#halloween bash

Let The Good Times Roll: Chapter Two

Steve Harrington x Hargrove OC

Wordcount: 6.2k

(series) Masterlist

Summary: A way to get weed from Eddie turns into a hate club for King Steve. Between realizing that Nancy Wheeler isn't as bad as people say she is, and getting invited to tina's Halloween bash, Hawkins gets easier.

Unfortunately, Eddie's convinced Darcy's falling victim to the most contagious illness in Hawkins:

Steve Harrington

Highly contagious. No known cure.

Warnings: Drugs ig, King!steve era, Eddie lowkey flirts but it doesn't go anywhere, Platonic!eddie

Note: Currently rewriting, this chapter used to be called Wacky Tabacky. Sorry if there are any mistakes.

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As it turned out, Eddie insisted on conducting business somewhere with considerably more trees.

Darcy didn't argue. Maybe this was simply how transactions happened in Indiana. California had beaches. Hawkins had forests. Every place found its own way of making ordinary things seem suspicious.

They left the school behind, following a narrow trail between the pines. The parking lot disappeared after only a minute or two, before there was nothing left except damp leaves underfoot and Eddie's persistent humming.

Darcy glanced sideways. "You always do that?"

Eddie looked up, a lock of unruly brown hair falling across his forehead. "Do what?"

"The humming."

His head tilted, a look of surprise crossing his features. Darcy watched him closely, trying to guess whether it was a bit he was playing or actual shock. "I was humming?"

"You've been serenading the maples since we left the gravel," Darcy said, stepping over a patch of overgrown briars. He considered this, staring blankly at a nearby oak tree for a second. "Huh."

"So, yes."

"I guess." The woods went quiet again.

The damp earth squelched under Darcy's sneakers. "What're you thinking about?"

Eddie shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, the leather of his jacket creaking with the movement. "Honestly?"

"Preferably."

"You know," Eddie said eventually, "you aren't really what I pictured."

"No?"

"No."

"What were you picturing?"

"Somebody... weedier."

"Weedier?"

"That's a word."

Darcy let out a sharp laugh, the sound bouncing off the damp trunks. 

"I am trying," Eddie said, holding up a finger to emphasize the point, "you just don't seem like a weed enthusiast"

"You sound like a cop."

"I'm an adaptable man."

She shook her head, a faint smile tugging at her mouth. "I'm not a pothead, Munson."

"No?"

"It's more of a hobby."

That earned her a look. One of his eyebrows climbed spectacularly toward his hairline, his head tilting back in disbelief. "Do you collect stamps, too?"

Darcy rolled her eyes. 

Eddie persisted. "Well, I know enough about you to have you figured out."

"Oh?" Darcy cocked an eyebrow. A small spike of irritation flared in her chest. She didn't particularly care for people who made a habit of filing others into neat little boxes. "Do you now?"

"You showed up halfway through the semester with that absolute terror of a brother"

"Strong opening," she muttered.

"and by lunchtime on day one, you’re sitting at the high table with the cheer crowd." Eddie snorted, shaking his head. "People in this town spend six years trying to climb that social ladder. You just bypassed everything."

Darcy couldn't quite stop the smug little tug at the corner of her lips. It had been easy. "Is that supposed to be impressive?"

"In Hawkins?" Eddie looked at her like she was actively losing her mind. "It's practically a miracle."

"Well, besides," Darcy said, stepping around a puddle of muddy meltwater, "I'm from California."

"So?"

She looked at him over her shoulder, deadpan. "So of course I smoke. I don't know why you’re surprised.” 

Eddie barked out a laugh, the sudden sound startling a crow from a branch above them.

"That is easily the dumbest thing I have heard all day. You should be painting your toenails or–"

The sentence ended in a sharp gasp. A thick, gnarled tree root caught the toe of Eddie's combat boot, and momentum took care of the rest. For one spectacular, gravity-defying moment, Eddie Munson hovered in the air, his arms windmilling wildly.

Then, physics remembered its job. He hit the forest floor with a dull, thoroughly inelegant thud.

A beat of silence passed before Darcy folded in half laughing. Not polite laughter either. She tried to apologise and couldn't seem to manage it.  Every time she looked at him sprawled across the leaves another fit of giggles escaped before she could stop it.

Eddie stayed where he was for a second, staring accusingly at the branches overhead. "The tree attacked me."

That only made it worse.

… 

The clearing turned out to be real. Darcy had secretly expected him to walk in circles until they reached another patch of trees and declared it magical. Instead, sunlight spilled through an opening in the canopy onto a little patch of earth that looked suspiciously well-used.

There were old tree stumps serving as chairs, a damp, flattened log surrounded by rotting leaves. Beer bottles pushed neatly beneath a bush. Someone had even hung a faded Black Sabbath sticker from a low branch. 

Darcy looked around, her boots kicking at a stray soda can. "So... you bring all your customers here?"

"Only the pretty ones." Eddie offered the line with a theatrical wink, but when Darcy just stared back at him blankly, his smirk faltered. He cleared his throat, shifting his weight. "I'm kidding."

"I know," she said, letting him squirm for exactly three seconds before letting a smile slip.

"Right. Well. I'm making excellent first impressions today."

"You fell over," Darcy pointed out cheerfully.

Eddie groaned, looking up at the canopy. "I was hoping you'd forgotten."

Eddie Munson seemed built without whatever mechanism normally stopped people from embarrassing themselves. He sprawled. Pointed with both hands. Talked like every sentence deserved an audience. Most people performed until somebody looked at them. Eddie appeared to perform because he didn't know how not to. 

The air smelled of wet bark, old leaves and yesterday's rain. Somewhere nearby somebody had abandoned beer months ago. The bottles had started smelling like the forest. Eddie crouched beside the old log, digging through the pockets of his denim jacket with shocking seriousness.  "Now then"  

He produced three little ziplock bags and laid them across the wood with surprising care. Darcy blinked. "Do you organise them?"

"They're alphabetised." He held the first bag up between two ringed fingers, presenting it to her carefully.  "You smell that?"

Darcy leaned closer despite herself. It was earthy. Sharp. Sweet in a way she couldn't quite place.

