This is part 2 of The Cheerleader and the Stoner. Thanks for reading! Here is the link to part 1: s/14099544/1/The-Cheerleader-and-the-Stoner
Eddie didn't know he was capable of feeling what he felt for Chrissy. He hadn't ever been one to hold back. You knew where you stood with him and he didn't give a shit what anyone thought of him. And he irrefutably didn't care who saw them as they kissed near the stage at graduation. Matter of fact, he wanted everyone to see. She was finally his. He loved her and wasn't ashamed of it.
Their bodies pressed together, arms wrapped around each other for a solid minute. They floated back to reality as the students began to disperse, grabbing their caps from where they landed on the lawn after they'd thrown them in the air. Chrissy pulled away as someone finally cut the music. He was surprised it lasted that long.
"I can't believe you did that," he said, speaking of the music swap out. He'd take Master Of Puppets any day over Pomp and Circumstances. Resting his brow to hers briefly, trying to force the beat of his heart to return to normal. Well, semi-normal at least. It hasn't beat normally since he met with her in the woods.
"It's about time I rebelled a little, don't ya think?"
"Queenie, the rebel," he laughed. "And bringing young, impressionable kids into it," he said, gesturing to Dustin and the rest of his group behind the stage, scrambling to get the correct music to play.
"You don't think they'll get in trouble, do you?" She frowned adorably. How does anyone frown adorably? He wasn't sure, but Chrissy has the ability.
"Na! They can just blame you. Say you forced them."
"Well that's comforting," she giggled when she saw he was kidding with her.
"You've graduated. What are they gonna do? Take your diploma away?" He wrapped an arm around her waist and placed a kiss to her temple after they retrieved their own hats from the ground.
She looked like she was actually worried. "Seriously, it's fine," he reassured her.
She sighed. "Come on. You should meet my parents." He stumbled and Chrissy pulled him along into the sea of parents and students smiling, wiping away tears, hugging, and posing for pictures.
His feet cemented to the grass, too heavy to move. Chrissy looked at him curiously. "Your parents?" He questioned. "Right now?"
She laughed at his deer in the headlights expression. "Now's as good a time as any. There are people around so they won't make a scene."
"A scene? Why would they make a scene? What kind of scene?" He was on the verge of panic. He'd never met anyone's parents before. At least not in a "Mom. Dad. This is Eddie. The guy I'm seeing," kind of way. Parents did not like him. He was pretty sure his own parents didn't like him.
She only laughed again and pulled him along. "Chrissy, I'm not the type you bring home to Mommy and Daddy," he warned.
"Sure you are," she said, her smile as persuasive as her kiss. She could convince him to rob a bank if she wanted to with that smile. Reluctantly he followed her through the expanse of green on the football field. "They need to know about you. The sooner the better."
He wasn't sure why the sooner the better. "What's wrong with the later the better? Chrissy, baby…" he pleaded. He wasn't above begging if that's what it takes.
"Aw, are you scared?" She teased, sparing him a look over her shoulder as she pulled him by the hand. "You're being a bit dramatic, don't you think?"
In exaggerated movements, he stood up straight, put his hand on his hip and held his chin high. "I'm not scared of anything." But he was scared. Scared like hell. If they didn't like him - and he was sure they wouldn't, they'd prevent Chrissy from seeing him and things would go south quickly because nothing and no one was keeping him from her.
"Alright then Superman, come on!" She began to drag him across the field again.
"I prefer Batman," he mumbled, Let go or be dragged, Muson. He wasn't letting go, so he allowed himself to be dragged.
They located Chrissy's parents and brother near the entrance to the bleachers. Chrissy's mom looked similar to Chrissy. Same shade of hair, only duller. It was pulled back in a tight knot at the top of her head that pulled the corners of her eyes up slightly. Same nose as Chrissy, similar eye color, only a shade darker. She was very neat. The word prim came to mind - he'd never used the word in his lifetime. She wore a floral dress without a single wrinkle even though she'd been sitting for over an hour and the greenery matched the color of their gowns almost perfectly.
