Thursday at noon, Chrissy took a seat at her usual lunch table. Two of her friends from cheer, Jocelyn Schnable and Kimberly North, were already seated. Kimberly delicately picked at a salad while Jocelyn dabbed her slice of pizza with a napkin. Chrissy only had a green apple and she shrugged off Jocelyn's questioning gaze, citing a big breakfast.

"Well, well," Jocelyn's gray eyes gleamed. "You're holding out on me, Chrissy! Kimberly told me what happened in health class on Tuesday. Jason sounded pissed."

"He was furious," Kimberly said, a bit smugly. "I'm surprised he hasn't taken Eddie Munson out."

Chrissy shrugged. "It would be a stupid thing to get in trouble over," She said quietly, peeling her apple with a plastic knife. An apple was quick to eat, but she could usually stretch it out the entire lunch period if she peeled and cored it very slowly.

"You gotta admit," Jocelyn remarked. "That thing Munson did with the gum? Kinda hot."

Chrissy choked on her water.

"Ew!" Kimberly shrieked. "How can you even say that?!"

"Oh, c'mon Kim, you know I hate Brauer's lessons," Jocelyn complained. "Why are we always the chewed up pieces of gum and never the guys? Why is there no onus on them to be pure? Munson not giving a fuck and bucking the whole metaphor—"

"Is gross," Kimberly emphasized. "He chewed gum with Jason's spit on it. Gag. And kind of gay, if we're honest."

Jocelyn gave Chrissy a sideways glance. "I dunno about gay…wasn't the gum supposed to represent Chrissy's hymen or something?"

"Please stop talking about my hymen," Chrissy requested.

Jocelyn giggled. "Sorry, Chris. I guess I'm just curious. He's older than us, he's kinda got that bad boy thing going on—"

"He was held back two grades and runs the Dungeons and Dragons club," Kimberly said flatly. "That dork club is the antithesis of a bad boy."

"Fair point," Jocelyn acknowledged. "But he is the go-to if you want coke or weed. Dunno where he gets the stuff. But he's like Hawkins' personal pharmacist for drugs."

"I wouldn't know," Kimberly said righteously. "I've never brought from him."

"You have," Jocelyn retorted. "Because you bought some from me and I got it from him. Chrissy, what do you think?"

Chrissy continued to peel her apple. "I don't really know enough about him to say one way or another," She said carefully.

"Well, that's not all I've heard about him," Kimberly lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I heard last year he got a girl pregnant and he drove her to the abortion clinic in Indianapolis. Heard he paid for it too, through his drug deals. Can you believe that?"

Jocelyn frowned. "Wait, that doesn't sound right. That was Lindsay Munson—she goes to Christian Academy (on scholarship, obviously). Wasn't Lindsay his cousin?"

"Exactly," Kimberly's voice was catty.

Chrissy drew her head up sharply. "Stop that, Kimberly. You know that's not true and it's vicious thing to say."

"I'm just repeating what other people have said," Kim defended herself. "He's white trash. It wouldn't surprise me if he fucked his cousin…"

Chrissy had heard enough. She shot Kim the nastiest look she could muster and exited the cafeteria, throwing her peeled apple away as she went. She heard Kimberly say in disgust, "What's her problem?!"

Class was in about ten minutes. Math Analysis, her worst subject. And Jason was in that class. At 'movie night' yesterday evening, he had gotten particularly handsy. She kept trying to tell him she wanted to watch the movie but he wouldn't listen. "We barely get any time alone," He whined into her neck, tugging a little at her cardigan.

"I want time alone with you too," Chrissy had told him sharply. "To watch the movie."

She'd yanked her cardigan away and buttoned it up completely. Jason had not spoken to her for the rest of the evening.

The next morning, he was full of apologies, even bringing her flowers. "You were right, Chrissy. I wasn't thinking about keeping our relationship godly. But I think we both sinned here. You were wearing your cheerleading skirt so of course my thoughts strayed. If we forgive each other, we can start fresh."

Ever the good girl, she forgave him, accepted the flowers even though they were carnations and she'd told him about fifty times that daises were her favorite. But that didn't mean she wanted to see him.

She eyed the backdoors. Suppose she didn't suffer the indignities of Math Analysis and Jason's pleading gaze.

Chrissy Cunningham had never in her life skipped class before. But she decided that today would be the day.

It wasn't a pep rally or practice day, so Chrissy wore more casual clothes—her favorite pink leggings, blue leg warmers, a large Hawkins High sweatshirt that might have once belonged to Jason. She didn't have a car, but maybe she could take a walk in the woods or something. Actually—she suddenly thought of the clearing where she'd met Eddie. He was right, no one did ever come out there…she smiled.

