Alex takes one last look at herself in the full-body mirror in the guest room of Steve's house. She runs her hands over her shirt one last time to smooth out a pesky wrinkle. Satisfied, she throws her bag over her shoulder and meets Steve in the kitchen of his home.
"Cool outfit," he greets.
"Thanks," she says, once again glancing down at her outfit. Her pants, patterned with vertical black and white stripes, had been purchased in California, while her black acid-wash jean jacket adorned with various patches has been a staple in her wardrobe since she started high school. She wore the jacket nearly everyday, even in California where it was starting to become sweltering and unbearable.
She grabs a banana from the fruit bowl and hurriedly eats it while Steve finishes getting his stuff together for work. While they walk out of the door Steve says, "Are you really taking an entire backpack to a school you don't even go to anymore?"
Alex nods like it's the most obvious thing in the world. She almost always brought a bag with her wherever she went. She had always been spontaneous, but her spontaneity had gotten her into trouble in the past. She briefly thinks back to the night that her brother went missing. She was supposed to be home, and maybe she could have prevented it if she hadn't decided at the last minute to go watch a performance for none other than Eddie's band. After that night, Alex learned that you never know when you're going to need to fight monsters or spend days away from home. Maybe she was overprepared, as people had told her, but Alex just liked to be ready for anything.
Steve's car comes to a halt outside of Robin's house. Not even thirty seconds later, Robin awkwardly runs out of the front door carrying a variety of items. She throws open the door to the backseat and launches her band equipment into the empty seat beside Alex.
"Sorry!" Robin absentmindedly shouts while she hops into the passenger side with a thud.
"You are aware that we aren't running late, right?" Steve asks, pulling away from Robin's house.
Robin doesn't answer, but instead begins digging in her bag to find some makeup located deep within her bag. As Robin starts carefully applying it to her face, Alex smirks. Seems like someone is trying to impress Vickie.
Once out of Robin's neighborhood, Steve begins talking about his relationship worries again. Alex listens intently, but she can tell that Robin is not engaged in the conversation. "Then there's Heidi tomorrow night, but the problem with Heidi is that she's going out of state for college. So it's like do I really wanna' start another relationship that has no point other than sex? I mean, I don't know. Does that make sense to you?"
"I think you should just hold off on a relationship right now. Just wait to find the right person instead of trying to force something with the wrong person," Alex answers sincerely.
Steve sighs, rubbing his forehead. "That's easy for you to say. You won't date anybody!"
"Because…" Alex says in a sing-song voice, "I'm waiting for the right person."
Exasperated, Steve turns to Robin. "Robin, are you listening? What did I just say?"
Robin puts her mascara wand down and stammers, "Something about sex with Linda."
"No, I'm talking about Heidi!"
"Cut me some slack, please! Your love life is one of labyrinthine complexity. And it is seven in the morning, we have this stupid pep rally, and I woke up looking like a total corpse." Robin squishes her face in her hands. Upset at their bantering, Alex watches from the back seat, feeling helpless.
"You're worried about a basketball pep rally? You expect me to believe that?" Steve asks.
"Yeah, so?"
"So, we both know what this is about. Okay, I'm not buying that bullshit. This is about Vickie," Steve says. Alex nods her head in agreement, though the two can't see her. Robin tries to deny it, but Steve keeps going, "And you know what else I think? You gotta' stop pretending to be someone else when you're around her. You just gotta' be yourself."
"You're literally quoting me to me. You do realize that?" Robin counters.
"Maybe you need to listen to yourself. Ever think about that, smartypants? I listened. Look at me. Boom. Back in business."
"It's not the same thing, okay?" Robin starts, "You ask out a girl and she says no. Big deal. Nothing happens. Maybe your ego's a little bruised. But, I ask out the wrong girl, and bam, I'm a town pariah."
"I'd buy that, except Vickie is definitely not the wrong girl," Steve responds.
"I agree," Alex interjects before her two in the front seat can speak again. "My advice to Steve is to wait for the right person, but I think Vickie might be your right person."
Alex's advice prompts a small smile from Robin, but she quickly descends back to worry. "We just don't know that, do we?"
"She returned Fast Times paused at fifty-three minutes, five seconds. Do you know who pauses Fast Times at fifty-three minutes, five seconds?" Steve pauses for a moment. "People who like boobies, Robin!"
Robin grimaces. "Gross. Don't say boobies."
"Not a big deal, okay? I like boobies. You like boobies. Vickie likes boobies, definitely! It's boobies." He ends with a shrug.
Alex leans forward in her seat and whispers boobies into Robin's ear, which causes her to jump in her seat with a loud groan. Alex laughs and spends the rest of the short car ride happy that the tension between her friends ended quickly.
Steve pulls his car into the already packed parking lot, excitement budding in Alex's stomach. The second the car comes to a stop, Robin rushes out of the car to collect her band items in the back. She runs toward the school entrance, shouting over her shoulder, "I'll see you after the pep rally!"
