Chapter Text
Eddie Miller couldn’t believe his own eyes. There was absolutely no way Benjamin Reed was transferred to this school. After two extremely horrible and intimidating years of going to the same school as him, Eddie was totally unprepared to see him now. He was literally the reason why Eddie changed schools back in America in the first place. And now he was on the other side of the planet, and he still ended up in the same school with the guy he couldn’t stand. Things could not be worse.
“Hey, Milly,” Benji grinned. “Fancy seeing you here. How are things? It’s been a long time.”
“It was a couple months ago!” Eddie snapped, kind of completely forgetting his initial agenda to joke around.
“Wait, you two know each other?” Patricia finally caught up, looking with question first at Ben, then at Eddie, and then again at Ben, who was rather amused.
“Benji here was my first example of an Englishman,” Eddie spat, not hiding his frustration.
“We became fast friends, didn’t we, Milly?” Ben chuckled, openly laughing at his so-called friend. “Except, I was faster.”
Eddie’s face went off the rails while Patricia frowned at the way her boyfriend kept calling the new guy.
“Milly?” she asked, turning to Ben. “Why Milly?”
“It suits him, don’t you think?” he smirked teasingly, making Eddie roll his eyes.
“Name’s Eddie, by the way,” he finally introduced himself properly, but it didn’t help his case.
“Eddie Krueger?” Patricia scoffed, finding her own nickname for him. And it might’ve even been adorable if it wasn’t so very wrong.
“I think you mean Freddy,” Eddie couldn’t hide his amusement this time.
“What?”
“Freddy Krueger,” he corrected smugly, finding that to ignore Ben was the best thing he could do to avoid having a conniption.
“Whatever! You’re still a nightmare!” Patricia countered, not vibing with his demeanor.
“So, I’m guessing this was the jerk you ran into,” Ben chimed in with a knowing smirk.
“Go figure,” she scoffed and angrily erased the last sentence she wrote on her laptop, having no mercy on the keyboard.
Ben already knew her well enough to tell how mad she was and that the aggressive treatment of whatever object she had in her hands meant that she didn’t wanna be bothered in any way. He might have been successful at calming her down at school today when she almost ripped that poor book apart, but that was out of ordinary, and he didn’t wanna push his luck again. Besides, he wouldn’t wanna be here if Eddie got triggered by his presence and decided to say something nasty about him for Patricia to hear. And Ben knew he had a lot to say. The less she knew about his past, the better.
“Alright, gotta go,” he cleared his throat, breaking the silent tension, and leaned to kiss Patricia on the cheek before getting up. “Talk to you later, okay?”
“Uh-huh,” she nodded mindlessly, still staring at her laptop with hatred. It didn’t even occur to her to ask where the hell he was going so soon after he practically begged to spend the afternoon with her and why he suddenly got plans now.
“See ya around, Milly.”
Ben couldn’t help himself with that, purposefully nudging his shoulder and throwing him an equivocal stare before leaving the house.
“You two don’t seem like friends,” Patricia pointed out when her boyfriend closed the front door behind him.
“Because we’re not!” Eddie exclaimed. “I can’t believe I’ve got across the fucking ocean just to see his face again!”
“Bummer,” Patricia smirked, enjoying his rage, and got back to her almost finished essay, letting him know that she didn’t want to continue this conversation.
“Anyway…” Eddie muttered. “I have to report someone named… Vincent? Or Victor…?”
“Wait, are you really staying here?” she perked up, still not wanting to consider that possibility. It was bad enough she had to go to school with this newbie, but to actually live in the same house… That was not something she was looking forward to, putting in gently.
“Well, as a matter of principle, I don’t like staying anywhere for too long…” Eddie quickly put on his grin, enjoying the way she rolled her eyes.
“Oh, you are, aren’t you? Great, that’s all I need, another stupid boy in the house!”
“Yeah, speaking of, you’re kinda dating one,” he scoffed. “Maybe you attract only stupid boys, never thought of that?”
“And maybe you should do us all a favor and go to another school in the States!” Patricia quipped, annoyed beyond belief.
“Ohhh, I’m devastated once again, Yacker!” he mustered a sad grimace and clapped his hands mockingly. “You really do have a talent of making people around you miserable,” he chuckled.
But this time Patricia didn’t react at all, choosing to ignore him and showing that the conversation was over and his teasing didn’t work. He was maybe a little disappointed because her enraged faces were a great amusement to him, but he was also tired as fuck and was looking forward to finding his new bed and passing out.
“Anyway, I guess I’ll go find this Victor guy,” Eddie sighed, shooting a quick look at Patricia before leaving the room. She just huffed.
