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ashes-writing · 2 years

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wild one pt eleven | stranger things; g.emerson

tag list babes || req rules / fandoms + characters || send me ?s || masterlist

CHAPTERS ;

one + two + three + four + five + six + seven + eight + nine + ten can all be found by clicking. stranger things masterlist is here -it's gonna be updated shortly though.

AUTHORS NOTES;

As you can see, this story still has a chokehold on me. And this part, whew.. It was originally supposed to fall in the angst / hurt comfort category and yet.. Somehow it both did and did not and it's looong as hell too btw. A few things worth nothing here.. This is the first day of school for them. It's also the first Hellfire meeting. And sue me, I decided to throw Erica -and Will / El, into this as well as Max. It fits what I'm going for.

Guys I am still so blown away by you all, I've said it a thousand times, I do not post with any intention beyond getting ideas out of my head so every single time anybody bothers reading it -let alone likes/reblogs/reblogs with tags or comments, it just like... It makes me so happy and it motivates me and I cannot thank you guys enough for it -and for putting up with my ass.

SUMMARY;

-- us against the world.

PAIRING;

Gareth Emerson x Fem!Reader -beyond female parts, outfit descriptors and personality traits I've randomly assigned, she is a mostly blank slate. I'm tryingggg omg.

WARNINGS;

the jocks are the warning. Bullying is heavily implied here. A punch is thrown. Several threats are made. A cheerleader decides to try and get into reader's head. A lil comfort moment. JSYK, Gareth and the two remaining members of Corroded Coffin have all been aged up to 18 so the gang will all graduate together. The Upside Down / deaths / Vecna don't exist for this but bullies and typical teenage stuff does.

TAGLIST;

@allelitesmut

@aurumbelis

@aries-arcade

@cole22ann

@chieflawyerpastatoad

@ebonybloom

@fandomfreakforever

@hcloangcls

@heyaitsklaudia

@hoeshii

@hotgirlsshareaccounts

@icequeen1371

@krys-orion

@letsbedragonstogether

@louderfortheback

@littlestarfighter03

@musichealsscars

@oflavenderandevie

@secretsicanthideanymore

@scoobiessnacks

@suits-and-smirks

@thechoiceslookgrimm

@untitledarea

@untoldshortsofthefandoms are the only ones currently on my taglist. if you'd like to be on it, please click the link up top.

“She can’t be serious.” Caroline grumbles, blinking in disbelief when she spots you wandering into the school building, your step sister in tow.

“Him? I could make an allowance for screwing a freak if it was Munson. But him?” Megan scoffs and shakes her head.

“What the hell is she wearing?” Heather looks from you to Gareth and back again, a hand at her mouth as soon as she realizes what you’re wearing with your jeans and t-shirt. One of Gareth’s flannels. It has sleeves but it has to be his. It’s too big to belong to you. “Oh my goddd. She’s wearing his shirt.”

“Oh god, it gets worse.” Caroline rubs the bridge of her nose and pretends to gag. “Maybe she’ll get knocked up by the freak and have to drop out and then I won’t have to deal with her anymore.” she sighs. “I can dream, I suppose.”

You are completely unaware of the conversation between the other members of your squad because you’ve just spotted Gareth and you’re taking off at a run, flinging yourself at him with your arms around his neck. He’d spent the whole weekend involved in a campaign for DnD that one of Lucas’s invited him to play in, so you hadn’t seen him a lot because you spent most of that time babysitting or helping Angel out at the bar for some quick cash.

Gareth chuckles, an arm slipping around your waist to keep you steady, deepening the kiss as you pull his mouth against your own. “Hello to you too, sugar.”

You yawn as you lean against him, your forehead against the front of his flannel. He’s gone from an arm around your waist to holding onto both of your hands while you melt against him. “They start this shit show too early.”

Gareth chuckles at this. “We did stay up til two on the phone.”

“I wanted to hear you win the campaign, okay?” you pout when you look up at him. He chuckles and brushes his lips against your forehead. “How’s your back today? Max kinda told me about the spider in the shower incident. Plus I heard it. You have a really loud scream, y'know that?”

“I swear, Max can’t keep a secret to save her damn life. So she told you I nearly tore down the damn bathroom because Satan’s little pet was spying on me in the shower, hm?” you grumble, but you turn your back to face Gareth so he can raise up the flannel and your Motorhead shirt beneath it.

He laughs, “She kind of had to. I heard the noise in the background when she answered the phone last night.” He hisses and grimaces as he sets sight on the huge purpling bruise on your side. “Jesus christ! Babe, how in the hell..” he grazes a fingertip against the bruise gingerly, “Did you let Susan or Wes look at this?” he asks in concern.

“When I slipped while yanking down the shower curtain and it’s rod, I fell back into that tub in the bathroom me and Max are sharing.” you explain. “Susan looked at it, gave me some ice to put on it. Hurts like hell. She said if it starts to swell any worse or anything or it keeps hurting, she’ll take me to a doctor.”

“Shit.” Gareth shakes his head.

“Mhm.” you admit, yawning again as you turn back to face him and lean against him, nuzzling your nose into his neck. “You’re warm.” you mutter sleepily.

He tenses suddenly and you glance up just in time to spot Caroline, Megan and Heather staring in your direction. You roll your eyes and pay them no mind.