"That's the smell," Eddie announced grandly, "of serenity. Inner peace. Enlightenment." He lifted his arms dramatically towards the trees. "'To smoke, or not to smoke...'"

He paused, a faint frown line appearing between his eyes as he stared at the canopy. "I don't actually remember the rest."

Darcy snorted, leaning her shoulder against the rough bark of a nearby birch. "I don't think Shakespeare had weed in mind."

"He would've if he'd tried it," Eddie countered instantly, completely unbothered. "Man wrote about fairies and donkey-heads. He was absolutely on something."

"I somehow doubt that."

"I don't." He dropped to his knees on a dry patch of pine needles, unzipping his bag with a sharp zip. "So." He pulled out three small, plastic baggies and spread them out across a flat rock. He tapped the first bag with a chipped, dirt-smudged fingernail. "Alien Cookies."

He tapped the second. "Electric Bubbles."

Then the third, giving it a gentle, affectionate pat. "And good old Cali."

Darcy stared down at the rock. "Alien Cookies?"

"Mhm."

"What kind of name is Alien Cookies? it sounds like it would kill ya."

Eddie gasped, his hand flying to his chest in theatrical offense. "Do not disrespect the merchandise, it's a delicate craft."

"I'm serious." She knelt down, her knees sinking slightly into the soft earth as she picked up the bag, turning the crinkling plastic over in her hand. "That is the weirdest strain name I have ever heard of in my life."

"You wanna try Electric Bubbles?" He launched into the pitch, lean shoulders hunching forward as his hands began to animate the words. "It makes you suuuper relaxed." He gestured vaguely with one hand, his fingers tracing a wavy line through the air. "But, like... not sleepy. You know?"

Darcy frowned, watching his hand movements. "Uh-huh."

"Like peaceful energy," he insisted, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Electrically peaceful."

Darcy stared at him, deadpan. "Eddie."

"What?"

She let out a soft sigh, a small smile breaking through her skepticism. "I think you are entirely making this up."

Eddie didn't even blink. "I am absolutely making this up."

"I knew it."

"Hey, it still gets you high," he pointed out, flashing her a shameless grin.

"So your entire sales pitch is completely useless?"

"It's about the experience"

"It's about you enjoying the sound of your own voice." She shook her head, though the laugh caught in her throat as she reached out. "Fine. I'll trust Electric Bubbles."

Eddie pointed at her approvingly. "Excellent choice, new friend."

He sat down cross-legged on the fallen log, producing papers from somewhere inside yet another pocket Darcy hadn't noticed. There seemed to be an endless number of pockets in Eddie Munson's jacket.

She watched while he worked. His hands never hesitated. Pinch. Sprinkle. Roll. Twist. Everything happened with the kind of absent precision that only came from doing something often enough your fingers did it themselves..

Darcy leaned her elbows on her knees, watching the rhythm of his hands. "You’re pretty good."

He didn't look up, but a smug grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "What gave it away?"

"The frightening competence."

"I contain multitudes, you know," Eddie said, finally looking up to hand her the freshly rolled joint. The rings on his fingers caught a stray beam of afternoon sunlight.

Darcy took it, her fingers brushing his. "I'm beginning to notice."

She reached for her back pocket. Eddie's hand appeared between them almost immediately, palm flat, stopping her before she'd even touched the notes. It was the sort of reflex that suggested he'd done this conversation before.  "Nope."

Darcy paused, her fingers halfway into her denim pocket. "Nope?"

"Free sample."

"I'm not subscribing to a local newspaper, Munson."

"I am a businessman" he said, puffing his chest out. "I offer promotional periods."

"You're a drug dealer."

"Entrepreneur."

"Drug dealer," she repeated, raising her eyebrows.

"I am supporting the local community!" Eddie threw his hands up, gesturing to the empty woods around them as if the trees cared. She rolled her eyes, pulling her hand out of her pocket empty-handed. "I actually have money, you know. It's real, if that's what you’re worried about"

"I know."

"So take it."

He shrugged, leaning his shoulder back against the damp bark of the log. "First one's free. It’s a law. I cannot break code."

She stared at him for another second, waiting for him to crack, but he just gave her a wide, stubborn grin. With a soft sigh, she slid the folded bills back into her pocket. “Thanks, I guess.”

The conversation wandered off for a while. Smoke climbed through the pines in thin ribbons before the wind pulled it apart.  Somewhere above them a bird complained loudly before thinking better of it and flying somewhere quieter.

Darcy leaned back against the log. "So," she said eventually. "You've lived here forever?"

"My entire tragic existence."

"You like it?"

Eddie barked out a laugh. "Absolutely not."

She bit back another smile. "That enthusiastic?"

"Hawkins is" He searched for the right word. "Fine, I guess. If your lifelong dream is to know absolutely everybody's business all the time."

She laughed quietly. "So who's actually worth knowing? Apart from yourself, of course."

"Oh, now that's a dangerous question."

"I'm serious."

"I know."

He scratched thoughtfully at the side of his neck. "Well" He pointed vaguely into the trees, counting invisible people on his fingers. "You've got my friends. Gareth. Jeff. Grant. Freaks. Wonderful people."

“I doubt its normal to call your friends ‘freaks’”

"I have a club. A DnD club. Everyone says we’re all devil worshippers. Doesn't really matter, though”

Darcy wasn't quite sure what DnD was. "Are you?"

He gave her a grin that answered absolutely nothing. Darcy shook her head, smiling despite herself. "This town is weird."

Eddie nodded in agreement. “Anyways, if you mean people that people actually care about, I guess I can't get away without mentioning Harrington.”

"The basketball guy?"

"The hair guy. The basketball's secondary."

Darcy laughed. "I swear to God, half the girls at lunch spend more time talking about his hair than they do eating."

"They're victims."

"Of what?"

"Conditioning."

She raised an eyebrow, letting him continue.

 "Years of exposure."

"Oh, stop," Darcy laughed, nudging his boot with her own.

"I'm serious!" Eddie pointed dramatically into the middle distance,  "Walks down a hallway, flips his hair once, and suddenly he's God's gift to Earth. It's pathetic."

Without warning, he threw his shoulders back, puffed out his chest, and adopted a voice higher than he could manage. "Oh, Steve... please let me run my fingers through your hair. Steve, your biceps have altered my view of life!"

