Disclaimer: Don't own the rights to any characters except the ones I created for this story.

Hope you enjoy!

It's been a week of me being an idiot and not only do I remind myself that, but Robin tells me at least once a day. However, I try to ignore it because I have more important things to worry about like finding a new place to stay since it's been long overdue, but my distraction is failing and my mental capacity has been filled with focusing on avoiding Eddie. I'm sure from an outside of point of view, like Robin's, it looks absolutely ridiculous for me to do. No matter how I try to justify it to her, she's not convinced by the reasoning and honestly I don't think I am either at this point. At the same time, I know that no matter how hard I make an effort, I can't fit into their lives in a permanent way. I sigh with that thought lingering in my head while I sluggishly get ready for school.

"Hey, you ready yet?" Robin asks me popping her head into her room.

I stand up more alert with a forced smile and reply, "Yeah! I'll be there in a minute." She watches me for a moment squinting, but doesn't say anything and goes downstairs. I give myself a onceover in the mirror and take a deep breath. "Just one more day and then I can relax for the weekend." I murmur to myself before heading down the stairs into the kitchen. On rare occasions, Mrs. Buckley is around in the morning to have breakfast with us. This was one of those days as I see her at the small round table reading the newspaper sipping a cup of coffee.

She takes notice of my entrance and greets me, "Ah Kate, good morning. There's some coffee still if you'd like to grab yourself a cup."

"Morning, Mrs. Buckley. Coffee sounds great, thanks." I tell her while making my way over to the fresh pot of the hot beverage. Robin already had some along with a plate of Eggo waffles that she made for the two of us. She takes hold of her plate and cup, then joins her mom at the table sitting next to her. I follow quickly after with my breakfast and take a seat across from Mrs. Buckley.

We eat in peace until Robin's mom speaks up with a hint of concern in her voice, "Kate, any word from your parents?"

Robin and I glance over at each other while I stutter out an answer, "Uh…w-well, they said that they're going to stay a few more days…t-to make sure my grandmother is completely recovered."

"Wow, it must have been a really bad case of pneumonia." Mrs. Buckley comments and when I nod back at her, she then says, "Well, I'm glad she's feeling better and of course you're free to stay however long it takes for your parents to travel back here."

"Thanks, Mrs. Buckley. I really appreciate it." I give her my genuine gratitude and with that said, she finishes her breakfast first, then leaves for work after giving us both a quick goodbye.

While putting our dishes in the sink, Robin suggests, "You know, we could maybe say uh…that…your parents want to stay with your grandma to take care of her and they'd like you to stay here to finish your senior year."

"It wouldn't make sense for them to both be away leaving me alone. Plus, your mom would probably want to talk to them on the phone at that point." I reply washing my coffee mug in the sink.

Leaning on the counter, Robin asks with a hint of sadness in her voice, "So, you're still looking for a place to move to?"

Sighing, I turn to her apologetically saying, "I think it's the best and quickest option right now." I'm then reminded of Mrs. Buckley's newspaper left on the table and walk over to snatch it to shove it in my backpack.

"Fine, but I'll be checking in on you a lot." She tells me pouting a little as she picks up her own bag and then with a new thought, she says with a smirk, "Or…maybe not so you'll miss how awesome I am and just have to come back."

I chuckle as we head out the door, "You have been a spectacular host at the Buckley Hotel." Steve's car is parked in front of Robin's house and we walk over to enter it making our way to the school. The mood is a bit quieter today with just the radio in the background. It's at this point my leg starts to bounce a little and my stomach starts to flutter. I can tell that the two have glanced back at me a few times, but I ignore it just looking out the window.

Robin decides to break the silence when she calls back to me from the front seat to ask in a slight sarcastic tone, "You're going to execute your brilliant strategy again today?"

Knowing exactly what she means, I sigh and just respond with a simple, "Yep."

"Still avoiding the fre…Munson?" Steve directs his question to me.

I sigh again as Robin answers his question for me, "Yep, dingus here-"

"Hey!" I interrupt her when I hear the nickname she called me.

