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hellfirebarnes · 1 year

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Steve could hear the distant shouts of his name, crying out for him. But even when the blurry silhouette of Robin came into view her voice sounded muffled. As if he was underwater.

He felt her gripping his hand, but what he knew was a tight squeeze felt like a fleeting touch. As if he had several pairs of thick gloves on.

There were other voices, frantic, but he couldn’t make out who it was. Or what they were saying. The drumming in his ear overpowered everything else. And the way his chest cramped as he tried to get air into his lungs while blood oozed from the corner of his mouth took away his motivation to try and make out their words.

His vision got blurrier, and he didn’t know if it were his eyelids slowly closing or blood getting into his eyes from the gushing wound on his head.

It felt like he was falling, sinking, but somehow it felt peaceful. And the continuous cries of his name from his panicked friends got further away. He couldn’t feel their touches anymore, not even the way Nancy shook him in an attempt to keep him awake.

But then, he heard his name again. And it gave him the same feeling as when he was younger and his mom called out his name to wake him up for school. It was stirring him in the same way, and although it felt heavy to open his eyelids - it didn’t feel impossible anymore.

He was met by the sky. The normal sky. With white fluffy clouds and a near blinding sun shining down on him. He could barely remember the last time he had seen it.

And when he sat up, there wasn’t any blood or wounds. Not even any aching. Muscles that had caused him pain for years felt relaxed, and the constant pounding in his head was gone.

He recognised the street he was laying on. It was the same one where the demodog had creeped up on him while he was fighting off bats from getting to Dustin.

But it wasn’t the same as it was then. It looked like it had all those years before. Before the upside down. Before Vecna. Before the feeling of claws and teeth tearing at his flesh, and him gasping for air when Nancy shot the assailant. It was the old Hawkins.

He stood to look around, taking in the things he thought he would never experience again. The green grass, houses still intact. And he could smell the trees and flowers blooming into spring. His favourite time of year. But there was no sight of his friends. No sounds other than the birds chirping happily.

Until footsteps came from behind him, closing in a fair bit before he picked up on it. And when he spun around, ready to face another enemy, his heart caught in his throat. Of all the things he had managed to imagine he would meet - this was nowhere near any of them.

Steve stumbled forward a couple of steps, taking in every little detail. From the beat up reeboks to the all too familiar vest and leather jacket combo. Then his eyes landed on the face, more specifically the stupid grin. And his lips parted in a gasp. He couldn’t tell if it was from relief of shock, or maybe both.

The haunting images that had occupied his mind since the last time they faced Vecna quickly vanished under the warmth of that smile. A smile he hadn’t fully realised how much he missed. Or known how safe it made him feel.

Eddie’s smile somehow grew when he spoke, “Where have you been, Harrington?”

—rushed and absolutely not proofread—

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fics-and-quotes-andthelike · 7 months

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It Started With a Smile

Title: It Started with a Smile

Pairing: Eddie Munson x female reader

Word Count: ~2,609

In which the reader sits in on a game of D&D, and fondly looks back on some memories that she’s made with Eddie.

A/N: My first ever fanfic! I hope you guys like it, but I’m open to criticism and advice if you have any.

Let me know if there’s any other fics that you’d like to read, just give me a character and a prompt!

If there was anything that you’d learned over the past two years, it was that D&D was a heartless, brutal thing.

You smiled lightly as you watched Eddie animatedly describe another challenge that the party had to face, while the group groaned and started talking over each other as they tried to figure out what to do next.

If you were being honest, you didn’t understand a word of what was happening. But you saw that it made Eddie happy, and that was enough for you.

You’d tried to get into D&D before, honestly, when Eddie had first caught your attention at school a few years before.

You couldn’t help but smile a bit at the memory.

It had happened when Jason was being his usual thickheaded self during your lunch period. He had been subtly poking at a young boy in the cafeteria that you now knew as Dustin Henderson. Dustin had tried to brush him off, and made some offhand remark about how the only thing Jason had going for him was basketball, and how he’d be lucky if he even got through high school.

It was a simple, stupid comment. Nothing worth getting truly upset about.

But of course, you can always count on Jason to over exaggerate and do something reckless.

Jason had shoved at Dustin’s shoulder, catching the attention of everyone within a few feet of the pair. Including you.

