Introduction – Part 3: The New World

When Maeve came to she was lay down on a comfy couch, in front of a wood burning fire place. On the coffee table in front of her was a pile of paper and three sets of keys, each ring containing 2 normal keys and one that looked a bit bulkier which she assumes was for something bigger than a normal door.

Sitting up she looked around the warmly lit room, it had been done in quite neutral colours of browns beiges and greys. It looked warm, well-lit and extremely comfy. Looking over the back of the couch she saw it led straight into the open plan kitchen that was all old warm wood and stone.

Standing up she spotted a balcony above her with a set of stairs leading up that seemed to be the perfect spot to look out of the large slanted window that made up part of the roof. Looking around further she spotted, a dining room, a big bathroom 3 bedrooms with small ensuites, and a slightly smaller room that looked like it was set up to be an office.

Looking out the back window she spotted a seating area and what looked like a small outdoor kitchen with a barbeque and a pizza oven. The low wall surrounding it was topped with a counter and had several stools lining it. On the other side of that was a fridge ready for storing drinks and snacks. There were large couches currently covered as the weather was a little damp surrounding a raised fire pit. She knew she was going to weather proof that area so she could sit outside whenever she wanted.

It was perfect, big enough for her and a couple of others to live and plenty of room for many visitors.

Grabbing the keys off the coffee table she headed out the front door and had a look at the front of the house and the garden. There was a garage to one side which she assumed was what the larger of the keys was for. Mostly grass with some rose bushes lining the porch which had a seated swing, a hanging bowl seat and a small table.

Heading back inside with a grin on her face she went towards the coffee table and scanned through the papers there. Death had truly set up everything she needed including the papers to get her into the American high school. She knew she would be a bit older than the other students but she didn't mind it wouldn't be the first time something made her stand out and she doubted it would be the last.

Waving her hand the date and time appeared; Saturday 7th August 1982. She had a few weeks before school was due to start so she was going to use that time to explore the town and get used to the time she was living in.

~*8*~

Maeve had been in Hawkins, Indiana for a month preparing herself for this day. Her first day in American High School. It was daunting, not only had she not been in regular school since she was eleven but she was walking into an American school which was bound to be different. Her first few classes had been strange. Now she wasn't being gawked at for being the Girl-Who-Lived, she was being stared at because she had a very British accent. She felt like she was from outer space rather than just from across the pond. It was a rather surreal experience but after years spent with her parents, especially her father and godfather, she had learnt to embrace it.

So, having had quite enough of people for at least the hour they got for lunch she decided to go for a wander in the woods behind the football pitch. Spotting a picnic bench not very far in she settled down there to eat and just enjoy her surroundings. She had been sat there for about twenty minutes when the snapping of twigs caught her attention.

Stumbling into her little slice of peace was a man; he looked a bit older so she couldn't really call him a boy. He was dressed in a combination of leather and denim, which suited the long curly hair rocker look he seemed to be going for. Several badges were pinned to his denim jacket and the bag he had carelessly over his shoulder. He stopped short as his gaze landed on her, clearly not having expected anyone else to be out there.

"Uh… Hi?" He said surprised.

"Hello" she said with a smile while taking in the slight aura that surrounded the man. It was the aura of a kind man, it spoke of a hard life but hopeful, for a better future. A man that was easily misjudged but embraced his differences and helped others embrace theirs too.

"Sorry, I didn't expect anyone else to be out here" he explained quickly.

"It's no problem" she said with a shrug "I can't imagine that I am the only one wanting to escape the masses even if it's only for a little while"

"True" he grinned, dimples appearing on his face making him look years younger "I'm Eddie" he introduced as he stepped forward with an offered hand.

"Maeve" she replied swiftly shaking the hand. She liked him already; he was different than the rest of the school. "Do you go to school here?"

"Yup, first day" he said tensing slightly as if preparing for something "You?"

"Same" Maeve said with a smile though she wanted to frown. That reaction was far to conditioned, she already didn't like it and couldn't help but wonder why "Sorry, you just look a bit older than most of the people here"

"I am, I'll be 18 in April" Eddie admitted looking to the floor.

"Oh, I'm already 16,and I'll be 17 in July so you've not got that much on me" she teased hoping to make him relax.

"You are?" he asked his head shooting up.

"Yup!" Maeve shrugged, thankful she had managed to get him to relax even if only a little "Brit school is a bit different. The placement test put me here"

"I missed 2 years when I was younger" Eddie admitted in kind "Just never managed to catch up"

"Well, I'm for one am grateful. I fully expected to be the oldest in every class I am in and I seem to stand out enough as it is" Maeve admitted with a smile which he returned before joining her on the bench.

"So, you been in America long?" he asked curiously taking the offered bag of crisps she held out to him with a thankful smile.

"Only been here a month" she explained softly "Haven't really experienced much yet. People do seem extremely surprised by the accent"

"Yeah, I imagine they are treating you like their meeting an alien for the first time" he sniggered "The normies don't like anything different princess, it is unfortunately the small town mentality that you should expect here. Anything different gets stared at, talked about and judged, usually to be found lacking"

"Yeah, I am unfortunately getting that" she said softly "I seem to stand out where ever I go without even meaning too"

"That's not a bad thing" he shrugged.

"Yeah, but you at least attract attention cause you've chosen differences that they find strange about you" Maeve said simply "I wish I stood out cause of my own choices rather than the other people's judgements especially about stuff I was just born with"

"So, Why don't you?" he asked curiously.