She calls back replying, "Yes, you've reached the level of dingus because you've been acting like one." I huff out a breath rolling my eyes and just let her continue what she was saying before, "Anyway…dingus here has been going out of her way to make sure there's no opportunity for the two of them to talk. It was a bit entertaining for like the first few days, but now it's just been frustrating. I feel like I need to grab the two like dolls and mash them together!"

"It's not that big of a deal, Robin. We aren't friends or anything." I finally comment when she finishes her rant.

Steve hesitantly chimes in, "I mean, if it wasn't a big deal, why avoid him?"

"B-Because…" I reply quietly trailing off my words as I stare out the window. Sensing my mood, the two don't say anything more and change the subject to try to lighten the atmosphere a bit. We arrive at the school and Steve gives us a small wave while the two of us make our way to the entrance. Robin and I part ways as usual and I walk over slowly to my first class. This week, I've done the opposite of what I routinely do.

Instead of arriving early, I made sure that I enter right when the bell rings so the class can begin immediately. On two days, I even skipped the class and just went to the library to either work on some homework or just doing something to keep my mind busy. Surprisingly, on the days I went, the metalhead attended every class and as I walk up to the door, today's no different. My eyes land on him as he gazes out the window and my stride stops right before I'm at the door. I stare at his profile without meaning to and one word pops in my head. Wow. His trance breaks away from the outside casually scanning the classroom until our eyes suddenly meet. Without much thought after getting surprised, my reaction is to turn around deciding to skip today's lesson. As I calm my beating heart, I make my way quickly down the hall, turn right, then a left, and arrive at the school's library.

There's only about three students, which is normal for the beginning of the school day, and the librarian who doesn't really pay attention unless there's too much noise. Instead of sitting at a table, I go to my usual spot which is near the back of the library in the history section and sit on the floor in a corner. I take a moment to center myself and before starting to overthink, I take the newspaper from this morning out of my bag and open it to the housing section. Every two or three days, I check to see if any new places are for sale in my price range, which is hard since my budget is very low. My best bet is to either get an advance at work or ask to postpone the payment for the property, but both options seem to have an unlikely outcome. I circle about three options on the paper and pause my search putting it down on the floor. Sighing, I grab my knees and put my head down closing my eyes. I hear footsteps coming close to me and I assume it's one of the three students or librarian, but then I hear my newspaper being lifted which causes me to look up at the person.

"Shopping for a new home? Family Video must pay you pretty well." Eddie casually says while looking at the newspaper.

Taken aback by his sudden appearance, I stumble over my words asking, "W-What are you doing here?"

His attention is now away from the paper in his hand and gives me an unconvincing answer, "Me? I remembered that I had to get a book." His eyes now dart around the bookshelf I'm leaning against and then swiftly pulls out a random one exclaiming, "A-ha! Here it is." Now playing with the book in his hand, Eddie states, "I should ask you the same question." Then, with fake concern he says pointing at me with the object, "I think you're developing a habit with skipping class."

Still hugging my knees staring at them, I quietly reply, "I just didn't feel like going today."

"Right…I hear you." The metalhead comments as he gets himself comfortable to the left of me on the floor and then adds, "It's not at all about you avoiding me, right?" Shocked, I lift my head turning it to see a smirk plastered on his face and he explains, "I had a hunch…plus you're not really that subtle."

Embarrassed, I let my head fall again and mumble, "Sorry."

"It's okay. I should've assumed that might happen after last Friday." He simply states playing with his rings.

"What do you mean?" I ask him gaining my attention confused about what he just said.

Eddie leans his head against the bookcase looking up at the ceiling before saying, "You know, the whole thing that happened by your locker and then me inviting you over to our table at lunch." He chuckles and continues with a tight smile, but I can hear the bitterness in his voice, "I mean I get it. Most people don't want to be around the town freak."

"You're not a freak." I tell him seriously without any hesitancy whatsoever. I can tell he's a little surprised by my sudden steely nature, especially since I'm usually timid around him. He doesn't say anything waiting for me to say something more. With his full attention on me and now having to inform him with my reasoning, the confidence I had a second ago quickly fades away. What am I going to say? I ponder for moment gathering my thoughts. I start with saying, "I told you before…D&D and metal aren't weird to me." After taking a deep breath, feeling his eyes on me, I finally explain, "I-I wasn't avoiding you…I mean I was, but…m-more like keeping my distance, and you're not the only one."

