#hellcheer week 2022

Her and Eddie Munson had finally become an official item to everyone in Hawkins during their last week of high school. It had been satisfying to watch Jason and her mother’s faces twist in horror at the revelation. At that point though, she couldn’t care less what they thought of her and Eddie. Their friendship had blossomed over the months she’d tutored him, the tension between them palpable and thick once she’d broken up with Jason. Looking back, it had only been a matter of time. Chrissy was pretty sure the month since then had been the best one of her life. Jason was out of the picture and her mother’s attempts at control were finally just meaningless noise in Chrissy’s ears.

She was grateful for that last bit of change in her life, especially when Chrissy had decided to take basic courses at the community college in the next town over. Her mother hated it, but Chrissy had realized that going out of state for college had been Jason’s dream and she’d just always gone along with him. But now, she wanted time to be here with Eddie and figure out what her life looked like together with him. She was pretty sure she’d never seen her mother get so red with anger before, but Chrissy simply didn’t care anymore. She might have been terrifying six months ago, but now that Chrissy stopped giving her mother the satisfaction of winning their arguments, it didn’t matter. Chrissy finally knew what her priorities were and she wasn’t going to waste her time bowing down to her mother’s whims.

A whistle blew, pulling Chrissy from her reminiscing and signaling a shift change. Glancing at her watch, Chrissy was glad the time had flown by today. After thanking Heather and wishing her luck on the next shift, she went back to the locker room to change. Chrissy’s heart began to race again and she was excited that Eddie was picking her up. Today was the day she got to sit in on one of his Dungeons and Dragons games and the anticipation was killing her. Chrissy had wanted to watch Eddie play for a few weeks now. When she’d asked, he’d become surprisingly bashful.

“Come on sweetheart,” Eddie had told her. “You don’t have to come watch if you don’t really want to.”

“No! I really do! I don’t think I want to play right now, but I want to see you doing something you love!” Putting on her best pouty face, she’d grabbed Eddie’s arm and forced his attention onto her. “Please Eddie? You got to watch me at the last few pep rallies.”

“True, but you also came to see me play at the Hideout so I think we’re even. Besides, I don’t even know when we’re meeting since it’s summer.” He had clearly been buckling under the pressure of her cuteness and Chrissy knew she had the upper hand, no matter what he said.

“Just promise you’ll tell me if you do? I don’t want to miss it Eddie.” She’d punctuated her request with a small peck to Eddie’s lips, surprising him. Taking her chance, she leaned in to whisper gently in his ear. “After all, didn’t you say you’d do anything for me?” She knew she was playing dirty by whispering words he’d told her from when it was just the two of them alone in his bed, but Chrissy didn’t care. She wanted to know everything about Eddie. Even if she never played a game of Dungeons and Dragons in her life, she wanted to support him and have fun with him. The look on Eddie’s face anytime he’d mentioned it before was brilliant and made his eyes light up, even if he’d never admit it. Chrissy was dying to know why. It was sometimes startling to realize how quickly she had fallen head over heels for Eddie, but at the same time, everything about him felt good and right.

And then, earlier this week, Eddie had told her the news that they were going to be playing something called a one shot campaign. Some of the younger members had a friend and his sister visiting from out of town for summer break. Apparently, he loved D&D too and wanted to play with Eddie after hearing his friends talk about him so much. When Eddie had told her, Chrissy squealed with excitement. It’d made him chuckle and tease her about being so excited to just watch a game she wasn’t even going to play. She’d rolled her eyes right back at him, informing him that she had been a cheerleader so that was basically what she was best at. And so, plans were made and today was the day.

Chrissy finished changing, tucking her swimsuit into her duffle bag that she now took back and forth to work. She practically bounced out of the locker room and to the front gate of the community pool. Sure enough, a familiar van was waiting for her with a tall, lean, man propped up against it. He may have looked intimidating to others, but to Chrissy he looked, well to put it bluntly, he looked hot. Eddie didn’t know it, but sometimes he would take her breath away. She knew if she ever admitted it to him, he would tease her endlessly for it and his ego would inflate to the size of Indiana.