So, he ran into Benji’s girlfriend earlier. What a small world, after all. She was probably just like the rest of them, into good looks. Ben he knew did have a type. Although she did yell at him in the common room, so maybe she wasn’t into good looking guys if she was so hostile to Eddie. Maybe Ben finally got a real girlfriend. She was really pretty though. Maybe if he wasn’t listening to all the screaming and sarcasm getting out of her, he would have even found her attractive. What was she doing with a guy like Benji anyway? Were they soulmates? Eddie winced as that thought appeared in his head. He would really hate it if his arch enemy found his soulmate before he did. It was the worstest-case scenario in history of the worst-case scenarios for him. But then, Ben didn’t brag about finding his soulmate, probably because Yacker wasn’t it. Eddie knew, if she was, Ben would’ve rubbed it in his face. Good thing he didn’t, because his energy was running extremely low, and after the conversation he had with Victor which felt more like interrogation Eddie happily flopped down on his bed and instantly fell asleep, not even bothering to change his clothes.
At breakfast, Eddie was pleasantly surprised to see Amber’s giant smile as soon as he showed up in the doorframe and realized they were in the same house. He also couldn’t miss the death glares Yacker was throwing at him but chose to ignore it for his own sake.
The company overall was okay, people were asking about him and his story, and Eddie tested the waters and tried to figure out the dynamic of the group, being a little friendly, a little flirtatious, a little braggy, the usual. He got through the whole conversation with his housemates and came to the conclusion that not all Brits were like Ben. The girls were more than nice to him, and he suddenly vibed with Alfie, challenging him to an impromptu muffin eating contest. They were still laughing about it on their way to school with full stomachs, politely not mentioning the moment Patricia – he finally learned her name – dramatically stormed out of the kitchen, disgusted by his behavior. The introduction turned out to be a mixed success, but at least Eddie felt actually welcome here, unlike yesterday.
Even at school, he was catching interested gazes at his direction and was smiling back, acting like everything was normal. Amber caught up with him in the hallway, offering to show him the school this lunchtime, and he gladly agreed, walking with her into a classroom.
But of course, things were always getting better before it was all going down. Life was hitting him hard, like a sledgehammer straight to the head, and Eddie couldn’t catch a break, fighting with a growing headache that started to mature during the very first class.
He was chatting with Amber about what they were reading in World Literature at the moment when Patricia and Ben all but burst into the room, fighting over a chocolate bar from the vending machine.
“No, you can’t have a piece, it’s MY snack!” Patricia laughed, shoving him away and prudently holding the chocolate at a distance from Ben.
“Oh, come on, just a little bite,” he snickered, coming onto her again.
“I know what you call ‘a little bite’, and I’m not making the same mistake again!” she protested, walking past Eddie to her seat when Ben caught up with her and tried to get a piece again.
Amber laughed at their playful fight as Eddie rolled his eyes. He didn’t like seeing Benji so happy, didn’t like it at all. He also didn’t like the fact that they were bickering right in front of him and he almost got slapped in the face with that chocolate bar when Patricia swung her hand.
“Hey…!” he resented at the same time she gasped.
The next thing he saw her tripping, and she landed right onto his lap and immediately froze, looking at him with visible panic in her eyes. Eddie was flabbergasted too and didn’t even realize that he instinctively caught and was holding her.
“Getting comfortable here?” he raised his eyebrow after a few seconds of a mute scene, trying not to freak out.
“Get your hands off me, weasel!” Patricia finally came to her senses and jumped up, acting disgusted by his touch.
“Take it easy, ignore him.” Ben wrapped his arm around her shoulder in a calming gesture, making Eddie surprised by the total absence of a harsh comeback from him. Well, this was unusual. It seemed like he was following his own advice and ignoring Eddie whatsoever, not even bothering to look at him. Patricia gave him the coldest stare though and flipped her hair off her face before walking away.
“What’s your problem?” Eddie said defensively, watching her and Ben sit down at the desk behind him. Patricia didn’t answer but had a look on her face like she had already murdered him in her head by this point, and he turned to amused Amber as if asking her, ‘can you believe it?’.
“Well, Patricia is complicated,” she sighed quietly. “You just have to get to know her better, she’s not that bad.”
“Are you friends?”
“Yeah, we are,” she nodded, smiling. “We’re not as good friends as she and Joy, but we were in this boarding school together since we were eleven. She doesn’t like new people, but give it time, she’ll come around.”
“I doubt it,” Eddie muttered.
The teacher showed up with the bell, and Amber quickly told him her name was Mrs. Andrews.
“Before we start, I was notified that we have a new student among us, Mr.…” She looked at the list of students, searching for his name. “Edison Miller.”
“Call me Eddie,” he winced immediately, catching her attention. “I don’t go by Edison.”
“Alright then, Mr. Miller, I’ll make myself a note,” Daphne nodded, writing it down, while Patricia finally connected the dots.