You’d stood- not sure what you were going to do, but certain that you weren’t going to let Jason pummel a child- when Eddie Munson appeared out of nowhere. “Good ol’ Dustin,” he’d said as he pushed the boy behind him. “Never knows when to shut his mouth.” He pointed a ringed finger at Jason as he slowly walked backwards, away from the jock. “Not that you’re any better, hot stuff.”

Eddie and Dustin continued their retreat, Eddie with a large smile on his face, leaving Jason angrier than before. Your eyes tracked them as they moved, your cheeks heating slightly when you got a good look at Eddie’s smile.

Luckily, Chrissy had suddenly appeared by Jason’s side, and had led him away before things could escalate any further.

Eddie and Dustin made it back to their lunch table unscathed, except for the slap in the back of the head that Eddie so kindly bestowed on his poor friend.

After that incident, you’d kept a closer eye on the person that Jason so fondly referred to as the school’s “resident freak”. You’d noticed two things right off the bat.

The first thing you noticed was his smile. The way that it transformed his face and made his eyes light up. It was common for Eddie to wear a smirk or to stick his tongue out at others, but the times that you’d seen him smile at his group with pure joy in his gaze confirmed that his smile was your favorite expression to see on him.

The second thing, obviously, was that Eddie was head of the school’s D&D club. As soon as you’d noticed that, you decided to learn everything you could about the game to try and impress him.

For the next week, you researched a few things here and there in between classes, gathering a few random facts and campaign ideas.

You probably should’ve double checked your sources. Or at least looked at basic rules and regulations. Like the fact that you were supposed to come up with a name.

One day, in between classes, you had seen Eddie chatting with his D&D group by his locker. You decided to mingle, hoping that at any moment, his friends would walk away and you would be able to show off your knowledge.

If your heart would stop trying to beat out of your chest, of course.

Before you could even blink, Eddie’s friends walked away, and he turned and started walking down the hallway in your direction.

Your brain short circuited, but somehow your legs carried you over a few steps, and your mouth started moving.

“Hey,” you said as you stepped directly in Eddie’s path.

Eddie had stopped in his tracks. He looked at you blankly, no malice in his eyes, but no joy or expectancy either. “Hey,” he responded warily.

You cleared your throat nervously. “I was wondering if I could join your club.”

At that, Eddie’s head tilted in confusion. He looked at you quizzically, as if he expected you to burst out laughing and run the opposite way. Or maybe he was just genuinely confused.

“Your D&D club,” you elaborated, silently thanking your brain for sending the right words to your mouth.

Eddie looked you up and down. “You don’t look the type.”

You flushed in embarrassment and stuck your chin in the air stubbornly, suddenly feeling your confidence come in waves. “That’s pretty harsh of you, don’t you think? Judging other people based on appearance.”

Eddie’s face had changed immediately, a small smile on his face and he looked back up at your eyes. He huffed out a short laugh. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?”

You could feel your cheeks heating up. “No, we wouldn’t.”

He paused one more second, eyes fixed on yours, before he finally shrugged. “Alright, then. I’ll see you tonight.”

To say that your brain had short circuited again was an understatement. It felt like your brain had just shut down for good.

“To-tonight?”

He smiled then. The smile that had caught your eye that day in the cafeteria.

“Yeah, we’re starting a new campaign. Let’s see what you got.”

He walked away then, and your eyes tracked his receding form until he turned a corner at the end of the hall.

You’d practically jumped for joy then, before the bell had interrupted your celebration and sent you running to class.

You would have to brush up on some terms and spells and such, but you were sure that you’d be fine. You knew various spells, how the dice worked, and now you had a group to play with. How hard could it be?

Looking back on it now, you had to laugh. It had gone worse than you had ever expected.

It had started out smoothly. Eddie had asked for your name, and you had happily provided, and introduced yourself to all the other members of the group, including Dustin, who you remembered from that day in the cafeteria.

That’s as far as you made it without embarrassing yourself.

When Eddie had switched gears and asked your character name, you panicked and said a name that you would never repeat in public out of mortal shame. The party chuckled under their breaths, with Eddie waving a hand to quiet them down. When you were asked what class and level you were, you’d completely blanked. You had no idea that you were meant to create your own character with its own backstory. (Which, looking back, made complete sense.)

