Eddie pulls up to the Cunningham household. Of all the times he's been here, he's only used the front door once. Now he's about to go knock on her door and tell her parents he's there to pick Chrissy up for prom. He is nervous as shit. He's met them before. But that was different. That was before they knew their daughter was slumming it with trailer trash like him. He knows she told them last week. She's promised him they would be cool. Or at least her dad would be. He's tried to tell himself he doesn't need their approval as long as Chrissy didn't need it. He knows what they will think of him. He'll never be good enough for Chrissy. That doesn't stop him from wanting them to accept him when he knocks on that door.

"Shit." He takes a deep breath. Man up Munson.

He opens the door and climbs out of his van. He wishes he had a nice car he could have taken her in. He did try to make up for it by taking time to thoroughly clean and detail his van. He tries to remind himself he's overthinking everything. Chrissy won't care what vehicle he takes her to prom in. She just wants him to take her.

He feels like a coward with how nervous he is at the moment. A little voice rings in his head. You're brave. You don't care what anyone thinks about you. You're not afraid to be yourself. Do you know how rare that is? He replays that memory over and over in his head as he walks up her drive. When he reaches the door, he is still nervous but not as much as before.

Knock. knock.

Her father answers the door. "Eddie! Come on in. Chrissy will be down in a few minutes." Eddie nods and takes a hesitant step inside. Both men wait, just inside the door at the base of the stairs. "How's your uncle?"

"He's good." Eddie answers stiffly. He studies the older man. Chrissy has got his nose and his ears. He seems pleasant enough. "He told me to tell you hi."

"Ahh. Tell him hi back. He still at the plant?" Mr Cunningham inquires.

"Yeah." Eddie remembers his manners and corrects himself. "Uh yes sir."

Mrs. Cunningham walks into the room. Her eyes land on Eddie. He fights the urge to squirm under her intense gaze. He was nervous to be around her parents, sure, but her mom was the one who feared the worst. From what he's heard from Chrissy, her mom is not the easiest person to love. Her smile is careful and polite, a little warmer than the first time he met her. "Eddie. Good evening."

"Mrs. C." The woman is still intimidating even when she is being nice. He pushes down his nerves and finds his confidence. Women like her can smell fear. "Big plans for tonight?"

"No just a quiet night at home." She looks him over again. "I'll go check on Chrissy."

Chrissy is standing in front of her full length mirror applying dark red lipstick. It's the final touch to her prom look. She leans back and carefully accesses her work. Her dress fits like a glove. She turns to check out her tattoo in her dress. The way the spaghetti straps come over her shoulder and the sleeve falls just off her shoulder, the tattoo is perfectly framed on her flesh. She turns back to fully face the mirror. She loves the way she looks. It's rare she feels beautiful despite people telling her she is pretty often. Tonight, though, she not only looks beautiful, she feels beautiful.

Sam did her hair. It's up off her neck in a twist with curls spilling out over the top. There are a few curled strands that were left out to frame her face and bangs. She has on simple delicate silver dangling earrings and a silver bracelet to match. Her red heels match her lipstick. The rest of her makeup is more subtle and natural not to take away from her dramatic lips. She's ready.

She hears a knock on her door and hears her mother's voice. "Chrissy dear, Eddie's here."

She grabs her black shawl she borrowed from Sam and drapes it over her shoulders to hide her tattoo. "Thanks. I'll be right down."

"Can I come in?"

The request surprises Chrissy. "Yeah, sure." She wonders what her mother wants.

Her mom opens the door and walks inside her daughter's bedroom. Chrissy is still looking at herself in the mirror when she enters. Her mother come to stands behind her, looking at Chrissy in the mirror. Her mother hasn't seen her prom outfit and suddenly Chrissy is nervous she is going to pick it apart. Laura's eyes are thoughtful though. "You look beautiful."

Chrissy smiles, pleasantly surprised by the compliment. "Really?" She asks in disbelief. Her mother always finds at least one thing wrong with her appearance on the daily.

Her mother's eyes are glassy and full of threatening tears. "You always look beautiful." Chrissy stays silent. "I've always been jealous."

Chrissy's heart breaks for her mom. She attempts to make her mother feel better. "I don't know why. You're beautiful too. Everyone always tells me I look just like you."

