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late August, 1982
(Y/N) Hopper does her best to navigate her way through Hawkins High on her first day.
Being the new kid in town is never fun, but somehow having your dad be the chief of police makes it worse. Everyone ignores her for the first part of the day. That is until lunch comes around.
(Y/N) finds herself sitting alone in the corner of the lunch room when a pair of hands slam down on the table in front of her lunch tray.
"So, you're the new kid, huh?"
She looks up to see a curly headed boy now sitting across from her.
"Uh, yeah. Lucky guess?"
He cracks a grin and a chuckle falls from his lips. "And your dad is Jim Hopper."
"Wow, word really travels fast here."
What the entirety of the school does not know is that she did not grow up around her father. Her parents were never technically together when her mom got pregnant. Her mother decided it was best to not tell Jim. After a couple months of going through the pregnancy alone, she found a new man, David. He had graduated a couple of years before she and Jim did. The two of them found each other and decided to start a life together. By the time Jim found out she was pregnant, she and David had moved south to Tennessee where David had found a job somewhere around Nashville.
That mother is now a school teacher, teaching junior English at Hawkins High. After her parents both passed away, she and David, her now husband, decided that it was time to move back home. Little did they know about the secrets that lie within Hawkins.
The boy shrugs before replying, "It's a small town, everyone has to have something to pass the time."
The bell rings, signaling that lunch is now over and it's time to head to fourth period.
(Y/N) goes to thank the boy for actually talking to her, but he's already gone. All she knows is that he probably has good taste in music based solely on the Black Sabbath t-shirt she notices he was wearing.
A few weeks pass before she finally learns his name. Eddie Munson.
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late May, 1985
Junior year just ended for (Y/N) Hopper. The only thing left to worry about for the summer is saving money for college and which colleges she actually wants to apply to.
A couple months back, she found that the record shop downtown was looking for a new employee. Luckily, her stepdad knew the owner, Doug, and helped her get the job.
Even though the new mall, Starcourt, opened back in January, the shop is still going strong.
It's a warm Saturday morning when (Y/N) gets to work. She pets the store's cat, Fluffy, before setting her stuff down behind the counter and gathering the new releases to add to the shelves. After a few minutes of stocking the store, the bell above the front door dings, signaling the arrival of a customer.
"Hey, new girl."
(Y/N) can recognize that voice anywhere. "I was the new girl three years ago, Eddie."
Eddie slides past her to go to the counter to pet Fluffy. "Whatever, new girl."
(Y/N) rolls her eyes before grabbing the next cassette in the box.
"So, how's your boyfriend?" Eddie asks after a few moments of silence.
She cringes at the thought of Scott. He was one of the star senior basketball players, next to Steve Harrington, of course. Even though (Y/N) is not the most popular girl at school, she is pretty well-known around the school and town of Hawkins.
"Let's not talk about him," she replies, a hint of anger in her voice.
"Hit a nerve?"
She groans, knowing Eddie will refuse to leave it alone until she tells him what happened.
"I honestly should've known it was too good to be true. After two years of me literally following him around like a lost puppy and doing anything he asked, he had the audacity to cheat on me and sleep with Tiffany."
It's Eddie's turn to cringe now. Tiffany is your typical high school rom-com cheerleader; stupid, mean, and likes to pretend she's the nice girl even after sleeping with your boyfriend.
"Ouch, sorry."
(Y/N) shrugs, "It's cool, I guess. Kind of have my eyes on someone else anyways."
She pauses for a moment, feeling a little embarrassed that she would actually admit that to someone who probably doesn't care. Even though he's the one she has eyes for.
She and Eddie have come to know each other a little better since that fateful day her freshman year. See, (Y/N)'s mother is not only an English teacher at the high school, she's also the drama teacher. This means that she also sponsors the Hellfire Club. Since Eddie decided to start the club, (Y/N) has run into him on multiple occasions.
"Oh, yeah?"
A surge of confidence flows through her body when she speaks again. "Yeah... You probably know him. He's a metalhead, has the prettiest hair I've ever seen, and really likes Dungeons and Dragons."
Eddie's heart skips a beat after her confession, and (Y/N) feels her heart racing.
