#Little cheerleader | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dwobbitfromtheshire · 3 months

Text

Eddie Munson's Defense Squad the complete one shot

A/N: Halfway through writing this, I realized that I was accidentally basing Poppy on a girl I went to school whom I admired. I realize now that I had a crush on her. Different name, same personality. Also, there is a Carol in here. Her name is Carol Watson, and she's completely different from Carol Perkins.

Poppy Blake smacked her gum obnoxiously as she listened to her parents rant about Eddie Munson, the three of them sitting around the dinner table as they did so. This was complete and utter bullshit.

"You guys have a lot of nerve for talking shit about Eddie when you have no clue what kind of man he is," Poppy said. "And it's hypocritical coming from a mixed race couple who have to deal with the stares and the comments in this assbackward conservative town who can't seem to tell what year it is."

Her mother's green eyes widened. The green eyes and the freckles Poppy got from her mother. Everything else, including the hair and the dark complexion she got from her daddy. Thanks to her mom, her skin was much lighter than his. Maybe she was a bit of a narcissist, but she loved the way she looked, how she was a perfect mixture of both her parents. She especially loved how her hair had its own personality, and she was grateful that she didn't have her mother's bright orange coloring. Not that she had anything against redheads. It's such an odd shade that whenever Poppy asks if she dyes it, Clara Blake just laughs. She never answers.

"He's a drug dealer," Clara said.

"And so is Daddy," Poppy said.

"Pharmaceutical salesman," Tony said.

"They sound like the same thing to me," she replied.

"Well, Poppy, one's illegal, and one is not," Clara said.

"Weed doesn't kill people, Mom! It's just bullshit propaganda. I mean, not unless it's laced with something, but Eddie would never do that. Some of those drugs that Dad sells should be illegal," Poppy said. "I mean, alcohol is more dangerous."

"You seem to know an awful lot about his weed," Tony said, suddenly amused.

"Dad, I regret to inform you that your precious little girl smokes," she said, and Clara gasped. "Do not act like this is brand new information. You and I both know that bag of oregano that you found was not, in fact, a bag of oregano. Now, tell me why someone would kill his own customers when he could keep them alive and earn a profit?"

"That's true," Clara frowned.

"Mom, I know how scared you are, but I know he would never kill Chrissy, Patrick, or Fred. I know, just like I know that you would never," Poppy said. "Mom, you know I'm a good judge of character."

"We both know that, baby," Tony sighed. "I suppose we both did sound ridiculous."

"Thank you," Poppy said, blinking back tears. "And you know, Hellfire, despite its name, isn't a cult. They're just playing a game like the boys play basketball."

"Well, even we know that. I suppose it's the fear of the unknown that's got us so scared," Clara said.

"I totally get that," Poppy said.

"By the way, why are you so sure?" Clara asked.

"I don't know. It was the look in his eye when he talked about his mom, and it was just like pure love in there when he talked about her. I mean, he can definitely be an asshole but in the way that cousin Mark is and we all still love him. He respects cheerleaders too much to kill them, even the ones that really hate him," Poppy said.

The sound of the front door opening loudly startled the three of them. Kayla Fielding, her best friend in the whole world, ran into the living room. Her blond hair was in disarray, and her bright blue eyes were blown wide with alarm.

"Kayla, we were just about to have dinner. You're welcome to fix yourself a plate and join us," Tony said.

"I, uh, actually needed some last-minute help on a project. I read the directions wrong, and it's due tomorrow," Kayla said. "I was hoping that Poppy would help me."

"Do you mind, Mom?" Poppy asked. "I had a late lunch, so I'm not very hungry."

"Go on," Clara said, her eyes twinkling at them in amusement. "Keep the door open, though."

"Um, okay," Poppy said, looking at her mother in confusion.

They quickly moved up the stairs and into Poppy's room.

"Uh, I think your mom knows, Poppy," Kayla said.

"My mom doesn't know shit," she said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, what's this about? Clearly, there's no project."

