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HAVING MOVED DURING the middle of the school year sucked. Pauley was in her senior year, eighteen years old, now her authentic self and she was surrounded by all the kids she had once known. She didn't really fit in — this was the first time in a while she was surrounded by people in her age group that could either rip her apart or accept her. "Watch it!" A fellow peer exclaimed after Pauley bumped into them by accident — the music from her headphones having made her zone out — "Sorry!" She blurted out as a red blush came over her face.

School sucked, everyone knew that, but as a trans person — in the eighties — who was now someone new, it sucked a hundred times more. Walking into her first class, she walked straight to the back and sat in the corner, already wanting to disappear and to just leave. "Anyone sitting here?" A male voice asked making Pauley look up — "What?" She asked back in a quiet voice that the male in front of her clearly didn't hear. He pointed at the seat in front of her, "Is anyone sitting here... in this seat." Having registered his words Pauley shook her head, "Oh..no, yeah no — no one's sitting there."

The male nodded and sat down in front of her while she slowly beat herself up for possibly screwing up the chances she had of making a new friend. "You're new here, aren't you?" Looking up — Pauley was face to face with the stranger and she nodded, mouthing the word yes although it felt like she said it out loud. "Yeah.. thought so," he held out a hand, "I'm Eddie, Eddie Munson." Pauley couldn't help but be surprised — she had known of Eddie but the two never talked before. She shook his hand limply but she could feel the coolness of his rings on his fingers, "..and you are?" Eddie urged on and Pauley couldn't help but chuckle out of her own embarrassment.

Eddie looked at her with such caring and comforting eyes that it gave her the courage to speak, "Pauley... I'm Pauley." Eddie smiled — "Pauley, interesting.. never met someone named Pauley." His words made her blush and she shrugged with a grin on her face, "I guess it's an uncommon name... kind of." Eddie chuckled at her words before the bell rung — he faced back forward. Pauley got out her pencil and notebook while Eddie just sat there before he turned back around, "Do you have a pencil I could borrow?" Pauley nodded before she awkwardly reached around in her bag before pulling out a pencil.

It was a rainbow pencil with a white eraser — Pauley couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed but she handed it to him anyways, Eddie smiled as he looked at the pencil — he was glad it wasn't a boring number two pencil like most of the students used. Pauley wrote her name at the top of her notebook paper before Eddie tapped her on the arm, "Hey, um — do you play D&D?" Pauley registered his words and she cleared her throat, "Um... I know what it is, I've never played though." Eddie nodded. "Do you wanna learn how to play?"

Don't panic, don't panic — act cool.

"Sure." Pauley answered with a tight lipped smile.

Nailed it.

Eddie grinned at her answer before he reached in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. It was folded into a tiny square — the paper was tinted a reddish color. "You can meet me — well — us, after school." Eddie explained before he scratched his neck, hoping that his slight flirting wasn't obvious to Pauley. Unfolding the paper, the first word that stood out to her was "HELLFIRE" along with an logo of what looked like a demon dude with two weapons on either side of it, "It's a D&D club." Eddie explained making Pauley nod in understanding. "You don't have to come but," Eddie shrugged, "it would be nice to have a girl there." Pauley smiled at his words before she nodded, "Okay." She put the paper in her bag.

"I'll be there."

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