"So, if this said metalhead asked you out on a date, would you say yes?"
"I would."
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mid-March, 1986
It's been almost 10 months since that wonderful day at the shop. (Y/N) finds herself falling more and more for Eddie with each day that passes.
It's the Friday before spring break. Tonight is the championship basketball game. Everyone is talking about it.
(Y/N) couldn't care less about the basketball game. Tonight also signifies the end of the big campaign she's helped Eddie plan. The Cult of Vecna.
No one knows that she and Eddie are together. They thought it would be best to save themselves from the bullies at Hawkins High. (Y/N) is tired of hiding. She's an adult, and so is Eddie. Who cares if they want to date?
She watches from the other side of the cafeteria as Eddie stands up on top of the table he sits at with the rest of the Hellfire Club. She can barely hear him over the pounding of her heart in her ears.
She stands up abruptly when Eddie jumps off the table.
"Where are you going?" a friend from the table she was sitting at asks.
"Just excuse me for a second, I'm going to go make a scene."
(Y/N) walks away from the table, making her way towards her boyfriend.
Everyone else in the cafeteria watches in anticipation.
A smile grows on her and Eddie's faces as she gets closer. When she reaches him, she pulls him into a searing kiss. After a few seconds, they pull apart, and look to the members of the club.
"You're dating Eddie? Our Eddie?" Dustin questions as if he can't believe what he just witnessed.
(Y/N) can only nod, not trusting herself to talk. She's usually not that bold in front of other people, but she's tired of pretending to not be dating the "freak".
(Y/N) was Dustin's babysitter after first moving to Hawkins. She has met some of her closest friends through him; Steve, Nancy, Jonathan, and Robin.
"I'm so confused," Mike says.
"She's my girlfriend, dipshit. Get used to it," Eddie says, flicking him on the forehead.
His other arm stays wrapped around his girl's side. He sits down, pulling her down into his lap.
"So, are you joining us tonight for the finale of the campaign?"
"Can she be our sub?" Dustin asks.
"As much as I'd like to do that, I helped him plan this whole thing... I'd have too much of an advantage," she replies to Dustin's question before replying to Eddie's. "I'm planning on being there."
The rest of the day and night goes by in a blur. The campaign ended beautifully after Erica Sinclair helped the Hellfire Club defeat Vecna.
(Y/N) and Eddie part ways for the night, him promising to come over in the morning for breakfast with her and her parents before they head out for vacation.
Even though it's spring break, (Y/N) decided that it would be best if she stayed in Hawkins so she could work a few extra shifts to earn more money for college. Time is running out before she starts school at Roane County Community College.
Saturday morning rolls around, and Eddie is a no-show.
"We've got to head on, sweetheart. Why don't you go by his place later? Maybe he overslept or something," her mother says before placing a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "You have the number of our hotel, so don't hesitate to call if you need us, okay?"
"Got it, ma. Have fun on your vacation."
(Y/N) watches as her mom and stepfather leave in their car before she rushes to the phone to call Dustin.
"Henderson residence," Dustin's voice comes through the speaker. He sounds uneasy.
"Dustin! Have you heard from Eddie? He was supposed to come over and-"
She's cut off by the boy on the other side of the call.
"Meet us at Family Video in 10."
The line goes dead.
(Y/N) doesn't hesitate to throw the phone back onto the receiver and run to her room to change clothes before taking her car across town to the store.
When she arrives, she finds Dustin, Max, Robin, and Steve sitting around the computer.
"Finally!" Dustin exclaims. "Do you happen to know who Reefer Rick is?"
(Y/N) feels the color drain from her face. "Why? What's happening? I thought you knew where Eddie was?"
"We think he's at this Rick guy's house, but we don't know his last name."
"Lipton...He lives close to Lover's Lake," she says slowly. "Now can you PLEASE tell me what's going on? What's going on with Eddie?"
Max gives her a sympathetic smile. "I'll explain on the way."
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"Don't worry, Steve will get him with his oar!" Dustin exclaims sarcastically.
"I don't think this is very funny," Steve says poking at a tarp with the oar.
