The Freak

"You have to stop being nice to him before he sticks to you like the parasite he is," Jason admonished Chrissy on Monday morning after she smiled and waved to Eddie in the parking lot. Jason had driven her to school that morning, talking all the while of prom coming up in two weeks. She had barely listened. All she could think of was her dress. It had been hanging on her bedroom door since New Year's, and Mom made her try it on every Saturday to make sure it still fit.

It was pink satin, with a sweetheart neckline to show off her collarbones. Mom always said how pretty they were. When they're visible and not hidden behind a layer of fat and bad food choices. The bodice was sparkly, too, dotted with little glass beads. A short hem, just above her knees, to show off the good legs cheerleading had given her.

The dress didn't zip up the back when she first tried it on. Mom had bought it in a size 1 when Chrissy was usually a 3 in dresses. Only two weeks passed before Mom was able to do up the zipper, and Chrissy intended to keep it that way.

Just to more weeks, she told herself in the car. Just two more weeks.

She was still mostly thinking about it when Jason began walking her to first period.

"Eddie's nice," she said reflexively. Jason's hand tightened around hers, so that she felt the sharp press of her bones on his.

"He plays that devil worship game. Worse, he's the leader of it all."

"It's just a game. Do you really think Mike Wheeler would be allowed to play it if it weren't? Or Lucas Sinclair? He's on your basketball team, you know. Scored the winning basket last week?"

"I know who Sinclair is," Jason snapped at her. "What's with your attitude this morning? You're being a bitch. Is it because I insulted your freak pet?"

Chrissy wrenched her hand out of Jason's, blinking back tears after he tightened his hold further in an attempt to keep her in place. "You're making a scene," she whispered.

"I'm not making a scene, Chrissy, you are. You know what? Walk home. Or beg a ride off the freak, I don't care." He hissed the words into her face, quiet so others couldn't hear. Chrissy did her best to glare at him and not let Jason know how close she was to tears. It was easier once he turned his back and she was no longer pinned under the cold blue of his eyes.

Swallowing, Chrissy ducked into the door closest to her and headed straight to the girls' bathroom. She couldn't control Jason, but she could control this. After retching up the fruit and egg whites her mother had given her for breakfast, Chrissy rinsed her mouth out thoroughly at the sink. She blotted under her eyes where her mascara had started to run and tried desperately not to think of Eddie Munson doing the same for her on Friday night.

She had promised they would see each other Monday. She just didn't realize what trouble it would cause.

Mom and Jason really aren't so different, Chrissy mused at lunch. She carefully took apart her burger and set the buns aside, cut the meat in half, and added the smaller piece to the lettuce and tomato. They like everything to look perfect. They like me to look perfect.

The only difference was that Mom was worried about Chrissy having the perfect body and trendy outfits while Jason was worried about Chrissy appearing to have the perfect relationship with him.

She at the tiny salad she made from toppings and hamburger meat dry. Less calories that way. A small effort was made to pay attention to what her friends on the cheer squad were saying, but Chrissy's mind was mostly occupied with the hope that she could keep this meal down. And idle imaginings of what sort of show Jason would put on later to make up for the morning.

Jason made good on his threat, though. His car was missing from the parking lot by the time she walked out there. A sigh all but deflated her. Chrissy wasn't even surprised by the immense relief she had felt. The weight of Jason's expectations slid off her shoulders, the feeling so luxurious that she didn't realize at first that it was her actual backpack being eased away.

"So, you want me to walk you home or drive you home? I'll be a good pet and I won't make you beg." She whirled on her heel to see Eddie her pink backpack slung over his shoulder. The blush strap was completely incongruous with the sinister skull illustration on his Megadeth t-shirt. He smiled at her, but his eyes were dark and clouded as a stormy sky.

"How'd you know about that?" Chrissy fell in step beside him, picking at the sleeves of her lavender sweater.

"Little birdy named Gareth told me. He overheard Jason Carver in all his dickhead glory this morning." Eddie confessed. "So," he bumped her gently with his shoulder, "what're we doing? Walking or driving?"

"Driving. But… I don't want to go home yet." He smiled at her again but this time it almost reached his eyes.

"I am but your humble servant," he told her, opening the passenger side door to sling her backpack into the backseat and usher her into his van. "Your wish is my command, my queen."

Eddie took her to the lake just outside of town. More of a pond, really, and a summer swimming hole. It was spring just then, though, and the water hadn't yet lost its winter chill. They were alone on the shore, Eddie coaching Chrissy through learning to skip rocks.

"Yeah, just like that!" He cheered for her first success, her stone making two shuddering skips before sinking. They tossed the rocks quietly for a few minutes, a silent competition as Chrissy gained confidence. The quiet couldn't last, though. She knew that. Still, her heart sunk when Eddie broke it. "So, uh, you wanna talk about what happened today?"

