The Freak and the Jedi (Eddie Munson x female!Henderson!reader)
Chapter one: The Hellfire Club
Words: 4194
Warnings: foul language, mentions of bullying, drugs.
A/N: guys, i have no idea why this chapter took so long to write. for some reason my life got busy this past week and couldn't even finish the first draft. but here it is now, i hope you like it!
ps. i kinda forgot that eddie is technically three years older than reader but let's pretend that's not an issue here ;)
Series Masterlist
Prologue <> Next chapter
Chapter one: The Hellfire Club
“Son of a bitch!” Dustin yelled from his room.
“Language!” I yelled back at him from the hall. I rummaged through my back, ensuring everything was in it for our last day of school before spring break.
Walking into the living room, I found my mom sitting on the big armchair, enjoying her usual morning soap opera.
“Sweetie, can you pick Dustin up from school later?” she asked as I sat down on the couch next to her to tie my shoelaces.
“You know I always do,” I frowned. “He’s got his D&D club later, anyways, so I’ll pick him up after my shift and Lucas’ game,” I added loud enough for her to hear over the noise of the TV.
“Honey, I told you dozens of times that we’re fine. You don’t need to take any more shifts,” she looked at me with a worried look.
I shook my head at her. “I know, but it works for extracurricular activities and you know colleges love that,” I stood up from my seat, glancing up at the clock on the wall. “Speaking of, has the mail arrived yet?” I bit my lip.
“Not yet, honey-buns, but don’t worry, you’ll get your acceptance letter,” she tried to reassure me, although anxiety was eating my brain away. “NYU would be stupid not to accept such as bright student,” she continued, and I laughed heartedly at her unconditional love. “Now, off you go, or you’ll both be late,” she fixed her eyes again on the screen.
“Damn it!” I cursed, walking back to Dustin’s room and heavily pounding on the door. “Dustin, what’s going on in there? We’re gonna be late!” I was about to slide it open when he yelled.
“Don’t come in, I’m naked!”
I screamed in terror at the thought, closing my eyes as I stepped back with my hands away from the door, turning around and running in the opposite direction to avoid seeing anything. I heard my mom laugh as I stood in by the front door, praying Dustin would just hurry up.
A whole minute passed until Dustin came running through the hall with a wide grin on his face. “Alright, I’m done, we can leave,” he fixed his cap with one hand as the other held his opened backpack. My eyes squinted at the sight of his Hellfire Club shirt. “What?” he asked when he noticed the direction of my eyes.
I was still a bit taller than him, but there was no denying that he had grown over the summer.
“Have you ever washed that shirt?” I asked quickly, grabbing the car keys and opening the door behind me, hoping Dustin wouldn’t notice my racing heart at the mere sight of the shirt.
He looked offended. “Of course I have, I’m not Mike!” he laughed at his joke as he followed me, pressing a kiss onto our mom’s head as a goodbye.
“Thankfully,” I sighed jokingly. “Bye, mom!” I called as I stepped out into our driveway.
“Have fun, kids!” she yelled after us.
“So, did Suzie make it?” I asked Dustin as we drove away from our house.
Dustin grinned cheerfully at me. “You’re now looking at your favorite A- Spanish student!”
I laughed, despite the illegal situation. “I still have no idea how she does it. Can’t you both get in trouble for this?”
Dustin merely shrugged. “She’s a genius; I doubt it,” he grabbed his radio, adjusting the frequency. “Anybody copy?”
At the silence he got in return, I took the opportunity to talk. “You know, I’m decent in Spanish, I could’ve helped you,” I bit my lip, waiting for his answer.
He sighed. “Yeah, I know. But you were busy with your SATs and your job and your college essay, I just didn’t want to put more pressure on you,” he responded.
My heart wrenched, only feeling love for the kid. “So you asked Steve?” I lifted my eyebrow, trying to keep the conversation mild and joking.
“He’s not really doing anything besides working,” he shrugged again.
“You know he flunked Spanish three years in a row, right?” I briefly looked at him to get my point across before returning my eyes to the road ahead of me. “Only reason he passed was because of his hair.”
He snorted. “Wait, what?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, Mr. García went through a divorce last year and almost went bald out of stress. Steve did him a favor with his gel. I don’t think life has ever been this unfair but here we are,” I answered as we approached our high school.
