#also gareth emerson angst | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sundaynightlive · 11 months

Text

Fresh Night Air [Book was there, it was there…](Greatwise)

Disclaimers: No age gap shit. They’re 16 and 17 respectively.

Also: I do not hate Mike or any of Will’s friends—I’m just exploring the way they might tip toe around him after all the shite he’s been through.

Realistically: I ship Byler. But I like healthy love interests MOST and whatever’s going on in ST right now is not that, so why not throw a Gareth in there?

If it’s not your thing, I get it :) I only wanted to write a sweet little happy-Will fic with LIGHT angst for like two seconds. If you’re going, have a good rest of your day <3 peace and love darlings.

If you’re staying, enjoy :)

“Gareth Emerson,” the boy introduces, and Will shakes his hand over the table. He’s still a little pissed about his friends joining another party while he was in California, but when’s the last time Mike took anything Will said seriously, ever?

He shouldn’t be surprised.

They sit back down—across from each other, no less—and turn their attention to Eddie now that they’ve all been decently acquainted. The DM claps his hands together and rubs his palms excitedly—despite Will’s initial annoyance at being completely and utterly betrayed, he actually really likes Eddie, fangs and all. He’s cool, he’s nice, and he’s the only Upside Down monster that doesn’t wanna kill or eat any of them, save for the occasional half-cup of blood that seems to satisfy him completely.

They had all been astounded at the convenience of that—blood being so filling.

Or maybe Eddie’s affliction hadn’t fully taken by the time they got his body out of the Upside Down and a troupe of federal scientists pumped him full of drugs—they aren’t totally sure.

Either way, he’s a sad excuse for a vampire, and a completely awesome dungeon master.

“Good evening, intrepid heroes, and welcome to my eighth,” Eddie pauses, as if he’s in awe of that number himself, “And best campaign yet. Drumroll, please!” Will starts a little as the boys around him (plus Erica) begin to pound on the table with their fists. Will joins them after a moment, allowing himself to grin both at the nerdiness, and the undeniable giddy excitement that’s filling his chest and shoulders.

Eddie uses his hands to push his feet up on his seat—his throne, really—and then stands, throwing his arms out wide—

“Plight of the Hellwalkers!” A cheer rises up from the table, as if any of them know what that means other than tieflings and devils and the sort. Maybe something celestial, if any of them are feeling particularly combatant. Will’s already got all these ideas forming in his brain—he’s known for being pretty creative when it comes to PC’s. Will the Wise hadn’t exactly been the height of ingenuity, but Mike hadn’t always wanted to DM a complicated character—he just wanted to run impossible dungeons and make his players sweat.

Eddie’s a different story.

Will’s running all kinds of characters through his brain when he notices Gareth looking at him. Will would’ve thought he’d be chatting with all the other boys, or even with Eddie since the two of them seem to be pretty close—but no. He’s looking at Will.

Hesitantly, Will makes eye-contact with him. Gareth doesn’t seem bothered about getting caught staring. Will’s brows furrow—this is… weird. They just met not even five minutes ago.

What? He mouths.

Gareth holds up a finger, like he’s gonna tell Will in a second. Will’s confused by this (because when are they gonna have a second?) until Eddie announces today’s session is all about working on PC’s, and in order to keep the campaign interesting and fun, he’d like them all to leave the room and come back in one by one so he can get a brief idea of each character, by the end of today, and hopefully by next session, have everything ready to go.

And then he says—

“Gareth, you first. And then Mike. And after that I don’t care who goes when—figure it out.” Gareth gives Will one last glance. He raises an eyebrow. Then, he absentmindedly looks over at Eddie, and finds he’s staring daggers into the side of Gareth’s skull.

What is happening?

Still perplexed, he leaves the auditorium with his friends, unable to shake the feeling that he’s being discussed in the room they left behind. He picks at his clothes—his nice, plaid button-down and his khakis. He feels kind of stupid—everyone else has a Hellfire t-shirt of some sort—all his friends in a baseball tee, and some of the older members in what are probably older t-shirts. All Eddie’s school-allocated budget must go towards them—Will’s certain they probably don’t get more than fifty bucks, if that.

“So?”

Will starts as Mike throws an arm around his shoulders, completely oblivious to how that affects him.

“Isn’t it fucking awesome?”

Will snorts at the profanity—Mike’s been cussing more and more since he started tailing Eddie like a lost puppy. Will assumes he thinks it makes him sound cool—not that he has anything against cussing, it’s just a little funny to him that Mike never talked like that before.

“Totally,” Will says, letting a little sarcasm seep into his tone, “You just couldn’t resist breaking your promise, could you?” Mike’s eyes widen—deer caught in headlights.

“I–it’s—you never said anything about extracurriculars!” Mike tries, and Lucas and Dustin burst out laughing at the lame attempt at an excuse. Will rolls his eyes, shrugging off Mike’s arm.

“Asshole,” he mumbles. Lucas and Dustin roar with more laughter as Mike looks for other excuses—Eddie this, Dustin that—

“Dustin didn’t promise me anything,” Will points out, and Mike groans.

“Dog house!” Erica is teasing, “Mike’s in troooooubleeeee.”

Truth be told, Mike’s not in trouble. There was certainly an initial sting—the only thing Will had asked of him had not been honored—but beyond that, Will’s not fond of holding grudges, especially given he knows full well how quickly life can go from bad to worse.

It’s just fun to watch Mike squirm.

“I’m sorryyyyyy,” Mike whines, “But Eddie’s just so cool and I couldn’t say no!” He puts both hands on Will’s shoulders, shaking him lightly. Will bites his lip to stifle his grin—the way Mike is pouting at him for forgiveness is equal parts adorable and hilarious.

“Forgive me?”

Will shakes his head, still biting back that grin.

“Figure out how to make it up to me—then we’ll talk.”

Mike straightens up, puts two fingers against his forehead, and dramatically salutes. Will loses the ability to stifle his grin and fully laughs at this ridiculousness.

They’re alive, they’re friends again, and Will’s desperate crush is dwindling by the day seeing how happy his sister is. Will couldn’t stay mad at his best friend for anything, and he won’t go on liking him, either.

Things are okay. Things are on their way to good, again.

“Wheeler—get your bony ass in there.”

And that’s Gareth.

“You—” he points directly at Will, exactly like Will figured he might, “Can I steal you for a second?”

Will stands. He doesn’t miss the confused look that Mike gives him, but he does choose to ignore it, mostly because he’s equally as confused. Gareth motions for Will to follow him outside, and sensing no danger or malintent, he decides there’s no point in saying no, especially since he’s not certain how long he’s gonna be sitting bored on this bench otherwise.

“Okay,” Gareth says, once the doors are shut firmly behind them. The night air is cool and nice on Will’s skin. He wants to take a deep breath—relish in all this comfort of being home, of being able to breathe—but he doesn’t know if Gareth would clock that weird reaction to just stepping out. So he tells himself he’ll take that moment later. “I had a crazy idea, and I wanted to know if you’d be down.”

Will raises an eyebrow.

“I’m listening.”

“So, totally shoot me down if you have a better idea, but I think it would be sick to play as angels—you know, since it’s a hell campaign—but specifically an Angel still in line with Heaven’s order, and a fallen one. So, they like, know each other super well, but also are at odds with each other, and like, one’s trying to convince the other to fall and vice versa.”

Gareth looks at him expectantly. Will stares back, trying to comprehend how Gareth even…

Gareth must have read his mind.

There’s no other explanation for how spot on that idea is compared to all the concepts he’d had running around in his own head mere moments ago. And not only that, but Gareth is looking at him like… how did Will not notice he looked like that, before? Why is it only now that—

“Hello? Earth to Byers?” Will starts. Right—he has to answer.

“Yeah—I mean, that sounds awesome,” he manages, cheeks growing pink in embarrassment. He looks away from Gareth’s cool gaze, unsure how to handle the feelings he’s feeling at this moment. Excitement, anxiety—and a myriad of other things he doesn’t feel right naming yet.

“Awesome,” Gareth repeats, slugging him lightly in the shoulder. Will’s whole stomach jumps into his throat.

This cannot be happening.

“So, if you’re down, I’m free tomorrow night. We could kick it at my place and talk background and logistics and shit.”

That’s a terrible idea.

“Sounds great,” Will says, and in his mind he’s repeatedly kicking the shit out of his own kneecaps. He wishes he were a stronger man, but the idea of playing a character that’s not only complex in his own way, but has a strained relationship to another PC? It’s too good to pass up. Plus, Gareth already talked to Eddie, so Will get’s to play under a DM who’s capable of managing that kind of storyline—it fills his chest with something downright palpable.

“Fuck, I’m excited,” Gareth says.

“Me, too.”

Will wonders briefly if his internal criticism of Mike’s cussing was spoken way too soon.

Gareth’s bedroom is a dream—Will would call it a loft, but that’s not exactly what it is. It’s adjacent to the attic, an alcove that sticks out from the roof and makes the house look both magical and completely ridiculous. All sides of it are fitted with windows, and in between those, the walls are a deep, navy blue. For the most part, it’s immaculately clean apart from misplaced shoes and a sock or two.

The slivers of walls which are not windows are covered with intense shelving that holds both an extensive collection of cassettes and vinyls, and books. Will wouldn’t have guessed Gareth was a reader, but by the looks of it, he’s practically a library.

The carpet is soft, the bed is big and covered with an enormous quilt. There are soft white Christmas lights hanging throughout the space, creating an inviting glow. Gareth tells Will to drop his bag anywhere, so Will finds the most out-of-the-way corner he possibly can, and sets his stuff down gently. He’s absolutely enamored with the space, but he’s trying not to show it. He could only imagine the teasing that would ensue if he told Gareth the bedroom he spends every night in is like Will’s own personal heaven.

To Will’s further dismay, Gareth plops down on his bed and pats the space next to him. Never in his life did Will expect to be sitting in bed with a cute boy who’s also basically a stranger, but here he is, swallowing his own nervousness and settling down. It’s unbelievably soft. Will let’s his mind wander to what it must be like to sleep there, and then quickly snaps himself out of it.

That’s creepy, he scolds himself. Stop.

“So, did you think of anything in the last 24-hours, or do you wanna start with just the general idea I had?” Gareth asks—and it’s so impossibly normal for how abnormal Will feels. He’s so stiff he might as well be made of wood. Jesus—even his fight or flight is starting to act up.

“Well,” Will says, deciding he’ll force himself to relax by talking, “You know how angels are, like, usually a patron of something? Like, they have a specific purpose, or whatever? I thought we could use something like that to determine our proficiencies, and stuff. I was also thinking that I could be the straight-edge angel and you could be the fallen one? But that’s totally up to you—your idea, your rules.”

Will fidgets nervously with his own hands. Gareth is… actually listening to him. His expression is attentive. Will’s not used to that—so he keeps rambling.

“Also—I like the idea of a sibling dynamic but I thought it would be better if it was strictly a best friends thing? I feel like a lot of D&D overdoes the, like, “you were my brother” thing but meaningful friendships or whatever can be so much more impactful because you choose your friends and stuff, and for a character to choose their person and then lose that person and find them again but still be at odds is just—Sorry, I should shut up. I just realized I’ve been talking for way too long.”

Will wants to melt into the bedspread—hell, he just might.

Gareth grins at him, shaking his head.

“No, totally keep going. You’re brilliant.”

Yup. Melted. Absolutely a liquid. Will doesn’t think he’ll ever be a solid again.

Will starts spending an ungodly amount of time with Gareth, but it’s not his fault. His own friends are great, and he spares them every moment he can, but it’s been a long time since being with them has ever felt like this—totally and completely void of tension. His friends… they haven’t been giving him attention freely. It feels weighed down by this notion that they’re forced to hang around because everything they’ve been through.

It’s not fair to think of them that way—he knows they’d still care for him, regardless.

But that pity is stuck behind their eyes. And they won’t talk about things in front of him, like how they’re feeling, how they’re doing. Once, he was hanging around Lucas and Dustin, and they left the room after uttering some lame excuse. Curious and a little hurt, Will had pressed his ear to the door to find Lucas venting about Max, and how she was doing, and how he’s trying to hang out and have fun but she’s all he can think about—half-paralyzed and totally blind, all alone at home when he’s not with her.

It’s selfish, he knows, but he couldn’t help feeling offended. He can be a shoulder—he knows he can be a shoulder. He’s not going to break down the minute someone else needs a hand. They’ve been plenty good for him—he can do the same.

He just needs a chance.

But they won’t give him it, so he loses himself in the simplicity of a brand-new friendship. He and Gareth start just talking over the campaign, and the D&D stuff, but it soon evolves into much more than that. It starts with a book—

“Gertrude Stein,” Will muses, slipping the collection of poetry right off the shelf. He lets it fall open in his palm to a random page. Gareth had gotten bored of devising background and trying to locate biblical information without a bible—so he’d flopped over on the bed and hidden his face in his pillows.

Will had rolled his eyes at him, and went looking for something to entertain himself.

This is where he finds himself, now.

They read a little Gertrude Stein in English, and Will remembers it fondly. He’s not a huge poetry guy, but Stein’s poetry is so ridiculous it actually manages to interest him. It was also generally impossible for most of the class to read aloud, because of it’s insanity, but Will excelled at it. He read it so well, and so succinctly in class, the teacher herself had been shocked.

Maybe his trauma had rewired his brain for nonsensical poetry.

Book was there, it was there. Book was there. Stop it, stop it, it was a cleaner, a wet cleaner and it was not where it was wet, it was not high, it was directly placed back, not back again, back it was returned, it was needless, it put a bank, a bank when, a bank care.

Gareth looks up at him from the pillows curiously, and Will grins in his direction. He begins reading with the utmost conviction, as if anything he’s reading makes a lick of actual sense.

Suppose a man a realistic expression of resolute reliability suggests pleasing itself white all white and no head does that mean soap. It does not so. It means kind wavers and little chance to beside beside rest. A plain.

Suppose ear rings that is one way to breed, breed that. Oh chance to say, oh nice old pole. Next best and nearest a pillar. Chest not valuable, be papered.

Cover up cover up the two with a little piece of string and hope rose and green, green.

Please a plate, put a match to the seam and really then really then, really then it is a remark that joins many many lead games. It is a sister and sister and a flower and a flower and a dog and a colored sky a sky colored grey and nearly that nearly that let.

Will finishes the poem—called Book—and looks back up at Gareth, who seems to be stifling a laugh. Will raises an eyebrow.

“What?” he teases, “Didn’t get that? I’ll read another one.”

Suppose it is within a gate which open is open at the hour of closing summer that is to say it is so.

All the seats are needing blackening. A white dress is in sign. A soldier a real soldier has a worn lace a worn lace of different sizes that is to say if he can read, if he can read he is a size to show shutting up twenty-four.

Go red go red—

Suppose and Eyes is cut off abruptly by a pillow smacking into Will’s chest and falling over the book he’s holding out—an accident which has Gareth absolutely howling with laughter. Will retaliates immediately, tossing the book to the floor and going after Gareth with a pillow.

The rest is history.

They hang out after school, they go to record stores and diners and swimming in the pond behind his house. They have an absolute blast role-playing ex-best friends while becoming best friends, all the while, Will’s fondness growing exponentially every time they share breath. They spend nights at each other’s houses, they talk for hours, they read together, they listen to music together—Will even get’s a little bit into metal, even though it’s not totally his vibe. Weeks and weeks pass—then months. They know everything about each other like the backs of each other’s hands. Will’s friends start making comments about it—Mike especially—and light-heartedly complain that Will is “replacing” them when that is certainly not the case.

They could never be replaced.

But being around Gareth is like magic, up until the moment it’s not.

“Hey… can I talk to you about something?”

Famous last words, but Will is so full of pizza and so content with his back pressed into Gareth’s bed, head resting lightly against the outside of the boy’s knee, that he doesn’t quite grasp the connotation.

He wishes he had—that there had been warning.

“Sure.”

“So… after the earthquake—”

Will should’ve known then and there this was headed in a foul direction, but he was none-the-wiser. He was still half-engrossed in Emily Dickinson, who had grown to be his absolute favorite poet over the last few months.

“Eddie told me everything that happened. And he told me what happened to you.”

This is where it hits him. Will jerks away from Gareth’s knee like it’s scalding, hurt painting over his face as it all crashes over him.

None of this has been any different.

“Will?”

“Are you serious?” Will asks, horror growing in his chest, in his tone. Gareth’s face screws up, a look Will knows all too well—a look he only sports when he’s thoroughly confused.

He must be stupid—Will’s reaction shouldn’t be confusing to him at all.

“I just wanted—”

Everything is tainted. The way Gareth looks at him, acts with him, the way he chose Will out of everyone from that stupid table that first day of Hellfire—he knew. The whole time.

Will is some pathetic charity case who needed a real friend. And he let Will think, this entire time, that he actually liked Will for himself. Not because Will desperately needed to be liked, not because they were bonded by some shared hell, not because Will had suffered, but because Gareth liked him.

It had all been a lie.

“How could you?” Will asks, shakily. He feels tears gathering in his eyes, and he hates himself for it. Now he’s gonna cry like the broken, traumatized baby he really is. The one Gareth has always seen in him. He’s just proving a fucking point.

That’s all he ever does.

“How could I—”

“I can’t believe I let myself be another fucking charity case,” Will hisses, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand as he scrambles to his feet. Gareth seizes his wrist.

“Will—”

Will’s stronger than Gareth—he doesn’t look it, but there’s a lot of muscle beneath his clothes. He makes sure of it—he doesn’t wanna be the victim of anyone or anything ever again. He wrenches his wrist out of the boy’s grasp, pointing at him accusingly with the other.

“You. Suck,” Will snaps, doing his best not to yell. He doesn’t wanna get worked up enough that Gareth sees just how deeply this has stricken him, and part of him, a naive part of him, hates how devastated Gareth already looks. “I can’t believe I thought you actually liked me. I’m so fucking stupid.”

And with that, he snatches his bag up off the floor, and gets the hell out of there.

It’s only when he’s home, past his mom and his brother, and in his bedroom with the door shut tight, that he crawls into his closet and muffles his sobs with his teeth bared into a sweatshirt.

Heartbroken.

“Hello?”

“Don’t hang up!” Will should absolutely hang up. It’s been three days of nothing—avoiding Gareth at school, refusing to speak to him, neglecting to answer the phone even when he was nearest to it.

And now, just when it so happened that nobody else was home, Gareth was on the other end of the line.

“I should so hang up,” Will snaps, already angry. He didn’t wanna be reminded. He’s been so fucked up the last few days, it’s almost like Gareth dumped him. In a way, he kind of did. Or, Will did.

Whatever, the details aren’t important. What’s important is that Gareth lied to him. Extensively.

“Listen—I need to talk to you, but I wanna do it in person, okay? Please—just ten minutes of your time, and if it’s not fixed, I’ll never talk to you again. Except at Hellfire. But that’s it! Okay?” Will wishes he had the balls to say fuck no, but it’s too difficult. He allotted months of his life to Gareth, and as much as he hates it, can attribute a ton of his recent healing to him. Being carefree and spending time with Gareth had been exactly what he needed most days to get out of his own head, to stop thinking about things that couldn’t be helped.

A breath of fresh night air, one might say.

Looking back at that now makes Will nauseous, but he swallows it down. He doesn’t exactly want his and Gareth’s time being good friends to forever be tainted by the fact that it had all been out of pity, but Will doesn’t know what he could possibly say to make that better. He sighs into the phone.

“Get here ASAP. And ten minutes is all you get!”

“Sir yes sir!”

“Thank you for letting me talk,” Gareth says. Will crosses his arms over his chest. He’s got no intentions of letting Gareth step foot over the threshold, and Gareth seems to be able to tell.

“Ten minutes,” he says firmly, and Gareth nods quickly.

“The first thing I should’ve done when we started hanging out is tell you I knew about the Upside Down,” he says quickly, and yeah, he’s got that fucking right. “I’m really sorry that I hid that from you—I guess I didn’t think you’d wanna talk about it, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have talked about it. I’m sorry.”

“Decent start,” Will says begrudgingly.

“Second, I did not choose you as my D&D partner because I felt bad for you,” Gareth says, and then his face get’s all screwy, and he starts shifting his weight back and forth, like whatever he needs to say is really hard for him to say. He looks left, and then down at his shoes, and then crosses his arms over his chest and let’s out a breath he’d been holding—

“Spit it out.”

“I thought you were cute!” he says, all his words running together, so much so that it takes Will a second to process what he’s even just said, “And I wanted to hang out with you and I thought that if our D&D characters shared a backstory then we’d spend a lot of time together and I’d be able to make a move but I felt bad about making a move knowing stuff about you you hadn’t shared with me so that night I wanted to kiss you so bad but I wanted to talk about what I knew first so that I wasn’t kissing you and then bringing up your childhood trauma because that wouldn’t be smooth at all, but then I messed everything up and—”

Will’s not sure what happens to his body. First of all, he’s absolutely floored at the notion that he wasn’t a charity case or anywhere near that at all—this boy was attracted to him and wanted to be around him. That’s so far out in left-field it’s practically a home run. Second—Gareth likes him? Like that? In small-town, middle-of-nowhere Hawkins, Indiana, a cute boy likes him? And it’s not Mike Wheeler, feelings-denier extraordinaire, or someone Will would rather eat glass than hang around with?

God, it’s Gareth?

He completely loses track of his ability to command his own body—he steps forward, puts both hands around Gareth’s face, and kisses him right on the mouth to shut him the hell up. Will’s never kissed anyone in his life, save for one girl in California, just to prove his own disinterest, but he makes it work. Gareth certainly doesn’t seem to be complaining, the way his arms move securely around Will’s waist and he kisses back with fervor.

