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uglypastels · 2 years ago

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i´m pretty sure the taglist didn´t work so i´m trying this again :(

@niyahwhoreworld @chatnoirfangirl1624 @fopdoodle1624 @pastel-abyss-x @ghoulsgraveyard @lovesickollie @xbreezymeadowsx @ssanjuniperoo @nxrdamp @meaganjm @yourmommilf @michiefmanagers @roseyykris @brother-lauren @h0sh1verse @ghostlyreads @croweaterr @ladyapplejackdnd

i hope it works this time

Part 4 of Hell Diver!!!!!

[I promise the other requests are coming soon too but this story just comes so much more easy to me and I honestly needed a bit of an easy fix to get back into writing after volume 2 lol]

Stranger Things: taglist / Masterlist / Inbox

no explicit warnings. swearing. mention of shitty friends and strict parents

Chapter 4: Hamster Wheels

The rest of the day had gone by insanely slow. Most days had already felt like they took an eternity, but that Monday… was some cruel joke from the universe. The minutes just would not pass while the hours took on forever to finish. People around you were suffocating you. Not in the literal sense. Just in the "could everyone please shut up for a second so I can finally hear myself think!" insanity. Since lunch hour, all you wanted was to be alone, which was almost impossible in high school. And the feeling of guilt over what you had done to Eddie didn't make any of it any better.

Once that final bell rang, you stormed out of the classroom, speeding towards your locker to grab your jacket. If you were quick enough, you could get it and get the hell out of there before any of your friends caught on to you.

'Hey.' Well, it was nice to dream. You were, of course, too slow. Mary walked up behind you. Her smile was broad in the type of menacing way. 'We were gonna go get some milkshakes. Wanna come?'

'Uhm, no, I can't. ' Usually, you would never have even let the thought be put up for consideration. How could you say no to a milkshake that would most likely be paid for by some cute guy ha! But now, a place where all those people would be was the last place you wanted to step a foot in.

Mary raised a brow, hearing your unexpected answer. 'Oh. Got plans then?'

'Yeah, I got to study for the chem test.'

'That's not until next week, though.' Why couldn't she just let it go?

'I know, but I really need to nail this one or my mom will kill me, so I'd rather start early.' That must have done the trick, for Mary's whole demeanour relaxed. All your friends knew how overbearing your mother could get. She was that kind of tough love kind of parent, who really just wanted the best for you… even if it wasn't exactly what you had in mind for yourself.

That was why you had had to lie to her about why you had come back home so much later than agreed last weekend. For all your mother knew, you were at Stacey's for study club– it's what all of you had decided to use as a cohesive ruse in case your parents started asking questions among each other. If anyone needed an excuse or an alibi, study club is where it's at. You had never really found a use for it before, never having been much of a party person nor had a lot of guys asking you out, which your parents didn't approve of, but Eddie…

Well, you didn't have to think much about that. No matter how you would put it, there was no way that your parents would let you within a ten-foot vicinity of the guy. He was what they called a "degenerate". Those you had clear instructions to stay away from. And Hellfire… well, let's not even bother.

'Have fun then,' Mary said with the last twinge of a smile before walking away in search of her boyfriend's arm to hang onto. The second she was out of earshot, you let out a deep sigh and closed your locker again, letting your head fall forward and lean against it. The cool of the metal was pleasant to the touch, heavily contrasting the actual texture of the door as it had bumps and the edges in the slits were sharp, pushing into your forehead.

You bumped at it again, then again, but quickly stopped, feeling someone's eyes on you.

And when you turned around, they were hard to miss. The pair of puppy brown eyes, glancing at you from across the corridor. Eddie saw you as he walked out of the building. Had he been walking by, and you hadn't even noticed? Did he hear you talk to Mary again? Well, at least you hadn't been talking about him this time. There was nothing to worsen the situation anymore.

As you made your way outside, you wondered if you would ever get the chance to talk to him. Would he ever let you come over to his trailer again to talk about D&D? Would he still let you join the campaigns? Hellfire?

You hoped so.

