chance cunningham

[JACOB ELORDI, CIS MALE, HE/HIM] who’s that? oh it’s [CHANCE CUNNINGHAM]. i hear they’re [22] and are known as [the FALL FROM GRACE] around [HAWKINS]. they’re also a [STORE CLERK] at [HUNTING & CAMPING]. they’re known to be [+loyal, +protective] and [-sensitive, -aggressive]. some people say they remind them of [high school football hoodies, late night walks, silent family dinners, hooking up at lovers lake]. [rocky, 27, she/her, pst]

The pattern of people who remembered and didn’t made no sense to Jack, but Chance had clearly been just as in the dark about his death as Jo had. “Yeah, I know. It’s nuts. I wish I had an explanation.” He watched as Chance stood, began taking steps across the dining room as he seemed to try to will himself to remember what had happened. “Somehow, only Julie and Steve can remember it happening. Not even my parents know, and I don’t really know how to tell my mother that I passed away and she can’t remember it without winding up at church for an exorcism or something.”

His theory with Adam couldn’t have been that far fetched, not if Chance himself thought the same about the commune just being full of the dead. It wasn’t something he could just go up and ask the others, though, not if Jack himself hadn’t even remembered his death; had everyone else forgotten, too? “Chrissy was there, too, right? Did she … remember anything about being there? She didn’t … die, too, did she?” he asked, bringing his voice low.

Jack’s brow furrowed at the mention of her sister again. He couldn’t imagine Jo talking to Chance about anything more than the weather, much less her theories on what had gone on in the commune. “Jo talked to you about all of this? At the carnival?” Chance looked at him with a solemnity that he’d hardly seen from his friend before, and Jack swallowed hard, biting the inside of his cheek. “I don’t know, I think we’re in way over our heads, dude, but hear me out. What if this commune place … what if it didn’t exist? What if it never did?”

🍻

“i wish you had an explanation too,” chance agreed, letting out a defeated laugh as he scratched his head in concentration. this whole situation was a mess. and who were they to get to the bottom of it? chance was a college drop out who peaked in high school. he knew people saw him that way and they were right. and as much as he loved their friends, none of them were geniuses. in conclusion: they were fucked. 

“it doesn’t make sense that some of us remember and some of us don’t,” chance thought out loud, staring at jack as blankly as he was staring back, “that feels like a mistake, doesn’t it? why would some of us remember and some not?” he scoffed, “if the goal was to create chaos, then mission accomplished i guess.” but chance didn’t know if that was the goal. he didn’t even know who was behind all this to begin with. 

as jack began to prod about chrissy, chance’s eyes dropped as he stared down at the ground. his heart started pounding in his chest so loudly that he could feel it in his ears. “to be real, man?” he scoffed lightly, took a deep breath, and decided to trust jack, “chrissy doesn’t tell me shit. she doesn’t remember being there...but she won’t entertain the alternative.” looking up at his friend again, chance leaned in and lowered his voice, “but i remember her dying, dude. i remember it. the hunt for eddie munson because everyone thought he did it, the funeral...all of it. it’s fucking fresh in my mind...but i’m the only one who remembers.”

chance let that hang in the air for a moment before adding his very important caveat, “don’t go telling anyone about that, okay? it’s not my shit to tell and...who knows if it’s true? we don’t have confirmation. so...please. not a word.” chance realized fairly quickly once jack got to talking about jo that he’d slipped up. he’d mentioned her when he shouldn’t have, because now he’d unearthed more questions he wasn’t ready to answer. “well, no...not at the carnival,” he cleared his throat a bit as his cheeks flushed, “we just kinda became friends when i dropped out of college after chrissy died. it’s complicated, man. and it’s not important.” chance and jo were over, so what was the point in rehashing it all now? grateful that jack changed the subject, he leaned back in his chair and sighed. “at this rate? that feels like the only possible thing, man,” he stated, shaking his head, “no one remembers being there, no one has seen this commune or whatever, right?” he crossed his arms and let his head fall back so he could stare at the ceiling, “it’s fucking bogus. it’s a cover up.” now he was starting to sound like a conspiracy theorist.

she’d been lounging on her bed for a few hours - well, if you could call staring up at the ceiling that served as a projection space for the vast chaos of your mind as lounging. perhaps contemplating was a better word for it. jo was contemplating, had been doing so in the basement until her mother had called her up to discuss one thing or another, she hadn’t really listened. however there had been no chance to slip back into the basement and work on the board unnoticed, so her room would have to do.

the last few weeks had proven more eventful than jo could’ve ever imagined. between being made aware of her brothers death, a disastrous carnival and murray letting her in on everything that had been happening in hawkins starting with will byers disappearance in ‘83, she’d hardly had a moment to herself to just… think. think about what to make of all this.

she’d always been a skeptic, before jack had gone. always tossing out weird clues and stories people called in at the post, totally wrapped up in her work and her own little world. now, now everything had changed, her whole world had been turned upside down. she’d been subconsciously clinging to the possibility that maybe she was just the weird girl with her impossible conspiracy theories that people had made her out to be. then there’d been the cabin and every fucking thing else, not to mention the most recent of hijinks, when they’d broken into hawkins lab, just barely getting out.

it was decidedly too much for one person to wrap her head around - but jack had been through enough, she didn’t see much of julie lately, and the last time she’d properly talked to jonathan, he’d been in the hospital because of injuries her brother had - albeit unwillingly - inflicted on him. she felt guilty enough already, didn’t need to burden him with more of her mindless ramblings. jo rubbed the pads of her fingers against each other, blinking up at the ceiling.

max - maybe she’d call max, seeing as she was somehow, even if by default, wrapped up in all this too, and -

a knock on her door made her jump, frown, roll onto her stomach, as she made a non-committal sound, indicating for the other to enter. greeted with the sight of chance, she composed herself somewhat. he hadn’t been in her room in, well, forever,and seeing him lean against her doorway, a sense of desperation in his eyes as he pleaded with her, jo felt something inside her twist.

she was quick to nod, patting the space next to her on the bed, sitting up. “what’s - what’s going on? you okay?”

🍻

once he got the okay, albeit a nonverbal one, chance turned the knob and slowly opened the door to reveal himself. at the sight of her in bed, staring at him, chance leaned against the doorway and shoved his hands into his pockets. “hey,” he greeted quietly, averting his eyes in an effort to conceal how exhausted he looked. there was no use trying to pretend with jo. he’d come all the way to her place, which was already a pretty good indicator that the situation was dire, so there was no use trying to cover it up and act all nonchalant now. 

like jo could read his mind, she sat up in bed and invited him in. he looked around her room for a moment, trying and failing to remember the details of the last time he’d been here. “i’m alright,” he finally answered, stepping fully into her room and slowly, quietly, closing the door behind him. without overthinking it, he walked over to her bed and sat down beside her, rubbing anxiously at the side of his face as he figured out where to start. 