They break, both void of breath. The kiss wasn’t exactly long, but all the excitement has Will’s ribs heaving. He presses his forehead into Gareth’s, blushing like crazy and avoiding the eye-contact Gareth’s trying to prompt from him.

“You’re such an idiot,” Will manages between breaths.

“Kiss me again.”

“Definitely.”

It was only a few weeks later that things started getting bad again, but they were heavenly weeks of sneaking around, sharing looks when no one was paying attention, and kissing in dark corners. Will started feeling whole again, like the places and things that the Upside Down had stolen from him were things that Gareth could replace, curling up on couches with him, meeting his mom, holding his hand, and treating him like someone who was already whole.

And though he wished, ached to ignore the warning signs, he told Gareth immediately when The Mind Flayer felt like it was slithering closer, lifting the hairs on the back of his neck and tugging at the corners of his mind.

And Gareth had been there, as fresh as summer night air in his lungs, all the way until the end.

#will byers #greatwise #stranger things #fluff #hurt/comfort #angst #gareth emerson #gareth x will #fanfiction #fic #fic rec #ficlet #gertrude stein #emily dickinson #poetry #friends to lovers #lgbtq #gay

181 notes · View notes

lillypad910 · 1 year

Text

Brother’s Best Friend

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Emerson!Girly girl!F!Reader

Word count: 5846

Warnings: none really, mostly fluff, girly crush on a boy older than you, unrequited love, little bit of angst but not a lot, happy ending!

Summary: You are 16, the little sister of Gareth Emerson, the drummer of Corroded Coffin. You take every opportunity to be around the band of guys. Why? Not because of your brother, no! Because of him! Eddie Munson, the man of the show, the 20 years old in his second run of Senior year, also your brother’s friend. And boy, do you have such a school girl crush on him.

A/N:Trying to make more interesting photos, specifically with this one.

You wake up in the morning, the sunlight just making its way into your room. It’s Monday, band practice for Corroded Coffin tonight would take place at your house. You get up, panning your closet to find an outfit. You wanna look cute, charming, no more simple little girl, you’re a grown up now. You stare at the colorful array of clothing, the pastels and neutral colors stare back at you. ‘Ok,’ you think to yourself, staring at the items of fabric completely mesmerized by the cute frilly skirts and Peter pan collared shirts, ‘maybe one more week.’ Pulling out your favorite skirt and blouse, you put it on before putting your hair in a half-up, half-down look with a flower clip. You pull out some frilly white socks, and your favorite shoes, a pair of Mary Janes.

After putting everything on, you make your way downstairs, and get greeted by your mother, who’s making breakfast. “Good morning, dear! Gareth! Breakfast!” She calls out to your older brother. Gareth comes sprinting down the stairs, almost tripping on his untied shoelaces. “Thanks, Mom!” He starts shoveling food into his mouth as you sit down at the table to calmly eat. “It’s still ok for the guys to come over this afternoon, right?” Gareth asks your mom, “Of course! They can stay for dinner also if they want, is that alright with you, (y/n)?” You look up at your mother then towards your brother who stares at you, “yeah, that’s fine.”

You remembered the days the band of boys came crowding your garage. You remember the times and days they do gigs at The Hideout, Tuesday’s at 8. You always beg your brother to take you.

After eating, you both grab your bags and head towards Gareth’s car. The drive to school was full with Van Halen screaming in your ears, but you don’t mind. You like the band, just as much as your brother, but refuse to admit it to anyone but him and his friends.

Gareth parks the car, and you immediately step out, waiting for him as he takes his time gathering his belongings. “Come on, Gareth! Class starts soon!” You glance at your wrist watch. “If you’re worried then go. I don’t get why you have to wait on me.” You feel your cheeks heat up, knowing the reason you always did. Him.

Your brother locks the car, shoving you lightly towards the school. About half way towards the doors, a voice calls out. “Gareth!” You both turn to see Eddie Munson running up, throwing his arms around you both before walking with you both towards the door.

Eddie Munson. He is a 20 year old senior who was held back for two years. You didn’t care. To you, Eddie is perfect. Eddie Munson couldn’t do anything bad. You were so smitten you didn’t understand how your brother didn’t know. Your mom sure as hell did.

Ever since that first day of freshman year, when you came in dressed in your usual way and immediately met with rude teens, bullying you, Eddie jumped in. He defended you, protected you. So now here you were, completely and utterly in love with a boy you knew to be completely unreachable. Unless-

“How was your weekend, (y/n)?” Eddie’s perfect voice pulls you from your internal thoughts. “What?” You ask, looking at the older boy with such admiration. “Your weekend. How was it?” Eddie chuckles, removing his arms from you and your brother and opening the door. Your brother walks in and you follow close behind. “Good! How was yours?” You ask. He smiles at you, walking through the door and letting it shut behind him as you both start down the hall. “Alright, oh, Gareth, we still on for practice at your house tonight?” You continue to stare at Eddie as you walk. “Yeah, asked this morning.” “Good.” Barely a second later, you’re pulled to Eddie, your back pressing to his chest for a brief moment, making your heart pound, before being pushed in front of him by a couple steps. You almost walked into a pole while staring at him. “Careful, Sweetheart.” Eddie laughs at you as your cheeks flush red.

Sitting in class you stare at the board in front of you before feeling bored and scribbling into your notebook. You draw simple sketches before completely zoning out into your work. Your hand continues to move as you defocus. “(Y/N)!” You snap out of your daze and look up at the board, your teacher practically glaring at you. “Sorry, what was the question?” You ask, laughs fill the classroom and you sink into your chair. “I was asking if you knew the answer to question 7.” The teacher speaks, venom filling her words. You nod quickly yanking out the homework from your binder. You give the answer, honestly scared it was wrong for a minute. “Thank you.” You look down towards your note book. Your face goes red. Written multiple times on the page in pretty lettering was ‘(Y/n) Munson.’

When the school bell rings, you scurry to shove your things into your bag. You get up from your seat and walk out of the door quickly. Your class was just down the hall, but you quickly turn down a separate hallway. Just as you walk by a certain classroom, out comes a certain boy, “Oh, hey, (y/n)!” Eddie greets you, you smile at him, “Hey!” You greet back, “I was meaning to ask, are you coming tomorrow for our gig at The Hideout?” He asks, holding out his hand to you. Your heart flutters, you think about taking it for a split second before it lands back at his side, “Yeah, if Gareth is willing to drive me. I’d like to.” You express, a blush fanning over your cheeks. “Well if he refuses to, let me know, I can come pick you up.” You feel butterflies form in your stomach, “Really? You’d drive me to your gig?” “Yeah! Your like our personal cheerleader! You have to come!” Eddie smiles at you, shoving into you slightly. You giggle, before shoving back into him. “Well this is me, just let me know ok?” He smiles, you nod before he turns around and walks into his next class. The warning bell dings and you quickly book it to your next class, just slipping into your seat as the late bell rings.

As classes go by, you enter the lunch room to see your brother at his usual spot with his friends. You take a deep breath before joining your own, knowing it’s too weird if you joined your brother for lunch. That just goes over your limit of contact with him. You deal with his foolery enough at home.

Sitting down in your seat, you watch as Eddie chats with his friends, excited about something. You can’t help but smile. You love seeing him excited, it makes you feel all giddy. “(Y/n), are you coming?” Your friend, Jenny, interrupts your starring. “You coming to the party tonight? At Jason’s?” Jenny is a cheerleader you’ve been friends with since elementary school. “Oh, uh no, I have a project to work on, sorry.” You glance back towards the boys. Jenny turns and smiles. “Right. A project.” She smiles at you. You blush as you continue to eat your lunch.

“(Y/n), come on!” Gareth calls out to you, spinning his keys around his finger, his other hand in his pocket while he steps out of the school. Jeff walks next to him chuckling to himself. “Cut her some slack, dude, she has short legs.” You glare at Jeff before running up and shoving him lightly, making him stumble, but it really just makes him laugh. “Good shove.” A voice comes from behind you, you turn to see Eddie, your heart flutters instantly. He glances at the top of your head, before reaching up. He takes the flower clip out of your hair before putting it in his own. “How do I look?” He asks you with a smirk. Gareth and Jeff chuckle to themselves a bit, as Eddie takes the clip out of his hair and stepping behind you.

His nails run over your scalp instantly relaxing you. Your eyes shut at the comforting feeling of your hair being lifted back into its original hold, the clip being put back into place. “There.” He steps back. “Perfect.” He smiles at you, and you smile back. “Nice clip, (y/n). Got it out of the garbage?” A cheerleader walks by but slows as she passes you all, laughing at her own joke. “Nice hair, got it from your grandma’s closet?” Jeff calls back. The girl immediately stops laughing and struts off. “Thanks, Jeff.” He nods towards you, you look back towards Eddie and he’s glaring at the girl as she walks off, “Bitch…” simply mumbles from his lips. You can’t help but smile. “Well, I’ll see you guys at my house in about an hour,” Gareth says, stepping back. “(Y/n), come on.” He gestures to you, and you quickly follow after him.

After getting home, you drop your bag off in your room, before quickly finishing your homework. You hear cars pull up into your driveway, looking out to see Eddie’s van. A smile plasters onto your face and you wait a minute before running downstairs, slowing down as you reach the bottom. “Dear, can you take these snacks into the garage? I know your brother’s friends just got here.” You nod, happy that your mom always gave you a task, aka a reason, to go into the garage when they were here.

“Snacks!” You announce, opening the door to the garage. Everyone turns to you and smiles. You sit the plate down on the small side table they have sitting in the corner.

You sit on a stool by your brother’s drum set, watching as the guys start playing. Your eyes watch Eddie as his fingers strum the guitar, admiring him.

During a break, everyone takes a minute to either use the bathroom or get drinks, that kinda thing. Eddie walks over to you, sitting on the stool for the drum set, just in front of you. “How y’a feeling, Sweetheart?” He asks, you smile at him, giddy after the loud music they were just playing. “Good! You guys are really good.” He smiles at you and stares at you.

For the short few seconds he actually watches you, it feels like ages to you, your heart racing and pounding in your chest.

Eddie stands as the rest of the band walks back in, going back over to his guitar. As they get ready to play again you try to get your heart to steady again. A hand places on your head and you look up to see Gareth behind you, only stepping by you to get to his drums. “Good?” He asks, giving you a thumbs up. You nod and he sits.

Later that night, after the guys had left after dinner, you sit in your room and pan over the notebook you were scribbling in during first period. Your name with Eddie’s last name makes your face go bright red and your heart quicken. “God dang it..” you mumble to yourself. Before closing the book and climbing into bed.

In the morning, Gareth drives you both back to school, and you ask him on the way, “Will you take me to see your gig tonight?” Your voice was sugar sweet. “Nope. It’s a bar, (y/n), we’ve talked about this.” You pout, annoyed he never lets you, all you want is to cheer them on! “Please?? I wanna be there to support you guys!” Gareth glances at you as he parks the car in the parking lot. “I said no. If you want a ride you’re gonna have to figure it out on your own.” You glare at him before getting out of the car.

Eddie greets you both down the path,placing his arm around your shoulder “well?” He asks, looking between you and Gareth. “Well what?” Gareth asks. “He won’t drive me, Eddie.” You tell him, pretending to look hurt. Gareth glares at you, obviously knowing the game you’re playing. “What??” Eddie turns to his friend. “She’s 16, Eddie.” “She’s our personal cheerleader! She a genuine fan, Gareth!” He expresses. Gareth shakes his head. “She’s my little sis, you’re not putting her in a place I can’t watch her.” Eddie thinks for a moment. “Then we will have her sit at the bar where we can keep an eye on her! I’ll take personal responsibility for watching her!” Your heart skips. “I’ll even drive her! Please, Gareth, she’s the perfect energy we need!” Eddie makes a pouting face towards your brother, nudging you. You quickly make a cute pout face, hoping it works to convince him. Gareth grumbles to himself for a minute before letting out a soft “fine.” He then follows with “but you’re driving her.” Eddie and you let out laughs before walking into the school.

School goes by fast today, doing your usual routine of walking down the hall Eddie’s classes are on just to run into him. You chat about simple things, one being how excited you were to finally get to come to their show. Eddie can’t help but smile at your excitement.

When you get home in the afternoon, you quickly change into the (very few) things you have that are a mellow version of yourself. You don’t wanna draw attention, knowing Eddie and the gang won’t be really able to jump in to your rescue. You ask your brother if you can steal one of his band tees to blend into the crowd, and he lets you, also not wanting you to draw too much attention.

So there you were standing in your one pair of denim jeans, your brother’s (quite large on you) Iron Maiden t-shirt, and some short cut ankle boots. Gareth also gave you a flannel in case you got cold, but he made you wear it completely.

Of course, knowing your parents also wouldn’t want you going, you both stayed quiet about the engagement. When Gareth walks outside to get into his car later in the evening, he had told you before to wait on Eddie, in your room, and climb out your window when he got there.

You watch the driveway like a hawk, trying to watch for Eddie’s van. He pulls up and your heart skips. You open your window and wave at him, as he parks and steps out of the van. He stands just outside your window as you climb out onto the roof. You carefully make your way to the ground, Eddie catching you when you reach the bottom. His arms wrapped around you thighs as he holds you against his chest. You feel your face heat up. “Nice outfit! Iron Maiden, I like it!” He sits you down smiling. He goes to open the passenger van door, letting you take a seat, before shutting it for you. “To the Hideout we go!” He says, pulling out of your driveway.

Eddie has you sit on a bar stool at the bar for the entire night, obviously wanting to know where you are at all times. You ask for a glass of water, and the bar tender gets you one, smiling kindly. “You must be (y/n).” He speaks. He’s a boy you’ve seen around school, but never really paid much attention to. You nod. “Gareth talks about you all the time, they all do.” He smiles, gesture towards the band as they set up for the show. “There isn’t much to talk about.” You admit, sipping your water. “I beg to differ, Eddie never shuts up about how adorable you are.” Your heart stops.

He thinks you’re adorable? Your heart begins to race. Eddie Munson thinks you’re adorable!

When the guys start playing, they are just as good as they are during practice. You’ve gotta admit, as annoying as you brother can be, he’s great at drums and looks hella bitchin up there. You look over to Eddie only to see him look back down at his guitar.

Was he looking at you?

You watch the show, the loud music blares in your ears, just like at practice. But somehow it’s louder, the adrenaline rush you get is crazy, wanting to bang your head to the music, but also not look like an idiot.

After the concert ends, Eddie comes over to you and smiles, “So, whatcha think, Sweetheart?” You smile at him, “You guys are really good! Way better than practice.” You giggle at him. He ruffles your hair, “It’s nice to have you here, you raise a lot of moral for the guys. And as much as Gareth didn’t want you here, I can tell he’s glad you are.” Eddie nudges your shoulder. “I’m glad I’m here too.” You smile at him. He glances back at stage, “Do you want me to drive you home?” He asks. “Yes!” The word slips out of your mouth faster than you could think. “I mean- yeah, I would like that.” You try to play off. Eddie chuckles at you, before ruffling your hair again, “cool.” He walks off and you finally breath.

Eddie drives you home, stopping towards the bottom of your driveway. You stare at your house, not wanting the night to end. “I had fun.” You simply say, Eddie smiles at you. “I’m glad! Well, you should probably go inside, we do have school tomorrow.” Eddie shoves your head playfully, making you giggle.

You both say goodnight before you climb back up to your window, softly dropping onto the carpeted floor of your bedroom. You sigh thinking of Eddie’s soft smile. You hear his car drive away, and pop your eyes over the windowsill to watch the van drive down the road. You are head over heels for that boy.

Sitting at lunch the next day, you chat with Jenny as she tells you about the party you missed the other night. You don’t care, obviously, but you let her finally reveal to you all the gossip that occurred. She loves to spill everyone’s secrets to you.

“And then Jason said- (y/n), are you even listening?” She smiles at you softly. To be honest, no, you weren’t, you were too busy staring at the ‘freaks’ as they ate lunch. “Snap a picture it will last longer.” Jenny’s comment pulls you from your stare, “What?”

“Why don’t you just talk to him! You are totally in love with him! Not to mention he’s always been protective of you!” “Yeah, because of Gareth! I’m his friend’s little sister, of course he’s gonna be protective of me! He doesn’t like me like that, Jenny! Besides he’s too old!” “Too old? Please! You stare at him like he’s a new Fleetwood Mac cassette! Girl, get a grip on reality!! He likes you! And yes, he’s hot, so talk to him!” “No!” “(Y/n)!” “Jennifer!” She glares at you, obviously not a serious one. “If you don’t I will.” Your face goes pale, “you wouldn’t dare!” Jenny smirks at you, “You bet money on that?” She stands and you quickly stand after her.

“Jenny, please!” You follow her as she walks across the cafeteria, your heart racing. “Hey! Munson!” Jenny yells out, and the entire group turns to you both. “Jenny, I swear!” Eddie raises his brow as you both walk up to his table. “Yeah?” He asks, pushing his chair back to give you both his full attention.

Mike, a freshman Eddie has brought into the group, looks at the cheerleader you are friends with. “What’s going on?” Mike asks Dustin, who is seated next to him. Dustin shrugs. “I have a question, Munson,” Jenny places her hand on her hip, striking a pose. Eddie glances at you and you glance back, before you both look back at the cheerleader. “Shoot.”

“Would you be interested in a date? Say Friday, 5:30, diner across town?” Jenny’s voice is overly confident. You heart pounds in your chest, scared for his answer. Jenny is the prettiest girl you know, even you know that. “Uhh,” Eddie glances at his friends, “all kindness, Darling, but you’re not really my type.” Your eyes widen as you pan to Jenny’s face. You can tell she wasn’t exactly expecting him to say yes, but also wasn’t expecting to be rejected. “Is (y/n) in that type?” Jenny asks. “Ok!!” You grab your friend and start pulling her back.

“I mean,” Eddie glances at Gareth. “She cute.” He simple states.

“Cute?” Jenny smugly reiterates. You feel your heart burst from the word. Eddie Munson thinks you’re cute! You quickly grab your friend and drag her back to your table. “See you guys later!!” You yell out as you shove Jenny. You can’t help but have a huge smile on your face for the rest of the day.

Walking towards your brother’s car, before you round the corner, you hear the guys talking. “Cute?” Gareth asks. “Yeah, I mean she’s adorable.” Eddie tries to explain. You stop in your tracks. They are talking about lunch.

“Eddie, she’s 16.” Gareth glares at him. Eddie holds his hands up defensively, “I’m not saying I’m attracted to her, Gareth,” your heart stops. You feel like everything around you slows. “Her friend just asked if she fit my type. Besides what did you want me to say! You know (y/n) is self conscious in the way she dresses! I didn’t wanna make her feel bad.” He only said you were cute to not make you feel bad?

“Eddie, just be careful with what you say. She’s sensitive, always has been. One wrong choice of word and her mind goes everywhere.” “Yeah, which is why I said cute. I didn’t say pretty. I’m not hitting on her, Gareth.” Eddie lets out a soft chuckle. You feel your eyes water, everything shatters.

You wait a few minutes after they stop talking, or at least change the topic. Turning the corner you greet them, “Hey!” You put on a fake smile. Eddie smiles back. Gareth signals you to start walking as you catch up about the rest of the day.

When you get home you go straight to your room, crawling into bed and shoving your face into your pillows. You allow yourself to cry, smothering your sadness into the fabric of your bedding.

Friday comes quickly, as the rest of the week goes by in a blur. Sitting in the gym as the game goes on in front of you, Jenny doing the cheer routine she’s been working on with the other cheerleaders. You feel out of place.

As the night comes to a close, you follow the rest of the school out of the gym, the cheering the whole school makes, congratulating the team for winning the championship game. But you don’t care, you just want to go home. You spot the Hellfire club running out of one of the side doors, happy to know your brother was ready to go too. You walk over to them silently, faking a smile. “Hey, how was the campaign?” You ask Gareth. “Great! Erica Sinclair beat Vecna!” Gareth smiles back at you. Erica?

You look past your brother to see a young girl, maybe 11, standing proudly. You smile and go to wave but Jeff cuts in front of you. You hesitate, and just put your hand back by your side. “Gareth, I wanna go home.” You tell your brother, gripping at his flannel. He doesn’t pay you any attention and continues to celebrate with the rest of the group. You feel your stomach turn.

“Gareth.” You call out, but he waves you off. “What’s up?” A voice comes from behind you and you whip around, Eddie stands there smiling, but stops when he sees your face. “Whoa, hey, you ok? You look tense.” He asks. You nod, feeling awkward. You’re not gonna lie, you’ve been dodging Eddie since Wednesday afternoon, since he said he didn’t like you.

“I’m ok. Just tired.” You explain. He nods and slaps Gareth over the head, “Hey, jackass!” Gareth hisses at the slap and turns around. “Take her home. You’re her ride. Don’t ignore her.” Eddie tells your brother. You feel your cheeks heat up. Eddie places his hand on your head, “hey,” you look up at him, “get home and get some rest, ok? Make sure to eat something.” You nod at him.

On Saturday morning, you wake up and head down into the living room. Your parents sit around the tv, the news displayed on screen. “This morning, a Hawkins High Student was found dead. We have no name or suspects to note just yet, but have been told the family of the student will be made aware.” You rub your eyes as you eye the trailer behind the reporter. Your eyes widen. “Gareth!!” You yell up.

Gareth comes running downstairs. “What?” You point to the tv your parents are watching. Gareth stares at the screen and you watch his expression go from confused to concerned. You both look at each other. “Eddie.”

The next couple of days follow with no new news of Eddie’s whereabouts, what’s worse is people are claiming he killed the student, which is bull shit! Eddie wouldn’t do that.

By the end of the following week, your small little corner of the world had been flipped upside down, but Eddie was found, his crime proven innocent. He was in the hospital for a good week before he was finally released.

