Chapter Four: An Interesting Dealing

Halfway during lunch, Eddie noticed a cheerleader heading towards the back of the school. He excused himself from the table, giving Clara his signature "I'll be back" smirk. He trotted off, heading to the woods where an old picnic table was situated. He frowned for a moment, recognizing the student waiting for him. Chrissy Cunningham. The popular cheerleader and twin sister of the girl sitting at his lunch table.

Actually, she wasn't exactly waiting for him. She was staring at a trunk of a tree, seemingly in a trace. He called her name a few times and she didn't respond until he was right behind her. She startled, letting out a scream.
"Whoa, hey, hey, hey!" he said. "Sorry." He chuckled. "Didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?" Chrissy didn't answer, turning back to look at the tree.

After a moment, she turned back to him and sat at one side of the wooden table. He set his lunch box down, it clattered loudly.

He set his lunch box on the table, and it clattered loudly, causing her to jump. He watched her closely, her knee jumping. She was jittery and nervous. He pulled off his jacket. "There's uh… there's nothing to worry about. Okay? No one ever comes out here." He tossed his jacket onto the table before sitting down across from her. "We're safe. I promise."

Opening the lunch box, he glanced down at his stash.
"So, how does this work exactly?" Chrissy asked.
"Oh, just like any other old sale, except, uh, cash only, and, uh, for obvious reasons, no receipts." He gave her a small grin, but she didn't return it.

For the first time ever, Eddie was starting to notice the similarities between the Cunningham twins. Only, the other one wouldn't buy from him if her life depended on it.
"I'll do you a half ounce for, uh… twenty. What do you say?" He held the bag out to her. "Plenty of bang for your buck. Should last a while."

Chrissy gasped, jumping at the sound of something scurrying in the woods. Eddie sighed, slamming the lunch box shut.
"Hey, uh, we don't need to do this." He rested his chin in the palm of her hand. "Just give me the word and I'll walk away. Okay?"

As he reached for the handle of the lunchbox, Chrissy shook her head.
"It's not that. I don't want you to go… It's just… Do you ever feel like you're losing your mind?"
"Um, you know, just… on a daily basis." He started smiling. "I feel like I'm losing my mind right now doing a drug deal with Chrissy Cunningham, the queen of Hawkins High."

He started tapping his knuckles against the table, metal rings hitting the wooden table.
"You know, this isn't the first time that we've, um… hung out."
"No?" she asked. She sounded confused. That threw him for a loop. He knew he was unconventional for whatever society Hawkins High had, but forgettable? Clearly, he wasn't doing his job right.
"You don't remember?"
"I'm sorry. I—"
"That's okay," he shrugged.

Then he did what he did best. Dramatics! He pretended to trust a knife into his heart before falling backwards. Chrissy gasped as he stumbled to his feet.
"I wouldn't remember me either, Chrissy." She laughed as he brushed leaves out of his hair.
"Honestly, do I have stuff in my hair?" She laughed harder.

His job was done. Getting people comfortable was always the hardest part. But she was easy. He grinned at her, arms crossing at his chest.
"You don't remember me?" Chrissy shook her head again, still smiling.
"I'm sorry." He dug his foot into the ground.
"Middle school, talent show. You were doing this cheer thing. You know, the…" He made motions with his hands as if he was holding pom-poms. "… the thing you do. It was pretty cool actually. And I was with my band—"
"Corroded Coffin!" she exclaimed. He spun in an excited circle.
"You do remember!" he said, pointing at her.
"Oh my God! Yes, of course! With a name like that, how could I forget?"
"I dunno. You're a freak."

The cheerleader shook her head. "No, you just…" She peered at him for a moment.
"You looked so—"
"Different?" She nodded.
"Yeah, we, uh, my hair was buzzed, and I didn't have these sweet old tatties yet." He pulled down on the collar of his shirt, showing off the ink on his skin.
"You played guitar, right?"
"Uh-huh. Still do. Still do. You should come see us. Uh, we play at The Hideout on Tuesdays. It's pretty cool. We… we actually we a crowd of about five drunks." Chrissy laughed again. "It's not exactly the Garden, but you gotta start somewhere, right? So…"

He faked punching a tree before heading back towards Chrissy.
"You know," she said. "You're not what I thought you'd be like."
"Mean and scary?" he tried, pulling a piece of hair across his face.
"Yeah," she nodded.
He shrugged, "Yeah, well, I actually kinda thought you'd be kinda mean and scary too."
"Me?"
"Terrifying," he said, sitting down.

