Chapter Text
Rhiannon stepped onto campus at Hawkins High on the first day of school with a sigh, ready to slip into the monotony of a new school year, her senior year and thus hopefully her last one in this small town. She followed the groups of students to the tables set up outside of the administrative office where class schedules were being passed out. Rhiannon lined up in front of the table labeled M-Z. The line moved quickly and soon Rhiannon was giving her name to the plump faced administrator working the table passing out class schedules.
“Monvoisin, Rhiannon.” She returned the administrator’s greeting smile. The administrator plucked a paper from her stack of schedules and handed it to her.
“Have a good school year!”
Rhiannon gave another polite smile and turned away from the table to make her way out of the crowd. And the next person in line behind her moved up to take their turn at the table. Rhiannon looked up from her schedule as her shoulder accidentally bumped against theirs and her gaze was met by a pair of large brown eyes. Rhiannon took in the shaggy brown hair and leather jacket and a spark of recognition flared in the back of her mind. This was a face that was in her periphery all throughout her life. She mumbled a quick apology and continued on her way out of the crowd. Behind her she heard the administrator greet the next student,
“Hello Mr. Munson, hopefully this school year will be your last.”
“Fingers crossed, Helen.”
Rhiannon didn’t hear the rest of that conversation as she continued to make her way out of the crowd and cut across the lawn to the side of the building that led to the sports fields which she crossed to enter the line of woods on the other side. Her shoes sank into the layers of soft decaying leaves and damp earth as she entered the treeline and the smell of earth filled her nose as she breathed deeply. There was a faint foot path worn in by wayward students that came to these woods to make out or score some weed during school hours, but Rhiannon used this trail for something a little different.
She entered a small clearing in which a rickety picnic table sat, where she knew sketchy weed deals took place, and crossed to the other side where a somewhat fainter foot trail continued.
She followed the trail down a slight slope until she could hear the faint trickling of water. Her shoes sank into the soft mud that made up the bank of the small creek that trailed through this strip of woods and was thankful that she had chosen not to wear a new pair of shoes and instead donned an old pair of chuck taylors whose white color had long been stained to a mottled brown and green from traipsing through the woods while foraging.
Along these banks were a few patches of coltsfoot, burdock, and ground ivy that grew fairly reliably. From her canvas messenger bag she pulled a drawstring pouch that she filled with the clumps of plants she collected. A bead of sweat from the warm August air tickled its way down her spine under her t-shirt as she bent and carefully picked through the plants by the creek.
Rhiannon straightened and swiped her forearm across her brow to wipe away the sweat gathered there. Her eyes lit up when she spotted a patch of long green stalks poking through the mud closer to the edge of the water. To an untrained eye it may just look like a patch of long thick grass, but Rhiannon knew that it was a patch of wild onions. She moved closer to the water and pulled a clump of the wild onions from the mud.
As she rinsed them in the water of the creek a shimmer beneath the surface caught her eye. She reached down into the creek, the cold water chilling her fingers as they wrapped around the smooth stone that caught her eye. She lifted it out and was pleased to see a moonstone, smooth and polished by the creek, sitting in the center of her palm.
She marveled lightly at her apparent good fortune at finding a moonstone of good size and polished smooth naturally just sitting in this tiny creek bed. She made her way back up the hill, slinging her drawstring bag around her wrist by the pull string and turning the stone over in her palm, marveling at the iredescent sheen of the pale blue stone.
Rhiannon was entering the clearing when she was halted by the sound of voices. Her head shot up in surprise and she spotted two individuals at the old picnic table. The two at the table also froze and their heads shot up to look at the intruder on their meeting. One of them she recognized immediately. The guy she had bumped into at the administration table.
Eddie Munson.
The other she didn’t recognize so well. He looked a little younger, wearing a faded flannel and dirty jeans with shaggy blond hair that hung somewhat limply across his forehead. All of their eyes were wide, like three deer caught in headlights, their gazes flickered between each other. The younger boy looked between Eddie and Rhiannon licking his lips with a nervous flick of his tongue.
“Hey, thanks man.” he tucked a small packet into the front pocket of his jeans and turned to make his quick exit from the clearing, not pausing to look back as he scurried away. Eddie straightened up and angled his body to face Rhiannon. She fidgeted, tugging at the cuff of her jean shorts.