"I just heard that Jason has started a town wide man hunt for Eddie and the rest of Hellfire. I heard that they were heading towards that creepy looking house on Morehead Street," Kayla scowled. "This is so fucked up! Eddie doesn't deserve this, and neither do these kids. I've always hated Jason, but I never thought that he would take it this far."

"We need to do something," Poppy said. "Stop them. We need to gather the others and get some weapons."

"Do you really think we can do this?" Kayla asked.

"My parents always taught me to do what's right, to stand up for people when they needed it. Although, I think they were talking about when a kid gets bullied or something," she replied. "It fits in this situation, too."

Poppy wasn't proud of it, but she ended up breaking into her dad's gun locker to grab a shotgun that her dad taught her to use. He always wanted to make sure she was prepared. Not that he actually needed to teach her. She figured it out pretty quick. Poppy tried to hand Kayla the Smith & Wesson, but she quickly shook her head.

"I don't do guns, remember?" Kayla asked.

"Right, well, I'll just grab it for the other girls," Poppy said. "There's a baseball bat in my room. You can use that."

She zipped up the shotgun and the other gun into a bag as well as some ammo to go with it. They stood up at the same time, reminding Poppy just how much taller she was than Kayla and how much Kayla liked that.

"This is sort of thrilling," Kayla admitted, licking her lips.

"We don't have time for that, Kay," Poppy smiled.

"Right."

They quickly snuck back into Poppy's room and stuffed the bat into the bag. Poppy opened her window as quietly as she could.

"Okay," Poppy whispered. "You're going to go down the trellis first, then I'll lower the guns down to you, okay?"

"Okay, see you on the other side," Kayla said as she straddled the window sill.

She grabbed Poppy's face and pulled her in for a deep kiss. Poppy sighed and leaned into it, kissing her harshly. They both broke the kiss, breathing heavily, their lips swollen. The giddiness never really goes away whenever Kayla kisses her. It always feels like the first time. Poppy smiled as she watched Kayla maneuver down the side of her house. Using her bedsheets, she lowered the bag down to Kayla. She climbed down the trellis herself and followed Kayla into her car, placing the bag in the backseat. When she sat back in her seat, Kayla was grinning at her.

"I guess I'm your partner in crime," Kayla said, grinning. "Get it? Because I'm also your romantic partner, and we're also committing a crime by hunting down a bunch of asshole jocks."

"I fucking love you. Never stop being a dork," Poppy laughed and kissed her. "Step on it, baby."

Kayla tied her hair up with a scrunchie, turned on the radio, and sped off toward the houses of the other cheerleaders. Most of the cheerleaders would be with her on this one, seeing as Poppy was the one to spread the story about Eddie's mother. She had been the one to go to him for drugs when the others were too chicken to do it. He had been nice and funny, a perfect gentleman. Looking into his eyes, Poppy could see how sweet he was. Unlike Jason, whose eyes screamed psychopath and she wouldn't be surprised if Jason had been the one to kill Chrissy. . . and couldn't stop at just one. Patrick was one of the nice ones, the one the girls got along with most as well as the new guy, Lucas Sinclair. Steve Harrington was much the same, but she hadn't talked to him in a while. They didn't hate all jocks but enough of them got underneath their skin. There were other cheerleaders who didn't see it their way. They absolutely loved Jason and hated Eddie. They couldn't see beyond their own attraction. And if Poppy had any interest in men, then she certainly would have gone for Eddie rather than Jason.

Hungry Like the Wolf was still playing in Poppy's head when they pulled up to the creepy looking house. It sent a shiver down her spine as she looked at it. Poppy quickly handed over the bat to Kayla and the other gun over to Taylor, who didn't bring a weapon. A gust of wind suddenly appeared, and Taylor's short brown hair hit her piercing hazel eyes. There was anger there. Taylor took the gun from her and thanked her as she loaded it. Everyone else had their own weapons: bats, crowbars, and someone even had a broom handle.

