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like ships in the night
[ It's hard to count the way Eddie's life has changed in just the span of a few months. He thinks he can mark the change in trajectory to one specific moment, to Chrissy Cunningham of all people asking him for a drug deal. He's used to people most would never suspect asking for drugs, but her... there had just been something different about it. His deals didn't usually involve obvious flirting, offerings of discounts, reminiscing on previous connections. But he could tell she was going through something, and it was his job to try and help. And then she had asked for something stronger. He had it, tucked away somewhere in his trailer. There was nothing surprising about him having what she was after, but what was surprising was that she was willing to go there to get it.
So he had ferried them both there in his van, had explained to her just what taking special k involved. She had tried it right there in his trailer, under his supervision, and he had made sure she was alright. Everything had been completely, or, more or less, above the board. She had leaned against him, her hands a little more free with their touches, and despite the way each had sent electricity running through him, Eddie had kept his own hands to himself.
And so they had moved on, both of them determined to finish out their final year of high school. Against all odds, they had managed to squeak over the finish line, had earned the piece of paper that declared they were at last done with Hawkins High. Eddie still can't believe it, for as much as he had proclaimed 86 would be his year, the feeling is nothing short of surreal. He's free at last, finally, and that silly piece of paper grants him a surprising amount of opportunities. He has no plans for college, but the sudden opening of avenues leaves him dizzy.
There's no celebration for his own graduation, but he's managed to be invited to Chrissy's. Her parents seem to have spared no expense, and he drifts between the party goers, a plastic solo cup clutched in his hand. Between friends and family, it's been difficult to get her attention, but at last he's managed to get the happy graduate alone. ]
Hey. [ Eddie raises his cup, a little tipsy, a lot relaxed, but somehow he can feel Jason's gaze on him, even now. ] Guess it's finally my chance to say congratulations.
So he had ferried them both there in his van, had explained to her just what taking special k involved. She had tried it right there in his trailer, under his supervision, and he had made sure she was alright. Everything had been completely, or, more or less, above the board. She had leaned against him, her hands a little more free with their touches, and despite the way each had sent electricity running through him, Eddie had kept his own hands to himself.
And so they had moved on, both of them determined to finish out their final year of high school. Against all odds, they had managed to squeak over the finish line, had earned the piece of paper that declared they were at last done with Hawkins High. Eddie still can't believe it, for as much as he had proclaimed 86 would be his year, the feeling is nothing short of surreal. He's free at last, finally, and that silly piece of paper grants him a surprising amount of opportunities. He has no plans for college, but the sudden opening of avenues leaves him dizzy.
There's no celebration for his own graduation, but he's managed to be invited to Chrissy's. Her parents seem to have spared no expense, and he drifts between the party goers, a plastic solo cup clutched in his hand. Between friends and family, it's been difficult to get her attention, but at last he's managed to get the happy graduate alone. ]
Hey. [ Eddie raises his cup, a little tipsy, a lot relaxed, but somehow he can feel Jason's gaze on him, even now. ] Guess it's finally my chance to say congratulations.
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[Chrissy's face lights up with a toothy grin when he approaches her. She still isn't entirely sure why she invited him, but she knew that she wanted him to be here. There's a part of her that knew other people wouldn't invite him, and maybe he wouldn't have much of any celebrating at all. So she had extended an invitation and much to her surprise he took her up on it.
But there's also a more secret reason she had invited him, Chrissy eager to see him again. It's not like there's any reason for them to go up to one another at school after their encounter in his trailer. Jason and her friends don't need to know she bought drugs off of him, and she did them in his company.
She almost wishes she had let them know though, because she's pretty sure that the way she feels warm when he's in close and the smiles he pulls out of her make it obvious to anyone that's watching them. Chrissy Cunningham has a crush, and it's definitely not on her boyfriend of four years.
Oh, she can feel Jason's eyes on them. She knows what his jealous gaze feels like by now. Knows the argument it will come attached to later. But it's worth it, to get to have one more conversation with Eddie Munson. Maybe she's had a little too much to drink herself, because she leans in and presses a chaste kiss to his cheek.]
You deserve a big congratulations too. You made it!
[And she's proud of him for that. He's beaten all the odds. She thinks not many people in town recognize that. They're all too busy calling him a freak and thinking he worships the devil to realize that he's worked so hard to get to where he is.]
