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Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Lunchtime came around, I was in two minds when it came to lunchtime. I had a lot of friends, Hawkins High had multiple groups for the 'popular' group and whilst I was friends with them all, there was one group I preferred to sit with, but sometimes that group made me feel like I was missing something. 

I scanned the room, rolling my eyes at the annoying bustle of the room, it was too cliquey and it drove me insane. 

I stepped up to the food counter, the scent of questionable cafeteria food filled my nose. I grabbed an apple and headed for the queue towards the cash register. Behind me, an arm suddenly drops onto my shoulder—an arm covered in a worn denim jacket and glinting rings.

"Hey there, princess" Eddie crooned against my ear from behind me. "Fancy seeing you in the peasant food line"

"Not dropping the royal thing anytime soon, are ya?" I ask him playfully, whilst keeping my eyes ahead of me. 

"Absolutely not," he declared, "Once royalty, always royalty—that’s how the story goes, unless... you wanna try ditching the crown for one night? See how us common folk roll?" His eyes flicked pointedly toward where his Hellfire Club usually gathered in their usual shadowy corner of the cafeteria. "Or you could join us after school" He adds. 

"I have practice after school" I say with a shrug. 

Eddie dramatically clutched his chest as if wounded, but his smirk never faded. "Ah, the tragic fate of star athletes everywhere—enslaved by pom-poms and pyramid formations, I’ll have a character sheet with your name on it." With that, he winked and sauntered off toward his usual table but not without glancing back once more over his shoulder like he knew I was still watching him. 

I stand a little speechless for a moment, but soon snap out of it, I buy my apple and turn to the middle of the room. Three tables span the large group of popular kids. I wander over and sit with Lucy and Chrissy, unfortunately Jason was there too, I had a feeling he would insult Eddie some more, he usually did. 

"Eddie 'The Freak' Munson? You're kidding, right? Please tell me you're not actually hanging out with that guy." Jason spoke, I rolled my eyes and sighed. 

"So what if I was" I answer back sternly. I was starting to get fed up of Jason's obsession with Eddie. He scoffed and leaned back in his chair with an exaggerated smirk, he looked at me like I was the insane one. 

"Oh come on. You're really gonna lower yourself to that? He’s a total loser—doesn’t even fit in anywhere."

"I mean... is he actually bothering you or something?" Lucy added. 

A small hush fell over the table, my fingers tightened around my apple as I glanced over to Eddie, who sat with his outcast crew across the cafeteria, laughing freely with them. I smiled softly, my eyes hanging over the happy group of weirdos for a moment. 

"No, he's not bothering me"

"Then why are you speaking to him?" Chrissy asks, she didn't look as pissed as Jason, there was a hint of curiosity in her eyes. I had no logical reason for it, no sensible answer to give. All I knew was that the thought of Eddie and his carefree laughter was making my heart flutter in a way it hadn't before. 

"He's nice" I say with a shrug as I finally start eating my apple. My casual reply was met with a collection of raised eyebrows and puzzled frowns at the table. Jason, ever the instigator, couldn't let it go that easily. 

"Nice" He repeated with a scoff. "The guy's a creep. That whole D&D club thing—it's probably just a front for a cult or something."

One of the girls at the table nodded in agreement, adding fuel to the growing skepticism. "Yeah, I heard he worships the devil or something."

"On come off it" I say with a laugh. "That is so dramatic"

Jason shrugged, leaning back in his chair again. "Just saying what I heard. People don't just get called a freak in school for nothing."

I rolled my eyes again and opted to stay quiet, this conversation was driving me a little mad, and if it carried on I felt like I was going to snap. Not something I wanted to do in the middle of the cafe. 

As my friends carried on with their exaggerated theories, I found my gaze drifting back to Eddie's table - where he was currently animatedly telling some story, his hands flying through the air as his friends laughed.

Something about the way he didn't care what anyone else thought... It was kind of refreshing. Meanwhile at my own table? The same recycled gossip, the same judgmental sneers. A small seed of frustration—and something else—took root in my chest.

Maybe being popular wasn’t as fun as it used to be.

Chapter Text

It had been a few days since I had seen Eddie, I was a little sat about it, but I had been busy. Cheerleading was getting busy, and doing that whilst maintaining my perfect grades had kept my social life null and void. 

