Against all odds || Stranger Things 4 | Hellcheer

Chapter 29

Eddie inhales deeply from his joint and holds his breath until his lungs burn. Chrissy is sitting next to him on the couch, curled up around his arm, her head resting on his shoulder. Since the walkie-talkie conversation with the rest of the group when she told what happened with Vecna - part of it -, she's been awfully quiet.

He hates seeing her like that. Hates that she won't tell him what Vecna used against her this time. They should never have done that, it was too dangerous! And he can tell Chrissy is getting more confident about her ability to slip through Vecna's fingers. That too, is dangerous.

The fact that Harrington was awestrucked from learning what she had done probably didn't help. Dustin praised her too, but somehow it didn't bother Eddie as much... He understands the advantage it gives them now they have confirmed Vecna attacks from that creepy house - Steve and Robin who were on night watch there saw the same surge of light - and can be tricked.

But just because she was able to hide in one of her own memories this time doesn't mean Vecna has lost his power over her.

Eddie exhales in a heavy sigh. He needs the drugs to kick in faster before all the horrific images popping in his head drives him insane. He searches for Chrissy's knee and gives it a squeeze. He wishes he could touch her skin, feel her warmth. Maybe it would help settle him down.

He tries to think back about what they did earlier on the couch, but all that comes to his mind is her trance-frozen face. He takes another draw, holds the smoke in, tries to remember the fierce kiss she gave him just after she escaped Vecna. It works for a second, but when she pulls back her eyes are bleeding.

Eddie shuts his eyes and pinches his nose, shaking his head as if it could make the mental image go away.

"Something's wrong?"

"This whole thing is wrong, Chris," he sighs before pulling on his joint.

"I'm sorry...I got you into this...If I never came to you..."

He exhales before turning to her, frowning.

"Don't say that, you're the best fucking thing that happened to me in a long time."

His blunt honesty can mean only one thing : the weed is starting to work its wonders.

***

Chrissy let go of Eddie's arm to take a look at him, heart racing. His reply came without an ounce of hesitation and from the way he's staring back at her, she can tell he's genuine. It makes her want to believe he would never react like Vecna's version of Eddie did.

She couldn't find the courage to tell him the first part of her vision earlier, with everybody else listening through the walkie. She couldn't find it neither when it was just the two of them again...

But since then, she has seen how he wouldn't allow himself to smoke his joint until she assured him there was no way Vecan could attack twice in a row - which was just an educated guess based on the fact that it has so far always waited at least half a day between two strikes - and now this...

She must have inhaled a bit of smoke to be doing such thing. Somehow, it feels like the only way to be sure. Eddie's confused face disappears from her sight as she pulls her top over her head, then reappears all red and open mouthed. Before she can second guess what she's doing, she takes off her sweatpants and stands up in nothing but a 15-years-old cotton underwears.

Her reason switches back on when "Uh..." is all Eddie can say. This is ridiculous. So stupid!

"Chris...I don't think we should, uh...Jesus, I'm high, I'm not-"

"I'm ugly," she blurts out.

"What?"

"I'm ugly. I've got saddlebags and me front teeth are too big and-and my breast is too small and-"

"I don't care."

He's standing up, hands moving up to her waist but stopping before he touches her.

"You could be missing a leg, I wouldn't care, hun."

She shivers. Hun. Not baby, like Jason used to call her. She wonders if Eddie knows how much she'd hate it if he'd chosen to call her that, if he did it on purpose. It might even be more beautiful if he didn't. Somehow, that simple pet name has more impact than the rest of the sentence.

His fingers brush against her skin, she shivers again.

"It's your laugh," he says.

His hands trails further to settle on the small of her back, arms pulling her close.

"It's your laugh that got me."

She would have let him do anything he wanted to her after that, but when he took her to the bedroom and they both lied in bed in their underwear, they only cuddled. The feeling of his skin on hers as she pressed herself against his left side awoke a delightful tightness in her loins. But he kept his hands to a decent level, and so did she. It felt right that way. Comfortable and soothing.

"Eddie?"

"Hm?

"You're the best thing that happened to me too."

He squeezes her, kisses the top of her head. She traces the tattoos on his chest with her fingertips, feeling stronger than ever. Vecna will not be able to take that away from her, to make her doubt the depth of their bond. It'll pay for making her question Eddie's feelings in the first place. 

***

Eddie's eyes snap open as he takes a sharp breath. He's disoriented, head spinning, heart pounding. As far as nightmares go, this was a nasty one! Monsters snatching his uncle and taking him through a red gate that pulses and squelches like raw flesh, Chrissy falling down from it, broken and bloodied...Thankfully, the images are already blurring away from his memory but the fear stays as vivid. Could he be under Vecna's curse too?

When he lifts his hand to his face, looking for any sign of nosebleed - although the only wetness he finds is sweat -, he notices the arm crossing his chest. Right. He's with Chrissy, in Reefer's house. In the darkness, he can only percieve the movement of her body lifting up and down at a slow pace. They're fine. They're both fine.

He forces his tensed muscle to relax, taking long deep breaths. They're fine. He becomes more conscious of the weight of Chrissy's head on the curve of his shoulder, of her breath on his skin, of her legs tangled with his. They are fine.

He craves for a cigarette but he doesn't want to wake up Chrissy. He runs his hand along her arm, shifting to his side as he reaches her shoulder and pulls her closer. She sighs in her sleep.

They are fine.