“Well, you’re not my normal clientele, but I’m always looking to expand my enterprises.” Eddie’s easy smile spread across his face as he leaned up against the picnic table behind him. He tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, his posture relaxed with an easy confidence. Rhiannon moved to cross the clearing, rolling her eyes at Eddie’s comment. Personally, she chose to buy her weed from a more reputable source, or well, as reputable as a weed dealer could be in this town.
“I don't buy my weed from the school yard.” She tucked her drawstring pouch into her messenger bag and slipped her moonstone into the front pocket of her shorts.The leaves that blanketed the floor of the clearing crunched quietly underfoot as Rhiannon marched past Eddie and the picnic bench. She entered the woods on the other side following the footpath back to the sports fields. She heard Eddie push off the table and his hurried footsteps crunching on the leaves as he rushed to catch up to her.
“So you do buy weed! A competitor’s customer!” He craned his neck to peer at Rhiannon’s face as he fell in step beside her, struggling not to trip as he picked through the underbrush just outside of the narrow footpath. Rhiannon rolled her eyes, struggling to not let her cheeks flush with color as she avoided his gaze. “So who is it? If it’s Reefer Rick, I’m one of his, uhm, distributors.”
“Ew!” Rhiannon laughed. The sound of a name like “Reefer Rick” made her scrunch her nose.
They had emerged from the other side of the woods. Rhiannon paused and finally turned to face Eddie. She raised a brow and wiped her hands that were still a touch damp from the stream down the front of her t-shirt and jean shorts, straightening out her outfit. Eddie’s eyes flickered down, following the movement of her hands before coming back up and settling on her face.
“You don’t have to concern yourself with my, uh, ‘weed needs’.” Rhiannon backed up a couple of steps, Eddie’s little smirk seeming to hold her back from turning away. She hesitated just a moment more. “So, uhm, bye.” She turned and quickly made her way across the fields and to the school building.
“Nice shirt!” He called after her, his smile carrying over to his voice. Rhiannon waved a hand over her shoulder as a nonverbal reply, not slowing her step. The sensation of eyes on her back followed her the entire way until she entered the building.
~
He watched the girl depart across the field, the smile never leaving his face. She was cute, and he racked his brain trying to remember just how long they had been classmates side-by-side. She looked vaguely familiar, so he was sure he had seen her around, he just couldn’t place his finger on if they had shared any classes or otherwise crossed paths. He had hoped to get one final reaction out of her by calling out a compliment about her shirt, a faded band tee with the cover art for Metallica’s Ride the Lightning album, but she just waved over her shoulder and continued on her way.
What had she been doing in the woods anyway? He remembered the pouch she had hurried to put back in her bag and wondered what was in it. He entered the school building and made his way to his first class of the day. The crowds were already starting to dwindle as everyone rushed to be on time for the first day of classes. Eddie figured he should want to be on time as well and show everyone that this year he meant business.
This was gonna be his year, he was gonna graduate.
He walked through the door of his first class just as the bell rang. Perfect timing. Mrs. Greene, an elderly woman with a stern gaze, stood by her desk at the front of the class. Her glasses perched at the end of her nose as she watched the students enter and take their seats looking very much like a bird of prey. Eddie was the last one in and one of the few left standing.
“Take a seat, Mr. Munson.” Mrs. Greene’s voice was just as stern as the rest of her appearance. Eddie replied by touching two fingers to his forehead in a salute, his wrist flicking casually. He turned to survey the open seats and as his eyes swept the classroom he spotted the girl from that morning. Her gaze met his and she immediately looked away, rolling her eyes with a smile.
Oh yeah, this was gonna be his year.
~
Rhiannon let out a small sigh as Eddie plopped himself into the empty seat next to her. He grinned and pulled out his notebook, beginning a doodle of a very inaccurate dragon in the margin, feigning non-interest in the girl sitting next to him. At the front of the classroom Mrs. Greene began roll call, reading her way down her class roster.
“Munson, Edward.”
Eddie barely lifted his hand. “Present.”
He was halfway through shading in a ridiculous set of fangs when he heard it.
“Monvoisin, Rhiannon.”
He perked up at that.
Rhiannon?
He turned, eyes immediately locking onto her across the row. She was sitting with her legs crossed, idly twirling a pen between her fingers, her dark curls cascading over her shoulder. She must've felt his stare because her gaze flicked to him, brows knitting slightly.
Eddie grinned. Perfect.
