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Eddie Munson knew he was fucked the minute Chrissy Cunningham looked up at him with watery eyes at the end of the ‘Hawkins Middle School’ Talent show. Back then, Eddie hadn’t been sure why she had been crying and if he had more time he would’ve asked if she was okay, If she wanted to talk- But he didn’t have the time, So he gave her his largest smile and thanked her for compliments.
Most of the crowd had frowned or gave them a barely there slow clap that died the minute the band got off stage; Some of the teachers offered him curt nods or assurance that they did well- Eddie had been sure they were lying. Still, When Chrissy Cunningham skipped up to him and said, ‘I think you did really great, Eddie’- His heart soared, And more importantly; He believed her.
He knew he was fucked then because Chrissy Cunningham was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. Eddie had tried to ignore the flutter in his chest when she came up to him and accepted that it was no use at the exact moment he looked into her eyes and subsequently every moment after.
Eddie would see her in the halls, Ponytail swinging back and forth with a large and vibrant smile on her face. She always remained out of reach, Just close enough for him to see the ribbon in her hair- But never close enough to touch.
At the age of thirteen, Eddie realized that he was completely fucked the moment he spoke to Chrissy Cunningham for the first time.
After months of pining for a girl he knew he could never stand a chance with, Eddie Munson landed in the halls of Hawkins High as a dull eyed freshman with shoes a size too big and a leather jacket he had just grown into. Eddie spent two years in something akin to hell while juggling his new found D&D club and practicing guitar every chance he got- He had filled his life to the brim with activities and whatever he had needed to survive.
Then, As enthralling and elegant as The lady of the lake rising from the water; Chrissy Cunningham came walking through the doors. Eddie knew he was fucked then too, When she hurried past him in the halls and straight into her class, Eddie smelt her perfume all day- It was sweet like cotton candy and he was pretty sure it would be burned into his brain for the rest of his life.
All of those times, Eddie had been hopeful that if he gave himself enough distance; If he hooked up with a few girls in the backroom of the hideout- Maybe , Eddie had a chance of moving past this insufferable crush- Maybe , Eddie wouldn’t be fucked forever.
Two years and change later found Eddie sitting across from Chrissy Cunningham on a picnic bench sure to give them both splinters. When he heard her laugh- scratch that - When he made her laugh, Eddie had realized that he was irrevocably fucked; That there would never be anyone more beautiful or more kind- There would never be anyone that Eddie would want more than Chrissy Cunningham.
He fell in love with her then, In the middle of the woods behind a school that hates him- The school that haunts his dreams, But after that spring day; the only time he sees that pile of bricks is when Chrissy Cunningham appears to him with soft eyes and a gentle laugh, She haunts him in his dreams now instead; Almost like an angel, Beautiful, Ethereal and its welcomed.
It's so welcomed.
They spend a lot of time together during spring break and the weeks that follow. Every night he dreams of her and when he gets up in the morning it's never with reluctance because he knows he’ll see her in less than an hour; He knows waking up isn’t a loss because the real Chrissy Cunningham is waiting for him in a crowded hall.
At first it had been difficult, They’d hide away in his trailer and he’d teach her how to roll, Sometimes he’d go and rent a vhs because he promised he’d help Chrissy with expand her film education, Other times Chrissy would hop in his van and they’d drive to lover’s lake- Just to get out into the air.
During those days, When it was getting sweltering and they could barely stand the heat; Eddie learned that he had been right all those years ago, That Chrissy Cunningham had been as majestic as the Lady of the Lake. They’d gone swimming a few times and at first she had been wary- Shy even, Afraid to show her body in any context; But they had talked, And maybe they had talked for hours until the sun went down and the only light they could decipher was the moon and the dull light from Rick’s cabin far behind them.
It was then that Chrissy decided she wanted to swim- In fact she had insisted on it and although he knew why she really had that change of heart; The fact that he could barely see her face let alone her body but he was still happy to oblige, Jumping into the water at full force while she gently made her way in and he thought for the first time that she was more than elegant, More than graceful; She was otherworldly.
