Chapter Text
It had come to the attention of Dustin Henderson as of late that one of his dearest friends could use his romantic expertise. The young, curly-haired Hawkonian was classified as a certified genius at the mere age of ten, but he had recently fancied himself a bit of a love savant. His girlfriend lived four states away, and yet they were still going strong after over a year of long distance dating. Not many fifteen-year-olds could claim the same.
And so, when he noticed a certain metalhead making eyes at a certain cheerleader during their high school graduation ceremony, he knew it was time to take matters into his own hands.
It was as if Cupid himself had floated down from the heavens, gifted his precious bow and arrow to Dustin and said: “Thou art a matchmaker now. Go and fulfill thy divine purpose!” And who was he to say no to a god? A lesser hero might have been deterred by the fact that Cupid had a unique set of skills to facilitate carrying out heavenly orders but, as his Suzie-Poo had reminded him last time they spoke, so did Dustin. He could wield Cupid’s bow and arrow through a dungeon master's screen and a set of dice, becoming the deus ex machina in a tale of his own creation. The next step, though, was to gather his allies. A story was nothing without an eclectic mix of characters, after all.
“Nancy! Dustin’s here looking for you!” Mrs. Wheeler was still wearing an expression of mild confusion as she called out for her oldest daughter. With Mike currently over 1500 miles away, Dustin had already reasoned his friend’s mom might be a little surprised to see him, but had also correctly predicted that she wouldn’t be surprised enough to ask any questions.
The Wheeler confused face was matched almost perfectly by Nancy, who came down the stairs to take her mother’s place at the door. “Hey, Dustin,” she greeted him, “Is everything OK? Mike doesn’t get back until…”
“Next week, I know,” Dustin interrupted, “Hey, how well do you know Chrissy Cunningham?”
Nancy’s eyes narrowed, and Dustin would have been inclined to laugh if he wasn’t fully focused on his mission. “I know of Chrissy Cunningham,” she replied. “We didn’t exactly run in the same circles, especially after Steve and I broke up and I started dating Jonathan.”
“But you do know she dumped Jason Carver on graduation day, right?” he queried, raising his eyebrows expectantly.
“I think all of Indiana knows that by now,” Nancy countered. She crossed her arms and casually leaned against the doorframe. “Good for her, honestly. He always gave me the worst vibes, and she seems way too sweet to be going out with a hoser like him… Anyway, why are you asking me about Chrissy?”
Dustin clapped his hands and rubbed them together enthusiastically. “This is the fun part. Are you ready?” he exclaimed, to which Nancy merely blinked at him. “I think,” he continued, undeterred by her lack of passion, “Eddie is in love with Chrissy, and I need you to help me set them up.”
“Wait, Eddie? As in the guy who snuck a guitar into graduation and got chased out by Principal Higgins? That Eddie?” Nancy had broken into a small but definitely amused smile, which Dustin thought had to be a positive sign.
“The one and only. I have to give him credit for that one. It’ll go down in Hawkins High history,” Dustin declared, “But right before he broke into his rendition of School’s Out - brilliant choice, incidentally - I saw the look of love in his eyes, and for once it wasn’t directed at his guitar. It was directed at a strawberry blonde girl whose smile seemed to give him all the encouragement he needed. It was like a whole movie was playing out before me, an untold saga of a romance that never was.”
“That’s a lot to get from a look,” Nancy pointed out.
“You seem skeptical,” Dustin observed. The part that he didn’t say out loud was that it made sense for the new high school graduate to be feeling disillusioned when it came to love. It hadn’t exactly been difficult to piece together what might have happened between her and Jonathan when Mike had revealed she wouldn’t be joining him, Max and Lucas on their trip to California.
“I’m not. I’m sorry, I’m just in a weird place right now. I was clearing out some stuff in my room and I…” Nancy shook her head. “Anyway, that all sounds very sweet, but I’m still not clear on why you need my help with this.”
“Well, I would’ve asked Steve, but he’s not smart enough to pull this off,” Dustin explained, “Plus, I think we’re going to need at least one other girl to balance things out.”
Nancy let out a small sigh, fluttering her bangs. “I’m not following… I’m going to need you to take a few steps back and explain to me what you mean by ‘ this .’ What exactly do you have up your sleeve?”
