endlessly-rambling

[endlessly-rambling]

Masterlist

The Twins of New York

Chapter One

Chapter Two

[endlessly-rambling]

The Twins From New York: Chapter Two

September 29, 1985

6:30 am

The sun was threatening to break through the sky. Soft hues of orange and yellow bled through the darkness of the night sky. Rose awoke to the sound birds singing outside her window.  She sighed. As much as she wanted to stay in her warm bed and sleep, she knew she’d feel guilty if she strayed from her routine. Since she was 11 years old, she and her father would wake up and go for a run first thing each morning. ‘To appreciate each day’, he would always tell her. While everyone was still sleeping, she was embracing the early hours of a new day.

Rose slipped on a pair of running shorts and a sweatshirt before grabbing her sneakers. She shuddered as she stepped out of the house. It was a cool 47 degrees. Even if her father no longer ran with her, it was a way for her to clear her mind. Though today was a brisk day, the chill of the wind motivates her to run.

Thirty minutes later, Rose returned home. The Sun was shining bright in the sky, and the chill from earlier had turned into a soft warmth.

Time for the day to start.

-

Quinn stretched as she woke up to the sound of a lawn mower outside. Ugh, Dad. She groaned as she rolled over to check the time. 11:00. Might as well get up. Eddie had invited Quinn to watch band practice today in an hour or so and she wanted to look somewhat presentable. Rolling out of bed, she slipped on her bathrobe and headed to the kitchen. Rose sat at the table, reading while an English muffin sat on a plate getting cold. Quinn poured herself a cup of coffee and strolled over to the table.

“So when did you get in last night?” Rose questioned as Quinn sat down, not looking up from her book.

“A little after midnight.” Quinn mumbled quickly.

“Oh,” Rose closed her book and looked up at her sister, thoroughly intrigued. “So you and Eddie had a lot to go over, huh?” She teased.

Quinn felt her cheeks getting hot as she thought back about the night before. “Okay so maybe we did a little more than just going over a couple things.”

“Please tell.” Rose chuckled, watching Quinn’s gaze drift into the distance.

“Well, we ended up going back to his car to smoke and let’s just say Eddie’s a pretty decent kisser.” Quinn looked down as she was full on blushing now. What a night.

“I saw the way you two were looking at each other at Hellfire. Damn. Good for you, girl.” Quinn noticed the vacant, longing expression on her sister’s face.

“What about you and Gareth? He seemed to be eyeing you.” Quinn asked. Rose scoffed.

“What? Gareth? I don’t think so. He was just being nice because we’re new. Probably just wanted to make sure I felt included or something.” She secretly hoped what she was saying wasn’t true, but she didn’t want to get her own hopes up.

Quinn shrugged, rising out of her seat. “I have to get ready. Eddie will probably be here around noon.”

-

The girl’s went their separate ways and both began to get ready for their day. Today was Rose’s first day of work. Shortly after arriving in Hawkins, Dustin had introduced the twins to a couple of his friends. One friend being Steve Harrington. Steve seemed to really enjoy being around Rose and they spent quite a bit of time talking when they first met. She had been talking about wanting to save up some money so she could move out when she turned eighteen. It was almost as if the universe was listening in on them. Steve told her that Family Video was hiring and he could see if she could start the following week.

She was always so nervous about starting at a new job. She felt especially nervous today though. Steve had offered to pick her up and go over a few things so she would be a little more prepared for her first day. Steve. He wasn’t typically her type, but for some reason she couldn’t help but feel some type of way when she thought about him. Maybe it was the fact that he was a little older, more independent, or maybe it was how he was so good with the younger kids and acted goofy with them. God. She let out an exasperated huff as she tried to push the thought away and focus on getting ready.

Quinn was in her room, sitting on the edge of her bed fiddling with her rings. She too was nervous. What if last night wasn’t real? They had been smoking. What if he just kissed her because he was high? What if she was just someone new for him to get his hands on? Ugh. What if he acts differently now that they’ve kissed? She felt a pit in her stomach as the thoughts kept coming and coming. She sighed, looking herself over in the mirror one more time. Whatever happens, happens. A knock at the door snapped her from her thoughts. Shit.

-

Standing at the door was Eddie, waiting with a smile on his face. Quinn had quickly run down the stairs to the door before her parents could answer it.

“Hey!” Quinn said quickly, and a bit louder than she meant. ‘Great job not looking too eager’ she thought.

“Hey back at you.” Eddie said with a slight chuckle, his curls dancing in his face from the wind.

She glanced past him at the driveway. His van wasn’t there.

“Um. Where is your ride?”

“Oh! Next door.” Eddie stated, pointing to the driveway next door. “I’m so used to driving to Gareth’s for practice that I didn’t even realize you lived next door when I dropped you off last night.”

