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Chapter Five: Intelligence

Sarah's eye fluttered open, her lashes felt damp on her skin and she didn't know why, after a few blinks she realised Steve had been staring at her already. He reached up, tenderly using his fingers to wipe the tears off her cheeks that she hadn't realised were falling. "You okay?" He whispered into the silence, the light from outside minimal letting him know it was still early.

"I think I was dreaming about my mother." Sarah replied softly. "I used to have dreams about what life would be like if she hadn't overdosed all the time, you know before everything with the upside down happened and I only had nightmares." She looked at him through bloodshot eyes. "Sometimes I have so much hatred for her, I hate that she left me, that I wasn't enough to keep her around… but then I remember how hard she had it with him, she tried really hard for as long as she could and I shouldn't be so selfish." Eddie had his arms wrapped around her waist, asleep against her back, Steve running his fingers up and down her arm. "Ignore me, I just miss her."

"You're allowed to talk about her, Sarah. She's not some taboo subject."

"Yeah… I guess." She replied, the truth being she had always been a taboo subject. She was never allowed to bring up her mother at home. There were no photos of her around the house, her father had thrown away almost all her belongings; he had erased her existence from their house.

"As much as we're having a deep and meaningful here, I gotta know. Where's the bathroom? Nature been calling."

"Is that why you were staring at me? Willing me to wake up." Sarah laughed, wiping away the remaining tears. "If you go out the door it's just down the end to the left."

Steve moved up and kissed the top of Sarah's forehead. "You can always talk to me, Sarah, I'll always be there for you."

Sarah nodded, trying her hardest not to blush as he climbed over the two to head off in search of the bathroom. Sarah reached up to ghost over where he had kissed her forehead, that stupid feeling erupting in her stomach, she couldn't get why, after all these years of being his second, she still felt this way for him.

"Well." Eddie's voice broke the silence that was in the room. "I gotta say its nice waking up with a beautiful girl in my arms."

Sarah turned around to face him and rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot."

Eddie smirked pulling her in closer against him. "How come you and Steve never dated?"

"He was never interested."

"I find that hard to believe."

"He never really saw me, there were other girls, lots of other girls, then Nancy… I wasn't ever really in his sights. He really loved Nancy so I supported him, listened to him talk about how beautiful and smart and funny she was. Comforted him when they broke up and she got with Jonathan." Looking into his eyes she gave a small smile. "I was happy just being his best friend, I was important enough. Doesn't matter anyway, we should get ready for school."

Eddie didn't argue or push the subject, he could see how much Sarah cared about Steve by the look in her eyes whenever she looked at him. Eddie pulled her in and hugged her against him, a hand on the small of her back, the other gently holding her head and held her against him. Sarah wasn't sure if she had taken a breath from the moment he had scooped her close, her mind in a foggy haze with not a single rational thought coming to her. Releasing her he got up and grabbed some clothes, heading out of the room to go get himself ready. Sarah laid in bed, she felt like her face was on fire and probably as red as a beetroot. It took her a moment to recover and got up to get her clothes to get ready for school. Once the teens were ready to go, they exited Eddie's trailer to head to the van.

"Sarah?" Sarah turned in the direction of the voice calling out to her. Max stood at the front of her door, staring at Sarah with disbelief across her face. After a moment she ran towards her, throwing her arms around Sarah, burying her face into her.

"Hey, little love, I've missed you." Sarah said softly as she stroked the girls head, she could tell that Max was crying but trying to hide it as she hugged Sarah so tight it hurt. Out of all the other kids Sarah had the closest bond with Max. Sarah had done what she could to protect Max from Billy once she caught on to his treatment of her. In the end Sarah had tried to save Billy, sacrificing herself instead but he had overpowered her and thrown her out of the way just before the mind flayer attacked. Max had looked at her like she was this big hero that had tried to save her brother but really she was a coward, she didn't want to do it anymore, she had decided she was done with life.

"Where did you go?"