Darcy had her hand pressed over her mouth to muffle the laugh. Eddie was completely shameless, performing for an audience of one. "Oh my God."

"Steve, if you don't acknowledge me I'm going to perish."

"The impression is awful," she managed, wiping a tear of laughter from her eye.

"It's accurate."

When she finally managed to catch her breath, she shook her head, looking out through the trees. "I mean.."

Eddie narrowed his eyes, head tilting in suspicion. "That pause concerns me."

"I can kind of see it."

His face fell in instant betrayal. "No."

"I mean, he's objectively good-looking," she pointed out, defensive but smiling.

"You've known him for, what, an hour?" Eddie demanded loudly.

"I have eyes."

"You've been corrupted."

"I haven't."

"You have."

She laughed, throwing her hands up. "I'm just saying he's not hard to look at."

Eddie groaned dramatically, letting his knees give out as he tipped entirely backward onto the pile of rotting leaves. He lay there flat on his back, staring up at the gray sky. "We've lost another one."

"Oh, be serious."

"I'm grieving."

"I don't even know him," she reasoned, looking down at where he lay.

"You don't have to. The hair got you. It always gets them."

She rolled her eyes, kicking a stray pinecone in his direction. "From what I've actually heard, he's kind of an asshole."

"Ah, there she is," Eddie said, pointing a finger up into the air without moving his head.

"And he has a girlfriend."

Eddie cracked one dark eye open, peering up at her through the leaves. "So?"

"So" Darcy frowned, crossing her arms as though it should've been obvious. "I'm capable of finding someone attractive without immediately trying to ruin their life and date them."

"Hm."

"What?"

"I was just checking."

"Checking what?"

"That you aren't secretly a homewrecker," he hummed, closing his eye again.

She reached over and shoved his shoulder, hard enough to roll him slightly into the dirt. "You are unbelievable."

"I've been told," his muffled voice came from the forest floor.

The corner of her mouth betrayed her, a soft smile returning as she leaned back and watched the branches sway overhead. "I don't like him."

"No?"

"I just think he's..." She searched for a safer word. "...easy on the eyes?"

Eddie let out a long, dramatic sigh that stirred the dry leaves near his face. "I'll take it."

…

By the time Darcy wandered back towards the student parking lot, the autumn sun had already started sinking lower behind the school. Two hours had vanished somewhere between bad impressions of Steve Harrington and whatever strain she'd apparently agreed to smoke. She hadn't realised how late it had gotten until the familiar black Camaro came into view, parked exactly where Billy always waited. Engine idling. Cigarette already between his fingers.

Max was slumped in the passenger seat, headphones clamped over her ears, one Converse propped up against the dashboard. She barely spared Darcy a glance before returning to whatever tape she'd been listening to all afternoon.

Billy did look. His eyes tracked her all the way across the parking lot. Then his expression changed.

"Darce."

She opened the passenger door.  "What?"

Billy looked at her for a long second before pinching the bridge of his nose. “Are you fuckin' serious?"

"In general or..?"

"It's your first day."

"I know."

"You couldn't wait one day? You stink of weed."

She slid into the seat, closing the door behind her. "I waited until after school."

Billy stared at her as she looked away before he noticed she'd started grinning.

 "I think that's pretty responsible."

A disbelieving laugh escaped him. "Jesus Christ."

"It's not a big deal."

"It smells like Tommy Chong died in my backseat."

Max pulled one earphone aside."It does stink."

Darcy gasped. "Betrayal."

Max ignored her and simply put the earphone back in. Billy shook his head, muttering something under his breath as he threw the car into gear. 

The Camaro pulled away from Hawkins High in a familiar growl. For a while nobody spoke. Darcy reached automatically into the glove compartment.

Billy didn't even look. "Cigarette."

"I know." She pulled one from the packet, held it between her lips while flicking open the lighter. Billy leaned over without thinking, taking the flame the second she offered it.

Then she lit her own. Max sighed dramatically. "You two are gonna die."

Billy exhaled smoke out the open window. "We all are."

"I meant sooner."

"Even better."

Max groaned. "You are both unbearable."

Neither of them answered. It wasn't worth it. This was routine. Comfortably, predictably routine. The silence stretched for another minute before Billy broke it. "You make friends?"

Darcy looked out the window. "Yeah obviously"

"Hm."

"You get bitches?"

He snorted. "Do I go anywhere without them?"

"There we go." That earned the ghost of a smile from Billy before he looked back at the road. That was usually how conversations with Billy ended. They'd never needed many words. Not with each other.

Most people only knew that version. Darcy knew the one that came before. The little boy who sulked whenever she beat him at poker that they played with seashells instead of chips. The one who spent entire afternoons digging moats around sandcastles because she'd declared they needed protecting from pirates. The one who rolled his eyes every single time she demanded he play mermaids with her, before inevitably giving in anyway.

Billy had once cried because she'd buried his favourite shell somewhere on Coronado Beach and neither of them could remember where.

Now he smoked with the window down and drove like every journey was an argument with somebody who wasn't in the car. Meaner. Sharper around the edges.

Most people only knew that version. Darcy knew the one that came before. The little boy who sulked whenever she beat him at poker that they played with seashells instead of chips. The one who spent entire afternoons digging moats around sandcastles because she'd declared they needed protecting from pirates. The one who rolled his eyes every single time she demanded he play mermaids with her, before inevitably giving in anyway.

Things change.

Neil hadn't created Billy's anger. He'd simply given it somewhere to live. The rest of him had been buried underneath it. Sometimes Darcy caught glimpses of the boy he'd been.

Usually only for a second, when nobody else was looking. Billy never screamed at her the way he screamed at Max. He'd snap. Roll his eyes. Call her an idiot. Tell her to shut up. But he never crossed that invisible line. Not once.

Maybe it was because she'd been there before everything went wrong. Before California stopped feeling like home. Before bruises and slammed doors and learning which floorboards creaked.

Billy would sooner drive into a brick wall than admit it, but sometimeshe looked at Darcy, pieces of their mother looked back at him. The same dark blue eyes. The same honey-blonde hair. The same smile she wore when she knew she was about to get away with something.