By the time you reached your bike, you could see a cloud of dust practically trail behind the same van you had seen at his trailer. It drove off at high speed. If only you could get out of there so quickly… but the wheels on a bike still went waster than just your feet. Sure, you would have preferred to take your dad's car again, but you only got the keys for that on the weekends.

The road to the town library was a relatively simple one. It mainly was following the road leading out of the parking lot of the school, down Main and taking the third crossing to the left until you were greeted with the sight of the large and old building. Even if it had only taken you about fifteen minutes to get there, the scorching sun above you made sure you felt the energy be sucked out of you from the exercise. With deep breaths, you locked your bike again and walked up the small steps to the entrance.

Inside, the air was colder but not cold in any way. Even worse, it was stuffy, with no proper ventilation anywhere. You could practically smell the dust of the old books that no one had bothered to borrow in the past few decades.

You walked past the front desk, giving Doris a kind smile as you passed her workstation, as you knew exactly where you wanted to go.

For years already, the library had become somewhat of a sanctuary for you. A safe haven. Not from anything in particular. Probably just "life" in general. Whenever people started to feel like a bit too much, and you just wanted to get away, you would come here, grab the first book that sparked some kind of interest, sit in a corner, and read until it was time to get back home again. That is kind of how you found your love for all things fantasy. It was the purest way of escapism.

You walked straight ahead, through the aisles and aisles of books, to the section you had basically devoured already. Today, you weren't in the mood to search for something new. You needed something familiar that you could grab and go and get sucked into all over again. And you knew exactly where it would be.

Where it should have been.

'What?' you said to yourself as you mentally went down the alphabet repeatedly. M… N…O…P. It should have been there, that orange-yellow, almost gold, cover. It practically jumped out of the shelf, and yet… it was nowhere to be seen now.

You had almost given up the search when you noticed the familiar colour in a gap between books. Lying on its side, the spine called to you from the other side of the shelf, its neighbouring aisle. You had no idea what it would be doing there, but it didn't matter. It was there, and you could easily reach it.

With your hand already stretching out to it, your heart pumping with excitement to have managed to find the book, you almost scared yourself to death when suddenly you saw something else between that gap of books. The back of the head, looking at the books across, and locks of dark curly hair.

With a shriek, you pulled your hand away. It couldn't have been that loud, but in a quiet and almost empty library, there was no way he hadn't heard you, and you could just about see him turn in your direction before you knelt down. Keeping your head down, you walked as quietly as possible out of the aisle, hoping to get far away from that library section. Why was this happening right now? Why was Eddie Munson the only other person there with you? While all you wanted was just some peace.

Not that he wouldn't give it to you; he wasn't the problem. You knew you were. Your mind had already started spinning at the idea of "Eddie". Should you go up and talk to him? Or maybe better ignore him completely? The guilt from school, the same guilt and gnawing feeling in your stomach you had been trying to escape, was coming back even stronger. What was he doing there? Would he just take some books and leave, or was he planning on staying longer, like you? And in that case, could you let yourself stat as well? Maybe this had all been a giant mistake, and you should just go home, but no, this was your idea first. Even if you had no idea when Eddie decided to visit the library, you knew for sure you were the first to come up with that idea.

Yeah, you were spiralling, and it had taken less than a minute.

You had, however, made it over all the way to a different part of the building. The letters on the covers of the book had become all blurry in your head, the language not processing what the words were actually saying to you anymore. A feeling in your gut, or perhaps the vast acoustics in the room, told you someone was approaching, so you pulled out the closest book to you, trying to read the back cover of it as Eddie Munson turned the corner.

'y/n?' He seemed genuinely surprised to see you when you turned to look at him. 'I thought I saw you back there.' He smiled, making you remember to smile as well; your whole body had really started to feel miles away. You blinked slowly, before pushing out a smile and a sheepish laugh.

'Where?' You played dumb, and thankfully, Eddie went along with it.

'The fantasy section.' He cocked his head back in the direction of the bookshelves you had just escaped from.