"Why?" Eddie simply asks me.

I glance over and I can see he's still perplexed, but very focused on my words, so I continue, "Me being here…in Hawkins…it's only temporary. I…I don't know when I'm leaving, but eventually I know it'll happen. I-I just don't want to get close with anyone. I'm afraid of getting attached."

There's a moment of silence before Eddie speaks, "Isn't that usually the case?"

"What?" I respond not expecting that type of answer.

"Well yeah, I mean, high school doesn't last forever. Once I graduate, I'm out of here." He tells me smirking and then changes on a more serious note saying, "I get what you mean though, I was kind of like that when I first entered here." He then states with sarcasm, "It might surprise you, but I wasn't always immensely popular." I chuckle a bit at that and then Eddie's tone goes back to being serious continuing, "I've always been the odd one out and I thought it was pointless to make an effort, but I realized, even though I can't wait to get out of here, I don't want to just wait for it to be over. I created the Hellfire Club so outsiders like me can hang out and actually enjoy some of the experience." Tilting his head towards me, he asks, "Even if it's temporary, don't you want to be able to look back at your memories here knowing it wasn't a waste?"

Thinking about what he said, I look down trailing off with my answer, "I guess…"

The newspaper I had was then suddenly in front of me and Eddie makes a hypothesis about it, "I'm assuming this is part of you trying to get some distance?"

Taking it back I shyly tell him, "Kind of, but not really. I've been staying at my friend's house, since my parents are in New York because of my grandmother…but…her mom doesn't know that they're planning to stay over there." As I lie to him, I'm surprised and feel bad at how easily the words spilled out of my mouth.

"What about your brother?" He asks me curious about my circumstance.

I simply reply, "He's away at college."

There's a moment of silence before Eddie states, "So it's just you here. Hence why you're looking for a place to move." I nod in response, but then he questions me, "Why not just tell your friend's mom? It seems like she'd be cool with it." Once again, I can't tell him the full reason that Mrs. Buckley would want to talk to them, but that actually won't be possible.

Instead I just give him part of the truth, "They've already done enough for me and I-I'd feel guilty staying for the entire senior year." Staring at the listings on the paper I sigh, "But I might have to since I can't find a place yet."

Snatching it away, Eddie quickly scans the houses for sale and scoffs, "Well, no shit. They only list the really good places on here that are usually out of most normal people's price range." Suddenly the metalhead stares at me while pondering something as I fidget from his gaze. However, his train of thought is broken when we both jump a little from the school bell ringing. He's the first to get up from the floor putting the random book he grabbed earlier back on the shelf, I follow swiftly after. Before I bend down to get my backpack, Eddie is a step ahead and lifts it off the ground handing it to me. I give a mumbled thanks and when I assume he'll turn around to leave saying goodbye, that doesn't happen. Rather, he hesitates for a moment playing with his rings before speaking up, "Look, I know you're on the fence about hanging out with anyone, but if you change your mind, you should stop by the Hellfire Club after school…if you're not busy." I'm about to reply, but he interrupts, "Think about it first."

"Okay." I give him a timid response.

He starts to back away replying, "Cool. So…I'll maybe see you later." I reply with a nod and then he surprises me with one of his infamous dramatic bows again saying, "M'lady." Even though this isn't the first time, I still can't help but chuckle at his playful nature and he himself grins before finally turning to leave. I'm left standing there still with a smile on my face before snapping out of it realizing I'll be late for my next class.

There's now a levity to my steps and overall mood while attending my classes. The whole week, I've been feeling anxious and just pretty much sluggish, but it amazingly shifted so quickly by a simple conversation with Eddie. I guess all the effort of trying to not interact with him put too much stress on me and him ripping the band-aid made it go away. I conclude the reasoning to myself while exiting the classroom of my last lesson before lunch. As I walk over to my locker, I find Robin already there waiting for me so we can go to the cafeteria.

