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applcrumbl · 2 years

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MotorMouth

Chapter One:Dealing out D20s

Pairings: Eddie Munson X OC (Valerie Lipton) Warnings: Canon Divergence, Drug Dealing, Adult Language, Marijuana, Ketamine, Character Death, Depictions of Death Author's Note: Hi! here's the first chapter of my newest fic; Motor Mouth! It is also uploaded on my AO3 and my Wattpad if you'd prefer to read it there. Both can be found under the user @applcrumbl. I hope you enjoy it, any feedback, comments, reblogs etc. are greatly appreciated. Happy Reading!

Summary: Valerie and Eddie are like two peas in a pod. If one pea always had to be right, and the other just witnessed a murder.

3.8k

The racket of bickering and general chatter interrupted Valerie’s walkman.

‘Great King Rat’ by Queen drained from her ears as she ate her lunch at the cafeteria table. Her friends; a group of boys ranging from age 15 to 20; listen in practical disgust as the eldest of the bunch, and therefore dubbed ‘the leader’ reads aloud from a copy of Newsweek Showdown.

Eddie Munson rants poetically, in a deep voice;

“Dungeons and Dragons; at first regarded as a harmless game of make-believe, now has both parents and psychologists concerned.” He quotes, "Studies have linked violent behaviour to the game, saying it promotes satanic worship, ritual sacrifice, sodomy, suicide, and even… Murder."

A loud, almost demonic, cackle from the boys beside her as Eddie leans back in his chair, bumping into someone as they walk behind him. “Watch it, Freak” the boy states, continuing his journey down the cafeteria. Eddie goes to retaliate, but a sharp look from Valerie keeps him in his chair.

Eddie Munson may be the leader of ‘The Hellfire Club’. He may be the most influential in his small group of friends. but at the end of the day, whether he could admit it or not, Valerie Lipton was the one in charge.

“Society has to blame something.” Says Ricky, a large boy who sits at the table's edge “We're an easy target.”

“Exactly.” Eddie agrees, arms folded and with a pissed-off stare. Valerie can almost sense what's to come next. “We're the freaks because we like to play a fantasy game.”

In one fell swoop, Eddie is on the table, storming it down like he owned the place. Valerie moves her tray away from the landing of Eddie’s feet. It happened often enough that she grew used to it. The typical ‘fuck the patriarchy’ speech of her best friend rang through the large hall.

“But as long as you're into band or science,” Eddie sneers, “or parties, or a game where you toss balls into laundry baskets!”

His calls are interrupted as Valerie pulls on Eddie’s jean leg. A silent plea for him to sit back down as a reply is yelled. Jason Carver, the renowned golden boy of Hawkins High calls over, “ You want something, freak?” And naturally, Eddie replies; tongue far out past his teeth, and hands up the side of his head like horns. Very classy, Valerie thought, returning to her cold potatoes.

Eddie struts his way back up the table and to his original seat, ”It's forced conforming. That's what's killing the kids!” He shouts, leaning into the face of a random bystander. Valerie finds herself almost apologising for his behaviour. “That's the real monster.”

She never particularly felt bothered by Eddie’s flamboyant personality before, In fact, she wasn't even really bothered by it now. But, just sometimes, she wished for a nice quiet lunch with her friends. One where she didn’t feel like an outcast from the outcast group because she didn't sport one of their matching club shirts.

Valerie was not a DnD player, and she never would be. She was simply a colleague of Eddie’s. A friend of Eddie’s, who just wanted to sell her drugs and eat her lunch in peace. A snowball’s chance in hell of that happening, however, as one half of The Hellfire Club's newest duo speaks.

“So, uh, speaking of monsters, uh, Lucas has to do his, uh, balls-in-laundry-baskets game. So,” Dustin chuckles, a scared tone to his words, “He's not gonna be able to make it to Hellfire tonight. And I know there's no way we can beat your sadistic campaign without him.”

Valerie’s ears perk up, this won’t be good, she thinks.

“So, me and Mike, we were talking, shooting the shit, and we were thinking that maybe we might…” He trails,

“Postpone.” Mike finishes.

She was right.

“Postpone?” The group yells, a chorus of “You can't just drop this on us!” and “Over my dead body.” as they spoke over each other in protest.

“Shut up!” Eddie yells, thinking.

The boys fall silent, Gareth scrunching his face up in anger. Valerie talks before anyone else has the chance.

“Can't you just find a sub?”

The heads of the table snap to her, each displaying different emotions. Eddie’s brown eyes bore deepest of all. “I don’t see what the problem is?” She shrugs.

“The problem?” Eddie says, calmly, “You-you're joking right?”

“Are you?”

Her question is left unanswered as Eddie continues, addressing the two youngest boys “Can I level with you? Jeff graduates this year. Gareth's got, what? A year and a half?” He starts, “Me, I am army-crawling my way toward a D in Ms. O'Donnell's. If I don't blow her final, I'm gonna walk that stage next month, I'm gonna look Principal Higgins dead in the eye, I'm gonna flip him the bird, I'm gonna snatch that diploma. I'm gonna run like hell outta here.”

"Didn't you say that last year?” Gareth asks,

“And the year before?” Jeff replies,

“Yeah, he did, and he was full of shit” Valerie finishes, “My bet is that next year, they might consider just letting him go.”

The boys laugh, as Eddie stands behind Valerie. His hands were heavy on her shoulders, “This year's different.”