However, when the teacher peeking out into the hall catches you practically draped against your boyfriend and clears her throat, giving you a lecture about ladylike behavior and being too free with affection, you’re all sweet smiles and sheepish apologies until she’s back inside her classroom and then you’re mimicking her speech with perfect pitch.

“Can you believe that old bat is making us do that flour sack kid thing? I’m still struggling to figure out why I signed up for Home Ec.” you’re laughing when you say it. Gareth laughs. “You didn’t, remember? Even sending Wes up here to talk to them about letting you take auto shop class was shot down.”

“Yeah. I still can’t believe that he didn’t intimidate them into letting me somehow.” you’re pouting a little.

A throat clears almost obnoxiously behind you both and you turn to find yourselves face to face with Andy.

Gareth clenches a fist. He’s still itching to get his hands on Andy for three nights ago when you went to pick up Susan from her shift at the diner because Andy cornered you in the parking lot. He wanted to go and kill him that night, he was halfway out the door of his parents house to go find him at the ballfield where they hang out on the courts most of the time, but you barely managed to talk him out of it.

“You want something, Weber?” Gareth pulls you against him so close that there’s no space left between your bodies. Andy chuckles. “Y’know, sooner or later, she’s gonna get bored, Emerson.”

You try to step up to him but Gareth’s arms have an iron-clad grip around your waist. “Ah-ah. What was that you told me the other night when I wanted to kill him, babe?” he mutters against the shell of your ear. Getting obnoxiously close and touchy just to really rub it in with Andy.

Andy clenches his fists.

You clear your throat. “Why are you still standing here, shit for brains? I don’t play with boys when I can have a real man.”

When you say it, Gareth’s face flushes just slightly. And he bites back a groan because your body melts back against his even more.

He clears his throat and speaks up. “If I were you, Weber… I’d seriously consider leaving now. Because I wanted to fucking kill you when you cornered her outside the diner a few nights ago and honestly?” he taps his fist against his palm as he makes himself taller with a defiant smirk on his face, “I still really, really wanna.”

Andy steps up. This traps you between the two until Gareth pulls you back behind him and smirks. “Try it, Weber. C’mon..” he coaxes. “I dare you.”

“Oh I will, Emerson. But not here.” Andy’s eyes are darting around the hallway and he smirks. “You won’t be expecting it when it happens either.”

“Bullshit!” Jeff coughs to cover the word but it doesn’t work. He smirks at Andy and steps forward a little. Of the two boys, Jeff has height on Andy. And he knows that when in doubt, crazy works. So when he pretends to lunge, he snarls a little. Andy walks away and Jeff taunts calmly, “That’s right, Andy boy. We all know why you won’t fight either one of us.”

“The fuck, man? I had that.” Gareth grumbles, glaring at Jeff.

“Yeah, that’s exactly why I did that. You had time to calm down a little and you didn’t bash his skull in on the hallway floor, right?” Jeff points out with a mild shrug. “Nobody got expelled or killed.”

“I’m still going to get my hands on him sooner or later. Shit isn’t funny, the way he shows up whenever ___ is alone somewhere.”

“You do realize I chased him with a pool stick and he hightailed it… Right?” you ask as you snuggle against your boyfriend’s back. Gareth turns to face you so that you’re snuggled against his chest instead. “And you shouldn’t have fuckin done that, baby. What if he hadn’t run? Hm?”

You bite your lip and give him your best big-eyed expression. Gareth shakes his head calmly. “We’ve talked about this, babe. I’ll handle him.”

“But..” you start to argue but Gareth shakes his head firmly. “No buts.”

“No fair and no fun.” you grumble, making him laugh. “I’m not lettin you get hurt.”

“He’s got one brain cell to spare, baby. How? How is he gonna hurt me? He’s a chickenshit idiot.”

Gareth chuckles, shaking his head. “Give me begging eyes all you want, sugar. It’s just not gonna happen. Got it?”

“Fiiiiiine.” you grumble in a lower tone, “You and that stupid sexy firm tone.” which has him biting back a quiet groan when he hears you, his face all flushed.

“So that’s what Eddie was talking about.” he mumbles, mostly to himself. And this only flusters you, of course, that he’s noticed that certain tones he takes with you seem to make you calm down or behave.

Jeff and Grant are about to fall over laughing and Jeff asks Gareth through laughter, “You good? Hey.. Look.. Just don’t let that go to your head, man.”

– ( around lunchtime )

“Do you think she’s screwing the freak?” Caroline wonders aloud, a disgusted look on her face. “I mean, look at ‘em. They can’t keep their damn hands off each other. It’s disgusting.”

“She has his shirt. And last week at the mall, she had those hickies on her throat… If she hasn’t yet, she wants to. I mean look at her, it’s disgusting. He’s only with her because he can’t do any better than her and she’s only with him because she knows nobody else will have her.” Megan sips her chocolate milk as she stares at the table you’re sitting at.

What makes this whole thing so much worse in their eyes is since you’ve apparently decided that you’re not going to sit with the usual table this year, this has now given that weak little so-called captain Chrissy and your shared best friend Emma the audacity to abandon the table also. “They’re all traitors. And you know Jason isn’t going to stand for it, when he sees where she’s sitting, he’s going to have something to say about it. All we’re trying to do is keep the peace. Be a team. And it’s always those three, every single time. They always go against us.”

“I wish our old coach hadn’t ever let her, Emma or Chrissy on the damn team. The good news is our new coach hates the three of them.” Caroline smirks as she says it. “So maybe, we can find a way to use that to our advantage.” Caroline rubs her chin as she thinks it over. “I mean… she’s looking for any excuse to strip the title of Captain off Chrissy, you guys heard her.”

