wild one pt two | stranger things ; g.emerson
tag list babes || req rules + fandoms/characters || got a req or a ? || masterlist
CHAPTERS ;
one can be found by clicking. masterlist of other ST things can be found here.
AUTHORS NOTES;
Okay so look.. We're not talking about how I went veering into badgirl!popular/cheerleader territory with reader. We're not, lmao. I'm also still not ignoring my thousand other wips, I swear. This just came to me and I thought what the hell, why not. So, here we are.
You guys literally made my morning, you have no idea. All the comments / reblogs + reblogs with tags / the likes, you name it. I really didn't think about anything outside of getting this idea out of my head and you guys blew me away, ughhhh. I love you all so fucking much and you truly don't know what your interactions with my bullshit mean to me, I can't even begin to express it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
SUMMARY;
-- cheerleaders and drummers don't mix. Or do they?
aka, you're a cheerleader. not your typical one, but the fact remains. he's a drummer, one of the freaks. and yet somehow, you keep circling back to each other. how's this gonna go, I wonder?
PAIRING;
Gareth Emerson x Cheerleader/Popular!Bad Girl reader.
{ beyond clothing descriptions and the knowledge that reader has female organs + the personality stuff I can't stop adding in, reader is mostly a blank slate. have fun with it. }
WARNINGS;
jason carver + his friends existing, body image / self esteem issues, angst, swearing, bullying / teenagers being shitheads within their own circle of friends, a bra is mentioned, holy shit reader and Gare are awkward angsty little stubborn shits and i live for it, for this chapter, that's it.
TAGLIST;
The only people on my taglist for Stranger Things currently are listed below. If you’d like to be and you aren’t, please go add yourself via the link at the very top of the post.
@ALLELITESMUT
@AURUMBELIS
@ARIES-ARCADE
@COLE22ANN
@HCLOANGCLS
@HEYAITSKLAUDIA
@ICEQUEEN1371
@KRYS-ORION
@LETSBEDRAGONSTOGETHER
@MUSICHEALSSCARS
@scoobiessnacks
@secretsicanthideanymore
@SUITS-AND-SMIRKS
OTHER STUFF;
Okay, first of all, this is just another slice of life type thing.. and also, look.. loook.. so my undying need to give Billy growth of some kind won out here. I mention that Susan threw Neil out. And I'm going off that to further say that maybe Billy stuck around a while, graduated and then got the hell out of town. BUT.. before he did, he kind of had time and space away from Neil's influence to realize that maybe he was becoming his father and he didn't want to be. He's still gonna seem to be an asshole, but just.. slightly less / more accepting of people. Since the Upside Down / Vecna and the other stuff that traumatizes every single one of these poor kids doesn't exist in most of my writings, Starcourt still exists, Jim and Joyce took the fam to California to celebrate their wedding or something and are back and naturally, nobody will be dying in this. JSYK more importantly, Gareth and Jeff have been aged to 18 so that the gang will all graduate together. Nobody is underage (except the actual kiddos but this is more about Gareth/reader with a side of Max) so we're all good.
“What are we even doing here?” Gareth grumbles as the four of them make their way over from where they’d parked in front of the diner to the park where the Fourth of July carnival was in full swing. The deafening sound of Motley Crue nearby and screeching brakes had the four friends sharing a look and glancing in the general direction of the sound.
You’re swearing up a storm and pulling at the handle on your door but the damn thing is stuck again. Emma’s already gotten out and she’s using the mirror on the passenger side to primp as Max and Lucas attempt to help you unstick your door. “I keep telling her Lucas, this car is literally Christine. Remember last week when it just quit and we all had to walk in the rain?”
“Hey, maybe if you try to wiggle the handle when you pull…” Lucas suggests. You try but it’s not budging.
“Jesus christ, just go out the window, trouble! Patrick is waiting!” Emma’s impatient, practically bouncing on her feet and ready to get her date started. You glance over at her and laugh. “Oh my godddd, go then, Em! Don’t keep your guy waiting or whatever cos this car is a demon straight from the pits of hell tonight!” you’re waving her off.
Eddie chuckles and rubs his chin. “That car’s possessed.” he muses.
