Chrissy felt like she was ready to throw up her own heart as Eddie pulled into the trailer park. I bet Mom would love that, she thought. That would be what, maybe another half-pound lost? Miraculously, despite his reckless driving, they had made it to his home without incident. She got out of his van, unable to stop her shivering. She could feel that she was still being watched. What did she do to deserve some…monster, continuing to haunt her? There had been rumors of supernatural occurrences in Hawkins, but she didn't believe it until a week ago. She wanted to tell Eddie, but there's no way he would believe her. Sure, he played Dungeons and Dragons, but that didn't mean he was open minded about monsters actually existing.

Eddie looked into her eyes. A week ago, she also wouldn't have expected to find so much kindness in the eyes of Eddie "The Freak" Munson. Her boyfriend had nothing good to say about him, and would absolutely flip if he knew where she really was.

"Listen," Eddie began. "If you really don't want to do this, you can still back out. I won't be mad."

"I'm just cold," Chrissy said.

"Okay," Eddie said. "Let's not waste any more time and get inside then."

Yes, let's hurry, Chrissy thought. I'm not sure how much time I have before he returns.

Chrissy took in her surroundings. Eddie made some joke about a maid, but she wasn't paying attention. Any minute now she might hear that damned clock again. She asked him how quickly the Special K would kick in. Someone else's voice growled in her mind. Maybe not fast enough.

Eddie went into another room. She guessed his bedroom based on the poster that she could see from the doorway. Chrissy turned and looked out the window. She half expected to see the monster that had plagued her nightmares standing in the road. A shiver went down her spine. Eddie had been gone way too long. She was ready to shout across the trailer if he had found the drugs yet, but she decided to take large strides toward his bedroom door instead.

She was almost at the door when a blur blocked her path. She let out a quick scream. "No no no don't come in," Eddie pleaded from the doorway.

"I really don't want to be alone right now." Chrissy hated the way her voice came out like a whine.

"It's a disaster in here. I know I come off like I don't care what people think, but I don't want you to see…"

"Please!" Her view of Eddie became blurred as tears started to flow.

Eddie's eyes went wide. He gave a small nod. "Okay, come on in."

Chrissy couldn't believe her situation. She was so frightened of a monster from her dreams that she was demanding to be let into the bedroom of a young man that was still a stranger to her. If it wasn't for her worsening nightmares, which were starting to occur when she was awake, she wouldn't have ever spoken to Eddie Munson. It wasn't personal, there was just no reason for either of them to cross paths before.

She examined her surroundings. It was no wonder he couldn't find the Special K. Or that he couldn't graduate. There was probably an essay buried under books, magazines, and dirty clothes that would have been his ticket out of high school last year. She couldn't find a place to sit, so she gravitated toward the tapes on a shelf. It was the only area of the room that seemed somewhat organized.

"I see you really like metal," Chrissy said. "I was hoping for some surprise Oingo Boingo or Duran Duran or something."

"Are you disappointed?" Eddie said, opening the same drawers he had just checked moments before.

"No. Would you be shocked to know that I listen to metal sometimes?"

"Okay, now I'm starting to think you just want even more of a discount."

"I'm serious. I borrow my little brother's tapes sometimes when I get bored of pop. He has to hide them because Mom would be furious. Is that a new Metallica tape?"

She picked up the Master of Puppets cassette cover. She had to admit that the cover with the grave markers freaked her out a little. How long until I have a grave marker of my own? she thought.

"You want to listen?" Eddie said. "That way you won't be bored to death as I continue to search."

Chrissy nodded.

"I'll rewind it first. There's an awesome song that starts the album, but it's of course the song that the album is named after that really kicks ass."

Chrissy closed her eyes as "Battery" began. It was quiet at first, but she started tapping her foot when the song really got going. Few would have guessed it, but the angry sound of metal appealed to her. Jason thought it was "Satanic", but she didn't care. It was a relief to hear someone express so much anger. She wasn't allowed to show such an emotion herself. She had to hide it with smiles. Conceal the stuff she couldn't tell her mother, because she couldn't accept that her daughter wasn't perfect. Her father? Forget it, he refused to rock the boat. She couldn't even confide in her boyfriend, who was too absorbed in basketball and wanted to maintain a perfect image as much as her mother. Maybe that's why Jason got along so well with her mother. They both had her trapped. All those thoughts kept her from really enjoying the album's first song, and were about to pull her someplace terrible.

Then "Master of Puppets" started.

"Oh my god," she said.

"It's great, right?"

"It's fucking amazing!" Chrissy said, and put her hands to her mouth. The thought of her mother chastising her for unladylike behavior came and went as she put her hands down and started to air guitar. Eddie laughed, and she knew it was with her and not at her.

Vecna waited in the final nightmare he had prepared for Chrissy. He was ready with the manifestation of Mrs. Cunningham, once again giving a passive aggressive reminder that her daughter had gained a little weight. He had a lovely set up of a feast covered in spiders, reminding the girl of delectable food she was forbidden to have. The web was crafted perfectly. There was only one problem. The grandfather clock hadn't chimed. He walked over to it. The girl should have been running through the hellish version of her house by now. What was happening? He couldn't believe what he saw. The hands of the clock were moving backwards. Impossible. He closed his eyes and shook his head at the vision that materialized.

The girl was making a fool of herself, in front of a boy she had just met. He knew from watching others in the town that the way she was moving was called "headbanging". As she continued, he felt himself losing ground. Her mother. Her self-image. It had left her mind. He howled, but Chrissy couldn't hear it.

He could get her back. All it would take would be a bad fight with her boyfriend, or her mom asking her if she had weighed herself lately. But he was impatient. There were so many other teens wrestling with trauma and anxiety, and Vecna wanted the first portal open now. Chrissy could wait. If she managed to escape his web now, he would gladly watch her be devoured by his pets later.

Eddie couldn't stop laughing, and Chrissy couldn't stop smiling long after the song was over. The album continued as background noise.

"Okay, you know what? Watching a cheerleader air guitar just made my spring break. I don't have a clue where the Special K is, but you can have that weed I showed you this afternoon on the house."

"You know, I'm not sure I need it now. I feel way better now than I have all week."

Eddie nodded and frowned. "I guess this is goodbye then. I'll drive you home."

"No," Chrissy said. "This is much better than I thought my night was going to be. My parents aren't expecting me home for a few more hours. You wanna just, hang out?"

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the victory party?"

Chrissy shook her head. "Very sure. The place is gross…"

"Grosser than here?" Eddie said.

Chrissy's eyes went wide. "Trust me, your bedroom is a palace compared to that pit. Plus, it's a relief to not have to play Ms. Perfect for a night."

"Play Ms. Perfect?" Eddie said.

Chrissy looked down, unable to believe how quickly she was opening up to the young man everyone considered a social outcast. However, he had been so sweet that afternoon. The freshmen in the Hellfire Club seemed to adore the guy. Maybe it would be okay to spill her guts to him. She wrung her hands, an old habit that her mother snapped at her about until she stopped. "Can we…talk?"