You didn’t know what happened to him after he left the hospital, truth be told you never say him again. Gareth says he left Hawkins, drove out west towards California probably, but even he didn’t seem certain.

The years flew by and before you knew it, you were 22, standing outside a bar in Indianapolis with your college friends, one of them still familiar, Jenny from high school.

“I can’t believe I was able to get these tickets!” Your newer friend, Steph, grins ear to ear. “I can’t believe I get to actually see them live!!” Jenny shrugs, “It’s crazy, I swear I’ve heard that name before, too.”

You glance down at your paper ticket, the name ‘Corroded Coffin’ inked on the page. You know you’ve seen it before too, but you can’t put your finger on it.

After getting into the bar, you all crowd around the stage, and the moment it starts you know where you’ve seen that name before.

Suddenly you were that 16 years old girl again, heart fluttering under your Peter Pan collared shirt, back to your garage, the loud music blaring through you, but this time the drummer isn’t your brother, the other two members aren’t Jeff or Kevin, but there he is.

Eddie Munson walks out on stage, his long curls still the same, his body still littered in those tattoos you wish you could have seen up close.

Steph giggles, leaning into you, “isn’t he so hot?” You glance at Jenny, who doesn’t seem to recognize him. “Yeah,” you simply say, “definitely.”

As the band takes a break you spot Eddie sneaking off to the bar. “Hey, I’ma get a drink,” you pat Jenny’s shoulder and she nods. Stepping closer to the bar, you take this opportunity to admire him, his scrawny body now has a bit more muscle, but he’s still pretty lean. “Eddie…?” You call out to him, and he whips around quickly, smiling already.

“That would be my name, yeah.” Eddie stares at you, before his smile drops. “(Y/n)…?” You nod at him, “yeah, s’been a while.” You smile. Eddie steps closer to you, looking you up and down, “damn,” he smiles, “you’ve grown up.” You laugh a bit, “yeah, that kinda happens when you are older than the legal drinking age.” He chuckles, holding out his arms to you and you embrace him, hugging him close. “God, I haven’t talked to the guys in years! How’s Gareth? He doin’ ok?”

You shrug, leaning up on the bar, “he’s ok, believe it or not, that jackass got married last year.” “What!? And I missed the wedding??” Eddie pouts, utterly disappointed. “Yeah,” you simply say, you can’t stop your eyes from looking him up and down, checking him out. “Damn, is the girl nice at least?”

“She’s sweet, they still live in Hawkins, he’s got a musical instruments shop there, now.” You inform, watching as Eddie nods, taking a sip of his drink. “Well that’s good. What about you?” He asks, looking at you inquisitively. “I’m in school, college.” You point towards your friends, “Still friends with Jenny, made a new friend Steph. She’s actually the reason we are all here tonight, she’s a fan.” I gesture towards the stage. He nods, “theres a lot more of them in this room than there was ever at the Hideout.” You nod, glancing around the room. “It’s weird, I remember always wanting to see you guys play live, and then you invited me. Now here I am with a bought ticket because you actually have to buy one now.”

He laughs, Eddie can’t help but look you up and down, but you don’t notice. You watch your friends giggle in the crowd, until you feel a hand press to your waist. “I have to get back, meet me after?” He moved closer to you, so when you turn your head he’s right there.

That small 16 years old in you would have died, but you’re not 16 anymore, sure the crush hasn’t died, that much is obvious. But you’re actually a grown up now, wearing a short dress that cuts at your mid thigh. You know you look hot, and that’s all that matters.

“Yeah, I can meet you after.” You glance across his face, before he leans closer, placing his lips by your ear, your heart racing faster. “Good, can’t wait.” He pulls away and walks off leaving you a fluttering mess.

You wait outside the venue with your friends, Jenny and Steph talking about the show, they don’t know why you are here waiting, all you said was you saw an old friend. “That was so cool! God, gonna be holding that memory forever!” Steph cheers, genuinely happy. “Glad you had fun, Steph.” You tell her, she smiles.

“Hey!” A voice calls out to you all, and you all whip around, Jenny and Steph freeze. “Oh. My. God.” Steph looks at you. Eddie walks up, his hand up in a small wave. “Nice to meet ‘cha.” Jenny takes a second, “Oh my god!” The realization hits her, “Eddie Munson!” Steph never mentioned the names of the members, so Jenny never made the connection until right now. “Holly shit, I knew I’ve seen you before!” She grips your arm and shakes you, happily laughing.

“You two-“ Steph speaks, “You two know him??” Jenn corrects her, “I definitely only know the bare minimum, (y/n) here was obsessed with him in high school.” Your eyes widen, “Jennifer!” “Oh?” Eddie tilts his head, “obsessed? Elaborate.” Jenny smiles from ear to ear, you can tell she’s been waiting for this moment practically her whole life. “Oh my god, she used to have this journal that she would doodle in, I can’t tell you enough how many of the pages were just (y/n) Munson-“ “JENNIFER!” You slap your hand over her mouth. “You two need to go back to the hotel, I’ll meet you there,” you order pushing them to the curb before hailing them a taxi. “But-“ “Nope. You’re cut off, Jennifer.” The two get into the taxi, Steph sticks her head out the window and waves as the car drives off.

You turn back to Eddie, dropping your head in embarrassment, “Ignore her. Please. She doesn’t know what she’s saying.” “It’s fine, I…” he hesitates a moment before continuing, “I kinda already knew…” A soft chuckle leaves him. “What!?” You look up at him, face red and your arms scrunched over your chest like a T-Rex.

“You weren’t exactly… subtle, Sweetheart.” That old nickname makes you groan. He leans against the wall behind him, watching you carefully as you get more and more flustered.

“How long did you know?? When did you find out?” You ask, utterly blown. “The way you looked at me was enough to let me know. Sweetheart, you almost ran into a poll one time when staring at me.” You groan even more. “Oh my god, this is so embarrassing…” you cover your face in your hands.

He steps closer, lifting his hands to grab your wrists, pulling them away from your face. “I… thought it was cute though.” He mumbles. You realize very quickly how close he is to you. “I thought…” he glances away from you, “you were cute…” he mumbles, you feel the butterflies go wild in your stomach. “To be honest,” he looks back at you, “I didn’t think much of it back then. You were Gareth’s little sister.”

He sighs a bit, running a hand through his hair. “I thought it was cute you had a crush on me, but I never thought about reciprocating it, I mean fuck, I’m 4 years older than you, to me back then you were a little kid.” He chuckles a bit. “This might sound weird so bare with me,” he smiles at you, his stupid grin making you smile. “I didn’t ever think of you more than just Gareth’s sister, for the longest time. I honestly didn’t think much of you at all over these past years. But then there you were, smiling at me just in there, during my half time of my show.” You blush a bit. “I mean, what’s a guy supposed to do when God throws him his best possible catch. In a pretty dress, that adorable flower clip still in your hair.” You instinctively reach up to touch the clip, “yeah I noticed that too, don’t think I don’t see the old you still there.” He smiles. “You look good, more than good, you look pretty.” He stops talking for a moment.

“Eddie-“ you try to cut in but he continues. “I’m about to be an idiot or the smartest man alive but I’m willing to take that chance.” Before you can react, Eddie reaches out, cupping your cheeks in his hands, pulling you closer to him. your eyes widen when he leans forward.

Your lips press together perfectly. You hesitate before leaning into him, kissing him back. He moves one hand down to your waist, pulling you closer as your arms wrap around his neck, tangling your fingers into his hair. He pulls back a bit, laying his forehead on yours while you both catch your breath.

“So… am I an idiot…?” He asks, voice soft, his fingers balling up the fabric of your dress at your sides. “No…” you smile, “Not at all, Munson.” You lean into him again, pressing your lips together once more.

Tag list!

(If you wanna be tagged when I post shoot me an ask or comment on my posts saying so!)

@cagethemunson @cherrycolas-things @spikeybatt

#eddie munson x f!reader #stranger things #x reader #fluff #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #x girly girl! reader #brother’s best friend #eddie munson x fem!reader fluff #Eddie Munson x Emerson! reader #gareth emerson #angst/fluff

169 notes · View notes

buckys-little-belle · 8 months

Note

Hihihi! Tan we pwease get another chapter of Little Bunny? Maybe where Bunny shows up at da Byers’ in da middle of da night u’cuz their famiwy was bein’ mean, or yellin? An Will & El & Joyce can kinda calm Bunny down u’cuz dey know how ta take care of little ones, but Hop is jus standin dere, half asweep like🧍🏻‍♂️an doesn’ know whas goin on, an Will has ta call Gare ta calm Bunny down, an Bunny ends up goin’ ta Gares house, or Gare an Bunny stay at da Byers’? Fank you, I lobs you! 🫶🏻

Hellfire Babysitting Club : The Sequel (Part Four) (Blurb)

Sleepover Emergency

Gareth Emerson X Little!Reader (They/Them Pronouns Used) / Hellfire Club x Little!Reader (They/Them Pronouns Used)

Warnings - family issues (described vaguely, but really not explained in detail. there is mention of police reports from before they moved to Hawkins though.), yelling mentioned, eating mentioned, byers family chaoticness, crying, feelings of being scared mentioned, long cold walk ... FOUND FAMILY, HUGS, FLUFF AFTER THE ANGST, LOVE

Notes - I've been in a writting mood latley and missed this series so I thought I'd drop this here for Y'all. I hope you like it, and I hope my writting hasn't changed too much in the time I've been gone! (Also while I do follow the prompt for the most part, O have put my own spin on it etc)

SFW - Please keep all interactions with this post, and this account, SFW

. ☾ . ☆ . ☽ . ☆ . ☾ . ☆ . ☽ . ☆ . ☾ . ☆ . ☽ .

During the day September air was chilly but not cold, light sweaters everyone's preferred "coat" to keep warm. But the night grew cold, the wind wiping around, leaves flying and twirling in the air. Y/n had rushed to get out of their house, the pj's they had on even less warm then what they wore to school. But even as they're teeth began to chatter slightly, goosebumps rising on their arms, they knew they made the right decision.

The Byer's house was usually an eight minute walk, the bus stop twelve, but in the dark with scary noises stalling them the walk ended up being twenty. When the wooden door came into view, and they walked up the step a breath of relief was puffed before they began knocking. The action hardly made a sound but Joyce was known to have "mom ears" that could hear anything even in a deep sleep.

"Hello." She whispered in an effort to not scare the timid Y/n who's cheeks were painted with tears. "Come in." Her hand landed on Y/n's back in a protective move, her head jutting out the door to look down the street expecting to see a car driving off, yet all she was met with was the silent and cold night. "Did you walk here?" Joyce's voice grew more frantic as she looked over the poor kid for any injuries, her hands meeting freezing skin.

Before Y/n could defend their case a warm blanket was wrapped around them and the name 'Hopper' was being yelled out around them. Joyce didn't leave Y/n's side as they continued to cry, every family member awoken from the commotion now in the livingroom with wide eyes.

"What's going one?" El asked as she slowly walked towards Y/n, her hand landing on their shoulder in a show of support.

"I'm not sure." Joyce voiced, her eyes meeting an even more confused hopper. "They walked here Jim, walked."

Hopper knew who Y/n was, Gareth had told him everything there was to know about them. Including the life they had at home, an aunt who only kept them around for the money the government offered. Y/n had to do everything on their own and pay for everything on their own, and for that reason the poor kid was on Hopper's radio. He vowed the first time he hear of some sort of altercation, commotion, or disruption from the house he would intervene. He just never expected them to show up on his doorstep.

"Call the Gareth," He said to will. "Get another blanket from the linen closet," He ordered Jonathan. "El why don't you see if we have a seepingbag downstairs." Each kid rushed off to do their tasks. "What's going on kid?" Hopper then turned his attention to a shivering Y/n.

"Sh- She said no," A sob broke through. "No more." They shook their head and tried their best to wipe their tears off their cheeks. "I can't go back." They pulled in a deep breath trying to calm themself down.

"It's okay sweetie." Joyce offered a lopsided smile, rubbing her hands up and down trying to warm them up. "We've got you."

"I'm going to head to the station to write up a few things then head over to get their stuff." Hopper's voice was direct but sympathetic, wishing he had done something sooner hating that this poor kid could have avoided the cold walk and most likely harsh talk back at their aunts house.

"M' stuff?" They cried again.

"Yeah kid, you're stuff." The jingle of his keys filled in the silence. "There's no way I'm letting you go back, I've seen the reports, I'm not failing you too." Y/n opened their mouth to say something but Hopper cut in before they could say anything. "Here kid, you'll stay here."

"Yay!" El chimed in as she carried in a huge bundle. "I've always wanted bunk beds!" The grin on her face was genuine.

Y/n was silent, though a huge smile was plastered on their face at the kindness these people were showing them. They hadn't ever felt like this before, so supported. Y/n assumed they would maybe get to sleepover for the night until their aunt caved and took them back, or they got sent away. Yet everyone around them was talking about them staying for forever it seemed.

"Are you hungry at all?" Joyce asked, Y/n shaking their head 'no'.

"He's here." Jonathan called from the front window, the distinct bright lights of Gareth's car showing through the curtains. "Hey man." He opened the door, the two of them talking quietly, no doubt Jonathan updating Gareth on the situation.

Gareth nodded before taking in the room, Y/n standing and still shivering, Joyce stressed, and the twins stuck with unknowing looks on their faces. "Hi bunny." Gareth whispered as he got closer to Y/n, Joyce taking a step back and giving the kids some space, her and Jonathan slipping into the kitchen to make a few calls. "Let's sit down." His hands landed on Y/n's shoulders as he led them to the couch, plopping himself down before Y/n sat next to him, his arm wrapping around them instantly, their head falling to his shoulder.

"'m good." They whispered. "Right? 'm a good kid?" Their voice wavered, silent tears slipping down their cheeks. "She said I was bad." They whispered even quieter.

Gareth placed his chin atop their head, pulling them in closer, El's eyes tearing up and Will fidgeting with his hands. "Yeah, Bunny, you're a good kid." He felt his own tears begin to build, the way Bunny looked and sounded making his heart crumble a little. Everyone around them kept trying to tear them down, kids at school, people at home, he knew he needed to protect them, and clearly this hug was his first step.

"Hopper said he'll get Y/n's things this afternoon, and he'll bring them back here." She smiled, her eyes locking on Y/n's. "You can stay here as long as you need sweetie." Her voice was soft and her eyes teary too. "We can get a bunkbed and some extra things and you can share a room with El or Will."

"Me." El cut in, clearly offended that Will would even have the possibility of a roommate. El's hand landed on Y/n's shoulder in a supportive way, a huge smile on her face. "Sleepovers are fun."

"I don' wan' t' bother anyone, I can go." Y/n went to stand up but El sat her back down.

"You'll be staying here, you're apart of the family now. You won't be on your own anymore." Jonathan cut in this time, his big brother mode activated. Both of his siblings had gone through hell, and he hated to see it. He wouldn't let Y/n's hell continue either, no matter what he had to do.

So at 4am Y/n sat on the couch as everyone around them worked to get things in order for the time being, pancakes placed on the dining table for everyone, and not once were they left alone or left out. They were excited to welcome this new normal, this new family.

#buckys little belle #age regression fic #age regression #little!reader #stranger things #hellfire club x little reader #hellfire club x reader #hellfire club x little!reader #gareth x little!reader #gareth stranger things #gareth x reader #gareth emerson #hellfire club #stranger things fic #stranger things age regression #strager things

102 notes · View notes

licensedqueerio · 2 years

Note

can you write a fic where we have literally the biggest crush on Gareth Emerson but like we're a cheerleader and don't want all the backlash so we leave the cutest of cute letters in his locker like romance movie pink and sprayed with perfume letters? tysm <3

I don't usually ever write female readers, but I’ll make an exception bc I wanted to write this, it sounded cute. So the reader is female for this, which isn't explicitly stated, but it's heavily implied

Also! This is the first time I’ve ever written for Chrissy so that’s fun :)

Also also, which isn't relevant, but I'm seventeen finally, happy birthday to me :)

—

Word count: 4.3k

Pairing: Gareth Emerson x Female!Reader

Warnings: swearing, violence, blood, mild angst

Request Here

—

The first time you had laid eyes on Gareth Emerson had been during 4th period physics. You could remember it clear as day, despite it not being a monumental moment. He had been drumming two pencils against his desk, his leg bouncing underneath his desk to a song only he could hear.

You dropped your pencil a few moments prior and it had rolled away out of sight. Just as you had given up on trying to take down notes, Gareth turned around to face you and tossed you one of his pencils. He winked at you before twisting back around and leaving you with warm cheeks and the complete inability to focus for the rest of class.

The second time you laid eyes on him was during a night you weren’t supposed to be out. You knew you were in deep trouble when you got home, so you were staying out for as long as possible. That’s when you discovered The Hideout. It was in a part of town you usually never ventured out to, but you didn’t want to go home, so you just walked wherever your feet took you.

And they took you to The Hideout on a crisp Tuesday night.

When you walked inside, you almost walked right back out at the sudden assault of sound grating against your ears. It was loud and obnoxious music, with screaming vocals and shredding guitar solos.

Just as you were about to turn around and walk back outside, you saw him. His hair was damp with sweat and it covered his face. He was grinning, unapologetically happy, as he slammed his drumsticks against the drum set in front of him. His head banged along to the beat, and he mouthed the vocalists’ words along with him.

And you found yourself frozen in place, unable to tear your eyes away from the sight despite everything screaming in you to turn and run home, run to what was familiar and to get back into your comfort zone. But you couldn’t. Because Gareth from Physics was playing the drums with his band in a sleazy place like The Hideout. And he was beautiful. He fit into this atmosphere perfectly and he looked entirely content in his environment.

But then he flipped his hair out of his eyes and made direct eye contact with you. His eyes went wide before he winked, still grinning at you. He spun one of his sticks and tossed it up. He managed to catch it and continue playing, staring straight at you.

You couldn’t take the attention, so you panicked. You broke eye contact and ducked your head down before turning around and pushing the door open, walking back into the cool autumn air.

The third memorable time you had seen Gareth was when he had just finished getting his face pounded in. You weren’t sure what had started the fight this time, but it wasn’t hard to guess that Gareth started it. You knew all about the rumors surrounding him and his inability to just shut up and avoid a beat down.

He looked pitiable on the ground, blood pouring from his nose, his lip and eyebrow busted and also bleeding. He could scarcely stand up. He kept trying though, leaning against a row of lockers, grunting quietly as he tried to get his feet underneath him.

You bit your lip, looking around the hallway, but everyone who had gathered to see the fight had dispersed and went to lunch. Once you were sure the coast was clear, you walked over to him. You stood in front of him and held your hand out. “I’ll help you,” you said.

Gareth peered up at you and smiled a bloody smile. He said nothing and instead grasped your hand, smearing blood against your sweater sleeve. You helped him up onto his feet and put his arm around your shoulders, holding up his weight. You walked him to the nearest bathroom and after peeking inside to ensure it was empty, you pulled him inside. You closed and locked the door as well. You didn’t need anyone to see you helping him out.

You watched as Gareth limped towards the sinks and began to scrub the blood off his knuckles. You grabbed some paper towels and approached him. “Look at me,” you requested.

Gareth shut the water off and obediently turned around to face you. “Gonna patch me up, sunshine?”

Your cheeks burned and you looked away, running water over the paper towels before pressing it to his face. You started at his eyebrow, gently wiping the blood from his forehead and eye. Then you cleaned his bloodied nose, prodding at it gently to make sure nothing was broken. Satisfied, you moved to wipe the blood from his chin.

When you were satisfied that the blood was cleaned up, you tossed the paper towels in the trash before turning back to Gareth. And you weren’t sure what possessed you to do so, but you caught Gareth’s chin in your hand and brushed your thumb against his bottom lip, mindful of the split in it.

Gareth caught your wrist in his hand, warmth emanating from him. “What’s the verdict, doc?” he murmured, lips brushing against your thumb.

You felt as though your entire body was on fire. You cleared your throat and pulled your wrist free, quickly putting space between you two. “You’re fine,” you said, “put ice on your ribs and face. And please don’t tell anyone about this.”

“You ashamed to help the freak?” Gareth asked, looking down at his busted knuckles.

You hesitated. You were, because you knew what his reputation would do to yours. You knew what would happen if people found out about this. “It wouldn’t be good for either of us if people find out,” you settled for saying. “...I’m sorry,” you said before hurrying out of the bathroom.

You didn’t tell anyone about the incident. Not for a while, anyways. Not until Chrissy.

You were best friends. You met her when you joined the cheer squad and the two of you had quickly become close. That’s how you ended up at your house with Chrissy sitting crossed leg on your bed, rifling through her bag.

“Can I show you something?” She asked you a moment prior. Of course you had said yes, Especially when she added, “you can’t tell anyone or make fun of me.”

Chrissy popped back up, holding a pink slip of paper. She handed it over before covering her face with her hands in a picture of embarrassment.

You looked down at the paper in your hands, brows furrowed in confusion. You carefully unfolded it to reveal Chrissy’s looping handwriting. You read the first line and gasped. “You wrote a letter to Eddie Munson?” You hissed. “Chrissy!”

“It’s worse,” she moaned into her hands. “I wrote a love letter to Eddie Munson,” she said miserably, lowering her hands enough to peer over them at you. “I’ve been carrying it around all week.”

You were silent as you folded the paper again, feeling like it would be an invasion of privacy to keep reading. “You like Eddie Munson?” You asked. “Chrissy—”

“I know,” she said quietly. “Everyone would freak out…that’s why I’ve been carrying it around all week. But I really like him, Y/N,” she dropped her hands into her lap and took the letter back. “He’s not like what everyone says, he’s…really sweet.”

Chrissy was the most popular girl in school, and that wasn’t an over exaggeration. Everyone loved her. But she had just broken up with Jason Carver, who was an asshole. “Jason would kill him,” you mumbled.