"Chrissy," her mother's smile was stained, her voice disapproving. He watched Chrissy's shoulders slump. Her smile wilting marginally. "Why did you do that? What is Hellfire?" She questioned pointing at her shirt. "What happened to the dress you picked to wear? And your speech was…" she stalled apparently exasperated by her daughter's behavior.
"Your speech was great," Eddie filled in. Chrissy looked at him where he stood hanging back a foot. Her eyes softened when winked at her.
Both of her parents zeroed in on him as though they hadn't noticed him until that very second. He held their gaze fighting the urge to back down and keep his mouth shut, to know his place. Well, fuck that. He wasn't going to stand around and let them berate Chrissy.
"Mom and dad, this is Eddie. My parents… Laura and Phillip." They stared at him dumbfounded like they'd never heard of him before. She tried to explain, "Eddie was… in the accident. He was who I was visiting at the hospital."
She paused on the word accident. Everyone knew it wasn't an accident. It was just easier to explain it that way. There was a pause where he knew he should probably say something but he didn't know what to say. For the first time in his life, he was at a loss for words.
"Nice…uh to meet you," he tried, hoping it was the right thing to say.
Finally, her father cleared his throat and spoke for the first time. "Well, it's good to see you're doing well and able to attend today." He stuck out his hand and realized Eddie's was in a sling. "Ope." He spoke with a thick Midwest accent. "Sorry about that. Chrissy didn't tell us the extent of your injuries."
There was probably a reason for that. He kept it to a minimum as well. "Just a few busted knuckles."
"Wow! How'd you do that?" The boy standing next to Mr. Cunningham asked, evidently impressed. He must have been about ten and favored his father rather than Chrissy and her mother.
"Oh," he mumbled. "I just slipped."
The boy was a bit disappointed, his mouth dropping into a brief frown. Eddie almost wanted to tell him the full story, maybe then he'd at least like Eddie. Something told him the Cunninghams, especially Mrs. Cunningham would not share in the boy's eagerness for violent stories.
"This is my brother, Kaleb," Chrissy said, pulling the boy to her side, placing her arm around his shoulders in a sideways hug.
"Are you my sister's boyfriend now that she and Jason broke up?" He asked. The kid wasn't afraid to say what he was thinking. Eddie decided he liked Kaleb just fine. He wanted to laugh but pressed his lips together instead. There was no way he was touching that question with a ten-foot pole.
"Why don't you mind your own business," Chrissy said, easily teasing the boy, flicking him lightly on the tip of the ear.
"Ouch!" He said, rubbing his ear but smiling at his sister.
"Eddie, would you like to join us for lunch? We'd love to get to know you better." Laura spoke in a way that made him think that was the last thing they wanted to do.
"Uh, actually I gotta meet up with my uncle," he said, searching for him in the thinning crowd. He didn't really have to meet Wayne. Their plan was to meet back home.
"Oh? Are your parents here too?" Laura asked, looking around as well as if she could spot them.
"Ha, fat chance there," he mumbled. Chrissy stepped in when Laura asked him to repeat himself. "No they're not here," she said simply with no explanation.
Waiting as they snapped a few pictures, one of the two of them included at Chrissy's insistence, they parted ways with the Cunninghams. Eddie walked with Chrissy to her car, stopping occasionally to talk to a friend, wishing each other congratulations. Robin appeared like a jack rabbit, jumping in between them. Insisting she'd call Chrissy later before she took off again. A couple of friends from Hellfire. A handful of people he didn't know but apparently they knew Chrissy. Everyone seemed to know Chrissy.
"See that wasn't so bad," Chrissy said, leaning into him as they walked.
"Easy for you to say. I think your mom was trying to disintegrate me with her eyes."
"Pfft. Don't be silly. She can't do that with her eyes. She disintegrates with a snap of her fingers." Chrissy teased, snapping her fingers.
"Alright, alright. You just think you're so funny." Eddie pulled her down into a loose headlock as they walked, mussing her hair.
