PREFACE:
GODDESS OF LOVE

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THE GODDESS OF LOVE worked in mysterious ways.

Venus Blyton, named ingeniously after the Goddess in question, never thought she would find real love in Hawkins — or anywhere in the world, if she was being honest, but especially not in her tiny hometown where love meant woeful marriages ending in very-public divorces (cue Joyce Byers and her ex-husband, Lonnie, though their disastrous breakup happened when Venus was a child, and nearly everyone had moved on from it by now.) And that was okay. Venus didn't want love — ironic as it was. Love scared her. It was probably one of her greatest fears in the grand scheme of things; finding love and losing it.

Then came Eddie Munson.

Suddenly, Venus didn't have a choice with what she did and didn't feel.

Her heart had decided for her. The traitor.

It started in math — math, how romantic — and ended... well, Venus didn't want to think about it ending. It started in math, her sitting at the front of the class and Eddie at the back, and became something so much more than mathematical equations. It was real. It was something that Venus couldn't explain. Cheesy and unoriginal as it was, there truly were no words to describe the constant fluttering of her heart or the way she was blinded to the carnage waiting around the corner.

The Goddess of love worked in mysterious ways, and Aphrodite — or Venus, whatever you wanted to call her — had decided that Venus Blyton was going to find everything she'd never imagined for herself waiting in the unlikeliest of places. 

Beginning a week after Christmas, in Ms O'Donnell's stuffy classroom overlooking the outdoor eating area. Eddie was late to class, as per usual. Venus didn't even look up when he sauntered into the room, dressed head-to-toe in layers of ripped denim and leather. Ms O'Donnell scowled at him from behind her thick wire-rimmed glasses and muttered his name like a curse, demanding for him to find his seat immediately. At that, Venus did look up, turning around to catch a glimpse of the back of Eddie's head as he made his way down the aisle of amused teenagers. Venus rolled her eyes and turned back to the front before Eddie would notice her watching him.

And when the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson, Venus packed up like usual, gathering her books and her pencil case into her arms while her best friend, Lea, waited dutifully at the door.

"Miss Blyton and Mr Munson," O'Donnell called to the surprise of Venus. "Stay back for a moment, would you?"

As expected, the students around them burst into curious whispers. Venus felt her face go red as a few of the boys on the basketball team leered at her on their way past. Her cousin, Chrissy, who was walking hand-in-hand with her boyfriend, Jason, smiled apologetically but said nothing as Jason's friends glanced back to smirk at her. Venus was grateful when the room emptied out, that Lea was still waiting at the door.

"Miss Fischer," O'Donnell levelled her with a pointed look. "Don't you have a glass to get to?"

Or maybe not.

With an apologetic glance at Venus, the dark-haired girl disappeared down the corridor. Venus knew she'd see her in a few minutes, but couldn't help the combination of disappointment and dread that swelled in her chest when, now alone, Eddie moved to stand at her side.

"Ms O'Donnell," he grinned at the older woman. "Laura. Have I mentioned how dashing you look today? Mustard yellow does wonders for your sickly complexion."

Venus was beginning to understand why Ms O'Donnell — or Laura, as Eddie somehow knew her name — despised the Munson boy. Eddie was supposed to graduate two years prior, but there he was, still there to give her grief. Venus didn't know much about him, but the little she did know was nothing positive. Not that Venus was one to judge. Unlike the rest of Hawkins, she made it her mission not to poke around in people's personal lives. But sometimes, she'd happen to hear information — how could she not with a busybody for a best friend — and store it away for safe-keeping.

"Mr Munson," O'Donnell's glare wavered as she let out an exhausted sigh. The sudden change in mood gave both Venus and Eddie whiplash. The unlikely duo shared an uneasy look. "You are this close to failing my class, again. You keep it up and you won't be able to graduate."

Eddie's eyes averted from Venus' then, a flush of pink appearing in his cheeks that could've been mistaken for embarrassment had he not still been smiling easily. "Don't worry, Laura, I've got this, this is my year—"

"So you've said," Ms O'Donnell cut him off sharply. She looked half a second away from smacking him around the head if he kept calling her by her first name. "But I don't think you have — oh, how did you put it? — 'got it' Mr Munson."

"Okay, I don't mean to be rude," Venus interjected with a nervous laugh. It was really beginning to feel like she was intruding on the conversation (scolding) and her next teacher, Mr Hope, was nothing if not a stickler for the rules. She'd surely be given a tardy if she was another minute late, and Venus Blyton didn't do tardies. "But is there a reason I've been held back too? No offence to Eddie, but I'm not failing maths."

"You're not," Ms O'Donnell nodded. "Which, on the contrary, is exactly why you're here, Miss Blyton."

Venus had a horrible feeling about this.

"I've decided to assign you a tutor, Mr Munson."

Oh, Venus had an awful feeling.

"And who better than my top student?"

There were no words to describe it. Venus took one look at Eddie, who smirked at her in that sheepish but curious way of his, and she knew.

He was someone who would break her heart.