[ She knows he's joking, but there's nothing that Eddie loves more than a ridiculous bit, so when he says he should open a brothel she gives him a huge Cheshire cat grin. ] You should totally open a brothel, Chrissy. Guaranteed business, you'll never fail.
[ But then he continues about the actual realities laid out for him and she sighs. ]
You know, after college you could just... not come home. Stay in Chicago or wherever you're going. Get the fuck outta Indiana.
Getting out of Indiana would be easier if I wasn't going to U of I. [He had been joking previously, but now he just sounds tired] It's dad's alma mater.
[He shakes his head again, straightening a little, but still keeping that arm across her back, almost like he's forgotten that's where it is.] And dumping again, sorry. I'll figure out when I'm about to and stop before I do, swear.
[It's just that he hasn't had an outside perspective on any of this before, and while he always thought it was a little weird that his life was supposed to be that much on the rails, he's only recently begun to realize that it's seriously fucked up.]
Or hey, maybe the ground will open up and swallow me before any of that happens. It's always possible.
Oh, shit. Yeah. Uh, you could transfer out? [ That's a thing that people do in college, right? Transfer from one to another? Eddie has no fucking idea. Nobody in her family has ever gone to college and lord knows she's not going to be the first one.
Chris might have forgotten he has his arm around her, but Eddie sure hasn't. Even so, this conversation is important enough that she pulls herself up slightly, shifting to get her knees under her so she's sitting on her feet and facing him properly. This is important. She needs to make serious, earnest eye-contact. ]
Chris. I don't mind you dumping on me. I want you to dump on me. I like feeling like... [ we're friends, she doesn't say, because she's smart enough to realize that might be something that sounds like an insult even though she doesn't mean it to be. ] Like I can help you. Even though I know fuck-all about college, or having an overbearing mom, or the threat of seminary school.
[ She's clutched at his shirt in lieu of his hands since he's braced his weight on them, and it leaves her leaning into him precariously. Which is fine, because she needs him to pay attention to her, because she's deadly serious. ]
Probably? I think? I'd need credits and a comparable class to transfer to. I mean, I think that's how it works. [It's not like he's really looked into it before either, he's had no reason to.
He startles, just slightly, when he realizes how close she is as he turns to look at her, but there's a small smile a moment later.] I'm pretty sure knowing fuck-all about any of that is how you can help. It's like... fresh perspective, you know?
[Because Jason is not that, and doesn't really know just how deep this plan actually goes, and wow Eddie's eyes are really big this close and that's definitely not the kind of thing he's noticed before.]
[ There's a part of her that is legitimately curious about the process of transferring from one college to another, but only in a rather abstract way. It'll never apply to her, so it's sort of the same curiosity she has about deep-sea exploration, or nuclear physics.
But she's not curious enough to focus on that instead of what she considers to be more important, which is the look on Chris's face when he turns to look at her and blinks in surprise to find her so close.
Maybe she should lean back? But she's balanced herself by now, and moving would jeopardize that. ]
Yeah, if you want an outsider's perspective, you came to the right place. [ She wets her lips with the tip of her tongue, nervous for a reason she can't quite describe. ] I just don't know how helpful I can actually be.
Chris. [ That's such a depressing outlook, she can't help the way her forehead scrunches or how her mouth turns down a little. To shake herself out of it, she physically shakes him instead, pressing her fists into his chest and then tugging him back by her grip on his shirt.
Sighing, she shuffles a few centimeters closer, her knees digging into his legs. ]
You're smart. [ Maybe not Nancy Wheeler smart, but who is? ] You're kind. [ Kind enough to befriend the school's pariah weirdo, to smile at her like she's not a fucking loser destined for an early grave or an eight-by-ten like her old man. ] You're a loyal friend. [ Loyal enough to stick by Jason fucking Carver's side for all these years, even though he seriously fucking sucks. ] You're funny. [ He certainly makes her laugh, which admittedly isn't super difficult because Eddie loves being a ham and taking the bit too far, but still. ] You're good-looking. [ He has to know she thinks he's cute, right? Like, she blushes at him all the time, it's so fucking embarrassing. He's just being nice to her by not mentioning it when she goes all weird around him. ]
You've got a lot going for you. You could do anything you want.
[He lets her shake him, swaying with it slow and exaggerated, head lolling a little as he does.
To his credit, he does at least seem to consider what he's saying, and some of it definitely sinks in a little bit, but it's a drop in the bucket compared to everything else he's heard his whole life.
The conclusion he comes to is just a quiet, thoughtful sound in the back of his throat] Well damn, Dee, maybe you're right, I should move to Chicago and start a brothel. Should probably still get a BA in Business first, though.