Grant snickers quietly, “Her temper kind of reminds me of someone else’s…” and as he says this, his eyes fix on Gareth.
“Wasn’t she walking away from it while flipping it the bird that day it rained last week?” Jeff chuckles and shakes his head. Eddie laughs and nods. “Mhm.”
Inside the car, Max is torn between laughter and concern. “Okay, look. The windows are down. Just climb out. Before you break your hand.” she grimaces as you hit the door one more time and try to yank the handle a little more. "Stupid fucking piece of shit, oh my god, c'mon!" you grumble in frustration as you pinch the bridge of your nose and blow at falling hair “I’m gonna push this motherfucker over the quarry, I swear to God. It’s coming, ugh. C’mon you piece of shit! Open!” you proclaim, pulling harder on the handle, beyond agitated now.
Emma’s gone ahead already and the second you see Andy glancing your way, you groan inwardly. Not today, Satan.” you grumble as you hoist yourself up and climb out the window of the car. Lucas does the same over on the passenger side, pulling Max out after he’s steady.
And just like clockwork, Andy’s clearing his throat when you finish giving your hair a tousle and checking your pockets to make sure you have everything you need so you don’t have to walk back over from the carnival.
“Hey.” Andy’s eyes roam over you slowly. Almost lingering long enough to be lewd when they settle on your tits and it’s to a point where you clear your throat while rolling your eyes just to get him looking up at your actual face. Everything about the way he’s looking at you makes you really uncomfortable, but true to form, Andy doesn’t seem to pick up on it. If he does, he doesn’t care because like the rest of the jocks at Hawkins High, he’s used to getting exactly what he wants.
“Bye.” you retort, biting your lip. “As you can see, ape,the problem is solved. There’s uh, nothing to see here, no sense in hanging around.” you’re trying to get rid of him but he doesn’t seem willing to get the hint. Thank God for Max and Lucas, because they wander over and clear their throats. You use their appearance to your advantage and hurry away. “Gotta go, uh.. We’re going to the midway or something.” and you grab hold of your stepsister’s elbow, the two of you hauling ass away in such a hurry that the three of you wind up colliding with the four members of Corroded Coffin. More to the point, you wind up colliding with Gareth and the two of you topple over. You raise up, straddling his hips and you can feel yourself turning red and hot all over. Gareth realizes that his hands are on your hips and flustered, he moves them off real quick.
“Uh..” your hand catches in your hair as you extract yourself from his body reluctantly, “Sorry.”
Gareth looks like he’s glaring at you and all you can think is that this is just awesome, just great. Now you can add nearly crushing the poor guy with your body right to the bottom of the list under covering him in cake flavored vomit back in seventh grade.
Jeff clears his throat and gives Gareth a look to clue him into the fact that his facial expression is maybe not the best choice for the current situation and Gareth wants to die right then and there because he realizes that he’s scowling at you. You hold out a hand to Gareth to attempt pulling him up and he honestly wants to grab hold of your hand but that stubborn need to not look like a little bitch and pull himself up off the ground wins out and he pulls himself up and as soon as he realizes what he’s done -and what you possibly think now because of it, he wants to punch himself in the face for it.
You linger for a second or two. “You’re uh… I didn’t hurt you, right?” you ask quietly, swallowing hard as you look him over in concern. Trying not to focus too hard on his eyes and how angry he looks or how embarrassed you are, or how up close, his lips look even more tempting somehow.
But you’re assuming that you’ve blown it all over again and given that your father and stepmother live in a trailer park, the option to buy a deserted island and live out your dying days is not available to you. ,, Guess it’s back to avoiding him at all costs.” the thought comes and it makes you frown just slightly. Sadly. You plaster on a weak smile as soon as you feel it form though, and you take a deep breath to pull yourself together. “Sorry. I’m.. Gonna go now. Yeah..” you hurry away before he even manages to get one single word out.
And as you disappear into the crowd on the midway with Lucas and Max flanking either side of you, Gareth turns and immediately kicks the nearest garbage bin to him as he swears out loud about the whole mess that just turned into.
Eddie would’ve laughed, but he could look at his best friend and just tell that Gareth was torn up real bad about the way that all just transpired, so when Jeff is about to open his mouth, he nudges him and shakes his head no quietly. Jeff nods in agreement and Grant leans in, whispering to the two of them, “He really shook her up. That’s the first time I’ve seen her actually get flustered since at least 6th grade.”