“Shhhh,” Quinn hushed him as she quickly shut the door behind her. “I wasn’t supposed to be out so late last night.”

Eddie laughed as they started walking over to Gareth’s, slinging his arm around Quinn’s shoulder. He started going over what the guys normally do at practice, but she was barely listening. She couldn’t help but feel butterflies bubbling inside of her and her thoughts raced as they walked over.

-

Rose sighed as she looked in the bathroom mirror. She just finished up with her makeup and hair but wasn’t sure if she was happy with the result. Oh well. Steve was supposed to be here anytime now. She decided to look for her sister while she waited. After taking a lap around the house, she was unable to find any sign of Quinn.

“Hey, mom. Where’s Quinn?”

“I think she left. It sounded like someone came by for her…” she was suddenly interrupted by a loud clash of drums that was followed by guitar playing “Goodness, that neighbor boy is making too much noise. I thought we were moving to a quiet neighborhood.”

Rose rolled her eyes as she grabbed her purse and stepped out the door. She looked next door to find Eddie’s van. Figures. She made her way over to the garage and waved as she made eye contact with Quinn.

“Hey, Rose! I didn’t realize you guys lived next door.” Gareth flashed her a smile and a little wink. Or did he? Maybe he didn’t. Maybe she was just imagining it.

“Oh, yeah. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other.” Her cheeks were burning hot as she was cursing herself at the poor attempt at a response.

Before the conversation could continue, a car screeching to a stop caused everyone’s attention to turn to the driveway.

“Hey! Rose right? New girl?”

It was Jason and two other guys from the basketball team. Rose felt her heart stop and fall into her stomach. What did they want? Especially with her?

“I saw you running this morning. You should try out for the cheer squad. I think you’ll fit right in.” Jason jeered with a smirk.

“You definitely have the legs for it. The uniform would be perfect on you.” One of the other players chimed in.

She felt nauseous at the thought of someone watching her. Jason especially. Gareth and the other guys were seething. Even just from the seat of his car, Jason had Rose feeling cornered. Like he was a wolf about to tear up a little lost lamb.

In the corner of her eye, Rose spotted a car pulling into her driveway. Out stepped Steve. Once he caught eye of the driver, he stormed over.  

“Hey, princess.” Steve called out in a firm tone as he stepped beside Rose placing his hand on her back. “Is there something you needed, Carver?”

Gareth was taken aback by both the appearance of Steve and what he just called Rose. First Jason, now Steve too? He could feel himself filling with rage. Not only was Rose’s attention torn from his, now it’s being fought for by Mr. Popular 1 and Mr. Popular 2.

“I was just telling Rose that she should try out for the cheer squad. It’ll keep her away from these freaks.” Jason looked towards the boys and Quinn in disgust, lingering on Eddie.

“She’s free to hangout with whoever she pleases. If she wants to be here, then she will be.” Gareth shouted, a burst of confidence him and the others weren’t expecting. Jason, surprised by the outburst, turned his attention back to Steve.

“Don’t come crying to me when they corrupt that pretty little head of hers.” He sneered.

Steve moved his hand from Rose’s back to her waist and pulled her close to him. She felt safe.

“Fuck off, Carver” Steve shouted, giving Rose a slight squeeze and he did so.

Jason shot Steve a little wink as he pulled away. Quinn rushed over to her sister, furious by what just happened.

“I’m gonna knock his teeth in, I swear to god,” she flipped off Jason’s car as it turned the corner “Shit, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I think so.” She stated in more of a question, leaning into Steve.

Rose checked her watch. Shit. She had to get to work. Steve noticed and nodded to his car.

“We should probably get going. See you guys later.”  Rose called out to the group, giving Gareth a departing wave and she and Steve made their way to the car.

-

“So, yeah. That’s pretty much that. Not too crazy of a job, right?” Steve was locking up Family Video as Rose stood patiently beside him.

“Not bad at all,” she replied. And it really hadn’t been. He was so patient with her as she was learning how to use the computer system, teaching her how to check and put away the DVD’s, even helping her give customers recommendations when they came in. “And, thank you again for driving me. I really appreciate it. I really enjoy spending time with you.”

“No need to thank me. I was looking forward to it.” He gave her a smile as he gestured to his car. “After you.”

Rose felt her heart flutter as she began to blush. The two hopped in the car and off they went, heading to the Henderson’s.

-

Steve’s car rolled into the driveway just past midnight. Rose sighed as he put the car in park.

“What’s wrong? Don’t want to go in?” Steve asked.

“Yes and no. My bed is calling me, but I really enjoyed spending time with you. Even if it was just at work.”

“Well, you know, you could always call me up. I would love to hangout with you. Even if it was outside of work.” Steve laughed at his little joke.

