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helloween-gift-exchange · 2 years

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I got the lovely @frknchrldr for the Hellcheer gift exchange!

Taste of You

Everyone on earth has a soulmate — someone perfect for them, their other half. The connection a bonded pair of soulmates has is based on one of the five senses.

Sight; soulmates with the connection of sight can see glimpses of what their mate sees. Oftentimes you see glimpses in the corner of the eye. It's said when two soulmates with a shared sense of sight finally meet and discover their connection, their vision fully clears.

Sound; it's been said a connection through sound is muffled. Like hearing a concert from three blocks away; just a little fuzzy. When soulmates with a shared sense of sound find each other, it's like a radio that's been set to the right frequency.

Smell; those with the connection of smell have difficulty finding each other. Smell only lasts as long as your mate breathes in whatever they're smelling. The noses of soulmates who find each other can finally smell properly.

Touch; soulmates connected by touch are said to have the easiest time finding each other. The feeling of touch lasts as long as there's pressure. Once the pair has found each other they no longer feel the pressure that's being applied to their other half.

Last of all Taste; Whenever your soulmate has something in their mouth, you taste it. When you finally meet your soulmate; you no longer taste whatever they have in their mouth.

A soulmate connection is only lessons once the fated pair recognizes the connection.

It was taboo to tell one's soulmate about their shared connection once discovered- old wives tales of broken connections of those who shared.

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Eddie was cursed with a sense of taste.

It might've not been a curse if his soulmate ate actual food.

But all he tasted everyday, like clockwork was: a nasty protein drink (if he was even awake early enough), a bland salad, carrots, and sometimes if he's lucky, some sort of steamed vegetables. Sometimes he wasn't sure if his soulmate was a human or a bunny.

Of course there was the issue of tasting vomit and bile everyday as well. But Eddie tried not to think about it; his chest hurt too much when he thought too hard about the habit.

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Soulmate connections were not discussed in her family; Chrissy wasn’t even sure if her parents were soulmates. She remembered hearing hushed conversations when she was ten, about her dad's soulmate.

On Chrissy’s tenth birthday she experienced her first soulmate connection. Her connection was a shared sense of taste; it filled her with joy because her mother was starting to limit the greasy and carb-filled foods that Chrissy was allowed to eat. She could enjoy the delicious foods her soulmate ate — bacon, sausage, bisects, PB&J's. She’d enjoy every single opportunity.

She often wondered if her soulmate liked what she ate. Her father had a “refined” palate that her mother forced her to eat; she did this to show Chrissy what the upper-class families in the town of Hawkins ate. What she should “expect” to eat when she’s an adult. Dinners consisted of fish, quinoa, couscous, Brussel sprouts (she wasn’t a fan of those, too bitter), sometimes even duck or venison, and other dishes she had no idea how to pronounce.

When the Cunninghams would go to dinner parties, Chrissy was forced to eat things like steak tartare. She didn’t mind the taste, but when Steve Harrington told her that it was raw beef, she spit it into a napkin as he laughed next to her.

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When Chrissy turned eleven she was no longer allowed to eat any foods that her mother deemed unhealthy. Her days consisted of protein shakes, salads, and a few steamed vegetables. Fuel for her cheer camps, gymnastics, and morning runs. Laura Cunningham always had a tight leash on her daughter, but it was like Chrissy was being held by the collar now; Chrissy started to feel more and more hungry.

She had started sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night to steal a snack from her brother’s after school stash in the pantry. She was caught by her mother during one of her many nightly escapades. Her hands throbbing and red from the ruler, the tight and angry voice of her mother calling her a pig. She sobbed and promised to never do it again; now falling asleep every night with the tight uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. Trying to savor the taste of her soulmate's dinner.

The only thing that kept her going was her soulmate and the delicious foods they treated her to. It was easy to see that they had some sort of idea about her new food habits. It’s like they treated her to only the tastiest foods each and every day. Meats, cheeses, breads, and her favorites, Pop Tarts for breakfast. More PB&J’s for lunch, goldfish, snacks, so many snacks! It made her mouth water in envy. Dinner was always hearty things; burgers, meatloaf, sloppy joes (she had secretly eaten one once at Kimberly’s house), sometimes even pancakes. Chrissy always made sure she was awake for her soulmate’s dinner, they always ate late into the night.

She tried things through them that she found she hated, maybe even loathed. Olives; she already knew her dislike of them, so tasting them again through her soulmate only reconfirmed her hate for them. She popped a piece of her Bazooka gum in her mouth as soon as she could, trying to communicate to them that she didn’t like it.

Some sort of meaty food — she didn’t like it, she didn’t know what it was — but as soon as the Bazooka gum popped into her mouth, her soulmate stopped eating it, getting her message loud and clear.

The gum was the only sweet thing she was allowed by her mother, the reasoning being that she wasn’t going to swallow it, so it would never end up on her hips.