Jason wanders into the cafeteria and the second he spots Chrissy sitting with you and Emma over at the Hellfire table, he’s furious. Oh, he hides it, of course, but he’s only barely hiding it. He walks over and stops beside you three, clearing his throat. “Ladies, I think all three of you are a little lost?”

You and Emma share a look before bursting into laughter. “Uh, not that we’re aware?” you retort. Gareth doesn’t really stop to think about the implications of where his hands happen to be on your body at the time and neither do you. But he’s tense because Jason’s around and it never fails to piss him off when a jock pops up, so his fingers are kind of digging into the sides of your thighs since you’re sitting on the table in front of him.

“There are rules for that. Knock it off. Just because you have disgusting taste, ____. This doesn’t mean we should all have to see it…” Jason nods his head to Gareth’s hands and where they happen to be on your body in disdain before turning to Chrissy. “C’mon, princess. Let’s get back to our table.”

Chrissy’s response shocks everyone present.

She gazes up at him for a few seconds, seems to be thinking it over. You’re half assuming that she’ll do what he says because she usually does, just because she’s afraid to try breaking up with him again because of what happened the one and only time she tried to last year, but you’re wrong.

“I’m talking to my friends.” Chrissy says it with a firmer tone than usual and she takes a sip of her milk. “I want to sit here.”

“Leave these whores to whatever they’re over here doing. They’re going to drag you down, princess.” Jason’s voice is starting to veer more towards angry calm than calm and collected and as soon as you and Emma pick up on it, you share a concerned look.

Eddie breaks the silence. “Get fucked, Carver. None of us are bothering you. And there’s no law that says they have to sit there if they don’t want to.” and the smirk he gives Jason as he says it has Jason furious. “What’d you say to me, freak?”

Eddie has height on Jason. So he stands taller. Arms folded over his chest. Gazing down at him with a calm smirk. “You heard me, jockstrap. Or do I need to say it slower..” he chuckles, stepping closer, “So it sinks into that pea sized brain of yours, hm?”

“You’re the third time senior and you’re saying I have a pea brain, Munson? That’s rich.” Jason snorts, stepping up to Eddie. Smirking. “Real rich, comin from you, freak trash.”

“What’d you say to him?” Jeff is standing. Arms folded. Calm smirk. “You might wanna get back across the lunchroom, asshole.”

Gareth stands and gives a dry chuckle. “Unless you idiots just want your asses beaten to a pulp by us ‘freaks’ today. Because honestly, I’m dying to get my hands on one of you anyway.” as he says it, his voice raises and he locks eyes with Andy, smirking.

“Fuck it. I’ve been to Saturday detention a time or two, I don’t mind goin back.” Grant is standing too. Fists clenched. Smirking down at Jason.

Mike, Will, Lucas and Dustin share a look. Of the four, Mike, Will and Dustin stand. Max is gaping at Lucas and she shakes her head. “I can’t freaking believe you right now, they’re your friends.” she gestures at the three boys sitting opposite the two of them. “Have you lost your mind, Lucas Sinclair?”

“Do you seriously want to start this, man?” Mike gives Jason a mild shrug as he goes silent. “You’re clearly outnumbered here.” Will is smirking when he says it. Dustin chuckles and steps up beside Eddie, “You were saying, Carver?”

Chrissy’s breath catches in her throat.

Eddie’s probably one of exactly three people who seem to actually care about her well-being lately. He’s the one who was calm and rational with her a few nights ago when she sought him out hoping maybe he had something strong enough just to help her sleep at night. He let her sit in his trailer, explained to her what might happen. He even smoked with her just so she wasn’t all alone on this particular night and he was sweet about it. No judgment, nothing. Every time she’s tried to tell Jason how bad things are lately, he just tells her she’s fine and it’ll be okay. He doesn’t try to help or reassure her, he doesn’t seem to care. Eddie cared. Eddie listened. The last thing she wants is for Eddie to suffer because he makes the mistake to stand up for her. And she has no doubt in her mind, Jason will make sure he does.

“Okay, alright. I’ll go. I…” Chrissy calls out to Jason because all she can think is that he’ll do something, a fight will start and Eddie will wind up expelled.

“Chris, no.” you call out, shaking your head. “She was so close too.”

“Chrissy, damn it, he does this every fucking time.” Emma rubs her forehead. “I wish a meteorite would fall on your fuckin head, Carver. I really do.” Emma glares up at Jason’s turned back as she grumbles, flipping him off.

“Every single time she tries to get away, ugh.” you sigh and shake your head. “I mean, I get how he’s doing it and I know she’s scared because of it, but it still pisses me off. Because he knows what’ll work on her. It’s disgusting.” you frown and shake your head. “I wonder what would happen if someone anonymously went to like.. Hopper or somebody with his shit?” you muse, gazing at Chrissy across the cafeteria.

“I’m putting Ben Gay on his jockstrap. That’s it, I’m done with the way people just listen to him and eat up his every single fucking word. How does no one see he’s fucking poison?” Emma’s rant catches Eddie’s attention and he gazes at her quietly. Curious.

“You see it too, huh?” Eddie asks quietly, nodding to Jason.

“I’ve seen it since kindergarten? The asshole tried to kiss my cheek and I didn’t want cooties at the time, so I shoved him into a mudhole when he kept following me and trying to corner me. Then he starts to cry and has the teacher believing I shoved him for no reason!” Emma throws up her hand in frustration.

