𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚜 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚜.

𝚂𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝙸 𝚖𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝.

𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚘 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚍 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎

𝚆𝚑𝚘 𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚐𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎.

𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎

𝙱𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚐𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎.

𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔

𝚂𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎.

𝚂𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚜

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎.

𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛

𝚂𝚘 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛.

𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛

𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚖𝚢 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛.

"Shocker..."

Lennon could make out Tina's bitter remark in the low thrumming of the music on the other side of the room. She couldn't care about Tina though, not when Eddie sat there watching too.

It was no longer a matter of making it up to Tina while giving Billy a very mediocre date. She wasn't concerned with any of that, she just knew forcing Eddie to watch wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to anyone.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Lennon muttered, trying not to shake when she clasped her hand to the back of Billy's neck and pressed their lips together.

She hoped to sound unaffected. She hoped to seem nonchalant. She hoped to look anything but terrified or guilty.

Lennon knew if she pulled back too quickly that Billy would have been offended and people would see straight through her real reasons for going on a date with him.

But he didn't taste like Eddie.

The growth of his short mustache felt grainy and scratchy against her face and he tasted like expensive beer, not at all like the Coors you could get at the store. He didn't taste like Eddie. He didn't feel like Eddie. He wasn't Eddie and she didn't like it.

Lennon's eyes opened slightly in discomfort as she peered past Billy when he refused to let go. She didn't resist, but she didn't encourage him either. She opened her eyes and found a mirror up against the wall by the entrance to the dining hall that she hadn't noticed before. She wouldn't have noticed it except now there were a pair of eyes watching her from inside it.

She continued to kiss Billy as she caught the studious glaring of Eddie on the other side. While everyone else watched with either jealously or encouragement, Eddie was watching strangely from the reflection of the mirror across from him.

There was something dark in his eyes that Lennon couldn't quite explain. It was much more than a color, much deeper than any surface emotion. Whatever made him look so glowering, so devilish, so brooding, whatever it was remained hidden on the inside where Lennon could not see.

People started growing impatient waiting for their turn to end and started muttering amongst themselves. Protests and derogatory comments were made but Lennon didn't look away from the man staring back at her in the mirror. Her startled stare turned dark as well; like mixing paint with water, her innocent green gaze turned muddy and tainted by the mere touch of his brown ones.

The discomfort she felt before disappeared. He wasn't uncomfortable so why should she be? She had smirked into the kiss and winked before reeling back and pulling her hand to her mouth. Her eyes were glued to the ground with embarrassment, but she was also trying not to tempt herself into looking to Eddie. She wasn't going to fathom the look he was bound to give her and she couldn't stomach the thought of seeing the look of betrayal on Tina's face.

"Argyle!" she called out, finding some sense in her scattered mind and breaking the awkward tension growing between everybody.

It seemed like only Heather, Steve, Robin, and Argyle were the ones not affected by the kiss. They couldn't care less. But they didn't account for the other half of the crowd.

Tina's blood was nearly boiling and she required Heather's comforting stare from across the circle to remain calm and not burst into tears.

Jeff and Grant were both looking at Eddie like they expected him to interrupt their makeout session or cause a scene like he did in any other provoking instance.

And there was something looming in Gareth that didn't feel neutral. He looked put off. Like he too was affected somehow by Lennon's display of affection to Billy.

Alone, Lennon didn't feel comfortable in the slightest and the only way to avoid the discomfort of pretending was to divert the attention away from the obvious. That was the only thing she could come up with. It was the only thing she knew to do.

"Argyle. It's your turn," Lennon quickly gained his attention. He didn't even seem conscious before she pulled him from his trance. The stoner blinked slowly as he took a moment to collect himself.

Lennon had tried to calm herself down but she didn't know how that was going to be possible. She didn't really know why she agreed to play the game in the first place. She wanted Billy to play with Heather, and secretly, some part of her wanted to play with Eddie, but her attempt to be the last person Billy had to kiss didn't do very well and Eddie was still staring at her in silent but amusing animosity.