'Uhm, no, I think you must have been mistaken. I've been here the whole time.' You went back to pretend-read your book. Eddie, still enjoying this little play you were putting up, took a step closer, letting his arm lean on the shelf.

'Are you sure? Because I could have sworn, I heard you.'

'Oh yeah? What did I say?' You had no idea where this cheekiness was coming from, as it really was not you, but Eddie was bringing out plenty of new sides to you.

'It wasn't so much words more like a–' he copied your little shriek, 'It kind of sounded like a hamster, if I have to be completely honest.'

'I do not–' you cut yourself off quickly, 'I do not think hamsters are allowed in here.'

'Yeah, that's what I thought, so then it must have been something else, shouldn't it?' He was coming closer and closer, his smile only getting bigger while your heart only started beating harder and louder. Eddie must have heard it by then.

'Well, I've just been here the whole time, so–'

'So you've said,' he chuckled, 'And I'm sure… The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money' he peeked at the title of the book you were holding, and so did you, realising you had ended up in the Economics section of the library. Trying to hide your embarrassment, you looked back at Eddie as he continued: '-is a fascinating read, but I really think I had seen you back there.'

'What makes you so sure it was me?'

'I suppose it is a bit of a far stretch.' He was now entirely leaning on the bookshelf. 'I mean… we are the only people in here, so the chances of it having been you are… pretty small.'

'Ha ha,' you rolled your eyes, putting the General Theory back in its place. 'You still have no proof, Munson.'

'I guess I don't. See you later then.' He let his weight fall back on his feet as he straightened up, tapping the book he had been holding on the shelf before turning around. The bright yellow cover made your jaw tighten.

'Mhm, see ya.' You let yourself roam the Economics section once more, just waiting for him to walk away… with your book.

You waited a few seconds, but he didn't seem to be going away any time soon. He stood there, a few feet away, arms crossed with a big amused smile. So, you looked back at him, getting a bit annoyed now– you weren't even annoyed at him, just at everything in general. But you pushed it back when you gently asked: 'Can I help you with something?'

'No, no,' he shook his head, 'I'm good thanks. Was just wondering when you would ask.'

'Ask what?'

'For the book.' He showed it to you again, almost taunting you with it.

'Why-'

'Here,' he put it down on a shelf near him and started walking backwards. 'It's good. I'm sure you'll like it.'

'I know.' you reached out for it, unable to hide the smile from seeing one of your favourite books. 'Uh- but, thanks.'

'Don't mention it.' And with that, he disappeared into another aisle. You looked at the cover of the book, being greeted with the image that in itself had already brought so much comfort to you. As you walked between the shelves to your usual sitting spot, you let the pages slip through your fingers. It was a bit unconventional for a public indoor space, as you didn't go for one of the designated reading spots or one of the large desks in the middle of the room where people usually did their reading.

You liked to sit down in one of the corners of the library, around the biography section, where the books could quite literally embrace you from all sides. There was a window right above you, too, so the natural light was better than the artificial yellow glow from the old lamps. You sat down on the ground and started reading.

In a distant and second-hand set of dimensions, in an astral plane that was never meant to fly, the curling star-mists waver and part…

You read about ten pages, but quickly realised you had barely comprehended anything that was happening on the pages. The words flew into your mind and immediately left as soon as your eyes moved on to the next. If it weren't for the fact that you had already read the book a few times in the past year, you would have no idea what was happening.

The thought of Eddie Munson having picked out the same book you had wanted to read was occupying your whole being. And the fact he had just given it to you… it made you feel even worse about everything that had happened at school.

You couldn't just sit there and read, so you got up and started looking in the hopes he hadn't left yet.

You went through every aisle, turning each corner, hoping you would see him standing in all his Eddie Munson glory that you had slowly started to miss whenever he wasn't around.

Eventually, you found him at one of the large oak tables. A whole pile of books next to him, as he was scribbling away in a notebook and only looked up from it when you were standing in front of him.

'Hey,' you said, waving, for some reason.