The party members obviously caught onto your ruse immediately, but when they tried to grill you, Eddie had slammed a hand on the table in front of them to silence them, and allowed you to sit in on their campaign to “watch and learn”.

And you tried. You really, truly did try. But even after an evening of sitting in on a campaign, you had no idea what in the world was going on.

You told Eddie as much when they were done for the day. He had laughed at first, but quickly grew serious and asked you why in the world you would lie and pretend to be interested in a thing like D&D.

You shrugged and looked away. Honesty was the best policy, right? “I wanted to talk to you,” you muttered. “And I knew you liked D&D, so I just…” you trailed off in embarrassment.

Eddie had smiled, then. That smile that you adored. He shoved his hands in his pockets and said, “I’m sure we can find something else to talk about.”

Your head whipped around to face him. “Really?”

He laughed lightly. “Hey, if you’re willing to deal with me and these guys, you must really want to talk. And you stuck it through tonight, so you automatically won yourself a bit of my time.”

You’d laughed, relief flooding through your veins. You didn’t notice the look that Eddie sent your way. Earlier, his glances at you had been full of uncertainty or confusion. But now? He couldn’t help the curiousness or the beginnings of happiness that crept into his gaze when he looked at you.

Eddie had walked you out to your car, the two of you talking as you slowly made your way across the parking lot. You found out about his uncle, and he found out that your parents were rarely ever home. You learned about his band, and he found out that you were music obsessed.

When you’d finally made it into your car and watched Eddie walk away, you gave a quiet squeal and covered your face. The campaign might have gone horribly for you, but at least Eddie was still willing to give you a chance.

Things had only gotten better from there. You and Eddie had exchanged numbers the next day at school, and it turned out that while you weren’t very skilled at D&D, you had other things in common.

For one, you genuinely liked the music he played and you fell in love with his band. He liked the fact that you knew how to crochet, and he enjoyed watching you as he worked.

And even though there were things that you didn’t share an interest in, you loved each other enough to support each other in everything that you did.

Not that you loved Eddie. Well, you did, but you weren’t sure if he loved you back, so you’d never said it out loud before.

You almost had, once. You cringed at the memory.

You and Eddie had been friends for about a year, and he’d finally summoned the courage to ask you on a date. You’d said yes, of course, and Eddie had taken you to the Starcourt Mall to watch a movie, get some ice cream courtesy of Steve, and buy you a beautiful spring dress that you planned to wear on your next date.

As Eddie drove you home, his hand wandered over to yours and he gently intertwined your fingers with his. You couldn’t stop the blush that crept up to your cheeks as you squeezed his hand lightly.

When you reached your house, Eddie was the perfect gentleman and walked you all the way to your front door, your joint hands swinging between you.

He smiled at you as you reached the porch, bringing your hand up to brush his lips against your knuckles. “Had fun tonight?”

You smiled back, taking a step closer to him. “Yeah. Lots of fun, thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me, darling, it was my pleasure.”

You giggled and looked down. “Does that mean there’s going to be a second date?”

Eddie had smiled, his arm winding around your back to pull you up against him. He let go of your hand to brush a strand of hair away from your face and cup your cheek.

“Of course there’s gonna be a second date,” he said. “And a third,” he said before he kissed the tip of your nose. “And a fourth”, he said with a kiss to your forehead. “And a fifth,” with a kiss to your cheek. “And a hundred after that,” he muttered as he tilted his head down to press his lips softly to yours.

You swear you had felt fireworks explode in your stomach, with sparks shooting behind your eyes and your heart beating out of your chest as your brain turned to mush.

Things weren’t any better on Eddie’s end. His knees had turned to jello and he felt lighter than he’d ever felt before. He couldn’t think of anything but you, and the way your hands were pulling him closer and closer still, while your lips danced gently against his.

You gripped Eddie’s shoulders and pushed a hand through his wild hair as you continued to kiss each other in the dim light of your porch.

When you finally pulled away, you saw that Eddie’s cheeks were absolutely scarlet, and that his smile was bigger than you’d ever seen it.