Her body- Or really the silhouette of Chrissy Cunningham hadn’t been what made him feel awestruck and weak-kneed, It was her simple grace, The way Chrissy held herself; Especially when she felt joy, The real kind of happiness that seemed to radiate off her like a star. Chrissy was so beautiful on the inside; She was equal parts kind and thoughtful and when she touched him, Eddie knew that was what it felt like to be loved, To be wanted- And that beauty was reflected on that outside.
It wasn’t her body that made her beautiful but still, It didn’t hurt.
-And in those last few weeks of school when everyone had been at their literal boiling point, When Hellfire Club turned into a bunch of boys practically melting in the band room long after the sun went down; Chrissy Cunningham slapped Jason Carver across the face.
If you asked anyone besides the kids standing next to him when it happened; They’d say that slap was well deserved. Eddie Munson had been sitting seven tables away and he still heard the sound of her palm hitting his cheek- Throughout the day the halls were vibrating with gossip, Some people said that Chrissy had some sort of nervous breakdown and others were talking about how he had made some snide comment.
The only thing people knew for sure was that Chrissy Cunningham dumped Jason Carver.
Eddie got the full story hours later, He picked up Chrissy half a block away from her house just as all the street lights flickered to life and drove them to Lover’s Lake. He realized how much Chrissy loved it there after their first time going swimming together and he promised her he would take her back.
-Which he did, Twice a week..Probably more if he could afford the gas.
He packed up one of his clean sheets and a few joints, He knew Chrissy would need it; Whatever happened in the cafeteria had her jumpy and nervous- So much like the girl he first met in the woods that it made his heart ache.
When she got in the van, Chrissy had been wound up so tight that he could barely pull a half hearted laugh out of her. Still, He tried and Eddie spouted joke after joke until she finally cracked and gifted him with her beautiful laugh- A musical blessing so dear to his heart not even Metallica could compare.
Eddie parked in Rick’s driveway, Not that he would mind considering the fact that he’s doing two years in prison and made Eddie promise to ‘house sit’ until he got out- Which he did often because he lived with his uncle who needed sleep and Eddie needed to practice his guitar- But still, Free parking.
He had a habit of forgetting things he actually needs to survive, So Chrissy Cunningham who carried a bottle (If not more) of water with her everywhere was definitely his guardian angel.
Eddie Munson had always done his best to be a gentleman and that includes opening the door for pretty girls that willingly got in his van. Chrissy smiles at him as he does it- Her smile isn't the same as it was yesterday, This time it's a little bit sad and a little bit dull, His heart breaks at the sight of it even as he offers her his hand when she moves to jump out of the van.
She takes his hand gently and his heart flutters in a way that he definitely wishes he could shove deep down- To forget about it the way he tried to forget about her, But once again he knows hes fucked and he’s lost the battle before it begins.
Chrissy looks up at him with those big, Watery eyes and suddenly Eddie is thirteen again and looking at the prettiest girl in school- He has a second chance now, To ask her whats wrong, They have the time and when he does; Eddie tries to show his sincerity in his eyes as they begin their descent down the almost non existent path.
“So Princess Cunningham, Are tears a new fashion trend or is somethin’ up?” He tries to approach the subject gently, But being subtle had never been his strong suit.
Her lip quirks up a tiny bit as she shrugs her backpack higher over her one shoulder- Chrissy always insists on bringing it; After that one time Eddie tried to juggle too many things at once and dropped his tupperware of brownies in the dirt..It hadn’t been closed properly and she never forgot it.
-Actually, She never let him live it down.
So Chrissy Cunningham brings her pink backpack from the year before and they fill it with everything Eddie dropped into his van before he picked her up- It's a nice routine, They’re comfortable with it; Except she never lets him carry the bag no matter how much he begs.
“-Maybe vogue decided that tears are in this year, Eddie.” She counters, Her head cocked to the side and her ponytail falling onto her shoulder as she does so.