[ Well, if he keeps hanging out with her, she'll affirm him all he likes. Probably more than he'd like, honestly, because Eddie was born with a Too Much Gene, and she can't be stopped. Usually it comes out in her being a little bit mean to her friends, pushing them to better themselves through reverse psychology more than anything else, but with Chris...
Chris is different. Obviously.
Chris also deflects what she's saying with a joke, and Eddie is torn between being annoyed he isn't taking her seriously and being relieved he's giving her an out. With another little shove that's undercut by how gently she places her hands on his chest, she rolls her eyes at him. ] Well, naturally. What self-respecting brothel isn't run by someone with a business degree?
One that wants to get audited by the IRS, obviously. [He replies easily, smile inching back into place, arm curling around her a little more securely now that she's pressed quite that close, not about to let her fall just because she's teasing him.]
How about it? You want to come work security for me? Lead the house band?
[ It's a little bit more awkward to have his arm around her now that she's shifted, but if Chris is going to instigate it deliberately like that, she's sure as shit not going to stop him. She might shift a little to try and sit comfortably, which gets her almost perching in his lap, but it's fine. Her bed is small. He's not saying anything about it. She's just humiliating herself in a way he's being too nice to call her out on. She's done a lot worse before. ]
For a second I thought you were gonna ask me to be one of your working girls, which. [ She blows out a breath, ruffling her bangs. ] That's one helluva offer, Chrissy.
Look, I'm gonna need somebody I can trust, right? Especially for security, and I'm not saying you're the most trustworthy person I know, but you're you know, definitely up there. [He shakes his head a moment later, realizing how precarious her balance is]
[ That's not what she meant at all, and she's pretty sure Chris knows it, but honestly, she has no idea what rumors he has and hasn't listened to. He's in the inner circle of the popular crowd, so surely he's heard all the worst stories from guys who swear they've fucked her or that she accepted sexual favors for drugs, but he's never once looked at her askance like he was wondering just how much of a slut she actually was, so she has no clue what he does or doesn't believe.
She's not going to bring up the fact that she's supposedly really easy, so her working at a whorehouse is a jump that won't be too strenuous for most people, though. Chris looks at her like she's worth something to him, she's not going to ruin it. ]
You sweet-talker. [ She's not used to having people look her in the face and tell her they think she's trustworthy. It's...nice. ]
No! I have excellent balance. [ No she doesn't. Mock-scowling at him, she shoves at his chest again, trying to get him to overbalance so he tumbles down to her bed. There's enough space behind him that he won't hit his head on anything, and then she'll be the winner as the only person sitting upright. ]
[The thing of it is, he knows Jason embellishes stories of events that Chris was there for and could correct, he just hasn't because it's never been important, so he's not going to believe anything else without proof, especially about her, since his experience has been something else entirely]
Oh yeah, that's me, flattery up the wazoo. [He's smiling as he says it, and he should have been ready for the retaliation, and he knows it, but the truth is he wasn't and so he goes toppling with little resistance and an indignant goose noise.]
[ She's about to make fun of him some more before he flops to her bed and lets out a noise that has her barking out a laugh loud enough to cover the cassette running out of tape and clicking off. She was expecting him to fall, but not the honking that he let out as he did it, and se winds up half-collapsing forward to brace herself on one palm by his side, her hair swinging forward to fall in her face (and a little in his, too) as she laughs. ]
[He's laughing, already shaking his head before she finishes the question] I don't know! It just kind of happened.
[His arm is across her back again, just because it's easy to drape it there again] Just kind of popped out? I don't think I could do it again on purpose if I tried.
[ Eddie's aware enough of her own proclivities to know when she's being irrational about something; anyone laughing from up close is not particularly attractive, what with the up-close look at their teeth and the way their eyes scrunch shut, but she's also aware enough of how deep she's gotten that she really doesn't care.
Chris's laugh is cute. And the fact that she made him laugh makes it even cuter. It takes effort not to reach out and touch the freckles on his nose when he does it, and she winds up shoving a hand through her own hair to push it out of her face to give her free hand something to do as he slips his arm around her as easy as breathing.
They're practically cuddling. ]
We should totally try. [ Grinning, she pokes him in the stomach, half a jab, half a tickle. ] Do it again, Chrissy.
[He's aware of their proximity, especially given the way he's still got an arm around her as if she actually needs the help balancing in the half-lounge she's landed herself in.
The jab of a tickle gets a wheezy little noise instead, shaking his head again.] Don't even know where it came from, Dee, wouldn't know where to start trying to recreate it.