In that moment, you’d felt no fear. Being honest about your feelings seemed so easy. You took a deep breath. “Eddie, I lo-”

A dog barked aggressively nearby, causing both of your heads to snap around. You tensed up as Eddie’s arm tightened around you. Once a few seconds had passed, Eddie let out a small chuckle. “You alright?”

You nodded, feeling your courage slip away.

“What were you going to say?”

You looked up at him, his eyes gentle as a smile tugged at his lips. You smiled softly and leaned forward to press one more kiss to his lips. “Nothing. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

A flicker of something had crossed his features, and a small pit of regret settled in your stomach. But he masked his features quickly, and gave you a nod and a smile. “Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

You couldn’t help but smile at the memory now, though you wished that you could gather up the courage to finally tell your boyfriend how you felt. Especially now that you’d been dating for more than a year.

Your gaze focused back on Eddie, who, to your surprise, was looking right back at you. “What’re you smiling at?” Eddie asked softly. You saw that his attention was momentarily diverted from the game in front of him, his eyes focused on you.

“Eddie, pay attention!” Dustin shouted from across the table, the other party members clamoring in agreement.

Eddie ignored them all, his gaze steady.

You smiled at him and shook your head. “I’ll tell you later. I promise.”

Eddie smiled back at you, his hand reaching out to gently intertwine your fingers as he turned back towards the party.

Everyone muttered some variation of, “finally, Eddie,” right before Eddie threw another challenge their way that led to loud frustration and anger.

You settled back and got comfortable as Eddie let go of your hand to continue to gesture and speak.

Throughout the evening though, he would turn towards you, a loving smile or quick hand brush reminding you that he appreciated your presence.

And when he looked over at you, a smile on his lips as he blew you a quick kiss, you realized that it was time to tell him how you felt. Not now, of course, you would never interrupt an active campaign. But today was definitely the day.

Meanwhile, only half of Eddie’s brain was focused on the campaign. The other half was in a mixed up jumble, worrying about what would happen later when he took you stargazing and told you that he loved you.

He couldn’t help but smile to himself as he thought about what your reaction would be.

He glanced back at you once again. He could only hope that you felt the same.

A smile pulled at your lips as Eddie looked back at you again, his tongue poking out between his lips as he made a funny face.

You laughed good-naturedly as a smile broke through his features.

He didn’t turn right back around this time though. He stood, both of you with a smile on your faces, each thinking the exact same thing.

Oh, how I love that smile.

#fanfic #fic #eddie munson #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #eddie munson fanfic #eddie x reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem!reader fluff #eddie munson x female reader #d&d #dustin henderson #dustin and eddie

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jess-i-e · 2 years

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I feel like Dustin knows Eddie so well. He knew how to talk to him and calm him down. He didn't let the girls run and pull Eddie off Steve, he let Eddie know that he and everyone else was safe, and weren't going to hurt him. I wonder if he's seen Eddie panic before, and knows how to help.

#eddie munson #autistic eddie munson #eddie stranger things #dustin henderson #dustin and eddie

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madelynraemunson · 2 months

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CALL ME WHAT YOU WANT 𓆩♡𓆪

(Book #1 of the Hellfire Gentlemen’s Club series)

strip club owner!eddie x fem!exotic dancer!hargrove!reader

𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐀𝐔 18+ MDNI

Chapter 019: The Piggyback

If you had the chance to do it over again with Eddie — and DO IT RIGHT — would you?

↳ chapters: 001, 002*, 003** , 004**, 005 , 006 , 007* , 008**, 009, 010, 011, 012* , 013**, 014** , 015, 016**, 017, 018, 019, 020* * = somewhat smut , ** = smut

CW: hospital setting, dialogue heavy, uncertainty, fluff, talks of blood/broken bones/etc., car accident implications

word count: 2.5k words

“I’ll pick up these broken pieces ‘til I’m bleeding, if that’ll make it right.”

♡

Hawkins Memorial Hospital reeks of bleach wipes and bitter tears.

“Eddie…” Dustin wails. “No no no, noooo. Eddie…”

You’re sitting on the floor of the nurses station with Robin, Steve, and Nancy while the ‘kiddos’ occupy the waiting chairs. Surely, it's got to be unsanitary, but contracting germs off the floor of the ICU were the least of your concerns.

