𝙵𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝙷𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚒𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚢 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚎.

𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝙸 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙻𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐.

𝙷𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚞𝚙 𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎.

𝙵𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙, 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐.

𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐?

𝙽𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚗

𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐

𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚗.

As the five-headed wyvern-like creature was slain and attacked the heroes of the campaign, killing Jeff, Grant, and Mike's characters in the process, Eddie began to find himself in a position of perfection.

He was surrounded by friends, playing the final game of the 1985 year, with the girl he could only get off his mind by warding her away with drugs. What else was there to ask for?

"It's a dangerous play for you, Patch Barrencrook," Eddie called onto Dustin's character. "There might only be one head remaining on our Tiamat, but at what cost?" he chanted mystifyingly. "You've lost your halflings and your human friend to the vengeful, blood-thirsty Evil Dragon Queen. Are you willing to risk the well-being of your tiefling and your elf to save the human race from domination and extinction? Are you willing to risk your very life, cleric, or are you going to run?"

As Dustin conversed with Gareth and Will on what to do next, Eddie's eyes kept shifting to Lennon. He earned her reciprocity with the gentle nudging of his foot brushing against her bare ankle.

Her eyes always went to Eddie's playfully ones when his foot brushed hers. Over time, he grew in confidence, running his shoe across her flesh more rhythmically the longer she allowed it.

She took a deep breath and hid her amusement from the subtle gesture. When Eddie's foot stopped moving up her leg, he rested it against her foot so he could focus on the tournament. When he took the time to accommodate his friends, Lennon too had time to consider how accepted she felt by everyone around her.

She wasn't worried about them telling people because she could easily start by saying Dustin was friends with her brother and from there, she only saw it fitting to invite everyone to the party. She had a whole story made up in her head that would get her away with the stunt. Nobody needed to know it was Eddie who kept her sitting at that table without an ounce of fear coursing through her veins.

Eddie's mischievous foot moved up the length of her leg after Dustin's turn. He didn't stop until he reached her kneecap and started to trail back down towards her ankle. As the game continued, Dustin's character was killed, leaving only Will and Gareth to finish the dragon-creature off.

To Lennon's surprise, even though people stopped playing when their characters couldn't be resurrected, they still stayed and watched. Everyone was watching intently to see how it ended. Everyone gave the performance of a lifetime until Tiamat was slain with whatever magic abilities Will's character possessed with only two hit points left.

They all cheered and hooted and jumped into each other's arms as they reveled in their victory to end the first half of the school year.

The only people not to show their mirths were Eddie and Lennon.

Lennon didn't understand what there was to celebrate since the victory was won in a contained environment but she wasn't judging. She was actually happy everyone around her was so excited. The only reason she couldn't show it was because somehow, as Eddie closed his D&D books, his eyes were playing tricks with hers and his foot was continuing to toy with her exposed flesh underneath the table.

Lennon cleared her throat and forced herself to think about anything else as she took the simmering moment to speak up.

"Seeing as the mood is jovial, how would all of you feel about celebrating tomorrow night at Heather Holloway's Christmas party?"

"Shit... Gareth wasn't lying..." Eddie joked, leaning forward and pressing his chin into his palm.

Lennon turned and caught his lingering stare. She quickly averted her gaze, knowing there was no way to come up with a story to give people as to why she was looking at Eddie Munson with something other than friendly appreciation in her eye.

She caught Gareth and Jeff's stares before meeting anyone else's.

"Oh... That's really nice, Lennon, but Corroded Coffin has a gig tomorrow night-"

"We'll be there," Gareth quickly interrupted. "Right, Eddie?" he immediately turned to the other man infatuated with the cheerleader for support.

He didn't like the fact Eddie had more opportunities to get to know Lennon, but if he agreed to postpone the gig at The Hideout like he did for the Hellfire event that night, then he'd have all the time in the world to get to know her at that party...

"Gareth!" Jeff rebuked, smacking the back of his hand against the younger boy's shoulder to show his discontent.

"No, he's right," Eddie agreed, causing Lennon to turn to him again. "We'll be there," he nodded his head and smirked.

"Dustin? Mike? Will?" she giggled as she refused to meet Eddie's attempt with one of her own.

She pulled Mike and Will out of their personal conversation and earned their collaborative agreement. The only people who weren't entirely happy with the agreement were Grant and Jeff.

They were the first to leave after Lennon gave them the address, not helping to put any of the game away and even Mike and Will left soon after picking up after themselves.