Valerie rolls her eyes, She’d heard it all of her life. How that year was going to be Eddie’s year until he failed 3 semesters in a row and remained a Senior at Hawkins High for the third year. “This year is my year. I can feel it. '86, baby.”

“Can you get to your point, Eddie? Or are you gonna answer my question?” Valerie interjects.

“I don't even care to remember what your question was”

“Why can’t they just find someone to sub for Sinclair?”

“This is the cult of Vecna, Val.” He deadpans, acting as if that meant something to her.

“Yeah, Okay?” She questions, “you need 6 players to defeat this Vecnan guy, so just find a 6th player?”

The boy scoffs, the rest of the group growing silent. “It’s Vecna” Eddie states, sliding into the empty seat next to her. Full body faced into hers, he splays the fingers of his right hand onto the table. “We can't just find another player.” He stresses.

“Why not Ed? Seems to me like your options are to postpone, or to find a sub?”

It's a completely valid point, the rest of the boys all know that. And Dustin and Mike are already considering asking Valerie to be their 6th member. At this point, she may even have said yes. Gave it a go, and learnt on the job. But Eddie is an extremely hotheaded guy, and Valerie, as stubborn as a mule.

“Do you know nothing?” Eddie spits, hands flying in the air, “Just fucking stay out of this, you don't even play DnD”

It's condescending. It hurts her feelings. It’s almost designed to.

She stands quickly, despite the protests of Jeff next to her. “Look he didn’t mean it”

“No, Jeff, I think he did. So I will,” Valerie spits back, “Enjoy your game.”

Leaning to the floor she grabs her bookbag, swinging it around her back as she resumes the song on her walkman. She gives Eddie no time to say a word before she’s out of the cafeteria.

“Dude,” Gareth scolds, as Eddie sits back down. “It’s actually a pretty good idea,”

“Yeah I know,” Eddie admits, Picking at the cuffs of his leather jacket. “What do you guys think?”

The boys nod in agreement with Gareth, and Eddie kisses his own teeth. “And this is why you guys are the future of Hellfire.” He huffs, “Henderson, Wheeler, go and hunt down some wandering souls”

⋆·˚ ༘ *

Eddie wanders from the cafeteria and to his locker. The same locker that he’d had since 1980. It was amongst a bunch of sophomores, His original graduating class had come and gone a long time ago. Eddie didn’t mind however, It was more time able to be spent with Valerie. Even if he wasn’t the type to admit it.

Inputting the combination a note falls to his feet. He recognises the loopy handwriting almost immediately.

He stuffs the note into his pocket, not careful to hide the annoyance he felt. They were supposed to be a team, why was she pinning all of the work on him? And over a stupid argument, Eddie slams his locker door shut, picking up his metal lunchbox from its place beside his feet. He kicks open the fire exit door and makes his way across the field to the woods.

Valerie and Eddie made drug deals wherever, It was no secret that they did so. Baggies of white substances slipped into palms, but never before the cash was counted. Hallways, locker rooms, even once in the queue for confession. The usual spot was a rotted picnic bench on the outskirts of the forest beside Hawkins High. It was secluded enough that nobody would bother you but easy enough to find when stoned out your mind.

Chrissy Cunningham, Reigning Queen of Hawkins High and girlfriend to the aforementioned Jason Carver, was the last person you’d expect to be at that spot. Her hands bunched into her sleeves. She was short anyhow, but her current unsettled stature made her look smaller than usual. She practically jumped out of her skin when Eddie arrived.

“Whoa, hey, hey, hey. Sorry,” He chuckles, holding his hands up in defence “Didn't mean to scare you. You okay?”

Chrissy catches her breath as Eddie places his box on the table, it clatters loudly and she flinches. “Where’s Val?” She asks, “I was supposed to meet her?”

“Uh yeah, she couldn’t make it” Eddie raises his eyebrows, taking in Chrissy’s demeanour, “There's nothing to worry about. Okay? Val and I are partners, she left a note”

Eddie fishes the loose leaf of paper from his pocket, It is significantly more crumpled than it began, he slides it over to Chrissy as he sits across from her. “No one ever comes out here. We're safe. I promise.”

“So, how does this work exactly?” The blonde cheerleader asks, reading the note in Valerie’s handwriting.

“Oh, just like any other old sale, except, uh, cash only, and, uh, for obvious reasons, no receipts.” He smiles, “I'll do you a half ounce for, uh... 20. What do you say? Plenty of bang for your buck. Should last a while.”

Chrissy gasps, head snapping to the sound of scurrying. A squirrel runs of a nearby tree. Eddie has seen paranoia in all forms, He’s probably felt it too, but he’s never seen an edge like Chrissy teetered on right now. “Hey, we don’t need to do this. You can make another deal with Val later, or Just give me the word and I’ll walk.” He offers, removing the lunchbox from the table. He places it beside him, the large gap between his hips and the edge of the bench. Valerie’s usual spot.

“No, it’s fine.” Chrissy interjects, “I just thought I could talk to Val about something. People say she’s understanding of stuff”

“You can talk to me? I mean only if you want to?” Eddie offers, “Val talks to me about her problems all the time, I think I'm actually quite helpful-”

“It's just” She begins, Big blue-lidded eyes trained on the wood of the table, “Do you ever feel like you're losing your mind?”

He takes a second to understand her hushed words, before breathing out an answer.

