CHAPTER ONE:
CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?
aka the hellfire club

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VENUS BLYTON AND CHRISSY Cunningham had lived exactly five houses away from each other for as long as they could remember. Even during the period where they were nine and their mothers had stopped talking — like most sisters did from time to time, but particularly the kind who viewed parenthood in two very different lights; one as her biggest achievement and the other, her biggest regret — nothing seemed to change in the knowledge that the other was always close by. Whether that was to study or for a shoulder to cry on, Venus and Chrissy were more than just cousins; they were sisters, and not the kind who fought.

Venus was the one who taught Chrissy how to dance; she helped Chrissy practice her cheer routines for hours over the Summer before freshman year, just so Chrissy could join the cheer squad with her friends. In return, Venus' cousin encouraged her to pursue ballet, signing her up for the recitals that Venus hesitated over so she could sit in the front row beside her Aunt Helen for moral support. As expected, Venus crushed it every time.

She would be lost without Chrissy. The two girls told each other everything.

Well, everything except this.

Eddie's lips were searing against Venus' as he pressed her up against the back of the bathroom door. Venus kissed back until her lungs started to burn, her mind wandering to the distant echo of cheers coming from the auditorium that filtered through the crack in the door. It was an ancient space at the very back of the library, with blown light bulbs and dust gathering on the row of sinks. No one — least of all the teachers — would think to search for them there. It had been 'out of order' since Venus' freshman year, and a lot longer than that from the looks of it.

"I feel bad for Wendy," Venus recalled the younger girl's sullen face as Eddie ditched her by the auditorium door. Wendy was the only other person who knew of their relationship, having accidentally stumbled upon Venus in Eddie's bed one morning wearing nothing but Wendy's brother's shirt. Talk about awkward.

Incredulous, Eddie's lips parted from Venus' neck long enough for him to frown down at her. He smelled like cigarettes (the cheap kind), coffee, and whatever his latest drug on the market happened to be. Venus kind of loved it. "You seriously wanna talk about my sister right now?"

"I was just saying—" The words died on her tongue as Eddie tucked his knee between her thighs and captured her mouth in another kiss.

In that moment, Venus could barely remember her own name, let alone Wendy's.

All of a sudden, there was a crash on the other side of the library. It was closely followed by the murmur of voices entering the room for the morning. Eddie groaned and reluctantly released her. Their time had come to an end, as it always did. Venus chuckled and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek as she crossed the room to gather up her things. She managed to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror's hazy reflection of the room and grimaced at her dishevelled hair.

"Eddie," she groaned his name.

Eddie grinned and pecked her cheek before hiking his bag over his shoulder. Dressed in ripped denim and leather, his hair nearly as long as Venus' with a hint of eyeliner smudged around his eyes, Eddie Munson was everything that Venus Blyton wasn't. Pleated skirts and turtle-neck sweaters, ballet slippers stashed between textbooks in her book bag, Venus was the sun and Eddie was the moon; always circling each other, never quite in the other's orbit, but longing for each other from a distance.

Knowing their window of escape was slim, Eddie squeezed Venus' waist then disappeared out the door, most likely to skip their first class of the day — which, of course, was with Ms O'Donnell; everyone's least favourite teacher and their matchmaker from Hell. A few seconds later, Venus followed behind him, thanking her lucky stars that a towering bookshelf of encyclopaedias conveniently blocked them from view.

Well, until they rounded the corner and Eddie just had to slam into someone in his haste to escape the beady-eyed stare of Mrs Cready, the withering librarian who seemed older than Hawkins itself on a good day. For a seventy-something-year-old woman, she sure knew everything the town tried to hide. More than once, Venus had caught her observing herself and Eddie, face impassive but her eyes saying everything Venus needed to know. If so much as one book was out of place in the library, Cready could smell it out like a bloodhound. Venus and Eddie couldn't have hid anything from her if they tried.

But Venus wasn't concerned about an old librarian. She was, however, terrified at the concept of Lea Fischer or her cousin finding out she'd been actively lying to them both — which was a long story, but she didn't mean to lie. One half-truth had turned into a desperate attempt to tie up loose ends, a double life of being Venus Blyton by day and Eddie Munson's girlfriend by night, where only the shadows and their haunts — aka Wendy dearest — could find them.

Back to the point.