"It's complicated." Sarah answered softly. "I'm so sorry, Max. I would have taken his place."

Max squeezed her even tighter and it hurt every bruise Sarah had around her waist, Steve noticing the look of pain crossing her face. "Hey Mayfield, little too tight."

Max released her grip slightly, looking towards Steve and Eddie standing at the door like she had been caught robbing a bank. She quickly wiped away any tears from her eyes, Sarah picking up on her embarrassment. "Hey guys can you please give us a quick minute."

"Ah. Sure." Eddie didn't get what Sarah was to some of these kids but he didn't ask questions.

"We'll wait in the car." Steve agreed as the two went towards the van, Sarah bending down to speak to Max.

Steve got into the van, pulling closed the door, Eddie doing the same, putting the keys in the ignition. "Am I dropping you home, Harrington?"

"It's out of the way, just go to the school and I'll go from there." Steve replied, he watched Eddie readjusting the wristwatch fastened to his left wrist. "What's going on with you and Sarah? She's someone who feels like she's a burden if she's breathing in the same air space as you but she's been staying at yours for a few days now."

Eddie smirked. "Just friends, man."

"Well... obviously I mean I know your friends. It's just I." Steve's flustered state was interrupted by Sarah opening the door and getting in, Max following behind her.

"It okay if we take Max right?" Sarah asked Eddie, the pleading look in her eyes too cute for him to say no even if he wanted too.

"Heading there anyway, get in red."

When Eddie pulled into the school car park, Steve gave Sarah a tight hug, assuring her if anything went down he'd be there in an instant before walking off. Max didn't say anything as she left the van and headed into the school, Sarah could feel the girls sadness radiate off her, it was like back when she had just moved to Hawkins, withdrawn and aloof. Dustin had such a crush on her, Sarah would listen to him talk about her with such enthusiasm, whether it be talking about a new high score she had got or how funny she was. She couldn't help but be a little sad that Dustin hadn't been the one who ended up getting her attention, it had been Lucas and it would probably always be Lucas.

"You good?" Eddie asked breaking her concentration on the red head.

Sarah gave a nod. "Yeah, English first right?"

"Yeah, let's go."

The two walked into school together, she was close to him but not so much that she was on top of him, but defiantly needed him close. The intense fluttery nerves sat in the pit of her stomach as she walked the hallways, her palms sweaty. Sarah looked up from her feet and felt her whole-body tense as some of the basketball team stood at their lockers, all eyes falling on her as she walked down the hallways. Eddie draped himself over her shoulders, staring down the basketball team as he led Sarah past them, leading her into English. The two sat together towards the back, he found himself watching her more than whatever was going on with the teacher, the way she took notes was impressive to him, she took no notice of anything around her, even him staring at her the whole lesson. The look of concentration was pretty across her face.

The next class she had was maths by herself but Eddie walked with her to drop her off before heading to his class, she couldn't help the feeling she got at these random acts of kindness, he had been so sweet to her from the start. Everyone always gossiped about him behind his back, never said anything nice just what an idiot freak he was, having to repeat again. Sarah watched as he walked through the hallway and out of her sight, she found herself again regretting not getting to know this boy when she had first met him, too worried about what Jason and the cheerleaders would say about her hanging out with the drug dealer freak. She wondered if he remembered the first time they had spoken, she had always treasured the memory as she had run into him at a time her life was in turmoil. Taking a seat towards the back of the classroom, Sarah was waiting for lunch just so she could see him and that thought made her frown; she had never felt this way about anyone besides Steve. She wanted to be in his presence, she wanted to be around him, she missed when he wasn't around and it confused her. The maths class was in the back of her mind as she sat in class and looked out the window, her feelings a mess

When lunch finally came Sarah sat next to Eddie at the hellfire table with a textbook opened in front of her. Dustin and Mike were talking amongst themselves, Max had decided to sit right next to Sarah, headphones on ignoring everything around her but wanting to be close. Eddie had been in a deep discussion with Jeff when he placed half his chicken sandwich on top of her book. Sarah frowned moving it off the book to continue working, flicking lose crumbs off the page.

