Chapter Text
The first time Eddie Munson realized he was in love with Chrissy Cunningham was when he was in eighth grade and she was in seventh.
It was the school talent show. He took the stage, guitar slung over his small trembling shoulder. He was so little back then. So… not terrifying, unlike how he looked today. His heart felt like it was about to burst from its cavity. He worried it would jump out, and he would die, in front of his entire school. It wasn’t death that scared him though, he didn’t have all that much to live for, no, it was the shame of dying in front of everyone. The irony of the frontman for a band with a name like Corroded Coffin dying of stage fright.
“Don’t worry, man, Hawkins won’t know what hit ‘em.” Said Gareth, the band’s drummer. Reassuringly, he pat Eddie on the back. Eddie forced a smile.
“Yeah, we’re gonna rock their socks off.” He said, half-kiddingly, half-trying to drum up some enthusiasm.
He took a deep breath, shut his eyes tight, trying to forget the blinding lights, and the crowd of mean middle schoolers watching, and began strumming his guitar. He sang… well… screamed his lyrics as loud as he could, his shaky voice straining to hit the notes.
A strange noise brought Eddie back to the auditorium. He reopened his eyes, and suddenly, his heart sank to the bottom of his stomach, like an anchor hitting the sea floor. They were laughing. Everyone. Even the band geeks, the math nerds, and the theater losers. For once, at Hawkins Middle, the entire crowd was unified. Unified in their mockery of Eddie and his friends.
Except, there was one person who wasn't laughing. A short thin girl sat in the front row, a kind crooked smile on her face. She clapped along to the beat. Her blonde hair was tied into two pigtails, and she wore a cheerleader’s uniform. She was a grade below Eddie back then, though, not anymore seeing as he’d stayed back a year, yet even he knew who she was. She was Chrissy Cunningham, the most popular girl at Hawkins Middle, and there she was, smiling and clapping along to his music.
Suddenly, Eddie felt a burst of euphoric confidence. It didn’t matter what the rest of those jackasses thought of his music. Chrissy Cunningham believed in him, and that was all that mattered.
After the show, he slipped out the backdoor into the parking lot, hoping to avoid the jock bullies who loved to torment him. Out there, Chrissy sat on the curb, the cold wind bristling the hair on her arms. At the sound of the door shutting, she glanced up at Eddie and grinned that lopsided grin of hers.
“You were great out there.” She said.
“You think so?” Eddie asked, still shocked that a girl like Chrissy would ever like his music.
“Yeah. So… raw and powerful. It’s like you said everything I’m too scared to say.” She said, slowly and thoughtfully, as if she was trying to pick out the exact right words.
“You look cold,” Eddie said, his eyes glancing down to the goosebumps lining her exposed flesh. He took off his jacket, a thrift store denim jacket he’d covered in homemade patches, and handed it to her.
“You don’t have to do that.” She said and tried to hand the jacket back to him.
“Can’t let the head cheerleader freeze to death, can I? Varsity basketball would lose even more games than they already do.” He said, a mischievous twinkle in his dark brown eyes.
“Well… alright.” She draped the jacket over her shoulders.
“You were pretty great out there,” Eddie said, sitting down on the curb next to her. “Usually, I’m not all that into the whole ‘ra-ra, go team” thing, but you make it cool.”
“Really? I messed up a few of those jumps.” Chrissy remarked.
“It didn’t look like that to me,” Eddie said.
A car pulled into the lot. It was expensive, the kind of car Eddie could only imagine being able to afford in his wildest rockstar fantasies. It honked loudly.
“That’s my mom,” Chrissy said, sheepishly rubbing her neck. She pulled herself off the pavement, and started walking to the car, then suddenly stopped, remembering the jacket. She ran back to Eddie and handed it back to him.
“If it’s not too much work… could you make me a tape?” Chrissy asked, her cheeks red. Eddie couldn’t tell if it was from the cold, or nerves.
“What kind of tape?” Eddie said, furrowing her brows in confusion.
“More music that says everything I’m too scared to say.” She smiled.
“Aye aye captain.” He raised his hand to his forehead in a curt salute.
She sprinted off to her mother’s car, leaving Eddie alone, with a big stupid lovestruck on his face.
And that was the day Eddie first knew he was in love with Chrissy Cunningham.
~~~~~
That Monday, Eddie slipped a cassette tape loaded with Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath into Chrissy’s locker. “Everything you’re too afraid to say” was scrawled across the front in messy black sharpie.
Bang! Something slammed against the locker next to Chrissy’s. Eddie flinched and turned to see what it was. There, Jason stood, only twelve, but already as terrifying as a man twice his age, his fingers curled into a fist.
“You trying to steal something from Chrissy’s locker, Munson?” Jason shouted, his eyebrows furrowed, and his lips curved into a severe frown.
“No way, man,” Eddie said, cowering in fear.
“Then what the hell are you doing at my girlfriend’s locker, you freak?” He said. He took a step closer to Eddie. Eddie took a step back.
“We’re… we’re friends, man.” Eddie stammered.
“Bullshit, Munson. You really expect me to believe Chrissy’s friends with a reject like you?” He stepped even closer. Eddie stepped back.
“It’s… it’s the truth, Jason, I swear.” He said. A tight knot of fear formed in his chest. Sweat pooled down his forehead.
“Empty your pockets.” Jason said, taking one more step. Eddie tried to step back, but his back hit the cold metal of the lockers. There was nowhere left to run.
“Empty your pockets, you filthy fucking thief.” Jason roared. Eddie stared, wide-eyed and pale-faced, so afraid he couldn’t even speak.
“You slow or something?” Jason said, yanking Eddie’s jacket off. He shook it upside down. Coins, D-20s that shimmered like little gemstones, and a few receipts spilled out. Jason kneeled down and picked up one of the dice. He examined it, unsure of what it was.
“The fuck is this, Munson? One of Chrissy’s earrings?” He shoved the dice in Eddie’s face.
Eddie shook his head. “It’s a twenty-sided dice. For D&D.”
“D&D?” Jason laughed cruelly.
“Dungeons and Dragons. It’s a tabletop roleplaying game.”
“A tabletop roleplaying game? Jesus, Munson, how old are you, seven?” Jason tossed the dice to the ground.
What followed wasn’t the first beating Eddie had experienced in his life, nor would it be the last, but it was certainly one he would remember the most vividly. From that day on, Eddie learned two very important things. Firstly, he had to be strong. If he was mean and scary, nobody would dare beat him again. And secondly, he had to bury his feelings for Chrissy Cunningham deep down, or else it would mean total ruin.