“Yeah, he won’t believe that, buddy. Still thinks the whole reason she vomited all over him that one night was because she wound up getting sent to the closet with him on the spin.” Jeff explains calmly. Eddie snickers quietly, “Y’know how he is, man.”
“Yeah, and sometimes, it doesn’t do him any favors.” Jeff responds with Grant nodding in agreement. “Agreed.”
You’re standing in line for the Gravitron when you spot Gareth walking past, your neighbor Eddie and their other two friends Grant and Jeff in tow. You quickly face the front and you bump against Max as you do it. She snickers quietly. “Are you okay? You were really flustered back there.”
“Oh, I’m fine. It’s fine, everything is fine. I was just born to a father too fuckin poor to buy me a private island to go die on, that’s all.” you laugh, gazing at the ride as it spins while twisting some messy strands of hair around your finger. “Guess it’s back to avoid at all costs.”
Max laughs and shrugs. “Or.. you could just ya know… Play the whole thing off.”
Lucas chuckles quietly. “He wasn’t mad. Gareth’s just got an angry face sometimes. He doesn’t even realize when he’s doing it.”
“Oh trust me. He looked mad. If he wasn’t, he was probably annoyed because my fat ass was probably crushing him or something.”
Lucas almost tells you that he’s at least fifty percent sure that’s not the case, but he knows how stubborn you are by now. So instead, when he catches sight of Will,Mike and Eleven, with Dustin in tow, he waves them over.
“Guys, this is ____.”
“Call her trouble though. Everybody else does.” Max smiles at her friends, “She’s my new stepsister.”
You smile at the group of teenagers and laugh. “I don’t bite.”
Will gives you a weak smile and nods. “Hey.”
Mike’s gaping at Max. “Isn’t she a cheerleader?” he questions, wary and tense as he gazes over at you when you’ve turned your attention back to the ride you’re all in line for. “Why isn’t she with her friends right now?” he’s only asking because he’s worried, because he’s not even an official freshman yet and already, the taunts and the teasing and the bullshit from the jocks have started towards him, his best friends Will and Dustin and his girlfriend Eleven.
Max rolls her eyes at Mike. “Would you relax? She hates them. I mean, except for Emma. Maybe that girl Chrissy Cunningham.”
“Hey. I’m Dustin Henderson.” Dustin smiles at you and you smile back. “I think I babysat you a few years ago, kid.” Dustin laughs and nods. “Wait, yeah. I remember now. The blanket fort.” and you grin, giving him a thumbs up.
Eleven smiles at you. “It’s nice to meet you. Max talked about you a lot when she called or wrote this summer.”
You smile back at the other girl and nod. “She talked about you nonstop. How was California? I bet it was fun, right?”
“It wasn’t too bad. I think Jim was ready to get back here, he said he’d gotten enough sand in places it shouldn’t be for the rest of his life.” Eleven laughs and you smile at her, nodding. “Yeah, my dad took me to this big race day or something when I was little. Kinda hated the beach because of all the sand.” you shrug.
The line inches forward and you find yourself getting pulled into the conversation happening between Max and her friends.
And then you spot Caroline and some of the other cheerleaders wandering down the midway. “Fucking hell. It’s too early in the night for them. C’mon ground, open up a portal? I’ll even take one to hell right now…” you rub the bridge of your nose. Luckily, Max has just enough friends that with all of them standing around you, Caroline and the two other girls flanking her walk right past without even noticing you.
“If you hate them so much, why not just quit?” Mike’s gazing at you, curious.
“Because quitting means they win, kid. Quitting proves that they’re all right about me and I am trash. I’m too petty.” you explain, giving a shrug.
The ride’s ready to board and you step on. Seeing one or two others do it, you get curious.
“Don’t think about it.” Max hisses.
“Oh come on!” you grin as you do a handstand and press yourself back against the wall, “Gravity will hold me up.”
“Okay, well.. When you puke everywhere, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Max gives a mild shrug as she and Lucas take the two spots next to you.