Alex exits the car slowly but surely. She approaches the driver's side and bends at the waist to view her appearance in the side-view mirror. Her brown eyes look back at her with an eagerness she didn't know she was capable of.
"Do you think the right person is in there or something?" Steve jokes at her.
With a roll of her eyes, she turns to enter the school. "See you tonight!"
As she walks through the door, she isn't as lucky as the day prior. Dozens of eyes peer back at her, watching her every move. Even so, she moves through the hallway without fear. Many of the people she passes used to bully her and Jonathan. After befriending Nancy and Steve, most people backed off–even if they still thought poorly of her in their heads.
Her first stop is the office. Inside, she finds the faces of the secretary and the principal shining back at her as if they were waiting specifically for her.
"Alexis, how nice to see you again," the principal says, coming around the desk to shake Alex's hand.
"It's great to be back," Alex smiles. She tries not to shudder at the use of her full name, which she hadn't responded to since the fourth grade.
"Please just sign in here, and you can be on your way." The principal nods toward the visitor sign in sheet on the desk. As Alex fills in the necessary information, the principal continues, "Now it doesn't matter who, but please make sure to remain with a Hawkins High student at all times. We trust you of course, but there are protocols that need to be followed."
The secretary hands Alex a visitor's sticker with her name on it. Alex takes the sticker and places it on the breast of the black t-shirt she wears beneath her jacket. "Of course."
Alex exits the office, waiting until she is out of view. Once she is, she removes the sticker from her shirt, crumples it in her fist, and tosses it into a trash can. Everyone in the school knows who she is. She isn't well known due to popularity, but due to the fact that she was labeled the weird girl whose brother went missing.
Alex finds the gym to already be packed, so she just takes an empty seat on the edge of the bleachers. She could go find another one of her friends, but the pep rally is about to start and she doesn't feel bothered enough to squeeze through the crowd. Alex was used to sitting alone, or only with her brother, for most of her life.
Alex watches as the cheerleaders and band perform. Alex never cared about basketball or had any interest in it, but for the sake of her old school, she hopes they win the championship. As the basketball team comes out, Alex notices Lucas as the only person on the team she would consider a friend. The captain of the team, Jason, starts giving a speech about how much he loves his girlfriend and some game they nearly lost. Alex tunes it out, mentally calculating the minutes until she can leave the gym. She only tunes back in when he mentions Heather and Billy and Hopper and all the other people who supposedly perished in the "fire" at Starcourt Mall. She glances around the gym and sees students with their faces sullen. Their naiveté of the situation isn't their fault, but Alex can't help but feel upset. They didn't get captured and drugged by Russians, or fight the Mind Flayer, or comfort El when she cried for Hopper. With a deep breath, Alex lets it go and accepts that her life is just different because she's one of the few that know the truth about what has happened in Hawkins the last few years.
Once the pep rally finishes, Alex makes a beeline for the hallway to the place Robin and her agreed to meet. She waits while the hoards of students flood through the hallway, many of their eyes on her, yet not a single one bothers to say hello. Robin is one of the last to exit the gym after removing her band gear.
"Sorry for the long wait," she says, fixing her hair.
"It's okay. It was only the second most boring moment of my life," Alex says, then adds, "Kidding!" when Robin gives her a look.
Alex and Robin walk out of the last class before lunch and make it two steps into the hallway before Robin stops abruptly. With a slap to her forehead she says, "How could I forget? My project is due seventh period and my group wanted to meet in Ms. Goad's room to touch it up during lunch."
Alex shrugs, not being one to care about a change of plans.
"I mean, you could come, but my group is insufferable." Robin groans.
With another shrug, Alex is already halfway down the hallway. "I'll be fine in the cafeteria."
Entering the cafeteria, Alex scans the room until her eyes land on exactly who she was looking for. She rushes to the pair, and raises to her tip-toes to clap her hands on their shoulders. "What's got you two looking so stressed?"
Dustin and Mike, who had just finished going through the lunch line, look back at Alex with excitement. Alex watches the excitement diminish in their eyes only seconds later.
"We're excited to see you, we really are," Dustin says. "But right now we're freaking out because Lucas can't come to Hellfire Club tonight because of the championship game. It's the end of Eddie's campaign and he will freak when we tell him."
"I'll come with you. I can try to ease the blow," she offers, always trying to be helpful.
The trio near the table, just as Eddie reads from a magazine at the head of the table. "The Devil has come to America. Dungeons and Dragons, at first regarded as a harmless game of make-believe, now has both parents and psychologists concerned. Studies have linked violent behavior to the game, saying it promotes satanic worship, ritual sacrifice, sodomy, suicide, and even… murder." He finishes the quote with a flourish.
"Shit, he's really revved up today," Dustin says.
"He's always revved up," Mike responds. "We'll just act casual."
"Oh, come on! You two have fought monsters from another dimension and you're afraid of Eddie," Alex says as a front, though her heart is thudding in her ears. She makes her way to the table, leaving Mike and Dustin.