He nods his head fervently, “Yeah, You definitely pull it off; You look better than Madonna, Princess.”
She smiles then, A big one- A bright one, A smile so much more genuine than the one she had offered only a few minutes before and then it falls and she sighs- Something long and tired before she speaks again, “..I’m sure you heard, Right?”
Chrissy pauses for a second as if she's picking her words, rearranging her thoughts like children spell out words on the fridge, “-Everyone’s heard, I’ve gotten an earful of people’s opinions but not yours.” Her face is quizzical, Curious as she looks up at him and it leaves him feeling dissected and vulnerable under her gaze- So he keeps walking.
“I don't think my opinion matters all that much, Chrissy.” He admits as he moves a branch out of their way, Letting Chrissy walk underneath it before he does the same.
She offers him silence for a beat, And then two as she drops her backpack into the dirt; “I think your opinion matters plenty, After all- You’re Eddie Munson, Since when do you hold back?”
Eddie tosses her words around in his mind because Chrissy was right, Eddie didn’t stifle himself often. He would shout his beliefs from the top of his lunch table and teach his sheep his ways; Because how else is he supposed to live on after he dances across that stage?
Still, The idea of telling Chrissy his thoughts- Specifically his thoughts on the breakup; On Jason Carver- It feels dangerous.
Chrissy unzips the bag and pulls out his sheet for him to unfold and lay out for them while she rummages around the bag looking for the joints that they both know he shoved in there somewhere.
He grips the sheet in his hands, Flexing his fingers against it as if he’ll find his answers there- He doesn't and yet he opens his mouth anyway, “Why does my opinion matter to you anyway, You make your own choices, Chrissy.”
Eddie doesn’t mean for it to sound so clipped- For it to sound so cold , He actually has no idea where it came from at all but he watches as Chrissy shrinks in on herself- And it's because of him , It leaves Eddie feeling sick with himself; Because Eddie knows he’s not the smartest cookie in the jar- But he never thought he was dumb enough to hurt the girl of his dreams.
Literally, Because he sees her every time he closes his eyes.
She bristles and he watches her shoulders tense as she zips up the bag and motions for him to lay the sheet down and when he finally does, Chrissy sits on the edge like she’s ready to run off if he opens his mouth again; “I didn’t know wanting to hear your opinion was a crime Eddie.”
Eddie plops down beside her and swiftly moves so he’s laying on his back, Staring at the stars- Truthfully, He’d stare at anything if he didn’t have to look at the hurt lining her face, Eddie wasn’t used to apologizing, He didn’t have to do it often; Eddie was often unapologetically himself- He never found the need.
-But he does now and he shows her with all the sincerity he has as he leans up on his elbows, “Im sorry, I just-” He huffs out a breath in exasperation, “I’m not good with this y’know, I don't want to say the wrong thing.”
Chrissy shakes her head and turns herself slightly towards him, “Technically, You already did.”
“I really put my foot in it with that one, Huh?” He remarks, Laying himself back down.
There's a thump beside him as Chrissy lays down as well, Close enough that he can smell her cotton candy perfume once again and he listens to the rustle of the sheets as she nods her head, “Yup, So..A penny for your thoughts, Munson?”
He knows then, That this isn’t a conversation to have while he’s staring up at the stars and not at her face and he scrunches up his nose in annoyance knowing that his chains won't make it easy for him to roll onto his side comfortably, Still, He does it anyway.
His hand finds a home in his hair as he leans against it to look down at her and he smiles as she mirrors his movement, “I think it was pretty fuckin’ metal that you hit him in front of everyone , I’m pretty sure people could hear that slap in China.”
Chrissy nods her head as a playful smile paints her lips, “That's it, My slap was iconic?”
“-Well, Carver definitely had it coming, You might not know this but you just fulfilled the dream of losers everywhere.” He continued, sitting up to reach the small baggie that held his beloved joints and his lip quirked up as Chrissy reached into her sweater to offer him the lighter.
