redheadedwhat

[redheadedwhat]

See How We Shine Chapter 7: Apologies and Revenge

Fandom: Stranger Things

Pairing: Eddie x OFC (can be read as reader insert)

Warnings: Just some cursing for now.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

“Henderson! Just the man I wanted to see!”

Eddie smiled at the boy somewhat menacingly and grabbed him by the shoulder, forcing Dustin to walk along with him. He seemed more hyped up than usual and that did not bode well for the younger boy.

“Uh, what can I do for you?” Dustin asked.

Eddie gripped the boys shoulder tighter and leaned in to speak as if he was relaying a secret.

“I heard an interesting story the other day. Apparently you asked Mouse for help with a Sociology project?”

Oh shit.

“Yeah. She was very helpful and I didn’t bother her, I promise!” Dustin answered, hoping this wasn’t going where he thought it was.

Eddie stopped walking, at some point he’d ushered Dustin to an empty hallway. This was getting worse by the minute.

“Listen, Henderson. I’ve been in this school for longer than some of the teachers. Now, obviously some of the academics didn’t quite stick, but there is one thing that has.” Eddie looked down at the younger boy, the long pause putting him on edge.

“And what’s that?” Dustin asked against his better judgment.

“The course catalog.” Eddie answered, the menacing grin from before now replaced with a blank face. “There is no Sociology class, so do you mind telling me why you questioned Mouse over an entire lunch period for a project that doesn’t exist?”

“I-I…” Dustin was at a loss for words. He really should have expected this. He'd meant to ask Minnie not to mention anything to Eddie, but in his excitement he never actually got around to it.

“Listen,” Eddie sighed and ran a hand over his face. “I don’t want to think you had bad intentions, but from my point of view you questioned a slightly weird girl about an even weirder subject matter for unknown reasons. Doesn’t look good does it?”

“I wasn’t making fun of her!” Dustin replied earnestly, seeing where Eddie was going with this. “I wanted to ask her some questions about paranormal stuff, but I didn’t know how.”

Eddie looked him over silently for a few moments before slapping him on the shoulder. “I believe you.”

Dustin let out a breath he didn’t even realize he’d been holding. He didn’t want to piss off Eddie or upset Minnie, but his sense of curiosity had a habit of getting him into trouble.

“But,” Eddie continued, “You still lied to her, so right after school you’re coming with me to tell her the truth and apologize.”

“She doesn’t know?” Dustin asked. “I figured you told her already.”

“Hell no.” Eddie shook his head. “I’m not gonna be the one to tell her that one of her favorite freshmen lied to her. That’s all on you.”

Dustins shoulders slumped, but he didn’t argue. “I have AV club until 4.”

“Fine, I’ll wait. You’re not getting out of this, Henderson.”

And with that Eddie walked off.

—--

Eddie and Dustin pulled up to a small park near Lover’s Lake a bit before 4:30 where they found Minnie sitting on a bench with a large dog next to her, looking surprised to see the two.

“What are you guys doing here?” She asked.

Eddie pushed Dustin out in front. “Henderson here has something to discuss with you,” he gave Minnie a friendly smile before leaning closer to Dustin. “I gotta go run an errand, you can walk back with her and I’ll see you at her place later. Unless she leaves you in the woods, then I’ll come find you…eventually.”

Without waiting for a reply he hopped back into his van, waving as he sped off.

Well, this was awkward. Dustin shuffled his feet nervously before blurting out;

“I thought you said you didn’t have a dog?”

“I don’t.” Minnie replied simply.

“But…” Dustin gestured to the dog that the girl was currently petting as if to say ‘But…dog.’.

Minnie rose from the bench, clipping the leash back onto the animal before moving towards him.

“This is Kaebi, he belongs to my neighbor. I just watch him on occasion.” She explained. “Now you have something to say?”

Dustin nodded. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t figure out what to say. Minnie could see his hesitation and decided to take pity on him.

“How about we start walking and you can speak whenever you’re ready?”

Dustin nodded thankfully and began walking, the large dog insinuating himself between the boy and Minnie.

“Do you know where Eddie went?” Dustin asked, relying on small talk until he could gather up the courage to admit that he’d lied to her.

“He probably went to pick up.” Minnie offered.

“Pick up what?” he asked, confused.

“Drugs.” She replied easily. “His supplier lives somewhere around here. Other side of the lake I think.”

“Why didn’t he just say that?” Dustin asked, slightly exasperated. “Does he think I don’t know? He carries around drugs in his lunch box for christs sake!”

“He probably just doesn’t want you involved.” Minnie explained. “He doesn’t even let me go with him. He won’t like me saying it, but he can be very protective of his friends.”

Dustin just nodded and continued walking, not letting it show on his face how pleased he was to hear that Eddie seemed to consider him a friend.

“I lied about the Sociology project.” He finally began. “When we played D&D at your house you seemed to know what my keychain meant and I’ve never explained it to anyone, so I was curious.”

“So you asked about myths and the paranormal because I knew about a keychain?” Minnie clarified.

“Well, it sounds weird when you put it like that.” He grumbled. “I’m really interested in paranormal stuff like ghosts and ESP, stuff like that.”

He knew that lying while he apologized for lying was not a good look, but he couldn’t exactly say ‘I know a girl with superpowers and wanted to see if there was something similar going on with you’.

“It’s a creepy subject so people don’t really like to talk about it. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I made something up.” He stopped walking to look directly at Minnie, trying not to slink back from the very large doberman standing between them that he could swear was staring at him with distrust in his eyes. “I’m really sorry for lying to you. I didn’t mean anything malicious by it, but it still wasn’t right. Please forgive me?”

Minnie looked back at him for a moment before giving him a nod. “I forgive you.” She stated before motioning for Kaebi to continue walking.

Dustin hung back for a second, confused that it was that easy.

“Really? Just like that?” He asked as he ran to catch up.

“Yup.” Minnie nodded. “That doesn’t mean I won’t get my revenge, but there’s no hard feelings.”

“If you forgive me then why do you need to get revenge?”

She shrugged. “Just for the principle of the thing.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Minnie stopped, picked up a fist-sized rock, and slipped it into her pocket. She caught Dustin glancing at her curiously.

“You can ask me questions whenever you want.” She told him. “I really don’t mind. This is one of those things I can’t really explain,” she gestured to the rock in her pocket. “Every time I take a walk recently I feel like I need to pick up a rock. Now there’s a pile of rocks on my front lawn and I’m still not sure why.”

“So, you don’t always know what you need things for right away?” Dustin asked, taking advantage of her offer and freely asking questions.

“Nope.” She shook her head. “Sometimes it takes awhile.”

“So, you're like, psychic?” Dustin questioned.

Minnie frowned at that. “I don’t think I would say that,” she replied slowly. “My mother just said I was intuitive. I don’t know what’s going to happen before it happens, I just know something’s gonna happen sometimes. That doesn’t sound very psychic to me.”

“But you know things without having to be told.” He pointed out.

“I just know stuff.” She shrugged, repeating her commonly used answer whenever anyone pointed out her strange knowledge.

He was going to continue his argument when the dog started barking. Minnie unclipped his leash and he went bounding off towards the house they were approaching. As they walked up the front steps, the door opened to reveal a small, older woman with a frown on her face. The dog stopped obediently in front her, his entire body vibrating as his tail wagged with joy.

“Who’s that?” The woman asked, nodding to Dustin. “He’s too young for you.”

“This is Dustin.” Minnie put her hand on Dustins back, “He’s in Eddie’s D&D club. Dustin this is Mrs. Kim, Kaebi is her dog.”

Mrs. Kim frowned even further at the mention of Eddie. She hadn’t liked the boy at first, but Kaebi had taken to him and Mrs. Kim trusted her dogs opinion on people more than she did Minnie’s. So now she tolerated Eddie, but wasn’t too happy about it.

Dustin stood there nervously as Mrs. Kim looked him over. Finally she shrugged and motioned for Kaebi to go inside. “Thank you for walking him. My hip’s bad today.”

“It’s no problem at all.” Minnie smiled at the woman kindly. “I met Dustin along the way, I was helping him with a Sociology project.” She turned to smile at Dustin, but he could tell that something sinister laid behind that smile.

“Actually,” Minnie continued, “He’s writing about myths across different cultures, do you think you could tell him some of the myths and folklore of Korea?”

Dustin went to open his mouth and refute her claim, but before he could speak Mrs. Kim grasped his wrist with a thin, but deceptively strong hand and began dragging him through the door.

“I would love to!” She said excitedly. “You came to the right place, young man.”

Dustin looked back at Minnie pleadingly. He would rather face a hoard of demodogs than deal with an old woman with a story to tell. Unfortunately, Minnie was not moved by his puppy eyes, she just grinned as Mrs. Kim waved her off, promising to send Dustin back to her house when they finished their talk.

Minnie made her way back home, proud of her expert revenge. She tossed the rock she picked up onto the pile with all the others she'd brought home the past few weeks. As she reached into her bag for her keys, Eddies van pulled into her driveway.

“Hey!” He smiled, hopping out of the van. “Did you really leave Henderson in the woods?”

“Worse.” She laughed, opening the door and entering the house, knowing Eddie would be right behind her.

“What’s worse than that?” He wondered. “Did you toss him in the lake?”

“Nope.” She shook her head and plopped down on the couch in the living room, pushing a half-finished sewing project to the ground so that Eddie could sit with her. “I told Mrs. Kim he was interested in hearing about Korean myths for his Sociology project.”

Eddie gasped dramatically before launching himself over the back of the couch, bouncing when he landed beside her. “Mouse, that’s just plain evil.”

“I forgave him, but when the opportunity presented itself it was just too good to pass up.” She explained.

“So, he told you everything?” Eddie asked, wiggling closer until their bodies were touching. If you were going to be friends with Eddie Munson it was important to understand that he had absolutely no concept of personal space.

“Yeah, I think so.” Minnie replied, allowing herself to relax into the warmth provided by his body heat. “He made up a fake report because he wanted to question me about the paranormal without seeming weird.”

“What I don’t get is why he wanted to ask you of all people.” Eddie questioned as he kicked his feet up on the coffee table, making himself comfortable. “Does he think you have ESP or something?”

“Seems like it.” Minnie shrugged.

“You?” Eddie laughed. “There’s no way you could be psychic!”

“How would you know!” Minnie argued. “I know stuff all the time. I could be totally psychic.”

“You just know stuff!” He hand-waved that away, using Minnie’s oft-repeated explanation. “Besides, if you were psychic we would have gone to Vegas as soon as you turned 18 and made a fortune.”

“Yeah, I would definitely help you cheat at casinos if I could.” She agreed. “Maybe I’m a mind reader instead.”

“Nope!” Eddie vehemently disagreed with that too. “If you could read minds you would never speak to me again.”

“Your mind isn’t that difficult to predict even without mind-reading powers.” Minnie laughed and turned to him, sticking her hand in his face to count on her fingers. “Your brain is divided up into ‘D&D’, ‘Metal’, ‘Food’, and ‘Boobs’. Mostly everything else branches off from those things.”

