#ctcwc23

“Please?” Chrissy asked. 

She was looking at her boyfriend with the most pitiful face she could possibly muster. She was all puppy dog eyes and pouty lower lip, and Jonathan Byers was not immune to the adorability of Chrissy Cunningham.

The thing about Chrissy was that she loved the snow. Winter was her most favorite season, and she was enamored by the way their town turned into a wonderland after the first snow of the season. She was the kind of girl who loved her color-coordinated earmuffs and mittens and scarfs, and she loved playing childish games in the snow no matter how old she got. Snow angels, sledding, snowball fights - she loved them all, and she looked forward to the first day that she was able to enjoy them every year. 

Today specifically, her heart was set on building a snowman, and she’d been begging Jonathan to make one with her from the moment she got to his house. Unfortunately for him, he hated the cold. He would much rather spend a day like today snuggled up with his girlfriend under a blanket and listening to whatever albums they took turns choosing. But, if she really wanted to be out in the cold, he was willing to go out there with her. Besides, what better way was there to warm back up than his ideal winter day?

“Go get your coat,” he said with a sigh and a small smile.

Chrissy's pout vanished instantly, and she was all smiles as she leaned in to kiss his cheek before leaving the couch to go get herself bundled up for the cold. In her puffy white coat and ice blue accessories, she was his tiny snow queen.

They’d only gotten two or three inches of snow the night before, and it wasn’t the best packing snow, but she was insistent that it would be good enough for them to make a proper snowman as long as they didn’t stomp through too-much of the untouched snow as they moved around the backyard. Jonathan’s job was to work on the base of the snowman, and she’d work on the torso and head.

They made quick work of moving about the yard and rolling up their pieces of the snowman, but it was soon apparent that this wasn’t going to be the picture perfect snowman that Chrissy had been envisioning. Because the snow wasn’t packing easily, the large snowballs weren’t exactly round. They were lumpy and awkwardly shaped, and they’d picked up dirt and grass from the yard leaving brown and green splotches against the white snow. And, by the time he’d finished the base and she’d finished the torso, there wasn’t really enough usable snow to make him a head.

“It’s fine,” Chrissy insisted. “He can just be extra short. He doesn’t have to have a torso.”

Jonathan lifted the head onto the body as Chrissy ran around the yard collecting little bits of nature to decorate him with. In the end, their stumpy, little snowman had a crooked mouth made out of pebbles, hair made out of weeds, one rather large pine cone eye and a much smaller one, and stick arms that were considerably different lengths.

They stood back to admire their handiwork, and both were silent for a moment.

“This might be the ugliest snowman I’ve ever seen,” Jonathan said as he tried to stifle a laugh.

“You would call our child ugly?” Chrissy asked, her eyes going wide.

“He’s our child?”

“We made him together, didn’t we?”

“Well, yeah, but look at him. He’s more of a snowgremlin than a snowman.”

“I like that he’s ugly. It gives him character,” she said, stifling a giggle of her own. “What do you think we should call him?”

“You pick.”

Chrissy thought for a few seconds before clapping her hands together.

“Mr. Grumpus.”

“You’d name our child Mr. Grumpus?”

“He looks like a Mr. Grumpus!”

Finally, they both burst out laughing with Chrissy clinging to Jonathan for support.

“Okay, maybe he is the ugliest little snowgremlin I’ve ever seen,” Chrissy said once she’d finally calmed down enough to speak. “I just think he’s neat.”

“Wait right here for a second, okay?” Jonathan said as he headed towards the house. “I’ll be right back.”

When he returned, he was carrying his camera.

“To preserve him for posterity.”

He snapped a few pictures of the snowgremlin by itself before Chrissy jumped in to pose with their creation, first smiling sweetly and then mimicking the grumpy expression on its face.

“Thank you for doing this with me,” she told him once he finished. “I know you hate being out here almost as much as I love it.”

“I wouldn’t do this for just anyone, you know. But I think you’re worth it.”

Chrissy stood on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around him and give him a kiss.

“How about you take me back inside and lend me some warm pajamas?” she suggested. “As a thank you for putting up with the cold for me, I’ll let you pick the first three albums we listen to as long as we can have cocoa, too.”

“That sounds pretty doable to me.”

“I don't think I'm going to make it home tonight,” Nancy told her mom over the phone. “If the snow stops and the roads don't look too bad, I might try to drive home later, but Mr. Munson doesn't think it's safe enough to go out unless it's absolutely necessary. He already said that it’s fine if I stay here for the night. I promise I’ll call you if anything changes, okay?”

If Nancy had known that agreeing to tutoring Eddie at the Munson trailer was going to lead to her having to spend the night, she might have been a little more insistent about sticking to their normal library meeting spot. It wasn’t that she hated the idea of having to stay over there. She just felt bad being another person taking up space in their home when Eddie’s uncle already slept on a cot in the living room due to the lack of space. 

After getting off the phone with her mom, she moved to take her seat across from Eddie at the kitchen table again.

“So, how about we do one more problem set, and then we can call it a night?” she suggested, flipping through her chemistry notes to find some practice equations that they hadn’t done yet.

Eddie flopped forward to rest his head on the table.

“I will actually die if I have to balance one more equation. My head will explode. Can we please do anything else?”

“I thought you wanted to pass this chemistry test? You need more practice.”

“Think of my uncle, Nance. What’ll he do without me?”

“Probably get some peace and quiet for the first time in my life,” Wayne said without looking up from where he was sitting on the sofa tying his work boots.

Nancy stifled a laugh as Eddie shot back up into a sitting position and stared at his uncle with a look of pure shock and betrayal.

“If you really need a break from studying so much, why don’t you make your guest some dinner?” Wayne suggested. “If she’s staying over, you should probably offer to feed her.”

“Of course. Where are my manners?” Eddie said, resting his arms on the table and leaning forward to smile at Nancy. “Welcome to Chez Munson. It would be my honor to make dinner for you.”