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Hardly. [ He laughs, tries to play it casual when she leans in to press a kiss against his cheek. Eddie swears he can feel every organ inside him suddenly twist out of shape, and he's momentarily breathless. ] My theory is they passed me only to get me out of their hair.
[ It's something he almost believes. It's true he had doubled down on the studying in those final months, desperate to finally escape that place once and for all. Even then, he had just barely squeaked by with Ds and the occasional C. But now he's here, graduated, and somehow at Chrissy fucking Cunningham's graduation party. His grip tightens on his cup as he tries to refrain from chugging it. ]
So what's next for the great Chrissy Cunningham? Off to be the queen bee of some college?
[ It's a joke, sort of. It's meant to be a joke, but his words are tinged with an earnest sincerity that he can't seem to shake in her presence. He wants... good things, for her. The best things. He wants her to be happy. And part of him shrivels up and dies knowing he's not part of that equation. ]
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[She laughs as he asks it, unable to believe he'd think she's even interested in being a queen bee at college. She hadn't wanted it at Hawkins High, it just fell into her lap. But she's always tried to be kind to everyone, and that will continue when she's away at school.]
I guess I'm headed to New York. Fashion design and merchandising sounded interesting when I applied last year. So we'll see how it goes.
[New York City sounds like a blast. And she can't wait to be out there on her own, far away from her mother. And Jason, she secretly thinks. After four years with him, she's ready to spread her wings and see what else is out there. It's not like she expects him to follow her out to New York City. He's got his own college to attend, and his own life to live.]
What about you? Any big plans now that you're free?
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[ Let the record show, Eddie knows nothing about fashion design. He knows next to nothing about fashion in general. But he can see her, surrounded by expensive fabrics and creating things that people ooh and ahh over when they come down the runway. And New York? He feels elated and absolutely devastated in equal measure. She deserves to be away from this judgmental shit hole of a town, in somewhere that's big and bright and welcoming of people from all walks of life. But New York is far, so far, it feels like she just told him she's leaving for life on Mars. ]
Ehh, I'm keeping my options open. [ He shrugs, desperately trying to appear unaffected. ] Probably gonna kick around with the band for a while, see if we can make it big.
[ A nervous laugh bubbles up from him, and he hates it. It sounds pathetic. He loves his band and his friends, but for as much time as he spends creating fantasy worlds, it's difficult to imagine Corroded Coffin making it big. Not big enough to tour all the way out in New York, anyway. Some part of him silently promises to make that happen, somehow, some day. If only so he can say he existed in the same city as Chrissy Cunningham after graduation. ]
Your parents throw a good party. [ Good booze, at least. Eddie gulps down the rest of his drink, as though the emphasize the point. ] Thanks for the invite, by the way. Surprised no one's tried to perform an exorcism on me yet.
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She's tipsy enough she can act like she doesn't notice, and reaches over to wrap her fingers around Eddie's wrist, pulling him with her over to the other side of the party. They can have a quiet conversation with no one watching them.]
Corroded coffin, right?
[His band is what she chooses to focus on, because she really does hope they're able to make it big. With Eddie's personality, she thinks he can do anything he puts his mind to. So of course they'll be able to become famous.]
You have to promise me that you won't forget about me if you ever make it to New York. You'll invite me to your concert, won't you?
[The smile on her face is definitely pleading with him. He can't forget about her!]
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That's the one.
[ His words come out a little thick, the slightest bit slurred, both the drink and the fact that he is alone with her contributing to that. Eddie blinks rapidly, trying to clear his head. They're just two friends talking privately, there's nothing strange about that. There's no reason for his heart to be beating like some wild thing constrained within his ribs. ]
I'll tell you what. [ He smiles at her, and his face seems to glow, as though a spotlight shines down on him. ] You'll be on the VIP list for all our shows. You ever see one of our fliers, just show up. You'll get a backstage pass and everything.
[ Not that they've ever played at a place that offers things like 'VIP' and 'backstage passes', but a guy can dream. ]
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She's struck in that moment that maybe things could've been different for them. If maybe he had kept talking to her after the talent show in middle school. If he had shown interest in her before a point that's so close to graduation. But he hadn't, and she's already focused on getting to college.