Dustin flashed a wide grin. The fact that Nancy hadn’t already told him to get lost was a good sign. A very good sign. This was precisely why he had gone to her in the first place. Apart from the reality that Steve truly was lacking in the smarts department and Nancy was one of the most astute people he knew, she also had a big heart and a propensity for caring.
“Okay, hear me out,” he started, trying to let his brain catch up to his mouth, “I’m sure my proposal might sound a little zany at first, but believe me when I tell you I’ve thought this one all the way through. It’s perfect.” He raised up his arms and presented Nancy with jazz hands as he declared his master plan: “Dungeons and Dragons!”
Nancy balked. “What?”
“I’m taking over as Dungeon Master for Hellfire next school year,” he clarified, pointing to his shirt with the club’s logo emblazoned on the front. “I need players to practice with. And I thought - what better method would there be to get Chrissy and Eddie under the same roof? Speaking from experience, it’s an excellent way to form lasting friendships and comradery, conducive to building bonds and trust. Eddie would be completely in his element, and-”
“You want me to play a boardgame with them?” Nancy interrupted. “That’s your plan?”
Dustin held up a hand in protest. “It’s a tabletop RPG, first of all. Second of all, it’s the only way I can think to lure Eddie out of his den. He’s not exactly the most sociable guy... I’m pretty sure I can convince Steve and Robin to participate, but I need your help with Chrissy. I feel like she’d be more likely to join up if the invitation came from you.”
Though he had once gotten up close and personal with Nancy at the Snow Ball, Dustin didn’t think he had realized quite how expressive her eyebrows were until this very moment. They were drawn together ever so slightly in the middle of her face as she fell silent, seemingly contemplating his request.
“Let’s say that I do this,” she started. Dustin tried and failed to suppress an immediate grin. “You know I’ve never properly played Dungeons and Dragons before.”
“That’s the beauty of it. Neither has Chrissy,” Dustin countered, “This way, she won’t feel intimidated, just like Eddie won’t feel intimidated because we’ll be in his domain. It’s the perfect setup.”
Nancy nodded slowly. “So now it’s Dustin Henderson, love expert?” she said, her tone teasing yet gentle, “Are you going to go around solving all of your friends’ romantic problems?”
“Maybe if this goes well I’ll get some business cards made,” Dustin countered with a chuckle, “So, is that a yes?”
“It’s a yes.” Nancy’s small smile was suddenly back. “If I’m here in Hawkins until the end of summer, I might as well do some matchmaking and learn what a…tabletop RPG is.”
“You’ll pick it up in no time.” Dustin lowered his voice, leaning in towards the door frame as he added: “Nancy, you, Steve and Robin have played Dungeons and Dragons for real . Compared to that, this’ll be a breeze. You never know, you might even have some fun.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Nancy remarked with a small, affectionate eye roll.
Before Dustin even had the chance to thank her, she was lunging forward to rip his ball cap off of his head and give his hair a tousle. He snatched his hat back and recoiled in terror while Nancy laughed.
“ Not cool, Nance!” he declared, already making his way back down her driveway.
“Bye, Dustin!” she called out gleefully. “I’ll talk to Chrissy tonight!”
Two days later, Steve, Robin, Nancy, Chrissy, and Dustin sat in the basement archives of the Hawkins Public Library, pouring over blank player character records that had been carefully xeroxed from Dustin’s personal handbook.
Step one of his plan had gone off nearly without a hitch. The library was kind enough to provide a space for their endeavors, especially after Nancy charmed her way into their good graces. She had been one of their best patrons over the years, and Dustin was grateful that her studious conduct canceled out any late fees he had racked up. Chrissy, according to Nancy’s recounting of events, barely needed to be persuaded into joining their group. She seemed elated to have some newfound friends to hang out with, only expressing hesitancy over what her God-fearing mother might think if she were to find out her daughter was messing with magic, even the fictitious kind. They quickly came up with a cover story, and Laura Cunningham was more than happy to accept the fabrication that Chrissy was taking part in a study group prepping for college. Steve and Robin were a little harder to convince, but once Dustin hooked one of them (in this case, Robin), the other inevitably followed.