Venus couldn't afford for Lea to find out here of all places. So what happened? Why, Eddie bowled the girl over and caused a scene by trying to help her up only to smack her in the eye with one of her textbooks.

"Munson!" she shrieked, which earned her a pointed look from Cready sitting in her well-worn desk chair just a few metres away.

Eddie being Eddie, he smirked devilishly. "Falling for me are you, Lea?" He glanced over his shoulder at Venus and winked as Venus rolled her eyes. But deep down, she was panicking, a mantra of whatthefuckwhatthefuck repeating over and over in her head until she felt dizzy.

Any second now...

After several curse words and a glare as Lea helped herself to her feet, the Fischer girl realised Eddie was no longer looking at her. "Hey, Munson! Are you going to pick up my books?"

"Oh, my apologies, madam," he deadpanned, but did as she asked (demanded) while Venus watched the scene unfold like it was a car crash in slow motion. "Want me to shine your shoes while I'm down here, Your Highness?"

Lea scowled but didn't have a chance to reply when Eddie, unable to resist, snuck a glimpse at Venus. Lea followed his gaze and almost immediately tensed, books nearly tumbling out of her hands again. She caught them just in time, letting out a gasp of, "Venus?" Slowly, her eyes dragged from Venus to Eddie, clouded by visible confusion. Venus' heart did jumping jacks, threatening to collapse from the pressure. "What're you doing here, Vee? I didn't see you at the pep rally..."

Come to think of it, Lea hadn't seen Eddie either.

But she did see Wendy Munson, alone, seemingly ditched by her older brother... who just so happened to be in the library, in close proximity to Venus, the two of them looking like children with their hands caught in the cookie jar.

Huh.

"Is something going on here?"

Venus scoffed. She clutched her book bag to her chest like a shield. "What? No!"

Eddie frowned at her. Venus' face burned and Lea's suspicions boiled over. She raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow, clearly expecting more of a response.

"I begged her for a last minute tutoring session," Eddie smoothed over Venus' defensive slip-up. Some of the wariness eased off Lea's face. "Ms O'Donnell's final test for me. I think she's going to miss me when I graduate."

Lea smiled then, and Venus knew she believed the lie. Her heart throbbed like a fresh bruise, aching as she and Lea departed the library in one direction and Eddie disappeared in the other. Towards the main entrance — though he once again smoothed this over when Lea pointed out the glaring obvious flaw. ("I forgot my lucky pen in the car, Fischer! Way to call me out!") Not once did Eddie look back at her, whereas Venus watched him until he'd rounded the corner. All this lying, this sneaking around, she had known it would create tension sooner or later. But the past few months had been pure bliss, and Venus, try as she might to please everyone, was selfish to the core. She took too much from the fire and was surprised to find her hands burnt.

Eddie showed up late to O'Donnell's and didn't finish his test.

Still, he left the room with an easy smirk, like the weight of the what ifs weren't eating him alive as Venus was sure they were. She knew a lot about Eddie. She knew his favourite band was Metallica, that he could play guitar like he was born to perform on a stage. She knew he was fiercely protective of his sister, despite the two of them only being related by name. Venus had seen him fist fight plenty of puny fifteen-year-olds in Wendy's honour, not that Wendy cared that much about what people had to say. She and Eddie exuded the same confidence; lash out first and think later, which was how Venus knew Eddie would be beating himself up.

This was his last chance. What if he didn't get the grade he needed?

"This is my year, baby!" he had insisted one night to Venus as they shared a blunt beneath the dim light of his bedroom window. He'd leaned over and kissed her then, repeating the words like he had to make her believe them.

This is my year.

But what if it wasn't?

What if he didn't get to graduate with Venus?

What if this didn't last, no matter how much they wanted it to?

It was lunch before either of them knew it, and Venus couldn't help but watch Eddie across the cafeteria. She was sitting with Chrissy and Lea — who, despite being so different to each other, got along like a house on fire — and a few of Chrissy's cheerleader friends — the nice ones. The rest sat at the neighbouring table with the football team, which included Chrissy's boyfriend, Jason.

Just the thought of him brought a scowl to Venus' face. Sure, he was nice enough, and anyone could see that he loved her cousin and worshipped the ground she worked on. But Jason Carver was a real piece of work. He had shitty friends and they treated Eddie like a freak. Today would be no different.