“Um, you know, just... on a daily basis.” Eddie chuckles, “I feel like I'm losing my mind right now doing a drսg deal with Chrissy Cunningham, the queen of Hawkins High.”

He was also losing his mind over the fact that for the first time, Valerie wasn’t right beside him as he did so.

“Really?” she asks, Valerie’s note in hand as she fiddled with the edges of the paper. A nervous habit, “Honestly I never thought I’d be at a drug deal with Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson”

It stung a little, but Eddie knew she didn’t mean it in that way. She didn’t seem the type. “Sorry, I don’t mean it like I think you're a freak” She clarifies, “You’re just not what I thought you’d be”

“Mean and Scary?” Eddie guesses, “Yeah, well, I actually kinda thought you'd be kinda mean and scary too.”

“I get that a lot actually,” Chrissy giggles, “but there are a lot of things that people don’t know about me,”

“Yeah? Like what?”

The paper in Chrissy’s hand rips before she can answer. She apologises profusely, to which Eddie only shrugs, “It’s a piece of paper, you’re fine.”

She unfurls the curled edge, reading its words again. “What’s your campaign?” She asks

“Oh, just something that Hellfire Club are doing tonight. I’d invite you, but it's during the big game.”

“Is it shitty?” Chrissy questions, referring to the words on Valerie’s note, Eddie shakes his head no.

“She’s just mad at me right now,” He smirks, “Really likes to rub it in when she is”

Chrissy nods, a knowing expression on her face. She looks up at Eddie with her eyes, “I’m sure it’s great. She’ll be missing out”

Eddie smiles at her, taking his lunchbox from the seat and opening it back up on the table. “Uh, so, in good news for you, flattery works with me,” He begins, “Twenty-five percent discount for the half. Fifteen bucks”

The girl looks from the bag of green buds to the tin box, and then finally up to Eddie. She contemplates silently

“You're robbing me blind here,” He adds, shaking the bag in her face slightly

“Do you have anything maybe stronger?” Chrissy asks, eyes pleading, and filled with an emotion that Eddie recognised all too well. Fear.

⋆·˚ ༘ *

Valerie had skipped her last 2 classes of the day, electing to go home immediately after lunch instead of attending Art and History. Arguably her two favourite subjects. She was pissed and wanted to let Eddie know it.

Arguments and bickering were not unheard of between them, they happened on the regular. Eddie would say something dumb, Valerie would react - usually accordingly - and they would have forgotten the matter by the next day. A movie and a Pizza at Eddie’s trailer act as a catalyst to the rekindling of their friendship each time. But, this time was different, Eddie had actually hurt Val’s feelings.

A strong believer in an 'it's not what you say, it's how you say it’ attitude, Valerie could forget what Eddie said, but she could not forgive the way it was meant. Mean to hurt her. She sat alone at home, watching reruns of ‘I Love Lucy’ on her dad’s beat-up old VCR. A ceramic bowl of popcorn lay on the sofa next to her, and hoards of unpopped kernels litter the cushioned suite. Valerie’s head rests on her clenched fist as she impassively eyeballs the television.

The phone on the side table rings loudly, rattling in its plastic brown hold. Valerie didn’t even attempt to answer it, she knew exactly who was calling.

Eddie stood at the school’s public phone box. Ringing the same number down to the last quarter in his pocket. Valerie refusing to answer. He left a voice message instead.

“Hey Val, It’s Eddie. I know you’re home”

Valerie rolled her eyes, shovelling more popcorn into her mouth.

“Has Rick got any K around? Not for me, I’ve got a deal after the game. Are you still coming to that? I hope you still come to that. Uh- Anyways, you can just bring it over to mine whenever. 2 Grams should do it, she never actually said how much she wanted-”

Eddie’s voice is interrupted by the beeping of the payphone, a shrill voice asking him to insert more money into the slot.

“Shit, I got no more money V, but I’ll see you tonight. At Hellfire? And please remember the Special K-”

The dial tone beeps as the phone hangs up. Valerie still remains in her position. Hitting play on the DVR once again.

Eddie throws the receiver against the plastic wall of the phonebooth. The girl in the booth next to him flinches, and Eddie mumbles an unenthusiastic ‘sorry’ before entering the school again. He makes his way to the drama classroom, preparing the table for the finale of his campaign. “The Cult of Vecna awaits” he muses as Gareth, Ricky and Jeff enter.

⋆·˚ ༘ *

“Absolutely not.” Eddie protests, staring down at Dustin and Mike. He shakes his head in disagreement.

"You asked for a sub. We delivered.” Dustin claims, “We would’ve asked Valerie but someone pissed her off”

Eddie ignores Dustin’s remark, “This is Hellfire Club. Not Babysitting Club.”

The sub in question? 11-year-old, Erica Sinclair. Tiny in stature but absolutely not in might.

"So this is Sinclair's infamous sister.” Eddie chuckles to himself.

“He's sharp.” Erica bites back, she reminds him of Valerie as Gareth and Jeff laugh beside him. The chucking ceases with a sharp look from Eddie. “Must get all the ladies”

Eddie licks his teeth, holding back defensive words about how Hellfire Club gets ‘plenty of girls’. It isn’t exactly true in the first place but the lack of Valerie’s appearance that night fueled his steadfast refusal to even try not to argue.

“What's your class and level?” He demands, “Level one dwarf?”