All that was missing now was the supporting star of the show, Edmund Muson himself. Dustin had purposefully left out the tiny detail that Chrissy would be joining them for a practice D&D session just in case Eddie got cold feet, but now he was slightly worried that his plan had backfired. The former Dungeon Master was eight whole minutes late to their soiree, and the other members of the party were starting to get antsy.
“So,” Steve piped up from his seat to Dustin’s left, “About my character name…”
“Steve, we’ve been through this,” Robin said, “You can’t name your character Rob Lowe.” She was seated on Steve’s other side, and he turned to look at her with mild indignation.
“Why not?” Steve protested.
“Because it’s lame,” Robin told him.
“What about Tom Cruise?” Steve offered.
“No,” Robin said, this time perfectly in sync with Nancy, who was in the other chair next to her.
A giggling Chrissy rounded out the adventuring party for the time being, sitting with Nancy on one side and an empty chair on the other. Dustin already had a not untrue backstory ready to share about how Eddie was very particular about his spot at the table, but it turned out to be unnecessary when Chrissy hadn’t even questioned the prospective seating arrangements.
“The name Tom Cruise just doesn’t fit the setting, Steve,” Dustin explained, “Think medieval fantasy. Think The Hobbit . Think The Lord of the Rings .”
“What the heck is a hobbit and why is there a lord of rings?” Steve questioned, and it took everything in Dustin to not pick up his dungeon master’s screen and smack him on the head.
“Oh, wait, so would that movie Ladyhawke count?” Chrissy asked, “That was really fun. A bunch of us watched it at a sleepover.”
Dustin’s jaw fell open slightly in surprise. Jesus Christ, this girl really was Eddie’s soulmate. “That absolutely counts, Chrissy,” he said encouragingly, giving her a smile. The redhead responded with a grin of her own before she turned her attention back to her character record and scribbled something down.
“Thomasin Crews,” Steve announced, looking at Dustin expectantly.
Dustin blinked. He desperately wished he had brought a bottle of Excedrin with him. Maybe Nancy had some in her purse that she could lend him later. “I’ll allow it,” he conceded through gritted teeth. Steve fistpumped into the air as if he had gotten the girl at the end of a John Hughes flick rather than winning the right to name his D&D character after a movie star.
“Hey, dingus,” Robin started, elbowing Steve’s arm, “Got any brilliant name suggestions for my bard? Johanne Jettsinger? Fleetwood Macaroni?”
Steve responded by flicking Robin with his pencil, but they both fell in line when Dustin gave them a warning glare. The last thing he needed was for anyone to scare Chrissy off before Eddie even got there. He glanced up at the clock again. Eddie was now eleven minutes late.
“ Come on , Munson. Get your ass in gear,” he muttered under his breath.
As if on cue, Eddie dramatically burst through the double doors of the archives, wild hair fanning out behind him. “Sorry I’m late, Henderson,” he remarked casually. “Band practice ran a little- Holy shit.” All of the gusto and noise that Eddie had entered the room with drained from his body as his eyes landed on Chrissy. Dustin wasn’t sure if it was just in his imagination, but he thought he had never heard a room as silent – not even a library.
“Henderson,” Eddie repeated, slowly this time, “What exactly is going on here?”
Dustin could only thank God or perhaps Cupid for Nancy Wheeler. “Oh, we’re just…trying to figure our characters out,” she said, a picture of calm, “I think some of us could use some help.”
“Not me,” Robin declared proudly, “My character is already so rad. She’s a wandering bard who travels from town to town making everyone fall in love with her.”
“Very nice,” Eddie said with a nod. Dustin noticed he still hadn’t taken his eyes off Chrissy, but he at least seemed to be mildly distracted by the banter. “What race are we going with?”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that,” Robin admitted.
“May I suggest…” Eddie made his way over to rest a hand casually on the back of Robin’s chair. “...a charismatic half-elf? Elves secretly admire her, humans secretly admire her, everyone else secretly wants to be her.”
Robin did a version of Steve’s fist pump but with both of her hands. “Yes, perfect!” she said as she brought her hands down, “Help Steve next. He’s the one who really needs it.”
“Wait, so do I have to be an elf or a dwarf or something?” Steve asked, “Can’t I just be a…regular warrior guy?”
