Beauty and the Dork

Princess Margot Andúnë

In my anger, I had forgotten that Margot told me that her parents were coming home today and that she had insinuated she didn't want me to meet them. My heart jumped to my throat, and I felt my face burn.

"Can I help you?" Mr. Patterson asked. I smiled nervously.

"Hi, sir – I'm, um, my name, uh, is Eddie Munson, and I'm, um, your daughter and I are partners for a p-project at school," I started explaining. His smile grew and he nodded.

"Oh, yes – Margie told us about that. Come on in, Eddie. I'm Eric," he invited, gesturing towards the house. My eyes widened and I stepped inside. Before I followed him to the kitchen, I took my boots off, ensuring that I wouldn't upset her mom. Margot's father smiled at me and gestured towards the kitchen.

He started pulling glasses from the cabinets, getting me a glass of some red juice they had in their fridge. He handed me a glass and smiled at me.

"So, Eddie," he started, taking a sip of his drink. "Is that a Shards of Narsil tattoo on your forearm?"

I almost choked on the juice I had sipped and stared at him. How did Margot Patterson's father recognize my tattoo?

"Um, yes, yes, it is, sir," I replied, nodding furiously. I offered my forearm for him to look at it. He leaned over the counter and smiled, nodding his head.

"Very impressive."

My face split into a smile. Was Mr. Patterson a nerd?

"Thank you, sir," I replied, feeling more comfortable. Was Margot raised by one of my kind? "Do you enjoy the Lord of the Rings series?"

"Oh, definitely. I drew a tremendous amount of inspiration from Tolkien's work for my series," he answered, nodding at me.

Holy shit. Margot was raised by one of my kind. How did he end up with the Queen of Hawkins as a daughter?

"Your series? Do you write, sir?" I asked, absolutely intrigued.

"Have you read any of the Crown and the Shadow series?" he asked. My eyes widened.

"Are you kidding? Those are my second favorite series, right after Lord of the Rings.," I gushed.

I was obsessed with the Crown and the Shadow. It rivaled Lord of the Rings not only because of the story telling, but because the author was able to release dozens of sequels to the series. I had made Hellfire go to several of the book's releases – Dustin was the only one who was into it as I was.

"Well, I'm thrilled to hear that – I'm the author," Mr. Patterson replied casually. I felt my jaw drop.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked. I had to be going insane.

"I wrote the series."

"Eddie, hi," Margot suddenly appeared. I tried desperately to remain cool in front of her, but I was losing my shit. I couldn't even focus on my crush right now if who I thought was in front of me was actually in front of me.

I looked over at her once more and was flustered all over again – it did not help that she was in a skirt. I felt my face turn red and I was sputtering.

"But, but, the writer, his name is E.J. Patterson – you said your name is Eric!" I refuted. Margot smiled and sighed.

"Eric James Patterson – E.J. Patterson," Margot explained. I was short circuiting. I stuck my hand out and shook his hand.

"Sir, it is an honor to meet you, I have read every single one of your books, multiple times, and—"

I froze, turning slowly to Margot.

"Oh my god – Princess Margot Andúnë!" I exclaimed, pointing at her. She turned red and buried her face in her hands. My heart caught when I saw my ring on her finger.

Last night wasn't some fever dream.

"You are correct! Margie hates that we named her after Princess Margot," Mr. Patterson said as he put an arm around her and pulled her close. She turned a darker shade of red and looked up at him.

"Not as much as I hate it when you call me 'Margie' in front of my friends," she teased. Her dad laughed and hugged her tight. They seemed to have a good relationship, and my obsession with Margot was deepening, especially after finding out who her father was. She was still too cool for me in any capacity, but I felt more of a connection to her.

"I'm going to leave you two here for a bit – Margie, your mom's taking a nap so maybe take it upstairs?" he suggested before leaving the kitchen. I felt my face flush at the thought of seeing Margot's room.

Once Mr. Patterson left, Margot turned back to me, her face crimson and she buried her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry – I told you my parents are intense," she mumbled. I bounded over to her and set my hands on her shoulders.

"Are you kidding me, Go? I just got to live one of my greatest dreams – that was, like, the second coolest thing to happen to me. Just when I think you can't get any cooler, bam!" I blabbered, absolutely over the moon. She peeked at me from around her fingers.

"You thought that made me cooler?" she asked, incredulous. My eyes widened and I nodded furiously.

"Are you kidding me? You were already the coolest person in Hawkins, now I think you're the coolest person in America," I insisted. She dropped her hands and looked up at me, flashing me one of those heart stopper smiles.

"You're one of a kind, Eddie Munson," she said quietly. I felt my face burn. I needed to calm down and quit being such a dork. I dropped her shoulders and scratched the back of my head.

"Back at you, Princess Margot," I replied, grinning nervously.

She groaned and rolled her eyes, her face flushing again. I glanced around and decided to be Eddie the Brave. I leaned close to her and took her hands, pulling her close to me.

"I'm concerned with the amount of noise we're making out here, though, your highness," I said quietly. She grinned up at me. I winked at her. "Maybe we should take it upstairs? I just want to respect your father's wishes."

She rolled her eyes and took my hand.

"More like you want to make out with Princess Margot Andúnë," she teased, pulling me along. I grinned.

I really just wanted to make out with Margot Patterson, but that other part didn't hurt.