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[polemical]

open post.
you know the drill.

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tfln overflow 10/27

[polemical]

[ from here ]

if anyone could pull it off, it'd be you.

so if you're some kind of pumpkin-mermaid hybrid, what kind of cryptid would i be? don't say mothman.

[ccunningham]

What? No, mothman's a harbinger of doom, or at least a warning of impending disaster, and you're... not that.
Maybe bigfoot because your hair's so fluffy? I don't really know very many cryptids.

[polemical]

BIGFOOT?? christopher cunningham, how dare you. are you trying to tell me i'm hairy or something??

i mean, i am pretty tall, so i guess that fits. bigfoot, oh my god.

[ccunningham]

Christian, actually.
But no, just you're taller than me and your hair is fluffy, that's literally all I was going off of.

[polemical]

oh no, really? i mean. that's so nice. is it a family name, or were your parents trying to win church?

uh huh. nice save. i totally believe you.

[ccunningham]

It can be two things!
And I literally just said I don't know that many cryptids, I'm drawing from a limited pool Dee.
Anyway, do you want me to come over or not? I know I don't have to, but just drunk might be better than drunk and alone.

[polemical]

you poor thing. i guess i can't throw stones, my name is pretty stupid too.

i mean, sure. if you want to babysit me and make sure i don't aspirate my own vomit. but i think i'm past the hurling stage. hopefully.

[ccunningham]

And if you aren't I'll hold your hair back, it's fine.
Be there in like, fifteen minutes tops.

[polemical]

you're too kind.
okay well drive safe.

Action? Action!

[ccunningham]

[To his credit, it's only about ten minutes before he's pulling up behind the van, being just as careful on the steps as he told her to be.

Should it have taken longer? Definitely, but he knows what stop signs can be glided through at this hour, which isn't the kind of thing he'd do under normal circumstances, but apparently she's as bad an influence as his mother thinks she is. Or something like that.

He knocks twice, loud enough to be heard inside but still soft enough not to alert the neighbors any further than his car will have done.]

[polemical]

[ If anyone accused Eddie of spending those ten minutes frantically trying to clean up a little so that things would look less embarrassing when Chris comes around, well. They wouldn't be lying. But they also wouldn't need to call her out on it, Jesus.

She even brushes her teeth quickly, just swiping her toothbrush over them a few times to make sure she doesn't reek too strongly of the alcohol she polished off while he was being radio silent at her, and smacks herself on the cheeks a few times to get herself to fucking get it together already.

Still slightly disheveled but not as disheveled as she might be, she pulls open the door when she hears those two firm knocks and tries to look cool, calm, and collected.

She doesn't quite succeed. ] Hey! Hi. Uh, hi Chris.

[ccunningham]

[He's definitely not going to call it out, or the fact that she's a little disheveled, because that's to be expected, given the hour and what she's admitted to being up to.

He smiles all the same, can't help it.] Here, wasn't sure if you liked salty snacks or sweet snacks when you've been drinking so I brought both.

[It's a snack-size packet of cheetos and a two-cookie packet of double-stuff oreos, one in each hand] And if snacks is a bad idea right now, just save them for later.

[polemical]

[ Her eyes light up like he's handed her a gold doubloon. ] Chris, you angel, I love snacks.

[ Really, she's more snacky when she's been smoking versus when she's been drinking, but it's fine. She'll eat them anyway. No way is she going to turn down free snacks.

Remembering she's supposed to be a hostess or something, she steps back and waves him in. ] Come in, come in. You, uh, want anything to drink? I have, uh. Beer and water. There might be tea somewhere in the cupboards but no promises.

[ccunningham]

Oh hardly, and if I am it's only by comparison, and that's not fair to anybody.

[He's smiling as he says it, all the same, and shakes his head at the offer as he slips past her and into the increasingly-familiar trailer] No, I'm good. [He almost physically winces even as he says it] I mean no, thank you, I'm fine. Besides, I'm here for you.

[polemical]

Shut up, you are. I said so. [ As if that's all there is to it. She grabs the snacks as he enters, tucking them into the pockets of the sweatpants she's wearing — they're Wayne's, which is why they sit a little short at the ankle and ride low on her hips, but they're comfy and that's what's most important — and then wandering back into the trailer. It's not like it's a big space that they can get lost in, he doesn't need her to guide him anywhere, and besides. Chris has been here before.

She goes and gets him a glass of water anyway. ]

So apart from taking the world's longest shower, how was your evening? [ she asks, flopping back onto the couch where she'd been sitting, a full ashtray at her elbow and a half-finished beer sweating in front of her. ]

[ccunningham]

[He doesn't drop down to sit next to her, but it's definitely more comfortable than the initial perch he'd used, careful not to touch anything. No, now he just nudges her with a shoulder as he sits back comfortably] Fine? Mom's off at her... I don't know, church lady retreat weekend, which is the only reason my shower was that long, and like, 70% of the reason I'm here now.

[It's late, and he's learned to be quiet, but Laura somehow knows when he's been out anyway.]

How about you? Something I should know about bring on this evening's booze-fest?

