"Whatever you say, Beauty Queen."
She was bubblegum pop music, pink sparkles, and a perfect, warm sunny day. He was heavy metal, black leather jackets, and a rumbling thunderstorm. But somehow they made sense, balanced each other out.
Stranger Thing...
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Val woke up, her body sore and muscles aching from sleeping on the wooden floor boards. She was terrified to open her eyes, to learn that Chrissy's death was real. That it was all just a horrible nightmare.
"Eddie?" she called, finally rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
He was at her side in a second. "Are you okay?" He realized how terrified she looked and immediately felt like an awful person. Of course she wasn't okay. She had watched her best friend die in such a gruesome way. Her eyes filled with tears and he pulled her against his chest. "Hey, hey, hey," he whispered, soothingly playing with her hair and holding her close. "I'm sorry, Val, I really am. I can't imagine how awful that was for you. What can I do?"
"I-I don't know," she stuttered, the usual confident girl feeling so lost. "I just can't believe she's gone. A-and I didn't even do anything. I just stood there and watched my best friend die."
"Val, there's nothing you could have done," he reassured her. "I don't know what the hell happened, but I know it wasn't your fault."
She nodded, laying her head on his chest. She could hear his rapidly beating heart and it was strangely comforting, made her feel less alone. "Where even are we?"
He let out a small chuckle, feeling awkward. "Um, my drug dealer boat house? Sorry, it was the first place I could think of that no one would check."
"Right, yeah, that makes sense," Val nodded, still very confused. She shivered, her thin cheer sweater doing nothing to keep her warm again the brisk March air.
Eddie took off this leather jacket and denim vest, wrapping the jacket around her shoulders and the vest over her bare legs.
"What about you?" she asked, not wanting him to freeze.
"I'll be fine," he tried to smile at her.
She wanted to protest, but she already felt much warmer. "Thank you," she mumbled, falling once again into an exhausted, dreamless sleep.
Unable to sleep, Eddie continued to stroke her hair. Even with mascara dark tracks streaming down her cheeks, she was still the most beautiful thing in the world. Nothing could compare to her.
"I won't let anything hurt you, Beauty Queen, I promise," he whispered.
✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿
The next time Val woke up, it was to Eddie frantically shaking her shoulders. "Wh-what?" she gasped, looking around, panicked.
"There's people here. We have to hide, now!" he explained, pulling her toward the row boat in the center of the room. They climbed in and under the tarp as the light of a flashlight scanned the room from the window.
She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together to keep from making any sound as the boat house door swung open. She could hear faint whispers but she couldn't make out what they were saying.
