I decide to take Will up on his offer of joining him and his friends for their Dungeons and Dragons campaign, he assures me that I will get along with the DM despite him never telling me their name. I knock softly on the front door of the Byers-Hopper residence, Will has a huge grin on his face as soon as he opens the door, “Come on in, everyone is already here. Come meet them.”, he states excitedly as he closes the front door behind me once I am inside. “Everyone this is Y/n. Y/n this is Mike, Max, Dustin, Lucas, his sister, Erica, Gareth, Jeff, and our DM Eddie.”, my eyes scan over the others sitting around the large dining table, giving them each a smile. But my smile falters slightly when I meet the gaze of the Dungeon Master himself, it is none other than Eddie Munson himself. The very same Eddie Munson that Hopper warned me about last week.
“Hi.”, I greet everyone in a soft voice, Eddie’s intense gaze making me a bit nervous, but I eventually push it away as everyone else around the table says their hellos back to me. “Y/n is the one I was telling you about that played back in college.”, Will says. I hear a scoff come from the head of the table, I look to see Eddie roll his eyes, “I’m curious about how good she says she is.”, he stands up from his seat and approaches us slowly. He makes a snide comment about what class and level I am, I bite back a sneer to give him a sly smirk, “Try a level seventeen half-elf ranger who is not only a Beast Master, but also single-handedly took out four Basilisks after her friends fell in the fight.”, I state proudly, “So are we gonna stand here all day measuring dick sizes or are we gonna play?”
Everyone has stopped talking to hear me speak, their eyes wide and their mouth left agape in awe, even Eddie is looking at me with wide eyes as I stare him down. I watch as a smirk tugs at the corner of Eddie’s lips, he holds his right hand out towards me, “Welcome to Hellfire”, he says, there is a joyful look in his eyes and for a moment they flash a crimson red at me. As to whether he meant to do it or not, I do not know. I place my right hand in his and give it a shake with a smile of my own, once that is all said and done, Mike and Dustin scoot apart to let me sit between the pair of them.
I am quickly brought up to speed on the campaign and what is going on, I nibble the on the end of my pencil as I listen intently. I can’t help but be enthralled by Eddie’s voice as he narrates everything, I am awed by the way his tone and voice change when he voices characters. As the evening turns into night, I find myself actually enjoying myself, being surrounded by others who are just as passionate about the game as I am. We soon find ourselves huddled away from the table, deciding on what we need to do, there are only so few of us left to fight against this Vecna, myself included. “There’s no shame in running, you don’t have to be heroes.”, Eddie’s voices once he has brought our attention back to him, telling us we should heed our fellow companion’s concern.
I chew the inside of my bottom lip, “No, we all agreed to the death. Lady Applejack.”, I look between every pair of eyes in the huddle, “We can do this, don’t give up now.”, I tell them, trying to keep their spirits up despite us losing the majority of them in the fight. It seems my little pep talk does the trick because they are all nodding and agreeing, “Give me the dice.”, Dustin says once we have formed a group at the end of the table opposite of Eddie, he tosses the d20 to the young man. He catches the die with one hand, we all nod when he looks at all of us before turning his attention back to the table.
All of us are holding our breaths in anticipation, Eddie leans over his screen to look at the die, a devious smirk grows upon his face, “That’s a miss.”, he laughs. We all groan in unison, now we are left to two, me and Lady Applejack, she takes the die from Dustin and steps up to the table. Another miss, I swallow the lump that has formed in my throat as I am the last person standing on the map against Vecna. We are only needing eighteen hit points or more to succeed, I roll the d20 in my palm for a moment, I take a deep breath and look over the table to see Eddie giving me a big grin. “You got this.”, Mike whispers beside me, I feel everyone slightly pat my shoulders as if to wish me luck.