Dustin laughed out loud. “Alright, he did not tell me that.”
“Of course, he didn’t. He would never give away his secret to perfect hair,” I offered as I looked for an empty spot.
“Well, he did tell me once,” Dustin argued, crossing his arms.
“Yeah, and look how well that turned out,” I messed with him.
He hit me in the arm slightly, quickly changing the topic. “Speaking of Steve,” he didn’t finish.
“What about him?” I wondered, finally finding a spot nearby.
“You know, he’s single,” Dustin looked at his hands.
I snorted. “He’s definitely not single, Dus, he’s been going on dates pretty much every day since the past weeks,” I told him, recounting the many names he casually dropped on our conversation last time I visited him and Robin at work.
“Okay, but he doesn’t have a girlfriend, and for some reason he refuses to date Robin, which I still don’t comprehend,” I winced at the memory, slipping in and out of consciousness in a cubicle next to them, listening as they both poured their hearts out. Only my groans of pain let them know I was listening, and the three of us had become somewhat of a pack since the events at Starcourt Mall. “So, why wouldn’t you date each other?” Dustin finished as we both stepped out of the car.
“What?” I nearly tripped over my feet. “Nope, no, definitely not, Steve’s not my type,” my cheeks reddened at the thought. We were close, especially after he practically claimed Dustin as his own, but dating was the last on my priorities list after everything that had happened.
Dustin squinted his eyes at me as he walked around the car to join me. “Then who is?”
My eyes unconsciously fell on Eddie, who was headbanging next to his van to a loud Iron Maiden song, ignoring the disgusted looks he received from other students. I felt the heat in my face despite the chilly air blowing.
“No one,” I averted my eyes from him, thankfully getting lost in the cheering crowd in front of us, pumped up for the pep rally.
“Hey, wait up!” Robin suddenly spoke loudly behind us.
I turned around with a big smirk on my face, hugging her quickly.
“I’m gonna go find Mike,” Dustin yelled over the noise, nodding his head at us before running off to the side.
“So, excited for your performance?” I slung my arm across her shoulders as we walked together to the gym.
Robin tensed. “I mean, I’m not gonna puke out of anxiety or anything, but I do feel like I might collapse if I have to stand another minute next to Vicky,” she laughed it off, but her nerves radiated off her in powerful waves.
“No luck, then?” I asked sympathetically.
“No luck. I don’t care what Steve says, there’s no way she would ever be interested in me,” she gripped her trumpet’s case harder.
“What did he say?” I inquired.
“That she likes boobies,” she deadpanned, sending me in a fit of giggles.
I gripped her shoulder tighter before parting. “If she’s not in love with you, then she’s an idiot,” I smiled at her.
“You’re not in love with me, though,” she called after me as she went away.
“Don’t tempt me!” I yelled before making my way into the gym, just hoping the stupid pep rally would be over.
“Max!” I called after the redhead as she exited the bathroom with a disturbed look on her face. “Everything alright?” I asked her, seeing her eyes shift in and out of focus.
She gave me a short nod. “Yeah, everything’s fine. I’m late for class. Bye,” she barely allowed me to talk, rapidly walking around me and down the hall to her next lesson.
I shrugged my shoulders, knowing she had barely been around lately, coping with everything that had gone down at home after Billy’s passing.
As soon as I opened the door to the girls’ bathroom, a shriek send shivers down my spine, the loud noise echoing in the tiled room.
“Go away! Go away! Go away!” the girl cried, her sobs breaking my heart.
I took tentative steps towards her voice, wanting to help. “Hey, you okay in there?”
She was silent beside her panting. A disheveled-looking Chrissy Cunningham slowly came out of the stall, looking everywhere around her before fixing her eyes on me.
“Chrissy? Are you alright?” I stood where I was, not wanting to scare her away.
She barely nodded, still looking around fearfully. “Yeah, I was just… um… practicing,” Chrissy was shaking, her voice trembling and unsure.
I saw right through her lie, but I didn’t push her on it. “Well, it was pretty convincing, you scared me for a second,” I smiled softly at her, trying to reassure her. “You sure you’re fine? I mean, I know we’re not exactly friends but you know… If you need someone to talk to, I’m here,” I awkwardly motioned to myself, a weird habit I had copied from Dustin.