Darcy had never been afraid of Billy. She knew exactly what he was capable of, but she also knew exactly who he used to be. That was enough. 

…

The rest of the week settled into something resembling routine. Darcy discovered that Hawkins High operated almost entirely on reputation. By Wednesday morning she'd learnt who dated who, who hated who, who'd peaked in sophomore year and who'd spend the next decade insisting they almost went pro. Apparently there wasn't much else to do in a town this small besides knowing everyone else's business.

Cheer practice wasn't difficult. If anything, it felt comforting. The routines weren't identical to California's, but muscle memory translated   well. By the second afternoon she'd already been handed a uniform.

Eddie made an appearance almost every time cheer practice let out. Whenever it ran late, he had developed the habit of appearing outside before she'd even left the locker room. Usually leaning against the gym doors. Once sitting reading Tolkien patiently as the corridors flooded with green and gold. 

Darcy was walking out of the girls' locker room, damp hair pulled back her heavy duffel bag slung over one shoulder, before a loud, dramatic gasp echoed down the empty hallway. "Hold! My eyes deceive me!"

Eddie was leaning against the double doors of the gym, his arms crossed over his chest. Several underclassmen scurried past him, keeping their heads down, but Eddie didn't even notice them. 

"Please tell me that isn't polyester," he said, pointing an accusing finger at the uniform skirt peeking out of her duffel bag. "You’ve officially been branded by the state."

"It's a classic color scheme, moron," Darcy said, stopping in front of him and shifting the bag's weight. "Green represents like.. nature and shit. Growth maybe? Gold represents.. well, winning, I think."

"It represents conformity," Eddie corrected, pushing himself off the doors with a flourish. He fell into step beside her as they walked toward the exit. "They put you in the little skirt, they give you the little pompoms, and boom: another free-thinking mind lost to the system."

"I'm still thinking freely," Darcy pointed out, grinning. "For instance, right now I'm freely thinking about how ridiculous your hair looks today."

Eddie gasped, clutching his chest. "Sacrilege! My hair is a work of art. It has character. Unlike..." He leaned in closer, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "the Harrington Mane."

"You are obsessed with him,"

"I am a harsh critic," Eddie argued. He stopped at the intersection of the hallways, pulling a carton of chocolate milk from his jacket pocket and offering her a theatrical salute with it. "Go do your jumps, cheerleader. But don't forget us little people when you're famous."

"I'll try," Darcy laughed, waving him off as she headed toward the parking lot. "No promises!"

…

AP History turned out to be the quietest fifty minutes of any day, largely because Mr. Feldman taught with minimal urgency.

Nancy Wheeler always arrived early. She sat in the second row, her posture so perfectly straight it made Darcy's lower back ache just looking at her. By the time the second bell rang, Nancy already had three different colored pens aligned parallel to her notebook, her syllabus creaseless, and her eyes locked on the blackboard.

On Wednesday, Mr. Feldman was droning on about the agricultural consequences of the Industrial Revolution, his voice blending into the steady hum of the classroom. Darcy, fighting a losing battle against sleep, let her pencil slip from between her fingers. It tapped against the floor before rolling lazily to a stop beside Nancy’s loafer. Nancy glanced down, her pen suspended above her notes. After a moment, she leaned down, picked it up, and turned in her seat to hand it back. 

"Thanks," Darcy whispered, offering a grateful smile.

"No problem," Nancy said softly. Up close, the rumors of Nancy Wheeler being cold felt flat. She didn't look cold, she looked like she was carrying a very heavy, invisible weight on her shoulders. Her eyes flicked briefly to Darcy’s empty notebook page. "We're on page forty-two. Feldman usually tests on the footnotes, not the bold text. Just so you know."

Darcy raised an eyebrow. "smart! Thanks Wheeler."

A tiny, surprised smile broke through Nancy’s serious expression before she turned back around, her pen resuming its neat, rhythmic scratching. Darcy wrote Page 42 - Footnotes! at the top of her page, realizing that maybe Nancy Wheeler wasn't as bad as people said she was. 

It was, however, entirely impossible to ignore Steve Harrington.

He was treated like a minor deity. Someone called his name every thirty seconds. Basketball players slapped his shoulder with aggressive affection. Freshmen practically threw themselves against the lockers to clear a path for him. He didn't even seem to be trying. 

They weren't lying about the ‘Harrington Charm’, though. Darcy struggled with her locker early in the week, the latch was rusted, requiring a very specific, aggressive kick to open. She leaned in to try again.

"Here," a voice said. "It catches on the bottom left, I had this locker last year."

Darcy looked up. Steve Harrington was standing there. He didn't have his varsity jacket on, just a casual striped polo, but his hair was indeed doing that gravity-defying thing that half the school talked about. Before she could answer, he reached out, gave the bottom left corner of her locker door a firm, practiced thump with the heel of his hand, and the door clicked open smoothly. He gave her a quick, polite smile. "New girl, right? California?"

"Yep, Darcy," she sighed, because that sentence had been thrown at her countlessly already. 

"Steve," he replied, as if he needed an introduction. "Let me know if the lock gives you any more trouble. The janitor, Callahan, doesn't actually fix them unless you threaten to tell the principal."

"I'll keep that in mind," Darcy said.

"See ya 'round," he nodded, turning back to join a waiting group of basketball players. Darcy watched him go, frowning, because Eddie's description of him didn't seem quite right. Or maybe he wouldn't have done that for someone like Eddie. 

He wasn't loud, which was shocking. Considering how everyone talked about him, you’d expect someone obnoxious. Instead, she’d only seen him listen, fiddle with his sleeve as Nancy spoke. He always seemed interested in what she had to say.

Then, almost automatically, he would reach over and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. It was absent-minded. The sort of thing people only did when they'd done it a hundred times before.

"Harrington's whipped."

Darcy jumped, her shoulder slipping an inch down the metal of her locker. Tessa had appeared beside her as if she’d materialized directly out of the hallway, a heavy ring binder clutched to her chest.

"What?" Darcy blinked, trying to reset her expression.

"For Nancy," Tessa said, nodding her head toward the couple across the way.

Darcy followed her gaze. Nancy was pointing at something in her textbook, her brow furrowed in concentration, while Steve took her heavy stack of binders from her arms, tucking them under his own. He didn't even look like he was paying attention to the weight of them.