It’s a sight that Valerie would have loved witnessing, her big-headed best friend having his ass handed to him by a sassy pre-teen. “My name is Lady Applejack. And I'm a chaotic good half-elf rogue, level 14.” Erica explains, “I will sneak behind any monster you throw my way and stab them in the back with my poison-soaked kukri. And I'll smile as I watch them die a slow, agonizing death.”

She pauses a moment, almost granting them the space to try and talk back. Nobody takes it, and so she continues; “So, we gonna do this, or we gonna keep chitchatting like this is your mommy's book club?”

The boys look at their dungeon master expectantly, and Eddie smiles at the young girl.

“Welcome to Hellfire.”

⋆·˚ ༘ *

The newest member and now asset to their small DnD team rolls her final dice. It tumbles down the board and stops near Eddie. It’s all very cinematic to the boys and Erica, though if Valerie were there she wouldn’t be the least bit impressed. The twenty-sided dice lands with its largest number facing up.

”Crit Hit!” Erica shouts as the group celebrates around her. Eddie jumps from his seat in shock and admiration. The sheer odds of the group coming close to winning were low, let alone destroying Vecna in his midst with one roll. The boys jump excitedly, cheering and screaming with one another.

Eddie turns to his left, prepared to celebrate with his best friend but is interrupted by the gruelling fact that she didn’t show up. He swallows the bad taste in his throat and turns his attention to the group. Eddie bows, arms sweeping across the board as he submits his loss to the players. Quickly gathering his things and exiting through the back door of the drama studio.

Chrissy meets him at his van 10 minutes later, cheer uniform and high pony still intact. She asks again where Valerie is, and Eddie does not answer.

⋆·˚ ༘ *

When he arrives at his trailer, the front porch is empty and the interior lights are off. Valerie isn’t there. He laughs to himself in almost disbelief, before leading Chrissy inside his small home.

“This is my castle,” Eddie introduces, jokingly “Sorry for the mess. Uh, the maid took the week off.”

Chrissy just smiles in response, clearly still on edge about something.. “I uh, I asked Val to be here but obviously she hasn’t shown.” He coughs, scratching an itch on his temples “which is weird, But I’m sure she’ll have left some Vitamin K somewhere”

Eddie drops to his knees, rifling through a cabinet. He pulls out a tin of Altoids. Empty. “Shit” he whispers.

“You’re sure you have it?” Chrissy says, unconvinced.

“Yeah, Val is always leaving shit here.” He promises, “it’s quite annoying actually. Uh- take a seat, I’ll check in the back”

Eddie continues his search through his trailer. Wandering up to his bedroom, he swings through the doorframe.

“Sorry I’m late, sweetheart” he jokes to his guitar, caressing its strings softly as it hangs, pride of place, in the centre of his mirror.

He crosses to the dresser beside his bed, digging through the top left drawer. Valerie’s drawer. Full of miscellaneous rolling papers, a lighter, and spare underwear, Eddie wondered when the fuck she moved in. Not that he minded in the slightest. Digging through the items of lace and cotton, he tried his hardest not to pay any mind. Instead focusing his attention on retrieving the small, teal, plastic box at the back of the drawer.

It was very obviously not his, contrasting the dark and grungy interior of Eddie’s room. He opened the sparkly receptacle and retrieved the small powdered baggie from inside. Eddie kissed it enthusiastically, “Thank you Valerie, and your drug supplier dad.” he whispers to himself, before tucking everything back into the drawer.

“Found it,” Eddie calls through to Chrissy, “peaceful bliss, just moments away”

Ironic, however, as when he reentered the main living space, he found Chrissy. As still as a rock, eyes blinking rapidly and unresponsive. He called her name, waving his hands in front of her face. What the fuck? He thought.

“Hey, Chrissy, wake up.” He quivered, “Hey. Hello? Chrissy. Hello?”

When he received no answer, he began shaking her, desperately. Barely even noticed the surging pulse of every light in his trailer going haywire.

He had his hands on her shoulder when she began to rise. Higher and higher until she hovered in the middle of the air. A foot and a half off of the ground. Suddenly, she was shot into the roof of the trailer, arms and legs spread wide against the ceiling.

Eddie fell back in shock and fear. Wide eyes unbelieving of what was happening in front of him. Eyes unwanting to believe what was happening in front of him. Chrissy’s body tensed, as she vibrated in the air. Energy pulsing through the living room.

Her arms snap, and her legs. Breaking in places Eddie didn’t even realise could break. Her jaw clicked violently to the side, mouth wide open as it broke. Blood seeps from her eyes and ears. Eddie screamed as Chrissy’s milky white eyes burst.

In a panic Eddie pushes himself from the floor, grabbing the keys to his van he scampers to it quickly. Unable to catch his breath as he sped from the scene. He had no clue what was going on, not even a general grasp of the situation. Any inkling of an understanding was out of the picture as he barrelled down the road like a hot rod, ignoring every red light and stop sign. Eddie didn’t know much about his current indictment, but he did know that he needed to get to Valerie’s House, and fast.