“Real food, too. Don't go offering her spaghettios or whatever other canned junk you eat when I'm not around.”

“You don't have to go to any trouble for me,” Nancy insisted. “I'm fine with whatever.”

Eddie ignored her and turned his attention towards his uncle.

“Want me to save you a plate of whatever it ends up being?”

“Sure. Stick it in the microwave, and I'll reheat it when I get home.”

“Any preferences?”

“Surprise me.”

“Can do. Stay safe out there. Don't drive like I do.”

“Wouldn't dream of it.”

Wayne said his goodbyes, and as soon as he was out the door, Eddie was up and out of his seat searching through the kitchen cabinets and checking the fridge to see what he could make.

“You really don't have to go to any trouble for me,” Nancy said as she watched him start to rummage through the cabinet of pots and pans.

“Who says I'm going to any trouble?” he asked. “Maybe I do this all the time.”

“You do?”

“A guy's gotta eat. When my uncle started working nights, I started messing around in the kitchen because I found out he was never eating a hot meal. Just eating cereal or a bologna sandwich when he came home from a shift. And it's fine if I eat garbage, but I'm not gonna let him live like that after everything he's done for me, you know? I almost burnt the place down a couple times, but I haven't gotten any complaints yet.”

Nancy was touched by his story. Truthfully, she still didn't know much about Eddie. For the most part, he was just the guy that she tutored twice a week, but they'd slowly been becoming friends. She liked spending time with him, and finding out things like this - pieces of him she was sure not many other people knew - only made her grow even fonder of him.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked.

“I think I've got it covered. You can go watch TV if you want. When I cook for a beautiful woman, she doesn't have to lift a finger?”

“So you're in the habit of cooking for beautiful women?”

“You're the first actually. Now get out of here so I can work my magic.”

He shooed her out of the kitchen, and she went to go sit on the couch, but she was too preoccupied with the fact that he'd called her beautiful to focus on anything on TV. Since when did Eddie think she was beautiful? She was under the impression that their relationship was strictly professional, but even she couldn't deny that she felt something whenever he smiled at her.

When Eddie eventually made his way over to the couch, he was carrying two identical plates of food loaded up with breaded chicken cutlets, stovetop stuffing, and canned peas and carrots.

“It's nothing fancy, but I guarantee it'll taste good.”

They ate mostly in silence as Eddie channel-surfed trying to find something decent for them to watch.

“Color me impressed,” Nancy said after they'd finished dinner. “I didn't expect that from you.”

“It was because of my uncle's spaghettios comment, wasn't it?”

“You just didn't seem like the cooking type.”

“If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be.”

“Don't sell yourself short. You're good at this.”

“Thanks.”

Eddie smiled over at her, and she felt herself focusing on his lips. She couldn't let that happen, so she jumped up and grabbed their empty plates off the coffee table.

“Let me do the clean up,” she said as she headed towards the kitchen. “You cooked, so it's only fair.”

“Absolutely not.” Eddie moved to cut her off and blocked her from the sink. “You're the guest. I'm not letting you clean up the mess left behind by my cooking tornado.”

“I really don't mind,” she insisted.

“I'll never hear the end of it from my uncle if I let you clean up. He's used to coming home to my messes, so we don't have to worry about that right now.”

“Are you sure?” She eyed the dirty pots and pans on the stove. “It feels wrong to leave them there.”

“It's fine. I promise. You don't have to help clean up to earn your keep here. If that was the case, I would've been kicked out a long time ago. Just leave them for now.”

“Fine. But the second you're distracted, I'm doing those dishes.”

“I guess I've gotta keep myself fully focused on you then.”

“I guess so.”

“Wanna do something kind of stupid?” he asked.

“Depends on how stupid it is.”

“Put on your coat and shoes.”

Nancy quirked an eyebrow, but Eddie didn't allow her to question him. He just ushered her closer to the door before doubling back to grab a comforter from the closet. He took her outside and had her sit down on the edge of the stoop with him. He wrapped the comforter around their shoulders and held it closed in front of them to try and trap some extra warmth between them.

“Sitting out here is your something stupid?” she asked.

“Frostbite is no joke. Hence the comforter.”

The worst of the blizzard had passed but the snow was still falling in fat, fluffy flakes. The sky was dark, and there was a sense of calm washing over the trailer park. The only real light was from the stars.

“It's beautiful.” Nancy's voice was barely louder than a whisper as if she was afraid that her speaking would ruin the moment.

“I know.”

“Do you do this often?”

“Only when I need to think about something.”

“What are you thinking about now?”

“I don't know. That I like spending time with you, and I think you like spending time with me, too. That this is easy. That it feels right.”

Nancy was quiet again as she let his words wash over her. He was right. Spending time with him like this felt right. That's when she was hit by a somewhat startling realization.

“You cooked me dinner and wouldn't let me help or clean,” she started. “You took me out to your thinking spot to look at the stars. You called me beautiful . . . Was this a date?”

“Nah. This wasn't a date.” He turned to meet her gaze. “When I finally ask you out for real, you'll know.”

“So you're planning on asking me out?”

“As soon as I find the right moment.”

“And this isn't it?”

“You're stuck here for the night. It feels wrong to ask when you can't leave. Puts too much pressure on you to answer a certain way, and I don't want to do that to you.”

“Ask me tomorrow before I leave then?”

“I'll consider it.”

Eddie went to stand up and pulled Nancy up with him.

“Let's go back inside. I'll clean up the kitchen, and if you really wanna help, I'll let you dry the dishes. Then we can watch a movie or something. I'll even lend you some pajamas so you don't have to sleep in your jeans.”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Hey Byers! Wait up!”

Jonathan stopped walking to his next class and turned to find Eddie Munson of all people racing towards him.

“I have a proposition for you,” he said once he’d caught up to Jonathan. “A job opportunity really.”

“What kind of job opportunity?” He was always looking to make a little more money around the holidays, and if the job wasn’t anything illegal, he’d seriously consider the extra work.