"Let's kick their ass - "

A scream interrupted Poppy, and they all ran in that direction. Andy was on top of what looked like an eleven year old girl, and he was getting ready to pummel her. Oh, fuck that.

"ANDY!" Poppy yelled and raised her shotgun.

"You've got three seconds to get the fuck off of her before I put a round in you," Taylor snarled as she raised the gun.

If anyone had more reason to do it, it would be Taylor, considering he once put his hands on her without her consent. Taylor didn't even bother counting when Andy raised his fist. She pulled the trigger, and the round went through Andy's shoulder. He fell to the ground with a yell. Taylor ran over to him and pressed the heal of her boot into his shoulder. He screamed.

"I'm sorry. Should I have asked first before stepping on you?" Taylor asked.

"YOU BITCH!" Andy screamed.

"Says the guy screaming like one!" Taylor exclaimed.

"You shot me!" He sobbed.

"Yeah. I did do that," Taylor grinned victoriously.

Poppy went over and helped pull the girl away.

"Are you okay?" She asked, and the girl nodded. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Erica Sinclair," she said.

"Are you Lucas's sister?" Poppy asked.

"Yeah, he's inside. I think I saw Jason go in there," Erica said, looking worried.

"We'll handle it. You stay here with Carol. We like to call her Mother Hen. You'll find out why," Poppy smirked. "I'm Poppy, by the way, and that's Kayla."

Poppy and Kayla left just as Carol Watson started to fuss over Erica. They went into the stairs and went all the way up to the attic where Jason was pointing a gun at Lucas. Some girl was sitting on the floor in a trance. Lucas was pleading with Jason.

"You're lying! Chrissy would never have gone to him if she was in trouble! She would have come to me!" Jason exclaimed.

"Well, that's not just fucking true," Poppy said causing Jason to whirl around and point the gun at her. "She came to me, Jason, and then I sent her right to Eddie. All I knew was that she was stressed. She was under pressure from something. It was either her mother or you. I thought that maybe Eddie could help her."

"You sent her to Eddie? You're the reason she's dead?" Jason glared.

"No, Jason. I don't know what happened, but Eddie's not a killer. He's a good man. Better than you are," Poppy said.

"Eddie is a killer, and I'm trying to protect this town from him!" Jason yelled.

"No! We're trying to protect this town!" Lucas yelled out.

Jason whirled around and pointed the gun back on Lucas. Poppy gripped her shotgun and took a step further. Kayla did the same, gripping her bat. Lucas was scared, and all it would take was Jason pulling the trigger once. Something in Lucas's face changed.

"You know, I wanted to be like you. . . popular, but all I see now is a full blown psychopath," Lucas said.

He bent down at the right time as Jason took the shot and dove into Jason's stomach. The gun was knocked out of Jason's hand, and pretty soon, they were both throwing punches. Poppy cursed. She couldn't shoot Jason now without risking shooting Lucas.

"The Walkman!" Lucas exclaimed.

Kayla was quick. She rolled and grabbed the Walkman before Jason could stomp on it.

"What are we supposed to do with this?" Kayla asked.

"Max! Put it on Max! Running up that Hill!" Lucas yelled.

It was difficult for Kayla when Max started lifting in the air. Holy shit! Poppy reacted quickly and put the headphones on her. They stared at Max and didn't notice that Jason grabbed the gun again until he was pointing it at Lucas. Poppy pointed her shotgun at him.

"Jason! Don't do this!" Poppy exclaimed.

"You're supposed to be on my side, Poppy!" Jason exclaimed. "Instead, you're siding with these. . . Satanists."

"There are no sides! There's only living and dying. Which one are you going to choose?" Poppy asked.

Jason paused for a moment, and it almost looked like he was lowering it. His face hardened, however, and he turned the gun on her. He had chosen.

"You're Tigers!" Jason said furiously.

"Oh, honey, no. We're fucking wolves," Poppy said as she thought about the rest of her 'pack' outside. "Who protect their own."

She pulled the trigger. Jason screamed as the gun fell to the ground. He clutched his bloody hand, crying. Max fell to the ground. Lucas rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms.