A single tear rolls down her mom's cheek. "I am sorry I ever made you doubt it." Therapy has helped her mother a lot. She overheard her mom telling her dad that she had a breakthrough this week. Since then she has been kinder, gentler with her words. She's never this open with her emotions. She was trying, that much was clear to see.

"It's okay." Chrissy says with tears in her eyes. It's not okay but she was saying more like it will be okay.

Her mom seems to understand her and her mask she normally wears slips back on quickly hiding any trace of vulnerability she just displayed. "Go on, dear. Don't want to ruin your makeup or leave your date waiting."

Chrissy nods and composes herself as she follows her mother out of her bedroom. She focuses on who awaits for her at the bottom of the stairs, excited and happy it's Eddie waiting for her.

Eddie and Mr. Cunningham continue making small talk. The current subject is music and the fact that Eddie is in a band. When Mrs. Cunningham reappears, she informs them. "Here she comes."

Eddie looks up the stairs and sees red high heels, attached to long, smooth legs. Her dress brushes her knees as she descends. For once in his life, Eddie is speechless. He knew she would look pretty, but the way she looks goes beyond pretty. She looks absolutely gorgeous. He watches her dark red lips curve into a smile when she sees him making his heart thump hard against his chest.

Damn.

"Chrissy, you look lovely." Her father says proudly.

"Thanks dad."

She reaches the bottom of the stairs and stands directly in front of him. He tries to speak but his throat his dry. His voice is low and strangled. "M-Milady."

Thankfully Chrissy doesn't seem notice. She just smiles at him as he swallows making his adam's apple bob. Her gaze lands on the red wrist corsage that he's holding in his hand. "Is this for me?"

He completely forgot about it. He croaks out a "yeah," passing the box to her. She slips it on with ease and smiles up at him again. "Thank you, it's beautiful." There's a long pause. He's just staring at her dumbly, unable to move or speak. "You ready to go?" He nods and Chrissy waves goodbye to her parents.

He holds the door open for her and hears her mother call out for them to have fun. When he closes her front door, she takes his hand and starts pulling him toward his van. That seems to help break him from the trance-like state she lured him under. He pulls on the hand she's holding and remains on her front porch. The action gets her attention and she turns to face him. "Hold up a second."

"Everything okay?" She asks curiously.

"Yeah. I just… you-" There he goes again unable to form a simple sentence. She waits patiently with a small smile on her lips. "You look beautiful." He says with every fiber of his being. "Not that you don't always, but you're extra beautiful tonight." She ducks her head blushing, grinning from ear to ear. He pulls her closer to him and puts his free hand on her face. "You're the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

She beams at him. "Thank you. You know… you look mighty handsome yourself tonight." She grabs the lapels of his jacket.

He kisses her forehead tenderly. "Thank you milady." He releases her and holds an arm out to her. "Shall we?"

Hooking her arm into his, she replies, "We shall."

Xx

Prom is in full swing when they arrive. They get their picture made then set off to explore prom in all its glory. They don't get too far before Sam and Steve find them.

"OH MY GOD." Sam squeals in delight. "You guys look great!"

Chrissy laughs. "Thanks, you do too."

Sam interwines her arm with Chrissy's and turns to Eddie. "You don't mind if I borrow her, do ya Munson?" She doesn't wait for him to answer as she tugs Chrissy away. Chrissy gives him an apologetic smile over her shoulder. She mouths a be right back to him and disappears into the crowd leave Eddie and Steve alone.

"Looking good man." Steve says. "Nice shoes."

They both look down at Eddie's feet. Instead of those horrid dress shoes, he has on his old Converse. Eddie tried the dress shoes but they were way too uncomfortable. Eddie glances over to Steve. "Thanks man. Your shoes suck." He quips causing Steve to bark out a hearty laugh. "You guys been here long?"

Steve shakes his head. "No, Sam and I got here about twenty minutes ago. We stopped for dinner first."

"How's that going by the way?" Eddie knows from Chrissy that Sam is really excited about dating Steve. But it's not clear how Harrington feels about the relationship.

"Me and Sam?" Steve puts his hands on his hips while Eddie nods in confirmation. "Good… really good. She's the first girl I've truly liked since Nance."

Eddie always forgets that they dated. "That was like two years ago right?" Steve's face is solemn as he nods. "She must have done a number on you huh?"

"She knocked me on my ass, that's for sure."

Eddie spots the lady in question. "Speak of the devil."