"He was just mad I didn't agree with him," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "He'll get over it. He always does."

Chrissy couldn't bring herself to say Jason's name aloud.

"This happens a lot, then?" His question gave her pause. She and Jason had been together since sophomore year. By graduation, they would have been together for two years. A long time for teenagers, or so her dad liked to say.

"Not a lot, but… it's happened before," Chrissy admitted. She peeked up at him from her lashes, but Eddie was inspecting the rock in his hand. He tossed it a few times, weighing it in his palm, before sending it flying with a quick flick of the wrist.

"My dad used to kinda do the same thing. He was an alcoholic," Eddie explained, briefly catching her eye with a flit of his dark gaze. "Down pretty bad for it, too. He would get soused so bad you could smell him sweating out the alcohol, and he'd do something stupid like crash our car street racing or get in a bad bar fight or blow all the money on more booze instead of paying the electric bill and buying food for the week. But he would always grovel after and show up with flowers or some cheap jewelry from a pawn shop after Mom kicked him out, and she'd let him right back in. I was eight before she wised up."

He didn't elaborate further. Instead, he stooped to choose another rock, sending this one skipping halfway across the pond before sinking. When he turned to her, the afternoon sunlight cut across his face and backlit his eyes, turning them a syrupy, warm brown. It reminded her of Coca-Cola in a glass bottle. Eddie shrugged, smiling sheepishly at her. "I think you're smarter than that, though, Chris."

Was she? She wasn't so sure she deserved Eddie's confidence. "It's not just him," she confessed. "My mom already bought my dress for prom, and it's a Gunne Sax dress."

"I'm gonna pretend I know what that means," Eddie said, nodding to himself. "Yeah, I definitely see your dilemma here."

Chrissy laughed despite herself, tossing her rock at him instead of the pond. He made a big show of dodging it, holding his hands up to defend himself against more friendly fire. "It's an expensive dress," she explained. "I would hate to have her waste the money if I don't go to prom with him."

And she would have to go with Jason, or not at all. Tickets had already been sold and purchased. For a moment, Chrissy was worried Eddie would press her on what would come after prom, but she needn't have. That wasn't Eddie's way. Instead, he shrugged and tossed another rock.

"It makes sense. Truly," he tagged on before Chrissy could peg him again. "There's only two weeks until prom, and next week is spring break, anyway. So… it's doable?"

He phrased it as a question. Chrissy took a moment, considering. "Yeah, it will be. It is. He's going on a road trip with some of the other senior guys on the basketball team, so he won't even be in town. It's doable."

"You just gotta get to Friday this week, next week you have all the freedom in the world, and then prom. Yeah, I've got faith in you."

She was glad one of them did. When Chrissy felt wound down enough to go home, Eddie drove her slowly, taking a longer route than necessary to her house. Chrissy didn't mind. She was grateful for it, actually.

"Can I ask you one more thing?" Eddie asked when they were idling outside her house.

"Sure."

He kept his eyes forward, so that she had to make do with studying his profile as she waited. Eddie swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "I know you said it's happened before, but… if it's worse this time, if anything happens, would you tell me?"

The sun glinted off his numerous rings where his hands rested on the steering wheel. Chrissy swallowed herself, looking at those rings. "You wouldn't…"

"Knock his teeth out? I'd love to, actually, but I won't unless you ask me to. I will sell him laced weed and give him the scariest trip of his life, though."

Chrissy relaxed at his words, sinking into the passenger seat. "Can I come over again on Friday, after Hellfire? A reward for making it through the week?"

She was given one of his wide smiles at that. "I'll make sure it's worth your while."

Jason called her after dinner. "I'm so sorry, baby," he was apologizing before she could even say 'hello'. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just care about you, Chrissy. You know that, right?"

"Of course," she murmured, doubting her own sincerity even as she said it.

"Eddie Munson's bad news. You know that, too, right? Forget Hellfire, the guy deals drugs."

"Yeah, drugs that you buy," Chrissy snapped before she could stop herself. To her surprise, she didn't regret it. Not even when Jason huffed and sputtered on the other end of the line.

"Weed is nothing compared to what that freak and his followers do!" She could see Jason's face turning red in her mind's eye. "Chrissy, cut the shit. What's the deal here?"

"Am I not allowed to have friends, Jason?" Chrissy shot back. "He's nice, I told you that this morning. Can you just trust me, please? You don't know Eddie, but you do know me. Please, Jason?"

The other end was quiet for a long time aside from the huffs of Jason's angry breaths. He calmed after a few minutes and sighed. "You know I trust you, Chrissy. I'm sorry, like I said. Can we go out this weekend, to make it up to you? Friday?"

"I can't Friday, I have plans with my mom." The lie slipped from her tongue easily. No remorse followed it. "Saturday?"

"It's a date, baby. I love you."

