. Max was cool, she shared some of your interests and last summer you guys really bonded. Susan not so much. Though she always acted courteously towards you, you knew she never really warmed up to the idea of you being a part of her ‘family’.

“Jesus H. Christ…that hurt like a bitch!” The guy groaned and pushed his mess of brown hair from his eyes.

“C’mon, where is number seven?�� You muttered to yourself when you heard a thump and a yell. You stomped on the break-in in surprise, frantically looking for the source of the noise.

Had you hit someone? With sweaty hands, you leapt out, praying that you hadn’t killed someone. It would really suck if you were arrested for murder on your first day in Hawkins. Just when you reached the front of the car, you spotted a dishevelled looking guy push himself up from the ground with a grunt. Okay, he’s not dead.

“Oh my God, are you alright?” You rushed over and helped picked up the books that he had dropped (presumably when you almost killed him).

“Y-yeah?” He said, more like a question rather than an answer. “I think.”

“I’m so sorry, I didn't mean to!” You apologised, running your hands through your hair. You chewed on your lip as the guy in front of you raised a brow. Would he call the cops? Was he injured? “I didn’t see you and then boom! You were on the ground. It was a total accident, I swear-”

“Jeez, chill out.” The guy in front of you chuckled a little as he brushed down his jeans. You stared at him with wide eyes. Why was he laughing? Did he have a concussion? “You seem more upset than me. It’s not a big deal, plus it’s not the first time I have been hit by a car.”

“Still, I should have paid more attention.” You said as your heart rate slowed a little. He looked ruffled, his jeans were torn at the knees, his hair was a mess and he looked a little unsteady. “Are you hurt?”

“I doubt I shall ever recovery from these wounds.” You stared at him with wide eyes as he placed a hand over his heart and pretended to faint. Had you knocked this dude into insanity?

“Are you alright-AH!” You yelped as he jumped forward with frenzied eyes. Yep, he’d lost it.

“I’m fine.” He grinned as he watched you take a step back. “First time I was hit, I had to go to the A&E. And oddly enough, I was hit by a car that looked exactly like that one.” He pointed towards the blue Camero.

“Oh…that’s weird.” You awkwardly forced a smile as the guy in front of you started pacing.

“Yeah, it is.” He paused and stared at you. You shuffled awkwardly as he looked at you up and down and frowned. “I don’t recognise you, are you new?”

“Uh, yeah.” You said, feeling a little intimidated. “Just moved here today.”

“Well, I guess I’ll see you around.” He said, but just before he left, he turned around and looked you dead in the eye. “Hit me again, and you best hope I’m dead.”

“I-”

“See ya!” He cut you off and turned on his heel. You stood there stunned as you watched him walk across the estate, towards caravan number four. Did he just threaten you? Was he being serious? You slowly rubbed your face, feeling like you had whiplash from that guy's behaviour. What the hell just happened? Before you could think too much about it, you heard someone call your name. You turned around and spotted a red-haired girl rushing over to you, beaming from ear to ear.

“Max!”

—

By the time Monday morning rolled around, you had pretty much unpacked everything and settled into your new home. Your room was a lot smaller than the one you had back in California, but it was cosy. You had hung up your posters, re-arranged the bed and the desk, organised your clothes and decorated your walls with polaroid pictures and vinyls.

Only one box remained unpacked - a box which you hadn’t opened in over a year. That box got shoved into the deepest and darkest corner under your bed. It was just like home. Almost. Of course, word had already gotten around to your friends that you had arrived (probably spread by Max) and the telephone was constantly ringing over the weekend.

“Hey, can you drive us to school?” Max’s head popped around the side of your door. “Mum’s passed out again.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Guess we can just leave now then.” You said, shrugging on the oversized denim jacket that hung over the side of your desk chair before following Max through the caravan towards the front door. The sickly smell of smoke clung to the thick air and yellowed the once (presumably) white walls. You hadn’t really had time to talk to Max about last summer, but it was obvious that it had taken a toll on both her and her now alcoholic mother.

“Should we wake her up?” You asked when you passed through the living room, pointing to Susan who was sprawled out over the cheap Maralunga sofa with a half-empty bottle of Carlsberg clutched loosely in her hand. Her now messy auburn hair, smudged makeup and stained clothing looked a far cry from the soignée lady you met back at the Pizzeria only a few years back.

“Nah, she’ll be fine. Always gets mad when I wake her.” Max had to shove the front door a few times with her shoulder before it gave way and cracked open. You threw Susan one last glance before following Max out into the driveway.

A coolness from the previous night still hung in the air and the morning sun glimmered through the canopy of trees that lined the Caravan park. Though you missed the blazing mornings in California, you had to admit the cooler climate in Hawkins was refreshing. When you opened your mouth to comment on the temperature, you noticed Max’s smile fade as she opened the passenger seat to the blue Camero.