"You need to eat, sweetheart." He cooed softly, a gentle touch on her knee.

Sarah tried not to blush at his hand on her, she reached out taking the half sandwich; it was then that she had realised just how hungry she was. Taking a bite of the sandwich she shakily moved her free hand under the table and placed it on top of Eddie's. Eddie glanced at her from the corner of his eye, she was staring down at her book, failing at fighting off the blush that ran across her cheeks.

"Sarah, mum wants to know where you're staying." Dustin spoke up, looking towards his cousin. "She said she went by your old house but looked like no one stayed there."

She met his gaze looking like a deer caught in headlights, the question seeming to bring all eyes onto her. "Huh?" Was the only thing she managed to squeak out, her grip on Eddie's hand tightening in panic.

"Anywhere in particular?" Dustin looked between her and Eddie, a smirk coming to his lips.

Sarah's expression went flat at the cheeky smirk across his face, it had lost some of its cuteness once his teeth came in. "You know, Dusty bun, I'm really feeling like a song. You can sing me one, right?"

"Henderson? You sing?" Gareth asked, now the tables eyes were on him.

"Shit." Dustin muttered.

"Oh yeah, you should hear his duets with his girlfriend." Mike laughed, receiving a whack on the arm from Dustin in return.

"Shut up." Dustin whinged. "Whose side are you on."

"His girlfriends name is Susie. She's smarter than I could ever hope to be." Was Sarah's simple reply turning back to her book.

"Yeah? Where'd you meet her?" Gareth asked, Sarah knew Dustin enjoyed bragging about how amazing his girlfriend was and this took all attention off her.

Eddie flipped his hand over and wrapped his fingers around hers, holding her hand. Sarah looked up from her book and towards him but he didn't acknowledge it, keeping his conversation going with Jeff, not missing a beat. Sarah gave a small smile, going back to reading over her textbook, holding Eddie's hand under the table. Once the bell rang Sarah let go of Eddie's hand, standing up to get ready to go to her next class, she saw Dustin and Mike head off and quickly chased after them muttering a be right back to Eddie. She reached out and gently pulled on Dustin's arm, giving Mike a look which he took to leave them for a minute.

"I'm staying at Eddie's for now." She said softly, letting go of his arm. "I'm sorry, Dust, it's been a lot since I came back and he's just been letting me stay and I don't want the whole world to know that just yet."

"Are you two together? Thought you were in love with Steve."

Sarah stared at him with a pointed look. "We aren't and I don't need to discuss my love life with my baby cousin."

"Are you okay though? Mums been really worried about you."

Sarah gave a nod. "He's not holding me against my will or anything."

"Obviously, hey if you're living with Eddie do you know anything that's going on with the hellfire club?"

Sarah gave a wink before turning on her heels and heading back off to the cafeteria, she heard Dustin call her name a few more times but didn't look back, she wasn't going to tell him anyway, that'd ruin Eddie's fun of crushing them. She entered the cafeteria again and saw him standing there waiting for her, he looked over to meet her gaze and gave her a smile; one that lit up his face and made her heart skip a beat. She knew she was falling for him so hard and had no intention to stop.

"I was wondering." Sarah began as she came to a stop in front of him. "Do you want me to ask my Aunt's if I can stay with her? I feel like I'm being such a pain just staying at yours, I'm sure you're missing having the bed all to yourself."

"If you would feel more comfortable at your Aunt's you can go to hers." He reached up and gently pushed some lose hairs out of her face and behind her ear, running his hand down her cheek. "But don't think for a second that you're a hassle and I defiantly don't miss having the bed to myself."

Sarah bit her bottom lip hard to try and stop herself from blushing. "I'm sure I'm over staying my welcome, your uncle would be over me being in his space."

"My uncle loves having you around. You don't have to worry about us. Do whatever makes you comfortable."

"Promise I'm not being a complete nuisance?"