“That’s actually pretty accurate.” Eddie admitted, playfully slapping her hand out of his face. “Ok, you know me so well, tell me what I’m thinking now.”

“Easy.” Minnie sat up on her knees and dramatically rubbed her temples. “I sense that you are hungry. The ‘Food’ part of your brain is in control. You are going to go to the fridge and be disappointed in what you see. You will then…” she paused for dramatic effect and brought her hands down to rest on Eddies leg, leaning to bring her face level to his. “Beg to order a pizza.”

Eddie stared into her eyes, trying to control the dumb smile that was creeping onto his face. “What’s in the fridge?” he asked.

“Leftover soup Mrs. Kim brought me.”

“Ugh!” Eddie threw himself back onto the couch in faux anguish. “I don’t even need to get up, fine you’re a mind-reader, can we please, please, please order some pizza?”

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” She laughed and reached for the phone on the side table. “Think we should order some extra for Dustin?”

“Yeah, let’s be nice to the little shit.” Eddie agreed. “She probably made him some of that horrible tea.”

“I think she only gave that to you.” Minnie told him.

“What?” He yelped. “You didn’t get any of that bitter, evil tea?”

“She gave me a sip, but when I didn’t like it she didn’t make me finish.”

“That was an option?" He gasped. "She told me I had to drink the whole thing or it would shame her ancestors or some shit!” Eddies mouth hung open in shock, unable to believe that the old woman had duped him.

“Yeah, she likes to use that as a threat since most people don’t know any better.” Minnie admitted. “I think she was just trying to drive you away. She doesn’t really like that I’m friends with a boy.”

Mrs. Kim had taken it upon herself to become Minnies surrogate grandmother. Minnie had never asked her to do so, but it was very hard to say no to the woman. Being her closest neighbor and a self-admitted snoop Mrs. Kim had quickly noticed when Minnie had been left alone at sixteen. Ever since then Minnie did some chores and kept the woman company in exchange for her silence. It was highly unlikely that Mrs. Kim would have told anyone, but Minnie had been lonely and she could tell that Mrs. Kim was lonely too, so she went along with it even after she turned eighteen and was legally in the clear.

"She was really convincing with that shit!" Eddie marveled, he thought he was good at reading people, but the old woman next door was just on another level.

“I won’t let her scare you off that easy." Minnie patted his knee before turning to dial the number to their favorite pizza place. "I’ll protect you.”

“No need to worry, Mouse.” Eddie smiled at her fondly, allowing himself to let his guard down while she was busy placing their order. “You’re stuck with me.”

-----

That's the last, sorry for spamming! Thanks for reading!

[redheadedwhat]

See How We Shine Chpt 6: A half formed plan

Fandom: Stranger Things

Pairing: Eddie x OFC (can be read as reader insert)

Warnings: Just some cursing for now.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

By next Monday Dustin had a plan. He had questions, he needed answers, and his first step was to call in reinforcements. 

“Guys,” he sat down at their usual table in study hall, ready and raring to go. “I think there’s something weird about Minnie.” 

“Of course she’s weird.” Mike shot back, his voice in a hushed whisper since he didn’t want to get in trouble with the teacher overlooking study hall. “She hangs out with Eddie.” 

“We hang out with Eddie.” Lucas added his own whispered voice to the conversation.

“Yeah, and we’re weird.” Mike pointed out.

“No, I mean weird .” Dustin insisted. “She always seems to know stuff she shouldn’t, and Eddie said she always has exactly what he needs in her bag, like she knows he’s going to need it.”

“That’s not weird.” countered Mike. “Nancy always has random shit in her purse. That’s why girls carry them.” 

“Nancy never carried a full-sized first aid kit in her bag.” Dustin continued. “And, Mike, you said she showed you a drawing of the Demogorgon!” 

“Maybe she gets hurt a lot.” Lucas argued. “And the Demogorgon was in and out of the Upside Down like a million times before El got to it, I’m surprised more people didn’t see it.” 

“Ok, then how did she know about this.” Dustin pulled out the keyring Minnie had handed him the other night and showed it to the other two. “I’ve never shown anyone this and she handed it to me without even having to ask if it was mine.” 

“Maybe she saw it fall out of your pocket.” Lucas shrugged.

“But she told me my girlfriend was sweet.” Dustin insisted, shaking the metal keyring in front of their faces. “How could she possibly know it was from Suzie?” 

They didn’t have an immediate answer for that one. There was nothing overly romantic about the keychain. It was just a rectangular piece of metal with zeros and ones etched on the front. 

“What’s it supposed to be anyway?” asked Lucas.

Dustin blushed, fidgeting a bit before mumbling. “It says ‘I Love You’ in binary code. Suzie made it for me.” 

Lucas and Mike burst into laughter at their friends' obvious embarrassment, causing Dustin to blush even harder. Thankfully for Dustin, their amusement was cut short by the teacher glaring at them from her desk.

The boys immediately quieted down, not wanting to risk detention.

“Ok, maybe she knows binary code?” Mike whispered once the teachers attention was off of them.

Dustin stared at Mike with a blank face. “Does she look like the type of person that can read binary code?” 

Lucas gave Dustin a pat on the shoulder, “I think you’re looking into this too deeply. Not everything has to have a supernatural explanation.” 

“Yeah,” Mike agreed. “I think she’s just regular weird.” 

“So, you guys aren’t with me on this?” Dustin asked, already knowing the answer.

Mike and Lucas both shook their heads. 

“Fine.” Dustin sighed. “But, I’m gonna keep looking into it and if I’m right, I get to say ‘I told you so’.” 

—--

Ok, so the first part of his plan was a failure, but Dustin was not discouraged. He’d just have to question Minnie on his own. The tricky part was how to approach her without alerting Eddie. Luckily for him, his chance came later on that same day when he caught her by her locker before lunch.

“Minnie!” Dustin ran up to her, slightly out of breath.

“Oh, hi.” She smiled, shutting her locker, “Eddie’s not here. He’s got business during lunch today.” 

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you,” Dustin said. “If that’s ok.” 

“Sure,” Minnie replied, obviously a bit surprised. “This is my lunch period, but I was just going to sit outside and sketch if you want to come…” 

“Sure!” He nodded enthusiastically, letting her lead the way. “Hey, if you have lunch now how come you never sit with us?” 

“I have art class right before lunch so I usually stay in the art room,” she explained. “I can get a bit distracted when I’m working on something, so I stopped even trying to get to the cafeteria.”

Minnie led him to a bench on the side of the school and carefully laid her things out. Once everything was to her liking she sat down and began to sketch. Dustin was trying to figure out if she was ready for his questions when she finally spoke.

“You can talk, I promise I’m paying attention, I just need to get some stuff down.” 

“That’s fine. I just wanted to see if I could ask you some questions.” Dustin sat down next to her. “I’m doing an extra credit project for Sociology.” 

“Sociology?” She asked.

“Yeah!” Dustin nodded, his voice raising slightly. “The study of people. And social groups. Stuff like that.” 

If Minnie noticed the slight awkwardness in his tone, she didn’t mention it. “Ok, how can I help?” 

“I’m writing about myths across different cultures. You’re not from around here, so I wanted to ask you about myths or urban legends that you know.” 

This was the best plan Dustin was able to come up with on his own. He had been hoping to workshop a few ideas with the guys, but since he was flying solo, this would have to do. 

“Sure.” She shrugged, scribbling away. “Ireland is full of myths.”

“Can you tell me about any that are personal to you? Or your family? Like, a family story.” Dustin pulled out a notebook, wanting to make this look as legit as possible.

Minnie hummed, trying to think of something to share with the boy. “There’s the myth of the changeling.” 

“What’s that?” asked Dustin.

“Supposedly the fae would take human babies and exchange them with fae children.” She explained. “You would suspect your child is a changeling if they were sickly or strange. If they asked weird questions or knew things they weren’t supposed to.”  

“Your family told you about this?” Dustin questioned, waiting for her to elaborate. 

Minnie nodded, adding something to her sketch carefully. “My brothers used to tease me and call me a changeling when I was little.”

“Were you sick? In the hospital a lot maybe?” Dustin asked, trying to keep his questioning casual.

“No, not at all.” she replied with a shake of her head. “Never been in the hospital. I had a bit of a vitamin deficiency, but my parents sorted that out.” 

Ok, so no hospital and no lab. Maybe they did things differently where she was from, but based on Dustins knowledge of human experimentation it doesn’t sound like Minnie went through anything like what El did. 

“So you were just strange?” He asked carefully. When she simply nodded he continued, “In what way?” 

“There was one night,” Minnie began. “I don’t remember it very well, but my brother Declan stole a toy from me. It was loud and annoying and he wanted me to shut up. Basic annoying older brother stuff.” 

Dustin waited for her to continue, still taking notes.

“But this toy was my favorite so I wouldn’t give it up. No matter where he hid it I would find it.” She continued, smiling slightly as she remembered her brothers retelling of this tale. “Finally he got fed up and smashed it right in front of me.” 

Minnie scowled down at her drawing and shut her eyes briefly. Dustin wasn’t sure if she even remembered that he was there until she continued. 

“From what he says, I got so angry that I screeched like a banshee, which is another creature of Irish myth, and broke every window in the house.” 

“Did you really?” Dustin asked with a hushed voice.

“That’s what Declan said.” she shrugged. “I was five, so I don’t remember it very well. Dermot agrees with Declan, but my Dad said that it was just a coincidence. Lightning struck the house and caused it to shake, making the windows break.” 

“Is that what your mother said, too?” He questioned carefully, remembering that Eddie had warned them against talking about the girls deceased mother. 

“Weirdly, whenever we’d ask our mother, she would just insist that it never happened.” Minnie replied, seemingly unbothered by the topic. “Mother didn’t really like to talk about myths or the supernatural, which I always found strange since her mother, my Nan, was extremely superstitious.” 

“Was she?” Dustin asked, his curiosity causing him to stray from his mission for the moment.

“Oh very.” Minnie smiled. “She would never disturb faerie circles, would go out of her way to avoid certain rocks, and always left offerings for the fae when she could. I’m not sure if she really believed in it or if she was just set in her ways. Thought it brought good luck, I guess.” 

Minnie told him a few more stories of her grandmother and her superstitions, explaining how they connected to the myths and folklore of her home country. If Dustin was actually doing a report, she would have been a great source of information. 

“I’m going to ask a few more specific questions.” Dustin told her, finally getting back on track. “This is more to do with paranormal stuff.”

She nodded and motioned for him to continue before turning to a new page on her sketchbook. 

“Ok, have the lights in your house ever started flickering out of nowhere?” He asked, paying close attention to her facial expressions. 

“Sure.” Minnie nodded. “But I live on a lake, the power gets unpredictable sometimes. That’s what Dad says.” 

“Has anything ever moved without you touching it?” He continued, looking as if he was actually reading from a list.

“Not that I can think of.” She answered. “Sometimes I’ll put something down and walk away, a pencil or a cup or something, and when I look next, it’s beside me. Far away from where I thought I put it. But that’s just me being forgetful.” 