Your eyes follow Wayne as he helplessly wheels around, talking to anyone who would lend him an ear... anyone who would possibly know anything about his nephew’s condition.

“And my nephew — Eddie — he's self-employed,” Wayne continues to tell them.

Wheeling…wheeling…wheeling…

“But the Program he’s with allows him to go through Scott Clarke. You know Scott Clarke Insurance? It’s S-c-o-t-t, C-l-a-r-k-e… I’m through them too…”

But the able-bodied personnel are too fast for old Wayne, walking at a speed about 5mph while his frail fingers can only allow him up to 2 and a half. Just like the liters of oxygen he is on.

“Does he have a case manager assigned to him yet?” Wayne wonders. “If so I would like their name, please.”

Eventually Wayne’s voice fades the further away he gets. And just so you don't wallow in your misery, you go to your phone to see if anyone else has been reaching out to you for updates.

Justice (Hellfire)

Omg just heard the news! Hey girlie, is Eddie ok??? Can we come see him yet??

Just as you expected. Annoyed, you respond.

Girl fuck you

Suddenly a hand squeezes your kneecap. You didn't realize how aggressively you were tapping your feet until Max stops you.

“Doing okay, sis?”

“Yeah I'm just...” you sigh. “…going through all the emotions I guess. And in a fucked up way, I'm kinda convinced this is all my fault."

“You're a dumbass," she scowls at you. "How could you have possibly seen this coming? This was not in anyone’s control."

“I broke the rule,” is all you say. “We never go to bed angry.”

The odds have always been against you. You would think you knew that by now. It was probably why you spent all morning beating yourself up; because you knew that if you did, there's a huge possibility that Eddie would pull through. The Universe is twisted like that.

Suddenly, a pair of white coats are seen coming out of Eddie's room. Everybody in the party immediately stands, like it's some formation exercise at a bootcamp of sorts. Wayne eventually circles back as well, gazing up at Dr. Owens with hopeful eyes.

“Eddie is going to be okay,” Owens concludes. “You can all breathe now.”

The room fills with bone-weary, but nonetheless celebratory cheers. Owens and Eddie's nurse, Nurse Patty allows everybody to hug one another in relief. Eddie's doctor goes to speak again when the clamor dies down.

“But he did have to undergo emergency surgery,” Dr. Owens adds. “And he lost a lot of blood, so we have him on additional transfusions, as well as an antibiotic for an infection caused by his wounds. The plan for him is to recover, hopefully get him up with therapy when the time is right, and then he can get out of here.”

“Can we see him?” your voice cracks.

“That is up to him," the doctor responds. "But for now, what the young man told me is that he wants chocolate pudding... and to see his Uncle and girlfriend."

You and Wayne waste no time. Unlocking the brakes of his wheelchair, you lug Eddie's uncle into ICU room #010, unsure of what is to greet you behind the curtains.

The room is littered with juice and jello, laced by an overpowering bleach-esque fragrance that most likely was there to mask the innate smell of blood and other bodily fluids.

Beep, beep, beep, goes the familiar IV machine. And funny enough, Eddie has his TV on, blasting South Park on full volume, exactly the way it normally would be playing at the Harrington-Munson estate.

"…tell everyone the truth about whose fault this is! I didn't do anything!" ... "...you KNEW about the prank, you could've stopped it at any time, but you didn't say a word. SILENCE IS VIOLENCE!"

And there is Eddie, dressed in a mesh-fabric gauze bandana, a worn-out beige hospital gown, with matching grippy socks. His entire lower lip is busted, left arm in a cast, both of his heels elevated with blood-saturated pillows. And his hair... you didn't even want to think about the matting. But that is ground to be covered much later.

When Eddie sees the two of you, he only utters one sentence:

“Does this mean I finally get that motorcycle?”

“You fucking idiot!” you wail going in to hug him.

Eddie chuckles solemnly as you completely fall into his embrace, soaking his gown with your salty tears.

"I thought we lost you, Eddie,” you whisper in his ear as you sniff your tears away. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if we did...knowing what I said."

He strokes your hair. "You have every right to be mad at me. I've been such a shitty boyfriend to you."

“I second that,” Wayne huffs, crossing his arms. “The idiot part, I mean… but I’m glad you’re okay, son.”