“Look, we only have to deal with their childish bullshit for a few more months and then we’re all out of this hellhole.” Grant speaks up quietly. Glancing at the two of you. Gareth nods in agreement, scooting you forward on the table a little.

“If I don’t go to prison first.” you and Emma both say it in unison. This has both Gareth and Eddie groaning at the same time as they palm their faces.

Mike raises a brow. “Why are either of you complaining? You’re both popular.”

Will gives him an elbow, shaking his head and Mike gestures at the two of you. “It’s true though! They’re not the ones getting shoved into lockers or…”

Gareth clears his throat, shooting Mike a warning glare and Mike glares right back. “Look, all I’m saying is from where Dustin, Will and I sit, you two have it made.”

You and Emma share a look.

“Whatever you think, Mikey.” you answer calmly. You see where he’s coming from, but what they go on to tell you next has you furious upon hearing it. Gaping. Because you knew that the jocks and the other girls on your squad were shitty human beings, but you didn’t know just how shitty they all were.

“I’m not wrong, though… Do they shove you guys into lockers? Or chase you home after school when you’re on a bike and they have cars to do it?” Mike states, despite Will shaking his head and elbowing him a time or two. “We said we weren’t saying anything, damn it. We were going to handle it, Mike.”

“Yeah? Well I just got sick of hearing these two, alright? They’re popular, they don’t know how shitty the other side of it all is, Will. Maybe they need t’ know.” Mike’s outburst has everyone at the table staring at him.

“They did what now?” Emma’s gaping. Glancing over at the jock table in the front of the lunch room. “Okay, kid.. You’ve got six seconds to start pointing fingers.” she taps her wrist patiently. “I need names, Mike, spit them out now.”

“Holy christ.. Max, are they doing this shit to you and El?” you’re gaping, glancing at your step sister across the table expectantly. Max shakes her head. “Not since El nailed Caroline’s sister in the head with that skate at the roller rink last year.”

“Will? Dustin?” you’re gazing from Will to Dustin, waiting. They don’t have older siblings, but since they’re always around Max, you worry about them too.

Dustin sighs, shoulders slumped. “They chased me and Will up to the hill last week. When we were going to try to power up Cerebro and see if we could tune it, get it to work for the AV Club meeting.”

“Does your mom know, kid?” you ask both boys. “Answer me.”

“If she doesn’t, she’s going to. I’ll make sure Gretchen tells Joyce when Joyce comes in for her usual trim in a few days. Perks of being the bookie at my mom’s salon, kid.” Emma gives Will a mild shrug. Will gulps. “No. I haven’t told her. You don’t have to, alright? We’ll… We’ll figure something out.”

“Don’t you have like… two brothers in our grade also? Have you even considered telling either of them?”

Will shakes his head when you ask him the question.

Max speaks up. “The point here, Mike.. ____ and Emma are not like them. Like, at all. Maybe if you’d pull your head out of your butthole, you’d see that.”

Eddie’s glaring daggers at the jock table because until Mike’s outburst, he didn’t have the first clue what the jocks were doing to the younger members of Hellfire. But now that he knows, he’s furious. Seething. Dying to get his hands on the jocks.

“Okay, here’s what you little shits are gonna do, alright? Next time they approach you, find one of us. I don’t care who. Just one of us. We’re gonna fix this shit, okay, kids?” Eddie speaks up. The younger teenagers all nod.

Lucas is conflicted.

And he feels like shit, because since he made the basketball team, he’s immune to the teasing and taunting. Clearly, his friends haven’t been and suddenly, the way they all seem tense around him makes perfect sense. And they normally tell him everything and yet, they haven’t told him any of this.

“Did you know any of this, Lucas?” Max asks, thinking about her conversation with you on the night of the Independence Day Carnival. Your warning. And it hurts, but lately, Lucas hasn’t been acting like the boy she cares so much about. And he’s barely been around his friends. Dustin, Mike and Will had to plead with him to ditch the team at the courts over the weekend to play DnD with them and Hellfire.

“No.” Lucas insists, gaping. “If..”

Max studies him intently, arms folded. “You’re sure? I mean… they’re your best friends, Lucas. How did you not notice it, hm?”

“We didn’t tell him because we know how much it meant for him to make the team, okay? We didn’t wanna…” Mike takes a deep breath, rubbing his face. “We didn’t wanna make him feel like he had to quit. Besides, we’re all gonna grow apart a little.”

“Bullshit, Mike.” Max insists. “You should have said something before now.”

“She’s right.” El speaks up quietly. “All of you. Friends don’t lie, remember?”

“El, c’mon.. We didn’t lie. We just handled it ourselves.” Mike pleads. But El is shaking her head. “It’s still a lie, Mike. Not telling is almost the same.” she gives Max a questioning look and Max nods. “It is.”

“And that’s not a smart idea with those assholes. Listen to me, little shits, alright? I’ve been around long enough to know what they’re capable of. Find a fucking adult adjacent person from now on. Even if it’s me or one of the guys.. Or even the two hellions present.” Eddie gestures to himself and the rest of his friends and then at you and Emma as he goes quiet. “I mean it. Are we clear, little shits?” he repeats himself firmly. “I can’t believe you three. Just gonna keep quiet and let them keep winning.” he’s shaking his head.