Eddie simply smiled at her, putting his arm around her shoulder to pull her against him, planting a kiss on the top of her head. "Always with the worry of others. You are far from a nuisance."

The rest of the week had flown by, Sarah's days and nights were filled with catching up on the mountain of schoolwork, she had wanted to get on top of it before it overwhelmed her. Eddie would take her to school and back to his, he had wanted her to come to his band practice but didn't ask knowing she was working tirelessly to catch up on nearly half a year of work. Sarah had made dinner for them every night and would often have chats with Wayne, especially when it was just the two of them, Eddie having both his band practice and Hellfire club on. Sarah had promised to come to both next week once she had finished the extra schoolwork. Steve had come over to hang out on afternoons he wasn't working, bringing her food or beverages. The three had a movie night on the Sunday with some pizza, settling on a classic slasher movie.

Sarah couldn't explain the way she felt being around the boys, it was like nothing else mattered, no one else matter, it was just them and she had never felt so happy. Steve had stayed the night Sunday before heading home first thing Monday morning, his father telling him he had to be home early to help with things around the house before work. Sarah offered Max a ride with them most mornings worried that she had been isolating herself from the other kids and although she didn't speak much it still made Sarah feel better having her around. Before long they were back in English class together, Eddie scribbling song lyrics down on the notebook instead of paying attention.

"You should be writing this down." Sarah said softly. "This kind of stuff is always in the exams."

Eddie glanced up, the teacher writing on the blackboard, her voice a drone as she recited the text. "Your notes are easier to understand."

"You think?"

"Yeah, you make it simpler, easier to remember."

Sarah placed her elbow on the table, resting her chin on her hand. "You think I'd be a good teacher?"

"You'd be a badass teacher, Miss Henderson." Eddie winked.

Sarah smiled. "It's just a thought, I'd never really thought about what I'd do in the future. Didn't think I'd have one."

"Why's that?"

"My life kind of sucked, I always figured that my dad would end me or at the very least not let me do whatever I wanted anyway." Her shoulders shrugged like it was no big deal, a normal thing in her life that her dad was a threat to her life.

"I never thought much about my future either, different reasons of course."

"What do you want to do after you graduate this year?"

Eddie lifted his eyes from the scribblings on his notebook peering through his fringe towards the girl, she had put her elbow on the table, chin resting on her hand while looking at him. No one had believed that he was going to graduate before, he had heard the long standing jokes from the teachers that they'd see him again next year. "Leave Hawkins."

"Are you two here to learn or talk throughout my class?" Mrs Taylor spoke causing both teens to turn from each other to look at her. "Sarah you're far too behind to be following after Mister Munson. Perhaps you can get up and recite Juliet's famous poem?"

Sarah didn't appreciate the teacher putting down Eddie, they should partly be blamed for him not graduating, not all on him. She got to her feet ignoring all the eyes turning to look at her, she had to prove a point. She knew the unimpressed look across her face was due to the hellfire club t-shirt that Sarah wore which happened to be two sizes too big but it was one of Eddie's she had borrowed due to her shortage of long-sleeved shirts, the bruises were fading but they weren't gone yet. Without even opening the book Sarah stared at Mrs Taylor and recited the balcony poem from Romeo and Juliet perfectly.

"Well, thank you, Sarah. You may sit down." Mrs Taylor sighed turning back around to the board.

Sarah sat back down picking up her pen to continue working, she felt his eyes on here and swiftly rolled her eyes. "I helped Steve with his English last year, same material."

"Impressive though, not even a glance at the book. I could almost listen to you read Shakespeare all day."

"Shut up." Sarah rolled her eyes once more nudging him with her elbow.

"Now if I could just hear you recite an iron maiden song I'd be at your complete and total mercy."

"Mister Munson get out of my classroom. Go see the principle." Mrs Taylor sighed.

Sarah turned to look at Eddie who was smirking at the teacher. "Well alright." He collected his books and chucked them in his bag, leaning on Sarah's desk to lean in and whisper in her ear. "I gotta go do something then I have a free period, you'll be right if I pick you up after school?"