The last food she learned she disliked was an egg of some kind. It tasted like an egg, but it was far too bitter — it reminded her of a pickle almost.

The egg followed up the taste of smoke. Her soulmate did that a lot, smoke. She tasted different types of smoke from them. Asking her friend Kimberly and describing the taste, she discovered that it was the taste of pot and cigarette smoke; she found the flavors comforting.

Only a few days later had she realized she had eaten a pickled egg. She saw a jar of them at the grocery store. But again, when she popped the gum into her mouth, her soulmate stopped eating. They, whoever they were, valued her opinion and stopped when she made it clear that she didn’t like something.

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At the age of twelve her mother forced her to perform a cheer routine in the middle school talent show. She had no say in what she did, her mother picking the routine, her outfit, her hair, reminding her to smile when she was on stage.

“Boys love a pretty smile.”

Her extra-small bright white cheer uniform was constricting her breathing, and her ponytail was so tight she could feel a headache coming on. Her shoes and scrunchie matched the pristine white of her uniform. Her mother had even put a small amount of makeup on her, a little eyeshadow and a strawberry lip gloss.

She couldn’t help but nervously pace behind the stage awaiting her turn to perform. She hated performing in front of crowds; the fear of disappointing anyone weighed too heavily. She felt a soft tap to her shoulder and whipped around. Craning her neck up so she could look the boy who had tapped her in the eyes. They were wide and brown, and most of all — soft and caring.

How could someone so rough looking have such soft eyes? The buzzed hair, the t-shirt with the arms ripped off, the chain wallet, the eyeliner he seemed to have on. He was the type of person her mother told her would ruin her life.

“Are you okay?” The boy asked her, brows knit in concern. How could he be concerned over her? He’d never met her before, there was no reason to care about a stranger. With a realization that she left it too quiet for a beat too long, she gave a jumbled answer.

“I– I’m just a little nervous! I don’t like performing in front of others, I feel like I won’t do well.” She flushed at her confession. Nervous gray eyes shyly lifting to meet his own, she felt him study her face; his own breaking out into a lopsided smile when it appeared that he saw what he wanted. Chrissy was blown away by that smile; it wasn’t teasing, it was genuine. She returned it with her own timid smile.

“Well, I’ve seen you practicing, and I know you’re going to do great. Just imagine everyone in their underwear, nothing is more embarrassing than that!” He spoke triumphantly. Her cheeks heated further at the thought of him watching her practice — and his wild advice.

“Thank you, I– I’ll try to do that. Um I bet you’ll do great with your–” She motioned towards the guitar flung over his shoulder.

“My band, Corroded Coffin! Oh yeah, we are going to rock this school like it’s never been rocked before!” She could tell he was pumped, no ounce of nervousness on his body, she felt envious of his unwavering confidence.

“Hell, we go right after your routine, so make sure to give a little extra cheer for us, got it?” She was taken aback by his language, her mother would’ve washed his mouth out with soap then and there. But couldn’t help the giggle that slipped from her mouth.

“Of course, and I’ll be your number one fan,” she teased. Both of their smiles grew on their faces.

Seconds later she was called to the curtain. With a small wave she made her way towards the edge of the curtain to wait her turn, biting her lip, trying to suppress the smile she felt on her face, given to her by the most unexpected boy.

He was her first crush.

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When Chrissy turned fourteen, nothing she did was enough to keep the weight of puberty off.

She was getting more and more pressure from her mother to lose weight, to fight for that old body; her sides were pinched daily to remind her what she needed to lose.

Chrissy threw up for the first time her freshman year of high school. Her anxiety was running rampant; her weekly weigh-in with her mother was after cheer practice. The dread of her mother’s cold eyes and words caused her to throw up with panic. She felt light, no longer weighed down by her protein shake or salad.

The taste of bile still lingering on her mouth- was interrupted by a minty flavor; with shame she realized it was her soulmate. God, they probably hated her; she knows she wouldn’t want to taste someone else’s throw up. Throwing the Bazooka gum in her own mouth was the best apology she could give.

Her mother was happy. She lit up when she saw that Chrissy had lost a pound, stating how proud of her daughter she was; how the cheer skirt could finally be taken in again. Every day after that she found herself making visits to restrooms to relieve the weight; she tried to do it late enough in the day, hoping her soulmate was asleep. It never seemed to work because each and every time, she got the taste of her soulmate's cool mint — she’d chew her own sweet Bazooka with a silent apology. She thought the flavors of their gum balanced nicely and it brought a smile to her face.

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At fifteen, Barbara Holland disappeared. Chrissy had heard rumors going around that she had left Hawkins, but she refused to believe it. Not Barb, who was one of the sweetest girls Chrissy had ever known. Anyone who knew Barb knows that she’d never do that. Leave Nancy Wheeler, who she’s basically attached at the hip with? Chrissy called bullshit.

