clownieboidi3

[clownieboidi3]

Set-Up

Gareth x fm reader (not completely edited)

Dustin Henderson was enraged. He was mad at his mom and the utterly ridiculous rule she made. Dustin was not allowed to date until his sister started dating. Claudia Henderson knew exactly what she was doing when she made that rule, she knew that her daughter was not the dating type so it would be a while until she finally got a boyfriend. Claudia knew it was selfish, but she wanted Dustin to stay as 'young' and 'innocent' for as long as possible. She just didn't want to lose her youngest child, her baby. Now, Dustin had no problem with keeping secrets, but he wanted to be able to speak openly about his girlfriend without having his mother react negatively.

Ophelia Henderson, wasn't a shy, closed-off person. And with the past events dealing with the upside down and all the crap that has happened in Hawkins, she has become more mature. She was not afraid to speak her mind when it was needed and could easily start up a conversation with a stranger if she felt like it. The only reason why she didn't date was because no one ever really spiked her interest. Of course, Ophelia had crushes before but never felt that those feelings were strong enough to act on. So, when she heard the bizarre rule her mom made, naturally she felt bad for her brother. Ophelia knew about Suzie, and Dustin frequently complained to her about not being able to discuss his first girlfriend in front of Claudia.

Ophelia had been home from school for quite some time now and was studying in her room; Duran Duran who was playing in the background made it easier to stay focused. Ever since the start of her junior year, she made a promise to herself to study extra hard in prep for college, even though it was still a while away. Ophelia would like to think of herself as a confident and determined person who loves being challenged, so setting goals has always been fun for her. There was a light knock on the door which she could only assume was her mother and quickly got up to open the door.

"Hey Hun, Dustin asked to be picked up. You wouldn't mind doing it would you?" Claudia asked with pleading eyes and a small smile.

"Yeah sure, I can do it. I don't have much going on anyway, but I expect an extra slice of pie after dinner tonight." Ophelia and her mom have always been close ever since her dad left. Being the oldest child and Claudia's only daughter there was an unspoken bond that caused them to get along well. But like every family, they did have their disagreements from time to time.

Claudia let out a short laugh, "Of course, whatever you want, sweetie." Ophelia grabbed her keys and hopped into her small Ford Escort. Ophelia thought it was a cute car and practically begged her mom to get it for her when her 16th birthday came, since then she has treated it like it was the most important thing ever. So naturally, she kept it tidy, the only super distinctive thing in the car with her was her bag that she brought everywhere because it has 'everything' in it. It took a decent amount of time to get to the school since they lived basically in the middle of nowhere, usually, that didn't bother Ophelia since she spent her life here, but the drives could be a bit tedious at times.

𖦹Earlier𖦹

Dustin was in a sour mood the entire morning which followed him to lunch. He was staring at the back of Ophelia's head hoping somehow telepathically she could feel his anger, they coincidentally had the same lunch period (they sat with different people). Lucas and Mike have been talking about whatever until Mike finally spoke up. "Why are you staring at Ophelia?"

"She got asked out again, and it wasn't even like some nerd. It was a jock and she still rejected him! Why can't she just date someone and make my life easier?" Dustin was still staring at her with an annoyed look on his face. He just couldn't understand why his sister had to have such high standards.

"Do you really think a jock is her type? And if you're so mad at her rejecting everyone, why don't you just try setting her up with someone who she will like?", Lucas said while picking up a French fry from his tray.

Dustin looked over to Lucas, "Oh my God, I don't know why I didn't think of that in the first place. But what do you think her type is?"

Lucas thought for a moment, "Well she's smart and likes to read, she listens to a lot of music too. So, we just need to find someone who's like that." The guys collectively thought of some who kind of matched that description. Mike looked down to the other side of the table where the rest of the members of the D&D club they're a part of, sat.

"I think I've just thought of the perfect person." Both the guys look to Mike and then over towards the person who he was pointing to.

"Do you really think she'll like him, of all people?" Dustin questioned Mike. Mike shrugged; Dusting looked at his sister again. He decided that he would do whatever he can to push Ophelia toward the idea of dating his club member.

𖦹𖦹

Ophelia pulled up to the high school, parking in a spot nearest to the entrance. There were a few cars scattered in the parking lot from staff and members from other clubs. This wasn't the first time that she had picked up Dustin, so she had little to no trouble finding the club room. Usually, the meetings were over before Ophelia could get to the club room, however, today she could hear voices coming from the room. It was muffled but still loud enough to make out different voices. She knocked on the door and was greeted by her fairly shocked bother.

