Strawberry || Eddie Munson

11

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Chapter Eleven: The Triple Threat: Mom, Lifeguard, and Swim Co-Captian

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Steve's mom voice rang out through the woods as Dustin began to break away from the group. "Uh, hey, Dustin. Where are you going? Hey, hey, hey, hey," Dustin turned around. "Eddie's still a wanted man you know. We can't just go for a hike in the woods with him and his supposed sacrificial human specimen."

Dustin held up the compass. "This little steel capsule might be the key to saving Max, Stacey, and Eddie. What say you, Eddie, the banished, and Stacey his henchman?"

"Henchman?" Stacey shrieked. "If anything Eddie's my henchman. I'm the fucking queen."

Eddie slapped his hand over her mouth and Stacey rolled her eyes as he looked at Dustin. "I say you're asking me to follow you into Mordor," Stacey looked up at him with confusion evident on the upper half of her face. His rings were cold against her mouth and cheeks. "Which, if I'm totally straight with you, I think it's a really bad idea. But, uh, the Shire," he said glancing at the sky above, "the Shire is burning," Dustin began hopping up and down, "so Mordor it is."

Stacey dramatically faked a deep breath when Eddie removed his hand from her mouth.

"What the hell is a Mordor?" Steve asked. Stacey pointed toward him.

"What he said," she added looking at Steve before shrugging and catching up with the group. "Seriously though," she said to Steve as they were the last ones to leave Skull Rock, "What the hell is a Mordor?"

Her eyes grew as she came to an abrupt stop. Stacey turned back around and sprinted for Skull Rock. She bent down and grabbed the canteen of water and the hairbrush Nancy Wheeler had brought her. When she returned to the group she was met with a bunch of different expressions. Robin, Max, Eddie, Dustin, and Lucas were chuckling. Steve and Nancy were annoyed. "What?" she asked innocently, "this hairbrush could come in handy."

She hooked the hairbrush onto the loop of the jeans Robin lent her and the group was off.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

It was growing dark quickly as they walked through the woods. A few times they had to stop to take a break and others, Eddie was carrying Stacey on his back. She'd make small comments about apologizing for her weight to which Eddie would brush them off because she weighed close to nothing to him.

On the walk, leaves crunched under their feet and trees began to look the exact same. Out of fear, Stacey placed the headphones over her ears and played the hit song by ABBA. Eddie would often look at her as if she'd be dead any second.

It wasn't until it was fully dark out, the kind of dark that the stars put on a show, that Dustin Henderson began sprinting.

"Dustin?" Eddie said as a leaf smacked him in the face. "Can you slow down? Dustin?"

The boy did not slow down.

"Dustin, seriously," Stacey said trying to catch her breath, "I was not built for running." Lucas was huffing and puffing beside her when they came to a stop. She arched an eyebrow at the boy. "You play basketball-"

"Your point?" Lucas snapped. Stacey shook her head not wanting to continue to piss him off even more.

"I think we're getting close." Dustin turned around when he reached the spot the compass was going haywire. "Uh, guys. You seeing where we're at?" Dustin nearly fell into the water.