I smirk at Eddie before letting the die go from my hand, as if it is in slow motion as it rolls across the table. Everyone is holding their breath as we watch it roll, my eyes widen when it stops, “Natural twenty!”, I yell out excitedly. Eddie is taken aback by this, “What?! What?!”, he moves his hands and arms about in an animated way as everyone cheers around me. I laugh out in relief, “That is why we play.”, Eddie states, he bows and throws his arms out in front of himself, a big grin plastered across his face. Eddie gives me a small smile across the table as everyone cheers amongst themselves, I return it back with a nod.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“You were a badass.”, Dustin states excitedly, he is the last to leave after we have cleaned up, “Thanks, I felt I was a bit rusty.”, I tell him truthfully. I hear a chuckle come up from behind me, “Not at all, you sure impressed me.”, Eddie stops once he is beside me outside on the front porch. “You should play with us in the next campaign, also I’m needing a new person to bounce campaign ideas off of if you’re game.”, he adds, Dustin nods in agreement. Soon Eddie and I are the only two left on the front porch, despite the warnings Hopper gave me about this young man, I can’t help but feel drawn to him, he doesn’t seem as bad as what I have heard.
“You’re new to Hawkins aren’t you?”, Eddie asks, I turn to look at him, I am awestruck by the way he looks in the soft moonlight. His long hair is down tonight, framing his face and falling over his shoulders, his pale skin seems to glow, giving him an ethereal, otherworldly look. “Yeah, I just moved here from New York.”, I tell him, not giving any more information than that. Granted I know what he is, I am not ready for anyone else really finding out what I am yet. The other night was a fluke accident, hopefully, I think to myself. “Ooh, a big city girl.”, he quips with a laugh. I give him a playful glare, “Shut up.”, I quip back.
Eddie and I stand there for a few moments talking, “If it isn’t too weird, would you like to join me for coffee? I have to stay up getting shit done for work and I wouldn’t mind the company tonight.”, he offers with a sweet smile. I think for a moment, there is this feeling in my gut, like something within myself is literally drawing me to him. “Sure, just tell me where and I’ll meet you there.”, I tell him. He seems genuinely surprised that I have accepted his offer, “Awesome.”, he states before giving me the address of the cafe downtown. I assure him that I can find it as it was one of the first few places I visited in the first few weeks I have been in Hawkins.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~Fifteen Minutes Later~
I arrive at the cafe a bit before Eddie does, we are walking up the sidewalk to the entrance when I hear someone shouting towards us. I turn to see the same wolf who attacked me last week with the young man I only know by the name of Steve, “That’s her!”, he growls out to me. Eddie immediately places himself in front of me, keeping me behind his back, “Billy.”, I hear him growl under his breath. Luckily there isn’t really anyone around for them to see the display between this wolf and vampire out in the open. “I told you to keep your people in line Munson.”, Steve snaps at the young man in front of me, I raise a brow at this.
“She isn’t one of mine Steve, I literally just met her, you should know, you were staring at her the other day.”, he snaps back at the wolf. There is a tension in the air as they stare at one another before I step out from behind Eddie, “Did he tell you I attacked him or that he attacked me first?”, I glare at the one named Billy. “He got pissy because I bumped into him, he needs to be kept in line before someone does it for you.”, my anger is getting the best of me, clouding my filter. There are three pairs of wide eyes on me, “What did you say bitch?”, Billy snarls at me, his eyes glowing bright yellow.
His words seem to flip a switch inside me, I feel that familiar feeling of my claws growing as well as my lower and upper fangs elongate behind my lips. Steve’s eyes are wide as he watches black veins grow and crackle under my eyes, they glow a bright red rimmed with utter blackness, “You heard me prick!”, I growl loudly. I realize now that I am showing characteristics of both a werewolf and a vampire to them, I can sense Eddie tense up behind me. I keep my eyes on Billy when he walks out from behind me to take in my changed look, “What are you?”, he asks, his own eyes glowing a bright crimson red.
“I come into this town to start a new life, to be safe, to start over and I am barely here a few weeks before a prick of a mutt attacks me because I smell like a vamp.”, I state. My comment causes Billy to lunge towards me, but he is stopped when Steve grabs him by the back of his neck. Eddie has placed himself in front of me as a shield once more. “Go home Billy.”, Steve growls at the other wolf, he looks like he wants to argue with Steve, but the look he receives from the other silences him. A low growl rumbles in my chest as I watch him turn to leave, my attention is brought back to Steve when he steps forward.
