Against all odds || Stranger Things 4 | Hellcheer

Chapter 46

"How long am I supposed to keep going?" shouts Lucas from the living room.

Eddie rolls his eyes.

"Just kiss her already!"

He counts to ten before lifting himself from the bed and joining Lucas. He finds him leaning over Red and for a moment thinks the two love birds are making out, but he reconsiders when Lucas stands up and turns panicked eyes at him.

"It's not working," he stresses.

But before Eddie can think of something, his attention gets caught by his full name being shouted outside by a girl who's voice he doesn't recognize. With a frown, he goes to the windows next to the front door to peek an eye. The feds are manhandling two teenagers in the lane between Red's house and his trailer. He has never seen the boy who seems to be about Dustin's age, but the girl looks familiar. She keeps yelling at the agent holding her she's here to see her "friend, Eddie Munson".

It's the green scrunchy in her hair that connects the dots. She's part of Chrissy's cheer squad and she was with her when Jason broke his guitar! Eddie doesn't think twice. He's been through enough shit alone to know Chrissy will need all the support she can get to recover from all this mess. People who actually know the whole story. If this girl is her friend, she can help.

He opens the door and skips down the porch. The girl sees him and shouts his name.

"They're with us," says Eddie to the feds. "They know what's going on, they were on look out to make sure nobody was coming near the trailer. You found them in the woods, right?"

One of the agents nods. Lucky guess.

"I don't think you want them to go back in town and tell the good people of Hawkins about the gate that opens on hell."

The agent purses his lips and releases the girl. The other does the same with the boy that looks a little too confused to Eddie's liking. At least the girl is playing her part and acting like she owns her right to be here. Thankfully, the feds are oblivious enough and within seconds they're escorted back into the house and instructed to stay inside.

"Sissi," squeals the boy. "What happened to her?"

"Damn it, Munson," says the girl. "You better have a good explanation for this!"

Lucas stares at the newcomers with wide eyes then turns to Eddie.

"What on earth are they doing here?!"

***

Eddie is jealous. He's not proud of it, but the feeling is undeniable. If he was the one who went missing for half of spring break, he's not sure anyone except Wayne would have been worrying about him. Not to the point of sneaking past an FBI check point. But Chrissy doesn't come home for two–or is it three–days and half the city goes looking for her.

The girl with the green scrunchy introduced her as Chrissy's best friend–Lucas was too stressed out to recognize her, but now he nods at every name she mentions like he knows who she's talking about. She quickly explains how the news about Patrick's death just went out on the news and how the police are doubling their patrols to find Chrissy because everybody is freaking out. The boy, Chrissy's brother, has been going all around town with their father, doing searches in the forest, but because of the two dead students, he's not allowed to participate anymore. Eddie remembers how devastated Chrissy was when she couldn't find her dad home. If she knew he was out there looking for her!

His jealousy spikes again. His old man wouldn't have cared one bit...He has no doubt the reunion would have looked nothing alike neither.

"I should probably warn you about something," says Scrunchy, turning to Eddie. "Dean and Jason are pretty messed up...They've been telling everyone that uh...That you did it."