When he spotted her coming towards him, she saw his eyes light up as he shot her a smirk that melted her heart. She stopped just short of him, pressing herself up on the tips of her toes to place a small kiss to the underside of his jaw. Eddie threw an arm around her and began walking her to the passenger side of the van.

“Miss me that much sweetheart?” he teased. Chrissy wrapped her arm around his waist, underneath his jacket so she could feel the warmth that always came off of him.

“You know why I’m so excited. I could hardly focus on the pool today since I was thinking about the game.” They stopped, Eddie chuckling as he opened the door for her. He gently helped her up into the car, throwing out his obligatory “m’lady” as she stepped up and in. As he walked around, a question popped into Chrissy’s mind and as soon as he got in, she innocently asked him.

“Why are you so hesitant about me watching you play? Do you really think I won’t like it?” The thought made her a little sad and that mood tainted her question. Even if the game ended up not being her thing, she still wanted to understand Eddie’s hobbies and passions. He knew that she was athletic and enjoyed going on walks or just being outdoors. He knew that she loved exploring new music with him and going shopping, even if he hated the last activity. But Eddie had still made the effort over the last month to really learn about her now that they were together and she’d happily shared it all with him. So Chrissy couldn’t lie. When she thought about how him not wanting to share something with her, it hurt a little bit.

Eddie sat in the drivers seat, clearly confused by the sudden shift in her mood with that question. She glanced up at him, eyes probably looking like a sad puppy and saw him panic just a bit.

“Chrissy no, it’s not that I swear.” His hand ran through his hair, making the tangled mess even more tangled. “Shit, I… I messed up huh?” He let out an exasperated breath before turning to face her. “I never wanted you to think I didn’t want you there. It’s just… well, it’s just weird knowing that someone like you wants to be there and it’s been throwing me off. That’s all. Just my dumb brain overthinking, I guess?”

“Someone like me?” Chrissy felt her eyebrows furrow at the comment. “What do you mean? So, you do want me there?”

“God, of course I want you there sweetheart.” Eddie grabbed her small hands in his and rubbed circles on them. “How do I even explain this? Hellfire has always been on the outskirts of what’s cool at Hawkins. If someone wanted to join, then they already knew what it was all about. They just… joined. End of story.” He looked up at her with a mix of apology and bashfulness in his gaze. “Nobody has ever been excited or interested to learn about it before so it just feels weird to me. It’s this hobby that’s always been seen as awful and I’ve always had to just deflect to get people off my back. Look, I’m sorry if it seemed like I didn’t want you there.”

Chrissy listened intently as he opened up. They were both surprisingly good at doing that with each other. The comfort they shared was another reason she thought she had fallen in love with him so quickly, even if she was still too scared to say it out loud.

“It’s okay,” she murmured as she placed a chaste kiss on his lips. “That actually makes a lot of sense now that you put it that way. But I love learning about the things you like, so I promise I’m super excited.” Eddie smiled again, returning her kiss with one of his own.

“Well, then who am I to keep a pretty lady waiting?” He turned to face forward, putting the car in drive and holding one of her hands in his as they drove off towards Hawkins High. The drive was short and Chrissy spent the ride asking Eddie small questions about what they were going to be doing. He explained a little bit, mentioning that today’s game would just be a one and done kind of story. He told her it would be almost like a long movie that gets played out, where the heroes start in some small town and work their way up to defeating a big bad villain in the end. She’d nodded her head, understanding the concept, but still not sure how they would exactly pull that off. She also asked Eddie what he would be doing in all of this. He mentioned that he would be a narrator of sorts, keeping everyone on track and then also playing as any monsters or bad guys that came up in their journey. Again, Chrissy just nodded, her brain deep in thought about what this would all look like but also drowning in excitement as she watched how animated Eddie was just by talking about tonight. They pulled into the school parking lot around three o’clock and she noticed that there were no other cars there. Chrissy asked where everyone was and Eddie smiled what she could only describe as a wicked smile.

