Eddie did not see the head cheerleader again. Nor did he hear anything more about her over the next week. If she wanted to ruin him, she had decided to do that after the holidays, which he supposed he should be grateful for.
He did not get any more visits from Chrissy, either. She didn't normally visit him; he'd only seen her a handful of times since that night. Eddie supposed the bats were the easiest things for his frayed mind to conjure, meaning they at least appeared in his dreams a few times a week. All the rest - the dogs, the demogorgon, Mind-Flayer, Vecna...they waited til he was truly in the Upside-Down to pursue him.
Dr. Shelby promised that with some more training, he could improve his dreams. He just needed to find ways to dispel the horrors. Routes to doors that led to more pleasant visions. Focal points to anchor him in reality.
His uncle, his mother, his friends, Rosie. They all helped. If he could just build a clear image of them, usually he could push the rest away. However, there were occasions then the terrors followed him over the threshold, invading pleasant dreams and tolerable realities, scaring him so hard he forgot how to recover. Making him look like a twitchy, babbling maniac.
"Merry Christmas!" Wayne was bent over a pot as Eddie slouched out to the bathroom. A strange smell assaulted his nostrils, and he pinched his nose shut.
"What the hell is that!"
"Rosie sent me a mulled wine recipe. Look. Little darlin' even put the spices into little packets."
Eddie almost laughed. The sachets looked like the ones he sold some of his wares in, but these were filled with cinnamon, cloves, anise and whatever else went into mulled wine, all carefully measured out and labelled as 1 pack per glass of wine. His uncle had provided his own oranges, wine and brandy. "Sounds like her, alright."
"Got me a nice scarf, too. I think it's cashmere."
He saw it on the coffee table, along with some gingerbread cookies, two baubles for the tree, and a card. "You got it today?"
"Nah. Arrived on Tuesday. I kept it under the tree." Wayne tasted his concoction, frowned, then added more sugar. "It's all for me, though."
Eddie was already munching on a cookie. "She'll probably give me mine when I drive out."
His uncle waggled his eyebrows. "I'm sure she will."
He cringed, almost choking on the gingerbread elf. "Don't -!"
"What?"
"Gross!"
"I don't think you're supposed to call that gross."
"Not that! Ugh! You!"
"I was young once."
Eddie shoved the remainder of the cookie into his mouth and stormed into the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower."
"Set it to cold."
"Shut up!"
The shower really didn't work to relieve his tension. Not with Wayne right in the kitchen. Damned trailer was way too small, sometimes. Eddie gave himself a quick scrub and, shaking the worst out of his hair, stood in front of the mirror to brush his teeth. He didn't like looking at himself, so he inspected the ceiling instead. Their old trailer had damp all over the place, but this one was still fairly white, with the tiles still in place. The corners were turning a bit dark, nonetheless.
His eyes fell on his chest. He really did need to put on some weight. Despite how awful food tasted, he had really been trying to force it down. Rosie had always made sure he ate - told him she was afraid he would waste away. Could he put on a few before the 29th? He didn't want to worry her.
Lower down, and the flesh was more uneven. She had been hesitant to ask about it, and Eddie hadn't mentioned it either, but if you looked close enough, you could see the imprint of dozens of rows of tiny teeth. Some patches were nothing but a mass of scar tissue, others neat squares of stitched flesh where he had needed grafting. He craned his neck to look at the marks there, too.
Something caught his eye. Something crawling around above him. He ducked and whirled, ready for a cockroach to drop onto his head. The thing scuttled away, however, leathery wings and writhing tail disappearing out the vent.
"Nope." He muttered, spitting. "Not today you little bastard."
Clutching a towel to his waist, Eddie trotted out and into his room to get dressed. Wayne was already reclining in his chair, mug in hand, plate of cookies on the arm rest, and some kids' movie on the TV.
"Ah-ah!" His uncle scolded, pointing as he appeared again. "That is not festive attire."
Eddie looked down at his sweater. The one with green and grey stripes. Rosie liked this one. "It's clean."
"But it's not Christmas."
"I burned the reindeer one." He lied.
"You didn't!"
"I did!"
"That thing cost me $50!"
He faltered. "No it didn't?"
"It didn't. But I bought it specially for you." Wayne grinned. "Plus, Rosie thinks it's cute."
Complaining the whole way. Loudly. Eddie trudged back into his room and changed. "Happy?"
A flash. Wayne guffawed. Wound the camera rapidly and took two more photos, both of his nephew just standing there, arms by his sides. Livid. "Oh she's gonna love these."
"She's in on it?"
"Who do you think put me up to it?"
Growling, fighting back a smile, he went and got himself a mug of mulled wine. Still hot, he had to blow on it before even attempting a sip. "Ooh! That's good!"
"Ain't it?" Wayne offered the cookies. "Look under the tree."
Eddie put his mug down and picked up the singular present "hidden" under the tiny tree next to Wayne's chair. His uncle had never been good at wrapping, and it took all his patience to get through the mass of tape. Inside was a new jet black shirt, and a black silk tie to match. Each of them had a label. He whistled appreciatively. "Well these are sharp. Thanks."
He hugged and kissed his uncle. Wayne clapped him fondly on the back. "Now, I want you to take those with you. Don't forget. I know your friends gave you the money, too?"
"They did."
"So what you're gonna do is. " The older man sat up, making sure Eddie was listening. "You're gonna get to Boston. You're gonna find a nice restaurant. Make a reservation, if you have to. Tell Rosie to get dressed up. Then you're gonna put those on - for god's sakes not with anything ripped and no sneakers - and you're going to take her on a nice date."
"Not McDonald's?"
"If you take her to McDonald's I'm stitching Rudolph onto all of your shirts."
"Jeez. No need for threats."