Foolin'

Part 6

Kat sat at her now usual table at lunch, getting a head start on some homework. Well, she intended to. Her plan was cut short when five people all took seats around her. Confused, she looked up to see Eddie setting his black lunch box down across from her. There was no way she was getting out of this one.

"Hi, Kat the Uncaring," Eddie greeted her. She just glared in response.

"Kat, please. Just humor us for the day. He won't shut up about you," the boy next to Kat pleaded. "And this way we can finally talk about something else, like you know, the Hellfire Club? The club you run?" The boy, probably a freshman, glared at Eddie. He wore a hat and his poofy curls looked as if they were trying to escape their confines.

Eddie's eyes grew wide as he gave his own glare right back. "Dustin!" He yipped while throwing something off of another boy's plate at him. He turned back to Kat, immediately softening his gaze. "Kat, you are now in the presence of Hellfire. Beside me are Gareth and Jeff, who you may recognize," Eddie smirked at her. "To your left, Dustin Henderson and by his side, Mike Wheeler." He beamed as he introduced his friends to her.

Kat smiled flatly and gave a pointed wave. "Hey...yeah so can we not make this a regular thi-"

"Don't waste your breath, Ramsay. You are socializing for...thirty minutes? Monday through Friday. I think you might be able to handle it. Could even help you with that boredom problem you have." Eddie said matter of factly.

Kat pinched the bridge of her nose. She began to protest but was quickly cut off. "You are here in this shit hole for the time being. And you are going to make the most of it whether you like it or not," he said sternly, almost like it was a command she was to obey. "Since I am your captain on this new adventure, you'll like it. Eventually."

For whatever reason, Eddie had taken her under his wing much like she had seen him do the first day of school with the two freshmen to her left. She could accept defeat regarding lunch, but she was still intending on putting up a fight regarding anything outside of school for the foreseeable future. Kat opened her mouth and closed it. She sighed as a verbal admission of defeat.

"Great. Now that that's settled, everyone good for the new campaign Friday?" Eddie asked, addressing his group of misfit friends. Everyone nodded. "Good, good. Probably gonna be a shorter one, more story based. The action won't start until Halloween." He smiled devilishly.

"Aw Eddie! Come on man! It's been narrative based for the past two campaigns." Mike complained.

"Now, now Wheeler. This one sets up for the epic showdown that's to come. And you know how the saying goes. Good things come to those who wait." Eddie directed a small smile at Kat as he said that last line. She just rolled her eyes and went on to eat her lunch.

"Uh, should anyone fill her in on what we're even talking about?" Dustin asked.

"No, because I don't care." She turned to smile at Dustin. He just raised his eyebrows.

"Okay. Well. I get why you call her Kat the Uncaring..." Dustin trailed off, turning to ask Mike if he'd heard from their friends Will or El.

Gareth and Jeff were talking about a game or something like that, providing Eddie the perfect opportunity to divert his full attention towards Kat. He leaned forward resting his head in his hand, tapping his fingers on his cheek. "So I think we last left off where you were about to tell me all your thoughts and first impressions about that new band you discovered yesterday."

"Whoever was doing the sound had no idea what they're doing. At all,' Kat divulged, which made Eddie flick his eyebrows up quickly in surprise at her response.

"We take what we can get," he shrugged.

"Yeah you're in the middle of nowhere, but it isn't that hard to figure out how to adjust the levels so the guitars don't sound like they're about to blow the speakers out. Honestly, if I had one more drink I would have gone over and fixed it myself."