“Oh we’re here early to help set the mood.” He chuckled darkly as he spoke and it made Chrissy flush with the ideas that statement brought to her mind, none appropriate in a school setting. They’d only been graduates for a month but it still felt odd to be back. The halls were empty and it was pretty spooky if Chrissy thought about it too much. But instead of lingering in the halls, Eddie took her hand and led her to the abandoned stage in the auditorium, the curtains drawn. She wondered where they met exactly, realizing she’d never asked. Her question was soon answered as Eddie led her into the backstage area. He flipped the lights on leaving the curtains drawn and pulled her over to a storage closet. The closet turned out to be packed with a table, chairs, candles and even a hand made Hellfire Club sign.

“This sign is amazing! Where did you get it?” Chrissy was amazed at the detail and it looked like someone had spent a lot of time making it.

“That would uh… that’d be me.” Eddie murmured bashfully. He tried to busy himself but Chrissy kept piling praise onto him.

“You made this? Eddie this is amazing!” Chrissy gently peered over, entering his line of sight and forcing him to look at her. It really was amazing how much talent Eddie had at things that weren’t English, Spanish, or Biology. Anything school related was a struggle for him, but he was so practical and smart in other ways that surprised Chrissy constantly. It left her in awe of him when she discovered yet another thing he was good at.

“I just got bored in wood shop a couple years ago,” he mumbled. Seeing him squirm made Chrissy realize that he might not get too many positive comments flung his way all the time. It was clearly hard for him to accept and it made Chrissy’s heart ache for him. She wanted him to know just how loved he was and make sure he knew he was worth it. She gently placed the sign down and silently entered his space. Taking the decor out of Eddie’s hands without a word, she eventually cleared enough space in his arms to place herself there. She wrapped her arms around his waist, wanting nothing than to show him the love she was feeling in that moment. Glancing up, her chin on his chest, she felt her heart swell with pride and her face smile gently at him.

“If that’s what you can make when you’re bored, I can’t imagine what you’d make if you really put your mind to it.” As she spoke, Eddie’s eyes widened and his fingers resting at the base of her spine began fidgeting with the hem of her shirt nervously. Chrissy found it adorable.

“If you wanted me to make you something, I’d do it in a heartbeat sweetheart.” He chuckled, his fingers now rubbing circles into her shirt.

“I’ll take a rain check for when I really need it then.” Chrissy placed a kiss to his shirt, right above his heart. “Now, where do we put all of this stuff anyway?”

———

They fell into a rhythm of setting things up, and in about half an hour, everything had been set up for their campaign. Chrissy was still amazed by “The Throne” as Eddie called it dramatically. She’d laughed when he had waved his arms out wildly and told her that it was sacred in all ways and that only the mightiest of Dungeon Masters could sit upon it. They had barely finished setting up before the rest of the club arrived. They all gave her a quick hello before setting their own materials up at the table. It was a flurry of prep and excitement and eventually Chrissy recognized that the new boy was Will Byers, the boy who’d disappeared a few years back. He was older and taller but still had the same haircut from the missing posters she remembered seeing all over town.

“Gentlemen, Lady Applejack, and beautiful spectators,” Eddie excitedly called out over the conversations they were all having. “The time has come for todays journey to begin.” Chrissy was immediately zeroed in on how charismatic Eddie was. Just him calling everyone to attention was magnetic and Chrissy wanted nothing more than to watch him speak for the next five hours. Luckily, that was exactly what she was going to do.

Over the course of the next few hours, Chrissy easily followed the story that was laid out for the party. It was a simple task but the interactions and choices made by everyone made things layered and complex in the best way. It was intimidating at times, but Chrissy genuinely enjoyed watching. She clapped at everyone’s successes, gasped when something heart wrenching happened, and laughed when Eddie made the best voices and dialogue, drawing them into the world he’d created. Yet again, he surprised her with how stunning and brilliant his mind was. He really didn’t give himself enough credit. Soon, the party was coming to their final destination. The house of baron who was oppressing the town he ruled over. Throughout the campaign, the party had decided that he was probably possessed and it was finally time to drive out whatever was causing the problem and help the townspeople. But eventually, Eddie revealed the true answer to the baron’s madness.