Dustin nodded and made some notes. “Do you ever know about things before they happen? Or things that no one has told you?” 

“Oh, all the time.” Minne nodded, thankfully not finding his line of questioning odd. “That’s part of why my brothers called me a changeling all the time. My mom just said I’m intuitive.” 

“What kind of things do you know?” Dustin tried to play it cool, but this is exactly what he was looking for. 

“Just little stuff.” Minnie shrugged. “Mostly I’ll just see something and know that I’ll need it that day without being sure why. Like when I had the first-aid kit.” she explained. 

“Anything bigger than that?” He asked, almost breathless with anticipation. 

Minnie stopped sketching and glanced at Dustin, who flinched slightly, feeling a little guilty about deceiving her especially when she was so receptive to helping him with his non-existent project.

“Eddie says I have a lot of conspiracy theories, but sometimes an idea just pops into my brain and I feel like it’s the truth.” She told him. “He never says it, but I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m crazy.” 

“Trust me, I could never think you’re crazy.” Dustin promised her.

She looked him over and nodded, seeing that he meant what he said. “I’m not even sure how to explain it. Sometimes I’ll touch something or see something and I get…an impression, I guess you could call it. It’s kind of like picking up a book and reading a random page, you have the information, but no context.” 

“Can you give me an example?” He asked as he inched closer to her, not wanting to miss anything she said. 

 “Last year I bumped into Andy in the hallway, knocked his books everywhere. He was pissed.” She scoffed and rolled her eyes at the basketball players past behavior. “I picked up a book to give back to him and for some reason I just knew that he had a bottle of vodka hidden in his locker. When I told him to stop bitching because I knew what was in his locker he turned white as ghost and stopped bothering me, so it seems like I was right.” 

Dustin nodded, still taking notes, but not trusting himself to speak. He wanted to blab about the Upside Down and all the supernatural stuff he’d seen over the years. To let her know that she wasn’t crazy and she wasn’t alone. 

“Also, I know the Starcourt Mall didn’t really catch on fire.” 

That caught him off guard. Dustins head snapped towards her, his mouth hanging open.

“Eddie definitely doesn’t believe that one.” Minnie laughed. “I just know there was something else going on there, just not sure what.” 

“What else does Eddie not believe you about?” 

Minnie put her current sketch aside and grabbed a different sketchbook from her backpack. She flipped through a few pages before finding what she was looking for. “I saw this in my garden a few years back.” she said, handing it over to him. 

Dustin had heard about the drawing from Mike, but seeing it made him lose his breath. There was no mistaking that Minnie had drawn a Demogorgon. 

“I believe you.” Dustin said quietly, handing the sketchbook back to her. 

“Thanks.” She smiled shyly, not used to hearing that. “I also had a thought about the police chief they said died last year-” 

“Whatcha guys doing?” Eddie pushed his way between Dustin and Minnie on the bench.  “You showing the freshmen your monsters again, Mouse?” 

“He asked.” She insisted, closing her sketchbook and putting it back in her bag. “You all done with your business?” 

“Yeah, finally.” Eddie groaned, throwing an arm around the girl. “Guy took forever to decide, but I made him pay the ‘asshole tax’, so I am currently rolling in dough.” 

He hopped up from the bench and pulled Minnie up with him, twirling her around playfully. “How about I treat you to lunch? I’m sure you two didn’t eat anything out here.” 

Dustin moved to get up with them when Eddie pushed him gently back onto the bench. 

“Not you, Henderson.” 

“What? I didn’t get any lunch either!” Dustin protested. First Eddie had interrupted his conversation with what Dustin could only describe as the worst timing in the universe, and now he won’t even feed him?

“Yes, but I can’t be seen corrupting the youth, now can I?” Eddie put his hand on his chest as if the mere thought hurt his heart. “You need to get to class, you’ve got a bright future ahead of you. Mouse and I are beyond help by now!” 

Dustin looked like he wanted to complain, but Minnie gave him a pat on shoulder. 

“He’s right. You should go to class.” 

“Fine.” he heaved a sigh and picked up his backpack. “Thanks for your help.” 

“No problem.” Minnie smiled as she playfully resisted being pulled away by a very impatient Eddie. “Let me know if there’s anything else I can do.” 

“Yeah, yeah, very sweet.” Eddie interrupted before Dustin could say anything. “You’ve hung out with Henderson long enough, now it’s time to give me attention.” 

Minnie finally allowed herself to be pulled away, giving Dustin a parting wave while Eddie yelled for him to get back to class. 

Dustin trudged back into the school, mentally trying to sort through all the information he’d just uncovered. Her answers had only given him more questions. He was positive that there was something different about her, but it doesn’t seem like she’d been experimented on like El. She was never in the hospital and he’d discreetly checked her wrists, both of which were free of tattoos. Could she just be extremely perceptive? Dustin didn’t think that was likely. She knew about Starcourt and she’d been about to say something about Hopper. There was no way she was just coincidentally right about that on top of all the other weird stuff. 

The boy wasn’t quite sure what to do from here, but hopefully he now had enough evidence to convince Mike and Lucas that he was right. He couldn’t wait to say ‘I told you so’. 

-----

Sorry for posting these back to back! Didn't keep on top of tumblr at all.

[redheadedwhat]

See How We Shine Chpt 5: Hellfire at Minnies

So, I have forgotten to post here for the past few chapters! Sorry if anyone is still reading. I'm also on AO3 under the same name, but I will try to be better at posting on here.

Fandom: Stranger Things

Pairing: Eddie x OFC (can be read as reader insert)

Warnings: Just some cursing for now.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Eddie Munson sat at the head of the lunch table waiting for all his little sheep to flock over. This week ended in a long weekend, meaning that their normal Friday Hellfire session would have to be moved. Most of the Hellfire Club knew the drill, but it was up to Eddie to inform the newbies. 

“Ok, fresh meat. Listen up.” The table fell silent, waiting for further command from their leader. “No school is this friday, so that means we have to find somewhere else to hold Hellfire.” 

The freshman immediately began talking amongst themselves, trying to figure out whose house could be used. The older members stayed silent, already knowing the plan, but letting Eddie continue with his dramatics.

“So, this friday,” Eddie spoke over the three youngest of the group. “Mouse has so graciously allowed us to use her house for our campaign.” 

“Your girlfriend that hangs out during Hellfire sometimes?” asked Mike. 

“Not my girlfriend.” Eddie pointed at him. “But, yes that is who I am referring to.” 

“She’s nice,” Dustin chimed in, earning a pleased grin from Eddie. 

“She’s allowing you degenerates into her home, so some ground rules” he began, “Do not bring up her parents. Don’t ask where they are, don’t ask what they do, just don’t mention them at all.” 

“Why not?” asked Lucas, genuinely confused. 

Eddie rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. Usually, people just agreed without asking questions, but this years group of freshmen were way too inquisitive for their own good. 

“Her mom’s dead and her dad isn’t around much.” He gritted out the explanation, “It’s a touchy subject, ok?” 

Suitably chastened, the three younger boys nodded their agreement. 

“Ok,” Eddie continued, “Don’t touch any weird art stuff you might see, don’t touch any of her books, if you see any alarm clocks don’t touch those either-”

“Why would we want to touch alarm clocks?” Mike blurted out.

“And why would it be bad to touch a book?” Lucas added.

Eddie sighed deeply, he knew this was going to be difficult. “Just don’t touch anything, ok? And no smoking inside. Cigarettes are ok outdoors, but no pot. She hates the smell.” 

“Really?” Mike asked, “But I thought she was high like all the time? I mean she’s really…” he gestured to his head to indicate he thought the girl wasn’t all there.

“She’s not high!” Eddie snapped. “She’s just a bit spacey.” The freshmen were giving him a headache. He rose from his seat, grabbing his lunchbox. “Just don’t embarrass me, alright? I’m stressed as hell now. I’m going for a smoke,” he muttered before taking off. 

The table sat in silence for a few minutes. It was strange to see Eddie get so aggravated so quickly. Dustin nervously played with a keychain he kept in his pocket and waited for someone else to start speaking. 

“I’ll let you guys know the real rules.” Gareth spoke up. “Basically, just treat Minnie like you would treat your buddies girlfriend and everything will be fine.” 

“But Eddie said-” Dustin tried to speak before getting cut off by Gareth.

“Yeah and Eddie is full of shit.” Gareth answered. “You ever cuddle with any of your friends? Those two are basically dating, they’re just missing out on the fun naked parts.” 

“He gets touchy when it involves that girl,” Jeff agreed, “so just focus on D&D and you won’t piss him off.”

“Unless you want to piss him off…” Grant said with a sly grin. “It’s kind of hilarious how hard he clenches his jaw whenever someone gives her too much attention.” 

Gareth laughed at that, “And he starts pulling on his hair. I thought he was gonna yank it all out when we went swimming at her house this summer.”

“He was so annoyed!” Jeff added and turned to the three younger boys. “She lives on the nicer side of Lovers Lake, so we decided to go swimming a few times.” He explained. “If anyone looked at her for too long while she was in her bathing suit he’d start getting pissed, but he couldn’t say anything because he was pretending he didn’t care.” 

“So, he would just pace and pull on his hair and eventually push someone into the lake or something.” Grant finished the story. “I’m not saying you guys have to fuck with him. I’m just saying that if you wanted to, this is the perfect opportunity.”

The lunch bell rang before they could respond, leaving the three freshmen with a lot to think about. Sure, they liked Eddie a lot, but they also liked the idea of getting under his skin. He seemed almost untouchable, never getting bothered by any jokes or playful insults they threw his way and always managing to get the better of the three youngest members. 

Would it be so wrong to fuck with him just this once?

—--

They were trying to fuck with him. 

Eddie couldn’t prove it, but he was almost sure that the freshmen were on a mission to piss him off. They seemed to be intentionally sabotaging the campaign, choosing the worst options and going far out of the way of their objective.

Not only that, they were focusing on Minnie almost too much. Thanking her for allowing them to come over, asking about her day, complimenting her clothes or her hair, and just generally giving her way more attention than they normally would. And the questions. It’s like they were physically incapable of keeping any question that popped into their heads from escaping their mouths. Why do you have so many dog toys and no dog? What’s with all the flashlights? Why is there an unlabeled bottle of pills on the counter? No, seriously are you hiding a dog somewhere? 

Minnie had answered some questions and ignored others, mostly staying out of the kitchen except to pass by for a drink or to see if they needed anything. She always seemed to appear whenever Eddie was on the brink of losing his cool. 

Like right now. He was currently pinching the bridge of his nose, trying not to yell at the group as Mike somehow turned a simple fact-finding mission in a tavern into a full-fledged bar fight when he felt Minnie’s comforting hand on his shoulder. 

“You want to order the pizza soon?” She asked, speaking as quietly as possible so she didn’t interrupt. “You look like you could use a break.” 

Eddie took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down before nodding. “Sure, just give us a few minutes.”