He pulls a joint from the bag and flicks the lighter to life and he commends himself for the fact that he barely reacts when Chrissy holds out her hand for him to help pull her up. Eddie knows she’d usually do it herself but today is different- Today Chrissy is more than tired; So he holds her hand in his and helps her gain leverage to sit up comfortably beside him- He even lets her pluck the joint from his fingers.
Eddie watches her take a drag and smirks at the sight- A few months ago she would’ve coughed up half a lung, “I think I’m proud of you, For doing that- It took a lot of guts, Cunningham.”
She blows out the smoke as she offers the joint back to him and he tries not to acknowledge the lipgloss staining the paper, “It wasn’t that brave, I should’ve broken up with him forever ago..You helped me realize that.”
He’s shocked at her words and tries to swallow them down- Just like he's been trying to suppress his crush on Chrissy since the eighth grade; It isn’t working now and if he's being honest it probably hasn’t been working ever- But he knows it's no longer meaningless infatuation, This isn’t a crush on a pretty girl; He’s in love with her and now that he knows it; Now that he realizes it, Eddie knows he can't go back.
“Really? And here I thought I was just good for the occasional smoke.” He tries, Taking a long drag and offering it back to her and as her fingers brush against his; Eddie realizes it's getting a lot harder to ignore all these feelings.
She nods her head gently, Barely a movement as she brings the joint to her lips- He watches the faint light illuminate parts of her face before it fades away and she's releasing smoke as she speaks, “Don't be like that Eddie, You know you’re important- You’re the best part of my day.”
Before he can respond- Or even think of a proper response, Chrissy continues; “When we first met, I had been so scared- Everything I said or did seemed to be wrong and every time Jason spoke to me it was like pouring salt in all my wounds-” She stops to take another drag before handing it off to him, Which he accepted gratefully, “I thought that I would be stuck like that and maybe I was just destined to be tossed between Jason and my mother, That there was no other way.”
“-And then you bought drugs from me?” He offers, A wry smile on his lips.
Chrissy tilts her head as if to let him know that he was close, But he hadn’t exactly landed the point; “-And then I spoke to you.” She clarifies with a large grin, “We talked and you were gentle- You were kind and you were not what I thought you’d be.”
“So you’ve said Cunningham.”
He stubs out the joint on the bottom of his shoe and watches her as she speaks, Something about her changes; She seems more lively and it makes his heart sing, “You showed me another way, That not everyone had words so harsh and somewhere along the way..I realized that you helped me see that I’m worth something, That I could be someone.”
“I think you could do just about anything, Princess.” He promises, Because it's true; He thinks the world of Chrissy Cunningham and if she told him today that she wanted to run for president he’d go make hundreds of pins to support her.
“You say it so easily Eddie, You say it like you believe it.” Her words are wistful and he squints at her as he tries to understand.
“-Because I do believe it, I believe in you.” He’s being sincere, As honest as he could possibly be; More vulnerable than he’d ever let himself be before.
She shuffles an inch closer, Knocking her shoulder against his gently; “Do you know what Jason said to me? The reason I broke up with him?”
Eddie doesn’t think before responding, He’s pleasantly high now and toeing the line between sober and unfiltered so when he opens his mouth he’s pleased to know he didn’t outright declare his love for her instead, “Actually, No, Everyone was saying something different and I didn’t wanna hear it from anyone else but you.. It's your story to tell, Princess.”
“At first he was just making small comments, Things he thought wouldn’t upset me too much..Sometimes he gets like that around his team, At first he had been poking my sides and talking about my prom dress- How he wanted to make sure I still fit so he didn't have to get a new tux.” She's shrinking in on herself again and Eddie isn’t sober enough to keep himself from gently taking her hand in reassurance.
They’ve talked about it before and Eddie’s been helping her as much as he can. Chrissy seems to be doing better and he tries to keep an eye out in return, To never press but to simply help- Because he wants her to be okay, Still, He knows its not easy.