"Oh, my god," Lea groaned all of a sudden. "What is Munson doing?"

Venus' head perked up from her sandwich, instinctively turning to where she knew Eddie's table was; on the opposite side of the cafeteria, one away from hers. If she craned her head just right, she could watch him without seeming suspicious. She smothered a grin at the sight of him standing on top of the table. His Hellfire Club shirt was a beacon for trouble in the crowded room. Through the chaos around them, she could just make out him saying in a raised voice, "...Or a game where you toss balls into laundry baskets!"

The football team jeered at him. Jason pushed out of his seat as Venus sighed and Lea rolled her eyes.

"Chriss, I know he's your boyfriend, but Jason needs to relax a bit," Lea mumbled as she sipped her orange juice. Lea's dark hair was tied back this morning, revealing a pair of shiny earrings dangling from her earlobes. The Fischers were notorious for being one of the richest families in Hawkins, and Venus had seen plenty of evidence with her own eyes. "Munson's just being... well, his normal weird self."

"You want something, freak?"

Eddie smirked and pulled a face, sticking his tongue out and holding his fingers up like devil horns. Jason faltered and returned to his friends, muttering what Venus knew would be insults beneath his breath. Venus watched as Eddie hopped down off the table and said something to his sister, who'd stopped at the scene he'd created with her arms folded across her chest. Venus could've watched Eddie all day, but fate intervened like a slap in the face.

"Venus? Yo, Venus!" Lea waved a hand in front of her face. "You in there, babes?"

"Sorry, I was—"

"Staring at Eddie Munson?"

Venus' face paled. "What?"

Lea frowned. "I was just kidding..." Much to Venus' horror, she not-so-subtly turned to observe the Hellfire Club, a low grin settling on her lips. "I mean, he's not bad to look at, but he's so not your type."

Swallowing thickly, Venus questioned, "Not my type?"

"Back me up on this, Chrissy," Lea nudged the other girl's side. When Chrissy said nothing, merely shrugged and picked at her food absent-mindedly — as she had since the start of lunch, not that either Venus or Lea noticed — the Fischer girl rolled her eyes, "Look, you're... you and Eddie's Eddie. I don't think I've ever seen that boy date, and you — well, you're a sucker for a pretty face."

Before Venus really had a chance to comprehend what Lea had just said, the bell above their heads shrilled to mark the start of their final classes for the day, before the afternoon paved way to Spring Break. Oblivious to the turmoil she'd created in her friend's brain, Lea bid them goodbye with a smacking kiss on both girl's cheeks. Then she disappeared with one of the cheerleaders to their art elective while Chrissy trailed after Venus to history.

"You sure you're okay, Chriss?" Venus finally noticed her cousin's strange behaviour. "You don't look so good."

She wasn't wrong. There were bags beneath Chrissy's eyes, tell-tale signs of a lack of sleep. Her ponytail wasn't as high as usual and Chrissy's arms curled around her stomach like she was trying to shield herself against Venus. When Venus put a hand on her arm, she swore Chrissy flinched.

"Chriss..."

"I'm just tired," she mumbled. "Couldn't sleep last night."

Venus didn't know what to believe. Chrissy brushed her off and disappeared into the classroom like nothing had happened, but something in Venus' gut twisted at the absent look that had flashed in her cousin's eyes. Like she was so far retreated inside herself that she was running on auto-pilot. Venus wanted to keep pushing her, but Chrissy Cunningham was not the type of person who told someone when she was struggling. She kept it bottled up, locked away in the darkest parts of her mind, until it burst out and she crumbled.

Venus knew the feeling well.

Perhaps it was a family thing.

Later, when she looked back on it, Venus would question every little interaction she had with Chrissy, wondering if this had been the tipping point. How different would things have turned out if Venus had simply pressed Chrissy for the truth?

Or even before that.

If Venus had never fallen for Eddie Munson... would her sister's death still stain her hands like this?

Maybe Venus would never know for sure, but she knew from the moment the news broke that nothing would be the same ever again.

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A/N: Just in case y'all weren't aware, Wendy Munson is an oc of mine for an unpublished Max Mayfield fic. Her story should be coming back soon, I'm editing it at the same time as Venus (and Ruth Hammond, who y'all are yet to meet here.) Let me know what you think so far! This chapter and the next are pretty much the same as they were in the original, just edited lol