Will Byers, the little brother of Jonathan Byers (whom she shared a couple classes with) went missing. Chrissy watched as Jonathan put up the missing person posters for him; she didn’t even want to imagine what it was like. Her own brother just disappearing? She teared up at the thought. A pang of guilt from the fear she had when she thought what the Cunningham house would be like if her own brother went missing. Will and Alex were the same age, what if something happened to her own brother? What if someone took Will? Would they take more kids his age? What about Alex?

When it was announced that Will's body had been found and identified she expressed her condolences to Jonathan, letting him know that she’d share her notes with him for the classes they had together. Through his hazy eyes he thanked her, head down low as he walked out of the school. Everyone’s eyes followed him, along with whispers of his absent father and irresponsible mother. Cold anger ran through her veins, Ms. Byers did everything she could for her boys.

The Cunningham family attended the wake, showing their condolences to the Byers family.

When it was revealed that Will wasn’t actually dead, Chrissy thought her mother was going to faint. Laura demanded that Alex stay away from the other boy, claiming that there was devil magic involved.

Additionally when Chrissy was fifteen her mother set her up with Jason Carver, the son of a wealthy family from the church. He was attractive enough if not a little pushy — arrogant, a bully, with a need to be the center of attention. Staying at his side kept her mother happy.

Three months into their relationship after a big celebratory party, Jason wanted to take their relationship to the next level. He dropped his pants and boxers in the front seat of his car; begging Chrissy to use her mouth. She did the best she could do with no experience, he mostly wildly thrust into her mouth, his hand on the back of her head, pushing down, forcing her to take all of him. Gagging and choking her, he pushed her head down further and came down the back of her throat.

Chrissy felt dirty and used, wanting nothing more but to scrub her mouth out.

After zipping up his pants and turning the engine on; Jason looked over at her and suggested that she get some practice in before next time.

An hour later at three a.m. as she laid in her bed, she let tears slip out of her eyes, begging God that her soulmate had been asleep during that encounter.

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When Chrissy was sixteen her days flew by. Wake up at five a.m., go for a run, drink her protein shake, go to school, cheer practice, sports games, parties, throwing up — pop a piece of gum — headaches from the pinch of her ponytail, weigh-in with her mother, nights spent in the sewing room, suck Jason off in the back of his car, and her mother fussing on her more than usual.

On one such occasion she was getting ready for Homecoming and couldn’t help but overthink her life, hyperventilating in the bathroom unable to move. She had spent the last three hours pin-straight in front of the vanity as her mother did her hair and makeup. Laura expressed her disappointment in her features as she went.

Unable to take it anymore Chrissy ran for the bathroom, spilling the contents of her stomach into the ceramic bowl. Her mother's voice yelling at her outside the door, the knob shaking as her mother tried opening the door.

“Chrissy. Open the door! Open the door or I’m going to gut you like the fat pig that you are!” Her mother’s words broke her from her panicked trance, dread settling low in her stomach. The only comfort she got was the sharp minty taste of her soulmate's gum.

Not even thirty minutes later a broad smile was plastered on her mothers face as she took pictures of Chrissy and Jason. Jason’s arm was tight and uncomfortable around Chrissy’s waist, like he knew she’d run if he let go.

At times like this she couldn’t handle it, life was too much to bear. The only thing that kept her going was her soulmate. Everyday without fail they’d warm her heart by eating delicious foods, foods that were her favorite; the taste of their minty gum comforting her at rough times. She felt so loved and didn’t want to give up until she had the chance to meet them.

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When Chrissy was almost eighteen, the mall fire happened. Heather Holloway and her whole family were some of the victims. Chrissy thought it was a little strange, Tom Holloway was never one to be seen at a mall, he always had Janet do all the shopping by herself. Heather didn’t even like to associate with her dad, much less go to the local hangout spot with him.

Billy Hargrove was another countless victim of the mall fire. The cheer girls often gossiped about how attractive and assertive he was; Chrissy didn’t see it, she thought he always looked so angry and sad. Chrissy knew Billy through basketball, they never spoke but he always leered at her at parties. She tried to tell Jason, but he waved it off. “Boys will be boys babe. I can’t blame him for checking you out..” She fumed at how ridiculous it was; Jason was pissed if another guy so much looked at her wrong, he had started fights in the past with anyone who even looked at her for too long. The only explanation was that Jason was afraid of Billy. Now he didn’t need to worry about Billy at all.

When Chrissy started her last year of school, her eyes started following Eddie Munson more and more. All she knew about the boy was that he dealt drugs and was apparently satanic. Jason called him a devil-worshiping freak. Chrissy might’ve agreed before, but after seeing the super senior interact with his new freshman followers, she knew he wasn’t anything like that.