So Eddie nods, To let her know she doesn’t have to explain it further- He doesn’t want her falling into that headspace, Especially when she’s supposed to be having a good time; Originally that's what all this was for and even with the somber mood- He’s glad shes here with him.
“-He started going on about how I shouldn’t be going to college, That we were supposed to get married out of highschool and that a degree would be pointless for me; He wouldn’t even acknowledge the fact that I want to be a writer- He said it was arbitrary .” She continues, Her voice tight.
Eddie snorts, Because although everything she just said was awful and he feels for her more than he can articulate; Jason Carver isn’t smart enough to use a word like that without pulling out the dictionary, “Does Carver even know what arbitrary mean?”
She shakes her head and her ponytail almost whips him in the face, “He definitely doesn't.”
He raises an eyebrow at her, “He tried to crush your dreams and you slapped him?”
“Yup, Right across the face; With my class ring on and everything.”
-And then Eddie is cackling and he can barely breathe because Chrissy Cunningham slapped Jason Carver across the face in front of the entire school and she's accrediting most of that bravery as influenced by him. He’s laughing because a few months ago he was so sure that Chrissy would walk across that stage and then walk down the aisle a few months later.
Now though? Now Chrissy is sitting beside him at Lover’s Lake and they’ve been pleasantly smoking for half an hour- He’s got a good buzz going and she started laughing right after him- And he feels happy .
Maybe the girl of his dreams isn’t in love with him, Maybe he won't get the girl- But he does get this night where Eddie knows that somewhere across town Jason Carver is icing his face while Chrissy Cunningham sits with the town freak on one of his old bedsheets under the stars.
Their laughter dies down and when he finally catches his breath, When his eyes meet hers; He can see something there- And it's not distant this time, It's not sad or dark, It's not dull; Chrissy isn’t wearing vogues hottest look of tears- This was mischief, This was joy, Almost a challenge as she rises to her knees and says, “Do you wanna go swimming with me?”
If Eddie had been drinking one of those waters that Chrissy had so graciously brought; He’s sure he would’ve choked, But he wasn’t and suddenly his tongue felt dry, Yet he still nodded with a dopey grin and watched her silhouette as she shed her sweater and then her skirt.
Its long past sunset, Eddie had made sure to pick her up just as the sky was losing the last of its light; They both had time to change into their swim clothes on the off chance they actually decided to get in the water- Although the likelihood had been getting higher the closer they got to summer vacation, The heat so suffocating that everyone in Hawkins was searching for relief- Even close to midnight where it barely cooled a few degrees.
There's the soft sounds of Chrissy stepping into the lake before the splash of her making a full on dive and Eddie doesn’t hesitate to rip off his shirt and pull off his shoes before he’s following after her, Jumping into the water and almost releasing an out right moan from the cool relief of the water.
When he finally comes up for air, Chrissy is already there in front of him- So close that he can actually see the features of her face illuminated by the moon and she's so beautiful, So ethereal and akin to a goddess that Eddie finds it hard to speak and his only successful attempt was to let out a croaked, “Hi.”
She laughs, Something loud and glorious that echoes around them “Hi.”
He pushes his hair from his face and Chrissy scrunches up her nose as she moves to fix his bangs, One hand gently placed on his cheek as the other brushes against his forehead; “Can you even see like this, Eddie?”
“-Well y’know, When I’m dry I can actually see fine- But like this I'm like a blind bat.” He clarifies, Fighting his blush and thanking God that they’re in the dark.
Her hand lands on his shoulder for a moment as she looks at him contemplatively, “You look more like a wet rat to me.”
Eddie gasps in faux offense, “I look like a wet rat?! You wound me Cunningham!”
He moves to splash her only a bit and she splashes him back in full force which has him squinting at her in determination- Because this was war , “Take it back!”
Chrissy screeches and swims back a few feet in an attempt to escape, Throwing as much water as she could at him in her defense, “Never! You look like a wet rat and I’m sticking to this statement!”