"Oh," Darcy said softly. She watched the way Steve’s shoulders dropped slightly, his usual confident posture melting into something much quieter. "That's actually kind of sweet."

Tessa looked horrified, her eyes widening behind her bangs as she clutched her binder tighter. "Don't let him hear you say that. Ever."

"Why?" Darcy laughed, looking back at her. "It is."

"Because it will go straight to his ego," Tessa warned, a conspiratorial smirk breaking through her mock-panic. "The boy's ego already has its own gravitational pull. If he finds out the new girl from California thinks his chivalry is sweet, he’ll probably start offering to carry your bag, too, just to prove he can."

Darcy laughed, shaking her head as she closed her locker door with a firm, metallic clang. "I think my bag is safe."

the school was emptying out in a slow, noisy rush. The air in the main hallway was thick with the scent of cheap body spray, damp raincoats, floor wax.

Darcy walked slow, her mind drifting, when she caught herself looking back toward the double doors at the end of the wing. Steve had just disappeared through them, his varsity jacket swinging from one finger over his shoulder.

"Oh, no." 

Darcy stopped in her tracks. Eddie leaned against the doorframe of the empty English classroom, a un-annotated copy of Lord of the Flies rolled up in his hand like a baton. He was looking at her with a look of exaggerated disappointment.

Darcy sighed, shifting her backpack strap. "What?"

"It's begun," Eddie said, tapping the rolled-up book against his palm.

"What has?"

"The descent. The fall of man. You've caught Harrington Disease." He stepped out into the hallway, falling into step beside her with a dramatic  stride. "I saw the look, Darcy. The lingering gaze. The classic symptom of the infected."

She rolled her eyes, her boots clicking against the floor. "I was literally just observing. You know, because everyone else is. It's not a conscious effort”

"They all say that," Eddie countered, pointing the book at her accusingly. "First, it's just 'observation.' Then, it's 'he’s not that bad.' And before you know it, you're wearing green and gold and screaming his name from the bleachers."

"Eddie. I’ll have to do that anyway."

"I'm preparing your intervention as we speak. My friends are writing the speech."

"I don't even like him," she protested, laughing at the sheer absurdity of it.

"Mhm."

"I don't!"

"You think he's pretty," Eddie sang out, completely ignoring a freshman who had to swerve to avoid his flailing arm.

"I said he wasn't hard to look at!" Darcy defended, her cheeks warming slightly. "There is a massive difference."

"You are one sentence away from writing 'Mrs. Steve Harrington' in cursive all over your history notebook," Eddie teased, his eyes dancing with mischief. "I can see the loops of the 'H' already. Ooh! Are you going to do a heart thing on the ‘i’s?”

The warning bell for the final period rang, a harsh, electric buzz that cut through the chatter of the remaining students. Darcy turned toward her classroom, giving Eddie a firm shove on the shoulder that sent him stumbling back a half-step. "I hate you."

Eddie just grinned, his hands coming up in a mock-surrender as he walked backward down the hall. “No, you don't!”

…

By Thursday, Darcy had finally stopped getting lost. 

Mostly. She still occasionally turned left when she should have turned right near the woodshop, but she’d mastered the quickest path from AP History to her locker. The final bell had barely finished vibrating in its metal housing before the corridor erupted into its usual afternoon chaos. Lockers slammed shut in an uneven, thundering rhythm as laughter bounced off the high concrete ceilings. 

Darcy reached her locker, her fingers working the combination dial with practiced ease. Just as she cleared the third number, Tessa materialized beside her, like she seems to do often,  leaning her weight against the neighboring door with a look of mock exhaustion.

"You cannot seriously enjoy AP History," Tessa declared, clutching her notebook like a shield. "Feldman talks like he’s trying to put himself to sleep first."

Darcy glanced sideways at her, a quick smirk on her face as she yanked the locker door open. "Actually, it's my favorite subject."

Tessa stopped chewing her gum. She stared at Darcy, her expression shifting to one of genuine, deep-seated concern. "History? You’re joking."

"Mhm. Dead serious."

"The class entirely dedicated to dead people and old dirt?"

Darcy laughed under her breath, reaching into the dark depths of her locker to tug a massive, spine-creased textbook from the shelf. "It's just... easy. You just have to remember what already happened."

She shut her locker door with a solid, echoing clang and leaned against it.

Before Tessa could offer another opinion on Darcy's taste, a high blonde ponytail came weaving confidently through the thick hallway traffic. The crowd of underclassmen seemed to part naturally for her.

"Tess," a voice called out, breezy and loud.

Tessa turned, her posture shifting into something slightly defensive, though her voice was affectionate. "Hey."

The girl didn’t slow down until she was standing right in front of them. Her attention shifted instantly from Tessa to Darcy, her eyes doing a quick, appreciative sweep of Darcy’s outfit. She didn't bother with a hello or an introduction.

"So," she said, her voice dripping with casual curiosity. "I've heard you're settling in. California girl."

Darcy offered a polite, easy smile, adjusting the heavy history book in her arms. "I think so."

"Good." Without another word, the girl reached into her bag and held out a brightly colored flyer, printed on cheap, neon-orange paper. Darcy took it. Across the top, written in thick, dripping black letters, it read:

TINA'S HALLOWEEN BASH

Beneath the printed title, in slightly wonky, looping handwriting with a purple sharpie, someone had scribbled: Come get sheetfaced.

"You coming?" the blonde asked, her chin tilted up.

Halloween. The word sent a strange little jolt through Darcy's chest. She’d almost entirely forgotten it was October. Back in California, the transition to autumn was practically invisible, just slightly cooler beach days and a shift from iced coffee to hot coffee. Here, the weather still couldn't quite decide whether it was autumn or summer, leaving the air thick and confused, but the school was covered in construction-paper pumpkins and fake cobwebs that Darcy had been too busy navigating to actually notice.

But a real party? That was familiar territory. Darcy wasn't about to miss her first proper social event in Hawkins. She turned to Tessa, gesturing with the orange flyer. "You going to this?"

Tessa stared at her. A long, painful silence stretched between them, during which Tessa’s face slowly morphed from disbelief to outright deadpan amusement. "Um.. Darcy."