“Human fighter it is,” Eddie dubbed the other man, “A brave soldier who refuses to back down in the face of adversity and…should probably make sure he has a lot of armor.” Nancy barely suppressed a chuckle, and Eddie’s attention turned to her as he made his way over to the other side of the table. “What about you, Wheeler?” he asked.
“Well, I mean, Nancy has to be a human fighter, too, right?” Steve answered before Nancy had a chance to, “It kind of fits.”
“Well, actually…” Nancy’s smile now had a hint of mischief to it. “I’m fine with being a human, but since this game has magic in it, I was thinking it might be fun to have a character who could do things that I wouldn’t be able to do in real life. I thought maybe I could be a wizard?”
“Oh, brilliant.” Robin was grinning from ear to ear. “The world isn’t ready for a Nance with magical powers.”
“A character who has achieved mastery over her skills through years and years of training,” Eddie offered, waving his hands dramatically through the air, “Now, she’s unmatched in both her cunning and her ferocity.”
Chrissy let out a loud giggle at Eddie’s antics, and Dustin had to suppress his own laughter as the metalhead’s face was drained of color once more. “I could probably use your expertise, Eddie,” she said coyly, pulling out the chair beside her.
“Yeah, of course, Chrissy.” Eddie immediately jumped to attention, dipping into a somewhat clumsy but endearing bow. “I am but your humble servant.” He sat down next to her, noticeably keeping his distance. Dustin cackled internally when she shuffled closer to him and scooted her character record his way.
“I think I’ve got most of it figured out,” Chrissy remarked, fingers fidgeting with the sleeves of her cardigan. From where Dustin was seated, he could see that her sheet was thoroughly filled out, sans the descriptor areas where she was meant to give her player’s height and weight. Eddie glanced over at her with wide eyes and then produced a pen from his jeans pocket, hastily scratching out both spaces.
“Those don’t matter,” he told her gently. “As long as you can envision your character in your mind… No need for specific numbers. I think you’ve done a brilliant job. And do I spy a Ladyhawke reference?”
Chrissy nodded and gave a pretty smile, and even in the dim light of the basement, her cheeks flushed distinctly pinker. Dustin was almost certain Eddie was going to pass out if he didn’t intervene.
“Alright, vibe check!” he declared emphatically. “How is everyone feeling about their characters?”
Steve raised his hand. Dustin sometimes wondered if Harrington was more of a dork than he was.
“How much wine am I allowed to carry on my person?” Steve asked after Dustin called on him.
“Enough to make you stop bugging your Dungeon Master with dumb questions,” Dustin responded.
“How is that a dumb question?” Steve protested, “I’m trying to get into the character of Thomasin here.”
“Ooh, I still need a character name,” Robin remembered, “I want something...unexpected.”
“I think my character is going to be called…Ziggy.” Nancy looked rather proud of herself, one hand resting over the other on top of her character record while she glanced over at Robin. “You know, Johanne Jettsinger isn’t a bad name.”
“Why, thank you, but I think I can do one better,” Robin replied, “Easter. After one of the greatest albums of all time.”
“Thomasin the fighter, Ziggy the wizard and Easter the bard,” Chrissy summarized, looking round at the table, “You’re all so creative.”
“Well, I for one can’t wait to see what the ethereal elven druid Isabeau has in store for us,” Eddie declared, “What animal is she going to turn into next? Nobody knows.”
“Don’t you think it would be amazing to turn into an animal who could fly?” Chrissy said, “I would think about that sometimes during cheerleading practice. Some of our stunts made it almost feel like you were flying.” She was leaning in even closer towards Eddie as she spoke, and Dustin tried not to be obvious about exchanging a look with Nancy across the table. He wasn’t sure how long it would take for Eddie to calm down, but if this entire plan depended on Chrissy, it seemed like it might come to fruition even sooner than he’d expected.
Nancy side-eyed Dustin amusedly, especially when Eddie placed his cheek in his hand and looked at Chrissy with stars in his eyes. “Yeah, that does sound pretty amazing,” he replied.
“What about your character, Eddie?” Chrissy asked. “Sorry, we’ve all been distracting you since you got here. You haven’t even touched your record.”
“Meh, don’t worry about me. It’s all up here.” Eddie tapped the side of his skull. “I did a little prepping beforehand, and I have a few years of dungeon crawling experience under my belt.”
“Let’s hear it, then,” Robin postured, giving a supportive nod.