Grabbing the lunchbox, he opened it again.
"Uh, so, in other good news, flattery works with me, so… twenty-five percent discount for the half. Fifteen bucks." He set a bag in front of her. "You're robbing me blind here, you know."

The girl focused on the table for a long time, struggling with what words to say.
"Do you have anything, maybe, stronger?" Her eyes fluttered up to meet his again. He tilted his head to the side before shrugging.
"Back at my trailer. I can grab it after school." Chrissy pursed her lips together.
"I can't until after the game tonight. Is that okay?" He nodded before standing again.
"See you after the game, Chrissy."

He made it back to the cafeteria just as Clara started gathering up her homework. He swooped in, taking her tray before she could. He balanced it precariously onto his.
"Of course not, Dustin. Don't try again," he repeated her words as they left the cafeteria. They shared the next class, sitting beside each other, much to the chagrin of Ms. O'Donnell. Eddie knew it shocked her that her top student and failing student sat together.
"I don't know what you mean," Clara said, opening her locker.
"Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean," Eddie murmured, leaning on the locker beside hers.

The look she gave him told him to drop the subject, but he ignored it. He opened his mouth to speak just as a short redhead started a rapid conversation with Clara. He stopped, watching them.
"Clara, is it just me, or has Dustin gotten dumber."
"Max—"
"Did he honestly believe that I would play that stupid game with them? I've never played and have never had any desire to play it. They oughta have better luck with you. Didn't you use to play?"

Ah, now the cat was out of the bag. Eddie grinned, twirling a piece of hair around his finger as the redhead finally noticed his presence. She stumbled over her words then slunk off.

Looking down at the girl beside him, Eddie asked a very important question.
"What class and level?"
"Like I said before, I have no idea what you mean." She attempted to escape him, but he stopped her, cornering her against the lockers. His hands went to either side of her head, leaning in close.
"What class and level, Cunningham?" She didn't break eye-contact with him as he nibbled on his bottom lip.
"Thief, level twelve. But that was a very long time ago, Munson."

For a brief second, his eyes darted to her lips, but she ducked under his arm before he could initiate anything, and he stumbled to catch up with her. The second bell rang, and they broke out into a run. She would hate it if she was late, and Eddie would hate it if she was upset.

Fuck. If it came out that he was this soft, life as he knew it would be over.

During class, she dropped a piece of waded up paper onto his desk and he shoved it into his pocket just as Ms. Kelley opened the door. He watched her shoulders visibly tense as she shoved her stuff into her bag. She walked out of the room, door slamming close behind her. He kept his focus on the door until Ms. O'Donnell cleared her throat.
"Eddie, is there something interesting on the other side of the door?"
"Someone is the more appropriate word," a voice called from the back of the room.

Smirking, Eddie didn't bother to turn around as he flipped off the speaker. Ms. O'Donnell scolded him, but he didn't care or pay attention. He slouched down in his chair, pretending to listen to the woman until the bell rang. He headed out of the building towards his van and frowned when he saw Harrington leading Clara towards the guy's car. Was there a thing going on between them now? His fears were momentarily quieted when Clara gave him a tiny finger wave before disappearing from his sight.

Catching sight of Wheeler, he strutted towards the freshman.
"So, did you find a replacement for Sinclair?" Wheeler nodded, black curls dropping into his face.
"Yeah. Hopefully she comes through."
"She?"
Wheeler shrugged, "I don't know. Dustin set something up." Eddie nodded, then headed for the back of his van.

Opening up the back doors, he pulled out a large cardboard box. He had to set everything up in the room dedicated for the club before everyone showed up that night. Wheeler and Henderson had better come through or there would be hell to pay.