She shoved him away playfully, laughing. "Keep it up, Munson," she warned. "Or…"
"Or what, sister? Come on!" He dodged her by shuffling to the right as she charged him.
The blast of a siren caught their attention bringing their playful banter to a halt. Looking toward the entrance of the school parking lot, Hopper's Bronco pulled in followed by a police cruiser, its lights flashing. They parked behind Jason's car. He and his parents, each flanking him, his mother's hand in the crook of his arm looked on. Their faces registered the shock they must have felt.
It was their first and only acknowledgment of Jason that day. Chrissy and Eddie shared a look before gapping at the scene that was playing out before them. It was like a car accident, they couldn't look away from it. Hopper exited the truck and hollered over the siren making a cutting motion with his finger over his throat. "Callahan shut that thing off. Jesus." He continued his saunter over to Jason. "Go find Alex," he instructed Officer Callahan.
Turning back to Jason, he said, "I been looking for you. Called you numerous times. Left messages with your parents. Went to your house. It's almost like you've been avoiding me. You wouldn't be avoiding me, would ya', Carver?"
"No. No of course not," Jason said, a tremble in his voice.
"Oh? Well, I couldn't find you. You left me no choice but to look for you in the one place I knew you'd be. Too bad it coincided with your graduation."
Before Jason responded, Mr. Carver, placed an arm in between Hopper and his son. "There is no need to do this right now."
Hopper looked at him, raising an eyebrow. Immediately Mr. Carver removed his arm. "I've asked him to turn himself in many times. You know as well I do that I couldn't just barge into your home. Guess you shoulda listened to me when I told you to bring him down to the station. We coulda' handled this privately."
"Jason? What's going on?" This is from his mother, her voice carrying the high pitch of panic.
Ignoring her, Hopper, took the handcuffs from his back pocket. "Jason Carver, you're under arrest for the assault of Eddie Munson and Chrissy Cunningham…"
"This is not the time or the place for this," Mr. Carver interrupted indignity. "I'm calling my lawyer."
"You do that," Hopper said. "You know where to find us."
Eddie heard Chrissy gasp, her hand covering her open mouth. They didn't really think Jason or Alex would be arrested and they definitely didn't expect to be a witness to it if it did happen. He grabbed her hand tightly, pulling her toward her car. He was sure Chrissy no longer had feelings for Jason; the fact remains they have a history together and he was being arrested for something that involved her. He didn't think she needed or wanted to see this. She was so sensitive, so kind-hearted she probably felt bad for Jason at the same time knowing this is what he deserved.
He stood in her way, focusing his eyes on hers. "Let's go. Come over to my place," he told her. "I'll follow you over."
"I can't. Remember I have to have lunch with my parents," she peered over his shoulder at the scene unfolding, then back to him.
"Right. Well then come over whenever you're done." He took her keys from her hand and unlocked the door for her, opening it. "Go on. I'll be waiting whenever you're done with your family, just let yourself in."
She looked at him, then Jason, and nodded. He waited as she got in and started up the car, driving off in the opposite direction out the side driveway. He turned back just in time to see Hopper toss Jason into the back of the waiting police cruiser. Officer Callahan followed close behind with Alex. They must have determined Patrick didn't do enough to be arrested. He had only stood by and let it happen.
Two of the most prominent families in their tiny town pretending to be something they weren't. Perfect. Law-abiding. Better than everyone else. It's interesting. He's supposed to be the bad guy, the outcast. The stoner, the D&D player. But he wasn't the one that showed up at someone's house with a bat. Maybe Jason and people like him are the real wolves in sheep's clothing. They're the ones that everyone should be watching out for, not the likes of Eddie Munson.
Eddie was in that strange space between waking and sleeping and for a moment he thought he was back at the hospital. He fought off the familiar anxiety that came with that because he was sure it was Chrissy's lips breezing gently over his neck that brought him slowly back to a gentle awareness. After he got home, he and Wayne hung out for a bit. Had a celebratory dinner of KFC and after he left for work, Eddie laid down and fell asleep. His room was in the shadows of the late afternoon, a ratty towel covering the only window.