“So, as I’m sure you’re aware, I’m the frontman for a pretty spectacular band known as Corroded Coffin, and me and the guys were hoping to do a little something special for our fans this year. Granted, there are maybe five of them total, but still. They deserve a little something special as a token of appreciation for supporting us. Anyway, we wanted to send out a special Christmas card to our friends this year. Maybe include a flier about some upcoming shows in it? It’s still very much in the planning stages. All we know is that we want a really great photo of the whole band to go on the front of the card. That’s where you come in.”

“You want me to shoot your Christmas card?”

“Well, yeah. We don’t want an amateur with a disposable camera doing this. We want it to look good, and as far as I’m concerned, you’re the most talented photographer any of us knows. Maybe the most talented in all of Hawkins. I mean those photos you had in the school art show last year? Magazine worthy. Especially the one of that fort in the woods. It looked seriously haunted in the coolest way possible. Way better than anything anyone else submitted.”

Jonathan was touched. He knew most people only knew him as that freak with the camera, and he’d be lying if he hadn’t assumed that was why Eddie was asking when he first mentioned the card. But Eddie actually knew his work and appreciated it. He wasn’t asked just because he had a camera. He was asked because he had vision.

“How much does the job pay?” he asked.

“We’re not exactly rolling in it right now. Shocking, I know. But we talked about it and pulled our money. We can buy you a roll of film for the project so you don’t have to waste any of your own on us, and then we think we can reasonably afford to pay you for your time with twenty bucks and dinner at Benny’s afterwards. I know it’s not a lot, but it would mean a lot to us if you’d consider it. Plus, you can use the photos you take for any assignment or art show you might have coming up. And, come on.” Eddie gestured to himself. “If this handsome face is in your work, you’ll win all the top prizes for sure."

Eddie was right that it wasn’t a lot, but it was enough that it would make a difference in the quality of the gifts that Jonathan was able to get his mom and brother for Christmas. And if he didn’t have to use his own film, it was a net gain no matter what.

“So, say I agree to do this,” he started. “And I’m not agreeing just yet, but say that I do. What kinds of photos are you looking for?”

“Maybe something goofy and posed with all of us? Or artsy if you prefer. And then maybe a couple photos of us actually playing? We’ve got a Santa hat and some elf hats we were thinking of wearing since this is for a Christmas thing, but wearing them isn’t a deal breaker if you think the pictures would look better without them. Totally willing to defer to the real artistic genius here. I just want the pictures to look good, and you’re the only person I trust to make it happen.”

The idea of creative control was enticing enough to seal the deal for him.

“Alright. I’m in. When and where do you need me?”

“We haven’t settled on a specific day or time yet, but probably sometime this weekend. I’ll talk to the guys at lunch and let you know the plan before the end of the day though. I owe you my life for this. Seriously.”

With that, Eddie was racing off down the hall leaving Jonathan to try and come up with a way to make heavy metal Christmas cards into something appropriate for any of his photography class assignments.

That Saturday afternoon, Jonathan met up with the guys outside of the Hideout. The plan was to do posed photos outside and then go inside to take a few pictures of them playing. As long as they stayed focused on getting the shots they wanted, they'd be done in time for that promised dinner at Benny's.

He didn't think it would take too long, but then again, he didn't really know what working with Eddie would be like. The guy was all over him, and it was more than a little distraction. Eddie just had so many questions about his process, and he wanted to look through the camera and get an idea of what Jonathan was seeing. Or, if he wasn't asking questions, he was touching him. Adjusting a twisted camera strap, placing a hand on Jonathan's back as he leaned in the eye the proposed shot, poking at him to get his attention, grabbing at his arm to pull him over to any place he thought they could get a good photo. If Jonathan didn't know any better, he would've thought that Eddie was into him.

“Come on, Eddie,” he said as he tried to get him to pose properly for what he thought might be their last shot. “Quit it with whatever that brooding, tortured artist look is. You said you wanted something goofy, not sexy.”

“So you think I'm sexy?” Eddie asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Jonathan could feel his face burning.

“Just let me take the picture.”

He snapped a couple more photos in quick succession before putting the lens cap back on his camera.

“I think I got everything you guys wanted out here. Let's take a ten minute break, and then we can set up for the performance shots.”

Jonathan headed inside for a moment alone, but he'd barely sat down before Gareth was joining him at his table.

“You know we didn't need to hire you for this, right?” he started. “Jeff's parents own that hobby shop downtown, and his mom would have lent us a camera for free if we promised not to smash it. A fancy one with a timer so we wouldn't have even needed a photographer to get this done.”

“If that's the case, why am I here?”

“You haven't figured it out yet?”

“Figured out what?”

“You really have no idea. He's about as subtle as a heart attack, and you still don't know.”

“Can you please fill me in so I can make even a little bit of sense of what you're saying?”

“Eddie wanted you to do this so he'd have an excuse to spend time with you and get to know you a little better.”

“And he was willing to pay me twenty bucks for the opportunity?”

“Well, yeah. When he's that into someone, he loses all sense of logic and reason. Even more so than usual.”

Jonathan was stunned speechless. Eddie was into him? Suddenly all of his badgering made sense, and when he really stopped to think about it, the badgering wasn't unwelcome. If he wasn't in the middle of lining up a shot, he could see himself enjoying what was apparently Eddie's attempt at flirting.

“So, why doesn't he just ask me out? It would probably be cheaper than paying me to be your band's personal photographer.”

“He's afraid that you'd say no which I think is stupid because it's obvious how much he gets under your skin.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Dude. Your entire face looked like a tomato after you accidentally called him sexy. Pretty sure that was your subconscious telling you that you're into him, too.”

Jonathan didn't know what to say. Before he'd asked him to do this, he didn't realize Eddie even knew who he was, and now he was facing the very real possibility that he could maybe be into Eddie, too.

“Look," Gareth started. "You don't have to say anything to me or him or anybody. But, if you wanted, I could make something happen. All I ask is that you do a small favor for me.”

“Name it.”