She shook her head softly, yet slightly grinned at me. “I’m fine, really, thank you for worrying,” she grabbed her backpack and quickly washed her face. “I just have a lot of things on my mind lately. You know, with cheering, and finals, and my mom, and,” she stopped herself, looking at me with a weird look. “I’m really sorry, I should probably go,” she fixed her ponytail in an instant, suddenly the popular head cheerleader standing before me, the picture-perfect Hawkins High School girl.
“Hey, Cunningham,” I stopped her before she left, making her turn in her heels. “Whatever it is that you got going on, I really hope you make it,” I smiled sympathetically.
She nodded her head. “Right back at you, Henderson.”
When Chrissy left, I sprinted towards the stall she had been at, searching for anything that might had make her behave that way, but I was only met with a dirty toilet.
Nancy was already waiting for me at our usual table in the cafeteria. She wore a bored face, her eyes rapidly scanning over a textbook.
I placed my tray in front of her, yet she didn’t look up. “What are you even studying for,” I laughed as I sat down. “Mid-terms are over.”
Nancy frowned. “I need every single second I can get to retain the most possible amount of information. Emmerson doesn’t accept just anyone,” she flicked the page with rage, making me laugh at her antics.
“I’m pretty sure Emmerson doesn’t accept corpses,” I shoved a fry in my mouth.
That caught her attention. “What do you mean?” she frowned at me.
“I mean that unless you eat so you don’t die of starvation, you won’t be alive by the time you get to college,” I closed her book for her, putting it away and shoving her own tray in front of her.
Nancy rolled her eyes, but the uplifted corner of her lips let me know she wasn’t mad at me.
“Well, NYU won’t accept someone who simply feeds on pizza and french fries,” she took one from my tray and ate it.
“Said the pot to the kettle,” we laughed. “So, still no sign from Emmerson?” I asked her casually.
“No. No sign from NYU?” she asked me in return.
“Nope,” I sighed. The past weeks had been filled with the anxious waiting for the acceptance letter, but it never seemed to come. “We’ll get in,” I offered with a determined look on my face.
Nancy didn’t look so sure. “I just don’t understand why they’re taking so long.”
“'cause they’re assholes,” I responded, making Nancy laugh out loud.
“That makes sense,” she was about to continue talking when a well-known voice started yelling on the other side of the cafeteria.
“But as long as you’re into band,” I immediately looked up, finding Eddie on top of his table, his dramatic antics drawing a smile on my face. “Or science. Or… parties,” his voice went an octave higher, making me silently chuckle at it. “Or a game where you toss balls into laundry baskets…”
But Jason Carver was already on his feet. “You want something, freak?” He stared down at Eddie despite him having the high ground, his jaw clenched at the long-haired boy who stared back at him, rapidly putting his fingers as horns to mock him.
Everybody at his table laughed, including my brother. I briefly shared a look with him, shaking my head as I laughed. The rest of the cafeteria returned to their own devices once Eddie sat down, not without yelling again, scaring a couple of girls next to him.
I audibly laughed as he let them pass with an exaggerated bow, and for a split second his eyes were on me. And for that split second, it seemed as if we were the same kids in love we once were.
We both broke eye contact at the same time, turning my head around to face Nancy, who was looking at me with squinted eyes.
“You’re blushing,” she noted, taking yet another of my fries into her mouth.
“I’m not,” I tried defending myself, but another harsh look from her shut me up.
“I don’t know what our brothers see in him. He’s just so… him,” she whispered.
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
Nancy sighed, clearly trying to find the right words. “I mean, I don’t know him personally. But you know, he’s loud and hyperactive, and his grades… This is his third senior year,” her face screamed with scandal. “And you know… he’s a dealer. He could literally be imprisoned his whole life for that.”
Her words still stung a little.
“Trust me, I know,” I said, a bit bitter. “But honestly, once you get to know him, you get it,” I said, my hunger suddenly leaving my body. “Any news about Jonathan?” I changed the subject quickly.
A vacant look filled Nancy’s eyes. “Nope. He still hasn’t got his letter either,” she wasn’t looking at me anymore.
“And you’re not visiting him tomorrow?” I asked.