Eddie took in a long, deep breath. Dustin knew him well enough by now to know when he was about to start in on his theatrics, and he proverbially cleared the floor so that Eddie had the spotlight.
“The Puppetmaster was born to an Elven mother and human father, though, in an ironic twist of fate, his immortal parent was taken from him far before his earthly one,” Eddie began his story, his voice low and captivating. “Father and son roamed the land for years, struggling to line their pockets after the loss of their family’s matriarch. They turned to a life of crime, picking locks and robbing houses under the cover of darkness. The Puppetmaster learned to love the night, the stars that lit up the sky, the musicality of crickets, the sweetness in solitude… until one catastrophic evening when their plans went awry and his only companion was captured and jailed. Without his father’s constant influence and demands, the half-elf rogue has to form his own identity and learn how to employ his lawless nature for good, as well as navigate the hairy world of making new friends.”
Dustin’s time spent as part of Eddie’s incarnation of the Hellfire Club meant he was hardly surprised by what came out of his mentor’s brain or the intensity of his delivery. It didn’t make it any less entertaining to listen to, though, and perhaps equally entertaining were the reactions of everyone else around the table. Nancy was wearing a small, amused half-smile, as though she couldn’t quite believe that she was both in this situation and enjoying herself as much as she was. Robin was riveted, her gaze following Eddie in a way that suggested she was mentally taking notes on his performance. Steve looked mostly confused, but Dustin thought he saw just a hint of at least some recognition of the other man’s storytelling skills. As for Chrissy, she was absolutely enthralled.
“Why does he call himself ‘The Puppetmaster’?” Chrissy asked, her eyes bright and her tone awe filled and earnest.
“Oh, because…” Eddie hesitated for about half a second. “He pulls the strings. He manipulates people to get what he wants, because…that’s all he learned how to do.”
“So, does he have a real name?” Steve asked.
“Not one that he’ll ever share with you, Sir Crews of Hawksville,” Eddie replied.
“Alright, alright.” Steve seemed to get over the affront quite easily. “Hey, can I have a nickname, too? They could call me…Maverick.”
“No,” Nancy and Robin stated, once more in unison.
Steve sighed. “Whatever. As soon as you all see Thomasin in action, you’ll be falling over each other to come up with a badass nickname for him.”
Eddie saluted the other man. “Challenge accepted,” he remarked. “By the time this campaign is over, we’ll definitely be christening Sir Crews with a title far more epic than Maverick.”
Chrissy giggled again, and Eddie’s head whipped around to look at her. “I’d love to write a backstory for Isabeau like you did with The Puppetmaster,” she told him, worrying her lower lip. “Do you think you could help me?”
“Absolutely,” Eddie answered immediately, his tone going softer as his fingers tapped on her character record. “How long have you got, Sunshine? We could give Isabeau her own novel.”
“Well… my mom is expecting me back home at eight,” Chrissy explained. Eddie gave a pained look, and Dustin knew that his friend most definitely regretted being eleven minutes late. He had a feeling Eddie would be showing up to their sessions early from that moment on out. “But we can get started,” Chrissy added with a smile.
“Sounds perfect,” Eddie replied with a sweetness Dustin had only ever seen reserved for a certain cheerleader.
“Hey, you two,” Robin spoke up, nudging both Nancy and Steve next to her, “Do you think our characters have met before? Maybe we could come up with something about how we’ve been traveling around together.”
“You guys all feel free to talk amongst yourselves,” Dustin encouraged them, “I’m doing some important Dungeon Master business.” His screen was the perfect facade behind which he could pretend to be meticulously crafting his game, all while watching and listening in as much as he could on Eddie and Chrissy’s conversation.
“So…where do you think Isabeau is from?” Eddie asked, “What kind of place does she call home?”
Chrissy paused in contemplation. “A forest,” she decided, “Maybe she grew up surrounded by trees and plants and animals, and that’s why she wanted to be a druid.”
“Great choice,” Eddie encouraged her, “What’s her favorite animal? I’m guessing maybe a bird?”
“A magical bird.” Chrissy broke into a grin. “Like a…phoenix. That’s the one that comes back to life from the ashes, right?”