Gareth stayed just to watch Lennon in all her glory as she moved all the pieces towards Eddie and Dustin who was at the other end of the table. When the conversation drifted away from Gareth, managing into a conversation about plans over the break between Dustin, Eddie, and Lennon, didn't feel welcome for very long and excused himself.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow then," he called out happily, looking into Lennon's eyes as he exited the stage.

Once all the action figures were put away, Dustin said his goodbyes too.

Out of sight from Lennon, Dustin grabbed Eddie's attention by the paint Lennon spilled and winked, covering his mouth to prevent another eruption of laughter. He didn't want to expose his cheeky encouragement to Lennon. He just wanted to coax the older gentleman he was looking up to as he progressed through school so he quickly made his leave afterward.

Lennon was well aware of their lack of company and she had a feeling, based on Dustin's earlier explosion of laughter, that he was catching onto their chemistry.

"He just did something really inappropriate, didn't he?" Lennon stacked all the books and papers on top of one another before setting the several bags of dice down on top of everything between them.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Eddie smirked, leaning over the stack with his hands pressed to the wood of the table.

"He did," she confirmed happily, allowing herself to match his charm now that they were alone. "He's a sneaky one, that Dustin."

"Quite," Eddie quickly agreed, tilting his head slightly as he looked into those sterling green eyes of hers.

"Can't have him getting any ideas..." she trailed off without letting down the flirtatious tone in her voice. "We both know he's friends with Steve and Steve's..." she scoffed lasciviously. "Steve's a snitch..."

"Mmhm. I heard something about..." Eddie's eyes went to the ceiling in thought. "Harrington the Hemorrhoid?" Eddie chuckled, earning Lennon's soft smile in return. "Now it's Steve the Snitch."

"Yeah... Can't wait to get an earful for that one," she giggled, turning her face towards the stack of D&D materials before looking back up and finding Eddie staring in a daze.

Lennon scrunched up her nose as she smiled. "Why are you always staring?" she wondered innocently.

Eddie hummed and broke eye contact, realizing everyone was right when they told him he had a problem with staring at her.

"I just wanna know what you were doing before you covered yourself in paint," Eddie chuckled, pointing towards her neck she stained red. "I thought you were at the game."

Lennon turned over her shoulder and giggled at the sight.

"Listen," she turned back to Eddie with a tight-lipped smile that she was desperately trying to fight. "After victoriously making my way through the stands of onlookers, I came crawling back. Faking my own death wasn't easy," she confessed. "I had to fight... the undead are unruly and... Let's just say there needed to be some blood shed in order to survive."

Eddie couldn't believe she was real. He wasn't sure if he was being positive or delusional when he told Lennon about D&D all those weeks ago. She could've zoned out at any time or grew bored of his explanation that night. He wanted to think she had paid attention, but now he knew it for certain.

She was incredible. She had just won the winter final in the gym and now here she was, bursting into the theater with the best and most effortless entrance of all. She could've easily went with the rest of the team to celebrate but instead, she was hanging with the nerds and the geeks and the metal heads in the theater, joining them in the style of their own game.

It was almost unbelievable.

He didn't think she paid enough attention to his explanation to have come crawling in through the 'blood' of her enemies to join them. She understood them. She accepted them. And the idea of her being the one afraid of acceptance would've been humorous to Eddie.

She was brilliant. In every shape, in every form, she was glorious and brilliant.

"So," Eddie sang out. "Is that what you were doing before spilling your enemies... blood," he laughed and regained his concentration. "You were..." he left the end of his sentence open for interpretation.

"Do you want to hear me say I was spying on you and your friends?" her tone was playful yet tired as she pressed her skirt to the table.

"I would, now that you mention it," Eddie joked before his eyes fell to the yellow, white, and green uniform as she watched him from the length of her own shoulder.

He tried not to gawk but it was hard when she was looking at him like she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her.

It was just the two of them.

They weren't the freak and the popular girl anymore. They were just Eddie and Lennon. She wasn't trying to find a reason to leave. She didn't show any discomfort no matter how forward Eddie was. And there was no way Eddie was misjudging her lustful eyes. It was there. It existed right there; right between them; that eager yearning. Eddie was allowed to gawk and Lennon was allowed to flirt.

It was just the two of them.

He straightened his posture, growing a few inches in height and being so far away made him feel like he was drowning. His head felt like it was underwater and her eyes felt like cast hooks into his flesh, pulling him in and begging him to come to the surface.

