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That moment ended quickly. I'm glad that it did. I had no idea what had taken over. But this was not the y/n Henderson I have known and grown up with all my life.
Eddie was inspecting me, just as I inspected him. He made assumptions and so did I. But I wasn't going to hear it. Not today.
He opened his mouth once more to pour out his opinions and thoughts. His fingers tapped along the table and his necklace dangled over it. I watched it swing back and forth as he leaned. Eddie loved to get close. I don't know how I feel about that.
The other Hellfire Club Boys gaped with awe. I had not dared to look at any one of them. It's like they were waiting. For a move, something! Anything!
"You know y/n, I think that me and yo-" His stupid grin crept onto his face once more. "Well." I shot up and nearly tumbled from the jolt. Eddie's eyes remained in the place I had been before and slowly. Like a predator hunting prey, his eyes travelled up me and locked into mine.
"It has truly been great. Um. It was a pleasure to meet you" I tried to play it off and took an interest in the magazine scattered across the table.
Eddie practically bounced out of his seat. "Well of course! It was all my pleasure" He smiled so hard the corners of his eyes crinkled. "It's not an everyday thing to interact with the one and only.." He waved his hand around in random drawn out loops and his lip curled. "Should I say, pom pom prom queen"
"If you say that one more time." My voice raised and I could feel myself burning up. I could feel the tension around me. The stares I was probably receiving.
I had to see what this had done to Eddie. Any reaction? No. He reached his hand out for me to shake. A handshake. "You're alright Henderson." the hand remained. Waiting for mine to intertwine. In a professional way.
I reached out and our hands grasped
They were soft. Weirdly soft. He strongly gripped on and aggressively shook. I watched him demolish my ability to rip away. His signature smile was as wide as ever.
"Thank you Eddie." I broke free at last and stroked my once strangled hand.
I didn't want to waste another second standing there and looking like an idiot. So without a word, I patted Dustin's head as a goodbye and turned on my heel.
I made my way back to the table, which was engulfed with jocks and cheerleaders. As I gravitated away from that mess of a table, I heard Eddie calling after me.
"Don't miss me too much" A hint of snarky attitude lingered in his voice.
The nerve that this man has. I muttered a "whatever" to myself and pushed myself through the crowd of athletes. Scooting next to Chrissy, I found myself not uttering a word.
Keeping quiet about this would be best. Like it never happened. I would never associate myself with that weirdo. The rest of lunch was just blank.
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For the first time, I didn't mind waiting in the car for my slow brother to arrive. It gave me time to think. I watched all the students walking by, whether they went from the smallest band freshmen to the basketball athletic juniors.
My attention drifted to the side view mirror, Dustin was still at the front of the school, dialing on the phone with a distressed look on his face. He angrily slammed the phone and rubbed his temples.
What the hell was he doing? I got out the car and waved my arms all around. "Dustin! Get over here. It's time to leave?"
I finally caught his attention and he started to make his way towards me and for some reason, everyone was keeping quiet today because he just sat down and just gazed out the window.
A few moments after he got in, I followed and started the car. We managed to stay silent most of the ride home and it was weird for Dustin to be so silent. There were two options. He was mad or he was in a deep thought.
Finally I decided to break the silence. I faced my body towards him but kept my head towards the road. "What's with the glum mood, you seemed pretty fine earlier"
It was concerning when the boy just looked down at his hands and avoided eye contact with me.
"Did something happen? Did you get hurt? Dustin you can tell me, you know I-"
"No. No." His head rolled back and he placed his hands on his face slowly pulling down.
"We just need a sub for the Hellfire Club meeting, or else me and Mike are screwed" He explained, "See, making Eddie mad is the last thing we want to do. I mean we earned this place and I'm not going to lose it"
I kept my eyes on the road, "So that's the big problem, wow what a disaster" Dustin defensively shifted himself to face me in his seat.
"This is not a funny matter okay? It's my duty to serve and so I will"
I laughed and grinned at him. "Do what you please, seems like you're dedicated"
"Of course" I thought to myself for a moment.