With a great deal more confidence than her last trip, she strode down the dirt path behind the school. The forest was no longer threatening but serene. She reached the clearing and with a sigh, she hoisted herself up on the picnic table. She let her back drop slowly so she could stare at the sky—patches of blue in a green tapestry. Sunshine rippled across her small frame and she exhaled. A breeze shook the branches, scattering spring flowers all over her, making her smile. She reached her hand up to twirl her hand among the petals' dance. She could be here. Her mom wasn't haranguing her about how she had to loosen the fit of her cheer skirt. Jason wasn't bothering her with Bible verses or wandering hands. Her friends weren't mocking the latest victim.

Chrissy wasn't sure how long she dozed in the sun-dappled clearing. But at the snap of a broken branch, she was up like a shot.

It was Eddie. He was frozen in place, staring at her. She probably looked feral, covered in bruised flowers and leaves.

They stared at each other for a long moment. And then Eddie blurted, "Tinuviel."

Chrissy was baffled. "Sorry?"

"I mean—" For some reason, he went red. "Ahem. Sorry. I didn't think anyone was out here."

"Oh," Chrissy said guiltily. "I'm sorry—I was just looking for somewhere quiet and I thought—but it makes sense you'd be out here…"

Her eyes widened. "Oh! Am I interrupting a drug deal? Should I go?"

"You're not," Eddie assured her. "I actually came out here for the same reason. Sorry if I scared you…"

"You didn't," Chrissy assured him. "It's just—pretty out here. And I just needed some…space."

He nodded. "Makes sense. I was just gonna have a smoke, but I'll go in my van."

"No, I—I don't want you to go," The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. She blushed profusely, unable to meet his gaze. Almost warily, he took a seat at the picnic table, looking up at her from her perched position.

"I don't have your stuff yet," Eddie said.

Chrissy nodded. "You did say Thursday."

"My cousin is helping me get it," He explained.

"Your cousin Lindsay?"

As soon as she said it, she wished she hadn't. The light disappeared in his gaze and he folded his arms over his chest. "You know her?" His tone made it clear that he knew this was not the case.

"No," Chrissy mumbled, staring at her knees.

Eddie shrugged. "I'm sure you've heard of her though. She's the classic tragedy for Teens for Life. You know her dad was one of the religion teachers at Christian Academy?"

"I didn't mean—"

"And I'm guessing you've heard that I drove her to Planned Parenthood for an abortion," His voice got tighter. "Well, I did. She was fifteen and needed one. Of course Christian Academy expelled her. Zero tolerance for killing babies." He made air quotes around the phrase 'killing babies'.

"But," A note of pride entered his voice. "She got her GED. She's applying to colleges. She's a great person. And you can tell your friends, no, I may be trailer trash, but I didn't fuck my cousin."

"Eddie," Chrissy slipped down on the seat next to him and gently took his hand. "I didn't mean that. I never believed—well—I mean you're helping me get the pill, of course I thought you'd help your cousin…I didn't mean to make you mad. I'm sorry."

He stared at her hand on his and cracked a smile. "Nah, I shouldn't have jumped down your throat. I'm just protective of her, I guess."

"I'd love to meet her," Chrissy said earnestly. "She sounds like a great person."

"Anytime you want, Cunningham," He smiled at her and she felt that flicker in her stomach she couldn't quite identify. She realized his hand was very large, decorated with silver rings—a pig's head, two skulls, something she couldn't identify. She found herself wondering what it would feel like to hold his hand.

"You know," Eddie remarked. "This isn't uh…this isn't the first time we hung out."

She blinked. "No?"

"You don't remember?"

She tried to think. "I'm sorry, I…"

"It's okay," He considered her for a moment. Then, without warning, he feigned a stab to the heart and fully flung himself off the picnic table.

She shrieked a bit, watching him dust himself off, laughing as he asked if he had stuff in his hair, dark eyes twinkling.

"You don't remember?" He asked, leaning towards her, pretending disbelief.

"I'm sorry!" She giggled.

"Middle school," Eddie explained. "Talent show. You were doing this cheer thing."

He mimed shaking a pom and she giggled again. He wasn't mocking her, more himself trying to do a basic cheer routine.

"It was pretty cool actually," He told her and she beamed at the compliment. She did remember the routine—it had been one of the first she'd ever choreographed.

"And I," Eddie continued. "I was with my band—"

"Corroded Coffin!" Chrissy exclaimed, as the memory of a gangly eighth grader with a lot of attitude came back to her.

"Corroded Coffin! You do remember!" He pointed at her triumphantly, clapping his hands in an almost childish delight.

"Of course, with a name like that, how could I forget?!" She shook her head at herself.

"I dunno," He smirked at her. "You're a freak."