“Put in a good word for me with Nancy?” he asked. “I find her beautiful and terrifying.”

“I'll see what I can do.”

Gareth stood up from his seat and smiled at Jonathan.

“It's been a pleasure doing business with you.”

Their break ended shortly after that, and Jonatham took a series of photos of them playing through two different songs so he could get a variety of different angles for each member of the band. Once he figured he'd gotten everything he needed, he motioned for the band to stop.

“I'm pretty sure I just used up the last of the film you guys brought, so we can call it here. I'll develop everything when I have access to the photo lab on Monday and get the prints to you as soon as possible.”

“We're done?” Eddie sounded more than a little disappointed and he crossed over to where Jonathan was loading his camera back into his bag.

“I think so. But I remember being promised dinner at Benny's as part of my payment, so we could head there now if you want.”

“Definitely. We just need to load up our stuff, and then we can all head out.”

“Actually, the guys and I have a thing,” Gareth said. “And we can't get out of it, so you guys are gonna have to go by yourselves.”

“What thing?” Jeff asked. “We don't have a-”

He was cut off from finishing his sentence by Gareth smacking his arm and pointedly looking back and forth between him and where Eddie was standing with Jonathan.

“Oh! Right!” Jeff said after the realization hit. “That thing. So sad we can't make it.”

“You crazy kids have fun without us!” Gareth said as he ushered the other two bandmates out of the bar.

“I'm going to kill him,” Eddie muttered under his breath, making Jonathan huff out a laugh.

“No, you're not.”

“Oh, but I am. I'm already drafting up posters advertising our need for a new drummer.”

“Go easy on him. He just did you a massive favor.”

Eddie crossed his arms over his chest.

“How do you figure?”

“He just got you a date with the guy you've been shamelessly flirting with all day.”

Eddie's jaw dropped. He definitely wasn't expecting that response from him.

“I'm pretty sure the guys just left without loading their stuff into the van, so pick your jaw off the floor and let me help you get that taken care of. Then you can flirt with me some more.”

When Nancy first started dating her, she realized that there was more than meets the eye when it came to Chrissy Cunningham. She may have been one of the most popular girls in school, but there was so much about her that she kept safeguarded from the people who saw her everyday.

She loved heavy metal music and would headbang in the car if she wasn't the one driving. She was so quiet in groups, but when it was just the two of them, she had the quickest wit and the best sense of humor. She was deceptively strong from years at the bottom of the pyramid and catching fliers, and she was a fierce competitor in all forms of play fighting which made her easily able to pin her girlfriend and tickle her silly. She had to change the channel whenever there was a sad or hurt animal on the TV because she cried if she thought about animals in pain. She read everything she could get her hands on and hide from her mother, so she could talk about horror and fantasy and historical fiction for hours, and she had a book recommendation for every mood. She was the most fascinating girl that Nancy had ever met.

But the biggest thing that Nancy learned - and perhaps the least surprising thing of all - was that Chrissy loved glitter. She always signed her name in a different colored glitter gel pen because she thought those ones were the prettiest. She had a secret collection of glitter eyeshadows that she kept hidden and only wore to parties when she knew she was going to be sleeping over at someone else's house because her mother told her that only hookers wore glittery makeup. If she had to do a school project that required any sort of visual aid, she was going to include glitter lettering in some way.

“I just think things are the prettiest when they sparkle,” she'd said when Nancy asked her about her affinity for it.

Nancy couldn't deny that Chrissy's eyes popped just a little bit more when she wore her favorite silvery glitter eyeshadow, or that her lips looked extra-kissable when she wore this one specific shimmery pink lip gloss. She wasn't just the most fascinating girl she'd ever met - she was the most beautiful, and maybe that was because she sparkled, too.

So, when it came to choosing a Christmas gift for her, Nancy knew that it had to be something sparkly. That posed its own unique challenge of finding something Chrissy's mother wouldn't notice as a romantic gift from another girl but was still as heartfelt as she wanted it to be. When she arrived at Chrissy's house for their gift exchange, she just hoped she'd been successful.

“Mom! Nancy is here to study!” Chrissy called out as she pulled her girlfriend into the house. “We'll be up in my room if you need us!”

Chrissy practically pulled Nancy up the stairs, racing to get to her room. She knew this was because Chrissy couldn't really relax until they were safe behind her locked bedroom door. So, as soon as that lock clicked into place, Chrissy was placing a quick kiss on her girlfriend's lips before bouncing over to her desk to grab a gift box. She moved to kneel on her bed, sitting back on her ankles, and beamed over at Nancy.

“Someone's eager,” Nancy said as she took off her coat and moved to sit on the bed as well.

“I'm just excited for you to see your gift,” she said with what was maybe the largest smile Nancy had ever seen on her face. “I worked really hard on it.”

Nancy pulled a small wrapped box out of her bag and set it in front of Chrissy.

“You open yours first,” she said.

Chrissy made quick work of opening the package and inside was a pair of small, dangly heart-shaped earrings coated with sparkly red glitter. She immediately pulled them out of the packaging and ran over to her vanity to replace the simple gold hoops she'd been wearing with her gift.

“Maybe they're a little obvious, but I figured you could tell your mom that you bought them when we went to the mall last weekend if she says anything. I saw them and instantly thought of you, so I couldn't pass them up.”

“They're perfect. I love them.”

Chrissy climbed back on the bed and leaned in to kiss her girlfriend before sitting back on her heels again.

“Now, you open yours,” she urged as she slid the box closer to Nancy.

Nancy lifted the lid off of the box, and nestled in the tissue paper inside, she found a simple silver Christmas bauble. The focal point, however, was the heart made out of bright red glitter on the side.

“If anyone asks, you can say it represents the Tin Man because I know he's your favorite,” she said, staring down at her hands. “But I made it special for you. I gave you my heart a while ago, so I wanted you to have a physical representation of what's already yours.”

Nancy set the gift down so she could take Chrissy's hands in her own and give them a small squeeze. Chrissy looked up from their hands to see her girlfriend positively beaming.