“have you talked to anyone yet? about what happened last night?” he finally turned to look at her and their eyes immediately found each other. there was so much chance wanted to say but he didn’t know how. “i was with jack the other day...after the carnival...he told me what happened to him...and the same thing happened to chrissy...” chance’s voice failed. it was like someone had put him on mute. irritated at himself more than anything, chance pressed his palms into his eyes and took a deep breath. “you were right,” he finally breathed out, dropping his hands to look at her again, “about everything. about something being off. i know i gave you shit and i was a douche to you because i didn’t believe you and...that’s...my bad.” he cleared his throat and held her gaze. “i’m sorry for that.” 

but the point of this meeting wasn’t so chance could apologize. but he figured he needed to get that out of the way before he started asking jo for any favors. “i want to protect my sister,” he explained, shrugging his shoulders, “and cal won’t tell me what went down at the lab and to be honest? i don’t want to implicate him in all this shit.” cal was a pain in chance’s ass, but still his little brother at the end of the day. chance still wanted to protect him from this if he could. “a lot of shit went down at the junk yard. so i have all this...information, i guess. and i don’t know who to give it to.” unsure if this was the move, he smiled weakly at jo and shrugged, “i thought maybe i could give it to you. maybe you’d know what to do.” 

Calvin Cunningham was a logical, rational person. He preferred his facts to be concrete, for things to make sense. And the knowledge that his younger sister had died two years ago? Yeah, that made zero sense to Cal. How could he not remember that? He’d thought she’d just… gone missing. Cal had thought she was in the forest commune, along with some of the other people from town. But the file clearly had a date of death, something he’d guaranteed before the agents had showed up at the lab and they’d had to hustle out of there. Chrissy had died on March 21st, 1986, a day that meant nothing to Cal before right now. He couldn’t even remember what he’d been doing that day. 

Thad had dropped him off after they’d gotten back to his car, and since arriving back at the Cunningham house, Cal had been sitting outside in his ambulance. It felt suffocating inside - it always had, ever since he was a kid. The file on Chrissy was open as he looked through it, though he wasn’t taking in much anymore. He was still thinking about the lab doing surveillance on something, about the girl who could move shit with her mind. Fuck, maybe they had been drugged with gem. That was the only thing that seemed logical to Cal, given everything they’d seen, but… that couldn’t explain away the file he now had. 

Jumping at the sound of Chance greeting him, Cal couldn’t stop himself from scowling. It was a reflex now, shaped from years of resentment and jealousy. Before Chance got fully settled, Cal stashed the file in the front seat, away from prying eyes. “What?” Cal snapped, though he was exhausted and it lacked some of it’s usual bite. As tired as he was, though, Cal couldn’t sleep. He knew it without even trying. “So are you.” He pointed out defensively, shooting a weary look at Chance as he sat in the seat in the back. Cal was on the cot - it had given him more space to look at the file. “Just the usual,” Cal said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “Totally normal night of breaking and entering.” Chance wouldn’t believe him if he told him the truth, because Cal wouldn’t have believed Chance if their roles were reversed. “What about you? Where did you two sneak off to? Some party at Skull Rock?” 

🍔

chance had actually entered in peace. he wasn’t looking for a fight or to say something spiteful to cal or make him feel bad. but it never mattered what chance’s intentions were, he could always count on cal to start scowling and acting like a little bitch the second they had to interact. “wipe that ugly look off your face, calvin,” chance rolled his eyes, unable to help the venom he was about to spew, “nobody wants to look at it.” clearing his throat and standing up, chance began looking around the ambulance, noting where things were and what was in the vehicle to begin with. 

every comeback or stupid retort that came out of his brother’s mouth tested chance’s patience. cal just knew exactly how to provoke him and push his buttons. “i’m not accusing you of anything, you douche. can you fucking relax?” god. how the hell was chance supposed to get to the bottom of what happened if his brother was already on the fucking defense? like he was the enemy? at chance’s earnest question about the lab, cal responded with sarcasm. it would’ve been fine if he’d at least given chance something useful, but he didn’t. frustrated, chance rubbed his face and cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks redden as he flipped through some safety protocols that were hung up on the walls of the ambulance. 

“no we weren’t at a party at skull rock, we were at the junk yard,” a scoff, “you went to hawkins lab with a group of people, did you not?” he’d heard from someone that cal and thad had showed up, and given the state that cal was in, chance was sure it was true and that something unnerving must’ve happened. “care to share what the fuck you found there?” he glanced over his shoulder at cal, meeting his eyes and holding his gaze. “man, if you don’t tell me, i’m just going to ask someone else. so you might as well.”

with a shrug, chance turned his attention back to the medical equipment he was surrounded by. it was then that he stumbled upon some drawers that looked important. he opened one up and boom. jackpot. “what’s this?” he asked, picking up one of the vials that read ketamine hydrochloride and turning it over in his hands, “sedative?”

at the notion that her weed sucked, max rolled her neck along with her eyes to deadpan, “you know like, ninety percent of the weed in hawkins comes from the same place right?” she shook it off. she could tell chance was putting up an act, after all the weirdos her mom brought home as a kid, max developed a pretty stellar bullshit detector. chance’s recovery was driving the thing wild, but she figured with an explosion having just visited for the fourth of july, she could see how inhaling smoke might fuck with a guy’s brain. it was none of her business, but max did feel a little bit of satisfaction in knowing she had an upper hand. she had him figured out. 

max remained mostly quiet, sort of vaguely nodding and reacting to everything chance was saying. he wasn’t hurt, nod, max, that’s a good thing. he works in town, that’s a slow nod, doesn’t everyone work in town? either way, it wasn’t until chance brought up billy that he got a verbal reaction from max, “we aren’t close.” she could never make that clear enough. as the other attempted sympathy, max’s expression physically curled in disgust, “you don’t have to do that.” she said quickly, “like, be sorry and shit.” max sniffled a little, then took a long drag from the joint. when she exhaled, she cast him a severe enough glance, she only had to hold it for about three seconds as she told him, “it’s really fine.” the impending trial of billy hargrove was the least of her worries, especially when it came to him. 

luckily he backed up and max reached out to chance to offer him the joint again. it was progress. “sunny california.” she mocked lightly, recalling the words of her now late middle school science teacher. “san diego, specifically.” she blinked a couple of times and looked down at her hands. “kind of a downgrade.” she shrugged, then did the polite thing her mom would’ve nudged her to do, “what about you? obviously you spent some time away.” max made eye contact, “because i’d remember seeing the jolly green giant walking around town when i moved.” 