Chrissy hopes their paths will cross in the future, but knows better than to get hopeful. No matter how much his smile makes her heart skip a beat, and her stomach nervously flutter. This doesn't feel like the right time for anything other than just being friends.]
If you ever make it to the city, I'll design something for you to wear on stage. You can be on my VIP list too.
[If anyone can get to a place that has backstage passes, she believes it's him.]
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[ And he means it. More than that, he finds that he doesn't even care. If Chrissy were to design something for him, he'd wear it proudly, regardless of what it actually looks like. God, he feels so hopelessly stupid for her, and he wishes 'Jason' wasn't a word in their vocabulary. Because he sees her smiling that and all he wants to do is kiss her, to cup her face in his hand and hold her close. But he can't, for what seems like a never ending list of reasons. ]
I shouldn't-- I don't-- [ Eddie tries to form a sentence, and finds it difficult. He laughs, and it's all self deprecation. ] This is your party, and I'm taking up all your time.
[ And he wants that, so badly. To have all her time to himself, to exist in this private little space together forever. ]
If you need to get back to mingling... well, that's fine.
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He does, however, lean over to kiss at her neck. Chrissy makes a soft, uncomfortable sound before she leans away.]
Come on, Chriss. You said we'd get out of here ten minutes ago.
[Chrissy gives Eddie an apologetic look, but knows she has to pull Jason away from him before her boyfriend really starts trying to lay claim to her in front of everyone.]
Go get the car started, okay? I'll be there in a minute. Promise.
[Jason gets a chaste kiss to the cheek before she waves him off, and is blushing when she glances back up to Eddie. She takes him by the wrist again, and drags him through the crowd over toward the table where a little guestbook is set up. Grabbing hold of the pen, she writes her phone number on the inside of his wrist.]
Call me before August, okay? I'll give you the address and phone number of my dorm. And hey, maybe we can even hang out sometime before I go.
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But Eddie does everything he can to hide it, chews at the inside of his cheek as he watches Chrissy press a kiss against Jason's cheek. The two of them together makes sense, the head cheerleader and star jock, and Eddie knows he has no business interfering. So instead he tries for a sheepish smile, shrugs his shoulders as though apologetic for intruding on their otherwise sweet moment.
He's grateful for Chrissy sending him away, and tries to remain calm as she drags him towards the guestbook. Eddie stares dumbfounded at the numbers she scrawled on his skin, and for a brief moment wonders if he should get them tattooed there. ]
I will. [ And he means it, speaks the words like solemn promise. ] Yeah, I definitely will.
[ Perhaps against his better judgement, Eddie flings his arms around her and pulls her into a tight hug. He's glad that Jason isn't here to see it, because the way his arms wrap around her is not the way people who are just friends would hug. But he revels in the moment of holding her close, lets it go on a little too long before he steps back. ]
You're gonna do great things, Chrissy Cunningham. I can't wait to see it.
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I don't know about great things.
[Unable to take a compliment, she reaches up to anxiously push hair behind her ear.]
But we have to keep in touch.
[She kisses his cheek before giving him one last smile and pulling away, hurrying out to join Jason at his car. They go out to the lake and he tries guilting her into sex, but she breaks up with him instead of feeling pressured to give more of herself to him.
Eddie calls her later that week and they talk for nearly an hour, before she asks him to come hang out with her at the new diner. They spend hours there talking and laughing, Chrissy ignoring food in favor of diet coke and paying attention to him. She steals a few of his fries and he seems pleased by that, and somehow the subject of Jason doesn't come up until they're wrapping things up. A part of her hopes her telling him that she ended things with him would make Eddie ask her out. And she thinks that he might. But he seems to hesitate and think better of it, and it never happens.
They talk a few more times after that, and Chrissy gets him to come visit her one more time to watch a movie before she leaves for New York City.
Life there is busy and overwhelming. She calls Eddie a lot when she feels like panic is settling in, and he always gets her to calm down. They write letters back and forth, and she sends him pictures of her dorm and pictures of herself around the city. He can't afford to come visit her, and she can't afford to come home for holidays or the summer yet. So they write and settle into a solid friendship.