Sure, he looked intimidating when speaking to everyone but when he spoke to those freshmen, Chrissy saw his eyes soften. She could tell that he cared for them, the way he stuck up for them in the halls only confirmed it. His soft brown eyes, knowing smirk, unruly hair, radiating confidence, and no-care attitude made her weak in the knees.

On one such day, Eddie was preaching about the expectations society had for new graduates.

Chrissy couldn’t keep her eyes off him, heat pooling between her legs. She went through the whole day trying to ignore what her body wanted, trying to focus on the sweet gum that popped in her mouth instead.

Once she was in the safety of her own room, she could no longer hold back her whimper. She closed her door as softly as possible — anything louder was unladylike, ladies don’t make noise, it’s unbecoming.

Legs pressed tightly together, throbbing from exertion, She had pressed her legs tightly together for hours; she was throbbing from exertion. The damp spot on her panties had gone cold during her walk into the house; but it did nothing to quell her lust — the lust for the freak.

She pictured the devilish smile he threw out to the snarling jocks, letting his tongue hang from his mouth as he threw his signature devil horns. Good girls didn’t think about what that tongue could do to them; how they wanted it to unravel them. Or how they wanted to scream his name when his head was between their thighs, or to taste their own cunt on his tongue.

It had been so long since she last touched herself, too long. Laying herself on her bed Chrissy spread her knees apart shyly, doing this in her own bed felt like too much sometimes. Hands ghosted down her body, rubbing her nipples softly between her thumb and forefinger, Her other hand ran down to her damp panties.

She imagined him in bed with her, his own hands in place of her own. Thick, calloused fingers playing with her nipples, the cool metal of his rings kissing her skin. His other hand teased her through her panties; he’d coo at how wet she was for him. The thought brought a new wave of excitement through her; she tried to bite back the groan that left her mouth.

She had never been so wet before, fingers damp and sticky. Bringing her fingers to her nose, she sniffed herself. It was musky and sweet. Without a second thought she sucked the two fingers into her mouth, whimpering at the taste.

That night she drove herself to an orgasm with Eddie on her mind. Her eyes dropped as exhaustion took over her body. Barely any memories of falling asleep with the musky sweet taste of semen in her mouth.

----

When Chrissy was eighteen, the nightmares started. She was plagued with horrible dreams, her mother’s harsh cold words and chilling, judgemental touches, her dad's silence, Jason’s pushy hands drifting over her body, forcing himself on her and in her while he held her down. And worst of all she’d dream that her soulmate hated her, thought her disgusting, ugly, and unlovable.

She could barely bring herself to eat anymore. No longer did the hunger pains bother her, only the twisting of fear in her gut.

Mother was finally proud of her; the weight that was kept off, her new stoic nature unswayed by the food laid out in front of Alex and her father.

She decided to see Ms. Kelley, who said she was experiencing stress and anxiety. Chrissy didn’t tell Ms. Kelley everything, they both knew it, but some help was better than nothing. She began to teach Chrissy breathing exercises, grounding exercises, anything that could help.

Nothing made the nightmares go away. Not the grounding exercises, not exercising herself into exhaustion, not even the taste of her soulmate's food or comforting minty gum on her tongue.

Nothing helped Chrissy get rid of the paranoia she felt; her skin was always tense with anxiety. She felt like a rabbit being stalked by a wolf. A wolf waiting for the perfect time to pounce.

Kimberly commented to Chrissy that she looked worse for wear; her childhood friend was the only one who could see it. Kimberly didn’t know everything about Chrissy’s life, about her controlling mother, or her boyfriend who was too handsy and forceful, or the way Chrissy pushed the food around on her plate.

Or maybe Kimberly did know, maybe not everything, but she knew enough. Chrissy shouldn’t be surprised, her friend has known her for so long it’d be wrong if she didn’t notice. She knew enough that she suggested Chrissy get something for her mind to be at ease, something that would let her relax. To leave a note in Eddie Munson’s locker with a request for drugs.

Chrissy did it the day Kimberly suggested that she try pot. She slipped her note into Eddie’s locker during class when no one was around. And somehow, right after lunch, she had a note waiting for her in her own locker. ‘Tomorrow after school. Table in the woods’. Signed with an E and a little devil face. She slipped the note into her jacket pocket, clutching it like it was her last lifeline. Maybe the pot and spring break would bring her relief.

She felt the telltale sign of sickness hit after the latest session with Ms. Kelley. Relieving herself in the bathroom came easily at school, she used the least used bathroom. A soft voice of a young girl asked her if she was alright. Replying with a less than believable lie it went silent again.

What followed scared the shit out of Chrissy. She thought the younger girl shook the door to her stall, but it was far worse. She heard her mothers cold voice threatening to gut her — the stall door shook harder, the memories of homecoming night playing out again.The gnarly feet under the stall door disappeared after she clenched her eyes closed.