“I know,” Chrissy bemoaned. “I know he would, even though it’s none of his business.”

“It’s not,” you agreed. “...can I tell you something too?” You asked carefully.

Chrissy looked up at you and nodded quickly. “Of course.”

“I like Gareth,” you blurted out. “I really really like Gareth. I helped patch him up the other day, when he got beat up. And there was a moment, but I panicked and I ran,” you said in one rushed breath.

Chrissy gasped, sounding delighted, “you like Gareth?” She repeated with a grin. “What do you mean a moment? Did he kiss you?” She pressed.

You quickly shook your head, cheeks on fire. “No, nothing like that!” You exclaimed. “I wanted him to—but no. He didn’t,” you shook your head again. “I don’t know what to do,” you cried, folding forward to press your forehead against the mattress.

“...you could write him a letter,” Chrissy earnestly suggested, patting your back in an attempt at comfort. It wasn’t working. “It helps. It’s like therapy,” she said thoughtfully. “Then all you had to do is put it in his locker.”

“And after?” You asked into the mattress. “Then what do I do?”

Chrissy shrugged like she hadn’t thought about it. “You see what happens,” she said like it was that easy.

You sat up and narrowed your eyes at her, “fine,” you said, holding up a finger. “I’ll write Gareth a letter if you give Eddie yours,” you said.

Chrissy thought about it before frowning. “That’s not fair. If you give Gareth a letter, I’ll give Eddie mine,” she proposed.

You scowled, you hadn’t thought she’d catch onto your wording. “Fine, fine,” you conceded. “You’re a sneaky friend.”

“I’m a cheerleader,” Chrissy beamed. She clapped her hands together before shooing you away, “I’ll get a pen and paper. You go grab your perfume,” she ordered and began to dig through your bag again.

You made a face behind her back before going to grab your favorite bottle of perfume.

—

The next day, you understood why Chrissy had been carrying around her letter for a week. It’s because delivering it was nerve wracking. You had mustered up the courage to approach his locker three times but every time you ended up walking away. Plus, there were too many people at all times, you couldn’t shake the feeling that they were staring at you.

Just as you were about to go find Chrissy and tell her to just forget about the whole thing, Gareth had yanked you into the boys bathroom. He locked the door before turning around to stare at you, a smile playing at his lips.

Your heart was hammering in your chest as you stared at him. His bruises looked to be healing without complication. And somehow the cuts and bruises just added to his attractiveness. You finally found your voice and asked, “what do you want?”

“Hostile,” Gareth noted before holding out a folded sweater. “Here, because I ruined the other one.”

Your brow furrowed as you took a step towards him. You reached out for the sweater and took it, holding it up and getting a good look at it. It was a plain grey sweater that you had a sneaking suspicion belonged to him.

“You don’t have to give this to me. It’s okay,” you said, trying to hand it back.

Gareth stuffed his hands into his pockets to avoid taking it, “it’s fine, keep it,” he said before turning around and walking out of the bathroom, just as you had done a few days ago.

When he was gone, you let yourself smile and held the sweater close to your chest. You slipped it on and waited another minute before hurrying out of the bathroom.

—

Chrissy, of course, noticed the sweater you wore wasn’t your own and spent the first five minutes of practice gushing about how cute it was that Gareth had given you his sweater. She also informed you that she delivered her letter already.

“I asked to go to the bathroom during class, so the halls were empty, and I just put it in his locker,” she retold. “I guess we’ll see what happens now. But now you have to give him your letter.”

“Do not,” you countered as you stretched, “He’ll laugh at me, it’s so ridiculous.”

“He won’t laugh at you, Y/N,” Chrissy said in a gentler tone. “It’ll be fine. I promise.”

—

You decided to trust Chrissy and take a page out of her book. You asked to go to the bathroom during physics, which ensured you wouldn’t run into him, and walked all the way to his locker. You slipped the letter inside without any problems, but when you turned around, you ran into an unforeseen issue.

Eddie Munson.

“Eddie,” you said, startled. You knew you looked guilty, standing in front of his best friend's locker when you were supposed to be in class.

“Y/N, you look lovely,” he said, bowing his head in greeting. “Don’t you have Physics now?” He asked, “why are you skulking about?” His brow arched as he stepped closer.

You nodded, stepping back, “I’m not skulking, I’m going to class,” you lied. “So I’ll be seeing you, Eddie.”

“Hey, do me a favor,” he called before you could run off, “tell Chrissy to meet me after school. She knows where,” he requested.

“No way,” you answered immediately. “She won’t believe me. Tell her yourself,” you said. “I have to go,” you excused and hurried off back to class.

—

“Okay, this is bullshit,” Dustin proclaimed as he glared at the stupid pink letter in Gareth’s hands. “First Eddie now you? What the fuck!”

“First Eddie what?” Eddie asked as he set his lunch tray down and sat in his usual spot.

“Gareth got a stupid letter,” Dustin sulked. “This isn’t fair.”

Eddie perked up considerably as he leaned over to try and see the letter. Gareth swatted him away. The two continued for a few more seconds like that.

“Don’t you and Suzie write?” Mike deadpanned, picking at his lunch. “It’s the same thing.”

“It’s not! I don’t get love letters, I just get normal letters,” Dustin insisted around a mouthful of his apple.

“What’s the difference?” Mike demanded. He got letters from El all the time.

“Eddie, fuck off!” Gareth suddenly shouted, drawing attention to himself as he leaned way back in his seat. Eddie was leaning forward in his own, reaching out for him.

Gareth looked up suddenly when he noticed you and Chrissy conveniently walking by. Eddie instantly straightened up and waggled his fingers at Chrissy, who smiled and paused in front of the table.

That’s when Gareth’s chair tipped backwards and unceremoniously dumped him on the ground. He burned in embarrassment as he sat back up, grimacing as he rubbed the back of his head. He looked up to see you watching with worried eyes. He smiled at you.

Chrissy whispered something to you and you rolled your eyes, muttering, “shut up, let’s go.”

“See you, sunshine,” Gareth bid farewell.

You didn’t look back and instead kept walking.

“That was cold," Mike observed, stealing fries from Dustin’s tray, despite having a tray full of his own.

Gareth stood up and set his chair upright before sitting down again. Then, he looked at Dustin with a smirk and tapped his front pocket, where the folded up letter was peeking out. He said nothing, but perfectly conveyed what he meant.

Dustin's jaw dropped, "no fucking way," he said. "No way do both of you have cheerleaders writing you love letters. That's impossible. You're not cool enough."

"Ouch," Eddie threw a fry at him that missed and hit Mike in the face.

"Hey!" Gareth shouted, affronted. "Don't be jealous, Henderson."

"Y/N didn't even acknowledge you," Dustin countered. "Liar."

"It's different for them," Gareth stated matter of factly.

"Yeah, dude," Eddie agreed. "It's not so simple. You know who we are and who they are. They can't just stroll over here and talk to us. It'd make their lives miserable."

"Hey, our lives aren't miserable!" Dustin objected.

"They're at the top of the hierarchy," Mike caught on faster than Dustin. "If they talk to any of us, they're social life is done for."

"Steve talks to us and he was popular," Dustin sulked.

"Steve's not in highschool. Is he now?" Eddie questioned. "Mind your business, Henderson or Steve's taking you home today."

Dustin quickly zipped it shut, because if Steve picked him up, it meant he'd be waiting around for ages until his shift was over. No thanks.

That didn't mean he stopped noticing the way Gareth and Eddie kept staring at the table you and Chrissy were sitting at.

—

"Did you talk to Eddie?" You prompted during practice that day. It had been bothering you all day; wondering if Eddie had asked her what he asked you to relay.

"How'd you know that?" Chrissy responded as she did her stretches, sitting on the ground beside you. "Yes, I talked to Eddie. He wants to meet me after practice. Did you talk to Gareth?"

You shook your head, "I dropped the letter in his locker during physics and I haven't seen him since lunch," you reported.

Chrissy nodded before her head snapped up, looking at something in the distance. She gave you a side glance before standing up and dusting the grass off her clothes.

You looked up at her, then looked out to see what she was staring at. You blinked at Gareth and Eddie, who were standing on the far edge of the field. "Don't they have dnd today?" You asked. "What are they doing?"

Chrissy didn't comment on how exactly you knew when they had dnd, and shrugged. She looked around at their teammates who were too busy stretching to pay them any mind. "Want to find out?" She asked.

You stared at her for a long moment. "Eddie's a bad influence on you," you lightheartedly informed. "Yeah, let's go," you said, climbing to your feet. You watched as they turned around and disappeared into the line of trees.

Chrissy looked back at her teammates before she broke off at a sprint for the tree line. You ran after her, laughing when you heard shouts behind you, demanding for the both of you to come back.

Chrissy was giggling in front of you as she broke the treeline and slowed down.

“We’re gonna be running laps all next practice,” you breathlessly informed, slowly to a stop beside her. “And probably practice after that.”

Chrissy dismissed that with a cheerful hum and began to walk, “c’mon, I know where they went,” she encouraged.

“And how do you know that?” You questioned as you followed her through the tree’s. “Why are you even coming back here?”

“Because of Eddie,” she easily replied.

You narrowed your eyes at the back of her head in suspicion.

Gareth suddenly stepped out from behind a tree, making the two of you stop. “Hello, Chrissy,” he greeted, “Eddie’s waiting for you.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to show her where.

Chrissy smiled warmly at him, “Goodbye Gareth, bye Y/N,” she said before walking past Gareth to go meet Eddie.

You frowned at her back, mildly offended at being abandoned for a boy. You looked at Gareth, but quickly looked away again. You were too embarrassed to make eye contact.

“Walk with me?” Gareth requested as he headed off to the left, opposite the way Chrissy went.

You walked at his side in silence, trying to come up with something to say that didn’t sound ridiculous or cheesy. He beat you to it.

“I read your letter,” he said casually. “I’ve never gotten a love letter before. It was really sweet.”

Your cheeks grew warm like they always did when he was around. You looked at the ground, scuffing your feet against the ground as you walked, “I’m glad you think so,” you settled on replying. “Eddie, he uh, caught me. When I was putting it in your locker. It was embarrassing,” you confessed.

Gareth laughed, “he caught you?” He repeated, “wait when was this? His locker isn’t near mine.”

“During physics. I have no idea what he was doing,” you said honestly. “I think he was looking for Chrissy’s locker, he asked me to relay a message.”

Gareth nodded, like that was a good explanation. “I have a question for you,” he began, which immediately made your heartbeat hammer in your chest. “Were you at our show? A few weeks ago?”

You exhaled softly when it was nothing bad and nodded. “Only for a minute,” you answered, “it was really loud, but I saw you playing, You looked good.” you paused once you realized what you said.

Gareth began to smirk. “I looked good, sunshine?” He teased while leaning in close.

You avoided eye contact and quickly backpedaled. “No, I-I meant that you played good.”

“So you don’t think I look good?”

“No!”

“No, you don’t?”

“I-I meant that no, that’s not what I meant!” You groaned and rubbed your face. “Yes, you looked good,” you reluctantly settled on, your cheeks burning hot in embarrassment. You should have just stayed quiet.

Gareth smiled, “you look cute when you’re embarrassed,” he said honestly.

If possible, your cheeks grew even hotter.

“I really like you,” he continued, knocking shoulders with you.

You made no attempt to move away from him, but you did sigh softly. “I’m sorry.”

Gareth gave you a weird look as he stopped walking and turned to face you. “You’re sorry?”

“Yeah. We can’t—we couldn’t ever—”

Gareth stopped you by taking your hands between his. They were callused and rough against your smoother ones, and you couldn’t help but take note of how right it felt to hold his hand. “I know,” he hushed. “I know, we run in two different circles. I know.”

“...that doesn’t bother you?” You asked quietly, lifting your gaze from your hands to look at him. “We can’t be…a normal couple. Not in school at least. Or where they could see us. Do you have any idea how bad it would be for you?” You asked.

“You don’t have to worry about me, sunshine,” he said in a more serious tone. “We’ll just have to be sneaky, alright? We’ll figure it out. If that’s what you want,” he added.

“I do,” you said quickly. You just felt guilty that you’d have to hide all because you didn’t want to deal with the backlash that came with going public. “I want that, I want…to be with you.”

Gareth beamed and squeezed your hands gently. “Can I kiss you?”

You nodded and leaned in for a sweet kiss.

—

That had been the start of your relationship. Since then, you and Gareth had been on three dates. Technically four, but you didn’t count the double date with Chrissy and Eddie.

You were happy with him, really happy, but there had been…close calls. Today had been a very close call day, and you were beginning to doubt your relationship. Doubt if it was worth it. Because currently, sitting in an empty parking lot with Gareth, who was nursing his wounds, it didn’t feel worth it.

You chewed nervously on your bottom lip as you glanced up at him. His nose had finally stopped bleeding and nothing looked broken, but he looked like shit. You knew it would only look worse tomorrow when all the bruises had formed.

“I’m sorry,” you quietly began, staring at your hands, unable to look at him with your crushing guilt. It had been your fault, afterall. You were in a mood and had been arguing with him. It was lighthearted because you hadn’t actually been mad, just annoyed. Someone from school had seen him chasing after you and took things the entire wrong way.

He had hit Gareth. So of course Gareth hit him back, which just egged the guy on. A few minutes later, Gareth was lying still on the ground, bleeding. You had to pretend you were grateful to the stupid asshole who had beat your boyfriends face in for no reason.

You helped him mop the blood up from his face and here you were.

You sniffled, tears stinging your eyes that you furiously refused to fall. You had no reason to cry, Gareth was the one who got the beat down, not you. “I’m so sorry, Gareth. I didn’t…I wasn’t thinking of what it looked like. I’m so sorry,” you whispered.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Gareth said, scooting closer to press his shoulder against yours. “You don’t have anything to apologize for, sunshine,” he murmured, putting a hand on your knee.

You shifted away from him, wrapping your arms around himself. “He could have hurt you a lot worse,” you sniffled. “It could have been so much worse, Gareth.”

“But it wasn’t,” he replied. “I’m fine, nothing that hasn’t happened before. Those guys are douchebags. It’s not your fault he happened to be around and got the wrong idea,” he reassured.

“This was a bad idea,” you whispered. “This—us—was a bad idea. You’re only going to get hurt, Gareth. We shouldn’t be doing this,” you said, forcing yourself to look up at him.

Gareth was frowning as he scooted closer again, “c’mhere,” he ushered as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders. He pulled you tight against his side, encouraging you to lay your head against his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the top of your head and sighed softly. “We’re going to be okay,” he said, slow and firm.

More tears stung at your eyes and when you blinked, they spilled over your cheeks. “I’m sorry,” you cried.

“Shh,” Gareth soothed. “It’s okay. We’re okay,” he repeated.

You nodded as you tried to wipe your cheeks and stop the tears. “I love you,” you said. “I love you so much, we aren’t a bad idea, I didn’t mean that.”

“I know,” he murmured his reassurances. “I know you didn’t mean it, sunshine. I love you too. More than you can even dream. So don’t cry, okay? It’s okay.” He rubbed your arm in comfort.

You leaned closer into the warmth his body provided and said nothing more as the tears subsided. Once they had stopped, you allowed yourself to enjoy this small moment with him. You truly did love him, and maybe one day you’d have the courage to tell it to the world.

#ransomswriting #reader insert #ask box #reader #stranger things #stranger things season 4 #answered asks #gareth emerson #gareth the great #gareth stranger things #gareth x reader #gareth emerson x reader #female reader #gareth emerson x female reader

741 notes · View notes

mytheoristavenue · 2 years

Text

ST Gareth x Reader - Blessings 🌟

Warnings: Fluff, angst

Summary: After being caught in the act, you and Gareth must face your family for the consequences of your actions.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Eddie’s jaw hung open as he stood in your doorway, baffled. The time in the room sat still as all of you waited for the other to react. Finally, you broke away from your boyfriend, darting for your cousin, hanging off him.

“Eddie, promise me you won’t tell dad!” you pleaded, tears pricking your panicked eyes.

“Wayne!” he responded, less to you, and more to the situation, frozen and unwilling to spearhead finding a way to resolve this. His eyes remained glued to his best friend, who was also paralyzed, jaw clenched, and staring back. “Uncle Wayne!” he called again, finally taking a breath when he heard oncoming footsteps, in tune with the annoyed grumblings of his mother’s younger brother.

“Can’t you kids get along for ten min-” Your father halted in the small hallway, at first puzzled when he watched you withdrawal from his nephew as if your skin was allergic to his, before his tired eyes wandered to the curly haired stranger standing in his daughter’s bedroom. “(M/N),” he growled, his confused expression melting into a hate filled snarl. “Please, enlighten me as to why the hell there is an intruder in my house?”

“Daddy,” you struggled to come to words, but you chose the few you found carefully. “I can explain, I swear!”

“Be my guest.” Wayne angrily squinted at you. “Because it almost seems like you have been sneaking this little hood rat into your bedroom behind my back.”

Your lip trembled as tears began to freely flow across your blushed face. “It’s not like that! I just wanted someone to myself, I deserve that much!” you raged, furious that you weren’t allowed to make the same decisions that the men in your life did. “I-I-!”

“Gareth Emerson, sir.” the three of you snapped to your boyfriend, finding him extending an arm. “It’s nice to finally meet you, though, I’d hoped it’d be under better circumstances.”

Your father glared at him cautiously. “Wayne Munson, I can’t say I share the pleasure. What do you think you’re doing in my daughter’s room, boy?”

Gareth calmed himself with a deceptively confident breath. “I came to check on her, sir. I noticed that she seemed a little off at school today, and I was worried. I tried to call, but nobody answered.”

Wayne seemed to ignore the intruder’s response, only turning back to you. “Is the boy Ed was talking about? You better be honest, young lady.” he prodded, angrily sighing and looking too an empty corner when you nodded shamefully. “How long?”

“Three months and six days.” Gareth answered.

Wayne was desperately trying to keep himself from overreacting. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his hands around this teenager’s throat and strangle him against the wall, but you’d never forgive him. You liked this boy, he could tell, and unfortunately, you weren’t his little girl anymore.

“Garett, was it?” he finally asked, walking into the living room.

“Gareth, actually, sir.” your boyfriend answered, as your collective attention followed him.

“Whatever. C’mon, we’re gonna go for a drive.” your father decided, kicking into a pair of slippers and grapping his keys. “Just to talk.”

“Dad, no, please.” you instantly protested, worried he’d do something to hurt the boy. Likewise, Gareth, was petrified. This was how he’d die.

Wayne simply held a hand to you, your que to stop arguing. You shamefully withdrew yourself, something that didn’t go unnoticed by your partner. “Right behind you, sir.” Your head shot up in surprise as he walked to the door, following your father onto the porch.

“Babe, you don’t have to, you can just go home.” you tried to reason, feeling defeated by the sound of the trailer door slamming shut, accompanied by the roaring to life of the engine in your father’s car.

You were left in the hallway, mind racing, and tears still rolling freely. You could feel the gaze of a companion burning into the back of your skull. Furiously, you spun around pointing an accusing finger at your silent cousin, who was glaring condescendingly back at you. “You!”

“Me?!” he snarled, finally speaking for the first time since your dad became aware of the situation. “The fuck did I do?!”

You could feel your face burning with rage as you continued to pin blame. “You just had to fucking tattle on me, didn’t you? How many times have I cover your back when you wanted to hide shit from Dad?!”

“Oh, name one fucking time!” Eddie demanded, fists clenched, and bare feet wet from the milk he’d spilt into the carpet.

“Like the time you tried to sell that cheerleader ketamine! Or the fact that you sell ketamine at all!”

His mind was immediately brought back to Chrissy, a girl he’d had a crush on earlier in the year, that had approached him for drugs, wanting the strongest he supplied. She backed out of the deal at the last minute and Eddie, terrified he’d be found out with the substance, begged you to help him dispose of it, which you did. “That’s different!” he argued half heartedly.

“So I guess it’s not me that rents you movies all the time because you’re banned from the video store for theft?” you asked rhetorically.

“W-Well,” he faltered, a stack of past due tapes in his peripheral. They were late, and under your name. He’d blown you off when you asked for a ride to return them, even though he’d picked them out. “It’s not the same, (Y/N)! You’re having sex, I think that’s a little bit bigger than a copy of fucking ‘Fast Times’.”

“Oh!” you chirped sarcastically. “You want to talk about sex? Let’s do that. Let’s talk about that pair of handcuffs you keep on your wall!”

“That’s none of your business, kid!” he yelled over you, instantly regretting having done so when he saw the hurt expression on your face. You hated when he called you ‘Kid’. It reminded you of how under his thumb you were, and how he couldn’t ever truly respect you as an adult.

“I hate you, Ed.” you spat, seething. In contrast to your cousin’s guilt in hurting your feelings, you reveled in the idea of causing him pain. It was only fair.

“You don’t mean that.” he denied, crossing his arms and turning away like a child.

“I do too! I hate you, and I wished your mom was still alive so you could her her problem and not mine! Dad actually cared about me before you came to live with us, he used to be nice! Now all he cares about is setting you straight and working because you won’t get off your ass and get a fucking job!” The violent words poured over your lips like a rapid waterfall, and you lacked the river stones to ease the transition. You didn’t mean any of what you’d said, but you were hurting, and upset. “My life has just been hell since you got here! Gareth was the one good thing I had and you ruined it! I won’t ever forgive you!”

With that final outburst, you stormed out the back door, stealing your fathers pack of cigarettes and lighter on the way out, before stomping over to the small sheltered picnic table just outside the trailer. Eddie sat and stewed in your words, tears hateful and fat, brimming his chocolatey eyes. As droplets fell, his gaze wandered over to the stained carpet when he’d accidentally smudged cookies into the carpet as he stepped on them. He knew you only smoked at the worst of times, but there still could be time to make things right.