“Tell me something I don’t know, Wayne,” Eddie grumbles. “I knew those Eddie Stops would catch up to me one day.”

Eventually, the rest of the party spills in, starting with the batallion of younger Hellfire boys who were inconsolable all morning, absolutely petrified of losing their role-model.

"Jesus,” Dustin breathes. “We thought you were a-goner!”

"Hey guys, good to see ya," Eddie grins, soaking up every bit of attention from his little minions as they all pile on top of him. Suddenly, he flinches. "Hey hey hey, watch my IVs! I've got an important med running through that piggyback."

"Right, sorry," they all utter in unison as they separate themselves from him.

Steve is next in line to give Eddie a hug, followed by Robin, and Nancy, and soon Jonathan. Chrissy and Argyle are the next people to trail in, with Henry and Nina at their tail. Then, the Corroded Coffin boys soon after.

"Eddie, oh my god!" Chrissy cries. "Don't you ever scare any of us like that again!"

"Good to see ya, Chris," Eddie smiles, giving her a one-armed hug. "Hey Neens! Creel! Villalobos. Boys.”

"So not cool man," Argyle shakes his head. "So not cool. We were worried sick for you."

As you all iron out the details, it is discovered that Eddie got into the accident shortly after leaving your place. He, in fact did, pull an Eddie Stop, failing to see the car coming at him from his left side, which then resulted in him getting T-boned. The other driver was okay. In fact, he was the one who called the ambulance for him.

"How much longer until you're discharged?" Nancy asks.

"I'm not too sure," Eddie sighs. "Hopefully in a few weeks."

He fails to sit up completely, wincing once again when his pain drags him down. Everybody nearly rushes to his aid, tenderly lowering Eddie back onto the bed while encouraging him to take it easy.

"Don't even worry about it, Eds," Lucas assures him. "We can hold down the fort."

"Oh that's reassuring," Eddie mutters sarcastically, shaking his head in discontent.

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing!"

---

You decide to stay with Eddie for the afternoon while everyone else goes home. A couple others stay behind as well, so you all take turns alternating, helping the nurses with their care and making sure Eddie isn't alone when a specialist from his team comes to see him.

But for now, it's just you and him, cuddled up in his rather stiff hospital bed, watching TV to pass time by.

"It feels weird sitting in place for once," he comments. "My body isn't used to laying down for a long period of time."

"Constantly in fight or flight, huh?" you tut. "Always on the go..."

Eddie whistles. "God, you have no idea..."

"Nah, I do," you insist, grabbing his hand to kiss it. "Our flights just look a lil different is all."

Suddenly, your phone rings again, causing both you and Eddie to jolt in shock. This time, it's your FaceTime ringtone... and on the other line, is Kassidy, quite possibly accompanied by the other Hellfire Girls.

"Jesus H. Christ," you mumble. "They've been spamming me all morning. Probably just wanna know how you're doing."

"Answer it," Eddie encourages you sharply. His tone is rather gruff, and urgent. "I need to talk to them."

Because you're nice enough to allow the girls the luxury of knowing their lord and savior is alive, you answer the call and hand your phone to Eddie. There's a slight pause before the call is connected.

"Hi," is all Eddie says.

"Eddie! OMG!" the girls squeal through the other line, of course all while failing to acknowledge you — the person whose number they called in the first place. "Are you okay?!"

"Yes girls, I'm fine..." he sighs. "How's Hellfire? Everyone holding down the fort?"

"Of course, just like we do best," Kassidy responds. "We just miss you, Eddie. What happened?"

"Got T-boned."

"OMG, whose fault was it?"

"Mine," he seems relatively short with them.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm in a little bit of pain. But I got some pain meds to help me."

"Thank God!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hospital walls, Nina and Chrissy stare at each other in bewilderment, a look that is naturally followed by one of disgust.

"Oh I know damn well..." Nina shakes her head.

"Stupid ass bitches," Chrissy adds.

Being the nosy girls they are, Nina and Chrissy crane their heads over into the room, eavesdropping on the FaceTime conversation between Eddie and the Hellfire Girls.

"Oh Eddie," Emmy pouts. "We're so glad that you're doing okay."

"Yeah, Eddie!" Lady chirps. "When do you think you'll be released?"