"Oh, Ophelia. You're early," Dustin coughed out, almost chocking on his spit at the sight of his sister at the club door.

"Didn't you call Mom", Ophelia rightfully questioned. Dustin thought for a second and shut the door.

"Uh- rude", she scoffed. Ophelia heard a conversation start up again from within the room but quieter than previously. Ophelia just leaned on the wall near the door waiting to resume questioning her brother. When the door opened again the girl was greeted by a different face.

"Well, well, well, you must be Henderson's sister that I've heard so much about. I am-", the new face started to say.

Ophelia quickly interrupted, "Yeah, you're Eddie Munson. You're supposed to be the leader of this group, right?" Of course, Ophelia had heard of Eddie, it was hard not to when he makes quite a stir at lunch; plus, the rumors of Eddie the 'Freak' were hard to ignore. Being 20 and still being a senior is a hard feat to accomplish, and doesn't go unnoticed by the school oriented girl. She did not really approve of her young impressionable brother hanging out with a grown adult like that, but it's not like she can do much. All she does is tell Dustin how much she would rather see him hang out with Steven. The smile on the eccentric 20-year-old grew as the girl Henderson's went down.

"You know who I am? I'm honored. As you can see our campaign has been, well, prolonged. So, you're going to have to come back another time, or you can wait and watch" Eddie said. Ophelia thought for a second, drive home just to come back later? As much as it pained her to have to spend any more time with Eddie, she had her mind set on her brother (and gas money) so she decided to stay.

"Yeah, no. I didn't drive all the way here for nothing. I'm definitely going to take up your offer." Eddie happily opened the door wider. With the door out of the way she could see a perfect view of all the club members and them staring right back at her. 'Yeah, totally not awkward at all', Ophelia couldn't help but think. Dustin who sensed the awkwardness radiating from his sister decided it was a good time to introduce her.

"So, guys, this is my sister, Ophelia. Ophelia these are the members of Hellfire." Ophelia had recognized his brother's best friends, Lucas and Mike, but she didn't recognize the three other members, but she assumed she'd meet them later. Her brother grabbed a chair and went to set it next to him but was interrupted by Eddie.

"Henderson, you can come set the chair next to me." Ophelia looked at Dustin, her brother mimicked her actions but just shrugged and went to go set the chair next to the dungeon master. Eddie's smile was still as wide as it was when she insisted on staying which she didn't give a second thought to because it fit his personality. Ophelia didn't hesitate to get comfortable and pull out a book, she missed the look Dustin gave to Eddie as if a plan was working just the way he wanted it to. But she did notice the guy sitting on the other side of her who seemed to have incredibly fluffy hair. She noticed the curve of his jaw and the deep shade of his hair, taking short peeks from her book, trying not to come off as creepy in the cute guys peripheral view. She said a small 'hi' to the cute mystery dude to be polite and went back to reading her book. The rest of the campaign didn't last long, and Ophelia was honestly a little annoyed with Eddie trying to spike up a conversation while she was attempting to read. She thought it was strange, like if he is supposed to be the dungeon master, why is he expending so much of his attention on her? Ophelia was fighting the urge to roll her eyes far back into her head at every comment pointed for her to hear, his lackeys also beginning to get irritated.

When the campaign ended after a grueling 10 minutes, she decided to get a head start and go start the car, not noticing that she left behind her book which lay in the chair where she previously sat. Once she got to the car, she grabbed the keys from the bag noticing the missing book almost immediately.

"Go ahead and wait in the car, I forgot to grab my book." Ophelia threw Dustin the keys who was almost nice enough to comply but decided to go socialize with Mike and Lucas who were by the bike rack, instead. Ophelia just rolled her eyes, she passed by two of the three guys she didn't recognize and Eddie a while after them.

"Henderson, you're still here? Don't tell me you missed me?"

"You wish, I was just unfortunate enough to leave my book behind."

"Well, if you need help, I'm sure Gareth will be willing to help you, it's his turn to clean up the club room." Ophelia didn't know who he was talking about but just assumed it was one of the three mystery boys she didn't get a chance to ask names of. She didn't think much about it and just focused on getting her book.

When she got back to the club room, she saw the guy Eddie mentioned but was surprised to see it was the fluffy-haired guy. He was in the middle of wiping the now cleared table, caught surprised.

"Oh girl Henderson, funny seeing you back here", Gareth commented stopping mid swipe of a rag on the now cleared board.