Nancy and Jonathan pass them, giving them a small "hey guys" and wave. Byers must have came in from California to come to this. Steve looks a little sad but rights himself quickly. They see Sam and Chrissy across the room talking to some of their cheerleading friends. Eddie notices Sam look back at Steve and wink. The room is dim but he can see a faint blush on Harrington's cheeks. His eyes meet Chrissy's, she flashes him a big smile. Suddenly she feels too far away for comfort.

"How are things with Chrissy?" Steve asks, pulling Eddie's eyes away from her to his friend.

"Pretty amazing actually." Eddie watches her for a few more seconds.

The next question takes Eddie by surprise. "You in love?"

The thought has crossed his mind before. Then he wasn't so sure, but now… if he's being honest he knows he is… madly, truly, deeply in love with her. Eddie has never been in love before. But he knows he's never felt anything like this for anyone else. She is his favorite person in the world. She has consumed his thoughts ever since she walked back into his life. He'd do anything to make her happy and she makes him better. He never truly believed in himself before. Maybe that's why he's failed senior year twice. She believes in him and it makes him want to believe in himself. If this isn't love, than he doesn't know what is. "Yeah. I think I am."

"Have you told her yet?"

Eddie shakes his head. "Nah man. It's too soon. I don't want to scare her away."

"You won't. I've seen the way she looks at you."

Harrington doesn't elaborate further leaving Eddie to contemplate Steve's words. How does she look at me? Is he saying she might love me too? That's crazy… then again it's not totally out of the realm of possibility. If she feels half of what he feels for her then she might. Stranger things have happened. "Maybe I will tell her." Steve claps him on the back in encouragement.

"Tell me what?" Chrissy asks, startling him.

"Jesus. Where did you come from?" He turns to see she is standing behind him with Sam.

"Boo." She says playfully. "What are you guys talking about?"

Shit who are the women in my life…

"Mrs. O'Donnell," Eddie cringes internally saying the first female's name that popped in his head. "On the last day of school, I'm thinking about flipping her off and telling her to suck it, despite her best efforts I'm graduating." He's not completely lying since he has thought of doing that very thing before.

Sam looks at Steve. "And you're encouraging this behavior?"

Steve's eyes are big and he does his best to roll with it. "Yeah, I mean sure why not?"

Sam scoffs. "Because it's a horrible idea!"

Steve holds out his hand. "Come on, let's dance." Sam instantly forgets the conversation, takes his hand and they disappear into the crowd.

Chrissy looks up at Eddie thoughtfully. "Seriously though… don't do that."

"I won't especially not when they are almost going to let me out on good behavior." She giggles at him, then takes his hand and drags him onto the dance floor. Eddie wouldn't consider himself a very good dancer. But if his lady wants to dance, then he's going to dance his goofy dance all night long. Chrissy giggles and laughs as she watches him dance. Eddie feigns outrage. "Are you laughing at my sweet moves?"

She laughs harder. "Is that what they are?"

He clutches his chest. "Milady, you wound me."

The fast paced music fades into a sweet soft melody. More than happy to hold her close, he reaches for her waist. She steps into his arms wrapping her arms around his neck. Their height difference is really accentuated especially with Chrissy on her tips toes to reach him properly. Eddie picks her up to place her feet on his. He's thankful she ditched her heels at a nearby table. For the millionth time, he thinks about how beautiful she is tonight. Chrissy smiles up at him and pulls him down for a kiss. He doesn't know how long they make out on the dance floor. Could be a minute or twenty, he doesn't know or care. This moment is perfect. They break apart when the song dies out.

"It's time to announce this year's prom king and queen." Ms. Atwell announces. They turn to see her on stage with an envelope in her hand. Suddenly Steve and Sam are next to them.

"This year's prom queen is… Chrissy Cunningham!"

Chrissy smiles graciously as she takes the stage. Everyone claps and cheers but no one louder than Eddie when they place the crown on her deserving head. The applause lessens so Mrs. Atwell can speak into the microphone again. "Now for this year's prom king, in one of the closest votes in school's history, your prom king is… Jason Carver."

The necessary claps begin again. Eddie watches as Jason gets his crown and sees Chrissy's face fall slightly. "Now the prom king and queen will share a dance."

They descend from the stage onto the dance floor. Chrissy puts her arms around Jason's neck and they begin to dance. She used to dream about this moment. Everything is exactly how she pictured it. Every detail of the fantasy she had is right, except the king to her queen is all wrong. Much to her annoyance Jason wants to talk.

