#* hairoic.

Oh, she was very aware that they weren’t going to let her keep whatever thoughts that came to mind to herself. That’s not at all how Chrissy was around Steve and Eddie. She actually spoke to them about everything, without much of a filter, and she was rarely seen without them. To the point where, of course, the town fashioned new gossip to a rather scandalous degree. At least, scandalous to the town’s terms, because the more she put some thought into it, the more clearly she was beginning to see why they saw it that way. Particularly in the moment when she caught the amused glance Steve gave Eddie before seeking for more information on what was possibly going on in her head.

Here’s the thing, as much as times have changed, Chrissy is still well, Chrissy. “Well, umm, wild as in.. you’ll probably both think I’m actually crazy.” It’s a serious matter to her, in the sense that she doesn’t want to ruin what they all had already or even risk losing them both. Still, she wouldn’t have spoken up about it if she wasn’t certain, and she notes how well they know her on that end. “Just.. we already have the town talking about us, making them think we’re actively dating when we’re only playing their fiddles. So, I was thinking…” she places her hands on the table like she placed an imaginary file to a proposition, her smile one for deceiving because of how naturally sweet features were, but Steve and Eddie? She couldn’t fool them if she even tried.

Whisper a little prayer for me, my baby, yeah

And tell all the stars above

This is dedicated to the one I love

One of the promises Chrissy made to Steve when they took a chance on each other, had been on how no matter the signficance of their relationship changed, she was always going to be the one he can fall into the arms of, metaphorically and literally. She had witnessed and been there for nearly every outcome of his life, and she never once left his side throughout it all. Even on the days when they were just friends, and some had witnessed her trying to keep up with Steve, along with Jason on her heels at the time.

Their mere foundation was built upon a friendship that both not only needed but even perhaps, craved for. At least, that's how Chrissy always felt. When Steve begins to speak, her attention is fully on him, while her hand sought out his to grasp like her way of anchoring him to keep him steady. "All the time." The confession is hard to set free, but even before Vecna targeted her, she remembered how hard it was to keep up with her studies in her senior year. How she was barely scraping by to actually graduate with the class of '86.

No one really prepared her for life after high school. Her parents, particularly her mother, bestowed their own projections onto their eldest that she began to silently rebel against it. "Is that what was going on in there?" His father sounded like a male version of her mother from what she did pick up, and it wasn't because she was nosy, it all had to do with how the volume of the argument grew immensely before the boiling point was hit.

"He's wrong, you know? Steve, look where we are. We live in the midwest.. it's not even in the top most traveled state in the nation. I think.. you know what I really think? He's jealous. Because you're not like him. Nothing like him, not even close. And he's doing everything to get in your head to hold you back."

Before Steve, there was a time when Chrissy had a dream to move to Paris for a year right after high school. She even had a small trunk, devoted to the dream where maps and travel brochures were kept. But, that was the beauty of life, wasn’t it? At least, she saw it that way. People changed, grew, and through that growth dreams also changed. Since Steve changed her life for the better, her dreams became his, and the trunk was emptied out and filled with scrapbooks that were waiting to be filled from their time in Sorrento; even her grandparents gifted her with a camera, because she wanted to document it all. For them to look back on, show and share the stories with their friends, and in the future.. she hoped to share it with their children.

Chrissy’s eyes closed briefly, taking in the sound of the waves, breathing in the pure coastal breeze, and feeling the very gentle warmth of the sunset which matched in the way she felt in his arms on that terrance. Her head leans in naturally when she feels the softness of his lips leaving a kiss on her cheek, eyes opening from his whisper. To this day, he could still make her weak in the knees, and the emotion in her eyes were evidence to her knowing partly what he said to her. “I love you,” she whispers back, turning around in his arms to properly face and embrace him. The lighting from the sunset was heavenly on his features, almost like he was always meant to be here.

CHEERSCOOPS THROUGH THE SEASONS.

There were certain tasks to this job that could warrant several yawns out of Chrissy when she was working in the video room at Family Video. The lighting in said room was rather dim, and had a sunset orange hue to it, which for some reason completely mellowed her out. Another reason why she could feel her energy drift away? Checking that all of the returned videos were in their correct sleeves, rewound, and most importantly not missing and replaced with a blank. Though, the latter tended to wake her up as she had to write up the customer who rent it last.

So far, everything checked out and if it weren’t for the creak of the door opening, she wouldn’t have known that Steve stepped in. Perfect timing, too. There were several stacks of tapes to still go through, so having his company would help to keep her going. “Hey, baby.” she greeted him softly, with a look of slight concern because she knew it was taking her some time to get the job done. “Busy out there? One of the rewinders is out, so I can only do three at a time instead of four.”