TW: Violence

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The song mentioned is Rock Me by Great White.


The cool air suddenly became frigid and she wrapped her arms around her waist. "What about Eddie and Jason?"

"You can't tell anyone you got this from me. Okay?" Lucas requested. "I really don't want to be next on their list."

Chrissy nodded. She got the feeling they didn't believe her. They shared a look and Max gave the slightest little nod. Lucas went on. "I'm um… friends with Dustin? From Hellfire Club? He asked even though it wasn't really a question. "Eddie is like a brother to him."

"Yes, Eddie has mentioned him a few times," She recalled the antics Eddie would share with her. He's a good kid, he said of Dustin more than once.

"He'd be devastated if anything happened to Eddie," Max added.

"Anything happened? What are you saying?" Chrissy asked urgently, trying to make sense of what they were trying to tell her.

"Jason called me not too long ago. Said you lost your mind and that Eddie was to blame. That he put a satanic spell on you or something stupid." Lucas rolled his eyes, even he knew how ridiculous it sounded. "He wanted me to help him and the guys go after Eddie. I said I couldn't because," he stalled. He was torn between Jason and the basketball team and his friend Dustin.

Swallowing hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, he said, "I was hoping maybe you'd talk Jason out of it. He won't listen to me, and well…"

As if to add emphasis, Max said, "I don't know what's going on with you and Eddie or you and Jason, and I don't really care. I mean, it's not my business. But if Jason and the guys find Eddie, it won't end well. You gotta find a way to stop them."

She doubted she'd be able to stop Jason but she had to find a way to help Eddie. She nodded. "Where are they now?"

Lucas looked from Chrissy to Max who nodded again. Maybe this was more of Max's idea than Lucas's. Maybe it wasn't. It didn't really matter, the point is they were looking to her for help. "They're heading out to Eddie's place now."

Lucas took a big chance telling Chrissy what Jason had planned. He was only a freshman and Jason and the other guys would make his life hell if they found out he told her. Probably would get kicked off the basketball team too. "Okay, okay," she said. She needed to think, figure out what to do. "Thank you for telling me. You did the right thing and don't worry, I wont tell anyone I heard it from you."

Chrissy watched as they walked away, going through the doors where Lucas unlocked his bike from the bike rack and climbed on, holding it steady for Max as she climbed up on the handlebars. She looked at Lucas over her shoulder and they shared a warm smile before disappearing from Chrissy's line of sight.

The air was heavy with dew when she exited the building, her breath puffing out in clouds of vapor. Jason's car was missing from its usual spot in the back lane of the parking lot. Her stomach dropped. She hoped Lucas got it wrong, that he hadn't understood what Jason had meant. No such luck.

Chrissy started out at a brisk pace, kicking off her shoes, holding them in her hand as she made her way over the bumpy, uneven sidewalk. By the time she was home, she was in a full-on run. Out of breath, burning panic seared through her chest.

Her father had lectured her numerous times about leaving her purse, book bag, and keys in her car. Someone is going to steal it, he'd tell her when they both knew there hadn't been any theft in their neighborhood in years, if ever. Thankfully her father's words fell on deaf ears - she was able to jump in her car, fire it up and take off.

She drove as fast as she dared which was only a few miles above the speed limit. The town only had a few police officers and they liked to bust the kids for speeding. She contemplated calling the police station. But what would she say? That the basketball team is going to beat up Eddie Munson? They probably wouldn't do anything. To them, Eddie was just a troublemaker with a bad reputation. There were even rumblings of him and the rest of the Hellfire Club being satan worshipers.

They were called freaks because they like to play a fantasy game. Chrissy knew Eddie wasn't a devil worshiper any more than she was. None of the Hellfire Club members were. Still, she doubted the police would listen to her, and what's more, they'd probably encourage Jason.

Anxiety coursed through her body the closer she got to the trailer park hitting an all time high as she wound her way through to the back section of the park. She came across Jason's car, blocking Eddie's van in the driveway.