And now he was encompassed by Chrissy's scent. Her shampoo or perfume. Whatever it was, he liked it. He kept his eyes closed enjoying the lightness of the semi-dreamlike state. The feel of Chrissy's lips, the weight of her hand. He was shirtless and her hand crept down his chest her palm warm on his skin, her fingertips casually following the line of hair to the buckle of his belt, then back up again. Her lips moved along his neck, along his jaw and came to a rest at the corner of his mouth.
She was hardly touching him but he grew hard.
"How was lunch?" He asked, his eyes slowly opening, her face coming into view. She was lying next to him, leaning up on her elbow and looking down at him.
She shrugged a shoulder, her hand still resting on his stomach. "Okay. They stayed clear of the subject of you."
"Ah. That must mean they hate me," he chuckled and stretched his arm above his head. His shoulder twinged briefly before relaxing. Overall he was better and he was anxious to get back to playing but the doctor said he and a few more weeks before the sling comes off.
Until he could play again, he'd been writing a lot. Chrissy, his muse.
"They don't have to like you. Only I do," she said, planting a kiss on one side of his face, then the other. Her hand went to the guitar pick necklace, idly running her fingertips over the chain.
His hand curved around the back of her neck, pulling her down to him. He worked the scrunchy from her hair and strawberry blonde tented them in citrus-scented shampoo.
"So you like me, do ya?" He asked between kisses, his cheeks burning with heat, body yearning with need.
"Maybe," she teased.
"Maybe?" he asked, yanking her down to him, holding her flush against him. "Maybe?" His fingers dug into her ribs sending her into hysterics. She squirmed against him, his arm around her lower back holding her close, the other hand continuing his assault on her ribs.
"Eddie. Eddie. Stoppp." She laughed so hard she could hardly get the words out. The attack lasted a few more seconds before she wiggled out of his grasp and pushed off the bed.
Still laughing, she said, "I'll be right back, you stay!" A hand held out, knowing he would follow her if she let him, continuing his tickle attack.
"I'm sorry. Please come back, Chrissy," he pleaded, reaching his hands out for her.
"No! You're bad," she pointed at him, trying for a stern look but her grin gave her away.
He made a swift downward motion with his hands as though he was stabbing himself in the heart with an invisible knife. "You're killing me."
"Oh, you'll survive," she said at the doorway.
In a twangy voice, he began to sing, "I get the same old thing… Always, 'No huggee, no kissee until I get a wedding ring.' My honey, my baby, don't put my love upon no shelf."
As she disappeared into the hall, she sang back, "Don't hand me no lines and keep your hands to yourself."
He continued to sing the song. Even if he did hate it he knew it word for word because Chrissy liked it and cranked the radio every time it came on. Probably to bother him more than anything.
"Baby, baby, baby why you always treating me this way? You know I'm still your lover boy, I still feel the same way. That's when she told me a story about free milk and a cow…"
From the bathroom, she sang with an exaggerated southern accent, "No huggie, no kissie until I get a wedding vow."
He chuckled at the lyrics. She wouldn't have to threaten him, he'd marry her in a second if she wanted to. But there was no way that's what she wanted. She had her whole life ahead of her, he doubted she wanted to spend it with him. He'd definitely stick with her until she was tired of him. Ride this ride as long as he could.
She was halfway back to the bed when he realized she wore nothing more than the Hellfire t-shirt.
He leaned up on his elbows watching her. Blatantly, with no shame. God damn, he loved her. Loved watching her move. Talk. Sleep. Whatever. It was clear, he was a love-sick puppy and he was not ashamed of it.
He shifted onto his knees, kneeling on the mattress. She stood about eye level with him on his knees and her standing on the floor. She swept his bangs away from his face. "I think we need to have our own graduation celebration," she purred quietly.
"Oh yeah? That sounds like a good idea to me."
Let me know...should I keep going? Thanks for reading. The song mentioned is Keep Your Hands To Yourself by Georgia Satellites.