----

“Now, are you going to tell me what you were really doing in my little girl’s bedroom, son?” Wayne’s tired voice cracked as he drove. He’d long since began to regret leaving his menthols on the kitchen table, but oh well. He could have one when he got back.

“Visiting her, sir.” Gareth answered, suspiciously quickly.

“With your shirt on backwards?” Your boyfriend’s eyes blew wide as he instantly glanced down, being met with the tag of his shirt against his collar bone. “Inside out too? Imagine that.”

The teen sighed. “We were having sex.” he confessed, his stare glued to the passing foliage of the passenger side view.

“I know you were. Safely, I hope?”

“Absolutely!” Gareth exclaimed. “So...you’re not mad?”

“Oh, I’m livid.” Your dad answered. “You’re damn lucky I got work in the mornin’, or I’d drive this truck into the quarry and let you drown.” he could see the terrified look on his companion's face and chuckled a bit. “But I won’t. This time.” Your boyfriends sighed, relief falling off his chest like a boulder. “I can see she likes you. (Y/N)’s a good girl, and she wouldn’t go to these lengths to hide you if you weren’t somethin’ special.”

He couldn’t help but blush a bit. There was doubt in Gareth’s mind that you loved him, but he didn’t think it was so obvious. Taking in a sharp breath for courage, he turned toward your father. “Mr. Munson, forgive me for being so forward, but I think I’m in love with your daughter.”

Wayne scoffed, laughing off the comment, making his passenger deflate with low self esteem. “Y’all don’t even know what love is. Three months isn’t long enough to fall in love. You don’t know the first thing about my little girl.”

“I know that she’s afraid of (y/f).” Gareth breathed, brows furrowing. “Her favorite color is (f/c), and she likes (f/s) better than any other subject in school.”

“You’re plan to prove you love is trivia?” the older man snorted. “You don’t think I know all this?”

“I bet you do.” Your partner said, frustration playing on his face. “I might not know everything about her, but learning about her is my favorite thing, and I want to spend the rest of my life doing it.”

“That’s dramatic.” Your father finally sighed. “Look, I ain’t gonna try and keep y’all apart.”

“You’re not?”

“No,” Wayne muttered begrudgingly. “Won’t do any good to. How am I gonna benefit from my kid hating me?” An uncomfortable silence fell between the two men, neither knowing exactly how to approach the situation, now that it was understood that you and Gareth would be allowed to remain a couple. Finally your father grunted, humbled in his fatherly pride, and bending, as he always had to whatever he though would make you smile.

“Garret,” he began, purposefully mistaking the boy’s name with a disguised smirk. “I may never like you, but (Y/N) does, and so long as you ain’t mean to her, I guess that’s good enough.”

“Oh, I’d never dream of it, sir.” Gareth promised, gushing a bit. “I don’t know how anyone could be mean to someone like her.”

“She’s a cutie, I’ll give ya that, boy. You’re lucky.”

“I know I am.” you boyfriend confirmed, picturing your visage in his mind. “Thanks for...ya know, not killing me.”

“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”

----

Eddie paced back and forth, socked feet beating against the linoleum floor of the kitchen. He knew what to do, there was still a few left, and he could buy more milk tomorrow. He glanced out the window toward the road, catching a glimpse of you, sitting atop the picnic table, angrily ranting to the air, spent butts littering the concrete slab beneath you. He grumbled, dragging his palms down his face. “Jesus Christ,” he whined, finally taking another small plate and glass from the cabinet, and spilling the remainder of the pecan sandies onto the the dish. Milk splashed into the glass, a bit collecting on the countertop, which Eddie made a note to clean up later. With a final deep breath for courage, he steadied the snack in his grip in a way that would allow him to also open and close the back door as he used it.

“Go away, Eds.” you demanded sternly. “Just leave me alone.” your cousin was startled. You hadn’t even seen him yet, though, he guessed it wouldn’t have been hard for you to guess who was using the creaky door. He was the only one in the house, after all. He continued to make his way over, steadying himself as he walked across the uneven lawn and sat beside you. You sighed, displeased with his presence. “What do you want, Eddie?” He plastered on a fake, nervous grin, holding up the plate with a chuckle. You rolled your eyes. “Nice try, sandies aren’t going to make me not hate you.”

Eddie let go of a sad breath, setting the dishes to the side, his head hung low. “I know...I thought I’d at least try.”

You finally looked him in the eye, bringing a freshly lit cigarette to your lips, speaking with it bouncing as you did. “This is bigger than cookies, Eds.”

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for telling on you.” he muttered, fingers idly tracing the brim of the glass of milk.

“Yeah, right.” You scoffed. “You’ve been dying to get me in trouble.”

Your cousin’s brows furrowed. “I’m sorry for that too. I think I’m just...having trouble coming to terms with the fact that you’re not my baby cousin anymore. You’ve got your own life now...and you’ve got someone new to eat cookies with.”

Against your will, your heart melted a bit. “Eds, are you...jealous?” you asked cautiously. Eddie rarely ever shared his feelings, and this wasn’t a moment you wanted to come to a premature close.

“I guess?” he responded, sounding more confused that you were. “Yes but no. Sometimes I just worry that you’ll outgrow me. You’re so mature, and you’re set up for a great future. One that I know I’m not a part of. I’m a failure and your not and that terrifies me.”

You cringed at his words, feeling a bit offended that he was so spiteful of the success you’d earned after years of hard work. “So you don’t want good things for me, just because you don’t care to make them happen for yourself? Great apology.”

“Not, that’s not it, (Y/N).” he whined, crushing a few cookie crumbs in his fingertips. “You’re gonna go on to bigger and better things without me. We’ve always done everything together and...I guess I’m starting to realize my time with you is limited. I’m not mad that you’re with Gareth, he’s a good kid and I know he’ll treat you right. I’m just overprotective.”

“Eddie, I appreciate you wanting to protect me, but I need to make my own mistakes, and I know he’s not one of them. I’m really happy with him. And I’m not going to start my life and forget about you. I want you to have a successful life too.” You explained, hoping to put him at ease.

“I know you do.” he mumbled. “I do too. I don’t wanna be the dead beat uncle to your kids or the burden that falls on you when Wayne’s not around anymore.”

“You don’t have to be,” you smiled, sympathetically. “It’s not too late, Eddie, you know that, don’t you?”

“I don’t know...” he trailed off, outwardly aloof, but secretly a little flustered that you had you still had so much faith in him after everything he’s done. “I can’t even graduate, how am I supposed to do anything better than that?”

“You can graduate, Ed. You just have to try, I can help you, but only if you’ll put in effort.”

“I will,” he agreed. “Thanks, (Y/N). And sorry I’ve been such an ass.” He flashing a sheepish smile, before dragging the plate of cookies to the space between you, offering one after he dunked it into the glass, which you happily took, biting into it.

“I forgive you,” you grinned, dipping what was left into the milk.

“Hey, no double dipping!” your cousin protested with a snort.

As if on cue, your father’s car pulled back into the driveway, both males stepping out, doors slamming behind. Wayne slowly approached, juxtaposed to your boyfriend, who ran to you, scooping you into his arms as you climbed down from the table to meet him. Gareth laughed, spinning you in his arms, peppering your face with kisses, until your father laid a hand on his shoulder, signaling that he’d seen enough of your gross display. He set you on your feet, but kept you in his arms, beaming down at you. Unbeknownst to you, Wayne had motioned for Eddie to follow him back into the trailer, which he obliged.

“You’re dad says he’s gonna let us be together.” Gareth exclaimed, cupping his hands around your cheeks.

“Really? That amazing, babe!” you gushed, pecking his lips quickly. “I talked to Eddie.”

“Oh, yeah?” he asked, a bit more anxiety in his tone now. “What’d he say?”

“He said that he’s not mad at us, and he thinks you’re a good guy. He just worries.” you giggled.

“Oh, he should definitely be worried.” you boyfriend smirked devilishly, hoisting you up again, and carrying you over to the table, laying you down on it and tickling you mercilessly. “Because you’re all mine now!

Taglist:

@blairscott @strangerthingsstories5255 @justsana @vintagemoss @alexsees1111 @garethswifey @ayyyy-le-simp @dickfacemcshitboner @banana-man0 @american-idiot-jpg @bingustheferal @infinitywarnatenthusiast @sugarizcool @k0miiki @saturnsfifthring @emersongareth

#stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things imagine #eddie munson stranger things #st #st4 #stranger things x reader #stranger things gareth #eddie munson #gareth emerson #gareth emerson x you

278 notes · View notes

e-munson666 · 2 years

Text

DENIM OR FLANNEL

++Eddie Munson x Gareth Emerson x F!Reader++

(Gareth and Eddie always promised not to let a crush come between them, they weren't usually into the same girl, but when it came to you they were both enamored. It puts a strain on their friendship when your attention is focused on one them over the other) [[Gareths POV]]

Warnings ⚠️: 18+ language. Jealous Eddie, Jealous Gareth. Lots of angst. Some fluff, pining. A/N: so excited for this!! I adore Gareth and he gets far less recognition than he deserves!

🖤xoxo

Gareth and Eddie have been friends since they were kids. Starting a a band together, and being founding members of Hellfire meant they were very close. They rarely argued outside of silly things like corroded coffins new logo, or what night they were gonna play DnD.

During Gareths freshman year, Eddie and his friendship was almost ruined over a girl they were both crushing hard on, constantly arguing about who "deserved" to ask her out. She had overheard one day and publicly ridiculed them in the halls, calling them *freaks*. From that day on they vowed "bros before hoes" and it worked out great, considering neither of them crushed on the same person (at the same time) for years after that.

This year was Gareths junior year, and Eddies 3d try at graduating, and their pact was still solid. Until the second week of school when they both caught sight of you for the first time since the last school year ended. You had come back to school later than the others, due to traveling abroad for culinary internship, prepping you for college next fall.

You had changed so much since they had last saw you, fashion sense a stark contrast to the simple jeans and sweaters you used to hide under. Now you were sauntering around in these delicate little outfits, skirts short, cardigans soft, hair always perfect.

They were both gaping at you as you made your way across the cafeteria, catching each others eyes as you walked by their table. They stared at each other for a tense moment, knowing right then and there, the pact was fucked.

You happily waved and acknowledged the older boys at the Hellfire table before making your way to your table, right across from theirs. You went to take your seat, back facing them, and Gareth caught sight of your cotton panties as you sat down. He noticed Eddie shift in his seat, confirming he had also seen. God, were they fucked.

After school Gareth was walking to his locker when he sees you and haults, you were opening the locker right next to his, organizing the inside. Gareth hurries himself over and clears his throat before speaking, "Hey Y/N" He utters, voice breaking from his nervousness.

You turn and face him, eyes sweet, lips curling into a smile as you look at him. "Oh my God! Hi Gareth" you squeak excitedly, wrapping your arm around him. His body stiffens as the smell of your expensive lavender perfume wafts into his nostrils. "Its so good to see you" you continue, breaking the hug after a few moments.

You notice Gareths face is flushed and red, and you can't help but blush back at him. He'd gotten taller over the summer, he was towering over you now. And his hair.... his hair was longer and fluffier, framing over his face..... he looked......so handsome. "Walk me to my car?" You ask, batting your eyelashes up at him. "Yah, of course" Gareth replies, taking your bag from you before draping his free arm over your shoulder. You giggled as Gareth led you out of the school, into the parking lot, watching eyes glue themselves to the two of you.

One of those pairs of eyes belongs to Eddie, and he was seething where he stood as Gareth walked by him, draped around you. He was furious, gritting his teeth, clenching his fists so tight they were tingling. Gareth saw Eddie, all worked up by his van as Gareth led you towards the far side of the lot.

Feeling cocky, and in the moment, Gareth offered Eddie his middle finger, floating above the back of your head before he gripped onto your shoulder again, pulling you closer to him. You giggled loudly and it sent butterflies through Gareths body.

He opened your car door for you, earning him a kiss on the cheek, before you thanked him and got inside. Gareth was giddy, almost skipping his way to his own vehicle, when he looked up he noticed Eddie, arms crossed, leaning against Gareths van. The closer Gareth got the more clearly he could see the annoyance in Eddies face. He stopped a few feet from Eddie, confused, and a little scared.

"Whats up man?" Gareth asked, after a minute of two of awkward silence.

"We need to talk about our pact, Emerson."

Pt 2? Please comment!

#fanfic #stranger things #eddie munson #eddie the freak munson #eddie munson stranger things #eddie the banished #eddie munson x female reader #gareth emerson #gareth the great #gareth x reader

262 notes · View notes

sweetpuffy12 · 1 year

Text

Stuff I write for :

IT (2017 & 2019):

Richie toizer, Eddie kaspbarak, bill denbrough, mike hanlon, Beverly marsh, Ben Hanscom, Stanley uris.

BOWERS GANG

Henry Bowers, Patrick Hockstetter, Victor criss, Belch huggins.

THE BLACK PHONE:

Vance hopper, Finney Blake, Robin arenello, billy Showalter, Bruce yamada.

STRANGER THINGS:

Billy hargrove, Steve harrington, Eddie Munson, Nancy wheeler, Robin buckly, Gareth Emerson

PERCY JACKSON:

Percy jackson, Annabeth Chase, Nico Di Angelo, Luke castellan.

GREEK GODS:

Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, Dionysus, Hades, Athena, Aphrodite, Artemis, Apollo.

ACTORS:

Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Jayden Martell, Owen Teague, Bill Hader, Nicholas Hamilton, Logan Thompson, Miguel Cazarez Mora, Brady Hepner, Mason Thames, Nijirô Murakami, Dori Sakarada.

WHAT TROPES I DO:

Enemies to lovers

Enemies to friends to lovers

Strangers to enemies to lovers

Friends to lovers

And whatever y'all can think of!

I also do smut, fluff, angst and other things all y'all have to do is request and please don't be shy and also don't be shy to request any kinks in not uncomfortable with anything so don't be shy!

104 notes · View notes

wettestnjaay · 1 year

Text

UPCOMING POST

FIRST OFF, HAPPY NEW YEARS, MERRY CHRISTMAS—ALL THOSES GOODIES, IM GOING TO B BACK IN SCHOOL NEXT WEEK AFTER MY HOLIDAY BREAK YK, SO I HAVE AT LEAST FOUR NEW UPCOMING STORY/POST FOR YOU GUYS.

**INCLUDES STRANGER THINGS, WEDNESDAY SEIRES, KICKASS (DAVE AND TODD)

NEW TAGLIST | REQUEST | WATTPAD

1ST WE HAVE,

“PROMISE, PROMISES.”

J. BYERS POLYAMOROUS LOVESTORY?

JONATHAN BYERS x BLACK!LOSTKID!READER x WHEELER!OC

STRANGER THINGS SEIRES

THOMAS BARBUSCA AS ECHO WHEELER

(MIGHT CHANGE HIS NAME,, IDK YET.)

STORY IS GOING TO GO WITH THE SONG, “PROMISES PROMISES” BY NAKED EYES

(NOT FULLY SURE IF GONNA USE IT)

SUMMARY:

the two boys may have only met her once or only twice when they’d passed her up in the hall of the school, HAWKINS HIGH, or on the street.. but it was different the pass days, no seeing her on the streets, in the halls or even in the classrooms or the cafeteria,, but now, the next night on the news was ‘her’

their world did not end in a bang, or a whisper, but rather, one scream of fear and a cry of whimper.

PLOT TWIST;

READER HAS POWERS, OR ADOPTED BY HOPPER OR SOMEONE?

— JONATHAN & ENCHO WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP ‘HER’ AND WILL (S1)

ALSO IDK IF ITS GOING TO BE ON WATTPAD OR TUMBLR?

STATUS: THINKING ABOUT STARTING.

“I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOU, ACTUALLY-I'VE BEEN WANTING AND NEEDING YOU”

KENT FISHER (?) x BLACK!WITCH!READER

WEDNESDAY SEIRES

SMUT/FLUFF

SUMMARY;

???

STATUS: THINKING ABOUT IT

“ILL TAKE THEM BOTH, THATS FAIR RIGHT?”

DAVE LIZEWSKI x BLACK!POPULAR!BIMBO!READER x TODD HAYNES

KICKASS (1) [LOVE EVAN PETERS AND AARON JOHNSON.] LIGHT SMUT

SUMMARY;

Picture yourself, a highschool student—pretty, fun, cute, everything perfect beside.., you having a small little crush on a geek,, named Todd.. and teases him and his friend Dave., a lot… Maybe they kept you joking around, or bullying them, but it’s all it cover up for your crush on the boy, from you going to the comic book store to see all of the three friends all today in a window, you’d finally see the beauty in his friend asf well,, you were slowly falling inlove with the two boys without even thinking, but maybe you’ll invite them to your party and pop up with a confession for the both of them.

STATUS; ALMOST DONE.

“FOR THE PAIN, FOR THE PAIN”

EDDIE MUNSON x BLACK!SINCLAIR!VIRIGIN!BIMBO!CHEERLEADER!READER x GARETH EMMERSON

STRANGER THINGS SEIRES

ANGST/SMUT

SUMMARY;

The 2nd most popular cheerleader,, beautiful, cute, sexy, adorable but with great beauty there comes pain, and pain is within throughs of other people putting you down, and telling you, your not worth it but the DnD-Freaks; Edward "Eddie the Banish" Munson, and his closest friend, Gareth "Gare the Great" Emerson sell you drugs and cover up all your pain by getting high with you, and maybe doing a little more and causing thinks that aren't suppose to happen actual happen within seconds of having the best weed ever with a couple of sweetheart mental head boys an, curly haired burnet and dark brown longed haired wavy haired one, but their is a 1st time for everything, 1st time having weed/drugs, a 1st time of stepping out of your shell, and lastly a first time getting letting a boy boys doing this to you also..

STATUS: MID-WAY STARTED

“WITH THOSE BABY-DOLL EYES—CAN—MAY I TAKE YOU OUT?”

BILLY HARGROVE x BLACK!SWEET!INNOCENT!BIMBO!READER

STRANGER THINGS SEIRES

FLUFF ONLY (MAYBE)

SUMMARY;

???

STATUS: THINKING ABOUT IT

ALSO, THERE RILL BE A CHAPTER ii. FOR THE "CRAVING HIS AND YOURS" SERIES, IM TAKING REQUESTS STILL AS ALWAYS, WHO I AM WILLING TO READ FOR IS THE FIRST PIN POST ON MY PAGE!

AT THE MOMENT IF ANYONE REQUEST;

ROWAN LASLOW, KENT, JONATHAN BYERS, ARGYLE, CHRISSY CUNNINGHAM, ROBIN BUCKLEY, GARETH EMERSON, KAREN WHEELER, DMITRI 'ENZO' ANTONOV, OR TASM!PETER PARKER, PHIL CALAHAM OR ONE OF MY TOP FAVORITES ID MAKE THEM SO FAST.

93 notes · View notes

cazperx-x · 2 years

Note

Hi lovely! From one writer to another I love your work, all the Gareth ones have me kicking my feet in the air and blushing like an idiot! So I have a Gareth one shot for you! It’s Gwydions 28th birthday today (the actor who plays Gareth) so maybe we can get something where the (GN or Fem!) Reader plans out Gareths birthday and makes him a cake and everything and really makes his birthday special and he is just in shock and the edge of tears cause I feel like Gareth might be someone who either doesn’t like his birthday or doesn’t do much for his birthday, so basically a fluff with a small drop of Angst. Sorry if that’s a lot I love writing summaries for my works so I get carried away a lot lol- Minnie x 🖤

Thank you so much! And I love this idea! And yeah, I feel like Gareth would be someone who doesn't really celebrate his birthday.

Birthday Chaos

Gareth Emerson x GN!reader

Summary: Basically the request, but I did add kind of a side plot with the readers little brother trying to distract Gareth while everyone sets up.

1.2k Words

You impatiently tapped your foot as you watched the oven, only a couple of minutes were left on the timer. It was your boyfriend Gareth's 18th birthday, and you wanted to do something special. The previous day you had taken a trip to all the nearest party stores you could find to grab as many decorations as your monthly allowance allowed, and you convinced everyone in your family to chip in. Your mom helped you with the cake, and your dad helped hang up decorations, but your little brother? He had the most important role of all. Distracting Gareth.

Usually, Gareth comes over every other day at around 3, but because setting up was taking longer than expected you had to send Nick, your 12yr brother to try and distract Gareth until everything was ready.

~~~~~~~~

"Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Look little dude as much as I love watching you practice…whatever you want to call those dance moves, I'm already almost an hour late to see your sister." Gareth sighed, while your brother was dramatically layed across the floor, one leg up while frantically shaking his hands at a sorry attempt for jazz hands.

"You can't leave yet! You'll miss episode 5 the epilogue the last chapter!"

"You can show me at your house 'kay? I'm sure Y/n will have something to say about those moves." Gareth chuckled with a shake of his head.

Your brother groaned and rushed over to the walkie-talkie you'd lent him for the mission once Gareth was out of earshot.

"Code red! He's on his way."

"Well stop him or something! I still have to frost the cake when it cools and people are just starting to get here! There's also so many decorations to still hang up, admittedly I might've gone overboard-"

"Well, what do you expect me to do? Stand in front of his car like a deer to stop him from driving?"

"….."

"I hate you."

Your brother hung up and ran out to the road, stopping in front of Gareth's car with his hands up in defense.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I, am uhh.. transfixed! Yeah, transfixed like a deer by the headlights."

"My headlights aren't even on!"

"E-exactly! But don't turn them on, that'll just transfix me more and then I'll never move."

Gareth groaned and dropped his head onto the steering wheel, promptly honking the horn.