She brought her knee up to her chest and wiped the remnants of Billy's kiss off her face as she stared at the bottle for what felt like hours.

Based on Steve's reaction, she assumed her name never came up between him and Argyle. Maybe they weren't that close. Maybe the topic never arose. Or maybe the drugs and alcohol were making Steve completely unreadable.

Ever since Nancy broke up with him, he hasn't been the same. However, she didn't have time to wonder much longer because Argyle had his turn and kissed Robin on the cheek. He promised he didn't bite afterward and made Lennon smile in the process.

Robin was awkward and dorky but it was cute how baffled and frantic she got when she was nervous. Lennon wondered who she came to the party with because she wanted to get to know her better.

Then it was Eddie's turn since he was the only person not to have kissed anybody yet.

Lennon didn't know if the notion was comforting or not, but it was provoking enough to finally cause her eyes to move from the bottle for the first time since calling on Argyle to save her from the intense staring of her peers.

Expectantly, she found Eddie already looking back at her. When she met his eyes, he looked away and found the neck of the bottle pointed across the circle at Tina.

"Oh God..." she complained.

"What's that s'pposed to mean? You scared, princess?" he smirked, getting to his knees and shuffling towards the bottle to close the gap between them.

Lennon's hands started trembling uncontrollably and her heart seeped into his stomach when Eddie called Tina by that nickname. It shouldn't have affected her like that. He should be able to call anyone any name he wanted.

He wasn't anything more than a friend; a friend who often wanted to kiss her and lay on top of her to sleep or to ease a panic attack. He was nothing more than a friend who she wanted to kiss and watch play guitar and fall asleep with and not see kiss someone who wasn't her.

Tina laughed with contempt. "Doesn't the devil seal all his deals with a kiss?" she leered suspiciously. "How do I know I'm not selling my soul over to Satan himself?"

Eddie smirked. "You don't." He extended his arms and chuckled before lifting his right hand to Tina. "You're just gonna have to take your chances," he drew out charmingly.

Lennon was chewing anxiously on the inside of her cheek, hiding her quivering hands in her lap and pulling at her sweater sleeves for comfort. She didn't know why it was bothering her. It was a game and she had already kissed Billy. In some insecure, dark, and self-sabotaging way, she felt like she deserved it.

She had dragged Eddie through the mud. She had kissed Billy more than she wanted to admit, she chose him over Eddie to drive her home, she went on a date with Billy, and denied Eddie the title of a mere 'friend' until now. He deserved better.

It drove her crazy. He drove her crazy.

Tina hummed amusingly and lazily followed Eddie's lead to stand on her knees.

Lennon watched in stifled horror as Eddie's hands cupped the side of Tina's delicate round face. It was more than a peck but less than what Billy and she had done.

Lennon knew it was practically a merciful kiss considering what she aggravated Eddie with, but it still didn't feel right. It felt dirty. It felt wrong. Lennon didn't feel like she was supposed to be watching as intently as she was. She didn't feel comforted by the fact the girl who hated her was sucking the sweet taste of a Christmas chocolate from Eddie's lips right in front of her.

The kiss was slow but didn't last long. Lennon stopped breathing when their faces clashed and it took a lot of restraint not to furrow her brows with worry. What made it all worse was the fact it looked like they both liked it.

If Tina had cringed at the thought of kissing the freak of the town, Lennon would have been upset but it would have been better than this. It would have been better to know Tina didn't like Eddie than to know she enjoyed kissing him.

"Mmh," Tina blushed as she pulled away. "That's no surprise," she scoffed flirtatiously as she backed her way to her seat between Argyle and Gareth.

"What's that?" Eddie smiled, turning and sliding his eyes across Jeff to find Lennon already staring back with a surprisingly dark expression written on her face.

She didn't think she would be looking back at him with a deathly glare. She felt hurt. She thought she would have looked sad or even jealous but she hadn't. She looked unnervingly serious and flushed.