When she reaches the table, Eddie stops what he's doing the second the two make eye contact. Stunned, he asks, "Byers? What the hell are you doing here?"
Swallowing her fear, she answers, "Visiting for spring break."
"And you came back to school?" He asks exasperatedly before turning to Jeff. "Maybe we should give Alex a place to sit?"
Jeff glances at Alex and moves himself and his lunch three seats down even after Alex tells him he doesn't have to. Mike and Dustin walk up just as Alex is sliding into the seat beside Eddie.
"Society has to blame something," Jeff mutters from his new seat. "We're an easy target."
"Exactly. We're the freaks because we like to play a fantasy game," Eddie begins, then climbs on top of the table and begins strolling across it. "But, as long as you're into band, or science, or parties, or a game where you toss balls into laundry baskets…" He sneers and jaunts at different groups in the cafeteria as he speaks, and people glare right back at him. Alex can't help but smirk at Eddie's actions.
Jason stands to his feet at Eddie's comment toward the basketball team. "You want something, freak?"
Eddie uses his fingers to make devil horns in response to Jason, before continuing on his tangent. "It's forced conforming. That's what's killing the kids!" He jumps off the table and scares a passerby. "That's the real monster," he says before finally sitting back down. When he sits, he appears pleased that Alex found his performance amusing.
Alex takes a moment to really take Eddie's appearance in. He isn't much different from the last time she saw him: same vest-jacket combination, same chains, and same long curly hair. To Alex, he was the most intriguing person in the room.
"So, uh, speaking of monsters, Lucas has to do his, uh, balls-in-laundry-baskets game. So… he's not gonna' be able to make it to Hellfire tonight," Dustin says with a nervous laugh. "And I know there's no way we can beat your sadistic campaign without him, so me and Mike, we were talking, shooting the shit, and we were thinking that maybe we might…"
"Postpone," Mike finishes.
The other Hellfire members start shouting out complaints, until Eddie yells, "Shut up! You saying Sinclair's been taken in by the dark side?"
"Uh, something like that," Mike answers.
"Something like that?" Eddie asks, flinging a pretzel at Mike's head. Alex flinches as he does so but conceals a smirk. "And rather than find a sub for him, you want to postpone The Cult of Vecna?"
"I-I don't want to postpone it. We don't want to postpone it. It's just that, you know, most of the subs will be at the championship game," Mike stammers.
Eddie rises to his feet. "Oh, it's the championship games?"
"Yeah," Mike answers, though it sounds more like a question.
"Can I level with you? Jeff graduates this year. Gareth's got what? A year and a half? Me, I am army-crawling my way toward a D in Ms. O'Donnell's. If I don't blow her final, I'm gonna' walk that stage next month, I'm gonna' look Principal Higgins dead in the eye. I'm gonna' flip him the bird, I'm gonna' snatch that diploma, and I'm gonna' run like hell outta' here," Eddie finishes yet another speech with his usual theatrics. Alex had observed them from afar before, but she realizes in the moment that you just can't beat witnessing them up close and personal.
"Didn't you say that last year?" Jeff asks.
"And the year before?" Gareth asks.
"Yeah, yeah, and I was full of shit," Eddie responds, walking back toward the table. "This year's different. This year is my year. I can feel it. Eighty-six, baby!" He turns his attention to Mike and Dustin. "You know what that means? It means you boys are the future of Hellfire. I knew it the moment I saw you. You sat at that table right over there, looking like… two little lost sheep. You were wearing a weird Al t-shirt, which I thought was brave. Mike, you were wearing whatever shit your mommy bought you from goddamn Gap."
The table erupts in laughter, but stops suddenly when Eddie's grip on the boys' shoulders becomes tighter. He lifts them from their seats, but Alex has no worries that Eddie would hurt them. "And we showed you that school didn't have to be the worst years of your lives, right? Well, I'm here to tell you that there are other little lost sheepies out there who need help; who need you. And all you guys gotta' do is get your Bo-peeps on and go find one." He finishes by shoving Mike and Dustin away.
"Couldn't you guys-" Alex starts to tell the boys but stops when she realizes that they've already walked away. She was going to recommend Lucas' little sister, Erica, but it seems the boys will have to figure out this one by themselves.
"So, now that's taken care of… Alex, I'm dying to hear about California life. For starters: that's new." Eddie retakes his seat and digs back into his pretzels while pointing his finger right in Alex's face at the stud in her nostril. For a moment, Alex's heart thuds loudly in her ears again at the fact that Eddie had noticed her new attribute. Her heart rate returns to normal when she remembers that not very many people have nose piercings, especially in Hawkins.
Alex smiles, trying her utmost best to keep a blush down. "I got it for my birthday last month."
Without warning, Eddie slams his palm down on the table before pointing at Alex once again. "You'll come tonight, to Hellfire, right?"
"Sure," Alex answers. She hadn't given thought to what she was going to do tonight since Robin had to perform in the band, and Steve was going on a date. Going to Hellfire would prevent her from having to spend the night in solitude at Steve's house.