“I would love that.” Rose couldn’t help but look longingly into Steve’s eyes. She didn’t want the night to come to an end.

Steve leaned in towards her. “Goodnight, Rose.” He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. The heat rose to her stomach again.

“Goodnight, Steve.” Rose couldn’t help but smile as she began to climb out of the car.

“Hey,” Rose looked back at Steve, imagining what he might say to her. But, when she looked, he was staring up at the roof.  “Is that Eddie?”

She looked up too. Sure enough, Eddie was attempting to climb through the window into Quinn’s room. He was surely struggling. He finally noticed the headlights and gave the two an awkward smile and a little wave.

Rose sighed, “yeah.” She wished someone would sneak into her room to meet her.

She waved to Steve as she reached the front door. Watching as he pulled away. Once she was finally left alone to her thoughts, she finally realized how exhausted she was. She made her way to her room. The light from Quinn’s room creeped out from under the door illuminating the hall floor.

Rose reached her room, closing the door gently, trying not to wake her parents or disturb Quinn and Eddie. She turned on a dim light in the corner of her room, illuminating just enough for her to make out the furniture. Not caring, or simply being too exhausted to think of it, Rose let the curtains open. Little did she know, Gareth’s room sat facing hers.

He didn’t notice at first but earlier that night, Gareth was alerted to the sound of something rustling in the bushes outside. That something being Eddie at Quinn’s window. Gareth shook his head as he began to shut his curtains but stopped. Something moving in the window next to Quinn’s caught his eye. No. Not something. Someone. Rose. His breath hitched. If he wasn’t looking directly at her, he wouldn’t have seen her with how poorly lit the room was, but there she stood.

She crossed the room to set her purse down then removed her shoes. He backed away from the window slightly. Surely she would go to close the curtains and he did not want to get caught when she did, but that didn’t happen. She never moved to the window. Instead, she stood in place and began undoing her belt. Shit. This was wrong. I shouldn’t be looking, Gareth kept telling himself but he couldn’t stop watching her. He watched as she undid her jeans and slid them down her thighs to her ankles. Her pale skin was vibrant in the darkness of her room. She made her way over to a dresser and pulled out an article of clothing. Rose slipped her work vest off and pulled her sweater over her head. There she stood. Nothing but her bra and underwear. Gareth felt like a sinner. There was no doubt in his mind he would be going to Hell after tonight. Gareth’s heart stopped as Rose moved her hands behind her back, unhooking her bra. He couldn’t make anything out as her back was turned, but he was fine with that. He already felt so dirty after what he had already seen. She then slipped a large shirt on, falling just at the top of her thighs, hugging her hips just right.

She was gorgeous. Gareth couldn't take his eyes off her. She looked so exhausted as she crawled into bed. He wished he was there. He wanted to hold her. To rub her shoulders and make the pain of the day wash away. Gareth wanted to feel her in his arms, feel her melt into him. He couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander as he watched her tossed in bed. He needed to be there. To feel her against him. He wanted to discover every inch of her body. To hear the noi- What is he doing? He groaned and sharply pulled the curtains closed. He’s definitely going to Hell.

-

Quinn bopped around her room as Orgasmatron by Motörhead banged against the four walls. As the song began to fade, she stopped. She heard a lot of rustling outside her window. Out of curiosity, she decided to peer out to see what kind of animal was rummaging around.

“Eddie?” Quinn said in shock.

“Yeah. Hi. I, um, was trying to knock on your window but these bushes are getting the best of me.” He scratched his head. Fuck this is embarrassing, he thought.

“Well get up here.” Quinn giggled as she backed away from the window, allowing Eddie to crawl inside.

He looked around the room. A pile of dark clothes sat on the floor in the corner. Various band tees and undergarments strayed from the pile. Band posters were plastered all over the walls and cassettes were scattered all over her dresser. A stack of vinyls was piled high next to her record player in the corner.  If she would have known he’d been coming over, she would've tidied up a bit.

“Sorry. I wasn’t expecting anyone over.” Quinn said sheepishly, embarrassed by the mess.

“No, no. It’s all good. Loads cleaner than my place.” He chuckled.

Eddie plopped down onto the bed, letting out an exasperated sigh.

“So what are you doing here anyways? You know, trying to crawl into an unsuspecting girl’s window in the middle of the night is kind of perv behavior.” She elbowed him playfully in the shoulder.

Eddie covered his face and smiled as he laughed and groaned. “You wouldn't believe me.”

“No? You’re in my house, remember? I could scream and you would be caught.” She stared at him down with a raised eyebrow.