"What?"

"It's my house."

Darcy froze. Her eyes flicked from Tessa, to the flyer, and then to the blonde girl standing in front of them with an amused smirk. "Wait. What?"

"This is Tina," Tessa said, gesturing to the blonde with a sigh that carried years of sibling exasperation. "My sister. My older sister."

Realization crashed over Darcy. She winced, her cheeks warming slightly. "Oh. Oh, god. That actually makes a lot more sense."

Tessa rolled her eyes, though there was a fond tug at the corner of her mouth. "I was honestly wondering how long it would take you to put the faces together. We get told we look the same all the time."

"I was distracted by the neon orange," Darcy defended herself, laughing as she looked back at Tina. "But yeah. I'll definitely be there."

A slow, victorious grin spread across Tina's face. "Perfect."

She stepped a half-inch closer, reaching over to smoothly brush an imaginary piece of lint from the sleeve of Darcy's cardigan. 

"And" Tina purred, her voice dropping a fraction of an octave. "can you bring Billy?"

Right on cue, Tessa let out the loudest, most exhausted, weary sigh Darcy had ever heard someone produce. She dropped her forehead against the cool metal of her locker. "Oh my God, Tina. Please."

"What?" Tina asked, totally unbothered, her eyes still locked onto Darcy.

"You are unbelievable."

"I'm just asking a question."

"You're obsessed," Tessa muttered into the locker door.

"I'm interested," Tina corrected sharply, a tiny, competitive spark in her eyes. "He’s new, he’s pretty, and I'm intrigued.”

Tessa lifted her head, shooting her sister a look of pure exasperation. "You're obsessed."

Tina ignored her sister entirely, keeping her focus solely on Darcy, waiting for an answer with the poise of someone who was very used to getting exactly what she wanted. "So? What do you say, Darcy?”

Darcy couldn't help the amused smile that took over her face. "I'll ask," she said, pacing her words carefully.

"You'll ask?" Tina echoed.

"I can't exactly drug him and drag him there in the trunk of the Camaro," Darcy pointed out. "Though it would make the drive quieter."

"Shame," Tina hummed, her eyes sparkling.

"I'll mention it to him," Darcy promised, laughing and shaking her head. "That's the best I can do."

"Perfect." Satisfied that her mission was accomplished, Tina flashed them both one last, brilliant smile, spun on her heel, and melted back into the flow of the hallway crowd as quickly and confidently as she’d arrived.

Darcy watched the top of her blonde ponytail disappear around the corner of the hallway. “She's definitely trying to do something with him," Darcy murmured.

Tessa gave an exaggerated, heavy nod, her shoulders slumping. "Oh, one hundred percent. She’s already picked out her outfit based on what she thinks he’ll like. His name might rival Harrington’s at this point.”

"Does she always get what she wants?" 

Tessa looked thoughtfully down the corridor, her expression softening into something slightly more serious, sibling pride and caution. "Usually. She’s Tina. People don't really say no to her around here."

Darcy looked down at the bright orange flyer again, the word sheetfaced staring back at her in thick black ink. She folded it neatly, sliding it between the pages of her heavy history book like a bookmark.

"Well," Darcy smiled, her eyes glinting with a bit of California mischief as she looked at Tessa. "Are the parties in this town as dull as the school? Or is that just an isolated variable?"

Masterlist

[ @e-vay 's Halloween Bash :) ]

#OnThisDay Thursday October 30, 1997

Aaliyah, along with Hanson, Backstreet Boys, En Vogue, and more, performed at the B96 Halloween Bash Music Festival in Rosemont IL at the Rosemont Arena (now known as the AllState Arena)

B96 held their Halloween Bash every year from 1996-2002; it was held on the last Thursday of the month of October of every year.

The Halloween Bash (in October) and Jingle Bash (in December) were additional events added by B96 because the Summer Bash concert series proved successful. The concert events for the Summer Bash stopped in 2020 due to the pandemic.

I'm doing a Halloween Bash this Friday the 27th @ 8 pm CST!!

Come for Spooks and Fun!

I will also be running a charity for the Medical Aid for Palestinians during it!

A/N: Hey y’all! This is gonna be chapter 7.2 leading up to chapter 8. I’ve been meaning to get this out and it’s a day late🤣but hey it’s out! Let’s get into it! Oh! And make sure to read Lore Olympus on Webtoon!

Warnings: blood, gore (spooky right?)

Word count: 3,111

Tag Squad: @maddiestundentwritergaines @themyscxiras @designerwriterchic @honeychicana @crushed-pink-petals @dc41896 @chaneajoyyy @titty-teetee @ljstraightnochaser @mimigemrose @fumbling-fanfics @madamslayyy @amelatonin @screamingdrago @breddiefrooks @ellixthea __________

Two weeks after Florian’s birthday, some would say I had a break from planning. No that is a lie, I have several things to do. With Halloween Bash coming up: graduation, Cynthia and John’s wedding and trying to figure out when Florian and I were going to move everything was a blur.

Yes we’re moving in together and we haven’t told anyone yet. He practically lives with me now in my barely manageable condo, but we make due with what we have once he’s finally ready to pick a city to stay with me. I’m ready to move to either Atlanta or LA, at most.

Last minute touches on my costume, Persephone from Lore Olympus on Webtoon, I had to make sure my pink wig and black dress were presentable. The black spiked crown on my head was a pretty durable headband, which presented me as the queen of the underworld. The different shades of pink from Mehron body paint, made my body look like a decedent piece of strawberry laffy taffy.

“Is Hades ready to go? We gotta meet the folks at the venue, the planner picked an old mansion.”

The lipstick I picked was a subtle dark pink, but doable. Grabbing my heels and my black clutch, I saw my giant bear struggling with his tie.

“Florian! We gotta go, now”

With his cute pout, he huffed in defeat. “I’m trying draga. But I think the blue paint is coming off.”

“I told you I had to spray you with setting body paint spray.”

“Come help me please?”

“Fine.” Grabbing his tie and folding it for him gently, then grabbing the setting spray for the body paint. The paint was on his forearms: his chest, face and neck. I’m surprised it stayed in place, not to mention the white hair wax I did for his hair or the 2 inches of hair he does have. This man looked like the perfect king of the underworld.