"How come you never joined?" Eddie asks, a perplexed look on his face.
"Well, I wanted to… but then my brother… and I just got caught up I guess," Alex gives the half-truth. At the mention of her brother, everyone's eyes do what they always do when she brings it up: fill with pity.
"Tell you what, I can take you after school," Eddie says, his hands up in offering.
Alex's heart rate picks up again. She desperately wants to say yes, but she knows she can't make it all night without eating. "I would love to, but I forgot a lunch so I really need to eat after school-"
Before she can finish her statement, Eddie cuts in, "No worries, we'll go get something to eat."
"Y-yeah, of course." Alex says. Did Eddie just ask her on a date? She shakes the thought aside. Of course he didn't, he was just being friendly and trying to get another person to come to Hellfire.
"And…" He says dramatically. "You could come to my afternoon classes with me. I mean, only if you want to."
Alex thinks for a moment. Robin's afternoons are her hardest classes, so she imagines Robin wouldn't mind. "Yeah, I'm down."
Eddie flashes her the brightest smile Alex has ever seen from him.
"I'm ready now," Alex says, meeting Eddie in the hallway outside the cafeteria. Alex had left before the lunch bell rang to hunt down Robin and let her know she'd be spending the afternoon with someone else. Alex purposefully left out that said person was Eddie Munson, not out of embarrassment, but because Robin would ask a million questions. Alex was lucky that Robin was distracted by her project, otherwise she would've asked a million questions and gotten the truth out of Alex.
Eddie pushes himself off of the wall he had been leaned against. "I have Ms. O'Donnell this period, also known as torture land."
"Maybe it won't be so bad with me there," Alex says, and she immediately wants to kick herself. Jesus, is she flirting?
"Why do you think I asked you to come?" Eddie throws his arm around Alex's shoulder. Alex just hopes that he can't hear the hammering of her heart like she can. They maneuver through the crowds of students, Eddie leading the way. He speaks with a preppy voice, "Miss Byers let me give you a tour of our school. Here we have our beautiful school colors: booger green and ear wax orange!
The pair enter Ms. O'Donnell's classroom laughing. "And here we have my seat in the front row, because I'm such a good student," Eddie says in his fake voice, before whispering in Alex's ear, "Actually Ms. O'Donnell refused to teach me again this year unless I sat in the front. She thought maybe there would be a chance I'd actually pay attention."
Alex is still trying to get over the feeling of Eddie's mouth right next to her ear when he starts talking in his fake preppy voice again, "And these are some of our basketball players, they're like so amazing."
Jason and Andy sit in the row directly behind Eddie's seat. They both have deep glares plastered on their faces, but Jason's shines with particular intensity. "Don't you have something better to do, freak?"
"Um, yeah, actually. But unfortunately I'm stuck here for the next few hours," Eddie responds. He and Alex take a seat, expecting Jason to go back to silently brewing.
"Hey, Byers. Byers!" Jason calls from behind Alex. She turns around begrudgingly, wishing he would just leave them be. "The hell are you doing? Listen I know you've always been… different, but you can't hang around him."
Alex turns around with a roll of her eyes. She doesn't give Jason the satisfaction of receiving a response from her. Once she's facing the front, Ms. O'Donnell enters the classroom as the bell rings. "Today is a simple review of the information we've been learning the past couple weeks. You may work with your usual partners to complete this review sheet." She hands a stack of worksheets to the first person in each row, and they pass them to those behind them.
"Uh, Ms. O'Donnell?" Eddie raises his hand, but speaks without being called on. "My partner isn't here today."
"Well then it's a good thing that Ms. Byers is here, isn't it?" Ms. O'Donnell says, plopping down at her desk to start grading a stack of papers.
Eddie slides his chair back until it butts up against Jason's desk, who sighs angrily. He kicks his legs up to rest on his desk in front of him.
"Munson," Ms. O'Donnell says without even looking up from her desk.
Eddie obliges and scoots his chair back up. He rummages through his bag before finding what he was presumably looking for. He unwraps the sucker and shoves it in his mouth. He wads the wrapper up and tosses it toward the trashcan at the front of the classroom. Thankfully, for Ms. O'Donnell's sake, he makes the shot.
Alex can't help but let her mouth water at the sight of the sucker. It was becoming harder for herself to deny that she was feeling the effects of hunger. As if he could read her mind, Eddie mutters, "here," and shoves the sucker into Alex's mouth. She focuses on savoring the green apple flavor of the sucker so that her mind won't think about the fact that, holy shit this sucker was just in his mouth.
"Gross," Jason mutters from behind them.
Eddie silently picks at a piece of peeling paint on his desk for a few minutes while the rest of the class converses about the worksheet, the basketball game, or anything else they want. Alex speaks up, but keeps her voice low so Jason won't hear. "Don't you want to work on this since this class is the one you need to graduate?"
Eddie shrugs.
"I could help you with it. I mean, if you wanted," Alex offers.