Chrissy was in a living nightmare, who knew how long it’d be until she was sent to Penthurst. Not even the minty taste of gum could bring her any comfort.

Bringing her shoulders back and holding her head as high as she could, Chrissy made her way out to the requested meeting place. Her head ran through all the negative scenarios that could take place; maybe Eddie just wanted to laugh and watch her suffer, maybe he wouldn’t sell to her because of Jason, maybe he’d never even show.

____

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____

It was a gift that Jason didn’t end up making that last winning shot. She thought the new freshman, Lucas, deserved it. He had been playing bench all season, she had seen how antsy he was during every game — always ready to jump to his feet.

Jason tried to pretend as much as he could that it didn’t bother him; trying to be happy that the team had won. But Chrissy could see it, his mask wasn’t as strong as he thought it was. He thought he deserved that last winning shot.

It was a struggle telling him that she wouldn’t be going to the party, that she didn’t feel well enough. The heat behind his eyes blazed, he had wanted her to suck him off in the car on the way over to the party, a little present he felt he deserved for the team's victory — just like every other victory. With the best sultry smile she could muster, she promised to make it up to him. At times like this it was better to play into his desires, he’d be easier to deal with if a “reward” was dangled in front of him.

Reluctantly he dropped the possessive grip on her waist. With a wave to Kimberly and the rest of the cheer squad, Chrissy walked to the other side of the parking lot. A shout of laughter came from the door to the art building. Eddie, his band, and his gang of freshman bantered with each other as they exited the building.

Eddie’s hands were full of books from their campaign (he had corrected her when she called it a game). Eyes searched the parking lot until they found her own. With a small nod and smile he jerked his head towards his van, motioning for her to meet him there.

After a short good-bye to his friends and a promise to meet up over the break, he made his way over to her and shot her a friendly smile after she asked about the session.

Eddie opened the passenger door for her, offered a hand to help her in, she took it with a graceful smile and a teasing "thank you, milord." He gave a dramatic bow before closing the door.

Brushing her hands together trying to memorize the feeling of his calloused hands, her mind filled with the lewd memory of her in bed, thinking of those very hands. With a shake of the head she banished the thoughts to the back of her brain.

A smile found itself on her face once again, as he entered his own side of the van with an exaggerated grunt. Her body relaxed in his presence.

The engine of his car started with a growl, music blaring on the stereo. It was quickly turned down and Eddie gave her a sheepish smile. She’d have to tease him about going deaf. He turned the channel to what he thought she’d like, ABBA and his endless chatter filling the van.

They quickly found themselves at his trailer. With another flourish he popped open the passenger side door, his hand already out for her to take. How she wished to hold that hand forever.

------

She wasn’t sure what she imagined the inside of his trailer to look like but she loved what she saw.

It was cluttered, a little messy, knick knacks everywhere. The yellow light from the lamps gave it a soft and friendly glow, a stark contrast to the sterile white of her own house. This was a real home.

She found herself asking if he lived alone, The thought brought her sadness; no one especially Eddie deserved to be alone. She was relieved when he described his uncle and that he was currently working a night shift at the plant.

The feeling of unease, of being watched, snapped her from her happy trance. She asked Eddie how long the Special K would take to kick in while she watched him attempt to find it.

With a motion towards the radio, Eddie left the room to continue his search for the requested drug. Chrissy turned the radio on at a low volume, Madonna’s Like a Virgin, filling the room.

When the clock chimed, Chrissy filled with dread, her brain screaming at her to move, to try and find Eddie.

-----

When she came to, she was gasping for air. Eddie's arms wrapped around her tightly, rocking her back and forth, whispered pleas pouring from his mouth. Her own mouth tasted of tears.

Memories of running through her house rushed back to her; Eddie noticed as her body stiffened. A cry of relief rang through him as he held her tighter, explaining what he had seen. Her floating in the air, eyes white, twitching around. No matter what he did, she wouldn’t respond.

Bile rose in her throat in fear, urgently tapping Eddie on the arm, he let her go. Legs carried her towards the bathroom he had pointed out earlier.

Hands clutching his toilet as she emptied her stomach. Her hair being held from her face and another hand rubbing her back soothingly.

Soft whispers from Eddie, asking her to raise her head for water. He helped her drink from the glass, setting it back down once he was satisfied by how much she drank. Offering a piece of gum shortly after, taking one for himself- only now did Chrissy notice how green his face was. The minty flavor of the gum was familiar and comforting.

Eddie moved them to his room, making jokes about hanging out in the bathroom. Once settled, with her on his bed, at his insistence, and him perched on the floor. Chrissy began to describe the nightmares she started to experience, the excruciating headaches, the nosebleeds, the lack of sleep, and finally how she started to hallucinate.

He quietly listened, nodding his head. Only once she had finally gotten it all out did he speak.

“Well, at least we know you’re not going crazy. I saw you floating for fuck’s sake and the lights, man the lights were going batshit…” She softly laughed. How could he joke in such a situation?