“I love that our gifts match,” Nancy told her. “I love that you made your heart sparkle, and I love that your gift was homemade. And, most importantly, I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“We can study in here,” Chrissy said as she led Argyle into the dining room. She'd invited her boyfriend over to study for their government exam, and she figured they'd be able to focus better if she didn't take him up to her bedroom right away.

They set their things down on the table, and Chrissy started to get her notes ready. However, Argyle was already distracted by a fancy looking box with numbered drawers that was on display on the room's sidebar.

“What’s that?” he asked, pointing at the box.

Chrissy briefly glanced up before turning her attention back towards her work.

“That's Danny's advent calendar. My mom pulled it out and stocked it for him last night. There's a religious element to it, but it's mostly just an excuse for him to get a piece of chocolate every day leading up to Christmas.”

“Where's yours?”

“Probably in the attic somewhere.”

Argyle looked back at Danny's calendar and frowned.

“That doesn't seem very fair on your mom's part.”

“I don't mind,” Chrissy said with a small shrug. “I haven't had one since middle school, so I don't really expect one anymore. It's no big deal. Now, quiz me with these flashcards. As soon as I get every one of them right, we can go watch a movie or something.”

Chrissy could say that it was no big deal that she didn't have her own advent calendar, but he knew her better than that by now. They'd talked at length about how she was used to being forgotten or cast aside by her parents in favor of spoiling her younger brother, but it still stung. He could see the disappointment on her face when she told him how long it had been since she last had one. That just meant he had some planning to do.

The next day, Argyle was waiting at Chrissy's locker as soon as she got to school.

“You're here early,” she said as she stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek hello. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I have a surprise for you,” he told her. “And I was hoping you could come over after school, so I could give it to you.”

“A surprise? What kind of surprise?”

“You'll find out when you come over.”

“I don't even get a hint?” she pouted.

“Patience, my petite pineapple,” he said with a butchered French accent as he squished her cheeks between his hands to erase her pout.

“Okay, I'll wait,” she said between giggles. She removed his hands from her cheeks and retrieved the things she needed for her first couple of classes from her locker.

“Walk me to first period?” she asked, offering him her free hand.

He took her hand in his and gave it a little squeeze.

“Always.”

“Okay, keep your eyes closed,” Argyle said as he led Chrissy back to his bedroom. He had his hands covering her eyes as he steered her around the house. “No peeking.”

“I promise I won't peek. I've been thinking about this all day, so I'm not gonna ruin the surprise now.”

He positioned her to be standing in front of his bed, and once he had her where he wanted her, he double checked that everything was where he needed it to be.

“Okay, you can look now,” he said as he took his place next to her.

Chrissy opened her eyes and took in the sight before her. Sitting on the bed were three boxes. The first was a shoebox filled with small numbered envelopes, the second one was larger and filled with brown paper bags, and the third was another shoebox filled with small packages wrapped in newspaper.

“What's all this?” she asked.

“I made us some advent calendars,” he said, looking very pleased with himself. “I know they're not as fancy as the one your brother has, but I think I did a pretty good job with what I had around the house.”

“You made me advent calendars?” She beamed up at him. Nobody had ever done something so sweet for her before, and she was touched by the thoughtfulness of this gesture.

“So what am I looking at?” she asked. “Where do I start?”

He picked up the first box and handed it to her.

“So, this one is the only one that's technically all yours,” he told her. “It's probably the closest to what your brother is getting, and since you didn't get to open one yesterday, you can open two now.”

She pulled out the first envelope and opened it to find a chocolate coin and a note that read ‘for my toasty little pizza bagel’ which immediately had her blushing and giggling. She opened the second envelope to find another chocolate coin, but this time, the note read ‘for my blushy-faced bumblebee.’

“How'd you know these were going to make me blush?” she asked.

“I have psychic powers, obviously,” he teased. “But you always blush at my cheesy nicknames. It's one of my favorite things about you.”

He poked her cheek which was still positively pink, and she stood on her tiptoes to pull him in for a kiss.

“Have I told you that you're the best boyfriend ever lately?” she asked.

“Only all the time. But it's always nice to hear.”

He gave her another quick kiss, and then she turned her attention back towards the bed.

“What's in the big one?”

“That one is the one I made for myself, but it can be shared with you whenever you come home with me if you want. Each bag has a joint and a snack in it for when the munchies hit afterwards. I call it Holy Smokes.”

Chrissy doubled over laughing.

“I love it,” she told him. “It's very you, and I will gladly cuddle up with you while you smoke and share your snacks. But maybe we don't mention this one around my mom, okay?”

“I don't know,” he teased. “I think she'd like it. It's very festive.”

“Sure, she would. What's in the third one?”

“That's another one that's just for you, but really, it's also a treat for me when you think about it. Each one of those packages has a different flavored lip gloss or chapstick in it, and I was thinking that we could turn it into a game where I have to guess the flavor you're wearing every day.”

“Oh really?” she asked with a knowing smirk. “But wouldn't it be very easy for you to guess since you're the one who made it?”

“I thought of that, and that's why none of those ones are numbered. So you can choose at random, and I'll have no way of knowing what it is.”

“Good thinking,” she said with another giggle. “We should probably get started soon then. We have two days of lip gloss for you to guess already, and who knows how long that'll take.”

“Definitely,” he agreed. “And I'm a terrible guesser, so you're probably going to have to reapply it a couple times. Just so I can be really sure of what it is.”

“We don't have to stay long,” Eddie said as he parked his van. “I promise. As soon as I'm sold out, we can go back to my place and watch whatever movies you want. It probably won't take more than fifteen minutes.”

“It's fine,” Chrissy replied. “I don't mind being here. I knew what I signed up for when I agreed to come with you tonight. If it takes you longer than that, I'm sure I can find someone else to talk to. It is a party after all.”

“And that's why you're my best friend. You ready for this?”

“As ready as I'll ever be.”