'Hi.' he said, a bit unsure, not knowing what you had come for. He glanced down from your face to see you holding the book close to your chest. 'Done already?'

'Oh, no, couldn't really get into it today.'

'That's a shame.' Eddie looked down to scribble down some more words onto the paper. 'Do you want to–' he pointed at the chair opposite of him.

'No, I uhm, I just– wanted to apologise.' You held the book tighter for a bit of support as it let you focus on something besides Eddie's piercing gaze on you. The way he had his head, slightly crooked, in curiosity for your next words, made a warm and fuzzy feeling grow in your stomach. 'Since I'm sure you had heard what I had said at school, and that was really a shit thing of me to do.'

'You have nothing to apologise for, y/n. Heavy is the head that wears the popularity crown.'

'I'm not popular,' you scoffed, 'but that's not the point. I don't want you to think that I'm like, ashamed, or something, to be seen with you. You're a really cool guy. But people are so cruel and well, we are not exactly the types to usually be seen together, and then that is just fuel for others to be nasty, to either of us.'

'We are in two separate worlds, and you're scared that if we spend too much time together, those worlds will collide and will end in a giant disaster?'

'Sorta… yeah.' He had phrased it so much better than what you had managed to come up with while you had been searching for him.

'I get it. And I'm not mad, either way,' he said, closing his notebook. 'I get how it is; school sucks, and for what it's worth… I'm scared of my friends seeing me around you too.'

'What?' your heart dipped a few inches down to your gut.

'Yeah, what will they think when I start ditching them to hang out with the prettiest girl in school.'

A warm feeling crept up on your face, and you suddenly couldn't look directly at him. But your peripheral vision still let you enjoy the glimpse of his smirk at you, trying to process the compliment. Then, you needed to change the subject, so you looked at the books he had stacked up on the table. Most of them you recognised to be different Dungeons and Dragons manuals, giving you an idea of what he had come to the library for, but you still asked: 'What are you doing?'

'That is highly confidential and secret information, my dearest y/n, so I unfortunately can not tell you.'

'You're working on the next campaign?' The campaign he had told you to join. The excitement started bubbling up inside you.

'If I tell you, I'll have to kill you,' he whispered the words, already looking around himself as if the walls had ears. You doubted anyone in town would care what he had been up to and what he had written in his notebook, and perhaps you wouldn't even have cared if he hadn't made it so enticing to know.

'C'mon, there must be something you can tell me?'

'As the Dungeon Master, I have taken an oath to protect and keep the secrets of the world, and there is nothing you can do sway me to your dark side.'

'Nothing?' you quizzed, giggling at his antics.

'Nothing,' his dark eyes were so serious, yet you could tell he was having the time of his life right there. More thoughts interrupted your moment, that you quickly pushed aside. Flirting would not be the right direction for this. If it had been some guy offering you a milkshake, you would have gone for it, but you and Eddie seemed to be really hitting it off. Even after these very few interactions you've had with him, you could tell that a great friendship could come out of this, so there was no need to go and ruin this now just for a silly joke about the campaign.

Maybe, not even that deep down, you did want to walk across to him and pull him by the collar and kiss him, but those thoughts were quickly stomped down. He was a nice and good-looking guy. Obviously, you felt a slight urge to do it. But, it didn't mean anything.

'Ok, fine, I give up.' You put a hand up in defeat, 'I'll just have to wait like everyone else.'

'That you must,' he would have said something else, but he was suddenly caught off by a deafening thunder rumbling outside. You could immediately see yourself having to cycle back home in that storm. Where had it even come from? It had been a perfectly sunny day when you arrived at the library, but when you looked out from the windows, the sky was dark grey, and the rain was hitting the glass hard.

'Shit.' Was all you said in reaction to the thunder.

'What's wrong?' Eddie asked, looking up at you as you still had not sat down.

'Nothing, I'm just gonna have to cycle back home in that.' The once silent library had been entirely taken over by the rain pounding on the outside.

'I'll drive you,' he got up, grabbing his notebook.

'What?'