Suddenly, the tarp flies from over the boat and Eddie jumps out, pinning Steve against the wall with a broken beer bottle gripped tightly in his hand.
"Eddie! It's me, it's Dustin. We're here to help!" Dustin yells.
(Y/N) feels like she can't move. Even though she knows Eddie had nothing to do with Chrissy's death, she doesn't know how to adjust to the situation.
The "fire" at Starcourt last year really took a toll on her mental state. Luckily, she had Eddie to help her through. Except he didn't actually know what took place that day. She lost her dad, someone she barely had time to get to know.
"Eddie, please," she finally speaks up. "We believe you. Whatever actually happened last night. It's okay... We're going to help you. Please, put down the bottle."
Eddie's gaze softens at the sound of his girlfriend's voice. His arm drops down to his side and Robin rushes over to Steve's aid.
(Y/N) throws her arms around Eddie's neck, and he holds onto her tightly.
"I was so scared."
"I know, Eds. We need you to tell us everything that happened."
Eddie sits down and takes a few breaths before explaining everything he experienced the night before.
In turn, Dustin explains the last few years in Hawkins and how everything has led up to this.
"So, you've all dealt with this stuff before?" Eddie asks.
The other five people in the room nod simultaneously.
"So the fire at the mall last year... that was?"
"Russians." Dustin replies.
Eddie shakes his head in disbelief.
(Y/N) can't help but feel bad for him. It was a lot for the whole lot of them during the events, so she can only imagine how he might feel after having everything dropped on him at once.
"What do we do?" Eddie asks.
"We need to keep you safe, for one. My parents are out of town, so you could come stay at my place," (Y/N) offers. "At least until we can find a safe house. And we need to find Nancy."
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A couple of days have gone by when Jason Carver shows up at (Y/N)'s door.
"Hey, sweetheart," he grins as she opens the door carefully.
Her blood runs cold at the idea that he could find Eddie downstairs in the basement.
"What do you want, Carver?" she spits.
Jason puts his hands up in defense. "Just wanted to check up on you... Since, you know, your freak boyfriend killed my girl."
(Y/N) rolls her eyes. "You and I both know that he wouldn't do that. You'd have more motive to kill her before Eddie would."
She goes to shut the door before Jason stops the wood from completely shutting him out.
"Then you wouldn't mind if I took a look around, right? Want to make sure you don't have any murderers hiding in here."
"Get off my property before I call the cops, Jason."
(Y/N) slams the door shut and watches as Jason gets back into his Jeep and drives off. She then rushes down the stairs where Eddie, Dustin, Max, Nancy, Robin, and Steve sit.
"We need to get you to my dad's cabin," she says to Eddie. "Jason Carver just showed up, and I think he's going to tell the cops that I'm hiding you here."
The group quickly grabs all their belongings before they head out to the middle of the woods to hide Eddie in Hopper's old cabin.
Once there, Steve asks, "Wasn't this thing destroyed last year?"
"My stepdad and I repaired most of it... I was going to move in after I graduated, so it'll work for Eddie until we figure everything out." (Y/N) explains before adding, "It needs a good cleaning so that'll give you something to do while we work through this, Eds."
After a couple hours of cleaning, (Y/N) and Eddie crash on the couch in the living room.
Eddie is still shaken up after the past few days. Who can blame him? He's been through enough trauma in less than a week than some people experience in a lifetime.
"Thank you... for doing this," Eddie says, leaning back into the cushions.
"I love you, Eddie. And I'm going to do everything I can to keep you safe from all this."
Eddie chuckles, running his fingers through his curls. "I should be the one telling you that. God, I'm a coward."
(Y/N) reaches over and grabs his hands, lacing her fingers with his. "Listen to me, Eddie Munson. You are not a coward. You did the same thing any of us would do. This is scary, and we've gone through so much these past few years. You are brave for even still being here with us."
With that, the two of them sit for a while before they both drift off to sleep.
The next morning, they are awoken to the sound of a car pulling up outside.
(Y/N) glances out the window to see Steve, Dustin, and Robin get out of Steve's BMW. She opens the front door for them and they all make themselves as comfortable as they can in the tiny, wooden cabin.