She starts to idly date guys on campus, never letting anything be serious. Eventually the calls with Eddie become less frequent as he gets busier and busier, and the letters trickle down to nearly nothing from the both of them. They're growing and changing, each of their lives taking them on paths that are different, but close to being the same.
It's in the fall semester of her junior year that she decides to leave school. She's been modeling to make money, and is actually getting a career that takes off. The connections she makes there will get her further than taking out more loans to keep going to school, so she sets her sights on modeling full time and designing clothes in her spare time. By this point, she hasn't gotten a letter from Eddie in nearly a year. She doesn't think to send him her new address.
In the spring of the following year, she's just finished a photoshoot when she overhears the photographer talking about a band he's going to see that night. Always up for a good time, she asks who he's seeing. Chrissy isn't expecting to hear the name Corroded Coffin. She gasps when she does, and asks the photographer where the show is. He passes over a flyer, and she clutches it close to her chest as she hurries back home to get ready.
Even though they've both been busy with their lives and haven't been communicating all that much, Chrissy still knows she's in love with him. She has been since the day she asked him to sell her drugs in the woods, since the night he took her back to his trailer. His coming to her graduation party and spending time with her that summer only cemented those feelings.
And now's her time she finally feels ready to make her move. Chrissy dresses up just for him, in a tight little black pleated shirt and fishnets, and a black crop top that's definitely a size too small now that her body has developed curves and a more mature shape. She has to dig through her closet to find the combat boots she had taken from a runway show last year, just because they reminded her of him. Heavy eyeliner tops off the look, and she grabs a flannel from her closet to stay warm as she hurries out to catch a cab.
She gets to the venue late thanks to traffic, but pays her way in and gets her wristband and pushes her way to the front of the crowd. She's out of place among the people that usually gather for a band like this, but she's excited to be front and center. And when the band comes out, she's cheering the loudest, looking up at Eddie with total awe as he performs.
Tonight's definitely the night she tells him everything. It's time for them to finally be together.]
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Then she tells him she's broken up with Jason, and his whole world turns upside down. His mouth goes dry, every word in the English language leaves his vocabulary. He can only stand there, dumbfounded. This is his chance, some part of him roars, ask her out. But he doesn't. Eddie will spend many months after regretting that. Instead, he tells her that he's sorry to hear that, in a voice that sounds weak and broken.
And then, just like that, she's gone. New York seems impossibly far away, but the letters and calls keep them close. There are so many times when the question dances through him, hey, why don't we try? Long distance is shit but maybe we could make it work? But he never asks.
He keeps playing music, and slowly Corroded Coffin begins to pick up steam. They play larger and larger venues, and Eddie can hardly believe it. It all still feels like a dream, a life that belongs to someone else. The first time he hears one of their songs on the radio he nearly vomits. The downside to this change of fate is that the communication with Chrissy begins to trickle down into near nothing. They're both busy, and even though letters and phone calls become few and far between, he never stops thinking about her.
The only time he comes close to forgetting her is when he meets a girl after one of his shows. She introduces herself as Sam, short for Samantha, and warns him to never call her Samantha. She's fierce and wild and makes him laugh so hard his stomach hurts. They kiss that same night, and it's the first night that he doesn't think about Chrissy as he falls asleep.
Corroded Coffin is making their way down the east coast on their latest tour, playing at grungy night clubs full of thrashing metalheads. Their New York stop is the largest yet, a night club that seats just shy of 1,000. Eddie is informed that they've very nearly sold out. It's in the middle of one of his guitar solos that he sees a head of bright, strawberry blonde hair push its way to the front of the pit. When he realizes that it's really her, and not some vision he's dreamed up, his fingers fumble against his guitar strings. He picks back up quickly, and for the rest of their set, he can only think one sentence: Chrissy, this is for you.
That's why, when the crowd begins to clear, a burly security guard finds her in the crowd, tells her that Eddie has requested her company in his dressing room. When she arrives, Eddie is lounging in a chair, flushed and still glistening with sweat. When she walks in his whole face lights up, grinning ear to ear. ]
Chrissy Cunningham, as I live and breathe. [ He rises from his seat to rush to her, flinging his arms around her in a tight hug. ] I can't believe you're actually here.
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Eddie, you were amazing! [That's easy enough to say, and she can't help giving him one more big hug. It feels like she doesn't ever want to take her hands off of him.]