“Fine, fine. I just couldn’t stop thinking about you and… I came over to see if you maybe wanted to hangout?” Eddie said in more of a question. Quinn just kept staring at him, making Eddie think for a split second that he made a huge mistake. Then she bursted out in a large grin.

“I would definitely like to hangout.”

“Good” Eddied breathed a sigh of relief.

“Want to watch a movie?”

-

Quinn and Eddie sat up against her headboard as Rocky Horror Picture Show played on the tv. It was one of her favorite movies. As the two sat in the darkness, she couldn’t help but want to fall into Eddie. He was so close. So warm. She shivered realizing how cold she had felt. Eddie noticed and wrapped his arm around her as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. Her heart was racing. In an attempt to relax, she rested her head on his shoulder and laid her knees against his thigh. She wouldn’t get to relax though. He moved his other hand to her knee, holding it in place. The warmth of him on her skin felt like hot coals. It felt scandalous. She couldn’t help but hope he makes another move. Prove to her that last night wasn’t just a one off. His eyes followed her gaze to his hand.

“You okay? I can let go if you want me to.. Just say the word. Do you want me to stop?”

She hesitated. She wanted him to touch her. To keep going. She just didn’t want to sound so desperate or needy.

“No, it’s okay. Don’t stop.”

She looked at him with such pleading eyes. He couldn’t help but be drawn in. He leaned in close to her and grazed her lips.

“Just tell me if I go too far,” he whispered against her.

With a gasp from Quinn, their lips crashed. This kiss wasn’t as gentle as the first one from yesterday. This one was heated and filled with urgency as if their lives depended on it. Quinn wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer, deepening the kiss. Eddie bit down on her bottom lip catching her off guard. He used this as an opportunity to glide his tongue gently over hers. She couldn’t help but moan. She squirmed against Eddie as his hands traveled from her knee slowly up to her hip, pulling her even closer to him. He switched his focus. Quinn began to feel dizzy and Eddie planted little kisses in a trail from her mouth down to her neck. Once his lips reached her carotid, he began to suck, eliciting a moan from Quinn. He licked the bruise in an effort to sooth the now sore spot then proceeded to rub his thumb to dry her of his saliva.

She grabbed his wrist, keeping it in place. She didn’t want to seem too eager, but Eddie looked into her eyes. It wasn’t hard to see how needy she was beginning to feel. He took the hint. Instead of removing his hand, he continued to move his hand up her neck. Once his fingers were flush around her neck, he gave a little squeeze. If her head wasn’t buzzing before, it was buzzing now. Quinn’s eyes involuntarily rolled back as she began to feel heat in her core. She felt like she was under his spell. He was in control.

Eddie released his grip and his lips went back to Quinn’s. He was driving her crazy. With a burst of confidence, Quinn rolled her hips over so that she was now straddling his lap. Eddie was taken aback by Quinn’s moves, but if anything, it riled him up even more. They fought for dominance with their kiss but Quinn’s efforts would be fruitless. His hands firmly gripped her hips, pulling her core against his strained jeans. Fuck. She was melting into his touch.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered against her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

He pulled her down onto him again. She was falling apart into a mewling mess. As he continued to grind her onto him, Quinn was gripping his shirt. Eddie was loving every minute of this. She was falling apart. All because of him. She was his.

Eddie flipped the two of them over. He was now on top. Fully in control of the situation. His fingers hook around the waistband of her sleep shorts.

“Is this okay?”

Quinn nodded, desperately missing his touch. He pulled her shorts off slowly. Suddenly, she felt very bare and tried to cover herself with her hands.

“You don’t need to be shy, sweetheart,” he cooed.

Eddie lifted her wrists and held them above her head with one hand. He used his other hand to massage her breasts under her shirt. She moaned under his touch. But, when she opened her eyes, she noticed that there was light coming from under her door. Suddenly, her mother's voice came from behind the door.

“Quinn? What are you doing up this late?”

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

Eddie and Quinn scrambled. The television must have been too loud and woke her parents.

“Open the door now, young lady.” her mother said sternly.

“Just a second mom!” she softly called out, as to not wake anyone else. “I’m so sorry. Go out the window. Hurry,” Quinn whispered urgently to Eddie.

He gave her a quick kiss before climbing over the ledge.

“Make it up to me.” He smiled devilishly up at her. ‘He is going to be the end of me, I swear’ she thought.

With a wink, Eddie was out of sight. Quinn’s mother was knocking at the door. She rolled her eyes, sighing. She was in for it.

-

“Yes, mom?” Quinn asked sweetly, opening the door just enough to peak her head through.

“What is all the racket going on in there?” She opened the door quickly and scanned Quinn’s room. Quinn’s bed was all disheveled, but she assumed that was from her getting up to answer her. She noticed the TV was on and glared at Quinn. “Really? Rocky Horror at this time of night? And so loud too?”