"No extra band practice today?" I ask her as I arrive opening my locker.

Looking at me suspiciously she answers, "No, not today since our instructor has some sort of meeting."

"Oh, nice. So let's head over to the cafeteria then." I lightheartedly say as I finish with swapping books and begin strolling over to lunch. Robin follows after me and after retrieving today's meal, choices of sandwiches, we make our way over to sit at the usual table. During this week, I made sure to sit in a different seat that had my back to the metalhead, but no longer feeling the need to do that today, I sit back in my initial spot.

This inclines Robin to finally ask the question that has consumed her thoughts since meeting at my locker, "Are you going to tell me or do I have to actually ask?"

"What do you mean?" I reply casually taking a bite of my ham sandwich.

She leans towards me watching me incredulously exclaiming, "What do you mean what do I mean!? Not only today, but this whole week, you were so tense and jittery that I was even feeling the residual effects of it. Now suddenly you're so…relaxed!" Robin leans in closer and sniffs me before asking in a whisper, "Did you take something?"

"What!? No!" I shout a bit, but also laugh at the insinuation and simply answer, "I'm just tired of stressing over something I can't control."

"And how did you come to that conclusion?" She interrogates me with an eyebrow raised determined to not let this go.

"Well, I skipped Pre-Calc and-" I start to tell her what happened, but Robin interrupts me.

"That's why! You just fully steered clear, so you didn't have to worry about you-know-who." She determines by my very brief explanation.

I shake my head and interject, "No, no. Robin that's not why-"

However, she continues talking, "Kate, I know it's hard, but you can't just skip class for most of senior year."

"Yes, I won't becau-" Once again, I try to get my words out.

"Good, because even though it kind of doesn't count, it would be good if you graduated." Robin concludes her little lecture and at this point I decide to just let her have the win. Plus, thinking about it more, she'd probably have a bigger outburst if I told her everything. The rest of the lunch went along its usual routine. This time it's filled with Robin telling a story of an incident that happened in her chemistry class. Apparently, one of the jocks wasn't paying attention to the rules so he ended up mixing the wrong solutions together, having said concoction spray in his face without eye protection, and running to the eye-washer station which not only got his face splashed with water, but the front of his pants. We're two tables away from the jocks' table, so Robin pointed to which guy it was and as soon as I spot the tale tell signs of the now semi-wet pants, I throw my head back in laughter causing a few students around us to look over at us oddly.

Even after lunch, I still have random fits of giggles when the image I saw pops in my head as the two of us make our way towards History. It finally dies down and I inhale a deep intake of air through my nose blowing out through my mouth to settle myself as I sit at my desk. I'm about to ask Robin something before class begins, but lose my chance when the teacher enters starting the lesson right away. It's boring as usual and about a quarter of the way through, I start doodling in the margins of my notebook. Without really paying attention, lost in a trance, I only realize once the bell rings that I ended up drawing a cute puppy, a D&D die, and a very specific guitar. Before Robin or any student sees them, I shut my notebook fast, shove it in my backpack, and get up to go over to the last lesson of the day.

During my last class, my mind wanders a bit, debating on whether I should go to the Hellfire Club. I have a shift today, but I was about to ask Robin to cover for me. At the same time, I technically didn't say yes, so I'm not obligated to go. Plus I mean…it's not like Eddie is anticipating for me to come, right? It was just a casual friendly invite that was optional. I pause my thoughts for a moment to check the clock behind the teacher's head and see I have about five minutes left. I feel the familiar butterflies starting to take flight within my stomach, but I try to relax fidgeting with my two rings on my right hand. I'm doing it again. I'm talking myself out of it. I sigh shaking my head trying to clear the doubts and continue my thoughts. Robin and Eddie are right, I should make the most of it while I'm here. I'm in a crazy once-in-a-lifetime scenario where I landed in a dimension where Hawkins and everyone here is real. Sarah would probably slap me if I didn't take advantage of this. There are still some concerns about all of this, but for now…I want to stop worrying about it. Finally the signal for the end of the school day arrives and I quickly walk over to my locker first before going to Robin's. As I head over, I see that she's finishing up and has her trumpet.