He shrugs again. "I know most of it, I just don't try because that would be…"
"Conforming?" Alex finishes and Eddie nods. "Don't get me wrong, Econ is total bullshit, but you could just go through the motions for the sake of it. I mean that's what I plan to do next year when I take it."
"I almost forgot you were a junior," Eddie remarks.
"Yeah, a lot of people do since I'm already eighteen. My mom just started me late because I was… because she was worried about me," Alex says, putting her foot in her mouth so she doesn't reveal too much about her childhood secrets. She grabs Eddie's paper and fills out every question that she knows, which ends up being all of them. It seems that Ms. O'Donnell didn't want to challenge the students with today's assignment.
"Here," she says, sliding the paper back to Eddie. "So you don't have to conform. You think Ms. O'Donnell won't care that it's in my handwriting?"
"I think she would let anything slide if it meant there was a chance she may never see me again," Eddie answers. He takes the paper and boldly walks across the room. He turns the paper in by slamming it into the tray. He is, afterall, the first person to turn it in. When he returns, he says, "Dustin did mention you were a genius."
Alex hides her blush by pulling her notebook out of her backpack. Eddie snatches it from her hands before she can even place it on the desk. "What's this?"
"Just a notebook that I use for sketches and stories and things like that…" Alex trails off nervously while Eddie starts flipping through it. He passes through sketches of her family and a short story about a haunted graveyard before he stops abruptly on one sketch in particular.
"Woah, this is… awesome," Eddie says, holding up the sketch. "Where did you come up with this?"
Alex stares at the sketch of the demogorgon, before she snatches it back from him and puts the notebook back in her backpack. "A dream–a nightmare, actually."
Suddenly, someone from the back of the room whose name Alex does not even know yells out, "Ms. O'Donnell, I think Munson is trying to play footsie with Byers!"
The classroom erupts in laughter while Ms. O'Donnell only mutters a simple, "quiet," to get them to stop. Of course, they don't stop, and Alex waits what feels like minutes for the class to wind down. Eddie simply turns toward the boy who said it and gives him devil horns.
Alex spends the rest of the class admiring how Eddie doesn't let anything get to him.
Alex sits on a bench just inside the building. Eddie had told her shortly after the final bell rang that he had something he had to take care of. Alex had wondered what it was, but she didn't pry. Instead, she found a bench to sit on and read while she waited. By this point, nearly everyone has trickled out of the school.
"I'm gone for not even ten minutes and you've already pulled out a book?" Eddie asks as he approaches.
Alex puts her bookmark in the paperback and shoves it back into her bag as she stands. "I like to keep myself busy, and… I don't like being alone," she admits.
Eddie leads her toward his van without prying. She climbs into the passenger seat and although she feels bad about it, she admits to herself that Eddie's vehicle is much cleaner than she would have imagined. He starts the ignition and loud music blares from the stereo. Eddie reaches to turn it off, but Alex places her hand over his. Ignoring the jolt that the contact sends through her hand, she says, "Leave it on; I like it."
Nodding, he asks, "Where to?"
"Your pick." She smiles.
He drives a few short moments and pulls into a local diner called Alv's Burgers and Dogs. Despite living in Hawkins for nearly her entire life, Alex realizes that she's only been here a handful of times. "I like it here," Eddie says. "There's never anyone here to bother me. I can just eat in peace."
Alex realizes that despite the fact that Eddie doesn't give people the satisfaction of him reacting when they jaunt at him, it seems that deep down it does bother him. Or at least, it annoys him. Before they exit the vehicle, Alex takes a sip from her water bottle. As she does, she spills a bit onto her lap. "Shit, sorry," she says.
"There's napkins in the glove compartment," Eddie says.
When she opens the glove compartment, a joint falls out onto her lap. "Oops?" Eddie says.
Alex takes it in her hands, and quickly rummages through the front pocket of her bag to find her lighter. With the lighter in one hand and the joint in the other, she turns to Eddie and asks, "Do you mind?"
For the first time in her life, Alex sees a hint of shock on Eddie's face. "No-no, go ahead."
Alex brings the joint to her lips and lights it. She takes a drag and lazily passes the joint over to Eddie who gratefully accepts it. "Didn't know you smoked," Eddie says after he exhales.
"I didn't until I moved to California. Jonathan and I became friends with this guy named Argyle who is super into it," Alex says after her second hit. "I can't say I smoke a ton, though. I don't exactly have the highest tolerance," she admits with a twinge of embarrassment.
"I'm not surprised. I mean, you're what? Four-foot-ten?" Eddie jokes after taking another hit.
Alex feigns offense. "Uh, excuse you. I'm four-eleven."
"Maybe with the boots." He sizes her up, pointing to the black combat boots on her feet.
Alex takes another hit, but this time moves her mouth to let the smoke out in a ring. "She smokes and she does tricks?" Eddie says, impressed.
Alex's heart begins to buzz until her favorite Dio song comes on over the radio. "I love this song!" She nearly shouts over the sound of the music as she cranks the volume higher.