“Sorry, I didn’t realize how loud it was.” Quinn replied, looking at the floor. She was trying not to look too guilty so as to raise suspicion. Her mother sighed.

“Please just turn it off and go to bed.” she replied. Quinn nodded her head and turned off the TV, getting back into her bed. Right as her mom turned to leave and close the door, she stuck her head back in. “And next time you want to watch TV and not get caught, turn it down and put on the captioning.” she said with a slight smile.

“Yes ma’am.” Quinn replied with a half-smile.

Once her door was closed and she saw the light out in the hallway, she let out a huge sigh. She didn’t realize she had practically been holding her breath this whole time. She didn’t get caught, this time. But, her fear soon turned into longing as her mind wandered back to before her mother knocked. He really did like her. Or, liked her enough to climb through her window. She chuckled to herself remembering the sight. She turned over in her bed, trying to get comfortable and fall asleep. However, it would be a restless night for her. All she could think about was how he felt, the words he whispered to her, the ghost of his kiss on her lips, the way he looked into her eyes. She wondered if Eddie was thinking about her like she was him.

He surely was. After he finally made it home and changed, he plopped on his bed, head spinning. Did he really climb into her room? He couldn’t even believe he did that. And the rest of the night, shit. He also couldn’t sleep. All he could think about was how beautiful she looked even in her pj’s, how soft her lips felt against his, how her body felt on his. And when she flipped him over? Fuck. No one had asserted dominance over him like that before, even if it was for a split second. And, he liked it. A lot. It was like she was made for him, and he needed more.

[endlessly-rambling]

The Twins From New York: Chapter One

One week ago…

“I can’t wait til we’re out of this place.”

“That makes two of us.”

The two girls hug each other tight, get into their respective cars, and follow behind their parents. After 17 years, the girls had expected to feel more somber as they departed the Rhinebeck home. It was a somewhat sudden move.  father, David, recently took a job in his hometown and had been wanting to move back to their family since the girls were about to graduate. Luckily the girls were pretty close to their younger cousin, so the move wouldn’t be too hard on the twins.

September 28, 1985

It was a chilly Friday morning in Hawkins, Indiana. The leaves on the trees were starting to change and the cool Autumn wind soared gracefully through the town. Hawkins High School was buzzing as the twins pulled up in Quinn’s ‘83 Volkswagen Beetle, Herbs (named after The Love Bug).

“I really hope we have the same schedule. I do not want to finish senior year with a bunch of strangers.”

Rose was more anxious than she was leading on. She typically maintained a cool, calm composure but being in a new town with new people just made her stomach churned.

“We’ll see what happens. But hey, Mike’s sister is going to show us around so at least we know one person.”

Quinn tried to reassure her, but little did Rose know that she was feeling just as anxious.

As they pushed through the swarm of kids, they quickly located the office and Nancy, who was speaking with one of the receptionists. To much of their dismay, both schedules were completely different. Not a single class overlapped. They looked at each other with a knowing look of both fear and nervousness.

But, Nancy snapped the girls from their moment of despair.

“C’mon. Let me show you around a little bit before classes start.”

Nancy was great. She made sure to show where each of the girls’ classes were and give them little tips to help pass each teachers class. While walking around, Nancy had also told the girls about some of the school clubs. She had mentioned the Newspaper club which, had piqued Rose’s interest, and at the end of the subject, she had briefly mentioned a Dungeons & Dragons club that Mike was a part of. Now, that was a club Quinn could get behind.

The bell then began to ring. Nancy and the sisters said their goodbyes and went their separate ways for the day.

“Good luck!’

Nancy yelled, looking back at the twins.

~

Finally, it was lunch time, and the girls could reunite.

The cafeteria was loud as the students funneled in and met up with their friends. It was evident which ‘cliques’ were which. Quinn and Rose had managed to find each other in the chaos and were now looking for their cousin who had said they could have lunch with him and his friends.

~

The ‘Outcast’ table was getting rowdy as Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson went on another vivacious rant, yelling at those passing by and making faces at those staring. The boys chuckled around the table at the looks they were getting. After a few minutes, the table began to calm down again and the boys went back to quieter conversation.

“Dude, I swear. They’re hot!”  Mike said.

“Yeah sure. Watch them look just like the twins from the Shining. Curly pigtails and frilly dresses. Pink, I’m sure. Mike, you’re into all that girly shit.” Eddie teased, making Mike feel self-conscious for a second.

Mike has been trying to convince the boys that these unseen sisters he had met earlier in the week were actually attractive and not his inexperienced self convincing him so. Eddie was not letting him win.

“Gross, dude. Those are my cousins. And they’re not creepy twins or wear frilly dresses.”, Dustin grumbled.