As soon as I reach her I ask, "Hey, can you cover my shift at work?"

"Sadly I can't today, since we couldn't practice at lunch, it was moved to after school. Yippee!" Robin does a fake cheer of enthusiasm, but I can hear the actual aggravation in her words.

"O-Oh…I see. That's fine." I reply clearly with disappointment laced in my voice.

It doesn't go unnoticed by her and she questions, "Why? What's going on?"

Quietly, now feeling shy saying it aloud, "I was going to…well…check out…Hellfire Club." I flinch when Robin immediately slams her locker with a surprised look on her face and I then ramble an explanation that won't cause any large reaction from her, "I-I mean Dustin has told me about it a couple of times whenever we got the chance to talk and I finally thought it would be interesting to finally check it out." Glancing up at Robin, her arms are crossed with an eyebrow raised not believing a word. She then takes hold of my arm and drags me to the nearest empty classroom.

She lets go spinning around to face me and demands, "Okay, spill."

"Just to let you know, I was going to tell you later since I didn't know if you'd get too excited about it before." I start off with and then just straight up tell her, "I went to the library instead of Pre-Calc and…Eddie found me. He knew I was kind of avoiding him-"

"Oh you were totally avoiding him like he had an incurable disease." She chimes in with a remark.

I just roll my eyes and continue, "Anyway…we talked a little and before he left, he asked me, that if I want to…to stop by after school at Hellfire Club."

Instead of any type of outburst, Robin just suddenly grasps my shoulders and with a smirk calmly declares, "You're going."

I sigh responding, "I would, but this time I actually have to work and you have practice."

"A-ha, but you forget my fun-sized friend…we have Harrington." She reveals to me proudly.

"Uh, I think we used up that favor for my birthday." I remind her poking a hole in her solution.

She just shakes her head with the smirk still plastered on her face replying, "I've got plenty of favors to call in on that dingus since I've covered for him after the many different times he'd ask for a spontaneous date from some particular customers. So…" Robin turns me around gently pushing me out the classroom door and goes on, "I'll deal with my guy while you go over and spend time with your guy."

My face gets warm from her comment and I immediately correct her, "H-He's not my guy!"

Before I can say anything more and object to her plan, Robin is already jogging down the hall shouting back to me, "Have a good time! Curfew's at ten!"

Even though I initially was planning on visiting the club, with Robin going out of her way to make sure I can go, I'm starting to feel nervous about it again. However, it's already been executed and I don't want to waste a favor from Steve, so I make my way towards the school exit. If I remember correctly, it's supposed to be in the drama department. I ponder for a moment while scanning around the area once outside. Spotting the building, I make my way over to it and with each step, I try to ignore my heartrate increasing. Without letting myself think about it, I enter and now tread slowly over to the room. As soon as I find the right door, I stand in front of it letting my hand hover over the handle. Closing my eyes and taking a deep shaky breath, I grab the doorknob, turn it, and enter.

The room is how I remember it, but it feels different actually being in it. It's a bit hard to see, but I squint letting my eyes scan around the room. There are clothes, which I assume are costumes, on racks along the right and left walls, props piled in a semi-messy way towards the back, a large Hellfire Club logo is hung on the back wall and the long table is in the center of it all everything dimly lit with an orangey glow with the help of some candles surrounding the area. Slowly tiptoeing my way over, afraid to make a sound, I go towards the head of the table where there's an ornate looking chair that's larger than the others. Glancing at the table's surface, while gently running my fingers along it, I see there are papers scattered along it with a few dices and mini figurines. As I reach the end of it, my temptation to sit in the fancy seat gets the better of me and slowly descend in it. I smile to myself suddenly feeling slightly more confident and even playful which causes me to fully lean back sinking deeper into it.

"Having fun are we?" A recognizable voice remarks softly to the left of me close to my ear and I jolt straight up in the chair with a hand on my chest turning sharply to see a beaming Eddie. He then halfheartedly apologizes, "Sorry for spooking you. I couldn't help but jump at the opportunity that time." After getting my heartrate back to a normal level, I sigh slowly rising up out of the seat, but Eddie holds a hand out while saying, "Oh no, you don't have to get up!" I stop my movements and he declares in a playful tone, "As Dungeon Master, I give you permission to sit upon my throne."

