"Whatever you say, Beauty Queen."
She was bubblegum pop music, pink sparkles, and a perfect, warm sunny day. He was heavy metal, black leather jackets, and a rumbling thunderstorm. But somehow they made sense, balanced each other out.
Stranger Thing...
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After what had happened at Starcourt Mall, Val was seriously not okay. Everytime she tried to sleep she kept seeing Billy – his once white tank top soaked with blood and tentacles from the Mind Flayer leaving gaping holes in his body. She couldn't keep living off of barely any sleep, jumping anytime the lights flickered even a little bit.
And that's how she had met Eddie Munson. Drugs. Very romantic.
Val was perched next to Eddie on his bed. While she took in his disaster of a room, Eddie's mind was still reeling at the fact that Valerie Walsh was sitting next to him. Talking to him. Sitting on his bed.
He expertly rolled a blunt and held it out to her. She looked at it, hesitating. "Hey, you don't have to if you don't want to," he rushed to say. "I have a few six packs if you'd rather just get drunk. It's no biggie."
She shook her head and took it from him, holding the smoke in her mouth before letting it out in a coughing fit. He gently rubbed her back. "Sorry," she muttered once she stopped coughing, feeling embarrassed.
"It's okay. Don't apologize," Eddie said. "I think I coughed up a lung my first time so don't feel bad."
She giggled, the drug slowly starting to set in and make her feel more relaxed. That was Val's first interaction of many with Eddie Munson. In front of everyone at school they maintained their usual fasades, but in the woods behind the football field or in Eddie's trailer... Val had never felt so instantly comfortable around someone.
At the end of their school day, Chrissy and Valerie walked arm and arm to the picnic table Val usually met Eddie at.
"Are you sure about this?" Chrissy asked. "I mean, he's, like, kinda crazy isn't he?"
"It'll be fine, Chris," Val reassured her. "I promise. He's a little much at first, but he's really not that bad."
In their matching cheer uniforms, they walked across the football field and into the woods, Val leading the way. She sat down on the picnic table and when she looked back at her friend, she was frozen in place. "Chrissy? Are you okay? If you really don't want to do this, that's okay. We can just go to my place before the game."
Chrissy finally blinked, coming back to reality. "I'm sorry, I spaced out. What were you saying?"
"If you really don't want to do this, we don't have to," she repeated.
"Will it make me feel better?" Chirssy asked. When Val nodded in response Chrissy said, "Okay. Then I want to."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Val asked, eyeing her best friend suspiciously.
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
The sound of approaching footsteps made Chrissy jump, totally discrediting what she had just said.