[ It would be so easy to sling a leg over his hips and straddle him, to use her body weight to pin him down to the bed — she's taller than him, and he's so skinny, she's pretty sure they weigh more or less the same — but she exercises herculean restraint and keeps her legs where they are, though she does walk her fingers up his side in another attempt at tickling him to distract them both. ]
[The tactic doesn't get the desired result, in fact it just gets another wheezy laugh, shaking his head and batting feebly at her hand, though it's clear that he's still amused, especially as he intones very solemnly:] Honk.
Or, in French, ''onque'. Oh, also Swedish, 'hjonk'
[He's barely holding back a laugh at that point, shaking his head] That's all I've got though.
[ She cackles again, seemingly not put out at all that he's not cooperating. ] You're such a fucking nerd. [ Which is pretty rich coming from her, considering the books she has stacked haphazardly on her bedside table and the magazines strewn across her desk.
She does give up on her attempts to tickle him, though, because it's not getting her very far and she knows tickling is a short-term activity for most people. She doesn't want to actually piss Chris off by being annoying, she just wants to make him laugh again.
[He shakes his head, his free hand lifting to trace an idle figure-eight against the back of her hand on his chest] No, I mean not really. We had a visiting pastor from Uppsala a few years back, kind of like an exchange student? So we were the host family for a couple weeks, and I know he taught us the Lord's Prayer in Swedish, but I can't remember any of it now.
[ Slowly, Eddie lowers herself to her elbow instead, propping her cheek up on her hand, settling more of her weight over Chris's arm where he has it curled around her.
She tries not to look at his hand touching hers. ]
He taught you the Lord's Prayer and how to honk like a goose.
Oh he didn't actually teach us that one, that was more, uh, extrapolated. [He knows that he shouldn't be this comfortable where he is and who he's with, but he is, and he's mostly trying not to think about it too hard because he knows himself well enough to know that's when he'll panic.]
I remember he liked it when we asked questions, like he wanted to talk about home but didn't want to be rude and just do it.
[ If Chris were anyone else, Eddie would feel confident enough in what they're doing to either call them out on it or take the reins in her hands and get this show on the road. Chris doesn't flirt as overtly as some of the jocks she's known in her lifetime, but she's pretty sure this is flirting.
Eddie's a touchy girl, it's true, but even with Gareth she draws the line at cuddling. And this can't be anything but cuddling, what with him having his arm slung around her waist all casual and shit, and her hand pressing to his chest, and him playing his fingertips over the back of her hand.
Eddie is cuddling. With Chris Cunningham. ]
Maybe he came from a shithole like Hawkins, [ she muses. ] That's why he avoided talking about it unless asked.
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[ But then he continues about the actual realities laid out for him and she sighs. ]
You know, after college you could just... not come home. Stay in Chicago or wherever you're going. Get the fuck outta Indiana.
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[He shakes his head again, straightening a little, but still keeping that arm across her back, almost like he's forgotten that's where it is.] And dumping again, sorry. I'll figure out when I'm about to and stop before I do, swear.
[It's just that he hasn't had an outside perspective on any of this before, and while he always thought it was a little weird that his life was supposed to be that much on the rails, he's only recently begun to realize that it's seriously fucked up.]
Or hey, maybe the ground will open up and swallow me before any of that happens. It's always possible.
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Chris might have forgotten he has his arm around her, but Eddie sure hasn't. Even so, this conversation is important enough that she pulls herself up slightly, shifting to get her knees under her so she's sitting on her feet and facing him properly. This is important. She needs to make serious, earnest eye-contact. ]
Chris. I don't mind you dumping on me. I want you to dump on me. I like feeling like... [ we're friends, she doesn't say, because she's smart enough to realize that might be something that sounds like an insult even though she doesn't mean it to be. ] Like I can help you. Even though I know fuck-all about college, or having an overbearing mom, or the threat of seminary school.
[ She's clutched at his shirt in lieu of his hands since he's braced his weight on them, and it leaves her leaning into him precariously. Which is fine, because she needs him to pay attention to her, because she's deadly serious. ]
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He startles, just slightly, when he realizes how close she is as he turns to look at her, but there's a small smile a moment later.] I'm pretty sure knowing fuck-all about any of that is how you can help. It's like... fresh perspective, you know?
[Because Jason is not that, and doesn't really know just how deep this plan actually goes, and wow Eddie's eyes are really big this close and that's definitely not the kind of thing he's noticed before.]
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But she's not curious enough to focus on that instead of what she considers to be more important, which is the look on Chris's face when he turns to look at her and blinks in surprise to find her so close.
Maybe she should lean back? But she's balanced herself by now, and moving would jeopardize that. ]
Yeah, if you want an outsider's perspective, you came to the right place. [ She wets her lips with the tip of her tongue, nervous for a reason she can't quite describe. ] I just don't know how helpful I can actually be.