“No problem, I’ll be right back.” Minnie patted him on the shoulder, sensing his tension. “I got paint all over me, so I should find a clean shirt.” 

Eddie watched her walk away for a moment before being sucked back into the argument currently taking place between the Hellfire members. The fight in the tavern had caused more damage than anticipated and everyone was trying to figure out where to assign the blame. It was very obviously Mikes fault, but as DM Eddie had to try to be unbiased.

“Let’s take a break here,” he suggested to the relief of everyone. “Jeff, can you order the pizza? I’m gonna go see what Mouse is up to.” 

“But she just said-” Dustin didn’t get to finish his sentence before being elbowed by Gareth who could tell that Eddie was just looking for an excuse to leave.

Eddie ignored them and went down the hall to Minnie’s room, knocking and waiting for the all clear before entering. 

Minnie stood in front of her closet dressed in a tight camisole tucked into a knee-length skirt. “You guys taking a break?” 

Eddie nodded, suddenly distracted by the amount of flesh he could see. 

“Everything ok?” She asked, noticing the dazed look in his eyes.

“Yeah, of course.” He nodded dumbly. “You just…um…you…” he gestured to his chest, “You look very…” He finally gave up trying to put together a coherent sentence and sighed, “boobs.” 

Minnie choked back a laugh and grabbed a slouchy sweater out of her closet, pulling it on over her top half. “How do you always forget that I have boobs? Just because most of the stuff I wear to school isn’t tight or low cut doesn’t mean they’re not there.” 

“Trust me,” Eddie shook himself out of his stupor. “I never forget that they’re there.” 

Minne rolled her eyes and pushed him out of her bedroom. “Come on, let’s go see what kind of trouble your little sheep are getting into.” 

Back in the kitchen Gareth, Grant, and Jeff were still sitting at the table, talking amongst themselves while waiting for the pizza to arrive. The younger members of Hellfire on the other hand were examining all the pictures and knick-knacks in Minnie’s house. They figured as long as they looked and didn’t touch it didn’t technically break any more of Eddies rules. 

"Hey," Dustin shouted from the living room. "Are these your brothers?" he asked, pointing to a picture that took a place of prominence on the mantle. 

The picture was from her cousins wedding a few years back. She and her brothers had been in the wedding party, her brothers dressed in tuxes while Minnie wore a royal blue bridesmaids dress with puffy sleeves and far too many ruffles. The three of them stood in the middle flanked by a well-dressed parent on either side. 

“That’s them,” she confirmed, pointing to the tall, dark-haired brother on her left. “That’s Dermot, he’s the oldest.” She then gestured to the even taller redheaded brother standing to her right, “And that’s Declan. He’s the one that had the little wrestling incident.” 

“They really are big and scary.” Dustin gaped, eyes still stuck on the men in the picture.

“Hey, who’s Margaret O’Malley?” Mike asked, plucking an award from the bookcase and looking it over, completely forgetting about the ‘don’t touch anything’ rule in the process. “Is that your real name?” 

Minnie moved over to Mike and glanced over his shoulder. “Oh yeah. I made many helpful advances to the field of medicine when I was thirteen.” She tapped on the date at the bottom of the award. “My first name is Amelia. Margaret was my mother.” 

“You look just like her.” Lucas added, now examining the picture that caught Dustins interest. 

Eddie shooed them back into the kitchen none too gently, grabbing the award from Mikes hand and putting it back where it came from. They’d been annoying him before, but now they were just blatantly breaking the rules. 

“She worked in medicine?” Mike inquired, ignoring the death stare Eddie was giving him. 

“She like made medicine or something, didn’t she?” asked Jeff from the table.

“No, that’s my dad.” Minnie shook her head and moved to the kitchen island to find some napkins for the pizza, completely oblivious to the anger radiating from Eddie as he glared at the rest of the boys, jaw clenched. “Dad does research and development into new medications. My mother was on the implementation side of things. Testing and clinical trials and stuff.” 

Dustin looked like he wanted to ask more, but the doorbell interrupted him. Eddie slapped a few bills into his hand and shoved him towards the front door. 

“Go get the pizza, Henderson.” 

He grabbed Minnie by the hand and dragged her back to her bedroom, ignoring the questions coming from the rest of the group. 

“I am so sorry, Mouse.” He groaned, closing the door over to give them a little privacy. “I told them not to ask a million stupid questions.”

“It’s ok.” Minnie pulled Eddies hands from where they were tugging at his hair and held them in her own. “They’re just being curious. It’s kind of nice that they want to get to know me.” 

“I just don’t want them to make you uncomfortable.” He grumbled, giving her hands a squeeze. “You’ll tell me if they’re taking it too far?” 

“Of course.” She promised. 

They stood there silently for a moment, just looking at one another. It should have been awkward, but it was actually kind of comforting. A little bit of a recharge from the stress of the day. Eddie leaned in slightly, his eyes lingering on her lips. 

“Guys!” Dustin burst into the room, causing Minnie and Eddie to quickly break apart. “You’re not gonna get any pizza if you don’t hurry up. Gareth is already on his third slice.” 

Eddie grabbed the boy by the shoulders and steered him out of the room, “Thanks, Henderson. Extremely helpful.” he muttered while Minnie followed in their wake. 

The scene in the kitchen wasn’t any better than when he left. The boys surrounded the pizza like vultures, eating directly from the boxes. 

“Jesus Christ, you guys know she owns plates right?” Eddie huffed, throwing some napkins at the group. “At least use napkins you heathens.”

It was mostly quiet after that, with everyone focused on eating rather than conversation. The pizzas were quickly devoured leaving the boys to go back to D&D and Minnie to wander off to continue whatever project she’d been working on. 

A few hours later Eddies ordeal was over. He’d called it quits for the night, hoping that everyone would be less annoying when they resumed next week. Whatever had gotten into the freshman would not go unpunished. He was already planning their fates in his head. 

“Thank you for letting these savages into your home.” Eddie bowed dramatically to Minnie as she came out to see everyone off. 

She smiled as she watched the boys bicker as they cleaned up after themselves (not without a few colorful threats from their DM). “It’s no problem. I enjoyed the chaos.” 

“Of course you did.” said Mike as he passed by. “If you’re dating Eddie you must love chaos.” 

“We’re not-” Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose and gritted his teeth before slapping the boy in the back of the head. “Just go get in the van, Wheeler.” 

Mike, Lucas, and Dustin laughed as they began making their way outside.

“Oh Dustin, wait a second.” Minnie called after him. “I think you lost this.” 

She pressed a rectangular, metal keychain into his palm, “Your girlfriend is very sweet.” She told him quietly. 

Dustin looked down at the keychain and then back at Minnie with confusion on his face. When he opened his mouth to speak a large ringed hand clamped over it.

“Nope, no more questions, no more talking.” Eddie wrapped his arm around the boy, keeping his hand firmly over his mouth. “Thanks again, Mouse. I’ll see you later.” 

Eddie finally let go once the door closed after them, pushing Dustin towards the back of his van. “Grants in the front, you three get the back.” He hopped into the drivers seat, waving at Gareth and Jeff as they passed by in Jeffs car. Once everyone was in he turned to the back and looked at them. 

“Don’t think I don’t know what you guys were doing tonight.” Dustin, Lucas, and Mike tried to defend themselves, but were quickly cut off. “Nope, cut the shit, don’t care. Just keep it quiet back there or I’m driving us all off a cliff.” 

Mike and Lucas began a whispered conversation, wondering how far they had pushed their DM and what the consequences would be. Dustin, on the other hand, was unusually quiet. He turned the familiar metal keyring over in his hand, brushing his thumb over the numbers that were etched into the surface. He’d had his suspicions before, but now he was almost positive. There was something strange about Minnie.

----

Thanks to anyone reading! Here's a link to my AO3 profile I usually post there first!

[redheadedwhat]

See How We Shine chapter 4: How to deal with bullies

Fandom: Stranger Things

Pairing: Eddie Munson x OFC (can be read as reader inset)

Rating: None so far

Chpt 1 Chpt 2 Chpt 3

Minnie was sitting in the Hellfire room after school absorbed in a book about monster movie make-up, writing notes in a pocket-sized notebook she always kept in her bag when the door slammed open, a pissed off looking Eddie dragging Dustin Henderson behind him. 

“You got some first-aid supplies, Mouse?” Eddie asked as he pushed Dustin down onto a chair, the boy staring firmly at the floor. 

Minnie nodded, tossing her book aside and getting up to dig through her bag. “What happened?” 

“It’s nothing!” Dustin insisted, trying to rise from the chair, but Eddie just pushed him back down before he could fully stand. 

“I found Henderson washing blood off of himself in the boys bathroom,” Eddie explained, looking down at the sullen freshman, “He was doing a piss poor job of it too. I figured you’d have something to help so I dragged him here.” 

Minnie finally produced a full sized first aid kit from her purse and brought it over to Eddie and Dustin. Silently she sat next to Dustin and began tending to his wounds. He tried to pull away, but only earned a glare from both Minnie and Eddie. 

“Why do you have a full first aid kit in your purse?” Dustin asked, curiosity overcoming his stubborn refusal of help.

“She has all sorts of stuff in that bag of tricks of hers.” Eddie leaned against the table, watching to make sure Dustin didn’t fuss anymore. “Personally, I think it’s enchanted. Anytime I need something she seems to have it. Sewing kit, duct tape, snacks, a screwdriver, even an extra belt once.” 

Dustin’s gaze moved to Minnie as Eddie listed off the multitude of things he’d gotten from the girls magical bag. She pulled one of his hands into her own, ready to clean up the scrapes on his palms. He was getting ready to protest again when she finally spoke up.

“Just let me.” She insisted. “Besides, you have D&D later and you don’t want to get blood all over the dice.” She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. “That’s how Eddie steals your soul.” 

That brought a smile to Dustin’s face, the first in what felt like hours. The boy was usually so upbeat that it actually hurt to see him so upset. 

“Is that what happened to you?” Dustin asked. He hadn’t talked to Minnie much even though she was usually present for Hellfire. Up to now he just thought of her as Eddie’s quiet friend. She didn’t seem too interested in anyone else. 

Minnie nodded, smiling at the question. “Yup. Got a papercut, picked up some dice and now I’m stuck for eternity.” 

“So what happened?” Eddie interrupted.

“You have absolutely no finesse.” Minnie muttered, finishing with Dustins’ hands and putting the supplies back into the first aid kit.

“I am made of finesse, sweetheart.” Eddie protested, “But my patience is extremely limited.” 

Dustin was back to staring forlornly at the floor, absently kicking his foot back and forth. Eddie was sure he’d messed up all the progress that Minnie had made when he heard Dustin ask;

“How do you handle bullies?” 

Eddie smothered a sigh. He figured it was something like that. Most of the time he was the biggest target for assholes wanting to cause trouble. He gave the others a shield to hide behind. But, Eddie couldn’t be with the kid all the time. 

“Well,” he started. “For me it usually involves freaking people out. Scaring them enough so that they don’t feel the need to resort to physical violence. If they do…” he held up his ring covered hand, wiggling his fingers for emphasis, “these babies pack quite a punch. I may not know how to fight, but I know that getting hit in the face with metal will make you think twice about fucking with someone.” 