Though I still had time to think about Eddie's offer, I had decided maybe it could be fun to venture into unknown territory. So after first bell, I slipped a note into his locker saying 'Were you serious about teaching me your game?' I wasn't sure if I wanted to play the actual game, but I did know that I wanted to spend more time with him. 

After school, I waited until the halls were empty. My friends wouldn't catch me, or wonder what I was doing, all the clubs we were apart of were on the other side of the school, or outside in the field. D&D was played in a dark corner of the school, though I wasn't sure exactly where. 

I made my way to Eddie's locker. I found Eddie standing at his locker all alone. It seemed almost eerie, being in the school whilst it was this empty. 

"Huh, didn't think you'd actually come," he said, trying for nonchalance but failing to mask the anticipation in his voice.

"You've peaked my curiosity" I say with a shrug, acting like it wasn't a big deal. Eddie smirked, the tension melting away as his playful confidence returned in full force.

"Ohhhh, so the princess has a rebellious streak!" He leaned back against his locker, arms crossed. "Careful now—next thing you know you’ll be trading that perfect image for a set of dice." His eyes sparkled with mischief as he pushed off the locker and motioned down the hall with an exaggerated flourish. "Shall we? I promise to keep any actual devil-worshiping to a minimum."

I nodded, and we walked together. Eddie walked with a swagger in his step, I had to skip a little just to keep up. With a flourish, he pushed open the door to the Hellfire Club room—revealing a space crammed with mismatched furniture, stacks of books, and various other gaming supplies.

He held the door open for me with a dramatic bow, gesturing for me to step inside. "After you, my lady."

"Thank you" I say with a smile, I stepped into the room, it was dark. A lot darker than my usual vibe, but I liked it. All the bright colours of the school were annoying, this was a lot nicer.

"Alright, princess," he said, sweeping his hand toward the setup, "Welcome to my humble dungeon." He plopped into one of the chairs beside an already-open rulebook and patted the seat next to him. "Ready to trade pom poms for a quest?"

I sat down on the chair next to him, my eyes were on him. He passed me a sheet of paper. 

"Here, we gotta set you up first" He says, I look at the paper seeing it was a character street, though half of it made no sense to me. 

He leaned in a little closer, pointing out the different stats on my sheet. "You can be whoever you want here. No expectations, no pressure. Just a chance to be a hero instead of a princess for a change."

"What are my options?" I asked, feeling a little stupid. 

"All sorts" He said with a chuckle. Warrior, wizard, rogue, bard" He gave you a playful wink. "Heck, maybe even a little devilish sorcerer would suit you."

"How about I be a Rouge?" I ask smirking a little, I was being a rouge currently anyway, sneaking away from my perfect life to do this. Eddie let out a bark of laughter, throwing his head back as if I had made the funniest joke in the world. His eyes sparkled with delight as he leaned forward. 

"Oh-ho-ho, yes" He said through an uncontrollable grin. "A rogue sneaking around under everyone’s noses? Poetic justice right there."

Eddie shows me the game, well at least the basics of the game. I didn't understand most of what he was saying, but he had said time and time again that it would take me time and practice to learn the entire game. He always offered to let me watch the group when they play next, and I found myself really liking the idea. 

Though after two hours, I looked up at the clock and cursed. "Oh shit, I was supposed to be home like thirty minutes ago"

Eddie followed my gaze to the clock on the wall, eyes widening as he realized just how absorbed we both had been. "Oh- damn,"  he said with a low whistle. "Guess time flies while you're slaying imaginary monsters." He stood up from his seat with a sheepish smile. "You, uh... better get going before the royals start sending out a search party, huh?"

"Yeah, I should" I say with a sad smile, I stand up and brush down my skirt. "This was really fun"

"Glad to hear it," he said, rubbing the back of his neck before adding slyly, "So... think we can make this a regular thing? Or was this a one-time royal pardon?" His tone was light, teasing even—but there was something hopeful beneath it.

"I think this could be a regular thing, I mean you did say I would get better with time"

Eddie's smile turned into a full-blown grin—relief and anticipation mixing in his gaze.

"Hell yeah, that's the spirit." He rubbed his hands together as if already planning a grand campaign. "You'll be a master rogue in no time, princess. Hell, we might even turn you into a full-on rebel yet." He walked you toward the door, opening it for me with another exaggerated bow. "Until next time, then?"

"Next time" I repeated in a whisper, as I rushed out from the room. 