'Most people reply with a thank you,' he quipped, 'but you can put your bike in the back of my van, and I'll drive you home.'

'Why?' Your responses weren't getting any better, much to Eddie's amusement.

'Let's say it's an investment. By driving you home, I'll make sure you don't catch pneumonia or some shit and won't be then eaten alive by endless guilt.'

'I wasn't really planning on going back home yet,' you admitted, and you could have sworn Eddie's shoulders slumped lightly. 'But can I maybe join you here, for now?'

'Go right ahead.' And you took the seat opposite him, opening up your book again as Eddie returned to work. Every few pages, you would look up and see him work, flipping through the books around him, tapping his pencil on any surface in a random beat. At one moment, he looked up at you as you had been at him, thinking you were bothered by the drumming.

'Sorry,' he smiled, stopping subtly.

'No, you're good.' You told him, giving him a smile before going back to your own book. It was very pleasant, the two of you being together yet not. Joined at the table but separated by your own doings. He had his campaign; you had your book.

At some point, you got so into your book that everything else slightly faded away, and you were only brought back to the real world when ring-covered fingers tapped the top of the book spine. You looked up and met Eddie's eyes, as he leaned over the table to reach for the cover.

'What's up?'

'Just checking in,' he shrugged. 'Just let me know when you want to go home, yeah?'

'Mhm,' you nodded, 'but if you want to go now, that's fine. You don't have to wait up on me; I can just cycle home later.'

'That is pretty selfish of you, y/n– since you know how guilt-ridden I will be if anything happens to you– just to go and suggest that.'

You had no response to that, and so you continued your ventures on parallel sides of the table until the sun was starting to set once again, making the skies even darker than they were to begin with. The librarian walked up to you to announce that the place would be closing soon.

'If you're not planning on checking anything out, be a dear and put them back,' she told Eddie with a kind smile, to which he saluted. Almost a second after the woman left again, he was up on his feet, collecting the books in his arms. You were about to reach for his notebook to help him out, but he grabbed it quickly, taking it between his teeth, letting the pages flap about as he walked.

'I can help,' you told him, seeing how heavy the books seemed.

'Thank you, milady, but I shall go on this quest on my own.' None of the comedies you had watched in the cinema matched up to the comedic timing of Eddie having said that and almost immediately falling over by stumbling into the chair he had been sitting on previously.

'Are you ok?' You asked apprehensively as he regained his balance. With the notebook still in his mouth, Eddie's response only came out as a disgruntled muffled sound, but he seemed to be doing fine.

You hadn't finished reading your book, but it wasn't your plan anyway. You had just needed to escape for a little bit, so that had been accomplished… whether it was the actual act of reading of your companion in it…

Eddie put all of his books back, one by one, so you did so as well with yours. Obviously, you were done much quicker so you came back around into the aisle in which he was standing, and without a moment for protest, grabbed the top books in his arms.

'This shall be no solo quest, today, my good sire.' That was enough from you to leave him speechless. With a chuckle, he let you take the books; noticeably, they were all lighter than the ones that remained in his arms, but still. Somehow, it had become a bit of a competition to see which one of you would be done first. You only had one final book left to place, but it was on one of the highest shelves, just a bit out of your reach.

'Wait,' before you could ask what was going on, Eddie grabbed you and pulled you up just high enough for you to reach the shelf you needed. It had been a surprise, so the squeak sound that you had made earlier, which Eddie lovingly commented on its similarity to a rodent speech, came back up.

'Did you hear that?' Eddie said, putting you back on the ground. 'I think the hamster came back.'

'Hamster or not, I won.'

'Only because I let you.' He smirked, and you became very aware of your proximity to him. With your back against the bookshelves, you had nowhere to back away, and Eddie was so close that your chest was nearly touching his.

'Now, why would you do that?' You asked softly. There was no need to whisper. The library was soon closing, and you were the only ones still there. Not to mention, you hadn't exactly been quiet before either. But this situation called for soft, intimate tones.