Dustin nodded, contemplating what the older boy told him. He didn’t think he was cut out to fight or even to be as out there and over the top as Eddie. “How about you?” he turned to Minnie. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone bother you and you’re kind of…well…” 

“Weird?” She guessed.

He smiled bashfully, happy that she didn’t seem to take any offense. 

“My method probably won’t be very helpful.” She warned him. “I have two older brothers. They scared everyone off back in sixth grade.”

“You’re underselling it, Mouse!” Eddie insisted, turning to Dustin intent on giving him the real story. “She’s got two huge, scary as fuck older brothers. One was on the wrestling team for a few months, but had to quit after he put a kid into the hospital.” 

“The kid was fine.” Minnie protested. “He was only there overnight. It’s the schools fault for not having weight classes.” 

Eddie ignored her input, now settling into his storyteller role. “So, little sixth grade Mouse was getting picked on. Her family had just moved to Hawkins, she was small, quiet, and talked differently than everyone else. She was the perfect target.” 

“But she doesn’t talk weird.” Dustin interrupted the tale Eddie was weaving, glancing over at the girl for clarification. 

“Not anymore.” She shrugged. “My family is from Ireland, I still spoke with the accent when I moved here, but the school kept putting me into speech classes so I just started to speak like an American to get them off my back.” 

“That’s not important!” Eddie waved her off, eager to continue the story. “So poor little Mouse is getting bullied and when her brothers hear of this they are not happy. What are two self-respecting older brothers supposed to do? Protect their little sister, of course!” Eddie hopped out of his seat and puffed his chest up, pretending to be one of Minnie’s brothers. 

“They walk down to the middle school after classes end and see their precious, innocent baby sister getting made fun of by some scrawny little shit and decide to make an example of him.” He looms over Dustin, his arms spread wide to describe the scene. “The sky darkens and a hush falls over the crowd of children as the boy so mercilessly teasing Mouse rises into the air.” 

At this point Dustin is leaning forward in his chair eager to hear what happens next as Eddie expertly weaves his story.

“Her brother had grabbed the boy by the back of the shirt and lifted him so they were eye-to-eye, which was about a good foot off the ground for the little sixth grader. ‘That’s my feckin’ sister.’ he growled and gave the boy a shake. ‘You best stay away from her if you’ve got half a brain in that melon you call a head’.”

“Wait!” Minnie interrupted. “How would you know what he said? You weren’t even there.” 

“Your brothers told me.” Eddie said dismissively, wanting to get back to the story. “Your brother Dermot loves this story. Now can I please continue?” 

Minnie waved him on and Eddie got right back into the thick of it, looming over Dustin with one hand clenched in the air, holding up an invisible 6th grade bully.

“The boy promised to never bother anyone ever again, literally pissing himself in fear. And when her brother was finally convinced,” Eddie paused for emphasis, unclenching his hand that was held high in the air, “he dropped him.” 

Dustin gasped and turned to Minnie, who simply shrugged. It was a true story, but Eddie had definitely embellished some elements. 

“Her other brother simply glared at everyone, standing back and being intimidating.” Eddie continued. “Then they grabbed Mouse and left. No one ever bothered her again.” 

“I’ve been bothered since then.” Minnie interjected, breaking Eddie’s storytelling mode and causing him to frown at her.

“Yeah, but we fixed that.” He waved a dismissive hand. “No big deal.” 

“What happened?” Hearing stories of other people dealing with bullying was making Dustin feel a bit less like a loser. Like he wasn’t so alone. 

Minnie sighed, she could tell the boy was almost ready to open up so she decided to be nice and share. Even though she didn’t speak to Eddie’s new recruits too often she could tell that he really cared about them. And if he cared, she cared. “Do you know Ryan Litkowski?” 

Eddie jumped in, unable to stay away from telling a good story. “You may know him as Cryin’ Ryan’.”

Dustin nodded, waiting for them to go on and Eddie grinned, launching into another tale that was not his own. 

“Last year a rumor went around that a certain Mouse was banging young Mr. Ryan.” Eddie began.

Dustin turned to her, his eyes wide as he whispered, “You slept with him?” 

“No.” Minnie rolled her eyes. “I’ve only spoken to him twice in my life. The first time was to ask him why that rumor was going around. He told me his friends had been bugging him and he just said it. Told me to go with it.” 

Eddie jumped up from his position next to Dustin and crouched down next to Minnie. He loved this story and the dungeon master in him needed to make sure it was told correctly. “And the second time?” 

She stole a glance at him, smiling at how excited he was to tell Dustin about some of her most embarrassing moments. “The second time was when he begged me to tell people the rumor wasn’t true.” 

“He wanted you to clear up the rumor he started?” Dustin asked. When Minnie nodded he asked, “How did you manage that?” 

“At first I tried telling people that it wasn’t true, but no one believed me. Everyone loves a juicy rumor.” She slid her arm around Eddie’s shoulders, surprising both boys since the girl wasn’t usually so physically affectionate. “I complained to Eddie about it and he gave me the most brilliant idea.” 

Dustin swung his gaze to Eddie, who was only so happy to relay his part of the story. 

“I told her that no one would believe the truth, so she should embrace it, but add in some stuff to the story that would embarrass Ryan more than her.” 

“After that when anyone would ask I’d tell them that Ryan wore women’s underwear, or he could only have sex while keeping eye contact with a picture of Nancy Reagan that he kept beside his bed.” Minnie smiled at the memory. It was hard at first, but if no one was going to believe the truth anyway she might as well get back at the asshole that put her in that position in the first place.

“And the one that stuck…” Eddie poked Minnie in the side to urge her to continue. 

“I told someone that he cried every time he got an erection.” Minnie admitted shyly. 

Dustin put two and two together. “That’s why everyone calls him that!” 

“An embarrassing nickname lasts forever, young Henderson.” Eddie grinned.

Dustin threw back his head and laughed. Eddie would never say it out loud, but he felt proud that he and Minnie could make the kid feel so much better. Everyone was quiet for a bit, Eddie getting up to start set-up for Hellfire, Minnie going back to her book and Dustin sitting in quiet contemplation. Finally, he spoke up; 

“It was Chuck Halliday.” He said quietly. “He asked me to do his math homework and when I said no he pushed me.” 

Eddie nodded, letting the boy know he was listening without putting too much pressure on him. 

“He made fun of the way I talk,” Dustin continued, “Said if I didn’t do his homework he would pull my tongue out of my head.” 

“What a piece of shit.” Eddie supplied. 

Dustin just sighed. “I appreciate you guys helping me. But, I don’t have any siblings, no way to turn this around on him.” 

The boy busied himself with getting his things ready for Hellfire, completely missing the look that Eddie and Minnie shared over his head. 

—--

“Found you, ya little shit!” Eddie crowed, grabbing Dustin from his locker and pulling him along with him. 

Dustin allowed himself to be dragged behind the force of nature that was known as Eddie Munson, watching as people jumped out of the metalheads way. They stopped where Minnie was already waiting, trying to keep out of the way of the early morning rush of students. 

“What are we doing here?” Dustin asked.

“Just wait.” Eddie commanded, a hand up to halt all further speech. 

Dustin followed his order, keeping quiet, although completely confused until he saw Chuck Halliday walk up to his locker. Dustin was still confused, but continued to watch as his bully opened up his locker. After the second try at the combination the locker finally popped open, Chuck reached to get his books before noticing something on the top shelf. His face twisted in disgust. “What the fuck?” 

Lying on the top shelf on Chucks locker was a bloody cow's tongue. 

“I wonder if it’s still recognizable. Do you think I should have made a fake?” Asked Minnie. “I definitely saw something in one of my books.” 

“Nah,” Eddie shook his head, grin firmly on his face. “A fake wouldn’t have that smell. Wait for it.” 

Almost as if Eddie had timed it Chuck reared back, holding his hand over his nose. 

“What the fuck?” He cried again. 

Later, if you asked who had shouted it first, no one would be able to tell you. The truth gets lost in the chaos of the high school hallway, especially when something extraordinary is going on. As Chuck Halliday took in the bloody mass of flesh in his locker, the stench finally hit him, causing him to vomit down the front of his shirt. Someone in the crowd, someone who sounded suspiciously like Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson, shouted “Upchuck!” and everyone watching followed suit. 

From that day on Chuck Halliday was haunted by the nickname ‘Upchuck’. The school tried to figure out what happened, but they never did. No one ever connected Chuck bullying Dustin to this incident. And because of that there was no need to connect Dustin to Eddie and Minnie. No need for anyone to report that Eddie Munson knew how to open any locker in Hawkins High. Or that Minnie O’Malley knew exactly where to purchase the less commonly sold parts of livestock. Officially, no one knew what caused this incident. 

But Dustin knew. And that’s all that mattered.

-----

This is going to go into the events of Season 4 eventually. I'm just taking my sweet time. Thank you for reading!

[redheadedwhat]

See How We Shine Chapter 3

Fandom: Stranger Things

Pairing: Eddie Munson x OC (can be reader insert)

No Rating (for now)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

The next morning Eddie awoke to something soft and warm pressed against his back. From the feel of the fluffy pillows under his head he was sure that he wasn’t in his own bed meaning he must have passed out in Minnie’s again. He always made a show of putting his things in the guest room, claiming that’s where he was going to spend the night only to fall asleep in Minnie’s bed every time.

He was about to fall back asleep, warm and content, when the light breathing next to him turned into a loud snore. Eddie turned over to investigate only to be greeted with a large paw hitting him in the face.

“Goddammit Kaebi.” he grumbled, forcing himself out of the warm bed. 

The dog, a large doberman named Kaebi, blinked up at him and then stretched out into the warm spot Eddie had just vacated and continued snoring. 

Eddie padded into the kitchen stretching his arms over his head as he let out a yawn. He headed straight to the fridge, lazily perusing through the breakfast options.

Minnie was seated at the kitchen table surrounded by books on various subjects and notebooks filled with hastily scrawled notes. The mess wasn’t much of a surprise, there were usually half-finished projects strewn about the house, sitting ready for whenever the inspiration hit and Minnie had the urge to finish them. What was surprising was finding her so busy at this hour. Usually weekend mornings were for relaxing, especially after sleepovers.

“It’s after 10,” Eddie snatched the orange juice out of the fridge and poured himself a glass before taking a seat at the table. “Shouldn’t you be painting along to Bob Ross?” 

“I’m taping it.” Minnie answered, not looking up from her book on Greek mythology. “Mrs. Kim dropped Kaebi off and I can’t really paint when I watch him. He always tries to drink the paint water.” 

“Yeah, I noticed he was here. Thanks for the heads up.” He grumbled. 

“You two were so cute.” Minnie grinned at the annoyance on his face. “I didn’t have the heart to wake you.” 

“Did you eat?” Eddie asked. He was starving and even though he had been in her house plenty of times it still made him a bit uncomfortable to cook himself food without permission. 