~~~~~~

Meanwhile, you were in full panic mode. All of hellfire were there, along with Steve, Nancy, and Robin, who Dustin insisted should come. They were all divided into two groups, half helping your dad with the rest of the decorations. Unsurprisingly, the stores didn't have many metal or drum-themed party decorations. But you being you, just grabbed a bunch of plain decorations and tried as hard as you could to perfectly draw various bands, drums, and music notes on them.

The other half was trying to help you cool the cake enough to start frosting it.

"Y/n, I'm sure it's fine now-" Steve started before you cut him off.

"We have to be 100% sure Steve. If the cake is too warm then the frosting'll melt, and then the cake will be ruined and then the entire party will-"

"Okay, I'm sorry I asked, take deep breathes and breathe Y/n."

Eddie piped up from across the room. "Yeah L/n, I'm sure he'll love it either way. Hell, he barely even celebrates his birthday. Last year he just brought a cupcake to school and that was it. Didn't even mention it was for his birthday." Eddie shrugged, and the rest of Corroded Coffin agreed.

"Well, that just makes this even more important! Gareth deserves a great birthday." You frowned.

"Okay, I'm like 99% sure we can frost the cake now," Steve said, putting his hands up in defense when you glared at him.

"I said 100%, Steven!"

"That's not even my full name!"

"It is now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Little dude, look. You have five seconds to move before I pull you into this car." Gareth groaned.

"Ok ok, fine! But let me go get something inside first! Don't leave me here!" Your brother ran inside, grabbing the walkie-talkie. "Oh, believe me, I would if I could. I would if I could." Gareth muttered to himself

"Nick? Nick you there?"

"Can he finallyyy go?" Your brother whined.

"Yep! We're all ready."

Nick ran back to the car and hopped into the passenger seat.

"Finally. Some happy birthday to me," Gareth muttered, before starting the car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay! Places everybody!" Eddie shouted once he saw Gareth's car pull into the driveway.

The lights were off, and everything was set up perfectly. Everyone hid behind various objects of furniture with party poppers in hand.

"Helllooo? Anyone home?" Gareth knocked, and the door creaked open. He shrugged and figured maybe you were in your room or something.

"Hey sorry I'm so la-" He stated while opening the door.

"Happy birthday!" Everyone shouted turning the lights on, jumping up from hiding, and setting off their party popper. Gareth gasped and stumbled backward a bit. Tears started in his eyes and his face was a look of pure shock.

You ran up and hugged him, before frowning when you saw the tears slowly trickly down his face.

"What's wrong? I know the banner isn't perfectly even like I wanted but Eddie-"

"You did all this? For me?" You watched as a goofy smile grew on his face.

"Yeah!" you beamed and followed Gareth as he walked over to the decorations.

"Where'd you even get these? They have all my favorite bands on them." He said, carefully observing the streamers and various items hung on the wall.

"Well, I couldn't find any I thought you would like so I just got blank ones and drew things you liked on th-" but before you could finish your sentence Gareth swept you up in a bear hug.

"Best. Birthday. Ever."

You didn't even let me talk about the cake my mom helped me bake!"

"You baked a cake?!" Gareth practically shook you with his hands on your shoulders while you giggled. His eyes were wide with wonder and excitement, which made your heart melt.

"Yep! We can eat it after dinner. Or now if you want!" You smiled.

At this point Eddie piped up. "Can we like party now or something because as cute as this is I didn't exactly spend 20 minutes while L/n practically screamed at me while hanging up that banner with your name on it to watch this."

Gareth rolled his eyes and looked at you.

"What? Its still uneven!" You crossed your arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was now currently 11pm, and you were laying on Gareth while Goonies was playing in the background. Most people had gone home, but Steve had fallen asleep on Eddie after his 4th piece of cake and screaming:

"You don't know how hard I had to fan this Wheeler! I deserve it. Especially after dealing with you little shits." While Eddie backed him up after Mike asked if he should be eating that much cake.

But since Steve was asleep, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Robin were also stuck there, considering Steve was their ride home. And Eddie refused to let them wake Steve up.

"So?" You whispered so only Gareth could hear.

"So what?"

"Was this the best birthday ever?"

Gareth smiled. "Oh yeah. Most definitely. But there is one thing that could make it better."

You frowned. "What?"

He cupped your face and pulled you in close, softly kissing your lips.

"There."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Extra: I feel like the conversation between Dustin and Steve when Dustin got him to come went as follows:

"You know Gareth Emerson, the drummer for Eddie's band who's also in hellfire?"

Yeah, what about him?"

"You're going to his birthday party."

"What?"

"You. Are. Go-ing. To. Gareth. Em-er-son's. Birth-day. Par-ty."

"Will Eddie be there?"

*Frantic Dustin nodding*

"……"

"…."

"… Do I need to bring a present?"

"Yes."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I'm currently editing some of the other things requested! Conveniently the internet here is slow so the only websites that load decently are tumblr and google docs, so I'll still be working on any request I didn't get to in the car, or any new ones I may get! Thank you so much for the requests

#gareth stranger things x reader #gareth emerson x reader #gareth stranger things #gareth x reader #gareth emerson #stranger things #st4

238 notes · View notes

ashes-writing · 2 years

Text

wild one pt eleven | stranger things; g.emerson

tag list babes || req rules / fandoms + characters || send me ?s || masterlist

CHAPTERS ;

one + two + three + four + five + six + seven + eight + nine + ten can all be found by clicking. stranger things masterlist is here -it's gonna be updated shortly though.

AUTHORS NOTES;

As you can see, this story still has a chokehold on me. And this part, whew.. It was originally supposed to fall in the angst / hurt comfort category and yet.. Somehow it both did and did not and it's looong as hell too btw. A few things worth nothing here.. This is the first day of school for them. It's also the first Hellfire meeting. And sue me, I decided to throw Erica -and Will / El, into this as well as Max. It fits what I'm going for.

Guys I am still so blown away by you all, I've said it a thousand times, I do not post with any intention beyond getting ideas out of my head so every single time anybody bothers reading it -let alone likes/reblogs/reblogs with tags or comments, it just like... It makes me so happy and it motivates me and I cannot thank you guys enough for it -and for putting up with my ass.

SUMMARY;

-- us against the world.

PAIRING;

Gareth Emerson x Fem!Reader -beyond female parts, outfit descriptors and personality traits I've randomly assigned, she is a mostly blank slate. I'm tryingggg omg.

WARNINGS;

the jocks are the warning. Bullying is heavily implied here. A punch is thrown. Several threats are made. A cheerleader decides to try and get into reader's head. A lil comfort moment. JSYK, Gareth and the two remaining members of Corroded Coffin have all been aged up to 18 so the gang will all graduate together. The Upside Down / deaths / Vecna don't exist for this but bullies and typical teenage stuff does.

TAGLIST;

@allelitesmut

@aurumbelis

@aries-arcade

@cole22ann

@chieflawyerpastatoad

@ebonybloom

@fandomfreakforever

@hcloangcls

@heyaitsklaudia

@hoeshii

@hotgirlsshareaccounts

@icequeen1371

@krys-orion

@letsbedragonstogether

@louderfortheback

@littlestarfighter03

@musichealsscars

@oflavenderandevie

@secretsicanthideanymore

@scoobiessnacks

@suits-and-smirks

@thechoiceslookgrimm

@untitledarea

@untoldshortsofthefandoms are the only ones currently on my taglist. if you'd like to be on it, please click the link up top.

“She can’t be serious.” Caroline grumbles, blinking in disbelief when she spots you wandering into the school building, your step sister in tow.

“Him? I could make an allowance for screwing a freak if it was Munson. But him?” Megan scoffs and shakes her head.

“What the hell is she wearing?” Heather looks from you to Gareth and back again, a hand at her mouth as soon as she realizes what you’re wearing with your jeans and t-shirt. One of Gareth’s flannels. It has sleeves but it has to be his. It’s too big to belong to you. “Oh my goddd. She’s wearing his shirt.”

“Oh god, it gets worse.” Caroline rubs the bridge of her nose and pretends to gag. “Maybe she’ll get knocked up by the freak and have to drop out and then I won’t have to deal with her anymore.” she sighs. “I can dream, I suppose.”

You are completely unaware of the conversation between the other members of your squad because you’ve just spotted Gareth and you’re taking off at a run, flinging yourself at him with your arms around his neck. He’d spent the whole weekend involved in a campaign for DnD that one of Lucas’s invited him to play in, so you hadn’t seen him a lot because you spent most of that time babysitting or helping Angel out at the bar for some quick cash.

Gareth chuckles, an arm slipping around your waist to keep you steady, deepening the kiss as you pull his mouth against your own. “Hello to you too, sugar.”

You yawn as you lean against him, your forehead against the front of his flannel. He’s gone from an arm around your waist to holding onto both of your hands while you melt against him. “They start this shit show too early.”

Gareth chuckles at this. “We did stay up til two on the phone.”

“I wanted to hear you win the campaign, okay?” you pout when you look up at him. He chuckles and brushes his lips against your forehead. “How’s your back today? Max kinda told me about the spider in the shower incident. Plus I heard it. You have a really loud scream, y'know that?”

“I swear, Max can’t keep a secret to save her damn life. So she told you I nearly tore down the damn bathroom because Satan’s little pet was spying on me in the shower, hm?” you grumble, but you turn your back to face Gareth so he can raise up the flannel and your Motorhead shirt beneath it.

He laughs, “She kind of had to. I heard the noise in the background when she answered the phone last night.” He hisses and grimaces as he sets sight on the huge purpling bruise on your side. “Jesus christ! Babe, how in the hell..” he grazes a fingertip against the bruise gingerly, “Did you let Susan or Wes look at this?” he asks in concern.

“When I slipped while yanking down the shower curtain and it’s rod, I fell back into that tub in the bathroom me and Max are sharing.” you explain. “Susan looked at it, gave me some ice to put on it. Hurts like hell. She said if it starts to swell any worse or anything or it keeps hurting, she’ll take me to a doctor.”

“Shit.” Gareth shakes his head.

“Mhm.” you admit, yawning again as you turn back to face him and lean against him, nuzzling your nose into his neck. “You’re warm.” you mutter sleepily.

He tenses suddenly and you glance up just in time to spot Caroline, Megan and Heather staring in your direction. You roll your eyes and pay them no mind.

However, when the teacher peeking out into the hall catches you practically draped against your boyfriend and clears her throat, giving you a lecture about ladylike behavior and being too free with affection, you’re all sweet smiles and sheepish apologies until she’s back inside her classroom and then you’re mimicking her speech with perfect pitch.

“Can you believe that old bat is making us do that flour sack kid thing? I’m still struggling to figure out why I signed up for Home Ec.” you’re laughing when you say it. Gareth laughs. “You didn’t, remember? Even sending Wes up here to talk to them about letting you take auto shop class was shot down.”

“Yeah. I still can’t believe that he didn’t intimidate them into letting me somehow.” you’re pouting a little.

A throat clears almost obnoxiously behind you both and you turn to find yourselves face to face with Andy.

Gareth clenches a fist. He’s still itching to get his hands on Andy for three nights ago when you went to pick up Susan from her shift at the diner because Andy cornered you in the parking lot. He wanted to go and kill him that night, he was halfway out the door of his parents house to go find him at the ballfield where they hang out on the courts most of the time, but you barely managed to talk him out of it.

“You want something, Weber?” Gareth pulls you against him so close that there’s no space left between your bodies. Andy chuckles. “Y’know, sooner or later, she’s gonna get bored, Emerson.”

You try to step up to him but Gareth’s arms have an iron-clad grip around your waist. “Ah-ah. What was that you told me the other night when I wanted to kill him, babe?” he mutters against the shell of your ear. Getting obnoxiously close and touchy just to really rub it in with Andy.

Andy clenches his fists.

You clear your throat. “Why are you still standing here, shit for brains? I don’t play with boys when I can have a real man.”

When you say it, Gareth’s face flushes just slightly. And he bites back a groan because your body melts back against his even more.

He clears his throat and speaks up. “If I were you, Weber… I’d seriously consider leaving now. Because I wanted to fucking kill you when you cornered her outside the diner a few nights ago and honestly?” he taps his fist against his palm as he makes himself taller with a defiant smirk on his face, “I still really, really wanna.”

Andy steps up. This traps you between the two until Gareth pulls you back behind him and smirks. “Try it, Weber. C’mon..” he coaxes. “I dare you.”

“Oh I will, Emerson. But not here.” Andy’s eyes are darting around the hallway and he smirks. “You won’t be expecting it when it happens either.”

“Bullshit!” Jeff coughs to cover the word but it doesn’t work. He smirks at Andy and steps forward a little. Of the two boys, Jeff has height on Andy. And he knows that when in doubt, crazy works. So when he pretends to lunge, he snarls a little. Andy walks away and Jeff taunts calmly, “That’s right, Andy boy. We all know why you won’t fight either one of us.”

“The fuck, man? I had that.” Gareth grumbles, glaring at Jeff.

“Yeah, that’s exactly why I did that. You had time to calm down a little and you didn’t bash his skull in on the hallway floor, right?” Jeff points out with a mild shrug. “Nobody got expelled or killed.”

“I’m still going to get my hands on him sooner or later. Shit isn’t funny, the way he shows up whenever ___ is alone somewhere.”

“You do realize I chased him with a pool stick and he hightailed it… Right?” you ask as you snuggle against your boyfriend’s back. Gareth turns to face you so that you’re snuggled against his chest instead. “And you shouldn’t have fuckin done that, baby. What if he hadn’t run? Hm?”

You bite your lip and give him your best big-eyed expression. Gareth shakes his head calmly. “We’ve talked about this, babe. I’ll handle him.”

“But..” you start to argue but Gareth shakes his head firmly. “No buts.”

“No fair and no fun.” you grumble, making him laugh. “I’m not lettin you get hurt.”

“He’s got one brain cell to spare, baby. How? How is he gonna hurt me? He’s a chickenshit idiot.”

Gareth chuckles, shaking his head. “Give me begging eyes all you want, sugar. It’s just not gonna happen. Got it?”

“Fiiiiiine.” you grumble in a lower tone, “You and that stupid sexy firm tone.” which has him biting back a quiet groan when he hears you, his face all flushed.

“So that’s what Eddie was talking about.” he mumbles, mostly to himself. And this only flusters you, of course, that he’s noticed that certain tones he takes with you seem to make you calm down or behave.

Jeff and Grant are about to fall over laughing and Jeff asks Gareth through laughter, “You good? Hey.. Look.. Just don’t let that go to your head, man.”

– ( around lunchtime )

“Do you think she’s screwing the freak?” Caroline wonders aloud, a disgusted look on her face. “I mean, look at ‘em. They can’t keep their damn hands off each other. It’s disgusting.”

“She has his shirt. And last week at the mall, she had those hickies on her throat… If she hasn’t yet, she wants to. I mean look at her, it’s disgusting. He’s only with her because he can’t do any better than her and she’s only with him because she knows nobody else will have her.” Megan sips her chocolate milk as she stares at the table you’re sitting at.

What makes this whole thing so much worse in their eyes is since you’ve apparently decided that you’re not going to sit with the usual table this year, this has now given that weak little so-called captain Chrissy and your shared best friend Emma the audacity to abandon the table also. “They’re all traitors. And you know Jason isn’t going to stand for it, when he sees where she’s sitting, he’s going to have something to say about it. All we’re trying to do is keep the peace. Be a team. And it’s always those three, every single time. They always go against us.”

“I wish our old coach hadn’t ever let her, Emma or Chrissy on the damn team. The good news is our new coach hates the three of them.” Caroline smirks as she says it. “So maybe, we can find a way to use that to our advantage.” Caroline rubs her chin as she thinks it over. “I mean… she’s looking for any excuse to strip the title of Captain off Chrissy, you guys heard her.”

Jason wanders into the cafeteria and the second he spots Chrissy sitting with you and Emma over at the Hellfire table, he’s furious. Oh, he hides it, of course, but he’s only barely hiding it. He walks over and stops beside you three, clearing his throat. “Ladies, I think all three of you are a little lost?”

You and Emma share a look before bursting into laughter. “Uh, not that we’re aware?” you retort. Gareth doesn’t really stop to think about the implications of where his hands happen to be on your body at the time and neither do you. But he’s tense because Jason’s around and it never fails to piss him off when a jock pops up, so his fingers are kind of digging into the sides of your thighs since you’re sitting on the table in front of him.

“There are rules for that. Knock it off. Just because you have disgusting taste, ____. This doesn’t mean we should all have to see it…” Jason nods his head to Gareth’s hands and where they happen to be on your body in disdain before turning to Chrissy. “C’mon, princess. Let’s get back to our table.”

Chrissy’s response shocks everyone present.

She gazes up at him for a few seconds, seems to be thinking it over. You’re half assuming that she’ll do what he says because she usually does, just because she’s afraid to try breaking up with him again because of what happened the one and only time she tried to last year, but you’re wrong.

“I’m talking to my friends.” Chrissy says it with a firmer tone than usual and she takes a sip of her milk. “I want to sit here.”

“Leave these whores to whatever they’re over here doing. They’re going to drag you down, princess.” Jason’s voice is starting to veer more towards angry calm than calm and collected and as soon as you and Emma pick up on it, you share a concerned look.

Eddie breaks the silence. “Get fucked, Carver. None of us are bothering you. And there’s no law that says they have to sit there if they don’t want to.” and the smirk he gives Jason as he says it has Jason furious. “What’d you say to me, freak?”

Eddie has height on Jason. So he stands taller. Arms folded over his chest. Gazing down at him with a calm smirk. “You heard me, jockstrap. Or do I need to say it slower..” he chuckles, stepping closer, “So it sinks into that pea sized brain of yours, hm?”

“You’re the third time senior and you’re saying I have a pea brain, Munson? That’s rich.” Jason snorts, stepping up to Eddie. Smirking. “Real rich, comin from you, freak trash.”

“What’d you say to him?” Jeff is standing. Arms folded. Calm smirk. “You might wanna get back across the lunchroom, asshole.”

Gareth stands and gives a dry chuckle. “Unless you idiots just want your asses beaten to a pulp by us ‘freaks’ today. Because honestly, I’m dying to get my hands on one of you anyway.” as he says it, his voice raises and he locks eyes with Andy, smirking.

“Fuck it. I’ve been to Saturday detention a time or two, I don’t mind goin back.” Grant is standing too. Fists clenched. Smirking down at Jason.

Mike, Will, Lucas and Dustin share a look. Of the four, Mike, Will and Dustin stand. Max is gaping at Lucas and she shakes her head. “I can’t freaking believe you right now, they’re your friends.” she gestures at the three boys sitting opposite the two of them. “Have you lost your mind, Lucas Sinclair?”

“Do you seriously want to start this, man?” Mike gives Jason a mild shrug as he goes silent. “You’re clearly outnumbered here.” Will is smirking when he says it. Dustin chuckles and steps up beside Eddie, “You were saying, Carver?”

Chrissy’s breath catches in her throat.

Eddie’s probably one of exactly three people who seem to actually care about her well-being lately. He’s the one who was calm and rational with her a few nights ago when she sought him out hoping maybe he had something strong enough just to help her sleep at night. He let her sit in his trailer, explained to her what might happen. He even smoked with her just so she wasn’t all alone on this particular night and he was sweet about it. No judgment, nothing. Every time she’s tried to tell Jason how bad things are lately, he just tells her she’s fine and it’ll be okay. He doesn’t try to help or reassure her, he doesn’t seem to care. Eddie cared. Eddie listened. The last thing she wants is for Eddie to suffer because he makes the mistake to stand up for her. And she has no doubt in her mind, Jason will make sure he does.

“Okay, alright. I’ll go. I…” Chrissy calls out to Jason because all she can think is that he’ll do something, a fight will start and Eddie will wind up expelled.

“Chris, no.” you call out, shaking your head. “She was so close too.”

“Chrissy, damn it, he does this every fucking time.” Emma rubs her forehead. “I wish a meteorite would fall on your fuckin head, Carver. I really do.” Emma glares up at Jason’s turned back as she grumbles, flipping him off.

“Every single time she tries to get away, ugh.” you sigh and shake your head. “I mean, I get how he’s doing it and I know she’s scared because of it, but it still pisses me off. Because he knows what’ll work on her. It’s disgusting.” you frown and shake your head. “I wonder what would happen if someone anonymously went to like.. Hopper or somebody with his shit?” you muse, gazing at Chrissy across the cafeteria.

“I’m putting Ben Gay on his jockstrap. That’s it, I’m done with the way people just listen to him and eat up his every single fucking word. How does no one see he’s fucking poison?” Emma’s rant catches Eddie’s attention and he gazes at her quietly. Curious.

“You see it too, huh?” Eddie asks quietly, nodding to Jason.

“I’ve seen it since kindergarten? The asshole tried to kiss my cheek and I didn’t want cooties at the time, so I shoved him into a mudhole when he kept following me and trying to corner me. Then he starts to cry and has the teacher believing I shoved him for no reason!” Emma throws up her hand in frustration.

“Look, we only have to deal with their childish bullshit for a few more months and then we’re all out of this hellhole.” Grant speaks up quietly. Glancing at the two of you. Gareth nods in agreement, scooting you forward on the table a little.

“If I don’t go to prison first.” you and Emma both say it in unison. This has both Gareth and Eddie groaning at the same time as they palm their faces.

Mike raises a brow. “Why are either of you complaining? You’re both popular.”

Will gives him an elbow, shaking his head and Mike gestures at the two of you. “It’s true though! They’re not the ones getting shoved into lockers or…”

Gareth clears his throat, shooting Mike a warning glare and Mike glares right back. “Look, all I’m saying is from where Dustin, Will and I sit, you two have it made.”

You and Emma share a look.

“Whatever you think, Mikey.” you answer calmly. You see where he’s coming from, but what they go on to tell you next has you furious upon hearing it. Gaping. Because you knew that the jocks and the other girls on your squad were shitty human beings, but you didn’t know just how shitty they all were.