"What about Lucas?" Dustin crossed his arms and looked out the window. "He's the one that's not going to attend tonight, he's a part of the basketball team. So he'll be at the game."
Again with the sad face. Clearly bringing up Lucas was a sensitive topic so I decided to trash it.
"Right, well good luck finding a sub" The silence had come back once more. Until Dustin dramatically turned in his seat, which caused me to whip my head in his direction. His sudden movement surprised me so my eyes widened a bit.
"You." he simply said. I chuckled a bit, that was a strange reaction. His finger slowly pointed to my face.
"Okay Dustin that's enough, now get your finger out of my face" I made sure to show him that I was not going to appreciate his fingers way to close to my personal space.
"You should come fill in for Lucas and attend the Hellfire Meeting!" His smile was so wide it practically stretched from ear to ear.
Laughing out loud, I flashed him a wobbly smile and lightly punched him in the shoulder. "You're funny kid"
Dustin just looked at me with a blank, serious expression. My smile immediately dropped.
"No. No way in hell" I rejected his offer and gripped the wheel tighter. Making sure to put extra focus in what was happening on the road as a way to avoid my brothers complains and whining.
"Y/n! Please, I am begging you! You are the only one that can do this! Please" He begged and put his hands together in a praying pose.
"No" I said, I didn't want to bicker with him because I knew my final answer. "y/n."
"Dustin, stop." He dramatically flopped back into his seat which made it bounce and creak a bit.
"Please refrain from breaking the seats, I know you're going through a diva moment but let's not ruin things"
"Look" Dustin said, he paused until I looked at him. "I know that you know how to play" I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
"When did you assume that? I have never played DnD, it's merely too much of a confusing concept"
"Y/n are you kidding me? I have been playing since.. what... I've basically been playing since I was born. You have watched me play. I have talked about it to you a million times."
I didn't say anything, but I knew hesitance was creeping onto my face because Dustin immediately started talking in a faster pace.
"Also, I won't pressure you or anything and if you need help I will help you. Please. Just for one meeting. It doesn't take the longest. It will be in and out. Also-"
"Alright!" I put my hands up to stop him from rambling. Dustin gasped and pumped his fists in the air.
"Yes! I knew you would cave" He laughed and drummed his hands on his lap. I rolled my eyes and turned the street into our neighborhood.
"Don't get too cocky, I might just change my mind." I pulled over next to the house and stopped the car. Dustin immediately jumped out and ran up to the door and swung it open. I took the keys out and sighed. I didn't expect for my day to end like this but here we go.
In the house I threw my jacket off and tossed it onto a chair. Walking over to the kitchen, I see a note on the fridge. It reads, "Staying at work late tonight, leftover chicken and rice are in the fridge. Take care of Dusty, Love Mom" She leaves notes like this all the time and they contain of the same messages. I kicked my backpack to the side and decided that I was hungry.
I reached for the cabinet next to the sink, hoping some kind of edible snacks would be in place. I only found a mushed up cookie. Not my first option but I took it anyway. On my way to my room, I wondered what I should wear to this strange meeting.
I didn't acquire the club shirt and I didn't want to stand out by showing up in a preppy outfit. Though im sure it doesn't matter. Urgh. Why do I even care about this, I think to myself as I dig through my closet. It's just a meeting with a bunch of kids playing a game.
I picked out a dark red loosely fitted long-sleeved shirt that had a cut in the chest area and paired it with some flared out jeans that fit tight at the waist. A very causal outfit for a very causal night. I pulled my hair out of its pony tail and fixed the dent that it left. I decided to leave it down, my fingers flowing through, trying to redeem a neat look.
I finished with a bit of makeup and finished munching on the cookie. From my room I could hear Dustin racing out of the front door. Is it already time? I got off my vanity chair and made my way to the front door. Making sure to lock the door, I swooped around and saw Dustin waving at me hurriedly. I laughed and started to run towards the car in a slow pace.
I ducked into the car, tightly shutting the door behind me. I fumbled with my keys and finally we were ready to go.
"What took you so long?" He scoffed. Again, bubbly laughter arose from my throat. Ironic