"We have a plan," Dustin tells the couple. "When Vecna is attacking his victims, he goes into a sleep-like state in the Upside Down. If we can get through the rift in Eddie's house, we can get in and attack when Vecna leasts expects it."
Dustin then lays out what looks to be a series of maps. "This is Hawkins, which would also be how the Upside Down looks, just, you know, scarier. The Creel house is here-- he points to a red marked spot on the map-- and this is Eddie's house. We, me and the two of you, are going to distract the demobats while Robin, Steve, and Nancy get into the Creel house and attack Vecna's body. This is all in the Upside Down. In actual Hawkins, Lucas, Max, and Erica are going to be in the Creel house and Max is going to lure Vecna to her. Lucas will stand guard while she taunts him, and then Erica will signal for us to begin our plan."
"Are we sure this is going to work?" Eddie asks, fear seeping through his words.
"It's the best we've got..." Steve answers.
"Then let's do it."
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"I'm buying more time," Eddie says before cutting the sheets that connect the Upside Down to his home.
"Eddie, no!" (Y/N) screams.
Eddie runs off and Dustin grabs a chair to help give (Y/N) a boost to get back into the Upside Down.
"Please stay here, Dustin. I can't let anything happen to you, okay?"
Dustin throws his arms around her, giving her a tight hug before helping her go back through the rift.
(Y/N) runs through the Upside Down before finding Eddie standing up against hundreds of demobats. She watches in horror as some attack him.
She grips her weapon tighter before running and slicing through what she can.
And like a switch was flipped, the remaining demobats fall to the ground.
(Y/N) falls to her knees in front of Eddie. He takes a couple deep breaths as he lays on the cold ground.
"You better not die on me, Munson, or I'll kill you myself."
"I didn't run this time, princess."
"I know, Eddie. You're a hero," she cries. "Now let's go home."
She helps her boyfriend off the ground before they get back to the trailer.
"Holy shit, you're okay!" Dustin exclaims after the two get back to the real world.
He wraps his arms around the couple, clearly happy that they are alive.
The three of them head back to the rendezvous point, Hopper's cabin, and wait for the rest of the team to arrive.
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A couple days later, the group, minus Eddie, finds themselves at (Y/N)'s house.
"So, you're telling me that during our short vacation... Eddie was "framed" for murder, you defeated a creepy monster in the Upside Down, and met Victor Creel, the man who I had nightmares about for years?" (Y/N)'s mother asks.
(Y/N)'s mom and stepdad know all about the events that have taken place in Hawkins. (Y/N)'s mom was one of the key people that helped Joyce Byers prove that Will was still alive in another dimension.
"Uh, yeah, that's pretty much it," Dustin says.
"I want to go check on Eddie, so do you guys want to come with me?" (Y/N) asks.
The group follows her outside and into a couple different cars before heading out into the woods yet again.
When they get there, they see a van reading "Surfer Boy Pizza."
"It's a California car... Do you think it could be the Byers?" Steve asks.
They slowly make their way to the front door before Dustin does his special "secret" knock that he made Eddie learn so he would know that it was him.
The door creeps open, revealing Eddie and El.
"(Y/N)!" El exclaims, throwing her arms around her older sister.
"What are you doing here?" (Y/N) asks.
El pulls her inside, then into her old bedroom, and explains everything that happened in California.
"I'm so glad you're okay," (Y/N) sighs out.
Outside the bedroom door comes a creak in the floorboard and the door swings open.
"Dad?"
The two girls rush over to the tall man in the doorway and he holds onto the two of them tightly.
"I never stopped believing," El says through tears.
"How are you here?" (Y/N) questions.
"It's a long story, but I'm here now, kid." Hopper says. "Now tell me why Munson is in my living room."
(Y/N) laughs. "About that..."
"You know I've busted him for drugs on multiple occasions, right?"
"Details, details..." (Y/N) says. "He's my boyfriend."
Hopper sighs, running a hand down his face. "Of course he is."
"He also saved my life..."
"I'll forgive him this time."
(Y/N) laughs again. "I'm glad you're home, dad."
"Me, too, kid."