Chapter Text
Chrissy ducks her face after speaking and swishes her hips, almost as if she thinks she needs to move away. Eddie clenches his fists, fingers in his palms as his knuckles bulge because he wants to hold her, so much. He inhales a little whistle of breath, thready, and his heart leaps, his chest feeling warm and tight with so much... feeling. Such wanting, and joy, and gratefulness for this great girl who's here right now, with him. Even if she's just come to watch him play in his band to be nice, because he asked; still, she's here.
Eddie swallows, his throat bobs and he leans back, managing a smile that is the slow curve upwards of his lips, higher on one side. "Well I think you're gonna hafta help me teach all the conformists in this town to rock n roll," Eddie almost growls these words, and Chrissy giggles.
"Of course, I ...know a lot of them," Chrissy nods, and with a brief pause she adds "we go to the same church," and blushes even as she smiles. It's a little smile, and Eddie isn't sure, but her eyelid flutters like she's offering a miniscule wink.
With that, he's laughing, and she starts to giggle again. Eddie can't believe it. Chrissy Cunningham is here, she's listened to his band and not only has come to talk to him, but seems to LIKE it - and she made a joke! A joke about all the stuffy good-lord-fearing folks she is around. If that isn't metal...
Her eyes are sparkling and bangs are swinging, the ends of the reddish blonde hair are longer and stick out so differently from the carefully coiffed and curled hairdo she daily sports at school. He notices this, and he knows he's a goner. He notes her clothes now, jeans and a sweatshirt that looks like - he hopes it belongs to her brother, that she grabbed it from home, even as pain squeezes around his heart. It's much more likely to be Jason's, and Eddie stops himself from brushing her bangs with one hand to tuck their ends behind her ears, even as he aches to brace her chin and kiss her.
He would shuffle closer, carefully touch her waist, if she'd let him, and hold on tight whilst giving her a deep, slow kiss.
Which he's honestly wanted to do since about the eighth grade. Even before the talent show, but hanging out with her there, ending up sitting together backstage (it was stuffy and echoed everybody's footsteps on metal risers and wooden stage) some movements were so loud, as were voices that Eddie still remembers Chrissy yelp and jump in surprise.
She'd been embarrassed afterwards, he remembers; blushing and covering her face with her hands as she'd accidentally leaned into, practically fallen against him in her surprise. He hadn't minded at all, of course; shifted his guitar to make more room for her, and let his arm rest around her shoulders until she calmed down a little.
She had been so nervous then, she told him; as nervous as he is right now - but she was cool enough to collect herself and do an awesome cheerleader routine back then.
Eddie, well.
Right now the most he can seem to do is smile at her.