veda henderson

          The light snores of the room don't bother me. If anything, they make me envious of the fact that they can all get sleep while I sit in an armchair, legs to my chest and fingernails between my teeth. The thought of going to sleep makes me sick to my stomach, the ominous feeling of impending doom won't settle long enough for me to relax. Even though I feel like I've banished my demons by shooting that hallucination of my father, the damage done to me by him isn't so easily forgotten, not by my body clock at least.        

"Hey, Dustin. This is Eddie the banished," The crackling voice caught my attention. I turn to the walkie-talkie lying idle on the table, long enough for the voice to repeat, "Dustin?"

I jump up, speeding over to the walkie-talkie in time to snatch it out of Dustin's hands and make my way out of the room. He called after me, but I simply stuck my tongue out at him and pulled out the antenna from the communication device, "Eddie?"

    "Veda?" He says my name in surprise. I exit the basement, waving at the Wheelers as I leave the home to sit outside on the front steps. "You're gonna hate me for saying this but, god, I missed the sound of your voice,"

    "Don't get all mushy on my, Muffin. We both know that's just because you're a scardey-cat," I laugh, pulling at the grass around my feet. "Did you need something?"

    "Food. I'm starving over here, shiverling away. Unless you want me going out in the big wide world, I need a delivery service. Stat," He rambles, making me laugh at his dramatics. 

    "Yeah, about that. You do not want to be showing your face right now," I warn, the other side going dead for a few seconds before I hear the static of his response.

    "Any more than usual?"

    "Chrissy's boyfriend and his douchebag teammates are sort of after your head right now. Speaking of which, I definitely should not be putting myself on display right now," I mumble the last part to myself, using my free hand to lift my hood over my head and turn my body to the side, shielding my face from anyone walking past. 

    "Seriously? Those meat-heads have got another thing coming if they think they're going to get the almighty without a fight," Eddie warns, his empty threat only making me laugh just trying to imagine him putting up any sort of physical fight. Honestly, I think he was trying to ease my mind more than his. 

    "You shouldn't come close enough to them for a fight to break out. If you see them, just run the other way," I instruct, waving my hand for effect despite him not being able to see me do so. I want to tell him everything he's missed, everything we've learned. But, it feels like too much to say through Dustin's shotty walkie-talkie. It will have to wait till I see him again. 

    "If you insist, Little Lady. I'm warning you, it's going to be hard to fight off those killer instincts of mine,"

    I roll my eyes, "Is there anything else I can get for you, Muffin?"

    "A six-pack. I know, it's stupid to be drinking at a time like this but-"

    "No need to explain yourself to a drug addict, Eddie. I know exactly how you feel," I reassure him, the walkie-talkie falling into silence after that. I gulp, swallowing my better instincts as I speak, "I'm really scared, Eddie. I feel like there's something I'm missing and Dustin keeps looking at me with these sad eyes like he has a theory but he pushes it away,"

    "Henderson always has that kicked puppy look. You're smart for a dumb person, I'm sure if there was something to figure out, you'd find it," 

    "I saw you. When I went into that place I go to. For a single awful moment, I thought you were broken up into pieces on the ground somewhere. If I'm honest, it made me... feel a certain way," I bite my lip, nervous and almost regretful about my newfound vulnerability. 

    "Veda, I-"

    Dustin cuts him off by snatching the walkie-talkie out of my hand, spewing out words to Eddie about how we have to go and blah blah blah before turning it off and stuffing it into his back pocket. "We gotta go. Nancy found another clue."

    "Dustin, I was using that," I grumble, pushing myself to stand next to him as the others pile out of the house. "Harrington?"

    "Yeah?" He responds, not turning to face me as he bee-lines for his car. 

    "Can you drop me off somewhere on the way?"

----------

                "Thanks," I say, climbing out from the back of the car. Of course, I was forced into the very back of the car with the other little kids.

    "You sure you don't want to check the Creel house out? You should be more curious than anyone," Dustin asked for the millionth time. I smile, turning around and leaning into the car to respond to him.

    "Should, could. All very confusing. I would prefer to not know any of this," I grin, ignoring his eye roll as I turn around and walk away from the car. 

    "Have fun with your boyfriend, V," Dustin shouts from behind me. I don't turn to him, instead flipping him the bird from behind. I hear his little giggle right before Steve speeds off like a maniac. Seriously I don't know how that man gets from A to B in one piece. His hair must block his vision or he's too busy making eye contact with himself in the rear view.

    I laugh at the thought, jotting down the drive and towards the little house by the lake. It would be weird to say I miss the little house, but some part of me does. That little boat house is the only place in this shit town where nothing bad has happened yet. I just hope I wasn't jinxing that. 

     Casually, I step onto the porch and push the door open. To my surprise, there is no one to greet me when I enter. My heart sinks, immediately thinking the worst has happened, my mind shows me unpleasant images that only make the feeling worse.

    "Eddie-"

    I'm cut off when a blur jumps out from under a tarp, barrelling towards me and shoving me against the wall of the unsteady boat house. I grunt, the wind being knocked out of me by the force of the shove. Something leathery is pressed against my throat, instantly killing my levels of fear. I open my eyes to reveal the shocked expression of Eddie Munson who is now dropping his oar and moving his leather-clad arm away from me. 

