Against all odds || Stranger Things 4 | Hellcheer

Chapter 39

Eddie shifts uncomfortably on the floor. Chrissy nudges his shoulder with her nose as he resumes stroking her hair. Now that the euphoria of the moment has passed, his guts are coiling painfully. The fear is back and it brought shame with it.

"I'm sorry, this wasn't, uh...what I had in mind for our first time together..."

He can't see her face in the dark, only the outlines of her body as she lifts herself on her elbow and searches for his cheek. He imagines a kind smile stretching her lips. Her breath caresses his face and he finds himself desperate for her to kiss him, to tell him he wasn't a disappointment. He slips his arms around her to pull her closer. Their kiss is soft and lazy, heartwarming.

"When this is all over, I want the full package," giggles Chrissy once they part. "Petals on the bed, candles, everything!"

He snuggles his nose in the curve of her neck to kiss her skin and murmurs.

"Anything you want, hun."

He takes a deep breath, drowning in her scent, and allows himself another kiss. On her neck, the line of her jaw, and finally her lips. He could lock the door and make love to her until the others deal with Vecna. He could take her away in Harrington's car and just drive as far as he can. But that's not what she wants...is it?

"You still wanna, uh...hunt Vecna?"

He loosens his embrace to let her lean back. She must be staring at him, he thinks he can see her eyes gleaming. He knows the answer before she says yes.

"Okay then..."

He digs deep inside to connect with the jolly and careless part of him, something he so desperately needs to get through the rest of the day.

"There's one thing, though..." he adds. "We need to have a serious discussion about your DnD character 'cause you as a bard is a goddamn waste. You, my lady, are a badass rogue with probably some elvish blood."

She bursts into laughter. At least that's something he's really good at, making her laugh.

***

The afterglow vanishes when Chrissy steps back into the editing room. Even though the gate is concealed behind a wall of furniture, the prickles in her neck are back. Nothing as strong as when she first came here, but it can only be a matter of time.

Eddie lets go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders, careful not to move her headphones. She answers his silent question with a smile. She doesn't even know what it means, only that it seems to grow in intensity until Vecna attacks. After all, she didn't feel any tingle right after her last vision, yet she could feel it from all the way to Eddie's trailer when Fred died. She hasn't told him about it, too scared he might think she's contaminated by Vecna's evil mind. She bets on the fact that it will go away once Vecna is dead and that nobody needs to know. In the meantime, she can try and use it to alert the group that another attack is near.

She doesn't get much time to dwell on it, Dustin assigns her to help Max wrap aluminum foil around a large antenna that now stands in the middle of the room. The two girls exchange a look and smile at each other.

"So you found a way to convince Eddie to let you go in?"

"I guess," replies Chrissy, blushing at the memory of his touch.

She feels foolish for what they've done, although not enough to regret it. She knows this will be a powerful weapon against Vecna if he attacks again, which reminds her she wanted to talk about it with Max.

"I used your trick, you know," says the girl once Chrissy bring the subject. "This morning, when I was in my vision, I thought about a happy memory and I was able to hide in there until I heard the music."

Chrissy's relief leaves her stuttering and eases the knot in her guts. The more they talk, the more she realizes how much fight Max has inside of her. She's doing it to help save Hawkins and her friends, but also to avenge her brother and Chrissy allows herself to believe they can do it. Truly.