Jason didn't wait for her to say it back before disconnecting.

As Chrissy got ready for bed, she watched herself remove her makeup in the mirror. She pinned her bangs carefully, braiding the rest of her hair into twin pigtails. And all the while she wondered if maybe it was her, the girl who threw up her meals and lied to her boyfriend and got excited to see a guy who didn't belong to her, who was the freak.

There was a small playground in the trailer park, equipped with nothing more than a miniature jungle gym, slide, and two-seat swing set. Friday night was warm enough that Eddie and Chrissy sat perched on the swings while they smoked. "You sure we won't get in trouble out here?"

"I know you know weed's not the only drug in this trailer park, Chris." Eddie took a drag and held it. By the time he exhaled, only the smallest whisp of smoke escaped his lips. "But we can ghost it, if you're worried."

"How'd you do that?" Chuckling, Eddie passed her the joint.

"Take a regular hit, nothing too big. Yeah, like that, now hold it as long as you can stand it. It's gonna burn but the longer you hold it, the less smoke gets put out."

Chrissy held it as long as she could, ignoring the burn in her lungs and the tears pricking her eyes. Still, she wasn't nearly as graceful as Eddie when she blew the smoke out. She ended up choking on it. Eddie slapped his open hand on her back as she coughed.

"Yeah, atta girl, Chrissy! Don't worry, it gets easier after the first time." He ghosted his next hit flawlessly and Chrissy wasn't so sure he wasn't gloating.

"What about her?" Chrissy nodded to the trailer catty-corner from Eddie's, where a red-haired girl had just emerged with a sandwich in her hand.

"Max? Nah, Max is cool. She's friends with Henderson." Eddie raised his hand in easy greeting to this Max, who waved back before hopping down the front steps. She took the sandwich out to a dog in a small-ish, fenced portion of the yard before slipping back inside. "Keeps to herself, doesn't tattle. Remember that Billy guy? She's his little sister."

Chrissy nodded, stealing herself for her next hit on the blunt. But Eddie was right. It didn't burn quite as much this time. They made quick work of it and before long, Eddie had crushed what was left beneath his boot. He pushed himself out of his swing and came to stand behind her. Eddie took hold of her swing chains and twisted them together tightly until they would twist no more. She was sent spinning when he let go, laughing as the world blurred around her into a mess of undefined shapes and streaks of porch lights.

The spinning feeling stayed with her even after she stopped, though her feet rested on the ground once more. Eddie always made her laugh. And she liked that.

He didn't give her time for a respite. This time when he took the chains, he pulled her backward and released. "I don't think I've swung in a swing since I was, like, ten."

On each backward swing, his hands pressed lightly into her back, pushing her forward again and maintaining her momentum.

"Yeah? How's it feel now?"

"Weird!" She giggled. "Like I'm on a carnival ride getting tossed all around."

Adrenaline pumped through her, more than she should have had for a simple swing. Every upswing felt like shew was going to go sailing, but she didn't. She came back to the safe landing of Eddie Munson's hands every time.

"I take it Jason wasn't too mad, if you're here with me tonight?"

"I told you he wouldn't be," Chrissy reminded him. "We're going to the movies tomorrow and he'll forget it by the end of spring break, I'm sure."

"Just in time for prom." He pushed her in silence for a few moments. "What movie are you gonna see?"

"The new Poltergeist."

"You surprise me daily, Chrissy Cunningham. Never would've taken you for a horror fan." The night air was warm and soft around them. Couple that with the effects of the weed and both were pleasantly drowsy. When the conversation drifted off, it was replaced with an easy, companionable quiet. After a while, Eddie caught the swing chains again, this time to stop her. "Chrissy?"

"Hmm?" She tipped her head back to look at him, bumping against his chest. The stars were a little shaky behind his head.

"Does Jason know you're here with me now?" Upside down and in the dark, she wasn't quite sure what to make of his expression. Chrissy slid her hands up the chains until they were just under his. Close enough to feel his body heat but not quite close enough to touch.

"No."

Eddie nodded and looked out across the trailer park. Nothing was out there when Chrissy checked, suddenly panicked. Just too-tall grass between the trailers. Moonlight glinted off discarded beer bottles here and there. Otherwise, the pair was alone.

"Would he be mad if he did know?" Chrissy didn't like that question. It made her skin feel clammy and chilled despite the warmth of the night. She scooted in her swing so that her back rested lightly against Eddie's chest.

"Maybe." She could feel the rise and fall of his breathing. "Probably."

"Do you care?" Eddie asked. "If he would be mad, I mean."

"No." The honesty of the answer surprised her. Maybe one of the effects of weed for her was akin to a fabled truth serum. She felt Eddie's hands slide down on the chains until they covered hers. They were large and warm, marred by the smooth callus of guitar string scars here and there. He squeezed her hands briefly and let go.

"Me either."