Their Year (Eddie Munson)

Chapter One

(A/N: I wanted to make this as close to the episode where Eddie was introduced but I don't go word for word because I can't be bothered to do endless digging to do word for word. But I did try to go as close as possible to the episode, hope that is ok.)

Another year, another school. It was her last chance at graduating and yet, here she sat, in the cafeteria. Sitting at a table by herself. Over the first week of being at Hawkins High School, Marley hadn't made friends, not that she really tried. How long would it be before she was taken out again because of severe bullying? Potentially not that long. She would have to wait and see. Eating whatever she had on her lunch tray, she watched the other Hawkins High students. All of them had their own little cliques. She didn't fit into a single one of them. Marley silently sighed as she continued to eat what was in front of her. She, as subtly as possible, looked around the cafeteria, looking at the different cliques that filled the cafeteria.

The band people. Those who played basketball. People who went to parties. Others who were into science. None of those were her. There was one group of people who seemed to be different from the rest of the school. One that seemed to be outcasted from the rest of the school. Maybe she could fit into there? Or would she still be bullied or rejected from there too? There was always a chance. A chance she didn't want to risk. The more she sat alone and observed those around her, the more she listened in to the conversations that surrounded her. Most of them were about things she had never experienced. Dates, going out to hang with friends, sleeping over at someone's house, crushes. Nothing she had really experienced.

Marley sighed silently, she just wanted the day to be over and done with. Wanting to be with her auntie and her uncle. They were the only people she really got along with. She had been with her auntie for as long as she could remember and while her auntie's partner wasn't her uncle by blood, Marley still continued to call him an uncle. Silently eating, she watched as the food on her tray slowly disappeared. The less time she had to spend in the cafeteria, the more time she could spend by herself in a different part of the school. The casual conversations of the students in the cafeteria were interrupted by someone jumping up onto the lunch table.

"As long as you're into band," a male student said, "Or science, or parties. Or a game where you toss balls into laundry baskets!" Marley looked in the direction of the student on the table, spotting someone else with a varsity jacket on.

"Want something freak?" he said. The tone of his voice gave Marley the impression neither of them were friends. Not even remotely close to acquittances. The student on the table raised his hands to the side of his head, his index fingers pointed upwards and stuck his tongue out. By this point, everyone or a majority of the students looked towards the commotion. It was hard to miss. The student on the table lowered his hands and smiled, turning around while mentioning something she couldn't hear. He jumped off the table, speaking a little louder.

"Thats what's killing the kids!" he exclaimed. Marley, trying not to make her amusement obvious, silently laughed. While she had no idea what this guy was originally talking about, she found his antics funny. He seemed like fun. The kind of guy who didn't judge those who didn't fit in anywhere. Though, Marley didn't have the courage to ask if she could hang out with him. What if he said no? What if he said she was too much of an outcast to hang out with him and his friends? The few that he had. No chance. Eating the last thing on her tray, she crossed her arms on the table and gently pulled at the sleeves of her Queen shirt.

As much as she wanted to leave the cafeteria, she didn't want to be seen as more of an outcast than she already was. Would staying put make it better? Sitting alone, only pulling at her sleeves? Probably not. It was a lose-lose situation. One that she had gotten used to by now. Lose-lose situations. Could she go hide in a classroom? No one would be in them and maybe the teachers would understand.

***

Having his little antic, Eddie sat back down on his seat and ate small pieces of food on his tray. Nothing out of the ordinary in terms of his behaviour. Something that had gained him the freak nickname in the first place.

"So, uh Eddie," Dustin said, all attention from Hellfire on him, "Lucas has his ... balls in laundry baskets game tonight, so Lucas isn't going to be able to make it to Hellfire tonight. Mike and I know we can't win your campaign without him. So, Mike and I, we were talking, shooting the shit ... and maybe..."

"Postpone," Mike interjected. Immediately, the rest of Hellfire, minus Eddie, were riled up at the idea of having to postpone the Vecna campaign. Having to postpone a night of playing dungeons and dragons? Not an option. There was no such thing as postponing the Hellfire Club game night.

"Shut up!" Eddie said. The riled-up Hellfire Club members halted their protests at the command of the club leader.

"Are you saying postpone the cult of Vecna?" he asked, some irritation in his voice, "Because a game that Lucas is participating in? All because you couldn't find a sub for him?"

"Something like that," Mike said.

"Something like that," Eddie mimicked, throwing something from his tray at Mike. He got up from his seat once again.

"Gareth has got maybe a year and a half left here," he continued, "I am army crawling my way to a D in Mrs O'Donnell's and if I blow her final, I will walk on that stage. Look at principal Higgins dead in the eye, flip him the bird, grab that diploma and run like hell out of here."

"Didn't he say that last year?" Gareth asked.

"And the year before that?" Jeff questioned.

"Yeah, yeah," Eddie said, "And I was full of shit. This year, it's going to be different. This is going to be my year. Eighty-six baby. You two will be the face of Hellfire once I graduate and escape this hellhole." Eddie's usual smile was one that brought smiles to the rest of the Hellfire club members. To the rest of the Hellfire club members, his smile was contagious.

"But for now," he continued, sitting back down on his chair, "We need to find someone to sub for Lucas. Start thinking of people that could be substitutes for Lucas. We are not postponing the Cult of Vecna." Eddie never liked postponing campaigns for dungeons and dragons, especially when it came to the campaigns he spent weeks creating. This one was no different. There was no way he was going to postpone this one. He had put so much thought and effort into creating it so it could happen later that night. Having one less member wasn't going to stop the campaign from going ahead. Nothing was going to stop the Cult of Vecna.

Dustin and Mike suggested people that could potentially fill in for Lucas, but each person was someone either Eddie didn't like or someone that didn't like dungeons and dragons. Name after name, none of them seemed to be a good substitute for Lucas. Max? No. Steve? No. Robin? No. Erica. Maybe, but it wasn't a yes. There were people who were an obvious no.

"If worse comes to worse," Eddie said, "We will have to play without him and be one person down. It's not the way I want to play it but it is the worst-case scenario." As much as he wanted to have all players there, there was no way of getting Lucas to play for the night if it was the championship game. He was sure there was a chance that his campaign could be won against without a player. Eddie looked around the cafeteria, trying to figure out if there was someone that could potentially like dungeons and dragons and could be a substitute last minute. Through the crowds of people, his eyes landed on Marley. The new girl. She looked like she would fit in with Hellfire.

"What about that girl over there?" he asked, pointing over to the new girl. Dustin, Mike and the rest of Hellfire looked towards the girl that Eddie was pointing at and almost instantly, they already had questions about his potential substitution.