Across the ride, Eleven mouths to Max, “Is she crazy?” and all Max can do is shrug because sometimes, she does wonder.
The ride comes to an end and you stumble off and right into Emma, who is cozied up to Patrick and carrying the biggest stuffed panther you’ve ever seen before. You pout a little, but you smile at Patrick. “Hurt her and I’m coming for your knees, dude.”
Patrick chuckles. And spotting Lucas as he exits the ride, he grins and makes his way over. “Worked on that jumpshot yet, kid?”
Lucas nods.
Max nudges you and nods to the cotton candy stand across the midway, laughing when you freeze because Gareth and his friends are sitting at a picnic table eating nachos. “I feel like cotton candy. C’mon.”
“Oh no. Nope. Not a chance. I’ll give you the money and let you go, though.”
Max grabs hold of your arm and she’s practically dragging you towards the vendor. You’re laughing but also as you pass the table Gareth is sitting at, you’re painfully aware that he’s sitting there.
And despite trying your best not to, you glance back because you hear him laugh about something and it catches your attention.
“Ya know, it’s not that hard to just make the first move. I did with Lucas.”
You laugh but the laughter dies away the second you realize she’s being serious. You shake your head. “Oh no. Nope. Absolutely not. Every single time I try to even breathe near the guy, I go and fuck up, do something stupid.”
Max laughs quietly. “Y’know… when my mom met your dad I was scared. Because Neil and Billy, they..” she rubs her forehead and you nod because you know where she’s going. “Yeah. I know.” you mumble quietly. “How was he when you talked to him last time?” you ask quietly.
“Happy to be back in California. Relieved to be away from Neil too. He’s happier, it’s like he’s a total different person. He said he thought about coming to visit around Thanksgiving and he actually talked to my mom for two hours.” Max admits, managing a weak smile. “Maybe Mom throwing Neil out gave him the courage to do it too.”
“Maybe it did.” you answer, smiling.
Max speaks up after a quick glance around reveals that Gareth was staring right at you and turned away only after he realizes that she’d caught him doing it. “Ooh.” Max laughs as she leans into you a little, “he was looking at you.”
You laugh and shake your head. “Nice try, Max. It’s not happening.” you sigh a little, glancing back but so quick you could’ve easily given yourself whiplash when you turn your head to look back at the stall you stand in front of instead. “Nope. I honestly think he hates me. I mean, to be fair, I can’t blame the guy. First I barf on him then I go and try to crush him.”
Max raises a brow. “You? Crush him? You realize he’s brawnier and a little taller than you, right? I doubt you crushed him.”
You shrug. Because all you ever hear from the coach of your squad and Caroline is that you’re too thick, you need to cut back. This and that and if you were even slightly less confident in your body like some girls your age, you’re pretty sure it would live in your head rent free. And sometimes, on a bad day, it does. But you try not to let it get to you.
Caroline spots you and she gives you a disappointed look because of where you happen to be standing when she wanders up to you. “I thought you were cutting out sugar?” she nods to the cotton candy stand.
“I never said I would… Mother.” you roll your eyes and take a big bite of the cotton candy as soon as the vendor inside the stall hands it to you. Caroline’s eyes settle on your Motley Crue t-shirt and your cut offs and the black motorcycle boots and she wrinkles her nose. “We have got to take you shopping at Starcourt soon. Can’t have you roaming the hallway like some grungy little whore when school starts back again.”
Max tenses and glares up at the older girl. Every part of her wants to say something but she doesn’t because she knows you well enough to know that you won’t hesitate to handle it.
You’re doing the same and you smirk. “Ya know… Maybe I prefer the grungy whore look. Maybe that’s just me.”
Caroline snorts in annoyance. Steps closer and smirks. “You do realize if you weren’t so flexible and so good at most of the stunts, you’d have already been off the team, right? You’re an image problem. Your skills and Chrissy, bless her sweet heart.. They’re the only things holding you at the top.”
“Oh really now.” you purr, stepping closer, smirking as you laugh softly. “Sweetheart.. What the hell makes you think I give a shit to start with, hm? The only reason I haven’t quit is Em and Chris. I promised them I wouldn’t quit way back in 9th grade. Sides,” you laugh and twirl hair around your finger as you glare at her calmly, “I like making the rest of you miserable bitches squirm.”