Ophelia replied, I guess that's me, and you must be Gareth."

"Wow, you know who I am, that's a nice surprise", the boy coughed back, shocked. Ophelia smiled, she remembered what she had heard during the campaign and thought it would be funny to tease Gareth a little. Sitting next to him didn't give her the best chance to get a good look at him, but now face to face she could see his bouncy hair, blue eyes, and even the necklace that dangled over the table with the pirate charm weighing it down. Ophelia caught a couple of glimpses of his side profile when she looked up from time to time when she was reading her book and already thought his side profile was cute, but now getting to see him in full let her appreciate his beauty.

"Whaaat how could I not know you, aren't you Gareth the Great?" Ophelia purposely prolonged the 'what' for an added effect. The boy who was still trying to brush the earlier embarrassment tried to laugh it off as a new fire was added to his cheeks. Ophelia could see a light blush on his cheeks, she found that cute and made her more interested in getting the Hellfire member more reactive.

"Of course, you heard that totally not embarrassing at all. But at least I wasn't reading some sappy romance novel with the name 'Beginners' Love'." Now it was Ophelia's turn to be embarrassed, she laughed slightly trying to think of a comeback. Of course she had to pick to re-read her favorite cheesy romance series at this time, of all the books on her shelf.

"It's a good book, I doubt you read anything at all", Ophelia fired back.

"I actually do things with my life so no I don't get a chance to read much", laughed Gareth. He had caught onto Ophelia's playful insults and decided to throw one right back at her. He did not mind one bit as long as it meant he got to keep the pleasant interaction going.

'Finally' , Ophelia thought, she was finally talking to a boy who wasn't afraid of a little sarcasm. Ophelia knew she was a pretty girl, she wasn't blind on the advanced of the boys in her grade (and sometimes underclassman that got a quick firm no), in fact, Ophelia was too aware of how all the boys who would come to her where well... bland. She knows it's hard to be picky in a small town like Hawkins, but with as much as this girl has read it was hard for her not to dream of that 'perfect man'. Quickly Ophelia fired back, "Oh yeah? What do you do, Gareth besides Role-play 24/7?"

"For your information, I am in several different clubs AND I'm in a band", Gareth said with a quick smirk forming on his face. Ophelia would have never guessed that Gareth was in a band, but she could see him being in chess club or something equally nerdy. Now hearing that, she could only imagine what his role in the band could be. She imaged Gareth playing different roles, scream-singing into a mic, sliding his fingers down the cords of an electric guitar, or even playing slamming down onto the keys of a keyboard.

"You're in a band? No way, do you have proof?"

Gareth let out a quick huff, "Do you just expect me to carry around drum sticks everywhere? If you want proof you can come to our practice, tomorrow." The cat was out the bag, Gareth was a drummer. Ophelia almost found it fitting for him to be the one to let all his anger out onto the instrument, she started to imagine him playing on it. His hands getting sweaty as the callouses formed from the wore out sticks, sweat dripping down his forehead getting flung all over the set as he banging his head to the beat of his drums. Henderson was now full on blushing as she tried to shake the thoughts of him out her head.

"I'm definitely going to be there; I have to see this to believe it." Ophelia and Gareth continued their banter about books and Ophelia brought up how Gareth just caught her with a good-bad book and telling him to 'just wait and see' when it got cut short by Dustin barging in.

"Ophelia, how long does it take to find a b-" Dustin noticed both his sister and Gareth looking back at him, this was not the guy he hoped Ophelia found interest in. When Dustin set up Ophelia to sit next to Eddie, he was hoping that she would see the charisma and charm of his character that he felt was obvious. He spent a good time talking his sister up to the dungeon master to even get him to agree with the idea of a set up, now it could all get messed up because the older Henderson couldn't just do what Dustin wanted her to do.

Trying to quickly end any ideas he quickly chirped up, "Oh, Gareth I see you've met my sister, but we should be on our way now." Ophelia gave Dustin a look and he took the hint and went ahead without her.

"Sorry about him, but he's right I should get going", she said as she grabbed her book from his calloused hands, confirming her daydream, and shoved it in her bag. Ophelia didn't know what compelled her to do it but she impulsively pulled out a small piece of paper and quickly wrote her number. When Gareth got the paper, he was surprised, he has never got a girl's number before, and with such ease. Maybe he should mention his band more.

"Call me so I can get the details of your band practice" Gareth nodded and Ophelia smiled leaving the room.