"The devil is basically the king of sin, isn't he? The dude practices all that evil stuff on the daily," Tina giggled, causing Eddie's eyes to shift from Lennon to her once he took his seat."It's only fitting that his little worker here on Earth knows what to do with his tongue," Tina quirked up an eyebrow and smiled confidently.

"Well," Eddie countered, propping his knee up and resting his elbow on the top. "In five years, he'll come for you, and you can take classes for yourself," Eddie teased cheekily. "But I promise he's a gentle lover," Eddie pouted sarcastically and laid his palm against his heart in earnest.

Tina laughed.

Tina laughed and Lennon never despised someone's amusement more in her life.

"That's hot," Tina giggled, fiddling with a strand of her hair and shot Eddie a lust-filled look of interest.

"Heather!" Lennon exhaled and widened her eyes at the girl beside Billy to change the subject. "Spin the bottle."

Tina and Eddie both looked at Lennon with a look of suspicion. Tina's attention turned to scorn but Eddie's eyes turned half-lidded with satisfaction. She was bothered. Lennon Seagrave was jealous, and she was jealous because of him. There was something too victorious in the notion not to smile.

He adverted his gaze and started fiddling with his tongue in his mouth as he thought of her alone. He wanted to know what she would say when it was just the two of them. Would she be mad? Would she be sad? Would she be enraged? Jealous? Bitter? Irritated? Vengeful? Eddie wanted to know.

Heather spun the bottle had landed on Tina and since they were practically best friends, they had no problem pecking one another on the lips. Then Steve spun the bottle and the neck of the object ended up landing on Lennon which was an easy way of getting her out of her hazy trance about Eddie and Tina.

She quickly cringed and looked up to find Steve staring back with a matching look of disgust.

"No," Lennon quickly stated. "Not gonna happen, Harrington, uh-uh," she flared her nostrils and shook her head slowly.

"Oh, come on!" Robin and Heather both said at the same time.

"That's the whole point of the game!" Jeff extended his hand in disagreement.

"C'mon..." Grant added.

"You're like my brother but worse. No," she shook her head more violently and crossed her arms over her waist. She secretly picked at her cuticles to counter the anxiety arising in her system and sucked on the blood bleeding from the inside of her cheek.

"I'm spinning again," Steve swallowed uncomfortably and moved for the bottle.

"Uh, no," Heather beat him to it and snatched the empty bottle before Steve could try for another turn. "You don't get doubles. You snooze you lose, Steve," she giggled. Heather scanned the faces around her before she handed the bottle over to Billy.

He breathed heavily through his nose but obliged. He spun the bottle with more force than before and landed on Tina.

Lennon let out a breath of air she wasn't aware that she was holding in. Billy must have noticed because his eyes moved to her once she caught her breath. Lennon looked away and squeezed her knee closer to her chest. She cast her eyes out to Tina and found the girl to be too stunned to speak. Her cheeks were rosy and there was a twinkle in her eye that made Lennon feel a little more at ease.

It was fair game.

Lennon hated it but she knew it was starting to feel like an even playing field. She kissed Billy, Tina kissed Eddie. Now, Tina was able to kiss Billy, and after that, Lennon couldn't ask for more. She wasn't going to risk it. If Eddie was willing to forgive her like he said he would the other night, then she'd be able to kiss him whenever she was able to get him alone.

Unlike him, she didn't need to prove that in front of everyone to feel the same sense of satisfaction. She didn't need anyone else's validation to make it true; she just needed Eddie.

And there was a small part of her that feared what might happen if she kissed him now. She wanted it more than anything. She craved that sense of security and acceptance and after Tina, she wanted to show him what he would be missing out on. She wanted to make him feel good. She feared what kind of chaos would result from that kind of desperation. She worried she would cause more harm than good if she landed on him now.

Lennon waited for Billy and Tina to finish their turns but instead of watching like she had with Tina's previous partner, Lennon found her eyes going to Eddie like it was second nature.

Unsurprisingly, he was already staring back at her. There was mischief behind those eyes. Even with Jeff between them, she was able to see the demons playing tricks inside those absorbent brown eyes of his. They were capable of consuming her like a black hole if she didn't look away. They would captivate her and insist on her attention. If she wasn't careful, that devilish gaze would be the death of her.