“Unless you’re dreaming about me right now, am I on your mind Cunningham?” He teased further, if only he knew how wrong he was. Eddie was on her mind a lot, especially in her bed alone, late at night. With reddening cheeks she vehemently denied that she thought of him.

Just like the forest, he stabbed himself in the heart, dramatically falling over, pulling a giggle from her.

After a few seconds of silence, Eddie cleared his throat and looked back up at her, asking if she’d like to be taken home. Maybe she had shot down his suggestion too quickly, but the thought of heading back into that house chilled her to the bone. Her mother already thought she’d be with Kimberly most of the break anyways, there was no point in going back.

It was easy to see how much she disliked the idea. Eddie provided a few other suggestions, one of which included his dealer Rick’s house on the lake. Both of them hoped they could forget about her floating in his living room and move past it.

They made it to Rick’s cabin around midnight, and Eddie provided her with some of his spare clothes so she could get out of her cheer uniform. She could feel the heat in his eyes when he saw her leave the bathroom. His spare Hellfire shirt was huge on her, the three-quarter sleeves falling to her wrists, the bottom kissing her knees.

Chrissy felt her face heat up. The shirt smelled just like him; it was so big, and it was warm. He cleared his throat, a blush creeping up his face.

“It uh, it looks good on you.” He didn’t meet her eye.

They decided to sleep in the living room together, music softly playing in the background. Eddie gathered as many blankets as he could, making a small nest for her to cuddle into. She shyly asked for him to join her — she craved his touch, too scared to sleep alone. Relenting, he climbed into the pile of blankets beside her. Shifting closer as he laid the blankets over them, Chrissy grabbed his hand, entwining her fingers through his.

Eddie understood the need for physical contact, it helped him know that she was right there next to him, rubbing her hand in comfort until they both fell asleep.

The Next Morning

Chrissy shot awake as soon as she heard shouting outside the cabin, her fingers still tangled around Eddie’s, their bodies now curled together.

“Eddie, I swear to GOD I know you’re here!” a young voice yelled as they pounded on the door some more.

With a groan of his own, Eddie rose from his spot, giving Chrissy a sleepy smile that made her heart melt. Chrissy peeked at the door from her spot as Eddie answered it. It was the freshmen from the Hellfire club,and a redhead who Chrissy was pretty sure Lucas from the basketball team was always making eyes at. Robin Buckley from the school band, and… Steve Harrington? Who was holding four grocery bags.

The group pushed past Eddie into the cabin, the kid from Hellfire talking a mile a minute.

Something about the lights flickering in the trailer park last night, and the scream which the redhead, who Chrissy now knew as Max, heard coming from Eddie's trailer. Eddie didn’t tell Chrissy about his screaming, but by his blush she knew it was intentional.

Steve Harrington stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw Chrissy, smacking Robin at his side pointing to Chrissy on the floor.

“Um, hey Steve, hey Robin.” Shyly she waved at the two of them.

---

“So you’re telling us, Chrissy was frozen in place and floated up to the ceiling? And the only other thing you saw was the lights flickering? No specks of dust?” Dustin, Eddie’s Hellfire freshman, shot the questions out in a rapid fire.

Rubbing his hand over his face in annoyance, Eddie gave a full nod. “That’s exactly what I’m saying Henderson,” he said, clearly annoyed about being asked the same few questions multiple times in a row.

After the explanation from Max about what she saw and heard in the trailer park, Chrissy realized how she knew the voice. It was the girl from the bathroom that had asked if she was alright, the only person who checked on her all day, the only person who realized something was wrong without her having to say anything.

Chrissy sat herself next to the girl, giving her a smile. Perplexed, the girl raised her brow in return.

“You’re the one who checked in with me yesterday in the bathroom. Thank you for that,” she began, gulping deeply as she described what she saw. Max was trustworthy, she decided.

As her story continued, she saw the concern and fear fall over Max’s already pale face. Chrissy could tell the other girl was sleep deprived — it was like she was looking in a mirror. Suddenly it all clicked for Chrissy. Max was taking pills in the bathroom, she had seen the same girl walking towards Ms. Kelley’s office after her own appointment.

“You’re experiencing it too, aren't you.” This wasn’t a question. Chrissy knew deep in her gut that this girl was going through the same thing she was. The room fell quiet, all other conversations stopped.

Dustin asked Chrissy to repeat herself. Eddie rubbed soothing circles into her back as she told her story once again. Steve and Robin exchanged a glance — they were obviously going to talk about this later. Chrissy couldn’t find it in herself to care.

Dustin groaned after she finished hashing out what she experienced yesterday.

“Fred Benson is dead. And we think the same thing is after you Chrissy. And Max too.”

