Chapter 2
March 21st, 1986
There he was, in the flesh.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He says with his hands held up, eyes trained on her as if she was a frightened animal. A small smile on his full lips.
A nervous chuckle escapes her, feeling as if she's in a daze looking up at him. "It's ok." She mumbles, suddenly feeling shy.
He's much taller up close than she imagined he would be. He's taller than Jason by a good few inches. She stops there, realizing she's subconsciously comparing the two. Interesting.
He's standing still, looking at her. Staring openly as if he's tongue-tied or maybe shocked.
"I gotta admit, I was not expecting my mysterious new client to be the queen of Hawkins high herself." He joked, a slight blush creeping over his face.
Looking down at her shoes she giggles softly, not sure how to respond. The Queen? She's flattered but also feels that the title is a bit much. Hard to live up to. Is this really the image he has of her?
They make their way over to the lone picnic table quietly.
He shrugs off his jacket and denim vest, leaving him in his infamous Hellfire Club shirt.
Chrissy looks around at their surroundings. Their hidden spot, although it is just a few feet away from the back of the school, feels so far away.
The only noise is the sound of birds and the slight ruffle of the tree branches that surround them, creating a secluded atmosphere.
Given the nature of their meeting, she still finds herself slightly anxious.
Sensing her nervousness he reassures her, "Look, there's nothing to worry about. We're safe out here, I promise."
"Sorry, I- I've never done this… so how exactly does this work?"
"Well, just like any other transaction but cash only and for obvious reasons, no receipts." He jokes with a smirk.
He begins to show her his product and go over the cost and ounces.
Chrissy, all at once, feels foolish. She feels like the innocent church girl that he must see her as. She's beginning to regret her plan as she fidgets with the sleeve of her letter sweater.
Eddie pauses his salesman pitch and notices her discomfort. Coming to a halt, he quickly closes his metal lunch box.
"Hey uh… we don't need to do this. Just give me the word and I'll walk away."
"No! It's not that! I don't want you to go." She blurted. She looks down at the table, trying to hide the heat that keeps covering her face.
Hearing this, Eddie's eyes quickly look to her face.
"Ok, I'll.. I'll stay." He stammers. Surly he heard wrong.
She feels flushed from her ears down to her stomach. A sense of dread at the thought of him leaving so soon.
"It's just… do you ever feel… trapped?"
Her nerves are getting to her again and she can't stop fidgeting.
"Uh… I… yes and no. I guess it depends. I mean, I feel pretty trapped in this hell hole of a town, ya know?" He chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. She glanced up and met his eyes, a small smile hinted on her lips.
"Yeah, I do. This place just feels so… suffocating. Everyone knows everything about everyone."
The joys of living in a small, sleepy town like Hawkins.
He holds her eyes for a beat and then glances down at his hands, twisting a ring on his left hand.
"Not trying to sound rude or anything but… I just can't.. I don't know… see you feeling trapped. Don't take it the wrong way but you practically rule this place. I guess it's just a little surprising." He offers with a nervous laugh.
Of course he would assume that. Everyone assumes she's perfect.
She's so tired of being treated as a doll.
She's sick of feeling suppressed.
Controlled.
She hardly even knows herself. Everything she has done in the last 10 years has been for the satisfaction of someone else, not herself.
That's the very reason why she had slipped her anonymous note in his locker to begin with. Eddie Munson would know more of feeling free than anyone else in this whole town.
Was it wrong of her to crave something new, foreign? To try smoking weed? Was it really a crime to want to do something unexpected?
Tears begin to fill her eyes. She shrugs, looking back down at her hands, feeling embarrassed for getting so worked up.
Suddenly, a hand covers hers.
Shocked, she looks up.
Grey meets brown.
Something stirs in the air and she holds her breath.
"Hey, look, I'm sorry. That.. that was pretty douchey of me. I know we're not like…friends or anything but do you want to talk?" He offered. His hand still covering hers. His thumb moving just ever so slightly.
She shivers at the feeling of his calloused skin on her smooth hands. His rings feel cool and bulky.
And so she talks. She tells him everything and she can't seem to stop.
Everything is slipping out her mouth and she doesn't seem to be in control of the word vomit.
Eddie listens, so very patiently, never once breaking eye contact. His hands, still stretched out across the table, play with her dainty hands.