Chrissy knew the real reason why Eddie had invited her to go to this party with him. He could say it was just because he wanted the company, but she knew the truth. He just wanted to get her out of the house and back around other people again. Ever since Jason had unceremoniously dumped her during halftime at the basketball game two weeks before, she hadn't really left the house for anything other than school. She hadn’t been feeling very social, and she knew she was starting to worry her best friend. So, even though the last thing she really wanted to be doing was attending some weird Christmas rager filled with people who witnessed her most recent humiliation, she agreed to go because it meant Eddie wouldn’t worry about her anymore.

The fact that they wouldn’t be there very long helped, too. If she had to spend the whole evening there, she wouldn’t have been able to force herself to go. She wasn't sure if she was really ready to face this crowd - the people that would either be hyping Jason up or looking at her with those horribly pitying glances that made her feel about two feet tall - but there was another reason why she didn't want to be at this house in particular: this was Steve Harrington's house.

It wasn't that she had anything against Steve. It was the opposite really. Back when she'd been a freshman, she'd fawned over him just like all of the other cheerleaders did. It had been so easy to develop a crush on him because she'd always thought that he was so out of her league. It was just a sweet little fantasy that occupied most of her daydreams. 

When she started dating Jason, her crush had faded away, and she'd figured that she was completely over that fantasy. They were at the same sporting events and the same parties, she talked to him on occasion, and she didn't think she felt anything for him. But then Jason dumped her and everyone started treating her differently - except for Steve. He stopped Tommy H. from making jokes at her expense when he started up with his stupid comments at school, and he didn't look at her with the same pitying glances that everyone else gave her. He treated her just the same as he always had, and it made her realize that maybe her crush had never really gone away. It was just lying dormant and waiting for an opportunity to resurface. The fantasy was back, and she was feeling more delusional than ever. Steve would never go for a girl who'd been dumped in front of the whole town like that. She wasn't good enough for him, but it was nice to dream. 

That dream was why she couldn't be at his party though. It felt too risky with her crush. Every other time she'd been to a party at his house, she'd been with Jason, so this hadn't been an issue. Now, she didn't know how to act.

As Eddie ushered her into the house, she scanned the crowd in front of her. It wasn't hard to find Steve in the midst of it all. He stood out on a normal day. For this party, however, he was wearing one of those sleazy Santa hats that had mistletoe on the end, and Chrissy hated how that wasn’t a turn off for her. As she watched Rachel P. make her way over to Steve and point at the mistletoe on his hat before reaching up to give him a kiss, Chrissy couldn’t help but think she wouldn’t mind getting to have that same opportunity herself. She’d never be bold enough to go up to him on her own though, and she certainly wasn’t bold enough to say whatever it was that Rachel P. whispered in Steve’s ear after their kiss that made his eyes go wide before shaking it off and adopting his signature confident smirk again. She was content to keep her distance and avoid any and all potential humiliation that would undoubtedly come from her being anywhere near him.

But she was hanging out with Eddie that night, so she should have known that he was going to unintentionally put her face to face with the guy she was trying her hardest to avoid. She loved her best friend more than anything, but he was oblivious to the chaos he caused her. Sometimes it was through more over the top means, but tonight it was via the simple action of calling for Steve’s attention. He acknowledged Eddie with a slight nod before saying something to Rachel P. and abandoning her to head their way.

Chrissy started panicking almost immediately. He was going to be standing in front of her wearing that ridiculous hat, and she'd have to find a way to kiss him without being awkward about it. Of course, there was always the chance that Eddie would jump in and kiss Steve to mess with him. Or worse, he could push Chrissy forward and urge her to kiss him and make a big deal out of it. She felt like she was going to be sick.

But then something that she hadn't anticipated happened, and it was maybe even worse than anything she had imagined. As Steve got closer to them, he noticed Chrissy was with Eddie for the first time, and he stopped dead in his tracks. He recovered after a moment, and as he started walking towards them again, he pulled the hat off of his head and ran a hand through his hair. That settled it then. He didn't want to kiss her at all, so he was taking away any chance that it would happen. Even though she'd been panicking about it, she'd be lying if she said that didn't sting.

“What? No kisses for me?” Eddie asked. “I'm wounded.”

 “I'm sure you'll survive,” Steve told him before turning his attention back towards Chrissy. “I didn't know you were coming.”

“That's because I forced her out of the house. We're just staying until I sell out, and then it's a night of debauchery.”

Eddie threw an arm around Chrissy's shoulders and wiggled his eyebrows, and she turned bright pink before slapping his chest.

“He's kidding,” she insisted. “We're going to watch Christmas movies and probably end up annoying his uncle.”

“I think he'll be charmed by our antics and just how often I plan on pausing the movies to add in my own scenes. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have party favors to hand out.”

Eddie gave an exaggerated bow before heading into the party, leaving Chrissy standing there awkwardly with Steve. She didn't know what to say to him, and he didn't appear to have anything to say to her, so she was standing there wishing that the ground would just open up and swallow her when Heather Holloway appeared and threw her arms around her in a bone crushing hug. Whatever was in the cup that she was holding sloshed, and a little bit dribbled on the floor.

“You came!” she said as she pulled away from Chrissy. “You said you weren't feeling up for a party, but you came!”

“I did.”

Heather was clearly more than a little buzzed already, and Chrissy watched as she turned her attention towards Steve.

“Stevie. Would you mind terribly if I stole Chrissy for a minute?” she asked. “I can never get her to go to parties anymore, so I need to go get her a drink or seven to make up for lost time, okay?”

“She's all yours,” he replied. “Don't get too crazy.”

“Me? Never.”

Heather grabbed Chrissy's hand and started to pull her towards the kitchen, but as Chrissy glanced back at Steve, she noticed that he put that stupid hat back on the second he wasn't looking at her anymore, and she felt that same sting from before again.

“Can I just say that Jason is a rat?” Heather said. “A stinky garbage rat. The lowest of the low. He was never worthy of you, and you can do so much better than him anyway.”