🍻

“what makes you think i get my weed in hawkins?” he retorted, shrugging as he took another long sip of his beer, effectively killing another bottle. the truth was he got his weed wherever he could find it. “whatever,” he concluded, not wanting to go to bat with her over something that might lead to talking about the carnival. it was the last thing he wanted to talk about as it pertained to him. 

as chance answered her questions, he noticed the way she seemingly struggled to carry a conversation. “yo has anyone ever told you you talk too much?” chance teased, snorting to himself at her nonverbal responses. if max wasn’t good looking, chance probably wouldn’t be intrigued by her silence, but she was...so alas. it wasn’t until the conversation got to billy that he stayed silent and she did the talking. it still wasn’t much, but it was something. “alright then,” he cleared his throat, still fidgeting by kicking around some rocks, “i don’t feel sorry for you.” 

ultimately he wouldn’t act callous, but he knew when it was time to drop a topic. given that he was about three beers in and only had two left, he decided to take a little break. on cue, max extended her joint to him again. he stared at it for a moment, debating. fine. without saying anything, he grabbed it and brought it to his lips, inhaling slowly this time. he stared at her as he exhaled, relieved that no coughs came. “thanks,” he muttered, hanging it back and finally feeling the effects of the drug. with his eyes low and his mood lifted, he chuckled dryly at her comment. “kind of a downgrade?” another laugh, “do you miss it?” 

max was giving him so little that he figured she wasn’t interested, which was why her question came as a surprise. “i was born and raised here,” he explained wiping some dirt off the top of his sneakers, “i went to IU for a couple of years but uh...it ended up not being for me...so i dropped out.” he cleared his throat. “i went a little mental, i guess.”

Though she wasn’t as close with Chrissy as she was with Cal, Beth still considered the only girl of the Cunningham clan to be like a sister to her. It had been upsetting to hear that she’d gone off and joined the same community in the forest that Adam had supposedly gone to. The whole thing was kind of weird to Beth, knowing that Adam had actually never been there in the first place, and she wondered if something similar had happened to Chrissy, especially if she couldn’t remember anything. “She didn’t … does she not remember being there, or anything? Adam’s the only other person I really know who was supposedly there, and he … wasn’t.” Beth let out a shaky laugh, clearing her throat. “But she’s okay, yeah. That’s the most important.”

It would’ve been like old times, save the extra seat at the Cunningham table that Chance mentioned. “Right, yeah. I can’t believe, you know, after all this time, that he’s dating Ginny, of all people.” The old Ginny would’ve been expected for Cal, not in the least bit shocking. The girl Beth had run into on the street, though? She seemed like the kind of girl who Beth would’ve been jealous of in high school for dating Chance, not his brother. “They, um … seem happy, though, you think?”

Inside, Beth was paranoid, panicked, at all times. It was good to know that at least she was playing it off like she wasn’t bothered. The thought of losing Adam at any second terrified her so badly that she willed herself to not think about it most of the day, until something came to remind her that he was once gone. Beth couldn’t admit that to Chance, though, not to the guy she’d spent years trying to impress. “I do?” she asked, giving her shoulders a shrug. “I know it’s naive, but I’m trying to enjoy this, having him back, instead of worrying about losing him again.” 

🍻

as beth started asking questions about chrissy, chance could feel the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. it wasn’t his place to tell his sister’s story, was it? not to someone who was so closely entwined with their family. he wasn’t even sure what calvin knew. so...he made a snap decision. “yo you know what, beth?” chance inhaled sharply and shrugged as he looked up at her, “she doesn’t like to talk about it much. and my mom nips the conversation whenever we try to get it started so...i don’t know.” everything he’d said was true. the only difference was that he knew chrissy had died because he remembered. but he wasn’t prepared to let beth in on that.

when the conversation pivoted to ginny and cal, chance felt relief. this was way easier to talk about than all the other shit they were dealing with. “seriously,” he agreed with a light chuckle, “i mean...good for him, though. ginny is hot and she’s gotten pretty cool. i’m starting to think she might be the one who will finally pull the stick out of cal’s ass.” chance knew better than anyone that the odds of that ever happening were slim to none, but chance wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to give his brother shit. 

thinking about losing chrissy or adam again instantly put a lump in chance’s throat and a knot in his stomach. “you do,” he assured her, holding her gaze for a moment before sniffling and clearing his throat, “i think it’s dope that you see it that way. i mean...i don’t know what the fuck is going to happen. but...you’re right...i mean, we’re lucky that we’re getting a second shot at all this.” despite all the crazy shit that had gone down as of late, chance knew that he’d choose it all again if it meant having his people back in one piece. it was worth it.

if chance hadn’t already been sold on the idea that there was something dark-sided and supernatural happening in hawkins, the ‘rabid’ dogs at the junkyard would’ve been confirmation. the group he’d been with all night had narrowly escaped getting mauled by the hounds and it was only once they had finally driven off in a rickety bus, towards safety, that chance loosened his grip on the gun he’d been clutching since they arrived at the junkyard. 

the journey back to his house was a blur. he couldn’t remember where they parked the bus or how he and chrissy got back to his truck, but at some point in the dead of night, the two siblings made it home. chance’s plan had initially been to just collapse into bed the second he got back...but the sight of his cal and his ambulance in the driveway quickly altered those plans. 

“yo,” chance greeted hoarsely, waiting for chrissy to enter the house before approaching cal who was doing god-knows-what inside the ambulance. without waiting for an invitation, chance hopped into the back of the vehicle himself and plopped into the seat that he figured was meant for an EMT or a relative of whatever patient was being tended to. “you’re up late,” he observed. cal looked as tired as chance felt (and looked, probably). he figured that meant that the excursion to hawkins’ lab had been almost as harrowing as dealing with the junkyard dogs.  clearing his throat as he rubbed at the back of his neck which was definitely sore, he asked, “what happened at the lab?” 

chance had asked himself the same question about one million times since the town hall: if he could unknow what he knew now...would he? there was something about being blissfully ignorant...something about that peace of mind that undoubtedly appealed to him. however, try as he might, there was no way to forget what he knew and what he’d seen. he thought he’d seen enough at the carnival, but the rabid dogs at the junkyard only added fuel to the fire that evil forces were most definitely at play. was his mother right? was this the work of the devil? or  was it god punishing them for not being god-fearing and pious enough? 

these were the thoughts pulsing through his brain and giving him a headache on his drive over to the foreman residence. it had been exactly a day since the town hall and chance didn’t know who to talk to about this. he couldn’t talk to adam—he got too sensitive about the whole thing. he couldn’t talk to jack...mostly because jack didn’t know any more than he did. and he didn’t want to pester steve about anything given the state he’d been in at the hospital just over two weeks ago. 

so who was left to help? who could he trust? when mrs. foreman opened the front door and assumed that chance was there for jack, he had to correct her and say that he was actually there to see jo. he indulged in a bit of small talk, but eventually managed to swiftly and politely exit the conversation before speeding to jo’s room and giving her two firm knocks before his hand found the doorknob. “jo it’s—” me, “it’s chance. can i come in?” he leaned his head on the doorway, “please.”