The pair listen to the blaring of music until the van is filled with a thick cloud of smoke. Eddie emerges first, coming to Alex's side of the vehicle. He opens the door for her, allowing the smoke to dissipate. "You good?" Eddie asks, while Alex tries to exit the van. She nearly trips, so Eddie takes it upon himself to grab her around the waist and lift her out of the vehicle and onto the pavement. "What was that about tolerance again?"
"Shut up," Alex jokes, steadying herself. Smoking on an empty stomach definitely made the high set in quicker and harder, though she didn't feel too high like she did the last time with Jonathan and Argyle. "Is this guy gonna' call the cops on us?"
"No," Eddie says, the smell very apparent on the two of them. "Pretty sure this place is a front for a gambling operation. Let's go!"
Inside, Alex finds the place to be empty like Eddie predicted. The only person in sight is the middle-aged man standing behind the counter who appears annoyed by their presence. "I'm going to use the bathroom," Alex mutters.
"Wait," Eddie stops her by grabbing her arm before she can turn away. "What do you want? I can order for you."
Alex smiles. "I'm not picky. Surprise me."
She enters the bathroom and exits minutes later, her eyes red. She meets Eddie at a booth and all but falls into the seat across from him. "Order one," the man behind the counter calls out.
"That's us!" Eddie shouts, waving his meal ticket in the air. He shoots up from the booth and takes three long steps to retrieve the tray. Taking an identical three long steps back, he drops the tray on the table, causing the fries to fall over. He dramatically hands Alex a burger wrapped in foil and a carton of fries. "I got you my usual. Cheeseburger with tomato and pickle, but never lettuce because the lettuce is super soggy and gross here. Medium fry because the large fry is ridiculously expensive. And a chocolate shake, to share."
"Mmm, these are so good," Alex says, digging into her fries before Eddie can even finish. "How much do I owe you?"
"Nothin.'"
She quirks an eyebrow. "First I bum weed off of you, now food?"
He shrugs. "I'll let it slide, Byers."
Eddie takes a deep slurp of the milkshake before holding it out for Alex. She takes a slurp, the cup still in his hand. "So good," she says again.
"Jesus, you are so high," he teases, but he smiles at her.
"Been higher," she mutters, shoving a fry in her mouth.
"So, I meant to ask: where are you staying?"
"Steve's." Another fry.
"Steve Harrington? I'm surprised you started hanging around him. I recall he used to be quite the jerk to you two."
"Yeah, I'm glad Steve came around," Alex says. Eddie doesn't know the extent of what Steve and Alex had been through in the time since they had become friends. Steve was never too bad toward Alex, but his friends, Tommy H. and Carol were. Alex was glad when Steve dumped them. "It was mostly his old friends. They used to stay stupid shit like me and Jonathan were having sex with each other or that we killed Will."
"That must've been tough, when your brother went missing," Eddie says sincerely.
With wide eyes, Alex mutters, "You don't even know the half of it." She perks up, changing the tone, "But he's fine now so that's all that matters."
Silence falls over the pair until Eddie speaks up again, his eyes on the table. "So… Are you and Harrington… banging?" He looks up at the end, appearing to try and read Alex.
"No! God, no!" Alex nearly chokes on her fry, which prompts Eddie to offer her another drink of the milkshake. "Steve is great, but no. Definitely just friends."
Alex picks up a fry and pretends to toss it at Eddie, to which he responds, "Hit me." He stalls with his mouth open and she flings the fry at his face. He attempts to move to catch it in his mouth, but it hits him in the eye instead.
Alex laughs a deep belly laugh while the man behind the counter mutters, "Goddamn kids."
After finishing their burgers and shake–and spending more time than they needed to at Alv's–Eddie drives them to his trailer. Her high beginning to wear off means that Alex's heart begins to hammer at the thought of visiting where he lives. After parking, Eddie rushes around and helps her out of the van again, even though she insists that she's fine now.
"Puppy!" Alex yells in excitement, running over to a fenced in yard across from his trailer. As she runs, she realizes that she definitely isn't fully sober yet.
"Woah, wait up!" Eddie yells out after her.
Alex pets the small dog through the fence, Eddie coming up behind her. "I wish I had a dog or a cat. We used to have a dog, but he died," she says.
"Yeah, they leave him outside most of the time. It's kinda' sad."
They turn back toward Eddie's trailer. Alex says, "My friend Max moved to this trailer park."
"The red head?" Eddie asks. "That's her trailer right there. Want to go say hi?"
Alex shakes her head. "Doesn't look like anybody's home."
"I think she sleeps a lot or something. She's usually there, but it looks like nobody's home," Eddie says.
"Eh, I don't want to wake her up," Alex says. "I'll see her tomorrow."
Twenty feet from Eddie's doorstep, Alex stops abruptly. "Oh, shit!"
"What?" Eddie says, feigning shock with his hand over his heart.
"Your uncle is home, isn't he? And I look like this?" Alex hurriedly tries to fan her face.
"Relax, you look great," Eddie says, pushing open the door.