And there they were, Jason, Alex, and Patrick, exciting the trailer. Jason was carrying a bat. A bat. Her stomach heaved and she pressed her lips together to keep the contents of her stomach, from coming up. They were smiling, talking loudly, congratulating themselves on a job well done.

Chrissy parked the car on the side of the road before jumping out. Jason stalled in his tracks when she came into view.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, brows furrowed with confusion. His left eye was red and the skin surrounding it was pink, deepening by the second into a dark shade of purple. His bottom lip was swollen. A deep cut marred his perfectly chiseled chin. Absently she hoped it would scar.

"What did you do?" She yelled. She never yelled a day in her life except for cheer and that didn't really count. Now it seemed all that pent-up anger came barreling out.

"That freak needed to be taught a lesson," Alex said.

"He sure the hell did." This was from Patrick. "And we taught him it."

"You need to leave. Now," Jason demanded of Chrissy. "This isn't your business."

Chrissy spun in a circle as the guys surrounded her. She tried to fight her way through, they blocked her. "What are you doing? Let me though."

Tears spilled from her eyes, and she realized how it looked. The typical 'hysterical woman'. She, in her formal wear, yelling. Make-up streaming down her face. But she didn't care. She only cared about Eddie.

Jason clamped hold of her wrist pulling her back. "If you hadn't been messing around behind my back like a little bitch in heat this wouldn't have happened. This is your fault. You made me do this."

"What are you talking about? I wasn't the one messing around. You were. Remember Tiffany?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"You think I don't know what my own girlfriend is doing? Or, who she is doing."

She snatched her arm back and stumbled over her bare feet. "I wasn't doing anything behind your back. No matter what it doesn't give you the right to hurt anyone."

He sighed as though he was bestowing pity on her. "That's just not the way the world works. You mess with someone's girlfriend, you get your ass beat. Right boys?" He asked Alex and Patrick. They jeered him on.

Jason reached for her again. She flinched and stepped away from him. "Go home, Chris."

Alex caught her. Twisting her wrist and pulling her arm behind her back. She fought against his grip heedless of the pain. "And if I don't go home? Are you going to beat me up too? Three guys, one girl. Seems like a fair fight."

Jason leaned in, speaking an inch from her face. "Maybe you're right, maybe it's you that needs to be taught a lesson." He brought up the bat, tapped her on the nose with the tip.

Chrissy was rendered shocked by his blatant threat.

Patrick, for his part, spoke up. "Jason, just let her go. Let's get out of here. Someone's gonna' hear her screaming and call the police."

"I don't think so. I think we need to teach her a thing or two. Need to teach my girlfriend how to behave like a proper girlfriend." He stepped closer and with Alex hodling her in place, she couldn't do anything about it. He leered at her in a way that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. "Wasn't too long ago you'd do anything I told you to do."

Fire rose up her throat. Anger the depths of which she'd never experienced flashed through her body. "Eddie is a better person, he's a better man than you'll ever be. I'm not scared of you and your threats. And newsflash… I'm not your girlfriend anymore." She spoke slowly. Enunciating every word through clenched teeth.

Jason stepped back, looked away with a smirk on his lips. His face transformed into something inhuman, almost animalistic, and in a flash, he lifted his fist punching her in the mouth. She felt the flesh of her bottom lip split. Alex released her and she dropped to the ground. Dizzy and bewildered but not entirely surprised. She stayed down, listening as they ran off, car doors slamming, the engine turning over, and tires squealing away.

She took a few deep breaths, steadying herself. Using the handrail of the stairs, she wasn't sure which was more wobbly - it or her, and pulled herself to her feet. Climbing the three steps, she made her way into the dark trailer.


Music hummed from the speakers, slow and quiet. Low bass playing. The singer's voice, a quiet, steamy inflection, Sweet little baby, you don't have to go. Tell me you won't go. We'd be so good together… I see your man ain't here, he don't care. The way of the night has gone. And we'll move on. You to find a way to face another day.

"Eddie?" She questioned. Her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room. The scrambled screen from the television flickered against the walls, giving off a dull strobe light effect. "Eddie?"

