I wearily opened my eyes, stretching like a cat and yawning. I looked around my room, grinning at the memories of the night. I glanced over at my nightstand and noticed Eddie's skull ring, perfectly perched and watching over me. I started smiling like an idiot, burying my face in my hands.
He was such a gentleman the night before – and so thoughtful. Several times he had interrupted our kissing to ask if I wanted his help to clean. He made me laugh every time, and I answered him by kissing him harder. I was goofy at the memory of his touch, how electrifying it was and how it made me feel. None of the popular boys who had taken me on dates over the last year made me feel a fraction of what Eddie did.
I took in a deep breath and sighed, my mind racing at what I was going to wear today. I reached out and pulled the ring onto my pointer finger, admiring it. It was such a sweet gesture.
I shook my head – New Margot needed to get a hold of herself. We needed to figure out what we were going to do about this. I started to ponder my next move when I heard the front door open.
"Margie?" my dad called. I leapt out of bed and bounded out of my room and down the stairs. My parents cheered when I found them in the kitchen, giving them each a big hug.
"Oh, we missed you so much, Margie," my mom gushed, pulling me back in for a bigger hug. I laughed and hugged her back, grinning at my dad.
"How was the convention, dad?" I asked. He smiled knowingly and pushed his glasses up his nose.
"It went well," he replied cryptically. My mother groaned and looked at me.
"It went amazing – your father's agent confirmed that he's getting a contract to write another five books for the series!" she bragged, wrapping her arms around my father and looking up at him with pride.
My father was the writer of the critically acclaimed Crown and the Shadow fantasy series. He had been writing them my whole life – when my parents met each other in college, he would read my mom his original drafts to get her opinion. They fell in love over his storytelling, and his characters were always part of my childhood. I'm even named after one of the Elven princesses in the series.
Again, I was always destined for dork-dom. It took a tremendous amount of work over the last year to break it.
We had moved to Hawkins when he hit a wall of writer's block – he determined that more space and a slower lifestyle would help "clear the cobwebs" as he put it. And he was right – in the last year he had written two new books of the series. This last week he was at a convention to meet fans and his agent to discuss next steps with the books.
"Dad, that's amazing!" I complimented, pulling him into another hug. He laughed and squeezed me tight.
"Thanks, little elf," he said, using my childhood nickname. My face burned. I really never had a chance at being cool. I pulled back and grinned at him.
"I went to a Dungeons and Dragons club this week, dad," I announced, wanting to give them a glimpse of Old Margot. My dad's eyes lit up.
"Really? How was it? Did you enjoy it?" he asked, excited.
"Did you make some new friends there?" my mom piled on. I rolled my eyes and smiled – my mom insisted that she liked Jason and Chrissy, but both of my parents had a hard time connecting with them.
"I did, yeah," I answered. My mom tittered in excitement and grasped my dad's hands. I snorted at their excitement.
My parents were dorks, but they were my dorks.
I asked them more questions about their week away, and they asked about my time alone. I skirted around the truth, not wanting to reveal everything. I had successfully cleaned everything up after Eddie left the night before and brought my dad's booze back out of hiding. I let them go to unpack and went back to my room, eager to get ready to see Eddie.
I spent an inordinate amount of time fixing my hair and makeup in the mirror, wanting to make sure I was the perfect version of New Margot. This was who Eddie was into and who would impress him. I stared at my closet and finally settled on a plaid skirt and a soft red sweater. I took one last look in the mirror before slipping Eddie's ring onto my pointer finger and smiling stupidly at it.
I floated out of my room, Old Margot over the moon about seeing Eddie again this afternoon for (hopefully) my second time kissing someone. I was still giddy when I walked down the stairs, staring at the ring and grinning wildly.
"Have you read any of the Crown and the Shadow series?" my dad asked from the kitchen. I furrowed my brows and stopped, wondering if he was having a phone interview again. I felt my stomach fall when I heard the next voice.
"Are you kidding? Those are my second favorite series, right after Lord of the Rings."
---
"Dude, quit lying," Gareth admonished, throwing an empty soda can at me. I scoffed at him, incredulous that he didn't believe me.
I had called Jeff and Gareth first thing in the morning, insisting that they come over immediately. I had told them I was invited to Margot's party, and I had Dustin as a witness to prove it. They teased me relentlessly about it, making me even more nervous than I needed to be.
But that didn't matter – I kissed Margot Patterson. And she kissed me! I couldn't wait to tell them.
"I'm not lying!" I replied. Jeff took another hit of the joint I had rolled and scoffed.
"Dude – you really want us to believe that Margot Patterson let you kiss her? We were having a hard enough time believing that she would let you even come to her party, and you think we would believe it when you tell us that you two made out?"
"Yes! Because we did! And it was amazing!" I insisted. They looked at each other and started laughing again, shaking their heads.
"There's no way, man," Gareth insisted. I let out an angry sigh, trying to figure out how to prove it to them. I glanced at my hands and my eyes widened.
"Look!" I exclaimed, raising my hand. "I gave her my skull ring last night!"
"What does that prove?" Jeff teased. I glared at them and stood.
"You know what – it doesn't matter. I know that I kissed her. And I know that I'm about to go over there to bring her back here and kiss her some more," I replied, standing and grabbing my jacket.
"Alright, sure, Munson – hope you have a good time on your imaginary date with the actual Queen of Hawkins High," Gareth joked. Jeff started laughing harder.
"The Queen and the village idiot," Jeff continued. Gareth started losing his breath from laughing so hard. I sneered at them and stormed out of the trailer, fuming at my best friends. I climbed into Shelob and sped off towards Margot's house.
Once I got on the road, my anger was replaced by nerves. What if Margot didn't mean it? What if I completely misinterpreted everything?
I shook my head. How can you misinterpret someone kissing you? I took in a shuddering breath. Eddie the Brave had served me well last night. I needed to continue to channel him.
My hands were shaking when I parked in front of her house. I desperately hoped that I was right in this and that I wouldn't be embarrassed. I scampered up to the door of her house and took a deep breath in. I knocked on the front door softly, secretly hoping no one would answer.
My hopes were shattered when the door swung open. A tall man with thick glasses and a kind smile opened the door. He had the same eyes as Margot. My eyes widened.
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.