“You alright?” You asked as you climbed into the driver's seat beside her, though you could already guess what was troubling her.

“Uh, yeah.” Max forced a tight-lipped smile before looking out the window. “Just…y’know.. weird being this car again.”

“Yeah.” You fiddled with the keys as you tried to form a response. If you were honest, hadn’t gotten used to the feeling of driving that car, even though it had been in your possession for over a year. “Feels weird to drive it too.”

“I bet you a better driver than him, though.” Max said after a few moments, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“I wouldn't bet on it.” You snorted, shoving the keys into the ignition as Max’s face turned into one of terror. “I just got my licence.”

To your disappointment, you hadn’t yet shared any classes with the three people you knew in your year: Robin, Nancy and Steve. And during lunch you couldn’t find Dustin, Mike, Lucas or Max, so you sat alone eating the terrible canteen food.

Maths was the last class of the day, and you just felt like giving up. You sat at the back of the classroom, trying to ignore the stares and whispers of the other classmates as they peered at you over their shoulders like you were some endangered zoo animal. Your gaze landed on the board which was strewn with numerous squiggly lines, symbols and letters. Letters? Why the hell was the alphabet involved with math?

“I’m sure our new student, Mrs Hargrove, would like to give this equation ago!” Mrs Reid said, snapping you out of your daze. As soon as she mentioned your surname, a chorus of whispers flowed through the class, and from what you could hear, they weren’t very nice.

“Uh, not particularly.” You said, feeling the eyes of your fellow students burn into your flushed skin.

“I’ll let you off this time since this is your first day.” Mrs Reid said, sending you a wink. “But next time I want you to solve this.”

You only nodded as she picked another student to answer her question. A sigh of relief left your lips and you slumped back in your seat. You would have to find a way to avoid any future math classes. Back in California, each time you had a math period, you would sneak over the school fence and hang out with Argyl in the back of his van and smoke dope, though you doubted he would be willing to drive all the way to Hawkins every day just so you could ditch class.

“Psst!” Someone whispered, catching your attention. You turned around in your seat, to be greeted by a blond guy in a white and green Hawkins High sweater.

“What?” You whispered back.

“Is it true?” He asked, leaning over his desk to get closer to you.

“Is what true?” You frowned, watching as he practically gripped the edge of his desk with an obviously fake grin plastered to his face. Why was everyone in Hawkins so damn creepy?

“That Billy is, or should I say, was your brother?” As soon as those words left his lips, your stomach dropped.

“Yeah.” Was all you said before you snapped your head back to the front of the class. You didn’t want to talk about him. And you especially did not want to talk about him with that random creep behind you. You felt him poke your back and whisper something else, but before you could tell him to sod off, a noise sounded over Mrs Reid’s drawling voice.

Ring, ring.

“Thank God.” You muttered yourself as the bell rang through the class, indicating the end of the school day. You barely paid attention to the teacher as she shouted homework instructions over the eruption of chatting, chairs scraping against the ground and students pouring out the classroom door. You quickly grabbed your bag and rushed to the door, eager to get away from the guy before he could get a chance to further question you.

As soon as you stepped over the threshold and into the packed hallway, you heaved a heavy sigh. You were free to go home, forget about the day and read Fellowship of the Ring with a cup of steaming hot chocolate. Before you could plan any further activities that you could take part in within the comfort of your own home, you heard a voice call your name and the sound of heavy footsteps. Before you could even register who was calling you, a weight crashed right into your back.

“Jesus!” You caught yourself before you almost tumbled backwards into the lockers. When you managed to twist yourself around to see who had latched themselves onto you, you came face to face with none other than a beaming Dustin Henderson.

“Nope, just me.”

“Dustin!” You laughed, pulling him into a hug. “How are you, man? I tried looking for you at lunch!”

“I’m great and it’s great to see you!” Dustin said, pulling away, though he looked like he was about to implode with excitement. “We have so much to talk about, like did you see the new Police Academy? When you were moving, did you see El, Will and Jonathan? Did you meet Suzie? Did you know that four more teeth have come through-”

“Whoah, slow down there, buddy.” You laughed, flicking Dustin’s hat. “I’ll be here for a whole year, no need to rush.”

“Right, sorry.” Dustin chuckled. He had grown alot since you last saw him and his curly locks were a few inches longer.

“What’s up with that shirt, bud?” You asked, surprised at his choice of a shirt that clashed with his otherwise colourful attire -it was a black and white three-quarter length sleeve with the words ‘Hellfire Club’ written under a flaming devil. Definitely not something you would picture ‘do-no-wrong’ Dustin wearing.