⋆·˚ ༘ *

#writing #motormouth #eddie munson #eddie munson angst #eddie munson smut #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x reader #joseph quinn

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applcrumbl · 2 years

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MotorMouth

Chapter Two: 2121 Holland Road

Pairings: Eddie Munson X Appearance Neutral OC (Valerie Lipton) Warnings: accidental cuddling, drug mention, slightly perv!eddie, death depictions, Author’s Note: Chappy twa wayhey! U can also find this on Ao3 and Watty if u want it. p.s. ye i talk about not liking Billy in this - its purely valerie’s opinion, idgaf what u guys actually think

Summary: Eddie runs. Unsure where to go, he finds solace in the home of his drug supplier, and coincidentally, his best friend.

The door rattled loudly. Eddie thrumming it with both fists, the glass-paned wood wiggling on its hinges. He tried the handle but the door was locked. Valerie slept on the sofa, woken by the abrupt knocking.

“I’m coming!” she shouted, slowly standing from her seat, and walking to the door. She was in no rush, knowing exactly who was there.

At the turn of the lock, Eddie bust through the door, almost taking the girl to the floor with him. He crawled backwards on his hands and feet, cowering away from the door in fear. “Usually when someone screens your calls, it means they don’t want to talk to you,” Valerie Deadpans, finally taking in Eddie’s shaken appearance “What are you doing?”

He doesn’t answer, panting as if all the air had been knocked out of his lungs. He knew he’d have to explain, but he also knew she’d never believe him. “I thought you said the Ket was for a client?” Valerie questioned, attributing the boy’s demeanour to a bad trip. “I asked you not to drive when you’re like this, Eddie!”

She lectures him. Usually, he would reply with a witty comeback or joke, but at this present moment, it was the last thing on his mind. Eddie rose from the ground, staggering over to the brown leather pouffe in the living room. He sits on it gingerly. A weird sight to see, considering he’s usually so quick to make himself at home anywhere he goes.

Eddie rests his face in his hands. Elbows pressing deeply into his knees, “Vee” he calls out; broken; defeated.

Valerie’s position falters, she wants to be mad at the boy, angered at his behaviour from earlier, she wants to yell at him for driving under the influence, but his paranoia and fear are something that she’d never seen before. Eddie was an excitable boy, he couldn’t stay still, or quiet, for a single moment. But, right now, he was more stone than the statues of the Erechtheion.

She closes the open door, kneeling at the feet of her best friend, her own hands cover his, peeling his fingers from his eyes, “What’s going on with you Ed?” she whispers, “What did you take?”

The boy shakes his head, finally lifting it from his palms. His eyes are bloodshot and watering as they dart around the room. “I didn’t take anything,” He starts, stuttering through his sobs. Eddie Munson was not a crier. “I can’t- I can't talk about it right now”

“Then you don’t have to”

There is a weight that is lifted off of Eddie’s shoulders. Valerie guides him upstairs and to her bedroom. “I assume you’re staying here?” to which Eddie can only nod.

Valerie’s room is the perfect mix of expected and out of the ordinary. In such a large house that she only shared with a vacant father, she’d chosen the smallest of the bedrooms. Tucked almost in the attic of the house, and with walls covered inch to inch in posters and pictures. A singular window above a messy desk, littered with papers and loose crumbs of weed. An assortment of alphabetised Rock vinyl filled a bookshelf, across from her twin bed, a complete juxtaposition to the floral pink bedspread, and crystal-knobbed bedpost. She pulls spare blankets from her wardrobe and makes a bed on the floor for Eddie, who wriggles out of his jeans and jacket. Seeking any form of normalcy, he aims for a quiet night's sleep. Left only in his underwear and Hellfire t-shirt.

Valerie tries not to look, a curious mind keeping her eyes drawn to the undressing boy. She feels bad that she has nothing for him to change into. Fighting the urge, she changes herself. Shimmying a nightgown over her head and on top of her clothes. As she pulls them off from underneath - careful to watch her modesty - she reaches for her panties, unsure of whether or not she should take them off since Eddie was there. She did so anyway, quickly tucking them into the hamper of dirty washing near her door.

Eddie crawls under the blanket on the floor, Valerie watches him in the mirror as she cleans her face. Eddie’s eyes latched to the laundry basket before flicking to hers. A gulp.

A digital alarm clock displays 11:47 in bold red lettering. The pair get comfortable in their respective beds. Valerie is almost out like a light, she always slept better when Eddie was near. Even if they were supposed to be fighting. Eddie was the complete opposite, tossing and turning on the hard floor. He sits upright, eyes resting on his best friend’s lilac, cotton-covered back.

“V?” he calls out, earning a hum in reply. He’d woken her but she didn’t mind, “Nevermind”

“You sure?” She asks, eyes still closed, trying to preserve her sleeping stance.

He hesitates, contemplating his question once more. “Can I-” he starts but is interrupted by Valerie’s movement. The corner of the comforter lifted high in the air. An unsaid invitation to join her in the bed. Eddie took it gladly.

It was a different experience, and something that they’d never done before - share a bed- not since they were children. When there was no leg hair on Eddie’s part; or boobs and hips on Valeries. Each only covered by a thin layer of fabric. It’s almost an immediate regret, but he stays there anyways. Laying shoulder to shoulder, but not quite touching, until morning.

⋆·˚ ༘ *

It’s Valerie who wakes first, crushed by Eddie’s arm over her torso. Her nightdress is pushed up to the bottom of her hips, and Eddie’s pale thigh slotted between her own. She can feel the heat of his legs on hers, butterflies erupting in her stomach. What the fuck? She thinks.