"You have a gift," she complimented honestly. "If you'd let people hear you like that... hmph," she rolled her eyes and smiled to herself. "I'd have more competition," she turned back towards him and felt her cheeks physically heat up with blush.

Eddie smirked. "Competition?" he teased, stepping to the side and reading Lennon for any signs of discomfort before nearing her.

"Oh, my god," she chuckled. "Yes. Competition, you tease," she rolled her eyes, falling back on her palms and contemplating what to prioritize.

Lennon's eyes fell to the floor, staring down at her white Chassés to avoid his alluring gaze. She didn't know if she should excuse herself or if she should lean into this feeling. She knew what Eddie was doing. All his friends were gone and the whole school would be nearly empty now that the game was over. It was just the two of them and a few teachers and custodial workers in the entire building.

She wanted to lose herself in him. She wanted to run off with the feeling she had in her belly and never let go.

But at the same time, she was exhausted and anxious and overwhelmed and she was going on a date with Billy on Saturday. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair she had to hide her affections, but more importantly, it wasn't fair to Eddie.

He didn't deserve to be this thing she had to hide like she was ashamed of him. She wasn't. If anything, the things he was capable of doing were the most impressive and she was proud of him for being able to do them all so well. From guitar to storytelling, he had a beautiful way of interpreting emotion and nobody like that should be treated like a secret.

"So don't be teased," Eddie stood across from her with an insinuating drawl to his voice.

Lennon eyes flickered up through her lashes and found Eddie with his head tilted towards her, leaning forward and slowly pressing his hands onto the table beside each side of her hip.

"Whatever you want," he repeated the words they used the night he had his anxiety attack. "Whatever you want, you can have it," he spoke lowly, causing the rumble of his voice to fill the air in rough, raspy reverberations.

He didn't want to make the first move. He didn't want to pressure her into anything. He needed that reassurance that she wanted. He needed to know he hadn't made it all up. He needed to know she felt the same way...

"I shouldn't be here... and what I want right now... won't see the light of day..." she sucked in a silent breath of air and held it there, waiting for Eddie's face to contort into something heartbreaking. But what surprised Lennon was the fact Eddie didn't seem to care. Maybe it was getting late and he was too tired to function properly, or maybe he truly didn't care about her inability to commit to him. But either way, he didn't show her any inclination of pulling away.

"I saw you in the cafeteria today," he whispered darkly, using his words as weapons in a manner that didn't actually hurt Lennon. It was almost like Lennon's equivalent of a knife kink. There was fear of pain or threat but it wasn't anything serious. It was enticing. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Clever One," he smiled charmingly and watched how her eyes fell to his lips when he spoke. "But if you wanted to parade around these halls with Billy Hargrove on your arm, I think you would've done it by now."

Lennon had unconsciously started biting her bottom lip as Eddie refused to back down. If he didn't falter, there was no way she would be able to back away either.

"Whatever's holding you back only exists in your head," he whispered. "If I can give you whatever you desire, I want you to take it, Lennon the Endurer. I shall weep in triumph if you chose to strip me of my skin. Anything you want. I want you to have it."

"I can't do this again..." she drew out nervously, shaking her head and hating the position she put herself in.

Eddie shifted his mischievous tone for one more solemn. "What? What's wrong?" Eddie asked, moving back slightly to give her more room to push him away if she wanted.

She scoffed gently and looked down between the small space between them. "I know what I want. But I shouldn't fulfill that order when I can't promise I won't be taking the same thing from someone else tomorrow..." she confessed shamefully.

Eddie didn't say anything, but she could tell he wasn't comforted by the idea.

"I'm an idiot," she whined, pinching her brows and staring up at Eddie with a look of regret. "I want this," she admitted with a knot in her belly when she moved and grabbed Eddie by the neck, holding him still and stunning him into a stone-like position under her grasp.

"For fucksake," she scoffed incredulously. "I want this," she shook him by the sides of his neck and shoulders, fluttering his hair in the process. "I want to kiss you, Eddie. I want you. I want this. But I owe Billy a date tomorrow because I want this and I couldn't just-"

A pair of warm, full lips were pressed between hers suddenly and the air was knocked out of her lungs when she realized they were Eddie's.

Tasting sugar in a variety of forms, she developed a sweet tooth. From the skittles he chewed on throughout the game to the Mt. Dew he finished a few minutes ago, she wanted more.

She wanted him.

But how could she have something she wanted and still feel... bad? How was she still feeling guilty? How was that even possible?

What did she want more?

An easy life?

Or Eddie?