Work Text:
(tw: ed)
Chrissy woke up in a puddle of sweat, again. She lay in her soft peach coloured duvet and replayed her nightmare. The same set, she not being able to fit into her dress and her mom screaming at her. And sometimes she thought her mother was literally tormenting her for no reason. Because she looked skinny. She was skinny, as skinny as they come.
She got out of her bed and tip-toed towards her mirror. She was wearing a pink shorts-tank top set. And her legs had a big gap between them. And she could see her collarbone and some of her upper ribs. But, why would her mother say such mean things to her? How skinny did she have to get to get her approval?
“Chrissy? Are you up?? CHRISSY??” her voice sneered through her heart.
“Ye-yes, mom, be down in a sec,” she squeaked out.
Today was cheer practice. Her favourite time of the day. She felt so light on her feet she believed she could float away far from Hawkins. Far from her mother.
She adorned her pretty cheer outfit and Jason’s letterman jacket and put her blonde hair into a cute ponytail, wearing light blue eye-shadow. She was looking really pretty.
She smiled and was ready for another day.
A new day, a new beginning, right?
“Good morning, Chrissy, have a good night’s sleep?” her father chimed.
Chrissy smiled and answered chipperly, “yeah! Good morning, dad,”
Sometimes she felt like if she lied enough, she could make it true.
She took two hot pancakes off the counter and sat on the breakfast table. As she reached for the maple syrup, her mother looked at her plate.
“Are you sure you want to eat that? God Chrissy, you’re looking even fatter than yesterday!”
Chrissy winced and showed a weak smile, “Yeah, mom, I’m sorry, I don’t know why I took them, sorry,”
“Oh, honey, don’t be sorry to me, be sorry to yourself, look what you’re doing to your body! Am I right dear?” she turned to her husband.
“Oh, well, I think she looks beautiful,” her father managed to get some words out before being cut off by mother, “oh shut up, dear, you’re only saying that because she’s your daughter. If she keeps on eating like a cow, no one’s gonna wanna marry her and then she’s going to be a burden on you, on us! Heavens! Chrissy, please, take care of yourself! If you’re actually hungry, drink some water, honey,”
Chrissy nodded and put her untouched plate into the sink. She filled a bottle of water and walked out the door.
Walking to school (her mother’s words echoed in her mind “Walk!! Burns off calories!! Look at yourself! Do you want to be like this your whole life??”), she silently wept. This was almost an everyday routine. Mother’s constant nagging towards her body had made her lose her happy moments. Chrissy wiped her tears as she approached the school.
“Hey Chrissy,” “Hiya Chrissy,” “Good morning, Chrissy, looking amazing today!”
These words meant nothing to her as she was demeaned in her house every day. What’s this gonna do?
(end of tw (?))
--
“Do you have maybe something stronger?”
Eddie was concerned for Chrissy but he had to sell his stash to even out to his dealer.
“Um, yes, of course, anything for our queen of Hawkins,” he bowed.
“Stop, I am not,” Chrissy chuckled.
“You’re lying to yourself, Chrissy Cunningham. It doesn’t suit you,” Eddie smiled.
“You’re making me blush, guitarist of The Corroded Coffin. I do not not like it,”
He grinned, “Okay! How about you meet me after the championship game today. I think you’re gonna play some part in it,”
“You are correct,”
“Okay, I would be waiting here, then we will go to my house, if- if that’s okay with you?”
“Oh, yeah its fine, I don’t mind,”
Chrissy smiled a real smile in a really long time that day.
--
Chrissy and Eddie sneaked out of the woods and made to Eddie’s trailer without being noticed by anyone.
“Are you sure your boyfriend and his followers are not going to come to my trailer and kill me, right?” Eddie laughed, but was serious.
“NO! Well, I don’t think so? Jason called me for the after party but I said I was feeling sick, maybe he won’t call my home line? But, yeah, I don’t know, it’s a very slim chance, guitarist,”
“Chrissy, this does not help at all, I hope you know that, but it would be worth it if the last face I see before dying is yours,”
“For a D&D freak, you are surprisingly flirty,” Chrissy giggled.
“Well, what can I say, company changes people,”
“You are making me blush more than Jason has ever done in his life,”
Eddie fished out his special stash of a new drug from Rick which he was saving for himself. He thought it would be cool to share it with Chrissy. Eddie was feeling this intense need to see her happy and smiling he could not understand. She had a boyfriend. Jason. The perfect Jason. But she wanted to hangout with him, so there must be something she liked.
Eddie looked in the mirror and fixed his hair for the first time before getting high with someone. He blushed. He fixed his jacked and licked his lips (natural lip-gloss).
“Now, I have to remind you that this is my first time using this, but I do know this,”
“And that is?”
“It is stronger than pot, you just smoke it like normal pot,” Eddie explained.
“Cool, what’s it called?” Chrissy asked.
“The Chrissy Cunningham,”
“OH MY GOD, STOP,” Chrissy screamed in delight, a pink blush rushing to her cheeks.
“If it makes you this happy? Never.”
“You ready?”
“yes”
--
“Eddie?” Chrissy whispered.
“Yeah?” Eddie whispered back.
“Where are we?”
“In our trailer, Chrissy, how did you forget this easily?” Eddie laughed.
“Oh, my god, Eddie, when did we buy a trailer together?”
And they burst into laughter.
--
“Did you know that I haven’t graduated in like three years?”
“Yeah, but it’s okay,”
“Thank you for not treating me like a freak, everyone does,”
“everyone’s boring, you’re wonderful”
--
“Eddie, do you think I’m fat?” Chrissy asked, taking the bong from his hand.
“Um, no, you’re not fat. Why do you ask?” he said, lighting it for her.
“My mom thinks I am very fat. And now I think I am,” she takes a deep puff of The Chrissy Cunningham.
“Chrissy, you do know that being fat is not a bad thing, right? And aside from that, objectively speaking, you are not in the least bit fat.” Eddie said, holding Chrissy’s hand.
“But my mom always says it like it’s the worst thing in the world, I can’t take it sometimes, you know? That’s why I asked for drugs, so I could forget it for some time, but it made its way back to me. I can’t never escape it, can I ?” Chrissy sniffled.
“Oh my god, Chrissy, look at me,” Eddie cupped her hands around her small face, “your mom doesn’t know what the fuck is she saying. Sorry for my French,” he chuckled, making Chrissy giggle, “but it’s the truth. I think she’s just projecting her shit onto you; you don’t have to pay heed to that. I know it’s constant but you have to do this one thing I used to do whenever I had to stay late in Mrs. Click’s class for getting a F in her class. You listen to her, nod your head and do what you fucking want anyways, also, its your last year yeah?” Chrissy nodded, “its just these few months and then you’re a free bird. Free to do whatever you want. Whoever you want to be,”
“Thank you for saying that, my guitarist. Also, can I say one thing?” Chrissy smiled in the corner of her mouth.
“Say two things if you want, I won’t mind,”
“You really should’ve listened to Mrs. Click, if you did that you wouldn’t have to repeat your year,” she laughed.
“But then I wouldn’t have been able to get high with you,” Eddie said, taking the bong from her.
“Oohh,” Chrissy nodded and laid her head onto Eddie’s shoulder and closed her eyes. She felt an intense rush of calm into her nerves that she longed for so long she had almost forgotten how peaceful it was, to not have the constant nagging of her mother’s shrill sound drilling her brain.
“I like getting high with you, Chrissy Cunningham. It’s a pleasure,” Eddie whispered, but Chrissy had already gone to sleep. Eddie tried to synchronize his breathing to hers, to feel closer to her.