The Freak and His Queen [Eddie Munson x Chrissy Cunningham]

Chrissy the Brave

Trigger/Content Warning - Mention of emotional/psychological abuse by a partner

Chrissy broke up with Jason at the end of April. She didn't know what to tell him, so she tried to explain how she'd changed, how she felt different, that she wasn't the person he loved anymore.

At first, he was dismissive. He told her he understood that she'd been having a hard time, but she would get better soon and there was no reason to panic and do something stupid. He was persuasive. Jason had always been good with words and Chrissy was used to him telling her how she felt. She was used to believing him. He had a way of making it seem like he knew her better than she knew herself. But the thing was she really had changed, and one of the things that had changed was the part of her that trusted Jason to know best. So she held her ground and insisted that it was over.

Then Jason tried to make her see that she needed him, that she would be lost without him. He was the strong one, not her. She was making a mistake, but it wasn't too late to turn back. He could still forgive her. But Chrissy stood up for herself and told him she didn't love him anymore. And she said she was sorry. Then, when Jason turned from persuasion to anger and he raged around her, Chrissy found she could take it, because a little more than a month ago Eddie Munson had told her she was brave, and it was him she wanted to believe, not Jason. Not anymore.

***


The news of their breakup spread through the school quickly. Her friends, the other cheerleaders, didn't understand. They were nice enough about it to her face, but she could tell they whispered about her behind her back. High school queens didn't break up with their kings. They graduated together and went on to get married to each other and have beautiful children and live happily ever after.

Chrissy didn't mind people talking about her though because after the break up she felt lighter than she could ever remember feeling. For the first time in her life, she felt free. Sure, she was still lonely, but it wasn't the same. Before it had felt like she was trapped. There had been no way out of the loneliness. She had been tied to Jason and their friends and their life and it had been a prison where she couldn't really talk to anyone and no one really knew her. Now that she was free of that life she could let people see her, the real her. The loneliness didn't have to be forever.

So Chrissy worked hard to make new friends at school. She went after the people in her classes she had always liked but had never made much time for before. And it went ok. It took a lot of effort, but people seemed to genuinely like her. She started sitting with her new friends at lunch in the cafeteria, away from the jocks and the cheerleaders, and soon it started to feel normal.

***


One day after school, on her way to her car, Chrissy saw Max sitting alone out back. She looked sad, like she was lost in a memory.

"Hey," Chrissy said, walking over to the red-haired girl. "It's Max, right?"

"Yeah," Max said, looking up. When she saw who it was taking a seat next to her she looked surprised. "Uh, hey Chrissy."

"I never said thank you," Chrissy said.

"What for?"


"For checking in on me, that time in the bathroom. That was you, right?"


"Oh," Max said, shifting her weight, uncomfortably. "It was nothing."


"It was nice of you," Chrissy insisted. "And... I'm sorry I snapped at you."


"That's ok," Max said. "It wasn't really any of my business."

"Well, I think what you did was nice. I kind of needed someone to check in on me, you know? It was just hard to accept that."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Max said softly, kicking her feet in the dirt. "So, uh, how are you doing now? I heard about you and Jason breaking up..."


"You're doing it again!" Chrissy laughed and Max grinned. "I'm ok, actually. It's been a bit weird, starting from scratch in the last two months of my high school career, but, I don't know. I feel good."

"That's good." Max nodded her head.

"What about you? I've seen you with that boy, Lucas? Is that his name? He seems nice?"


Max smiled, her entire face lighting up. "Yeah," she said. "He's kind of the best."


"That's good," Chrissy said. "You deserve to be happy."

"Thanks Chrissy. You do too, you know?"


Chrissy looked down, trying to hide her surprise as the words sunk in slowly, softly. No one had ever told her that before.

The noise of rubber screeching on pavement and metal music blaring made both girls look up. They watched Eddie's van tear around the parking lot and pull up in front of them. "Hey, Red!" Eddie yelled affectionately through the open window. "Sorry I'm late!"

Chrissy's heart started beating faster when she saw Eddie. She watched him notice her. She watched his eyes widen. He scrambled to turn the music off. "Hey, Chrissy," he called to her. Was he blushing?

"Hey!" Chrissy called back, heart thumping wildly. What was going on with her?

"Well, there's my ride," Max said. She stood and kicked her skateboard up into her hand. "It was nice talking to you, Chrissy." Max smiled then jogged the few steps to Eddie's van and hopped in.

Chrissy watched Eddie punch Max in the arm playfully and grin while Max scowled at him. She watched Eddie wait for Max to buckle her seatbelt, every bit the attentive older brother. When Max was all set, Eddie leaned across her and waved at Chrissy. Chrissy waved back. Then she watched Eddie and Max peel away, music back on and blaring. She sat alone for a few minutes, waiting for her heart to calm down. Eddie. She hadn't talked to him since that day Jason had hurt him. She'd felt so guilty. But she'd seen him. Every day at lunch she'd find a moment to sneak a look over at his table and watch him. She always wondered what he was saying to make everyone laugh.

Author's Note:

Don't you think that Eddie would have been like a brother to Max if things had gone differently? No one could replace Billy, I know that, but Eddie would be a great friend for her. They're neighbours so it would have started with rides to and from school, and before you know it she'd be into Metallica and he'd be into Kate Bush :) 

Let me know what you think in the comments!