“Thanks.”

Jason was the absolute last person Chrissy wanted to be discussing right now. Tonight was supposed to get her mind off of everything, and already she was feeling awful. She knew Eddie had meant well by bringing her here, but she needed to not be around these people.

“I'll be right back,” she told Heather. “I need to find the restroom.”

“Use the one upstairs. The one down here is probably super grody by now.”

Chrissy made her way upstairs and easily found the master bathroom. Luckily, no one was in there already, so she was able to lock herself inside and take a moment alone. She took a few deep breaths as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She could do this. She could be at this party and act normal and pretend she wasn't hurt by what Jason did to her and how Steve had clearly been repulsed by the idea of kissing her. She had to handle this. Just a little while longer, and then Eddie would be ready to leave. She could make it that long. She knew she could.

She exited the bathroom and started to make her way back downstairs. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Eddie leaning against a wall and flirting with Nancy Wheeler. He was trying to look cool, but Chrissy could tell that he was freaking out on the inside. This was a new development, and while she was happy for whatever was happening with her best friend, she had a feeling that she was going to be staying at this party a lot longer than she originally intended.

She would just have to make small talk with people and try to handle being there the best she could. Maybe if she stuck by Heather, she could get away with not doing any talking at all, and she could just let her friend talk at her for a while. However, that plan was ruined when she walked back into the kitchen and found Heather making out with Jason. He had her sitting up on the counter, and he was standing between her legs with her hanging all over him. So much for him being the lowest of the low.

Chrissy turned on her heel and ran out of the room knowing Heather wouldn’t have seen her. She was too invested in Jason’s tongue to notice her hurt friend or care if she did. She couldn’t grab Eddie and make him leave. She didn’t want to be a burden on him, so she tried to go hide in the bathroom again. This time, the door was locked, so she ducked into the first unlocked room she could find. 

After locking herself in said room, she sat down on the edge of the bed and willed herself not to cry. She wouldn’t give Jason the satisfaction of knowing he still had the power to hurt her. She couldn’t. She just needed to stay isolated from the rest of the party until it was time to leave. Eddie would come find her soon enough, and she could put this whole stupid night behind her.

She was only alone for maybe five minutes before someone tried to open the door. When they realized it was locked, they pounded on the door.

“Hey!” a voice called through the door. “No one is supposed to be up here!”

Chrissy got up from the bed and opened the door to find Steve standing there. Once again, as soon as he saw it was her, he pulled that stupid hat off of his head and held it behind his back. This was the last thing she needed, and she could feel herself crumbling from the inside out. She had to get out of that party, and she had to get out now.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t know. I’ll just leave.”

Her voice cracked as she spoke, and she moved to exit the room, but Steve was blocking her path.

“Were you in there by yourself?” he asked. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, and she didn’t want to cry in front of Steve. She didn’t need to add on to the humiliation she was already feeling. She tried to push past him, but he moved to stop her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Wait. If you need to be alone up here for a while, you can stay. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Or I can go get your boyfriend for you if you don’t want to be alone.”

Chrissy let out a dry laugh.

“What boyfriend?” she asked. “Jason dumped me two weeks ago. You were there. Don’t you remember?”

“What? I wasn’t talking about that jackass. I meant Eddie.”

“You think Eddie and I are dating?”

“Well, yeah. Aren’t you?”

Chrissy was silent for a moment before doubling over from the force of her laughter. She moved back to sit on the edge of the bed as a way to steady herself because even in this laughing fit, she knew she didn’t want to fall to the floor in front of Steve.

“I’m so sorry,” she said once she’d calmed herself down enough to speak. “I’m not laughing at you. I promise. It’s just that the idea of me dating Eddie is the most ridiculous thing to me.”

“So, he’s not your boyfriend?” Steve asked. He moved to sit down next to her, and he set the hat on the bed in between them as he did.

“I certainly hope not considering the fact that last time I saw him he was very clearly flirting with another girl. He’s just my best friend, and he lacks all sense of personal boundaries when it comes to the people he’s closest with. I guess I can understand why someone would think we’re dating, all things considered. It’s just that kissing him would be the same as kissing my little brother.”

She scrunched up her nose in disgust before wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes.

“Thanks for that though. I really needed that laugh.”

“Glad I could be of service,” he told her. “Can I ask what had you upset enough to lock yourself in my bedroom in the first place?”

“It’s stupid,” she told him. “I saw someone who I thought was my friend making out with Jason. Which is fine. He’s allowed to do whatever he wants. We’re not together anymore, so it shouldn’t have had this effect on me. It’s just that he chose Heather, and she let him choose her after just telling me what a piece of shit she thought he was. But it’s fine. I just didn’t want to be forced to see it, and I didn’t have anyone else to talk to, so I came up here to get away from everything until Eddie was ready to leave. It’s easier that way.”

“Do you want me to kick him out? Because I can make him leave if you want.”

“He’s not worth the effort. I’m already ruining your party enough by keeping you away from your guests. I don’t need you to make a scene on my behalf.”

“I could spit in his eggnog then. Or accidentally spill some punch on him. Maybe trip him or something? Whatever I can do to help you get back at him.”

“It’s fine. Really.” She let out a tiny giggle. “Technically, he didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I’d say he did plenty wrong if you asked me.”

“How do you figure?”

“I mean, setting aside him making out with your friend, the way he treated you at that basketball game was one of the worst things I’ve ever witnessed. He was needlessly cruel, and you deserved better. Frankly, I don’t think he treated you very well while he was dating you either, but that’s a whole other thing entirely. You always seemed too nice to be with a guy like him, and he didn’t appreciate you enough.”

“Maybe that’s just your opinion.”

“Well, it should be everybody’s opinion. I bet there are loads of guys in this school who would realize that you're the best thing that's ever happened to them.”

“You're sweet, but I'm not that special.”

“Not that special? Chrissy, you're -”

Steve paused for a moment and ran a hand through his hair.