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[He shrugs, careful not to jostle her too much, as he can tell how precarious that balance is.]
So what else have I got going for me?
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Sighing, she shuffles a few centimeters closer, her knees digging into his legs. ]
You're smart. [ Maybe not Nancy Wheeler smart, but who is? ] You're kind. [ Kind enough to befriend the school's pariah weirdo, to smile at her like she's not a fucking loser destined for an early grave or an eight-by-ten like her old man. ] You're a loyal friend. [ Loyal enough to stick by Jason fucking Carver's side for all these years, even though he seriously fucking sucks. ] You're funny. [ He certainly makes her laugh, which admittedly isn't super difficult because Eddie loves being a ham and taking the bit too far, but still. ] You're good-looking. [ He has to know she thinks he's cute, right? Like, she blushes at him all the time, it's so fucking embarrassing. He's just being nice to her by not mentioning it when she goes all weird around him. ]
You've got a lot going for you. You could do anything you want.
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To his credit, he does at least seem to consider what he's saying, and some of it definitely sinks in a little bit, but it's a drop in the bucket compared to everything else he's heard his whole life.
The conclusion he comes to is just a quiet, thoughtful sound in the back of his throat] Well damn, Dee, maybe you're right, I should move to Chicago and start a brothel. Should probably still get a BA in Business first, though.
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Chris is different. Obviously.
Chris also deflects what she's saying with a joke, and Eddie is torn between being annoyed he isn't taking her seriously and being relieved he's giving her an out. With another little shove that's undercut by how gently she places her hands on his chest, she rolls her eyes at him. ] Well, naturally. What self-respecting brothel isn't run by someone with a business degree?
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How about it? You want to come work security for me? Lead the house band?
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For a second I thought you were gonna ask me to be one of your working girls, which. [ She blows out a breath, ruffling her bangs. ] That's one helluva offer, Chrissy.
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You're going to fall over, aren't you?
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She's not going to bring up the fact that she's supposedly really easy, so her working at a whorehouse is a jump that won't be too strenuous for most people, though. Chris looks at her like she's worth something to him, she's not going to ruin it. ]
You sweet-talker. [ She's not used to having people look her in the face and tell her they think she's trustworthy. It's...nice. ]
No! I have excellent balance. [ No she doesn't. Mock-scowling at him, she shoves at his chest again, trying to get him to overbalance so he tumbles down to her bed. There's enough space behind him that he won't hit his head on anything, and then she'll be the winner as the only person sitting upright. ]
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Oh yeah, that's me, flattery up the wazoo. [He's smiling as he says it, and he should have been ready for the retaliation, and he knows it, but the truth is he wasn't and so he goes toppling with little resistance and an indignant goose noise.]
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What the fuck even was that?
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[His arm is across her back again, just because it's easy to drape it there again] Just kind of popped out? I don't think I could do it again on purpose if I tried.
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Chris's laugh is cute. And the fact that she made him laugh makes it even cuter. It takes effort not to reach out and touch the freckles on his nose when he does it, and she winds up shoving a hand through her own hair to push it out of her face to give her free hand something to do as he slips his arm around her as easy as breathing.
They're practically cuddling. ]
We should totally try. [ Grinning, she pokes him in the stomach, half a jab, half a tickle. ] Do it again, Chrissy.
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The jab of a tickle gets a wheezy little noise instead, shaking his head again.] Don't even know where it came from, Dee, wouldn't know where to start trying to recreate it.
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Honk for me, baby. You know you wanna.
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Or, in French, ''onque'. Oh, also Swedish, 'hjonk'
[He's barely holding back a laugh at that point, shaking his head] That's all I've got though.
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She does give up on her attempts to tickle him, though, because it's not getting her very far and she knows tickling is a short-term activity for most people. She doesn't want to actually piss Chris off by being annoying, she just wants to make him laugh again.
Her hand lingers draped over his chest. ]
Do you really speak Swedish?
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She tries not to look at his hand touching hers. ]
He taught you the Lord's Prayer and how to honk like a goose.
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I remember he liked it when we asked questions, like he wanted to talk about home but didn't want to be rude and just do it.
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Eddie's a touchy girl, it's true, but even with Gareth she draws the line at cuddling. And this can't be anything but cuddling, what with him having his arm slung around her waist all casual and shit, and her hand pressing to his chest, and him playing his fingertips over the back of her hand.
Eddie is cuddling. With Chris Cunningham. ]
Maybe he came from a shithole like Hawkins, [ she muses. ] That's why he avoided talking about it unless asked.
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