"Never really had time to figure that out" she shrugged "Now, I'm not really sure where to start"

"Well, I can help you out there if you want" he offered tugging at his hair "If you're willing to split the gas we can drive out to Indiana Central and find a style you like"

"Really? That would be great" she cheered feeling slightly sad at the surprise in his eyes at her genuine enthusiasm for the idea and deciding to herself that she would drill that reaction out of him by any means necessary. He was nice and she wasn't going to let small minded people kill the spark in him "I'll pay for the gas and lunch as well as a thank you for helping me" she finished with a smile.

Eddie started to smile "you don't have to do that you know, I'd just enjoy the company and can't afford it on my own"

"It's no problem" she waved off swiftly "I can afford it and you're doing me a favour so…"

~*8*~

Unknown to both Maeve and Eddie, that meeting had been the start of something wonderful.

They had a great time shopping Eddie daring her to try riskier clothes than she would have tried herself and most of the time she loved them. Together they tried everything they could think of, from clothes and music, to different foods and entertainment. After realising she did have money to spend, he helped her go all out and eventually felt comfortable enough to let her spend some of it on him as well.

She had enjoyed going to the arcade with him and loved the fact Hawkins had one so she could go more regularly. She also found out she enjoyed going to the movies and absolutely sucked at bowling.

Her music taste was eclectic; she seemed to enjoy a variety of songs from different genres without really settling on one. She had bought a multi-cassette player so she and Eddie could make their own mix tapes whenever the mood struck.

Clothing wise though she seemed to like pairing bright colours with black or greys. Eddie had called it a mix of punky and gothic, and she enjoyed the weird mix that seemed to suit her perfectly. She often favoured band t-shirts with a plaid shirt and her very own leather jacket paired with skinny jeans and either combat boots or converse. The riskier stuff was kept for just the two of them.

On one of the other occasions they had gone shopping together he had convinced her to get some piercings which is how she had ended up with a nose ring, 2 piercings in the lobe of each ear and the cartilage pierced at the top of her right ear. More recently though he had convince her to get a couple of tattoo's, a infinity symbol made out of a daisy chain on her left wrist, a trail of stars up her right for arm leading to a water colour crescent moon at her elbow and an ankle bracelet on her left foot leading down to a feather and amethyst crystal.

~*8*~

It had been nearly a year since there initial meeting and the pair quickly became thick as thieves. Eddie always encouraging her to try new things including trying some musical instruments and offering to teach her guitar, she seemed to favour the acoustic version to his electric. She found she could sing quite well and would sing along while he played the guitar in their little campfire sessions they had with Wayne in her back garden on his rare days off.

After delving into her magic-less version of her history, specifically growing up with the Dursleys, with Eddie he had encouraged her to try and turn some of the things she was forced to do, into things she now wanted to do.

She had been forced to sew some of Dudley's old clothes so they fit her as to not stand out to the neighbours and now she was creating her own clothes. She had been forced to cook and bake for the Dursleys and now she only did it for people she liked. Thanks-giving and Christmas dinner had been taken over by her (not that the Munson's did much for them at any rate) and she enjoyed the little family dinners she had with the pair.

Wayne Munson had been a surprise she hadn't expected, her natural wariness of adults, especially parental figures and Uncles, vanished quickly in his calm and caring presence. He had taken to watching out for her in the same way he did Eddie and she loved him for it.

Christmas had held some revelations as well. She had decided to tell Eddie about her magic and how she actually came to be here. Gradually she told him more and more of her own history and rather than becoming afraid Eddie was fascinated.

He took to magic with all the excitement of a child on Christmas morning, experimenting with different magic's and testing different ways of utilising spells and potions. He introduced her to Dungeons and Dragons and while teaching her how to play he also showed her the different spells and they tested which ones would work within her own power (Dancing lights had been a fun one – useful too)

Her talent in metamorphing also hailed some fun, experimenting with different hair colours and styles. She found that she favoured blondes in various shades but sported pale pink or ash white on occasion when she was in the mood.

Her history had been harder for him to take, the loss of her parents and her upbringing with the Dursley's had filled him with both a compassionate sadness and useless rage. She had told a few stories of her times at Hogwarts but not all of them at his insistence. They had all the time in the world to properly get to know each other after all, he had said but she more thought they were a bit much to go through all in one sitting.

New Year's had come and Eddie had asked her out, she had requested that he give it a month (not completely sure of his acceptance of her magic and history yet) and if he still wanted to he could plan their first date for Valentine's Day. Eddie had been adamant he wouldn't change his mind and proved himself correct when on the 1st of February he asked again and she agreed.

They still hung out most of the time anyway and there hadn't been much difference to the way they had been before except the occasionally went on actual dates and there was kissing and other stuff involved (The other stuff had been rather spontaneous on both sides after a weekend away in San Francisco for a Metallica concert in early March).

Together they had also helped each other figure out their own preferences when it came to their sexuality. They both realised quickly that while they were attracted to the opposite gender to them they were also attracted to their own. For Eddie it seemed to be by appearance alone but for Maeve it seemed to depend on their personality and what she read from their aura.

She had been introduced to the rest of the Hell Fire club that had followed him through Middle School and they had started a Dungeons and Dragons campaign together (She was a Half-Eleven Rogue who had a penchant for shiny things, especially sharp ones) and she attended all of Corroded Coffins gigs at the Hideout on Tuesday nights, Eddie usually staying the night at hers after the gig.

It had just passed Halloween, which she had spent curled up with Eddie and Wayne at their trailer watching Horror Movies, and it was moving into November. There was something in the air. Her magic was humming under her skin, prepared. Like a static spark waiting, poised in the tips of her fingers. Something was coming and her magic was ready.

~*8*~

Hope you like the new chapter. Please read and review. MidnightRose xo