Something about the way he called her a freak made her feel warm all over. She was Chrissy Cunningham. She was a good girl, she attended church and youth group regularly, she was head cheerleader, a shoe-in for senior prom queen…she was only spoken of in glowing terms. No one had ever accused her of being a freak and she had to admit, it was rather thrilling to be one.

"No, you just…you looked so…"

"Different? Yeah," Eddie acknowledged. "Well, my hair was buzzed and I didn't have these sweet old tatties yet."

She could see the bats and beasts up and down his forearms, but in emphasis, he pulled down the collar of his Hellfire Club shirt, revealing more on his chest. Her breath hitched a little seeing his collarbone and she was assailed with curiosity. How many tattoos did he have? Some on his back? More on his chest? She wanted to count them.

She realized she was ogling him for far too long and his smirk had become more pronounced. She cleared her throat.

"You played guitar, right?"

"Uh huh. Still do. Still do," For all of his dramatics, his voice was surprisingly humble. "You should come see us. We play at the Hideout on Tuesdays. It's pretty cool. We actually get a crowd…of about five…drunks."

She laughed and he seemed inordinately pleased that he could make her chuckle. She was curious enough about the invitation to see him. Was he good at guitar? Probably better than he was in the eighth grade, though she wasn't exactly Mary Lou Retton when she was twelve.

"It's not exactly the Garden, but you gotta start somewhere, right? So," He playfully punched a tree. She began to realize that he liked movement; he was full of frenetic energy. Perhaps that was why he liked playing guitar.

"You know, you're not what I thought you'd be like," Chrissy confessed.

He ducked behind a strand of his curly hair. "Mean and scary?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, well, I actually kinda thought you'd be mean and scary too," He joined her again at the picnic table.

"Me?" She whispered.

"Terrifying," He promised. He unhitched his metal lunchbox and pulled out a rolled up joint. She watched him, fascinated, as he lit it and inhaled deeply.

"Could I try?" Chrissy requested.

His eyebrows shot up. "You want to share a joint?"

She licked her lips. "Would that—would that be okay? I mean, I can pay you…"

A warm smile spread over his face. "Nah. First joint is always free." He passed it to her and she put a hand on her hip.

"How do you know it's my first?" Chrissy demanded.

"Because you hold it like it's gonna run away from you," He covered his mouth, probably trying not to laugh.

"Draw it into your mouth before you inhale," Eddie advised as he lit the joint. "You'll get a better hit. Just fair warning, my shit is kinda strong—"

Chrissy exploded into a cacophony of coughing. Her eyes streamed and her face went pink as she tried to gulp the spring air to compensate. Eddie burst out laughing and rubbed her back soothingly.

"Happens to everyone during their first time," He forced himself to stop. "Seriously."

"Okay, you win," Chrissy wiped her eyes and passed him the joint back. "It was my first. I just wanted to try it."

"Well, that's what high school is about," He took a deep hit, closing his eyes as he did so. "Experimenting and shit."

A pleasant buzz wrapped around Chrissy like a warm blanket. All of her anxieties—her mother's comments, her father's silence, her little brother's absence, Jason's pushiness—all of it seemed to melt away, or rather…they became like a radio with its volume turned all the way down. Her eyes glazed and she took in how truly lovely the clearing was.

Eddie passed her the joint again. She took another puff and was proud of herself for not coughing. He smiled at her and she realized that he was proud of her too. It delighted her.

"You're such a good person," She murmured, her head falling against his shoulder. She felt him stiffen.

"Nah, I'm not that good, Cunningham," He tried to brush the compliment off.

"You are!" Chrissy insisted, edging closer to him. "You are. You're helping me. You helped your cousin. It's—it's amazing what you do for people."

"All right, now you're embarrassing me."

"I mean it!" She looked up at him and it occurred to her how large his eyes were. So beautiful and pleading. What did his lips taste like?

He plucked the joint from her fingers. "I think that's enough for you."

"It's amazing," She kept staring at his soft brown eyes. "I don't think I've ever…I've ever felt like this before."

Eddie finally met her gaze. His stare was a little glazed and she wondered if the weed was affecting him the same way. She licked her lips again.

He cracked a smile, trying to break the tension. "Chrissy Cunningham, you are completely baked."

She erupted into giggles. "I am! I am! I am!"

She snuggled closer to him and shivered as a cold breeze interrupted the April sunshine. He rolled his eyes and shucked off his jacket, draping it over her shoulders. It smelled like pine needles and tobacco. She reveled in the scent and felt that curious tingling warmth, starting between her legs and curling throughout her body.

"Eddie," Chrissy whispered. "Was…was this what you meant?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you said…when you said girls could be like microwaves?"

"When you said…when