He snores softly next to her, drooling. Valerie watches him closely, observing how his eyelashes flicker as he sleeps, and how strands of his wild hair have fallen into the corner of his mouth. She bites back the urge to fix them.

“Stop staring at me, weirdo” he mumbles, eyes still unopened. Unphased by the position they’d found themselves in overnight.

Valerie flicks his cheek with her middle finger and thumb. “Morning my sweet princess,” she coos jokingly, “was your bed to comfort?”

“It was alright, though I seem t o have found a much more comfortable bed though the night” he smirks, pushing himself fully between her legs, and laying on her chest.

It’s meant as a joke. An effort to lay on her completely - trapping her under his weight. But he’d forgotten their lack of clothing, and Valerie was far too aware.

“Oh, Eddie! Uh-” She gulps, surprised and awkward, “Uh, I'm not wearing any underwear”

His eyes blow wider, notice finally taken of their position and scrambling off. Valerie shimmies her skirt back down her legs as Eddie stutters an apology, “I uh- I forgot. Sorry”

“No, no it’s fine.” She smiles awkwardly, “Just move on, it didn’t happen.”

“Yeah, We’ll forget about it.”

So they did; and proceeded to cook breakfast. Eddie tried his best to flip the pancakes, completely unsymmetrical and lumpy - despite the fact that they were from a bottle mix that only required milk. Valerie came downstairs soon after, laundry basket in tow. She excused herself to the back door, and down the stairs into the grass. She takes down the pegged-up t-shirts, jeans and blouses from the washing line. Eddie watched her as she climbed back into the kitchen. A strange type of domestic bliss despite the situation.

“So are we gonna talk about it?” She asks, entirely tired of skating around answers.

“I didn’t think you’d want to talk about it” he answers, “It was awkward, I’m sorry. But, I honestly just forgot-”

“Not that Ed,” she interjects, eager to forget that morning “What happened? Was something wrong with the deal? Was it with Chrissy?”

His movements stop, breathing quickening and his back stiff. He takes a moment before returning to the pancakes. Pouring a fresh one onto the hot frying pan. “You won't believe me,” he dismisses. Fingers drumming rhythmically on the countertop. “I wouldn’t believe me.”

Valerie stalks closer, pushing herself onto the countertop next to the hob. She is careful not to touch the pancake mix with her clean jeans. She pulls her clean work uniform from the pile of washing she just took inside, buttoning it up over her vest top.

Eddie’s gaze is avoidant until she speaks: “Try me”

And he did; taking his time to unveil every secret he could remember from the night before, every insignificant detail down to the colour of Chrissy’s eyes before they burst out of her skull.

It put Valerie off of breakfast completely, “And where is Chrissy now?” she asks, still trying to keep Eddie’s stare.

“I left her there”

Valerie hops off of the counter, turning the hob off and reaching for the car keys that were hanging nearby. “Okay,” she breathes, “Well then we gotta go see if she’s okay. See if Wayne’s home”

She catches Eddie’s hand before he pulls it away sharply.

“No, Val no,” he cries, eyes starting to pool with tears again, “Please stay with me, I gotta hide! The police are gonna think I did it.”

The kitchen air is tense and filled with the smell of shitty pancakes. Eddie stands fully dressed, including his reeboks. He looks ready to run at any moment.

“Do you think I did it?” he whispers, brown eyes full of fear.

He’d seen a lot of scary things, but nothing had his heart racing more than the thought of Valerie not being on his side.

“Do I think you flew the head cheerleader magically into the air, breaking all of her bones, and bursting her eyeballs from her skull?” She blinks, “No”

Relief.

“So you believe me?”

Valerie breathes in deeply, exciting the kitchen and plopping herself on the couch. She found the remote in the same place as she left it the night before. “Not exactly, Ed” she replies

“What do you mean, ‘not exactly’?”

“Are you 100% sure you saw that,” she starts, switching the television set on, flicking through the channels “Definitely not just a bad trip?”

“I wasn’t on anything Val! I swear-”

His protest is interrupted by the sound of Breaking News on the television. The backdrop, is a scene of Eddie’s trailer park. Eddie takes a rattled breath as the reporter reveals the death of a ‘Hawkins High School Student’.

“Believe me now?” He whispers.

⋆·˚ ༘ *

Eddie paces across the living room. Brain buzzing with thoughts, inhibiting him from stillness for even one second. Valerie is the embodiment of that stillness, still sat on the couch. Eddie chitters away to her, speaking every thought that came to him; how it could have happened; plans of how he could run away; a question of whether or not she’d go with him.

He talked so much that he barely noticed the girl rise from her seat and shrug her coat on.

“And where do you think you’re going?” he exasperates, finally noticing her.

“Work?” she replies, much too calm given the current situation. “If I'm going to be harbouring a to-be fugitive, we at the very least need money.”

“What if they come here? Won't this be like the first place they’d check”

“Boathouse” She states, tossing the keys at him. “I’ll be home at 5”

⋆·˚ ༘ *

It’s a usually short shift that seems to drag on. The threat of her best friend’s arrest loomed whilst she stacked shelves at a surprisingly busy Melvald’s General Store. The foot traffic had picked up massively since the big fire at Starcourt.

It was rather lucky that she only knew one of the victims that night, most people in the town knew many. Valerie thought it was disgusting that the shop owners of Main Street took such happiness from the loss of the mall. It was as if they’d ignored the grief that came with it altogether.