Corroded Coffin's really taking off. You'll be on MTV soon.
[Not that their music is what MTV plays. But she wants him to be the first metal act to show up there, so maybe one day she can have the channel on and see him there.]
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[ But he's laughing, bright and alive and relishing in the feeling of having his arms around her. It's so good to see her, no, better than that, it's like dreams coming to reality. There was a time when Chrissy really was on their "VIP" list, but as time went on, as things got truly serious, that slowly faded. But now she's here, and he can barely understand how that's happened. ]
Look at you, you look incredible.
[ Every feeling he had ever felt about her rushes through him, making his heartbeat pound in his ears. There's still a part of him that thinks this can't possibly be real, that someone must have slipped something into his drink before the show. ]
How's New York been treating you?
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She wants to tell him that she had picked out this outfit just for him. That it took her hours to get ready because she wanted to look just right so he'd notice her. Even more than that, she wants to flirt and tell him that as good as she looks with these things on, they'd look even better off of her.
Chrissy doesn't, though. She hasn't gotten brave enough to be that forward. Instead she smiles and answers his question, not thinking she needs to lie and hide the truth from him like she has her parents.]
I left school last fall. [She gets that out of the way first, shrugging her shoulders.] I started modeling and it took up too much time. It's been going really well, actually. I just finished my first magazine shoot today!
[But she doesn't want to talk about herself. Especially not when it comes to the fact that she left her mother's constant need for perfection and leapt into a career path that demands she continue to starve herself and be even more perfect.]
How long are you in town? I need to take you out and show you around.
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No shit, really? [ He makes a mental note to figure out whatever magazine that is and buy as many copies as he can get his hands on. ] That's incredible.
[ He can't help but feel elated, still riding the post show high, knowing that life is treating her kindly. Eddie reaches for her, brushes a thumb over her cheek. She is as beautiful as he remembers, perhaps even more so. In another world, another life, he would kiss her right there. But he doesn't, and there is a sharp knock on the door. ]
Eds? You in there baby? [ A female voice calls out, and within a moment a woman is stepping inside. She is tall and lean, with dark hair in a cropped bob and bright eyes. She grins, despite finding them so close together, bounding over to throw her arms around him. ] You were in-fucking-credible tonight.
[ Sam laughs and kisses his cheek, before Eddie turns his head to kiss her properly. The bond between him and Chrissy is severed in one swift motion. Eddie curls an arm around her waist, the two of them turning back to face Chrissy. ]
Sam, this is Chrissy. She's an old friend. [ Friend. Just a friend. ] Chrissy, this is Sam, my girlfriend.
[ To her credit, Sam is bright and bubbly, reaching to hug Chrissy as if they were old friends. ]
Oh my god, it is so nice to meet you! Any friend of Eddie's is a friend of mine.
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Eddie's just described her as a friend. An old friend. That's all she is. And all she'll ever be, now. Chrissy tries to smile through the pain that she's feeling, no matter how hard it may be to put on the act. She had done it her entire high school career. And she can do it now. It doesn't matter that she wants to cry, or that she's in the middle of her first real heartbreak.
She can do this. For Eddie. ]
Yeah, it's great to meet you too.
[She can't bring herself to say Sam's name, his girlfriend's name, and instead starts to numbly back her way toward the door. Chrissy can't handle this, and needs to make her escape as gracefully as possible.]
You guys probably want to do your thing. I'll...see you around Eddie, okay?
[She hates how it feels like it's saying goodbye. Her smile is fake, and she doesn't even care that it's noticeable. He's wrapped up in his girlfriend, and she needs to go do something drastic to forget she ever came here to try and actually confess her feelings for him.]
It was really great to see you again.
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Wait, Chrissy.
[ He reaches for her, grabs her by the wrist in a cruel inversion of her graduation party. Eddie fumbles for a pen on his vanity table, scrawling out numbers against her forearm. This isn't fair, some part of him thinks, to put her in this situation. It wasn't supposed to be like this, in the times he's imagined them reuniting. He wouldn't blame her for scrubbing the numbers away and never speaking to him again. ]
That's my new number. Give me a call sometime, okay?
[ And then Sam is hanging off him again, and the two seem to retreat into their own world, with Chrissy left as the outsider. They barely notice when she slips away. ]
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It serves her right, she thinks, as she slams back drinks. She deserves it.
