Eddie & Y/N Henderson (FEM READER)

Chapter 2: The Pep Rally and Cafeteria

You walk into school, pushing a strand of hair to your hair behind your ear as you open the glass doors. Immediately you're bombarded with noise. People talking about the pep rally no doubt. A group of cheerleaders to your right squeals and you roll your eyes. Hawkins High is loaded with types like them and the jerk jocks. You walk down the hall and stop at your locker.

Twist it to the right. 32.

Twist it to the left. 12.

Twist it to the right. 06.

Your locker pops open and you put your book in. John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. The bell rings and immediately people begin to stampede around the hallway. Pep rally time. It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that that's where everyone is going. You follow the crowd into the gym where people are already taking seats on the bleachers.

"Hey! (Y/N)!" you hear your brother call. You whip around to see him and Mike Wheeler walking up to you. "Hey guys." you say. Dustin beams and Mike gives you a small smile. "Don't have a seat?" Dustin asks. "Nope. Robin's in band and Steve's here with a girl." you say, rolling your eyes at the thought of your friends. "You should sit with us!" Before you can protest, your brother is dragging you over to where the other members of Hellfire Club are sitting. "Guys! This is my sister (Y/N)!" Dustin exclaims, presenting you to the group. You give a small wave. Before you know it you're pushed down the bleachers so you're sitting next to Ed- that older boy. He's not much older. You're both seniors but he was held back a year so he's a year older. His knee brushes against yours and you glance at him. Only to find him glancing right back. "We didn't know you have a sister Henderson." one of the other boys says. You shift your gaze from the older boy, to Dustin. "I'm wounded that you didn't tell them about me Dustin." you say, acting hurt. A smirk grows on your face. "Quit the acting (Y/N). At the end there is Gareth, next to him is Jeff, and next to you is Eddie." Dustin says. You nod and try to smile. "Nice to meet you." you mutter. Things have been said about the older boy. That he's a drug addicted freak. Who leads a satanic cult. You know better. They just play DnD.

The rally starts but you don't pay much attention to it. You don't really like basketball or cheer. Those who can, make something of their lives. But those who can't, play with balls and toss pom-poms. A hot breath suddenly reaches your neck and you glance over. The older boy is leaning over to you.

"You don't seem like the pep rally type." he says. You smirk and roll your eyes. "Neither do you but- Oh! Here we both are." you say. The older boy smirks and lets out a small chuckle. He leans almost all the way across you to Dustin. "I like her, Henderson. You should mention her more often." he says. He smirks at you, going back to his original position, and you return the smirk. The pep rally ends with Jason's "amazing, inspirational speech". The gym erupts into applause but you only give a sarcastic one. The hallways are flooded as you're all sent to lunch. Dustin and Mike walk over to Lucas. You watch them get into a heated conversation and Mike seems clearly pissed. "Hey! (Y/N)!" You spin around to see the older boy sauntering over to you smugly. "See you around." he whispers. His words stick with you as he walks towards the cafeteria. You turn to Dustin and Mike as they walk over to you.

"What happened?" you ask. Mike rolls his eyes. "Lucas can't come to Hellfire tonight because of his stupid championship game." he says. "So now we have to ask Eddie to postpone." Dustin says. It's not that big of a deal but they're acting like it's the end of the world. "Will you sit with us at lunch when we tell him so that he doesn't kill us?" Dustin asks. You sigh and grab their hands. "Sure. Let's get this done so I don't have to deal with you and your cult club again." you huff, laughing slightly at the end.

You, Mike, and Dustin emerge into the cafeteria and begin to trudge to the Hellfire table. "Hey! Eddie! Is it okay if I have (Y/N) sit with us?" Dustin asks. Eddie smirks and tosses his sandwich back into the Styrofoam lunch tray. He stands up abruptly, sending his chair shooting back. He grabs a chair from a nearby table and places it on the corner of the table, next to his. "But of course! The new cult members always sit next to the leader." he says, flashing you a smirky grin. You sigh and take the seat, your knee brushing his again. His knuckles graze yours as both your hands come to your sides. You can feel yourself blushing slightly with unease. The older boy...you sighed to yourself in defeat. Eddie leans over. "Don't worry. We're not a ruthless cult who will drink your blood." he whispers reassuringly. You smile slightly and start to eat your lunch.

Eddie picks up a magazine and begins reading in an odd voice. "The devil has come to America. Dungeons and Dragons...at first has been regarded as a harmless game of make believe now has parents and psychologists concerned. Studies have linked violent behavior to the game. Saying it promotes Satanic worship, ritual sacrifice, insanity, suicide, and even...MURDER!" You roll your eyes and smile slightly. Eddie resumes talking in a normal voice. You only realize what he's saying when he jumps up on the table. He glances down and winks at you. "Because as long as you're into band or science or parties, or a game where you toss balls into laundry baskets!" Eddie makes his voice louder on the last part and Jason stops in front of your table. "You want something freak?" he asks. Eddie brings his fingers to his ears and makes devil horns with his index fingers, sticking out his tongue. You laugh slightly but then Jason starts walking over. You sigh, squeeze your eyes shut, and open them. "Leave them alone Jason, Go sit in the corner and play with your balls." you say. There's a slight ooh from the people around you. "Pricks." you hear Jason mutter. Eddie jumps off the table next to you. "My, my, my. Lady (Y/N) Henderson can slay her own dragons." he says. You smirk. "That's what's KILLING THE KIDS! ...That's the real monster." Eddie says, resuming his seat. His knee brushes against yours again and you kick Dustin gently. "So, uh, speaking of monsters, uh, Lucas has to do his, uh,  balls-in-laundry-baskets game. So...he's not gonna be able to make it to Hellfire tonight. 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 cuts in. "Postpone? You can't just drop this on us!" "Over my dead body!" "Shut up!" Eddie yells. All eyes at the table fly to him but he only meets yours. His hand brushes yours again. "You say Sinclair's been taken in by the dark side?" Eddie asks. "Uh, something like that." "Something like that!?" Eddie throws a french frie at Mike and Dustin, causing them to flinch as it hits Mike in the head. "And rather than find a sub for him you want...you want to postpone 'The Cult of Vecna'?" Eddie asks. "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 says. Eddie pushes his chair back with a loud screech and stands. Just being at this table is becoming increasingly more uncomfortable for you. Eddie walks in a mini circle and then whips back around. "Oh, it's the championship game?" "Yeah." Mike says. "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 towards a D in Ms. O'Donell's. If I don't blow her final, I'm gonna walk that stage next month, I'm gonna look Principle Higgins dead in the eye, I'm gonna flip him the bird." Eddie says, holding up his middle finger. This moment seems like something between the group and not something you should be here for. "I'm gonna snatch that diploma. I'm gonna run like hell outta here." Dustin starts to laugh and you lean over to him. "I have to speak with Mr. Cleary. I'll give you a ride later." you whisper. Dustin nods and you stand, grabbing your tray.

"(Y/N) Henderson is leaving us!? Are we the Satanic cult that everyone says?" Eddie asks, walking back over to you. You glance around the group and Jeff gives you a smile. "No." you simply say. You walk away and dump the remnants of your lunch in a nearby garbage bin. You walk into the hall, once you're out of sight, you turn back to the group. Eddie grabs Mike and Dustin by the shoulders. He shoves them towards the door of the cafeteria and spots you. He bows slightly and you smirk.

Dorks.