     "Good to see you too, Muffin," I laugh, watching his eyes soften before he springs forward and yanks my back from the wall, pulling me close to him until I am locked in a firm embrace. My arms stay out wide, unsure what to do with themselves. 

    I didn't expect him to hug me, to say the least. Eddie doesn't seem like the type and truthfully I'm not either. But, I think he's just as scared as I am about this whole thing except he's further in the dark than I am. So, my arms hesitantly close, my palm tapping his back. 

    "Still a little scardey-cat I see," I grin. He sarcastically laughs, jumping back from me and giving me a once-over. 

    "Funny, I don't see my six-pack anywhere," He grins.

    "Yeah, but I got something better," I wag my finger at him. He raises a brow at me, waiting for my big surprise. I lift my hands up, gesturing to myself. "Great company,"

    "Oh, just what I wanted," He announces, quickly threading his arm through mine and pulling me over to where the boat sat chained to the roof. He stands next to it, holding his hand out for me as if I were a princess. I roll my eyes, stepping into the boat myself with him following behind me and sitting opposite me. 

     "Dustin's been acting strange," I finally voice out loud, looking at the bottom of the boat. I know he probably thinks he's smart enough that I don't see his glances and the way his brain whirls every time he looks at me a little too long, but I see it. It's been bugging me ever since.

    "Henderson? Strange? Oh, sound the alarms," He remarks sarcastically, moving around in his seat enough to make the boat rock slightly. 

    "I'm serious, Muffin," I state, watching acknowledgement flash through his gaze. After the last time, I can tell he really does not want to blow off my concerns again. I swallow, repositioning myself and holding my hands out "To give you a short version of a very long story, Vecna has been pulling me in to all these visions and his killings. His next victim is Max and she almost died yesterday but he didn't pull me in then, in fact, when I did get into his world he threw me back out. He said he has big plans for me but I can't figure out his intentions on why he's creating these portals-"

    "Portals?" Eddie repeats. I throw my hands up towards him in emphasis, waiting for him to continue. He gulps, looking anywhere but at me. "I don't know, Vey-"

    "You do know! Dustin freaked out over the word portals as well. Why won't you guys tell me what that means?" I huff in defeat. 

    "I don't know what Henderon's thinking, Veda," He defends, holding his palms out like a shield. 

    "But you have an idea," I protest. I groan, turning my head away from him to look at the wall of the boathouse. "It's something really bad isn't it,"

    "Hey," His voice is soft now, reassuring. I feel his hand reach out and grab my knee, rubbing his thumb over the material of my jeans. I turn, looking down at his ring-covered hand before up at him. "I will talk to Dustin. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. Scout's honour," He holds one hand to his chest over his heart, the other going up beside his head as if he is taking an oath. 

    "Why do you have to talk to that little dweeb first?" I shake my head, the frustration of the situation dying down. 

    "Hey, I don't wanna do anything that might..." He trails off, grinning at me as he slowly stands up, hands gripping opposite sides of the boat we are sitting in. "Rock that boat,"

    As he finishes, he starts to move his arms and legs around, aggressively shaking the boat with us still in it. I smile up at him, shaking my head at his childish actions. I know he's only doing this to try and distract me, get my mind off my worries, but I do appreciate his efforts, no matter how stupid they are. "Eddie, you're going to-"

    Before I can even finish, one of his feet slips and he tumbles towards me, quickly catching himself before his head can connect with him. Only now, he was inches away from me, one knee flat on the boat with the other leg bent into a squat. His hands grip the sides of the boat next to my body but his eyes are focused on mine. 

    "I told you so," I mutter, my eyes flicking between his.

     "Technically, you didn't finish," He comments, holding intense eye contact with me. 

     My eyes flick down in a way that causes him to shift his whole body, his hands moving on the side of the boat to readjust his grip. When I look back up at him, he takes this as his chance to do the same thing to me. 

     "Really stupid idea," He grumbles, more to himself than to me. He's right, the timing couldn't be worse. But, the timing will never be right, not in Hawkins.

     "Why does it have to be?" I ask quietly, searching his face for any sign of an answer.

    "I'm no good for you, V," He admits sadly, still not making any move to distance himself from me.

    "What makes you think I'm any good for you?" I question. It's true. It's hard to ignore the facts of my toxic behaviour due to my dependency, the way I act when I can't get my hands on my happy little pill. Especially, the way I act towards him when he does try to do the decent thing by cutting me off.

     "I mean, what would Henderson-"

     "Please, do not talk about my brother right now," I groan, clenching my eyes shut to try and rid myself of the memory. He laughs as I open my eyes, muttering a small apology. "You worry too much,"

    "You worry too little," He fires back, raising a brow at me accompanied by a cheeky grin. 

     "Which is why I can do this and you can't," I mock, leaning forward and reaching my hand out to the side of his jaw. 

     He doesn't make any known objections as I lean in and press our lips together. In fact, he almost falls on top of me from the way he jumps forward into the kiss as if some primal need of his took over his body and stripped control away from his brain. 

     But, almost as soon as it starts, the kiss ends when Eddie rips himself away, looking up at the window over my head with his ring-covered fingers still tangled in my hair.

     "I think we've got company, Little Lady,"