“Miller…” she pondered. His last name made Eddie turn around to her to find out why she mentioned him. “So, that’s why it’s Milly!” Patricia giggled quietly to Ben.
“Uh-huh,” he smirked while Eddie demonstratively rolled his eyes at them both.
“Milly?” Amber whispered in confusion as if wondering where that came from.
“Don’t ask…” he groaned, and his mood dropped alongside his head.
“Silence, class!” Mrs. Andrews scolded. “Please, pass your essays to me and let’s begin.”
“HIM?”
“ME?”
“You’ll bond! See? The Donkey Day is already bringing people together!”
To say that Patricia was absolutely and utterly pissed by Jerome was a huge underestimation. Shooting another glare at the new guy and obliterating both him and Jerome in so many ways in her mind, she snapped metaphorical fingers and wished that this did not just happen, but the damage was done. And she was doomed.
The hardest part was ahead of her. Even after living with that thought for almost twelve hours, then waking up the next day and realizing that was not a bloody nightmare but a cruel reality, it was still a bit unbelievable that she would actually have to spend the whole school day tied up to the Krueger’s leg. But first, she had to deal with something else. Patricia really had to tell Ben about her and Eddie being paired up for the stupid Donkey Day. She still hadn’t told him because the day before he had his football practice and then went to celebrate one of his buddies’ birthday, having a party in Isis House. Patricia didn’t like that guy, she still hadn’t even learned his name, there was no way she would willingly attend a party thrown for him. But that also meant she couldn’t see Ben until the very next day, worrying about telling him about the dumb donkey contest. And if her sixth sense was working, she could already tell that he wasn’t gonna be pleased with it, to say the least.
By the small pieces of information she managed to get from Ben, she understood that he and Eddie went way back, and it wasn’t a nice story. It was even a little suspicious when Ben kept changing the subject, not giving her more than ‘we went to the same school back in America’ and ‘we just don’t like each other, don’t worry about it’. Something wasn’t right, and Patricia didn’t like it.
The only thing that lightened her mood this tiresome morning was glowing Joy, bursting with energy and happiness as she did Nina’s hair.
Joy was in a wonderful mood ever since she got back from her date with KT yesterday and couldn’t stop smiling at all. Patricia and Nina were trying to do their homework in their room – well, Nina was doing her homework, Patricia was trying (unsuccessfully) not to break the pencil as she was pushing it into the paper in frustration – when it happened.
The door was slammed against the wall with a loud thud, making them both jump, and then girls saw Joy in the doorframe, almost tearing up and holding a very cheesy teddy bear with a small heart between his paws.
“We kissed!!!” she announced without any warning, biting her lip not to burst from the overflow of emotions. The jaws fell.
“Okay… Is this good news or do we have to get the tissues?” Nina asked cautiously, knowing that Joy got equally emotional when something good or something bad happened.
“Oh, this is very good news!” Joy everything but jumped in excitement, hugging the bear tighter. The homework was long forgotten.
“Tell. Us. EVERYTHING!” Nina demanded, instantly dragging her into the room and shutting the door behind. Patricia wasn’t as hysterical about this, but it was a nice distraction from her own problems, plus, it was a huge moment for Joy and what kind of friend would she be if she didn’t share it with her?
As soon as the squeals were done with, Joy finally took a deep breath and started her story.
“Well, we had a great date, we went to that coffee shop you told me about, Patricia, we were laughing, and everything was perfect! And when we were saying our goodbyes, you know, she had to go to the airport, her flight leaves in an hour or so by now, she gave me this bear and said, “that’s something to remember me by”, and then she kissed me!”
“And…?” Nina asked impatiently, almost jumping out of her own skin in excitement. “Are you…?”
“YES!” Joy exploded, proudly rolling up her sleeve. “Yes, yes, yes! We are!”
The girls took a closer look at her wrist where the soulmate tattoo faded away and now there were just light outlines of the magical letters.
“It felt just amazing!” Joy kept going. “You know, that little tingly warm thing when it faded? That was the best feeling ever!”
“AHHH, congratulations, that’s so great!” Nina embraced her, and Patricia joined the celebratory hug too, this time without any resistance.
“Yeah, we’re very happy for you,” she smiled heartedly. Even though she didn’t know what that was like to feel the tattoo disappear, she really was happy that Joy got to experience it. It seemed like a pretty wonderful thing to feel.
“Do you know when she’s coming back?” Nina asked, taking another look at the wrist.
“Well, I’m not sure she can visit often, so we’re doing long distance for now, but I was telling her about our school every time we hang out, and she’s totally applying here next year!”
“Oh, I’m so glad for you!” Nina hugged her impulsively, overzealous.
“Yes, me too! The best day ever!” Joy squealed, but her smile quickly faltered. “Do you guys think it’s gonna work out?”