Chapter Text

My parents had grilled me for being late, so once again. I had no car. I walked to school, wearing my stupid cheerleader outfit. I was cursing it, I was dreaming of wearing my own outfits. It was mid October, and I was cold. If I had my way I would just wear long jeans with a baggy shirt, finished off with a large hoodie. But coach insisted that we wear our outfits everyday, since we were the pride of the school. 

I had my arms wrapped across my chest as I walked. A frown on my lips until a familiar setting came, Eddie's van pulled up beside me. 

"Royalty walking through the peasant streets again? Or did they take away your carriage privileges?" His tone was lighthearted, but there was a flicker of concern behind his eyes. 

I nodded. "Yeah, no car for a week this time"

Eddie let out a low whistle, wincing in sympathy. "Ouch. Your 'rents really don't mess around, do they?" He tilted his chin toward the passenger side of the van. "Want a ride, princess? Can't have the queen bee freezing her butt off on her way to class."

I bit my lip, thinking for a moment. Arriving at school in Eddie's van had its implications, and some of my friends wouldn't respond well. But I was so cold, so I climbed into the warm van. 

"Relax, princess. I'll drop you off a block away—preserve your perfect rep and all that." Eddie says, he must of seen my hesitation. 

"You don't have to do that" I say, feeling guilt wash over me. 

"Nah," he said with a shrug—acting way more cool about it than he felt in that moment, "I don’t have to. I just...want to." His tone was a little too gruff to sound casual. He covered it up with a chuckle, turning up the Van Halen on the radio as we neared the school.

We arrived a few blocks away from the school, Eddie let me out and we parted with a sad smile each. I walked the rest of the way, reaching the school in record time. I quickly got to my class, feeling awful for Eddie, the rest of the school may thought of him as a freak, but I didn't. 

Lunchtime came quickly, and instead of sitting with the main popular crowd, I opted to sit with Steve, Nancy, Jonathan and Robin. They were still popular but didn't care as much. I was friends with them luckily. 

Steve shot you a half-smile, shoving another tater tot in his mouth. "Hey you, decided to grace the lesser populars with your presence today?"

I rolled my eyes, I was starting to think the royal thing was a joke that everyone did to me and maybe only now was I realising. My eyes wandered to Eddie for a split second. 

"Looking at a certain Hellfire leader? Hm?" Robin said with a playful grin. 

"Oh, don't you start" I say with a laugh. Steve looked between the two of us in confusion, his mouth full of food. Nancy swatted his shoulder, trying to stifle her own laughter.

"What? Am I missing something?" Steve said around the mouthful of food.

"It's nothing" I add quickly. 

Steve swallowed his mouthful, narrowing his eyes like this was some sort of conspiracy. "Uh-huh. Right. Nothing, my ass."

Nancy giggled, sharing a knowing look with Robin. "Leave her alone, Steve."

Steve just shrugged, reaching for more tots. Robin leaned toward me with a sly smirk and lowered her voice. "So, have you spent any quality time with a certain dungeon king lately?"

I groaned loudly and sank in my chair a little. "Gossip is going to be the death of me, I swear"

Nancy leaned in as well, eyes lit with curiosity. "Wait, so it's true? You've been hanging out with Eddie Munson?"

Steve almost choked on his food. "The freak? What the hell for?"

"Don't call him that" I say with a frown. "He's really nice"

Robin elbowed him. "Come on, Steve. Not everyone's a bad guy in this town. Even if they play D&D and have crazy hair."

Steve shrugged, still looking skeptical. "It's just… Munson's a total outcast."

"Who cares, the rules of high school aren't real" I mutter. More and more I was starting to not care what others thought about me, especially in the walls of school. 

"Yeah, but seriously" he said, grinning playfully. "The whole school thinks he worships the devil and sacrifices goats, you know?"

Robin snorted. "Yeah, right. If he sacrifices anything, it's probably his dignity when he goes all out in those campaigns.

"If the rules aren't real, why don't you go sit with him" Steve challenged. 

"Maybe I will" I challenged back. 

"That would be the scandal of the year." Nancy said with a grin. I rolled my eyes playfully and stood up, as I turned my skirt spun with me and I then started walking towards the Hellfire table. 

The cafeteria’s usual hum of conversation dimmed slightly as heads turned in my direction. A few whispers started up as people noticed the school’s golden girl making my way toward the infamous Hellfire table.