“I’m not wrong, though… Do they shove you guys into lockers? Or chase you home after school when you’re on a bike and they have cars to do it?” Mike states, despite Will shaking his head and elbowing him a time or two. “We said we weren’t saying anything, damn it. We were going to handle it, Mike.”

“Yeah? Well I just got sick of hearing these two, alright? They’re popular, they don’t know how shitty the other side of it all is, Will. Maybe they need t’ know.” Mike’s outburst has everyone at the table staring at him.

“They did what now?” Emma’s gaping. Glancing over at the jock table in the front of the lunch room. “Okay, kid.. You’ve got six seconds to start pointing fingers.” she taps her wrist patiently. “I need names, Mike, spit them out now.”

“Holy christ.. Max, are they doing this shit to you and El?” you’re gaping, glancing at your step sister across the table expectantly. Max shakes her head. “Not since El nailed Caroline’s sister in the head with that skate at the roller rink last year.”

“Will? Dustin?” you’re gazing from Will to Dustin, waiting. They don’t have older siblings, but since they’re always around Max, you worry about them too.

Dustin sighs, shoulders slumped. “They chased me and Will up to the hill last week. When we were going to try to power up Cerebro and see if we could tune it, get it to work for the AV Club meeting.”

“Does your mom know, kid?” you ask both boys. “Answer me.”

“If she doesn’t, she’s going to. I’ll make sure Gretchen tells Joyce when Joyce comes in for her usual trim in a few days. Perks of being the bookie at my mom’s salon, kid.” Emma gives Will a mild shrug. Will gulps. “No. I haven’t told her. You don’t have to, alright? We’ll… We’ll figure something out.”

“Don’t you have like… two brothers in our grade also? Have you even considered telling either of them?”

Will shakes his head when you ask him the question.

Max speaks up. “The point here, Mike.. ____ and Emma are not like them. Like, at all. Maybe if you’d pull your head out of your butthole, you’d see that.”

Eddie’s glaring daggers at the jock table because until Mike’s outburst, he didn’t have the first clue what the jocks were doing to the younger members of Hellfire. But now that he knows, he’s furious. Seething. Dying to get his hands on the jocks.

“Okay, here’s what you little shits are gonna do, alright? Next time they approach you, find one of us. I don’t care who. Just one of us. We’re gonna fix this shit, okay, kids?” Eddie speaks up. The younger teenagers all nod.

Lucas is conflicted.

And he feels like shit, because since he made the basketball team, he’s immune to the teasing and taunting. Clearly, his friends haven’t been and suddenly, the way they all seem tense around him makes perfect sense. And they normally tell him everything and yet, they haven’t told him any of this.

“Did you know any of this, Lucas?” Max asks, thinking about her conversation with you on the night of the Independence Day Carnival. Your warning. And it hurts, but lately, Lucas hasn’t been acting like the boy she cares so much about. And he’s barely been around his friends. Dustin, Mike and Will had to plead with him to ditch the team at the courts over the weekend to play DnD with them and Hellfire.

“No.” Lucas insists, gaping. “If..”

Max studies him intently, arms folded. “You’re sure? I mean… they’re your best friends, Lucas. How did you not notice it, hm?”

“We didn’t tell him because we know how much it meant for him to make the team, okay? We didn’t wanna…” Mike takes a deep breath, rubbing his face. “We didn’t wanna make him feel like he had to quit. Besides, we’re all gonna grow apart a little.”

“Bullshit, Mike.” Max insists. “You should have said something before now.”

“She’s right.” El speaks up quietly. “All of you. Friends don’t lie, remember?”

“El, c’mon.. We didn’t lie. We just handled it ourselves.” Mike pleads. But El is shaking her head. “It’s still a lie, Mike. Not telling is almost the same.” she gives Max a questioning look and Max nods. “It is.”

“And that’s not a smart idea with those assholes. Listen to me, little shits, alright? I’ve been around long enough to know what they’re capable of. Find a fucking adult adjacent person from now on. Even if it’s me or one of the guys.. Or even the two hellions present.” Eddie gestures to himself and the rest of his friends and then at you and Emma as he goes quiet. “I mean it. Are we clear, little shits?” he repeats himself firmly. “I can’t believe you three. Just gonna keep quiet and let them keep winning.” he’s shaking his head.

“Okay, shit.” Mike mumbles.

“I told you to keep your damn mouth shut, Wheeler.” Dustin grumbles. “Okay. We will.”

Will nods quietly. “We didn’t want to start anything.”

“I know, kid. But jesus, you’re all part of this club. If they’re messing with you, speak up.” Eddie gives the quieter boy a smile.

– ( cheerleading practice / hellfire meeting )

“I believe you two owe me something?” Coach Gentry corners you and Emma as you make your way into the gymnasium. The two of you share a look and Emma speaks up. “The pledge, right?”

Coach Gentry smirks. “I knew you two would come around. Go on, let’s have them.”

You laugh as you take it and tear it up.

Emma follows suit.

Coach Gentry grumbles, her patience worn thin. “All you have to do is sign the paper.”

“Nope.”

“Not happening.” you shrug, “Sorry.”

“Twenty five rounds around the gym. Both of you. Perhaps this will change your attitudes and help you remember what being part of a team means.”

“I think you should make them play in the powderpuff game this Friday.” Caroline is smirking when she says it, glancing at you and Emma. “Since neither of you ever bother signing up to play. Ooh, and what about the school carnival coming up in two weeks? Maybe they need to be made to do clean up, Coach Gentry?”

The coach is smirking.

If looks could kill, the look you’re giving Caroline Owens would have her six feet deep. Your jaw clenches.

“She does have a good point. Neither of you have ever participated in anything other than the Homecoming Parade, the food drive, the tutoring program last year and the car wash over the summer. I’m not your previous coach. There will be a bond with this team.”

“Seriously? Because we’re not up their ass working kissing booths?” Emma fumes as the two of you start to run around the court. You’re focused on just how much you want to strangle Caroline when you’re done with laps. As the two of you complete your last round and collapse in the bleachers, the coach wanders over with a fresh copy of the pledge for each of you.

Sharing a look, you both take it.

As the coach walks away, Emma nudges you. “You’re not signing this one either, right?”

“Nope. She can absolutely rot in hell.” you answer calmly.

“Good. I’m not signing either. She can’t make us do anything. And if she tries to throw us off for some bullshit reason, we’ll just quit.”

“After Friday, Em..” you start, trailing off. Emma nods and sighs. “It’s kinda sad, y’know? It’s all so fucked up. I mean we wanted to be like Veronica Sinclair and Danielle Wesson, remember? They were popular but they were truly nice people. We thought it was going to be so much fun.”

“Yeah, well.. We were idiots. When Veronica came home to wash clothes and spend the weekend, I talked to her. She said that she wanted to tell us both not to try out. I think that’s why she hammered it in so heavy when she was coaching us before tryouts that we didn’t need to let it change who we are. When I told her about the new coach, she said she’d talk to her mom or something, I think Mrs. Sinclair was on cheer or the old dance team back in the day.”

“Sucks.. Because if she’s going to talk to her mom about taking over the squad, I feel like neither of us will still be on it by the time that time rolls around.” Emma muses quietly. “Because after the stupid powderpuff game on Friday and the pep rally, I’m kinda done.”

“Me too. And there’s no way Mrs. Sinclair will get Coach Gentry to quit. And there’s no way we can run her off…” you trail off, going quiet.

Caroline shoves a clipboard into your hands and you and Emma sign up for the back to school powderpuff football game on Friday. She smirks. “This is going to be so much fun!”

“She doesn’t realize my father taught me a proper tackle when I was like… Five..” you’re laughing and shaking your head. Emma smirks, “Or that my mother taught me how to throw a ball so hard I can hit someone’s nose from a pretty fair distance. I mean.. They’re going into it to hurt us, so why not.. Right?”

“Exactly.” you laugh and pull yourself off the bleachers, holding out your hand to Emma. “C’mon. Let’s go shower and go down to the drama classroom.”

“Going to be a certain drummer’s personal cheerleader, hm?” Emma teases, but only partially.

“Maaybe.” you’re laughing softly. The laughter dies when you wander into the showers to find that your change of clothes has been soaked in water, the shower still turned on.

Emma’s swearing from behind you, holding out soaked jeans and a t-shirt. “They got you too, huh?”

You spot the red lipstick on your locker.

“Freaks Slut.” you laugh as you read it out loud. “Is this.. I mean is this all they can come up with? I always thought they were sharing one brain cell, now I know it.” you roll your eyes at the lipstick graffiti.

The door bursts open and Caroline laughs. “Aww.. what happened?”

Emma throws her wet clothing at Caroline and you walk over, stepping up to her. Smirking. “I could kick your ass, y’know. I could, but I’m not. Not yet.”

“Y’know, if I bat my lashes, he won’t want you anymore, right? He’s only dating you because you’re popular. Imagine if he thought he could have me… I mean…. We all know I’m better.” Caroline’s words are discarded as best as you can and you raise a hand as if you’re going to slap her. She grabs your wrist and smirks. “Who knows.. Maybe I will try my luck with him… I mean… Why should you have all the fun, right?”

You pull your wrist out of her grip and you shove her up against the locker, glaring hatefully. Maybe her words do bother you on some level. Maybe they’re kind of sitting heavy in your mind, but… You’re more pissed than anything that she just assumes she can do whatever the hell she wants with no consequence, especially with your boyfriend. Just because it worked on other guys, she thinks she can keep doing it and she can keep being gross and nobody will ever do anything to her about it. It disgusts you, it always has. She’s no better than the assholes on the football or basketball team who assume that if you smile at them one time, you want to crawl into their backseat. It’s just another reason you’re quitting the team as soon as Friday is behind you.

You’ve got a hold on her gray Hawkins Phys.Ed shirt and you slam her back against the locker a little, laughing. “You think so, hm?”

“Aw… are you upset now, ___? Wanna go cry like you used to?” Caroline taunts, smirking. Shoving at you. You stumble back but regain your balance and step up to her again. Her back meets the locker this time and it’s harder. You’ve got a hand at her throat when she smirks. “I’d rather die than let him anywhere near me. No worries, sweetheart. I mean… make no mistake. You were worried.”

You let her go and take a deep breath or two, but then that second wave of anger hits you as she’s walking over to her own locker so you decide you can’t just let it go, you have to do something. You tap her shoulder and when she turns, you send a right hook smashing into her nose.

“You bitch!” she’s got her hands on her nose, blood seeping through her fingers. “Oops.” you shrug calmly, “My fist slipped, sweets. Force yourself on him if you want, Caroline. I mean we all know you do it with everybody else because if not, nobody would touch you... But if I find out about it? Your nose is gonna be the least of your worries.” you’re glaring at her. A hand on your hip.

“It won’t be forcing if he likes it, ____. And we both know he will. He’s gonna get tired of you. You know it and I know it. You’re just a stopping point until someone better comes along.” she’s holding tissues to her nose and shouting at you as you walk out of the locker room.

Once you’re out in the hallway with Emma, she nods to the closed door at your back. “I think we both know what’s gotta happen, trouble. This shit?” she gestures to the door again, “This is not what we signed up for when we made the team. It’s just not worth it anymore. I know I said I didn’t want to miss the parties but fucking hell… This is too far out of hand. They’re like a nest of vipers.”

“Yeah. You’re right. We’re sticking around long enough to play in that stupid game against them on Friday and then we’re done.” you nod in agreement. “Because I want to tackle Owens one good time.”

“Ditto.”

The two of you take really deep breaths and wander down the hall, the squeak of your sneakers the only sound until you’ve turned down the hallway that the drama class is on. Emma stops in front of the door.

“You’re okay… Right? Like… you know Caroline Owens is full of shit, don’t you?”

You manage a weak smile and nod. And while you know she is, there are some parts of you that wonder… What if she’s not wrong? It’s just in your head and you’re doing your best to shake it out.

“Girl..”

“What?”

“Stop thinking about it, she’s full of shit okay? You’re amazing. And if there comes a time where he can’t see that, it’s his own problem.. Not yours, alright?”

“Okay, alright, shit.” you roll your eyes. “No need to get all fucking emotional about it, woman.”

“I’m gonna have to kick your ass again, aren’t I?” Emma asks, laughing softly. Shaking her head. “The woman has yellow teeth and a bird beak for a nose. Not to mention that one eye that kind of crosses itself sometimes, oh and, and.. She smells like mothballs… You’re seriously going to rake yourself through the coals about what she said?”

“Emma, I’m not, alright? I mean it.”

There’s a small chance that you might have been lying a little, but you seem convincing enough that Emma relaxes.

The two of you wander into the drama classroom and flop into empty chairs. Back out of the way so you’re not disrupting, but Eddie clears his throat, nodding to the table. “If you’re going to come in, come closer so you can watch the game unfold, huh?”

Emma’s giggling. “This guy would be an amazing ringmaster.” she mumbles, making you laugh a little. You drag your chairs over, sitting them by Gareth and Emma sits her chair in between Eddie and the Henderson kid.

Gareth can just tell something is bothering you. That you’re trying to pretend it’s not. So when Eddie calls for a break for a few minutes to grab drinks from the vending machine or snacks, he corners you when it’s just the two of you in the hallway.

“Hey.. C’mon, baby. Start talkin.” he’s pleading, stepping close. Doing that thing where he stands taller and dominates any sliver of space left between your bodies. You laugh softly. “It’s dumb. Trust me.”

“Ah-ah.. Out with it, sugar. Now.” he’s pleading in a firm tone again, caressing your cheeks. You roll your eyes and cringe as you tell him what happened in the locker room and what Caroline said to you as it happened. He’s gaping by the time you’re done, a disgusted look in his eyes. “She seriously said that.”

But then it clicks. It got to you for whatever reason.

He’s figured out by now that you’re not nearly as confident or as bold as you pretend to be ninety nine percent of the time. He pulls you against him, arms around you. “You’re the girl I want, alright? I mean that, sugar.” his forehead settles against yours. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” you melt against him, taking a few shaky breaths. He sees you blinking because you’re trying not to cry and he lets you lean your head against his neck with your arms around him. “ ‘S okay, baby. I mean it.” he coaxes, calm and patient. “Shhh.”

You take a few more shaky breaths and pull away a little, wiping at your eyes. “Sorry.” you mumble.

“Babe, it’s okay.”

“I know, I just hate it when I get so frustrated or upset that I wind up crying.”

Gareth chuckles, his hands on either side of your face as his forehead settles against yours. “It’s okay. It’s better that you told me than just keeping it in.”

You nod.

“Do you feel better?” he asks, gazing at you in concern.

“Yeah.” you smile, a weak grin, but it’s real. Not strained like when you came into the classroom twenty minutes ago.

Caroline is glaring when she walks past you both in the hallway.

Gareth knows it’s probably low-hanging fruit, but he really wants to say something, so she knows that he’s not an option, even if it’s just to get under your skin. “It’s a shame.” he calls out to her, stopping her. She’s giving him a little pout and your fist clenches. Gareth smirks and continues, “Punch still didn’t help the beak situation, huh?”

“Fuck yourself, Emerson.”

“I’d resort to my hand before I ever tried to come to you. You’re kind of a doorknob, Owens.”

“What did you call me?”

“A doorknob. Everybody takes a turn?” Gareth shrugs and you’re leaning against him just so you don’t double over laughing and make the situation worse or anything.

“Asshole.” Caroline grumbles.

“Never said I wasn’t. If you’re smart you’ll leave my girl alone, alright?”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” Gareth smirks. “You won’t like what happens if you don’t.”

“What are you gonna do, hm? Hit me?” Caroline gazes at you, “You see what you’re with, right? He just threatened me. Was he really worth punching me over, ___? Think a little. We’re only trying to help you out here. There are girls that would kill to be where you and Emma are and yet both of you are constantly destroying the bond between us girls. We’re supposed to be closer, not two against the rest of us.”

“He never said he’d lay a hand on you. Now me, Owens..” you step away from Gareth a little, stepping towards her. She backs up and you laugh. “Go home and fix your nose, Owens. You’re a waste of fucking time. The fact that you call yourselves a team is a joke. This isn’t what I signed up for. This is bullshit.”

“ The coach knows what you did and you’re probably going to get Saturday detention.” Caroline smirks. You shrug. “And? You act as if I’m supposed to be scared. Look, I’m sick of you. Sick of the bullshit. Detention is worth it if I get to punch you.”

Everyone is wandering back from the vending machines and you notice that Emma isn’t wearing Patrick’s lettermans jacket anymore. Not only that, she’s holding her hand against her chest.

“What the hell happened?” you ask, gazing at her in concern.

“Your friend, ah..” Eddie’s snickering. Emma takes over, rolling her eyes. “Let me tell my story, lug.” she’s laughing at him and shaking her head. “Patrick started to bitch because a) I’m at a Satanic cult meeting apparently, and b) I tore the pledge up again. So we started to fight. He admitted that he only wanted to date me because he has some bet going with one of the guys.”

“Okay but how’d you hurt your hand?” you nod to her hand and she laughs. “I-I.. shit, trouble, you know how bad I am at expressing my anger and frustration. I was going to punch him but I just.. I couldn’t. So I hit the locker.”

“But then she threw the damn jacket at him so hard it made his nose bleed because a button caught it.” Eddie’s now given up on holding back his laughter as he gazes down at Emma and shakes his head. Emma is flipping him off.

“I’m not the one who chose to hit a locker instead of the target of my frustration.” Eddie shrugs.

“I’m a pacifist, damn it. Gretchen is the one with the rage.”

“Pacifist my ass, Emma.” you’re laughing and moving back a little, settling back against Gareth. “You weren’t a pacifist this summer when you and Megan tied up at cheer camp.”

“She caught me on a bad day.”

“My ass. I think we both know you’re full of it. Pacifist. Riiight.” you’re laughing.

Mike clears his throat.

“Remember when you said to tell you if they’re gonna mess with us? There’s a truck full of jocks outside in the parking lot. Erica.. She was out there but Will spotted her and snuck out, got her in the back way. Now you know.” he says it as he turns to walk away.

“Who the hell is Erica?” Eddie rubs his chin, confused.

Dustin and Erica Sinclair turn the corner in the hallway with Will, all three out of breath. “They’re outside. All of ‘em.”

Eddie chuckles. Then he nods to Erica. “Who is this? Do I look like a babysitter, kid?”

“You told us to find more people.” Mike scoffs. “We found more people.”

“I meant in high school. Not with bedtimes, Wheeler.” Eddie rubs his temples, shaking his head.

“Next time be more specific, holy shit!” Mike throws up his hands. Will speaks up. “I can vouch for her, okay? She’s good. She played with me, Max and Lucas a few times when everybody else was gone or busy. We’ve uh… we’ve been teaching her.”

Eddie eyes the 11 year old warily and grumbling about it, he pushes open the door of the drama classroom.

“What about the assholes outside?” Mike asks in concern.

“We’ll sneak you guys out the back if we have to.” Eddie answers. “But the rest of us are going out the front, so all I can say is peddle like your lives depend on it. Or go hide in my van, fuck.. Guess I’ll drop you all off or something…”

“If you can’t fit them all, I’m stuck driving Gretchen’s big piece of shit Blazer.” Emma shrugs.

Everyone settles down around the table again and you wind up being pulled into Gareth’s lap at some point during the game. And then, when he rolls a good number, he won’t let you even think about removing yourself and you laugh.

One day filled with hurdles and annoying bullshit down. Quite a few more left. But maybe, you think to yourself, maybe everything will be okay…

– ( after the meeting )

Everyone is letting the energy out that they’ve held back for a few hours by the time the campaign is over for the night. Erica is excited, talking loud a mile a minute and Dustin is chuckling in amusement. Gareth wraps his arm around you, pulling you into his side. Max is talking with El, Mike and Will, fuming about a fight she had earlier with Lucas when he decided to blow off the first meeting of a club he’s been invited to so he could go play basketball with douchebags.

Eddie stops everyone at the door. “Guys, c’mon. Let’s see if the douchebags left, shall we?”

Gareth pulls away and smirks at you. “Stay put. I mean it, baby.”

“Gare…”

“Stay put. You and Emma keep them inside. They’ve been doing this to us since fucking sophmore year. We’re kinda used to it now.”

Erica nudges you and nods to Gareth’s retreating back as she smiles. “Did you finally tell him?”

You smile and nod. “I did.”

“Good. I told you, didn’t I?”

“Okay, little old lady.” you’re joking.

“Hey, what’s going on out there?” Emma nudges Will and Will peeks out the door.

“I think we might be lucky tonight. I think they’re gone.”

“If they’re not, tell me. Me and ____ will go out. This is probably all our faults, sitting with you guys at lunch earlier.”

“They’ve been doing this for weeks now, it’s not your fault. Either of you.” Will states quietly. Mike nods in agreement. “I’m sorry about earlier. I was just frustrated.”

“We get it, kid.” Emma shrugs.

“Yeah, we get it.” you add quietly. Smiling at the younger boys.

Eddie peeks back in. “They just left. One of the girls who stayed over for band stopped me and told me if we’re going, we need to book it. So everybody grab a ride. Probably a better idea if we don’t let you guys go home on your own tonight.”

“C’mon, Max. You and El and Will can ride with me and Gareth.”

“I live down the street from Henderson and Sinclair, Munson. I can take them home. We might even stop for ice cream since my little buddy nailed your asses to a wall in there.” Emma suggests, high-fiving Erica who smirks and sticks out her tongue at Eddie. Eddie chuckles. “It was luck. We’ll see how good you really are at the next one, huh?”

Erica claps her hands. “Really?”

“Yeah, why not. Fuck it.” Eddie chuckles.

Eddie and Mike gaze at each other warily. “Looks like you’re going with me, kid.”

“Will, I’ll call you and El when I make it in. We’ll talk about the thing with Lucas.” Mike calls out to his friends.