"I'm okay. I'm okay," Max said, and he helped her up. "Jesus, what the fuck happened?"

"Uh. Poppy Blake shot him," Lucas said, and Max looked at Poppy in surprise.

"Most of the cheerleaders hate Jason, Andy, and Connor, but we love Eddie," Kayla said. "There are a few who refuse to look past their looks. Gah!"

Poppy shared a look with Kayla and her eyes twinkled back at her.

"Well, it's a good thing that we don't like men, baby," Poppy said teasingly.

"Hey, if I were into men, it'd be Eddie or Chief Hopper," Kayla said, and Lucas looked at her when she mentioned Hopper. "Oh, I like tall people. Preferably tall women."

"Lesbian warrior cheerleaders?" Max asked in amusement.

"Yes! I want that on a shirt," Kayla said.

They left the room, and the house with Jason still bleeding out on the floor of the attic. When they walked out of the house, they found a few more jocks had arrived late to the party. Several of them had her cheerleaders on the ground, including Taylor and Carol. Erica was nowhere to be found. Poppy made sure it was clear before shooting her shotgun off to the side. The jocks stopped and dropped them. Every single one of them were bleeding but not too terribly.

"Hey! Your leader is upstairs bleeding to death. I suggest you get him some help and get the fuck out of here before I give you matching wounds!" Poppy exclaimed.

The jocks ran upstairs and came out carrying Jason. Poppy and the cheerleaders all glared at them with weapons drawn until they drove away.

"Are all of them cheerleaders?" Max asked.

"Yeah," Poppy replied.

"Holy shit," Max said. "Does Eddie know he has his own defense squad?"

"He will now," Kayla said.

"Where's Erica?" Poppy asked.

"Shoved her into my car when those assholes showed up," Carol replied.

Erica hopped out of the car, carrying a first aid kit.

"Found a first aid kit, and it looks like some of you are you going to need it," Erica said and looked at her brother. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

Carol took the box from Erica and started patching everyone up. Just as Poppy was about to open her mouth to ask Lucas what the hell was all that about, an RV drove past honking loudly.

"Shit! Eddie's in that RV. We have to follow!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Alright, wolves!" Poppy whistled. "You heard him! Move out!"

They all climbed into their respective vehicles, with Lucas and Erica crawling into the back of Kayla's car. They followed the RV to the hospital where the door burst open. Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley came out carrying a bleeding Eddie in their arms. A crying boy with curly hair was following them.

"Oh, shit," Lucas muttered.

The group followed them into the hospital, where they delivered Eddie to the doctors. They immediately wheeled him away onto a gurney. Nancy, Robin, and Steve stared down the hallway in shock. Lucas approached the curly hair boy who was now crying.

"Dustin, what the hell happened?" Lucas asked.

"Lucas! Max!" Dustin exclaimed before pulling them both in a hug. "The bats. . .they got to Eddie! . . . Who are they?"

"Dustin, Steve, Nancy, Robin. . .meet Eddie Munson's defense squad," Max said.

"What?" Steve asked and then he squinted. "Poppy?"

"Hey, Steve. You look like shit," she said. "Now, who's going to tell me what the fuck is going on in this town?"

Two days later. . .

It was hell getting questioned by the police but in the end, what they said helped Eddie. There was too much evidence against Jason Carver to keep looking at Eddie, especially when Chrissy's diary resurfaced that revealed the bruises that Jason left behind when he dragged her around like a trophy. Chrissy wrote down how he and the other jocks had it in for Hellfire, how she tried to stop them. She even told Principal Higgins, but he didn't believe her, and when she saw the bennies in his desk, he blackmailed Chrissy. Jason Carver was arrested as were the boys who were involved in the manhunt. Principal Higgins was also arrested. It looked like they were going to need a new principal as well as a new basketball team.

"Maybe we can fill it with more nerds," Poppy nudged Lucas. "Change it from the Tigers. We can be the Hawkins Dragons or some shit."

