𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, eddie munson

just a cheerleader

sixth grade. it was that long ago that you began cheerleading. freshman year at hawkins high school, you decided to try out for the varsity cheer squad and made the team. at the time, you presented a different side of yourself. a side you thought you had to show to 'get in' with the other cheerleaders. you acted better than everyone else, when in reality, you felt worse than you ever had. you laughed at the 'freaks' of hawkins high and their 'silly' board games they would play in their basements. you were friends with the rest of the cheer squad, but really felt more alone than anything.

after sophomore year, you were done with the persona you'd created for yourself. you continued cheering, but decided you didn't want to be the 'princess of hawkins high' anymore. you just wanted to be you. you started stealing your moms cigarettes, and your older brothers pot. you started hanging out with robin buckley, who'd become your best friend after you were paired up with her for chemistry in your sophomore year as well. you would catch rides to and from school from her and steve occasionally, making for some pretty funny car rides over the last couple years.

finally, when senior year came, you found out that you had a type. a certain curly haired 'freak' had caught your eye recently. you hadn't told robin yet but you were sure she could tell. you could barely keep your eyes off him and his antics during lunch in the cafeteria. one day you finally caught his name after dustin and mike ran up to you and robin basically pleading for you to come sub in for lucas at their hellfire club campaign.

"please! it'll only last an hour and a half and i'll owe you a huge favor!" dustin pleaded.

"listen, you guys can beg robin all you want, but i have game i have to cheer at so, better luck next time." you said, raising your eyebrows and gesturing to the hawkins high cheer uniform and letterman's jacket you were currently wearing.

"c'mon robin, please! eddie refuses to move it to another night and if we don't find a sub, we're comepletely and utterly dead." mike begged.

"who is eddie and why won't he move your club meeting to another night?" you questioned the two freshmen in front of you before robin got a chance to decline the pleading.

"first of all, it's not a 'meeting', it's a campaign. and second of all, what do you mean 'who is eddie?', eddie munson? leader of the hellfire club? likes to stand on our table and yell at the jocks during lunch?" dustin said, as if it was so unbearably obvious. you shrugged and closed your locker.

that's when it all clicked. the boy you'd been eyeing for the past few weeks was eddie munson. he'd always been in the grades above you until he flunked senior year twice and you had finally caught up with him. you would have immediately volunteered to sub, knowing this new information, if you didn't have to cheer at the championship game tonight.

the dismissal bell finally rang, giving you your que to head to the woods behind the school. you usually headed there after school to smoke whatever you had managed to steal from your mom or brothers stash in the morning. you said your goodbyes to robin and the boys and made your way through the back doors of the school.

once you reached the picnic bench, you set your backpack next to you and ravaged through the front pocket. you pulled out the two cigs and a lighter, deciding to save the pot for a day you didn't have to cheer on. you cupped your hand around the end of the cigarette and lit it with you lighter. it was peaceful in these woods. no one ever came back there.

until today. you snapped your head in the direction of footsteps. you noticed a taller figure coming towards you but the person was too far away to work out any details.

"hello?" you raised your voice. once the person got within fifteen feet, you knew exactly who it was.

"oh shit, didn't know any one was out here," he remarked, still making his way towards the picnic table, "mind if i join you?"

you froze. you'd never actually talked to eddie munson. yet here he was in his jean jacket and 'hellfire club' shirt.

"uh, no, go ahead." you responded, dropping eye contact as he sat opposite you.

"a cheerleader, in the woods, smoking a cig? well that's just not right." he jokingly remarked. i smiled and exhaled at his joke.

"guess you'd be surprised to know i'm out here a lot then." you responded.

"well, i usually save the smoking till i get home but it's been a particularly stressful day." eddie said, putting a joint in the corner of his mouth and proceeding to light it.

"why?" what could possibly be stressing him out right now?

"well i set these freshmen off to find a sub for our dungeons and dragons campaign tonight and," he goes silent for a second, questioning what he'd just said, glancing at the ground, then back up at you, "god why am i telling a cheerleader about my d&d club?" he scoffed.

"hey, i'm not just a cheerleader." you said firmly. eddie looked a little taken back by your snapping at him.

"right, right, sorry." he said putting his hands up in defense. it was silent for a minute, both of us taking hits of our respective substances, glancing at the other every once and a while.

"i know dustin and mike don't seem like the most reliable kids in the world but trust me, they'll figure it out." you said breaking the silence.

"how'd you know their names?" eddie furrowed his eyebrows in genuine curiosity.

"like i said, munson, not just a cheerleader." you smiled sarcastically.

"alright now you're starting to freak me out. are you a cheerleader and a psychic?" eddie asked taking the joint out of his mouth, clearly feeling the effects of it already. you just hung your head and laughed.

"how long have you been cheering?" you were taken back by eddie seemingly trying to get to know you.

"six years." you answered, straightforward. he nodded in response.

"i've been playing guitar for seven. guess we all have our talents."

"woah, you play guitar? that's cool. are you, like, in a band or something?" you asked.

"yeah, yeah. corroded coffin. you should come see us play sometime. we get a crowd of around five... drunks." eddie joked. you smiled and laughed a little.

"look at me, making a cheerleader laugh in the woods behind the school. i feel like a jock right now." eddie joked again, clearly very high.

"you're relentless." you said, tossing the leftover bud of your cigarette into the woods and swinging your backpack onto your shoulder, all with a smile on your face. you couldn't even help it at this point, everything about his attitude stuck this huge grin on your face for no reason. you started walking away
from the picnic table and got a decent ways away when you stopped for a second and turned around to face the curly haired boy.

"see you later, eddie. and who knows, maybe i will come see your band play sometime." you shrugged turning back around to walk away. before you could even take three more steps, you heard his voice once more.

"hey! i never got your name, cheerleader!" he raised his voice, standing up, throwing his arms in the air.

"guess you'll just have to figure it out. for now, i'm just a cheerleader." you raised your voice back and headed out of the woods.

he was left there dumbfounded. eddie sat back down and stared in front of him. how did he just let, arguably, the most interesting girl he'd ever met, just get up and walk away like that? he hung his head in his hands in defeat.

"i really need to stop smoking so much weed." he whispered to himself, following a deep breath.

oh, and you were so telling robin about this later.

———
first imagine done!!!!
lmk what you guys think!
i feel like there could be more to this one so..
pt. 2 maybe?? 😏