Billy Hargrove was a regular customer of hers. Never once agreeing to a deal with Eddie. It was probably because of the impact it would cause on his precious social status. Valerie had nothing personally against the boy, they spoke minimally and it was always civilised, she just never agreed with his prejudiced views, and the way he obviously treated his younger sister. He had severe anger issues, that much was obvious.

Billy threw a glass at her during a party once when she refused to sell him. She’d overheard what he’d said about the only black boy in their grade and refused to follow through with their deal until he apologised for it. He never apologised, dying in the fire a mere week later. She felt guilty to think he deserved it.

In any other scenario, Valerie would maybe scrape an ounce of remorse towards the death of a fellow student, no matter how much she disliked them. But, in Billy’s case - though brutal - she was glad he was dead. One less bigoted racist in Hawkins might actually do some good.

She thought a lot about that during her shift. A lot about the overwhelming amount of deaths her small town had suffered over the course of the last few years. The crime, and cover-ups of the government. Her father’s arrest. The disappearance of her co-worker’s son.

“Hello? Are you even listening?” Donald waved a wrinkled hand in her face, “Valerie, it’s 4:45, you finished 15 minutes ago”

She just blinked confusedly in response, checking her swatch. The small hand was unmoving - causing the watch to read 3 hours previous.

“Oh, Shit!” she exclaims, “The battery must have died,”

“Ah, happens to me all of the time” Donny laughs, “i’ll take care of this, you run along home”

That was someone who wasn’t prejudiced, strange for an elderly white man, but Valerie appreciated it nonetheless. Her father was no secret in Hawkins, though much more a whisper than actuated fact.

The drive from the main street to Holland Road was slower at this time, with cars full of workers waiting to get home. Wives probably cooking meatloaf or a pasta bake. Highly unlikely that anyone joined Valerie on her quest to get home to her potentially murderous best friend before the police did.

Her car crawled to a stop beside a burgundy BMW. A registration plate she didn’t recognise, and nobody waiting at her door.

She sprints directly for the boathouse. Collecting her old baseball bat on the way. A group of dark figures shine flashlights into the window of the boathouse. Valerie’s arms lift the bat high, ready to strike. She walks forward as the group tries the door handle. She shouts before they can enter. “What the fuck are you doing back here” she calls out.

Steve Harrington is the first face she recognises as she scans the profiles of the intruders. Dimly lit by the outdoor light. Each armed with a flashlight, they jump at her entrance. Her eyes meet that of Dustin’s

“Henderson?” she asks, confused.

“Hey Val, Uh Long story-” he starts, holding his hand out defensively as she lowers the bat. She still holds it tight though - just in case. “We’re looking for Eddie, we’re here to help.”

Her eyes flicker between the three others that join him. “All of you?”

It’s a genuine question, yet entirely defensive at the same time. Could you blame her? They weren’t exactly the usual type of people to be seen together.

“Yes. Friends.” He starts, introducing the group he’s with, “You know Robin, I believe you go to school together. And this is Max-”

“Hargrove?” Valerie interrupts, recognising the redheaded girl.

“No, uh Mayfield.” She replies.

“But you’re Billy’s sister? No?”

“Step-sister” she clarifies. A smile that doesn’t quite reach the eyes on her face.

Valerie just nods, returning to Dustin so that he can continue his list of introductions “And this is-”

“Steve Harrington” The eldest of the group interrupts, holding a hand out for her to shake. He pushes his hair from his face, a cheeky smirk on his lips.

“Yeah, I know who you are,” she deadpans, refusing his hand’s gesture, “And what makes you think Eddie’s here?”

Steve steps back in slight embarrassment, Dustin’s face furrowing in confusion “He is? Isn’t he?”

Valerie opens her lips in an effort to lie, she is fully prepared to tell them that she hadn’t seen Eddie since they were at school and to maybe try Gareth’s house, but her efforts were unnecessary as the sound of the boat creaking gives away the position of anyone hiding inside.

Robin pushes the door open and the group file inside, “He seriously isn’t here guys” she lies, trying to keep their attention from the boat where she knew Eddie was hiding.

Max looks at the table full of assorted crisp packets and bottles, “Someone was here” Max observes, garnering the attention of Robin. Valerie can’t help but bite back profanities, if Eddie was going to keep himself a secret, he’d have to learn to tidy up after himself.

“Maybe he heard us,” Robin hypothesises, “Got spooked and ran?”

On the opposite side of the boathouse, Steve pokes around with oar in hand. He jabs it sharply into the tarp above Rick’s old fishing boat. Valerie prayed Eddie wasn’t in there.

“Don’t worry, Steve will get him with his oar” Dustin jokes,

“I know you think you’re being funny, but considering the fact that most people in this room have nearly died a thousand times,” Steve continues to bash at the boat. Valerie almost wants to tell him off, but can’t for fear of suspicion, “personally, I don’t find it funny in the sligh-”

His rant is interrupted, as he is quickly pushed up against the boat wall by Eddie. A broken beer bottle pushed to his neck. The group shout in fear once again. Dustin calls out, trying to get Eddie’s attention, but the long-haired boy is shaken, and defensive.

“Eddie, drop the bottle” Valerie warns, stepping close to the two boys, she holds her back to Steve, trying to pull Eddie’s gaze. He shakes as he pins Steve to the wooden slats. “Steve drop the oar” She tries, slowly reaching to take the glass from Eddie’s hands. His pupils are wide, making his already dark brown eyes even darker.