“Suuuuuuuuure”, Eddie said, rolling his eyes and laughing.

Dustin had an awful look of disgust on his face which almost immediately faded to an excited expression as he adamantly waved off into the distance. Assuming he was waving the girl over, the boys turned around to see if Eddie was right.

A collective “Damn” was heard from the older boys at the table.

Eddie felt a lump in his throat as if he forgot to swallow. Next to him, Gareth was turning beet red. Obviously the boys didn’t really expect them to look like the twins from the Shining, but they definitely were not expecting them to look so beautiful. Quinn’s short, red hair was pulled into two pigtails which allowed her band tee to be on display as she walked over in black, ripped jeans and well-worn combat boots. Her collection of silver jewelry shined as she walked by the cafeteria windows. Rose’s darker red hair could easily pass off as brown had it not been for the sun shining through. It fell loosely around her shoulders in soft waves as if to warm her alongside her black, knit cardigan. She looked very comfortable, yet feminine, in a long mahogany skirt which danced around her legs, falling just above her docs. They were both giggling over Dustins excited look, finally happy to see a friendly and familiar face. Sure they were twins, but goodness. They looked like they were sent from the Devil himself to personally drag Eddie and Gareth into sin.

Eddie couldn’t help but see someone else watching the girls from his peripherals. Jason and the rest of the basketball team were quietly chatting amongst themselves and eyeing up the twins as if they were walking around in nothing but their undergarments. Eddie knew that the boys were going to be a problem. Thankfully the two girls hadn’t noticed, or simply paid no mind.

“Hey guys!” Rose called out a few feet back.

“Hey, Dustin. These are your friends?” Quinn asked as they got to the table.

“Yeah. This is Eddie, Gareth, and Jeff. You’ve already met Mike.You guys, this is Quinn and Rose”

The three boys smiled up at the girls and Jeff gave them a little wave as the boys slid down a seat on each side so Quinn and Rose could sit. Eddie remained at the head of the table while Quinn sat next to Dustin and Rose next to Gareth.

~

As soon as Quinn saw Eddie, she knew she had to get to know him. After leaving New York, she hadn’t met anyone like him, much less seen anyone like him. Everyone here in ‘Smalltown America’ was much less progressive than the people she had known back home. Here, everything about her made her an outcast. From her love of Dungeons & Dragons to her taste in music. Eddie, on the other hand, made her feel like she was home again, just his presence alone. Seeing her favorite band patches on his battle vest made her feel like she was sitting with the right people. She planned on asking about his D&D club, but she would do that later. She didn’t want to seem so eager.

Little did she know, Eddie wanted to get to know her too. It wasn’t often he met a girl who, at the least, liked the same music as him. It was mostly him and his small group of friends. He thought that would be all he needed but now, a part of him felt like he needed her too. He would try to sneak glances at her while she was speaking to someone else at the table to study her. How she dressed, how she talked, how her eyes lit up when she laughed. He has never met someone so much like him. Someone so perfect.

Now, Gareth felt like he was going to pass out. Rose looked absolutely wicked, yet somehow so sweet. He could have sworn she put a spell on him. His normal sly, cool composure was currently missing as his dizzy head buzzed and his knees felt weak and weightless. God, he thought. What is wrong with me? Sat beside him, Rose was feeling just as weak. She could feel his warmth against her right shoulder. Oh, and those curls. She couldn’t help but watch them bounce as he turned his head to follow the conversation. Her heart felt like it was moving a mile a minute and at any point now she would drop to the floor from a heart attack.

~

The conversation at lunch was light and was filled mostly with small talk. Jeff had brought up their band, Corroded Coffin, suggesting the girls come watch them practice sometime. The two were definitely interested. Eddie rerouted the conversation to Dungeons & Dragons, of course. He wanted to make a point of this evening's meeting to make sure the younger boys wouldn’t forget.

“Would you guys be interested in another person joining?” Quinn asked, her voice shaking slightly as all the boys stared at her.

Quinn was desperate to get in on the club. She had nothing better to do outside of school. She wasn’t interested in getting a job quite yet and none of the other clubs she had cared for. Not to mention it would give her more time to get to know Eddie.

“Sure. Why don’t you sit in tonight to see where we’re at then you can play with us starting next week.” Eddie responded, his heart pounding. This girl was into D&D too? What other surprises was she hiding?

Quinn was also elated.

The bell rang signaling lunch was over and it was time for everyone to head back to their classes. The girls said goodbye to the boys and went off, happy to finally be meeting more people.

