PUPPET MASTER, eddie munson

vi. a kiss of the past

a/n : for the sake of shit making sense, eddie only failed his senior year once. dolly is a senior, which means that eddie is only a year older. everyone have a blessed day.

DOLLY HAD ALWAYS BEEN A LITTLE IRRITABLE.

She had been a perfectionist since birth, always excepting nothing short of excellence from herself and others. Unfortunately, she learned very quickly that the world didn't share her ideals. So, in an attempt to keep things up to her standards, she simply did everything on her own.

She did group projects by herself, taught herself to drive, and usually tackled her problems head on. She had always told herself that doing things on her own prevented the chances of being a disappointment. It was easier to fail yourself than it was to fail the people you cared about.

Staring at Molly, her face sullen and deviod of the usual joy that occupied it, was undoubtably hard for the girl. Dolly couldn't help but think that if she had kept her best friend out of today's adventure, Molly would be at home safe, or at least under the protection of Jason and the basketball team. Instead, here they were: tied up and sitting in a tense silence across from Valentina and Eddie.

The group ignored Eddie's query about food, avoiding eye contact with each other instead. In the few minutes after the rest of the group had left, Valentina had fished out a small bouncy ball from her pocket and was continuously throwing it to the floor and catching it in her head. The small thumps from the contact were the only sound in the room.

Dolly had taken advantage of the silence and had looked around the shack to find any way to escape. Her machete was only a few feet away to her left, perfectly in reach if she could just free her hands. She kept trying to think of some way to free herself but the repetitive sounds of Valentina bouncing the rubber ball was getting on Dolly's last nerve.

"Oh my god, could you put that thing away?" Dolly called out, breaking the silence. She looked up, glaring at her sister who merely rolled her eyes and tucked the ball back into her pocket. She sighed, looking to the side, only to find Eddie's eyes intensely focused on her. Her eyes narrowed at him, still unconvinced of his innocence. "Can I help you, Munson?"

"How come the bleeding hasn't stopped? I'm pretty sure I wrapped those bandages correctly," he questioned, tilting his head in confusion. Dolly's eyes widened, she had assumed that Val or literally anyone else had healed the cut on her head.

"That was- well whatever. The bleeding stopped ... until I banged my head on the wall so that I'd be let go," she muttered, trying to ignore the light pounding on her head.

Molly snorted, "Didn't quite work out, did it, Dolly?"

"I'm literally starving because of you? Go away," Dolly retorted, slightly pouting at the emptiness in her stomach. The only thing she had consumed all day was a whole lot of beer and a strawberry milkshake, it was a miracle she was conscious.

Eddie's eyes lit up and he reached around to grab a half-empty box of cereal. He grinned, handing it to her, and waited for her to grab it. She looked at him, waiting for his common sense to catch up with him.

"My hands are tied up, Munson," Dolly deadpanned, staring at him and shaking her head in disappointment when his eyes widened and he tried to laugh it off. Dolly sent him a tight-lipped smile, but quickly realized the potential of her situation.

She looked to the side and noticed that Val's back was to her, facing the lake. The young girl had spaced out from the conversation, choosing instead to focus her attention on the calming tranquility of Lover's Lake. She turned back to Eddie, sighing softly in mock frustration.