“As you enter the foyer of the baron’s mansion, you see that it was once a grand sight to behold, but now is in extreme disrepair,” Eddie narrated while Chrissy watched him, rapt. “But as the baron comes from the shadows, you hear his voice, dark and sinister, ‘Who dares to disturb me in my home?’. How do you respond?”

Will spoke, his voice clear and true. “Humble adventurers are we, seeking to help the town that is suffering under your watchful eye. Is all well with you sir? May we be of any assistance?”

Eddie chuckled darkly, crawling upon “The Throne” to perch on its ornate arm. Chrissy was unexpectedly pulled from the story by this, feeling her heart sputter and heat rise to her cheeks. Seeing Eddie like this was having an affect on her that she hadn’t quite anticipated. His dark, unforgiving tone and the look in his eyes made her unconsciously rub her thighs together, heat pooling between them, and she couldn’t look away or even feel ashamed, despite there being others present.

“The baron finally steps into a sliver of moonlight as he speaks. ‘How dare you insinuate that my town suffers! You all have been a nuisance, thwarting my plans at every turn and ruining any chance I once had at raising an army of undead. For that, you shall pay!’ Finally, in the moonlight, you see his features pale and twisted, eyes blood red, but most importantly, the fangs that protrude from where human teeth once sat!”

Eddie laughed maniacally as cries of defiance rang out from the party. Chrissy found herself also shocked, reacting with everyone else but her body was still distracting her as she watched Eddie’s form. He was practically vibrating with excited energy and the way his eyes darkened when he spoke shocked Chrissy and made her brain wonder if he would ever whisper in her ear that way when they were alone. Shaking her head to try and clear her thoughts for the final battle, he took a glance at her, gauging her reaction. Even though she told her face to smile, her eyes and flushed features must have told a different story. His eyebrows raised only a hair before darkening once again, grinning like a panther stalking its prey. Chrissy felt herself burning up and broke his gaze, looking over to the party and focusing on their planning.

After a hard fought battle with fallen allies, Will the Wise stuck the killing blow to the baron turned vampire, freeing the town from tyranny and the undead. Everyone stood and cheered, Chrissy included. Watching everything unfold had been riveting and she couldn’t wait to give Eddie a nice big “I told you so” later on. She’d loved every second of the adventure and was riding the high of a campaign well won while everyone packed up. Another half hour later and the party was all safely heading home, leaving Chrissy and Eddie to pack up the supplies they’d taken out earlier in the day.

An odd silence had fallen over the two of them as they worked to clean the table of the remaining snacks and drinks left behind. Chrissy moved to the head of the table, in front of “The Throne” working her way around to wipe things off. Her mind wandered again to seeing and hearing Eddie earlier and let herself indulge in the fantasy just a bit now that everyone was gone.

“Pretty sure it doesn’t take two minutes to clean that one spot sweetheart.” She jumped as Eddie’s voice murmured in her ear, his arms wrapping around her waist. “Something on your mind?” Chrissy felt her cheeks flare yet again with heat and she felt a now familiar flutter in her stomach as she replied.

“No,” she heard her voice crack and internally winced at it. Eddie chuckled in her ear as he ran his hands along her sides, a delicious shiver running up Chrissy’s spine.

“I don’t think you’re being honest with me Chrissy.” As he spoke in the voice from the end of the campaign, she realized she’d been caught. He knew exactly what had been going on with her and it made her flush and squirm in his arms. He moved both of them to sit back into “The Throne”, Eddie maneuvering her so she landed on his lap. Immediately, Chrissy could feel the hard want pressing into her thigh as she sat on top of him, and it made her embarrassment ease, but only slightly. Her eyebrows shot up as she looked up at him through her lashes with the big doe eyes she knew he couldn’t handle. She let a small smirk grace the side of her mouth as she replied.