Eventually the guys around the bar take notice that she's drinking to forget something, and they all seem into buying her as many rounds as her small frame can handle. One of them is a little more forward than the others, and he pulls her along with him out of the bar and to a cab when she's barely able to stand up and walk. She thinks they bump into Eddie and his girlfriend on the way out, but she's too far gone at that point to know if it's real.
She wakes up the next morning sore and with a pounding headache, stomach sick. When she realizes she's still tangled up in bed with the guy from the bar, she winds up barely making it to the bathroom to throw up. That's the start of a series of binge drinking for Chrissy, though she always makes sure to go home with a different guy. Anyone that's willing to buy her drinks and help her forget her heartbreak is a welcome distraction.
But none of them make her happy. None of them satisfy her.
And that's why, one night when she's drunk but not so much so that her words are slurred and nothing makes sense, she pulls Eddie's number out of her purse and gives him a call. His answering machine picks up, and Chrissy's trashed enough to not think to hang up. Instead she leaves him a message, telling him that she's totally getting over him. That each guy she meets at a bar isn't him, but maybe that's a good thing because she can't have him.
She passes out after that, alone and miserable in bed. She lets that be the final page in her Eddie Munson story, and forces herself to move on. Time crawls by, and she becomes disillusioned with the city. She stops modeling because perfection feels unobtainable. One day when her mother criticizes her for even trying to model, she agrees to go home. It's pointless to keep trying.
She returns to Hawkins to find Jason Carver waiting for her in the living room. He's there and he's convenient, so she dates him because she can't stand how miserable she's been feeling ever since Eddie unintentionally broke her heart. She works with kids at a gym, and dates Jason, and the mundane day to day of her boring life in Hawkins starts to break her heart in a new way. This isn't what she was meant to do. This isn't who she was supposed to be.
Chrissy cries herself to sleep some nights, wishing that things could have been different.]
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For a time, Corroded Coffin gets big, really big, playing to stadiums of thousands, giving interviews on tv. That's when he meets Natalie, who is curvy and exuding sex, with big pouty lips that for a time have him at her beck and call. Their relationship is tumultuous, she seems to find reason to pick at him at every turn, criticizing his every movement. Despite this, he devotes himself to her, and he tries not to think to hard about how often she asks for him to pay for things, or the way she pushes herself front and center when the paparazzi shows up.
He keeps Chrissy's last voicemail hidden from her, plays it back on any night that he has alone just to hear her voice. He can hear the heartbreak in her voice, and it breaks his heart in turn. Even when Natalie comes to him with desperate touches and hungry lips, Eddie can't forget it. He's fucked everything up so badly, he can feel it in his core. There's nothing Natalie can do that will make him forget that.
When Wayne gets sick, Corroded Coffin goes on an indefinite hiatus. Natalie whines and pouts as he plans his trip back to Hawkins, bemoans the fact that she will have to be in some hick town where nobody knows their names. Where they are simply normal people.
Eddie spares no expense on their accommodations, putting them up into the nicest hotel Hawkins has to offer. It still isn't enough for Natalie, who finds new things to complain about in between his visits to the hospital. He's trying to figure out how best to take care of his uncle while his girlfriend bemoans the thread count of their sheets.
One night, after leaving the hospital, he veers off his path "home" to stop and get a drink at the bar. He's already three drinks in when the door swings open and he can't believe what he's seeing. How can Chrissy be here? It feels wrong somehow, that this town has managed to sink its claws back into her. Eddie almost doesn't say anything, briefly considers making for the fire exit so that he can avoid making her life somehow worse. ]
Hey. [ He holds up his empty glass in her direction, sure that he looks as pathetic as he feels. ] Fancy meeting you here.
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The bartender sees her in here enough that he knows which beer she likes, and he slides a bottle across the bartop to her. It's only after she takes a long drink that she finally looks over at him. And like always, the sight of him up close takes her breath away. They're both older now, but he's matured into his rockstar persona well. He's so attractive that she feels a pang of want all over again, and knows that she's smiling at him like she wishes he was hers.
for once, she lets him see that smile.