He holds his hands out in front of himself to show he isn’t going to be a threat, “I apologize for him, he’s a bit of a handful.”, he states. I scoff, “Whatever, just keep him away from me.”, I grunt, Steve gives me a nod as if to say he will do so. Once everyone’s eyes and faces change back to look more human, Eddie turns to face me, “Really what are you?”, he asks me again. I sigh softly, I look from my feet to meet his questioning gaze, “It’s a long story.”, I tell him. “I have all the time in the world.”, his curiosity is evident, as is Steve’s when I look at the other young man now standing beside Eddie.
I give a nod, “Fine.”, I state while walking by them towards the entrance to the cafe we were about to enter a few moments earlier. The pair follow behind me, I find us a table away from the very few people who are occupying the lounge area. The pair takes the seats across from me, I take a small sip of my coffee before taking a deep breath, “I’m like you, both of you.”, I say. Their brows raise in confusion, “I’m one of a kind, a hybrid, half werewolf, half vampire.”, I explain to them. They share a look between themselves, I raise a brow at this before their attention is brought back to me, “But how?”, Steve asks.
I fiddle with the small ring hanging from a chain around my neck nervously, “I was originally just a vampire until Halloween night.”, I tell them. I explain to them how Eri had to turn me in order to save my life, I take a shuddering breath before getting into the story of what happened Halloween night, the night I became a monster. “I had no control, I still have no control over this yet. It terrifies me because I have no fuckin’ idea what to do and the shifting hurts.”, I add. There is a sad look in Steve’s eyes now that he knows why I am very apprehensive of werewolves.
I am staring down into my mug of coffee when Eddie clears his throat to speak, “We can teach you how to control it.”, he suggests. I look up to meet their gazes, “I can show you have to control the thirst, Steve can you teach her how to control the shift, to where it's tolerable?”, Eddie turns his attention to Steve. “Yeah I can, but it’s up to her.”, his eyes never leave mine. I am genuinely surprised that these two young men who I barely know are willing to help me, “Why?”, I then ask. “Because I remember what it was like to not feel in control, it’s terrifying and I have taught all my wolves how to shift where the pain is tolerable. Some are born, some are turned.”, Steve replies. Eddie nods in agreement, “Exactly, I know what it was like to those first months after my turn, the thirst was unbearable. But I was shown how to control it, how to curb it. And I don’t like seeing others like me go through that.”, he confesses.
Their genuine concern makes me feel less alone, but I still apprehensive because these two are from feuding factions. I am concerned about what others will say, think, or do if they knew they wanted to work together to help someone like me, someone who is both. There is a silence between the three of us before Steve takes a napkin from the table and writes down what looks like a phone number, Eddie does the same on that very same napkin before sliding it across the table to me. “You can think on it if you like, so here’s our numbers to let us know if you want the help. We understand if you don’t want it.”, Steve’s tone is soft as he speaks to me.
I give them a nod in silence while I fold the napkin and slide it into my jacket pocket, I look at my watch and sigh softly, “I have to go, um…I have a job interview in the morning.”, I tell them. The pair wish me a ‘good night’ before I leave. I am left feeling this weird feeling towards them both, I feel just as drawn towards Steve as I do Eddie. I need to ask Eri about that, I think to myself as I drive home for the night. I look at the napkin once I am home and sitting on the edge of my bed, I type the numbers into my phone and save them. I want to message them to let them know I do want their help, but I stop myself, sleep on it, I tell myself.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I look between the two, big grins on both of their beautiful faces, “I knew you could do it.”, Eddie pulls me into his arms to envelop me in a tight hug. I feel Steve wrap his arms around both of us from behind, I feel safe and warm wedged in between them both, something I haven’t felt in a while. I smile in my sleep as the dream plays out, my nightly nightmares being replaced by dreams of Eddie and Steve. I don’t know if these dreams are showing me something that will happen or what I want to happen.