“Are you ready to go, Max?” you ask your stepsister as you shove past Caroline and you do it hard enough she stumbles back a little and you storm away.
Max is laughing and the two of you high-five as you stop within earshot of the table that Gareth and his friends happen to be sitting at. “I swear to God, Max..One day she’s gonna catch me in the wrong mood and I’m going to strangle her bare-handed.” you’re fuming a little as you glare at Caroline’s turned back. Max nods. “Her sister is just as bad. Maybe worse. She was trying to pick on Eleven at the roller rink last year.”
“Yeah, let her try that shit, any of them, truth be told. Let any of them try that shit when you guys are around me. They can honestly all go fuck themselves.” you grumble and take a few deep breaths as you toss the empty paper roll that held your cotton candy into the garbage. “C’mon. Let’s go back over. See what everyone else is doing, huh?”
Max nods and the two of you walk away.
Gareth glares at Caroline Owens turned back. Rolling his eyes. “Miserable bitch. She’s on somebody’s case about anything when her nose looks like an actual bird beak?” he’s ranting, he’s irritated by it and he’s not bothering to hide it. Eddie snickers and Jeff nudges Eddie. “I told you he still liked her, man.”
Gareth glares at the two of them. “I don’t. It’s just fucking stupid.”
“Mhm. And what was that two minute rant just now, Emerson?” Grant questions as he finishes off the nachos he’d gotten himself.
Gareth shrugs, goes quiet. “Nothing. It just pisses me the fuck off.”
“Mhm, right.” Jeff teases, but it’s gentler. Because he’s still remembering their talk out in Gareth’s garage earlier that afternoon. The one where he admitted that maybe he still liked her but then he immediately went on to list off every single reason why that wasn’t a good idea. And Jeff knows that right now, there’s a lot going on in his best friend’s head.
You make your way down the midway with Max and her friends because they’ve decided to tag along with her and Lucas and as soon as you spot Andy and Jason, you grumble. You give Chrissy a sweet smile and wave. And as the three of them wander over, you grumble under your breath even more about Andy and Jason.
It’s Lucas’ idea to just get in line for the bumper cars since that line is the shortest. So you all get in line for it and somehow, this doesn’t deter Andy or Jason from wandering over.
“Given any thought to what I suggested this afternoon?” Jason’s flashing that megawatt grin. Chrissy mouths an apology to you and speaks up quietly. “If she doesn’t like Andy, she doesn’t like him, Jason…”
“Sweetheart, I’m just trying to help my buddy. Andy really likes her.”
“But she doesn’t like him. Kind of feels like you’re forcing things.”
“I’m not, princess.” Jason says it so smoothly. You watch Chrissy swallow hard, swallow down whatever she was about to say with just the slightest hint of fear and worry in her eyes. You gaze at her a second or two, concerned.
You nudge Max. “If a guy ever treats you like that asshole treats her, run. He’s so controlling. She wanted to come stay last weekend, right? He tells her mother exactly where I live and that Wes has been to jail for an assault charge from an old bar fight and naturally, she couldn’t.”
Max glares at Jason. “Doesn’t surprise me. Not at all.” she mumbles, mostly to herself. She can’t stand him because she can see right through him. So could Billy. That’s why before he left for California last year, he warned Lucas about him. After apologizing for the way he’d treated him, which came as a huge shock to her when he’d done it. She’s almost praying her former step brother comes to visit for the holidays because she’d love to see Billy get his hands on Jason.
Andy’s eyeing you up. You shrink back just a little. Roll your eyes. “My eyes are up here, dirtbag.” you grumble calmly, Andy not even bothering to hide the fact that he was staring at your tits yet again. He chuckles. “I know, darlin. I just can’t–” you shake your head and smirk. “If I were you, I wouldn’t finish that sentence, pig. The answer is still no. Until the day you see Satan himself passing out Icees in hell, that’s gonna be the answer. I mean this, Andy,” you twirl some hair around your finger as you tilt your head to look up at the taller boy, “If you and I were the last hope at repopulating Earth, I’d fling myself right off the face of it. You’re a disgusting perverted asshole.”
“So bitchy.” Andy shakes his head. “You’ll be sorry you said that, darlin.”