For a brief moment, Cole panicked at Chance’s use of the word ‘player.’ What did he know? Who had told him? But when the other moved on as if it was nothing, he figured it was just Chance being stupid. Cole traded grim smiles with his sort-of friend. “Death bed?” he finished for him. Truly, Cole knew he could’ve died, but it didn’t scare him like it probably should. The realization pulled his lips taut in a grim line and he felt a burning in his throat that only an ice-cold beer could soothe.

Cole wanted to flinch when Chance leaned towards him, an old habit, but he remained still, stoic. He remembered exactly what Chance was talking about– the moment Adam’s eyes lost their shine, when he looked like he did before. For a moment, he entertained the thought of denying it, telling Chance he was being crazy. But, Chance was Adam’s best friend. He deserved to know, too.

Before he could explain, Chance’s nerves played out before him, and guilt settled within Cole’s chest at not having told him the truth before now. “Literally,” he confirmed, his voice barely louder than a whisper. “Yeah. He died, dude. And everyone knew that until… until he came back.” Cole remembered the funeral, remembered clasping Beth’s hand so tight she winced, remembered seeing Chance slip in the back with what he suspected was a flask in his suit jacket.

The cocktail of guilt and fear wrapped its fingers around Cole’s throat for a moment, forcing him into silence.  He lifted his eyes to Chance’s with a grimace and shook his head. “You’re not… crazy. I thought–” he paused, shaking his head at how stupid he’d been. “I thought if I didn’t ask questions about how he came back, it would be like before. I didn’t think… this would happen.” Running a hand through his matted curls, Cole sighed. “I’m sorry I never told you.”  He kept his head angled low, at his hands, to avoid Chance’s gaze.

🍻

chance didn’t know that getting the confirmation from cole about adam’s death would mean so much, but it did. it meant he wasn’t crazy. it meant that he was probably also right about chrissy. she’d also died. “fuck,” he sighed out, slumping back into the guest chair next to cole’s bed as they stared at each other. he was right. everyone had attended the funerals and mourned the losses...but then when dead people started popping up again left and right...it was like they’d all been collectively brainwashed. 

but that wasn’t possible...so chance would leave it to the smart kids to figure out what the fuck was going on. his job would remain the same: protect his family. protect his friends.

“i get what you mean,” he acknowledged, wanting to let cole know that he didn’t think he was stupid for his initial ‘ignorance is bliss’ reaction, “i think we were all just happy to have them back...but all this...i mean...i can’t imagine things getting worse...” a pause, “but why does it feel like they’re about to get worse?”

the last thing chance expected was an apology from cole. “don’t be,” he waved it off, “it’s not like you really owed me anything.” it’s not like we’re friends. chance felt like he was being stared at, so he looked to his left and caught a glimpse of a nurse staring at them through the small window in the door. “i’m think that’s my cue,” he noted, standing up casually and giving the nurse a nod. “you focus on getting better, yeah? i’ll see you when you’re outta here.” chance was halfway to the door when he stopped in his tracks and pivoted back towards cole.

“almost forgot,” he mentioned as he pulled the flask out of his pocket, “but i think this is yours.” the small container was newly dented and still covered in soot and dirt, but at least it was back with its rightful owner. “don’t party too hard,” he joked before waving at cole one last time and exiting the room. 

“I’m not coming at you!” Adam snapped back, not used to being angry with Chance. They’d been best friends since they were little, inseparable until they’d reached high school and suddenly most of Adam’s time had gone to Cole. Adam usually was able to keep a level-head around Chance, but being accused of doing all of that just because he’d been drunk rubbed Adam the wrong way. There was no way Adam was capable of that, even intoxicated.  “I don’t know what the fuck is going on either, Chance,” He said more evenly, running a hand through his hair as he leaned back against the wall. 

He was worried Chance wasn’t going to believe him. After all, they’d both gone to mass growing up. They’d both been raised by parents with specific values and morals. The idea of something controlling him like that? It didn’t make sense, unless they were talking about a demon. Adam was positive if he’d told either of his parents about anything like that, they’d be calling their priest immediately to get him to come see Adam. So for Chance to be somewhat hearing Adam out meant a lot. “Something not human.” Adam confirmed, biting his lip. “I don’t know anything else, really. Just something possessed me, or us, I guess. And it happened to me three years ago too.” 

When Chance mentioned Adam’s death, he was floored. He had known Cole remembered it, and Beth too, but Chance? Fucking hell. Adam had died and it seemed like only three people remembered it happening. That was so difficult to wrap his mind around. “…you remember me dying?” Adam asked, studying Chance’s face as he explained that Chrissy had died too. Oh fuck. Adam hadn’t known that - he hadn’t realized. “Oh my god…” He blinked, trying to understand what all of this meant. “I don’t remember dying. Cole, Beth and you do, I guess. Does Chrissy? She said…she didn’t seem like it. Does she know?” He asked, rambling through the question as he tried to process it all and think back to his conversations with Chrissy since he’d gotten back. “We’re in way over our heads.” Adam admitted to Chance when the other asked him what this all was. “I really don’t know much. I just know whatever possessed me three years ago is dead, according to Max Mayfield. But this new thing seems to be able to control us too.” 

🍻

after each conversation chance had about what was going on in hawkins, he was left with more questions than answers. possessed. not human. brought back from the dead. chance took a deep breath and cradled his head in his hands as he slumped into his seat outside of cole’s hospital room. “this doesn’t make any fucking sense,” he repeated, visibly exasperated. 

chance didn’t spend a lot of time reflecting on how adam had acted before his death, especially because his sister had died so shortly after...but now that he’d mentioned it, there were some similarities. chance would have to chew on that information later. for now, he’d have to focus on getting his friend up to speed. 

“yeah man, i remember...” chance voiced quietly, clearing his throat and punctuating it with a sniffle, “i don’t know why some of us remember and some don’t...but...it makes this whole thing a hell of a lot more confusing.” when adam asked about chrissy, chance shrugged and then shook his head. he was still figuring out how to unpack that with his sister. he hadn’t nailed it yet. “i tried talking to her about it after the carnival but...you know...it’s touchy.” and he figured this went without saying, but just for good measure, chance requested, “please don’t tell anyone about chris. i don’t need anyone barking up her tree about this. she’s dealt with enough.” 

with a sigh, chance clapped his hand against adam’s back and then squeezed his shoulder. “way over our heads,” he agreed, chuckling weakly at the thought of it all. chance definitely had more questions, especially when it came to light that there had been a thing before that was now seemingly dead. that felt like important information to dig into...but the nurse popping into cole’s room to tell adam he was awake felt like chance’s cue to go. “i should head home,” he said as he stood up, “but let me know if you two need anything.” with another affectionate shoulder squeeze, chance saw himself out, only glancing back at his friend once before he disappeared into a new hallway.