Minnie nodded and gestured to the blender on the kitchen island. “I had a smoothie.” She didn’t have to look up to know his face was probably set in a grimace. In Eddie's opinion breakfast was either for sweet things, or eggs and meat. Nothing healthy. “There’s some Eggo’s in the garage freezer if you want.” 

“Nice!” Eddie jumped from his seat and hurried down the stairs. The garage was attached to what used to be the basement. Her parents had remodeled years ago to make the basement into a suite of rooms so they could come in and out at all hours without disturbing their kids. It mostly sat empty now, but the extra fridge and freezer did come in handy. 

Eddie returned, Eggo’s in hand and a smile on his face. A few minutes later he rejoined Minnie at the table with a pile of fluffy waffles covered in butter and syrup on his plate. “So what’s with all the stuff?” he asked, gesturing to the books on the table and the cardboard boxes on the floor with his fork between bites. 

“Art project.” Minnie answered, closing one book and pulling a different one toward her. “We’re supposed to paint our interpretation of a Greek myth. I was going to do Medusa, obviously.” She turned the book to show Eddie a picture of the snake-haired woman. “She’s got snakes for hair and she can turn men into stone with a glance? That’s role model material right there.” 

“I would make a joke about making men rock hard, but I’m too hungry.” Eddie continued shoveling waffles into his mouth. 

“Your dick joke is noted and appreciated.” Minnie assured him. “But, I figure everyone is gonna want to paint Medusa so I decided on Cassandra. More of a challenge.” 

“Never heard of her.” He commented, mouth full of waffle. 

“Basically Apollo wanted to bang her so he gave her the gift of prophecy.” Minnie explained. “But, she didn’t want to bang him so he cursed her so that no one would ever believe her prophecies. I kinda relate to her. No one ever believes what I say either.” 

Eddie finished up his waffles and stood to make himself more. He always stuffed himself when he had the opportunity. “Mouse, brilliant, hilarious, beautiful Mouse. You know you’re my best friend, right?” 

Minnie looked at him skeptically and nodded.

“But,” he popped more Eggo’s into the toaster. “People don’t believe you because sometimes you talk like a crazy person.” 

She looked back down at her book as she took in his words. “That’s fair.” 

Eddie leaned against the kitchen island, fixing up the last of his waffles as he heard Kaebi coming down the hallway eventually settling in front of Minnie protectively. The doberman belonged to her neighbor, but Minnie had offered to look after him whenever the older woman needed her to, so Kaebi treated her like a second owner, always putting himself between her and anyone else. 

Minnie bent down to pat the dog absently. “Mrs. Kim will be gone most of the day, so Kaebi is hanging out for a while if you wanna stay.” 

Eddie finished his waffles and placed his plate in the sink. “What were your plans for the day?” he asked, “Gotta decide if it’s worth my while.” 

“Nothing definite.” Minnie shrugged. “Probably take him for a walk at some point.”

“The fun never ends with you, Mouse.” Eddie teased. 

“I also want to make a photo album,” she gestured to the cardboard box by the foot of the table. “It’s my brother Declan’s birthday next month.” 

“Now that I am sticking around for!” He dove for the box, pushing a few books about special effects make-up out of the way to spill some photos onto the table. “I’m not passing up a chance to look at embarrassing baby Mouse pictures.” 

Minnie shoved a bookmark into her current book and got up to sit next to Eddie, not wanting him to have full control of her family photos. 

“Look at this one!” He shoved a picture in her face excitedly. It showed a younger version of Minnie dressed in a leotard with a silver medal around her neck. Her parents were smiling proudly, but her brothers looked bored out of their minds. Tiny Minnie didn’t seem to notice, smiling widely. 

“That’s a keeper.” She grabbed the picture from him and put it aside, designating that to be the ‘keep’ pile. 

“I didn’t know you were a gymnast.” Eddie commented, sorting through a few more pictures from the same occasion. 

“I told you about it.” She protested. “Remember when we were forced to go to the pep rally last year?” 

“You did not!” He laughed. “They did some flips and shit and you said ‘That’s not hard, I can do that’. That does not count as telling me you did gymnastics.” 

“It doesn’t matter, anyway. I had to stop when puberty gave me these.” she gestured to her generous chest. “A leotard can only hold so much.” 

Eddie’s gaze lingered on her chest for a bit longer than he’d intended. It wasn’t his fault. She’d brought it up! What’s a guy supposed to do? He shook himself out of his stupor and grabbed another picture from the pile. 

“How come you’re not in this one?” 

She glanced at the photo in question. It was more recent, from after they’d moved to Hawkins. It looked like some family event from her parents' place of work. They’d hated things like that. Her mother especially refused to talk about work when she was home. She said the two were separate and should remain separate. Minnie wondered what had convinced her mother to actually attend one of those events.

“Looks like a family picnic thing at the Lab.” She shrugged. “I must have been sick.” 

“Well, that’s boring.” Eddie declared, placing the photo on the ‘discard’ pile. “I’m trying to find blackmail-worthy pictures.”

“You act as if I’ve never seen your baby pictures.” Minnie countered.

He looked up from the pictures in front of him warily, “You can’t have possibly seen any baby pictures of me.” 

Minnie smiled, enjoying his discomfort. “You really think Wayne doesn’t have any pictures of you?” 

Eddies’ eyes searched her face, unsure if she was playing with him or not. 

“I have three favorites, actually.” She continued, getting up to put some distance between the two of them. “The picture of baby Eddie opening his Christmas presents, the one of you crying at a petting zoo, and-” 

Eddie shot up out of his seat, chasing after the girl who then began running around the kitchen island. “Mouse,” he said warningly. 

“There’s the one of you playing in the sprinkler.” Minnie ducked under his arm as he cornered her, “Big bad metalhead Eddie Munson running through the water-” 

He caught her around the middle, tickling her ribs to distract her from finishing what she was about to say. “Ok, I get it!” 

“Totally naked!” She forced out between laughs. “Your uncle told me that once it got too hot you refused to wear clothes as a kid!” 

Eddie groaned and rested his head against her shoulder in defeat. “He told you that?” 

“Oh yeah.” Minnie giggled. “In fact, he said you’re still like that. Told me to be sure to knock in the summer, in case I walk in on something I don’t want to see.” 

“Fucking Wayne.” Eddie groaned, pulling away from her and collapsing into his seat at the table. “Fine, I won’t share your blackmail and you don’t share mine. Deal?” 

“Deal.” She shook on it. 

“I’m surprised Kaebi didn’t pounce on me.” Eddie changed the subject. “He doesn’t usually like it when people get too close.” 

“He’s used to you.” She shrugged. “He won’t cuddle with just anyone, you know.” 

Eddie smiled at that. It might be silly, but it was kind of nice to get the dogs seal of approval. 

“There’s a long weekend next month.” He said after a few moments of going through pictures in silence. “Do you think we can have Hellfire here like we did last year?” 

“The freshman too?” She asked.

Eddie nodded the affirmative. 

“I thought I made them nervous?” 

“You do.” He grinned, “But I’ll give them the house rules and they won’t be weird. I promise.” 

“Sure.” she shrugged.

“Don’t you have to see if your dad will be home or not?” 

Oh yeah. She’d forgotten about that. This would be the perfect opportunity to tell him, but for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She didn’t want him to be upset that she’d kept such a big secret from him for so long. Even if he wasn’t upset, she didn’t want to see the look in his eyes when he realized that she’d been left alone for two years. The look of pity and understanding. Eddie was no stranger to being left behind. 

“He won’t care either way.” She assured him, pushing those thoughts to the back of her head. “The one you have to worry about is Mrs. Kim. If she sees a bunch of boys at the house she’ll bring Kaebi over to scare everyone away.” 

Eddie laughed as he imagined the huge doberman that was currently laying on his back begging for belly rubs scaring the shit out of the newest Hellfire members. “I’m looking forward to it.” 

-----

I've been trying to keep descriptions of the OC vague so it could also be read as a reader insert, but I might just scrap that. This is gonna be a bit of a slow burn since I love unresolved sexual tension. This is un-beta'd so please let me know if there are any issues!

[redheadedwhat]

Reblogging because I wrote my chapters out of order and have absolutely nothing new.

See How We Shine Chapter 2

Eddie x OFC (could be read as reader insert, OFC has not been described)

No Rating

Eddie Munson was not a very punctual guy. He was late to class, he was late to movies, he even had trouble getting to his gigs on time. The only thing Eddie was ever early for was Hellfire. That’s why he was so surprised to see someone already in the room before he’d arrived to set up. 

“What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be painting sets for drama club tonight.” He addressed the lone occupant of the props storage room that housed the Hellfire Club. 

The girl sat at the table, eyes glued to her sketchbook, only looking up to give him a quick glance in acknowledgement. 

“Mr. Slater said I could leave. I figured I’d sit here and draw for a while if that’s cool.” 

“Creative differences?” Eddie guessed, grinning as he began setting up around her. 

She hummed in reply, “Something like that.”

In all honesty she had been politely kicked out. They were supposed to paint a forest scene and she’d spent the first thirty minutes trying to mix the perfect shade of green and the last thirty detailing one leaf. She wasn’t very good with time management either. One thing that the two friends had in common. 

From the outside the pairing didn’t make much sense. Eddie was unapologetically loud and said whatever popped into his head while she was the type to keep quiet unless she had something to say. Their differences seemed to work for them though, she was able to calm him down when he got too wound up and he was able to break her out of her own head when she got caught up in her latest fixation. 

“They just don’t understand your artistic genius, Mouse.” Eddie said as he rested his hands on the back of her chair, leaning over her to take a glance at her sketchbook. “Whatcha got there?” 

Minnie moved her hand to the side to give Eddie a better view, “I got inspired by last week's session,” she admitted.

“Is that Jeff’s character?” Eddie asked, resting his chin on her head as he took in the drawing. On the page she had drawn a blood-soaked warrior that looked somewhat like Jeff holding the decapitated head of an enemy aloft, victorious in battle. 

“That’s badass,” Eddie gave her shoulder a brief squeeze. “How come you never draw me like that?” 

She frowned a bit, chewing on her lip as she shot a glance back at him. “I draw you all the time!” 

Eddie threw his hands up in a defensive gesture, “Yeah, but you draw weird pictures of me as a cartoon with pasta for hair, not all cool and heroic looking!” 

“You said you liked Spag-Eddie,” her frown deepened as she hunched over her sketchbook, shielding it from his eyes. 

“I did - I do!” He promised. And he really did. The cartoon of Eddie with pasta for hair playing a fork like a guitar had been lovingly tacked to his wall as soon as he’d gotten it. 

“I was just wondering why I don’t get badass cartoons.” Eddie shrugged, trying to explain himself without upsetting her even more. “I mean, I guess the weird drawings do suit a freak like me.” 

He was just trying to make a joke to diffuse the situation, but his self-deprecating remark caused Minnie to put down her pencil and turn to fully face him.