You scoff at his warning. “Yeah, no. No I won’t, actually. If you came over here to try and guilt me into double dating, the answer is no. Get Em and Patrick to do it. I’m here with my family, okay? That’s more important, asshole.”
Max smiles just the slightest when you’re not looking to see it.
“And as her stepsister, I don’t want you around me. Got it?” Max speaks up, calm and quiet. Andy scoffs at her, rolling his eyes, “Oh yeah? Well what if your opinion doesn't count, kid?”
“Counts one hell of a lot more than anything you have to say, Andy. You can go now. Buh-bye.” you give him a dismissive little wave.
“You guys stay away from him and his friends, alright? Jason’s going to poison them all and they’re nothing but bullies.” you say it and Max nods. “You don’t have to tell me twice. It worries me that Lucas is on their team and he’s around it.”
You sigh and nod. Glancing over at her boyfriend as Jason wanders over to chat him up and you’ve seen the way it makes his friends scatter. “If he starts to change, do what’s best for yourself.” you fluff her hair. “C’mon. Let’s go collect your date and go find his actual friends and find somewhere to sit for the fireworks.”
“Hey, did Mom say if she was coming by after work with Wes?” Max asks. You shrug. “Wes said he wanted to meet us up here, something about watching fireworks with his girls is definitely better than getting wasted like he used to.” you admit, laughing softly. “Your mom’s really turned my big scary biker dad into a huge teddy bear. I kinda love her for that.” you admit, slipping an arm around Max.
You and Max wander over and you clear your throat. “C’mon kid. We need to find a place to sit for the fireworks. Thought you two might want to find your friends and sit with them too.” you smirk calmly at Jason as you say it, arms crossed over your bare midriff.
“We’ll see you at the gym tomorrow, buddy. We’ll work on that jump shot again. You’re gettin real good.” Jason says it so smoothly, with such a charmers grin too. Lucas grins back. “Okay, see you then.”
As you’re walking off, Max elbows him. “Hey! You know tomorrow is Saturday. You know that’s DnD night, Lucas.”
“And I can do both. Relax, baby. I know. I didn’t forget, okay?”
Max glances at you and sighs, shrugging. But she nods and manages a smile.
You find a spot in the grass and sprawl out, rising up when Emma wanders over with Patrick. You laugh and nod to Emma’s leg. “I’m borrowing your girlfriend’s thigh. I need a pillow, the ground’s hard, man.” Patrick snickers and gives you a thumbs up. “Go ahead, you’re good. You were her friend first.”
“Smart answer, buddy. Real smart answer.” you grin at him. You lean in to Emma and mumble quietly, “Caroline started her bitching earlier.”
“You too, huh? You should’ve heard Patrick when she came at me for eating that deep friend jalapeno. He told her to mind her own damn business, basically.”
You glance from Patrick to Emma and you giggle quietly. “So how’s it feel to live the dream, hm?”
“You could too, y’know.” Emma glances at you and then off into the crowd a little closer to the front and you glance in the direction to find Gareth and his three best friends sitting or sprawled out on the grass and for just a minute, you catch yourself attempting to imagine it before quickly shoving the thought out of his head as you tear your eyes off and look back up at her.
You snort in laughter. “Right, Em. Look, we both know that’s not gonna happen. Besides,” you settle to lay your head in her lap, “Pretty sure if he didn’t hate me for barfing on him back then, he hates me for nearly crushing him tonight.”
Emma scoffs. “Bitch, where? Where are you saying you crushed him, huh? Because he’s not a beanpole for one and two, he’s actually taller.. Sturdier than you.”
You flip her off and shrug. “I hit him pretty damn hard though, that’s where. I’m not saying it about me, I’m saying it because I pretty much football tackled the poor guy…. It was when we were trying to escape fuckin Andy that first time.”
“Still! I doubt he hates you for an accidental crash, woman, jesus christ.” Emma argues.
“Woman, I’m telling you. He was glaring at me. Full on glaring.” you insist.
Emma laughs and shakes her head. Apparently, you haven’t realized that it’s just Gareth’s default facial expression most of the time and in no way does it indicate that he’s angry. Unless he’s yelling, in someone’s face about to shove or just calmly glaring with his fists clenched.