“Okay, shit.” Mike mumbles.

“I told you to keep your damn mouth shut, Wheeler.” Dustin grumbles. “Okay. We will.”

Will nods quietly. “We didn’t want to start anything.”

“I know, kid. But jesus, you’re all part of this club. If they’re messing with you, speak up.” Eddie gives the quieter boy a smile.

– ( cheerleading practice / hellfire meeting )

“I believe you two owe me something?” Coach Gentry corners you and Emma as you make your way into the gymnasium. The two of you share a look and Emma speaks up. “The pledge, right?”

Coach Gentry smirks. “I knew you two would come around. Go on, let’s have them.”

You laugh as you take it and tear it up.

Emma follows suit.

Coach Gentry grumbles, her patience worn thin. “All you have to do is sign the paper.”

“Nope.”

“Not happening.” you shrug, “Sorry.”

“Twenty five rounds around the gym. Both of you. Perhaps this will change your attitudes and help you remember what being part of a team means.”

“I think you should make them play in the powderpuff game this Friday.” Caroline is smirking when she says it, glancing at you and Emma. “Since neither of you ever bother signing up to play. Ooh, and what about the school carnival coming up in two weeks? Maybe they need to be made to do clean up, Coach Gentry?”

The coach is smirking.

If looks could kill, the look you’re giving Caroline Owens would have her six feet deep. Your jaw clenches.

“She does have a good point. Neither of you have ever participated in anything other than the Homecoming Parade, the food drive, the tutoring program last year and the car wash over the summer. I’m not your previous coach. There will be a bond with this team.”

“Seriously? Because we’re not up their ass working kissing booths?” Emma fumes as the two of you start to run around the court. You’re focused on just how much you want to strangle Caroline when you’re done with laps. As the two of you complete your last round and collapse in the bleachers, the coach wanders over with a fresh copy of the pledge for each of you.

Sharing a look, you both take it.

As the coach walks away, Emma nudges you. “You’re not signing this one either, right?”

“Nope. She can absolutely rot in hell.” you answer calmly.

“Good. I’m not signing either. She can’t make us do anything. And if she tries to throw us off for some bullshit reason, we’ll just quit.”

“After Friday, Em..” you start, trailing off. Emma nods and sighs. “It’s kinda sad, y’know? It’s all so fucked up. I mean we wanted to be like Veronica Sinclair and Danielle Wesson, remember? They were popular but they were truly nice people. We thought it was going to be so much fun.”

“Yeah, well.. We were idiots. When Veronica came home to wash clothes and spend the weekend, I talked to her. She said that she wanted to tell us both not to try out. I think that’s why she hammered it in so heavy when she was coaching us before tryouts that we didn’t need to let it change who we are. When I told her about the new coach, she said she’d talk to her mom or something, I think Mrs. Sinclair was on cheer or the old dance team back in the day.”

“Sucks.. Because if she’s going to talk to her mom about taking over the squad, I feel like neither of us will still be on it by the time that time rolls around.” Emma muses quietly. “Because after the stupid powderpuff game on Friday and the pep rally, I’m kinda done.”

“Me too. And there’s no way Mrs. Sinclair will get Coach Gentry to quit. And there’s no way we can run her off…” you trail off, going quiet.

Caroline shoves a clipboard into your hands and you and Emma sign up for the back to school powderpuff football game on Friday. She smirks. “This is going to be so much fun!”

“She doesn’t realize my father taught me a proper tackle when I was like… Five..” you’re laughing and shaking your head. Emma smirks, “Or that my mother taught me how to throw a ball so hard I can hit someone’s nose from a pretty fair distance. I mean.. They’re going into it to hurt us, so why not.. Right?”

“Exactly.” you laugh and pull yourself off the bleachers, holding out your hand to Emma. “C’mon. Let’s go shower and go down to the drama classroom.”

“Going to be a certain drummer’s personal cheerleader, hm?” Emma teases, but only partially.

“Maaybe.” you’re laughing softly. The laughter dies when you wander into the showers to find that your change of clothes has been soaked in water, the shower still turned on.

Emma’s swearing from behind you, holding out soaked jeans and a t-shirt. “They got you too, huh?”

You spot the red lipstick on your locker.

“Freaks Slut.” you laugh as you read it out loud. “Is this.. I mean is this all they can come up with? I always thought they were sharing one brain cell, now I know it.” you roll your eyes at the lipstick graffiti.

The door bursts open and Caroline laughs. “Aww.. what happened?”

Emma throws her wet clothing at Caroline and you walk over, stepping up to her. Smirking. “I could kick your ass, y’know. I could, but I’m not. Not yet.”

“Y’know, if I bat my lashes, he won’t want you anymore, right? He’s only dating you because you’re popular. Imagine if he thought he could have me… I mean…. We all know I’m better.” Caroline’s words are discarded as best as you can and you raise a hand as if you’re going to slap her. She grabs your wrist and smirks. “Who knows.. Maybe I will try my luck with him… I mean… Why should you have all the fun, right?”

You pull your wrist out of her grip and you shove her up against the locker, glaring hatefully. Maybe her words do bother you on some level. Maybe they’re kind of sitting heavy in your mind, but… You’re more pissed than anything that she just assumes she can do whatever the hell she wants with no consequence, especially with your boyfriend. Just because it worked on other guys, she thinks she can keep doing it and she can keep being gross and nobody will ever do anything to her about it. It disgusts you, it always has. She’s no better than the assholes on the football or basketball team who assume that if you smile at them one time, you want to crawl into their backseat. It’s just another reason you’re quitting the team as soon as Friday is behind you.