“What?” He asked, fidgeting and feeling a bit uncomfortable under her scrutiny. She rarely gave him her full attention, usually busy drawing, or coloring, or even knitting for the few weeks where she’d had what she’d referred to as an ‘artistic dry spell’. It’s not that she didn’t pay attention, she did, she was just constantly multi-tasking and keeping her hands busy. So, when her eyes were 100% focused on him it made him feel almost naked. 

“Just trying to see what makes you such a freak,” she replied, searching his body as if there was something he was hiding from her. “Maybe you have multiple…” her eyes flicked down to his crotch pointedly before going back to his face, “appendages?” 

“No!” Eddie practically squealed, covering his crotch instinctively. “You know what I mean, Mouse!” 

“Well, that’s boring,” she sighed and turned back to her drawing. “No freakshow worth their salt would hire you. Application denied!” She slammed her hand on the table as if to punctuate the end of the conversation. 

“I feel like you’re purposefully missing the point.” He grumbled as he went back to setting up for D&D. 

Minnie didn’t reply to that. She’d told him a hundred times that listening to heavy metal and playing D&D didn’t make him a freak. Hundreds of thousands of people all across the country enjoyed the same things he did. He knew her feelings on the subject by now. 

The conversation was cut short by the rest of Eddie’s club loudly entering the room, ready to take on whatever his campaign threw at them. 

Eddie watched as the girl grabbed her things and moved to a chair off in the corner to make room for the players. He let his eyes linger for a moment, trying to figure out if they were ok or not before turning his attention to the group and taking his place as DM.

After many arguments, a few instances of begging, and a lot of cursing directed at the DM, Hellfire had ended. The guys had left, leaving Eddie alone to clean up as Minnie buried herself in her sketches. 

“I don’t know Jeff very well.” Minnie broke the silence that was suffocating the both of them. 

Eddie didn’t reply, knowing that sometimes she needed a few moments to collect her thoughts before she spoke. He just finished putting everything away and went to take a seat next to her. 

“I was inspired by what his character was doing in the game and I just drew what I saw in front of me to fill in the blanks,” she explained, seemingly going back to their conversation from a few hours before. 

Eddie watched as she flipped through the sketchbook before finding what she was looking for and sliding it closer to him.

“I do know you. So, when I draw for you it’s more about what I’m feeling than just surface level stuff.” She glanced at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand. 

Eddie gave her a small smile, shuffling his chair closer to look at the sketches she presented to him. “So, am I the weird monster with the venus flytrap for a face?” 

“No, I told you I saw that in my garden awhile back,” She huffed and pointed to the opposite page where there was a scene of ancient-looking books flapping their pages like bats wings, shooting flames at tiny people below. “That’s what I think of when you’re planning your campaigns.” 

Eddie took in the details in uncharacteristic silence. One of the books had chains hanging from it, like the one he wore on his jeans. Another has pictures of bloody guitar pics on the pages. Even the little people being burned alive looked somewhat like the Hellfire Club members. 

“Pretty badass, Mouse.” 

She flipped the page and pointed at a colorful drawing of a dragon with bloodied talons clutching what looked to be a basketball player. “That one’s you, too.” 

Eddie’s smile lit up his face as he looked at the drawing and then back at her. “You’re sweet on me, aren’t you Mousey?” 

Minnie groaned and shut the sketchbook, shoving it into her bag before rising from her chair. “I’m leaving now, Eddie.” 

He rushed to get up and follow her, “I’m coming with. You invited me over, remember?” He threw an arm over her shoulders as he caught up, leaning in close to her. “You gonna tell me more about your feeeeeelings?” he teased in a sing-song voice. 

“I could kill you in your sleep, you know?” She threatened, but didn’t move his arm from her shoulders or make any move to get away from him. 

“You could,” Eddie agreed, “but you won’t. Besides, I’d be way too bored without you so I’d just come back and haunt you anyway.”  

“I’ll find an old priest and a young priest for an exorcism.” She shot back. “They’ll make your head spin around and you’ll spew green shit all over my living room.”

“Now you’re just making me want to watch The Exorcist. Not a good move if you’re trying to get rid of me.” Eddie untangled himself from her once they reached their cars, searching for his keys and opening up his van before unceremoniously throwing his stuff inside. “I’m gonna head to my place and pick up the movie and some clothes. See you in a bit?” 

Minnie nodded and opened up her own car getting ready to go when his voice called out to her again. 

“Also, if you ever need a model for your next drawing you know who to ask.” He winked and hopped into his car, rolling the window down so he could lean out. “I’ll even take off my clothes for you.” His eyes watched her intently, waiting to see what she’d hit him back with. 

One of his favorite things about being friends with the girl was their constant back and forth. No one else was as receptive to his teasing, most people just treating him like an annoyance and while Mouse rolled her eyes at him on a daily basis, he knew she enjoyed it as much as he did.

She looked like she was contemplating his offer, the fingers of one hand tapping her chin as if she was deep in thought. “Only if you actually have multiple dicks. Otherwise, I’m uninterested.” 

“Only one way to find out!” Eddie shouted over the rumbling of her engine, laughing as she flipped him off before pulling out of her spot and leaving the parking lot.

-----

Same as usual. This is unbeta'd, let me know if there's any problems. I know where I want the story to go, but I'm still trying to figure out how to get there. Any feedback is welcome!

@lj127

[redheadedwhat]

See How We Shine Chapter 2

Eddie x OFC (could be read as reader insert, OFC has not been described)

No Rating

Eddie Munson was not a very punctual guy. He was late to class, he was late to movies, he even had trouble getting to his gigs on time. The only thing Eddie was ever early for was Hellfire. That’s why he was so surprised to see someone already in the room before he’d arrived to set up. 

“What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be painting sets for drama club tonight.” He addressed the lone occupant of the props storage room that housed the Hellfire Club. 

The girl sat at the table, eyes glued to her sketchbook, only looking up to give him a quick glance in acknowledgement. 

“Mr. Slater said I could leave. I figured I’d sit here and draw for a while if that’s cool.” 

“Creative differences?” Eddie guessed, grinning as he began setting up around her. 

She hummed in reply, “Something like that.”

In all honesty she had been politely kicked out. They were supposed to paint a forest scene and she’d spent the first thirty minutes trying to mix the perfect shade of green and the last thirty detailing one leaf. She wasn’t very good with time management either. One thing that the two friends had in common. 

From the outside the pairing didn’t make much sense. Eddie was unapologetically loud and said whatever popped into his head while she was the type to keep quiet unless she had something to say. Their differences seemed to work for them though, she was able to calm him down when he got too wound up and he was able to break her out of her own head when she got caught up in her latest fixation. 

“They just don’t understand your artistic genius, Mouse.” Eddie said as he rested his hands on the back of her chair, leaning over her to take a glance at her sketchbook. “Whatcha got there?” 

Minnie moved her hand to the side to give Eddie a better view, “I got inspired by last week's session,” she admitted.

“Is that Jeff’s character?” Eddie asked, resting his chin on her head as he took in the drawing. On the page she had drawn a blood-soaked warrior that looked somewhat like Jeff holding the decapitated head of an enemy aloft, victorious in battle. 

“That’s badass,” Eddie gave her shoulder a brief squeeze. “How come you never draw me like that?” 

She frowned a bit, chewing on her lip as she shot a glance back at him. “I draw you all the time!” 

Eddie threw his hands up in a defensive gesture, “Yeah, but you draw weird pictures of me as a cartoon with pasta for hair, not all cool and heroic looking!” 

“You said you liked Spag-Eddie,” her frown deepened as she hunched over her sketchbook, shielding it from his eyes. 

“I did - I do!” He promised. And he really did. The cartoon of Eddie with pasta for hair playing a fork like a guitar had been lovingly tacked to his wall as soon as he’d gotten it. 

“I was just wondering why I don’t get badass cartoons.” Eddie shrugged, trying to explain himself without upsetting her even more. “I mean, I guess the weird drawings do suit a freak like me.” 

He was just trying to make a joke to diffuse the situation, but his self-deprecating remark caused Minnie to put down her pencil and turn to fully face him.

“What?” He asked, fidgeting and feeling a bit uncomfortable under her scrutiny. She rarely gave him her full attention, usually busy drawing, or coloring, or even knitting for the few weeks where she’d had what she’d referred to as an ‘artistic dry spell’. It’s not that she didn’t pay attention, she did, she was just constantly multi-tasking and keeping her hands busy. So, when her eyes were 100% focused on him it made him feel almost naked. 

“Just trying to see what makes you such a freak,” she replied, searching his body as if there was something he was hiding from her. “Maybe you have multiple…” her eyes flicked down to his crotch pointedly before going back to his face, “appendages?” 

“No!” Eddie practically squealed, covering his crotch instinctively. “You know what I mean, Mouse!” 

“Well, that’s boring,” she sighed and turned back to her drawing. “No freakshow worth their salt would hire you. Application denied!” She slammed her hand on the table as if to punctuate the end of the conversation. 

“I feel like you’re purposefully missing the point.” He grumbled as he went back to setting up for D&D. 

Minnie didn’t reply to that. She’d told him a hundred times that listening to heavy metal and playing D&D didn’t make him a freak. Hundreds of thousands of people all across the country enjoyed the same things he did. He knew her feelings on the subject by now. 

The conversation was cut short by the rest of Eddie’s club loudly entering the room, ready to take on whatever his campaign threw at them. 

Eddie watched as the girl grabbed her things and moved to a chair off in the corner to make room for the players. He let his eyes linger for a moment, trying to figure out if they were ok or not before turning his attention to the group and taking his place as DM.

After many arguments, a few instances of begging, and a lot of cursing directed at the DM, Hellfire had ended. The guys had left, leaving Eddie alone to clean up as Minnie buried herself in her sketches. 

“I don’t know Jeff very well.” Minnie broke the silence that was suffocating the both of them. 

Eddie didn’t reply, knowing that sometimes she needed a few moments to collect her thoughts before she spoke. He just finished putting everything away and went to take a seat next to her. 

“I was inspired by what his character was doing in the game and I just drew what I saw in front of me to fill in the blanks,” she explained, seemingly going back to their conversation from a few hours before. 

Eddie watched as she flipped through the sketchbook before finding what she was looking for and sliding it closer to him.

“I do know you. So, when I draw for you it’s more about what I’m feeling than just surface level stuff.” She glanced at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand. 

Eddie gave her a small smile, shuffling his chair closer to look at the sketches she presented to him. “So, am I the weird monster with the venus flytrap for a face?” 

“No, I told you I saw that in my garden awhile back,” She huffed and pointed to the opposite page where there was a scene of ancient-looking books flapping their pages like bats wings, shooting flames at tiny people below. “That’s what I think of when you’re planning your campaigns.” 

Eddie took in the details in uncharacteristic silence. One of the books had chains hanging from it, like the one he wore on his jeans. Another has pictures of bloody guitar pics on the pages. Even the little people being burned alive looked somewhat like the Hellfire Club members. 

“Pretty badass, Mouse.” 

She flipped the page and pointed at a colorful drawing of a dragon with bloodied talons clutching what looked to be a basketball player. “That one’s you, too.” 