A distinct memory flashed through Dustin’s mind of spotting a very battered copy of Uncanny X-Men #101 in Eddie’s trailer, the cover depicting Jean Grey emerging from Jamaica Bay in her new green and gold costume. He wondered if Chrissy had any idea how close her companion probably was to losing his mind.
“Chrissy, you’re a bonafide fantasy expert,” Eddie said, his eyebrows having traveled far above his fringe in a permanent expression of disbelief. “I’m not sure what you need my help for.”
“I want your help,” Chrissy insisted, reaching over to cling to Eddie’s arm as if she was afraid he’d disappear on her. His eyes went wide, and her cheeks grew pink again as she withdrew her hand. “You’re really good at weaving everything together,” she told him. “I think your character should be called ‘The Storyweaver’, not ‘The Puppetmaster.’”
“Ah, but what would that do for my reputation, Sunshine?”
Dustin breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment there, he had thought Eddie was about to blow it, but he slipped back into his usual confidence.
“I don’t have Thomasin’s brawn or Easter’s charm or Ziggy’s wisdom,” Eddie continued. “Rogues often have to depend on how they are perceived by others, and it’s best that I maintain my rough around the edges image.”
Chrissy wore a small, somewhat wistful smile as she nodded in understanding. Eddie seemed to take note of her hesitancy before adding: “ Maybe I have a soft spot for one Elven druid.”
“Yeah?” Chrissy asked hopefully, perking up.
“Yeah,” Eddie confirmed. “But she’s the only one who gets to see through my disguise.”
“Maybe I… she sees that he’s not as scary as people think he is,” Chrissy offered, “And he makes her feel…less alone.”
“Oh yeah?” Eddie looked a little surprised. “I find it hard to believe she doesn’t have a ton of friends back home.”
“She has friends. It’s just that…sometimes she has a hard time finding people who’ll listen to her.” Chrissy’s smile faltered for just a moment before she let out a small giggle. “Maybe that’s why she spends her time talking to the animals.”
“I already like your backstory even more than mine,” Eddie told her, and the smile Chrissy gave him then was about as radiant as the ‘Sunshine’ nickname he had given her.
“I said no, Robin.” The other three players’ conversation had clearly escalated the point where Steve felt he had to raise his voice. “Your character and my character did not both court the lady Charlotte Blackwood.”
“Is that because you’re afraid she’d pick me?” Robin asked with a grin.
“As if anyone is picking you over Maverick,” Steve objected.
Nancy pinched the bridge of her nose. “Can you please stop with the Maverick thing?”
“Okay!” Dustin jumped up from his chair, and the sound of his chair scraping against the floor shut everyone up. “We’ve got about fifteen minutes left. Does everyone feel ready to start the campaign next time we get together?”
He was met with a chorus of nods and ‘yes’s, though Chrissy glanced up at the clock nervously, picking at her sleeve. “I should probably get going,” she announced, “I rode my bike here, so it’ll take me a while to get home.”
“Need a ride?” Eddie promptly proposed. “Your bike should fit in the back of my van.”
“Oh, no, Eddie. That’s so sweet. Thank you,” Chrissy said, fidgeting with her character record and the pink backpack she’d brought with her which she’d hung on the back of her chair. “I need to get some exercise. I already neglected my morning run today… But, um… maybe you can pick me up next time?”
“Of course,” he replied. He pushed his own sheet of paper over to her. “Just write down your address, and I’ll be there.”
Dustin glanced over at Nancy again and quickly shifted his DM screen so that he could give her a thumb’s up behind it without Eddie or Chrissy seeing. Nancy pressed her lips together and gave a small nod in acknowledgment.
“Thanks again,” Chrissy said when she returned the sheet to Eddie, her address neatly written across the top in cursive. “Oh, Dustin,” she added, turning towards the head of the table, “You said that when we start the game we’d need dice?”
“That’s right, but you don’t need to worry about bringing any,” Dustin assured her, “We have a lot of dice. I think Eddie has dice coming out of his ears.”
“Definitely out of my pockets,” Eddie admitted. To prove his point, he rummaged around in his torn-up jeans and his jacket and managed to produce no fewer than six dice of assorted color and size, which he laid out on the table.