Patricia felt like she was starting to zone out. It was exciting, of course, not every day her best friend was finding her soulmate, but that also reminded her that she wasn’t quite there yet. Don’t get her wrong, it was priceless to see Joy and Nina so happy with their significant others, but she did feel a bit left out. And hearing how great of a day other people had when she was having a shitty one did not help her situation.
“Yeah, maybe,” Patricia nodded automatically, still deep in thoughts.
“Of course it will work out!” Nina was totally invested though, and didn’t hesitate to reassure her. “You’re soulmates, even the universe is rooting for you!”
“I mean, it might be hard, you know… not being able to see each other for so long.”
“Yeah, maybe…”
“You’re not even listening!” Joy resented, giving her friend a nudge.
“Sorry, Joy! I’m happy for you, I really am, but relationship talk after few minutes just sounds like noise,” she shrugged.
“Yeah, says miss I-finally-got-myself-a-boyfriend-and-do-not-share-anything-with-my-friends,” Joy called her out, making Patricia wince at the name. “So, enough about me. Come on, spill! What about you and Ben?”
“What about me and Ben?” she played dumb, not wanting to get into details.
“Are you planning on kissing him? Ever?” Joy asked straightforwardly, giving her the most scanning look she could muster.
“What?” Patricia got scandalized, at least that was what she was trying to show.
“Yeah, aren’t you curious? You might be soulmates,” Nina joined.
“Yeah, maybe…”
“Oh, stop that!” Joy exclaimed, slightly swatting her arm to get Patricia to talk.
“Don’t ‘yeah, maybe’ us, this wasn’t a rhetorical question!” Nina got her back, pressing the matter further.
“You’ve been going out for almost a month, and you haven’t kissed yet! What’s that all about?”
“It’s… nothing. Nothing is up with that, just drop it,” Patricia shivered as if she was uncomfortable, but Joy didn’t wanna give up so easily.
“Why are you acting weird like this? It’s not like you’ve never kissed anyone before,” she pushed.
“Well…” Patricia trailed off, awkwardly shrugging her shoulders and not looking at either of her roommates.
“Patricia, you’ve never kissed anyone?!”
The jaws dropped once again. The girls immediately huddled up, joining Patricia on her bed.
“How did I not know this?” Joy exclaimed, seeming a little offended. “I even knew you had imaginary dog called Sniffles!”
“What?” Nina let out a chuckle.
“Imaginary?!”
“Okay, Sniffles was invisible, not imaginary,” she quickly redeemed herself. “So you don’t wanna kiss Ben why? Cause it might suddenly get a little too serious?”
“I mean…” Patricia sighed, scraping her nail polish.
“Patricia, it’s a kiss, not a marriage proposal,” Joy smiled, nudging her shoulder. “No biggie.”
“Besides, it might be a very good thing,” Nina chimed in. “Imaging how great it would be to find your soulmate.”
“And what if we’re not…?”
“You’ll never know unless you try,” Nina cheered her up.
“Fine,” Patricia sighed, giving up. “I’ll think about it.”
It was hard to think about it, being tied to a guy she couldn’t stand. And it seemed like Eddie was making this harder for her on purpose, either not taking a shower this morning or eating some kind of stinky fish or garlic for breakfast. Probably, both, Patricia decided, wrinkling her nose as they sat way too close to each other on the couch. Her right leg was aching already, the weasel must’ve tied the knot too tightly, almost to the point of nasty goosebumps, but she wasn’t gonna complain. She would rather lose her whole leg than let this resident dickhead think that she was weak.
Besides, the fact that Ben still didn’t know about it didn’t help her anxiety at all. Now it just looked like she was hiding the fact that they were paired up on purpose, knowing how much those boys disliked each other.
Patricia wanted to tell him, she really did! But the second she stepped into the school building, Jerome found her and dragged her to the common room for the competition before she had a chance to do it. And now she was sitting on the couch, watching Alfie and Amber struggling to walk in the right rhythm, and just praying Ben wasn’t participating in any activities. If he didn’t see her with Eddie, then she would have a chance to explain it in a civilized way as soon as this was over. If she even survived the whole day with him…
Having taken another hostile look at the Eddie, Patricia quietly cussed to herself, doubting her chances of not strangling him along the way. Especially as he was way too pleased with the hard time Alfie was having following Amber’s lead.
“I don’t know why you’re so amused. We haven’t even tried walking yet,” she snarled, pointing out the obvious.
“Eh, lady don’t lie. Shall we?” Eddie shrugged, getting up and waiting for her to do the same. But when she tried, he immediately made her trip and fall for his own amusement.
“Hey!” Patricia yelled, pissed at him beyond belief both for the stunt and for the nasty laughter. “Cut it out!”
“Okay, okay,” Eddie chuckled and gave her a hand this time.
This was gonna be a very long day indeed.