help yourself. “i will.” max told him curtly, taking another generous drink. something about this entire interaction was rubbing her the wrong way. he’d unintentionally stumbled upon her in the middle of a much needed breakdown, which wasn’t really his fault, but that wasn’t going to stop max from being skeptical of him. the way he so easily dismissed her as a threat didn’t sit well with her either. usually a loud mouth, the stories whispered about her around town, and a stick, would’ve been enough to scare most people off. it was just her luck that the one asshole who apparently wasn’t like most people would disturb her in the middle of all this. it made her more defensive and she did her best to distance herself by plopping down on her board. 

clearly, that didn’t do shit, because chance merely followed her like some kind of weed hound. lips curling smugly around the joint, she pulled it from her mouth just to mock him, “is that dope?” she wasn’t going to share so easily with him, “hey, just because you shared your beer with me doesn’t mean i go around sharing pot with the first person i see.” max taunted him. when he still didn’t back off and she got nervous at the way he towered above her, she extended the joint up to him. “don’t hog…” she grumbled. wordlessly, she stared up at the moon, unable to stop the wry laughter from falling out when chance implied she was lucky. max, of course, couldn’t disclose the full extent of what had happened, but she could hold her hands up to him, “i got like, five different cuts stitched up. my hands were shredded.” max dropped her head with her hands and added, “also everyone is a fucking wreck, have you been into town lately?” she shook her head, then looked up at him to take the joint back. none of them were lucky.  then max threw his words back at him, “you don’t look like you got hurt too bad, though.” 

nothing could have prepared her for chance to ask her about billy. simultaneously every muscle in her body clenched while she tried (and failed) to enjoy the next drag she took. “i don’t know why billy does anything he does. he’s psychotic.” max said coldly, staring hard at the ground, and definitely not at chance. billy didn’t even do it, but his name still sounded sour rolling off her tongue. she wouldn’t explain to chance the truth of what happened, but hey, if one more person on earth came out of this situation hating her step-brother, maybe that was a good thing. “i haven’t even seen him since it happened.” and she’d like to keep it that way. “he didn’t skip town or anything, he’s not that smart. i’m just staying somewhere else.” 

🍻

“come on,” chance insisted, holding his hand out to her and repeatedly curling his fingers towards himself in a way that said gimme. once max finally obliged and passed off the joint, he brought it to his lips and inhaled deeply. the smoke filled his lungs and almost immediately, it was like he was at the carnival again, clutching jo foreman as they both struggled to breathe through the clouds of smoke being emitted from the explosive fireworks. the intrusive memory, paired with the smoke that was still in his mouth, caused chance to start sputtering and coughing like he’d never smoked in his life. 

rather than let max in on his brief moment of panic, he puffed out his chest and said, “your weed sucks,” in between coughs. clearing his throat, he gulped down the rest of his beer until the urge to cough subsided and then tossed the empty bottle on to the dirt. “wack,” he breathed out, clearing his throat compulsively before dragging his feet back to the boulder he’d been sitting on.  

at a comfortable distance across from max, chance cracked open another beer bottle. he watched as she lifted her bandaged hands and hummed in acknowledgement. “looks gnarly,” he observed with a shrug. at the mention of everyone being a wreck, chance knocked back more of his alcohol. “i work in town so yeah, i’ve been,” he stated plainly, picking up a random stick and using it to shuffle some rocks around at his feet, “everyone’s talking about vigils and funerals and...”

his voice trailed off before he reached his point. chance didn’t know how to talk about death or loss, given the fact that the people he’d mourned were back from the dead forest and now nothing about the world made sense. “anyway, i’m fine,” he said, lifting his head to stare at max again, “just a few cuts and bruises.” he pointed to his forehead, where the worst of his injuries was, “that’s all.” 

when the conversation pivoted to billy, chance nodded along to whatever max was saying. he didn’t know billy well himself...just knew that he was bad news. “i take it you guys aren’t close then...” he observed, the bottle dangling loosely from his fingers as he leaned back against some rocks and got more comfortable, “sorry to your family that you have to deal with all this shit.” a pause. “i’m sure it sucks.” deciding that he was kind of over talking about this, he decided to take the conversation in a different direction. “you’re not from hawkins, are you? i feel like i never saw you around much when i was in high school,” a shrug, “where’d you come from?”

None of it made sense, and Jack knew it wouldn’t, not until he confessed to what was really going on. How was he supposed to tell Chance that he knew exactly what had happened now in the woods, which was nothing at all? He’d died, and only his sisters and Steve knew, and that was only because Julie and Steve could actually remember it happening. Jo and Chance didn’t, and Adam … he didn’t remember what he’d done, but he’d died, too. It seemed like Steve didn’t remember that part, given what they’d talked about in the hospital. The way it seemed that certain people could recall certain events versus others was beyond confusing, and Jack made a mental note to consult with Jo about creating a much-needed second murder board to connect it all.

“Chance, what?” he said incredulously, shaking his head furiously. “No, dude, I’m not taking steroids, what the fuck? Remember what happened to the kid in high school that tried that shit? No way.” Jack let out an exasperated sigh, pulling his chair from out of the table, sitting backwards. If he was going to start talking, he needed to be sitting down for this. “Alright, I–I don’t really know how to say this. You’re going to think I’m fucking crazy, but I promise, I have Julie, Jo, and Steve to vouch for me, and you should … sit down,” he suggested, tipping his head toward the rest of the empty chairs. “I didn’t go to the commune in the woods. At least, I thought I did, until Steve told Jo, and then Jo and Julie told me that … they think I died?” His words were slow, coming out as more of a question even though he knew that it was true. 

Jack scanned Chance’s face for something, anything that looked like a semblance of a reaction. “I know, it sounds crazy. I didn’t want to believe it, either, and then I saw something–like, I think I remember dying, and …” he trailed off, Adam died too, he wanted to say, but Jack didn’t know if Adam had told him. That wasn’t his news to share. “I can’t remember anything about the woods, so maybe … I really was never there.”

🍻

so it wasn’t steroids. fine. adam had mentioned at the hospital that whatever was controlling him and everyone else who had been off in a forest commune was not human and chrissy had said something similar. naturally, chance still had some doubts, but this common thread was getting harder and harder to ignore. 

he was zoning out, trying to make sense of a problem that seemed impossible to solve, when jack told him to sit down. “what?” chance asked, hesitantly following orders and taking a seat. it took a second, but once jack revealed what he’d been holding in, chance’s mouth hung open in shock. if jack had died, he would’ve remembered, wouldn’t he? “that doesn’t add up, bro. i think i’d remember it if you died like...?” 

chance squeezed his eyes shut in thought and tried to remember jack’s ‘death.’ the more he tried though, the more fuzzy everything became. it was like that part of his brain was wiped. all he remembered was the alleged commune, but even that was hazy. unlike his other memories, this one felt artificial. contrived. when jack repeated, almost verbatim, what chrissy had revealed to chance, he stood up from his chair and began pacing. “holy shit, jack...” he muttered, eyes wild as he stared at his friend, "you’re not the only one this has happened to.” but then came the bigger question. chance sat back down and steadied himself, staring at jack with nothing but deep concern, “do you think this is what happened with everyone at the commune? you were all just....dead...and then...? something brought you back?” chance could hear his mother in the back of his head telling him to stop digging around in dark-sided conspiracies, but this felt too crazy to ignore. “fuck,” he whispered to himself, “jo was right.”