The moment the teacher moved on, Eddie leaned toward her desk, resting his chin in his hand. “So, like the song?”
Rhiannon exhaled through her nose. “... Yes.”
“Sweet.”
She rolled her eyes. “But also a Welsh witch.”
Eddie's eyebrows lifted. “Oh.”
“My mom said the name just came to her during labor. She doesn't remember hearing it before. And then, a couple years later, the song came out and she swore she could tell the future. Said she had a gift,” she whispered, lips curling into a sly smile while Mrs. Greene continued roll call.
Eddie smirked, tilting his head. “Hmm, a witch that wears Metallica shirts and smokes weed?”
Rhiannon’s eyes widened and she smacked his arm immediately. “Shh!”
Unfortunately, her alarmed reaction was just loud enough to grab Mrs. Greene's attention.
“Miss Monvoisin.”
Rhiannon stiffened. “Sorry.”
Mrs. Greene gave her a brief don't do it again look before she returned to her task.
Meanwhile Eddie was vibrating with suppressed laughter. Rhiannon turned slightly, mouthing a very clear stop at him.
Eddie grinned, biting his lip to keep from laughing harder, but the absolute glee in his expression made her hide her face in her hand, exhaling sharply.
She took in the grinning boy across the aisle. This is gonna be a long semester.
~
Rhiannon lounged on her couch that evening. She was curled up reading a book with one of her favorite movies, The Dark Crystal, playing in the background. Balancing her book face down on her bent knee to hold her place, she reached for her can of soda and took a sip, the fizzy liquid bubbling against her lips as she drank.
The living room was small and cozy, an L shaped sectional was tucked into the corner to the right, and a small coffee table sat in front of it. On the left side of the room was the TV sitting on a cabinet, a VCR and a small collection of VHS tapes on the shelf below. At the back of the room was the adjoined kitchen, the counter coming out to divide the room. Before the kitchen on the left was the door that led to her mother's room and bathroom, across the way on the opposite wall was the entrance to the small hallway that led to Rhiannon's room and the second bathroom. The washer and dryer were tucked into the hallway closet as well.
She looked at the shut door to her mother's empty room as she continued to sip from her soda. It had been a few days since she had last heard from her.
She was away for “work”. And that work is probably just being holed up in some motel strung out and drunk. Rhiannon's mom often went on what she called “work trips” where she was gone from anywhere from a few days to a few weeks at a time. During these trips she was usually just getting high in shady motels.
Most times Rhiannon didn't even see her mom when she was home. The only sign she had been back at all would be her trail of mess from her tornado-ing in and out of the house.
Rhiannon was never told explicitly what “work” her mother did during these trips and tried to ignore the obvious answer of what people usually did for payment in those situations. After Rhiannon's dad left, her mom did as well. In every way but physically, that is.
As soon as she was able, Rhiannon got a job to help pay rent in case her mom didn’t come back. Her mom was still able to pay most of it somehow with whatever funds she had from her "work trips". As many faults as her mother had, at least she paid rent. Rhiannon just tried not to ask questions.
A burp bubbled up Rhiannon's throat and burst from her in a loud belch. Rhiannon laughed in surprise at the sudden burp and snapped back from the thoughts about her mother. She focused on the TV. On the screen the two gelfling creatures were riding to the skeksis castle, triumphant music playing. The forest setting of the scene brought her thoughts to her foraging by the school that morning. She remembered the stone she had found and she wondered what she should do with her lucky find.
Maybe it'd make a nice necklace. She smiled to herself. Just then, her stomach let out a rumble. She checked the clock and was surprised to see that it was after 8 PM. She hadn't eaten anything since lunch. With a sigh Rhiannon set her book on the coffee table next to her soda can and got up from her spot on the couch and made her way to her small kitchen. It was too late for her to want to cook anything, but in her fridge she spotted a tupperware container of pasta salad that she had made that weekend.
Her stomach rumbled again. To her hungry mind pasta salad sounded divine.
Rhiannon grabbed the container, nudged her fridge shut with her hip, and grabbed a large spoon from the silverware drawer before making her way back to the couch. She took a second to scoop a large spoonful of pasta into her mouth before starting her movie back up. She watched the remainder of her movie eating her pasta salad.
Thoughts of Eddie Munson started to creep slowly into her mind. She shook her head, determined to keep her mind clear of the mischievous grin and charming eyes. Oh no.
She was so doomed.