[polemical]

[ If she were sitting side by side with Steve Harrington, she'd probably make fun of him by accusing him of jerking off for an hour while wasting water, but she holds her tongue with Chris. Not that she doesn't think he, as a red-blooded American teenager, doesn't jerk off ever, but because she doesn't want him to feel weird around her.

For some reason, he seems to like her. It's...nice. ]

You're not throwing a part or something now that you're left to your own devices? [ Isn't that what popular jocks do? Again, she's basing that assumption off of her association with Steve, but she's pretty sure she's right. ] I'm honored you'd waste your precious free time with me.

[ She shrugs, twisting her rings around her fingers to resist the urge to tap out a new cigarette. ] Bored, mostly. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

[ccunningham]

[If she ever wants to see him go roughly the same color as his hair teasing him about jerking off is the most surefire way to do it. So it's probably for the best that she doesn't at the moment.

He makes a strangled little noise at the question all the same.] Oh god no, that's the fastest way to get myself shipped off to, I don't know, seminary school or something. Even if I somehow managed to clean up she'd still know.

[He shakes his head] Even if by some miracle Jeremy didn't tell her, dad's still home anyway, he just... [His brow creases a little] He doesn't care much, wouldn't put a stop to a party, but wouldn't catch any of the fallout, either.

[polemical]

[ She laughs, maybe a little too loud, leaning in to jostle his shoulder a little. ] You don't want to be a priest or whatever? Why not?

[ Apart from all the usual reasons why not, but Eddie's trying to be conscious of the fact that their wants and needs in life are probably vastly different. Maybe Chris would like to go to seminary or something. If he wasn't forced.

She sighs. ] I forgot about your dad. [ Which she realizes sounds bad as soon as she said it, but it's too late to take back now, so she bumps his shoulder again. ] Bummer, dude.

[ccunningham]

[He can't help but smile a little at that follow-up] Yeah, it's alright, I forget about him sometimes, too.

[He shakes his head] But no, I definitely don't want to be a priest or whatever, everybody talks about it being a calling and I've never felt called. Also I just don't think I'm cut out to lead people like that, either, just thinking about it makes me kind of queasy, actually?

[There's that head shake again before he drags a hand through his hair] There's more to it than that, but I don't even think I can explain it to myself, forget trying to explain it to someone else.

[polemical]

I think I would be a great priest, [ she says, laughing lightly. She's great at talking in front of crowds, spinning tall tales to keep them interested, has definitely felt called to do the things she does. If being a priest involved less god stuff and more fun stuff, she'd be great at it. ]

What do you want to do? You know, after graduation?

[ Eddie's got no fucking idea what she wants to do. She's pretty sure she won't graduate, again, but that's way too depressing to talk about, so she's not going to even think about it. ]

[ccunningham]

For what it's worth, I think you would too. [He shrugs] I mean, if you were actually religious, obviously. And could find a congregation that was okay with a woman pastor.

[He doesn't think he needs to explain, but he's going to anyway if only to buy himself a little bit of time before he actually has to answer the question she asked] I've seen you spin up stories for that gang of misfits of yours, keeps them engaged, which is like, a really important part of doing an sermon? Can't tell you the number of visiting pastors we've had that were just boring, but have to be polite and tell them I enjoyed the sermon anyway, even if I would have rather had a root canal.

[A heavy sigh as he rolls his head to face her more fully] As far as what I want to do? No idea. I like track, but I don't think I can actually make a career out of that, you know?

[polemical]

I already got a congregation, [ she boasts, even though she really doubts that her collection of weirdo nerds can count as a congregation. But Chris is right, she's very good at keeping her friends engrossed. If that's all it took to lead a sermon, she'd make a killing as a traveling priest.

She tries to think about it, but Eddie hasn't gone to church since at some time in elementary school, way before she came to live with Wayne. She's certainly never been to the same church that Chris goes to, the one that Jason Carver and all of his buddies attend. It sounds like a real fucking drag, to be honest. All fire and brimstone and not in the fun way, either.

She hums a little, picking at the label of her beer. ] Running? Nah, I don't think so. I mean, you're fast, but are you like Olympic-level fast? [ She's genuinely asking. She has no idea how fast you have to be to be a professional runner. ]

[ccunningham]

Maybe college ride fast, but probably not Olympics-fast. But I don't even know, honestly. [He scratches his jaw, considering] Marathons are a possibility, you can get sponsorship money from those, but I think I'd need to do like, state qualifications first.

[He shakes his head] My best bet is to get a gimmick, like Plennie Wingo, he's the guy who walked backwards from California to, um, Turkey? I think? Istanbul, yeah, that's Turkey, back in the thirties.

[Sure, Eddie's some kind of nerd in general, but apparently Chris has some very specific facets to his nerdery.]

[polemical]

[ The thing is, she obviously has no idea what the fuck he's talking about, but there's nothing Eddie loves more than listening to someone ramble about something they love, so hearing Chris talk about whoever the fuck that runner is makes interest gleam in her eyes and she angles herself towards him so she can watch him as he speaks. ]

What the actual fuck, man. How did he walk across the ocean?

[ It seems to her like taking a plane would be cheating, right? ]