He leads her inside and she takes in the trailer. It's small, but Alex doesn't judge of course. Her old house in Hawkins wasn't anything special either. "Alex, this is my uncle." Eddie gestures to the man sitting on the couch with a can of beer in his hand who seems shocked to see her in his home.
"Didn't you folks move to California?" He asks. Alex briefly wonders how he knew about her family's move. Small town, she guesses.
"Yes, but I'm visiting Hawkins for spring break," Alex answers, trying to stand up straight.
"Hope you enjoy," he says, turning back to the TV. "If you kids are hungry, there's some food in the fridge."
"We're good, we ate at Alv's," Eddie answers. He wraps his arm around her shoulder again and leads her down a short hallway and into his room. He closes the door behind them and turns a knob on the stereo to fill the room with blaring music. Alex mentally reminds herself to breathe.
"You still play?" Eddie asks, lightly touching his guitar that hangs on a stand.
"I haven't in forever," she answers honestly. "Everytime I try, my mom is working or the neighbors complain about noise. It's hard living in a house with so many people."
"Uh, screw them," Eddie says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Do it anyway."
"Well then, I promise to play when I get back," she says, and means it, then changes the subject. "Was your uncle… weirded out to see me? Do I look high or something?"
"Nah…" Eddie says. "He was just surprised. I haven't exactly… brought anyone over before. I mean I get drugs from this guy named Rick and sometimes I sell them for a little side money. But I only ever have people come over for that when he's not here, and I have them stay in the living room."
"Wow, I'm the first person in Eddie Munson's room? I'm so honored," she jokes, though she means it.
"You are about to witness my pre-Hellfire ritual," Eddie says, completely changing the subject in Eddie fashion. He kicks his shoes onto the floor and flops backward onto the bed, giving an expectant look when Alex doesn't immediately follow. She obliges, though it takes her longer to slip her boots off. She flops onto the bed beside him, her heart hammering.
"So what's the ritual?" She asks.
"This," he answers.
"Sleeping?" She asks, confused.
"Just sitting here, getting myself mentally prepared." He moves his hands to rest underneath his head, brushing against Alex's side in the process. After all, the bed isn't large. She mimics Eddie by staring up at the ceiling in thought until her eyes become too heavy to stay open.
"Earth to Alex."
Alex's eyes flutter open. The first thing she sees is Eddie standing in front of her, gently shaking her shoulder. She orients, slowly realizing that she just fell asleep in Eddie's bed.
"I'm using the bathroom and then it's time for Hellfire," he says, exiting his room.
Alex sits up and yawns. A black fleece blanket scrunches up in her waist. Eddie must've covered her up when she fell asleep. She hurries, trying to squish her feet into her boots before Eddie gets back from the bathroom. She knows how important this campaign is to Eddie. She only hopes that Mike and Dustin found a replacement for Lucas.
They leave Eddie's trailer after saying goodbye to his uncle who is getting ready for work. The ride to Hellfire is silent, but not uncomfortable. Eddie is focused, and Alex appreciates that he has a deep passion for something. Eddie parks and holds up his finger to pause Alex from exiting the vehicle. He hunches over behind the seat as if digging around for something. "Tadah," he says, proudly presenting Alex with her very own Hellfire shirt.
She beams, accepting it gratefully.
The Hellfire Club meets in an area backstage of the auditorium in a small but quaint setting. Alex can tell that Eddie put a lot of thought into decorating the area to fit the desired aesthetic.
"I like to get here early," Eddie says. He's deep in concentration spreading out his necessary items on the table.
Alex wanders off to provide him with ample time for set up. She wanders the backrooms of the auditorium. She discovers areas that she was never aware of previously, as she didn't spend a lot of time in the auditorium when she was a student here. She finds a corner to swap her jacket and previous shirt for the new Hellfire shirt. She returns to Eddie once she's certain he had enough time to get ready.
"Thought you'd run off on me," he jokes. He slides another chair beside the one at the head of the table. "You can sit next to me. The others will be here soon."
He takes his spot in the head chair, which is an antique looking chair with intricate wood engravings. Alex follows by taking her seat. The table is long but not wide, which means her leg will be pressed against Eddie's for the duration of tonight's campaign. Alex finds another jolt shooting through her body, but her heart doesn't hammer like it had so many times during the day.
The others stream into the area. Eddie greets them with seriousness, and they stand at Eddie's side. The only members missing are Mike and Dustin and their sub for Lucas. As the seconds tick by, Alex steals a glance at Eddie to see if he appears nervous that they won't show up, but he shows no evidence of worry.
Alex can't help but smile when Mike and Dustin enter with none other than Erica Sinclair. Erica enters with confidence, an American flag tied around her shoulders and flowing behind her.
"Absolutely not," Eddie says from his chair the second he sees her. Alex almost says something, but then she realizes that Erica will only need about thirty seconds to secure her entrance into the club.
"You asked for a sub. We delivered," Dustin pleads his case from the other side of the table.
Eddie leans forward. "This is Hellfire Club. Not babysitting club."