If you stay the night. We'll make the wrong seem right. The irony of the words didn't get past Chrissy. You ain't so innocent I know. I know your hearts like mine. I will find the time to make you mine.

She almost stepped on him when she heard a groan and looked down. Eddie was sprawled out on his back on the living room floor close to the kitchen. He reached up a bloodied hand. Instantly she sunk to her knees, a sob escaping her chest. "Oh no, Eddie. What did they do to you?" She sobbed.

The music kicked up louder now. And when your man don't care. I will be there.

His eyes were closed and she took his head, laid it gently in her lap, brushing the damp hair away from his face. When she pulled her hand back, it glowed red with blood. "Eddie, talk to me! Please, wake up." She lightly placed her cool hand against his swollen jaw.

Rock me, Rock me. Hold me through the night, the singer whined.

"Please don't be dead."

When he finally spoke she gasped with relief. "Am I dead?" He groaned, opening his right eye. The left was swollen shut, a bright purple bruise already glowed on the side of his face.

"No, no you are not dead."

"Oh. If I am….this ain't so bad. Seeing my beautiful girl before I go." He tried to smile, lifting his hand to cover hers. It was swollen, the knuckles looked misplaced and deformed, pushed back under the skin. Then he cupped her cheek and wiped her tear-streaked face with his thumb. "Don't cry. I'm fine," he coughed, winced in pain.

She stifled another sob. He clearly wasn't fine. But if she had anything to do with it, he would be - once she got him help. "Do you think you can stand? We've got to get you to the hospital." She shifted and placed her arm under his shoulders, pulling him up to a sitting position. His left arm hung at a weird angle. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the health class teacher was telling the class not to move an injured person. They may have internal injuries. That you could do more damage than good.

But she didn't have a choice. It was up to her. Eddie's uncle was at work. She didn't know the number of the emergency department. Didn't know where or if they kept a phone book handy. Her best bet was to drive him to the local hospital herself.

"This was supposed to be my year," he mumbled, speaking more to himself than her. He seemed delicious. In shock. She didn't know if he realized what was going on, if he understood she was actually there and not a product of his imagination.

"This is your year," she reassured.

"I'm supposed to graduate. Can you believe that? Me? Graduating." Now she was sure he knew she was there. His good eye pinned her, needing her to listen to him.

She kneeled down in front of him. Fresh tears washed away what was left of her makeup. These tears were bittersweet. She was afraid if she didn't get him to the hospital fast, he wouldn't be doing any walking… or living. She cupped his battered and bruised face. "Yes, you are going to graduate."

"Chrissy," he stated her name, looked at her with such intensity she paused. "I love you. I need you to know that, whatever happens. I love you." He spoke, fighting through the pain.

She wasn't sure who moved first but they seemed to lean into one another simultaneously and their lips met. Gentle and sweet. Soft, yet urgently needing to convey what they've both felt building since that fateful day when she approached him to buy drugs. While the kiss at the bar had been unexpected and passionate, this was deeper.

"I'm sorry for causing…" he mumbled against her lips. "I'm sorry for all this. If I just left you alone none of this would have happened. But I couldn't leave you alone no matter how hard I tried."

"Shh," she said, smiling sadly, the sting of her split lip all but forgotten. "You don't have to apologize, remember?"

After a second, she regretfully pulled away. "Eddie, you gotta help me. Okay?"

He tried to nod, but he was fading and fading fast. "Can you stand?" She asked. He was in obvious pain and gently as she could she put her arms under his and began to lift. Together they got him to his feet. She held tight to his swaying body.

He was fighting through the pain, fighting to stay conscious. "Come on. Walk. That's it, one foot in front of the other," she directed him.

With his good arm, he grasped around her back, around her waist. Her arm was solid under his arms and across his back. Holding on to each other they somehow made it outside and down the stairs. Thankfully there was no sign of Jason or his friends. It was a little trickier to get him down the stairs but they did it and soon he was settled laying down in the back seat of the car.


Kind of crazy to think 911 wasn't yet available in many places in the '80s. Where I lived, we didn't get it till the early '90s.
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