You’ve got a hold on her gray Hawkins Phys.Ed shirt and you slam her back against the locker a little, laughing. “You think so, hm?”

“Aw… are you upset now, ___? Wanna go cry like you used to?” Caroline taunts, smirking. Shoving at you. You stumble back but regain your balance and step up to her again. Her back meets the locker this time and it’s harder. You’ve got a hand at her throat when she smirks. “I’d rather die than let him anywhere near me. No worries, sweetheart. I mean… make no mistake. You were worried.”

You let her go and take a deep breath or two, but then that second wave of anger hits you as she’s walking over to her own locker so you decide you can’t just let it go, you have to do something. You tap her shoulder and when she turns, you send a right hook smashing into her nose.

“You bitch!” she’s got her hands on her nose, blood seeping through her fingers. “Oops.” you shrug calmly, “My fist slipped, sweets. Force yourself on him if you want, Caroline. I mean we all know you do it with everybody else because if not, nobody would touch you... But if I find out about it? Your nose is gonna be the least of your worries.” you’re glaring at her. A hand on your hip.

“It won’t be forcing if he likes it, ____. And we both know he will. He’s gonna get tired of you. You know it and I know it. You’re just a stopping point until someone better comes along.” she’s holding tissues to her nose and shouting at you as you walk out of the locker room.

Once you’re out in the hallway with Emma, she nods to the closed door at your back. “I think we both know what’s gotta happen, trouble. This shit?” she gestures to the door again, “This is not what we signed up for when we made the team. It’s just not worth it anymore. I know I said I didn’t want to miss the parties but fucking hell… This is too far out of hand. They’re like a nest of vipers.”

“Yeah. You’re right. We’re sticking around long enough to play in that stupid game against them on Friday and then we’re done.” you nod in agreement. “Because I want to tackle Owens one good time.”

“Ditto.”

The two of you take really deep breaths and wander down the hall, the squeak of your sneakers the only sound until you’ve turned down the hallway that the drama class is on. Emma stops in front of the door.

“You’re okay… Right? Like… you know Caroline Owens is full of shit, don’t you?”

You manage a weak smile and nod. And while you know she is, there are some parts of you that wonder… What if she’s not wrong? It’s just in your head and you’re doing your best to shake it out.

“Girl..”

“What?”

“Stop thinking about it, she’s full of shit okay? You’re amazing. And if there comes a time where he can’t see that, it’s his own problem.. Not yours, alright?”

“Okay, alright, shit.” you roll your eyes. “No need to get all fucking emotional about it, woman.”

“I’m gonna have to kick your ass again, aren’t I?” Emma asks, laughing softly. Shaking her head. “The woman has yellow teeth and a bird beak for a nose. Not to mention that one eye that kind of crosses itself sometimes, oh and, and.. She smells like mothballs… You’re seriously going to rake yourself through the coals about what she said?”

“Emma, I’m not, alright? I mean it.”

There’s a small chance that you might have been lying a little, but you seem convincing enough that Emma relaxes.

The two of you wander into the drama classroom and flop into empty chairs. Back out of the way so you’re not disrupting, but Eddie clears his throat, nodding to the table. “If you’re going to come in, come closer so you can watch the game unfold, huh?”

Emma’s giggling. “This guy would be an amazing ringmaster.” she mumbles, making you laugh a little. You drag your chairs over, sitting them by Gareth and Emma sits her chair in between Eddie and the Henderson kid.

Gareth can just tell something is bothering you. That you’re trying to pretend it’s not. So when Eddie calls for a break for a few minutes to grab drinks from the vending machine or snacks, he corners you when it’s just the two of you in the hallway.

“Hey.. C’mon, baby. Start talkin.” he’s pleading, stepping close. Doing that thing where he stands taller and dominates any sliver of space left between your bodies. You laugh softly. “It’s dumb. Trust me.”

“Ah-ah.. Out with it, sugar. Now.” he’s pleading in a firm tone again, caressing your cheeks. You roll your eyes and cringe as you tell him what happened in the locker room and what Caroline said to you as it happened. He’s gaping by the time you’re done, a disgusted look in his eyes. “She seriously said that.”

But then it clicks. It got to you for whatever reason.

He’s figured out by now that you’re not nearly as confident or as bold as you pretend to be ninety nine percent of the time. He pulls you against him, arms around you. “You’re the girl I want, alright? I mean that, sugar.” his forehead settles against yours. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” you melt against him, taking a few shaky breaths. He sees you blinking because you’re trying not to cry and he lets you lean your head against his neck with your arms around him. “ ‘S okay, baby. I mean it.” he coaxes, calm and patient. “Shhh.”

You take a few more shaky breaths and pull away a little, wiping at your eyes. “Sorry.” you mumble.

“Babe, it’s okay.”

“I know, I just hate it when I get so frustrated or upset that I wind up crying.”

Gareth chuckles, his hands on either side of your face as his forehead settles against yours. “It’s okay. It’s better that you told me than just keeping it in.”

You nod.

“Do you feel better?” he asks, gazing at you in concern.

“Yeah.” you smile, a weak grin, but it’s real. Not strained like when you came into the classroom twenty minutes ago.

Caroline is glaring when she walks past you both in the hallway.