By the time Lennon looked away from Eddie, she was looking at the floor in thought. She suddenly realized Billy had been gone from her side for a considerable amount of time. When she looked up, she saw that Billy and Tina had been kissing nearly as long as she and Billy had. She didn't feel uncomfortable. She just didn't expect it.

Billy was the one to pull away. He had settled down beside Lennon and looked over at her nervously. It was like he was making sure she was still okay. He looked a little unnerved and disoriented, but he was still silently checking up on her.

Heather had taken it upon herself to direct the bottle to the next person. Her eyes scanned the circle before stopping on a pair of innocent blue eyes across from her. "You," she smiled at Gareth and slid the bottle across the carpet to the youngest member of Corroded Coffin.

"Uh..." Gareth's eyes moved nervously to his feet before taking a deep breath and smiling through the nerves. "Okay..." he spun the bottle and ended up landing on Eddie.

Gareth stared at the bottle coldly like it had betrayed him but Eddie almost snorted on a laugh.

"Awe," he squealed. "Gare-Bear... Give me some sugar, baby," Eddie furrowed his brows and popped his bottom lip out as his arms were extended towards Gareth.

"No. Eddie... Not again!" Gareth fumbled to use his feet and pushed his body backward. He hurried to stand tall when Eddie also jumped onto his feet and started laughing hysterically as he tried to catch the boy in what looked like a poor game of duck-duck-goose.

"No!" Gareth smiled as he ran behind the group. "Eddie! No!" he cried out, bolting in the opposite direction as Eddie as he played with the boy by shifting his weight from the left to the right, toying with his predictability.

"Come on, baby!" Eddie whined sarcastically. "Just one kiss!" he shouted merrily, chasing Gareth before he squeezed in between the circle of people and chased the poor boy into the other half of the room where people were continuing to dance and drink with speakers in every corner.

The pair of them disappeared into the crowd and their laughter and frazzled shouting were swallowed in an instant.

Lennon watched eagerly. She loved seeing Eddie with his friends. They were tight-knit and that made the relationship all the more amusing to watch from the outside. Most of their jokes and mockeries didn't make sense out of context, but Lennon still enjoyed them. They were happy together. All of them. Everyone in Hellfire was happy to be around each other. It was rare to have such a large friend group that worked so cohesively like that.

Lennon craved that kind of interconnection and trust but she didn't think she would be able to find it in Hawkins. It was hard for her to trust people after Vermont, and from what she saw, people in Hawkins weren't very loyal or trustworthy. It was conditional. People and their friends had a conditional kind of relationship as Lennon learned.

The only people she started to trust were Max, Nancy, and Jonathan. She was nice but weary towards everyone else. Everyone except... Eddie.

"Hey," she nudged Billy and whispered. "I wanna dance," she forced a smile to her face as she spoke lowly to the boy she brought along.

"What? Right now?" Billy furrowed his brows in question.

"Right now," she smiled wider, taking Billy by the arm and leading him away from the group that was beginning to split apart anyway.

After Eddie and Gareth ran off, Steve, Argyle, and Robin all said they were going to head upstairs again.

When Lennon took Billy into her grasp, only Grant, Jeff, Tina, and Heather remained on the floor.

Billy was trudging and reluctantly followed her. He was watching her curiously, wondering if it was the alcohol that made her so outspoken or if there was something wrong.

She sighed when Billy landed on Tina and when he looked back at her afterward, she didn't even seem fazed. It was curious. She put him in front of the fire to warm him up after being in the cold without a jacket but she didn't act like she wanted to be there with him. She cared, but she also didn't act bothered at the same time. It was strange; Billy didn't know whether to be put off or intrigued.

"Oh, come on," Lennon's hand trailed down his arm and found her fingers to be hooked around his as she lead him toward the crowd in the front room. "Where's the Christmas spirit, Hargrove?" she whined charismatically, stopping once they were surrounded by sweaty bodies and loud chatter.