the shire is burning [eddie munson x OC]

chapter fifteen

When Eddie had said he 'fucked up', she had agreed, but only to a certain extent. At the time, his 'fuck up' had seemed more like a small bump in the road, something unexpected but something they could navigate. Willow wasn't particularly upset if Eddie's D&D club believed they had been dating over the summer because she was under the impression it wouldn't have any effect on her part of the plan - Steve. She hadn't realized how wrong she was until she saw just who entailed the Hellfire club.

There, sitting with a wide and toothy grin, was Dustin fucking Henderson. Steve Harrington's golden child. Yet another witness to the Scoops Ahoy incident, and a direct line of contact to Steve.

Willow hadn't realized how tightly she was squeezing Eddie's hand once she caught sight of Dustin until Eddie subtly bumped shoulders with her, looking at her curiously. There's a silent communication in his stare, clearing wanting to know if she was okay.

All she could do was swallow hard.

Oh my God. No. No, he didn't possibly fuck up this badly. Mother fucker. Son of a bitch.

A continuous string of curses cycle through Willow's head as Eddie finally reacts.

"Wha- How do you know my girlfriend, Henderson?" Eddie's hair shakes as he looks between Dustin and Willow, the latter silent in shock while Dustin has a look of pure and unbridled excitement.

"You're friends with Steve, right?" Dustin ignores Eddie subtly, directing his question to Willow.

"You know Steve?" The boy on Dustin's left interrupts, suddenly leaning forward with a look of pure confusion. Willow thinks she recognizes his black hair and thin frame, but can't be sure.

"Obviously, Mike. I mean, didn't Dustin just say that?" the boy to Dustin's right snaps back at Mike.

Oh my God. Mike. Mike Wheeler. Nancy Wheeler's little brother.

"I," Willow is overwhelmed, at a loss for words as Dustin is looking at her expectantly with kind eyes and jittering hands, "Y-Yeah. I'm friends with Steve and Robin."

This is not good, at all . Willow is immediately overcome with the anxiety of what this means for her and Eddie and their ridiculous fake-dating ordeal. She had only just gotten to the point where Eddie's name didn't trigger a fight between herself and Steve immediately, and even then, she could tell it was a sore topic for Steve. He'd clearly accepted that she was friends with Eddie as the week ended, but he didn't want to hear about it, or be reminded about it in any way. Just this afternoon, seeing her in Eddie's jacket had almost triggered an argument.

"Jesus, why do you still have that thing?" Steve complained as Willow slid into his passenger seat.

"What thing?"

"The jacket. Munson's jacket."

"Oh," Willow hadn't even considered that Steve would have such a negative reaction, though it should have been an obvious part of the backlash she'd received for the day, "I just didn't want to get cold during class."

"But out of all the jackets? You couldn't have worn any of your cardigans? Like what about that one your mom got you, with the flowers on it-"

"It was dirty," Willow interrupted Steve, flashing a smile before she reached over to pinch his cheeks, "Is someone jealous? If you had a better sense of fashion, I would steal your jackets too, you know."

Robin snorted, clearly picking up that Willow was exaggerating. She needed to get back to normal with Steve, which meant teasing him, getting under his skin, annoying him.