"I'm eleven, you long-haired freak," Erica bites back.
"My, my, the child speaks." Eddie rises and circles the table, approaching Erica. Alex knows that she won't be intimidated. "So, what's your name, child?"
"Erica Sinclair," she answers.
With a chuckle and a glance toward Mike and Dustin he says, "So this is Sinclair's infamous sister."
Erica throws an unimpressed glance toward Mike and Dustin as well. "He's sharp."
The other Hellfire members' short-lived laughs are silenced by a sharp glare from Eddie. "What's your class and level? Level one dwarf?"
"My name is Lady Applejack, and I'm a chaotic good half-elf rogue, level fourteen. I will sneak behind any monster you throw my way and stab them in the back with my poison-soaked kukri. And I'll smile as I watch them die a slow, agonizing death. So, we gonna' do this or we gonna' keep chit chatting like this is your mommy's book club?'
A momentary stunned silence falls over the room before Eddie welcomes Erica to Hellfire. Everyone is surprised by Erica's words, except for Alex, who is well aware of Erica's capabilities. With a shaking of hands, the campaign begins.
Alex listens intently, her eyes focused on Eddie the whole time as he speaks. Alex had heard all about Eddie being a genius in the realm of D&D, but seeing it in person is a whole other experience. The passion seeps from his voice. Everyone sits on the edge of their seats, eager to eat up every word from his mouth.
The campaign carries on, until only Vecna and two players remain. The players group up to prepare a plan, before ultimately deciding to fight. Erica rolls once, the dice landing on eleven.
"That's…a…miss!" Eddie says, bobbing his head dramatically with each word.
Erica rolls again, this time the dice impossibly landing on twenty.
"What? What?" Eddie questions in disbelief, before changing to pride. "That's why we play!" He bends and spreads his arms out to show off Erica, who stands proudly.
It takes a while for everyone to calm down, but once they do, they collect their belongings. Alex moves to talk to Erica before the group leaves.
"Good luck with… that," Erica says, moving her hand in a motion that portrays a messy situation.
"With what?" Alex asks.
"It's pretty obvious that long-haired freak has the hots for you, and I thought my eyes were deceiving me at first, but it seems like you have the hots for him too."
Stunned, Alex stammers back at a smug looking Erica. "No-"
Erica cuts her off. "Don't even try to deny it. Erica sees all."
Erica smiles and runs off with the rest of the group before Alex can get another word in. Ready to leave, Eddie comes up behind her. "I have something else I need to do tonight, but I can take you home now."
The van comes to a slow halt outside of Steve's house. Eddie breaks the silence, "I… had fun tonight."
"Thanks, I'll be here all week," Alex jokes and throws him a wink.
"Maybe we could hang out tomorrow, if you're not busy," he offers.
"Yeah!" Alex answers perhaps a bit too quickly. "I'll be with Robin and Steve at Family Video in the morning, so you can come there or call there. If I'm not there here's my number–or Steve's, I guess."
Alex grabs a pen from her backpack and takes Eddie's hand in her own. She places the back of his hand against her palm and gingerly prints Steve's phone number on the palm of his hand. When she finishes, he cradles his hand to his chest and says in his fake prep voice, "Oh my God! Steve Harrington's number! It's like a dream come true."
The bright, stupid smile doesn't leave her face until Steve switches on the kitchen light, scaring her. "Where have you been all day?" He inquires.
"What, are you my dad now or something?" She jokes, trying to deflect.
"Well, I talked to Robin at the game because I thought you had been with her all day, but turns out she had no clue where you were either."
"I was with Eddie. No big deal," she answers.
"Eddie Munson? No big deal?" Steve asks, his eyes wide.
"Yeah, we just hung out and I went to Hellfire. Listen, I'm really tired. Maybe we can talk about it tomorrow. Did Jonathan call?" Alex is already halfway up the stairs.
"Don't think you can weasel your way about not telling me about this tomorrow, Byers. But I told Jonathan you'd call back when you got home from Robin's. You're welcome by the way," Steve says.
"Thank you!" Alex calls out.
She plops on the bed and dials her home phone number into the phone. It rings two times before her mom answers. "Jonathan said you were at Robin's. Did you have fun?"
"Yeah, it was really fun," Alex says. She feels horrible for lying to her mom.
"Did you need to talk to Jonathan?" Her mom asks. "He's upstairs working on that project with Argyle, but I can go get him."
Alex can sense her mom about to set the phone down, so she abruptly says, "No! That's fine. Do you know if he watered my plants?"
"I made sure of it," her mom says, and Alex can feel her smile through the phone which causes her to produce one of her own. "I'm sure you're tired, sweetie. I can let you go."
Alex wants to talk longer, but knows that she won't be talkative for much longer. "Okay, Mom. Tell everyone that I said hello. And tell Will and El that I hope they have a good time with Mike!"
After bidding each other goodnight, Alex readies herself for bed, more than pleased with how being back in Hawkins is treating her.
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed! The positive support is overwhelming! 3