As Mayor Kline gives his long-winded speech about the importance of the holiday, you lounge on the ground, staring up at the stars. Nearby, you can hear Max and her friends talking back and forth and laughing. When you spot your father and Susan making their way in, you wave and nod to the spot in the grass between Max and her friends and you with yours.
Patrick clears his throat. “Either of you want anything? I’m gonna get a snowcone.”
“Please, babe?” Emma asks.
“Cherry coke. Tell ‘em not to skimp on the cherries, please?” you call out.
– ( after the carnival)
The knock on the door of the Munson trailer had the four best friends sharing a look. Eddie palms his face. “I fucking forgot to get my clothes out of Susan’s dryer. Goddamn it.” he grumbles to himself as he puts down his Monopoly piece and puts away his money. “No stealing, shitheads.” he’s calling out over his shoulder as he opens the trailer door.
You instantly regret your decision to just wander over without bothering with the formality of pants and in one of your longer t-shirts when you spot Gareth sitting on the living room floor inside Eddie’s trailer. “Your clothing, dude.” you hold up the taped and overfilled laundry basket. Eddie catches you watching Gareth as Gareth makes himself look at the game board in front of him.
“You can come in and say hi?” Eddie’s taunting remark draws you out of your own head. “Nah man.. Wrestling's on tonight. I was kind of in the middle of watching a real good match with Wes when the dryer went off. I uh..” you shuffle bare feet against the stoop and drag your hands through damp hair, “Better get back over there. Yep. Mhm.” you’re rambling and you want to die, but you do the next best thing instead. You bolt back across the street.
And it’s only when you’re back in the trailer that belongs to your father, Wes and Susan, your stepmom, that you realize somehow, your laundry must’ve gotten mixed in with Eddie’s because you’re trying to find your favorite leopard print bra, the one with the little snakes on it too, and you can’t find it anywhere.
“Just fuckin awesome. First I manage to tackle a guy I’m pretty sure I might have a crush on again and make him hate me, but now, my goofy neighbor Munson knows what one of my bras looks like. Fuck my life.” you groan out dramatically as you fall back against the bed.
And across the road, Eddie’s putting his clothes in his room when he spots it in the pile. He snickers to himself and yes, maybe to fluster Gareth just a little, he slingshots it in Gareth’s direction. “Something for you, buddy.”
“The fuck?” Gareth realizes what it is and his entire body reddens as he shifts the way he sits on the living room floor in front of the Monopoly board. “How the hell’d you get this?”
“Sometimes their shit gets mixed in with ours when I wash clothes.” Eddie shrugs.
Gareth turns the thin garment over in his hands but he’s smart enough to know that his friends are about to start the teasing at any second, so he tosses it back at Eddie. “Idiot.” he grumbles, rolling the dice so that he can take his turn.
Eddie snickers quietly. “Keep it, man.”
“Give it back to her, idiot. Do we really need a reason for those douchebags she’s probably friends with to come looking for us?” Gareth grumbles.
“You realize she kinda hates them, right? Literally Emma and Chrissy are the only people from that crowd she actually likes. Your girl is a loner, Emerson.” Jeff insists but he knows he's talking to a damn brick wall at this rate. Gareth's got his mind made up. And he's definitely wary.
“She’s not my girl.”
“But she could be.” Jeff suggests calmly, glancing across the table at his best friend. Gareth laughs and goes quiet. “Yeah, somehow I doubt that, I mean.. Thanks to my face doing it’s usual thing earlier, she probably thinks I hate her now anyway.”
“I doubt it, man.” Jeff and Grant insist in unison. Eddie just rubs his hand over his face and laughs. “You’re always calling me dramatic, who thinks a girl hates him just because his face does bitchy things on it’s own? Because it’s not me, Emerson. Ya know, the quickest way to clear it up is I dunno, actually talk to her.. Right?”
“Yeah, not happening. You saw her just now when she was at the door with your clothes. She didn’t even look over here. Like at all. It’s not a big deal anyway, school will start soon. She’ll wind up dating one of those assholes. I’ll even bet on it.” Gareth insists.
“Whatever you say, buddy.” Jeff just shrugs.
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