"Chris, you look beautiful tonight." Jason starts.

"Thanks." She says politely.

"How have you been?" He asks.

Chrissy sighs. They have hardly spoken at all since the breakup and now all the sudden he wants to be Chatty Kathy. She decides she isn't going to have it. "You know we really don't have to talk."

Jason scowls at her attempt to shut down the conversation. "I miss you or who you used to be. How long is this going to last?"

"How long is what going to last?" She rolls her eyes.

"This whole teenage rebellion phase. It's bad enough you're with Munson. I know you're only with him to get back at me. But now you're acting like a total bitch and have a isn't you."

"It's not a phase. This is me, Jason. Believe it or not. And my being with Eddie has nothing to do with you. I hung out with him and realized that he's not the devil worshiping freak that you and everyone else made him out to be. He is a great guy. He is funny, kind and caring. And he happens to be a wonderful boyfriend who makes me laugh and likes me for me."

While everyone watches them dance, Eddie leans over to Sam and Steve. "Wonder who the other guy was that almost won?"

Sam replies, "You."

Eddie laughs, turning to look at her, he sees she's serious. "What?"

"It was Chrissy's idea to capitalize on your sudden popularity after the senior spotlight. We recruited as many people we could to write you in as a candidate when voting for prom king. When I stole her away earlier, we were checking in with Tonya who was counting the ballots at the time, you and Jason were neck and neck."

Eddie is stunned. "Why?"

Sam simply says, "Chrissy didn't want to dance with anyone else but you."

For the second time tonight, he is speechless. He looks back at Chrissy and Jason. She only wanted to dance with him. Now there she is dancing with the Duke of Dicktown. Not on his watch. His feet move before his brain can calculate if it's a good idea or not.

As Eddie approaches them, he sees her expression is an angry one. He wonders what Jason did. He realizes they are arguing. Jason is getting visibly madder by the second as Chrissy speaks. Before Jason can respond, Eddie wraps his ring studded hand around his shoulder. Eddie squeezes to give the jock a warning not to fuck with his girlfriend. "Hey Duke, mind if I cut in?"

Upon seeing Eddie, Chrissy relaxes and giggles when he asks to cut in. Jason's face is hard with anger. "I'm king, freak."

Chrissy laughs harder at Jason's obliviousness. Eddie pushes him away from Chrissy gently with his hand still on Jason's shoulder. "Only for tonight." Once Jason is out of the way enough, Eddie steps into Chrissy's space, holding out his hand, "My queen." Placing her hand in his, they start to dance. Jason pulls Carol out onto the dance floor and keeps shooting daggers their way the rest of the song.

Chrissy is still giggling. "You are so bad."

Eddie ignores the comment and checks on her. "You okay?"

She smiles up at him with that sweet smile. "I am now. Thanks to you…" She grabs his leather lapels, "my knight in shining leather."

Eddie laughs at her joke. "So your majesty, how does it feel to finally get your crown?"

"Pretty good." Chrissy admits with a little blush. "Say that again."

"What? Your majesty?" She nods. He tucks some hair behind her ear. "Your majesty."

"Yeah that really works for me."

She mimicks the words he said to her weeks ago and he smiles at the memory. "Should I stop calling you milady?" Eddie clarifies.

She crinkles her eyebrows disapprovingly. "No, never. I love when you call me milady. Maybe your majesty for special occasions?"

"Yes ma'am." Eddie agrees, happy to oblige her in whatever way. "Anything else you would like me to add to the list?"

"Babe is always cute. What about you? Would you like me to call anything else besides milord?"

"Milady, you can call me whatever the hell you want." He replies.

She giggles. "Okay." Her face falls. "Sorry I couldn't make you prom king."

"It's okay. Heavy is the head that wears the crown." He nudges hers for emphasis. "Besides we both know I'm not cut out for royalty."

She gives him a face. "I wouldn't say that." She takes her crown and places it on his head. It rest crookedly on his head making him look so cute. "See."