The harsh glance she sent me was enough to shut me up completely. Despite Nancy barely talking about it, I knew she wasn’t on the right page with him.
Silence fell over us as we continued with our lunch, the slightly tense air involving us like a thick cloud of smoke. Lunch was slowly coming to an end, anyway. Eddie kept running around the place, talking about how he was finally graduating, but at that point everybody simply ignored him. My eyes followed him around on their own accord as Nancy went back to her book.
I frowned when he grabbed Dustin and Mike and stood up with them, not hearing what he was telling them, but by the scared faces on both kids, I knew it had to be about Lucas missing their campaign that evening.
He sent them on their way, and as Eddie turned around, our eyes met again. He smiled at me, almost shyly, and I imperceptively raised my hand as a greeting.
Over the years, that had been most of our interactions. A few hellos and goodbyes in the halls, silent greetings after their Hellfire Club meetings. Shy smiles from the other end of the cafeteria. And eternal gratefulness for taking Dustin in.
When the bell rang, everybody grabbed their things and stood up. Nancy barely looked up from her book, gracefully exiting the room and walking calculated steps to her next class.
“Hey, Nance, need me to pick Mike up too this evening?” I asked her.
She shook her head with a grin. “Oh, no, thanks, I gotta stay behind for the paper and the game,” she answered, reaching her locker.
I stood beside her as she put a few books away. “I can’t wait to read about how amazing and awesome our mighty basketball captain is,” I rolled my eyes at the thought of another headlining paper about Jason.
“That’s exactly what he needs. More to feed his ego,” Nancy played along, making me laugh one last time.
“Bye, Wheeler, remember not to die before Emmerson,” I said before leaving in the opposite direction.
Turning the corner, I found a normal-dressed Robin walking towards the exit, waving her trumpet case around.
“Looking good, Buckley,” I laughed while punching her lightly in the arm.
Robin laughed despite her red face. “Looking even better, Henderson,” she called after me.
I winked at her in response, walking backward when my back collapsed against something warm.
“Looking better indeed, Henderson,” Eddie’s low voice was in my ear.
I turned around with wide eyes, not expecting the interaction. I was speechless as I looked at him, his wild hair falling on his shoulders and his jacket open to reveal his own Hellfire Club shirt.
I blinked, a thousand replies swirling around my head. “You don’t look too bad yourself, Munson,” I finally answered, internally cringing at the lame line.
Eddie didn’t seem to care, for his smile was wide in return. We were both staring at each other, standing the closest we had ever been in years, and I felt like a young teenage girl again. My heart beat loudly in my chest, and the sheer proximity made me curl my fingers as if they were desperately trying to reach out to him.
“Hey, so I wanted to talk to you about something,” I spoke, using the opportunity to thank him for his friendship with my brother when Jason appeared out of nowhere.
He shoved Eddie away, standing protectively in front of me. “You bothering her now, freak?”
I rolled my eyes in annoyance. “Carver, this is none of your business,” I asked him, pushing him out of the way. “Don’t you have another school to annoy with long-ass speeches?” I was fiercely staring down at him, not enjoying the way he had treated Eddie since day one.
“Yeah, Carver, this is none of your business,” Eddie copied my words, standing next to me as we both looked at him and his idiotic minions, laughing to ourselves as he shook his head and left with them.
“Gosh, I can’t stand that guy,” I sighed as I looked at Eddie. “I also hate the way he talks to you,” I confessed, feeling the need to comfort him.
He shrugged at me with a smile, but I knew he hid many emotions behind it. “It’s funnier this way. Gives me enough material to write songs about how much I hate high school,” he added.
“Corroded Coffin thrives off teenage angst,” I joked, making him laugh. Fuck, how I missed that laugh.
The second bell rang, wordlessly putting an end to our conversation.
“Well, princess, time to go to class,” we both started walking in the same direction.
I frowned at him. “You never go to class.”
Eddie jokingly put a hand on his heart as if deeply offended by my words. “But didn’t I tell you? I’m graduating this year. ‘86, baby!” he yelled, making me laugh as I put a hand over his mouth, knowing the people in the nearby classrooms would not appreciate the disturbance.
“Then why are you walking to the exit?” I pointed out with a smirk.
He grinned back at me, holding his lunchbox up in the air for me to see. “Special delivery,” he put a finger over his lips. “But that’s a secret.”
