𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐀| 𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐬𝗼𝐧

4.

𝙅𝙖𝙣𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙮 3𝙧𝙙, 1986
𝙃𝙖𝙬𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙨, 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙖

᯽

"Would you stop pacing? Your gonna do great"

It was only an hour away from the campaign and Malachi started doubting himself more and more by the second. Pacing around his room while he mumbled things to himself, not caring that Maia had been in his room the whole time.

"What if i mess everything up? W-what if-"

"Malachi!" Maia mustered a frustrated shout, left him quiet infront of her while he Stood in place as he watched her get up from his bed. "Your gonna do great, okay? I know it"

"I really like them, Mai. I don't wanna disappoint dustin"

"Come on, Kai. You've been playing forever and this is what you've been waiting for! You've been wanting a party for so long"

"That's why I'm scared" he sighed heavy as he sat on the bed, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Do you think you could talk to Eddie? Maybe like-"

"Eddie is not scary, Kai. He believes in you, in fact"

"Really?" His eyebrows raised as he sat up right, his eyes following Maia as she sat next to him, a smile on her face. 

"Really. He came to me today and told me I just had to come to your campaign to watch you. He said he couldn't wait to see what you bring to the table"

"I don't know... he seems a little intimidating" she sighed, her hand rubbing his back. "I just want to get used to it here, you know? Maybe mom will let us stay this time"

"Don't say that-"

"It's true. Let's face it, Maia. Our lives are basically a one year trial. We've lived in so many different houses, I lost count at this point"

"Remember that promise I made you?" Maia asked, pushing some of the hair that fell across his forehead to the side. "The one back at the old apartment?"

"That you were gonna make everything go back to normal again" she nodded. "How do we do that"

"Malachi, your my priority, you know that? The only thing I've ever wanted was for you to have a normal childhood, and if I'm being completely honest, I thought I failed you when we moved again. Like nothing that I said mattered to her"

"You can't blame yourself for that, Mai. She's just scared"

The room fell silent. the two wrapped up in their thoughts so much they couldn't say much else. It had felt like they had this conversation more then a 100 times.

"We should get going. You don't wanna be late for your first campaign"

-

"A perfect 20!" The group of boys cheered loudly, Eddie's face remaining in disbelief at how they had just beat him for the 2nd time in a row. "YOU LOSE"

"Looks like he's got a special touch" Maia smirked, looking over at Eddie while he leaned back in his chair, shaking his head while laughing.

"The dungeon master can't win them all, you know"

"But he wants to, doesn't he?"

A good 10 minutes had went by since the campaign ended and the boys kind of split into groups. Maia helped Eddie clean up the table while the boys were outside doing god knows what. All that mattered to Maia was hearing her brothers laugh from the slightly cracked door.

"You didn't have to help clean up, you know. You didn't even play" she scoffed, closing the box with all of the pieces.

"Like they were gonna help?" Eddie laughed, taking the box from her and placing it into his bag, sealing it shut once everything had been in it. "He was really nervous"

"I could tell. He's not that good at hiding it"

"Thank you" Maia's soft voice only made him look at her, unable to even realize he was staring at her. "You know, for giving him an opportunity. God knows how long I've wanted this for him"

"You care about him a lot" she watched as he sat down on the table, tossing the small ball he had from hand to hand.

"He's my brother-"

"No. Like you want to protect him from the world. I've seen people like you before, I know people like you"

It wasn't anything new to her. The questioning, she could tell Eddie was curious, not wanting to push her any further then she wanted to go.

"We didn't have the best childhood. It seems like ever since I was a little girl I was trying to protect him. I never wanted him to see the world how I did, how it really is"

"Now that he's older, it's just so hard. Pretending like everything is perfect, and that we'll be okay"

"Am i a bad person?" Eddie had already been walking towards her, placing the ball onto the table before he could reach where she was, her hands rubbing her face. "Is pretending even the right thing to do?"

The small touch to her hand made her jump, but this time she had stopped herself from pushing him back. Her eyes glued to his.

"You don't have to pretend around me. I know we just met and you barely wanna be here, but just know you can talk to me when your ready"

"Eddie-"

"Maia!" Malachi ran into the room, Eddie quickly stepping back from her before her brother could see. "Can i stay at Dustin's tonight? His moms here to pick him up and said she'll talk to you! Mike and Lucas are going too!"

Maia smiled, looking over at Eddie once more before nodding at her brother, watching his face light up.

"I do need to talk to her though, I'll be out in a second?" He nodded, pulling her into a tight hug before running back outside to the boys.

"See?" Maia sighed, turning back toward Eddie. "Dustin's a good kid. If you wanted Malachi to have friends, he made a really good one"

"I know, it's just kind of scary watching him go off by himself"

"He's not five, Maia"

"Yeah but-"

"Speaking of that, would this be a bad time to follow up on that diner?" He raised an eyebrow, watching her scoff at the small smirk that had been tugging at his lips.

"Your my ride home so" she shrugged, grabbing her bag. "Let's get out of here"