'I'm not sure… maybe it's because I like your smile.' Now it was his turn to leave you speechless. A lump formed in your throat as you tried to process what he had said, which was even harder since he was so close. When he reached out to brush some hair out of your face, you had to suck in a breath. His calloused fingers only ghosted over your skin, but an electricity sort of spark shot through you.

'We should probably go,' you mustered out, 'before she locks us in.'

'Wouldn't want that.' Eddie's voice had also become much softer, almost a whisper. You could have sworn his eyes had, again, whisked down to look at your lips, and that idea made your head spin. It would only be even if you did the same for him now, right? Just a quick glance at his lips. They were perfect, just like the rest of him…

'Come,' he said, so close to you now you could feel his words on you.

'Huh?' You blinked slowly.

'Let's get you home.' and so, he took a step back. The emptiness between you felt personal, almost internal. Like by stepping away, he had actually ripped something out from between you. A bandaid ripping at your skin, leaving a weird tingly sensation behind.

Eddie's van was parked just behind the library, which is why you hadn't noticed it on your way inside. The rain had started to slow down, the lightning and thunder hadn't been heard for well over half an hour, but it was still pouring heavily. You grabbed your bike as quickly as possible, and Eddie had already opened the car's back doors and was waiting for you inside. He didn't wait, just grabbed the front of the bicycle and pulled it inside, then offered his hand to help you in.

'Thanks,' you sputtered out. The two minutes in the rain had been enough to thoroughly soak you, so you were definitely glad to take Eddie's offer and let him drive you home.

It was a short drive, in which you mostly tried to get some information out of Eddie on what he had been working on.

'C'monnnn, tell me something. Anything.'

'What would you like to know?' he asked as he turned a corner into your street.

'I don't know.'

'That doesn't really help me, sweetheart. You got to be specific, otherwise I could go on for hours and maybe not even tell you anything worth your while and we'd waste both our times.'

'That's impossible,' you laughed, 'You could never waste my time.'

Eddie clutched onto the stirring wheel, stopping the car as you near the house. Before you had started driving, you decided it would be the smartest thing not to drive up all the way to the front lawn, so your parents wouldn't see you step out of some "random guy's" dingy van.

'Maybe next time I'll let you hear all my secrets.' he put the van in park, and you thanked him again. Then, you both climbed out to the back to get your bike. Eddie opened the doors and jumped out, taking the bike out and again helping you make the little jump. His hand fit perfectly around yours, and even though you were standing quite steadily, neither of you let go.

'Hey uhm,' he said, the rain making both your hairstyles worse, 'just so you know, I'm really not mad… about anything.'

'I'm really glad for that.' you squeezed his hand, to which he pressed back.

'Just, promise me one thing, if you can.' He wiped the hair out of his face, and you did the same. The weather should have been getting better, but it really wasn't.

'What's that?'

'Promise not to run away from me again?'

I like you way too much to watch you walk away from me; that's what he had said when you were leaving his trailer. And how many times had you run anyway? Too many to count, which was too embarrassing to keep track. So maybe he just asked out of annoyance, but the fuzzy warm feeling was overcoming you anyway, which might have been a bit foolish since, in reality, you were freezing in the cold rain.

'I'll try.'

To be Continued...

Thank you for reading!!! please let me know what you thought by either leaving a comment or reblog or sending an ask. i would love to hear feedback or any ideas you might have for the upcoming chapters (if there is a demand for those, of course. i plan on writing this as long as people want heh)

taglist: @spiderrrling @hellfire-state-of-mind @theglitterymess @dorianelizabeth @theletterhart @niyahwhoreworld @chatnoirfangirl1624 @fopdoodle1624 @pastel-abyss-x @ghoulsgraveyard @prettytoxix @lovesickollie @xbreezymeadowsx @ssanjuniperoo @nxrdamp @meaganjm @yourmommilf @mischiedmanagers @roseyykris @brother-lauren @h0sh1verse @ghostlyreads @croweaterr @ladyapplejackdnd @bilesxbilinksixlahey

#taglist reblog #its all been a bit whack recently #so ireally have no tell as to when tagging works or not

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