Gareth knows it’s probably low-hanging fruit, but he really wants to say something, so she knows that he’s not an option, even if it’s just to get under your skin. “It’s a shame.” he calls out to her, stopping her. She’s giving him a little pout and your fist clenches. Gareth smirks and continues, “Punch still didn’t help the beak situation, huh?”

“Fuck yourself, Emerson.”

“I’d resort to my hand before I ever tried to come to you. You’re kind of a doorknob, Owens.”

“What did you call me?”

“A doorknob. Everybody takes a turn?” Gareth shrugs and you’re leaning against him just so you don’t double over laughing and make the situation worse or anything.

“Asshole.” Caroline grumbles.

“Never said I wasn’t. If you’re smart you’ll leave my girl alone, alright?”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” Gareth smirks. “You won’t like what happens if you don’t.”

“What are you gonna do, hm? Hit me?” Caroline gazes at you, “You see what you’re with, right? He just threatened me. Was he really worth punching me over, ___? Think a little. We’re only trying to help you out here. There are girls that would kill to be where you and Emma are and yet both of you are constantly destroying the bond between us girls. We’re supposed to be closer, not two against the rest of us.”

“He never said he’d lay a hand on you. Now me, Owens..” you step away from Gareth a little, stepping towards her. She backs up and you laugh. “Go home and fix your nose, Owens. You’re a waste of fucking time. The fact that you call yourselves a team is a joke. This isn’t what I signed up for. This is bullshit.”

“ The coach knows what you did and you’re probably going to get Saturday detention.” Caroline smirks. You shrug. “And? You act as if I’m supposed to be scared. Look, I’m sick of you. Sick of the bullshit. Detention is worth it if I get to punch you.”

Everyone is wandering back from the vending machines and you notice that Emma isn’t wearing Patrick’s lettermans jacket anymore. Not only that, she’s holding her hand against her chest.

“What the hell happened?” you ask, gazing at her in concern.

“Your friend, ah..” Eddie’s snickering. Emma takes over, rolling her eyes. “Let me tell my story, lug.” she’s laughing at him and shaking her head. “Patrick started to bitch because a) I’m at a Satanic cult meeting apparently, and b) I tore the pledge up again. So we started to fight. He admitted that he only wanted to date me because he has some bet going with one of the guys.”

“Okay but how’d you hurt your hand?” you nod to her hand and she laughs. “I-I.. shit, trouble, you know how bad I am at expressing my anger and frustration. I was going to punch him but I just.. I couldn’t. So I hit the locker.”

“But then she threw the damn jacket at him so hard it made his nose bleed because a button caught it.” Eddie’s now given up on holding back his laughter as he gazes down at Emma and shakes his head. Emma is flipping him off.

“I’m not the one who chose to hit a locker instead of the target of my frustration.” Eddie shrugs.

“I’m a pacifist, damn it. Gretchen is the one with the rage.”

“Pacifist my ass, Emma.” you’re laughing and moving back a little, settling back against Gareth. “You weren’t a pacifist this summer when you and Megan tied up at cheer camp.”

“She caught me on a bad day.”

“My ass. I think we both know you’re full of it. Pacifist. Riiight.” you’re laughing.

Mike clears his throat.

“Remember when you said to tell you if they’re gonna mess with us? There’s a truck full of jocks outside in the parking lot. Erica.. She was out there but Will spotted her and snuck out, got her in the back way. Now you know.” he says it as he turns to walk away.

“Who the hell is Erica?” Eddie rubs his chin, confused.

Dustin and Erica Sinclair turn the corner in the hallway with Will, all three out of breath. “They’re outside. All of ‘em.”

Eddie chuckles. Then he nods to Erica. “Who is this? Do I look like a babysitter, kid?”

“You told us to find more people.” Mike scoffs. “We found more people.”

“I meant in high school. Not with bedtimes, Wheeler.” Eddie rubs his temples, shaking his head.

“Next time be more specific, holy shit!” Mike throws up his hands. Will speaks up. “I can vouch for her, okay? She’s good. She played with me, Max and Lucas a few times when everybody else was gone or busy. We’ve uh… we’ve been teaching her.”

Eddie eyes the 11 year old warily and grumbling about it, he pushes open the door of the drama classroom.

“What about the assholes outside?” Mike asks in concern.

“We’ll sneak you guys out the back if we have to.” Eddie answers. “But the rest of us are going out the front, so all I can say is peddle like your lives depend on it. Or go hide in my van, fuck.. Guess I’ll drop you all off or something…”

“If you can’t fit them all, I’m stuck driving Gretchen’s big piece of shit Blazer.” Emma shrugs.

Everyone settles down around the table again and you wind up being pulled into Gareth’s lap at some point during the game. And then, when he rolls a good number, he won’t let you even think about removing yourself and you laugh.

One day filled with hurdles and annoying bullshit down. Quite a few more left. But maybe, you think to yourself, maybe everything will be okay…

– ( after the meeting )

Everyone is letting the energy out that they’ve held back for a few hours by the time the campaign is over for the night. Erica is excited, talking loud a mile a minute and Dustin is chuckling in amusement. Gareth wraps his arm around you, pulling you into his side. Max is talking with El, Mike and Will, fuming about a fight she had earlier with Lucas when he decided to blow off the first meeting of a club he’s been invited to so he could go play basketball with douchebags.

Eddie stops everyone at the door. “Guys, c’mon. Let’s see if the douchebags left, shall we?”

