Chapter Text
Eddie knew who Steve Harrington was. Hell, everyone in Hawkins High knew about the almighty king who fell from his golden throne and was banished from his own kingdom. It was a story worthy of its own campaign, not that Eddie had thought about writing one for the Hellfire Club.
The thing was, the stories about the infamous ruler didn't quite match with what he heard from the one and only Dustin Henderson. The kid was something else, if he had to say so himself. He had brains for days and an incredibly weird sense of humor, but he was a nice child. He had worked his way to his heart (after kind of rescuing him from the hands of illiterate bullies) with too much enthusiasm and knowledge.
Either way, from Dustin´s perspective, the jackass Eddie knew about was a mother hen with stupidly perfect hair and a heart three sides too big for his chest. He couldn't believe any of that bullshit even if he smoked all the weed he kept in his lunch box. It was just impossible for someone to change so much in so little. Also, he may or may not be jealous of the way the kid idolized the other. It made his stomach twist uncomfortably.
“And then he gave me his scarf because he said, and i quote “you are going to catch a cold, dipshit, and I´m, for the love of God, not gonna take care of you again”
“You gotta be kidding me, Henderson” He said while dropping a bunch of fries onto his mouth. Mike stopped playing with his food and rolled his eyes. This wasn't the first time those two had had that conversation. In fact, it was beginning to get old. “You can't expect me to believe Harrington told you that”
“But he did! Ask Lucas!”
All eyes were on him in a second. Lucas stopped his hand mid air, where a spoon full of chocolate pudding was making its way over to his mouth, and glared at Dustin. He was starting to regret not sitting with the basketball douchebags for once.
“Well, Sinclair?”
“He did.” Eddie dropped his head dramatically on the table, letting out an exasperated sigh. “Dude, Steve really goes around telling us to dress warmer and giving us rides. Dustin is not exaggerating.”
“Yeah, he's worse than a mom.” added Mike. He hoped that statement could end the conversation for the rest of lunch. It didn´t.
“I just can't believe it! How did an asshole like him end up adopting 3 kids?”
“He didn't adopt us.” murmured Wheeler. Dustin, on the other hand, just waved that comment off, clearly not agreeing with it. He also said something about them not being three but six. It didn't make any sense.
“He sure did, Wheeler. At least it sounds like it”
“We'll just have to show you!” Said Henderson suddenly, startling all of them. He shut his mouth, embarrassed from his outburst. “I mean, If you don´t believe us, we just have to show you that he does in fact take care of us and that he is no longer a jerk.”
“Are you setting up a challenge, Henderson?” he asked with a maniac smile, actually considering agreeing.
“Yes?”
“Alrighty then! Let's see the new ex-king of Hawkins!” It could be fun, he supposed. He would not only see if what the kids had been saying was true, but he would also be able to say 'I told you so' if what he saw didn't convince him enough. It was a win-win situation. “What's the deal?”
“The deal?” Lucas asked, forgetting all about the rest of his lunch in order to understand what had Dustin gotten them into now.
“Yeah, Sinclair. A challenge has to have a deal. What do you guys want if you win?”
“Eh…” Mike didn't have a clue. What the heck did they want? Dustin had to learn how to keep his fucking mouth shut. His lack of self control was going to be the death of them. However, he had to agree with him on this one. He was tired of Eddie believing Steve was still an asshole. Even if they didn't have the best relationship out of all of The Party, he had to admit Harrington was their protector, and a pretty great one at that.
“Come on, guys! I don't have all the time in the world. I have shit to do!” It wasn't true, but they didn't have to know that. He was just starting to get bored of the situation and wanted to pressure them into saying something. Anything . He wanted the attention on him again.
“If we win, Mike gets to prepare the next campaign.”
Silence filled their table once those words left Henderson's mouth. The rest of the club looked at Eddie with fear in their eyes, actually scared of his reaction. He had to admit it. That statement had made his blood boil. He was the only one who had the right to make campaigns for the Hellfire club, but he also wasn't the type of guy to back out of a challenge, specially if he knew he was going to win.
With a Determined look on his dark eyes, he got up and made his way towards the kids, who looked at his imposing figure with something akin to terror. He smiled, patting their backs and sitting between them.
"Okay, kiddos. If you guys win, I'll let little Wheeler here prepare next month's campaign." He squeezed their shoulders, bringing them even closer. "But! If I win , you'll have to get up on the roof dressed as your characters from D&D and scream as solemnly as you can: 'We, the wronged ones, deserve this punishment for insinuating our one and only master was not truthful. The ex-ruler of this kingdom is still and will forever be an asshole, and we should not trust rich people who once humiliated the freaks'."
He smiled sickenly sweet at the three, expecting their refusal. It was a surprise when they gave each other firm looks that clearly meant they were going to win the bet.
"Deal"
Eddie eyed the stretched hand in front of him and, faking calmness, shook it.
"Deal"
"What are the rules anyway?" said one of the guys from his band. Eddie shrugged, not knowing what to say. Did this challenge need rules? He supposed it did. He didn't even know what he had to do. He wasn't going to change his mind just by hearing about the dude. It was obvious it hadn't worked before. It was what got them into this mess.
"Eddie has to spend a month being friends with Steve without giving away it's a challenge. This way he will be able to see we were right and Mike can start making up the story for out next game"
"Right. Like he's gonna be my friend just because I say so"
"Dude, Steve's super friendly. You will have no problem getting close to him. We will talk to Robin too so she can give you a hand if you want." Henderson knew what he was doing, the little shit. He sighed, getting up again and bowing, like a jester would to royalty.
"Sure, your highness. Where can I find him after school?" he asked, rolling his eyes at the smile the kids gave him.
"At the video store" they simply said. Thank God Hawkins was a small town and they only own a video store or he was screwed. He nodded and, picking up his things, saluted his club and went to his class, the sound of the bell behind him along with the chatter of those little bastards.
He was gonna win this. There was no way he would like Steve Harrington. Not in a million years.