"Now Mister Munson." Mrs Taylor said sternly.

Sarah nodded gaining a smirk from Eddie, picking up her hand he placed his lips against the back of her hand, kissing it. The other people in the class were staring at them, some were laughing, some were gossiping, others looked disgusted. Mrs Taylor wasn't impressed as she started yelling at him, Eddie finding this amusing put both index fingers on the side of his head and stuck his tongue out before exiting the room.

"Sarah you've got detention tomorrow at lunch." Mrs Taylor snapped.

Sarah sighed, not bothering to argue, it would just get her into more trouble. Looking at the classmates still looking at her she noticed Andy was in this class, his face full of disgust. Clearing her throat, she went back to taking notes hoping they'd all stop looking at her, trying her best to ignore the whispers.

Sarah walked towards her last class for the day, she was hoping she'd see Robin but hadn't had any luck with that, weaving around students to avoid bumping into anyone, books clutched tight to her chest, she didn't like being surrounded. She felt a grip on her upper arm as she was pulled from the middle of the hallway over to the lockers hitting them with a clang dropping her books on impact. Sarah had her back up against the lockers, pinned by Andy who had his arms either side of her; two other members of the basketball team stood by his side.

"So, the freak does let his dog off leash sometimes."

"What do you want, Andy?"

"Are you dating Munson?"

"That is none of your business, now if you don't mind I have class."

He put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her from moving. "Come on Sarah, you're hanging around the local drug dealer when you're a druggies daughter. Do you know what people are saying about you hanging with him?"

"I really don't want to be late to class..."

"They wonder how long it'll be till you end up just like your mother. I mean come on, little dove, you've always been so weak and pathetic, look at how you threw yourself at Harrington for years and he never wanted you. I'm willing to look passed all that and take you on a date. You were always supposed to be mine." He took some strands of her hair running it through his fingers. "You're pretty enough for a mixed, I'll lower my standards to help the poor druggies daughter from losing her way, before it's too late. Really think about it, won't you?"

Ryan took her into his arms, tilting her he bent down and kissed her lips. Sarah's eyes went wide as he held her like this for a minute before pulling away and putting her back upright, taking his hands off her. His two friends laughing and walking away from her sharing high fives. Sarah put a hand to her lips, a sickness coming over her. He had stolen her first kiss like it was nothing, they all pat him on the back as they left, like he had done a good job. Sarah slowly bent down to pick up her books, vision blurring from the tears that she couldn't stop even if she tried. Standing up she looked towards the direction of her class, his words repeating through her mind. Her feet taking her in the other direction without any thought and out of school grounds.

Eddie lent up against his van in the parking lot with a lit cigarette in his mouth. The school bell had signalled the end of the day, students emerging from the building with the sound of excited teens exploding from the building.

"Ew." Robin said taking the cigarette out of his mouth, dropping it to the floor and using her foot to put it out. "I'm surprised Sarah puts up with you smoking."

Eddie looked at the now trampled smoke with a frown. "She doesn't complain. Do you want something?"

"I'm actually looking for your owner. She normally at least says hello to me before band practice."

"Owner?"

"Yeah! Sarah. You know cause you're like her little puppy that follows her everywhere."

"A puppy?"

"Yeah. Sarah loves dogs. Hm, well I was hoping you knew where she was but it looks like you don't. Tell her I was looking for her yeah? I went past her last class but I didn't see her."

Eddie watched her turn and walk away, the number of students leaving the school thinning and there was still no sign of Sarah. He waited another fifteen minutes before heading into the school, shuddering at the thought of willing walking into the school when it was over. He made his way towards the library thinking that perhaps she thought he would come get her. When he was greeted by an empty room he began to worry, where the hell was she? He had told her he'd pick her up after school. Heading back out to the van he got in and turned on the engine heading to the first place he thought she might go family video.

The timeline is now that they are two weeks out from the start of seasons 4

Thanks for taking the time to read