“I remember this one day from back around when we first met. A bunch of the cheerleaders and the guys from the team were hanging out outside the gym. Barb Holland was walking past on her way to her next class, and she tripped and absolutely ate it in front of everyone. Jason went to make some stupid comment, but you scolded him and told him to shut up before getting down on the ground to check if she was okay and help her gather her things. I'd already thought you were cute before that, but I think that's when I started to have a crush on you. I never said anything, and then you started dating Jason a week later, so I figured I'd missed my shot and kept quiet. Anyway, my point is that you are special. Anyone who doesn't see that is kidding themselves.”

Chrissy smiled, but avoided looking at Steve to hide the fact that she was certain she was blushing.

“So, you have a crush on me?” she asked.

“I kind of let that slip there, didn't I?”

“Yeah. You did.”

His admission only confused her though. If he liked her, he should have wanted to kiss her, and yet he took that hat off every single time he saw her. It didn't add up.

“Can I ask you something?”

Steve nodded.

“If you're really into me, why'd you take the hat off? Why eliminate the perfect opportunity to act on your feelings in a non-obvious way?”

“A couple reasons. First, up until about five minutes ago, I thought you'd just started dating Eddie, and I didn't want to kiss another guy's girlfriend. Second, the hat wasn't even my idea. It was Tommy's. He gave me this line to use about how it's bad luck if you don't get a kiss when you're standing under the mistletoe, and said it works every time, but I kind of hate wearing the thing. And maybe most importantly, I didn't want you to feel obligated to kiss me. The whole idea of it made me feel gross. If you kissed me, I wanted it to be your choice.”

The sting from earlier had vanished completely and was replaced by a swarm of butterflies that were making her heart flutter. She wanted to be cool about this, but she didn't know if she could be. She had to try though, so she grabbed the hat and pulled it into her lap.

“You know, I kind of have a crush on you, too,” she told him.

“You do?”

“Mmhmm. And I would have welcomed the opportunity to kiss you even if it came with Tommy's admittedly terrible line.”

“Duly noted.”

She picked the hat up and placed it on her head.

“Well, would you look at that,” she said as she pointed at it. “I think that's mistletoe.”

“I think you might be right.”

 “You know, I heard it's bad luck if you don't get kissed when you're underneath the mistletoe.”

“I think I've heard that somewhere.”

“You wouldn't want me to have bad luck now, would you?”

“That sure would be terrible.”

“So, what do you say, Steve? Wanna help me make sure I don't have any bad luck?”

“Please.”

With that, Steve leaned in, and Chrissy pulled him closer for the first of many kisses.

Ever since Heather expressed an interest in dating her, Chrissy struggled with how to initiate things between them. All of their snuggling and little touches were easier when things were platonic between them. Now there was all this pressure, and she was afraid that she couldn't be herself around her anymore now that their label had changed from ‘best friends’ to ‘girlfriends.’

But she was trying to make things as comfortable as possible because she genuinely had feelings for Heather, and she didn't want to ruin their friendship or their new relationship with her awkwardness. She wanted to be normal about this, so when Heather invited her over for a no pressure sleepover to just watch movies and spend some time together, she said that there was nothing she'd like more.

She tried to relax as her girlfriend snuggled up to her on the bed and shared the fuzzy blanket that was both of their favorites. Really, she did. She just didn’t know how to be normal around her girlfriend, and she was sure that it was noticeable.

“Are you okay?” Heather asked her when she got up to change the video tape.

“Never better,” Chrissy lied. “Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know. You just seem really tense. Did you skip a meal today? You’re always a little more reserved when you haven’t eaten enough.”

Chrissy could feel the guilt growing in her stomach. Heather loved and cared about her even before admitting her growing feelings, and she was ruining all of that now by being too afraid to hold her hand or kiss her.

“I'm okay. Just a little tired, I think.”

Heather eyed her, and Chrissy could see the worry etched on her face through her furrowed brow.

“I know exactly what you need,” she said after a moment. “Wait right here.”

Heather bounded out of the room, and when she returned, she was carrying a tray loaded up with a bowl of popcorn, two steaming mugs of hot cocoa, and a variety of mix-ins.

“I figured you could use a snack,” she said as she climbed back into the bed. “And it gave me an excuse to get one for myself, too.”

She set the tray down in between them and proceeded to grab a handful of mini candy canes which she unwrapped and stuck into her mug.

“How many candy canes are you going to stick in there?” Chrissy giggled. “You're not going to be able to taste the chocolate.”

“I want it to taste like Christmas,” Heather replied as she started to stir the candy canes in an attempt to speed up the melting process.

Chrissy pulled her own mug towards herself and added a small handful of mini marshmallows and a single candy cane - enough to be a treat without going overboard.

Once she was satisfied with how much the candy canes had melted, Heather added a rather sizable mountain of whipped cream to her mug.

“Would it be going overboard if I crushed up another candy cane and sprinkled it over the top?”

“Not if it makes you happy.”

“Good because I was going to do it no matter what your answer was.”

Chrissy just sat there holding her mug and waited for it to cool down enough for her to comfortably drink it, but Heather was quick to start drinking hers, not caring if she burnt her tongue a little in the process.

“Why aren’t you drinking yet?” she asked as she looked up from her mug, whipped cream and cocoa foam adorning her upper lip like a mustache.

“Just waiting for it to cool. You have a little something.” Chrissy gestured to her own upper lip.

Heather went to wipe it away, but Chrissy stopped her.

“Let me,” she said as she set her mug back on the tray and scooched a little closer to her on the bed.

Chrissy reached out and used her thumb to gently brush away the cocoa mustache, but she lingered. She knew she had no reason to be nervous around Heather. She just had to make a move, and everything would be fine. So, still gingerly cradling Heather’s face, she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Her girlfriend tasted like peppermint, and she smiled into the kiss.

“About time you did that,” Heather said once she’d pulled away. “I’ve been waiting for you to make a move all night. What took you so long?”

“Just waiting for the perfect, happy moment I guess.”