~

The last bell rang, signaling that the end of the school day had arrived.Students spilled from their classrooms out to the parking lot. Finally free. Rose wandered the halls to the library to pick up a couple books for her classes and, to her dismay, the library was already closed up for the weekend. Rats. She sighed in mild frustration as she walked towards the theater room, hoping to find a quiet room to do her school work in while Quinn was at Hellfire. The halls were empty as she approached the theater hall. After pulling on a couple door handles, she finally found a room that was unlocked. It was the band room. Not exactly what she was looking for, but it’ll work.

She opened the door. Only a dim floor lamp lit the large room. Right as she flicked on the fluorescents there was a loud crash in the room. She yelped as her hand went to clutch her chest.

“I’m so sorry. I thought the room was empty.” Rose said, in between breaths and she was trying to catch hers.

Crouched on the ground was Gareth who was picking up his cymbals which he knocked over from the sudden light startling him.

“It’s okay. I was just finishing up here anyways. It’s almost time for Hellfire.” Gareth looked up, realizing it was Rose. That damn beautiful Rose.

Realizing it was just her, alone with Gareth, Rose began to get flustered, not realizing the same was happening to Gareth

“I know you didn’t want to join, but did you maybe want to come watch? Since your sister is in it. Maybe it’ll pass the time?” Gareth was trying to fill the awkward silence, but his question was asked in all sincerity.

“Um, I uh.. have some work I need to finish up but I’ll definitely come check it out when I’m done.” Rose said, looking down at her boots, afraid that she might combust if she looked at his face.

“Sounds good. I’ll, uh, see you there.”

Gareth strolled out of the room and Rose made her way to a desk sat in the corner of the room. Fuck, that was awkward.

~

Quinn’s heart was beating out of her chest. After the bell had rung, she met Eddie in the theater room so he could tell her about his campaign. They were sat close to each other, knees practically touching, hovering over Eddie’s work. She could smell the remnants of cigarette smoke and his earthy shampoo.

“So what do you think?” Eddie asked, looking over at Quinn with the biggest grin, proud of everything he had put together and hoping Quinn was impressed.

“Um, it’s great. I’m really excited to see where it goes.” Quinn said, still looking down and smiling  at the table. She couldn’t muster the couragento look up at him

“I’m glad you decided to join. I’ve been wanting one more person to join. I’m just lucky that one person was you.” Eddie said, almost whispering the last sentence and he looked back down at the table.

Was he flirting with her? She couldn’t help but blush at the thought. Thankfully, right then Dustin and Mike walked in so she wouldn’t have to dwell on the silence.

Soon, the other boys joined and the game began. Eddie put on the theatrics and everyone was enthralled. Quinn was loving the energy. Back in New York, the D&D clubs she had tried being a part of just bored her. The DM’s  had no creativity or enthusiasm. But this, this was amazing. Eddie was amazing. Throughout the night, Eddie kept stealing glances at Quinn. The way her eyes were wide and just lit up with every turn in the story made his heart race. At some point in the night, Eddie decided to write a note to Quinn. He waited til the players were talking amongst themselves in a circle.

Do you want to stay after Hellfire for a bit?

He carefully slid it over to her. She gave him a confused look as she picked the note up and began reading. He wants me to stay after? She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. Maybe he just wants to hangout as friends. It’s nothing. She tried to convince herself it wasn’t anything more so she wouldn’t get her hopes up. Quinn looked back at him, smiling while blushing slightly,  and nodded. Eddie would have the cheesiest grin on his face for the rest of the night.

~

Finally, Rose caught up with most of her school work and decided she may as well head to Hellfire and wait for the game to wrap up there. She swung her bag over her shoulder and made her way to the theater room. The voices of the group grew louder as she neared. They were really into the game. The door opened slowly as it was heavier than the other door that had been down the hall. After scanning the room for a spare chair, she couldn’t find one as she sneaked in. She began to set her bag on the floor and slide down beside it, but she managed to catch the eyes of Gareth. He stood up and waved her over to come sit in his chair. Rose shook her head but he seemed pretty insistent so she made her way over.

“Thank you.” said Rose, giving Gareth a small smile.

“A beautiful girl shouldn’t be sitting on the floor.”

The exchange was whispered between the two causing Rose to blush more than it should have. She could feel his presence hovering over her and the heat from his hands resting on the back of the chair beside her shoulders. She felt weak. She glanced over to her sister. Quinnwas staring back at her with  such a shit-eating grin on her face. Rose felt like she was being caught red-handed and looked away to focus on the game.

~

Hellfire finally had come to an end. Jeff rounded up the younger boys and headedtowards his car to take them home. It was just the four of them left. Rose grabbed her bag from beside the door and walked over to Quinn. She was exhausted and ready to just crawl in bed.

“Hey, you ready to go?” she asked, hoping her sister would hear the exhaustion in her voice. But Quinn didn’t notice, as all she could think about was the note Eddie had passed earlier.