“Do it on the com. Patch me in, dude. I’m fucking livid.” Dustin calls out from the passenger side of Emma’s mom’s Blazer before getting in.

Gareth holds out his hands to you. “Keys, babe?”

“Oh come onnnn. I’m not that bad.”

“I love you but I have to disagree. You are.” Gareth is teasing and you pout but you put the keys into his hand.

Max, Will and Eleven settle into the backseat and as soon as you’re all in the car, you turn to look at Max. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just upset. Disappointed. Pissed. I can’t believe he really did that.”

“You know what we talked about, Max.”

She nods. “I know.”

Eleven speaks up. “Maybe he had a good reason.”

Will nods, agreeing. “Maybe..”

“ Call him when you get home, Max. Talk to him.”

“I dunno. He’s acting different lately. He tried to defend them earlier when we were all talking about the shit they’ve been doing to us. He tried to defend them.”

“Maybe he’s just lost, red. Give him a little time.” Gareth speaks up, catching her eyes in the rearview. “If he doesn’t come around though, I think maybe ___ is right.”

“Yeah. I hate it, but yeah.” Max takes a deep breath.

Once the Hopper-Byers cabin comes into view, Will and Eleven are climbing out. “We’ll call you later, Max!”

“Yeah.”

The ride back to the trailer you and Max live in, where Gareth’s truck is parked, is quiet. At one point, Gareth reaches down and puts his hand on your thigh, squeezing. “You’re okay, right? It’s not still getting to you?”

“No baby.”

And it’s not. You lean across and kiss him on the cheek, then you lean your head against him. “What a first day, huh?”

“Yeah, well.. The shit you saw happen is the usual. I mean, kind of.” Gareth laughs. “It’s not a big deal.”

“No, it’s not. They shouldn’t be able to just get away with this shit. I swear its like this whole damn town is so sports obsessed that they turn a blind eye to anything Jason and his band of assholes do. It’s always been this way and I hate it.” you frown. Gareth laughs. “It’s not gonna matter in a few months anyway, remember? We’ll be out of it.”

“Finally.” you answer, laughing.

He pulls your car to a stop behind Wes’s K5 and Max spots Lucas, grumbling to herself. You stop her.

“Hey.. Take a few deep breaths and then go over. Don’t just unload, alright? At least try to hear him out.” you advise. Max nods and gets out, making her way over.

You and Gareth get out and make your way over to his truck where you’re leaned against him.

“So Emma and I are done after Friday.” you tell him quietly. “Like, I can’t… I can’t deal with it anymore. It’s not the same as it was when Lucas’ older sister and the girl who lived two trailers down were the captain and co-captain. They’re all vipers.”

Gareth grips your jaw to make you look at him and he’s grinning a little. “Really? But why Friday?”

“Because I want to be able to legally drill Caroline Owens into grass on a football field. Yeah, apparently, she had the same idea, because she told the coach we should be made to sign up for more stuff and she mentioned it. So Emma and I didn’t exactly argue it.”

“Okay, she’s really not smart. I’ve seen you tackle before. If you still tackle the way you did in middle school..” Gareth cringes, laughing. “She’s going to regret it.”

The laughter dies away and you melt against him. “Gare?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Love you.” you yawn out sleepily. He presses his lips to your forehead. “Love you too.” and he’s grinning because hearing you say those three words back to him has made his night.

Maybe even his lifetime.

And he’s determined not to let anything happen to what you two have together.

#gareth emerson #gareth the great #gareth emerson imagine #gareth emerson fanfiction #gareth emerson x reader #gareth emerson x fem!reader

88 notes · View notes

morganwrites12672 · 2 years

Note

Could you write a fic for Gareth Emerson (angst to fluff) with reader asking him out but he believes it's a dare (happy ending though and the reader is GN) thank you!<3

Yes, of course! Also, I used Chrissy as a bestie, she is the only popular person I think that would not judge and be a total snob .

Terms that are usually gender specific used, 'pretty'. It is not a gendered term.

Requests are open!

Gareth Emerson x GN!Reader

He didn't believe it. There was no way Y/N Y/L/N was asking him out. But they did, and he denied.

He assumed it was a dare. Why would they? They were pretty and popular. Friends with Chrissy Cunningham and some of the other jocks or cheerleaders.

It didn't make sense. Gareth was to confused to even notice the disappointment on their face as they walked off.

Y/N was very upset. They wanted to go out with him. Why wouldn't they? He was cute, and sweet. Absolutely adorable.

He was also in a band, cute, his hair was to die for. Y/N couldn't help themselves but to fall for the boy.

They were devastated. Gareth had rejected them. He gave them a weird look and scoffed 'no'. They didn't know why, they never thought about the fact that he might think it was a prank, or a dare.

Gareth made his way back to Hellfire. He was surprised with how disappointed he was. He thought Y/N was kind of attractive. But, why the hell would a popular person ask him out?

They wouldn't. Not unless it was a prank or a stupid dare. But, what was the chance Y/N liked him? He shoved that thought as far out of his brain as possible, and took a seat with the rest of the club.

"What happened to you?" Eddie asks with concern. He didn't like when people upset his little sheep. Even less when those people were asshole popular kids.

"Nothing, someone asked me out," he said and started to unwrap his lunch. The rest of the club was bewildered. Why was he upset he got asked out?

"I'm going to need some more context," Eddie states and folds his hands before deciding to shove a pretzel in his mouth.

"It was Y/N Y/L/N, and I had to say no. Why would they ask me out if it wasn't a dare?" Gareth says as he takes a bite of his sandwich.

Eddie has to think of what to say. He didn't want to upset Gareth, but the obvious needed to be said.

"What if they like you? If it was a prank or a dare, wouldn't they go after a bigger freak," Eddie states and motions to himself.

Gareth gets confused. And then upset. He goes through all five stages of grief, he just let his crush go because he was afraid of getting humiliated.

"Shit," he mutters and tosses a chip into his mouth. "I'm an idiot," he rests his head in his hands.

______________________________________________

Y/N sits at their table dejected. Gareth didn't just say no, he scoffed at them. Chrissy notices what's wrong.

Y/N had mentioned that they were asking out their crush. Chrissy knew. There was no way Y/N would be this upset if their crush had said yes.

Chrissy takes Y/N's shoulder and motions for them to follow her. Chrissy walks with Y/N down the hallway and into an empty classroom.

"He said no," Y/N blurted the second they were clear to not get caught, "Gareth didn't just say no, he scoffed," they give Chrissy a tearful look.

Chrissy doesn't hesitate to wrap her arms around them. She gives them a big hug and whispers words of encouragement.

"Hey, you can have anybody in this school. Don't get your hopes up over one stupid boy," Chrissy finshes. She related them and they give her a small smile.

"But he's pretty. And in a band. And his hair," Y/N goes on and Chrissy listens, surprised; Y/N didn't seem to have just a crush.... They seemed to be in love.

"Um, you sound like you're in love," Chrissy states with a smile. They smile and reply while getting up.

"I think so to,"

Y/N runs into Gareth in the hallway.

"Y/N please I thought it was a dare," he begs and they give him a look of shock. He sounded upset?

"And?" They said. He wasn't going to get off that easy. He might be super cute, and kinda hot ... But they didn't believe in pretty privilege.

"I said no because I really liked you and thought the popular kids found out. I thought they had you ask me out as a stupid date," Gareth blurts with surprise.

"Fine," Y/N hands him a piece of paper with their address scribbled down, "Pick me up at 7," and with that Y/N leaves Gareth speechless.

He was going to have the time of his life. He smiled and had a skip to his step as he went to find the rest of Hellfire. Chrissy could be seen smiling from outside the classroom.

______________________________________________

Requests are open; check my pinned post for details!

#gareth emerson headcanons #Gareth x reader #gareth x reader #gareth stranger things #gareth emerson #gareth the great #gareth emerson smut #gareth emerson stranger things #corroded coffin #stranger things season four #stranger things season 4 #gareth emerson fluff #gareth emerson imagine #hellfire club

114 notes · View notes

licensedqueerio · 2 years

Note

could i request more gareth x reader?? love your writing xx

I have no idea what happened with this…I had no plot when I began and kinda just went with whatever came to mind. At no point did I know what was going to come next

(Also I wanted Gareth to have a boyfriend so…male reader. Hope that's okay)

Oh, also, Henderson reader bc I wanted to hop on that bandwagon :) and ik what the Henderson household looks like but, plot convenience

---

Word count: 2.8k

Pairing: Gareth x Male!Henderson!Reader

Warnings: swearing, some angst at the end

Request Here

---

Winter in Hawkins was always beautiful. The snow was light and fluffy on the ground, the lakes froze over and a pretty picture of the town was painted. You could almost forget about the 'towns curse'.

What you loved most about winter in Hawkins, was cozying up underneath your thick, warm blankets with the window open to keep it cold enough to actually need the blankets.

It was weird, you knew this, but it was just so comforting to be in a cocoon of blankets to stay warm.

You didn't really think it was a problem to have your window open all hours of the day, considering your bedroom was on the second floor so you didn't have to worry about anyone peeking in.

You were wrong.

So very wrong.

You nearly fell out of bed when the solid, cold ball of snow exploded into mush when it smacked into your face. You flailed in surprise, rocketing upwards as you tried to get the cold snow off of you.

You hissed and swore when it travelled down your shirt and furiously tossed your blankets off. You got out of bed, arms crossed now that you were exposed to the cold as you poked your head out the window.

You weren't sure what you were expecting to see. Maybe a couple of kids horsing around and throwing snowballs at each other. Maybe one just got away from them.

You did not expect to see one Gareth Emerson a few feet away from your house, perfectly in line with your open window. He was holding his stomach, bent over, laughter echoing.

"Gareth Benjamin Emerson!" You shouted.

You watched as Gareth snapped up to a standing position, staring up at you with wide eyes. His laughter had subsided, replaced by fear.

Understandable considering no one used his middle name. Not unless it was serious, which this was. He'd just hit you with a snowball in the face for no reason.

"Sorry!" He shouted, "I didn't think your window was open!"

"Bullshit!" You called, scowling down at him. "You've climbed through my open window you shit!"

Gareth laughed loudly at that and he bent down, scooping up snow with his bare hands. You could see him patting it into a ball before he wound his arm back.

"Don't you dare!" You snapped, stepping back and edging towards the wall to hide behind it case he really did throw it.

You watched him throw it, your body mostly behind the wall with just part of your face exposed so you could watch him. He aimed too low though, and half a second later you heard loud screeching.

Your eyes went wide, as did Gareth's as he stared at the window below yours. He began to cackle like a mad man when he realized who he hit.

You watched as Dustin poked his head out of his window and laughed when you saw the snow in his hair. "Get him, Dusty!" You encouraged, because he hadn't had a good couple of days and he deserved some fun. "He got us both, he can't get away with it!"

Gareth only laughed harder at that, while Dustin threw himself out of his open window, landing awkwardly in the snow. He didn't seem to feel the cold though as he sprang back up. It was then you noticed how unprepared he was for the weather.

"Wait—I was kidding!" You hollered in panic. The last thing you needed was a sick Dustin because he went out in the snow without shoes or adequate clothing. "Dustin you don't have shoes on!"

"I don't care!" Dustin shouted as he hurriedly scooped some snow up and flung it at Gareth, who was holding his hands out in an attempt at peace.

"Wait wait wait wait!" Gareth shouted, leaping to the side to avoid the snow, slipping and sliding. "Wait!"

Dustin paused with his arm back, snow in his palm. "What!?" He demanded. "You hit me and Y/N through the window! You deserve this!"

"Yeah. I did. But your brother will kill me if I retaliate!" Gareth also shouted, edging away from Dustin ever so slowly. "Come on, Henderson, it's not fair!"

Dustin looked up at you for help and you subtly nodded, smirk beginning to curl your lips up.

Dustin's eyes sparkled with glee as he faced Gareth again and let his snowball fly. He cackled when it hit him square in the face. "That's for my brother!"

You too, were laughing at the well deserved retribution, leaning out the window more as you watched him sputter and wipe the snow from his face. He was flushed pink from the cold and you grinned. No matter how much of a little shit he was, he was still cute.

"Dustin Henderson!" He growled, leveling a glare with your younger brother. "I'm gonna bury you!" He shouted before lunging towards him.

Dustin, predictably, screamed and tried to run, but because of his lack of shoes and the heat from his body melting the snow under his feet—he slipped. He fell on his face hard and you tried not to laugh too loud so he didn't hear it.

"Wait wait wait!" Dustin pleaded as he flipped to his back, scrambling backwards from Gareth, who was stalking closer. "WAIT!" He screeched.

"I asked you to wait and what did I get?" Gareth demanded as he scooped more snow up.

"Y/N told me to!" Dustin betrayed you like the little asshole he was.

Your jaw dropped at his audacity. He was supposed to be on your side! He was your brother goddammit! "Traitor!" You hollered.

"I'm sorry, he's gonna attack me!" Dustin shouted. But contrary to his words, Gareth had stopped walking towards him and slowly—dramatically—turned around to stare up at you.

You felt an impending sense of doom as you stared at him. Before you could even open your mouth to tell him not to do it, the snow ball was flying through your open window, missing you by a hair.

"We're breaking up!"

"Bullshit," Gareth mocked, helping Dustin up and officially recruiting him to his team.

Soon enough you had the two of them throwing snowballs. They didn't have perfect aim, so most of the snow slammed against the side of the house, but you still scrambled to shut your window because sometimes they hit the bullseye.

You must have been an awful person in your past life for the universe to choose now to punish you with a window that wouldn't close. You swore as you were pelted with snow and abandoned the window, diving to the side to hide behind the wall.

"Fine! You guys win, fucking hell!" You shouted. "Now stop throwing snowballs in my room or I swear to god!"

The snowballs ceased for a brief moment and all was quiet. You held your breath; you knew from experience that silence was never ever a good thing.

"...I want hot chocolate," Dustin stated his demands. "And not the cheap shit either! I was the good hot chocolate that you made when I was sick last time!"

"And I want a kiss. Several actually," Gareth tacked on.

"No kisses! Absolutely not! I will put snow in your bed, Y/N!" Dustin vehemently protested.

You rolled your eyes at the both of them and tentatively poked your head around the corner, grimacing at the now wet carpet squishing under your feet. "For the record, I hate the both of you," you stated. "And I should lock the both of you out in the snow. But I'll be nice because Dustin doesn't have shoes on," you allowed.

"Is that a no on the hot chocolate?" Dustin dejectedly asked, staring at his toes in the snow.

You sighed overdramatically, "no, it's not a no. Get your ass inside before mom comes home," you ordered. "Go change. Gareth, you too."

"Yes, sir," Gareth muttered under his breath.

You scowled and decided to ignore it as you turned your back on the window, pulling your wet shit off.

You heard a loud, obnoxious whistle and smirked. Then you heard Dustin swearing viciously, followed by Gareth's hurried apologies.

You shook your head at the two of them. They got on perfectly, most of the time. But Dustin still didn't like that his 'cool friend Gareth' was dating his 'lame older brother'.

So obviously you messed with the both of them all the time. Like just now when you undressed in front of the window. Your body may not have been perfect but you knew Gareth liked to stare. And why shouldn't he? Personally, you thought you were a catch.

Obviously he thought the same considering your relationship status.

You jumped when your door was slammed open and you yanked a shirt over your head quickly. But it ended up just being Gareth, who was trying to pose coolly against your doorframe, but you could see him trembling from the cold. Especially his hands.

You frowned as you approached, taking his ice cold hands and holding them between your own. "God, you're freezing," you muttered in disapproval. "Fuck Dustin's gonna get sick, I already know," you said with a sigh.

"That's what he gets," Gareth grumbled, looking down at his own wet flannel and t-shirt. He kicked the door closed with a quick glance over his shoulder.

"Go change," you said instead of answering. "Your clothes are in the closet. I'll clean those with Dustin's." You gave him a quick kiss to sate his earlier demand.

"How come I always end up stripping when I'm here?" He rhetorically asked, stepping back and shedding his flannel vest and then his shirt.

You raked your eyes over his torso before taking the clothes from him. You averted your eyes when he took his pants off and caught them when he tossed them at your back.

After a minute, he said, "I'm done." Which you took to be the all clear and opened the door, heading downstairs to grab Dustin's wet clothes.

He gave them up without a fuss. "I'm freezing," he stated the obvious, wiggling his toes against the carpet. "Why'd you let me go out there?" He whined with his whole body.

"I told you not to," you argued. "Go stand in front of the heater. I swear, if your ass gets sick mom will kill me. She already thinks I got you sick the last time! And put some damn socks on!"

"Yeah, because you did," Dustin scowled, pushing past you to stand in front of the heater. "You got sick and then you contaminated me with your stupid germs!"

"No I didn't," you sighed, shaking your head as you followed him out. You detoured to the laundry room and threw the clothes in with little regard for sorting them out.

When the clothes started washing, you headed to the kitchen. You had a perfect view of Gareth and Dustin crowding in front of the heater, rubbing their hands together.

You called that karma.

You began on the hot chocolate for the two of them. You really did hope neither of them got sick. Your mom really would kill you if Dustin got sick under your watch again.

God so much shit had already happened to him under your watch. A cold was definitely the least lethal, but still. A sick Dustin was never really fun. He acted like it was the end of the world.

Sometimes you teased him that he saved the world, but a cold was what was going to kill him. That was only on good days though, when you knew it wouldn't make him frown or become distant.

Your biggest regret was always going to be not being able to protect him from all the Upside Down bullshit. You couldn't shield him from it, couldn't make it so he wasn't involved. You couldn't take his bad memories from him.

"Y/N!"

You flinched, nearly splashing the hot chocolate out of the pot. "Christ, what, Dusty?" You exclaimed, turning to look at him.

"Don't do that!" Dustin shouted with a scowl and creased brow. "Not after all the Vecna shit!"

"Sorry," you frowned, guilty at spacing like that. "I was just thinking, I'm fine. He's gone, Dust."

Dustin shrugged uncomfortably, "I know," he muttered. He glanced over his shoulder at Gareth, who was sitting on the couch before turning back to you.

You stopped dividing your attention between him and the pot and just stared at him, because he genuinely did look worried.

"I just…had a bad dream," he mumbled, squirming where he stood like he always did when he talked about this with you. "About that day. It felt so real," he frowned.

"It was just a bad dream," you reassured. "It's okay, now. He's gone for good. You seen his body. Nance got him in the head, remember? We even made double sure with the fire."

"Yeah, I know," Dustin sighed. "But it felt real," he insisted. "Our plan didn't work, and Eddie died. I was too late—I couldn't save him," he whimpered.

Your eyes went wide when you saw the tears beginning to roll down his cheeks before he wiped them quickly. You shut the stove off so you didn't burn anything and gestured for him to come closer. You enveloped him in your arms, holding him securely, as if you could shield him from all his bad dreams.

"He died and I couldn't save him, I was too late," he cried into your shoulder. "It felt so real, I couldn't wake up! And…and the night before it was you instead of Eddie and I just—I'm scared. Scared he'll come back."

You stroked his curls and sighed softly. You didn't know how to console him. How were you supposed to protect him from his own mind? "It wasn't real," you murmured. "Dustin, it wasn't real. I'm right here and I'm okay. All in one piece, okay?"

After a few moments, you felt Dustin nod.

"Why don't you call Eddie? Have you called him yet? Maybe it'll calm you down. Reassure yourself he's okay," you suggested, releasing him so you could look him in the face.

Dustin avoided eye contact and nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I'll call him."

You ruffled his curls with a small attempt of a smile. "Ask if he wants to come over. We have enough hot chocolate," you smiled. "But he has to promise not to throw any snowballs," you said, wagging a finger in his face with a growing smile.

That earned a laugh and he nodded before hurrying off to go do just that.

You turned back to the stove, clicking the fire back on. You watched Gareth out of the corner of your eye as he approached.

You relaxed into him when he hugged you from behind. "I hate that I can't help more," you murmured.

"You did all you could. You always do," Gareth reassured. "At least you're here for him. As long as he has you, he'll be okay."

You nodded. "Yeah. But still. His nightmares are terrible. He had to sleep in my room just a few nights ago for fucks sake," you sighed.

"He'll get better," Gareth replied. "He will. You both will. It will get better," he promised.

He knew the basic rundown of everything. He had a lot of questions after everything and you made the decision with Eddie, who was his best friend, to tell him the truth. If only the basic truth.

"I hope so," you mumbled, staring down at the melting chocolate in the pot. "Thanks for sticking around, love," you murmured, turning your head.

"I'll always stick around. Can't get rid of me, Henderson," he responded with a quick kiss. "I'll go put a movie on for him, it'll calm him down til Eddie gets here," he said and pulled away to do just that.

---

Eddie sat on the couch, sandwiched between Dustin and Steve, who he brought along with him.

You sat pressed against Gareth, who was holding your shared cup of hot chocolate to warm his hands up further.

Ghostbusters was playing on the TV, an old Dustin favorite. He seemed content with it, his own cup of hot chocolate held between his own cold fingers. At least he listened to you and put socks on.

You were glad he seemed better than earlier and let yourself find comfort in that. He was okay, at least for now.

You relaxed into Gareth and stared at the screen. For now, this moment was perfect. No one was crying, hurt, or screaming. Everyone was content with hot chocolate to warm them up and a movie to keep them entertained.

You marked this as a good day in your book.

"Hey, so what's the deal with snowballs?" Eddie asked, peeking around Steve to stare at you.

You, Gareth, and Dustin began to laugh.

#ransomswriting #reader insert #ask box #reader #stranger things #stranger things season 4 #answered asks #gareth emerson x reader #gareth the great #gareth x reader #gareth emerson #gareth stranger things #male reader #henderson reader #dustin henderson #potential stranger things spoilers #Dustin's older brother

231 notes · View notes