The white button up was opened at the 4 buttons, his sleeves were rolled up a quarter of a way on his forearms for the body paint to work out better. The black vest made a great contrast with the whole ensemble, pulling off the perfect king look with the chain around his neck.

“So you make a really hot looking Hades. I’m Surprised you didn’t let me do the wig.”

“Me in a wig, baby girl? Nah not gonna happen at all. Now you can put the iridescent contacts in my eyes.”

Grabbing the prescription contacts and placing them in his eyes gently, I did the same with my red one's. I never knew I’d look hot as the queen of the Greek mythology, and I make it work.

“Ready to go my queen of the underworld?” He offered his hand to me, after putting.

Lacing our fingers together, tugging him behind me as we headed towards the car, I got into character and praying to the gods that I didn’t trip on my dress.

“I hope Minthe won’t be there, because I’d hate to rip her a new one.”

“Oh please, she wouldn’t dare- Gege what is that?”

His eyes went wide at the sleek black convertible that I had rented for the night. My uncle let me borrow it and I promised I’d bring it back in one piece.

I dangled the keys in front of his face being all tantalizing. “You can’t be Hades, king of the Underworld, without a good car. Now can you?”

“Damn I love you.” He grabbed them keys from me with a giddy expression.

“Oh I know. Let’s go, we got a party to host.”

-The Party-

The spooky ambiance of the mansion was alive, despite the fact that there were a few zombies in the place. Receiving compliments about our costumes felt magical and so heartfelt, we showed a lot of pride into making these costumes and for people to say they loved them meant all the difference.

“You know how to throw a party Geneva. This is amazing.”

“Amazing set up Geneva.”

“Thank you guys! Enjoy the party.”

The smirk Florian gave me was full of conviction and love. He knew exactly how much I loved party planning and decorating, it was like my zen time.

“Time for an announcement?” Florian arches a brow.

“That it is my dear king, that it is. But first I need to remain calm and find my voice. I’ll be down soon.” Placing a kiss on his cheek, I headed towards the big dining hall to give myself a quick pep talk.

“See you soon love. I’ll go find the boys.”

Greeting the guests on my way, I noticed an cat statue on the counter in front of the mirror. Why would anyone want to leave part of their just laying there?

“Someone must be missing this.” As soon as I touched it, I noticed a reflection looking back at me in the mirror.

“Well, well. You freed me from my prison, I thank you oh great queen.” The voice echoed at me, I realized it was a goddess trapped in the statue once the image was clear.

“Your prison, you were trapped in there? Why exactly?”

The goddess smiled at me and leaned out of the mirror in front of me. “Crimes of death I didn’t commit. Love and all that craziness. I, Minthe a naiad-nymph of Mount Mintha, have been summoned by the next great queen to help carry out her destiny.”

“Next great queen?” Was I losing it or can anyone else see her in the mirror? A few guests walked by and gave me a strange look, I assured them I was getting ready for a speech soon and they carried on.

“Yes you.” Without missing a beat, Minthe slithered out of the mirror and into me without warning. I glanced into the mirror once again and noticed one darker red eye opposite of my contact.

“Now you’re dressed a Greek goddess from a comic book is it? Now you have a nymph inside of you, I am going to help you feel confident and sexy again. Along with having fun, besides I am going to give you the confidence boost you have craved for so long.”

How did she know I was struggling with my confidence? Was I being watched from deities?

“How did you know that?” I asked while trying to keep my cool.

“The gods know all, my dear. Now let me do my work.”

“But I-” She took over my body and somehow added more sex appeal to my whole demeanor.

“Ah ah. Now we have a speech to deliver. Let’s go.” Once again she took over my body and guided it towards the foyer railing that looked over at everyone in the galley.

As Minthe had full control of my body, I knew this wasn’t going to end well. As she clapped my hands in an attempt to get everyone’s attention, the room got quiet and all eyes were on me. Well I’d say Minthe to be exact.

“Hear ye, hear ye! Ghouls, goblins, vampires, wolves and everything in between. Let’s do what others deem rather odd: let’s party!”

The crowd roared in cheers and hollers, the music played through the giant mansion and I had enjoyed the ambiance of it all. Much to Florian’s discretion, he was just hanging with the boys for the rest of the party. Till he caught up with me to see how I was doing, he places a kiss on my cheek and I let him know I was doing alright.

“Let me know if you need my queen.”

“I will my king.” I chuckled nervously, trying to tell him but he left. He didn’t know about Hathor being stuck inside me, and I had to tell him, Hathor however had other plans.

“Ah ah ah. Little Geneva, I’m here to help you out and get your sexy back. Because your man deserves a queen after all, as fine as he is.”

“News flash your royal ass-ness, I am all the queen he needs and then some. I’m just not as confident anymore as i used to be is all. Back off my man now and listen to me good: I love all things Greek, but you’re pissing me off now.”

With a slight huff, as I attempted to lean against the wall Minthe yanked my body away gaining full control over me. “Now, now princess, let a real queen show you how it’s done to make a man quiver in desire. He’s like now.”

I had no control over my own body, it was as if I were floating across a cloud just hanging on by a thread of sorts. Now I know how Eddie Brock feels when Venom took over. Hathor had a filled time at the party, she even decided to be sneaky and slip my thong off, slipping it into Florian’s back pocket all the while smacking his as one good time before venturing off into the sea of people.

“Geneva, you’re gonna get it.” I could hear him growl playfully but I couldn’t tell him anything. I felt like Ursula took my voice, and I needed to get to the bottom of this spell.

“Catch me if you can, Hades.” the seductive tone the deity used in place of my own voice, was like a siren calling a sailor to shore and my own boyfriend fell for it.

If anyone knew it wasn’t like me to be this way, and if I tried, I'd be embarrassed from the jump. The next several days were antagonizing to say the least, being that she never left my body and the way Florian worshipped the ground I walked on was astounding. He was under a spell of sorts, but not completely.

Whenever Hathor would take over she’s get the special treatment of Florian’s kisses and soft touches. It wasn’t me getting the loving at all and it hurt me, to the point where I had to seek help. Surprisingly, there was a woman in Cairo that specializes in these types of situations and could help me out. There was just one problem: I had to go to Athens.