“Um, why don’t you go ahead and take the car home? Eddie wanted to go over a few things with me and he can just drop me off after.” Quinn responded, staring at Eddie as he was finishing putting some things away from the table.

“Oh. Um, yeah. Okay.” She was taken abit aback by Quinn’s statement, but Rose saw the way she looked at him.

To people that didn’t know Quinn well, they wouldn’t be able to see the excitement on her face, but Rose did. It was Friday anyway so she decided not to pry. She will definitely be asking about it in the morning. The girls said their goodbyes and Rose followed Gareth out to the parking lot. The two parted ways as she reached Quinn’s Bug and Rose made the drive home. Today has been a long, eventful day and by the time she got to her room, she simply shed her clothes and crawled into bed, not caring to close the curtain or set an alarm for the morning. She was out.

Quinn was about to get  much less sleep than her sister. She and Eddie had stayed long after everyone had left. The converstation started with Eddie making sure Quinn was keeping up okay with the campaign, but soon turned into talking about everything but D&D. The janitor was doing his final rounds and made a point to shut off the room’s lights to get any stragglers out of the building. Defeated, the two head out to the parking lot to continue their conversation in Eddie’s van. The smell of smoke, from both cigarettes and weed, hung in the air. He had a couple pillows and blankets placed in the corner and a small box. He grabbed the box and opened it to reveal a much larger stash than what he kept in his little lunchbox.

“Want to smoke?” he asked, glancing up at Quinn, not sure what she was going to say. To his luck, she nodded her head ‘yes.’

“Why the hell not?” she chuckled.

He began to roll a joint as Quinn took in Eddie as the moon shone over him. The light seemed to accentuate his curls. His features more prominent. He was beautiful. He looked up at her. His big, brown eyes just made her melt.

“Could you grab the matches from my jacket pocket?”

Eddie’s hands were busy packing the box back up while the unlit joint hung from his lips. She leaned forward to feel for the matches in his pocket. He was so close. She could easily just turn her head and kiss him. She could just… but no. She couldn’t tell if he was into her or just charming. Grabbing the little box, she sat back down and handed the matches over. Eddie struck one, lighting the freshly rolled joint. They spent the next couple minutes in silence, passing it back and forth, inhaling the intoxicating smoke. Quinn could feel her body relax as she slid into her high. She could feel her skin buzzing and looked at Eddie. He had leaned back as he relaxed. His head resting on the wall behind him exposing his adam’s apple. His shirt had rode up slightly and Quinn couldn’t help but look down and admire the now exposed treasure trail. She could feel a knot in her stomach as her head began to buzz. After a few moments, Eddie sat up and caught her gaze on his body.

“Like what you see?” Eddie said with a smirk.

She looked up, embarrassed. She didn’t realize she had been staring that long. Her face was turning bright red by the second. She froze as Eddie began to move towards her. Was he going to tell her off? Tell her to get out of his van?

“You don’t have to be shy around me.”

He was so close to her. His breath tickled her neck as he whispered to her. Their eyes met momentarily before he leaned into her and pressed a kiss into her lips. She stopped breathing, melting under him. After a few seconds, she gained some confidence. One hand on his chest, the other reaching for his hair, she leaned into him. The kiss deepend which turned the gentle kiss on the lips to a heated, desperate makeout. They grabbed on to each other tight, wherever their hands could grasp, as if at any point they would be ripped away from each other. They were still buzzing from their high, minds clouded by a lust filled fever. Time was passing fast around them.

The two eventually pull apart to catch some air. Checking his watch, Eddie noted that it was nearly midnight. He groaned a little as he realized how late it was. He didn’t want to push her further tonight and the last thing he needed was the parents of this beautiful, new girl to come for him for keeping her out too late.

“I should probably get you home.” said looking up from his watch. A breathless Quinn looked at hers and grumbled as well. She didn’t want what was happening to end, but she knew he was just trying to keep her from getting in trouble, which was getting more and more likely as the seconds passed.

Quinn agreed and they crawled into their seats and Eddie took off. She quickly adjusted her clothes and fixed her hair in an effort to look as if nothing had just happened in the van. He kept stealing looks at her as he drove while she was fixing herself back up. He smiled to himself. They finally roll up to her house and Eddie put the van in park.

“I had fun tonight, Eddie.”

Quinn  leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek before getting out of the car, slowly closing the door to not alert her parents. He smiled and waved as he rolled away and she walked through the door. Luckily, Rose must of covered for her late arrival home, because no one was up to catch her sneaking back in. Making her way up to her room, she recounted the events of the night. She couldn’t help just shudder and blush at the thought of Eddie’s body against her. Quinn had finally made it into her bed and laid there, eventually falling asleep to the thoughts of Eddie.