Against all odds || Stranger Things 4 | Hellcheer

Chapter 37

Chrissy takes her time looking through the shelves full of books and figurines in the large closet allotted to the Hellfire Club. She wants to give Eddie some time before they have the conversation they need to have. In truth, she needs that time as well and listening to him babble about his game from his throne-like chair is comforting. She can pretend they're just hanging out. She can pretend everything is fine. It seems like this is something both of them are quite familiar with...

"Is this where you keep your dice," she asks, grabbing a box from the shelf.

She starts to open it before Eddie can answer, but these are not dice. She shuts the lid over the condoms and puts it back in place while he quickly explains it's just a stash for the boys. She smiles, she prefers that to the stash of weed in his lunchbox. His thoughtfulness is endearing. Although when he speaks again, the sadness in his voice washes the feeling away.

"At least I can try and protect them from that kind of stuff..."

He sighs, pinches the bridge of his nose and slumps into the chair.

"When I sit here, I'm in control. I get to decide my friend's fate. Whether they die or not, whether they get a second chance. I don't even have to try hard, I'm the one who makes the rules. But this whole week...it's killing me, Chris."

Her heart sinks as he hides his face in his hands and she hurries toward him to stroke his hair like he usually does to her.

"I don't know if I can..."

He sighs again.

"I know how it feels," she says quietly, still stroking his hair.

He puffs, doubtful. Of course, he doesn't know the whole story. She wouldn't say it in front of everyone but now that it's just the two of them... She takes a deep breath, kisses the top of his head and sits on the armrest.

Slowly, she recounts Vecna's last vision, forcing her voice to stay steady when she feels the emotion building up, almost as raw as she felt it back then. Eddie stays awfully quiet all the way through, maybe for the better. She might not have been able to go on if he interrupted her, especially when she reaches the hardest part.

"You...died...in my arms and I—"

Her voice breaks and she needs a few deep breaths to be able to speak again.

"The music did work. When I heard it, it made me think about you and how happy I've been with you. It made me want to go back to you, but at that moment, I thought the only way to do so was...well, to let Vecna finish his work."

"Wait, what?"

Eddie takes her by the shoulders to move her away and look right at her. There's something frantic in his eyes, wide open, shiny with tears.

"None of that Romeo and Juliette bullshit, you hear me? If something happens to me, you keep fighting."

"I know," she sniffs. "I know...what I mean is...I understand what you must feel when you see me...cursed or lost in another dimension... And I'm sorry to put you in this position."

She takes his hand, intertwines their fingers, he squeezes them hard.

"But I'm gonna have to do it one last time. I need to go there and finish this or I know I'll never be able to feel safe falling asleep. I really hope you can find a way to be okay with that."

"Jesus," he breathes out after a pause. "You're so fucking brave."

Before she can answer, he pulls her into a kiss whose intensity flips her heart upside down. She has to use all her willpower to part away from his lips and lean back to ask for another favor.

"Will you watch over Max while I'm in there?" she asks.

Something passes on his face that she can't read. She hopes she's not demanding too much.

"I hate that I'm forcing her to be the bait..." she adds with a shivering voice.

Eddie pulls her against his chest, promising he will look after Max. She lets herself slide onto his laps, wrapping her arms around his neck as they stare into each other's eyes. Their lips touch in a soft peck this time, but she can't resist the urge to crash against his mouth again and go for a more passionate one. If only he knew how much strength she draws from him—his presence, his love.

***

Eddie breaks the kiss and rests his forehead on Chrissy's, catching his breath.

"You're brave, and I'm..."

The word gets stuck in his throat. He thinks about Harrington and all the praises Dustin has for him, about Nancy jumping through the gate without hesitation. He thinks about his father again, barking what a shame of a boy Eddie his.

"Hey," whispers Chrissy, sliding her hand along his jaw. "We're all doing what we can, it's okay. The fact that you're here with me means so much. It's enough for me. More than enough."

Eddie shakes his head. She's just being nice because she likes him. For now.

"You're like...C3PO!"

Eddie sniggers, picturing the golden robot from Star Wars. "Yeah, that's about right."

"No, hear me out. So okay, C3PO doesn't come as the bravest droid and he's not one to jump in front of danger. Yet we wouldn't want a Star Wars movie without him in it, would we? And most importantly, Leia and R2D2 would be completely lost without him."

Eddie smiles. He appreciates the effort. More than he's willing to admit. In a split second of carelessness, he even thinks it's hot that his girlfriend can come up with a Star Wars reference to cheer him up. He reaches for a strand of hair near her ear.

"Does that make you R2, then? Tiny and cunning, it kinda fits."

She giggles. It amazes him what that simple sound does to him, how it makes his heart swell and his belly tingle. He kisses her, again and again, searching for oblivion. She shifts on his laps, wraps her arms around his neck to pull him closer. Maybe if he just keeps kissing her forever, Vecna won't be able to get her.

Then another thought seeps through his mind, corroding. What if this is the last time they get to kiss like that?

***

Chrissy presses herself against Eddie as she deepens the kiss. Her body is radiating from the heated memory of what happened last time they made out like that. She didn't plan this at all, but she can't see any reasons not to follow the same path, even though shame tries to bore its way through her mind. She won't let it pass. Not when this could be her last gift to Eddie.

She shifts on his lap to straddle him, eyes gazing deep into his, even though the chair is slightly too narrow to accommodate them in that position. With her hands tangled in his hair, she pulls him into another kiss. Their tongues meet before their lips, and when Eddie grasps on her bottoms and the gap between their bodies vanishes, she quivers. She welcomes the pressure, the warmth as they keep kissing until they're too out of breath.

His cheeks are flushed, his lips red and wet but what makes her lose it is the hint of desire that has mixed with the fear in his eyes. She chews on her bottom lip, cradles the back of his head, then dives in his neck. She shouldn't be doing this here. But just like nothing could prevent her from going into the Upside Down, there's no stopping her from giving it to Eddie.