One smile and Beth remembered why she’d been so hung up on Chance Cunningham since the seventh grade. Beth bit her lip in attempt to conceal the grin that wanted to escape and reach from ear to ear as she willed the redness in her cheeks to flush away. She didn’t know why she held out quite so much hope until times like this, when it was just the two of them in her dining room and it felt like time could stop. “You know, as fine as I can be, given the circumstances,” she responded, the smile falling slightly from her lips as she sat in a chair of her own.

If there was one thing they undoubtedly had in common, it was their love for Adam and their heartbreak when he died. Beth was relieved to know that Cole and Chance had remembered that he died, unlike everyone else who thought he’d gone off to some forest commune. Weirdly enough, people said the same thing about Chrissy, but it seemed like something that she would do.

“Honestly? Really nice. I mean, I just can’t believe I get a second chance with him. It’s weird that he’s missed so much, but getting to catch him up on everything, show him everything he’s missed, it’s been incredible,” she gushed, knowing that Chance would know exactly what she meant. “Chrissy’s back, too, right? How is she? I’m sure our mothers will be setting up a Sunday dinner sooner or later.”

🍻

chance’s gaze followed beth as she pulled out her own chair and sat near him. “yeah,” he echoed somewhat sadly, dropping his eyes for a moment before clearing his throat and putting up his walls again, “i guess we’re all just doing the best we can.” there really wasn’t much else to say outside of that. chance hadn’t lost all hope in law enforcement yet and was hopeful that the right people were making the right calls to get this whole ‘forest cult’ situation sorted—hopefully sooner rather than later. 

in the meantime, chance just wanted to tend to his loved ones. since seeing adam at the hospital, he’d come up with more questions he needed to ask and more information he needed to divulge. but if adam was unavailable, chance decided that tending to beth was worth his time too. he listened to her thoughtfully, nodding whenever he found it appropriate. “that’s amazing,” he told her, smiling faintly right up until she asked him the same question. “my experience has been a bit different, i think,” it was hard to admit, but it was the truth, “but yeah, chrissy is back. it’s been...she’s good. doesn’t remember much, but we’re just glad she’s safe.” 

this would’ve been the right time to reveal that chrissy hadn’t gone to a cult, but that like adam, she’d died. however, chance wasn’t in the business of sharing that level of information with just anybody. not sober, anyway. “i think you’re right about sunday dinners,” chance agreed, clearing his throat, “cal’s back in town too with ginny. so...it’ll really be like old times.” the last thing he actually wanted to do was talk about his brother, so instead, he quickly changed the topic. “you don’t seem all that freaked out by everything that’s been going on,” he observed, watching beth carefully, “how do you seem so at ease?” 

Ginny had fully rebranded herself. She knew that and anyone with eyes could see that. It was all intentional. She saw girls like Bev Wildfire who were just able to get whatever they wanted in high school. It was the see something and take it mentality that Virginia always wanted. Then college happened and she had a realization. A realization that she could be her best self. The part of her that had always wanted to be free. In high school, she was too busy with her nose in a book to even experience the entire world going on around her, that she had a chance to be like the Bev’s and Chrissy’s of Hawkins High School, but better late than never, right? 

He didn’t like his Ginny mandated nickname. She didn’t expect him to. Considerably, she had grown slightly unbearable throughout the years. The kind of girl that could only be tolerated in small doses. “I’ll heavily consider it,” she wouldn’t. But, for the rest of the night? It wouldn’t come out of her mouth. 

Once that was settled, she lazily leaned against the dank table, making sure she didn’t put too much pressure on it to cause it to completely collapse. “I’d have to tattle on you if you didn’t. I thought that like, all of you Cunningham’s were conditioned to never leave a helpless girl high and dry,” and Ginny was helpless. She had no alcohol in her cup and that was as helpless as she could get! Gin and tonic. She chuckled, taking the cup back, and taking her first sip, her eyes staying on Chance the entire time, before definitively declaring, “not bad”. 

She would never say it out loud, because she did like Cal, but her head would always turn whenever she saw Chance. There was no arguing that he was attractive, maybe even more so than her boyfriend. Hearing Cal’s name snapped her out and she let out another laugh, one that was comparably more dramatic than her last. “Please. You can’t actually think he’s here,” they both knew that Cal and parties weren’t two words that went together. Ginny didn’t even think batting her eyelashes would work on him. “I’m flying solo tonight.”

Then she moved slightly closer to Chance, to survey the other partygoers. “Which one did you come with?” She asked, eyes scanning over a few girls that she thought maybe Chance could show up with, but none were sticking out to her. She glanced up at him, a hmph leaving her lips. “Weird. None of them seem your speed.”

🍻

chance smirked and chuckled quietly to himself as he fixed ginny’s drink and listened to her musings about what it meant to be a cunningham. “i wouldn’t say we’re all conditioned that way,” he corrected her, quirking a brow and wondering if she’d catch the slight dig at his brother. cal was as self-centered as they came. he’d never met someone who cared so little about family or loyalty. but something about that was attractive to ginny...or maybe it wasn’t. and maybe that was why she was stood here talking to him. 

“not bad is good enough for me,” chance answered as ginny took a sip, unwilling to be the one to break their eye contact. the longer they stared at each other, the more certain he felt that she was putting out vibes. he would’ve classified this interaction as blatant flirting had she been dating anyone other than his brother. but because she was cal’s girl, he’d give her the benefit of the doubt. he’d remind her that she was accounted for and adjust his expectations from there. 

the laugh that erupted from ginny at the mention of cal all but confirmed his suspicions. there was something bitter about it. he couldn’t quite place it. “you’re right,” he agreed, finishing off his beer before trading in his empty bottle for a full one, “he hates fun.” chance put tip of the bottle neck in his mouth and cracked it open with his teeth. “why are you here alone instead of with him then?” he pressed, taking a long sip, “trouble in paradise?” 

all he could do was scoff at ginny’s question. “i didn’t come here with anyone,” he asserted, glancing down at his brother’s girlfriend who was now at his side. chance hadn’t dated anyone seriously since bev wildfire in high school. sure, he’d had an intense connection with jo foreman a couple of years back, but that had gone up in flames fairly quickly and it wasn’t common knowledge. curious about what ginny’s perception of him was, chance took another generous swig of his beer before he crossed his arms and looked down at her, “what exactly do you think my speed is?”