Smiling, I relax in the chair once again and almost as if I'm talking more to myself, comment quietly, "It is pretty comfortable."

"Perks of being the DM." He responds admiring the chair patting the top of it with his hand while the other rests on his hip. As if he remembers something, he suddenly jogs towards the back of the room behind some props, which I assume was where he previously was before surprising me, and I hear him rummaging. I deduce that it's his backpack when he comes back with it and pulls out a black notebook plopping it on the table. The metalhead then starts setting up his spot haphazardly.

Feeling a little awkward just sitting doing nothing, I ask, "Um…do you need any help?"

Eddie pauses his movements glancing between me and the table thinking before replying, "Hm…actually, do you mind grabbing those papers over there?" He gestures to the scattered pages I saw earlier along the table and nod lifting myself from the chair. I start collecting the sheets one by one in my hand while he continues his setup and tells me seeming slightly embarrassed, "Thanks. You're here a bit earlier than when we usually start." He then adds, "Too bad though because I would've liked your first impression of when it was all put together."

"I-I still think it looks cool…especially the throne." I reassure him with a small smile and he returns it with his own.

Putting the final details in place on his side, he asserts, "Well if you think it's cool now, you'll definitely be blown away when the campaign starts." As he says this he smirks holding the black notebook from before proudly flipping through a few pages. I collect the last piece of paper placing the pile next to his setup and then the metalhead asks me, "Do you want to join? You said your brother dabbles in it, so I'm guessing you know how it works."

Not looking up at him, I shyly reply, "Um…kind of. I've never played myself. Do you mind if I just watch?"

"Yeah sure, no problem at all." Eddie quickly reassures me now darting his eyes around the room in search of something. Once he spots what he's looking for, he goes over to it bringing it back and it's revealed to be a chair. He places it on the right side of his seat on the corner of the table and comments, "It's not a throne, but I guarantee it's the best spot to view the action." The doors abruptly swing open and we both turn our heads to view the members enter the room. They slow their movements almost to a stop when their gazes catch on me. "Today we'll be having an audience. You guys remember Kate, right?" Eddie announces holding out his arms presenting me as if I were on display while I awkwardly wave at them. My eyes land on Mike and Dustin who are definitely surprised and confused I'm here.

The first one to speak up as they go to there spots setting up is Gareth, "Future girl, right?"

I mentally facepalm at the nickname that's been established by the two bozos which I quickly glare at them and then smile curtly saying, "Yeah, that's right." As if I don't already stick out like a sore thumb, Eddie then pulls out my chair for me smiling. A little embarrassed, I sit down hastily and view a few of the members mumble to each other.

Eddie takes his seat on the throne, opens up to a page on his black notebook, and then I see a shift in his demeaner as he speaks bringing a chill up my spine, "Shall we begin?"

In the beginning, even though I knew the basics, it was a bit hard to follow since the campaign started from a previous one they've done. However, I was able to get lost in the story as it went along and that was mainly because of Eddie. He's so enthusiastic, passionate and immersed in it that it made the campaign so entertaining to not only the guys playing, but to me who's just enjoying the ride. He drew everyone in when establishing settings and we laughed when he became so animated for different voices embodying the many characters the guys' own came across on their journey. It was mesmerizing to watch Eddie in his element and I'm really happy I got this opportunity to see it for myself. Papers was scattered, dices were flying, and the room filled with excitement.

After about two hours have passed, the campaign comes to an end, finishing with the members' characters badly injured, but winning the battle obtaining the long searched for item on their mission. Everyone starts to clean up and I also help in anyway that I could. When everything is accounted for, the club plus myself all exit the building to see it's now nighttime and they begin to split off heading home. Dustin and Mike are the last to go after waiting for Nancy to pick them up which then left just me and Eddie under the single blaring light in the front of the building.

Eddie is the first to break the silence hanging in the air saying, "So…I hope it lived up to the expectations I made for you earlier."