I laughed at him. “And you’re telling me this because?”
Eddie stopped laughing but looked at me with a soft smile. “You already know everything about me. What’s one thing more?” he winked again before turning around, leaving me a blushing mess in the middle of an empty hall.
Tammy Thompson’s hymn would forever remain Number 1 on the list of things I’d never want to hear again. Steve and Robin’s shared horrified expressions furthered my point, slightly laughing at their evident disgust.
I was sitting down next to Nancy, who, pen and notebook in hand, was scribbling down every single movement of our high school team. With a quick motion, Lucas was called into the field, wearing a surprised expression on his face. I looked up to Steve, both of us excited to see him play for once. With our Tigers only two points behind the guest team and only twenty seconds left on the scoreboard, the stakes had never been higher. Even Nancy was bouncing with tension, a victory so close yet so far.
Time slowed down as Jason shot for the basket, his team standing below it, ready to catch the ball as it bounced on the panel and out of range. But Lucas was quicker. He grabbed the ball, and dodging his opponents, stepped a couple of feet away and shot with all his might.
And just like that, the Tigers of Hawkins High School won.
The entire gym jumped up and down in glee, cheering for the winners. I screamed for Lucas, my chest swelling in pride at the tall boy I had seen grow up next to my brother. He was hoisted up by Jason and surrounded by many students, his face looking around in confusion as if he didn’t believe it.
I spotted him as he exited the gym, walking next to his teammates.
“Sinclair!” Steve called him from my side.
I engulfed him in a tight embrace when he stopped in front of us. “Congratulations, Lucas!” I squeezed his shoulders, staring at him as a proud mother would.
“You did amazing out there,” Steve shook his hand in a fatherly way, making me chuckle at their interaction.
He was smiling wide. “Thanks, guys. It means a lot that you came,” he said with a truthful smile.
“Are you kidding? We wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Steve replied, patting him on the shoulder.
“Did you see Max, by any chance? Or Dustin, or Mike? Erica?” he asked, his smile dropping at the sight of our faces.
“I’m sorry, Lucas. I’ll hit Dustin in the head when I get home,” I told him, earning a quiet laugh from him in return.
“I gotta go, anyways, the guys want to celebrate our win.”
Steve nodded. “Go have fun. But not too much fun!” he sent a pointed look to him. I laughed at Lucas’ face, fully used to Steve’s antics. “I have to go, too, gotta pick up Robin,” he said, walking to the driver’s seat of his car. “Want me to take you home?” he asked as he ignited the car.
“No, thanks, my car’s here, I’m picking Dustin up now,” I answered.
Steve waved at me as he left, leaving me standing in the middle of the parking lot waiting for Dustin to show up, which thankfully didn’t take long.
The Hellfire Club left the school cheering and fist bumping between themselves, wide grins on their faces as they all scattered around the few cars and bikes left.
“Hey! We won!” Dustin ran to me when he spotted me, his D&D binder in his hands.
“Congrats,” I smiled, already feeling tired at the long day behind us. “Can we go home now? I’m exhausted.”
Dustin nodded and quickly followed me to our car, rambling about the campaign. I made my best efforts to listen to him despite not remembering much about the game.
A soft knock on my car’s window brought me back to Earth, finding Eddie on the other side with a smirk on his face.
“Well played, little Henderson,” he greeted Dustin once I rolled down my window.
“I told you, Erica is amazing,” he said.
I frowned at the information. “Erica was with you?” I asked him, a bit angrily.
“Yeah, we were one player short,” Eddie answered for him. “Lucas missed it.”
“And you missed Lucas’ game,” I said to Dustin as I started the car.
Dustin held his hands up in the air. “We tried to change the date but Eddie wouldn’t let us.”
I shot an angry look at Eddie. “And you simply couldn’t wait one day to support a member of your own club?”
Eddie was at a loss for words. “You can’t just postpone ‘the Cult of Vecna’!” he basically yelled, but I was already shaking my head.
“That’s a shitty thing to do, Munson,” I said, rolling up my window and driving away with a defeated-looking Dustin, ignoring Eddie’s heartbroken face in my rearview mirror.
“That wasn’t cool,” Dustin said after a few seconds of silence.
“Don’t even get me started.”
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