Eddie’s smile lit up his face as he looked at the drawing and then back at her. “You’re sweet on me, aren’t you Mousey?” 

Minnie groaned and shut the sketchbook, shoving it into her bag before rising from her chair. “I’m leaving now, Eddie.” 

He rushed to get up and follow her, “I’m coming with. You invited me over, remember?” He threw an arm over her shoulders as he caught up, leaning in close to her. “You gonna tell me more about your feeeeeelings?” he teased in a sing-song voice. 

“I could kill you in your sleep, you know?” She threatened, but didn’t move his arm from her shoulders or make any move to get away from him. 

“You could,” Eddie agreed, “but you won’t. Besides, I’d be way too bored without you so I’d just come back and haunt you anyway.”  

“I’ll find an old priest and a young priest for an exorcism.” She shot back. “They’ll make your head spin around and you’ll spew green shit all over my living room.”

“Now you’re just making me want to watch The Exorcist. Not a good move if you’re trying to get rid of me.” Eddie untangled himself from her once they reached their cars, searching for his keys and opening up his van before unceremoniously throwing his stuff inside. “I’m gonna head to my place and pick up the movie and some clothes. See you in a bit?” 

Minnie nodded and opened up her own car getting ready to go when his voice called out to her again. 

“Also, if you ever need a model for your next drawing you know who to ask.” He winked and hopped into his car, rolling the window down so he could lean out. “I’ll even take off my clothes for you.” His eyes watched her intently, waiting to see what she’d hit him back with. 

One of his favorite things about being friends with the girl was their constant back and forth. No one else was as receptive to his teasing, most people just treating him like an annoyance and while Mouse rolled her eyes at him on a daily basis, he knew she enjoyed it as much as he did.

She looked like she was contemplating his offer, the fingers of one hand tapping her chin as if she was deep in thought. “Only if you actually have multiple dicks. Otherwise, I’m uninterested.” 

“Only one way to find out!” Eddie shouted over the rumbling of her engine, laughing as she flipped him off before pulling out of her spot and leaving the parking lot.

-----

Same as usual. This is unbeta'd, let me know if there's any problems. I know where I want the story to go, but I'm still trying to figure out how to get there. Any feedback is welcome!

@lj127

[redheadedwhat]

See How We Shine

I had no idea what to title this, also it has not been beta'd so feel free to point out anything I messed up or tell me if I'm confusing.

-----

Wake up. Take vitamins. Get ready. Eat. Leave.

It was a simple enough routine, but it had taken Minnie ages to perfect it. Something about the quiet in her home made it difficult to concentrate after years of living in chaos. She was used to her mother shaking the bottle of vitamins in her face to remind her to take them. She was used to her brothers shouting at one another about anything and everything and her father shouting at them for shouting. She was used to loud laughter and music and lovingly-made threats. She was used to living with people. 

She’d been alone for almost two years ever since her mother had passed away. Mom had been the only one keeping Minnie’s brothers in the country so once she was gone they’d decided to go back to their native Ireland. Her father had tried to stick around for a bit, but eventually he followed his sons, telling Minnie it would be safer for her to stay in Hawkins. Sure, it wasn’t exactly legal to leave a 16 year old alone, but as long as she told anyone that asked that her father was working on the road and didn’t draw too much attention to herself dear old dad figured no one would find out. And no one did. People in small towns were notoriously nosy, but the folks in Hawkins seemed to prefer ignoring the obvious.

Even after she’d turned 18 she’d continued to dodge questions about her home life. Not lying exactly, but not entirely telling the truth either. Telling people her father was out of town was not technically a lie, she just neglected to mention that he hadn’t been in town in the first place. 

She was all set financially, the house was paid off and her father sent her money every two weeks. Her brothers also sent some every time they felt guilty for leaving her all alone. All of that on top of the life insurance and the money the family had recieved from her mothers 'workplace-related fatality' ("Proper safety protocols were not followed" was all her father would say on the matter.) meant that Minnie would want for nothing. Materially, at least. The house was still cold and quiet. All the money in the world wouldn't change that.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by an alarm going off in the kitchen. Multiple alarms were key to her routine and this one meant it was time for school. She grabbed two lunches from the fridge and made her way to her car. 

About 20 minutes later she pulled into her parking spot, hopping out to knock on the door of the smoke-filled van parked next to her. The window rolled down and out popped a head of curly brown hair.

“Mouse!” Eddie greeted her, his big brown eyes friendly but sleepy. “I got here before you? I must be losing my touch.” 

She pulled the extra lunch out of her bag and dropped it through his open window without a word. 

Eddie’s eyes lit up as he opened the brown paper bag and perused its contents. “How do you always know when I’m gonna forget my lunch?” 

“I just know stuff,” she shrugged. That was her answer to most questions of that nature. Her mother had always said she was very intuitive. 

Eddie accepted her answer without further questioning, used to it by now. He jumped out of his van and threaded his arm through hers, leading her into the school. 

“You sitting in on Hellfire tonight, my dear?” He asked as they went through the front doors. “You make the freshman very nervous and it really adds to the atmosphere.” 

“I don’t make them nervous.” She protested, letting him open up her locker for her. He always had the combination to her lockers, given her tendency to forget the numbers and the fact that he barely used his own, it worked out for both of them. 

“I beg to differ, the tall kid looked like he wanted to pass out when you were talking to him last week.” Eddie insisted, storing his newly-acquired lunch in her locker to pick up later.

“That’s only because I showed him the drawing of that monster I saw in my yard a few years back.” Minnie explained, “It must have creeped him out.” 

Eddie just nodded, not entirely buying that story. Though he liked to think he knew her pretty well he had to admit that he couldn’t always tell if she was fucking with him or not. She would often say weird things and spout borderline conspiracy theories like: There was a monster in my backyard, we’re going to lose a planet in our solar system, the government is doing secret human experimentation. Some of it she definitely believed, but he was sure she said some of it to try to confuse him. 

She slammed the locker shut, pulling Eddie back to the present. “Anyway, I promised I would help paint sets for the drama club after school.” 

Eddie dramatically clutched his hands to his chest, falling back against the lockers behind him. “You’re breaking my heart here, Mouse!”

“You’ll live,” she tried to hide her smile, but knew she was failing. 

Eddie’s loud and eccentric personality was exactly what she’d been missing in the quiet confines of her home. She never actually said the words, but she credited him with keeping her somewhat sane during the last few years. As crazy and chaotic as he was, he was someone she could count on. 

“You can come to mine after D&D if you’d like.” She offered impulsively, “Dad won’t be home this weekend.” Technically not a lie. 

“Ms. Mouse!” He gasped comically, “Are you offering to take me back to your empty, secluded house for the weekend? Whatever are you going to do to me? ” 

Minne rolled her eyes and walked past him, declining to give him an answer. 

“I didn’t say I wasn’t into it!” Eddie called after her retreating form. 

She continued her walk to class waving a hand without turning back. Her house would definitely not be cold and quiet this weekend. 

-----

I'm still not entirely sure when I want this set, so I kept some things a bit vague.

Thank you to @lj127 for asking to be tagged! I'm glad you liked it and I hope the tag actually works.

[redheadedwhat]

In this house we ignore undesirable canon.

[redheadedwhat]

The First Meeting

So, this is sort of a prequel to a story I have brewing. The story is more of a mishmash of ideas, but I’m trying to write it. Any comments or helpful critiques are welcome since I didn’t have anyone to beta.

----- It was September 1983, the beginning of Eddie Munson’s senior year. So far 1983 had not been great, but he was determined to make ‘84 his year. He had been minding his own business in Bio class, trying to take a few notes or at the very least make it look like he was paying attention. Unfortunately, that got old quickly so to alleviate his boredom he began to draw in the margins of his notebook, eventually settling on a pretty badass picture of Michael Myers stabbing Jason Vorhees. He’d been putting the finishing touches on his masterpiece when a voice next to him snapped him out of his stupor.

“That’s disgusting.”

He looked to the side to see the girl he shared his lab table with intently looking at his drawing. Before he could fire off a witty reply she continued,

“You really think Myers would beat Jason? Machete trumps knife every time, dude.”

“Marry me,” he blurted out before he could stop himself. He didn’t mean to say it, he was just a bit shocked. He had been so sure that he was going to get in trouble for grossing out his seatmate on the first day of class that when she actually knew the movies he was referencing his relief and excitement made him go temporarily insane.

The girl tilted her head to the side as if she was actually considering his proposition. “I don’t think that’s legal.”

“I’m Eddie,” he grinned, amused with her response and still somewhat shocked that he hadn’t scared her off.

She finally looked up from his drawing to give him an answering smile back, “Minnie.”

“Like the mouse?” Eddie asked, his mouth still working quicker than his brain.

“It’s a nickname for Amelia.” The girl explained, her attention now focused on her notebook where she had started her own drawing.

“How do you get Minnie from Amelia?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged, “I wasn’t consulted during the naming process.”

“Well, I think I like Mouse better.” He decided.

Minnie just shrugged again, her attention firmly on drawing her own Michael vs. Jason battle.

Eddie leaned in a bit closer, grin still firmly on his face. “Since marriage is off the table, you’re now officially my new best friend. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.”

She glanced up at his amused face briefly before nodding in agreement which made Eddie grin even wider. This was definitely going to be his year.

-----

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep this separate or put it with the other chapter I have, but I couldn’t make it work and I have no one to bounce ideas off of so I just chucked it up here to see how it goes I guess!

[redheadedwhat]

Stranger Things has dragged me back to this blog and now I feel the need to write for Eddie Munson. I don’t know how to put all the ideas together since they’re mostly just fragments and I don’t know if anyone will read it, but I’ll probably do it anyway.

[redheadedwhat]

He is so pretty.

[redheadedwhat]

Kinda wanna write a Westworld fic

But I feel all conflicted about it because of the consent issues with humans and hosts. I mean hosts can say yes, but then they don’t remember it and humans are literally using them for sex objects. But, Hector is sexy as hell...

[redheadedwhat]

Can we talk about how in zombie shows/movies/books they always find a veterinarian and not a surgeon? Are veterinarians deemed more likely to survive the apocalypse?

[redheadedwhat]

Tumblr-versary

Apparently I’ve been on here for over a year! I’ve posted a couple of stories and gotten some great feedback, and hopefully I will have some new stuff soon. Thanks to everyone who has helped me and read my fics. It’s really meant a lot to me. 

[redheadedwhat]

Awww baby Minguk! 

me

[redheadedwhat]

Upcoming fics?

I haven’t posted in awhile, because I haven’t had any motivation to write. For some reason ideas keep smacking me in the face at 2 in the morning and I now have a half written Capt Boomerang (Suicide Squad), partially written Jim Hopper (Stranger Things), one (almost) fully fleshed out Negan (TWD), and one completely written but totally unbeta’d Negan (TWD) fic just sitting around taunting me. I don’t even know what to do with myself. Anyone interested in shooting the shit with me and helping me figure out where I’m going? Anyone wanna proofread something? Anyone want to interact at all?