Gareth pulls away and smirks at you. “Stay put. I mean it, baby.”

“Gare…”

“Stay put. You and Emma keep them inside. They’ve been doing this to us since fucking sophmore year. We’re kinda used to it now.”

Erica nudges you and nods to Gareth’s retreating back as she smiles. “Did you finally tell him?”

You smile and nod. “I did.”

“Good. I told you, didn’t I?”

“Okay, little old lady.” you’re joking.

“Hey, what’s going on out there?” Emma nudges Will and Will peeks out the door.

“I think we might be lucky tonight. I think they’re gone.”

“If they’re not, tell me. Me and ____ will go out. This is probably all our faults, sitting with you guys at lunch earlier.”

“They’ve been doing this for weeks now, it’s not your fault. Either of you.” Will states quietly. Mike nods in agreement. “I’m sorry about earlier. I was just frustrated.”

“We get it, kid.” Emma shrugs.

“Yeah, we get it.” you add quietly. Smiling at the younger boys.

Eddie peeks back in. “They just left. One of the girls who stayed over for band stopped me and told me if we’re going, we need to book it. So everybody grab a ride. Probably a better idea if we don’t let you guys go home on your own tonight.”

“C’mon, Max. You and El and Will can ride with me and Gareth.”

“I live down the street from Henderson and Sinclair, Munson. I can take them home. We might even stop for ice cream since my little buddy nailed your asses to a wall in there.” Emma suggests, high-fiving Erica who smirks and sticks out her tongue at Eddie. Eddie chuckles. “It was luck. We’ll see how good you really are at the next one, huh?”

Erica claps her hands. “Really?”

“Yeah, why not. Fuck it.” Eddie chuckles.

Eddie and Mike gaze at each other warily. “Looks like you’re going with me, kid.”

“Will, I’ll call you and El when I make it in. We’ll talk about the thing with Lucas.” Mike calls out to his friends.

“Do it on the com. Patch me in, dude. I’m fucking livid.” Dustin calls out from the passenger side of Emma’s mom’s Blazer before getting in.

Gareth holds out his hands to you. “Keys, babe?”

“Oh come onnnn. I’m not that bad.”

“I love you but I have to disagree. You are.” Gareth is teasing and you pout but you put the keys into his hand.

Max, Will and Eleven settle into the backseat and as soon as you’re all in the car, you turn to look at Max. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just upset. Disappointed. Pissed. I can’t believe he really did that.”

“You know what we talked about, Max.”

She nods. “I know.”

Eleven speaks up. “Maybe he had a good reason.”

Will nods, agreeing. “Maybe..”

“ Call him when you get home, Max. Talk to him.”

“I dunno. He’s acting different lately. He tried to defend them earlier when we were all talking about the shit they’ve been doing to us. He tried to defend them.”

“Maybe he’s just lost, red. Give him a little time.” Gareth speaks up, catching her eyes in the rearview. “If he doesn’t come around though, I think maybe ___ is right.”

“Yeah. I hate it, but yeah.” Max takes a deep breath.

Once the Hopper-Byers cabin comes into view, Will and Eleven are climbing out. “We’ll call you later, Max!”

“Yeah.”

The ride back to the trailer you and Max live in, where Gareth’s truck is parked, is quiet. At one point, Gareth reaches down and puts his hand on your thigh, squeezing. “You’re okay, right? It’s not still getting to you?”

“No baby.”

And it’s not. You lean across and kiss him on the cheek, then you lean your head against him. “What a first day, huh?”

“Yeah, well.. The shit you saw happen is the usual. I mean, kind of.” Gareth laughs. “It’s not a big deal.”

“No, it’s not. They shouldn’t be able to just get away with this shit. I swear its like this whole damn town is so sports obsessed that they turn a blind eye to anything Jason and his band of assholes do. It’s always been this way and I hate it.” you frown. Gareth laughs. “It’s not gonna matter in a few months anyway, remember? We’ll be out of it.”

“Finally.” you answer, laughing.

He pulls your car to a stop behind Wes’s K5 and Max spots Lucas, grumbling to herself. You stop her.

“Hey.. Take a few deep breaths and then go over. Don’t just unload, alright? At least try to hear him out.” you advise. Max nods and gets out, making her way over.

You and Gareth get out and make your way over to his truck where you’re leaned against him.

“So Emma and I are done after Friday.” you tell him quietly. “Like, I can’t… I can’t deal with it anymore. It’s not the same as it was when Lucas’ older sister and the girl who lived two trailers down were the captain and co-captain. They’re all vipers.”

Gareth grips your jaw to make you look at him and he’s grinning a little. “Really? But why Friday?”

“Because I want to be able to legally drill Caroline Owens into grass on a football field. Yeah, apparently, she had the same idea, because she told the coach we should be made to sign up for more stuff and she mentioned it. So Emma and I didn’t exactly argue it.”

“Okay, she’s really not smart. I’ve seen you tackle before. If you still tackle the way you did in middle school..” Gareth cringes, laughing. “She’s going to regret it.”

The laughter dies away and you melt against him. “Gare?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Love you.” you yawn out sleepily. He presses his lips to your forehead. “Love you too.” and he’s grinning because hearing you say those three words back to him has made his night.

Maybe even his lifetime.

And he’s determined not to let anything happen to what you two have together.

#gareth emerson #gareth the great #gareth emerson imagine #gareth emerson fanfiction #gareth emerson x reader #gareth emerson x fem!reader

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