“Oh, wow. I like that one.” Chrissy’s eye had been caught by a translucent emerald green d20 with white numbering. Dustin watched as Eddie’s gaze went from the dice to Chrissy and then back to the dice again before he picked it up and presented it to her. “Oh, no, you don’t have to…” she started to say.
“It’s yours,” Eddie affirmed, “I can barely keep track of the ones I have, and who knows? Maybe it’ll bring you luck.”
Chrissy was blushing furiously at this point. “Thank you, Eddie. You’re the best,” she said, her hand quickly reaching to grab her new treasure from his palm and then secure it in a zipped pocket on her backpack. “Bye, everyone!” she declared, hopping up from her seat and giving a wave. “I can’t wait for next time!” The cheerleader practically skipped to the exit, only turning back to specifically shoot a smile in Eddie’s direction.
“She’s delightful ,” Robin remarked. “Who knew? Anyone who called her ‘Prissy Chrissy’ in high school was a scumbag. The world could use more people like Chrissy Cunningham.”
“Not possible,” Eddie said, his eyes still transfixed on the door where Chrissy had taken her leave. “She’s one of a kind.”
Robin and Steve looked like they were on the verge of breaking into laughter. Dustin was grateful for Nancy’s intervention this time around. “Hey, you two want to go grab some ice cream?” she asked. “Unless you’re still too scarred by your Scoops Ahoy experience, of course.”
“Nothing could turn me off of ice cream,” Steve asserted, to which Robin gave a nod in agreement.
“Eddie, you want to come with?” Nancy offered, but the metalhead shook his head.
“You all go ahead,” he told them, waving a dismissive hand. “I have some business with our Dungeon Master to take care of.”
Dustin bid the departing trio goodbye, exchanging a quick look with Nancy that without words told him that he was on his own. He busied himself with staring at the notes behind his DM screen and shuffling sheets of paper with no real purpose. If this was going to be the end of his short life, he had to admit that he had thought a Demogorgan attack would have been a more likely demise.
“Henderson.” Eddie’s voice was dangerously quiet. “You have some explaining to do.”
“Hmmm?” Dustin feigned ignorance. “Oh, is this about Steve? Sorry, I know he’s kind of clueless, but he can be pretty entertaining. Besides, he was there when I asked Robin to join, so I kind of had to…”
Eddie was sauntering closer and closer to Dustin as he spoke. “I’m not talking about Steve. I’m talking about the fact that you invited Chrissy Cunningham, the former queen of Hawkins High, to play D&D with us.”
“Chrissy? Oh, yeah, Nancy invited her. I think they’re going through some similar stuff right now. You know, since Nancy broke up with her boyfriend, Chrissy broke up with her boyfriend…” Dustin was holding out both his hands as he spoke, gesturing in a way that he just hoped wasn’t too overenthusiastic. “Girl stuff.”
“A likely story,” Eddie said, his mouth twisted in a frown. “Except in my six years at Hawkins High - two more than most people, mind you - I never once saw Nancy so much as shoot a glance in Chrissy’s direction.”
Dustin carefully folded his screen and tucked it under his arm, trying to plot out the most strategic route to the exit that didn’t involve walking past Eddie. “They probably had a few classes together.” He shrugged. “Anyway, what’s it to you?”
Eddie was alarmingly close now. Dustin suddenly felt like Ripley at the end of Alien, trapped aboard the Nostromo with a deadly extraterrestrial blocking his escape. “I’m just trying to figure out if you’re punking me, Henderson.”
“You wound me,” Dustin proclaimed, bringing his free hand up to his heart. “You know I always have your best interests in mind… It’s the perfect mix of seasoned and newbie players for me to practice with, that’s all.”
Eddie stopped approaching, seemingly appeased for the time being, though there was still suspicion behind his eyes. “I’m not letting you off the hook that easy,” he remarked. “I’ll figure out what’s going on in that weird little brain of yours eventually.”
“Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, Eddie.” Dustin tried to focus on keeping his cool, but he recognized he might have used one too many ‘Eddie’s. “Come on. When have I ever given you reason to doubt me?”
“Well, some of your fashion choices over the years have been questionable…like the Weird Al shirt,” Eddie remembered. He cocked his head to one side. “But ultimately I just decided you were brave.”
Dustin chuckled and managed to produce a grin. He just hoped that when all of this was over, ‘brave’ was still what Eddie would deem him to be.