"It was great!" I exclaim a little more enthusiastically than I imagined I'd say and try to recover from it now embarrassed, "I-I mean it was enjoyable to see everyone have a lot of fun…a-and the story was really entertaining."

He chuckles at my flustered behavior and I lift my head to see him smirking replying with, "Well, I'm glad you had a good time." There's another moment of stillness until he speaks up again, "Um, do you have a way to get home? I could drive you if that's okay with you." I'm about to answer, but then there's car horn echoing into the night. We both survey the area until landing on a car I recognize. It's a slightly annoyed Steve in the vehicle watching the two of us and gesturing with his hand for me to go over there. "Looks like my question has been answered." Eddie comments giving a little salute over to Steve with a half-smile.

I bring his attention back to me when I express my gratitude, "Thanks for inviting me to watch your campaign."

He nods his head while responding with, "You can come back anytime, M'lady."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" I finally ask the question I've been curious about.

Smirking he teases, "I mean I could call you Future Girl." I shake my head side to side furiously and he laughs at my reaction, then actually gives me an answer, "Honestly, I don't know. After calling you that the first time…it kind of just…stuck with me." He then immediately adds, "If you don't like it, I could stop."

"No!" I reply a bit too loudly embarrassing myself once again which earns another chortle from the metalhead. Now in a quieter voice, I tell him, "I don't mind it." Another two honks from Steve's car breaks through the silent atmosphere. "I should go." I remark, but before I make my way over to him, I take a deep breath to summon my courage and turn back to ask Eddie something I should've done for a while now, "It's um…p-probably pointless to go over that test now…b-but I know there's a quiz next week and if you want to…I…we can uh…"

Eddie kindly saves me from malfunctioning and answers what I'm trying to ask, "It definitely won't be as fun as Dungeons and Dragons, but sure, I could use all the help I can. We could meet here around three tomorrow?"

"Th-That sounds good." I tell him grateful he understood my stumbling mess of a question. Steve honks his horn a third time and I look back over my shoulder feeling bad.

Eddie gets the message too finishing our conversation, "Great, I'll see you tomorrow then." With his hands behind his back taking a few step backwards, he does a short bow grinning while saying his last words to me, "Have a good night…M'lady." From the sudden warmth of my face despite the cool night air, I can definitely tell I'm a few shades redder.

"Good night." I reply back fast before finally turning around and jogging towards Steve. Once I enter his car, I immediately state, "Robin made you pick me up."

Starting the car while watching the metalhead drive off in his van, he comments, "Well, yeah, but I didn't expect to wait so long for your date to finish."

"It wasn't a date!" I exclaim flustered by his assumption.

Now on the road to Robin's, Steve lectures me, "Whatever it was, you should've thought about getting home afterwards. I mean I totally don't mind, but have a backup at least that doesn't involve Munson and his van."

While gazing out the window, I tell him, "There's nothing wrong with getting a ride from Eddie."

"You've only really known him for a week, two at most." Steve says as he makes a turn down a street and adds in a calmer tone, "I'm just looking out for you."

I just roll my eyes knowing that's technically not true about how long I've known Eddie, but I can't comment on that, so I tease him playfully whining, "Yes, dad."

He goes along with it now in a fake dad tone, "No more of that or you won't get ice cream tonight."

"Well, if it's not from Scoops Ahoy, I don't want it anyway." I pout, but then that stops when I catch myself with what I just said. My eyes dart over to Steve nervous to see if he notices it.

Thankfully, it goes over his head and he continues the gag, "Oh you're missing out because I make an awesome sundae." We arrive at Robin's house which is a relief to me after my little slipup that goes unnoticed.

"Raincheck on the sundae." I respond before thanking him for the ride and exiting his car. I watch Steve drive off and once he makes the turn, I smack my forehead for my dumb mistake. "It wasn't that bad. I could've said Robin told me about it." I sigh giving myself some reassurance.

Taking a moment to enjoy the night breeze, I think about today and how it started out with me so tense, to having a great time at Hellfire Club with the metalhead who was the reason I stressed out in the first place. I stroll up to the door of the Buckley's house, pause to mentally prepare myself for the bombardment of questions, and enter.

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