The long history of the Upside Down was given to them after the explanation of how Fred’s dead body was discovered in the school's newspaper room. Nancy Wheeler had made the discovery. After giving her statement to the police, her next course of action was calling on this ragtag group.

The existence of the Upside Down explained so much. She knew that Barbara Holland would’ve never run away. Heather Holloway would’ve never gone to the mall with her parents. Billy Hargrove would never be caught going to the mall. Not to mention Will Byers unexplainable “return” from the dead.

Oh if only her mother knew all of this, she’d surely die from shock.

This information surprisingly made Chrissy feel better. She knew it all wasn’t in her head anymore. It was an external force, and her thoughts all those years ago about the events were not misplaced.

Steve finally dug into his bags once things had quieted down, everyone soaking in the information they were just presented with. He threw a box of cereal and YooHoo at Eddie. And handed another bag over to Chrissy to sift through, It had granola bars, coffee, and her favorite Bazooka bubblegum.

Her gut turned; she hadn’t even felt hungry this whole time. When was the last time she ate? Yesterday at lunch, it was her small salad. Lost in her own thoughts as she stared into the bag, she tasted chocolate milk on her tongue. Her soulmate must be awake and eating, smiling softly to herself, Chrissy looked up into the room, her eyes drifting towards Eddie. His YooHoo at his lips as he drank it down.

The flavor hit her tongue again, chocolate milk. Eddie was drinking chocolate milk.

Chrissy could taste it. Chrissy could taste it.

Eddie was Chrissy's Soulmate.

----

Once Nancy Wheeler had shown up and explained to the group what she heard about Victor Creel and his family. Questioning Chrissy how she got away, she gave them everything she could. She couldn’t help but think the largest reason for her survival was that her soulmate (soulmate!) was with her.

Nancy and Robin started planning a trip to Pennhurst, hoping to hear from Creel how he had survived.

While Steve was fighting with the two women about joining them on their trip, Chrissy stared at Eddie, soaking in his appearance as he frantically spoke to Dustin.

She couldn’t believe it, he was her soulmate. Strong, free, confident, and beautiful Eddie was hers. Her heart soared at the thought, quickly followed by shame.

Eddie had to put up with her constant binging, the constant taste of bile, the constant taste of Jason’s dick, even his semen.

But Eddie had blessed her with so much, giving her all the flavorful foods that he could, everyday, letting her taste something other than bland salads and steamed vegetables. Tears entered her eyes. She was already so thankful for him, maybe she was given him because he’d set her free.

She needed to break up with Jason.

That was the very next thing that she did. Eddie had easily shown her the landline once she explained she needed to make a call.

The conversation with Jason was anything but easy. He was obviously hungover and still drunk from his night of partying. Unwilling to listen to her explain that she wanted to break up, he instead went on to interrupt her and ranted how she should’ve been there, how she abandoned him. How she should’ve given him his prize for winning even if she wasn’t feeling well, he said he deserved it after all, it was the least she could do.

She rolled her eyes, not willing to listen to him continue his self absorbed rant. She did what she’s never done before. Interrupted him.

“Jason, stop for one second. I called you because I wanted to tell you something. Not listen to you whine about not getting your dick sucked because I didn’t feel well or how I supposedly abandoned you.” Keeping her voice as calm and steady as she could, she continued.

“Jason, I’m breaking up with you. I found my soulmate.” She wasn’t willing to go into how self absorbed, narcissistic, and pushy he was, not right now. After she heard a disgruntled noise of shock she hung up the phone, her message was received loud and clear.

Her focus would be on Eddie after they dealt with whatever was after Max and herself. Dustin so lovingly referred to their enemy as Vecna.

Three days later

Fiddling with the pick necklace Eddie had given her (he noticed her habit of chewing on her nails and gave her his necklace to fiddle with as an alternative — she had never seen him so beautifully red-faced), Chrissy squared her shoulders as the group laid out their plan on defeating Vecna once more.

Max, Erica, Lucas, and Chrissy would stay in the Creel house. Max and Chrissy would be acting as the bait to distract him as the others went into the Upside Down. Dustin and Eddie would distract the demo-bats with music. Eddie had wanted to give a concert on his guitar but Chrissy shot him down quickly. They had the school's loudspeaker. All they needed to do was play music over that. Feeling proud of herself as she suggested playing it in different parts of school to hold their attention.

After the two of them would draw the attention away from the house, Nancy, Robin, and Steve would sneak in and kill Vecna. They were all armed to the teeth in weapons.

At the Creel house, Chrissy barricaded the door after she had heard from Patrick while she stopped at home to pick up more clothes, that Jason was hunting for Eddie. Apparently Jason was convinced that Eddie had killed Fred as some sort of virgin sacrifice.

Patrick went on to explain that he had stayed with Jason to stop him from doing anything too stupid, but was unsuccessful. Patrick looked worse for wear, extremely pale. After probing, Chrissy learned that Patrick was experiencing the same things as Max and Chrissy. She had successfully convinced him to keep his favorite music on at all times. She even convinced him to take Jason to the movies or something the night the plans were in motion.