Upon the research I have done, I may have surprised my man and all our friends with a random trip to Athens. So much for getting a few new pairs of shoes with that money, but my life was more important. Needless to say, it all went all for everyone. Well all except for me anyway, I couldn’t sleep with a rambunctious goddess in my head wanting to fuck my boyfriend for the millionth time.

I was never one to show excessive PDA in public and Florian knew why. Jake has ruined it for me to be affection in public and it did hurt Florian so much because he loved showing me off. I would do a Little yet, I feared he’d be annoyed with me.

I shouldn’t compare him to Jake, because that’s a low blow. It’s just as if I was afraid of him, we promised to be honest with one another and I wasn’t doing my part. So when he noticed I was being all on him like a hyena on a dead animal, and the times I drew back, he knew something was wrong.

Everyone was enjoying what Athens had to offer, I was as well a few times but today was worse. I couldn’t go to the oasis with everyone else and Hathor was screaming inside my head.

“Geneva? Are you ok, because you’ve been acting funny.” Florian asked gently, holding my hand as I looked out the window. Minthe didn’t sneak up on me this time around, so I could actually talk to him.

Breathing in and out, to catch my bearings, to explain to him what’s the reason for this random trip.

“I need to explain to you what all this is for.”

“What is going on?” He sat by me in the bed, holding my right hand genuinely and kissed my head.

“You know those times when I would basically pounce on you or be extra touchy feely and not remember?”

“Yeah..”

“Well there’s a nymph inside of me, not the good kind, but at the party someone left a cat alter in the formal dining room of the house and I touched it.” I sniffled and felt a few tears falling down my cheeks.

“So she is why I've been acting strange. I want to be more confident and sexy around you, and I can’t even do that without feeling insecure.” My voice cracked and I started sobbing.

Next thing I know, Florian hugged me close to his warm body to console me. “You will always be the only one for me. Regardless of how you show affection towards me, I can help you break out of that my love.”

Somehow that switched Minthe over but I fought her back a bit. “There’s this old lady I met with earlier, that can do rituals with deity separation. I could either keep her, or do the separation.”

Now why would you want to separate from me?

“Because I want you out of my life you dingbat!”

“Geneva..” Florian arched a brow, looking at me in shock.

“Florian, Florian baby listen to me- leave her and be with me Munteanu~” the switch was nonstop, my eyes changed from what I could tell from the mirror behind him and I could tell Florian seemed like he was losing his mind.

“Uh you guys! I need help!”

Our friends rushed in, in shock at how dark and sinister my eyes seemed as I kept looking in the mirror. Next thing I knew, Hathor moved my body over towards the mirror; punches it and grabs a broken shard waving it around scaring our friends.

Minthe’s threats were sickening. “Oh now look, cowards all of you. How would you feel if I just hurt your little friend, hmm?”

“Don’t you fucking dare.” Florian growled.

Chris was right behind him. “Let her go now.”

She chuckled darkly while I tried to scream but it was to no avail. “No wonder Mandy wanted her gone. It was a good idea to plant the altar in the parlor.”

“Wait.” Roxie interjected. “Mandy planted the cat altar at the party?”

Miyah sighed shaking her head. “She wasn’t even invited and yet she knew where it would be.”

“She was dressed at Minthe at the party. It makes sense now.” Cleo gulped a bit and looked at Minthe who has full control.

“That’s right, and now I’m going to finish the job.” I could feel the glass shard dig into my wrist of my left arm and drag down causing blood to surface and drip on the floor.

Florian was too slow to catch the shard before it cut me. They were all trying to get the shard away from her, but she was too strong and moved towards the balcony. Once both arms were sliced from the wrists to the middle of my arms, nearly showing the bone, she then places the shard against my neck.

“Say goodbye to your precious Geneva.” One final slice upon my neck and I woke up in a cold sweat and blood curdling scream.

“Geneva! Gege, you ok? We heard screaming.” Florian must’ve ran upstairs quick.

“I think so. I guess- I guess it was all a nightmare.” Looking around the room, I saw my costume still on the chair by my vanity and Florian still in his workout clothes. Must’ve been some dream then.

“Wanna talk about it?” He rubbed my shoulders and kissed my head while sitting next to me on the bed.

“Well, it was all so dark and sinister. I had a Greek nymph trapped inside of me, to help me be more sexy and confident around you. Yet it backfired and she wanted you, and she tried to kill me. She was trapped inside of a cat statue and I touched it.”

The look of fear and dread was etched on Florian’s face, as he reached over and hugged me close.

“You don’t have to worry about being too sexy and too confident for me. I love you no matter what, and your sexiness is just perfect for me and only me. Confidence is out of this world too, so no matter what I will always love you. Now what caused this nightmare of yours?”

“I love you too Florian, forever and always.” Sighing gently, I looked around the room and noticed the Grecian wine glass on my nightstand that had Assyrtiko wine in it.

“This wine I had earlier. I just had some and- shit it was from Mandy to you.” I sucked my teeth and sighed angrily.

“When did she send the wine? And it was made a month ago, maybe it was the glass it came with.”

Sniffing the glass a bit, I smelled essence of geranium on the rim of the glass. I tossed it and it shattered on the floor.

“What the hell Geneva!”

“It had geranium essence on the rim. I’m gonna kill her, but after Halloween. I have a party to attend to.”

Getting up off the bed, I sniffled a bit and closed my eyes in thought. “I’m sorry for how I reacted. I just don’t like her at all and I need you by my side for this party. I need my Hades by my side.”

Placing a kiss upon my head, he hugged me once more. Making me feel secure and safe all over again. “I will be there right next to you, just like I am with everything else. The king does need his queen.”

His words always meant the world to me, kept me sane on most days and was the strength I needed.

“Let’s get ready. The crew is gonna come over soon so we can all get ready together.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll clean up the glass, don’t need anyone getting hurt.” He offered a sweet smile before leaving to clean up with broken glass.

What would I do without this man? Id probably be in my own head even more than I already am, and I’m so blessed to have him in my life. No matter what I went through, he was there.

“Let’s get this Halloween bash started right!” I heard Roxie’s voice downstairs, bringing a smile to my face. Time to get into the spirit.