The Other Wheeler || Eddie Munson x Y/N

1. The Other Wheeler

"Who was that on the phone, sweetie?" My mom asked as I walked back into the kitchen.

"Nancy. She's going to spend the night at Stacy's." I lied. Nancy wasn't spending the night at Stacy's, she was spending it with Jonathan, her boyfriend who was wrapping up his visit from California. This isn't the first time I've covered for her and she knows it. After lying to my mom, my brother Mike gave me a knowing look. It sure is harder to keep secrets from your siblings than it is to keep them from your parents.

Being between Nancy and Mike in age, I've always tried to stay on good terms with both of them. They butt heads a lot, but I'm always the one they come to in order to sort out their problems, keep their secrets, and help them out when they need it. I'm hoping that when my baby sister Holly gets older, she knows she can trust me just as much.

I like being the go-to sibling because I'm definitely not the go-to person at school. I don't have many friends and I tend to keep to myself. People are often surprised when they find out Mike and Nancy have another sister because I've done such a good job at going through high school without making any waves. I'm quiet, I get my work done, and I stay out of trouble. 

After hearing about Nancy's plans, Mike scoffed. "She always does this. I have Hellfire tonight and she was supposed to give me a ride. What am I supposed to do now?"

"Y/N can give you a ride." My mom added without even consulting with me.

I exhaled a deep breath, but wasn't about to complain. I'm supposed to be the good kid, right? "Yeah, I can give you a ride Mike." I said without any enthusiasm. 

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Apparently when I agreed to drive Mike to Hellfire, I also agreed to take him home. He had told me that he would be done at 9, but it was now 9:15 and I was still sitting in the car alone. Starting to lose patience, I decided to walk into the school to try and find him as he probably just lost track of time. 

As I walked into the theater room where Hellfire was held, I was met with a deep and dramatic voice followed by groans and yells. Something intense must have just happened in their game, however, not wanting to waste more of my night, I walked over to Mike. When I came into view, I heard the same voice as when I entered. "Who are you?"

I'm not surprised Eddie didn't know who I was. As I said, I keep to myself, and Nancy is usually the one who drives Mike to these things. I knew who Eddie was though, everyone did. Eddie "The Freak" Munson is what people called him. He was a drug-dealing, metalhead, super-senior who my brother worshipped every since joining Hellfire. 

Not answering Eddie's question, I addressed Mike. "Hey, you're late. Let's go!"

Removing his eyes from me, Eddie turned to Mike. "Wheeler, you're not about to leave at the climax of the campaign, are you?" Eddie seemed to have a fire in his eyes when he asked this. Mike looked at me with pleading eyes, begging for a few more minutes. Before he could say anything, Eddie continued. "Your girlfriend is going to have to wait."

At this comment, not only did I burst into laughter, but so did Dustin and Lucas, two of Mike's best friends. Mike just looked horrified. Dustin spoke up through his laughter. "Dude, that's his sister!"

Eddie looked confused. "I thought Nancy was your sister."

"Yeah, and so is Y/N." Mike explained to Eddie.

"My mistake." Eddie said defensively while holding up his hands. "Still, she's going to have to wait."

Mike turned to look at me again. He didn't have to ask, I knew what his look meant. I pulled over a chair and sat down. "Thank you" Mike mouthed quietly to me. I watched the remainder of the game. Surprisingly, it was nothing like what I thought it would be. It was interesting and deep, mainly because of Eddie. He lead the club through an intense story using actions and voices to carry it along. It was fascinating watching him. I was starting to see the appeal of dungeons and dragons.

After thirty minutes of observing, they finally finished their session. As Mike was gathering his things and getting ready to leave, Eddie approached me. "Hey, thanks for sticking around and letting us finish. And sorry about the confusion earlier, I didn't realize there was another Wheeler."

"That's me, the other Wheeler" I joked. I looked up at Eddie. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing I'm not used to". I said more seriously this time. After hearing my words, a flash of sadness seemed to cross Eddie's face, but it was quickly covered by a smile. 

"Well I'm glad I was finally able to make your acquaintance." Eddie said and then bowed dramatically.

I was not expecting that reaction at all so I let out a little laugh and told him it was nice meeting him too. He was weird, but a funny kind of weird that I liked. 

Mike was finally ready to go so the two of us made our way out to the car. "Is he always like that?" I asked Mike.

"Eddie?" I nodded. "Yeah he's a little out there, but he's not the bad guy that the school makes him out to be." Mike defended.

"Well I can see why you like him, he's a character." I said to Mike with a smile.

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When we got home, before Mike went up to his room, he turned around and thanked me. "Thanks for the ride, Y/N, and thanks for sitting through the rest of Hellfire. I owe you." 

I just gave him a smile and said, "Goodnight, Mike" before heading to my own bedroom. Truthfully, I was glad that the night worked out the way it did. If I hadn't gone into the school, then I wouldn't have met the guy that I couldn't stop thinking about the entire drive home. 

Eddie definitely isn't the type of guy that I typically have a crush on, and maybe I don't have a crush on him, but he intrigues me. I'm definitely attracted to him. I hadn't noticed it before tonight, but he has the deepest brown eyes I've ever looked into and a gorgeous smile. I won't tell Mike, but I hope I can be his ride to and from Hellfire again.