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Chrissy Cunningham had endured psychological warfare, beat down demobats, saved a girl younger and much braver than she’d ever be, and played a major role in saving her new friends and her hometown.
So why the hell was she so damn scared to be under the weak spotlight of the Hawkins High auditorium stage?
Chrissy’s head gave a soft thunk as it hit the top of the auditorium seat. She took a deep inhale, but when she exhaled, it felt more exasperated than relaxing. What the hell was she doing here?
She blamed Eddie, really.
**********
Chrissy remembered going to Eddie’s room in the hospital while they recovered and endured almost endless interrogations and testing from the government. He was always quick to give her a genuine, soft smile, even with his busted lip or when he was being poked and prodded for blood for the umpteenth time.
It was 3 days before their release. As she normally had, she sat right next to him on his bed. It was a tight squeeze, but they always made it work. She really couldn’t be bothered about personal space, not when they’d spent so much time shielding each other and clinging to one another during everything before. Besides, there was something about being close to Eddie that made her feel more at home than she felt anywhere else.
She admitted that to him that day. “You feel like home,” she told him. He huffed a small laugh. “I thought you were off the morphine, Cunningham,” he teased. Usually, Chrissy would go along with Eddie’s attempts to keep things light— she’d laugh with him, match his jokes. But she had important things to say that day, and she needed him to hear them.
“I mean it,” she said earnestly, sitting up a little so she could look him in the eye. “We’re about to be released in, what, three days? What happens then, Eddie? I don’t want to lose…this.” She didn’t exactly know what “this” was, this wonderful, comfortable thing they had together. But she was 100% certain she didn’t want to lose it.
Eddie had looked over to the window, to the ceiling, anywhere but her eyes before he heaved a deep sigh. “Chrissy, you know I’ll always be there for you,” he said, almost whispering as he finally raised his eyes to hers. “But Hawkins is still Hawkins, ok? We’ve been in our own little bubble here in this godforsaken excuse of a hospital, but I guarantee you that once we pop on out of here, things are going to go back to how they were before all of this.” He gestured vaguely around them before plowing ahead, a bit more frantic as he did. “I mean, some people actually believe it was a damn earthquake, for Christ’s sake! And even if they don’t, they all still think I somehow have something to do with it.”
Saying that aloud seemed to take all the wind out of Eddie’s sails. He laughed breathlessly as he shook his head, eyes falling to his hands that sat sadly in his lap. Chrissy’s face fell to a frown. “And you think I care what they think?” He looked up at her again, his eyes tired. “I think they won’t give you a choice,” he said. “You’re still the Queen of Hawkins High, Cunningham, whether you want that crown or not. And I’m still the bastion of satanic panic that they’re gonna blame this all on. Only one of us gets to be a hero here.” He took her hand then, and she did everything in her power not to visibly shiver. “You deserve to be the hero, Chrissy. You were the bravest of us all.”
Chrissy wanted to protest. You were brave too, she wanted to tell him. She wanted to shout and remind him about how hard Max had fought, how hard she was still fighting now. She wanted to say that they were all heroes, that they all deserved to be treated as such.
But even as she thought over his words, she knew hers wouldn’t be enough to convince him. She knew Eddie Munson had heard enough in his day to make him wary that people would never follow through on what they said.
“You think I’m brave?” she asked. His lips quirked, a confused smile playing at his lips. “Hell yeah, Cunningham,” he said, earnest as ever. “Like I said, bravest of the bunch.”
“Good, I’m going to need all the bravery I can get,” she said, chin held high and steady. “Because the minute we step foot out of this hospital, my life is going to be mine. Not my mother’s, not Jason’s, not Hawkins’, not Vecna’s or anybody’s. And there’s nothing anybody can do or say to make me change who I’ve become or what I want to do or who my friends are, not even you, Munson, got it?” Her finger pointed at his face a bit accusingly, and he raised his hands in surrender. “Well, shit, Cunningham,” he chuckled nervously. “How am I gonna argue with that?” “You won’t,” she said simply, leaning back against the pillow. “But you will help me as I start my brave new life.” “Of course, your highness,” he sighed. She poked him in the sides, careful not to touch the stitches that were still healing, and she smiled in delight as he squirmed.