"No, honey, we're the fucking wolves," Lucas said and Poppy laughed.

They were surrounding Eddie's hospital bed as they waited for them to wake up. They were only just now allowed back in. Of course, they allowed Wayne to spend time with Eddie, but now they were guarding his bedside along with the party. To Poppy's dismay, they hadn't been allowed their weapons. Even though all had been dealt with, Poppy still felt unsettled. She knew the court of public opinion would be the hardest to sway. She was worried that they would go after him.

"So. . .you did all of this for Eddie?" Steve asked.

"I know what you're thinking, but I'm not into dicks," Poppy said.

"Eddie's not a dick!" Steve said defensively, his cheeks turning red. "He's a great guy!"

Poppy and Kayla shared an amused look before giggling. Kayla nodded at Poppy, who nodded back.

"Steve, we're lesbians," Kayla said. "I'm her girlfriend."

"Oh, shit, sorry," Steve said, his whole face heating up.

Robin shoved her knuckle to her mouth, laughing. Meanwhile, Poppy gave Steve a knowing look.

"Me too," Robin said. "Lesbian."

"Nice," Kayla said. "Tall lesbians are the best."

"So are short ones," Poppy said.

"I'm not short, I'm just vertically challenged," Kayla said. "Gravity hates me because I'm so cute. It just keeps pulling me down."

"Idiot," Poppy said affectionately, kissing her.

"Your idiot," Kayla said.

"Well, I guess since we're all being honest," Steve said. "Bicycle. Goddamn it, I mean bisexual!"

"I don't know. Bicycle works, too. If you're into that, there's definitely riding involved," Poppy said with a smirk.

"Children present!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Hm, on the way here, you were saying that you didn't need a babysitter anymore. So which is it? Child or grown-up?" Steve asked, and Dustin closed his mouth. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Suddenly, Erica popped her head in.

"Jock out on bail incoming!" Erica shrieked.

The squad immediately jumped into action and formed a wall around Eddie's bed. Meanwhile, Steve and Robin stood in front of Lucas, Max, and Dustin at the door. Erica looked out the door while Robin kept a hand on her back.

"Coast is clear!" Erica exclaimed, closing the door.

"Am I dead or alive? What is this?" Eddie's called out, and everyone jumped. "Why are there cheerleaders surrounding my bed? Oh God, Jason sent you to finish me off."

"First of all, if we wanted you dead, you'd be dead before you woke up," Poppy said. "And second of all, Jason is rotting in jail for his crimes and Vecna's. No bail for that asshole."

"They're your defense squad, man. They heard that Jason and the others were going to come after us at the Creel House, so the cheerleaders came and kicked their ass for you. The cheerleaders like you, man," Lucas said.

"Seriously?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, Poppy shot Jason, and Taylor shot Andy," Lucas replied.

"You did this for free drugs, didn't you?" Eddie joked.

"Ass, I did it because I like you. Platonically," Poppy said. "You're a great guy. Bit of an asshole but a great guy."

"Why?" Eddie asked.

"The speech about your mom told me all I needed to know about you," Poppy said. "Plus, after your little meeting in the woods, Chrissy wouldn't shut up about you."

"She wouldn't?" He asked.

"Look, she's been unhappy for a while, and we've done everything we could do to help her, but when she came out of those woods, she was the happiest that I had ever seen her. You did that for her. You made her happy in her most darkest and cursed moment of her life," Poppy said, tears in her eyes. "She was our friend, and you did that for her."

Eddie was crying now, his bottom lip trembling as his eyelashes grew wet.

"She made me happy too," Eddie said. "I played for her down there, I wanted. . . I wanted her to hear me play, and a little part of me hoped that it would somehow bring her back. Stupid, huh?"

"Not at all," Poppy said.

She took his hand and ran her fingers through his hair as he cried. She would do whatever it took to protect this man and judging by the looks on the others' faces, they would too.

"Thank you," Eddie whispered.

For the first time in his life, instead of fighting against him, people were now fighting for him.

60 notes · View notes