Steve drops the oar and it clatters to the floor, the loud noise causes Eddie’s grip to tighten, the sharp glass pushing further into his neck. “Eddie, It’s Dustin. This is Steve” Dustin tries, Eddie’s head snapping towards the sound of the voice.

“What are you doing here?” he grunts out

“We’re looking for you!”

“We're here to help” Robin chimes in, still anxious that her best friend is under attack by a potential murderer.

Eddie’s eyes flicker to Valerie’s, who just nods in agreement with the group. She may not trust them implicitly, but right now anything that could talk Eddie away from the ledge he’d found himself on was imperative.

“Eddie, we’re on your side” Dustin tries once more, and Valerie can tell he’s genuine. “I swear on my mother. Right guys?”

A chorus of variated agreements follow. Eddie still pushing the glass deeper into Steve’s neck. Any harder and it would’ve drawn blood.

“Eddie, please?” Valerie whispers.

The boy drops his hand, stepping away as Steve falls to the floor. Valerie crouches next to him, lifting his neck to check for injury as Max and Robin crowd. Steve catches his breath before looking into her eyes. They flicker between Valerie and Eddie, who is leaned back against the wall next to them.

“Eddie we just want to talk,” Dustin punctuates, gently reaching to take the bottle from Eddie’s grasp. He flinches when Eddie holds it tighter, “Okay”

“We just want to know what happened,” Robin tries.

“You won’t believe me.” Eddie sniffs, eyes finally looking at the group. He watches Valerie who is still checking on Steve. “Even she doesn’t believe me”

The group turn to Val as she whispers to Steve, she looks up finally at the feeling of eyes on her. “I do believe you, Ed”

“You don’t believe that it’s real”

“That what’s real?” Max asks, “Did you see something?”

“He had a bad trip, doesn’t remember what happened.” Valerie tries to explain, but Eddie just scoffs.

“This is exactly what I mean,” Eddie sniffs again, “You won't believe me.”

“Try us”

⋆·˚ ༘ *

The group crowd around Eddie as he retells the story of what he saw. Valerie elected not to hear the gory details again, wandering to the outside of the boathouse. She pulls a cigarette from the box and brings it to her lips. She lights it and inhales deeply. Choking on the exhale as Steve bumps into her.

“Shit, sorry” he whispers, careful not to interrupt Eddie’s speech, “Not that good with gore, if I’m being honest.”

Valerie nods, taking another puff, “You guys shouldn’t be fueling this,” she starts, “it’s not good for him, he’s clearly not okay.”

“You really don’t believe him?” Steve realised, taking in the younger girl as she smoked. Still dressed in her Melvald’s uniform. Steve recalls if he’d ever seen her in there before.

“I believe that he believes it, yeah.”

“But you don't believe him?”

Valerie hesitates, talking another sharp drag, burning the tobacco almost down to the filter, “I believe he saw something, I just don't believe it actually happened”

They stand until she finishes her cigarette, taking a final puff before offering it to Steve. He accepts her offer, bringing it to his lips. He notices the residue from her lipgloss circling the rim before taking the last toke. They hear Eddie finish his story inside, the boathouse growing silent.

“Look, Maybe you should hear this part,” Steve suggests, “might clear things up for you as well”

“Why are you guys so hellbent on lying to us.” She accused, crossing her arms as Steve stubs out the cigarette.

“Because we’re not lying.”

Steve pushed the door wide with one arm, Valerie sliding underneath it and into the cold walls of the boat house. Eddie sits against a table ledge, hands rubbing his eyes. A sign he was stressed.

“Listen, what I’m about to tell you might be a little difficult to take” Dustin starts, inviting Valerie to sit down as he continues, “You know how people say Hawkins is cursed?

She nods, eyes looking to Steve for a rection. Why she seemed to trust him? She had no clue. Perhaps it was the lingering feelings of a childhood crush on the former ‘King’ of Hawkins High. Or maybe it was just because she was good at reading people.

“They’re not way off,” Dustin continues, “There’s another world, a world hidden beneath Hawkins, sometimes it bleeds into ours”

“Like ghosts and shit?” Eddie perks up, interested and believing.

“There are some things worse than ghosts”

“What the fuck could be worse than ghosts?” Valerie jabs, though is ignored by the group.

They continue to question Eddie about what he saw, Valerie almost wants to ask them to leave, to fuck off and bother someone else, but they seem understanding of her best friend. They seem to know what was going on.

Eddie trembled, “You know I tried to wake her man, but she couldn't move. It's like she was in a trance or something.”

“Or under a spell” Dustin commented

“A curse.”

“Vecna’s curse?” Valerie chimes. Both Dustin and Eddie’s heads turn to her. Neither of them expecting a genuine statement from the girl, but they nod anyhow.

“Who’s Vecna?” Steve questions on behalf of the rest of the group. Clearly not DnD players, or people who knew anything about the game whatsoever. He was asking for a genuine answer, yet Eddie and Dustin continue to act as if this were a game of DnD and not the current story of their lives.

“An undead creature of great power” Dustin begins, “A spell caster”

“A dark wizard” Eddie continues

“Some fucking Dungeons and Dragons guy” Valerie finishes, standing up from her spot.

⋆·˚ ༘ *

#motormouth #writing #eddie munson #eddie munson angst #eddie munson smut #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x oc

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