Adam had distanced himself from the church a bit after he started dating Cole, but that didn’t mean that he’d stopped believing entirely. He had just worried about being part of a group that thought that what he felt for Cole was a sin. But Cole had known how much it mattered to Adam; he had shown him the research that he’d done on whether you could be both part of the church and gay. Not because Cole believed in any of it himself - he didn’t - but he knew that it mattered to Adam. And now, things were even more complicated than before. Because… how could someone who had strived their whole life to be good and do the right thing suddenly be capable of evil? What had Adam done to deserve this, or Jack for that matter? Was there even a Heaven or a Hell, and did Adam coming back mean that he didn’t deserve either? 

At the mention of what he’d done at the carnival, Adam flinched. Chance was upset, and he had a right to be. From the outside, Adam’s behavior made no sense and the things he had done were terrible. “No, I don’t,” He shook his head, distressed at the thought of yelling at Cole “I didn’t mean to.” Adam’s gaze snapped back up to Chance, eyes hardening at the implication that he’d been drunk that night. “I didn’t take or drink anything! I don’t know what happened, Chance! But I wasn’t drunk!” 

He wished he knew what had possessed them. Cole had called it the Mindflayer, but that meant nothing to Adam. He had never heard of anything like it, and he didn’t even know where to start looking into it. Research was more Cole’s area of expertise anyway. “I don’t know, Chance. Something… was controlling us, apparently.” Adam didn’t know how much it was okay to share with his best friend - did he tell him the whole truth or not? It wasn’t exactly something someone could just unknow once they’d heard it. Adam stared in shock at the image of Heather choking Steve and picking him up by the neck - he hadn’t heard that graphic detail yet. Jesus Christ. “I don’t know how we were suddenly super strong, or why she did that, man. I just know that I can’t remember it and apparently that’s how I was acting three years ago when… right before the forest commune thing happened.” Adam covered, not sure how Chance might take the news that he’d died. 

🍻

when adam snapped, chance held up his hands like a white flag. “don’t come at me, man,” he urged him, shaking his head, “i’m just trying to understand what the fuck is going on.” chance knew he wasn’t wrong to be questioning everyone around him, particularly the people who had been part of this forest commune thing who seemed to be involved. but at the same time...this was adam. chance knew him. he knew he wasn’t capable of being bad or evil. “okay,” chance finally said after a pause, exasperated, “i believe you. you weren’t drunk or on anything or whatever. okay.” 

up until this point, chance had been trying to come up with a logical explanation for everything that had happened. maybe these people were being blackmailed. maybe they were on drugs. maybe that was why they were acting out so violently. but the more adam explained what he knew, the more chance was convinced that this defied logic. “something was controlling you?” he asked as he furrowed his brows in frustration, “what like...something...not human?” now his tone was hushed. he expected this type of talk from someone like jo, but for adam to be suggesting it? someone who grew up with all the same values and ideas as him? well...it was a trip. 

everything adam was saying corroborated chrissy’s story too—about blacking out, about not remembering anything. his heart sank. what had happened to them? what was happening now? chance tuned adam back in just as he was reaching the end of his explanation. apparently that’s how I was acting three years ago when…”right before you died,” chance stated, overlapping with whatever adam was about to say. “i know,” he explained, figuring that warranted an explanation, “i mean...i remember. no one else seems to remember it but i do and i know cole does and it wasn’t just you...” this part chance was telling him in confidence, “i remember chrissy too. dying, i mean. she died, man. she...” his voice trailed off as a lump formed in his throat. he swallowed it down and took a second to regroup. “what do you think this is, adam? like...for real...level with me...what the fuck is this?” adam had always been the one chance went to for advice, for answers. surely he wouldn’t fail him now. 

the second she heard him speak, thus effectively ending their little moment, jo put a tad more distance between the two of them, brows furrowed. “what do you mean you don’t know what he’d do? this - this isn’t jack. i know my brother and - and you do, too, chance. this isn’t - he’d never - no. “ stern tone of voice accompanied by a firm shake of her head, she exhaled sharply to ground herself. this - this was familiar, between the two of them. awfully so, and she hated it. hated how it instantly brought back that horrible gnawing feeling inside of her. no, no, she couldn’t and wouldn’t let him get to her. not again.

whatever comfort she’d briefly found in chance was soon replaced by the petty resentment she harbored for him and despite the chaos of explosions and glames around them, his arm around her shoulders steering her away from the crowd felt like the coldest thing ever. jo shivered and wiggled out of his grasp, clouded eyes meeting his and, holy shit, this was the first time they’d actually talked to one another. since the end of summer ‘86. they’d done a pretty good job avoiding one another, jo had quickly figured out chance’s usual routed and haunts in town, had quickly adapted, opting for the long way home if it meant she wouldn’t accidentally run into him. 

as if on cue, snippets of memories of their days together came flooding in, jo quickly broke their eye contact, arms crossed over her chest. nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the other. god, she needed to get out of here. “i don’t know, i’ll - i think i’m gonna go back to the car, i’m sure he’s there.” and if not - well, she was simply going to have to raise a little hell to get right back into the mess. nothing too unachievable, really. “i….” don’t ask, don’t ask. jo sighed. “do you, like, need a ride home? or, wherever?” please say no, please say no. concern for jack still outweighed her suddenly very conflicted feelings about seeing chance again, however, she wouldn’t mind getting out of this … situation as soon as possible. 

🍻

chrissy had gone to the forest commune too, but as far as chance knew, she hadn’t gotten into the habit of beating the shit out of her friends. however, he could tell he’d struck a nerve given the change in jo’s demeanor, so he relented. “i know this isn’t like him,” he insisted, talking over the sound of sirens and taking a step towards her as she backed away, “but i just mean...what are you saying then? what are you suggesting, jo?” did she think they were being blackmailed? possessed? 

“move, move, move,” the shouts came from another cop, not the one who had previously told them to leave. “we’re going,” chance snapped back, thankful that he towered over the officer who was attempting to reprimand them. it was about then that jo wiggled out of his grasp, causing chance to look at her with clear eyes for the first time since the explosives went off. they hadn’t spoken in nearly two years. chance had found a way to manage his guilt over their final conversation by drinking and busying his time with meaningless flings, but being this close to her and breaking their silence brought back his feelings tenfold. and there was no where to hide.