This should feel strange, given their circumstances but she feels so safe.
She feels comfortable with him.
"I mean, It's spring break, It's my senior year and I just want to do something for me. I know I probably sound silly but I'm just so… I'm so DONE with trying to live up to everyone's expectations of me. It's.. ugh! It's exhausting!" She gushes.
Feeling breathless, she goes silent and waits for his reaction. Surly she's scared him off by now yet she feels as if this massive weight has been lifted from her.
He's also not running, yet, so that's nice.
He's grinning at her, a look in his eyes that she can't quite catch.
"Well lucky for you… you've come to the right person Cunningham." He jokes, his eyes lighting up.
They both laugh, feeling playful.
She's blushing again, thankful for the shift.
"You know somethin'.. this actually isn't the first time we've hung out." He points out. Now it's his turn to look nervous. His hand is drumming slightly on the table top, a trait she's picked up on. A nervous tick maybe?
"No?"
"You don't remember?"
"I'm sorry I…" she trails off, shaking her head. Have they met before? She swears she's only known of him through what she's heard from other students. From Jason.
"That's ok…" He looks away from the table, like he's lost in thought.
Springing into action, he thrust his hands towards his chest, as if he's stabbing himself, flings himself backwards, off the bench and onto the forest ground.
Chrissy gasp, grey eyes widen at the dramatic scene. She's not aware of the little shout leaving her mouth, too engrossed on Eddie.
"I wouldn't remember me either, Chrissy!"
He jumps back onto his feet, messing with his disheveled hair. "Honestly, do I have stuff in my hair?"
She's laughing, openly, at his silly antics.
He turns to face her again, "you really don't remember me?" His arms crossed across his chest, a playful smile filling his face.
"I'm sorry!" She answers, giggling.
Her face is hurting from smiling so hard.
"Middle school talent show. You were doing this cheer thing.. you know.. that you do. It was pretty cool actually and I was with my band…"
"Corroded Coffin!"
"Cor.."
He's spinning back around, clapping his hands in excitement, "you DO remember!" The biggest smiles on both their faces.
"Of course I remember! With a name like that how could I forget?!"
He's standing still, gazing at her, "I don't know, you're a freak." He says, enduringly.
Chrissy gasps at him. Her eyes bright, cheeks hurting, still, from giggling.
How does he do it?
How is it possible that Eddie has made her feel so much within a few minutes when she's longed for this feeling for years?
The numbness that took hold of her was beginning to fade. Eddie made her feel something.
She felt young again.
He was so, unapologetically, himself.
She was in awe of him.
"You know, you're not what I thought you'd would be like." She confesses to him.
Playing shy, hiding behind his curls, "Mean and scary?" He muttered.
She can't stop looking at him, locked in a daze.
"Yeah." She confesses, voice almost in a whisper.
Suddenly he's walking back towards the table.
"Yeah well, I actually kind of thought that you would kind of be mean and scary too." He says as he hovers over the table, looking down at her.
"Me?" Chrissy airily whispers, looking up into his large dark eyes.
"Terrifying!" He says, keeping the playful banter going.
Still smiling at one another Eddie opens the lunch box again.
"In other good news, flattery works well with me so… twenty five percent discount for the half so fifteen bucks." He explains as he sets the bag on the table.
"You're robbing me blind here."
" Actually… I've never.. smoked before and I kind of want to … I don't want anyone else knowing.. so maybe you could show me..?"She trails off, eyes pleading with him.
"Show you? Yeah uh.. I mean, yeah, I can show you how to.. I guess." Shy Eddie reappears.
She finds she likes seeing this side of him as well as the dramatic Eddie.
"You would? That would be perfect, Eddie!" She gushes, batting her lashes.
"Yeah, no worries! Um.. Not sure how much time we have left but did you want to here or..?"
"Can we do later today? Maybe like after the game?"
"So tonight? I um… well, I have this thing with my club." He stammers, blushing.
"That's ok! What about after?" She's practically pleading.
"Fuck it! Meet me in the parking lot tonight. The game will probably end around 8 or 9, right?"
"Yeah! I'll pay you then too. Oh, thank you Eddie! Seriously!" She hops up from the table and before leaving she smiles at him over her shoulder.
Eddie gives a slight wave and smiles back, still blushing.
"Oh fuck me." He mumbles.