Eddie Munson was far from athletic but he had long enough limbs that he pushed through the splashes and got to Chrissy in record time- He knew she saw him coming and wasn’t too surprised when he got an arm under her legs and cradled her in a successful effort to pick her up, “Take it back or perish, Princess!”
She looked up at him in false rage, “Never, Munson! You’ll never catch me alive!”
He can’t hold in his laughter, Practically snorting at her words; “-Chrissy, I did catch you, You’re literally in my arms.”
Her head whips around to look down at the water barely below her and then up at his face where she poked his cheek playfully, “You still look like a rat that drowned in the tub.”
Eddie throws his head back in a groan, “That's it Cunningham! This is on you!”
She shrieks as he drops her back into the water and he full bodily cackles as she comes up disgruntled with a loosened ponytail and a playful frown, “That wasn’t fair, Eddie!”
He’s still trying to catch his breath and He can barely keep his eyes open in between his fits of laughter and before he can even register it- Before he can even comprehend what's happening, Chrissy is jumping onto him and pushing him under the water.
Never in his wildest dreams had Eddie ever imagined that Chrissy Cunningham would’ve latched onto him Koala style- That she would’ve done it barely dressed and wet, But she did and she pulled him all the way under water and never even let go as he rose up and she only made herself more comfortable, Her arms finding a home around his neck.
They’re faces are too close for his comfort, Chrissy just broke up with her boyfriend and Eddie is doing all he can to be respectful- To be a friend . The problem is that Chrissy isn’t looking at him like she just wants to be friends and it's definitely confusing and he’s not exactly sure what to do so he decides to talk.
“Ya comfortable there, Cunningham?” He retorts as he moves his arms to support her- Very aware of the placement of his hands- He's trying to be respectful, It's hard in this position.
She nods, A dopey smile on her face now too; “Yeah, I am- Got a problem with that, Munson?”
Eddie shakes his head almost immediately- Because he in fact does not have a problem, He’s absolutely obsessed with it actually, He’d keep her here forever if he could; “It's just- Uh, I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable here.”
Chrissy blinks at him, Once and then twice before she speaks, “Well I dunno Eddie, Took me a few months to get here, I think I’ll stay.”
This isn’t the first time Chrissy Cunningham has caught him by surprise today and it probably won't be the last- After all, He has a few hours before her parents will even know she’s gone, “I’m sorry- What? Because last I checked you were perfectly comfortable sitting seven tables away from me and now you wanna be on my lap?”
Chrissy quite literally laughs in his face, It's not harsh or mean like you’d see in a movie- Its amused, She has a small smile and it's more of a giggle than anything; It has Eddie frozen, His mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water before he chokes out; “-Please Cunningham, Be kind and Rewind.”
-And Just when Eddie Munson doesn’t think his life couldn’t be any better than it was in that moment, Chrissy Cunningham shocks him again; “Well Munson, Sometimes when a girl likes a boy it might take her a long time to get the.. Courage to say something.”
Instead of zeroing in on the fact that Chrissy Cunningham just told him that she likes him, Because that seriously is too much for Eddie to thoroughly process; He focuses on the fact that she just said she lacked courage , “You Chrissy Cunningham, Queen of Hawkins High, Had to build Courage?”
Her face is one of unamusement and it's only then he realizes he hasn’t actually said anything helpful, So he clears his throat and builds his own courage because- Well, It's Chrissy Cunningham and she’s out of his league; “Sometimes.. It takes even longer for a guy to build up courage too.”
Chrissy nods slowly as if processing this information before she meets his eyes again, “So, Does it take them months to kiss a girl too?”
In less than a second, He gives her the answer she had been looking for- Because no , Eddie Munson doesn’t need to be asked twice to kiss the girl of his dreams and Maybe it was when she looked at him like she was daring him to kiss her- Or maybe it was when his lips finally met hers but that night when he finally got to kiss Chrissy Cunningham, He knew he was truly fucked- He realized it for the last time that there would never be anyone else.
Just this girl.
His very own lady of the lake, Chrissy Cunningham.