“Oh, this?” Dustin tugged at the shirt with an even wider grin. “I’m part of a D&D club, all members get a shirt.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” You said. “Did you-”

“Which leads me onto another topic of conversation.” Dustin cut you off. “Since you’re new here, I assume you’ll want to make friends?”

“I suppose?”

“And do you still play D&D?”

“I haven’t since last year but I can still play.” You said and raised an eyebrow at the curly-haired boy in front of you. “Why?”

“Well, my dear friend, Y/n, I think we have mutual interests,” Dustin said with his hands on his hips. “You see, we are down one member in the Hellfire club and I was wondering if you want to join? You can make someone cool friends and we get another member.”

“Um, I don’t know Dustin.” You said, chewing your lip. “I’m not the best player.”

“Not the best player?” Dustin almost choked on his words. “Y/n, when we played last year, you never lost a game! Plus your level is higher than most of the guys playing at Hellfire!”

You shrugged and readjusted the backpack straps that were digging into your shoulders. “Anyway, it’s been a while, so I’ll probably be rusty.”

“Doesn’t matter!” Dustin said, exasperated. “I can give you lessons or something. C’mon, just come and meet the guys and then you can decide.”

You rolled the offer around your mind for a few moments. It did sound like a good way to make friends (something you desperately needed) and it could be a good way to get you out of your own head and give you a distraction. Though, you weren’t sure if you wanted to hang out with an even bigger group of nerds than you already did.

“Okay, fine.” You ran your fingers through your hair. “I’ll meet the group.”

“Yes!” Dustin grabbed your elbow and began pulling you through the river of students and down the twisting hallways that were lined with shiny blue lockers and classroom doors. “We just have to convince Eddie to let you join!”

“Who’s Eddie?” You frowned as you came to a stop in front of two large doors that read ‘Drama Department’.

“The leader.” Dustin turned to face you. “Be warned, he can be a little…intense.”

“Dustin, what do you mean by that-”

Before you had a chance to question Dustin any further, he shoved open the doors and pulled you over the threshold. The dimly lit drama studio was surrounded by large black curtains that hung from rails on the ceiling, there were various props scattered over the black vinyl floor and multiple costume rails had been forgotten at the edges of the walls. In the centre of the dark room was a round table strewn with candles, board games and left-over lunch. And around that table sat five people, who were all gawping right back at you.

You glanced at Dustin for some help, but he seemed to be oblivious to how much you wanted the ground to swallow you up, and was waving at his friends with a goofy grin. You shuffled awkwardly on your feet and opened your mouth to introduce yourself to the group, but your words got caught in your throat when your gaze landed on someone familiar, who was sitting right at the head of the table.

Someone you had almost killed with your car.

“Y/n!” Your gaze was ripped away from your potential victim and landed on a raven-haired boy who was stuffing his face with a sloppily made sandwich - Mike Wheeler.

“Hi, Mike.” You stiffly waved at him, though your greeting was cut short.

“So!” The guy you almost hit, clapped his hands and sprang from his seat. “My killer has a name after all.”

“Killer? What is Eddie talking about?” Dustin hissed, snapping his head toward you.

“Long story.” You whispered back as Eddie slowly approached, looking you up and down.

“I’m assuming Dustin has tried to recruit you to the Cult of Vecna, yes?” Eddie asked, coming to a stop in front of you - too close for your liking.

“Yeah.” You said, wanting nothing more than to take a step back, but you willed yourself to stay put. Suddenly Dustin’s warning made sense about this Eddie guy being ‘intense.’ At least you knew that he was always like that and it was not because you knocked him into insanity with your car.

“And why should we recruit you, hmm?” Eddie asked, prodding your shoulder. “What level are you anyway? Level one pixie?”

“Eddie, I wouldn’t antagonize her, she’s scary when she gets mad.” Dustin warned his friend but was promptly brushed off by the club leader

At this, the rest of the group burst out into laughter as Eddie continued to stare you down. You could tell what this guy’s game was: he was trying to intimidate you and you were way too damn stubborn to let him win - a trait you had inherited from your father. ‘Two can play that game’, you thought as you stepped closer to Eddie so that you were right up in his face (and you had to admit that flicker of surprise that crossed his features was rather satisfying).

“Level fourteen Trickery Cleric. Which, I have been informed by Dustin, is higher than most of your group’s characters, am I right?” You said indignantly. “So are we gonna play or are you just gonna stand there and chit-chat?”

The room fell into an astounded silence as Eddie’s continued to stare you down. You tried your hardest to read his expression, but his poker face was too damn good - something you had to work on yourself. You could feel the other group members' gazes shift between you and Eddie as they held their breaths. Just when you thought he was going to kick you out of the room, Eddie’s lips curled into a grin and he shot out his ring-clad hand.

“Welcome to Hellfire.”

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