**********
Chrissy had admitted that once they’d survived, she knew she couldn’t go back to who she had been. And after facing fears she didn’t even know she had, she wanted to do everything she had ever been afraid to do. When Eddie had asked her what those things were exactly, she mentioned a few— standing up to her mother, breaking up with Jason, applying for a school on the West Coast, doing dance instead of cheer, just to name a few. And she made him promise that if something came up that she was excited and nervous about, he’d push her to do it. She’d even raised her pinky in the air to show how serious she was. He leaned in, his grin wide and earnest as ever. “Chrissy Cunningham, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
And Eddie had more than kept his end of the bargain. He was there to help her move into the Buckley’s after her fall out with her mother. He brought tissues and ice cream (“What?! All the movies say this helps!”) when she broke up with Jason. He spent hours listening to her read her application essays aloud. He even wrote out a list of dance studios he’d found in the yellow pages and gave it to her.
So she should have known what would happen when he caught her staring longingly at the drama club poster calling for students to audition for their production of Grease. Chrissy has always loved that movie. Hell, she knew people had once seen her as Sandra Dee— and now that she was hanging with Eddie and the Party all the time, they probably thought of her as Sandy towards the end of the film. She smiled, relishing the thought.
Of course, it was that moment that Eddie had come up to her. “Whatcha smilin’ about, princess?” She remembered when he’d come up with that as her code name during their whole venture into the Upside Down. She’d rolled her eyes at it then, but now, it sent a thrill through her every time he said it. And that was getting harder and harder to ignore.
“Oh, um, nothing!” She knew he wouldn’t buy that for a minute, but she was trying (and failing) to get her errant heartbeat under control. When she finally met his eyes, she saw them trained on the poster. She swore she could see the gears turning in his head. “Eddie—” She was silenced by a ringed pinky held high in her face, in front of a wicked grin she knew all too well. “So what will you be singing for the audition?”
*************
“Miss Cunningham?” the drama teacher, Miss Benoit (or Ben-wah, as she pronounced it). “Are you with us?”
“Oh, yes! Sorry,” Chrissy said, coughing at the strain it caused her voice to yell from the stage to the seats. “Could you repeat that?”
She couldn’t see too well because of the spotlight— which was far stronger than she thought it would be— but she swore Miss Benoit rolled her eyes at her. “Which song will you be singing for us today, Miss Cunningham?”
“Oh, um, Hopelessly Devoted to You?” She cringed knowing it sounded like a question. Miss Benoit was going to jump on that for sure, she thought.
Mercifully, Miss Benoit just nodded and said something to the piano player. Suddenly the song’s opening melody was floating from the baby grand. Chrissy counted down in her head to her part. She took a breath.
She looked out into the auditorium, trying to clear her mind. But one moment kept replaying itself before her. It wasn’t anything too special, just the day Eddie Munson shifted her world off its axis. It was the day she realized she loved him as far more than a friend, and what was embarrassing was that it wasn’t even a particularly remarkable moment— and they’d had so many of those together!
No, she realized she was in love with her best friend when he was walking away from her down the hallway, his little Hellfire hellions in tow, and he turned back to her. And their eyes met. And he just gave his classic, soft smile that she was starting to believe— and secretly hope— he only gave to her.
And she knew.
But she also knew she couldn’t tell him. Because how could she? She was brave now, sure, but she wasn’t sure she was that brave.
And knowing that, well, that was enough to fuel the heartache necessary to sing a decent rendition of her favorite song from her favorite movie.
*************
Eddie held his breath as Chrissy began to sing the first few lines of the song:
Guess mine is not the first heart broken
My eyes are not the first to cry
I'm not the first to know
There's just no getting over you
“Y’know, we could hear better from inside the auditorium,” Dustin muttered. Eddie swiftly shushed him, his eyes still trained on Chrissy through the little plexiglass window of the auditorium door. He knew Chrissy had practiced the song, but for some mysterious reason wouldn’t let him hear it. He had teased her about it at first, loving the little blush that would bloom the prettiest pink on her cheeks.
But as the weeks went on, she’d gotten more quiet, a little more reserved. So he laid off and switched tactics. He did everything he could to distract her, whether it meant making her laugh or putting on any movie that wasn’t Grease. Hell, he even offered to smoke with her— and though she declined, he could tell she was seriously considering it.