Because he's a big star, and she's a fan of his that's left behind in small town America. She's recorded his appearances on TV on VHS, she's bought every tape his band has put out. And she's saved every newspaper article and magazine appearance Corroded Coffin has made. She's so proud of him, he's really made it. And here he is, talking to her like they're teenagers again. Her heart soars at how nostalgic this feels.]
I come here a couple times a week after work.
[There isn't a need to announce that the city hadn't worked out. That modeling had failed. She had failed. That much is obvious in the fact that she's back in Hawkins, older and miserable. Of course, with the way his presence has her smiling, she isn't sure she looks tired and miserable at all.]
Are you here to see Wayne?
[She wonders if his uncle let him know that she would pop by his trailer to bring him lunch and dinner, and just sit and talk with him. Maybe Eddie already knows she's brought Wayne flowers to his hospital room, and arranged for other people in town to send him some too.]
He told me how much he missed you. It's good you could come back home.
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[ Eddie wishes he was back in Hawkins under better circumstances, wishes that there wasn't an angry girlfriend waiting for him back in a hotel room. He still can't believe that he's managed to find himself face to face with Chrissy. The both of them are broken hearted, in very different ways, and it can only be fate that has brought them together now. She's beautiful, as beautiful as she was in his dressing room, at her graduation party. He's so sorry, he's absolutely devastated. ]
Can I buy you a drink?
[ He's seen that she already has a beer being slid across the counter to her, but the bartender is quick to pour both of them a glass of whiskey, neat. The world feels hazy around him, like this might be another dream. She's so, impossibly beautiful, it makes a sick feeling stir up in his stomach. ]
Cheers. [ He lifts a glass in her direction, tipping it with reverence. ] To us, and to Hawkins.
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[May this one go a little better than the last one, she thinks. Her eyes glance down to his hands that are holding at his drink, and she takes a quick survey to see if there's a ring on his left hand. There are, but none of them are wedding bands on his ring finger. If he's still with Samantha, they're not married.
That's enough to make her smile more genuine, as she takes another drink from her glass.
There's a lot she wants to ask him. Mostly about how Sam is. How the band's doing. If he's going to stick around for long. She should tell him about Jason. Should elaborate on how much she hates being back here. But she doesn't. It feels immature to focus on things that don't matter in the long run. What matters to her now is being there for him, to let him know that he can rely on her when it counts.]
Are you staying in his trailer? I went over to try and fix things up for him a month or two ago, but I wasn't able to do many repairs by myself. Maybe while you're here, we can fix everything up together.
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[ Wayne hadn't mentioned that to him, though Eddie can't blame him for that. Since he's come back to town Eddie has made sure his uncle has the finest accommodations, even though all of those have been in a hospital room. No matter what happens from here onward, Wayne will never have to spend his nights- or rather, days-- in a trailer ever again.
Since arriving in Hawkins, Eddie's focus has been singularly focused on his uncle, with Natalie's complaints forming an unpleasant background noise. Here with Chrissy now, it feels like the first time his mind has been his own in months. She just manages to have that effect on him, even now. ]
I'm staying at a hotel, actually. [ A hotel room that he suddenly wishes was empty. He can't help but think about the fact that he could rent second room, if he wanted. And he really does. ] But, come on. Enough about me. What are you doing back here. I thought you were on your way to becoming a super model.
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That didn't work out in the end. [It's hard to shrug and feign indifference when you feel like a huge loser that has nothing going for her.] So my mom convinced me to come back.
[Her mother yelled at her and said horrible things to her until she agreed to come back. But she doesn't say that. Eddie doesn't want to hear about her issues with her mom.]
She had Jason waiting for me in their house the day I flew back.
[The sigh and eye roll she gives off, paired with the fact she chooses to come here a few nights a week after work, probably tell him plenty about her relationship with her high school boyfriend. She doesn't want to talk about Jason though. If she had it her way, they'd already be broken up.
She wants to ask Eddie what hotel he's staying at. Wants to find a way to casually just be there one day to surprise him. For the first time since the day she went to his band's concert in the city, she feels a spark of something.
When she glances over at him, she realizes that it's hope. Eddie Munson still makes her heart race. Still makes her blush when she wonders what his lips taste like. But he also fills her with so much hope that she never wants to let him out of her sight again.]
I never wanted to come back here. But I don't see any way to escape Hawkins for a second time.
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