"Hopefully I'll be out in about two weeks," Eddie responds. "But I'll stay at home for a bit before coming back. You won't even know I'm gone."

The girls cheer obnoxiously on the other line. You try to act indifferent towards everything for Eddie's sake, but it's hard for you to feign something that so evidently isn't true.

Eddie senses it. And what he says next to the girls takes you by surprise.

"...But," Eddie says. "In that same amount of time, I expect your lockers to be cleared... as well as your side of the dressing room."

There's a brief silence while the girls try to piece together what Eddie means by that. Because surely it doesn't mean what they initially thought it meant.

"Why? Are we getting moved?"

"No, you're all getting terminated."

So it was exactly what they thought it meant.

"Wh-what? Why?!"

"What do you mean why?" Eddie demands.

He begins to list off everything they have done wrong, all of which they pretended to be oblivious about until now.

"The final straw is calling my girlfriend's phone, non-stop, knowing that's the only way to get through to me," Eddie goes on. "And not even acknowledging her! And even if you did, you all have some damn nerve considering what you guys did at Hellfire."

"You don't even have proof of us damaging her property though!" Justice argues. "So for all we know, you're just accusing us of things, Eddie."

"That's funny," you speak up. "Who said anything about property damage?"

Caught in their own trap.

The MAIN reason Eddie couldn't fire the Hellfire Girls when they put sugar in your gas tank was because you didn't have any proof that they did it, therefore it wouldn't hold up well if the girls decided to sue for wrongful termination. Again, lots of legalities to come in to play.

The girls were smart though. Choosing to wreck your car because they knew it was parked in the security camera's blindspot. Essentially, after the damage was done, it would be your word against theirs. And there was only so much that Eddie could do with the "subtle jabs". But now that you have a confession, Eddie can work off of that.

"But Eddie!" Justice whines. "This is so unfair. We've known you, and been at Hellfire longer than she has."

"Two weeks," Eddie reiterates, still firm on his decision. "That's enough time for you ladies to figure out the next step. I wish you the best of luck."

The ending of the FaceTime call wasn't a pretty one. It mainly consisted of denying and bargaining, all of which Eddie did not have the energy to be receptive to.

You and Eddie continue to hash it out with the girls over the phone, all while Nina and Chrissy were twerking in celebration because it meant more money for them during tip outs. And most importantly, celebrating you getting the justice you deserve...along with the possibility of you coming back.

"That was something I should've done way long ago," Eddie sighs as he hands you your phone back. "I hate dealing with legal shit."

"I'm sorry that they ended up being horrible," you frown.

"And I'm sorry that they ended up being horrible to you," Eddie counters. "I really wish I could've done more for you. But up until now my hands were tied legally, honey. And financially."

"It was a sticky situation," you mutter. "But...I knew you had a favorite."

He kisses your forehead once more and you lean into him again, resting your head against his chest and wrapping your leg around his torso.

"Ow, ow, OW!" Eddie yelps.

"Sorry!"

You asunder again.

"You think you're gonna find enough dancers in time?" you ask him.

"We'll be okay four dancers short," Eddie assures you. "And besides, more tips for the other ladies when it comes down to tip-outs. They did Hellfire a favor."

Exactly what Chrissy and Nina were thinking.

"Speaking of Hellfire..." Eddie quips. "Does this mean you're coming back?"

"Only if I'm still welcome."

"Of course you are, babe," Eddie chuckles. "Everyone there loves you."

Your heart flutters at the forsaken "L" word, uttered with so much certainty and fondness.

"...including me," Eddie adds. "I love you, man."

You bite your lip to contain your excitement as you blush, giving Eddie a light punch across his chest.

"I love you too...man."

And as a way to poke fun at you, Eddie flashes you a "surf's up" sign with his non-crippled fingers. He puts on his most pretentious California accent possible, one he learned how to do from Argyle.

"Righteous...man."

And before it could get any more intimate, Chrissy makes her way into the room, reaching into her tote bag to give you something she's been holding onto since she arrived.

You watch as she unveils a familiar velvet garment — your cloak. She gives you a courtly bow as she hands it back over to you, symbolizing an end to your very brief retirement from Hellfire, and a permanent seat at The Party's table.

"You know Hargrove, I believe..." says Chrissy. "...that this is for you."

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