So no, he wasn’t about to disrupt her, not when she finally seemed to be hitting her stride after being so damn nervous.
I know I'm just a fool who's willing
To sit around and wait for you
But baby, can't you see there's nothing else for me to do?
I'm hopelessly devoted to you
“She’s pretty good,” Lucas whispered. “Did you know she could sing?” “Nope,” Eddie admitted. He knew he sounded a bit awestruck.
He had to laugh. Just when he thought nothing about Chrissy Cunningham could surprise him anymore. Since the moment they met in the woods, she kept subverting all his expectations of her. She was so much gentler yet fiercer than he could have imagined she’d be. And she was much more a friend to him than he deserved, on that one point he would agree with the idiots of their fair town.
She began sauntering across the stage, a new confidence clear in her steps. Right then and there, he saw her becoming this Sandy character. He felt his heart beam in his chest, he was so damn proud of her.
Then again, as much as he hated to admit it, this was becoming more of a regular occurrence whenever he was around Chrissy. And that terrified and excited him in equal measure.
He didn’t have much time to ponder this though, because Chrissy disrupted his entire being when she belted out the chorus.
But now there's nowhere to hide
Since you pushed my love aside
I'm out of my head
Hopelessly devoted to you
Hopelessly devoted to you
Hopelessly devoted to you
*************
Eddie threatened life and limb as he ordered the Hellions to keep cool as they heard Chrissy walking up towards the auditorium door. Of course, Erica had him pegged. “We can keep our cool around Cunningham, Munson, can you?”
He tried to open his mouth to reply, but thankfully the auditorium door swung open. Chrissy looked bewildered as she took in her friends. Eddie instantly felt guilt pool in his gut.
Then her whole face lit up as she smiled. “Guys! What are you doing here?” she giggled. Eddie had been getting a lot better at telling when Chrissy’s smiles and laughs were genuine. Thankfully, this was one of those times they were, so his guilt began to slink away.
“Oh, you know, just wandering the halls like the ruffians we are,” Max said slyly. Chrissy’s eyes narrowed at Max in suspicion, but the smile stayed on her face. “Riiiiight,” Chrissy said. “And were you ruffians wandering to anywhere in particular?”
As everybody in the group started giving different answers, Eddie knew the jig was up. “Actually,” he practically shouted above the din as he took a step closer to Chrissy. “We were taking in some local entertainment.” Chrissy scrunched her nose and her brows furrowed into what Eddie had secretly dubbed “Cunningham’s cute confused face.” His eyes flicked from the auditorium then back to hers. He could see the realization slowly dawn on her, her eyes widening in a silly sort of terror.
She made to turn and run, but Eddie gently took her arms and brought her into a hug. “You were great, by the way,” he chuckled into her hair. He heard the shuffling of little feet as their friends made a very well-timed exit. He’d have to remember to show them mercy on the next campaign.
From where her face was muffled in his shoulder, he heard a desperately embarrassed groan. He laughed again, thinking he heard her mutter some curses. “What was that, princess?” She poked his side, causing his arms to loosen slightly in response.
“Why did you watch that?” she whined, her head hanging defeated on his shoulder. “I was terrible!” He nestled his face on the top of her head, doing his best to avoid giving her forehead a much-deserved kiss. “Agree to disagree, Cunningham,” he said. She pulled back and he knew he was in for some seriously rolled eyes.
Then everything shifted. Or it was all too still. Eddie couldn’t tell, not when Chrissy was looking at him like he’d given her the stars (as if a Munson was capable of doing such a thing). And she was so close…was she getting closer? Was he?
He wanted to ask her what was happening, how she was feeling, why here, why now, please stay with me —
And then the auditorium door slammed open again. A lady Eddie didn’t recognize was looking them up and down. Chrissy gave him some space, but only slightly. Even so, he was still annoyed. “Can we help you?” he snapped at the woman.
The woman lowered her glasses down her nose, still peering at him over their edges. “Do you by chance sing, young man?” she asked. He said no right as Chrissy said yes. His head whipped to take in his traitorous friend’s glee— and oh was reveling in it. Her smile was sweet, but her eyes shone with something playfully wicked.
He knew, right then and there, that Chrissy Cunningham would be the death of him.