They laugh and Eddie takes off her crown and places it right back where it belongs. His big hand cradles the side of her face. She closes her eyes and leans into his touch. Maybe it's his conversation with Steve earlier, but he feels compelled to tell her. To say the thing that, if he is being honest with himself, has been there for weeks now. The thing he's been too afraid to say in fear she would run away. You should tell her. I've seen the way she looks at you. The words echo in his brain repeatedly. Chanting almost as if cheering him on. It's three little words. You can do this. His mouth is suddenly dry so he swallows hard. He takes a deep inhale and breathes the words out. "I love you "

Her eyes flutter open in surprise and she looks up at him in disbelief. Shit. He knew he shouldn't have said it so soon. He's an idiot. He's going to kill Harrington for talking him into this. Of course she's doesn't– "I love you too, Eddie." She says interrupting his thoughts from spiraling any further.

He searches her face looking for any sign that she doesn't mean it. He doesn't see any. She's just looking at him with her big beautiful eyes like he's hung the moon just for her. She's serious. She loves him. He leans down and kisses her thoroughly. He pulls back and smiles at her. He changes their dance position to a more formal hold. He spins her around then dips her low making her giggle. They've been here for a while now and he has one final surprise for her. "You about ready to go?"

Xx

"Where are you taking me?" She asks after a few minutes on the road.

"You'll see." He says with a smirk.

They reach their destination and Chrissy is confused. "Rick's cabin?"

"You want to go somewhere else?" He offers, praying she doesn't say yes.

"No. I just wasn't expecting it is all." She smiles and his confidence returns. He climbs out of the van and goes around to help her out of the vehicle like a gentleman.

The place is dark when they walk inside and Chrissy can't see a thing. Eddie flicks on the lights and Chrissy gasps. There are white Christmas lights hanging all over the living room ceiling illuminating the room in a warm romantic glow. On the floor is a blanket and a little picnic basket with wine sticking out of it. He planned this. She turns to look at Eddie who is leaning against the door frame with his hands in his pockets. "Well what do you think?"

"It's beautiful. You did all this for me?"

He shrugs and pushes himself off the door frame, hands still in his pockets. "Yeah you like it?"

"I love it." She reassures. "What's in here?" She asks excitedly, referring to the picnic basket in front of her.

He sits on the blanket and pats the spot next to him. "I'll show you." She sits next to him and he opens the basket. "We have wine. I thought since it was prom we needed something a little more classy. We also have my favorite, chocolate and your favorite, Skittles."

"Eddie, this is amazing." She takes the Skittles bag that he hands to her.

"Just wanted to make the night special." He tries to brush it off like it's no big deal. In reality he spent all morning setting this up. He pours them both some wine and hands her a glass.

She takes the drink and says, "Fancy."

They drink and eat their desserts and talk about prom. Eddie admits he had a lot of fun. Chrissy takes off her crown and sets it aside. She steals a bite of his Hershey's and shares her Skittles.

It's getting late. They both know where the night is going. With each little touch between them, the tension builds. Neither one rushes it though. They simply enjoy the other's company and let things progress naturally on their own. From touches to kisses to full blown making out.

Laying on the blanket in the living room floor, clothes come off, piece by piece until they are nothing but passionate moans and twisted limbs. At one point, Eddie isn't sure where he stops and she begins as they come together. It is an experience like no other. He never knew sex could feel like this. Maybe it's because this time he's doing it with someone he loves. It was everything all at once. It was awkward, new, scary, exciting, fun, wonderful, bumpy, intimate, healing, passionate, and earth shattering. He truly believes she has ruined all other women for him. Forever. Chrissy falls asleep in Eddie's arms with her body satisfied and her heart full basking in their little bubble of lust and love they've created. Eddie holds her close, nuzzles her hair, and thinks that this is the best night of his life.

Author's Notes: I really hoped everyone likes this chapter. It has nods to three movies, two of which are in my top 10 favorite movies. Ten points if you can figure out which movies. And the Pretty in Pink nod doesn't count (Eddie's shoes at prom/Ducky's shoes at prom). So much happens in this chapter. Chrissy and her mom have a nice moment. Chrissy wins prom queen. Eddie finds out Chrissy tried to help him win prom king. Eddie tells Chrissy he loves her and they have sex. I have stated before that I typically write more fluffy stuff so I didn't want my first true attempt at smut to be for this moment and potentially ruin it. I elude to the fact that they decide to wait until prom night so we knew it was coming. I wanted it to be sweet and pure, just like their whole relationship has been throughout this fic. It is a big moment, but I hoped I was able to capture it in an understated, tasteful way and not leave any of you readers disappointed.