After the close call with Max, they finally knew that music would break the trance that Vecna would put the victims in. ABBA would soon be blasting from her own Walkman once Eddie left.

Chrissy’s best music was Eddie, she still believed that their soulmate connection was the reason she survived that night in his trailer. How she wished she could tell him of their connection. But the soulmate connection needed to be discovered by each party individually. She didn’t care how long it might take him, she’d wait forever if she had to.

The group gave Patrick a Walkman of his own, asking him to inform them about when he was headed into the movie with Jason. Step one was making sure that Jason was out of their hair; Chrissy had convinced the group he’d be a problem if he was left wandering around.

As soon as that message from Patrick came through, step two went into plan — splitting up.

The group split ways with hard hugs and promises to see each other soon. Chrissy hugged Eddie the hardest, giving him a few pieces of her gum for his nerves. Promises of a huge joint to be had after they defeated Vecna.

With one final squeeze and wave, she watched the group shuffle into Eddie’s van.

“Eddie, huh?” Max asked next to her, a smirk on the other girl's face. Chrissy’s own face bursting into flames. Erica laughed as Max teased her.

-----

Max was pulled into a trance by Vecna. Lucas, Erica, and Chrissy stay by her side, waiting anxiously for it to be over.

Chrissy’s hands were trembling, no wonder Eddie was so shaken up from Chrissy’s trance. It was nerve racking not being able to do anything for the young girl. Fiddling with the necklace was no longer enough. She popped a piece of her gum into her mouth, the sugary flavor soothing her nerves.

Chrissy reminded the group that it was okay, they had her Walkman and her favorite music, it was going to be alright. She squeezed the hands of the Sinclair siblings. The three of them kept their hands together as they waited anxiously.

When Max started to float, she could feel Lucas squeezing her own hand harder. She did her best to squeeze back to comfort him, but she felt fear for the girl herself. Max had become something of a little sister to her; she couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to her or to the little group she had grown so close to.

Their little ragtag team was already so good at reading her. Nancy had confronted her about her eating habits, promising Chrissy she’d help her anyway she could but giving a firm reminder that she needed to keep her strength up if Chrissy wanted to protect the rest of the group. That comment from Nancy had helped as did the firm looks she’d gotten over their group meals.

Eddie himself was starting to see the issues Chrissy tried hard to hide. The small comments about her mother made him grimace. The things she always felt were normal growing up were far from normal. Each time Eddie heard something that he found detestable he would tell Chrissy, make sure she knew that it wasn’t normal.

It wasn’t normal for a mom to punish their daughter by paddling their thighs if mud was brought into the house, or if they did something that could embarrass the family. It felt good hearing that it wasn’t something normal, that her mother really was extreme, or as Eddie called it, abusive.

Chrissy had tried to defend her mother at first. But Eddie had reassured her that she didn’t need to, nothing about what her mother did was okay or done out of any real parental love. Her heart sang at his reassurance, at the embrace he helped her in after she confessed to the verbal and physical abuse her mother put her through.

A soft gasp from Max shook her from her thoughts that had wandered onto their group. The redhead fell into the pile of cushions that Lucas, Erica, and Chrissy had set up under her after she went into her trance.

The walkie talkie blared to life.

“We did it, we did it!” Robin excitedly shouted into the walkie. Confirming to the Creel house group that they were on their way back — Eddie and Dustin were unharmed and they’d meet back at the Creel house.

Max began talking about El, the superpowered friend the group had that moved to California, how El had helped in defeating Vecna. El was there, in Max’s mind, fighting Vecna the same time that Nancy, Robin, and Steve were. The girl was on her way back to close off the door he had opened.

The screech of tires on the asphalt alerted them that the rest of the party had arrived. A door slammed shut. Mere moments later an out of breath Eddie appeared at the doorway of the living room. Leaving on the doorframe to catch his breath, he looked straight as Chrissy with wide eyes.

“Bazooka gum, it’s your Bazooka gum,” he croaked out.

Chrissy started to tear up with a nod of her head, scrambling to her feet. Eddie rose to his full height and took a few steps forward, entering her own space. Grabbing her chin softly with his hand, he kissed her with so much passion her knees went weak under her.

Groans sang out around her but she couldn’t find it in herself to care, her soulmate finally knew that she was his and he was hers. His lips tore away when he was no longer able to breath, resting his own head against hers.

The love in his eyes warmed her all over.

“Soulmates,” he simply said.

“Soulmates,” she replied.

Eddie would be the start of her independence. Vecna had brought on so many new friends that cared for her, friends that wanted to help her recover and get away from her parents. She couldn’t help but be thankful.

---

“Wait, does this mean I know what Jason’s dick tastes like?”

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