Against all odds || Stranger Things 4 | Hellcheer

Chapter 15

Eddie parks in front of what he hopes to be the Wheeler's house. He gave him and the other little shrimps a lift once after a DnD session - it was pouring rain, he had stacked their rides in the back of his van, Mike and Lucas had crammed in between while Dustin claimed the passenger seat - but the weed is blurring his memories. He bets it on the bunch of bikes scattered on the lawn.Turning to Chrissy, he finds her staring in the far. She's probably thinking about how the two of them appearing here will make things even worse for her at school.

"We don't have to go together, you know? I can wait for you down the street..."

She snaps her neck toward him. "No!...Please, I don't want to go alone."

He grabs his jacket to hide how pleased he is and they get out of the van. He stands by her side - how strange they must look, Chrissy in a sweater that clearly isn't hers, Eddie all cuts and bruises - waiting for her to step forward. His heart leaps when he feels her searching for his hand.

*

Chrissy fuels up some courage from the warmth of Eddie's hand in hers as she walks toward the front door. She should let go of him before someone comes, but she feels like she'll turn heels and run if she does, so they're still holding hands when Nancy opens the door.

A moment passes during which Nancy is staring and teenagers are gathering behind her. Chrissy recognizes Lucas who shoves a curly-haired boy saying, "See! I told you!"

She feels Eddie's fingers twitching and her cheeks burning. A confused but polite Nancy lets them in, and introduces them to a very strange assembly: Lucas's friends, Dustin and Max, Robin that Chrissy recognizes from band and last but not least, her freshman year's crush, Steve Harrington. She wonders what could bring them all together on a Sunday afternoon.

Eddie's thumb rubs on her knuckle and she realizes she's been squishing his hand tight. She relaxes a little, he gives her a squeeze, as if to say it's okay. She catches sight of Dustin staring at her, he grins and waves at her. She responds with a queasy smile.

It takes Eddie's charms and wits for Nancy to agree to recount the events on the night Fred died. Chrissy becomes more aware of how quiet he's been since his encounter with Jason. She forces herself to let go of his hand as they all go down in the basement - which looks like a less trashy version of Eddie's bedroom - and Nancy offers them the couch while the rest of the group scatters around the room on various seats. Eddie casually spreads his left arm behind her to lean on it as she sits on the edge of the couch. She finds herself craving for his contact, even if just from brushing against his side, or their knee touching. When Nancy explains Fred's trancelike state and what happened next, it's not enough to keep her whole world from spinning. He turns to her with shiny eyes. She was right, it was the monster...

Tears start rolling down her cheeks as fear ripples through her body. She wipes them with her sleeve, but they only come more numerous when she feels Eddie's hand rubbing on her lower back, in a small circular movement she knows is meant to be unnoticeable by the rest of the group. She buries her face in her hands and lets Eddie explain what she told him in the van, only alluding to the content of her visions, calling her Chris instead of Chrissy.

At some point, his hand stops being discreet and comes squeezing her shoulder. Who cares anyway? She's going to die from her eyes being pulled back inside of her skull! They can see her ugly crying, watch Eddie and her make the most unlikely pair, call her whatever they want. She leans against Eddie who flinches, stumbles on his words, but pulls her closer. Nothing matters anymore.

*

Eddie is very aware of the glances being exchanged in the room. Part of him wants to tell them to get over it, part of him kind of like that he and Chrissy have that effect on people. He's also very aware that the weed is the only thing preventing him from freaking out. He can hold Chrissy all he wants, it's not going to save her from Vecna's curse, and they have no idea where to start from to find a solution.

Dustin is pacing back and forth, deep in his thoughts until he turns to Eddie.

"So you're saying that a song saved her from Vecna?"

"I don't know, man. It seems crazy but both times 'Against all odds' was playing and it did the trick."

"Didn't you say you were playing guitar the first time?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Why would you be playing Phil Collins," asks Dustin as if his question was obvious

"It's called impressing the girl," taunts Steve, "we've talked about it, remember?"

Dustin makes a face. Eddie feels the heat creeping up his cheeks. For some reason, Harrington seeing right through him makes it even more annoying.

"Can we stay focus, please," sighs Nancy as she hands a tissue to Chrissy.

"Maybe we should just go to the police," says Lucas, "tell them what we know."

The redhead girl smacks him on the arm, "You're such an idiot!"

"If Hopper was still around..." starts Dustin and they all look down at their feet.

Eddie wonders why the death of the former chief of police in that fire last summer seems to be such an emotional trigger. Something tells him he's missing several pieces of the puzzle, like why his little sheeps are hanging out with King Steve and Nancy Wheeler, or why none of them seem to find the whole thing hard to believe.

But if they can help with what Chrissy is going through, he'll endure Harrington's presence for as long as necessary and try to look cooler than him in front of Dustin. He shakes his head at the stupid thought. He's too high for this shit.

The memory pops out of nowhere, taking shape in his hazy mind. He has heard about similar creepy deaths before. Broken limbs, eyes pushed back inside the head...His uncle told him the story on one Halloween night. Eddie had sought refuge to his place and Wayne had improvised a camp fire by the trailer. They'd spend the night eating melted marshmallow - from the bag Wayne had bought in case kids came for treats or tricks - and telling ghost stories. Eddie frowns, he's got the name on the tip of his tongue...

"Victor Creel!"

All eyes turn to him. Even Chrissy lifts her head to stare at him, confused.

"He was accused of killing his whole family back in the, uh...40's or 50's, I don't remember. Wife, kids, all dead! The bodies were just like you said, crumpled and shit. He claimed his house was haunted by the devil."

"Wait," says Harrington, frowning, "you mean the murder house?"

"That creepy old manor that's falling apart?" asks Robin.

"So what? You think he could be doing it again?" wonders Dustin.

They pounder over the theory until late at night, planning their investigation which includes going back to the school's paper office first thing in the morning, to try and find something new on the murder site and look up for any old article about Creel, then having a look at the supposedly haunted house. The kids whine about wanting to be involved while Harrington goes on full mom mode.

Eddie inherits the easiest part: watch over Chrissy and be ready to play the magic song if he sees the slightest sign of a new vision. He feels like Harrington is expecting him to step up and offer to be part of the ghost hunting squad too. Damn it, maybe Chrissy expects that too. But he's realizing how far from wanting to be a hero he is.