“jo...” chance started, voice soft, fully aware that this was not the right time to tend to any reopened wounds, “i’m—” the sound of a cop whistling made it clear that they had to make a decision about what to do next and this dilly dallying wouldn’t cut it. when jo suggested going back to the car, he nodded affirmatively. “alright—yeah, i’ll walk you,” he stated and with a couple of feet of distance between them, they began their walk back to the parking lot. at her offer, chance shook his head. “i drove,” he explained as he took his keys out of his pocket and spun them around his pointer finger repeatedly, “but thank you.” when they arrived at jo’s car, chance shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed deeply as he stared at the smoke that was still fuming from the carnival. “fucking mess,” he muttered under his breath before turning his attention back to jo, “look, i know—i’m—” fuck, stop sputtering, “can you call me? when you’re home i mean? let me know if jack is there and that...you’re okay or whatever.” 

he knew better than to stay where he wasn’t so wanted to after a curt and slightly awkward goodbye, chance turned on his heel and walked towards his truck, but not without glancing back at jo one last time before he hopped in and sped home to check on the one other thing on his mind: chrissy.

— ♔ —

Chris, you don’t get how fucking wild this shit has been…it doesn’t add up… “I know,” Chrissy whispered. She knew something was up. Even though she had barely passed high school lit, she did learn what a plot hole was and there was something not right in Hawkins. Not since she came back, at least. Before the commune, Chrissy always weirdly felt like she didn’t belong. It’s like she could sense her short life, that she knew even then that she wouldn’t be around for long. Now that she was back home, it felt unsettling and not just because her mom. The air felt heavier and there was just this sinking dread that she was on the wrong plane of existence. 

She nodded her head. He was okay, save for some minor cuts. She wouldn’t say it now, but Chrissy would tell him later to make sure he replaced the bandage. Although, she was sure he didn’t need to be reminded. The two of them had sustained years of various injuries during their athletic careers. 

She stood up, hand gripping onto Chance’s as she pulled herself up. Following him out the front door, she realized she didn’t know what to say, but all she could think was what was going on? This was deeper than just a bomb catastrophe. Pulling the door closed behind her, she made sure to pull it slowly to not alarm anyone. “Cult? Don’t tell me you believe that too,” her voice was soft, clearly not believing her own words. Since coming home Chrissy had been adamant that she didn’t run off to a cult, but as the days wore on, the more she realized that she didn’t have a single memory of the commune. But she had been told that’s where she had been and who was she to question that?

With the door shut, she walked to the porch steps, sitting down on the top one. “What?” She couldn’t blame Chance for asking if she was involved. If the others were involved, then it only made sense that she’d play a part in it, but she couldn’t even imagine Adam, Jack, any of them committing such an act. “No… No, I wasn’t even there,” then she furrowed her eyebrows before he could ask any other follow up, “and no, I didn’t know about it either.”

She pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around her knees. “If I tell you something, will you promise me you won’t freak out?” She stared at him until she got confirmation before she turned her head, looking ahead at the streetlights. “I don’t remember anything,” she closed her eyes, letting out a breath. She hadn’t told anyone other than Adam, who felt the same, about the last few weeks. “Like, the last two years since I’ve been gone? I can’t remember a thing. No commune, nothing. Just…. darkness. I remember being at Eddie Munson’s house senior year, being frightened out of my mind, and then waking up in a forest two years later,” it sounded insane, she sounded insane. 

“And earlier, I just like…. I don’t know, blacked out?” She wasn’t even about to touch on the black puke sitting in a Hawkins Cheer duffel bag in her closet. It wasn’t the first time she had done something like that, but it was the first time she had never puked anything black. “Mom tried saying I was possessed,” which at the time sounded like Laura spewing off her usual nonsense, but now that Chrissy was listening to Chance? Maybe there was something more going on. “I just don’t know it keeps happening. Why I keep forgetting things. I mean, I’ve lost two years of my life that I can’t remember. Two years. And it’s just so… scary,” she sniffled, wiping under her eyes that were now coated in tears. “What if there’s something wrong with me?”

🍻

chance didn’t know what to believe. he made that evident by responding to chrissy’s questions with shrug after shrug. he didn’t wholeheartedly believe that his sister was in a cult, but the way everyone had acted at the carnival sure seemed culty. and if the victims of this forest commune had been the ones acting like a united organism with the mission to blow up the carnival, why would chrissy be any different? especially if she’d really been in the woods too? “okay,” chance sighed out, “okay. i believe you.” and he did. he really did. but if chrissy was telling the truth...then the rest of his theory, or jo’s theory, he should say, didn’t make a ton of sense. 

he let out a sigh he’d been holding in and picked up a tiny rock from the ground next to him and threw it frustratedly into their lawn. he was about to pick up a second and chuck it when chrissy interrupted him with her question. he stared at her for a moment and took a deep breath. “promise,” he nodded, “shoot.” when chrissy started to speak, chance felt tears welling up in his eyes again. he couldn’t help it. thinking about the two years in which chrissy had been gone always brought him to tears, but hearing her talk about it? it was a whole different ball game. as she explained what it felt—all the nothingness—chance stared down at the ground and covered his mouth to muffle his jagged breaths. all he could think about as his sister spoke was that he knew why she didn’t remember anything. 

“it’s because you were dead,” chance said, immediately sniffling as tears involuntarily fell from his eyes, “i know it sounds crazy, i know, i know.” this wasn’t the first time they’d had this debate. it had happened when chrissy first came back and chance was insistent that she’d died but no one else seemed to agree or believe him. he’d felt crazy. but now, talking to chrissy, feeling completely lucid, it felt like the right time to broach the topic again. “i thought eddie killed you,” chance said, straining to keep his voice steady as his eyes continued to water, “but...we...you...we buried you. i remember it. and your body...it was...they didn’t let us...” chance squeezed his eyes shut and covered his face as his shoulders shook. he had to toughen up and be strong. what good would he be to his sister or anyone if he was a helpless puddle of tears?

he aggressively wiped at his face and took in a sharp breath, sniffling one last time before looking at his chrissy again. if only chance had known that chrissy’s mention of a black out would be the first of many. he’d go on to hear the same story from adam and jack and god knows who else. as she began to cry, chance quickly put an arm around her and squeezed. “there’s nothing wrong with you,” he promised, maintaining a firm grip on her shoulder, “none of this shit is your fault.” he stared at her for a moment and nodded supportively as she wiped her own tears. “but i’ll tell you one thing, chris...” he let out another steadying breath as he gazed up at the sky and then at the flickering street lights on their block, “i don’t think it’s the devil possessing you.” a beat. “i think whatever it is...it’s worse.” 

unsure what to do or how to help, chance untangled himself from chrissy and turned slightly on the steps so that his body was angled towards her. “we’re going to stop this thing,” he assured her, despite the unbearable weight of the need he felt to protect her piling on his shoulders, “i don’t know how but...jo foreman has theories...maybe other people do too. and i’m strong. and shit, calvin’s going to be a big hot shot doctor now or whatever...so together we’re going to make sure nothing else happens to you, alright?” he gave chrissy a gentle punch on the arm to ease her fear, “i’m not gonna lose you again...so...just...in the meantime, while we figure this out...you gotta tell me if anything weird happens, okay?” he stared at her intensely while he waited for her response. “promise?”